24in48: 24 Hour Challenge

I have already listed a TBR previous, so check that out if you want to see what books I will be reading.

So...I will mostly be providing you a list of snacks that I want to eat for the next half of this readathon:
1. Popcorn. I actually ran out of popcorn, so I will definitely be purchasing more tomorrow. And I want something lighter than chips.

2. Carrots and hummus. Some of my friends have told me this is a really weird habit, but I absolutely love carrots and hummus. Like, I can't stop eating it once I start...

3. Cherries. There are tons of fresh cherries in Michigan during the summer and it's super cheap.

So...I guess most of my snacks are pretty healthy. Though I've definitely considered getting biscuits and eating that with tea. I also might get whatever is on sale tomorrow at the grocery store.

Update: I have currently completed ~10 hours for the readathon and finished 2 books. Reviews and reading overviews will be posted on Monday!

24in48: 12 Hour Challenge

Yay!!! I just finished When Dimple Met Rishi and clocked in 6 hours and 45 minutes! Woot!

The prompt for the 12-hour challenge is: which three audiobooks would you recommend for a road trip and why?

1. Any of the Harry Potter books - this is just for familiarity's sake and an endearing plot overall.

2. Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - honestly, road trips can be long and boring, so I always feel like you need some mystery and thriller to spice things up

3. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden - This book was my all-time favorite read in 2016. The vast visual images and life journey will most likely help you endure you own current journey on the highways.

I'm about to jump back and start another book!

24in48 Read-a-thon: Zero Hour Challenge

Annnnnnnnnnnnndddddd we're off! Just a quick update: I have just completed my first hour of the read-a-thon with 80+ pages of When Dimple Met Rishi and I'm about to go to sleep. Here are my answers to the get-to-know you survey:

1.    Where in the world are you reading from this weekend?

I am reading from Ann Arbor, MI.

2.    Have you done the 24in48 readathon before?

This is my first time doing the 24in48 readathon and my second readathon ever!

3.    Where did you hear about the readathon, if it is your first?

I heard about the readathon on LittleBookOwl’s Youtube videos. Plus, I also googled some readathons to do in July because it’s always been on my bucket list to do one.

4.    What book are you most excited about reading this weekend?

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

I really hope I get to it, but I might not because there are some many books on my immediate TBR.

5.    Tell us something about yourself.

I am approximately 40% Ravenclaw, 20% Slytherin and Gryffindor, and 10% Hufflepuff. I think that provides a lot of insight as to what type of person I am.

6.    Remind us where to find you online this weekend.

You can find me at my blog: http://zixybooktree.blogspot.com/

24 in 48 Read-a-thon TBR

In addition to the High Summer Read-a-thon, I will also be participating in the 24in48 Read-a-thon this weekend. There is still time for you to join! I have previously made a TBR for the High Summer Read-a-thon, but I'm deciding to add a couple of audio books and update some of the books that I have already finished.

1. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

3. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

4. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

5. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

6. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

7. Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

Which one I should read first or which book your enjoyed the most?

Review: Modern Romance

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First of all, I absolutely LOVE Aziz! I have completed watching both Master of None and Parks and Recreation, so I might be a little biased.

Even as a millennial, I still found this book to be incredibly insightful. I love how Aziz decided to broach the topic of dating while trying to integrate his humor into sociology data and his personal narrative. I also really enjoyed how many food references he made throughout the book...except that it made me really crave ramen.

By far, my favorite part of the book was when he looked at different dating cultures around the world. It really emphasized to be that the dating culture in America is honestly not as bad as it could be. Maybe Japan and Argentina men should mingle more and figure out a good balance for how to approach women. I wish he could have focused on going to more places and then comparing it to different rural environments. The overview of dating culture in Paris was like three pages!

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book even though I took a mini break to finish some other books. Highly recommend to people of all ages!

Overall rating: 4.25 Stars

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Review: Caraval

Caraval by Stephanie Garber
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After finishing this book last night and sleeping on it, I'm deciding to knock my ratings down 0.5 stars, which means it rounds down to 3 stars on Goodreads.

Here's what I actually liked about the book:
The fantasy realm that Garber created was very original compared to most of the other fantasy stuff that I have read recently. I liked how she included the magical potion that allowed you to only see the important aspects of the game in color and the dress that morphs into your emotional state.

That being said, there were many aspects of this book that I found to be problematic:
1. For some weird reason, Scarlett (the protagonist of the novel) see emotions in colors. This was just way too fluffy and cheesy for me. For example, she hates the color purple and it is synonymous with terror and fear of her abusive father. At first, I thought there was going to be a magic component related to this ability, but sadly no, she just emphasizes everything with her flower talk. It was honestly really hard to stop myself from rolling my eyes 20 pages into the book.

2. I honestly didn't feel attached to any of the characters. I thought that Scarlett and Tella's father just woke up one day and decided it was okay to mentally and physically abuse his children for absolutely no reason (or...because his wife left him, but that's a pathetic excuse). Scarlett was kinda boring as a protagonist because she didn't have any distinctive personality. Without the fantasy elements of this story, this book is just about a girl trying to find her sister and experiencing a dash of first-love.

