Top Ten Tuesday (#13): Covers I'd Frame As Pieces of Art

Top Ten Tuesday this week is about 

❄ Covers I'd Frame as Pieces of Art ❄

1. The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald. 

One day I will have this poster!! I love the vintage look and the dominating blue face which a bit scary and eerie at the same time. I love the book and the most recent movie adaptation, so I think it's about time for me to talk myself around it, and just buy the thing! 

2. The Republic of Thieves (Gentleman Bastard, #3) by Scott Lynch. 

You probably can't see very clearly what sort of details are in this cover, but they are magnificent! I love the renaissance feeling the masks and costumes bring, but also how these two people still are alert and ready for some mischief. 

3. Requiem (Delirium, #3) by Lauren Oliver. 

Without the title and the other text, I find this cover so beautiful - the pretty pink and violet lush sky with the contrast to soft green ground. The girl sitting on the stump makes you feel a bit sad but the surroundings convey a message of hope. So pretty! 

4. Ink (Paper Gods, #1) by Amanda Sun. 

I have a thing for watercolour paintings and I found this piece of art just absolutely stunning. I love the light and soft overall appearance, but also the use of negative space. Ink has one to be one my favourite covers ever! The book two of the series, Rain, also has a really pretty cover, but I prefer this one. I wonder if I COULD make a poster out of this.. 

5. Tender is the Night by Francis Scott Fitzgerald. 

Yes, another book by Fitzgerald, but Alma Books published new editions of his most pronounced novels in 2012, and I found this cover just so pretty. I still go look at it in the bookstore, even though I own a copy of it already. I love the couple is embracing each other under the fireworks. 

6. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Lesley Walton.

I know this cover is a bit hipster with the feather, but I absolutely adore it! Gold and blue go perfectly hand in hand, and the airy font just completes the whole thing. I haven't read this book yet, but based on what I've heard, the cover definitely compliments the magical realism story inside. 

7. Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick. 

Another book that I haven't read yet, but my eyes right away liked what they saw when I first came across with this cover. It oozes Russian culture from the early 20th century with the blood orange (or red which ever you prefer) and the young woman with he beautiful hairdo, dress and the music box (?) she is holding. It's in a way a bit vintage which I really like and which essentially pulls me to it. 

8. Across the Universe (Across the Universe, #1) by Beth Revis. 

Once again, if  all the text was taken away, I would resort to methods that would guarantee the poster to be mine. I love space and universe, and I simply adore the pictures of different stars and planets with enhanced colours. This particular picture has incredible colour scheme and I like how (I assume) Amy and Elder are facing each other. Very, very impressive cover.

9. Siege and Storm (The Grisha, #2) by Leigh Bardugo. 

I adore the depiction of Russian domes on this cover. Pretty simple with different shades of grey and red, but it works so well. Swooon! 

10. The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Curse, #1) by Marie Rutkoski.

I don't usually like covers which have an actual human being on them (not drawn, but actual photo), but the cover just strikes as so pretty. I love the big dress, and the worried look the girl is having while holding the letter R. I'm so lucky to have this exact copy of it at home with me. I like this cover better, which has a bit of  blue on the floorboards, instead of them being all black.

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Do you like these covers as well? Or not? Let me know what you think!

Stacking the Shelves (#14)

It's Saturday and so it's time for Stacking the Shelves!

Here is my haul from this week:

❄ Paperbacks ❄

Every Day by David Levithan 

Vicious (Vicious, #1) by Victoria Schwab

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That's all for this week! I'm not sure if I should have even bought these as I need to study and these babies just keep teasing me to read them.. Have you read these? Did you like them?

Semi-Hiatus

(I love Adventure Time so much)

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The word of the day: semi-hiatus. I'm currently on my 3rd year of university studies, and I'm planning to continue to do my honours next year. That means (at least in my uni) that I need to get at least 50% of each exam I'm taking this May. Otherwise, I won't be able to become a registered psychologist (I'm studying psychology, btw). So, even though as much as I love reading and blogging about the books I've read, I care just as much about my degree and grades. I know that I could take the easy way out and just aim for a passing grade, but that's really not my style as I usually aim for the As (which makes me go a bit mental with stress, haha). 

That's why I need to take a semi-hiatus, meaning that I won't be posting that many reviews during the next 3 weeks, but I'll try to post Top Ten Tuesday, Waiting on Wednesay, and Stacking the Shelves (if I buy something, or more like if I ever leave my flat) so it there will be some activity. Raining Books and Words will be a bit drag place for a while, but I hope you'll bear with me! I'm planning to read lots of books during the summer. 

I hope you all have a great May!!

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Monthly Wrap Up - April

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I thought I might do a small wrap up of April post as it was a pretty good reading month for me. During the next month, I won't be able to read as much as my finals are approaching with a deadly laser gaze. Blah. But it's only 4 week so after that the summer is here and I can dedicate my whole summer to books and working - sounds pretty great!

