I like tags, and even though I wasn't tagged to do this, I have to because I looove coffee.

Black: A series that is hard to get through but has it's hardcore fans

For this I have to go with the series I am currently struggling the most with: the Legend series by Marie Lu... please don't kill me. Everything I had heard about these books before was about how fast paced and addictive they are. I follow so many bloggers and Instagram accounts that swear this is their all time favourite series but it just doesn't click for me. I even did a review of the first book where I rated it 4 stars here, but for me after that the series has gotten so hard to get through. I'll post an update when I fiiiinally get done with Champion.

Obsessed with the pink page edges

Peppermint Mocha: A book that gets more popular during the winter or a festive time of year

My True Love Gave to Me, edited by Stephanie Perkins. This is the sweetest book, which is a collection of 12 short stories by ALL the YA authors (not really, but Laini Taylor, Holly Black, Rainbow Rowell etc. etc.). I might be cheating a little since this book only came out in 2014 but I have read it both christmases since it came out and plan on reading it again in December this year. This book gives me all the feels and feels like christmas time wrapped up in a bow.


Hot chocolate: A favourite children's book

For me, it will always be The Little Prince by Antonie de Saint-Exupéry. I can't even count how many times I have read this book. It is so gorgeous and will remain a favourite of mine forever. Although this is a 'children's' book, the themes are so important to me, and I love to re-read this from time to time.


Double shot of espresso: A book that kept you on the edge of your seat from start to finish

Illuminae by Aime Kaufman and Jay Kristoff! I had never read anything that was written in such a unique format before and I really loved it. This book was massive but so fast paced and I couldn't put it down.


Starbucks: A book you see everywhere

Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series. Yes I own all the books. No I still haven't read them.



That hipster coffee shop: A book by an indie author (shout out)

I really don't read many books by indie authors, I should read more but I always feel like by TBR is so long! and because I don't really know how to get my hands on them. So I will go for The Book of Hat by Harriet Rowland. I did a review here. This was written by a girl who went to my old high school, and is a collection of blog posts. I wold liken it to a 'real life fault in our stars'


Oops I accidentally got decaf: A book you were expecting more from

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I looove Rainbow Rowell and I have loved everything else that she has written. This one was so hyped up for me, I think I had set impossible standards in my mind, and it just fell short of all the praise it was receiving.


The perfect blend: A book series that was both bitter and sweet but ultimately satisfying

My perfect blend has to be the Harry Potter series by Queen Jo herself (J.K Rowling). These books are home to me, and every time I re-read one I feel so satisfied. I go through all the emotions possible and love these books with all my heart.

These covers are also beautiful!

Green tea: A book or series that is quietly beautiful

Shatter me series by Tahereh Mafi. I loved the writing style of this series, and the story was fantastic. I'm not sure if it is 'quietly' beautiful because this series has so much exposure, but I loved the writing style so much that it deserves a spot on the list


Chai Tea: A book or series that makes you dream of far off places

Prague is my number 1 travel destination that I am dying to visit, so Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor is my pick for this question.


Earl Grey: A favourite classic

I don't read many classics, and since I have already used The Little Prince, I will say Dracula by Bram Stoker since it my most recently read classic.

I tag all of you! Anyone that hasn't done this tag yet should! :)

Nerd Royalty. I am a nerd and I approve this statement.

.... Hello, Police?

Today I thought I would make a post about what I like to do to relax. I am a PhD student, studying Molecular Microbiology. So obviously on my day-to-day I am engaging my mind, and problem solving. Relaxing once I get home from a day in the lab is so important for my mental health. So here is a list of the things that I love to do and find relaxing

1. Read... Duh.
I obviously had to include reading on this list. Ever since I was young getting lost in a good book is something that I love to do. When I read I feel so sucked in and can put my life, and any problems I might be having on hold for a few hours.

2. Spend Time in the Kitchen
I love to cook and bake. Making dinner at the end of the day is a really relaxing and rewarding time for me, and it's relaxing making a trusty old favourite recipe (for me it's Laksa, yum!). But I love to experiment with food too. I am vegan and I am always trying new vegan recipes and baking. Cooking and baking are such relaxing activities for me.

3. Watch TV
When I am feeling lazy or blue nothing can quite cheer me up like putting on one of my favourite comedy TV shows. My all time favourites are Friends, Gilmore Girls, How I Met Your Mother, Parks and Rec, and recently Crazy Ex Girlfriend. I am one of those people that can watch the same episode of my favourite shows (such as the ones listed above) over and over and over until I can practically recite every line.

4. Take a Bath
Taking baths is not something I do often, but it is the ultimate pampering treat after a really long day. I am more than slightly obsessed with Lush, and all of their bath and shower products, and have a not too shabby collection myself. I love to run a bath and pop in a bath bomb or bubble bar and relax.

5. Spend Time with my Cat
This one may sound silly to non-animal lovers but I love to hang out with my cat. He really is the best. Actually I love to hang out with all cats, and volunteer in the feline area of my local animal shelter, which is super rewarding, and I get to have so many cat cuddles.

