Would You Rather? (Book Blogger Tag)

1. Rather read only a series or stand-alone books?

I prefer stand-alones. Series need commitment and it's very hard for me to read series, especially long ones. So stand-alone books it is.

2. Rather read a book whose main character is male or female?

Female. While I do like male main characters and POVs it is easier for me to relate to females and I enjoy female POV more.

3. Rather only shop at Barnes & Noble (or other bookstore) or Amazon?

Seeing as I don't shop at B&N or Amazon, other bookstore it is. I usually get books from local bookshops.

4. Rather all books become movies or TV shows?

TV shows. If they don't make them good then I won't watch them but if they do make them good then I will have more time with my favorite characters and they won't have to cut out from the books too much.

5. Rather read five pages per day or five books per week?

Five books per week. I couldn't survive on five pages per day!

6. Rather be a professional book reviewer or author?

Professional book reviewer! That's my dream job! Get paid to read and review books? I would be doing the same thing I am now but I would get paid! And more people would read my reviews! How awesome would that be?!

7. Rather only read 20 of the same books over and over or get to read a new book every six months?

I would rather get to read a new book every six months. Yes, the wait is long but at least I'll get a new book.

8. Rather be a librarian or own a bookstore?

I don't mind being either... But maybe own a bookstore? That would be pretty cool!

9. Rather only read your favorite genre or your favorite author?

Favorite genre. I like to read different authors, I hardly ever stick to one author and read all of their books. So favorite genre it is.

10. Rather only read physical books or eBooks?
This is a hard one. I love reading physical books, I love the feel of them in my hands, I love the smell. But I read eBooks more often because they are so much easier to carry around. I mean I have them on my phone and I take my phone everywhere so I always have a collection of books with me. Plus they're easier to read in the dark, under the covers. So if I had to choose one I would choose eBooks.

Updates

I have been such a bad blogger lately! Honestly, with the result tension, college applications and what-nots I wanted to take a step back and relax. So I spent a couple of days only reading and watching Kdramas. That is why I haven't been updating. But I just thought I'd let you know what I've been up to...

Reading:

• I read Special A Volume 3-10. The story and characters of Kei & Hikari remind me A LOT of Usui & Misaki from Kaichou wa Maid-sama. The story is pretty interesting and all the side stories are nice to read. As the manga progresses, some chapters are from other character's point of view, besides Hikari's. I didn't have a problem with that, it was nice to see into the other character's personalities, but it would've been better if there would've been a notice of who the chapter's narrator would be. It always took me some time to figure it out. I loved the manga up until the 10th volume. But after Kei & Hikari got together, it became somewhat boring. I just can't bring myself to read any longer. So I'm taking a break from SA right now. I'll definitely complete it since it's only 17 volumes long and 7 volumes are left for me to read.
• I didn't really finish any new books. I'm reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince but honestly I'm not in the mood of reading it since I know what lies ahead... I'm also currently reading Her Secret Whispers and oh my God, it's such a hard read! The protagonist is so annoying! I'm hoping I'll complete it soon and then write up a review. 

Watching:

• I watched Lie To Me (Kdrama). I LOVE Yoon Eun Hye! She's such an amazing actress!! The actor (I forgot his name) is OK. Not that amazing. But YEH really does it for the both of them. The story was really good. It was a little different, but you see no Kdrama is complete without it's cliches which are all there in Lie To Me. I loved the OST! The bubbly pop music was fun to listen to. I loved the title song! I loved loved loved YEH's clothes in this drama! Gosh, I wish I could have her wardrobe! I even loved the clothes she wore at home. I want the Phineas shirt so bad!! There's not much I remember about this drama... The lead guy's brother was one of those bad boys you can't help but fall for. But I hated his transformation! He looked way too young after that. Like a teenage boy... I was going to write a full review of this drama but I couldn't think of much to write about. This drama isn't that memorable. It was fun to watch but I've forgotten most of it now.
• I watched Secret Garden after Lie To Me and ohmyGod Hyun Bin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll just leave it at that since I plan on reviewing SG.

Challenges:

• Manga Challenge: I challenged myself to read 12 books/volumes and I've completed it since I read 10 volumes of SA and 2 volumes of Kaichou wa Maid-sama this year. Yaay me! :D
• Ebook Challenge: I challenged myself to read 10 ebooks and I've made it upto 5.
• Off The Shelf Reading Challenge: I challenged myself to read 15 books and I've read 8 books. So 7 books are left. :)

And that's pretty much it. I've prepared a couple of discussion posts so look forward to them ;)

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge~Day 13 (An underappreciated book everyone should read)

Day 13 of Book Blogger Challenge hosted by Good Books & Good Wine.

