The 2016/2017 Book Tag

Thank you, dear Azia at The Uncharted World for tagging me to do this tag! I loved these questions, especially since they are not all about books! The creator of the tag is David at theguywhosaidalwaysno so thanks to you, too! 🙂

If you want to read Azia’s post, click HERE.

First, here are the rules:

1. Mention the creator of the tag.
2. Use the image that you find in this article.
3. Mention the blogger who has chosen you.
4. Answer the questions.
5. Mention 9 bloggers/friends and let them know through a comment on their blog.

Now, let’s get to the questions:

1. Describe your 2016 in 3 words.

Bitter, sweet, unforgettable.

2. Write the name of two people that have characterized your 2016.

Two is really not that much… First of all, my boyfriend. And the other person would probably be my mentor. I worked with her for a year, exactly for the span of 2016, and she was a great mentor, I couldn’t have wished for a better one. Working in a school for the first time, with so many children, was an experience I will never forget.

3. Write the most beautiful place yoou have visited in 2016 and wwhy you liked it so much.

Oh, no… How can I choose between Dublin and Vienna?!

It’s impossible… So, maybe, I’ll choose the Cliffs of Moher, because just looking at them makes you appreciate nature even more than you did before. The beauty of nature is the greatest!

4. Write the most delicious food you’ve tasted.

2016 was the year I discovered homemade almond butter! I don’t know how I lived without it before. And it’s so easy to make! All you need are almods! Here’s a link if you’re interested.

5. Write the event that has marked you most in 2016 (even a global event).

Speaking of global events, that would definitely be the so-called refugee crisis. Some people really showed their worst, countries have closed borders, and it made me so sad. I’m from Croatia, so our country was on the so-called Balkan Route, and I think we initially handled it well, without closing the borders (though there were some shameful incidents). Now with the new, conservative government, I don’t know how our country is going to proceed with it.

6. Write the finest purchase you made in 2016, and if you want, link a photo.

I’ve bought several amazing books. But somehow, I’m most proud of some graphic novels I’ve read, since I don’t read them often. Especially Watchmen! I love love this one!

7. Write 3 good intentions for 2017.

I’d like to write more, keep up with my blog, and be happy. 😉

8. Write 1 place you want to visit in 2017.

Just one? I want to travel EVERYWHERE! If I had to choose one place, then probably Iceland.

9. Write 1 plate/food you want to eat in 2017.

Something wonderful that I haven’t eaten before. I’ll let it be a surprise for me! XD

And, in the end, I tag these wonderful people: abitbookishblog, The Looking Glass, Books ‘n’ Reviews Oh My, Quill’s Corner, The Night is Dark and Full of Books, Paradisbooks, Ann Reads Them, Caffeinated Bibliophile, The Book Wench, Beth Jones and Closet Readers.

If you choose to do it, I’m looking forward to your posts! 🙂

Twittering Tales #14: The Eyes

Time for another Twittering Tale! The challenge is hosted by Kat Myrman, and the goal is to write a twitter-length story (140  characters or less) for the provided photo prompt. Here’s this week’s prompt, and my story.

The Eyes

Hazy-eyed, he awoke to see a sheep looking down on him. He never truly looked into its eyes before. He saw wisdom now. Emotion. Rebellion.

(138 characters)

Top 5 Wednesday: Favourite Underrated Books

Another Wednesday, another Top 5! 🙂 I found out about Top 5 Wednesday on Goodreads, so click HERE if you want to join the fun!

This time, we were supposed to pick some underrated books –  books that aren’t as widely talked about. Now, I’m not sure if the books I picked fall into that category, but I think they do. Also, I think there are some underrated books mentioned in My Top 10 Books of 2016 post, for example Alice, but I decided not to mention it again.

Let’s begin!

1. Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton

A Victorian drama meets dragons. And not in a way you’d expect. All the characters are dragons! But they act like people, they have the aristocrats and the poor, they ride in carriages but sleep on their pile of treasure. XD This book is so fun, and I recommend it to everyone who can look past a little bit of silliness.

2. The Unusual Possession of Alastair Stubb

This book is crazy, but in a good way. I loved the strange atmosphere, dark family secrets, and deranged characters. It’s creepy, but not too much. And it’s very, very fun.

3. The Last Man by Mary Shelley

People know Mary Shelley as the writer of Frankenstein, and forget that she wrote some other books, too. Though I liked Frankenstein more, The Last Man is also very interesting, mostly because Shelley used the people she knew (Pery Shelley and Lord Byron) to create her characters. She took some of their ideas and put them in a pre-apocalyptic world. As everything falls apart in the novel, we can also perceive some of Mary Shelley’s feelings once she was left alone, the last of the Romantics. I wrote a post about this book quite some time ago, so CLICK HERE if you’re interested.

4. Evelina by Frances (Fanny) Bourney

This epistolary novel from the 18th century has a lot in common with the works of Jane Austen, but since it was written before it deals with a different society with different manners. Now, I’m not a big fan of Austen (sorry!) but I really did enjoy this novel.

