Library Lovers

[Book Tag]


1. How often do you visit your local library?
When I was in school I used to go there weekly, but this last summer I've gone once a month and to only get books I've reserved.

2. Are you the type of person who checks out more books than you know you can read or are you someone who only checks out the exact amount of books you intend on reading before they are due?
Bit of both honestly... I only get books that I am excited to read and usually read them right after getting them, but I am a mood reader and I can easily get sidetracked with something on my shelves

3. How old were you when you got your first library card?
I checked and I was 7

4. Do you go to your library looking for a particular book or do you check out anything that peaks your interest?
Like I was saying in Q1, when I visited it more regularly I would brouse more. But the thing is I live in Finland, so if I want to get something in english I need to request it and usually have it sent from another library.

5. Do you use your library to check out just books or do you also check out dvds, audiobooks etc.?
My library has dvds, games, music notes etc. but I only get physical books, e-books and audiobooks

6. From what section of your library do you check out a majority of your books? ( YA, middle grade, adult, nonfiction.)
Like I mentioned in Q4 the majority of the books are in Finnish so I just go to the English section, which has everything quite jumbled up. When it comes to genres I tend to go with YA books I don't know if I'll like enough to buy, classics (which I buy only after I've read and if I liked it) and graphic novels since those are things I don't buy at all but like reading every once in a while

7. What is your favorite part of using your local library?
It is free, I find new books I'm interested in and it's also a great place to study

Read on lovelies,

S

ReReading Old Favorites and Being Disappointed

To start off - I like rereading books, every time I read harry potter I get something new out of it.
But is that the case in all of those old favourites?

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So there was this one book released 3 years ago that I really enjoyed and gave a 4 stars to. Well the sequel came out this summer and I was excited to pick it up. Then I of course realized I don't remember a single thing about the first book and decided to reread that first. We've all been there...

So my problem, and frankly the point of this whole post, is what occurred to me on the very first page of this book I used to like - I don't anymore and was extremely disappointed.
And that's a sad thing to realize, because you hold favorites high up in your thoughts and now it's below everything else. So what happened?

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Let's break this down and start at what happened in that first page:
"his hair is not his best quality" Wait what? Exactly, I know I had a different taste but really?

And then I find out why I remember liking this book: "I felt like I had princess leia buns at a star trek convention"

I still found lots of these to be amusing - like I still do want that shirt that says "may the mass times acceleration be with you", but calling someone yummy just isn't my cup of tea.


And for some reason I'd always think: "well this makes up for it, the good parts make the bad go away".
Sure it makes "the feels" the main character has sound better if she compares them to demonstrating newtons law of inertia, but we shouldn't accept some things because other parts were better.

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So conclusion I have changed, has the author?

So I moved on to the second book, my mindset being along the lines of "this is an experiment I have to finish" - so not a good place. But I cleared my mind and started.

Well did I end up even finishing that book?
Um, I maybe read a third and skimmed the rest...

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Final thoughts: can I drop the star rating? The thing is, what I felt was valid - at that time. So can I actually do it? Or should I compromise? I have yet to come to a conclusion...

Read on lovelies,

S

Artemis : review

Andy Weir

*ARC kindly provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!*

SUMMARY:
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire...

              Release: Nov. 14th 2017

Goodreads' link to the book!

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So what did I think?

So usually I tell so and so many things I liked and didn't like in the book and give the star rating accordingly, but the thing is I didn't finish this book.
Now you must be wondering how can you write a review without finishing it? And why?

So I'm not too keen on actually finishing this book, at least anytime soon. Artemis comes out next week and I really think a lot of you would enjoy it so I wanted to talk about it.

It had lots of good aspects:
The world is truly amazing and so though out
The main character: is different and intriguing
The plot: fast paced and had lots of aspects going on
It doesn't have the tone as The Martian, but I kind of liked how very different it is. There is still the aspect of space and the science though, which I really enjoy when done well.

So why did I stop? Well the answer is the biggest problem I have when reading: mood reading.
I've talked about it before - I can really enjoy a book if I'm in the right mood, but a book I know I would enjoy and am reading at the wrong time? It doesn't go so well. And that's exactly what happened here. I know I'd enjoy it - it had all those great aspects to it, but it's just not the right time yet.

I really want to know how you all like this book, so I'll keep my eyes out on Instagram for it!

Read on lovelies,

S

The Halloween Book Tag

1.) Favorite Scary (Must Read) For Halloween?

I don't read horror books, but I am currently reading Six Stories which I am kind of enjoying?

2.) Scariest Book Cover, Like Ever?

The book has always kinda creeped me out, but I did read it: Coraline

3.) If You Could Go Trick-or-Treating With Any Author, Who Would You Pick?

J.K. Rowling, not for the Trick-or-Treating really, but just to meet her

4.) If You Could Dress Up As Any Bookish Character For Halloween, Who Would You Be?

Actually the last time I dressed up was as an ewok from Star Wars

5.) If You Could Find Anything (From Any Book) In Your Trick-or-Treat Stash, What Would You Hope To Find?

Anything from the Honeydukes, so chocolate frogs maybe? I would love to taste Butterbeer though!

6.) In What Fictional World Would You Like To Go Trick-or-Treating?

The Harry Potter Universe. For the sweets mentioned above and I'm sure the feast in the Great Hall would be fantastic!

7.) What Book Villain Would You Not Like To Meet Alone In A Dark Alley On Halloween?

He-who-must-not-be-named.

