April 2015 Wrap-up

Hello fellow readers! After months and months (and months and months, etc. etc.) of not reading, April 2015 is the month that I fell in love with reading all over again. I hadn't read anything for a very long time. Instead, I was letting myself become overwhelmed with the stresses of university and work, and my large pile of books became severely neglected. But I am so happy to announce that I am working through that pile once again!

I began April by re-reading two of my all time favourite novels -- allowing me to fall in love with reading all over again. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare is one of my favourite novels, ever. The characters, the plots and the numerous twists and turns all contribute to the book's absolute awesomeness. I rated it five stars. The second that I read that allowed me to fall in love with reading again was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which I rated five stars as well. Who doesn't love The Hunger Games?!

The last two books that I read for April was the first two books of The Maze Runner series. The Maze Runner by James Dashner, which I rated four stars due to a slow beginning, and The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (the review will be posted this upcoming Saturday). I decided to read the books after watching the first movie. I love that the books offer a lot more than the movie, especially regarding the characters: their personalities and their background. 

How was April for you? How much reading did you get done?

BOOK HAUL: April 2015

*waves enthusiastically* Hello my fellow readers! I apologise for being a little quiet this week, especially since I didn't take part in Top Ten Tuesday or Top 5 Wednesday. But I am here today to share with you all my April Book Haul -- and my first ever book haul post! Before I even created Imaginary Worlds I would read and admire other people's book hauls, which gave me new ideas regarding future books to purchase. I am pretty excited to be participating this month!

And, just before we start, I would just like to say that none of these books were given to me. I bought them all myself.

After a couple of intense, hectic weeks at work, I decided (spontaneously) to spoil myself and purchased Veronica Roth's entire Divergent series: Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant and Four. I haven't started reading the series yet, but I have added Divergent to my May To Be Read (TBR). However, I am sure that I am going to love this series as I have watched the first movie and instantly fell in love with it (I have pre-ordered the second movie, and am trying to wait patiently). 

I have been waiting to read these three little beauties fooorrrrevveerrr. I bought them off fishpond.com.au at the beginning of the month and I received them a couple of days ago. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (which I hear is absolutely incredible), Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza and Across the Universe by Beth Revis are all the first books in three different series. 

And finally... The Bane Chronicles by the fabulous Cassandra Clare. Not only do I love Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, but Magnus Bane is definitely one of my favourite characters that she has created. I look forward to beginning this one soon.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

My Writing Process: Setting and Accomplishing Goals

Last Sunday, I decided to set myself a goal in regards to my current Work in Progress (WIP): write between 10,000 and 15,000 words.

I prefer to set myself some goals -- whether they be long-term or short-term -- when I attempt to do anything; whether that be writing or reading or work or university or something else entirely. Ultimately, I like to feel the satisfaction of accomplishing something that I set my mind to (sometimes feeling proud of one's self is a rarity, so why not relish in it?). And after this previous week, I am definitely feeling that satisfaction.

The current WIP that I am writing is a young adult science fiction story. I am not writing this story with the hope of someday seeing it published; but instead, I am writing it for a mixture of both fun and practice. I managed to write 15,000 or so words this past week (they are completely unedited, I must add). This means that it now stands at 45,000 words. It has been a very long time since I have written that many words for one project. 

I am very proud of myself right now.

This Upcoming Week's Writing Goal: Write between 5,000 and 10,000 words.

What is your writing goal for this week?

BOOK REVIEW: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Title: The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1)
Author: James Dashner
Publication: Chicken House, August 4th 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Survival
Pages: 371

Goodreads & Amazon

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Everything is going to change. 

When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas can remember is his first name. But he's not alone. He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade, an encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible maze. 

Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to be there, or what's happened to the world outside. All they know is that every morning when the walls slide back, they will risk everything to find out.

Admittedly, I actually picked up James Dashner's The Maze Runner after discovering the wonderful movie adaption a couple of weeks ago. I was honestly expecting to already know the storyline, the plot and the characters, that this book was only necessary to read to ensure I understood everything before continuing on to read the second book: The Scorch Trials. However, I was completely surprised with what I ended up reading: Dashner's The Maze Runner is completely different than the recent movie adaption. I could provide some examples of these differences, but I do not want to give any spoilers away to those who have not read the book.

