[Review] New Avengers: Illuminati #1 - Brian Michael Bendis

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Title: New Avengers: Illuminati #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrator: Alex Maleev
Publisher: Marvel
Publication year: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 31




This comic is an introduction of the Illuminati, a secret society to orchestrate superheroes on a global scale. It’s kind of like the United Nations for superheroes. We have Iron Man represents Avengers, Black Bolt represents the Inhumans, Professor Xavier represents Mutants, Namor represents Atlantis, Richard Reeds represents Fantastic Four, Black Panther represents Wakanda, and Doctor Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme. The initial meeting happened many years ago in Wakanda as a reaction to Kree-Skrull war (which I assume happened in early Marvel’s comics, because I know nothing about it). Black Panther actually against the formation of the society, but the rest is still forming it anyway.

[Review] Fantastic Four: The Life Fantastic - J. Michael Straczynski

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Title: Fantastic Four: The Life Fantastic (Fantastic Four #533-535)
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Illustrator: Mike McKone
Publisher: Marvel
Publication year: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 152




Fantastic Four: the Life Fantastic is a bind up of Fantastic Four #533-535, Wedding Special, Dinner with Dr. Doom, and Death in the family. I didn’t read all of those. I only read Fantastic Four #533-535. So the rating that I give is actually only for those three issues. I’ve never read Fantastic Four comic before. So yes, it’s a bit weird that I started out with these issues. I chose these particular issues because of Planet Hulk story arc. Apparently, these issues set as a prequel-ish for Planet Hulk. Planet Hulk story arc itself was recommended by a podcast. They say that it’s supposedly good. If I’m about to read it, I want to give it my all. I started from these prequel comics.

[Review] In the Land of Broken Time - Max Evan & Maria Evan

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Title of Book: In The Land of Broken Time: The Incredible Journey
Author: Max Evan & Maria Evan
Publisher: self-published
Publication Year: 2016
Language: English
Format: Ebook
Pages: 52




This book is about the adventures of the boy named Christopher, the girl named Sophia and retriever Duke. By chance they found themselves in a balloon, that took them into a fairyland, where mysterious events happen. 
Children wanted to find the way home. The heroes had to solve a lot of mysteries.They learned interesting ways of time measuring and found a time machine. 


Top 5 Books You Want to Finally Read in 2017

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Hello fellow readers! I know, it's another list. I've posted two lists in a week. What can I say, I like making lists! My life feels like Buzzfeed. It's full of lists. This post is part of Top Five Wednesday, which is a weekly feature created by Lainey from Gingerreadslainey but now is hosted by Sam from ThoughtsOnTomes. More information about T5W is provided at its Goodreads group page. This week's topic is books you want to finally read in 2017. This is basically a TBR post which why I like posting it. It works as a kind of reminder for me to read. Those. Books. Already!! Anyway, here's the list of books I should have picked up a long time ago. Don't be surprise if some of these books have appeared on my other TBR-kind-of-posts before.

Top 10 New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2016

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature originally created by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic for Top Ten Tuesday is New-To-Me Authors I Read For The First Time In 2016. Whew! That's a long title. When I was drafting this post, I found out that I didn't read that many new authors because I was trying to cut down my TBR by reading books that are already on my shelves. I tend to buy books from authors that I know I would love. I guess that's why. I put this list in chronological order from the latest author I read to the oldest. I also linked each name to his/her Goodreads page if you want to find out more about these authors and their works.

[Review] Emerald Green - Kerstin Gier

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Title of Book: Emerald Green
Series: Precious Stone #3
Author: Kerstin Gier
Publisher: Henry Holt
Publication Year: 2013
Language: English
Translator: Anthea Bell
Format: Hardback
Pages: 451




Gwen has a destiny to fulfill, but no one will tell her what it is. She’s only recently learned that she is the Ruby, the final member of the time-traveling Circle of Twelve, and since then nothing has been going right. She suspects the founder of the Circle, Count Saint-German, is up to something nefarious, but nobody will believe her. And she’s just learned that her charming time-traveling partner, Gideon, has probably been using her all along. Emerald Green is the stunning conclusion to Kerstin Gier's Ruby Red Trilogy, picking up where Sapphire Blue left off; reaching new heights of intrigue and romance as Gwen finally uncovers the secrets of the time-traveling society and learns her fate.


