My Favourite Childhood Books

Hi everyone! Lately, I've seen quite a few videos about childhood reads on BookTube, namely ReadbyZoe's most recent one, which inspired me to do the same thing in a written form. However, you'll quickly realize that many of them are actually written for a much older audience than I was at the time (I only wanted big books, basically). Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this post and think about the books you enjoyed reading when you were younger! I'd love to know about them.

1. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (the obvious one)

As most of you probably know, I'm Lucy Maud Montgomery's biggest fan mainly because of her Anne series. I read the first book when I was about 8 years old and I never stopped loving this series. As of today, I've probably read LMM's books a hundred times (which isn't even an exaggeration), so I would highly recommend her books, especially this one. It's about a young orphaned girl who is adopted by a family who only realize when they get her that she's a girl, even though they had asked for a boy. Anne is my favourite character ever and I've wished I could be her countless times. Gilbert Blythe, another character in this series, was my first book crush and I swear you'll fall in love with him if you give this book a chance. It's set in the early 1900s and it's written in a poetic way that makes those books perfect for adults as well as children. 

2. Emily of New Moon by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Continuing the way I started this list, I have to tell you that this other series by Lucy Maud Montgomery caught my heart quite early in my life (in 2007, if I believe my library's archives). This book, although it might sound similar to Anne of Green Gables because it's about an orphan, but Emily's story is completely different from Anne's. It's much darker (but only because Anne is such a positive anc charismatic character while Emily's life is really sad and she doesn't have as much positivity as Anne does), but it's still written in the beautiful way LMM's other books are written and it presents incredible characters that you'll remember forever.

3. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

As a big fan of this TV show, I had to read the books, especially since they were some of my mother's favourite books. I think they might have been some of the favourite books I read, since I owned the three first of the series and my mother read them to my sister and me. I actually pretended I was Laura while my sister said she was Mary and we'd act some scenes together. I received a nightgown that looked exactly like one of Laura's dresses from my grandmother, who made it specially for me with a cap. I went to bed with little braids to look like Laura's TV show character and the nightgown was destroyed by the time I stopped wearing it, so you can probably see how obsessed I was with this series.

4. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

I started reading this series pretty young and it followed me throughout the years, so much that I actually got to review the most recent book of this series (which made my ten-year-old self very happy). It's one of the first series I recommended to my sister when she started reading, which brings back many old memories of us fangirling together. It's something that I would recommend to any young girl, because it makes you fantasize about being a princess in a realistic way. 

5. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

I'm one of those weird little girls who didn't care about the types of books she read, so I read this book when I was 7 or 8 years old - before the movie even came out. I loved this particular book, but since I was so young, the sequels got too complicated for me and I ended up giving up on the third book. I do plan on rereading this series one day, maybe when I have children, because it made me wish so hard that I could have my own dragon (I pretended I slept under my dragon's wings when I was younger).

6. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

I have no idea what age I was when I first read this series, but I know for a fact that I was way too young, because the last one kind of freaked me out when I read it (my parents never put a veto on what I wanted to read since I read so much, but I wish they had a few times, because some books kind of traumatized me). I do remember that I wished I had such a large group of close friends, since it's always only been me and my best friend, as well as a few other friends, instead of me and my three best friends, like it's the case with the girls in this book. I wanted my own pair of jeans like that, too, and I truly think it's a fabulous idea for a series.

7. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I wasn't as young when I read this book, maybe 12 years old, but I'll count it. I did read this after watching the movie (which gave me a huge crush on Alex Pettyfer, haha), but I remember loving the complexity of the books, which was much more interesting than the movie. I think I read the first three books of this series, but I would have read all of them if they were on sale where I live (which they sadly aren't. They release one every three year or so and it sucks). 

8. Stolen Voices: Young People's War Diaries, from World War I to Iraq by Zlata Filipovic

This is one of the first non-fiction books I read and it really stuck with me through the years. I couldn't believe how sad those kids' lives were when I read this, especially since a lot of them were my age. It made me open my eyes to the world I lived in and I think it's one of the reasons why I'm so interested in history today, especially during wars. I would highly recommend it.

9. The Saddle Club series by Bonnie Bryant

As a young rider, I had to at least watch this TV show, which I very happily did. Steph, Carole and Lisa were my models and I wanted nothing more than to be as good a rider as they were, even though it's a known fact to all riders that they'ra actually quite bad in the version I watched (I was 5, so give me a break). When I discovered that there were books of this show, I was the happiest I'd ever been. I flew through all of the books I could get my hands on and they were my favourite ones. This is making me quite nostalgic, because I almost forgot about them and my 7-year-old self would probably never forgive me for that!

10. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

You didn't think I'd do such a post without including Harry Potter, did you? It's definitely one of my childhood favourites, so a list like this one wouldn't be complete without it. I watched some of the movies first, because they came out when I was quite young, but I went to every single one of their theater releases (which scared me of the theater for quite a while, because they were scary movies for a young kid and the loud noises made it even worse) and I read the books as soon as I learned how to read. I've always been called 'Hermione' as a joke in my family because of my love of books and my obsession with school and being right, so I remember loving her hair (which is embarrassing) and when I'd take off my Laura Ingalls braids, I turned into Hermione for the day, which was awesome (I mean, cosplaying two characters pretty much at once, how awesome is that?). Basically, I would completely judge you if you told me you haven't read/watched this series (sorry not sorry).

