May & June Wrap Up | FTM

The first book I read this month was Miss Mayhem by: Rachel Hawkins! I read the first book Rebel Belle and loved it so much and was looking forward to this one. (You can read my review for Rebel Belle HERE) I love Rachel Hawkins writing and I have only read 2 1/2 of her books. However this book was much slower paced then the first, and so many random things happened. Originally I was going to write a review for this book but I just don't think I have enough information and detail to write one. Thankfully, this book did not suffer from second book syndrome but it still was a little bit of a bridge. Although, I did really enjoy it, the I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars. 

The second book I read in the month of May was Cress by: Marissa Meyer! I absolutely loved this book, it is so far my favourite out of the entire series. I love Marissa's writing, and all of the stories she has to tell, each book that she has published has just gotten better and better every single time! I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

The third book I read in May was Paper Towns by: John Green! I have read two books by John Green, which were The Fault in our Stars and Looking For Alaska, I would say those books were decent but there was nothing that special about them because I found them to be very generic, even with Paper Towns it is generic with the story and the characters, however there is something very intriguing about it. There are some people who are saying the same things I was about the plainness of the stories in John Green's books, but there is something much more meaningful that is in this book's content, that you must understand and accept in order to really embrace the quality of this book. You can read my full SPOILER FREE review HERE. I would rate it a 4 out of 5 stars.

The fourth book I read in the month of May was Superman | Batman | Supergirl by: Jeph Loeb, Micheal Turner and Peter Steigerwald. If you have read my past wrap ups, you would know that I love comic books/graphic novels! Since the first episode of the Supergirl TV show was leaked, I had been wanting to read something about her! This comic was so much fun, it had Wonder Woman who I just recently came to admire! One of my favourite parts of this book was when Diana and Clark would constantly be bickering. I definitely prefer bickering Superman and Wonder Woman over the two who are a couple. I would rate this a 4 out of 5 stars!

The fifth book I read in May was Half-Wild by: Sally Green. I really enjoyed this book but I also kind of hated it because of the ending! I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars. You can really tell how much Sally has improved in her writing, there was a lot more plot and character development. This was an excellent sequel!

June:

The first book I read in June was The New 52: Supergirl Volume 2: Girl in the world by: Michael Green, Mike Johnson and Mahmud Adrar, I didn't really enjoy this edition as much as the first one I read. If my understanding is correct, The New 52 are I guess you could say re-writes of the original story, some are a little tweaked. I did really enjoy the jumps between the past and the present however. I would rate this a 4 out of 5 stars.

The second book I read was Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children: The Graphic Novel by: Random Riggs and art by Cassandra Jean. This series is one of my favourite book series, I just love the entire concept. I borrowed this from the library on a complete whim, I never planned on reading this but I was like 'Hey I can catch up on my reading challenge with this!" I really enjoyed how quick this was to read, it was a good way to refresh my memory. I would rate this a 5 out of 5 stars. I also really loved Cassandra Jean's artwork in this, I've seen her art before, as well as her name I just don't know where. I know her name has been attached to a few YA adapted graphic novels.

The third book I read this month was A Court Of Thorns And Roses by: Sarah J. Maas. I believe this book is new adult, so I don't really recommend this to younger readers. It does have some very descriptive graphic scenes, both violent and intimate scenes. If you couldn't handle the scene between Jace and Clary in City Of Heavenly Fire then you probably shouldn't pick this up. Yes it is a fantasy series, but it is essentially a romance. This book had a lot of world building, which was a little much for my taste but the world is so fascinating and the writing is beautiful. I do prefer the Throne Of Glass series over this, the characters did not set the same spark as the characters in Throne Of Glass. I did find this book a little slow because of how much world building their was. I do believe that this series will get much better as it goes on, again I don't recommend for younger readers (10-13) mainly because I don't think they'll like the romance, I myself loved the romance, I mean you know Tamlin. I would rate this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars (70%/100%)

A Review Will Be Up On July 15th.

Check Out a Spoiller-free Review From BiblioTopia -  A Court Of Thorns And Roses

The fourth book I read was, Not Every Girl by: Jane McGarry. I had nothing but high expectations for this book, I had read the first couple chapters and was instantly pulled in! Jane was so kind and generous for offering to send me a review copy of her book, and when I received it I marathoned it. I did not realize how fast I was reading it, I finished it in less then two days.

Not Every Girl is so empowering, it's one big adventure filled with action, humour and romance! One of the best author debut novels that I have read. A solid 5 out of 5 stars.

A full review will be published on July 8th, 2015.

June Book Haul | FTM

Buying/recieving books is very exciting. This month, I obtained a few more books then I typically would, and I just thought that I would share my excitement. Currently, I have read none of these books because I haven't had any time, and I spend most of my free time watching TV shows.

