catesbooks

✨ selfie time ✨ •• I was tagged a little while back by the gorgeous Sally on Instagram to do the #20beautifulwomenchallenge! I had such an amazing afternoon taking sunset photos and trying to light sparklers 🎆 10/10 would fail again ✅

Spent the day in Can Do Books yesterday, and I couldn't believe how many beautiful covers there were, I don't know how I walked out of there with nothing! ○ What are you all reading? I made some progress on Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe last night, and I'm loving it so much! I'll be reading a whole lot more and a while lot quicker once I'm on Spring Break ✨💛

Currently Reading ✨ •• I have been so so busy this week with assignments and work that I've been left with no time for reading! I'm trying so hard to avoid 'slump' status, but sleep has been so impossible lately. A massive huntsman spider got into my room the other night, and I didn't get to sleep until 5:30am. Oh, how I love to live in Australia. ○ I'm only up to page 67 in Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, and I'm loving it. I was so suprised at how quickly Ari and Dante's friendship formed. I adore them already 😁💛 ○ Also, happy September! I'm way too busy to do a September challenge, but I think I'll be doing one for October! ✨

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child // J.K. Rowling •• I finished this one just a couple hours ago, and I'm still trying to get my thoughts and ideas together. There were some parts of this book/script that I loved to bits, and then there were some parts that I absolutely 100% hated. I found myself cringing through entire scenes, then smiling to myself just a few pages later. I don't know, guys. I'm definitely glad I read it, but I think I'm a little disappointed too? I really quite liked the format, though - I found it easy to read, and it let me use my imagination a whole lot more. I just don't think it fit as well into the Harry Potter universe as I had initially hoped. Let me know what you thought? X (P.S. Harry is a TERRIBLE father 😂)

Bookmail ✨ •• Okay, I may have gone a little overboard with my book buying this month, but it's comforting to have something there to read 😌 I've been pining over Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe for a little while now, and here it is in hardcover! (It's my personal goal of mine to eventually just own hardcovers.) I've seen so many posts on here about This Savage Song too, I couldn't resist. (Also gonna apologise in advance for the crappy photo - stuck again with the time-consuming, everlasting hospital appointments 👌) ○ I finally finished the book I've been stuck on for a little while, so I'm hoping to get The Cursed Child all done tonight. ○ What are you reading? 💛

☔ rain, rain, go away ☔ •• Okay, usually I love the rain. There is nothing bad about rain. But when you have to get to uni and your bus stop doesn't have a shelter? Yeah, nah. 😂 These are just a few of the books I wanted to finish before the new year 😅 They're also some of the prettiest books I own (#aesthetic). I'm barely 100 pages into The Cursed Child, but I think it's good? I think I like it. 

•• I've wanted to do a Hunger Games post for so long, but I was actually so unhappy with my old covers. They were all different, like I had a movie cover for The Hunger Games, I had the original cover for Catching Fire, and I had the cheap Kmart cover for Mockingjay. Truly devo. These GORGEOUS ones were on sale at QBD this week and I couldn't resist. I've been eyeing these covers off for about a year and a half now, and it's honestly the most amazing thing. They're so stunning, I can't get over it. TO THE BOOKS, I just loved them. With some novels, it feels like the whole 'saga/trilogy' thing is a little unnecessary, but Collins really made it feel like Katniss' story wasn't quite over yet. Her relationships in the story are so complex, and so raw, and I honestly don't think that they were portrayed very well in the films. The whole industry's 'thing' lately has been love triangles, love interests here and there and everywhere and it's just unnecessary, especially when you have to deviate from the books in order to do it. I know a lot of people who didn't like the end of Mockingjay, and I can kind of see why, but it truly was the perfect ending for me. Katniss and Peeta together with their kids, forever recovering from the Games, the Rebellion. #therearemuchworsegamestoplay

The Square Root of Summer // H.R. Hapgood •• Finished this one a couple of nights ago, and decided that I would finally get around to doing the #booksandflowers tag! Though these flowers are fake (I'm sorry, I'm too poor for real ones 😂), I thought they worked out really well. Honestly, I wasn't enjoying this one. I nearly gave up a couple of times, but I worked through it til the end, and I was surprised - I really loved the ending. It explained so much, without explaining anything at all. I'm not sure how to put it in words, but it kind of showed how it feels to grieve, and to move on from loss. Hapgood has really got something amazing here. It was so honest, so raw, yet also a bit cutesy and cliche at the same time. I loved Margot, and Sof, and Thomas, and Ned, and maybe even Jason, just a little bit. I'm really glad I read til the end.

