That's It, I'm Going on a Book Buying Ban| CarenzaOnBooks

Today's post is a small post about why I am going on a book buying ban and to make it actually official. As of this post going live, I am going to go on a book buying ban until I have made a significant dent on my TBR. I fully intend to stick to it this time. The only exceptions to this rule are for new books in series I'm already reading, so I can continue them, and special editions I'm worried I'll miss out on. Even then, I am going to be super strict about this list. 

The reason I am going on a book buying ban is because I have reached maximum capacity for my TBR books. I have almost 200 on my Goodreads list, which is more than enough to keep me busy for the foreseeable future. From 2017 till the start of the pandemic, I actually had a very strong control on my book buying habits. I was at uni and a student, so I had limited resources to buy books. However, since the pandemic started, that restraint went out of the window. I don't regret my decisions because these books have provided me with so much joy during a terrible time, but now it's time to stop. 

By writing this post, it's something I have to hold myself accountable for. It will make sure I actually stick to this book buying ban. And it's not like I'm short of books to read. I have plenty to keep me busy, probably enough to read for the entirety of 2022, seeing as my average is around 80 books a year. I also think that by having this ban, it will encourage me to tackle my backlog so I can then make space for the new books in the future. My TBR piles around my bedroom are getting out of control and it's time to tame them. I want a collection of books I've read, so I can go, look at all the books I've read and loved! 

So this was just a small post to say it's time for my book buying ban to begin. I will resist temptation, especially from work as I'm surrounded by books all day. So if you follow me on other social media platforms and you see me talking about books I've bought, you have my permission to shout at me because I need it.  

The Power of the Readathon| CarenzaOnBooks

This post is inspired by the Spoopathon, which is a readathon I am currently taking part in. If you want to know more about it and what I'm reading for it, then click here. In today's post, I want to talk about the power of readathons and how they've made me motivated to read.

Prior to this, I have taken part in one or two readathons during my time in the book community. I like the ones where you can fit whatever books you want to read to prompts, rather than having a specific group book to read. In recent years, there hasn't really been a readathon that has captured my attention. Either the timing didn't work for me or the premise wasn't one I was interested in. Then Spoopathon came along, created by the wonderful Holly from @spoopyhol. A Halloween themed readathon? Sign me up. What was great about this one was that I could already fit my TBR plans for October around the prompts. The prompts are very generous and you can get quite creative with how you pick books for them. 

Since taking part, I've noticed that I am more motivated to read. In the first week of October, I read three books. I don't remember the last time I read that many books in one week. Compared to normal months, where I'm just reading for me, I'm more likely to pick up a book. I think that's because of two reasons. One, I have a goal to complete and two, I want to collect points for my teams. This is the first readathon I've taken part in where there's a bit of a competition element. It feels like I'm working towards something and that at the end, there's going to be a reward. 

Readathons are a community event. I know for this one, there are reading sprints you can take part in at certain times, where everyone reads at the same time. There's teams and obviously, you want to see to see your team win. You can interact with other people and see what they're reading or what content they're making around the readathon. I think the community spirit created around readathons makes them a wholesome event to take part in.

The Spoopathon isn't finished yet, but I'm certain I'd take part in more readathons in the future. I've had so much fun challenging myself to read more this month and it's given me a chance to create content that's a bit different from what I normally do. Readathons are very powerful and lovely events. I'd recommend taking part in one. 

These were my short and somewhat ramble-y thoughts on readathons.      

My Experience Using CAWPILE To Review Books| Carenza Bramwell

 Last week, I shared a post all about my different reading tracking methods. One of the ones I mentioned was CAWPILE. Today's blog post is going to be talking about my experiences using CAWPILE so far. 

What is CAWPILE?

CAWPILE is a book review/rating method created by G from Books Roast on YouTube. The acronyms stands for the seven elements in a book that can determine your enjoyment. They are characters, atmosphere, writing, plot, intrigue, logic and enjoyment. When you have finished a book, you input your details and for each category you give it a score from 1-10. It is then divided by 7 to give you an overall star rating. G has created a CAWPILE template spreadsheet that does all the maths for you, that you can download and use.   

