Buying Classics

editions guide

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I have made a decision to only buy a classic after I've read them and if I enjoyed it (see myself reading it again). I have made ecxeptions with volumes and collections!
*For me classics are easily found from the library to read and access quickly.*
So when I do I tend to want a nice copy of it, whereas before I would buy cheap copies before I read it.
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So here are my takes on different editions of classic book and why I gravitate towards some.

>> I'll only be writing about the editions I own & ones I really like (blue) <<

1. Affordable
Collins Classics
   - my favourites because they look really nice with multiple next to each other
Wordsworth Editions
   - the blue ones aren't really to my liking, but they also have other editions like my The Little Prince
Dover Thrift Editions
   - the cheapest and they also have poem collections and other smaller volumes
Tor Classics

   - A basic mass market paperback
Signet Classics (Penguin)
Barnes & Noble paperbacks
Oxford World Classics


2. Paperbacks & 3. Special paperbacks
Penguin Classics
   - they have a good variety of everything and I have a post about some link
Word Cloud Classics
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Deluxe edition

2. (L to R) Penguin play, Classic Penguin Books, Penguin Book Editions & Pocket Penguins

2. (L to R) Penguin play, Classic Penguin Books,
Penguin Book Editions & Pocket Penguins

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4. Hardbacks & volumes
Sterling Classics
Fall River
   - Illustrated collections that aren't too expensive. They are very beautiful but the size can be an issue when reading it (like the Shakespeare collection) but my other copies don't have that problem.
   - (Same hight as the Barnes & Noble leather bound books)
Bounty Books
   - Illustrated collections and novel volumes. I love how they go well together, but the thing I love is that the size is not uncomfortable to hold and to read, and the text size is not compromized when doing so

4.1 Fall River classics

4.2 Bounty Books

5. Special
Penguin cloth bound
   - They are more expensive and I don't hink I'll be buying more of them but they are really pretty
Barnes & Noble leatherbound
   - These are also more expensive but they have such gorgeous illustrations and the edges are metallic
Penguin Drop Caps

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On the spines of my volumes the small yellow stars mark novels that are unread and the bigger red stars mean that the volume has unread short stories/poems (the number of them isn't of significance).
The post-its on the top of the books mark unread novels or short stories (and every 50 pages of poems). When I've read one I take the post-it out or if I really liked it I move it to the long side of the book.
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6. Misc./occasional
(I might fall in love with a certain cover and buy it even though it won't match others)
RandomHouseTeen
   - The Boy in the Striped Pajama the 10th anniversary edition
Simon & Schuster

Bloomsbury

   - The Princess Bride the 25th anniversary edition (I always get questions when I feature it in a picture!)

   Penguin Perigee
   - It is quite narrow but tall
   Penguin Puffin Books
   - I really like these, the size is quite small with deckled edges
   - (Same hight as the Collins Classics)
Teos
Tammi

6.3 Teos & Tammi

Read on lovelies,

S

Heartless : Review

Mariss Meyer

*ARC kindly provided by the publisher Pan Macmillan in exchange for an honest review!*


Long before she was the terror of Wonderland — the infamous Queen of Hearts — she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Goodreads' link to the book!
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Stars: ✦✦✦✦.5

So as usual, I'll tell 4.5 things I liked about the book and 0.5 thing I didn't like.

So what did I think?

+1 | Whimsicalness that made it read like a fairytale

+1 | New. I love fairytale retellings so when one is so different, as this one was, it really intrigues me. And I wasn't dissappointed!

+1 | Characters, I really liked the main characters but their development was so well done. Also the personifications were done so well in the true Lewis Carroll way

+1 | The writing style is so beautiful, as it was in the Lunar Chronicles

+0.5 | The end. It was... let's just say different and memorable

-0.5 | I felt like the love could've been a smaller part of the story and at times it felt too fast

Read on lovelies,

S

Book Haul

(after exams)

My exams are finally over, so I decided to buy some books in honor of that...

