August Wrap-Up (15 books!)

September is here and it's time for another monthly wrap-up. It's so weird to think that Halloween is next month. I mean, this year seems to be flying by so fast! 

So this month I read a total of 15 books. While I didn't read as many novels as I did last month, I read quite a few comics and a bunch of children books. And starting with these, we have...

The Children Books

I was tidying up the cupboard where I keep all my childhood books when I found the Enid Blyton novels I used to love as a kid. I don't have any full series of hers or anything but the ones I own are quite well-loved. Feeling a bit nostalgic, I decided to re-read a few of those books. The first two I read were story collections involving fairies, pixies, talking toys and lots of magic. While some stories have aged a little bit, Enid Blyton's writing remains as beautiful and addictive as ever. The collections I read were The Fairies' Shoemaker and Other Stories and The Smickle Smockle and Other Stories. I gave both 4 stars. The next Enid Blyton book I read was The Secret of Moon Castle. While their families are renting an old castle, a group of children stumble across a mystery and strive to uncover it, finding secrets and having exciting adventures along the way. I loved re-reading this one. I gave it 4 stars as well.  

I also read The Adventures of Miss Petitfour by Anne Michaels, which I gave 3 stars. While the illustrations were absolutely charming, the stories came off as a bit too naive, and that too, even for a children book. The illustrations are so gorgeous though that if I had to give a rating based on that alone, I would have given the book 5 stars. 

The Comics

I also read volumes 1-7 of Fables, written by Bill Willingham. OMG, this series. It started out just okay and turned out to be utterly amazing. I gave vol. one 3 stars, vol. two 4 stars and vol. three 3 stars. At that point I thought the storyline was rather unique and the characters quite interesting. Then I read vol. four and it BLEW ME AWAY. This one is called March Of The Wooden Soldiers and it's where the action really begins. So if you read the first volumes and aren't much impressed, do read on! I promise you won't regret it. I gave volumes four, five and six a rating of 5 stars each. Vol. seven wasn't my favorite and I gave it only 3 stars. I'm very eager to read the next volumes as soon as I get my hands on them though because this series in general is just fan-tas-tic! And the artwork, too, is really cool. 

The Classics 

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again..." This famous quote is the first line of Rebecca, the bestselling classic by Daphne du Maurier. While it took me a few chapters to really get into the story, this book ended up winning me over. It's a classic suspense novel with hints of romance and I had honestly never really read a novel like this before. A young, and rather naive woman arrives at the estate of Manderley as Maxim de Winter's second wife. While she's at first as eager as she is intimidated by her new life, she soon realizes that the shadow of her husband's first wife, Rebecca de Winters, lingers still in the great house. So strong is Rebecca's presence that though she's dead, she begins to unravel the new Mrs de Winter's life. I loved this book and gave it 4 stars. It has Gothic undertones and comes to a correspondingly befitting ending. 

I also read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and again, really loved it. I gave it 5 stars and devoured it over the course of a couple of days. It's a coming of age story that shows themes like racism and social acceptance through the eyes of a child. I loved it so much that I was actually a bit scared to read Go Set A Watchman. I'm reading it though and I'll be sharing my thoughts on it in my next wrap-up.

I also really enjoyed A Room With A View, by E.M. Forster. During her vacations in Italy, Lucy meets two men. One is a lower class young man who unexpectedly catches her attention and the other is the richer and more socially acceptable man she ends up getting engaged to. The other man's presence in her life however soon starts to change Lucy and the way she looks at the world. As the story unfolds, Lucy now has to choose between the man whom society would have her marry and the one she believes she might find true happiness with. 

This Month's Favorite

I can't believe I waited so long to read this book! The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is a book that will give you all the feels, gut you mercilessly and make you feel all warm and fuzzy again, all within a few pages. Henry has a rare disease that makes him uncontrollably travel back and forth in time. Clare is his soulmate. While Henry was 28 when he first met her, Clare actually met him for the first time when she was 6 when an older Henry time-traveled to her. This book brings a new take on the subject of time-traveling and shows how these two people fall in love, more than once, and move ahead despite the uncontrollable forces in their lives. A truly beautiful book that I would recommend to everyone. 5 stars, of course.

