Book Review: "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling

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I picked this book up as I wanted to have some sort of basic knowledge of what the movie is going to be about (this book was also my pick for BookTube-A-Thon readathon). I don't know why I expected it to be helpful, but it is really not. I haven't watched the trailer (just bits) but what I have seen gave me an idea about the movie. You don't need to read the book to watch the movie - I can tell this right off the bat. I did enjoy the book but since it is written as a textbook, it is no way as entertaining or engaging as Harry Potter books.

I think I enjoyed the introduction and some notes on the margins way more than the content itself. Rowling came up with a lot of unique magical beings and even reading the series I wasn't able to remember them all, so reading this book was a bit "meh" and it is NOT the reaction that I am used to associate with HP series.

Was it interesting? Somewhat. I think I was engrossed in the book only because I haven't read any Harry Potter books in awhile and being emerged in the world again was very exciting.

Do you have to read it to watch the movie? No. Read it if you are a hardcore fan and you want to read everything in HP universe (which means that you have probably already read this one).

I expected this book to have more notes from Harry and Ron on the margins. The fonts used for their hand writings looked a bit similar and it was hard for me to tell at times whose note that was.

It was a great pick for the readathon though as it is an easy read.

Personal rating: 3 stars

Book review: "You Know Me Well" by Nina LaCour and David Levithan

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Let me start with saying that I really enjoyed this book (in some ways more than I expected), even though it is your typical "in love with your best friend/high school/coming of age/figuring things out" type of story. I have read too many of those and only because it was by both authors that I read and enjoyed previously, I picked it up. (And also because it was my pick for BookTube-A-Thon readathon.)

I read very few books which were co-writing and recently the one that I read (by indie authors) made me cringe so hard as I could totally tell who wrote which part and the switching point of view was not working at all.

This book is written extremely well. I read books by David Levithan (for whatever reason I only vaguely recall his writing style) and I read "Everything Leads to You" by Nina LaCour (which I liked but found too slow placed for me), so I expected to be able to tell exactly who wrote which part - and it is quite obvious, even before you pick the book. BUT even though POVs of Mark and Kate are different, they have their own voices, they do compliment each other and you don't get the feeling as if you are reading two separate books. Writing was great. It was more paced than I expected it to be and equally heartwarming (and heartbreaking) and funny.

The parents are barely present in the story, which is typical for these books. Both Kate and Mark at times seemed a bit older than they were.

Even though both of main characters in the book are gay, it is not the focus of the story. The focus is on the relationships: Mark is in love with his friend and Kate is in love with a girl, she has not met yet. There is no "coming out" aspect in the story at all, which is really refreshing. Nobody is agonizing over being gay or coming out to parents. The focus is on relationships and feelings. I was worried this might turn into another "coming out" story but thank goodness it wasn't. Thank you, David and Nina!

There were some parts that I did not particularly like. For example, how hard Kate was trying to impress that girl or how Mark and Kate were ready to lie to seem cool, essentially. Even though they said that they would tell the truth if asked directly.

Both Mark and Kate are very easy to relate too. Their characters would have been rather cliched (Mark is into sports and Kate is very artsy) if they were less two dimensional. Both Mark and Kate have certain fears and feel the pressure of expectations. Kate is suffering from anxiety and the fact that it is never really addressed directly as a mental health issue made me a bit disappointed.

In many ways this book reminded me of less known "Anything Could Happen" by Will Walton. It has a similar story line (without added perspective by Kate) and a similar ending. If you like your heartstrings to be played with and you are feeling nostalgic about your first love at high school - read this book. (And also read "Anything Could Happen" and "Simon vs Homo Sapiens Agenda" because those are very similar in tone and feeling, and after reading this you will probably need Simon to make you feel better.)

This book has several quote worthy lines and I had fun reading it.

Personal rating: 4.5 stars

I have done it again (disappeared and came back)

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Managing this blog turned out a bit more difficult than I expected. I have no problems with posting photos here or videos but actually writing blog posts? Here is where I have a problem. So, here is my attempt at a comeback number umpteenth.

Anyhow, I was browsing books online today (simultaneously on BookOutlet, AbeBooks, Indigo and Amazon - no, I am not joking) and came to a conclusion that I seem to be resolving to buying books that I should probably be getting from the library. But. But. But. My library holds are maxed out, that is I have 100 books on hold. And some of those have been on hold disgustingly long.

See an example.

 

OutstandingHolds

I have been waiting for "We were liars" for almost 12 months AND I am still far from being at the top of the queue, as the library obviously does not have that many copies on hand.

So, I got so annoyed to the point that I went and ordered this book at BookOutlet. This book was consistently popping up in my recommendations and I want to read it but I didn't want to own it. Alas, there is a limit I can wait for a book.

Same thing for some other books. I purchased some of them on AbeBooks and cancelled more of my requests where I was not in the top 10-15 people as the wait was getting ridiculous.

I realized that I have been adding books on hold at the library as the way to remember to read them (I am bad with titles) and therefore I keep maxing out. Which is annoying. I even have a separate wish list on Amazon that I titled "get these books from the library", so that I don't accidentally buy them.

I am a horrible shopaholic when it comes to books. I spent a ridiculous amount of money in June. It feels like July might be no better.

Do I have that much money to spend?

No.

Do I have shelf space for all those books?

Nope.

Why do I keep buying books?

Because it makes me happy! Besides I am not buying expensive tech gear or clothes. I am buying books. Mostly discounted, on sales or in second hand stores. So, I am not THAT bad.

But I am bad, and I admit it.

I also found that checking out a whole bunch of books from the library (as well as having 100 books on hold) is very overwhelming. I am trying to figure out how to get rid (meaning, read) from all of those books I have right now, so I can go on reading what I want to read right now. (This is why I do really bad with TBRs in general.)

Today is the last day of BookTube-A-Thon is which I am participating. And not doing too well. I am not bad, but I still find it hard to adhere to a set tbr.

Here are my ranty post.

Cheers.