Why did I decide to start using it?

I've been trying to give my ratings more analytical ratings rather than just enjoyment. Sometimes when I give a book fives stars, I look back and think, that book wasn't worth five stars. With this method, I can rate individual themes/categories and see what I feel about them individually. It's helped me think clearer about how I rate my books. 

My thoughts so far? 

I've been using CAWPILE for nearly two months. My thoughts so far are that it's a great way to review books. It helps you think about them with clarity. I'm more keen to read so that I can add the data to my CAWPILE spreadsheet and see how I feel. That being said, I do have some issues with this rating system. Firstly, and this is entirely personal, is that it uses 1-10. I struggle with 1-10 as I very rarely give books low scores. I mostly give them 6-7 (and that is low for me). I would prefer 1-5 as that's what's used on Goodreads. My other issue, is that sometimes I can input the data for a book and I know the star rating it comes back with isn't quite right. It's very hard to get 5 stars on CAWPILE. I will admit that I have cheated and changed ratings for when I know a book should be 5 stars. Overall, I have really enjoyed using the CAWPILE method and am planning on continuing using it. I've been able to see which areas of a books writing, plot etc stand out to me when I'm reading. It's also been informing me of what I prefer so I can include that in my own writing. I've tried so many different ways of rating books over the years and this one does feel like it's the right one for me. 

Have you tried the CAWPILE rating method?  

What Do You Do With Problematic Books?- Book Topic Discussion| Carenza Bramwell

Recently I've been thinking about "problematic" books, specifically the ones I have owned and read. I've been thinking about what I should do with them. I wanted to discuss my feelings on the matter and if I think I should chuck them or keep them.  

It's very easy for something to become problematic. More often than not, it is because the book or author is problematic. But what do you do when you have bought these books or read them? When I read A Gentlemen's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, I don't think it was considered a problematic book. There was definitely content in it, that at the time due to my age and lack of awareness, I didn't pick up on as being problematic. However, since then, Mackenzi Lee has become to be known as a problematic author, partly due to her signing other people's books during the pandemic and accusations of using trans people as plot devices. I loved AGGTVAV when I read it. I thought it was a really good, fun book. I didn't enjoy the sequel, which is why I never carried on with the series. However, since all the accusations against Mackenzi Lee came out, I haven't felt good owning these books. It's only in the last month, I've decided that when I can get rid of my copies, I will. 

It was partly this decision that sparked this blog post. Is it wrong to keep problematic books? Is it wrong to have enjoyed them in the first place, if you were unaware of them being problematic? The same goes for Call Me By Your Name. Since the film adaptation, a lot has been pointed out why this book is problematic. I've also decided to get rid of my copy, despite enjoying it at the time and enjoying the film. I don't feel good owning it. I also didn't like the sequel. I'm partly getting rid of it because of the problematic nature of it and because I really don't see myself reading it again. It can be so easy to just decide that something is problematic and severe ties with it. But that doesn't stop it being problematic. I think you can enjoy these books, as long as you realise what is wrong with them.

My most recent experience of this was reading Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I had no idea that it was problematic at the time I purchased it, having picked it up because I saw it everywhere. Once it was brought to my attention, and I hadn't read it before I learnt this, I let it impact my reading experience. I felt wrong reading this book. A lot of this boils down to I felt wrong reading or keeping these books. I wanted to cleanse myself of them. Forget I ever owned or was associated with them. Harry Potter made me think about this a lot. I will always treasure my memories of Harry Potter, they were some incredible moments in my life and I'm not about to throw them away. However, I feel uncomfortable being associated with them. I barely talk about them or feature them on any of my platforms anymore. I will be getting rid of some of my merch pieces, but that's because I don't have space or a need for them anymore. I could very easily have packed up all my HP things and thrown them away. 