1. Shadow Cadets of Pennyroyal Academy, (book 2)
2. He tulivat Bagdadiin (orig. They Came to Baghdad)
3. The Rumpelstiltskin Problem
4. My Lady Jane
5. Aesop's Fables
6. The Arabian Nights
7. Jane Eyre/Wuthering Heights
8. The Classic Works of Mark Twain
9. The Classic Works of Robert Louis Stevenson

 10. I See London I See France (publ. Jul. 11th -17)

 11. This is How it Happened (publ. Jul. 11th -17)

 12. Changes in Latitudes (publ. Jul. 25th -17)

Fall River Classics:


Bounty Book Classics:


Harper Collins summer 2017 ARCs:

Read on lovelies,

S

Literally : review

by Lucy Keating

*Book kindly provided by the publisher HarperCollinsTeen in exchange for an honest review*

This is the second book by Lucy Keating (after Dreamology) and it is being released April 11th.



Annabelle’s life has always been Perfect with a capital P. Then bestselling young adult author Lucy Keating announces that she’s writing a new novel—and Annabelle is the heroine. 

It turns out, Annabelle is a character that Lucy Keating created. And Lucy has a plan for her.

Goodreads' link to the book!
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Stars: ✦✦✦✧✧

So as usual, I'll tell 3 things I liked about the book and 2 thing I didn't like.

So what did I think?

+1 | The idea for the book originally drew me into it and kept me interested

+1 | I really liked the writing and the writing tips that were brought along beside the story and what was going on

+/- 0.5 | I really liked the characters, but I didn't agree with a lot of the decisions that they made.

+/- 0.5 | The ending. I really liked the plot of it but to me it just seemed really rushed. Everything was happening so fast and you couldn't really catch it before it ended.

-1 | When reading a book I want to get sucked in and not think about anything else, but with this book I had some problems getting immersed in it. 
For me thinking about the characters not being normal people made me distance myself.

Read on lovelies,

Sally

The Harbinger : review

Nelou Keramati

*ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review!*

This novella is the 1.1 of The Fray Theory series, the first book being Resonance (my review for that is here).

>Publication March 1st 2017

There won't be any spoilers for The Harbinger in this review!

Goodreads' link to the novella!
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Stars: ✦✦✦✦.5

Contrary to my usual, I started making updates on my Goodreads review for The Harbinger every 5-10 chapters. For all of those check my Goodreads review.
So here I gathered up my thoughts from those ^ goodreads notes.

So what did I think?

+1 | The idea and premise is clever and intriguing and definitely not your typical YA read

+1 | Entertainment value. It went by really quickly once you started

+1 | The writing was so intricate and lyrically beautiful

+1  | World and world building

+/-0.5 | The characters. I loved seeing how they've grown and their characteristics are starting to form up, but I think there is still some length to be gone until I can say I love them and understand their actions

Read on lovelies,

Sally

Geekerella : review

Ashley Poston

*Book kindly provided by the publisher HarperCollinsTeen in exchange for an honest review!*

Anything can happen once upon a con...

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.

Goodreads' link to the book!
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Stars: ✦✦✦✦.5

So as usual, I'll tell 4.5 things I liked about the book and 0.5 thing I didn't like.

So what did I think?
+1 | Fandom. The book was filled to the brim by quotes and references to different fandoms, and being part of the Starfield fandom is the core of Danielle.

     It doesn't matter if your a fan of Star Wars/Star Trek/Dr. Who/LoTR or what, the point is that if your part of a fandom it is relatable. You know the right blue of your favourite character and being a fan binds us wherever and whomever we are.

+1 | Diversity without screaming it. The book had lots of diverse characters, but I really like how they were portrayed normally.

     You see, sometimes I feel like writers force diversity into the characters and it doesn't seem natural. They make it into such a big thing that makes it seem like they aren't even people anymore.

+1 | Fairytale, but new age. If you've been reading my blog or follow my Instagram you know I love fairy tale retellings, so based on only that I was really looking forward to this book. It met all my expectations on that font.

     But the thing that I found really interesting was how Poston created this tale in the modern age and culture. The main characters’ dreams and anonymity was so relatable and her struggles really came through from the writing.

+1 | Characters, the focus was not only on the romance but lots of aspects in their characteristics were based on friendship.

+0.5 | Entertainment value. All I can say to elaborate is: the emotions. Even if it seems weird to say, but the relatability and the situations and the people, was just so heartfelt yet it sure had its cheesy parts.

"I wish you were here for real"

-0.5 | The ending, I wanted more. Maybe that's just a sign that I loved it and wanted more, but I couldn't help but think that the author could've elaborated more on everything that happened.

Read on earthenders,

Sally