January Wrap Up. 01/2017

Hellloooo! I'm back!! How have you all been! I kind of had an unintentional three-week break without telling anyone I was going, but hey! Surprises keep it interesting! And don't worry, the ridiculous amount of exclamation points will stop now.

I've missed blogging so much... you don't understand how hurt I was when I had to swap reading and blogging for studying and failing. But February is going to be different, I can feel it in my bones.

Plus, because of all the studying and the dying and the general unpleasantness, I'm already a book behind schedule on my Goodreads reading challenge. How I managed to mess it up already I have no idea. But I managed to read 5! That's not bad, right?

This month's conquered books include...

• A short story collection by Indrajit Garai.

I was sent this collection in exchange for an honest review and they weren't half bad! Yes, they needed some work, but I tried to pack my review with as much constructive criticism as I could. It was Garai's first work of fiction, and Englis may not have been his first language, so they were better than expected! You can find my full review here!

• Human Universe by Professor Bian Cox.

I don't normally read non-fiction books, but I've had this for a while and decided, why the hell not! I'm incredibly intrigued by the sciences, particularly chemistry and physics and this book broadened my knowledge in both. I'd recommend it to any fellow nerds out there! You can find my full review here!

• If I stay by Gayle Forman
I started 'If I Stay' on November the 11th of last year and I'll hold my hands up and say I lost it. Yep, it was in my bag when I got home from school, and when I set off the next day I wasn' there. I blame the goblins. But when I did finally find it, I'd read it in a matter of days. It's such a beautiful book, everyone's got to love it! You can find my full review here!

• The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Talking of beautiful books, 'The Sky Is Everywhere' is definitely one of them! I'd started reading another of Jandy Nelson's work, 'I'll Give You the Sun' but I decided I wanted something shorter, so I naturally shifted to her other novel. This is an amazing book and it also features poetry, which makes it even better! I'd definitely recommend it. Stay tuned! This review will go out this Saturday!

• We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Yet another great book! 'We Were Liars' by E. Lockhart is definitely one of the strangest books I've read in a long time. It's painfully dull, then hits you right in the feels when you least expect. I cried. For. Hours. I haven't typed this review up yet, but I can tell it's going to be incredibly long. Mark it in your calendars folks, the full review will be going up 18/02/17. Or you could follow my blog... then you can be reminded about all my posts! 

Book of the month

So, I may have only read 5 books this month, but I still have a favourite! Drum roll, please... My book of the month is  'The Sky Is Everywhere' by Jandy Nelson! I'll go into more detail as to why when I post my review on Saturday. But what I will say is that it's a truly heart-breaking book that got all the hype it deserved. I couldn't have asked for any more from it, it was simply unbeatable!

Favourite book merch stores
I don't order a lot of merch simply because a) It's expensive and b) I don't have a lot of money. But there was a huge sale on the home of all merch, Society 6, so I managed to grab a couple things. I bought the most beautiful tote bag from Bookwormboutique which reads 'Books are uniquely portable magic'.You can find it here if you're interested! I also bought a wonderful mug from Evie Seo which has a quote on it from ACOMAF. I haven't read this book yet, but it's an awesome quote anyway! You can find it here if you wanted!

Currently reading
The book that's carrying on into February with me is Caraval by Stephanie Garber! I'm a quarter of the way through and I am LOVING it so far. But then again, who isn't? This book was hyped like crazy, which is always some cause for concern, but so far, this book is yet to disappoint! Plus can we take a sec to talk about the cover? It's. Freaking.  AMAZING. I live in the UK so I got the whole split book thing (half black and half white) and it's maybe one of the best covers I've ever seen... PLUS when you sneak a peek under the dust jacket HEY PRESTO there's a pretty design in gold there! Yeah, you heard me, gold. I got the circus tent edition which is all I've ever wanted and maybe just a sprinkle more. Which one did you get? From having a gander on social media, the circus and the rose are probably the most popular, but did you get something different?

