Book reviews

Book Review: The Reason You’re Alive by Matthew Quick

Dalindcy Koolhoven2 Comments

Reason youre alive book review matthew Quick

There’s this ongoing debate about unlikeable characters: Should you rate a book lower if it has an unlikeable or problematic character? Even if that was actually the point of the book in the first place?

This is something I still struggle with myself. The Reason You’re Alive by Matthew Quick is a book with an unlikeable character like that. And while I don’t want to rate a book lower only because the MC isn’t a perfect person, his words an actions did have an affect on my enjoyment of the book. And if I enjoyed a book less, that means I should give it a lower rating, right? Otherwise I’m just giving a book a rating that doesn’t make sense for me.

”Only the good die young, and I’ve lived nasty.” – David Granger, The Reason You’re Alive

Dilemma’s. Before I go off on an even longer tangent, let me tell you about the premise of book. In The Reason You’re Alive, we get to know David Granger. He’s a republican army veteran that loves guns and regularly craps on how ”politically correct” the current world is. I think most of us know someone like this, and most of us don’t really like spending time with them.

However, David has an eclectic group of friends who all tolerate him, including a gay couple and a Vietnamese woman. Reading this felt a little unrealistic to me. David has very liberal opinions at times, yet still votes against the interest of his diverse group of friends? How does that make sense? Continue reading “Book Review: The Reason You’re Alive by Matthew Quick” →

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Bookish posts

8 Specific Types of Young Adult Books That I Would Like To Read More Of

Dalindcy Koolhoven11 Comments

reading less YA

Do you ever read a book with very specific tropes and you just go ”give me more of that!” but it’s super hard, of not impossible, to find those books? This happens to me ALL. THE. TIME. I figured writing a blog post listing all my favorite too-specific-to-search-tropes and maybe, just maybe you’ll think of a book that you just KNOW I’ll love! If you do, please recommend it to me in the comment section down below. 

Books in which food somehow plays a huge role
I’m talking the type of book in which food is more than just fuel. I want it to SHINE. Food is often part of a culture, a time period or even a fantasy world, and too often to I feel like authors forget how much you can tell about a setting with food.

Books with female pirates
I’m sure they’re out there, but WHERE? I read about a female pirate in the Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab, and I want more girly pirates now. I want to read more pirate stories anyway, why do I feel like this is a setting we don’t see that often in YA fiction?

Books with a library setting, or books about books in general
Take a drink every time I say ‘book’. But seriously, I love reading books about books, or books that have a library setting. Library settings are magical, and usually instantly make me love about about 64% more. 

Books with unlikeable main characters
Give me dark and twisty main characters. Give me main characters that make the wrong decision and push everyone away. But most of all, make me root for these people even though I shouldn’t. 

(Realistic) books set in law school
Okay, I’m only including this here because I’m starting law school in about two weeks and I’m super excited about it. I’m currently reading and watching anything law school related that I can get my hands on. Yes.. I’m that much of a geek. But I would like the books to be somewhat realistic, because I bet law school isn’t as glamorous as some books and films make it out to be, and I don’t want to set myself up for failure.  Continue reading “8 Specific Types of Young Adult Books That I Would Like To Read More Of” →

Bookish posts

The Pros and Cons of Reviewing ARCs

Dalindcy Koolhoven3 Comments

books and rants dalindcy

After a bunch of people loved my post about the pros and cons of being a mood reader, I decided to have this format make a comeback, and this time we’re talking ARCs!

For those of you who stumbled on this post and have no idea what an ARC is: this acronym stands for Advanced Reader Copy, and it’s a version of a book that is often released to a very small amount of people before the actual release date. These people, often book bloggers or BookTubers, will then review the book beforehand and (hopefully) create some hype! ARCs are also sometimes given out to get feedback from readers about the actual content of the book. Think pace, characters, writing style..

ARCs usually still have some typos and other mistakes in them (it’s almost never the final copy!) and most of the times the final cover isn’t there either. I’ve been ARC reviewing for a long time. If you want to send me an ARC, please check out my review policy.