This is a review of the final book in a series. Beware of spoilers ahead.

November 2016 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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Hello! Wow, I can’t believe it’s a November wrap-up post. That means only one month left in 2016. It’s time to recheck those reading challenges and reading resolutions that we planned back in January. After my epic failure in 2015 reading challenge, I decided to not participate in many reading challenge. I think it works fine so far. There’s no high expectation to be exceeded, haha. Anyway, I only read 3 books and one comic in November. Not as much as I wanted to. But Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life was out on November 25th! It was, oh so good. I ended up watching all four seasons in one sitting. It was glorious.

[Review] Sapphire Blue - Kerstin Gier

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Title of Book: Sapphire Blue
Series: Precious Stone #2
Author: Kerstin Gier
Publisher: Henry Holt
Publication Year: 2012
Language: English
Translator: Anthea Bell
Format: Hardback
Pages: 362




Gwen’s life has been a rollercoaster since she discovered she was the Ruby, the final member of the secret time-traveling Circle of Twelve. In between searching through history for the other time-travelers and asking for a bit of their blood (gross!), she’s been trying to figure out what all the mysteries and prophecies surrounding the Circle really mean.
At least Gwen has plenty of help. Her best friend Lesley follows every lead diligently on the Internet. James the ghost teaches Gwen how to fit in at an eighteenth century party. And Xemerius, the gargoyle demon who has been following Gwen since he caught her kissing Gideon in a church, offers advice on everything. Oh, yes. And of course there is Gideon, the Diamond. One minute he’s very warm indeed; the next he’s freezing cold. Gwen’s not sure what’s going on there, but she’s pretty much destined to find out.


This is a review of the second book in a series. Beware of spoilers ahead.

Top Five Books I Want to Re-read

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Hello fellow readers! This post is part of Top Five Wednesday, which is a weekly feature created by Lainey from Gingerreadslainey but now is hosted by Sam from ThoughtsOnTomes. More information about T5W is provided at its Goodreads group page. This week's topic is five books that you want to re-read. Before getting into the list, I want first to disclose that I won't include Harry Potter in this list because ... well, duh. So here are the books (besides Harry Potter) that I want to re-read.

[Review] Ruby Red - Kerstin Gier

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Title of Book: Ruby Red
Series: Precious Stone #1
Author: Kerstin Gier
Publisher: Henry Holt
Publication Year: 2011
Language: English
Translator: Anthea Bell
Format: Hardback
Pages: 324




Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!
Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.


Top 10 Japanese Movies Recommendation

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature originally created by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic for Top Ten Tuesday is Movie Freebie. I'm excited for this weeks' topic because I love watching movies. Just a few days ago, I re-watched Japanese drama called Hana-Kimi. The original one, not the remake, It's so funny and cute. So I'm inspired to write about Japanese movies I've watched and recommend them. Although Japan is quite famous for its horror movie, I'm not going to include those movies in this list. Simply because I'm a wimp (ha ha) and I don't really watch horror movies; and no, no anime movies. That's a list for another day. Instead, I put some mystery, drama, and romantic movies in this list. This list is not necessarily in a specific order.

[Review] #girlboss - Sophia Amoruso

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Title of Book: #girlboss
Author: Sophia Amoruso
Publisher: Portfolio
Publication Year: 2014
Language: English
Format: Hardback
Pages: 256




The founder of Nasty Gal offers a sassy and irreverent manifesto for ambitious young women
At seventeen, Sophia Amoruso decided to forgo continuing education to pursue a life of hitchhiking, dumpster diving, and petty thievery. Now, at twenty-nine, she is the Founder, CEO, and Creative Director of Nasty Gal, a $100+ million e-tailer that draws A-list publicity and rabid fans for its leading-edge fashion and provocative online persona. Her story is extraordinary—and only part of the appeal of #GIRLBOSS.
This aspirational book doesn’t patronize young women the way many business experts do. Amoruso shows readers how to channel their passion and hard work, while keeping their insecurities from getting in the way. She offers straight talk about making your voice heard and doing meaningful work.
She’s proof that you can be a huge success without giving up your spirit of adventure or distinctive style. As she writes, "I have three pieces of advice I want you to remember: Don’t ever grow up. Don’t become a bore. Don’t let The Man get to you. OK? Cool. Then let’s do this.”