Describe one underappreciated book EVERYONE should read.

Hmmm... a book that is underappreciated and everyone should read... A book that comes to my mind is His Black Wings by Astrid Yrigollen. I'm sure I have more suggestions but this is the only book I can think of right now. Maybe because I read it recently. I loved the writing and story of His Black Wings. I was pleasantly surprised when I read this book because I was not expecting it to be this amazing! I haven't heard much about it so I'm guessing it's 'underappreciated' and since it's a really awesome book with an amazing story and characters and really good writing I guess everyone should read it. To read my review of the book click here.

Do you know of any underappreciated books that you think everyone should read? I'd love to read your suggestions!

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge~Day 12 (Fighting Blogger Fatigue)

I skipped Day 11 yesterday because I didn't really know what my best posts were and I'm currently addicted to this Kdrama (Princess Hours) which I just can't stop watching! But I decided to do the Day 12 post because the drama is buffering right now and Viki buffering is really slow. For those who don't know, this challenge is hosted by April of Good Books and Good Wine.

How do you fight blogger fatigue?

Honestly, I don't blog much...

Guilty as charged...

I only blog when I feel like it because I don't want this to become a chore. I don't want to feel like I have to force myself to blog. I love blogging! It's a hobby. And I don't want it to become a job. Since I only blog when I feel like it, I don't suffer from blogger fatigue. So I don't have to fight it either. :)

What about you? Do you suffer from blogger fatigue? How do you fight it?

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge~Day 10 (Choosing My Next Book)

Today is Day 10 of the Book Blogger Challenge hosted by April at Good Books & Good Wine!

How do you choose what book to read next?

It actually depends on my mood. I don't have a list or anything, but I know which books I own. So if I'm in the mood of a romance, I'd check which ones are romances and then give them all a shot. If it interests me in the first few pages, then I'll read the book. If not, then I'll move onto the next book. I also sometimes search on goodreads lists. I search for the genre I want to read and see what people have rated as best. Then if I own the book, I read that.

What about you? How do you choose which book you're going to read next?

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge~Day 9 (Book Blogging)

Welcome to Day 9 of the Book Blogger Challenge hosted by April at Good Books and Good Wine!

Why do you blog about books?

Honestly? I blog about books because I love them. And when I love something I have this need to tell someone about it. But NONE of my friends read. A few who do, don't like to 'talk' about it because it makes them seem uncool. Where I live, almost no one reads. Everyone has this idea that people who read are "not cool". I talk to my mom but she gets tired of all my talking. So blogging is the only way I can get my feelings out. It's the only way I can share my love of books and reading with others. Others who share the same feelings towards books and reading. And that is why I blog about books. :)

What about you? If you're a book blogger, why do you blog about books? Besides the fact that you love them, of course. ;P

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge~Day 8 (Things that appeal to me on blogs)

Today is my birthday! :D I turned 17 today. Today is also Day 8 of the Book Blogger Challenge hosted by April of Good Books & Good Wine!

Write 15 bullet points of things that appeal to you on blogs!

• A good layout. It's more likely that I'd read a blog that is pretty than one that is not.
• An easy-to-read font. I'd prefer black over white because that's easy on the eyes. Also, the font shouldn't be too big or too small.
• The blog should load quickly. If there are too many widgets then it'll take too much time to load and then I lose my patience.
• I love it when the blog posts have a 'casual' tone to them. I don't like to read "professional" posts. It's more fun reading someone fan-girl or rage over something.
• I'd like the person to have an 'About Me' page. I almost always read the About Me when I visit a new blog.
• Bad grammar and spelling really turns me off. If there are only a little slips then I'm fine with it but if all the posts are filled with mistakes then I'd probably not read the blog.
• I like it when a blogger rates books. It gives me a quick over-view of whether they liked it or not.
• The blog should be easy to follow. If I don't find a follow button easily, it's more than likely I won't follow the blog.
• I hate CAPTCHA! I wouldn't comment if your blog has CAPTCHA 'cause honestly, it's just too hard to read that and I'd probably then waste 15 minutes trying to get it right.
• I really don't like auto-play music or noise on blogs. If you want to put music, then please don't put it on auto-play. Let the visitor decide if they want to listen to music or not.
• I love reading personal and discussion posts! 
• I love it when book bloggers post something besides books. I know it's a book blog, but it's nice to see what else they like besides books.
• I love it when bloggers use GIFs! I love GIFs! They're so much fun!
• I love love love character interviews! They're so much fun to read!
• I like it when people do Top-Tens and 'best' or 'worst' lists!