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The 'Would You Rather' Book Tag

I was tagged by my blogger friend, the lovely Lanie from Lanie's Book Thoughts. This tag was originally created by YouTuber Rachel Reads and you can check out the original video here. These questions are insanely on point and were a lot of fun to answer!

1. Would you rather read only trilogies or stand alones?

I love trilogies and series. Staying with your favorites for more than one book is great. You get to read more about the characters and worlds you love best and get to watch those characters develop and grow with each installment. However, being the story lover that I am, if I had to pick, I would read only stand alones. That way I can discover much more new stories and universes. I would probably be a lot more book hangover though. 

2. Would you rather read only male or female authors?

Hmm, these questions are not getting easier are they? I'm all for gender equality and stuff so left to me, I wouldn't even select one over the other. But if I had to pick though... I guess I would go with the female authors. I mean, we girls have to support each other right?^^

3. Would you rather shop at Barnes & Nobles or Amazon?

Well this is an easy one 'cause we don't have Barnes & Nobles here XD. Actually I buy most of my books online. I usually go for The Book Depository because of the free shipping but to answer the question, yep, I would rather shop at Amazon.

4. Would you rather all books become movies or TV shows?

Oh, this is hard. On one hand more stuff from the book could be done in a TV show but then again, you would have to wait for months, or even years, to get to see that epic conclusion you loved in the books. On the other hand, movies are shorter and your favorite characters would have less screen time than in a TV show. Okay, I'm going with the TV shows I guess! And speaking of that, who else is hyped for Shadowhunters?!

5. Would you rather read 5 pages per day or 5 books per week?

Being an avid reader, I usually read A LOT per week. Although five is definitely too much for me in a week, I would go for that. I mean, 5 pages? In a week?? I would go crazy waiting to know what happens next in the story!

6. Would you rather be a professional reviewer or author?

Okay, you want to know a little secret of mine? To become an author has been a dream of mine for years. I've even written a few books in French and stories in both English and French. It's just that in recent years, I've come to realize that maybe I enjoy reading stories more than I like writing them. I'll never stop writing. I just don't think I'll ever do it as a published author. Becoming a professional reviewer though sounds awesome and I would love to be one. 

7. Would you rather only read your top 20 favorite books over and over or always read new ones that you haven't read before?

I love to re-read my favorite books. Some I've even re-read more than 5 times. But if I had to pick, I would choose to always read new books. Like I said before, I'm just a sucker for stories and would hate not being able to discover new ones.

8. Would you rather be a librarian or book seller?

A book seller! That's actually another of my secret (now not so much!) bookish dreams. I want to end up working in the publishing industry one day. And in a perfect world, I would have my very own bookstore. I even know what I would call it. Am I looking too much into this?? 

9. Would you rather only read your favorite genre, or every genre except your favorite?

Even if it's my favorite genre, if I had to read books strictly from it, I would eventually get bored. Not being able to read my favorite genre would be hard but I'd rather be able to read books from many different genres.

10. Would you rather only read physical books or eBooks?

I buy a lot of books on my Kindle from Amazon, mostly because I like being able to read anywhere I want without having to tote my books around. That being said though, I have a preference for physical books. They smell the way only books can smell, they look great on my bookshelves and I can actually use bookmarks from my ever-growing collection with them. So even if life without eBooks would be harder for my bookish self, I would rather read only physical books. 

I Tag These Lovely Bloggers:

Olivia @ Olivia's Catastrophe 

Melissa @ Melissa Lee's Many Reads

Anissa @ The Bookworm Central

Ellie @ EllesBelles Bookshelf

Charlene @ Bookish Whimsy

Looking forward to reading your posts ^^

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Soudha's Travel Log 1: Let's Hit The Beach!