The overall storyline is practically same as the movie. Thomas wakes up in 'the box' remember nothing but his own name. Whist focusing on Thomas as he attempts to navigate his way through his new life in the Glade, The Maze Runner introduces readers to the Maze: a mysterious and dangerous and terrifying entity that begins to take on a life of its own, becoming a main character of Dashner's book itself. Thomas begins aiding the other Gladers (a group of boys brought together to the Maze over a three year period) in their attempt to escape the clutches of the Maze and discover the secrets it hides.

I have really enjoyed the characters that Dashner has created -- they are vastly different than the movie adaption characters. Whilst Thomas, Minho and Chuck are somewhat similar to their movie adaptions (with some characteristics varying), Newt, Teresa, Gally and Alby are not. Instead, they are much more multifaceted and three-dimensional, with aspects of these characters seemingly forgotten in The Maze Runner movie. For example, Newt's limp is removed from the movie, which disappoints me as I feel as though this was an important element for his character.

The only reason that I did not rate this book five stars was because the beginning of The Maze Runner was a little slow. It took a while before any real action occurred, with the first few chapters dedicated to exposition. I wasn't looking for action from the beginning, but it could have been a little more exciting.

The Maze Runner has quickly become one of my new favourite series. I have not read many books from a male protagonist's perspective -- the only other one would have to be Harry Potter. I love reading about Thomas and his interactions with other Gladers.

Have you read The Maze Runner? What other books with male protagonists have you enjoyed?

Waiting on Wednesday: An Ember in the Ashes

I accidentally stumbled across an Advance Readers Copy (ARC) review of this little beauty a few days ago when I was 'blog hunting' and I have fallen instantly in love. I added it my Goodreads 'to-read' list immediately and have been patiently waiting for new reviews. This unique idea for An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir is honestly beyond brilliant and I can already tell that I will be completely obsessing over it once I have it in my hands.

Have you heard of An Ember in the Ashes and are you just as excited as me to read it?

Title: An Ember in the Ashes

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Expected Publication: April 28th, 2015

I WILL TELL YOU THE SAME THING I TELL EVERY SLAVE.

THE RESISTANCE HAS TRIED TO PENETRATE THIS SCHOOL COUNTLESS TIMES. I HAVE DISCOVERED IT EVERY TIME.

IF YOU ARE WORKING WITH THE RESISTANCE, IF YOU CONTACT THEM, IF YOU THINK OF CONTACTING THEM, I WILL KNOW

AND I WILL DESTORY YOU.

Laia is a slave.

Elias is a soldier.

Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire's impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They've seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia's brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire's greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school's finest soldier -- and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he's being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realise that their destinies are intertwined -- and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

"Waiting on Wednesday" is hosted by Breaking the Spine. 

Top Ten Tuesday: ALL TIME Favourite Authors

(Click the image above to join in on the challenge.)

Hello everyone! *waves enthusiastically* This week, The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday weekly meme is dedicated to showcasing everyone's top ten ALL TIME favourite authors. At first this seemed like an easy challenge, but as I began compiling my list it was actually a lot more difficult than I thought. So it actually took me a while to come up with my ten favourite authors, so I am very, very excited to share with you my top ten favourite authors (for now, anyway, they change nearly all the time!)

George R.R. Martin - Game of Thrones

Cassandra Clare - The Mortal Instruments

J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter

Richelle Mead - Vampire Academy

Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games

Jodi Picoult - My Sister's Keeper

J. R. R. Tolkien - The Hobbit

P. C. Cast and Kristen Cast - House of Night

Danae Ayusso - Wolves of Haven

James Dashner - The Maze Runner

Who are your favourite authors? Are any of them on my list?

My Writing Process: Slowing Down

I really wish that I could be writing you guys a nice long post about my writing progress this week. But this past week has been incredibly busy. My university workload (i.e. assignments, lectures and meetings) has increased, along with my work hours, leaving me feeling stressed, tired and overworked. Unfortunately, this has drastically affected my writing time. When I come home, I don't feel like writing -- I feel like going to bed. Whilst last week I wrote 22,428 words, I have barely written five thousand this week. At first I was feeling discouraged, but then I realised something.

My creative juices have not died.

This time my lack of writing was not due to a sudden onset of writer's block, but rather due to a lack of time. What this has taught me, though, is that it is okay for your writing progress to slow down. It doesn't matter if you take time off, or that you don't write as many words as you did the previous week. Instead, what matters is that you don't give up and that you simply pick yourself up the following week.

My Writing Goal for This Week is: write between 10,000 - 15,000 words.

What is your writing goal for this week?