I'm aware this post is very rambly and truthfully I'm not sure I have an answer to my own question. Is there a right way to handle problematic books? I think as long as you acknowledge they are problematic and make an effort to speak out against that, then you are doing something good. The books I am getting rid off, it is because I no longer have a strong attachment to them and because they are problematic, it's time for them to go. If you fail to acknowledge something is problematic, that is where the harm comes in. Sometimes it can be through pure lack of understanding. I had no idea of the problematic content when I was reading Gentlemen's Guide and Call Me By Your Name, partly because of my age and partly because discussions around these things were only just starting to happen. It's a question of morals and opinions. By no way, does it make you a bad person if one of these books is your favourite books. It shouldn't taint your feeling or experiences of them. Taking the time to acknowledge and educate yourselves on these issues takes time. I'm not trying to defend problematic books, but in an age when it becomes so easy for something to be deemed problematic, where do we draw the line? My advice would be to do what you think is best. If that's distancing yourself from them and getting rid of them, that's fine. If that's holding onto them, so long as you are able to understand what is wrong, that is also fine. 

Carenza :) x  

Book Hype and the Power of Reviews- Book Topic Discussion| Carenza Bramwell

Recently I've been thinking a lot about book hype and the power of reviews. This came about for various reasons, mostly due to my experiences with some of the books I was reading. In today's post, I wanted to discuss both of these "issues" and assess if they are a good or bad thing. Just a little disclaimer before I get into this post- all opinions are entirely my own. You are entitled to yours just as I am entitled to mine. Let's be respectful of each others thoughts.  

My beloved university shelves

The reason I am writing about this is because of two books I have read recently, which are Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas. I actually have a full review of Where the Crawdads Sing, which you can read here. Both of these were books I picked up because at least one person I followed and trusted said they were good. I had read the summaries for both when I was purchasing and thought these sounded like books I would enjoy. Both, for various reasons, ended up being books I did not enjoy. I gave Where the Crawdads Sing 3/5 stars and I gave Catherine House 2/5 stars. So why did I pick them up in the first place?

The power of the review. This can be for books, films, tv shows, just about anything you can leave a review on. No matter what you are buying or where you are buying from, you read the reviews from other customers first. It gives an indication of if the product is good. When it comes to book reviews, I use Goodreads as a place to find informative and reliable reviews. I try to read a wide range of opinions and use the star indicator as a guide for what I think of a book. Where the Crawdads Sing has an average rating of 4.47 stars from over one million ratings. I had also seen good things from someones opinions I trusted. Catherine House has an average of 3.12 stars from over twelve thousand ratings, yet someone whose opinion I trusted had shared positive things about it, so I picked it up. Through these reviews and testimonials, I thought I had purchased two books I would really enjoy. I was wrong.  

Reviews, on the whole, are a useful tool. It allows you to see what a wide range of people thought of something. That being said, they can also easily influence how you think of a book. If a book has a lot of positive reviews, you assume it must be a good book. The same with negative reviews. There have been times when after reading a book, I read some reviews of people who either loved or hated the book and find myself beginning to agree with them. I let myself be swayed by their opinions. Reviews hold so much power. One bad review isn't going to tank a book, but lots might. The same for positive might lead to a book being overhyped. It can be difficult to form your own opinion with so many out there. I am still going to do my research before buying a book, but I am going to try and read less opinions before and after so I can formulate my own opinions. When I was reading reviews of Where the Crawdads Sings and Catherine House after I had read them, I gravitated towards reading negative reviews. I wanted to know why these people hadn't liked them. I let it taint my own opinions, which was wrong of me. 

This leads me to my next point- book hype. These days it feels very easy for books to become hype. There's a lot of discussion around whether certain books deserve the hype. I remember when I joined the book community in 2016, I went and bought a lot of the classic, hyped books. I read them over many years and ultimately found myself disappointed by these books. It could be I picked them up at the wrong time or that the hype was so big, that they just didn't deliver in the end. I have read some hyped books and enjoyed them. There can be some element of guilt if you don't enjoy a hyped book, you almost feel left out as everyone is raving about it and then there's you that didn't enjoy it. Obviously in the book community, we like to big up books we enjoy it. It helps the author and with reviews. Sometimes it can do more damage than good as it gets a reputation for being overhyped. Some books I've read that were very hyped and I didn't see the hype include Six of Crows, These Violent Delights and A Darker Shade of Magic. A hyped book I did like was Serpent&Dove.  