Bookmail ✨ •• Look what arrived! Walked through the door approx. five minutes ago and this honey was sitting on the couch. I waited so long for you 😍😭 I honestly can't believe how beautiful it is, and I can't wait to go back and see what's happened in Harry's life.

My bookshelf 📚 •• Still waiting for my copy of The Cursed Child to arrive 😂😭 In the meantime, I've been finishing The Square Root of Summer, and binge-watching Friends. Who needs friends when you have Friends? Hoping and praying that The Cursed Child arrives soooooooooooooon! Let me know what you're currently reading? 💛

The Harry Potter series // J.K. Rowling •• Today's the day, July 31st. Happy birthday, Harry! I grew up with this series; these books were truly the first real books I'd ever read. As you can probably see, my covers are not the prettiest or the best looked after, but they were my mum's books, then mine. These books and the movies honestly kept me so grounded through high school and even now, just because they are so REAL, and I know that's a bit silly to say considering, but they have so much reality packed into their story, it just opened my eyes. I'm also kind of regretting having pre-ordered my copy of The Cursed Child! 😂😂 I can see so many happy posts here of people who picked their copy up today. It's so exciting though, it's finally here. It will absolutely be worth the wait 😁 The Wizarding World has made another comeback! Who's already got their copy? 💛

📚 TBR pile 📚 •• Thought I'd try something a little different here, just to see what happens. My entire#tbr pile is MUCH bigger than this, but I don't think I could have fit them all nicely into this photo 😂 I'm still working through The Square Root of Summer (it's taking me way too long. I'm halfway through, and I can't tell if I like it or not 😞), but as soon as that's done I'll move on to The Love That Split The World, with a bit of Stephen Hawking night reading on the side 😉 Hope everyone's having a very nice day/night, wherever you are in the world 💛 ○ ALSO The Cursed Child is so close!! Who's pre-ordered it already? I'm so excited for it 😁

The Love That Split The World // Emily Henry •• Look what arrived! I'm a little late to the party with this one (when am I ever not late??), but it's such a good party! This cover is just to die for, and I've heard so many great things. I'm still on The Square Root of Summer, but this hardcovered beauty will soon be read and loved and shelved and admired 💛 Wishing everyone a happy weekend x

We Were Liars // E. Lockhart •• Found this one at a Lifeline while I was on holidays 😀 Only cost me $2, and it's in beautiful condition (except for a crease in the cover). I'm really looking forward to reading this one, I've heard so many good things 😅 Sorry for the second post today, but I feel like it's making up for the week of inactivity 😂 Doctors appointments are taking up my whole life 😥

The Divergent series // Veronica Roth •• There was so much hype around this series when I first read it, and it honestly was a great read. The ending was spoiled for me, so I didn't really react in the same way as my friends, but if I'm perfectly honest, I don't think I would have run out onto the street in a wet mess of tears and feels even if I had been spoiled. It was definitely a sad scene, but it didn't really get me. Hm. Despite this, I really truly did love the way Roth built her characters. The way she used gender norms usually found in dystopian YA novels, but twisted them and made them much more realistic was highkey inspiring. She gave Tris strength, a tough exterior (which is to be expected, really), and she gave Tobias a much softer disposition. I love Roth's writing style, but I think I'll be waiting a while before I come back and re-read this one.

Me Before You // Jojo Moyes •• I finished this book last night in a puddle of tears and a box of tissues. The ending was beyond perfect, I couldn't have asked for more closure. Lou was so beautifully written, and represented so beautifully in the movie. The movie left me feeling a little teeny weeny microscopically disappointed, only because a few semi-important things were left out (the maze, 85% of the stupid things Pat does, Nathan having an Australian accent (?? #rude), Lou's more intense falling out with her mother, etc.) but Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin were perfection. Some parts made me feel like I was reading the book again, only faster. I knew I would love Jojo Moyes, and I do. I'm not sure what to read next though - should I wait for my book mail? Read After You? Or just read something entirely different while I wait for my books to come? #decisions

Very very apologetic // Doctor Who Stories •• I haven't posted in so so long and I am very sorry 😭 I've had this photo sitting in my camera roll for about a month now, and I was so reluctant to post it because it's just so terrible 😂 I am only a few chapters from finishing Me Before You and I'm a teeny tiny bit scared. I'm loving it so much but there aren't enough chapters left for the story to fall to pieces and finish happily so I'm preparing myself for extraordinary heartbreak. ○ I've been incredibly spontaneous today - I went to Fantastic Furniture and bought myself a new bed (double/full size, one up from my king single 😁) and a new mattress, and I've just finished rearranging my room for it. It's going to be the best reading spot 😂