Studying English in Algeria (university students)

Studying English in Algeria, a topic that I have promised you to talk about since like forever. Unfortunately, I could not go live on Facebook and I am a loser with video recording and editing. Therefore, I will just try to squeeze all of the information into this blog post. I am going to put as much details as possible. It will be a long post that hopefully will contain a big number of answers that you’ve been looking for.

It does not seem logical for me to start talking about studies right away since the majority of you do not know who I am, what I do and why should my random post be considered as advice. So, let’s start by: me introducing... well, ME.

My name is Ines, one of the admins of the Facebook page Algerian Book Readers (I am also the creator, but we would not be where we are today if it wasn’t for the rest of the amazing team) and I am a third year student of English. 

• Why did I choose to Study English? Have I ever regretted my choice?

I have always liked the language and I did not find anything better on my list of options, so I went with what was the coolest choice. To be honest, I have not regretted studying English even at the worst times and when I hated going to university. I just feel sorry that languages, at our universities, are not given much importance (I guess). Many students are directed towards languages without any tests (in my opinion, the BAC average is not enough); as a result, too many students with so much difference between their levels are studying together! Not enough teachers, that what leads to the recruitment of many teachers who are not that competent... The consequences are endless, but talking about them isn’t the aim of this post.

Before I answer any more questions, let me inform you that the answers are based on my point of view, way of learning and  personality... in other words, they are going to be subjective. I have not checked any studies, scientific research about studying a language or anything like that. So, you might not agree with all of what I say, some of my ways of learning may work only for some of you... Therefore, you do not have to stick to all of what I tell you, but only with what would work best for you. I truly hope that you will at least find somewhere to start from. With no further talking (actually,
What is the best way to learn English? (in general, not any specific module.)  

Let me tell you something, there is no way you can learn English if you do not interact with the culture and native speakers. By this, I do not mean you have to turn into an American, but there is just no way you could pick up the basics without watching some of their news, movies, series; listening to their music or reading their books... anything in English. Of course, just bear in mind that our mentality and way of living are so different from theirs... You might be questioning why I am telling you this, it seems so logical right? But I have noticed that those classmates who are completely not interested in the British or American culture (who only watch Lebanese, Turkish or Korean Tv programs) do not have good speaking and listening skill. Trying to learn a language from grammar or vocabulary books and learning by heart won’t be so helpful. If anyone wants to study English, French or any other language; and knows that they are not interested, never liked and never will like those cultures; should choose another major. Because no matter how much they try to study hard to get a diploma and a good job in the future, it will be super hard for them and I do not think that they can be as good as they want. (This is just a little note for anyone who would ask you if they should study any language, tell them that it’s a matter of preference and personality)

What’s cool about learning English is that it can be fun. Especially that now we hear it everywhere: English series and movies are internationally known. And they are subtitled with all languages. No matter what anyone’s native language is, they can learn English. You might be watching anything and enjoying your time while doing so, and still picking up new words and unconsciously learning grammar. What could ever be better than that? Haa?

At university:

First things first, first year students (trying to be funny, but it’s not working):

•  Is English really your thing? Should you retake your BAC exam and study something else?

Most of you might be lost, you might be freaking out and do not know what to do. Many will think of taking the BAC exam again and switch majors... You’re going to be fine. Calm down, and keep reading, I was in your shoes once; this is why I am writing this.

What to do before taking the big step: I am no longer going to university; I will stay at home, study and retake the BAC exam?

If you have been dreaming of studying anything else since you were little, and English is not your first nor best choice, then: stay at home and study hard. DON’T YOU EVER GIVE UP YOUR DREAM MAJOR AND JOB. EVER. Even if you have to retake the BAC exam 3 times. That is way better than studying something and thinking that you could have been doing something else.

If you do not really have any favourite major, you do not hate English and you’re willing to study hard. Then, it is only confusing at the beginning because University is a whole new world and system. You’ve been used to find everything you need in school books. Teachers have always given you what to exactly memorise and revise. Now, you have the huge WORLD WIDE WEB, you have to look up information there. You have to find a little fish in an ocean. Believe me, you will get the hang of it. Do you think I knew where to find books during my first year?! I did not even know what was freaking PDF format and audio books where a discovery. Just do not be ashamed of asking questions, no matter how dumb they sound. When I think of my old emails and messages to teachers, facebook pages, other students...  I wish I could erase memories, Sometimes I guess I forgot I had a dictionary! But if those people did not help me, then what would have happened to me? Now, when a first year student messages me, I be like: seriously, all of that is on Google and Youtube!! But then I remember: THEY ARE LEARNING, YOU ARE LEARNING, and I AM STILL LEARNING. We will actually never stop learning. But ways of learning differ from one level to another. What would seem to someone super simple is a whole game changer for another person. For this, I have to say again: ASK (you know where to find me if you think I can help you. I will do my best). 

If you love English and have always wanted to study it, then .... emm I have nothing to tell you other than good luck, work hard, you’ll do well.

•  What should you do to get good marks? Which modules should you focus on?

During the first year; the most important modules are oral expression, written expression, and grammar. Usually, if you get good marks in those exams, then you’ll get a good average. Maybe  “very good” or “acceptable”, those depend  on whether you did  well or bad at the second most important modules which are phonetics and  linguistics; then I guess civilisation, literature, foreign language, and an additional module that differs from one university to another.

What I called second most important modules are going to be named from now on “life-saviours”. If you do not get very good marks in OE, WE and Gram and you do your best at the LSs then you’re saved. If you screw  up (jed babaha l7alouf f) everything, then you still have make up exams ( you can take them during your first year so that you can pass to second year. You can choose to be a first year student for another school year but ONLY attend the classes and retake exams of the modules that you failed in. Otherwise, you can move to second year with “debts” and pay them by taking 2 exams for those modules you failed in -one with first year students for not taking the makeup exam during your first year, and the other “normal” exam with your second year classmates).

I advise first years to focus on OE, WE, and Gram because in addition to being the “average boost up” they are the basics of the language.

Oral expression: This depends on what you already know, how good your listening and speaking skills are. But do not give up if you see that some other classmates are better and you’re a bit behind. You can catch up. Focus in class, write down hard words and expressions, try to speak even if you make mistakes (easy, simple and short answers. They do not have to be complicated). If your teacher makes you watch videos or listen to audios, at the end of each class give them your USB or email and tell them to send you the files. You can watch/listen to them again at home and look up the subtitles. If your teacher asks you to do individual or in groups presentations; then make your research at home, try always to use simple words, use pictures and videos when you present. Always remember that the audience are the same people that you were joking with before you went in class. There is nothing to be afraid of.  (Read more about Doing Well in Oral expression and nailing your presentations.)