6. Spend Time with my Partner
I'm sure if he reads this he will ask me why the hell the cat is above him on the list - I was saving the best until last! We live together and spending time together, whether it be blobbing on the couch and watching TV, doing our own things in each others company, cooking, or going on fun adventures together is the best way I spend my time. Sorry to be cheesy but being together is my absolute favourite way I could spend time.

If you don't know this about me, I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I made a post a while ago on my Harry Potter collection, which needs a new update post, because I have got so many new books and memorabilia since I made that blog post.

It was revealed The Cursed Child was a new play being released, with input from Queen Jo herself, and was marketed as "The 8th Story", set 19 years after the the Deathly Hallows. I died a little inside knowing I would never be able to see this, since I live in New Zealand. So, as some of you may have guessed I was flipping out when I heard the script was being released for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I'm a drama kid, and have always loved theatre so I was really used to reading script formats.

July 31st arrived and I put on some Harry Potter gear (Ravenclaw letterman jacket, deathly hallows necklace, phone case) and I drag my boyfriend to the bookstore. It was released at 11am in New Zealand, if it was a midnight release I would have dressed up completely, but there were too many muggles wandering around outside.

There was probably around 40 people at the bookstore all waiting to get their hands on it, and since I arrived about an hour early I was one of the first to get my mitts on it

It's so beautiful

I took the book home and started it right then. I was done within a couple of hours - the script format makes this a super fast read.

I've saved over $205 :o

Hello!

Long time, no speak. I have abandoned this blog for about a month now, which I feel super terrible about. It's not because I'm not reading, but because I have started... grad school. That's right I have just started my PhD (I do Molecular Microbiology) and it has been a little all consuming lately, so when I am free I have just been blobbing and reading or watching Gilmore Girls rather than writing.

But! I feel lately like I have really been missing this blog, so I want to start posting again, probably not every other day like I was managing before I started school, but I'm aiming for a few times a week. I wanted to start of with a little bit of a hot topic lately: Book buying bans. As you can guess, being a PhD student means having a PhD student stipend. I have enough money to live but I don't have nearly as much disposable income as I did when I was working full time. I went through my bank accounts and added together what I have been spending on average on books in the last few months and...yikes. I need to make a change.

First step was cataloging my books. I have been using Libib for a while now - It's really useful to reference at a bookstore, so I know not to buy duplicates of books I already own, but I went through and organised my books on the app based on their status...'to read' or 'to be read'.


So out of the 352 books I own personally.. I have 201 unread. 201!!! That number is completely insane. That means currently in my collection I have more books unread than books I have read. After seeing this crazy number I made a pact that I need to read my bookshelf. I have so many amazing books on my shelf (I thought they were interesting enough to buy at one point) and I need to get to them, I want to put myself on a book buying ban until I manage to get that number down to 150. I know that is still a lot of books to have but then I will probably start a semi-book ban afterwards and allow myself to buy a book for every one book I read.

I used to accumulate books at roughly the rate that I read books but after discovering book blogs and booktube, I was introduced to all these amazing books and suddenly the rate at which I was buying books far outweighed the rate at which I could read them. I want to go back to buying books and reading books being at an equal level, but first I want to get to some of those poor abandoned books on my shelf, which I am still super excited to read!

Another thing is when I was going through the app and sorting out which books I have read and which ones I have not is there are quite a few books on my shelfs (I would say 30-50) that I have no interest in reading, and I bought at either a library sale, or heavily discounted for around $2. I am moving in soon with my boyfriend and do need to prune my library a little and so I will post when I do a book declutter.

Rating: 4/5

I bought all three books in this series a long time ago! I talked about the height of the trilogy here and I owned them for a while before that too. But I saw a photo recently on instagram which sparked me to start reading this series. So I picked up this first book and it was fantastic!

I was nervous going into this book because of all the hype, but just as it says on the front cover. It deserved it. From start to finish Legend was action packed.

Set in Post-apocalyptic Los Angeles (this first book didn't go into much detail about what sparked this apocalypse and overthrow of government, I am hoping for more in the next two books) June and Day captured my heart. I loved the truly unique characters and POVs. I can't wait to pick up the next book in the series.

I loved the dual font. June written in black, and Day in gold. It meant there was never any confusion about which POV I was reading from.

Unfortunately I don't really feel like I have read many books with great relationships between mother and daughter. This is probably in part because I read a lot of YA, and typically the parents play a small role or are missing all together.

Rory - Favourite character who is a bookworm

This book is insanely beautiful!

I just finished Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, which I will post a review on soon as soon as I stop crying and pull together my feelings. I knew that book would leave me with a bit of a book hangover so I decided Illuminae would help me power through and stop me going into a slump.

Illuminae by Amier Kaufman and Jay Kristoff is a book that has been getting a lot of hype recently. It interested me because I have never read anything like it before.
Here is the Goodreads blurb:

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

What made me want to pick it up is the format of the book: it is told through a collection of documents such as interviews, hacked emails, medical records, military files and more. Flipping though the pages makes it seem like a fascinating read. The relatively daunting size seems more manageable because of it's unique form of story telling.

I will let you all know what I thought once I finished it.