5. The druid books by Ellen Evert Hopman

I don’t think this trilogy has a name, probably because each book has its own story (the third one could almost be read on its own but it would be better to start from the beginning). If you’re interested in the life of the Celts, you just have to read these! Besides enjoying the stories, I also learned a lot.

Aaaand, an honourable mention: The Vampyre by John William Polidori. The first aristocratic vampire tale, before Dracula and even before Carmilla. If you are a vampire afficionado (as I am) this is a must-read. This is where it all started! Not the best book ever, but still. 😉

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

Endlessly: a Haiku

At times life feels like

Broken record on repeat

Circling endlessly

---

So, this is my first haiku on the blog! I just had to write at least one. 🙂

---

Image courtesy of pixabay.com

Twittering Tales #13: Writing it Down

Twittering Tales challenge is hosted by Kat Myrman at like mercury colliding… The goal is to write a twitter-length story, in 140 characters or less, and I just love to write there tales!

Follow the link to learn more about Twittering Tales, and join in if you’d like to! 😉

Here’s this week’s photo prompt, and my tale:

Writing it Down

“Are you really writing down what I’ve just said?!”
“Of course! If I forget it I’ll never be able to use it in my novel.”

(120 characters)

Top 5 Wednesday: Favourite Polarizing Books

There are certain books that people seem to either love or hate, with no in between. For this Top 5 Wednesday, I was supposed to chose 5 of those books that I like. Honesty, I’m not completely sure if these fall into this category, but from what I’ve heard I think they do. Also, some of these are not really favourites of mine, but I don’t hate them as some people do.

Let’s start!

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

I love this book and it’s one of my absolute favourites. I know a lot of people who share these feeling, but I’ve also come across a lot of people who kind of hate it… Which makes me a bit sad… Those people often say that characters are unlikeable, but I think the part of what makes this book great is the flawed characters. I did come to care for them, in spite of their flaws.

2. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

I can understand why some people don’t like this book. It’s not a pleasant one to read. But I still loved it! I already mentioned it in a post about my favourite villains – the way it’s written is just amazing!

3. Medieval sagas

I don’t think this is a case of love-or-hate, it’s more like: some people enjoy these sagas and others don’t read them at all. I loved The Song of the Nibelungs (or the Nibelungenlied), The Saga of the Volsungs (Völsunga saga) and I loved Beowulf. There’s just something about these stories that fascinates me. I’m kind of a medieval geek. XD

4. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

You don’t read books like this for the wonderful prose, you read them for the fun and mystery. I was still in high school when I read it and I found it very interesting then. I also liked Angels and Demons. It was a perfect fast-paced summer read.

5. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

I didn’t know which book to choose next, so here’s one I don’t actually like, but I don’t hate it as much as some do. Twilight is a book that really gets a lot of hate and a lot of love at the same time. And yes, it’s not a book I love, but I did like it when I first read it (this was also in high school) and I wanted to know what would happen next. The books get worse and worse as the series progresses, that I have to admit, but the first one wasn’t that bad.

So, do you have any thoughts about these books? I’d like to hear from you! 🙂

 

Twittering Tales #12: Good Friends

Twittering Tales challenge is hosted by Kat Myrman at like mercury colliding… The goal is to write a twitter-length story, in 140 characters or less. I really love these challenges! 🙂

This is my response to this week’s prompt – a bit silly story from me this time, I admit. XD

Photo prompt:

Good Friends

Three smiling faces welcomed Tom. He felt lucky to have such good friends, unaware it was his dog Barkley they were really happy to see.

(138 characters)

Captured Moments… Vienna, Austria

If you’ve read some of my recent posts, you know I’ve spent a week in Austria, and celebrated the New Year’s Eve there. (Austria, the one with no kangaroos. 😛 It’s actually a big joke there, you can buy t-shirts that say NO KANGAROOS IN AUSTRIA. :’))

Anyway, Vienna is more than beautiful, so it would be a shame not to share some photos from my trip with you. Hope you’ll like them!

After a day of just walking around, one day was spent entirely on two museums – The Art History Museum and The Natural History Museum. Both were amazing! And the buildings themselves are beautiful, too.

The Natural History Museum had a lot of dinosaur-related exhibits. If you knew how much I love dinosaurs, you’d know how excited I was! (I wanted to be a paleonthologist when I was a child. Well, I still do…) And the Allosaur that moves and growls… I wanted to take it home! XD

There was also a part of the museum dedicated to space, and it was quite magical, but impossible to photograph well.

And since it was night by the time we left the museum, we could enjoy seeing it coloured with light. There was a small Christmas Village between the museums so everything looked very cute and festive. It was easy to forget about the cold.