Grammar: I am sure that many of you will be surprised by the amount of “discoveries” you’ll make at this class. Tenses, verbs and all those little words that seem so simple are “amazing and horrible” at the same time. I have already mentioned learning grammar unconsciously, I am sure that many of you will know what form of verbs should be used in a certain situations. What’s awkward is that you won’t know why you have used those specific tenses and forms. That’s when Miss Grammar comes and tries to be Einstein and figure out a cause for the existence of every little auxiliary, “d” or “ed”. I have a love hate relationship with grammar, I mess it up because of thinking so much about the rules. I still feel guilty about some stupid mistakes that I have made. Thank god grammar nazzi does not exist, or they would have hung me a long time ago (also, dear Miss grammar, I apologize for every mistake I am or will be making ... Got those tenses right, who’s winning now haaa?). Always focus in class; revise the same lesson as many times as you can; do not memorise the rule, make examples and remember them; look up books, check them out, then choose a couple to be your best friends for the next years; YouTube is heaven of grammar lesson, always search for lessons there.

Written expression: if you have a problem speaking out, then writing down your thoughts should be fun. Grammar will hunt you here also, actually it is in your paragraphs and essays that you can show off your grammar “muscles”. I do not really think that WE has RULES, I think that what you learn during that class are just tips to write better and ways to avoid committing mistakes. The rest depends on your vocabulary (you do not need to use hard words, but you do need to know a few words from every niche –topic. A little bit of everything is what makes a lot) and style. Just like grammar, you should use a few books as guides to help you along your writing journey, but I think that reading is what will really help you to write better. 

(More posts about grammar and written expression coming up in the next few days, with books and videos, stay tuned) 

Linguistics: I do not think that I will ever love this module. I admit that there are some really interesting and cool lessons. But for me, linguistics, is a huge battle field where different armies (the schools)  are fighting and you’re in the middle watching and trying to figure out which army is fighting for the good cause, which one is right, which one should win? The problem is that they are all right and wrong, and no one will ever win!! And then some armies intermix and create a new one which is neither with the first army nor with the second one... It drives me nuts. In addition to all of this, you need to memorise “a few” lessons, and I hate memorising. I do not want to make you feel down. Remember, this is just me.  When it comes to linguistics, I think books and Google are the best way to understand it. Youtube helps sometimes too. (click here for some lessons and videos)

Phonetics: apart from the transcription part that I hate, phonetics is logical. One lesson leads to another, at the end you’ll have those connected lessons which if you do not really get the last one you’ll have trouble getting this one. It needs some memorisation. As long as you do not wait till the day before the exam (like I do) to revise, You’ll get a very good mark. Because I think you need to analyse and understand the relations, and then reread what you’ve understood which is kind of a first memorisation and a second revision, then the memorisation in which you keep repeating the terms, expressions, and definitions so that you won’t mix them up or forget them. I think it pretty much resembles science, and I LOVE science. My teachers’ handouts have always been great; as a result, I never had to do big research. I remember finding some really good videos on YouTube once, though.

Civilisation: I do not think that you need to be Einstein in order to understand this module, but you need to have the memory of an elephant. Actually, let me rethink this elephant thing again. It actually depends on whether you like and are interested in past events and a history that isn’t yours (your country’s).  Also, if you’re already used to watch documentaries, kings and queens movies, and read historical fiction; then you’ll be surprised by the amount of information that you won’t have to memorise. This module is kind of “slow and steady wins the race”. I mean you can’t go watch 10 documentaries and 5 movies during the night before the exam. You’ll remember nothing. In this case you better memorise by heart whatever your teacher gave you. And after finishing this exam, start thinking of the next one. During the next semester, you can enjoy your weekends by watching movies and learning about the past. For the British civilisation, look up the movies about their kings and queens. The America civilisation is recent; you can even find videos of what have happened in the USA during the 20^th century.  

PS: This is also and advice for myself, we’ll try to find movies and watch them together. Send me links

Literature: First year, I was like what the heck is this? I will never get the hang of it. Today, I am thinking to do a master in literature. This is also the “slow and steady wins the race”. Let me tell you what’s wrong with teaching literature at university. First, we, Algerians, do not read much (if not “at all”). As a result, when students start to attend literature classes ;and the teacher begins with “literary elements” and try to explain what’s a voice, plot, characters... It sounds like Chinese. Imagine telling someone who’s colour blinded to visualize the colour blue; While they have never seen it before? That’s exactly the problem with literature classes. You can’t understand the basics if you do not already have something in your memory to which you can compare or connect what the teacher is telling you about. To make it even worse, teaches assign classics to read. Classics are great, but even native speakers of English find them a bit complicated. How about someone who’s learning English as a foreign language? Do not lose hope; try to do whatever you can to get at least an acceptable mark (Even if you have to memorising by heart). Just find a way to not fail (not cheating, though) and then start reading contemporary books, young adult and books that have been written in the late 20^th century or 21th century. Step by step you’ll get into it and start getting interested in classics and more complicated books.

(If you do not know from where to start check out our two posts: 7 tips and tricks for people who want to start reading books and How to read more books) 

PS: I’ll have more detailed blog posts about these 4 modules soon. Do not worry. I got your back :p

Also, these modules may be the biggest cause to why you’re freaking out right now. Do not worry a lot about them during your first year. Do your best to try to understand them. Even if you’re not completely sure what you were learning, you’ll keep studying the same thing during your second year. It will be more detailed and a bit harder. But those details will make you understand better. You’ll start remembering what you have learnt during your first year and be like: ah! Okay. That’s why we’ve been saying this and this and this...

      I guess that’s all for first years. Let’s move on to the second year:  

The main modules are also Grammar, OE and WE

Life saviours will also remain the same. (Some coefficients might change)

And that module that varies from one university to another will be replaced by translation.

As a second year student, you’ll be more confident since you know which learning techniques work best for you. University will turn out to be your natural habitat rather than that new discovered planet. Especially if you did “good” during your first year then you will have no problems during the second one. If you are still a bit behind, then that’s okay. Just work harder to catch up. Always go back to your first year lessons before learning any new ones.

Now, what you have to start thinking of is your third year: you will not have grammar to boost up your average any more, OE and WE coefficients will go down. Literature, civilisation and linguistics will rise to the top L That’s why you should focus a bit more on those, at the same time do not forget that OE, WE, and Miss Grammar are still this year’s leaders.  In other words, STUDY EVERYTHING. I am telling you this because majoring in Civ, Lit, or monster linguistics will be some of your options for your master’s degree (you’ll  also have other options that won’t revolve around those modules, do not freak out YET). We want to have as many options as we can right? Even though majoring in any of those is the same in our country. They are all “you studied English” and you can teach English. Still, majoring in something that you like is better than forcing yourself to study something that you do not enjoy much.

