June 2020 Wrap Up

I didn't read all that much in June but I did find a new favourite!

1. Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 4 - 20 by Hiromu Arakawa

I read volumes 4 to 20 of the manga series: Fullmetal Alchemist. I enjoyed my time reading these but I do believe the series is a bit too long.

2. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata,

This is a gem! I'm really happy I read this short Japanese novel. It has sparked in interest in reading more Japanese fiction, as you will be able to tell from my following book hauls and wrap up. 

It’s a very short story about a woman who loves working in a convenience story. She is happy with the way she lives her life but society, friends and family think she should do better. 5 stars, I can't recommend this book enough! Convenience Store Woman is my favourite book of 2020 so far.

Do you have a favourite read this year?

What did you read recently?
Have you read any of these books or are you planning to? Leave your thoughts and recommendations down below!

If you enjoyed this review, please follow me on Bloglovin', Twitter, Instagram, TVShowTime and Goodreads! I would really appreciate it!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Books by Black Authors I Recommend

BLACK LIVES MATTER! Today I want to recommend books by Black authors to show my support with the Black Lives Matter movement. I planned to do this a month ago, but due unexpected circumstances I had to postpone it. Nevertheless it is still as relevant today as it was a month ago.

These are in no particular order:

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

I read this extraordinary novel a couple of years ago and it's one of the books that stayed with me the most. It tells the story of multiple generations and it had quite an impact on me.

They Can't Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement by Wesley Lowery

I don't often read non-fiction but I'm happy I read and reviewed this one. I don't remember all the details (as I read this in 2017) but in my opinion it was a good introduction to the Black Lives Matter movement.


The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

This young adult novel probably needs no introduction. It's incredible, just read it!


The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Another historical fiction novel on this list, although I do prefer Homegoing, if I'm being completely honest.

A Mercy by Toni Morrison

A Mercy not as well-known as other Morrison books (which I have yet to read) but I liked the writing style and plot and hope to read more Morrison soon.

Binti (Binti, #1) by Nnedi Okorafor 

A science-fiction novella. I still need to read the others but this was quite enjoyable.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters #1) by Talia Hibbert 

This was a fun romance novel, I'm excited to read the sequel as well.

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite 

This thriller was such a quick and enjoyable read. I love the title and the cover, they intrigued me.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This is a short but important essay on feminism.
One of the quotes I liked the most:

“Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture.”
We Should All Be Feminists, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Which are your favourite books by Black authors? Let me know in the comments!


If you enjoyed this review, please follow me on Bloglovin', Twitter, Instagram, TVShowTime and Goodreads! I would really appreciate it!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Sunday Post #113

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer (image above belongs to @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer). It’s a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. 
I am also linking The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz where bloggers discuss what they are reading and other bookish topics.

Life

I miss being able to travel to other countries but I'm enjoying discovering new places in Belgium as well. What are you doing to keep yourselves busy?
Yesterday, I had a great time catching up with my friend, first time seeing each other since this corona thing started.

Blog and books

I finished The Ghost Bride at the beginning of the week and I thought it was great! I recommend it if you are looking for a good ghost story. I started Norwegian Wood (and by started I mean, I read 20 pages). I hope to continue soon.
A lot of people commented on the picture of this book on Instagram, and their praise for this book makes me want to read it all the more. I just hope the slump doesn't return.

Movies and TV Shows

I watched two films this week: Fight Club and The Marriage Story. Both films I have been wanting to watch for quite some time and I'm so happy I finally did. They're great!

Stay safe and enjoy the summer!

What did you read or watch recently?

As always please leave some recommendations on what I should read or watch next! 

If you enjoyed this review, please follow me on Bloglovin', Twitter, Instagram, TVShowTime and Goodreads! I would really appreciate it!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Sunday Post #112

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer (image above belongs to @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer). It’s a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. 
I am also linking The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz where bloggers discuss what they are reading and other bookish topics.

Life

I'm back! I have been absent for a couple of weeks because things got really busy and my mother had to have an unexpected operation and that stressed me out too much.
Luckily the operation seemed to have gone well, although we don't know all the results yet.

The good news is, I'm now on my Summer break! 

Blog and books

I'm slowly getting out of my reading slump and I finally finished The Fullmetal Alchemist series this month! I can now return it to my friend before an actual year has passed.

I'm currently reading The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo. I'm really enjoying it, it makes me think of the film Coco (but only a little bit). Netflix recently adapted The Ghost Bride but I haven't seen the show yet. 

What are you currently reading?

Movies and TV Shows

I'm not really watching anything right now, but two weeks ago I watched The K2, which I enjoyed as well.