Top 10 Books I've Added to My TBR List Lately

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature originally created by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic for Top Ten Tuesday is books that you've added to your TBR list lately. If you've read my October wrap-up post, you'll know that back in October there's a big imported books fair in the city where I live. As you can guess, I bought a lot of books. I swear I've never bought that many books in one shopping trip before (technically two trips because I went back on day three or four, but it happened in the same week). I acquired 17 books from the book fair and 3 books from my BookDepository order arrived last month. So I had a total of 20 new books and 10 books that I'm more excited to read are:

[Review] In Real Life - Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang

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Title: In Real Life
Writer: Cory Doctorow
Illustrator: Jen Wang
Publisher: First Second
Publication year: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 175




Anda Bridge was introduced to Coarsegold online at school. Interested, she then joined the game and started playing. In the game, Anda partnered with another player called Sarge. They hunt gold farmers as their mission. Gold farmers are players who collect items for gold and sell it to other players for real money. Gold farming is actually considered as cheating in the game, which is why Anda agreed to do the mission. One day, Anda encountered one of the gold farmers and they talked. That’s when Anda realized there’s much more going on behind gold farming.

October 2016 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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It’s October, which means Halloween! Unfortunately I didn’t read any horror or creepy books. I didn’t watch horror movies. This one is simply because I’m too afraid to watch horror movies. But I watched some episodes of The Twilight Zone! The original one, of course. So that counts, doesn’t it? Anyway, on October I read 3 books and one graphic novel. Here’s what I read in October.

[Review] The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson

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Title of Book: The Sky is Everywhere
Author: Jandy Nelson
Publisher: Walker Books
Publication Year: 2015
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320




Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey.
But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to centre stage of her own life - and suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two boys. One boy takes Lennie out of her sorrow; the other comforts her in it. But the two can't collide without Lennie's world exploding...


[Review] Daredevil: the Man without Fear - Frank Miller

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Title: Daredevil: the Man Without Fear
Issues: #1
Writer: Frank Miller
Illustrator: John Romita Jr.,
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Publication year: 1993
Language: English
Pages: 28
Rating: 3.5/5



First of all, I want to set the ground by explaining my experience with Daredevil. I haven’t watched Ben Affleck’s Daredevil movie. I haven’t watched Netflix’s Daredevil series, but I’m interested to do so. I know that Daredevil’s real name is Matt Murdock and that he’s blind. His signature weapon is a Billy club. I know about Elektra and that she somehow has a relationship with Matt. I know he wears a red costume with little devil horns and that’s about it. Now that it’s out of the way, let’s talk about the comic.
Daredevil: the Man without Fear is Daredevil’s origin story retold by Frank Miller. Comic superheroes tend to have many origin stories, but this one especially was suggested to me if I want to know the origin of Daredevil. This issue opens with Matt Murdock as a child living in Hell’s Kitchen. He’s a good boy, but on the other hand, he likes to prank people. In this issue, Matt was pranking an officer by stealing the officer’s club. It seems silly and harmless, but we’ll see that this scene would play a bigger role in a later scene. Then we meet Matt’s father, Jack Murdock. He’s a boxer who’s also moonlighting as a mob enforcer, a job that he hates but he has to do because he’s a single parent and responsible for Matt. In this issue we see the relationship between Matt and his father. We see how his father raised him to play by the rules, which shape Matt’s ethic. We also see the event that causes Matt’s blindness and the introduction of Stick, a character who taught martial arts to Matt. This issue ends with Matt’s father being murdered by the mob.
The first issue of Daredevil: the Man without Fear basically lay out Matt’s personalities and the defining moments of his childhood that shape him as Daredevil that we know. I explained before that I haven’t watched Netflix’s Daredevil show, but I’ve watched the trailer and I get the sense that Matt is having a moral conflict with himself with the confessional booth scene. Reading his scene with his father, it makes sense to me about his moral conflict. He’s taught to play by the rules while he’s acting as a vigilante by being Daredevil. It’s a great opening and drawn me toward the character. This issue definitely intrigues me to read more about Matt Murdock. 