       As for third year students: all I can say is I FEEL YOU, especially if teaching is not your number one choice. I do not really have anything to say except from “hang on”. I guess for this part I need an older EX-student to give US advice.

Finally, thank you for taking the time to read this “super long” post, I truly hope that it will help you. I know that I am not Mahatma Ghandi and my words are not that big of a deal. However, if you think that any part of this post can help someone you know, then share the link with them. If you have any questions or pieces of advice please inbox me on Algerian Book Readers. There are not much info on the net about studying English at an Algerian university, so let us change that. With your advice, I will write other posts. And together we can help other people and give back what we have been given.  

Please know that this post is not in anyways to advertise for the page or get Algerian Book Readers everywhere on the NET. Every little word was from the bottom of my heart, all of what I have written is exactly what I would say to a best friend or sibling. This post is also a thank you for everyone that has helped me when I needed help; I know that I can’t do much for them since they are older and more experienced. But I am sure that if they ever see me trying to give other people what they have given me that would be considered that as the best thank you ever.

Take care and good luck.

Ines x 

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7 tips and tricks for people who want to start reading books

How can I start reading books?
The first question that someone who wants to start reading ask himself/herself.
The answer should be easy, GRAB A FREAKING BOOK, OPEN IT, AND READ THE WORDS.
But unfortunately it is not as easy as it appears to be, because starting with the wrong book might make you hate reading and give up. So, how can I choose my first book?
If you asked yourself this question quite a little time now, you are probably now a bookworm in love with some fictional character.
However, if you have just asked yourself this question, then you are already on the right track. It also means that you have the WILL to read, which is the key to enter the world of book lovers.
To answer that question you need to have a conversation with yourself (just a little piece of advice: do not talk to yourself aloud, because your family members would think that you are crazy. Trust me, enjoy the little time you still have as a sane person, because you will soon be crying over some fictional character. At that moment, there will be no turning back. You will forever have “insane” tattooed on your forehead. You won’t see it but everyone else will.
OMG, did I scare you? Wait, wait, do not close this web page. Reading is amazing, it worths it. Do not go )
For those brave people who decided to keep reading , here is how to find the answer:
     o Think of what genre you would enjoy reading: romance, science fiction, fantasy, horror, thriller, mystery… (google these terms if you are not really sure what they exactly mean)
If you still cannot decide, then think of:
     o The movies you like to watch:
You will be astonished by the number of movies that were originally books. In other words, if you like:
-Harry Potter then you will enjoy fantasy books, I also advise you to read the Harry Potter books. The movies are great, but the books are more detailed.

-The Fault in our Stars: then YA (young adult) romance is the right genre for you. You can read the book (yes! The Fault in our Stars was written by John Green). I also recommend for you Me Before you by Jojo Moyes and Confess by Colleen Hoover.
-The Hunger Games and The maze runner are two of your favourite movies? Then science fiction, dystopia will be your thing. Try to read the series of books, or read Delirium by Lauren Oliver And Pivot point by kasie West
-Do you enjoy watching Sherlock Holmes movies? Then try the books. Agatha Christie’s books will work just perfect for you. Here the genre is Mystery.
-NCIS, CSI, Hawaï 5.0, Resoly and Isles… Are some series that you love watching. Then mystery, thriller were made for you. I do not have titles of books that were written from the point of view of a police officer or a member of the FBI. But, everyone have been talking about Gone Girl and The Girl on the train (written from the point of view of NOT A POLICE OFFICER ). I have not read them but they seem to be good thrillers. (I am currently reading The Husband by Dean Koontz and it is great).
-If you enjoy horror films, then I am the wrong person to ask. I have ZERO knowledge in both the movies and books departments. Here you are on your own.
I am sure that the last sentence have made you think: where can I find titles of books that I would enjoy reading? The answer is social media and books apps:
       o GOODREADS: this is like wikipedia of books, facebook of book lovers, it is THE book community. You can find any book title you are looking for, read the synopsis, and check what people say about it. It also lists the best books of the year, the most read of the week, month and year. It suggests books to you depending on what you like and what you have read (after you start being a bit active on the website). And it also lists some random suggestions of books by genre which can be very useful once you have understood the answer to the first question.
For more details, youtube should be your best friend from now on. Here is a video that explains every thing about Goodreads. Speaking of youtube
        o YOUTUBE: I do not need to explain what is youtube for you. But have you known that it contains other videos than 20 funny kittens for cat lovers, Rihanna’s music, and some Disney series. Well, it can be heaven for a book lover if he/she knows what to look for. There are plenty of people (booktubers) who post videos talking about a book or several books that they have read. They give a summary of the story and their opinion. Those videos are amazing because:
1- You do not have to read long articles about the book, its author, the publishing house… On google or Wiki.
2- When the reader is talking so dramatically (book lovers are dramatic), you kind of get excited to know more about the book. Therefore, you read it.
3- You do not have to watch them, just play the video and do something else like clean up your room. When you finish cleaning, you just sit, download the book, and then read it. No need to spend the whole afternoon looking for a book that you’d like to read, because you did it in the morning while cleaning up
4- If you are not a native speaker of English (like me), then videos made by native speakers of English can teach you a lot. They also help you acquire better listening skills.
        o INSTAGRAM: I particularly prefer this social media platform. By typing any hashtag that comes into your mind, thousands of pictures pop up on your screen. Try #Bookstagram and you will see what I mean. And seeing pictures is 10 better than reading a long post on Facebook or a tweet on twitter. Plus, you can comment on the picture and ask about the book, you do not have to have the person on your friends’ (rather, followers) list to be able to comment on his/her pictures.
Facebook is also great for its pages, but most of them do not reply to messages and comments (it drives me crazy); and I am sure that if you are a big user of Twitter you will be able to find a lot of book lovers there. But,since I am not active there I do not have many tips to give you. Anyways, choose the social media platform that you prefer and look for people, pages, or groups with the theme of BOOKS.
         o Blogs: there are plenty of blogs about books out there, if you are already a blogger (fashion, technology, entertainment), or are used to subscribe to blogs; then you know how it works. Just look for those with the theme of BOOKS. If you have never been in the blogging community, it can be a bit more confusing for you. I will soon write a blog post about that, because I need to explain a few things. Meanwhile, stick to Youtube and social media; they are great.
         o LIBRARIES and BOOKSTORES: if you live in a place where there are many libraries and bookstores, then I advise you to go there from a time to another and check out what kind of books they have. You can find people buying books, they will certainly suggest a few titles. you can ask the librarian or the seller what people of your age usually borrow or buy. However, if you live in a place were reading is not a very common hobby; your phone, tablet, and PC should from now on be your best friends when it comes to reading and finding books.
Now I can tell you welcome to the book community. Hopefully, my post will be helpful, and it won’t take you a long time to spot a first book to thumb through after reading My tips.Take care.

