Wrap Up | March 2018

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Hey loves! It’s time for a monthly wrap-up post again. I read a total of five books, an e-book and listened to two audiobooks last month so it was really a great month for me. I think the last time that I read eight books in a month was in January 2017. Reading short stories / novels really helps a lot especially if you’re in a reading slump.

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Wrap Up | January & February 2018

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Hey guys! I’m finally back with my January and February Wrap-Up post! Better late than never, right? (That’s my favorite motto these days. Haha!) Anyway, I am so happy to be back here and hoping that you guys are still looking forward to read my new posts. I included my mini reviews of the books I read in this post and also my book haul. So it’s a little long but I hope you enjoy reading it. So without further ado, let’s begin.

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My Top Ten Favorite Reads in 2017

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Hey guys! Is it too late to talk about the best books I read in 2017? I don’t think so. I wasn’t able to reach my reading goal (which was 60), BUT I read a couple of great books so it was totally okay with me. PLUS, I was on an incredible vacation late last year.

Out of 57 books I read, I only picked 10 favorites to keep this list short. So without further ado, here are the books that I absolutely enjoyed and loved! (in no particular order)

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September Wrap Up + Reviews

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Hey guys! It’s time of the month again. For the month of September, I was able to read 4 books. I’ve just finished the 4th book two days but I think it’s still counted as September read. I’ve been in a slight reading slump last month which was not good… at all. I also wasn’t able to update my blog last month as much as I wanted to. Im going to try again this month and hopefully everything will work according to the plan. So, let’s start with my wrap-up.

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August Wrap Up + Summer Book Haul

Hi guys! Christmas is here! Haha. In the Philippines, Christmas starts at the beginning of “ber” months. We Filipinos take this holiday very seriously even it means heavy traffic, crowded streets/malls and long list of gifts. The last time I spent Christmas with my family was in 2013. It’s been a while now and I’m really missing all the festivities, food and of course, my loved ones. But let’s not talk about that now because I’m here for my August Wrap Up.

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My Top Ten Favorite Books of 2017 (so far).

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Hi guys! I hope you’re all having a woderful time. Any plans for the weekend? Well, I’ll be staying at home over the weekends, watch the second season of How To Get Away With Murder (I just finished the first season few days ago and OMG!) or the fourth season of Sherlock, and of course, read. It’s a perfect weekend, right? 🙂

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Monthly Recap : March 2016

Happy April Fool’s day! I remember last year when I read a post about Daryl Dixon’s death in the season 5 finale of The Walking Dead. I was so sad and worried because I thought it was true. Then after watching the episode, I realized that it was April 1st and I got fooled. Good job!

hp-gif-216So, let’s move on to my recap. March went so fast and it was a little crazy (at least for me) and exciting.

  • I am now a yellow belter in Karate. I passed my exam (March 17) and I’m so proud of it. Honestly, I never thought of me joining (or doing) Karate. I’ve been influenced by my husband (black belter) and parents-in-law (both brown belter). Oh, my sis-in-law is also a black belter. So yeah! I’m still undecided if I want to continue doing it.
  • Society6 hosted an awesome giveaway and I was one of the winners. I chose the Cat-stronauts throw blanket by Drew Brockington. It is so cute and huge! I love it so much. I can just stay under it forever.
  • I finally finished watching Game of Thrones. I can’t wait for April 24.

brJust like last month, I read 4 books this month. Total of 2,136 pages)

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Monthly Recap : February 2016

Happy 1st day of March! Wow! Time flies really fast. Me and my husband spent the last day of February making flammkuchen (Tarte flambée). He asked our friends to come in our apartment to have a flammkuchen party. Everything turned out great. ♥ So, aside from sharing the books I read this month, I also want to share some of the highlights of my February.

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– My husband surprised me with a Harry Potter slash Game of Thrones quest on our 4th year anniversary. He hid his gifts and gave me a written instructions on how to find them. We did it around 12:30mn so we had to be quiet while doing it because the Dragons were already asleep. (Our neighbor’s last name is Dragon). I found Hermione’s wand (first gift) and he said that I’ll be needing it to defeat the dragons. I thought it ends there but it didn’t. We went to the dungeon (aka the basement) and there I found my second gift, a House Targaryen scarf. They look awesome, right? I’m afraid that I’ll break the scarf so I still don’t use it and it’s still inside the box.

