Dewey's 24 hour Read-a-thon

Last year in October I discovered the 24-hour read-a-thon that takes place twice a year and I've failed both times I've participated. I was up for 12-15 hours the first time (12 hours in a row, then I slept and woke up and read for the remainder of the read-a-thon) and back in April I only read for 6-10 hours because I had things to do.
Both times I had a TBR that consisted of 4-8 books and I think that may have been a bad idea because I'm one of those people that have a hard time getting in to books, I have to read at least 50 pages before I know if I want to keep reading or not and most of the time I read those 50 pages quite slow. This time I want to do something different, I want to try my hardest to stay up for the whole 24 hours AND I will tackle a single big book this time instead of a bunch of short ones. I have 4 books I'm thinking about, now I just have to choose which one.

That's where you come in, which one of these do you think I should read, and why?




Opening meme
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Denmark, Europe! 

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
This time I'm trying the one-book stack and I've chosen Under the Dome since it fits October so well.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I don't really have any snacks lined up, I'm more into drinks instead of snacks so I'm looking forward to my favorite tea and ice cold cranberry juice ^^

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I walked on a catwalk for the first time today in the most gorgeous gown ever! 

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
This is my third time :)
As I mentioned I'm going to try the one-book stack for the first time. Since I'm sick and don't feel so well I don't know if I can stay up all night and read :/ 

Shameful Book Confessions

There's a tag on instagram called #shamefulbookconfessions and I have too many to share on such a small space so I figured I might as well write a whole post with my shameful book confessions.

1. I hated City of Bones and I haven't been able to read any of Cassandra Clare's books since, because I know I'll just be disappointed.

2. I have marked The Book Thief as DNF (did not finish) because I thought it was that bad. I wanted to love it but I didn't even like it.. I couldn't even bring myself to read half of it.

3. Pride and Prejudice is, probably, my favorite book of all-time and even though I have a beautiful box set of all of her books I've only ever read P&P.

4. I have started reading Fifty Shades of Grey and I actually like it, I don't think it's as bad as people say it is.

5. I bought the entire Game of Thrones box set almost a year ago and I've not even started it.

6. I consider myself a Potterhead but I've never read the books in English (only Danish) and it's so far back that I can't even remember if I've read Deathly Hallows or not

7. I hate reading series, I prefer reading standalones.

8. I've read the entire Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and I didn't even like it.

9. I forced myself through books 1 and 2 of the Lord of the Rings trilogy but I just couldn't finish the 3rd one. I recently gave them away because I know I'll never read them again.

10. I hate lending out my books

11. I hate most middle-grade books, I don't know why, but that genre/age-group is just not doing it for me

12. I actually really liked the Twilight saga and I've actually bought a box set of the entire series (I borrowed the books from my best friend the first time around). I've also read 'Twilight', the first book, 2 times.

13. I tried reading Vampire Academy a few months back and I couldn't get into it.

14. I've read Legend and Prodigy and I've no idea why because I didn't like or enjoy either of them

15. I judge books by their covers

The Rise and Rise of Tabitha Baird by Arabella Weir

Series: Tabitha Baird #1

Publication date: October 2, 2014

Publisher: Picadilly Press

Genres: Childrens

Format: Paperback - review copy

Source: Received from Picadilly Press in exchange for an honest review

Pages: 213

Goodreads ⎜Amazon ⎜Book Depository

When thirteen-year-old Tabitha Baird's parents split up, she moves with her mum and brother to live with Gran in London. (Gran who talks to - and, worse, FOR - her knitwear-adorned dog . . . Oh, the shame!)

And Tabitha has to start at a new school where she is determined to be the coolest, most popular girl, whatever it takes. But how will she keep her friends from finding out about her incredibly NOT-cool family?

I will keep this short to avoid spoilers

I just finished this this weekend and it was hilarious. I found Tabitha and her little brother, Luke, so weird and funny that this is a book you can't help but enjoy and, at times, laugh out loud - which means that this book is not bus- or train reading material, unless you like when people look at you funny.