-Ines x

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Do Well in Oral Expression and Nail Your Presentations -Algerian Students-

Speaking in English whenever we have the chance to is crucial to learn it. Unfortunately, talking with friends in English is not as fun and natural as talking in Arabic. Therefore, the only place where we can talk in English is the classroom. But with so much to learn, teachers kind of do all of the work, they lecture but never really discuss. I wish we had more chances to discuss lessons than to listen to the teacher explaining them. That’s how it is, and we’re only left with oral expression class to express ourselves. Being able to stand in front of a class, look your classmates in the eyes and speak might be very challenging to many students. Some fear the thoughts and judgements of the audience, others just do not like to have all eyes on them and sometimes it’s just nerves that cannot be controlled. The former should not be something that stop any student from speaking their mind, not caring about what other people think of us is a matter of age and personality. But if that’s what stops you from doing a great job in OE class then remember: no one is from Oxford or Yale, not even the teachers. All students are in that class to learn, some might be better than others but that does not give the right to anyone to think that their opinion and thoughts are not to be opposed. Your opinion does not have to match everyone else’s. As long as you respect theirs and say yours in a nice and respectful way, then you’re doing well. Do not care about those stupid little remarks and facial expressions that some classmates might have while you’re at the board. Luckily for me, the students of my group are all super nice, we all get well together, we even laugh at each other but with no bad intentions. We tell jokes even with the teachers. Oral expression has “most of the times” been cool. As for the nerves and body reaction to all those eyes looking at you, that cannot be changed but can be reduced.

Most of the time when presenting, even if we’re trying our best to stay focused and look calm, Forgetting an expression or word might mess up the whole thing, What leads to a major panic attack. To avoid that:

• ·          Use pictures and videos in your presentations. Pictures can remind you the points that you need to discuss and video literally speak for themselves. Of course, you do not want to be a statue and let the video do your presentation. But it helps a lot: grabs your audience’s attention, let’s you revise your thoughts and organise them. And seeing that everyone is enjoying your presentation can boost up your self confidence. That would help a lot. 
• ·         Make power points or put together your own videos. This is a really good trick to use if you’re discussing a lot of points and can’t remember some terms or you mix up some information. With the video guiding and reminding you what to say next. Your presentation will be a success.
• ·         Group presentations: if your teacher allows you to work in pairs or groups of three (or more), then that’s great because you won’t be standing alone at the board. You do not have to look all the time at the audience, but when you feel a bit nervous, you can turn to your partner (not for a very long time). Also, when working with partners, you feel more confident since you know that they can help you if you ever forget anything. Just make sure to have a part in the presentation. Do not count on them to speak for you all the time.

·         When looking up information, try to replace words that you do not know with synonyms that you know to avoid forgetting them when presenting. That’s not the best way to learn new words (unless you write down those words and try your best to remember and checking them from time to another) but it will help a lot with the mark and help you avoid  feeling nervous because of forgetting some word.

As for accent, listening and speaking skills; those can be improved by reading and listening.

Read books, news articles (they do not have to be about politics or sports, choose something that interests you.  However, it is good to get out of your comfort zone sometimes and learn about new topics). Listen to radio broadcasts, watch news channel, movie, series... As long as they do not contain subtitles in Arabic, it might be challenging for some students. But focusing on reading the subtitles and not listening to what the actors are saying won’t help much. You can use English subtitles, though. They are a bit fast, but they will help you with spelling and understanding the words. 


(This blog is a part of Studying English in Algeria (university students) check it out to know more about the topic)

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what is my problem with book covers that show a face?

2016 has been a great "reading" year for me and a horrible year when it comes to other "aspects of life" .Thanks to all the books I have read this year; I got to know more about the reader side of me, and one thing that I noticed when reviewing books is my hate to book covers that show a face. They say ,"Never judge a book by its cover" but let us be honest, who does not love a nice story with a very nice cover. The cover might not be that important but it is definitely a plus.Before I get to the negative side of the story, let me first talk about "what I love in a cover". Suspense and mystery: I love those covers that have so much going on that you have to focus and try to see what every element means (after finding out what that element actually is) and then chapter by chapter you start figuring out the puzzle. OMG! Those covers are ART. I wish I was a cover designer so that I could customize the covers that I do not like of books that I like. Now, let me get into the point of this post: BOOKS THAT SHOW FACES. I just do not like to know how a character in a book looks like. Obviously, the authors describes their characters, but I usually do not remember how a character looks like. I remember what they say and do which is way more important. Dear authors, a book is the only place where you can know a person (it's an imaginary person, but still...) without giving a damn about their looks. So, please stop trying to paint a face on a cover, because even if you think that that face is identical to what you have described, for me it never is and never will be. Sorry to disappoint you!
There is one exception though: When the cover is designed before the story is written, and then the author makes a life for that "face". I once reviewed a short story, and said that the only thing that I did not like about the cover was the face, then the author told me that after seeing the cover,only then she decided to write the story. Also, adult books... why do authors always (or most of the time) put a freaking shirtless male top model on the cover? The rule of never judge a book by its cover never even come into my mind when I see a book with such a cover, that is so COMMERCIAL. As I said, a cover is supposed to be a piece of art not a magazine cover.

I still have a few things to say about books covers, but let's keep those for another post.
If you want to know more about books that I liked but not their covers, you can read my review of The Glittering Court.
I would really like to know what you like or dislike about book covers, this blog post will be shared on Facebook (click here to see the post) please tell me what you think in a comment.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog post.
Take care and read books.
Ines x

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Should readers believe in what authors write?

I few days ago I have seen a post about a certain Algerian author who said something like: she does not always believe in what her characters say or do (I do not remember the exact words, but you get my point, Right?). Anyways, like many Facebookers I expressed my opinion in a comment. I said that when an author writes about a character, they do not need to agree with what that character says or does.They just write what goes well with that specific character's life and with what is going in the story... What I say is confusing I guess, so let me say it in another way. There are some really nice actors who give a lot of charity and spread awareness about many things, but they play the bad guy/girl in a movie. Does that mean they like what that character does, or believe in his/her actions and words? I am sure your answer is NO. It is the same thing with authors. Whether they believe in what they write or not is their problem, now whether WE believe in what they write is up to us. My opinion about the matter is not a big deal. I do not really think that it deserves a whole blog post, but I wrote it because of a passage that I read the other day. Beautiful words that say it all.

Here is what one of the most famous authors of the 20th century says about the mater.I think her words are just perfect, and readers should always remind themselves of what she said in her book A Room of One's Own which contains a collection of essays about women and fiction.