Pre-orders
I've decided to buckle down and get a little more serious with my blog. Some weeks went without reviews, Top 5 Tuesday disappeared into the abyss, and I was generally a bit of a failure. BUT NO MORE. I'm going to start putting a lot more time, effort and a little more money into this baby of mine. In order to make my amazing readers happy, I'm going to start preordering a couple of books each month to make sure my reviews a with the times. Because it's all well and good me getting a review out, but if it's a super mainstream book that was released a billion years ago, chances are you've already read it and reading a review won't be super helpful. So earlier last month I preordered Caraval, which is already here and I'm munching it up as fast as I can to get it to you, plus, 'History Is All You Left Me' by Adam Silvera which is arriving shortly. I could only buy two because that's all the budget allows, I hopefully made good choices. If there's ever any books you guys really want me to review, drop me an e-mail or use the blogger contact from and I'll see what I can do! I'm super duper open to ideas and I can't wait to hear what you suggest!

Book news
Book news! Book news is a new little segment weekly post thing that I'm going to start doing on my blog. The name is definitely open to suggestions as I realise how crap it is. If something major happens in the book community, like a ridiculously fantabulous cover drops, or new editions of books which are lit af arise, I'll be there!

Speaking of fantabulous cover drops a new lit af editions... ACOWAR AND HARRY POTTER!!! Yes, I haven't read ACOMAF yet, but you don't have to admire the beauty of the artwork. Being in the UK, I naturally prefer the US edition which is a tad unfortunate, but hey hum what can you do?

What do you guys think? Which is your favourite? Would you rather eat a finger than read an S. J. Maas book? LET'S DISCUSS.

Plus let's talk about Harry Potter I love Harry Potter I haven't read all the Harry Potters yet which makes the fact that I love Harry Potter even better because I'm an early admirer and did you know Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone turns 20 this year I did you know why because new editions are being released and its super cool and they're the houses which are super cool and I have to say all this in one super long sentence because I don't have time for proper punctuation Harry Potter is too important do you think those magic quills that can write have perfect punctuation or do you think the older they get they start to slip or do you think there are some really illiterate quills about that make the user look really bad because they chose a quill that couldn't write I think I'd have a quill as a pet I'm rambling am I rambling I think I'm rambling.....THERE'S GOING TO BE A RAVENCLAW THEMED COVER!!!!! 

I'll have 10 please, plus a Slytherin one. I didn't realise but, apparently, I have quite a lot of Slytherin properties about me, which I never even thought about. Thanks BuzzFeed for helping me figure that one out!

Summary
This cold and rainy January has been pretty good in the world of books, as it turns out. Let's hope February continues in January's footsteps. Plus, a little bit about me, I didn't realise February had two 'r''s in it until year 9 (aged 13). Embarrassing or what?

How many books did you manage this month? Has your Goodreads challenge beaten you already? It's ok, who hasn't it beaten? What's your best book of the month? Which upcoming book are you most excited for? Which Harry Potter house do you belong to?Are you a frequent Society6 shopper? What's your favourite shop? I WANT TO GET TO KNOW YOU GUYS!!!

Follow me! Twitter          Instagram

Contact me! theintrovertswonderland@gmail.com

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Don't forget to subscribe to my blog! I put out a new review every Saturday and have the occasional Top 5 Tuesday! E-Mail subscription bar is at the bottom of the page, or there is a button at the top!

Snazzy September (Top 5 Tuesday)

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted my AARRGGHH August post (which is here in case you missed it)... it feels like forever ago! So, once again, I scoured the Goodreads upcoming page and found 5 books that I'm super snazztastically excited to read in the rainy month of September. Enjoy!

1) Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

It has fighting. It has magic. It has magical fighting. What more could anyone want!

It's about three sisters, which each possess a magical ability. Either they can spark flames and control storms, have a pretty good stomach when it comes to poisons, or can control nature and it's furry inhabitants; which sounds pretty fricken cool. And they have to begin fighting to become heir the day they turn 16. Until there's only one left. And I'm not mad about it. 

I'm hoping for epic battle scenes and sadness and drama and everything else a true book lover loves. Not literally of course. I'd prefer to just read it. 

The book's being released on the 20th September, and I'm super duper excited. You can read the Goodreads description here. 

2) The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

This book sounds... interesting. I don't think the description does it much justice, so I'm very glad I looked at the reviews, which, pretty much, all say it's fantastic.

