I know I haven't updated the blog since February, but I had a heavy workload this semester and I just didn't have much time to read. For those of you who don't know me, I study English Literature and Linguistics, which involves reading a lot. At the end of the day, I just didn't have time or motivation to continue reading. Nevertheless, I managed to read one book and I'm currently reading others. I also bought some more books to read over winter break, and I'll list those too. 

What I read

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

With the hype for the last season (and the disappointment that came after that), I just got in the mood to read the books again. About seven years ago I started reading the books of A Song of Ice and Fire, but I only managed to read the first two. Now I plan to read the entire saga and just hope that Martin publishes the last books.

What I am reading

Selected Poems and Prose by Percy Shelley (4%)

I read Percy Shelley's works for the first time this semester, for a literary theory class. We read A Defence of Poetry and Ozymandias, and I really liked both so I decided to read this book which contains Shelley's most important works. So far I'm about 4% done, and I already have a ton of highlights. My favorite one is;

To see this awful pomp of death

For one frail mass of mouldering clay

When nobler men the tomb beneath

Have sunk unwept, unseen away

The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson (12%)

The Prose Edda is one of the key texts you have to read when studying Norse mythology. I found it browsing M.A. in medieval literature, and since I always have been interested in Norse mythology, I decided to give it a try. I'm about 12% in, and so far I've liked it but it reads more like a history textbook than anything else. It is still fun to read though.

Isolation by bex-chan (71%)

I love, love Harry Potter fanfiction. Nowadays I don't read it that much, but I still enjoy some good Dramione from time to time. And this is a long one. The ebook has little over a thousand page. Yes, a thousand pages. I usually don't count fanfiction in my reading goal, but you bet I am counting this one. I started reading this in Spanish years ago but the translation was quite meh. Now that my level of English is better, I am reading it in English and it is so much better. Really, this is one of the best Dramiones that I ever read. 

What I plan to read next

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

I plan to continue with this saga, so the next step is to read A Clash of Kings. As I said, I already read it like seven years ago, but I remember almost nothing. Also, the last time I read this it was in Spanish, and I'm enjoying it a lot more in English.

The Gating Game by Sally Thorne

Sally Thorne released a book this summer, and everyone was saying how it was good but not as good as The Hating Game which was so much better. I really don't know what it is about, but it seemed like a light read so I'll give it a try when I'm too overwhelmed by the many characters and locations of A Clash of Kings. 

This month was kind of good for me. I didn't read everything I wanted to, but I'm still happy with the books I read. I didn't have many exceptional reads, except for Trazos and my reread of Harry Potter. The rest was just okay. Here I bring the books I finished in February, the books I'm currently reading and my TBR for March. Links to Goodreads by clicking on the title of the book. 

This month I read a total of six books, three novels, one graphic novel, one manga and one book of poetry.

READ

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide (★★): This book wasn't a great read for me, mostly because I felt that nothing was happening. It just describes the relation of the owners with their cat and their daily lives. And that is it, nothing really happens in this book. I just felt it wasn't for me.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (★★★★★): You can see my review for this book here. This was my first time reading the book in English, and I think  I loved it more than when I read it in Spanish. It is always good to come back to Hogwarts.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (★★★): You can see my full review here. I listened to this on audible, and although I liked it, I think I would have enjoyed a lot more if I was in high school. I just didn't understand some of the actions of Lara Jean and found her a bit immature. Anyway, this was a good read.
Trazos by Fernanda Frick (★★★★★): You can read my review of this book here. I have no words to express how much I loved this graphic novel. It was just amazing, and I recommend everyone who understands Spanish to read it. This was absolutely my best read of the month.
Death Note Black Edition: Vol.1 by Tsugumi Ohba (★★★★): I really liked this manga, because I loved the anime. Nonetheless, I don't think I'll read the other volumes because it is too similar to the anime. It is great though if you are a hardcore fan of Death Note!
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman (★★): You can read my full review here. I didn't really like this book, which is really sad because I was looking forward to enjoying it. I'll probably read something else by this author in the future anyway, mostly because I have to take a course on poetry!

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (3%): I just loved this book when I read it for the first time. I listened to some parts and read others, but this time I'm only listening to it because the narration is great, and it really adds something to the story.
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (66%): I can't believe I have been reading this for the whole month, and I'm still not close to finishing it. The thing is, I find that this book is slower than the others, and I have to force myself to keep reading it in some parts. I hope it gets better in the end.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (19%): This book is utterly disgusting. But is so well written, I really want to keep reading it. It does really give some insight into the mind of a pedophile (which is what makes it so disgusting).

To All the Boys I've Loved Before is the first book in a trilogy written by Jenny Han. This is the story of Lara Jean, a teenager who finds herself in trouble when her love letters are released. Especially, since one of them is addressed to her sister's ex-boyfriend. 