If you do not know Verginia Wolf, then here's an amazing video about her. Check it out.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog post.
Let me know what you think about the topic. Should readers believe in what authors write?
Leave a comment down below, or contact me on Facebook
Take care and read books.
Ines x

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How to Get Rid of a Reading Slump?

The biggest fear of a book lover can be expressed in two words: READING SLUMP.

It is a weird phenomenon that I am pretty sure scientists still have not found a logical explanation to.  If you’re like me, then you probably have those days when you devour books and days when you suffer of “reading anorexia” for no specific reason! You just no longer can focus on reading; a problem that can cause a panic attack to many of us. As I have already mentioned, scientists did not even find an explanation to this problem; as a result, finding a remedy is far from happening. While waiting for someone to make pills that can help us get rid of our reading slumps, we can simply stick to this list of advice that I put up together and seem to work pretty well for me.

First, don’t you ever force yourself to read during a slump. I tried to do that once and I ended up hating every book I open and deleting them from my iBook library.

Second, try to organize your books. Putting some order to your bookshelf can help lot with your reading anorexia. Because, while doing so you might come across some highlighted passages that you loved reading once, rereading them can turn into rereading the whole book.  Once finished you’d need a second book, then a third then hopefully a ninety ninth.

Unless you encounter another reading slump, then you should try this third advice: Watch book-talks on Youtube, check some bookstagrams, or look up for new published books on Goodreads. While doing so, you might find a book that can put you back into your reading mood. If not, then that’s okay. Just add the titles that interested you to your TBR and move on to the fourth point which is visiting the local book store. With not much reading done, free time is all what a book lover has. While at it, you can go check what books have been added to the bookstore’s shelves; maybe buy a few that you’ve always wanted to get but never had the chance to do so because you were so busy living in some fictional universe.

Being surrounded by books can help you get rid of your reading slump. If you like to write book reviews, but you do not really have the time to while you’re finishing one book and immediately starting another one, then writing the reviews that you’ve been planning to write can be a very good activity to do when you’re in a reading slump. Also, reading other people’s thoughts about a certain book you read can be very helpful to get those “exciting moments” that you get while you reading it back, those feelings may turn into a need to read a new book.

A reader is usually isolated from the rest of the world while reading some book. So, a reading slump can be a good time to socialize. And what is better than making new friendships with book-lovers and discussing books with them?
NOTHING :p

So, that’s it, talk about books that you have already read with people who have read them and want to talk about them. If all of what I have already mentioned did not work for you, then you’re probably a desperate case...

Okay, I am just kidding there is a last thing to try. This last step can last for a while, but there is no way you’re not getting rid of your reading slump after it: just relax and do things that you could not do while you were busy falling in love with some fictional character. Watch some movies or series, work out, try new hobbies... I am sure that soon after that you’ll start missing reading.

Also, not paying your internet subscription for a while can be very helpful. Social media usually take a lot of my time. So, when there is no Instagram and Facebook I get pretty bored and I get back to reading. I have noticed that after a reading slump, I tend to get so eager to read that I might devour like a dozen of new books (till the next slump :p).

I hope that my pieces of advice can help some of you to get over “readers’ hard time”. If you have any good tips and tricks that you’d like to tell me about, please do so, I will be super happy to know about them. Leave them in a comment bellow, or get in touch with me on Facebook.

Thanks for reading my post, take care and read books.

Ines x

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Book Review: Eat Pray Love

Hiii guys how are you doing? I am a talkative person “I know I know “.. I just want to give you my point of you of this book. A style note: I really love that she divided up the book into three main sections, with 36 stories each, for a total of 108 stories. I felt that some of the 36 sections were rather arbitrarily forced into sections, but I still love the set-up. So I began the book on an optimistic note, then quickly became annoyed with the long, rambling chapters justifying the author's use of the word "God" and how OTHER words for "God" are neither better nor worse, more nor less accurate, than "God" but this author feels a connection with the word "God" so she's going to use it here but REALLY, there are LOTS of ways to express the concept, etc. etc. etc. I really won’t judge her decisions of leaving her husband, leaving everything that they had built for years and not having a kid (even though I fail to understand why and I actually felt sympathy for her husband). She has no clue about life or the real hardships of life; she fails to see that actually her life isn’t all that bad and these kind of people irritate me the most. She keeps whining through the whole book and I guess everybody has a limit of taking a meaningless rant and I reached mine at page 30 but still I continued hoping that the book will get better at some point but … it just kept getting worse and more irritating. In the book she says that she is a bad traveler and I totally agree with her. She is so self-absorbed in her own grief and misery and whining and ranting that she fails to imbibe the beauty of the place. She lives in Italy for 4 months but doesn’t bother to visit any museums. The only reason she goes to Napa Valley is to eat pizza. She goes to India and stays for 4 months and doesn’t even bother to visit Mumbai and acts like she has India all figured out. You just can’t come here stay at an Ashram in rural part of the country and say this is INDIA. Her experience in India was similarly to someone coming to America and staying at Disneyland for four months. To know India and its people you need to get out into the streets. You need to experience the dirt, the passion and the love, the culture, the modernity, the rural and the urban India to actually say you know India. She just makes statements like - “And maybe it’s in preparation for my trip to India that I decided to spend last week in Sicily – the most 3rd world section of Italy, and therefore not a bad place to go if you need to prepare yourself to experience extreme poverty” or “In India you don’t touch anything but yourself”. These statements made me furious at her…. She goes to Bali and spends her time in house of the medicine man and Wayan. This reminds me of something that irritated me throughout the whole book – Celibacy and Sex. She says this is a spiritual book but you find more talk about her celibacy (is it really that hard to stay celibate for a year) and sex) than spirituality (which I still don’t think she gets). But I won't leave us all on a totally negative note. I enjoyed parts of the book, some of them thoroughly. I loved her friends, for instance, and am perplexed at how I find the author so unlikable but somehow she has such cool people in her life? And she was SOMETIMES funny with little sarcastic bits that made me laugh aloud. When she wasn't being overly wordy, I loved reading her descriptions of Italy, India, and most especially Indonesia. And, of course, who didn't drool over her description of that pizza in Naples? YUM. I read that part twice :-)~

Rating : 3 /5 stars Insagram : Romy_books

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After you (Me Before you #2) By Jojo Moyes Book Review by Ines

After you “The long awaited sequel to Me Before you”, says the version of the cover  I have. It was really a long time to wait, for those who read the first book back in 2009, since the second one came out in 2015. I just hope that they did not feel deceived, because Me Before you had set the bar pretty high. The sequel was such a good read, but still, I preferred the first book.
Attention to those who have not read the ME BEFORE YOU and are reading this: even the NON SPOILER part contains spoilers from the first book.