– I collaborated with the lovely people of Daniel Welllington and they’ve sent me one of their pretty wristwatches. I chose the Classy Winchester because I love how it looks like and I wasn’t surprised that it’s more pretty and classy in person. Plus, it has Winchester on its name. *fangirling Supernatural* I’ll make a different post for this so I can show you how elegant this wristwatch is. Feel free to check out www.danielwellington.com and use the code kathDW for 15% off. Valid until Apri 15, 2016.

• I got a new ereader case from Klevercase. I chose the personalized one and it is so perfect for my kindle. Aside from it looks really like a book, it also holds perfectly my kindle. I totally recommend you to get one for your ereader/tablet./iphone covers. You’ll not regret it.

• It’s my first time joining ‘#Love-A-Thon and I had so much fun. I’m looking froward to joining again next year. I also joined #5books7days readathon hosted Lotte.

• I hit 20k on my bookstagram account. It’s so unbelievable. I’m so happy and very thankful about it. ♥

• I’ve made an account on Litsy. It’s like an ig/goodreads. You can share book reviews (but with 250 letters only), blurbs and quotes. Feel free to add me : @kath_reads

• And lastly, congratulations to my long-time crush Leonardo DiCaprio for (finally) winning the Best Actor award in Oscars. I’m really proud and happy for him.

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I read 4 books (a total of 1,186 pages) this month.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes // 5 out of 5 stars – This is my first perfect 5 for this year. I love this book so much. This is not your typical sad love story and probably not even a love story at all. It’s about the importance of life and understanding the choices people make. Read my full review here.

Even The Moon Has Scars by Steph Campbell // 4 out of 5 stars – It’s my first time reading a book from Campbell and I totally enjoyed it. The story is simple and the characters felt real to me. I really love their “overnight” adventures and how perfect they are together. It’s kind of an insta-love but not in a trying hard way. I recommend this if you want a light, easy and enjoyable read. I’ll write my full review soon.

The Body In The Library by Agatha Christie // 4 out of 5 stars – This is my third read from Miss Marple series. It’s quite hard to write a long review of Agatha Christie’s books because I feel like I’ll just repeat myself for saying how beautiful her works are. The characters are fascinating, the plot twists are brilliant and the writing style is incredibly amazing. I adore Miss Marples’ unique way of “investigating” and for being exceptionally clever. As usual, I didn’t guess who the real suspect is. I told myself to stop guessing but I can’t help it. I also love how Christie decribes the library in this book.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman // 4 out os 5 stars – My first Neil Gaiman read. After reading the first few pages, I checked the genre of this book and it’s under Fiction, Horror, Magical Realism, and Paranormal. I thought it was contemporary but it wasn’t. This book is amazing. I instantly fell in love with his style of writing and his extraordinary story. It is weird but in a very good way. I’ll be writing my full review soon.


I didn’t buy any books this month (still doing great on my book-buying ban) but I was lucky to get a copy of Who Says You Can’t? You Do by Daniel Chidiac. Thank you so much for sending me this awesome book.

Who Says You Can’t? You Do by Daniel Chidiac
Edition : Paperback (392 pages)
Publisher : DC Group Global (March 26, 2013)

Have you ever wondered why there are few people living their dream, yet others seem to be slipping further away from theirs with every day that passes? Daniel Chidiac’s writing has touched millions of people worldwide and helps to transform thousands of lives daily. By opening Who Says You Can’t? YOU DO, we embark on a psychological and emotional journey that is certain to unlock our truest potential. This challenging yet extraordinarily rewarding book is the ultimate guide to discover the fulfilment we have been searching for our whole life. x

So, there it is. My February wrap-up. How many books have you read in February? Did you add new books on your shelf? Share your wrap-up below. I’d love to read yours. ♥

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Monthly Recap : January 2016

Happy February! Can you smell love in the air? January went by so quickly, right? I had a great start of the year and aside from January is my birth month, a lot of awesome things happened too. I’ve discovered new great books and authors, I got new funko pops (Dean and Sam Winchester), Netflix (finally) added the season 8 of The Big Bang Theory, I’m part of a book club called The Literary Lions, and a lot lot more.brNow let me share to you the books I read for the month of January. I read 4 books (total of 973 pages) and they’re all great.

