Top Ten Bookworm Delights

TTT is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

These are just some of my favourite things. :D

Off Topic Sunday: My Recent Trip to Seoul

Sorry for the unannounced hiatus guys! Last week, I took a trip to Seoul, South Korea!!! It was mostly for work but I managed to go around and see a few amazing sites. I honestly thought I would have the time to post too but after just completing night shifts, flying for 12 hours (plus stressful layovers), and then sight-seeing plus conference, I was completely flat by the end of the night.

Seoul was simply amazing and super easy to navigate! I had booked my hotel near my conference place so that worst case scenario, I could walk to the conference every day. But from the moment the plane touched down, there were labels and signs everywhere telling you where to go. The city is very well equipped for tourists! The subway system is out of this world (for a Melbournian like myself)! Plus I never had to wait more than 5 minutes for trains. 

The city is an amazing complex blend of the new and the old. Nestled right in the heart of the city is Gyeongbokgung aka the Northern Palace, which is the largest palace in Seoul. It was absolutely stunning. And although I was technically two or so weeks too early, but there were some cherry blossoms blooming already and they were so pretty!

I could gush about my trip for hours but I really only posted to let you guys know that's where I've been hiding. Then work kind of took over. But I will definitely make an effort to get back into the blogging pattern. Especially since I have just read an amazing book that I could to share with you guys soon.

Until next time!

March 2016 Wrap-Up

We are now in the second quarter of 2016! How scary is that?!

This month was all about slow and steady. I had a busy work schedule this month plus I was ridiculously unwell for 2 of those weeks (and weren't able to take time off work) so I didn't really have a regular reading schedule. However, looking back at March, I still read 7 books and completed one more series. So I am pleased.

Highlights of the month:

• I listened to Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari as an audiobook and I really enjoyed it. He was funny, easy to listen to and made a lot of the dry data from the research really approachable and easy to understand. 
• I finally read something by Colleen Hoover! One more author off my "embarrassed I still haven't read these authors" list.

What about you guys? How did you go in terms of reading this month?

Top Ten of My Recent 5 Stars Reads

TTT is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I tend to be a bit stingy with my 5 stars ratings, especially since I'm prone to giving half stars so a lot of my favourite reads would have a 4.5 star rating rather than a full 5 stars. As a result, I had to look back all the way to the middle of last year to find the last 10 books that I gave 5 stars rating to but I think the hunt is worth it.

A interesting side note is that, looking back, I realized I have given 5 stars ratings to these books for different reasons. Some of them is because of their amazing story arcs, some because of their character development or imagination, some because they made to think, and some because they were truly entertaining. But yeah, without further ado, here are the 10 recent books that I felt were worthy of the 5 stars rating!

Book Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Series: Millennium (book #1)

Publisher: Knopf

Release Date: 16th Septembe 2008 (originally 2005 in Sweden)

Read Date: 9th January 2016

Tagged Under: 2016 read, adult fiction, mystery or thriller, book review, 4

Check It Out @Amazon, @TheBookDepository, @GoodReads

Book Summary

Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch - and there's always a catch - is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo.

Book Review

Feature Follow Friday: Short Stories

• The goal is to increase blog followers, make friends and have something to post
• You create your own post using the post prompt
• You leave your link and thumbnail in the linky list that links back to your post prompt
• Once you have your post up and linked, visit other posts and tell them hi. The point is to FOLLOW them not just comment.
• If you see a post that just hit it to the moon, or just want to show appreciation to a fellow blogger friend, like their name on the linky list to show some appreciation.
• The person with the most likes gets chosen as the next Feature (you can be chosen every 90 days unless we are in need of features)
• It is required that if you participate that you have to follow the FEATURE. It is a big no-no to participate and ignore the feature. They are the special snowflake in this little blizzard.
• As a participant it is up to your discretion on how you want people to follow. Please post RSS, GFC etc if you have a follow of choice.

This week's feature

Kati Bookaholic Rambling Review

This week's prompt is

Short Stories (as companions to a series): what do you love about them and hate about them?

~ Kristine

My Answer

I have mixed feelings about novellas or short stories that are companions to a series. I adore some of them to pieces, and others I see as just pointless money-making schemes. When done well though, I think they are absolutely fabulous additions to the series. 

Reasons I love them:

• They bring us back into the world that we love
• They reacquaint us with the main characters, often sharing us a snippet of their lives after the main series have ended
• Alternatively, they shed some light into the main characters' background

What about you guys? Do you love or loathe them?

Book Review: Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan

Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan

Standalone novel

Publisher: Clarion Books

Release Date: 5th April 2016

Read Date: 24th February 2016

Tagged Under: 2016 read, review copy, 2.5, YA fiction, book review

Check It Out @Amazon, @TheBookDepository, @GoodReads

Book Summary

In a city divided between opulent luxury in the Light and fierce privations in the Dark, a determined young woman survives by guarding her secrets. 

Lucie Manette was born in the Dark half of the city, but careful manipulations won her a home in the Light, celebrity status, and a rich, loving boyfriend. Now she just wants to keep her head down, but her boyfriend has a dark secret of his own - one involving an apparent stranger who is destitute and despised. Lucie alone knows the young men's deadly connection, and even as the knowledge leads her to make a grave mistake, she can trust no one with the truth.

Blood and secrets alike spill out when revolution erupts. With both halves of the city burning, and mercy nowhere to be found, can Lucie save either boy - or herself?

Book Review