Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where book bloggers share what we've recently added to our physical and/or virtual shelves! Since it's nearing Christmas and holiday season, I'm hoping that this list can give provide you with some awesome bookish gifts :D!
Hopeless by Colleen Hoover:
I'd heard sooooooo many good comments about Hopeless that I decided to give it a shot. Wow, just wow. There were a ton of plot twists and jaw dropping moments that I seriously didn't see coming. Also, the romance aspect was very well done, but maybe a little too mushy for my tastes. Don't let the title fool you, because this book isn't depressing, nor is it about being hopeless.
4 out of 5 stars
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins:
This was my first Stephanie Perkins novel and I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed. At the time of purchase I didn't know that this was book 3 in the Anna and the French Kiss series. However, speaking from experience you don't need to have any prior knowledge to enjoy this book. I went in knowing absolutely nothing and LOVED the book! It honestly made me want to read more books with a French setting.
4.5 out of 5 stars
The Walled City by Ryan Graudin:
The cover of this book is what initially drew my attention. After all, it's shiny, has bold coloring, and has a non symmetrical design, what more could you want? As for the story, I wasn't a fan for the first 50 pages or so, but very shortly after hitting that mark I became obsessed with the story.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Rating: 5 Stars
Author: Haruki Murakami
Version: Hardback
GoodReads:
Tsukuru Tazaki had four best friends at school. By chance all of their names contained a colour. The two boys were called Akamatsu, meaning ‘red pine', and Oumi, ‘blue sea', while the girls' names were Shirane, ‘white root', and Kurono, ‘black field'. Tazaki was the only last name with no colour in it.
One day Tsukuru Tazaki’s friends announced that they didn’t want to see him, or talk to him, ever again.
Since that day Tsukuru has been floating through life, unable to form intimate connections with anyone. But then he meets Sara, who tells him that the time has come to find out what happened all those years ago.
Review:
Ok, so this book was absolutely amazing and I'm no doubt going to go ahead and call it the best read of 2014. Let's just start with the book design. It's unique, but an awesome unique! The size is a little smaller than your normal sized book, the colors are elegant, and when you remove the dust jacket it's a map!
I'm sure you've heard of Colorless, it was highly, highly discussed by both book bloggers and just about every other type media you can imagine. In Japan alone, it sold over 1 million copies just one month after publication. As for me, I love all things Japan. So, I was super excited about reading this book and I remember putting this book on my TBR list, but it never seemed to get purchased. However, I was fortunate enough to have the book jump out at me when I was browsing my local Barnes & Noble bookstore. I cracked open the book, read the first page, and decided that I HAD TO HAVE IT!
There were so many parts of this story that I could relate to that it was almost like Tsukuru was a personification of myself. In fact, this was the first book that ever made me want to highlight - physically.. with a highlighter - specific passages and quotes. The way Haruki Murakami tells this story is absolutely captivating. It's both elegant and simplistic, but so effortlessly done that you can't help but devour this book. Now, I had never read any of Murakami's previous works, but he quickly became a favorite author of mine and I plan on reading more of his publications very soon.
As for the plot, I believe the GoodReads summary does a well enough job, so I won't be elaborating any further. However, I just want to make it clear that this book was hyped for a reason. Usually, I tend to avoid books that are overhyped, simply because they typically don't live up to my expectations. Colorless not only lived up to, but surpassed my expectations in every way possible. Needless to say, I wanted to reread it as soon as I turned the last page, but I'm saving it for another day.
Stacking the Shelves
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