March Wrap Up | IcthusBookCorner

Another month has passed, and I started feeling sad for only having read two books, even though I had read seven books the month before. Uni started again, and this time I really had a lot to do because of my thesis. March was a difficult month for me…

This feeling of failure was starting to haunt me a bit, then I realized there was no reason for me to feel like that. I read two AMAZING books that I loved, and if you ask me, that is much better than reading a large number of mediocre books.

Both books were read in physical format: one is mine, and the other was borrowed from my local library. Both books were fiction, one written in the late 70s and the other written in 2014.

I read All The Light We Cannot See and If On a Winters Night a Traveler. If I remember correctly, I gave both these books 4 stars. The first book is historical fiction set during WWII and was part of a buddy read I did on Instagram. The second and last book is an Italian classic which is seen as one of the most important postmodernist novels.

I won’t go into more details because even though I haven’t been posting that much, I intend to write reviews for both of them. Please, hold me accountable for that.

So, I have a few questions for you! How was your reading month in March? What was your best read? What are you currently reading? What books are you excited for in this coming month? Let me know in the comments!

I hope you enjoyed your march readings.
Bye, keep on reading.

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You can find me at:

• https://twitter.com/icthus_book
• https://www.instagram.com/icthus_book/
• https://www.goodreads.com/margaridadesousa

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February Wrap Up | IcthusBookCorner

I’ve had two whole months of reading time this year, and I cannot believe how much I’ve actually read in February. It’s been a great reading month with loads of books that I loved. I want to talk about the last seven books I read with all of you!

WHAT I READ

This February, I read seven books, and I know it might not be a lot for some, but for me it sure is. I’m so happy to see that I can read more than five books in one month! If I’m being honest, what helped was me not doing the work I had to do for my thesis…But we are not going to talk about that! Reading this much made me think of how much I actually love books and reading.

When it comes to statistics, I read 1 325 pages, which is way more than what I read in January. I read three books by Russian authors, two non-fiction books, one play, one poetry collection, one fantasy and four classics. I am surprised to see that I still read mostly classics and that all the books were written before 1950. No surprise, I read mostly physical books (6) and only one ebook, one of the physical books I borrowed from my local library. I gave five stars rating to four books, four stars rating to one book and three stars rating to one book, leaving one of the books I read with no rating. This month I read no ARCs because I wanted to focus on books I have wanted to read for a long time.

Overall, it was a great month, and I discovered amazing titles. However, I could read other things, for example, I have been in the mood for sci-fi and some historical fiction (so I need to pick those up).

TITLES/BOOKS

1. The Lower Depths, by Maxim Gorky – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (review coming soon)
2. Notes from Underground, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (review coming soon)
3. Three Guineas, by Virginia Woolf – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. Letters to a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rilke – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (review here)
5. The Magic Shop, by H.G. Wells – ⭐⭐⭐
6. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, by Judith Butler – no rating 
7. Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (review coming soon)

I haven’t done one of these posts in such a long while I don’t even know how to finish it. 🤦

So, I have a few questions for you! How was your reading month in February? What was your best read? What are you currently reading? What books are you excited for this coming month? Let me know in the comments!

All I can say now is: Bye, keep on reading.

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You can find me at:

• https://twitter.com/icthus_book
• https://www.instagram.com/icthus_book/
• https://www.goodreads.com/margaridadesousa

February Wrap Up|2019

Hello, people of the interweb!

I managed to finish six books this February as well as starting two others. I’ll list them as well as giving a bit of my opinion on them and telling you the rating I gave them.

The 6 books I finished:

1. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
   It’s an essay on feminism and I gave 4 out of 5 stars.
2. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander (J. K. Rowling)
   You probably know this but it’s a fantasy book part of the Harry Potter world and I gave it 4 out 5 stars.
3. Bleed Like Me: Poems for the Broken by Azzurra Nox
   This one is a poetry collection and I gave it 1 out of 5 stars.  It was really bad and I finish it because I hate to DNF books.
4. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
   Another nonfiction book, for some reason. This one I really enjoyed, it was super interesting and up my alley. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.
5. What Makes Girls Sick and Tired by Lucile de Pesloüan
   I believe this is a graphic novel, but I’m not sure. What I know is that it is a cute little approach to feminism. I gave this on 3.5 out of 5 stars.
6. Renée Stone: Murder in Abyssinia by Birmant Julie
   This one I know for sure is a graphic novel. This book was ok, but that it. I had some issues with it but nothing terrible. This got 2 out of 5 stars from me.

   The 2 books I started:

1. Leo Gray and the Lunar Eclipse by K.J. Kruk
   Got this Middle Grade from NetGalley. I haven’t finished it yet and to be honest so far the story hasn’t really grabbed me.
2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
   You probably know this Russian classic has one of the greatest novels of all time. Well so did I and I decided it was finally time to pick it up. So far I’m really liking, hope it continues that way.

I had an overall pretty decent reading month, I believe.
I guess that is it. Feel free to share what you’ve been up to and comment your opinions on any of these books.

Bye, keep on reading.

January Book Wrap Up|2019

Hello, people of the interweb!

It’s never too late for a wrap up if it is let me believe it since we are already in the middle of February! I managed to read six books in January which was a great start, two of them because of my internship, but I’m still counting them for this wrap-up.

Let’s get on with this wrap-up!

First, we have Death by Black Hole and other cosmic quandaries by the one and only Neil deGrasse Tyson!

My rating: 4/5 stars
Recommend to: Shameless nerds like me with a bit more than the high school understanding of physics.
Genre: Science, Nonfiction
Sinopse: “Tyson compiles his favourite essays, which were first published in a monthly column in “Natural History.” One of the worlds best-known astrophysicists, he is at his best here, as a natural teacher who simplifies the complexities of science while sharing his infectious excitement for our universe.” (via wook)

The second reading adventure I had last month was Sweethearts by Gemma Gilmore.

My rating: 2/5 stars
Recommend to: I don’t know…
Genre: LGBT, Young Adult
Sinopse: “When seventeen-year-old Ingrid Harper realizes she may not have the talent to pursue a scholarship for the most prestigious art school in Australia, she turns to pink hair dye as a distraction.” (via Goodreads)

 

After that, I read Introduction to High-Temperature Superconductivity by T. Sheahan and Introduction to Superconductivity by Michael Tinkham. Since they are both academic books, it doesn’t make sense to rate them, but they are amazing books on the topic of superconductivity if any of you need to do research on this specific area of study.  I read them because of the internship I’m currently doing and they made me feel much more knowledgeable on the topic.

Then, I picked up Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, once again by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

My rating: 5/5 stars
Recommend to: Once again, shameless nerds like me. This one is a bit easier to follow than Death by Black Hole and other cosmic quandaries, so if you haven’t had a look at anything science since high school it is still quite an easy read.
Genre: Science, Nonfiction
Sinopse: “The essential universe, from our most celebrated and beloved astrophysicist.” (via wook)

 

The last book I read this January was The Mother by Maximo Gorki, and if you read my review on this book you know how emotional it was for me.

My rating: 4/5 stars
Recommend to: Everybody
Genre: Classic
Sinopse: “This novel tells the story of the common proletariat who protested against the czar and the capitalists which eventually led to the October Revolution…Mother represents hundreds of workers who are concerned with living their lives.” (via Amazon)

What was your favourite read of the month?

I’ve been struggling for the last seven minutes, trying to figure out what else to say here, but there isn’t much else I can say really. So…I hope you enjoyed this post. If you read any of these books please let me know!

Bye, keep on reading!