From what I can gather, it tackles rape culture and the different opinions of it.  I might even look past the fact that it is written with different P.O.V chapters. Which normally I hate with a passion and deters me from buying the book, but even I can't stop myself with this one. 

I haven't read something as heavy as this in a while... and I'm very excited for its release so that the feels can hit me like a train. 

The release date is 20th September and I'm definitely getting this one. You can find it on Goodreads here.

3) A Taste for Monsters by Matthew J. Kirby

It includes Jack the Ripper. I'm already sold. I didn't even have to read anymore. I always find stories that include Jack the Ripper incredibly interesting, which is pretty awful of me, I know. But, maybe it's just me whose is massively intrigued by a serial killer, that, to this day, we still don't know his identity.

Although it isn't entirely about Jack the Ripper himself, and more about his victims, my eyes still lit up. Is that weird? Probably. The two other characters seem pretty interesting too, an elephant man and a disfigured girl... what more can you want.

I thrive on messed up stories, I wrote enough of them in school to last me a lifetime, so this will definitely be on my to-be-read list when it is released on September, 27. You can find the description in more detail here.

4) Into White by Randi Pink
 I like an author who takes risks... and this sure is one of them. This probably controversial book is about a black girl who wishes to be white and her wish comes true. 

I can tell that this is one of the books that's either going to be really good or shockingly bad, and I'm hoping it isn't the latter.But one thing that's obvious, people will talk about this book.

It brings some much needed light to racism, sexism and other horrible things that many people have to face   on the daily. And I really hope Pink can pull it off.

This book's release date is set to be September, 13. Let's all cross our fingers. You can find out more about this book here.



5) Why is every other good book part of a series by A girl who just wants a top 5 list.

Like, seriously, unless I judge far too quickly, I can't find another book I want to read in a list of 75. There are books I'm sure many of you are excited about, like the next in the Thrones of Glass series, or the next in the Snow like Ashes series, or the next in the Six of Crows series; but I haven't read any of those. So I can't be excited about them. Meh.

So here I am, a girl with nothing left to write. A girl with only four books in a top 5 post. A girl with only a ferret (His name is Mr. Snuckums and we were introduced through Google images). You can find out more about this fantastic 5th novel here!

That's all folks! My top 5 (shhh it was 5 Mr. Snuckums said so) books I'm most excited for in Snazzy September.

Are you excited for any of these releases? Lucky enough to get an ARC of any of them? Want your own Mr. Snuckums? Leave a comment and let me know!

Follow me! Twitter          Instagram
Contact me!  E-Mail - theintrovertswonderland@gmail.com

Don't forget to subscribe to my blog! I put out a new review every Sunday and have a weekly Top 5 Tuesday! E-Mail subscription bar is at the bottom of the page, or there is a button at the top!

Books I'm taking on holiday with me (Top 5 Tuesday)

YIPPEE! I'm going on holiday! I jet off to sunny Cyprus on the 14th August (so when you're reading this I'm already there) and I plan on reading a lot. And I mean a lot. I'm going on a family holiday so if I don't read a lot I will go positively insane. So after much thought, I finally decided on 5 from my to be read shelf. So the 5 winners of a trip to the pool side are...

1) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

 The first winner of a trip to Cyprus is the book I'm currently reading, good old Harry Potter #4. As surprising as this may be, this is the first time I'm reading this. I've had the whole series sat on my shelf for ages and only recently have I actually decided to read them. I'm only on chapter 11 right now, but before I go I hope that increases considerably, and I'll probably finish it on my first day there. So unfortunately for the book, it doesn't get much pool-side time before it's back in the case, but at least it gets to leave rainy England for a bit.  I bet the last few chapters of this will make for great pool-side reading too, because if the last three books taught me anything, it all starts to go well again in the last few chapters. So hopefully, it'll boost my happiness levels a bit too!

Speaking of the other books, if you haven't seen my review for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban you can find it here!

2) Everything Love Is by Claire King
The second winner of a trip abroad is a book I was lucky enough to win a signed copy of through a giveaway. To say I was excited to win this would be the understatement of the century. The book sounds fantastic and just right for pool-side reading. From what I can gather, it's about a man named Baptiste Molino and his journey of self-discovery and new love, as he tries to uncover his past. I can tell you right now that this book will not last any longer that two days before it's read and back in the case. The reviews for this book are fantastic too! Scrolling through the reviews on Goodreads, as I like to do a lot, there are so many people that fell in love with this book, and I can tell I will too.  So, in the case it goes!
   