This book is definitely targeted towards a younger age group but I found it funny nonetheless. Tabitha is this quirky character that have a hard time finding her place and ends up being the class clown and a real brat at her new school. I could definitely recognize myself in Tabitha sometimes, specifically about not fitting in and being bullied.
My favorite thing about this book is probably the relationship between Tab and Luke, it is so real and funny, it doesn't feel fake - which I generally think relationships between siblings often feel in books.
I also enjoyed the relationship between Tabitha and her two new friends Emz and A'isha. I liked that A'isha was a muslim, just to get some diversity in there, and I enjoyed that they were there for each other even though they're not that old. I also really liked the part where they befriend the 'nerd' Grace, she was really cool and I liked that they all thought she was a nerd and then at the end finds out that she's actually pretty cool. 
The ending is perfect - a real 'feel-good' ending. 

I flew through this book and I laughed quite a few times. All in all I think it was great, but at the same time it was missing something.

Reading Plans!

I have had a bit of a problem this year because I have received books for review and I’ve bought quite a few myself. Because of these books I’ve received for review I haven’t had the time to read the books I’ve bought and as a result I know have 100 unread books on my bookshelf. So how do I solve that problem? I actually got a solution on the problem, at least I hope it’ll work.

Every month I’ll read:

·      1-2 books from Netgalley

·      1 book from a Danish publisher (I receive 1 every single month),

·      1-3 books from Hot Key Books (unless I choose more)

·      and for the rest of the month I can read books from my shelves.

I know I won’t get my review pile drastically smaller, but I will get some reading done and I have a bunch of books from my shelves that I really really want to read soon. AND since December is my favorite month of the year, and since I also have to write an important paper in December I’ve decided that I can read whatever I want to read in December. Yay.

I’ve also decided that I seriously have to get a grip on my Netgalley addiction, so I can’t request books unless I want them more than anything else.

I'll probably also start making TBR's for each month, because it helps me decide which books from Netgalley I have to read (I can never decide when I look at the books on kindle). 

How do you juggle review books and your own books? 

Vivian versus the Apocalypse by Katie Coyle

Series: Vivian Apple #1

Publication date: September 5, 2013

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Genres: YA Contemporary 

Format: Paperback - review copy

Source: Received from Hot Key Books in exchange for an honest review

Pages: 287

Goodreads ⎜Amazon ⎜Book Depository

What happens to those who are left behind? 

Vivian Apple never believed in the Church of America - unlike her fanatical parents. And as for the so-called impending 'Rapture', she knew she'd believe that when she saw it. But then Vivian wakes one day to a New World, and all that's left of her parents are two empty spaces. The Believers have been taken, it seems. And for those left behind, the world is a desolate and eerie place. All Vivian has now are her memories and her volatile friend Harp.

Faced with society on the brink of collapse, Vivian and Harp embark on a journey across America, in search of any family they have left, and determined to expose the truth about the Rapture. Three thousand miles through floods, fog and heat waves, Harp and Vivian and a boy with the bluest eyes and the kindest heart are driving on to their future.

But will this be a coming-of-age road trip with no return?

I have no idea how to describe this book, it contains a some religion mixed with friendship, love and humor. With the ending you know that it's a contemporary, but along the way you're actually pretty confused. I know I laughed a bunch of times throughout this book and I also got quite confused when they embarked on this glorious road trip. Nevertheless I did enjoy this book and I definitely recommend it.

In this book we meet Vivian Apple, a 17-year-old who has no idea who or what she believes in. I could relate to Vivian, at one point I was a Christian with a capital C but along the years I've just lost my faith and I've found myself asking the question of what I actually believe in more times than I can count. I like that she doesn't just 'go along' with the religion because her parents are Believers, I admire her for standing up and saying no, I don't want to do this even if it means being left behind. I also really feel sorry for her because of her parents, I think Vivian has had it hard growing up because she has always tried to be the perfect daughter. I think Vivian is a great role model, through out the book she grows into this brave girl who isn't going to take shit from nobody.
We also meet Harp, Vivian's friend, and I think she's so quirky. Sometimes you just meet these wonderful characters that have a tough life and you can't help but love them. I felt sorry for Harp through the majority of the book but she's also a fighter and she aren't going to back down because her life's falling apart. She keeps on fighting even though she's scared and I think that's admirable.

I enjoyed reading the story, I enjoyed watching the characters grow and I really loved the humor in this book. It doesn't feel like the book is trying to persuade you into becoming religious, it's actually pretty sarcastic and snarky about the Church of America.

If you're looking for a book that's light but at the same time has some depth this is definitely the one for you.