A lot of this does come down to personal opinion. Sometimes a hyped or heavily talked about book isn't for you and that's fine. With the power of the review, it takes a lot of time and effort to develop your own opinion and criteria. I'm still getting there and I've been doing this for five years. Ultimately, there are pros and cons to both. I love writing and reading reviews, especially from a wide range of opinions. It just comes down to remembering your opinions are valid.

What are your thoughts on reviews and book hype? Do you think they are good or bad things?

Carenza :) x 

Why I'm Going to Cut Back on Physical Books| Carenza Bramwell

As much as I love collecting books, it has reached a point where I have to acknowledge that I have more books than I have space for. Although it breaks my heart, I will have to part with some books and I will also have to cut back on the amount of physical books I buy. In this post, I will be sharing some of my thoughts on my book collection and the amount of books I buy.

A box of books I prepared to donate to my local community recently

My Shelf Space

I am in a very privileged position to still be able to live at home with my parents. I am in an even more privileged position to have my own little office/library space in our new home. For Christmas 2019, I got three Billy bookcases to fill one of the walls in my office. I now have a space to store all of my books. 

My Book Buying Habits

Back in 2016, when I first discovered there was a book community online, I went a bit crazy seeing all these people with all these amazing shelves online. I thought that to be a reader, my shelves had to look like that. So I bought a lot of books in 2016, mostly from charity shops. It's safe to say that my book buying habits have changed a lot since then. I am a much more picky reader and book buyer. I haven't bought a single book in May, I'm honestly amazed with myself. 

Why I'm Cutting Back?

To put it simply, I am cutting back on the amount of physical books I buy for two reasons- space and money. I am a student and being a student is very expensive, so I would like to save my money for books I really want to read. I also want my shelves to be filled with books I love and reflect me as a reader.

Recently, I've been reading a lot of three star books, which is an average for me. However, I very rarely feel attached to these books and have been making piles of books to donate when the shops reopen. I plan on buying myself a Kindle so I can start to read more eBooks, there by saving space on my shelves and saving me a penny or two on new purchases. I will still be an avid reader and book purchaser, I am just trying to be more selective with the books I add to my physical collection. 

Carenza :) x

The Joys of Rereading| Carenza Bramwell

When I first properly became a reader and aware of the reading community when I was fourteen, I had a very small collection of books. It could have filled a shelf and was all the YA classics at the time. The Mortal Instruments. The Hunger Games. Divergent. I was a big fan of all them at the time. Back then, as I had such a small collection of books, I would reread them all the times. I must have reread the Divergent series at least three times in one year. 

Now that I have a much larger collection after many years of accumulating books, my rereads have become far and few. I typically reserve it for favourites of mine, books by Cassandra Clare and the Harry Potter series. Recently, I reread the first Noughts and Crosses book for the first time since I was fourteen. I had watched the TV show adaptation and wanted to refresh my memory on it. Rereading it got me thinking about rereads in general. 

Why Is It So Comforting?

As a reader, I am always looking for new worlds and stories to consume. I am always ploughing through books just so I can start the next. Yet, when I do reread old favourites, it is an oddly comforting experience. It's like crawling into bed after a long day. Returning to familiar worlds, yet still being shocked by the twists and turns. To put it simply, it's nice to be in worlds you know and with characters you love. 

Finding the Balance Between Old and New

In an ideal world, I would be able to read as many new books as possible while having time to return to favourites. However, in the real world there simply isn't enough time to read all the unread books on my TBR, especially if I'm giving up that time to reread books. Something I plan on doing more in the future, is rereading books so I can continue with the series I have started. I would like to tackle more of the series on my TBR and my problem is that I have read the first book, but have never made an effort to continue. There, I would find the perfect balance, between old and new books. 

Those are some of my thoughts on rereading books. What are your thoughts on rereading books?

Carenza :) x 

Tackling my TBR| Carenza Bramwell

At the time of writing this post, I have just under 60 TBR books on my bookshelves. I will say that this is not my entire unread TBR as in December my family and I moved into a new house. We've been slowly moving in and sorting things out, but our process has been halted due to lockdown. I am very fortunate to have this many unread books on my bookshelves. 