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn // 3.5 out of 5 stars – I totally enjoyed reading this book. Great twist and interesting characters but it’s just way too short. I thought it ended so soon. Read my full review here.

Black Crow White Lie by Candi Sary // 4 out of 5 stars – This is a story of Carson, a young boy who has a magical gift of healing, living in Hollywood motels together with her alcoholic fortune-teller mother. A coming-of-age novel which I totally enjoyed reading. Unforgetable characters and interesting plot twist. My full review soon.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness // 4.5 out of 5 stars – Breath-taking illustrations with heart-breaking story that will definitely melt your heart. The last pages of this book made me cry and I’m pretty sure this book will stay with me for a long time. This is my favorite read in January. My full review here.

More Than This by Patrick Ness // 4 out of 5 stars – I’ve lost count of how many times I wrote “WTH!” on the pages of this book. So many surprising events and inspiring lines. This book is amazing. Clever storyline, likeable characters and superb writing style. I’ll be writing my full review soon.bhI only got three books in January. This year, I’m trying to buy less books and read more from my TBR list. FYI, I didn’t really buy these books.

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Maegan Spooner – I got this one for my birthday. It’s on my TBR list because I love the cover and I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about the series.

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin – Bookstagram community made me buy this book. Aside from the gorgeous cover, it’s also a historical fiction set in 1956 Germany. I also got this for my birthday.

Emotions by Arnulfo Cantarero – First, I would like to thank the author for sending me this. The story is about an emotionless extraterrestrial born to human parents guy with his mission to gain permanent emotions. Sounds interesting, right? The cover is lovely too. I’m excited to read this one.

How was your January? Have you also read some great books? Let me know by commenting below. ♥

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My Top 10 Favorite Books of 2015

I can’t believe that it’s already 2016. Happy New Year, by the way! I would like to share my Top 10 Favorite Books of 2015. Sadly, I wasn’t able to complete my reading challenge last year. I read 49 books and my goal was 50. I know right! Just one book. I still stick to 50 books for this year and hopefully, i’ll be able to complete the challenge.

So, let me start with my top five favorite stand-alones, in no particular order.

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Monthly Recap : November and December 2015

It’s never too late, right? I’ve been in a blogging slump (if there’s a thing like that) these past few weeks. So forgive me for the late updates.brin November

Crown of Midnight by Sarah Maas – 4/5 stars

I think now I can say that I like Crown of Midnight more than the first book. The character development is superb in this one. I’m glad that I finally got see the more badass assassin side of Celaena and as well as her flaws. She can be annoying sometimes. I have to admit that i like the Dorian more here but I’m still Team (shirtless) Chaol.

Not a perfect five because I felt like the first part of the book was quite slow. The second part was gripping and it made me want to read until the end. The revelation is just what I’ve been expecting from the start but some of the twists, I didn’t see them coming. Overall, I enjoyed reading Crown of Midnight but I think it’ll will take a little while before I continue the series because i’ll be buddy reading it with Joyce.

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover – 5/5 stars

Lovely book cover. Incredible, real and relatable characters. Definitely my number one favorite from Colleen Hoover. I’m excited for the movie adaptation. My full review here.

 

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Monthly Recap : October 2015

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Am i the only who feels like October went by so fast? I feel like I’ve just posted my September Wrap-Up yesterday and now it’s time again for a monthly wrap-up. Oh well,  I read a total of 6 books this month and they are all good.brProcessed with VSCOcam with a6 presetA MURDER IS ANNOUNCED BY AGATHA CHRISTIE – 4/5 STARS

This is the fifth book in the Miss Marple series and my second read from Agatha Christie. This book introduced me to Miss Marple and her unique way of investigating and solving a crime. She has an interesting character and maybe after reading some of the books one the series, she will become one of my favorite “detectives”. My full review here.

