The Reading Book Post, December 26th

Hello, everyone! Merry Christmas!! I hope you had a great time. As I've informed you yesterday, The Reading Book Post was delayed for today. So, let's see what happened in the literary world the previous week:

• Since yesterday was Christmas day, let's see a list of the 10 of the Most Valuable Christmas Books. I'd love to own some of them!

• One of the films I can't wait to watch is definitely The Shape of Water. Until then, let's just take a peek at the film's world from the making-of book. I JUST CAN'T WAIT!!!!

• Now this is a quite interesting recommendation list: Librarians pick the books everyone should read in each decade of his/her life. Maybe I should read The Argonauts, by Maggie Nelson.

• Are you pumped up for 2018? Well, looking at those 60 book titles that we are expecting in the following year, I'm looking forward to it! Which book's publication are you expecting?

• Which Famous Female Author Are You? Take the quiz to find out! I got Sophie Kinsella, and I find her books quite enjoyable so I'm happy with the result. Which author did you get?

Merry Christmas!

via Pinterest

Merry Christmas, everyone! All the best wishes for this special day :)

Now, the countdown for the New Year's Eve has begun!

The Reading Book Post is delayed for tomorrow, 

while an overview of 2017's reading is on its way!

Review: Almost Midnight, by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Almost Midnight

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Date of Publication: November 2nd, 2017

Number of Pages: 144

Summary:

Midnights is the story of Noel and Mags, who meet at the same New Year's Eve party every year and fall a little more in love each time . . .

Kindred Spirits is about Elena, who decides to queue to see the new Star Wars movie and meets Gabe, a fellow fan.

Midnights was previously published as part of the My True Love Gave to Me anthology, edited by Stephanie Perkins and Kindred Spirits was previously published as a World Book Day title.

Review:

So, I've been thinking whether Almost Midnight would be a Review or a Weeckie. I decided on the first, since it features two short stories. Even though I had already read one of them some years ago, as it was featured in My True Love Gave Me collection.

As you'd expect from two holiday season short stories, these are really cute and heart-warming. Midnight is a story of two friends that are really in love with each other, while Kindred Spirits is about sharing a common passion with somebody else. In reality, I could easily imagine both of those stories as a full-length novel.

Midnight is just as the title suggests. Two teenagers meet at a New Year's Eve party and start hanging out. The story follows three consecutive years of those parties and how the feelings of the girl, Mags, change towards Noel. It's so hard not to skip a bit! This is seriously one of those cute stories that really make you feel good and dream of being in love again! Plus, the name Noel is as Christmas-y as it could get - I love it!

I could never guess the plot of the next story though, Kindred Spirits. It's about Elena, who really likes Stars Wars and decides to join the line outside of the local theatre, in order to attend the premier of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Ok, I won't lie! This story appealed to my inner nerd, and as a few days ago I went to the premier of The Last Jedi, I felt this story extremely close to me. Apart from that, the line consisted of just three people (with Elena), and one of them turned out to be a guy from our protagonist's school. I won't spoil it for you, but I really really would love to see what would happen next between those two!

While both of the stories were enormously enjoyable, there is generally one drawback with short stories in general. Character development is lacking. I knew that, and I was actually prepared for this. You get a glimpse of these characters, and by the time that you feel that you might be reaching to a better understanding of their way of thinking the story is over. This fits perfectly Elena and Gabe, as those two seem to have a great chemistry and a past that would make a more lengthy story interesting.

All in all, Almost Midnight is a quick yet enjoyable read. It's feel-good and heart-warming for a Christmas night with a cup of hot cocoa and some gingerbread cookies!

Have a Merry Christmas, everyone!

  

The Reading Book Post, December 18th

Hello, everyone! Another week that brings us even closer to Christmas and, of course the New Year 2018.. I think that it's about time for the New Year's Resolutions! But, next week will be the one when we will back at 2017 as a whole, and decide on 2018's goals! Until then, let's see what happened in the literary world the previous week.

• Of course you remember Devil Wears Prada. Well, get ready for another novel, but this time following the story of Miranda Pristley! The novel is called When Life Gives You Lululemons, and you can read an excerpt!

• As the end of the year approaches, many dictionaries name the word of the year. So, Oxford Dictionaries have pronounced "Youthquake" the word of 2017! I think it fits, what do you think?

• But, since 2018 is near, how about taking some book recommendations from Harvard professors? I've already noted a couple of the titles mentioned!

• This is fun: Take a new technology and a successful novel, throw them together, and get ready to be entertained! This actually happened, when an AI Program wrote an entire chapter of Harry Potter Fan Fiction. Yes, it's true..and it's hilarious!

• We all have a favourite Jane Austen hero. But, a gentleman named Fitzwilliam Darcy just outshines the rest of them. How about we give the spotlight to a Henry Tilney? I rather liked him from the very beginning!

• Having trouble sleeping? Why not have Idris Elba read you a bedtime story? 

• Which Infamous Star-Crossed Lovers Are You And Your Partner? Take the quiz and find out! I got Tristan and Isolde, how about you?

Play(list) by the Book: Revival - Stephen King

Hello, everyone! I'm so glad that many of the books that I've recently read have their own Play(list) by the Book. Of course, when I pick up a Stephen King novel I expect that there will be a lot of songs montioned. So, here is Revival with one of the biggest playlists that I have created for this segment. Enjoy!

In this playlist, as you already know, I include all the songs mentioned in the novel, as well as all the albums, artists, and lyrics mentioned. In such a lengthy playlist, it's only natural that I didn't know some songs, and artists that Stephen King included in his text. The first song that I couldn't find was called Sugarland. Another song that was a mystery to me was called Aloona Ana Kaya, by the Excellent-Board Brothers. An unknown artist to me was George Damon with his album Damon Does Gershwin, although I have a hint that he might be fictional. Lastly, two groups that I couldn't find any infomation were Vo-Lites and the Staples Sisters. If any of you know anything about any of these gaps in my playlist, please let me know!

Find more playlists at: Play(list) by the Book