The Nameless Book Blog

Now that 2018 is finally here I thought it'd be fun to start off the new year with some reading resolutions. I have to be honest and say that I am horrible at sticking to my resolutions so most years I don't even bother coming up with any, but I figured that if I'd actually publish them on the internet for everybody to read I might actually stick to them so I don't look like an absolute failure. 2018 will also be the year that my gap year from school will be over and I'll be going to college, so I have no idea how much time I'll have left to read once that happens.




So let's talk about the Goodreads Challenge first. I've already written a blogpost on how I feel about this particular reading challenge and my opinion hasn't changed since. I still don't like it. It's supposed to be fun and all, but I'm a very competitive person and if I set a reading goal I have to reach it. Which lead to me constantly being stressed about reading, because I just had to read the impossible goal I set and it wasn't fun to do anymore.
So for 2018 I set my goal to 10 books, something I can easily reach. I mostly use the Goodreads Challenge to have a good overview of the amount and which books I read in a year, but I don't like the actual challenge aspect. This way I can keep track of what I've read without being stressed about it.

Let's get into some bookish things now. The first thing I really want to do is finish the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R R Martin. Last year I read the biggest book in the series: A Storm Of Swords, which was incredible as expected. And this year I want to read the final two. I'm already about 200 pages into A Feast For Crows, so if I finish that in the first half of the year and A Dance With Dragons in the second half, I can finally join everybody in crying about The Winds Of Winter never releasing and Game Of Thrones almost being over...good times.



I also really want to read more adult books. Right now I mostly read Young Adult, sometimes even middle grade, but at times I find myself just not relating to the characters anymore. I'm turning 20 next year so obviously I still fall under the young adult age category, but sometimes characters in YA books seem way too young to be doing the things they're doing (like epic battles and saving the entire kingdom or being part of heavy political games or something). And sometimes I'm just kinda 'eh' about it. I won't stop reading YA, bc if the books sounds good I'm definitely going to read it, but I also want to explore the whole adult or new adult genres more.

Another thing I really want to do in 2018 is read more poetry. I absolutely love poetry and it always speaks to me in such a special way, but despite that I never really pick up any poetry books. I spend more time on Pinterest exploring the poetry tag and pinning everything on my poetry board rather than actually buying some poetry collections. Recently I got The Princess Saves Herself In This One, Milk and Honey and Love Her Wild, so I can't wait to jump into those.

This one is something every book lover always says, but never really sticks to: I want to read more of the books I already own. There are always so many amazing new books coming out that I want to read and sometimes I forget the books I already have. I have books that have been sitting on my shelves for literally 2 years just waiting to finally be opened. This year will be the moment for those books.


The last thing I want to do reading wise in 2018 is review more books and just blog more in general. I love reading and I really love writing blogposts and yet I rarely review books. Sometimes because I simply don't have enough thoughts about a book to write a full review about it, but most of the times I'm honestly too lazy *insert GOT Shame nun*. After I posted my Stalking Jack The Ripper review on here, I got quite a lot of messages on Tumblr and Instagram (where I shared it as well) of people they now wanted to read the book because of my review. The idea of positively influencing people to read a book I really loved and letting them experience the same thing made me so happy that it made me realise that I want to review the books I read for all of my blog readers.

So those were my reading goals and resolutions for 2018. Let me know in the comments what yours are, I'd love to read them. And if you want to talk to me personally you can always message me on my Tumblr or Instagram:
http://b00kishfantasy.tumblr.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thenamelessbooks/

~ Amber

I uploaded a blogpost about fast reads a couple days ago, but unlike books that I flew through while reading them, I have also read some books that took me forever to get through. Today I want to share those books with you, as a follow up on my previous blogpost.



Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
This book took me two whole weeks to get through. For me that's quite a long time and I was very surprised that this book took me so long, because usually I finish Cassie's books in a couple days, even the longer ones. I think the main reason why it took me so long to read, is because I felt like this book could have been around the 200 pages shorter. It was sooooo long and eventually it felt like the story just dragged on. The book was good, but a year later I forgot about 50% of it, just because it was unnecessarily long...



Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan
Unlike Lady Midnight, I have no idea why this book (and the second one too) took me so long to read. About two, two and a half weeks. Like I said before; that's a long time for me. I love the story of this book and it's so funny, so that can't be the reason and it's just an average lenght, so that isn't the problem. I think that for me it's just the way Rick writes, I don't know what about his writing style it is, but I just can't seem to read it fast.
 

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
I think everybody takes a long time reading this book. It is adult historical fiction, which doesn't make it a very easy read. There are a lot of detailed descriptions, a lot of very thin pages and long conversations. Did that make me like this book a little less? No it didn't. 
This book was amazing, Diana Gabaldon is an incredible writer and I have learned so many things about the history of Scotland and England from this. Even though it's a very slow and intimidating book, it's definitely worth your time. 


A Game Of Thrones by George R R Martin
It's no secret that these books take forever to get through. A Game Of Thrones was the first English book I ever read (read more about this in my reader story) and it took me about 3 months to read. But at this point I never read and it was my first English book, so I felt like I did well haha. About half a year after I finished this, I read A Clash Of Kings, the second book, and that took me about 3 weeks and it was 1006 pages long.
Why do these books read so slow? They are long, they are complicated, there are so many characters from whose POV you read and it's overall just a lot. You should still read them though, every fantasy lover should, it's a must.



The Fellowship of the Ring by J R R Tolkien
I feel like I never really talk about this book, and I think it taking so freaking long is the main reason for that. This book took me 13 days to get through (I just checked Goodreads). I have to be perfectly honest with you about The Fellowship Of The Ring...I expected it to be better, more exciting. I love the Lord of the Rings movies and have seen them many times. The story is absolutely incredible and Tolkien basically set the example for modern fantasy. 
But this book...It was so slow and there were sooooo many little details, too many, really. I don't feel like reading 7 pages about the way a forest looks. I like detailed books, but this was just too much. It's also what has really put me off to reading the other two books in the trilogy...Perhaps I will someday in the future, but no time soon.


The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
If you read my blogpost over at Spines and Covers, you will know that I recently sold my Raven Cycle books. I read the first two and they were so slow, not much exciting stuff happened and it just didn't grab me. I expected to love these books, because so many people I follow online do, but it just wasn't for me. I actually felt myself finding other things to do instead of reading, because I just didn't want to read these books.


What are some books that took you forever to get through? Let us know in the comments so we can talk about them! :)

~ Amber

 

Don't we all love books that you'll fly through and can probably finish in a day (if you wanted to)? I know I do, which is why I'm going to recommend some super fast reads to you today. I am not going to write down the synopsis of every book on this list, because that would make this blogpost way too long, but they are all worth reading, so you can just click the link to goodreads and check them out!

Important
Before I get into the blogpost, I wanted to tell you something that I already spoke about before, but want to mention again. Since December I've been a co-blogger over at https://spinesandcovers.com/, so if you enjoy my blogpost, make sure to click link and read even more! (but after you've read this post of course ;))




Ash by Malinda Lo
This is the book that I'm currently reading and it's amazing and so faced paced! I started it yesterday morning on the train and only have 30 pages left (it's only like 240 pages long but okay). The writing style is good and the book covers about 5 years worth of time, which always makes a book really quick to me. Also, it's a fairy tale retelling, but it's so unique that I just keep wanting to know what will happen next.
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A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Even though I was not wowed by this book, it was still a very fast read. I got the illustrated edition (which btw is absolutely stunning) and finished it within 2 days. The writing style is very quick and not many 'difficult' words are used, which makes this book very fast.
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Between Shades Of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
If you have been following our blog for a while, you know that I think this is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. The writing style is beautiful and the story so heartbreaking that you cannot stop reading. I am actually planning on rereading this soon, because I really, really loved this.
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The Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
This time a trilogy that you will fly through. The story is unique and very exciting, I couldn't help but wanting to continue reading even if I had so many other things to do. The writing style is very simple and the characters are fun to follow, which usually makes a book a very fast read. I read the entire trilogy in 2 weeks time.
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The Art Of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson
This was my last read of 2016 and I adored this book. It was the first novel following transgender characters I ever read and I could not put it down. The two characters we follow are both very different and struggle with their own problems. I could not wait to find out how this story would end for them and learn more about their history and personalities.
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
You will break your tongue every time you try to say this terribly long title, but believe me, the book is so worth it. I don't think there are many people who haven't read or heard from this book, because everybody in the book world loves it dearly, but I had to mention it. The writing style is beautiful and Ari and Dante and the sweetest characters. And I mean; gay romance between two teenage boys, do I need to say more?
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The Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi
It has been quite some time since I read these books, but what I do remember is that I read the entire trilogy in literally an week, which for me is really fast. Same as for Ari and Dante, I'm sure everybody knows these books and has probably read them. The way Tahereh Mafi has written these is very unique and I wasn't bored a single time. If you like dystopian books and are looking for some quick reads, these are definitely the ones to go for.
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Those were all the books that I think were very quick reads. Let us know in the comments which books you flew through and perhaps I can pick them up as well!