Shug - Jenny Han

Goodreads summary:


SHUG
is clever and brave and true (on the inside, anyway). And she's about to become your new best friend.
Annemarie Wilcox, or Shug as her family calls her, is beginning to think there's nothing worse than being twelve. She's too tall, too freckled, and way too flat-chested. Shug is sure that there's not one good or amazing thing about her. And now she has to start junior high, where the friends she counts most dear aren't acting so dear anymore -- especially Mark, the boy she's known her whole life through. Life is growing up all around her, and all Shug wants is for things to be like they used to be. How is a person supposed to prepare for what happens tomorrow when there's just no figuring out today?

My review:

5/5

This book is adorable and I loved it.

It's a short, cute and lovely story that I wish I had read years ago, when I would've been able to relate even more to Shug. Even though she's years younger than me, I relate a lot to her and I loved reading about her.

Shug's personality is really interesting, because she's authentic and honest, but she has flaws, too. She cares about her friends and family, but not so much about popularity, even though she wishes she could be with her friends without being excluded all the time. Her family has issues, but she understands them very well and she still loves her sister and her parents, which I thought was adorable.

I disliked Mark. I understand that he's at that age when you want to look cool and be in the popular crowd, but I hated the fact that he couldn't stand up for his best friend. I thought he would change and realize that he can't act like that, but I was disappointed to find out that he didn't. It's what felt the most immature in this book, the fact that so many of Shug's friends want to look cool and act horribly to do so. I'm really happy to be older than that.

I loved Jack. I could see why he would act like that, being older than him, and I thought he was really cute and nice. I was happy to see him grow up, unlike Mark, and stand up for Shug. He doesn't care much about popularity, which made me like him even more.

I smiled throughout the whole story (except once, I teared up a little because I could understand the deeper meaning of a conversation between Shug and her mother and I thought it was really sad) and it's so short that I would reread it anytime. I highly recommend it, no matter what age you are, because you'll find something adorable and easy to read.

Web Series Wednesday - Green Gables Fables

Hi everyone! I just thought of a new series of blog posts I could do once in a while called, as you probably saw in the title, Web Series Wednesday. As an avid fan of YouTube videos, I was delighted when I discovered, less than a year ago, that web series inspired of popular books actually exist. Since my blog is all about books, I thought some of you might be interested in web series, just like I am, so I wanted to share them with you through this series of blog posts. The first show is still updating at the moment and I absolutely love it, so here it is!

My initial reaction was complete shock when I found out that there is a YouTube adaptation of my favorite book ever, Anne of Green Gables. On the first video of Season 1 of Green Gables Fables, you can probably see my comment, describing my schock at discovering that there is something about Lucy Maud Montgomery's works that I didn't know of, especially a web series. I flew through the first season, crying and giggling at times, and I must admit there are many videos I watched twice, three times or even four times. I absolutely love Anne's actress, Mandy Harmon, and her chemistry (or lack of, for a big part of it) with Gilbert in the show is incredibly good and accurate. The cast is great and I follow most of them everywhere now, because I'm really glad I discovered such talented people through a web series. I would recommend having read the books before watching the web series (or even if you don't plan on watching the web series - the book series is plenty enough, it's awesome), but I think it would still be a good web series to watch without knowing what it's about.

The show portrays the first book of the popular Anne of Green Gables series, by Lucy Maud Montgomery, in the 21st century. If you're a fan of the series, you'll see all the little details the production worked on to make the story work in our era instead of one that was over a year ago. Anne (with an E!) is an orphan going from one foster family to another until she meets Matthew and Marilla, two siblings who welcome her in their family. Going to Avonlea, she meets new people, makes friends and enemies, starts a video blog and experiences many beautiful and not-so-beautiful things. With her imaginative mind and love for beauty and poetry, she makes her way in the world, never ceasing to make herself remembered to everyone soul she touches, including the viewer's.

I love how it's filmed, how it's cut, how it's created and how it's divided. Every episode has its load of content and drama, since Anne can be very dramatic, but it's only making you want to watch more and more of it. There are also other videos than the ones from Anne, such as videos from Gilbert, Ruby, Jane, etc. I loved this part, because it made me see the characters in a different way than I do when they are with Anne or simply in the novel. Anne's energy is contagious and the biggest fans and most attentive viewers will quickly realize things about herself and the people around her that she could never imagine, creating the perfect amount of anticipation for the future.

Right now, the first season is completely finished, but the second one is planned to begin on September 2nd. There are already videos about it, such as trailers, Q&As and videos from Anne, all very exciting. It's supposed to be about the third book, I believe, which is Anne of the Island. In this season, Anne is starting her first year of university, which means she'll meet plenty of new kindred spirits while staying in touch with her oldest ones.