So, what appeals to you on blogs?

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge~Day 7 (Blogging Quirks)

Today is Day 7 of the Book Blogger Challenge hosted by the lovely April over at Good Books and Good Wine!

Talk about your blogging quirks.

• I use the word 'awesome' a lot in my reviews! I think I caught this from watching Supernatural 'cause Dean says awesome a lot...
• While reading, I usually note down points in my notebook that I would want to include in my review so that I don't forget them. This is a recent practice so if you read my earlier reviews you'll see that they are not as detailed and organised as the recent ones.
• I LOVE using gifs! They're so fun! But I don't usually use them in reviews because somehow that seems unprofessional (Not that I'm "professional" or anything, but I don't feel comfortable using them)... I do use them when I feel strongly about something though..
• I love to rate books. Actually, I rate everything! Movies, TV shows, songs etc. But always out of 5.
• I don't like scheduling posts... It just bothers me for some reason... weird. :/
• I use ellipses A LOT! I know it can be annoying, but I can't help it. It's kind of a habit... See??

These are my 'quirks' though I'm not even sure what that means... I was just following what everyone else was doing. :P I hope I got it right though!

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge~Day 6 (Book Shopping)

Welcome to Day 6 of Book Blogger Challenge hosted by April at Good Books & Good Wine!

Describe how you shop for books.

We don't have many book shops where I live and the ones we do have are far away from my home and VERY expensive. So I usually buy books from the old book shops. They have good variety and at low prices so I, as a student, can afford them. We don't have libraries here either so they are my only option. Other than that I also buy ebooks sometimes. As to how I choose what to buy, I usually look for specific books. The ones my favorite reviewers have reviewed and liked and the ones that I think I would enjoy. I also sometimes pick up a random book and if the summary written on the back cover interests me, I buy it. That's how I read A Thousand Splendid Suns. :)

What about you? How do you shop for books?

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge~Day 5 (Tear Jerker Day!)

Welcome to day 5 of the Book Blogger Challenge hosted by April of Good Books & Good Wine!

Recommend a tear jerker.

This has got to be my favorite out of all the 15 tasks! I've read so many tear jerkers, I don't know which one to recommend! 

OK, let me think... a book that made me bawl like a baby... Oh! I've got a good one!

This book... THIS BOOK!! Ugh I can't even begin... Even now, when I think about this book, it constricts my heart and a lump appears in my throat. Seriously, this book made me feel emotions I've never felt! It's hard to describe what this book did to me.

So yeah, if you're looking for a tear jerker, I'd recommend A Thousand Splendid Sons by Khaled Hosseini.

What are some of your favorite tear jerkers?

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge~Day 4 (Last book I flung across the room)

So, I decided to not wait and published the previous posts all together so I could catch up with the others. For new readers, April at Good Books & Good Wine is hosting a Book Blogger Challenge that I'm participating in. You can see the topics for each day below:

Today's topic question is:

What's the last book you flung across the room?

*gasp* I would NEVER! No matter how angry I am I could never hurt a book!

*uhm* Honestly though, I don't think I've ever been that angry at a book that I would want to throw it. I chose my reads carefully, mostly the ones I'm sure I would like. So I've never experienced that...

What about you? Have you ever been so angry that you actually threw the book (or wanted to throw it) across the room? If yes, which one was it? And why? I would love to hear your feelings on this!

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge~Day 3 (Blogging BFFs)

Welcome to Day 3 (for me) of the Book Blogger Challenge hosted by April of Good Books & Good Wine!

Who are your blogging BFFs?

I really don't like this question... because, even after 2 years of blogging, I don't have any blogging BFFs..

I know it's my fault because not only online, I don't have BFFs in real life either. I do have friends, but not really close ones. Only people I hang out with once in a while but they never call or text me. And even when I do, they don't like to talk to me much. I have social anxiety and sometimes I'm awkward with people. Maybe that's why people don't like to befriend me, in real life and online. So poor lonely me will give you a list of people who have been nice to me but never really turned into friends. Still, I like these people.