I feel like this is just ending up as a Harry Potter questionnaire? Well I'm up for it since fall is my favorite time to re-read them!

8.) Would You Rather Dress Up As A Vampire, Zombie, Werewolf, or Shadowhunter?

Honestly none of them really. So I'll say zombie? I have never really read a book about them though now that I think about it

9.) Pick A Candy (Just One) From Harry Potter That You Would Love To Find In Your Stash?

See? Not just me thinking about Harry Potter this time of year.

And well Q5 had my answer but I'll pick another one: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

(I'm not a fan of jelly beans but it's a classic, and I mean they would be magical ones right?)

10.) What Is Your Favorite Halloween Candy?

White chocolate anything pretty much... And I love stroopwafels, but neither are only for Halloween, but I have been eating lately

Read on lovelies,

S

Book fair & Scotland trip - Bookish Hauls

Part 2 for yesterdays book fair post: the Haul


The books:
The Engineer's Cookbook, Kari Ojala
Shakespeare vasta-alkaville ja edistyville


WSOY, Tammi & JohnnyKniga meet-up:
Pallokala, Heikki Valkama
Tristania, Marianna Kurtto
Osuma, Roope Sarvilinna


Also I made a weekend trip to Scotland a week ago and bought:
There's Someone Inside Your House, Stephanie Perkins
The Boy at the Top of the Mountain, John Boyne
Stay Where You Are and Then Leave, John Boyne


And along the way, since my last haul I have accumulated:
The Knickerbocker Jane Austen bind-up
The Agatha Christie book: Kuolema ilmoittaa lehdessä
Artemis, Andy Weir (e-ARC)
&
Eliza and Her Monsters, Fransesca Zappia

Other things from the fair:
Various totes and candy
Christmas cards and little DIY elves
A color changing necklace
5 rolls of yarn
Two little dishes and an oil dispenser
(Also fell in love with some of the mugs, but resisted)

Read on lovelies,

S

Kirjamessut / Book fair 2017 part 1

As I mentioned in a previous post (link), I received a blog pass for the Helsinki book fair (kirjamessut).

So how did it go?
I will have a separate post tomorrow about all the things I bought there...






Thursday:
On Thursday I toured the fair as a whole, first with only touring and then buying (this way I didn't need to lug everything around with me all day). This year there were 2 huge sections with everything 2 euros (a treasure I got last year from there was the Night Circus, and they had it this year as well).

Bigger publishers had 10-20% off of everything, and Adlibris (one of my absolute favorite online stores in Finland for books) had 3 books for 10e and 5 yarn rolls for 10e.

There was definitely a theme of Finland turning 100 this year, and also the fact that Dan Brown came was made a big factor. There was also a Harry Potter themed bus (picture below) and other bits and bobs which made the whole experience, yet again, amazing.











Saturday:


Saturday was my second, and last, day at the fair and it started off with a WSOY, Tammi and Johnny Kniga blogger brunch, which I loved. Food, books, authors talking and bloggers meeting - what else do you need? The people were lovely & I also got books signed for the first time, so that was something else to remember!

The authors there:

Heikki Valkama (Pallokala), - so excited for this one!
Marianna Kurtto (Tristania),
Roope Sarvilinna (Osuma),
Joonas Konstig (Vuosi Herrasmiehenä),
A. W. Yrjänä (Joonaanmäen Valaat)
& Tuomas Kyrö (Mielensäpahoittajan Suomi)



Lastly for the day I attended the Teos blogger meet-up with various of their authors telling us about their books:

Juha Hurme (Niemi)
Juhani Känkänen (Ilo irti, Apo Apponen!)
Marjo Niemi (Kaikkien menetysten äiti)
Maria Peura (Tunkeilijat)
Mikko Rimminen (Maailman luonnollisin asia)
Heikki Reivilä (Onnettomat Roomassa)
& Jarkko Volanen (Hiekankantajat)

Read on lovelies,

S

Revamping an Old Post

[TAG]

Revamp an old post: The Beginning, four years later


I looked at my first post and I felt like I needed to add to it and go through what I started out with.

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Out With the Old (link)
Oct. 25th 2013

The Start of Booksonal

Dear you,

I started this blog to write about books. Shocker, since the title is there...

Anyway, so as you can assume I love reading books. I don't have that many, but I read loads. I decided to make a blog for writing about them. About what I have read, how much I loved them (if I even liked them), overall about books and I'll maybe make some book tags.

I'll try to post every Saturday, but probably I will be delayed sometimes...

So hope you will like my posts,

and as always read on.

Love,

Sally

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In With the New
Oct. 21st 2017

Booksonal Four Years Later


This blog has brought me good & bad times, new perspectives & people, long nights & lots and lots of notes and ideas.

I started out with Word documents, post-its and full notebooks about what I've read. I took the jump to a blog in 2013 (I wasn't always as active though), so it's been four years next week!

I didn't start so that people would read it - it was actually not something I wanted. Let me explain that with this:

            About the name Booksonal. Well I started this blog more like a journal that was               therapeutic in a way. My thoughts are always mine and so they feel personal and so -               hence the name.

So no I wasn't looking for readers, I wanted - still want to - express my thoughts and people who read it and can relate are just a bonus. But to all of those who have been reading, for a shorter or longer time, thank you.

If you've never written down why you like or don't like a book it can really organize your thoughts and your star ratings. And if you've been reading the blog for some time you know I love being organized.
               The point is try it out - you might be surprised.

Read on lovelies,

S