Pros of reviewing ARCs

  • You get to read the book before anyone else! Or.. almost anyone else. If you’re excited about a book, those few weeks or months make all the difference. If it’s a very anticipated release and you’re first with a review on your platform of choice, you’ll probably reach a bigger audience too.
  • Your reading makes a difference. I don’t know if this is a pro for anyone else.. but I love this about ARC reading. It just feels like my feedback and review is valued.
  • You get books in your mailbox. Christmas in July! Or.. August actually. It’s so much fun to get books in your mailbox. Sometimes I get sent books unsolicited, and although I prefer it if people let me know that they’re going to send me a book, it’s still nice to open up a little present!

Continue reading “The Pros and Cons of Reviewing ARCs” →

Book reviews

Book Review: The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

Dalindcy Koolhoven4 Comments

The cheerleaders book review

I don’t know what it is about murder and cheerleading, but they are a surprisingly good combination. In her newest novel Kara Thomas managed to write one of the most compelling murder mysteries I’ve read so far this year.

Five cheerleaders in a small town die, in three separate incidents, within a month’s time. Is it a coincidence or is there something sinister going on in the town of Sunnybrook? Our protagonist is Monica Rayburn, the sister of one of the cheerleaders that died. When she finds her sister’s phone in the desk of her stepfather, she begins searching for clues about what might have led her sister, Jen, to commit suicide five years ago. 

The story is primarily told from Monica’s point of view, but occasionally shifts to Jen, showing us what happened in the weeks that lead up to her death. Monica’s character is dynamic and realistic. She is appropriately angsty for a sixteen year old, but also sincere while finding out who she really is.

What I loved most about this book was how intricate the mystery was, making me shift from one suspect to the next. You know those thrillers in which every single person could have done the crime? And you just don’t know? This is exactly one of those books. As the reader, you want to crack the case as much as the main character. And while Monica is flawed and not always likeable, that makes you want to root for her anyway.  Continue reading “Book Review: The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas” →

Bookish posts · Tags & challenges

Tag: The Sunshine Blogger Award (What I’ve Learnt From Blogging, My Favorite Things About Myself and Practising Self Love!)

Dalindcy KoolhovenLeave a comment

sunshine blogger award.JPG

August is here! I am excited, because september can’t start soon enough for me. I’m so excited about law school, as well as autumn to be here.

I was tagged by the lovely Jamie Lee Jenkins to do this Sunshine Blogger Award. Definitely go check out her blog if you’re into fitness and lifestyle related posts. Her recent post Things I’ve Learnt As An Intern is very interesting and valuable.

I don’t do tags very often, if you check out this blog semi regularly you know that. But this one was so nice and positive that I really wanted to do it!

Rules:
Thank the blogger who nominated you and link their blog so others can find them.
Answer the 11 questions which the blogger who nominated you asked.
Nominate 11 bloggers and ask them 11 different questions.
List the rules and display the Sunshine blogger award logo in your post and/or on your blog site.

Jamie’s 11 Questions: 

Who is your biggest inspiration in the blogging world?

My biggest inspiration is definitely Cait from Paperfury. Not only does she always write quality blog posts and is it a joy to come back to her blog, she also managed to get a book deal at a super young age! I have yet to read her novel, but I’m super excited about it.

When you’re feeling down what is one thing that is guaranteed to make you smile? 

It’s hard to pick one thing! Especially because as of lately, my life is going pretty well and I haven’t been feeling down a lot. For this one, I’m gonna go with the Brooklyn 99 TV show. That show always makes me laugh no matter what!

Summer or winter? Why?

Right now, I will say winter. But when winter happens, I will probably say summer! It has been incredibly hot in my part of the world in the past few weeks, and the drought has killed many plants and trees. I like sun as much as the next person, but this is a little too much. I fare the best in autumn!

What are three things you have learnt from blogging?