3) Geek Girl #4: All that glitters by Holly Smale

The third winner of a trip to the pool is the next book in my favourite series ever, All That Glitters. I've loved this series for as long as I can remember and I think I will love it forever and ever and ever. I'm not exaggerating, at all. I can remember being on holiday in Tunisia when I finished the first book, so reading, and hopefully finishing, this one abroad too will be a blast from the past and give me some serious deja vu. I love deja vu... Is that weird? Anyway, if you ever need a good laugh or need a book with some amazeballs characters (I'm definitely looking at Toby, he's my bae) that you will fall in love with, I'd recommend this series. Plus, with its light-hearted nature, it's definitely one for the poolside. 


I've also reviewed Picture Perfect (Geek Girl #3) on the blog, which you can find here.



4) A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

The fourth winner of a holiday is the highly ranted about book, A Court of Thorns and Roses. I bought this last week as part of the birthday haul for my 16th birthday (which you should totally check out, the link is right here) and talked about a lot of stuff then. I'm extremely excited to see if this book is worth all the hype it received, and it received loads. I don't want to repeat myself for the sake of the people who read my last post, but it's the most talked about book I've ever had on my twitter feed. Out of all the books I bought last week, this pushed its way in front of all of them in my to be read list, which is why it's coming with me. I'm just that excited to read it. So, congrats ACOTAR, I'll see you at the pool!






5) The Singles Game by Lauren Weisberger

The fifth and final winner of a trip abroad is 'The Singles Game' by Lauren Weisberger. This, like 'Everything love is', was won in a giveaway too. Which makes me look like I enter loads of giveaways, but I don't, don't worry! I only enter the ones I find interesting, I'm just pretty lucky at giveaways for some reason. I've not a clue why! But, to get to the point, I do love a good game of tennis. Even though I don't get to watch it very often. Especially when Wimbledon is on... for some reason I'm always at my busiest then, which gets very annoying when it happens every single time. The book also has the most mixed reviews I've ever seen! That gets me especially excited. Am I the only one who gets the most excited if a books reviews are really different, compared to if they're all 5 stars or 1 star? I don't want a book with all 1 star reviews for obvious reasons, and I don't want a book with all 5 star reviews either because then I'd feel pressured into loving it as well. So mixed is nice and relaxing. Which is just what you need when you're by the pool! Plus the colours couldn't get more suitable if it tried!


So that just about wraps it up! And check me out, a Top 5 Tuesday that actually has 5 things on it! Which, if you've read a few of them, is actually pretty rare... But I hope you don't miss me too much when I go away! If, that is, you even notice I've gone. I've scheduled all my tweets and posts to cover me when I leave, so you guys won't miss a thing! So I'll see you all when I get back, and please, all pray that I don't get sunburnt... I'm as pale as a ghost and the weather is supposed to be 30 degrees Celsius (or 86 degrees Fahrenheit) which is not good. At all. Help.

Have you read any of these books yet (Plz, no spoilers)? How many books do you take with you on holiday? Have you been anywhere nice this summer? Let me know in the comments!

Follow me! Twitter
Contact me! E-mail - theintrovertswonderland@gmail.com

Don't forget to subscribe to my blog! I put out a new review every Sunday and have a weekly Top 5 Tuesday! E-Mail subscription bar is at the bottom of the page, or there is a button at the top!

The Birthday Haul (Top 5 Tuesday)

NEW BOOKS! I don't think I've bought a new book in about a year. Yes, a whole year. How did I cope I hear you ask... I haven't the faintest! But all I know is that it's all alright now, new books have graced my shelves. 9 to be precise. But this is a top 5 list! Why do you never make a top 5 list with 5 things on the list?! I'm sorry ok, they never work out the way I want them to! I was going to only buy 5 but then I paid and realised I forgot the YA section, so I told myself I'd only look, but you know as well as I did that that wasn't going to happen. But, seen as though I haven't bought a new book in a year, I think both you and I can forgive me. So, to quit my babbling... here's what I got!

1) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne

If you were to take a guess at what was on this list, you'd probably think of this. It came out a week and a bit ago and there has been nothing but this on twitter lately. Some love it, some hate it, some aren't quite sure, so how else will I know what it's really like unless I read it myself? There's only one problem, I'm on page 81 (out of 617) of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. That's book 4. Out of 7. And in my own 'Rules Of Reading' I'm not allowed to read books set in the same book world consecutively. In fact, I have to read a minimum of 3 books before I can return to a book of the same series.  This means I have to read 17 (inc. Goblet of Fire) books before I can even think about picking up this book. Trust me, I really regret making that a rule, but now that it is one, it would haunt me every day if I broke it, so 17 books it is. This also means that when I post my review, it will probably be early next year, a LONG time after this is relevant. Which is just wonderful. Plus, now that I've stopped feeling sorry for myself, I've never read a script before (other than the stuff I studied in school), so that'll be fun. Scripts might be my new thing! Probably not, but maybe! So anyway, I'm very excited to read this, even if it will be next year, and I hope that people still care enough to read what I think of it.  

And if you haven't read my review for the Prisoner of Azkaban, you totally should! You can find it here.

2) A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

And before there was the Cursed Child, the was ACOTAR. This, and the sequel that came out a few months ago, have received the biggest twitter buzz I've ever seen. For months on end all I saw when I logged onto twitter was ACOTAR. The ships that sailed, the theories that were theorised, the fangirls and fanboys that fangirled and fanboyed. There was no escaping. Even though it came out last year, which is crazy. Plus, I didn't see a single negative review, which isn't just crazy, it's insane in the membrane (insane in the brain!) . So, I'm bowing down to the guidance of twitter, for the first time in a long time, and I trust it has influenced me to make a good decision. Which it doesn't do most of the time. I trusted it with A Game Of Thrones, which I gave a meagre 3/5 stars (review is right here), and I trusted it with 'the 100', which I gave up and may never return to. But, this one may be good ... hopefully ... please. Well, even if I don't like it, the covers pretty, so it'll look nice on the shelf . That's something, right? Come on twitter, don't let me down this time!

3) Speaking In Bones by Kathy Reichs

I'd stumbled upon this book a few weeks ago in Asda. I had managed to read the blurb and the first chapter before my mum had finished choosing a card for her friends anniversary. I really didn't want to leave it behind... it's so gripping, even in the first two pages! So, as I normally do, I took a picture of it and forgot about it. The pictures I take normally go with hundreds of others to form a very sloppy to-be-read-list that I completely forget about as soon as I walk into a bookshop. So the pictures normally stay there for about a year before I clean it up a bit and are forgotten about forever. But, funny thing is, this was also one of those times. The story I just told you was pretty much irrelevant, as I would probably still have bought it, having seen it a few weeks earlier in Asda or not... sorry. But hey, the more you know right? Turns out this is book #18 in 'The Temperance Brennan' series. Please for the love of all that is holy sat that I can read it without reading the others. I don't want another Harry Potter dilemma. If I do read the others first, I'll be able to read this 82 books later. 82 books later! No thank you, I think I'll just read it on its own. Someone on Goodreads said it would be ok, and I trust them so fingers crossed! Don't let me down Asda...

4+5)Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children and Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Another rule of mine is to never buy multiple books of a series without reading the first one. I had to break this rule, though, it wasn't my fault! They were on buy one get one half price, so when I tried to buy just one, the cashier was all it's half price, go get the other one! My anxiety would never let me say no, so ... thanks, Mr Cashier for making me break that rule. At least I got one cheaper I guess! Plus, if I like it,  I'd have bought the other one anyway... I guess I'm just in a mood for complaining today! Even if it is my birthday! I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about these books. Some, like my friend who won't shut up about them, love them. Some people are saying it's the worst thing they've ever read. So, I'll just have to wait and see. And the movie comes out later next month, and it's always better to read the book before you see the movie!