After you continues telling Louisa’s story a few months after Will’s death: just when she went back to the UK and started a new life that she did not really ask for. Money was not a problem, since Will left her enough to travel and then to find a place of her own. But, it could never heal the scars left on her heart. Without being her old self, and has not even known her new one, what will happen to Lou?

Louis knew she could not go back to her home town: she could not bear the memories, nor stand the stares and low murmures of people talking about her every time she walked in the streets; plus she no longer could live in her parent’s house. She might not have known her « new » self well, but she was sure to never go back to the old one, that means; she had to start living like a twenty-seven-year-old women, and going back to live with her family was not even an option anymore.

SPOILERS ALLERT

GO READ THE BOOK 

THEN COME BACK

Lily Traynor appearing at Louisa’s door was definitely a surprise that I did not see coming (yes, I jumped when I read: « I need to talk to you about my father […] His name is Will Traynor. ») The story would not have been the same without this character; however, her, always being in trouble was a bit annoying at the end, and I did not really care about what she did, or did not.
It was obvious from the beginning that Lou was going to fall in love with someone new, but the way she met Sam and how they were attracted to each other was WEIRD in a  beautiful way . The part where Sam helped Lily to get her phone back from her abuser made me feel butterflies in my stomach, but I laughed so hard on how they played the man. Also, the part where Sam was hurt ,and Louisa did all of her possible to save him, she was again put in the position of trying to save someone’s life -she could not do it with Will, but she did it with Sam, she finally could save a life- I think that is when she truly realized that she loved Sam more than anyone else.

In the first book, Louisa talked a lot about her family; she was so attached to them, that is not something that we read in every book, and it was just so beautiful. In the second book, her family was present again, but reading about her parents’ problems again and again and again was a bit annoying to me, Louisa who is the main character was not even involved in that, so I really did not understand why I had to read about that, and I did not understand why they needed to change by the end of the book. Some characters were just fine.

Throughout the whole series, we have seen a big change in not only one character. And for that I have to give a high five to the brilliant author because she did a great job (even though the change in Louisa’s mom character was not necessary); she has definitely made me connect with several of them. Me Before you series is one of my favourite reads of 2016, I know we are only half way through the year, but nothing would change my mind about those two books.

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The Witch’s Curse by Megan Linski Mini Novella Review by Ines

What can I say?

Megan Linski, please write a freaking The Witch’s Curse series. 5 chapters are not enough for me.
This is my very first time reading a mini-novella and I can tell you that it is a torture, especially if the story is as good as The Witch’s Curse. It is like watching a very exciting movie trailer while you know that the movie will never be on Tv or anywhere else (do not even think about Netflex). Nevertheless, I have enjoyed reading it. I think it would be perfect for someone who wants a quick read in the afternoon, or someone taking the bus somewhere not that far…

I cannot write a summary for this mini-novella; it is already short. But, I can tell you that it is about a young witch with the name of Briar. She witnessed the murder of a girl (another witch) by some witch hunters. She was about to become a second victim to those monsters if Thomas (her boyfriend) has not appeared and shifted into a dragon in the perfect timing. Saved from the witch hunters, Briar decides to save her town and make sure that no one would encounter a similar fate of that girl’s she found dead in the woods. How is she going to do that? You need to read the mini-novella. This is a spoiler free review, do not expect answers from me.
I have not read many fantasy stories, but I am sure those who like this genre would enjoy this mini-novella. Fans of A Court of Thornes and Roses would have the same reaction as me: Megan Linski, we want to know more.

What do I want to know more about?

The history of the the town (Thorny Brook).
The time they are living in. 
Why did wizards and witches decide to reveal their true identity to the human world?
Males can shift into animals or methological creatures while females have magical powers, right?
Who are Briar and Thomas? I want to know the personalities, past and maybe future of these two characters.

What did I like about The Witch’s Curse?  (Check out the comments, Megan Linski herself answered my questions )

I enjoyed the whole story, but there were a few details that has drown my attention and made the whole thing even better.
The strong female lead.
The spells that are like songs or poetry (I do not know, they rhyme and I  have just enjoyed reading them out loud.)
Talking animals, it reminded me of animals in disney movies. By the way, the stallion who took Briar and Thomas home, was just a talking stallion or a man who could shift into a stallion and take adventage of his second shape to make a living (by taking people to the distinations they want to go to)?

What Did I not like that much? 

Just the cover: I have a problem with covers that show FACES. The dragons in the back are perfect; I would have love d to see a mixture of Purple and white (the colours of Briar’s powers), a cauldron, the witch hunters’ masks… Too bad I am not that good with designs and photoshop, or I would have made a personals cover just for me

( NEW INFORMATION: Megan Linski wrote the mini novella based on the cover, the girl on the cover inspired her and she wrote a story about her, you can say that she gave her a life. OMG, now I freaking love the cover. )

Make sure to come back and tell me what you think of Megan Linski’s mini-novella if you read it. It is always a pleasure to read comments and fangirl about books.

A big thank you to Instafeebie for providing me with an e-copy of The Witch’s Curse.

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The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead Book Review by Ines

This is my very first Richelle Mead book and I gave it the easiest five stars that I could ever give on GoodReads.
Going through some book talks on Youtube and some reviews on GoodReads and WordPress, I have realized that a lot of people were disappointed by this book, because the author did a huge mistake of classifying The Glittering Court in the fantasy genre; as a result, reader were expecting to at least come across some magic, paranormal creatures or an out-of-our-world sitting, but that has never come. This novel fits more in a historical- dystopian genre, this for sure, is what every reader agrees on.

Lucky me! I read this book without checking its synopsis, and that worked just perfect for me, because I was not expecting anything from it; therefore, I enjoyed my reading and found other themes than  » magic and paranormal ». And I think this is the best way to read The Glittering Court: without going through the synopsis first.

The main lead is an eighteen year old girl with the name of Elizabeth Witmore and the title of Countess of Rathford. To preserve what remained of her legacy (after the death of her parents), her grandma found her a young and wealthy baron,who shares the same blood line, to marry. The only problem was: she does not know him; she does not love him;and she can have no conversation with him, since all he talks about is his barley (He has a successful barley production, and all what he eats is barley; he has even sent some of it to Elizabeth. Who sends crops to their future wife as a present!) Thinking of this marriage, the young countess realized that she has no control over her life: her past was drawn by a bloodline that can be traced back to the country’s founders, and her future is planned according to her family’s and society’s expectations… NO CHOICES. So, she decided to give it all up and to steal someone else’s life: her maid’s, Ada. With this new fake identity, Elizabeth, oh! sorry, Adelaide joined The Glittering Court: a school and business venture that turned poor girls into upper-class ladies who appear destined for powerful and wealthy marriages in the New World. There, she falls in love with one of the business owners Cedric Thorn. They kept each other’s dangerous secrets, and took care of one another. But, in a time that is more or less close to what we know as The Elizabethan Age, and a place that is almost identical to the British colonies in America, Cedric’s and Adalaide’s relation is a taboo, and it was not too long till someone found out about them. Will their love survive?  The answer is in the book. READ IT.

