Authors I want to read in 2016

Hi guys! Happy New Year ^^

To kick off this year's blogging, I thought I would share with you some of the authors whose works I hope to discover this year. These are all authors I've been meaning to read for a while now but for some reason, I never got around to doing so. If there are authors here whose books you've read, feel free to recommend which book of theirs I should start first. That would be really helpful ^^

Since this post is more about the authors than the actual books, I've included links to the Goodreads page of each mentioned book rather than write down an actual blurb. 

1. Catherynne M. Valente

She's the author of quite a few books including the Fairyland series and the recently published Radiance. I'm actually pretty hyped about starting her Fairyland series because it sounds both beautiful and whimsical and usually carries great reviews. Radiance too sounds pretty intriguing and I might check it out this year. 

2. Sarah Waters

All I know about this author is that her books are supposedly witty and very good and deal with feminism and LGBT themes. And that's about enough to convince me to pick up her books. Trouble is, I don't actually know which one to start with. I'm thinking Fingersmith or Tipping the Velvet. What do you think?

3. Ali Smith

This is another author who writes a lot about feminism, gender and LBGT themes. Some of her books are quite short, including Girl meets Boy, which was the first book by her that I read. I really enjoyed her writing style and I'm excited to read her other books this year. I think my next one will perhaps be How to be Both. 

4. Jeanette Winterson

This author also covers some themes similar  to Ali Smith's. I read one of her books in 2015, The Stone Gods, which I really enjoyed. It's sort of a dystopian story which transcends time and has some elements of love, science-fiction and fantasy. It's more about the people than the actual setting and does a great job at bringing these characters to life. Hence, I almost hesitate to label it as a dysotpian. I'm not sure yet what other book by her I'll be picking up next so do let me know if you have recommendations.

5. Toni Morrison

This author is mostly known for her African American characters and for discussing themes such as race and equality in her books. I've heard great things about her books and will hopefully be reading Beloved very soon. 

6. Helen Oyeyemi 

Her books take their inspiration from fairytales and swing between magical realism and hard realism. Her books carry more mixed reviews than the other mentioned authors' books but they do sound pretty unique and mysterious. I'm thinking I'll start with White is for Witching first and if I enjoy it, I'll be reading Boy, Snow, Bird next. 

So those were some of the authors I'm hoping to discover in 2016. Looks like it's time to buy some new books! What new authors do you want to discover this year? Let me know in the comments ^^

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Cover art by Of Stacks of Cups via Pagemodo

My Bookish Resolutions of 2016

I'll be honest. While I'm very good at coming up with New Year resolutions, sticking to them is an entirely different story. Still, I thought I would dedicate my last post of the year to those bookish resolutions I really, really, mean to see through. 

Oh and I just realized what I wrote just now. This is my last post of the year. Wow... Just, wow! 

2015 has been a special year for me. I turned 22, graduated from uni, recovered from a one-year long reading slump and got back into reading again and most importantly, I created this blog ^^ Yep, Of Stacks and Cups isn't even one year yet and still, it feels like I've been doing this for years.

And so, before I start with my resolutions, I wanted to thank all of you guys for visiting my blog and making this whole blogging thing such a fun venture. I've made a bunch of new friends here on the blogsphere and I only hope to get to know even more of you next year. It's been a great year guys ^^

And now with my resolutions. No more stalling now :D

Read all the unread books on my shelves

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At the time I was writing this post, I had a total of 29 unread books on my shelves. I know that it's not an impossibly huge TBR and I'm hoping to get through most of them in the first half in the coming year.

Participate in a Read-a-Thon

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I love reading blog posts about them, I love watching videos about them and yet, for some reason, I've never participated in one before. If you have one you think I would enjoy participating in, feel free to let me know.

Read 100 books in 2016

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Normally, I would say that it's fairly easy for me to get through 100 books in a year. In 2016 though, I'll be starting my Masters degree and I know I'll have less free time than I had this year. In 2015, I managed to complete my Goodreads challenge of reading 120 books by reading a total of 170+ books. I want to take things a little more easy in 2016 and cut that count down to 100.

Read a Shakespeare play

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I've been meaning to read a Shakespeare play for ages now but never got around to doing so because the language felt a little daunting to me. I do wish to remedy to that in 2016 and I'm thinking I might start with A Midsummer Night's Dream. If you've read other plays by Shakespeare, feel free to recommend me one to start with.

Read the Lord of the Rings

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The first time I tried reading The Fellowship of the Ring I couldn't really get into the story and had to put it down. My sister has since then read the whole trilogy and has gushed about it so many times that I feel like I simply have to give these books another go. 

