{Tag} The College Book Tag

Hey, guys!

      If you've followed me consistently on my social media, you've probably read my complaints about how I've started school. I'm just going to be totally up-front with you all. I'm really struggling with fitting reading for fun in my school schedule. There's just so much to do. I'm the most involved with school this semester than I've ever been. (Hooray for having my own vehicle!) 

     Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know that I will probably blog infrequently until I get my crap together. I'm not sure when that will be, but my top priority is school right now. I'm paying to be here, so I'm committing. I think I said this last semester too. You guys know the drill. 

    I was going to originally post this the Tuesday of my first week, but it just didn't happen. This will be going up during my third week of school, so I hope you guys like this tag. I had a lot of time answering the questions. 

Enjoy!

Required Reading

A book you bought because of someone else's recommendation

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I just recently bought a copy of The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzak because my best friend Maddie absolutely raves about it. My friend, Alice (@thereadinglitchi), is also a major Zusak fan. They have been raving about The Book Thief for such a long time, so when I went to Half Price Books last week, I decided to splurge and purchase a copy. 

On Reserve at the Library

Name a book you read and loved but don’t own a copy of

Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

I read this book from my local library back in 2014 and it was instantly a new favorite. I had picked it up on a whim. I hadn't even known about the movie. This story is so sweet and it made my little 16-year-old heart melt. Someday, I'll have to pick it back up again. 

Buying New

The most expensive book you’ve ever bought

the Bloomsbury Harry Potter box-set

I purchased this sometime last year during a BookOutlet sale. It was sooo cheap! I think it was $45 or something. I think I saved $70-90 because of BookOutlet. I just remember that it was cheap, but still quite expensive. I absolutely adore the Harry Potter books. These editions are stunning. 

Buying New

Do you write in your books?

I only write in my school books. I rarely ever write in my fun books. I'll tab them, but I don't particularly like to annotate because I never really stick to it unless it's for academic reasons. 

Rent

A book you lent someone that they never returned.

Catherine: The Great Journey, Russia 1743 (The Royal Diaries) by Kristiana Gregory

Back in elementary school, I lent a friend a copy of my one of my favorite books. She moved schools and never gave it back to me, though she won't admit it. I'm not salty anymore, but I sure was at age 11. 

“Required Readings”

A book you’ve lied to people about reading

I don't really lie about reading books. However, I won't admit that I just skim boring books for my classes. A lot of the books that I read last semester were actually skimmed and SparkNoted. I would attempt to read them for hours and I just did not understand them. It was more productive to try to understand the story and skim for specific moments to read, rather than commit to something I didn't understand at all.

~~~

I hope you guys enjoyed this tag! It was really fun to do! 

To all my college student readers, good luck! You can do it! It is hard, but we will carry on and do our best!

Happy reading, all!

Olivia

~Liv the Book Nerd~

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August 2017 Book Haul

Hey, guys!

      I've done so well this month and I basically haven't bought any books! I did let myself splurge right before school started, so that's where two of them came from. My boyfriend and I went on a mini-adventure to the city and went to the nearest Barnes and Noble. We spent probably two and a half hours in there and I know that I had a blast. I can't speak for him, but he came out with some goodies as well. I love Barnes and Noble! Here are the books I bought (2) and received (3). 

Bought/Received 

• Night Shift by Deb Gliori*
• Thank you
• 4 stars
• Review coming September 12
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• Reread/Current read/Buddy listen
• Previous rating: 4 stars
• Review: {click here}
• The Gunslinger by Stephen King
• TBR
• I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education & Was Shot By the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
• Currently reading for my university's book club
• First Came Forever by Annie Woods*
• TBR - thank you, Annie Woods, for sending me your book!

*review copies 

Text Books:

• Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill
• Already finished...I hated it. 
• Aristotle the Nicomachean
• It's Not News, It's FARK by Drew Curtis
• Technopoly the Surrender of Culture to Technology by Neil postman
• Moral Tribes: Emotion Reason and the Gap Between Us and Them by Joshua Greene
• The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
• Grendel by John Gardner
• Beowulf
• The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
• Revolutions in the Atlantic World: A Comparative History by Wim Klooster

I can't wait to read these books. I mean....only a couple of my textbooks look good, but oh well. I can't wait to read the books I picked up/received for me. 

From Barnes & Noble: 2
From School: 1
For School: 10 (waiting for +2)
For Review: 2

Number of Books I've Read: 3
Number of Books I'm Currently Reading: 4
Number of Books Unread: 8

Happy reading!

Olivia
~LivTheBookNerd~

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

Page Count: 226

Published on: May 18, 2004

Published by: Vintage Contemporaries

Genre(s): YA, Fiction, Mental Health, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary

Source: Paperback -School Reading

Age Rating: PG

Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon

Twitter: @mark_haddon

My Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow.

Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor's dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favourite (logical) detective, Sherlock Holmes. What follows makes for a novel that is funny, poignant and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world entirely literally.

~~~

Hey, guys!

      It's been a week since I've posted a review, but I've been so incredibly busy with school and work that I've only been able to read a few books these past couple months. One of them being The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for my Literature class. I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read more like it.

      The Curious Incident follows fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone, an autistic teen from England. Christopher is a very logical and serious young man who is very set in his ways. Christopher has some very particular quirks that come along with his type of autism. When his neighbor's dog is mysteriously murdered, Christopher decides to investigate the murder of who killed Wellington. As he is investigating, Christopher discovers new information that could change his life forever.

      I really loved Christopher's character. His story-telling style was very bizarre, but it was exactly how he processed information and I loved how realistic it was. I have family that has been diagnosed with a form of autism, so I personally have interacted and I understand how some children with autism think. Mark Haddon has definitely done his research regarding autism. It really warms my heart to read something that represents the autistic community so well. 

