Tag: Reading

Dumbledore’s Army Readathon Sign UP #DAReadAThon

~ aentee @ read at midnight ~ 159 Comments

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Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to Pottermore and J. K. Rowling, please don’t sue me.

Dumbledore’s Army once strived to keep Hogwarts a safe space for all students, despite the odds which were stacked against them. For the upcoming new year, I wanted to take a leaf from their book, and to remember to keep fighting -especially to keep the voices of everyone visible in my reading experience. Come join me and declare your allegiance for Dumbledore’s Army, we’ll take it one page at a time.

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What: #DAReadAThon is a Harry Potter themed readathon, focusing on diverse (especially #ownvoices) books.

When: The readathon will begin Sunday 1st January and conclude Sunday 15th January, midnight to midnight – wherever in the world you’re based.

Who: Anyone can join, although it would be easier for you to write up your reviews and sign up posts if you had a platform such as a blog or a booktube. If you have a twitter or instagram account, please join in on the #DAReadAThon hashtag! You don’t have to be familiar with Harry Potter to join, but the prompts will make more sense to you.

How: You can sign up in this post right here, and start planning your TBR from today. Sign up will remain open for the duration of December.

Continue reading “Dumbledore’s Army Readathon Sign UP #DAReadAThon” →

Halloween 2016: Diverse Horror

~ aentee @ read at midnight ~ 14 Comments

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A post recommending short stories is the closest I will ever come to celebrating Halloween. The holiday just seems so incongruous with the Australian summer, and I did not even know of its existence while growing up in Vietnam.

On the other hand, I am someone who’s always been morbidly fascinated by ghost stories and grisly horror. I am particularly invested if there’s a cultural or human element to the story, my faint heart vastly prefers a solid story of human tragedy to an all-out gore fest. This short recommendation list will include a couple of short stories I read throughout the week leading up to Halloween, they all feature diverse author and/or characters.

Trigger Warning for most of the stories for blood and violence. Continue reading “Halloween 2016: Diverse Horror” →

Pre-Release Thoughts: The Bear and the Nightingale

~ aentee @ read at midnight ~ 37 Comments

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The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden is not released until January 2017, but I already know that it will be amongst my top ten list of next year. I adore immersive, dark, and atmospheric folklore retelling. This book dishes all of these elements up and more, here’s a sneak peek as to why you should pre-order this beautiful book.

Summary: In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, a stranger with piercing blue eyes presents a new father with a gift – a precious jewel on a delicate chain, intended for his young daughter. Uncertain of its meaning, Pytor hides the gift away and Vasya grows up a wild, willful girl, to the chagrin of her family. But when mysterious forces threaten the happiness of their village, Vasya discovers that, armed only with the necklace, she may be the only one who can keep the darkness at bay.

Preorder Via: Book Depository ||  Amazon  ||  Booktopia  ||  Bookworld Continue reading “Pre-Release Thoughts: The Bear and the Nightingale” →

Discussion: How Blogging Changed My Reading Habits

~ aentee @ read at midnight ~ 108 Comments

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Book blogging may seem like a harmless little hobby, but all who enters be warned, you will emerge sparkly and different.

Here are some perplexing, at times good, at times terrible changes to my reading schedule, all thanks to blogging.

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1) I’M MORE CRITICAL OF BOOKS

In the blissful days before blogging, if I didn’t like a book, I would breezily move on and promptly forget about all the flaws of my previous reads. Now, I sit there staring at a blank document for an hour, stewing over all of the things that turned me off: character development inconsistences, gaping plot holes, uneven pacing — the whole she-bang.

Whereas I could happily break up with a book silently in the past, I now announce it to the world, and have to examine every aspect of the unhappy relationship in microscopic details. It also means I am more alert shortcomings in books. Gone are the days where I could mindlessly read a novel. Sometimes, I mourn for my lost innocence *dabs eyes* Continue reading “Discussion: How Blogging Changed My Reading Habits” →