It’s All About Books

IT’S ALL ABOUT BOOKS… Well, at least books have an important role of my life. They form a way to escape reality; for me to enter a different world. A place where everything is possible, only limited by the imagination of its writer. Like someone famous once said: ‘Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body‘.

I’ve been reading ever since I was three years old, devouring books by dozens at my hometown library. I continued reading all the way through high school, and later decided to study Spanish Language And Culture and read some more. A few years ago I started travelling, and that’s when the idea came up to start keeping track of the books I’ve read… Hence this blog It’s All About Books was born, with reviews of all the books I’ve been reading since November 2012.

Before I leave I would like to say that I’m always looking for new books to add to my TBR list, and I would love any recommendations you might think of. I’m trying to broaden my literary horizon, so I’m open to practically any literary genre…🙂

Listing The Reading

Below you can find a complete list of the books I’ve been reading since November 2012 in reading order…  Please note that I’m in the process of improving my blog and reviews, and only reviews with link and rating are to be considered up-to-standard. I’m hoping to finish the improvements as soon as possible…

>>>For easy browsing, also check out the lists of reviews by AUTHOR, RATING, TITLE and SERIES.<<<

Books I’ve Read While I Was Away: Part 1

I had quite some free time to read during my trip, and I managed to finish a lot of books including A Dance With Dragons, which is HUGE. In this first part is a list of the first nine books I’ve read during my weeks away; each with a short review. Full reviews will be coming up during the next couple of weeks as I write them!

1. The Universe Of Us by Lang Leav
2. Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
3. Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young
4. Dead To You by Lisa McMann
5. Secret Letters by Leah Scheier
6. Vicious by V.E. Schwab
7. The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson
8. Anna And The Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit
9. Memoirs Of A Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

Friday Finds #100 – September 23rd

FRIDAY FINDS is originally featured at Babs Book Bistro and showcases the most interesting books I’ve encountered during (in this case) the last weeks and have added to my neverending TBR list on Goodreads. Below a selection of my newest additions; click on the book descriptions to go to its Goodreads page! 😀

My finds:

Dutch Book Haul

As I said in my post yesterday, I was able to get quite a few books while I was spending time in the Netherlands. I discovered my Dutch is just as terrible as I thought it was, so I decided to buy books in Dutch so I can practise at home. No more excuse that I can’t get Dutch books in Argentina haha. I also got three other books just because I could. They were a pain to fit into my backpack though.😉

 # Books by ‘foreign’ authors translated to Dutch #

Four of the Dutch titles I bought are actually translations… All of them were either already on my TBR or in the case of The Nightcircus I already read it in English. And even better: I got three of them (Sister was free!) for just €5 and Fragile Things is a hardcover!❤

• Het Nachtcircus (The Nightcircus) by Erin Morgenstern
• Zusje (Sister) by Rosamund Lupton
• De IJzerkoning (The Iron King) by Julie Kawaga
• Alles Is Breekbaar (Fragile Things) by Neil Gaiman

# Books by Dutch authors #

I have read books by the first two authors during high school and the third book sounded really good, so I decided to add these to my Dutch collection as well.

• Het Laatste Offer by Simone Van Der Vlught
• Moederkruid by Carry Slee
• Taal Is Zeg Maar Echt Mijn Ding by Paulien Cornelisse

# Other books #

I definitely still prefer reading in English and these offers were just too good to resist. You can never have enough books anyway right?😉

• Light by M. John Harrison
• The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan
• The Girls by Lisa Jewell

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That’s it for the physical book haul! I will be putting together another post with my newest ARCs and other ebooks soonish.

Happy reading!❤

I’m baaaack!! (sort of)

Like the title says: I’m back in business!!😀 Ok, technically I got back last week, but things are still quite busy so today is the first time I’ve been able to properly sit down and blog again. And I’m definitely glad to be back home!

Lots of things happened since my last post… I was in the Netherlands for about three weeks, with lots and lots of spare time to read outside when I wasn’t doing paperwork. Everything went a lot faster than expected so yay! I also made use of my free time to get myself some new books; 7 of them in Dutch (so I can practise since nobody I tried to talk to believed I was actually Dutch haha). Also, I got a new tattoo! I’ve been wanting to for a while now, and I’m happy with how it turned out.🙂

I didn’t travel back home straight away though. Together with my hubby we decided to go on a mini vacation to the Iguazu Falls instead and the national park was just as breathtaking as the first time around. Also, my tattoo butterfly got to meet her inspiration!

I will be putting together a few posts together soon, including book haul, arc haul, books I’ve read while I was away and pending book reviews. Hopefully things will be back to normal by next weekend!

I hope everyone is doing great; I’ve missed you all!❤

Hiatus Time!

I can’t believe the day has almost arrived! Tomorrow is August 14th, which means I will be boarding a plane with the final destination Schiphol Airport, The Netherlands. It also means It’s All About Books and me will be going on a hiatus… I will be doing visa-related paperwork mostly; I’m keeping my fingers crossed there won’t be too much hassle so I can return home quickly. I sure will be missing my hubby and my furry friends in the mean time… And all of you of course!❤

I leave you all with a picture of my cat Jasmin and my dog Paco… I hope everyone will have a great month and happy reading!