Hey guys! As announced in a previous post, today I'll tell you a bit more about my home country. Mauritius is a small island in the Indian Ocean. To tourists and visitors, this usual evokes images of white sandy beaches, blue lagoons and picturesque nature spots. As you'll be soon discovering though, the island is also home to a culture melting pot, wide expanses of sugarcane fields, rich historical sites, remnants of past colonial times and even an extinct bird. Ever heard of the dodo? Like the one in Alice in Wonderland? Yep, that bird was Mauritian. 

In each post in this new feature called Soudha's Travel Log, I'll take you on a virtual trip of that particular day's location. I'll then show you the book(s) I'm currently reading and which I brought with me on the trip. Then, at the end of the post, I'll show you the memorabilia I collected during my trip. I thought it would be nice to pick up some souvenirs each time I go for one of these trips. I'm actually pretty excited to be playing the local tourist! I hope you'll have as much fun reading these posts as I'll have making them ^^

Since this is the first post in this feature, I thought I would start with the tourists' favorites: the beaches! 

Let's Go To The Beach!

Today is Saturday the 22nd of August and we're going to the beach of Flic en Flac, in the West of the island. Get ready for lots of places with funny names because as you'll find out as I make more of these posts, Mauritius has lots of places with French and Creole names. My dad is tagging along, with me not having my license yet and all of that. We leave home at 2.00 pm and hit the road. Although it's winter here right now, we're lucky to have selected a particularly sunny day for this trip.  

After driving for about 20 min, we finally reach the coastal road. This road crosses through coastal villages and touristic shopping spots. A few minutes after entering the village of Flic en Flac, we decide to stop to snap some pictures.

I spot a postcard rack and decide to grab one for my souvenir collection.

Time to take the road again. Now we're finally approaching the beach. Since today is Saturday, there are plenty of people already here. We find a nice spot and I get to work taking some pictures while my dad goes to hunt down the nearest ice-cream van. 

It's 3.30 pm and I'm starting to feel a bit hungry. My dad and I decide to walk along the beach to see what we can find. At the beach you'll usually find stalls offering local fruit salads and juices. There are also people selling coconut water, fresh out of the coconuts. If you've never tried it, I promise it's as delicious as it sounds. 

It's now 4.00 pm and we decide to head back home. Along the way, decide to stop at the nearby fishing village. In most Mauritian coastal villages, the main activity is fishing and the fishermen usually occupy a part of the beach where the water is too deep and tricky to swim in. Since it's afternoon, we find the spot empty as most fishermen go out at sea very early in the morning. As the waves roll in the distance and a gentle sea breeze sweeps across the beach, we enjoy the tranquil sight of the fishing boats docked for the day.  

What I'm Currently Reading 

Now let me show you what I've been reading. I'm actually reading a few different books at the moment but the one I brought to the beach with me is Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee. I've recently read To Kill A Mockingbird and absolutely loved it and while I would have been fine without a sequel, I am too much of a curious person not to read Go Set A Watchman.   

Reading about an adult Scout in the first few pages was a bit weird for me but as I'm reading, the book is slowly growing on me. I'll keep my thoughts on this book for my wrap-up though.

The Souvenir(s)

I bought this lovely postcard at one of the little tourist shop we visited on our way to the beach. I love the colors and how it screams sunny days and good times. The picture on the card was taken at La Pirogue, a four star hotel found in Flic en Flac. I actually did spend a week there with my family two years ago, so I was happy to find a postcard with a picture of the hotel. At the back of the postcard, I wrote the date and the purpose of our trip. I also decided to have the people accompanying me in my trips add their names and signatures at the back of the postcards and other memorabilia I'll be picking up. One day, I'll look back on all those souvenirs and remember the fun trips we had together while we played the local tourists. As my dad jokingly said to me in the car, "Along with your readers, you're also discovering Mauritius!" 

So this was my first post in the Travel Log series. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Let me know your thoughts in the comments! And now I'll leave you with shots of this exceptional fail XD

 

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