~ Amber

So 2016 wasn't exactly a good reading year for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm a reader, books are my favorite possessions but this year was just hectic. Amber has been contributing to our blog most of the time while I was going to a reading slump that lasted an entire year. I've I may be fairly honest with you guys, I haven't finished a book this year. Not a single one.

Yes, it makes me feel like a terrible reader. I genuinely enjoy reading books, but this year just wasn't my book year. And guess what? That's alright. Never push yourself to read if you're not in for it. When reading becomes an obligation, you won't enjoy it as much as usually.  Back in the day, I had to read a certain book for school. Never finished it. It was an obligation, and I became to hate it. There has never been a book I hated as much as that one.

Anyway, I do want to give you guys some more content. I love this blog with whole my heart so I should contribute more often. So I have decided to at least read 5 new books in 2017! It's not written in stone so if it doesn't work out it doesn't work out. I hope I can make myself excited to read again.

Candles
Yes, candles. These however aren't just candles, they are scented candles that smell like bookish things. For instance Harry Potters butter beer. Some examples of Etsy accounts who sell them are 'BurningPagesCandles' and 'TheMeltingLibrary'! This is a fun and unique gift perfect for during reading time. And also; which book lover doesn't want their room to smell like their favorite character? *sniffs Rowan Whitethorn candle one more time*





Bookmarks
On Etsy.com you can find a lot of personalized bookmarks, whether it's about a book/series, a character or just books in general. Most of which are made by hand and they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You could even try making one yourself!



Funko's
If you have never heard of Funko's you are missing out! Funko's are dolls that look like My Sims characters and they have a lot of bookish characters (but also games and anime). Which book lover wouldn't love to have a figure of their favorite character to decorate their beloved bookshelf with?



Mugs 
A mug is also a great idea to gift to your bookish friend. If you simply go to Etsy.com and search 'Book Mug' you'll get a load of different sellers. And if you don't want to order one and pay for shipping on top of that, or want a more personalized one, you can also design one yourself! That's what I did with my mug that you can see in the picture down below. Just go to one of those websites where you can print pictures onto things, design a photo with your quote and order it!



Books, duh
Obviously, the best book gift for a book lover are books. Take a look at your friends 'to read' list on Goodreads if you don't want them to find out, or just ask them which book they really want. What's even more fun is to buy your friend a book that you really liked, that way you can talk about it together! The best website for ordering books is probably bookdepository.com, they have good prices, sometimes great deals and free shipping worldwide! AND on top of that you get an adorable free bookmark with every order, which you can also give to your friend or secretly keep yourself.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and that you receive many great bookish gifts. Let us know in the comments what you are planning to buy for your friends and if this blogpost helped you with your decision!

~ Amber and Shania

Today I want to tell you my story as a reader. Since I run a book blog, I think it's nice for the people who read it to know more about me and my reading history. You see posts like this go around all over booktube and book blogs, so it's nothing new, but I think my story is quite different from most people. I'll explain why.

Until the age of 16, I hated reading. Yes, I did, wtf was wrong with my younger self. I thought it was boring and was annoyed by the fact that I couldn't read fast at all (about 20 pages an hour if I really tried). I went to a school with pretty dumb people who already called me weird for no reason and if I would just be sitting there reading a book I was scared I'd be bullied. Besides that there was nobody around me who read; my parents don't read and nobody at school did. This is also why I never read the popular books that every child has read like Harry Potter, Narnia and Percy Jackson.