What did you read or watch recently?

As always please leave some recommendations on what I should read or watch next! 

If you enjoyed this review, please follow me on Bloglovin', Twitter, Instagram, TVShowTime and Goodreads! I would really appreciate it!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Sunday Post #111

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer (image above belongs to @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer). It’s a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. 
I am also linking The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz where bloggers discuss what they are reading and other bookish topics.

Life

I've starting using Instagram to share my favourite books by black authors and the books by black authors that are on my to read list. The recent events make me furious and sad at the same time. It needs to stop. Black lives matter!
I will share my recommendations on my blog as well.

In other news, some days my grandmother appears to be a little bit better but the days after that, it's the other way around. I think it would help if we were able to visit her, a lot of this is due to stress, I believe. However, that's still not possible. She has a doctor's appointment in two weeks (which is rather late) and if she goes she will have to be in quarantine for two weeks afterwards. So, this will make it hard on her as she thrives on being with family and doesn't really have any other hobbies (except for colouring). In addition, one and a half years ago the doctors told her she had about two years to live, so every month that goes by and we're unable to see her, feels awful.

Blog and books

I'm currently reading the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series. I'm at volume 8.
I borrowed the boxset from my friend's brother in August, so it's about time I read the series. I'm hoping to finish it in July but this might be wishful thinking.

Movies and TV Shows

I finished Kill Me Heal Me this week and it was really good. A Korean drama about a female psychiatrist and a man who has multiple personalities. Currently I'm watching Put Your Head on My Shoulder, a feel-good Chinese drama on Netflix.

What did you read or watch recently?

As always please leave some recommendations on what I should read or watch next! 

If you enjoyed this review, please follow me on Bloglovin', Twitter, Instagram, TVShowTime and Goodreads! I would really appreciate it!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Stacking the Shelves: April 2020 Book Haul

Stacking the Shelves is a meme co-hosted by Reading Reality and Tynga's Reviews (the image above belongs to these blogs too). Each week bloggers share the books they got.

A bit late but here is my April book haul. I haven't been reading that much lately and I also haven't bought that many books in April and none at all in May. It's the first time in years that I had a month in which I didn't buy a single book. I'm kind of proud of that. 

These are the four books I got in April:

1. You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle

I quite enjoyed this one!

2. Fallen Saint (All The Pretty Things #2) by Monica James

This is the sequel to Bad Saint, I tried to read it but couldn't really get into to it. I probably won't pick it up again.

3. Rise of Empire (The Riyria Revelations #3-4) by Michael J. Sullivan

At the start of the lockdown I thought I would read a lot. I want to read more fantasy books as well. This was the only book in the series I didn't yet own. Still haven't read a single one of them. I curse you reading slump.

4. Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

If it weren't for the reading slump, I would have already read this one. I'm very excited to read it, it has been on my desk since I got it in the mail.

I'm planning to write a blog post about my favourite black authors and the ones that are still on my TBR. The things that are happening in the US are horrific and heart-breaking. Black lives matter! 


Which books did you recently get? Have you read any of the books mentioned above or are you planning to? Leave your thoughts down below!


If you liked this post please follow me on Bloglovin', Twitter, Instagram and Goodreads! I really appreciate it! 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! 

May 2020 Wrap Up

Here is my May wrap up. I didn't read anything in the beginning of May, but the last (two) weeks I did read 2 books and 2 manga volumes. I'm quite happy with what I read after all. I do hope to read more in June.

1. Heidi by Johanna Spyri

I recently got Heidi and A Little Princess to complete my Puffin in Bloom collection. I love these designs. I didn't know anything about these two books, but I'm happy I read Heidi. I gave it three stars. I probably would have loved this more when I was younger. I hope to read A Little Princess or a Secret Garden soon as well. Which one should I read first?

2. Men Without Women: Stories by Haruki Murakami

My first Murakami book! I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. I really want to read more books by Murakami soon. Do you have any recommendations?
I gave Men Without Women five stars.

3. Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 2 (Fullmetal Alchemist, #2) by Hiromu Arakawa

I'm borrowing the boxset from my friend's brother, I read the first volume last year and wasn't too impressed but I feel bad that I didn't read more, so I'm going to try to read them all soon!

4. Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 3 (Fullmetal Alchemist, #3) by Hiromu Arakawa

This still isn't my favourite manga series but the characters are starting to grow on me. I'm enjoying it more.

What did you read recently?
Have you read any of these books or are you planning to? Leave your thoughts and recommendations down below!

If you enjoyed this review, please follow me on Bloglovin', Twitter, Instagram, TVShowTime and Goodreads! I would really appreciate it!

Have a wonderful day everyone!