❤❤❤

ARC REVIEW: All Fall Down – by Tom Bale

Title: All Fall Down
Author: Tom Bale
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
First published: September 1st 2016
Publisher: Bookouture
Finished reading: August 11th 2016
Pages: 398

“And Wendy understood. They all understood. There were no limits.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I know I was trying to stop requesting new Netgalley thrillers for a while, but this title was just too hard to resist. I have seen various raving reviews about Tom Bale‘s other thriller See How They Run, so as soon as I saw All Fall Down I knew I had to give it a try. And boy, this was one dark, twisted and gripping thriller! The plot might have a few minor holes, but the story itself is so intense that it personally didn’t bother me. In fact, All Fall Down managed to grab my attention from the start and the many plot twist kept me on the edge of my seat for most of the ride. The story has quite a few surprises in store, although the ending is kind of an anti-climax. The descriptions and prose are excellent and set the right atmosphere for this dark thriller. I’m not sure I actually like the main characters, but I can’t deny the character development is well done and it was interesting to see the different reactions to the psychological (and physical) torture they had to indure. In short, if you are looking for a fast-paced and properly dark thriller, All Fall Down is an excellent choice.

What started out as a quiet Sunday bbq for the Turner family, soon turned into a nightmare when a dying man shows up at their gate. He is beaten beyond all recognition and barely able to utter his last words: HELP ME. Rob, Wendy and their children are shocked by what happened, but try to explain it all away by calling it an unfortunate coincidence and the fact that the man picked their house completely random. But in the days that follow their lives are threatened in ways they could never imagine, and none of them knows exactly why… They are unaware of the fact that they are watched and that their lives will soon be in the hands of someone with a very twisted sense of right and wrong. Are the Turners a victim of circumstance, or is something else to blame? And will they be able to save themselves before it’s too late?

If you like dark and twisted thrillers with a healthy dose of graphic and violent scenes, you will most likely love All Fall Down. It’s a fast-paced and gripping thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat partly because of the many plot twists and ‘hidden secrets’. I personally didn’t really like the Turners, but their characters are well developed; Gabriel and his followers are seriously creepy and twisted and the perfect ‘bad guys’. I can’t wait to read more of Tom Bale‘s work!

ARC REVIEW: Razzle Dazzle Unicorn – by Dana Simpson

Title: Razzle Dazzle Unicorn: Another Phoebe And Her Unicorn Adventure
(Heavenly Nostrils #4)
Author: Dana Simpson
Genre: Graphic Novel, Children, Humor
First published: September 20th 2016
Publisher: Andrew McMeel Publishing
Finished reading: August 10th 2016
Pages: 184

“”My dad speaks ‘nerd’.”

“It’s good to be bilingual.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Andrew McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I have been wanting to explore the graphic novel/comic genre for a while now, but with so many options out there it’s really hard to decide where to start. Netgalley and Andrew McMeel Publishing offered the great opportunity to try my hand at my very first graphic novel this year with Razzle Dazzle Unicorn: Another Phoebe And Her Unicorn Adventure. I admit that I was sold as soon as I saw the cover. It’s just so colorful, fun and I simple love the artwork! This graphic novel is perfect for young girls from the age of 8 to 12 years, both because of the graphics and the simple, but funny and relatable stories. Dana Simpson has found the perfect formula in the friendship between little Phoebe and her best friend Marigold the unicorn. The interaction between both characters is great even at those pages where there isn’t happening much plotwise, and I love that it shows young readers that it isn’t necessarily bad to be different. Razzle Dazzle Unicorn shows a range of typical childhood events like the holidays, school assignments, summer camp, frenemies and chores. Phoebe’s childhood is quite typical except for the fact that her best friend happens to be an extravagant unicorn and she frequently runs into other magical creatures. Contemporary with a dash of fantasy,  and so much fun to read! I can definitely recommend this graphic novel for younger (female) readers.

Phoebe and her unicorn are back with more adventures and more sparkly than ever! In this fourth volume, Phoebe and Marigold talk about the holidays and NY resolutions, confront trouble at school, frenemies and messy rooms. Marigold also has a nasty case of ‘sparkle fever’, and they both go to music summer camp to meet up with Phoebe’s friend Sue and her friend Ringo the lake monster… And they are reminded that being weird is WAY more fun than being normal.

I fell in love with this graphic novel as soon as I saw the cover art. The graphics in Razzle Dazzle Unicorn are just too cute, colorful and adorable in general! They will lure in even those children that might need a little push to start reading, and Phoebe and Marigold the unicorn will put them under their spell from the first page. The stories themselves are simple, but quite entertaining and funny. It will be easy for the younger readers to relate to Phoebe and it has an interesting underlying message that will encourage kids to use their imagination and not be afraid of being different. The glossary in the back and the final section are a nice touch as well!