[Review] Grim - Christine Johnson

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Title of Book: Grim
Author: Christine Johnson (editor)
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Year: 2014
Language: English
Format: Ebook
Pages: 480




Inspired by classic fairy tales, but with a dark and sinister twist, Grim contains short stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today: 
Ellen Hopkins 
Amanda Hocking 
Julie Kagawa 
Claudia Gray 
Rachel Hawkins 
Kimberly Derting 
Myra McEntire 
Malinda Lo 
Sarah Rees-Brennan 
Jackson Pearce 
Christine Johnson 
Jeri Smith Ready 
Shaun David Hutchinson 
Saundra Mitchell 
Sonia Gensler 
Tessa Gratton 
Jon Skrovon


[Review] Beautiful Ruins - Jess Walter

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Title of Book: Beautiful Ruins
Author: Jess Walter
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Publication Year: 2013
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 337




The #1 New York Times bestseller, now available in paperback—Jess Walter’s “absolute masterpiece” (Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author): the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962 and resurfaces fifty years later in contemporary Hollywood.
The acclaimed, award-winning author of the national bestseller The Financial Lives of the Poets returns with his funniest, most romantic, and most purely enjoyable novel yet. Hailed by critics and loved by readers of literary and historical fiction, Beautiful Ruins is the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962...and is rekindled in Hollywood fifty years later.


Top Five Books that Took You the Longest to Finish

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Hello fellow readers! This post is part of Top Five Wednesday, which is a weekly feature created by Lainey from Gingerreadslainey but now is hosted by Sam from ThoughtsOnTomes. More information about T5W is provided at its goodreads group page. This week's topic is five books that took you the longest to finish. For this topic I actually refer to my goodreads shelves and count the days I spent reading these books based on the date I started reading and finished the books. With a little help from Excel of course. Anyway, here are the books that took me the longest to finish.

September 2016 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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Hi! It’s October! The year almost ends. Surprisingly, I didn’t read much in September. Considering that I’m done with school, I thought that I would read a lot. But I was so distracted by Marvel movies and TV series. Even some books I read in September are Marvel’s comics and I enjoyed them. Anyhoo, here’s the books I read in September.

[Revie] I'll Give You the Sun - Jandy Nelson

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Title of Book: I’ll Give You the Sun
Author: Jandy Nelson
Publisher: Walker Books
Publication Year: 2015
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 429




From the author of The Sky Is Everywhere, a radiant novel that will leave you laughing and crying - all at once. For fans of John Green, Gayle Forman and Lauren Oliver. Jude and her twin Noah were incredibly close - until a tragedy drove them apart, and now they are barely speaking. Then Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy as well as a captivating new mentor, both of whom may just need her as much as she needs them. What the twins don't realize is that each of them has only half the story and if they can just find their way back to one another, they have a chance to remake their world.


Top 10 Books on My Fall TBR List

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature originally created by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic for Top Ten Tuesday is books on your fall TBR list. Actually, there's no fall season where I live. So I don't have any specific reason to pick these books other than that these books have been on my bookshelves for a while. One of my reading goals this year is to cut down my TBR pile to at least 50 books and these are some of them that I hope I will finish before the year ends.

[Review] The First Phone Call from Heaven - Mitch Albom

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Title of Book: The First Phone Call from Heaven
Author: Mitch Albom
Publisher: Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Publication Year: 2014
Language: Bahasa Indonesia
Format: Paperback
Pages: 424




“Bagaimana seandainya akhir bukanlah akhir?” 
Suatu pagi di Coldwater, Michigan, telepon-telepon mulai berdering. Para peneleponnya berkata mereka menelepon dari surga. Mukjizatkah ini? Atau olok-olok kejam? Ketika berita ini menyebar, banyak orang mulai berdatangan ke Coldwater untuk ikut membuktikan.
Pada saat yang sama, Sully Hardings, pilot yang telah kehilangan nama baiknya, baru bebas dari penjara dan mendapati kota tempat tinggalnya sedang mengalami “demam mukjizat.” Bahkan anaknya yang masih kecil membawa-bawa ponsel mainan karena berharap ditelepon ibunya dari surga.
Ketika telepon-telepon ini makin sering terjadi, dan bukti adanya kehidupan di alam baka mulai terkuak, kota itu––dan dunia––mulai berubah. Hanya Sully yang tidak percaya. Baginya, tidak ada apa-apa lagi setelah dunia yang penuh kesedihan ini. Dan dia bertekad untuk membuktikannya, bagi anaknya dan bagi dirinya sendiri.