This book literally swallowed me inside of it; I read it during my final exams, and I put my handouts down so that I could pic up my iPad and finish reading the novel. I could connect with the characters in a very strong and strange way. Life was very hard for people in the time setting of this book; they had to live it according to their society’s thoughts and believes, no matter how old or ‘horrible’ they were. I loved both of Adalaide’s and Cedric’s characters because they rebeled against what they thought was wrong and fought for what they believed was right.

‘I am serious. You’ve made some dangerous choices.’ ‘But I made them myself,’ Cedric said.’And that’s what matters.’

Another theme that I loved in this book is: GIRLS’ POWER. Adalaide’s friends, Mira and Tamsin, are powerful young ladies. The reader could not know much about them, because  their stories will be narrated in the two upcoming novels that will complete  The Glitering Court trilogy . I cannot wait to know more about their backgrounds and the hard circumstances that made them who they are.
A little detail that I would have loved to read more about it is: the reaction of Elizabeth’s (Adalaide)  grandmother when she found out about the truth. Because she looked for her grandchild everywhere, and Elizabeth kept thinking about her all the time, it was obvious that they shared a strong relationship.

 

Another « kind of » negative thing about this novel is: the human face on the cover. The cover is beautiful, I admit that. But, I hate being given a picture of the protagonist (or any other character). I am sorry Richelle Mead, but this girl on the cover does not look like an Elizabeth or an Adelaide to me.
To conclude, the story is just amazing; I totally recommend it. The message and characters are so deep, and the reading is so enjoyable.

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Confess by Colleen Hoover Book Review [Spoiler Free] by Ines

I broke my last reading record when I clicked on one of Colleen Hoover’s books a few days ago; I usually read and finish one novel (of about 350 pages) during 48 hours, but when it comes to Colleen Hoover’s; I finished them in less than 24 hours! Simply, because I  literally did not put down my  tablet once I start reading: I do not stop reading till my eyes close down alone at night, and the moment I wake up in the morning I turn on my iPad and start reading again.

If you had already read one of my not many reviews, then you had for sure noticed that I follow a pretty well organized structure when it comes to reviewing books (author’s name and publication date, spoiler free summary, and then likes and dislikes analysis) Confess threw my organization out of the window-I live on the 5^th floor, I don’t really think I’ll ever be able to get it back. It just made my feelings after reading it so not clear that they are not allowing my mind to think properly.

Either you read or did not read the novel; this time you can read my whole review, no spoilers at all. It is impossible to mention what I liked or disliked, there are no (what I call) unnecessary parts, or chapters that are more important than others. To put that right, let’s just think of puzzles; there are two types of them: those who you give up on when you put 2/3 of their pieces together because you already can see the result and it is not fun nor interesting to keep going, then there are those puzzles which you can see the beautiful result of, but your brain can’t process it till you put the last piece and stare at it for ten minutes. Confess is definitely the latter, Colleen Hoover has such an amazing style of mixing romance and mystery in one story. When I say mystery, it is not that kind that we all know:  there is something hidden and we keep collecting clues to find it, but when it comes to Hoover’s stories it goes as following: you are reading in peace, word after word, paragraph after paragraph, and then you jump from your bed just like a cat jumps when you run over its tail. Her plot twists are  so unpredictable and even if you think you figured it out, I can assure you that you did not. You just have to read it till you reach these two little words: the end.

Enough speaking of how one of my new favourite authors made me fall in love with her books, because those who did not read Confess deserve a short summary. It has all started with the protagonist Auburn who was about to lose her first love (Adam) because of cancer, and she was not even allowed to stay with him till his last day, because she was forced to say good bye a few days before Adam lost his life. The story begins and ends with the same scene but written from two different points of views; in other words, just like in movies:  where the same scene is shot from two different angles; when the camera turns, new details are discovered and the story is changed completely. Auburns’ first love story was short just like her lover’s life (he died at the age of sixteen) but we read most of Auburns “new” story while she is at the age of twenty-one, when she moves to Dallas and passes by a studio (where an employee was needed), so she takes the job because she is in need of money. Owen is a painter and the owner of the studio; his paintings are inspired by anonymous confessions that people drop by his studio’s door. If you think that because I mentioned confessions you figured out what is the title about, then I am really sorry to tell you that Colleen Hoover never makes it that simple, DEEP is all what she does. The present is related to the past, the past is never really past, since the future is always depending on it. Everything is connected in Confess. I know I sound crazy, but the story is just insane, if I really have to explain all my feelings, then you would better grab a big philosophy book and start trying to understand the theories, I bet you’ll turn into Aristotle before you could figure out what I want to say.

You cannot read Confess and know about other people’s confessions without thinking of what you would write if you were ever to pass by Owen’s studio. I know they are supposed to be anonymous, but that’s okay if you know about it: “Confess made me cry at the end.”  I know this does not sound like a big confession, but I promise you it is. I did not cry rivers though, I think they were around three or four tears from my right eye, but it is really big for a girl who laughs while watching Titanic. When Rose says: Jaaahk, Jaaahk, I be like: your Jaaahk is nothing different from the chicken that is in our freezer, he is FROZEN, just let him goooo, let him goooo, you can’t hold him baaahk anymooore. I know what you are thinking, I know… but I have a heart, I really do: I cried during UP, THE BLIND SIDE, FREEDOM WRITERS, and THE LAST SONG. Speaking of the latter, it has not been a long time since I knew that the book was written by Nicholas Spark; the same author who wrote The Notebook (I have never watched more than 15 minutes from its movie adaptation.)

PS: If you read and liked CONFESS, check out HOPELESS and maybe LOSING HOPE.

PSS: All the confessions are from real people, and they send them to Colleen Hoover so that she could use them in her story.

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How Can I Read More Books ? by Ines

     ''How can I read more books?'' Is a question that book lovers keep constantly asking themselves. Especially if one has a record of unfinished book challenges 😢

Do not worry, I am here for you. And, I have 8 amazing tips that would make you read more books than you've ever had.

The tips that I will be listing down below will 100% work. I am not going to say I tried some of them, because I did not. I MADE THOSE TIPS; I worked by them even when I did not know I was doing so. So, before they became a list of simple pieces of advice on a blog post; they were the result of a successful reading challenge finished in half the time it was supposed to take.

Not to brag or anything (maybe just a little 😜), I went from 0 books per year ( since I can't remember till 2014) to 30 books in 6 months this year!! I know, I am surprised too; I was supposed to read that number in 12 months.