✿ Book Haul ✿

The Princess Bride by William Goldman 

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Hexed (Hexed, #1) by Michelle Krys

The Deeper We Fall (Fall and Rise, #1) by Chelsea M. Cameron

The Three by Sarah Lotz

The Moment Collector by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Storm (Elemental, #1) by Brigid Kemmer

The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1) by Rick Yancey

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer

Origin (Lux, #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy, #1) by Marie Rutkoski
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Ready Player One by Earnest Cline

Leviathan (Leviathan, #1) by Scott Westerfeld

Every Day by David Levithan

Vicious (Vicious, #1) by Victoria Schwab

Total: 17

✿ Books Read ✿

The Moment Collector by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Looking For Alaska by John Green
The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1) by Lemony Snicket
Shattered Secrets (Book of Red, #1) by Krystal Wade
The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
Ready Player One by Earnest Cline
The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave) by Rick Yancey
Strom (Elemental, #1) by Brigig Kemmer
The Adoration of Jenna Fox (Jenna Fox Chronicles, #1) by Mary E. Pearson
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer
Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles, #2) by Marissa Meyer
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Everbound (Everneath, #2) by Brodi Ashton
The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Curse, #1) by Marie Rutkoski
Half Bad (Half Life Trilogy, #1) by Sally Green
Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky, #2) by Veronica Rossi

Total: 18

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I hadn't counted my hauls or readings before doing this post, but I'm pretty proud of myself that I managed to read more than I acquired - yay me! 18 books also is a good count as I'm usually a slow reader and I think if I can keep this up, I might be able to read 100 books like I originally planned. 

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Description from Goodreads:

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. 

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them. 

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig. 

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle. 

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape. 

A world at stake. 
A quest for the ultimate prize. 
Are you ready?

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Oh my. Where can I even begin? I already knew after reading approximately 100 pages that I could give Ready Player One the honour of adding it to my 'favourites' list on Goodreads which is a place for those special books which have just blown my mind in a way or another. And Ready Player One did exactly that. I'm really afraid that this review is going to be a sucky one because I think I can't really critically evaluate it - I feel like everything in the book was perfect and I wouldn't change a thing even if I could. So I'd like to start off by saying that this book was a glorious masterpiece, a must-read for everyone who is interested in the 80's pop culture, gaming in general, or just in science fiction. On second thought, forget that - it's a must read for everyone, and now I'm trying to explain why.

The immensity and detailedness of Ready Player One's world is just mind-blowing. It's crystal clear that the author is massively interested in video gaming and in pop culture in general, but I just can't comprehend the amount of research he must have done and thought put into the world while writing the novel. There are hundreds, if not even thousands of references to different games, movies, TV shows, and bands which made me totally geek out as I realised I used to watch and love the same things as the protagonist, Wade, does. Even though the references and allusions were coming with a constant feed (and might be a bit overwhelming for some people), I absolutely adored the fact that it was a constant element in the book and not just reserved for the beginning of the book as a way to show off or establish the obsession with the 80s. Well, there might have been some showing off, but in a good way and not in a pseudo-intellectual way. 

I've read some books where the virtual worlds have been a major part of those novels, but I have always felt that eventually the elements were brushed off because something else came along. But this was never the case in Ready Player One. Majority of the time the readers play on OASIS with Wade, and I would totally lie if I said that while reading these gaming parts I wasn't absorbed in the setting. Because I most definitely was. I read the novel in two sits for the simple reason that I wanted to be more on OASIS (I would get so addicted to it if it wasn't fiction, not even kidding). The real world faded away while Wade was doing research or hunting for the Easter Egg, and for a moment I was him - wandering around in the virtual world, determined to be the last man standing. It is such a weird feeling when you become aware of your real surroundings and remember that all you just read is fiction. 

The characters were so great. I loved the fact that Wade wasn't some rich boy taking advantage of his rich parentage and spending all his parents' money on new armours or teleportation passes on OASIS, but he actually was a lonely orphan living in a dangerous neighbourhood which consisted of stacks and stacks of trailers huddled together, and on top of each other - in a futuristic trailer park where you rarely have privacy or security. Wade isn't the typical hero. He's socially incompetent, painfully self-conscious, but also smart and very dedicated to the things he loves. The events which he faces definitely challenge him, making him reconsider the values he has cherished before. Wade's character development was wonderful to witness even though it wasn't exactly just about parading forward. The other characters made me fall in love with them as well - Aech, Halliday, Art3mis, and Shoto all became my friends as well. They all were so very different from each other yet they shared something very crucial: undying love for OASIS for being the escape from the dangerous and ugly real life.

Without even noticing, the book doesn't just handle issues such as social isolation, materialism, and greed, but also friendship, love, racism, sexism, and prejudice. Cline could have easily taken the road where he just focused on the gaming theme without giving a second thought to more in-depth issues, but he wonderfully integrated everything into Ready Player One. I can only imagine how proud he must be of this book - I definitely would be. The author has written a stunning piece of art in which the majority of my interests and fascinations have been included. I have to admit that I'm a bit afraid to start reading the next book because I feel like nothing will compare to Ready Player One. I probably should refrain myself from reading for a few days so that I can cool off a bit. But luckily, I can read Ready Player One again whenever I want to, and savour in its epicness if I feel so.

☆☆☆☆☆