The first book that I received this month is A Court Of Thorns And Roses by: Sarah J. Maas. At the moment, this is one of the books that I am reading alongside a few others. Sarah J. Maas is one of my favourite high fantasy authors. I am currently really enjoying this book, and hopefully I will finish it soon. When I do, I may or may not post a review.

The second book that I obtained was the paperback edition of Cress by: Marissa Meyer. I have already read Cress because I borrowed it from my library. I wanted it in paperback to match Cinder and Scarlet. Cress is probably my favourite out of the Lunar Chronicles.

The third book I got was Skippy's War by: Gordon Arnold. This was a gift from a family friend that was given to my mom and I. We both actually know the author, and we got it signed so that was nice!

   

The last four books that I got were the first four books in the Outlander series by: Diana Gabaldon. I have read Outlander, and I was about 70 pages into A Dragonfly In Amber but I put it down because, I'm going to be bringing it with me on a trip I'm taking near Christmas time. These four books came in a boxed set, which was on sale and that was the only reason why I bought it. I actually own the first two books, because I got them on sale for 2/15 but I will be giving them away or donating them because I just don't have a use for them.


Those were the books that I have received, I doubt I will receive anymore but if I do I'll update you on Instagram!

Please feel free to follow our blog!

Check Out Our Social Media!

Also check out Bess Tapalla on South Hill Designs!

http://southhilldesigns.com/us/shdbess/default

Tips On Book Blogging | Design & Layout | FTM

Everyone has to start some where. We did. RQK and I started this blog on a whim, and it has been a little over a year since we have started writing on this blog. I am not trying to sound obnoxious or self-conceded but I truly think that we both have improved in our works on this blog, and our overall look on where we want this to go. 

When we first started this blog, it was very unorganised. There is a reason why our blog is called Bookish Randomz. Blogs have to have a main focus, our focus before was bookish updates and random book posts. Since we were this little tiny blog on the Internet, no person would come to our blog for book-movie adaptation news or any bookish news in general because there are plenty of people on the Internet who can provide the news before we can. Another problem was that I did not have any restraint on what I wrote and posted, I would post the most random things that did not make sense, everything in the post would be unorganised and I would post nine times a month at least. 

In this post, I am going to about our blog as a whole, my experiences and obviously some helpful (hopefully they are helpful) tips!

Design & Layout: 

1. Simple is better!

I know the pressure of having to want a very fancy, pretty layout for you blog. This can involve many colours, designs and complicated HTML codes. However, if you are just starting out and this is just going to be one of your hobbies, you should keep in mind that you don't need to have a fancy template. You can make the best out of any template that is available on Blogger. What's important is how you customise it for you. Don't model your layout and design after someone else's, customise it to be as you as possible.

     2.  Widgets 

Widgets are a very important factor to your blog. Blogger has a wide variety of widgets that can allow your readers to follow you, see how many page views you have and there is so much more. However, there are some restrictions to the widgets that available. For example, there is no Instagram widget that allows your readers to follow you, there is no twitter feed widget, there is not a slide show that showcases your Instagram photos and there is no Goodreads widgets. When I first started designing this blog, I was very confused on why these weren't available on Blogger.  These widgets can be a little tricky to find, however they can either be accessed through the settings of the social media website you are thinking of, there will usually be a HTML code that you can copy and paste into the HTML/Java Script widget. Or you can google different tutorials to find ones to your liking.

     3. Organisation 

Now that you have your template and your widgets, here comes the annoying, time consuming organisation part of designing your blog. Organisation is another HUGE factor in designing and your layout of your blog! There is such a thing as too much on blogs. It is very unappealing to the eye if you have too many widgets on your sidebars. Make sure to ask yourself if this widget is really beneficial to your blog, and will it help people gain interest in your blog. Too much widgets can be very overwhelming for readers! If every single widget on your blog is very important, make sure you space them out where ever you can!

   

    4. COLOURS, AND COLOURS AND COLOURS OH MY!

Black text on a white background is better. It sounds boring but it is the most appealing to the eye and it's the easiest to read. It can look nice but it's very hard to read sometimes. For example, if you had a book, and the pages were neon green and the text was neon yellow, would you be able to read it without being distracted? Also, if you have a very detailed and fancy background GET RID OF IT! It distracts your readers from reading what is supposed to be the main focus of your blog which is the content. Moral of this story is... Less is more. Don't worry, we've all been down the busy colourful path.

Originally I planned on having this post discussing two different topics, design & layout but also, writing and posting! However while I was writing that part it didn't save and I knew I had to schedule something for this day because I knew I wouldn't have time to write anything else. More blogging tips will probably come out if not next month in a few months!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post! Feel free to ask any questions! Also, if this helped you in any way, please comment below and tell me so I know to write the next one!

Please feel free to follow our blog!

Check out our social media! 