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie – 4/5 Stars

Processed with VSCOcam with a6 presetThe first book in the Miss Marple series. Since I was quite disappointed with the appearance of Miss Marple on A Murder Is Announced, I expected that this book will show more of her or will tell me more about her but it doesn’t. This one is quite different from the other books I’ve read from Agatha Christie (this is my third) because this book was written on the Vicar’s (main character) POV. It shows us his thoughts about the other characters including Miss Marple. I still enjoy reading this book and guessing who the real suspect is. I actually guessed the right one but I wasn’t 100% sure about it.

CRESS BY MARISSA MEYER – 4.5/5 STARS

Processed with VSCOcam with a6 presetThis is part of our (me and Joyce) October TBR. It’s quite hard for me to write a decent review for this book because I don’t know where to start. This is the kind of book (series) that you have to read and see for yourself. Cress is a fairytale retelling of Rapunzel with a twist. I think Cress is so far my favorite from the series. It’s a mix of action, comedy and romance. Great characters and the world building is astounding. It is definitely a must-read. I can’t wait for Winter!

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Monthly Recap : August 2015

bye august! bye summer!

Happy September 1st. I can hear christmas bells and smell christmas cookies. Let’s start with some great things that happened in my life last August.

  • I’ll be getting my ID next week. We went to Ausländerbehörde for my residence permit and we’re happy because we didn’t have problems. That also means that I can now work.
  • We’ve started going to a different gym and we love the new ambiance.
  • We bought an action camera! We want to record simple events in our lives.
  • We went to Funeral for A Friend’s gig in MuzikZentrum. It was fun!
  • I updated my book blog! Yey!

I am satisfied because I’ve read more than 4 books (my maximum per month) and I was able to read the books on my TBR List. I think having a reading buddy helps me a lot! Thanks to Joyce.

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  • And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie – 5 / 5 stars (My Review)
  • P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han – 4 / 5 stars (My Review)
  • Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris – 3.5 / 5 stars
  • Angelfall by Susan Ee – 4.5 / 5 stars
  • Scarlet by Marissa Meyer – 4 / 5 stars (My Review)
  • A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin – 5 / 5 stars
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Mini Book Haul

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These pretties came in the mail today, except my Gizmo, and I can’t help not to share them with you guys.

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Murder on the Orient Express
by Agatha Christie

I’ve read And Then There Were None with Joyce few days ago and we both loved it. We’ve decided to start collecting Christie’s novels. This book was recommended to me by the majority of my bookish friends (one of them is Erika) as a second read from Christie.

Snow Like Ashes
by Sara Raasch

This is my book for this month’s “1HB a month”, a “thing” that Joyce and I started. We love hardbound books (Who doesn’t, right?) but they are quite expensive so we’ve decided to save some money (it’s our husband’s money, actually. Haha!) so we can buy one hardbound every month. I am reading a lot of good things about this book and I’m excited to read this.

Meanwhile..
I’m excited for Funeral for a Friend. They will be performing later at 9pm in MusikZentrum (Hannover) and it will be my first time watching them live. Yay! Last time I’ve been in a concert was in 2013 when Paramore performed live in Docks, Hamburg and it was epic.

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Mini Book Haul

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Ready Player One by Ernest Cline | Goodreads
I’ve been reading and hearing good things about this book. I know that being a gamer is an advantage on reading this and I’m lucky because my husband is a “gamer since birth”. I sometimes tease him that his twin brother is Super Mario. Other readers who’ve finished this book said that even if you don’t have a vague knowledge about games, you can still relate and enjoy this book. P.S. Armada is on my to-buy list.

Night Film by Marisha Peesl | Goodreads
This book was We The Book Dragons‘ book for the month of July and I wasn’t able to join the read-along. I’ve avoided reading the discussions because I still want to read this book but I cannot avoid to browse the pages. It has some pages with newspaper and internet clips. I can’t wait to read this.


I ordered these books from The Book Depository. Look how lovely the bookmarks are!

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