Give Neil Gaiman another chance

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I seem to be one of the few people on the planet who's not completely in love with Neil Gaiman's books and honestly, I can't really explain it. I do admire Neil Gaiman as a person and love reading his blog posts. Yet I can never really seem to fully enjoy his books. In 2016 I'm planning to read another of his books and see if I like it. I'm thinking of going with Neverwhere. What do you think?

So that's it for my bookish resolutions of 2016 guys. Comment down below and tell me what your resolutions are! I wish you all a Happy New Year and hope you all have a blast. See you all in 2016 ^^

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Cover art by Of Stacks and Cups via Pagemodo   

My Favorite Books of 2015

Hi guys. I hope you all had a great time for Christmas! 2016 is almost here and so, today I thought I would share with you some of the books I loved best in 2015. For this post, I am going to include books that may not have necessarily been published in 2015 but rather that I've read this year. If you've read any of these books too, do let me know what you thought about them in the comments below.

These are in no particular order and are all books I would absolutely recommend. To avoid making this post too long, I've put links to each book's Goodreads page rather than write full blurbs for all of them. To know more about them, just click on the title. 

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1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the illustrated edition
This book's release almost came as a surprise and was certainly one of the highlights of the year for fellow Potterheads. The story was already a well beloved one before this edition came out but the illustrations it comes with make reading Harry Potter more magical than other. 

2. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
This trilogy was superbly written with a story and prose that stays with you long after you've closed the book. This is children literature at its best and is a perfect choice for Christmas time.

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3. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
This book simply blew me away! I was rather late to this party but once I started the book, I was hooked. I listened to it on audiobook and really, really enjoyed it. In fact, I would suggest you try the audiobook version because it definitely brings the virtual game universe of this book to life in a most vivid way. The narrator also did a superb job and was amazing with portraying different characters.

4. Winter by Marissa Meyer
The Lunar Chronicles have finally come to an end and while this saddens me a little, the more than satisfying conclusion delivered in Winter made ride entirely worth it. Marissa Meyer definitely knows how to wrap up a series! Now I can't wait to read her other books that are coming out in 2016. 

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5. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire
I've gushed a lot about this book on my blog in various post but for old times' sake, I'll say it again: I freaking love this book! It's a adult Cinderella retelling told from the perspective of one of her 'ugly' stepsisters and is step in 17th century Holland. The setting is unique, the characters are multidimensional and nicely portrayed and the prose is simply stunning. 

6. The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter
This was my first Angela Carter book and I adored it. It feels like magical realism although nothing supernatural actually ever happen. It does retain a certain magical vibe, which is a nice contract to the book's often dark moments.

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7. Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham
Fables is a comic book series that follows the stories of fairytale characters after they are forced to flee their world and hide among regular humans in our world. These books are sometimes gory, sometimes sexy but always witty and really well written. While the first 3 volumes were fairly enjoyable, it was the 4th volume that really made this one of my favorite graphic novel/comic book series. 

8. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
This is best described as a fairytale for adults. While our main character is a young boy, this book definitely has its dark moments, not to mention a fair share of gore. Beyond that though, the book reads as a fairytale, the prose both enchanting and witty. 

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9. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Another book by Gregory Maguire, yep. This is again an adult retelling, this time focusing on the Wizard of Oz and with the Wicked Witch of the West as main character. Elphaba, the titular Wicked Witch is my favorite female character of all time. You can't help but fall in love with her as she struggles between good and evil in a world that is slowly coming apart as intolerance, sexism and racism begin to spread throughout the land. This Wicked Witch is a feminist. You might even say that she's a rebel. And as she makes her journey into becoming the legendary Wicked Witch, you will unavoidably find yourself rooting for her.

10. Dubliners by James Joyce
This is a short story collection set in 20th century Dublin focusing on the lives of different people of various social classes and age. This was the book that seriously got me into classics and I loved it so much and can say without hesitation that I'll be definitely re-reading this one at some point.

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11. Vampire Knight by Matsuri Hino
Last Christmas I bought the two box sets of the entire Vampire Knight series as a little end of year treat and these mangas were the first books I spent the first days of January reading. Vampire Knight was both my first anime and my first manga and because of that, I can't help be a little bias towards it. I just really love this story. The last few volumes of the manga were not the best in the series but I did enjoy the ending. If you enjoy supernatural stories with a healthy dose of drama and well written romance, I would recommend you pick up this manga. You might also watch to check out the anime because it's really beautiful. 

So that's it for this post guys. What were your favorite books of 2015? Let me know in the comments ^^

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Cover art by Of Stacks and Cups via Pagemodo