3. The love interest. Julian honestly didn't do anything except play a game with her. Can't two people honestly be friends without romantic lust getting in the way? And we really need to stop with this YA insta-love, extremely attractive male companion cliche. It's so overused and makes me dislike the characters more.

4. The rushed ending. I mean come on! Why do authors keep doing this? (beginning of spoiler) One second Tella jumps off the balcony to her death and then she's revived in like 5 pages? And all the deaths that occurred throughout the game was all fake. The characters all come back to life and the story concludes in a neatly wrapped box. Mind you, this all happened within like 10 more pages. The only thing that would make me want to continue this series is Tella's story form the epilogue. I wan to the see what bargain she decided to make with Legend for her sister to play the game. Plus, Tella is infinitely more interesting and vibrant as a character than Scarlett. (end of spoiler)[ One second Tella jumps off the balcony to her death and she is revived in like five pages? And all the deaths that occurred throughout the novel was all just fake. The characters all come back to life and the story concludes in a neatly wrapped box. Mind you, this all happened within like 10 pages. The only thing that would make me want to continue this series is Tella's story from the epilogue. I want to see what bargain she decided to make with Legend for her sister to play the game. Plus, Tella is much more vibrant of a character than Scarlett. (hide spoiler)]

I enjoyed reading this, but still had problems with the plot and characters.

Overall rating: 3.25 Stars

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High Summer Read-a-thon TBR

Hi everyone!

Today is the first day of the High Summer Read-a-thon. There is still time for you to join! I'm excited because this will be my first read-a-thon...ever. I am hoping to be reading a lot of books and updating you guys on everything I read throughout the next two weeks.

For now, here is my TBR:

1. Caraval by Stephanie Garber

2. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

4. Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

5. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

6. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

So these are the top six books currently on my TBR shelf. I am most excited to read Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi because I have heard so many good things about this book. Do you guys have any suggestion as to which one I should read first or which book your enjoyed the most?

Review: Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There is just something with Elizabeth Gilbert's writing that I don't like. As of now, I have read two of her books, this one and Eat, Pray, Love. I was fine with Eat, Pray, Love, but I felt like this book was very preachy and really cheesy (I actually gave Eat, Pray, Love the same rating for different reasons). After reading multiple recommendations for this novel, I was excited to read it because I thought it was supposed to inspire you to become more creative. Instead, I read about how Gilbert spiritualizes creativity and encourages you to be happy throughout your failures. Ugh, really?
There was no science or logic to back up her arguments, and it felt like she was just rambling about her writing career. And the language was just so flowery...it was almost gag-worthy. I did agree with her that it's important to persevere through adversities in your work, but your don't have to be constantly happy while doing so. You just have to tell yourself that it's worth it at the end of the day.

Another major point: Creativity doesn't have to be limited to the arts. Engineering and many different types of STEM disciplines also utilize many of the concepts of creative work. Frankly, I'm astounded that she didn't mention this in her book; this just shows how limited she is in her world views.

Overall rating: 2.75 Stars

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Review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I honestly had no idea what to expect when I started this book. I heard from many friends that it was really insightful and definitely worth reading if you are looking to change your personal philosophy. Honestly, if I wasn't still suffering the hungover from reading Hamilton the Revolution, I would have given this book a higher rating.

The major point this book emphasized was to stop caring about every little detail in your life and instead focus on those ideals and values that actually matter. The subtle shift comes from not being disappointed, but slowing changing your values so that they are more holistic and sustainable to obtain optimal happiness.

In the first couple of chapters, I really didn't like the style of the writing. Even though I knew there was going to be cussing and profane language, it was just so scattered throughout EVERY SINGLE sentence that I became really annoyed. If the author was really trying to get his point across, let me actually read your ideas instead of figuring out what you're trying to say between cuss words. Honestly, that was probably my only problem with the entire book. After trudging through the first two chapters, the rest of the story included well-detailed and emotional narratives that reflected the development of the "prioritizing" philosophy (I'm coining that term instead of the "no-f*uckery" philosophy). The last chapter of the book was very provocative. It really allowed me to take a step back and ask myself if I'm happy with the way my life is if I died tomorrow.

I would recommend the book to people who want to take a look a life from a different perspective. Just keep an open mind and don't let the language bother you too much.

Overall rating: 4 stars

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Review: Hamilton: The Revolution

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOW! This book was so spectacular that it left my speechless after I finished it (at 3 am in the morning).

First of all, the book is beautifully made. The photos on each of the pages display the enormity of the project and how everybody in both the production and cast was involved in spinning Lin's story together. I actually really REALLY liked the layout of the book and how it was designed like an archaic 1800's document. Ahhhhh!!! So great!

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed Lin's annotations and thoughts on all the songs in the musical, Jeremy McCarter's essays absolutely destroyed me. I think he really brought another dimension to all of the cast and production members. I cried so much from reading Oskar's tragedy while listening to "Stay Alive" that I couldn't even see the words on the pages clearly. I also really appreciated how much Lin formulated the ending to focus on how Eliza took over in spreading and developing Alexander Hamilton's legacies. She really took a step from just being known as one of the Schuyler sisters/Angelica's sister and grow into her own person with her own set of accomplishments, which is very progressive for her time period.

This book is incredible, stunning, and brilliantly created. Go and read it now!

Overall rating: 5 Stars

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