You can also donate money to the production on Kickstarter to help them with the web series, which I encourage you to do, since they all work so hard to come to this result. You can click on this link to get to their Kickstarter page for Season 2.



BookTube-A-Thon 2015!

This year, I was able to take part in the amazing read-a-thon that is BookTube-A-Thon. I wanted to last year, but since I was new to this BookTube thing, I didn't really understand what it was and it was too late when I finally realized it's a read-a-thon. This year, I was prepared! I have to admit I only do it as a regular read-a-thon, with the reading challenges, but not the video ones, since I'm not a BookTuber.

This year's challenges:

1// Read a book with blue on the cover
2// Read a book by an author who shares the same first letter of your last name
3// Read someone else's favourite book
4// Read the last book you acquired
5// Finish a book without letting go of it
6// Read a book you really want to read
7// Read seven books
I changed my original reading list, but I still (kinda) managed to complete all the challenges. Here's what I did:

The second Sunday turned to Monday, the first day of the read-a-thon, I started reading The Death Cure, by James Dashner, to complete challenge number 1, which is to read a book with blue on the cover. It was quite easy for me, since I've owned the book for over a year and I really wanted to read it. I read half of it in about two hours before I went to bed, which was a great start. When I woke up, I started reading Twenty Boy Summer, by Sarah Ockler, which is the last book I acquired. It was so good and short that I finished it on the same day! It made me tear up a lot, but I liked how it was more about grief than about love. I rated it 4/5.

On Tuesday, I was starting a new job, so I knew I wouldn't have much time to read that day. It's actually why I tried to read so much on Monday. I didn't bring any book to work, but I had my phone with me during lunch break, so I decided to start a book I had on my phone that was on my reading list for BookTube-A-Thon, Sugar, by Deirdre Riordan Hall. I cheated a bit, because I read this book to complete challenge number 2, even though Riordan is probably the author's middle name and this is the only first letter we share. I really wanted to read a book that I received to review during the read-a-thon and I couldn't find any book I own written by an author whose last name starts with a R, so I decided to let it count. I actually REALLY liked Sugar and I wanted to read it as fast as possible, because it made me feel so much anger and love at the same time (but not towards the same people). I finished The Death Cure when I got home. I liked it, but I didn't love it, which is why I gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars. However, I'm glad I finished the series! I can't wait for The Scorch Trials movie now, because it was actually my favorite book of the series.

On Wednesday, I was working again, so I had to read after work and during lunch break. I loved Sugar so much I finished it as soon as I could when I got back home. I highly recommend it, it was awesome! I made me feel sad when I was reading it though, but it was alright in the end. I ended up giving it 4.5/5, because there's one thing I didn't really like in the story. Afterwards, I started reading The Martian, by Andy Weir, and I loved every page I read that day. I realized it was quite long to read it, so I decided to read a bit of it every day while reading other books to complete the challenges. This is the book I chose to complete challenge number 6, because I had been wanting to read it for such a long time and I had just gotten it.

Surprisingly, I didn't read a single page on Thursday. I had a big shift at work and I came home wanting to Watch TV and sleep instead of reading, which is rare for me. I had a one-day reading slump, which wasn't exactly a good thing during this read-a-thon, since it made me late.

I continued reading on Friday, since I had a day off. I completed challenge number 5, which is to read a book without letting go of it. I was really excited by this challenge and wanted to read a relatively short book, but since I was late by this point, I realized a novella would be the way to go. I read Destroy Me by Tahereh outside in the sun (which got hidden by clouds towards the end of the book and made me shiver). I really liked it! I gave it 4.5/5, because there was a tiny missing spark for me. However, I really enjoyed it, especially the last scene. I started reading Choose Us by Caylie Marcoe to complete the seventh challenge, because I just wanted a simple seventh book to read.

In the early hours of Saturday, I finished Choose Us, which I unfortunately didn't enjoy as much as I expected. It saddened me a bit, because I thought it would be the kind of nice fluffy novel that'd make me swoon, but I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. I was really busy on that day, so I knew I wouldn't be reading much. Before I went to a wedding, I started reading Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, because someone told me it was her new favorite book and I need to complete the third challenge. I read about 40% of it that day.

On Sunday morning, I read as much as I could of The Martian, because I really wanted to complete this year's challenges. I was working at 3 PM, but before that, I managed to get to page 209, which I was happy about. I read Finding Audrey during lunch break and I got to a couple of pages before the end, so I couldn't wait to get home and finish it. I did within minutes and I really liked it! I rated it 4/5. Then, I concentrated on The Martian, even though I realized I couldn't finish it before midnight. I stayed up until 2:30 AM, but I finished it, so I think I pretty much completed the challenges. I wish I had finished it before the read-a-thon officially ended, but I think a few hours delay is okay.

Overall, I (kinda) completed all the reading challenges! I'm really proud of it, even though I wish I didn't have such a busy week. I also watched many video challenges and updates from BookTubers and I have to say that ABookUtopia's videos were my favorite ones!

So that was my experience! Did any you participate?