I have been blogging for a really long time (close to 10 years at this point). I have learnt to be disciplined because of blogging – posting regularly and fitting it in your schedule isn’t easy. I have also learnt to be proud my own space here on the internet. When I was younger I would dismiss my blog as a ”stupid hobby” or be afraid to tell people about it. Now I know that I’m a capable writer, and I’m proud of my blog and what I’ve accomplished. Last but not least, blogging has taught me that meeting people from the internet isn’t weird. I have met some of my greatest friends through blogging!

What are your three favorite things about yourself?

This is a tough one! I like my persistence. If I have a goal, I’m not one to give up on it. I’m also a very considerate person. When someone tells me their story, it’s like I can feel their emotions and in my work as a caregiver, I always try to be considerate of my clients. I also have a natural hunger for knowledge, and I’m curious about everything. I consider this one of my greatest assets.  Continue reading “Tag: The Sunshine Blogger Award (What I’ve Learnt From Blogging, My Favorite Things About Myself and Practising Self Love!)” →

Bookish posts

This is Why Goodreads Doesn’t Allow Half Stars

Dalindcy Koolhoven5 Comments

why goodreads doesn't allow half starsI think we all agree that Goodreads isn’t perfect. The app is clunky, heck, the website is clunky. Even though as stats nerds, we all use and love it. But there seems to be one specific feature missing the entire book community agrees on: Goodreads doesn’t allow half stars.

And to an extend, I agree. How often does it happen to you that you read a book, and it’s more than a three star rating, but definitely not a four star rating? It happens to me a lot. And these are the moments that I despise Goodreads’ star rating. Because damn, why wouldn’t you allow half stars?

Here’s why
This will be a fairly practical answer. And although Goodreads has never put out a specific statement on this matter, goodreads founder Otis Chandler is among the people who are not fans of half stars.

From a marketing standpoint, half stars are usually not a good idea. The more choices you have, the more you will feel confused about what it is you have to choose – it causes a specific type of stress. Humans will mostly describe thing as something that they disliked, liked, loved or hated. Now categorizing those emotions so clinically into numbers isn’t such an easy feat. For a site to be popular and widely used, it needs to make the user access as convenient as possible. It needs to please the general masses. And there are people who don’t care about cumbersome rating and review systems. Continue reading “This is Why Goodreads Doesn’t Allow Half Stars” →

Bookish posts

Five Factors That Make Me Want To DNF A Book

Dalindcy Koolhoven5 Comments

Schermafbeelding 2018-07-10 om 13.42.03

I’ve talked about getting comfortable with DNF’ing books on this blog before. In that post, I wrote about why it’s hard to DNF books and how to deal with the guilt that comes along with it.

In this post, I want to dig a little deeper. What are my personal dealbreakers when it comes to reading books? When do you I decide it’s time to stop? And most importantly, let me know about your dealbreakers in the comments below!

Bad writing
One of my major dealbreakers when it comes to quitting books is bad writing. Of course, what this actually entails is subjective. I can get real technical about it: inconsistency in terms of verbs, passive voice, paragraphs or dialogue that doesn’t flow and/or that’s unrealistic. I appreciate style, but when I read a book and I constantly get annoyed by the way it’s written, I just quit.

Having trouble understanding a character’s motive
I always preach that I do not need to ‘relate’ to a character – I actually think it’s amazing to read about characters who are vastly different from myself – but I do need to understand a characters motive. WHY do they feel the way they feel, and how did that happen? If the author fails to make that clear, I just stop caring about the story.

Slow moving plots
I admit, I get bored easily. There are a lot of character-focused novels that I enjoy, but I do notice a trend: books with very slow moving plots are not my favorite. When I’m halfway through a book and I still don’t know anything about what’s going on, nor do I feel like the characters have really gotten anywhere, there is a big chance that I will just quit. At that point, it is no longer ‘suspense’ and I just stop caring. This is why I DNF’d The Raven Boys.  Continue reading “Five Factors That Make Me Want To DNF A Book” →