THE BEST BOOKS OF 2015.

Every year, I think my intro for this post has always been "where did this year go?'. Well, it is the same question I have today! WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR? Despite that fact that a ton of bad things happened this year to me (blogging/reading slump is one of the worsts), a lot of good things happened, too. I landed my dream job (Software Admin), got to enjoy a new hobby which is Gundam building and I realized my dream to be a panelist. This year is definitely NOT my best year but I couldn't ask for anything better. I am content with how much I matured and how differently I see things now. I am truly blessed to have been given such struggles that eventually molded me to the person I am today.

What I can promise though is.. 2016 is going to be MY year.

Anyway, since I read only a handful of books this year *cringes on the word handful*, here are the Best Books of 2015 here on The Bookaholic Blurbs.

ACOTAR IS AN EARC

~ January ~

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

"Driven with passion, All the Bright Places reaches the deepest parts of the heart. Riveting and gripping, All the Bright Places is a magnificent and moving story -- that can melt the toughest hearts and maybe a thousand more."

Willowgrove (Hemlock #3) by Kathleen Peacock

"Filled with action compensated with amazing display of eternal love and friendship,Willowgrove is startlingly impressive. Delightfully engaging, Willowgrove is one of the best series enders I read! Totally commendable!"

~ February ~

The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

"The Last Time We Say Goodbye is packed with heightened sense of grief. Not only immensely emotional, but it is thoroughly sensitizing and absolutely moving."

~ March ~

The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1) by Jodi Meadows

"The Orphan Queen gilded dark past to a deceitful present. Stirring and engaging, this world of hidden identities and full blast badassery irresistibly grabs one's best in an utterly extrafreakingordinary way!"

~ May ~

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas

"A Court of Thorns and Roses is a story where magic is expounded in its different forms. Stunningly written and downright ravishing, ACOTAR is the go-to novel for all!"

~ July ~

Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider

"Extraordinary Means is Eleanor and Park meets The Fault in Our Stars. Buzzing with compassion, it pulls the strings of miracle and ties it to every fiber of hope it could find."

~ September ~

Confess by Colleen Hoover

"Confess can simply come out of your life and leave a trail of disaster feels on its trail. Gripping and delightful, Confess can definitely be that light at the end of the tunnel!"

~ October ~

Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas

"Queen of Shadows is another Throne of Glass installment that left me in awe. Jaw dropping, hair gripping and heart wrenching novel packed with unlimited awesomeness!"

These books are all books of each month. As you all know, I was on a ridiculous blogging slump this year because usually, I post recaps every end of the month with the featured book/s. Well, I'll make it up to my blog and readers this coming year and be more active and I will make sure to post quality reviews. These books are not only the best ones but some of these still haunt me up to this day. So for 2015, I will have TWO Books of 2015. You ready?

The Bookaholic Blurbs' Books of 2015 are:

The Orphan Queen and The Last Time We Say Goodbye

Thank you so much , HarperCollins for theses awesome books and well? congrats to Jodi and Cynthia for writing such fantastic stories! Till next year, guys!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE READS (01)

Hi, bookish peeps! Today I am happy to publish my new feature (well not really because this has been a constant post on other blogs) I called A Series of Unfortunate Reads. This is practically an old stuff but just new here on the blog but aside from that, there's nothing really interesting in this post. What I am sad about today though is that this feature will be about the books I did not finish. I need to make this one because my TBR is never-ending (old news) and I couldn't really afford to force myself to like reads I truly cannot. So here I am, contemplating about the books I can give another shot and the books I do not see myself re-reading. I have 16 today - the first batch.

▲ Evernight ▲ Finale ▲ Fire ▲ White Cat ▲

▲ The Demon King ▲ The Promise of Amazing ▲ Rain ▲ Resist ▲

▲ Etiquette & Espionage ▲ Illusions of Fate ▲ The House of Hades ▲ Infinite ▲

▲ Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend ▲ For Darkness Shows the Stars ▲ Emmy & Olivery ▲ Stormdancer ▲

Reasons why I DNF-ed these books (and most probably the next DNFs):

1. SLOW PACING. Most of these I DNF-ed due to the pacing. You should know by now how I don't have the patience in reading utterly slow-paced stories. I feel like the story isn't moving at all or it will take literally forever to finish a book. It is absolutely easy for me to get bored as well.