The first thing I have to say is that if I had read this in high school, I would have absolutely loved it. But I'm not in high school anymore, and I cannot say I loved this, not even that I liked it a lot. I just liked and that's it, which left me a little disappointed. After all the hype for these books, I thought I would like it more. And I did like the movie quite a bit, so I was expecting to love the book. But sadly, I have to say that the movie might be better than the book.

First, I found Lara Jean to be a bit childish. I couldn't stand her at first because of this, but then I grew to like her. I didn't really identify with her, which was a bit sad since I did identify with her in the movie. 

But my main problem was Margo. She doesn't appear that much in the book, but every time she did I couldn't stand her. I just found her to be so mean and selfish, so I just couldn't avoid rolling my eyes at everything she said. She did redeem herself a little bit at the end, but I still don't like her.

Recently I've added several books to my TBR, I bought some, but most of them I exchanged for books I did no longer want. Here are the books I recently acquired. Link to Goodreads by clicking on the book title.

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide: I had seen this book on some bookstagrams, so I picked it up when I saw it was available for exchange. I am currently reading it and I am liking it so far.

Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern: I wanted to read this author for a while now, so I picked up this book without knowing what it was really about. I liked the cover though!

Snow Flower and The Secret Fan by Lisa See: I picked this book because the cover was pretty. I read the synopsis when I got home, and it sounds actually really good, so I hope I like it. 

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima: I found this book very cheap on my local bookstore, so I bought it. I also had seen it in someone's blog as one of their favorite series, sadly I don't remember whose blog it was.

Fausto by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: I wanted to read this book since I saw the 1926 movie (which is amazing). This edition is both in Spanish and German, so I think I will take some time to read it.

Dubliners by James Joice: My aunt recommended this book to me after she read it and traveled to Dublin. I found it so cheap at my bookstore that I had to buy it.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum: I also found this book very cheap, and I bought it because I want to read this before I read Dorothy Must Die, which sounds really good.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne: Sally Thorne recently published a new book, and everyone was saying how reading that book made them want to reread The Hating Game again. So I thought it had to be good. Plus I will always enjoy a contemporary romance. 

Trazos is a Chilean Graphic Novel by illustrator Fernanda Frick. This is her first Graphic Novel, and I just have to say that I loved it. The story is about Simona, a former artist that now works in a bar after her career is destroyed by a fiasco in a gallery event. In this story, we will see how Simona finds her passion for art again.

The illustrations are lovely. You can see a picture of how the inside looks here. As you can see in the cover, the protagonist, Simona, is a cat. I thought this was really good because it adds a unique spark to the story. The whole novel is in black and white, and although I would have preferred some illustrations in color, this doesn't affect the story at all. 

The story itself is what makes this book shine. I just found it so compelling and sweet, I couldn't put this book down. I really cared about Simona, and although I'm not an artist (unless blogging is considered an art), I was able to put myself in her shoes. The end of the story was perfect, and the last illustration almost made me cry. 

I really recommend you to read this! Sadly, it is only in Spanish. If you are curious, you can find more about Fernanda Frick here.

★★★★★

Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection written by Walt Whitman. I read the edition that was published in 1855, which contains twelve poems. The book deals with several topics, including what was to live in America, the war and nature. I found the book a bit repetitive. Sometimes several stanzas would be just examples of some feeling, or similarities between objects or sensations. This made the book a bit boring at some points, with only a few stanzas that called my attention. 

I found the language used a bit hard to understand since there would be several words I didn't know the meaning of. But you should take into account that English is not my first language, although I'm fluent in it. This means that maybe this book won't be suitable for young teens, but it will be ok for older ones. And if you are just learning English, I recommend you to read this in your native language. 

Here I bring some lines that I found very interesting.

★ ★

For the ones of you who read the book for the first time in English, this might not seem surprising. But for me, which my first time reading the books was in Spanish, I found it very curious. The thing is, in Spanish, Hagrid talks like any other person in the book, that is to say, how it is properly talked. I wonder why they decided to translate it like that, and not adapt it so that the essence of Hagrid wasn't lost. With this re-read, I think I encountered myself with a new aspect of Hagrid's personality.

As with every re-read, I noticed more details about the story, that will come to play a role in the next books. I even had forgotten some scenes, because my last re-read was several years ago. It was nice to encounter characters again, for example, Peeves, who sadly does not appear in the movies.

For the ones of you who haven't read Harry Potter, this book is about a boy who discovers he is a wizard and goes to Hogwarts to learn magic. It is a must-read if you like fantasy. One of the things that have been highlighted about this series, is the extensive world J.K. Rowling built. It has many details, many characters and a story you will definitely love.

I think I will never grow too old to not give this book five stars.