Now, off to the city itself! Honesty, I wanted to take picture of every building I saw. XD Here’s just a few to show you why:

Wagner’s apartments:

The Secession Bulding, an exhibition hall built in 1897 by Joseph Maria Olbrich as an architectural manifesto for the Vienna Secession artists:

The beautiful Parliament, with the statue of the goddess of victory, Nike:

City Hall and the Christmas Village in front of it, it looked really lovely:

And the prettiest ever – the Hundertwasserhaus, an expressionst apartment house built after the idea and concept of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser with architect Joseph Krawina as a co-author:

The shops inside were also gorgeously decorated. It was like a little town of its own.

KunstHausWien was also designed by Hundertwasser. It now hold an exhibition of his work, but also hosts temporary exhibitions of other artists. And it’s amazingly pretty, of course:

And, oh, the palaces! Belvedere…

…and Schönbrunn.

Beautiful Vienna… It was really hard to pick among the many pictures I’ve taken, but I think these give you a nice overview of my trip. Yes, it was cold, but not too cold, and I’m from coastal part of Croatia so I’m really not used to cold. We managed to see everything we wanted, and escaped just before it got very, very cold. XD From now on, whenever I think of Vienna, nice, warm memories of this trip will come to my mind. ❤

Twittering Tales #11: Running Together

I know a missed a couple of these, but I’m happy to be back!  Each Tuesday Kat Myrman at like mercury colliding… provides a prompt for a twitter-length story (140 characters or less). I really love these challenges, and this is my response to this week’s prompt. Thanks Kat, I hope you’ll like the story! 🙂

Prompt photo:

Running together

Together they could run and run. Run like children. Run away, escape the past. Run towards the welcoming future.

(112 characters)

My Top 10 Books of 2016

Hi people, and I wish you all the best in the new year! ❤ I came back from my trip to Austria and I’m planning to share some photos with you, but I took so many so I need some time to pick and choose. Until then, let’s get back to talking about books!

The start of a new year usually means making new plans for some new beginnings, but it is also the time when we reflect on the year that has passed. I’m not really the new-years-resolutions kind of person, but I do like to reflect on the books I’ve read. XD I was really looking forward to this post, since I had no idea which books I would choose before checking my Goodreads account. Yes, I was certain I would include a few books that immediately came to my mind when thinking about this post, but there are also some I read early in the year and almost forgot they were actually read in 2016. Let’s get to the list (in no particular order):

1. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

I read this one in January. I should’ve done it a long time ago. This is an epistolary novel told through the eyes of Celie,in her own words and broken language, but it also speaks about the lives of African-American women. It’s very sad, raw and real.

2. The Vegetarian by Han Kang 

A strange book, in the most wonderful sense of the word. Yeong-hye decides to purge her mind and renounce eating meat. That’s how the book starts. What follows is much bigger then anyone would expect. The book tackles so many issues, and all of them are hidden inside of a short, but amazingly captivating narrative.

3. Alice by Christina Henry

Speaking of strange… This adaptation of Alice in Wonderland is extremely dark and violent, but I loved it so, so much. The way in which Henrry uses the well-know characters to make something completely new is done very well!

4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Another book I should’ve read a long , long time ago… I’ve read some of Plath’s poetry, but this book always somehow remained one of those I wantd to read, but never actually did. I’m so glad I finally read it. Plath’s prose reads almost like poetry, and the emotions this book evokes feel very, very real.

5. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

“Like a compass facing north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always.”

Hosseini’s writing is beautiful, and his stories are very emotional. It hurt to read this. I cried. And I loved it. And amazing tribute to the suffering of Afghan women, and an interesting story as well.

6. Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente

I’m not going to pretend I know a lot about Russian folklore, but I have read some Russian fairy tales. This novel takes them all, and mixes them into an interesting, strange, dark and often confusing story. Confusing in a good way. I loved this book! It was unusual, which is always good, unpredictable, and magical.

7. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

This is now my favourite Gaiman novel. The world he creates in Neverwhere is wonderfully dark and fun at the same time, and the characters are intriguing. And the ending was great! Escapism at its best. XD

8. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Next two books on the list are graphic novels. I don’t read these as much as I should, especially since the two I’m going to mention were more than amazing. Persepolis is not only interesting, it taught me a lot about Iran, its history and present.

9. Watchmen by Alan Moore (Author), Dave Gibbons (Illustrator), John Higgins (Colorist)

Yes, I should’ve read this a long time ago, too. Watchmen is an amazing graphic novel! It poses so many questions other superhero graphic novels don’t. Don’t get me wrong, I like superheroes, but this is so much more than a superhero story. It’s gritty, dark, and very realistic.

10. Tales of the Ketty Jay by Chris Wooding

Now, something completely fun! I’ve read the first two books in the series this year, Retribution Falls and The Black Lung Captain, and I’m definitely going to read the next two soon. If you want a fun steampunk adventure with interesting characters you’ll love despite all of their faults – this is a perfect series for you! I mean – airship pirates! Who doesn’t want to read about airship pirates? 😉

Have you read any of these book? Did you like them, too?