      I also really loved the realistic dynamic of family. I loved how Christopher's parents were portrayed and their reactions throughout the novel were really realistic. Their emotions were very raw and interesting to read about. 

      Overall, this book was an excellent read. I'm definitely going to read more books like this. So far, this is my favorite book that I've read for this literature class. We're about half-way through the third book, but I haven't decided which of them I like best yet. 

I hope I can get more reviews up soon, but I've only read a few books in the past month, so my posts won't be as regular as usual so I apologize in advance.

Happy reading, all!
Olivia

~LivTheBookNerd~

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August 2016 Book Haul

Hey, guys!

      I bought more books...YES I'M SO ASHAMED! Holy crap I don't even know how I acquire so many books, but I did. 10 were given or gifted  to me, so it's not like I bought all of them, but the 8 books that I did buy...3 were for school and I bought the rest really cheap or discounted. I'm ashamed for spending money, but I'm not ashamed for giving books a loving home *wink* Here are the books that I bought this month!

I'm really really excited to read these books, and I can't wait to review them for you all. 

*Read
+Review Copies
For School

1. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White*
2. The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus #3) by Rick Riordan*
3. Harry Potter & the Cursed Child (Harry Potter #8) by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, & Jack Thorne* (review coming)
4. After You (Me Before You #2) by Jojo Moyes* (review coming)
5. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
6. The Curious Incident Of the Dog In Night-Time by Mark Haddon
7. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
8. The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs
9. InSomnus by Emily Fennig*+ (review coming)
10. After We Collided by Anna Todd
11. Lola & the Boy Next Door (SIGNED) by Stephanie Perkins*
12. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Conan Arthur Doyle
13. Striking Terror by Denis Lipman+
14. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban (hardback) by J.K. Rowling*
15. Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets (nicer paperback) by J.K. Rowling*
16. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee*
17. Furthermore by Tehereh Mafi
18. The Thousandth Floor by Katherine McGee

This list of books is in order of when I bought/received them, so if you're confused about how they're arranged in the picture then that's just by size/height. 

Which book are you most excited about me reviewing? If you want, I'll put it closer to the top of my TBR! Comment below or contact me through any of my social media that is linked down below!

Happy reading!
Olivia

~LivTheBookNerd~

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@LivTheBookNerd on Books

When The Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

Page Count: 144
Expected Published: December 18th 2007 

Published by: Anchor

Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Adult, Academic Fiction
Source: Paperback

Age Rating: PG-12

Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon

Website: {click here}

My Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

The debut novel from the PEN/Faulkner Award Winning Author of The Buddha in the Attic

On a sunny day in Berkeley, California, in 1942, a woman sees a sign in a post office window, returns to her home, and matter-of-factly begins to pack her family's possessions. Like thousands of other Japanese Americans they have been reclassified, virtually overnight, as enemy aliens and are about to be uprooted from their home and sent to a dusty internment camp in the Utah desert. 

In this lean and devastatingly evocative first novel, Julie Otsuka tells their story from five flawlessly realized points of view and conveys the exact emotional texture of their experience: the thin-walled barracks and barbed-wire fences, the omnipresent fear and loneliness, the unheralded feats of heroism. When the Emperor Was Divine is a work of enormous power that makes a shameful episode of our history as immediate as today's headlines.

~~~

Hey guys!

      When The Emperor Was Divine was a novel that was assigned for one of my English classes. The novel followed a Japanese-American family who were persecuted after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and how the family was sent to a work camp by the American government. 

      I found it fascinating that the family's names were left out of the story, even the most trivial characters had names, even a little doll that was mentioned. Otsuka strays from the usual tropes that a historical writer usually follows. Otsuka's writing style is so mysterious and she stays away from tugging on her readers heart strings, but instead she writes a story that is powerful and real. She does not make the conclusions for the reader, and instead leaves the novel open for interpretation and allows the readers to experience the novel for what it is. Even though the novel deals with the tragedy of what the Japanese Americans had to deal with during the second world war and during the aftermath of V-Day. 

      The most powerful section of the novel, for me, were the last couple sections when the family was free and out of the camp. The impact that the camp and their internment had on them was so powerful and terrible...each reader is left to interpret the ending as they see it. The fact that the Japanese Americans were expected to act as if nothing had happened, was an outrage, but also the fact that most Americans acted as if nothing had happened. The constant fear that the family in the novel experienced after they were freed was driven by the constant fear that they would slip up and be taken again. They no longer wanted to live as convicted criminals, they wanted to go back to the lives they had before, yet they were unable to do so.

“We looked at ourselves in the mirror and did not like what we saw: black hair, yellow skin, slanted eyes. The cruel face of the enemy.
We were guilty.”

     This is a very short book, but every page and every detail within are essential to the story, and the reader's growing understanding of what happened during that time. 


I highly recommend this novel, especially if you are curious about the World War II period. I was unable to put the novel down, and even though I had to read this for a class, it was still a very engaging and interesting novel. If you would like to read more about the books that I have read for school, then click the links below to check out the reviews for:

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• The Little Prince/Le Petit Prince by Antoine De Saint Exupery
• The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald

I hope you enjoyed this review! Don't forget to check out my YouTube channel, LivTheBookNerd, for new content. I've posted a (really) late March Wrap Up, and I plan on filming more videos and posting soon, so don't forget to subscribe! :D

Click here: {YOUTUBE CHANNEL :P}

Happy reading everyone! Thank you so much for sticking with me this long! I love you all so flopping much!

xx Liv

~livthebooknerd~

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