6)Alice by Christina Henry
 I love retold Alice in Wonderland stories.  I haven't read the original in a very long time, but if it's creepy and dark, I'm all over it. I even wrote a retelling of Carroll's story for my final English essay, which I scored full marks on. The Mad Hatter is one of my favourite batman villains, he's a pretty cool dude (although not really, he kidnaps girls, forces them into being Alice then kills them. So not very cool unless you're as weird as I am). I haven't read a good one in a while though, normally they're always lacking something. Either they're not dark enough, or they're playing it too safe by sticking too close to the original, or they're too similar to all the other ones I've read. But I'm going to give this one a chance. Plus, the cover is really cool too! It instantly drew me to it in Waterstones and will look great on the shelf. Do any of you guys do that? Buy a book just because of the cover? I didn't for this one but have done many times before and it can't be just me, right? Anyway, back to the thing, I can't wait to read this one and you never know, this might be the Alice in Wonderland retelling that ticks all the right boxes. 

7)The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer
The blurb was the thing that really sold me on this book.  It's so hard hitting that I just couldn't put it back down again! 'I'll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother. His name's Simon. I think you're going to really like him. I really do. But in a couple of pages he'll be dead. And he was never the same after that.' How could I put that down again? I've never been so drawn in by a blurb before and I really, really, really hope the rest of the book doesn't let me down. There're some pretty mixed thoughts on this book; some hate it with a passion and have written some pretty gnarly reviews on Goodreads, some love it and it definitely has the rewards to show that this was a lot of people. Doesn't that just make it more interesting if there's a huge contrast? And I'm absolutely a broken record because I'm once again going to talk about the cover. Stunning. I have a great love for trees for multiple reasons... They make books, they make oxygen, they look great on covers like all the time and sometimes they drop those little green twizzly things that you could spin and amuse yourself with for about 30 seconds. I really need to get a life, don't I? But come on, you can't argue that trees aren't great, and they look especially good on this cover. 

8)The Dog Who Dared to Dream by Sun-Mi Hwang
Don't worry, I know you saw the tree on this book cover and though 'Oh no, she's going to go on another rant about how much she likes trees'. And you would be absolutely right. I love trees. See, they also look great on this cover too! Don't worry, end of rant. This book sounds so damn cute it hurts me. This is one of those books where you look a the cover, read the blurb and then try to imagine the story in your head until you actually read it. It's really short, only  167 pages, so I'll probably be able to swallow it up in one sitting, which makes it even better. This is also going to be the first book I've ever read that has been translated into English! It's been translated from Korean, as the author is from South Korea, by Chi-Young Kim and I am very excited for it!







9) Keep You Close by Lucie Whitehouse
Keep you close is a psychological thriller that centers around the death of a young woman named Marianne Glass. I don't read many psychological thrillers, I think the only one I've read is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (which was AMAZING), so  thought I should buy one. Maybe I've been neglecting my possible favourite genre all this time! It's probably going to be a while before I get chance to read this, because of all my other books, which makes me pretty sad. The cover is gorgeous aswell... I love the simplicity of it. I don't really know what else to write about this! The reviews on Goodreads aren't that great, as I've just found out, but you can't judge a book on it' bad reviews! I'll just have to read it for myself and tell you what I think when I've finished!








So there you have it folks! About £70 worth of books, as a special treat to me. I think I deserve it too, especially because I haven't bought a new book in ages. 

Have you read any of these book already (Plz no spoilers)? Do you have rules to follow when you're reading? Do you appreciate a good tree on the cover too? Let me know in the comment down below!

Follow me! Twitter
Contact me! E-Mail

Don't forget to subscribe to my blog! I put out a new review every Sunday and have a weekly Top 5 Tuesday! E-Mail subscription bar is at the bottom of the page, or there is a button at the top!

What I listen to whilst reading. (Top 5 Tuesday)

I don't know about you but I love to listen to music while I read. Whether it's a soundtrack to one of my favourite games or a chill song from an awesome artist, I'm all over it. So why not share that with you so you can jam along with me! Here're my 4 favourite things to listen to whilst reading... enjoy!

1) The 'Life Is Strange' Soundtrack

I love this game with all my heart. And I love the soundtrack even more! It's super duper chill, which is great for any read. It's mostly guitar, which I love, with some darker bits thrown in. The video I listen to is also 1 hour 45 mins, so you don't have to stop reading all the time to change the music. You can find the one I listen to here! 