Now that I think about it, that's not entirely true. When I was 14, my mom suddenly came home with three books for me, that she had gotten as an early birthday present. The books were the Hunger Game trilogy, translated into Dutch, because my English was horrible at that time. I was so surprised that my mom had gotten me books, but the first movie had just come out and I was so happy that she bought them for me. I ended up loving these books and last year actually repurchased them in English. In two weeks I read all three of them, but after that I just stopped reading again. Except for the books they made me read in school.

All of that changed when I went to college. In the Netherlands the school system is a bit different, I went to college when I was 16, where I started studying journalism. Slowly, at the beginning of the year, I started noticing that almost everybody in my class read books, except for me. Whenever I heard people talking about books I felt myself getting excited about them as well. That's when I decided that I was going to get my first (English) book. Wow, I know right.

 But which book does a 16 year old girl choose as her first English read? Well, A Game Of Thrones by George R R Martin, of course. I am a huge Game Of Thrones fan and this just felt like the right book for me to buy. At this point I had no idea that it was super long and pretty difficult to read. I started the book in September and ended up finishing it in November. Once I finished it I immediately got the second book and started reading.

In January of 2015, I went to Waterstones for the first time. At this point I had started watching Booktube videos and made a Goodreads account on which I added books to my TBR pile. In Waterstones I came across a book called Throne Of Glass by Sarah J Maas. While writing about this I almost feel like crying, because this book and this author means so incredibly much to me. What most people have with Harry Potter; that it changed their lives in such a good way, I have with Throne Of Glass. The concept sounded very intriguing when I heard Booktubers talking about it, so I purchased the first novel in the series. I loved it so incredibly much that I finished it in 5 days and got the second and third book online. 

For the first time in my entire life I experienced the feeling of being so in love with a book that's it's the only thing you think about and just long to get home to read more. That's when all hell broke loose. I read all the popular novels: Divergent, Red Queen, Shatter me, The Mortal Instruments. I moved to a different house in April of 2015 and got my first real bookshelf. I remember how first I had one shelf filled with books, which soon became two and became three. Before I knew it my entire bookshelf was filled.

In March of 2015 I made my book Tumblr, b00kishfantasy, and started following book blogs, talking to people about books and posting pictures that I took myself. To my great surprise I saw my followers count shooting up and my the time I reached June, my blog had about 3000 followers. I met some really amazing people on Tumblr that I still talk to almost every day.

Another amazing thing that happened during college is that my best friend, who I share this blog with, and I started writing our own book 'The Nameless'. The feeling of reading a book is incredible, but actually writing one myself was even better. A year later, in June of 2016, we finished the book that we love with all our hearts. Of course our goal is to get it published, which isn't going great yet, but we won't give up. One day this story will be printed as an actual book that every single one of you can read. 

I am currently in my final year of college and can't even imagine my life without books and my Tumblr and blog. Even though I am planning on studying something completely different after this (Animation of the Utrecht University of Arts), I will never stop reading and I will never stop writing. 

This was my story as a reader. I would love to read yours as well, so please comment them down below and thank you all so much for sticking with me through this journey.

~ Amber

It's almost 2017...Omg how crazy it is to think about that. When I head someone say like ''Oh that song came out in 2010, I'm like but that's only like 2 years ago...NO IT'S NOT DINOSAURS STILL ROAMED OUR PLANET IN 2010. 
But let's get to the point of this blogpost, I am back with my list of most anticipated books for the year, because last year everybody seemed to love that blogpost. Don't forget to share your most anticipated books in the comments! We love to read them.



Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth
January the 17th
I am very excited that Veronica Roth is releasing another book. Even though I didn't like Allegiant, I thought Divergent and Insurgent were really good, so I'm definitely going to read her newest release. This is a Sci-Fi novel, and usually I'm not a big Sci-Fi fan, because I never understand the whole space thing and forget names of planets and things like that, but Veronica wrote it so I'm still going to read it.
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Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
February the 7th
I have to be honest and say that this book originally caught my eye because of the amazing cover, but than I read the synopsis and got truly excited. This novel follows a girl who is taken to a Goblin kingdom, which I have never read before. Also, this is a stand alone, which I think is really cool for fantasy books, because usually they are like 6 books long series.
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