My Favourite TV Shows | FTM

Hi, I'm FTM and I watch too many TV shows... I have been on a TV show binge for quite some time now and I can't find a way to stop. It just takes over me. I think I can now accept that I have an obsession. Yes I know, I need help but they're just so entertaining. 

#1 The Secret Life Of The American Teenager

This show is one my all time favourite TV shows. I loved almost every season of it. I constantly re-watch it and I get very nostalgic and it could end up being a growing problem.  It is a little cliche at times but I just love it so much!

#2 Eye Candy

This show just came out on MTV. It stars Victoria Justice. It's one of the most suspenseful TV shows I've ever watched. It also has one of the most unique ideas for a show. I was hooked from the very first episode. I love how every single story in the show intertwines with the main story. The story is just so fascinating.

I'm really sad that this didn't get picked up for a second season, especially since it was left so open. Sometimes I wish TV shows were given at least two seasons.

#3 Reign

Reign is one of the newer shows to the CW network. I fell in love with this show from the first episode, it was absolutely fantastic. This show seemed to be going places in the first season but now not so much. In season 2, the main storyline is just about politics. The audience of this show being mainly teenagers, that's not very entertaining. I actually find it quite interesting but others don't. So what do they do? They launch ANOTHER love triangle. They are basically re-living season 1 but now it's so unneeded and it really disgusts me. In my eyes they are using Mary's assault to cause conflict with her marriage causing her to go to another man. She says she can't stand any man, but in the recent promo she has run away with Conde. Nothing original to season 2. Even though I have so much annoyance right now, I still love this show to pieces. FRARY FOREVER! (Haha wrote this a while ago but FRARY IS REUNITED!)

#4 Arrow

In the summer I marathoned all of the seasons that were currently out. I have a really big super hero fetish so this was one of the perfect shows for me. There is so much action and I love it. I found it really amusing how Ray Palmer showed up, I'm not a big fan of him. The reason why I find it amusing is because he played Superman in Superman Returns and now he plays The Atom. I can't take his suit seriously, It looks a little tacky.

#5 The Flash

This show is a new show to the CW. I was fortunate enough to watch the pilot episode early. From that episode on, I had to patiently wait for the rest in the fall. This show also has so much action and comedy. They're also making a movie, but with a different actor playing Barry which kind of makes me sad because I love Grant Gustin.

#6 Orphan Black

This show really creeps me out sometimes. In the season 2 finale I had actual chills going down my spine. I have not disliked one episode of this show, each episode is another clue, each episode is just fantastic. It really keeps you on the edge of your seat even if it is kind of creepy.

#7 Pretty Little Liars

This is one of those shows where they keep dreading on the conflict for way too long. After 5 seasons, we don't know who A is. It's very predictable yet you want to keep watching it because they are hiding the answer from you. I swear we better find out who A is this time or else I'm going to stop watching. I mean they got renewed for two more seasons, I don't know what is going to happen. (Charles.. Who the heck is Charles?)

#8 Jane The Virgin

When I first saw the promo for this, I told myself I wouldn't watch it because it looked ridiculous. Yet I caught an episode on the TV one day and I really enjoyed it. It was hilarious. It's kind of like a soap opera and a disney show wrapped into one but better. I just wish the name was different.

#9 Outlander

I had been seeing this show everywhere. It was in almost every place I went to. It's a brilliant show. I read the first book and I can't wait for the second half of the first season. I hate how they have to make fans wait for half of a season. It's frustrating but worth it.

Don't watch if you cringe in graphic scenes!

#10 Game Of Thrones

Game of Thrones, how I love Game of Thrones. I have read part of the first book and I really liked it. My favourite houses are House Targaryean and House Stark. I saw these two book ends at a store with those two houses and I really want them. They are my two favourite houses!                    

Don't watch if you cringe in graphic scenes!

#11 Smallville

I used to watch this when I was younger with my mom and marathoned everything recently. Superman is one of my favourite superheroes. Smallville is one of my favourite adaptations of Superman. It had it's own twist on the story while still staying loyal to the original storyline. It's ten seasons of action, humour, romance and overall awesomeness. 

#12 Sleepy Hollow

If your favourite holiday is Halloween, I highly suggest this show. There's something new to discover in each episode, and even though you know that the main characters are going to survive you are still on the edge of your seat. This show has great effects and writers which I really appreciate. Speaking of writers, the writers make the best season finales. They're just brilliant. I'm still blown away from the first finale.

Before, I could only watch this on american channels and obviously there is a time difference so I would end up laying in my bed at midnight watching the show, which was not a good idea because it gave me nightmares.

#13 The Messengers

The Messengers is another show by the CW network.  I feel like I'm one of the very few who actually likes this show, it kind of makes me annoyed that this show didn't get renewed for a second season, I mean they barely gave the show a chance. We were less then 10 episodes in and they were like Oh yeah no season two. We weren't even completely invested in the story, I wish they had at least waited until the season finale. Maybe if a miracle happens, the show will get renewed.