I also love the actual songs in 'Life Is Strange' to listen to as well. They're all really relaxing which sets the mood for any book you wish to pick up. My favourites include To all of you by Syd Matters, Santa Monica Dream by Angus and Julia Stone, Mt. Washington by Local Natives, Mountains by Message to Bears, Obstacles by Syd Matters and Spanish Sahara by Foals. Some are definitely more depressing than others, but each makes my reading even better than it already is.  

P.s If you haven't played Life is Strange yet you seriously should, it's really really great! 

2) 'The Last of Us' Soundtrack

This game is also one of my favourite games ever and makes for a different, yet still fantastic reading experience. Composed mostly by Gustavo Santaolalla, he used a detuned guitar and violin as well as other instruments to create an emotional and inspirational soundtrack which goes well with the games heart-wrenching story. The soundtrack is great for thrillers in particular, but I use it for anything really. I just love it! You can find the one I listen to here. It's almost 56 minutes long, so is great for those who like me don't like to read for long periods of time. 

3) Disney Piano Covers

Do I really need to say more? If you haven't read to Disney music played on the piano before now then you have been seriously missing out. With some books, it's perfect as it provides just the right atmosphere, but I wouldn't recommend it if you aren't really invested in the story yet. Trying to guess which song is playing becomes very distracting. Other than that, Disney piano covers are my go to for light-hearted or comedic books, especially when I'm in the middle of the series.  There're loads of covers on youtube but the one I mainly go to this one for a shorter reading session (it's 1 hour 25 minutes) or this one if I want to read for longer (it's just over 3 hours).

4) The 'Batman:Arkham Knight' Soundtrack

When talking about favourite game soundtracks, this one wins the prize. I could talk about how much I love anything batman for days. I have posters of the Joker covering every inch of my wall and cannot count how many times I've played and replayed this amazing trilogy.  To make the soundtrack for this game they took all the best bits from Arkham Asylum and City (The first two in the trilogy) and made them even better. It's very dramatic and amplifies the tension in any book you decide to read. What I like about it most is how fast paced it is. I'm an awfully slow reader and listening to fast paced music helps me read faster, which helps me considerably as my to-be-read pile is taller than me. The one I listen to is 2 hours and 20 minutes, which is perfect for binge reading, and can be found here. It's also great for motivation, so I almost always listen to this when writing blog posts, and it actually keeps me focused (which is very hard for anything to do!).


There you have it! My 4 favourite things to listen to while I'm reading. It should be a top 5 list, but I couldn't think of anything else I listened to... which, of course, is sending my OCD crazy. But anyway, hope you enjoyed! 

What do you normally listen to whilst reading? Ever listened to any of these? Found this helpful? Comment down below and tell me what you think!

Follow me! Twitter
Contact me! E-Mail

Don't forget to subscribe to my blog! E-Mail subscription bar is at the bottom of the page, or there is a button at the top!

AARRGGHH August (Top 5 Tuesday)

I've been really behind on seeing what new books are coming out lately, so I decided to change that. I used to love going onto Goodreads and looking at what was coming out months before they were released and squealing like a child on Christmas when I found one that looked really cool, which were most of them. So, I did it again! Plus, seen as though I have a blog now, why not share it with you? Here are the top 5 books I found that got me really excited for next month:

1) The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

'The Girl Who Drank the Moon' looks so darn cute! I'm always a sucker for a book with a good cover and this is no exception. Plus, the story sounds fricken awesome too!

It centres around a kind witch named Xan, who is offered a baby every year to stop her terrorising the town, which she has no intention of doing anyway. But when one baby is fed the wrong thing, moonlight instead of starlight, Xan must raise this enmagicked girl, who she names Luna, herself (Did I mention how darn cute this book sounds before?). Plus, when a young man from the town embarks on a quest to kill the witch and free the town years later, Luna must protect those who protected her. 

How. Darn. Cute. A middle-grade story hasn't excited me this much since I was middle-grade but somehow, I think I will love it all the same.

It is expected to be published on August 9, 2016, and it will definitely make its way swiftly onto my shelf.

 2) Vicarious by Paula Stokes
'Vicarious' looks pretty different to anything I've ever read before, which is always something I look for in deciding which books I want to read. 