Top 10 Podcasts You Should be Listening to

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature originally created by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic for Top Ten Tuesday is audio related freebie! I don't listen to audio books, but I like listening to podcasts. I've actually done top podcast post where I mentioned five cool bookish podcast to listen to. Since I've mentioned five already, I'm gonna mention another five here.

[Review] Kissed - Cameron Dokey

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Title of Book: Kissed
Series: Once Upon a Time
Author: Cameron Dokey
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Year: 2012
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 640




Read happily ever after with this magical repackage that includes three enchanting, retold fairy tales.
In this value-priced bind-up of three beloved retellings, readers will journey to faraway fairy tale lands. Before Midnight revisits Cinderella's story in France, Golden puts a new spin on Rapunzel's romance, and Wild Orchid reimagines the Chinese tale of Mulan. With so much real-life drama in today's busy world, Once allows readers to escape into whimsical realms where every story has a happily ever after.


[Review] Bossypants - Tina Fey

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Title of Book: Bossypants
Author: Tina Fey
Publisher: Sphere
Publication Year: 2012
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 289




Tina Fey is one of the world's greatest comic writers and performers. Here she reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected - you're no one until someone calls you bossy.


August 2016 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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Hi, hello. I know it’s September already but I haven’t really got the time to sit down and write monthly wrap up and favorites. I’m participating in a 3 weeks long read-a-thon but I’m not doing well on the second and third week. I got so distracted. Instead of reading, I spent my time watching TV show and movies. That’s okay though, because I ended up watching an anime that I love. But I wish that I read many books in August since I wasn’t that busy. So here’s what I read in August.

[Review] The Grownup - Gillian Flynn

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Title of Book: The Grownup
Author: Gillian Flynn
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group
Publication Year: 2015
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 79




A young woman is making a living, faking it as a cut-price psychic working at Spiritual Palms (with some illegal soft-core sex work on the side). She makes a decent wage - mostly by telling people what they want to hear. But then she meets Susan Burke. Susan moved to the city one year ago with her husband and 15-year old stepson Miles. They live in a Victorian house called Carterhook Manor, built in 1893. Susan has become convinced that some malevolent spirit is inhabiting their home, and taking possession of the stepson. She has even found trickles of blood on the wall. The young woman doesn't believe in exorcism or the supernatural, but she does see an opportunity to make a lot of money. However when she enters the house for the first time, and meets Miles, she begins to feel it too, as if the very house is watching her, waiting, biding its time....


[Review] Once - Cameron Dokey

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Title of Book: Once
Series: Once Upon a Time
Author: Cameron Dokey
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Year: 2012
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 640




Read happily ever after with this magical repackage that includes three enchanting, retold fairy tales.
In this value-priced bind-up of three beloved retellings, readers will journey to faraway fairy tale lands. Before Midnight revisits Cinderella's story in France, Golden puts a new spin on Rapunzel's romance, and Wild Orchid reimagines the Chinese tale of Mulan. With so much real-life drama in today's busy world, Once allows readers to escape into whimsical realms where every story has a happily ever after.


Five Books You Want to Read Before the End of Year

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Hello fellow readers! This post is part of Top Five Wednesday, which is a weekly feature created by Lainey from Gingerreadslainey but now is hosted by Sam from ThoughtsOnTomes. More information about T5W is provided at its goodreads group page. This week's topic is five books you want to read before the end of the year. Most of the books that I will mention are part of my TBR. My goal for this year is to get my TBR down to at least 50, which is why I want to finish these books before the end of 2016. 

#ReadThemAllThon Weekly Update & Wrap-Up

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Hi! Hello! I know in my #ReadThemAllThon TBR I said that I would do a daily update, but it was too complicated because of the CP calculation. I still want to do readathon updates though. Because this readathon runs in 3 weeks and updates work as a motivation to me to keep on reading. I'll put my readathon progress in this post only to make it easier. Anyway, here's my progress.