2. HISTORICAL FICTIONS (SteamPunk, Thrillers and some High-Fantasy) ARE NEVER GONNA WORK FOR ME. I couldn't wrap any part of my brain on Historical Fiction books. It is just THAT hard for me to imagine it or to understand the puns and all that.

3. NO CHEMISTRY BETWEEN ME AND THE BOOK. Some I DNF-ed because of my disconnection to the characters/world building. Rain and Stormdancer were the hardest for me to read because even though I could easily picture Japanese Culture, the language is the issue. I know a few phrases but these books used a lot of Japanese references (obviously) I can't truly get in to. But I would re-read them.

4. INSTA-LOVE. It is okay for me if it is insta-romance but the story would be able to justify why it happened that fast. Just like Hoover's books, you would instantly hate how the romance department developed but as you go deeper in to the story, you'd get why. I just can't accept it ever that you fall head over heels in love with someone after meeting them twice?

5. BOOKS/STORIES WHICH PROMOTES SLUT-SHAMING, BULLYING, RAPE, RACISM ETC. NO WAY. NO WAY I AM GOING TO READ ONE. 99 DAYS IS A MISTAKE ACTUALLY. WHY DID I EVEN FINISH THAT

6. THE PROBLEM IS ME. When life gets in the way, you know, it is hard to finish a book and sometimes I pause for several days but then completely forgets about the book. Or there are instances where I get overwhelmed by the thickness of the book? Yeah, all on me, guys. This is on me.

I couldn't think of anything else. Will probably edit if I think of something else.

Sorry, authors. Sorry pubs. But this is bookish life and I need to learn to DNF. I love you all, though.

Thank you for all the review copies, publishers!

BOOKISH EVENT: BOOK BLOGGING 101 PANEL TALK.

Hi again, guys! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
*waves and flails*

November 28 - Saturday, Kai of Amaterasu Reads, Hazel of Stay Bookish, Jesselle of The Life Long Bookworm and I attended the Book Blogging 101 Panel Talk at Fullybooked in Alabang Town Center. This event was hosted by Southville International School and Colleges and THIS IS MY FIRST TIME EVER TO BE A PART OF A PANEL! I was nervous but beyond excited! I've always dreamed of being a panelist and when Jesselle offered slots for this, I immediately grabbed the chance! *shouts: I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!* Seriously, this was beyond what I expected. I didn't anticipate that I would have so much fun talking and sharing the bookish love. I was so happy that I get to be with my blogger friends at the same time. Truly a win-win thing for me. Also, thank you Kai and fambam for the ride!

The first thing I did when we arrive was ask Hazel to take a photo of me sitting behind the panel table. It was surreal. HAHAHA! Sorry guys, but I had to tell you how freaking awesome it was to be doing this! The table was setup with YA books, I just usually see this during signings and I cannot freaking believe I'll be the one to sit behind the table HAHA okay so sorry am too much now.

I loved how the Powerpoint presentation pointed every detail needed to be discussed (thanks, ladies. you did such an awesome job! Sorry I wasn't any help at all. You know, life happened.) and I hope that it helped. Also, my favorite part was the Q and A. I felt like am kind of pro when it comes to this and seriously, it was everything I hoped it would be. The group who attended the event didn't look bored or something but they were all intently listening. Most of them are quite familiar to me, I felt I've met them during bookish events. The questions were all great I almost couldn't help myself. I wanted to answer everything. Hazel was so calm, Jesselle was bubbly as always, Kai was so informative and me? NEVER MIND ME GUYS. NEVER MIND. I just babbled nonstop.

Thank you SISC people for the photo!

I would like to thank first, Southville International School and Colleges for hosting such amazing event. This is a great step in building a stronger bookish community locally, in promoting books and reading and in making the internet (social media and other platforms) the base of another level of bookish enthusiasm. I hope other schools would also setup one like this in other for many people to share their love for reading. It isn't only going to pass as a hobby but this is also educational. I believe that events like this would persuade teens to spend their time with things that would benefit them. Also, thank you Fullybooked for accomodating us, my blogger friends for all the love and support, and to those people who attended this event. You guys! You truly made us happy! Not only because you asked brilliant questions or you showed interest in starting a book blog but you know, YOU CAME! Thank you. Thank you all so so much.