As a reader, it is my goal to be always tackling my TBR, but since lockdown started, I have been making more of a dedicated effort to read my growing pile of unread books. In this post I thought I would share some of my thoughts on this process as a way to inspire other readers to tackle our TBR piles. 

How I'm Doing It

A big question, is how am I tackling my TBR pile? I used to be someone who would make TBR lists and stick to them religiously. However, I found that didn't work for me and I haven't done it for many years. In the recent months, particularly since lockdown started, I have started to make mini TBR lists.

I started this process by handwriting a list of all my unread books in my creative journal and grouping them together by genre. It made it easy if I was looking for something in particular to read. It also meant once I had read a book, I could have the satisfaction of ticking off the book from that list. I also have a digital copy on my Goodreads account, partly for ease of moving them between my TBR list to my "read" list. It is a daunting process to handwrite out all the unread books you own, but I would strongly recommend it. It helps you visualise which books you haven't read and which genres you have most unread books in. 

As I mentioned, I've started to make these mini TBR lists. I have monthly divider pages, in which I plan my goals for that month. At the top of this page, I have started to pick five books from a wide range of genres that I have to read that month. I chose five as that's typically how many books I read a month. Five books is an achievable amount in my life and it meant that if I completed it, I could read other books as well. I tried to pick books from a wide range of genres to expand my reading and tackle more areas of my TBR. I've always found that by reading one particular genre, I get tired of that genre and want to read something else. This means that I am always excited for my next read.

Since doing this, I have noticed that I am reading more books. I haven't had the best reading year for me due to various reasons, but I've always found that during the summer months, when I have a bit more time on my hands, I read books quicker. So far in May, I have completed almost seven books, which is really good for me. 

What Have I Learnt From Doing This?

The ravenclaw in me cannot escape the need to learn, and so, I thought I'd share with you what I've learnt from doing this. I've learnt that there are genres that I naturally gravitate towards (fantasy and contemporary) and ones I tend to avoid (dystopian, sci-fi, classics etc). I am very much a creature of habit and I don't really like to leave that comfort zone. 

I have a lot of unread books from when I first joined the book community in 2016 and felt that I had to catch up on all the hyped up books. Some of them I have enjoyed, others not so much. I feel guilty for not having read them, especially after hearing about them for years. 

As a reader, my bookshelves should "define me". You should be able to see what sort of books I love to read. However, I don't feel that they reflect me and my interests that well. Tackling my TBR will make it easier for me to have a more treasured book collection.

One thing I have learnt, but was unsurprised to see is that I am terrible at finishing series. I have a lot of first books in a series but have never gotten around to reading the rest. I also have a few where I have one or two books unread in that series, but it's been years since I picked up the rest of the books and have forgotten. I'm not the biggest fan of rereading books, something I used to do a lot when I was a young reader. I want to get better at finishing series.

So those were some of my thoughts on my TBR and how I've been tackling it. What are your thoughts on your own TBR piles?

Carenza :) x 

Creator vs Content- Book Topic Discussion| Carenza Bramwell

Something I have wanted to make a post about for a while is the discussion between Creator vs Content. I've always found it interesting to distinguish the creator from the content. This topic has been cropping up more and more in the bookish community and I thought I'd share some of my opinions on it.  

What Do I Mean "Creator vs Content"?

In a nutshell I mean the link between the creator (author etc) and the content (book etc). Is it possible to separate the two? Can you enjoy someone's work while having different opinions on them?

Can You Like Someone's Work But Not Them?

It's a difficult question to answer, but I would say yes, you don't have to "like" someone to enjoy what they've made. It can be difficult to separate them from their work, but it shouldn't stop you from liking what they've done. Some examples of this include JK Rowling and the Harry Potter series. In the last year or so, JK Rowling has been accused of supporting a transphobic individual on Twitter and faced heavy backlash for doing so. Many people in the book and harry potter communities were very upset by this. Whether she intended to do this or not, it severally damaged her reputation. She has since continued to Tweet in support of transphobic content. Personally, I will not support anyone who says anything harmful towards others in any capacity. However, the Harry Potter books are still some of my most beloved and treasured. I will adore them forever. I no longer "like" JK Rowling as an individual, but I still enjoy her content as it is absorbed into my life.