So, here is what I did, and what you can also do:

    1.   Surround yourself with books :

Try to make a little place on your shelves for books (buy one that seems interesting from time to another -even if you know you won't be reading it instantly- and put it on your shelf. Before you'll know it, books will take over all of your shelves) so when you're in your room doing nothing but staring at walls, a book might grab your attention. Just bring it and start reading, and no one will see you or hear from you during the 10 hours that follow.

Paperbacks might be too expensive, or you might not find the ones you want (believe me I know the struggle). Surrounding yourself with books can be done in an ELECTRONIC way: DOWNLOAD BOOKS and make a huge library on your phone/tablet (you'll know why and how -to find nice books- later, just keep reading).

   2.   Surround yourself with people who love to read :

Join book clubs at your school or local library (if possible), and keep in touch with them on social media. Someone will always post about a book that might become your next favourite book of all times.

Meeting people and book lovers does not have to always be in real life; it can also be on social media.

Facebook: Subscribe to pages about books, follow or add accounts that constantly post about books (whose owner is an active member in the book community).

Instagram: Follow bookstagrams (Instagram accounts that post pictures of books and write short reviews about them).THEY ARE AMAZING!

Youtube: Subscribe to booktubes (channels about books), you will never miss any news about the latest books and movies adaptations.

Social media helped me a lot; every time I see or read about a nice book, I download it right away and keep it in my iPad's library (the answer to the how, tip #1). I NEVER KNOW WHEN I'LL NEED TO READ IT.

PS: Do not say, I will download it later, because you'll either forget about the title and it is never easy to find a post on social media when your 999 followers are are posting 87 post per minute. Or, you just be like: books are going no where, I'll find another book to download later<= this is why you'll never have a bookworm's electronic library, and you'll never find what to read when you want to read.

    3.  Join book challenges :

I know that my post seems to be about "how to finish your book challenge", since I have already talked a bit about that in the introduction, but I have to explain this to readers who have never joined one, and give a few pieces of advice to those who already have.

Book challenge: is the a number of books that you have to read in a specific period of time.

You can set your book challenge just by mentally telling yourself: okay, lazy-ass, you have to read 12 books in the next 4 months. And you need to start this afternoon... Aaah maybe tomorrow, this afternoon you have to go get that bag you saw last week in the boutique.

The next time you'll remember your challenge is when you need a new bag.

So, my favourite website/app to keep on track with my reading challenge is GOODREADS: you set up your challenge at the beginning of the year, and it will constantly tell you if you're ahead or behind, and how many books you need to read to get back on track if you're behind.

You can also join groups on Facebook in which the members put a number of books to be read in a period of time. What is great about these kind of groups is that everyone finishes a book in a different day, as a result; readers (helps with tip #2) will post about some book every day ,and that will help you to find new books to download (help with tip #1), and will remind you all the time that you have a challenge to accomplish.

But, before you join these kind of  groups make sure to:

-Never do the math of: I have to read 24 books in 12 months, that would make 2 books each month. And then you'll be having exams in December, reading slumps in November and February, trips during spring, family to visit sometimes during summer... (As busy as a business woman/man) and when you miss a couple of months you'll be like: this is impossible, I will never be able to finish this freaking challenge, I QUIT.

But, reading depends on the mood: you can read 0 book this month and 10 next month. That is why  I am telling you not to do the math, and not to force yourself to read.

- Choose a group with a good period of time for their challenge: just like for the problem of math, if the period of the challenge is very short, you might not be able to make up for those times when you have not read much. That would make you feel frustrated and you'll never join a challenge again. Try to find a challenge that goes for 6 or 8 months at least, because during that period you will have some breaks and holidays in which you can do some catch up on your reading.

    4.  Read books that will soon be turned into movies :

Scrolling through Facebook the other day, I have seen a picture saying:" How to know if a person has read the book before seeing the movie? They will tell you, they will fucking tell you"

I laughed so hard, of course I'll tell you if I read the book. Why? To scare the shit out of you and pretend that I will spoil what is happening in the next scene.

Adding to your TBR books that are going to be turned into movies is a great way to read more, especially if the lead is going to be one of your favourite actresses or actors. This way, you can review both the movie and the book later. And, you can have fun looking at your friends' faces while you pretend you're about to spoil the whole movie.

    5.  Link reading with another activity that you like to do :

Since I am majoring in English, I obviously read to learn more vocabulary and write better. But, I never enjoy a book if it is a homework. School always ruins all the fun.

So, as a motive to read and learn more, I decided to mix between reading and facebooking (the act of doing nothing all day but scrolling through a home page full of posts that make people argue if a dress is blue or golden. C'mon it was freaking black and white!)

That is how I created Algerian Book Readers (along with some awesome admins who became my favourite online friends) to find more readers in my country, we exchange pieces of writing and suggest books to each other... (Helps with tip #1 and #2)

Blogging is also a good and fun activity to do, but write about what? Write about books you read. People reacting to your posts is a great way to stay motivated, and you'll want to read more books so that you can blog more ,that's how you become a faster reader and a better writer.

If you're a fan of twitter, Instagram, Tumbler or YouTube; you can create an account/blog/channel with the theme of reading and books. (It will help a lot with tips #1 and#2)

    6.   Never leave the house without a book :

Even if you have a busy day and you do not think you'll have time to read, take a book or your e-reader with you whenever you're going to school. Maybe some teacher will be absent and you'll have some free time to read, maybe you'll see someone annoying getting on the same bus as you so you'll grab your book and pretend to read (believe me, you won't be pretending for a long time. You'll even wish the road was longer so that you could read another chapter).

   7.   Do not give up on reading because of a bad book or two:

There are times when you're like: have all good books disappeared from planet earth?   

Just give the book you're reading a chance, some books just do not have a very good start. but, if you really don't like it after four or five chapters then you do not have to force yourself to read it. Just start with another book.

   8.  Try to surf less on the NET :

I have noticed that when my network subscription ends and I do not pay it right away, I tend to read A LOT MORE during those few NET-free days.

So, if you do not really need a network connection for school or work, do not pay it.Take some rest from social media and read. It is super fun, I promise.
At the end, I must tell you that how much you learn from what you read is way more important than how many books you read. Make good book choices ( for example: Kim Kardashian's book is not really a book that needs to be on your list 😛).

If you have any good tips to share with me, I will be more than happy to read them. Comment below.

If you're looking for reading partners you can always leave the link to one of your social media accounts, also down below.

If you have a blog, bookstagram, booktube... Leave the link to it in a comment, and if you want help to start one, just ask for it.

Make sure to share this post with your friends, if you liked it (I know, I know. A lot of ifs, but I am done, I swear 😆).

                                                                                                          X😘X😘  -Ines

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