THANK YOU AWESOME PEOPLE! THANK YOU!

If you have questions, comment here and I will try my best to answer you. Cheers!

MY TOP 5 READING ESSENTIALS.

Hi, guys. I really wanted to do the What's in my Bag blog post for so long (inspired by a lot of you) but my bag is so boring. But this one, "reading essentials", kind of stuck in my head. There's really nothing special about my essentials but I still want to share them with you.

TOP 5: PLASTIC COVER.

Well, one pet peeve of mine is finger prints all over the gorgeous covers of my books so it is MUST that I cover them first with plastic wrappers before reading. Especially those glossy covers and dust jackets. I used to remove dust jackets but I realized that I tend to wrinkle the edges so plastic cover to the rescue. Down side though is in the long run, the paper would eventually turn yellow and it would leave the covered part (flipped side) white and that I wouldn't be able to see my hard covers naked anymore.

TOP 4: GLASSES.

I am practically blind (L-200, R-200 with astigmatism), thanks to playing Clash of Clans for an entire year non-stop, so I need my glasses when reading. Not all the time though. Like for the past several months, I am practicing living this life without wearing glasses but man, it is hard! But I couldn't fake myself, my geeky and cutie glasses are one of my essentials when it comes to blogging and reading. (I am drafting this without glasses and I can barely see the letters! Kudos! *shakes head*)

TOP 3: SNACKS.

It is like when you go watch a movie, not having popcorn makes the trip incomplete. This is the same for me. I need FOOD in general when reading. Don't worry, I never stained a page! I am pro like that!

TOP 2: NOTEBOOK.

This is mainly for blogging/reviewing purposes. A gorgeous notebook is an essential so I could write down my favorite quotes, my questions, my theories, my reaction, emotion and my utmost whatnot when reading. This way, I could remember every

TOP 1: PAGE FLAGS.

I don't know, guys but I just have to have these while reading. I couldn't start a book without page flags. I COULD NEVER. It might have been something I just got accustomed to along the way but whatever. These cute little sticky flags help me a lot when reading. Questions flood me on IG like why do I use these and HOW like, all the time. I use these when I need to mark a monumental event in the book aka the plot twists or if there's a scene so funny I couldn't stop laughing. Also, when lines/quotes hit home? You get me? And most especially, I tab for my review -- the tabs make it easier for me to remember what page this thing happened or when did they kiss or if there are sexy times. You get the gist. Also, these flags serve as bookmarks, I am a bookworm but not really a bookmark user. So page flags top my Reading Essentials.

What are yours? Also, do you have any reading routines you can share with us?

BOOKISH EVENT: BOOK BLOGGING 101 PANEL TALK.

Hello, awesome people!

How have you guys been? Well, as always, am so caught up with adulting thus the lack of posts. But here's one incredible event I would like to invite you to.

Kai of Amaterasu Reads, Hazel of Stay Bookish, Jesselle of The Lifelong Bookworm and I will be in a panel this coming November 28th in Alabang! We were invited to talk about Book Blogging 101 hosted by Southville International School and Colleges! This is my very first "talk" in my entire bookish life and to be honest, I am absolutely thrilled! I am a little nervous but I am trying to mask that with excitement! Cannot wait to meet you, guys!

If you are:

• Free that day, just within the area and/or willing to travel to FullyBooked Alabang Town Center Branch, feel free to visit us!
• Into books and been thinking about starting a book blog but a little bit hesistant, this is definitely perfect for you!
• Blogging already and would like to know tips on how we manage things for our bookish life and other whatnots about the bookish community, SEE US!
• Interested in hearing us talk about what we love most, this is your cue to go!

This event is NOT exclusive to Southville students so we can all go there! This is also a free event!

Kindly register by calling, texting or emailing with your name, age and Book Blogging 101 to --(02) 820 0935 local 315/327/100 or 0917 8532450 and pr@southville.edu.ph

Also, check these blog posts about the event!

Southville

FullyBooked

Hazel of Stay Bookish

Kai of Amaterasu Reads

SEE YOU THERE AND LET'S TALK BOOKISHLY!