Another example of creator vs content is Mackenzi Lee and her recent controversy. Since the publication of The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue in 2018, a book I loved, she has been accused of several things. Something I didn't spot at the time of reading GGTVAV, was the racist undertones in the book. There was some outcry over this at the time and Lee apologised for her writing. Then with the release of her upcoming book, The Madness Blooms, she was once again accused. This time of being transphobic and misgendering one of her characters for the sake of the plot and shock value. Again, she apologised and the blurb has been rewritten. However, in her most recent controversy, she made no formal apology and joked about the issue. Through the bookstore she works at, she signed and personalised books by authors of colour without their permission. It was a poor choice on her half and has lead to many in the book community refusing to buy her books. I was planning on reading her upcoming books, but have decided that I cannot do that after what she has done. I still enjoyed the books I'v read from her, but what she did was wrong and hurtful.

I still enjoyed the books I've read from both these authors, but I am now more reluctant to admit so and to continue supporting them. I will not be getting rid of their books, but I am hesitant to buy new ones from them. Liking their work does not make you a bad person. It can be difficult to separate them from what they've written, but art and artist are two very different things. 

What are your thoughts on creator vs content? Are their more examples of creators and their content that I haven't mentioned?

Carenza :) x   

Are Bookish Subscription Boxes Worth the Money?| It'sCarenzaB

When I joined the book community back in January 2016, I didn't know that bookish subscription boxes were a thing. Since then I have tried two different companies (both based in the UK as shipping from anywhere else is way too expensive). A while ago, I was talking with a friend and she asked me if they are worth the money and since then I have been thinking about if they are. I am going to be using Fairyloot for all my examples as I have been subscribed to it since September.

So typically, a bookish subscription box will have a new YA hardcover and 5-7 items. The average cost can be anywhere between £20-£35 and these costs don't include postage. I can see why people question whether they are worth it as this is a lot of money to put into a subscription service every month. I personally think Fairyloot is worth it as every box is packed with so many items plus a great book.

If you look at a box and each item, the overall value is generally over the price you are paying. A new hardcover can be anywhere between £16-£20, which is already more than half of the box. Items can vary from candles (£6-10), tote bags (£10-£12), mugs (over £15), notebooks (£7) and Pop Funkos (£5-£10). If you were to get a candle, a mug, a notebook and a tote plus badges and prints, you are already looking at around £60 value.

The items and books included in the boxes are often quite expensive on their own, so when you get them in a box, you are saving money (which is always great). However, it is always going to be incredibly hard to find items that everyone loves, so there will be people who hate some of the items. To them, the boxes aren't worth the money. But they can't deny, you don't get a lot of items in the boxes.
Love,
Carenza x

How Many Editions Is Too Many? It'sCarenzaB

As someone who has been a part of the book community for almost year and a half, a common theme I have spotted that bookworms like owning multiple editions of the same books/series. This is something I myself am guilty of and it got me thinking, is it possible to own too many editions of the same book? 

When I joined to book community, this was something I was not planning on doing as I felt it was stupid to own multiple editions. All the books have the same text in, so why buy more than one version? But, last year I bought the new paperback editions of both of Cassandra Clare's series because I liked the covers and some had new content in. I may own 5 editions of City of Bones, but I have only physically read one of them.

I think the reason I like the idea of owning multiple of the same book as it shows I support that author and shows how much I like them. With my Cassandra Clare collection, I own two complete sets of both series (that are currently complete) as well as two editions of Lady Midnight. I have the standard paperback as at that point I didn't know that collectors editions were a thing.

With the imminent release of two of my most anticipated releases (A Court of Wings and Ruin and Lord of Shadows), I discovered that there are about 5 editions of both books you can get. For A Court of Wings and Ruin, I have opted for the standard hardback as shipping from America to the UK is hella expensive. But for Lord of Shadows, I have pre-ordered one edition, but I'm planning on getting another 3 or 4 because I know I'm going to love it and also there are about 12 (I'm being dramatic) exclusive contents you can get. I don't know why one book needs so many different exclusive content bits, but this is a thing that keeps on happening.