1. Jane from Asian Fixation. Jane runs, in her words, 'a blog of asian feels'. She writes reviews and rants about Asian movies, dramas, music etc. She writes really good reviews and I love reading her thoughts about things. Plus we have talked a couple of times, through blog comments, and she's a really nice person.
2. Dini (my unni) from Chromasekai. I met her on Tumblr but she does run a personal blog. I guess she's more closer to a best friend than anyone else I've ever met online. We have a lot in common and she's super nice and super sweet! When I talk to her, it doesn't seem like I'm talking to someone much older than me which is awesome because I feel really uncomfortable talking to someone older. Frankly speaking, I love her and I love talking to her. We don't usually talk much, but when we do it's a lot of fun!
3. Zuleeza from QWERTY. I've talked to her I think twice or thrice. I liked her and I love reading her reviews. She's an interesting person (in a good way) and I would've loved to get to know her.
4. Debbie from I Heart YA Books. I really had fun in my short-lived friendship with Debbie. She's a really nice person and I really liked talking to her. Too bad it didn't last. :/
5. Astrid Yrigollen. Astrid is an author and the only person I talk to on Twitter. She's super duper nice and I love talking to her about K-dramas! 

So that's my list of.... uh.. people I like. What about you? Do you have any blogging BFFs? Give them a shout out below!

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge~Day 2 (Bedtime Reading Ritual)

It's Day 2 of the Book Blogger Challenge hosted by April at Good Books & Good Wine! Well for me at least..

What's your bedtime reading ritual?

Hmmm... well I wouldn't call it a ritual since I sleep at different times and it depends if it's during the school months or vacations. But basically I change into my pajamas, take the book I'm currently reading (be it paperback or ebook), make myself comfy in bed, set the alarm and then start reading until I feel like I should go to sleep.

What's your bedtime reading ritual?

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge~Day 1 (Book Related Confessions)

I was going through my Feed and I came across this awesomesauce challenge hosted by April over at Good Books & Good Wine! I know I'm a bit late (it's Day 3 of the original challenge) but oh well, better late than never. :P

Make 15 book related confessions.

1. I judge a book by it's cover... I know! Guilty as charged! But I really can't help it. Though my thoughts are not based entirely on that but it does effect which book I might buy.
2. I cannot not finish a book. Even if I take forever, I will finish what I started. Or else I keep feeling restless and guilty. There are very few books on my could-not-finish list, mostly ones that effected me psychologically and I could not continue with them.
3. I really don't like hardcovers. They are so hard to read in bead, where I do most of my reading. I like paperbacks the best.
4. I can't read horrors and thrillers. They scare me too much.
5. I believe books are always better than movies. (Except in some cases.)
6. There are some books that I really feel like should be made into a movie or TV show. For example, The Mediator series by Meg Cabot should be made into a TV series. I wouldn't want them to be turned into a movie. And Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher should be made into a movie. I don't think it would make a good TV series. And then there are books that I think shouldn't be made into anything. That they should stay the way they are.
7. For the said books that I want as movies or TV shows, I have a whole dream cast for them. Sometimes I even imagine me & the people I know as characters in them.
8. I have arranged my books in my book shelve by series or author. I don't like alphabetical 'cause I want the whole series and books by the same author together. I'd like to do color wise but that, again, is too inconvenient.
9. I hate it when the book covers in a series don't match. Like, keep to the same pattern please! It really bothers me a lot if, for example, the cover for the first 2 books have the same pattern but then the 3rd one is different, as in the case of The Transcend Time Saga by Michelle Madow.
10. I care about my books A LOT! I NEVER write on them. Never let them rip or tear. Never touch them with dirty hands. Never shove them in small places. Never fold the pages. I never give my books to anyone either because of the fear that they might do something to my babies!
11. I don't like people who don't like to read and who think that I'm weird because I love to read. That is why I don't like most people I know. That is why I don't have any many friends.
12. I spend A LOT of time in book stores, even when I don't buy anything. That is why my mom never takes me book shopping until I beg her to.
13. I have designed a dream library in my mind and I'm going to make my dream come true one day!
14. I tend to not read books that are famous and everyone seems to be loving. I feel scared that what if I end up not liking the book. I know, it's stupid. But I can't really help feeling like that. That is why it took me so long to read Harry Potter. Thankfully, I loved those!
15. Before I became a book blogger, I had no idea that so many different genres and so many amazing books existed. I usually bought what I could get my hands on and so I hadn't read many awesome books. I usually ended up buying the type of books that I didn't even like. I'm very glad that I got introduced to the book blogging community because it was the reason I discovered so many great books that I wouldn't have been able to if I didn't blog or read other book blogs.

*Phew* Finally thought up 15 confessions. That was hard! So, what are your book related confessions? Don't be shy, confess below!