It tells the story of two sisters, Winter and Rose Kim, who are trafficked to the United Stated after growing up in a Korean orphanage. In the US they work for Rose's ex-boyfriend Gideon and have their impulses recorded for his vicarious Sensory Experiences. 'Whether it's bungee jumping, shark diving, or grinding up against celebrities a the city's hottest dance clubs, Gideon can make it happen, for a price' - To quote the goodreads description. But when the recording from Rose's murder is delivered to Gideon, Winter will stop a nothing to find the killer. 

Pretty cool, huh?

I think the originality of this story is what draws me to it, more than anything. I've never heard anything like this before, and even though something like this may already exist, I haven't seen it, which makes it much more exciting. And let's be honest, it sounds fricken awesome.

It is expected to be released on August 16, 2016, and I will for sure be starting this new adventure as soon as it comes out!

3) Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

Look. At. The. Cover. How gorgeous is it! I saw this book on twitter a little while ago and fell completely in love with it. It's so eye-catching and will make a great addition to any shelf family. (And yes, I do refer to the books on my shelf as one big family. And no, don't tell me you don't too.)

The story centres around a girl named Alice Alexis Queensmeadow whose Father went missing when she was 9 years old and took only a ruler with him. Three years later, she is determined to find her father; but bringing him home is no small task. She must first travel through Furthermore, a mythical and dangerous land where nothing is what is seems with only a liar named Oliver for company. 

I'm so excited to hear about Alice's adventure and haven't been this excited about a book like this in a very long time. Plus, might I mention again about the cover. I mean, AARRGGHH!!

It's set to be released on August 30, 2016, and I know I will buy it as soon as it comes out.

4) Been here all along by Sandy Hall
I'm mentally preparing myself for the cuteness that is bound to come from this book. I haven't read a good, light-hearted romance novel in a while and I hope this is set to change that. It isn't very long, 240 pages, so hopefully it's just the thing I need to get me back into romance; I'm fed up of  neglecting that genre.

From what I can gather, it's a duel perspective book, which I'm not a massive fan of, but I can let anything slide if it's done well enough. It's set around two boys, Gideon and Kyle, who are best friends and next door neighbours. Gideon is a bit of a geek and seems to have his life sorted until  he starts falling for Kyle. Kyle has a gorgeous and popular girlfriend and is head of the basketball team, but when his girl and his bestie start acting weird he is left wondering what he did wrong.

This story is you typical best friend to boyfriend tale that is sure to warm your heart and will hopefully help settle my love-hate relationship with the romance genre.

The expected publication date is August 30, 2016, and all I can say is that I am very, very excited. 

5) Wax by Gina Damico
As soon as I heard about this I instantly thought of the mannequins from Doctor Who that came to life when he met Rose, which was a strange thought seen as though this book is about wax figures opposed to mannequins, but they're about the same I suppose. I'm just hoping that the wax figures aren't as scary! 

This story is about a 17-year-old named Poppy Palladino who discovers some dark secrets about her town after discovering dozens of startlingly life-like wax sculptures in a back room behind a sunny retail space. But when that room is destroyed by a fire, she teams up with a wax boy named Dud to uncover who started the fire. But the some of the people in the town, those she'd known all her life, start appearing a little ... waxy. Can she find out what's going on before it's too late?

As I said before, nothing about mannequins, but still really cool! I'm hoping for a spooky vibe from this book and maybe even a love connection? Which sounds really strange seen as though it would be between a girl and some wax... but it still would be a better love story than twilight... Yes, I hate that overused joke too, even when it was popular a million aeons ago, but it just set itself up so nicely!

Anyway, back to 'Wax', it's due out on August 2, 2016, so not long to wait before I can add it to my collection!



So there you have it! These are five books that I cannot wait to read, that are released next month. AARRGGHH I cannot contain my excitement! 

Are you as pumped as I am for any of these books? Do you enjoy the previous work of any of these authors? Found this helpful in deciding what to read next month? Comment down below and tell me what you think!

Follow me!
Twitter          Instagram          Snapchat

Contact me!
theintrovertswonderland@gmail.com

Don't forget to subscribe to my blog! E-Mail subscription bar is right under this post, or there is a button at the top!