I feel as though fans, like myself, feel they need all the exclusive content they can get their hands on and this is something I have spoken about before on here. I haven't made it a secret that I am not usually a fan of exclusive content as not everyone can get their hands on it and it pressures fans to buy multiple editions. 

I have decided that if I am going to collect multiple editions, it is only going to be for authors or series I love. So far I only plan on collecting books from authors such as JK Rowling and Cassandra Clare as they are my absolute favourite authors.

It would be interesting to see what other bookworms think about owning multiple editions and I will state that I am not trying to attack anyone, this is just my opinion.

Love,

Carenza x    

Book Review Monday- Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?

If you have followed me for a while, then you will know I love to use the Overdrive app. Overdrive is an app that connects to libraries across the world and using your library card you can see what ebooks and audiobooks your library has. My library, unfortunately, has a very poor selection of audiobooks. But recently, the audiobook for Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli had appeared and after seeing it in shops, I thought I would listen to it. 2 hours later, I didn't feel like I had gained anything from listing to the audiobook. I gave it two stars of Goodreads and in this post I am going to be discussing why I had such an issue with this book. If you have not read this book, then you will be spoiled as I plan on discussing spoilers.

Plot

Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’ s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first.  

Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. 

In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love. 

Opinions

Like I said at the beginning of my review/ discussion, I really didn't enjoy this book. It may be because it came out 17 years ago or it may be because it was aimed at people younger than myself. I'm just going to jump straight into why I didn't like it. When Leo and Stargirl begin dating, Leo urges her to change so that she fits in and she does. But as their relationship develops, Stargirl becomes unhappy with her new identity and Leo can't accept her for who she is. I can't remember the direct quote, but Leo says something like I was so happy she changed.

If you are in a relationship with someone and they force you to change who you are so you fit in, they are not worth it. It is disgusting that the author included a character who cared more about his popularity than about his own girlfriends happiness. 

I personally found all the characters annoying. I understand that Stargirl is supposed to be seen as "unusual", but the other just made her seem mad. Maybe I read this book at the wrong age, but this book just wasn't for me. I have no intentions of picking up the sequel and I wish I could have the two hours back I spent listening to it.

So that concludes my rather short review. I decided not to do this post in my usual style as this was more of a discussion rather than a review.

Love,

Carenza x

UK vs US- Book Covers and Exclusive Content| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?

Recently I have been thinking about the book community and how it is very different in the US compared to the UK. It's on a much larger scale and they have so much more events to attend. But I've been thinking about how covers vary between the UK and the US and I am going to be discussing my opinions on it.

Personally, I feel that the US gets the better cover. While I will often get the UK edition, I will prefer the US edition. For example, the US covers for a Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab are gorgeous! The UK ones are still pretty good, but I would love to get my hands on those versions. More often than not, trying to get a hold of a US edition can be quite expensive as they tend not to sell them in most UK book retailers. However, a series where I think the UK has better covers is the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas. We have these amazing white editions with the main character on the cover which I love.

Another thing that I find annoying about the difference between the UK and the US is most of the pre-order competitions are for the US only. These pre-order competitions should be open to everyone, not just one country. It feels as though you are losing out as a reader on something really cool to do with one of your favourite authors.

My main pet peeve in this discussion is exclusive content. I am really against exclusive content as most exclusive content is only available in certain countries. For example, when Empire of Storms came out, there was so many different versions of the exclusive content and you could only get that version in that specific shop. Like with the pre-order competitions, it feels as though your reading experience will be less than someone who has the exclusive content because they can get to that shop.

My main point with this argument is that there shouldn't be such a big divide between the countries. Everyone's reading experience should be the same and shouldn't have to be different because they don't live in a certain country. Like in everyday life, reading should have equal opportunities for everyone and no group of people should feel excluded.

So that concludes my discussion on the difference between the UK and the US book community, let me know what you think about the various issues I have discussed in this post.
Love,
Carenza x