January 2016 Wrap-up!

Hello everybody! I’m trying to start a new monthly feature on my blog, making a brief recap for each of my passions. I hope you enjoy it!

~Books~
This month I read a total of seven books:

Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley 5/5 stars
This was related to my 2015 reading challenge; I’m so glad of having read this book, because it’s really good and it has a good pace. I love historical settings and big families; it was a nice change from the books I usually read. It basically tells the story of a whole genealogy, starting from Kunta Kinte, born in Africa and later brought in America as a slave around late 1700. The story was fascinating; I think this is the first book I read which deals with slavery as the focus point. I totally recommend it!

Bad Hare Day (Goosebumps #41) by R.L. Stine 4/5 stars
I love Goosebumps and I’m so happy of having read more of this series. This one has an intriguing plot: the main character likes magic and he’d like to become a great magician. This is interesting, because when you read Goosebumps you never really know where reality ends and magic starts.

Brain Juice (Goosebumps 2000 #12) by R.L. Stine 5/5 stars
Another Goosebumps! I find this one less horror-ish than usual, more on the science fiction side. Some bits are quite funny  This time, the main characters are described as complete idiots and for this reason you may read some pretty funny dialogues, which make you totally enjoy the book.

Cry of the Cat (Goosebumps 2000 #1) by R.L. Stine 5/5 stars
Third Goosebumps of the month. This one was a bit frightening in the beginning, with the immortal cat and the girl in the house similar to a ghost, but I was disappointed with the ending. I was expecting something more suspenseful and horrorish 

Monster Blood (Goosebumps #3) by R.L. Stine 4/5 stars
Last Goosebumps for this month. I liked the plot, even though it was practically not frightening at all  I’ve already read Monster Blood III in the past and I was curious to see how all started. As always, the characters were really interesting and I was glad to meet again some characters I loved as a child.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth 4/5 stars
Oh, I hate Tris so so so much. Everything she did during this book was so stupid and childish. Tobias wasn’t that better either. Overall, I like how the plot developed. I’m not going to talk much about it to avoid spoilers, but in the end I had Hunger Games flashbacks and then I understood right away who was going to do the right thing. I hate not being able to read Allegiant right away, because I’m really curious to understand what’s happening.

Ring 5/5 stars
This is the first japanese horror novel I read and I’m totally amazed. I had high expectations for this book and I’m glad I’m not disappointed at all. This novel has everything a good novel needs: good characters, good storyline, plot twists. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen the movie, so I cannot make any comparison with it  However, I like to read japanese books because they have totally different feels from western ones, I don’t really know why.

Currently reading: Tales of Mistery and Terror by E.A. Poe (I have this edition in which there is the complete collection of tales)

~Anime~

Perfect Blue

I read a recommendation on the Internet and I watched it right away. As you probably know by now, I’m really into idols, so I was totally intrigued by the plot. This movie is seriously amazing, the psychological side is well handled and the story is fast paced and breathtaking. I don’t want to talk about it to avoid spoilers, but if you try it out I’m sure you’ll be total caught up by it.

Paranoia Agent

I started this one as a consequence of seeing Perfect Blue. I wanted to see more psychological anime and I wasn’t disappointed with my choice. Paranoia Agent showcases how the human psyche really can have an influence on what happens around us. The episodes are well-structured and there are tons of interesting characters and stories to follow. How does the human psyche work? For sure, an anime isn’t enough to explain that, but I think it gives you a good view on some intriguing aspects.

Currently watching: Shugo Chara (5/51 eps seen)

~TV series and Dramas~

House, M.D. – Season 4
So, Netflix arrived in Italy and I got caught again with this series  I watched some episodes of it when I was little, but I decided to watch it all over again! I loved the old team, so I was a bit disappointed with the change. However, I have a soft spot for Thirteen and I was actually waiting for her to come 

Currently watching: House, M.D. – Season 5 (5/24 eps seen)
Cheongdam-dong Alice (4/16 eps seen)

~Idolish releases~
Here I will put the MVs of the music releases of the groups I follow.

01/01 || Moso Invitation – Moso Calibration 2nd album

I love their songs as they’re always so funny and upbeat. I’m seriously amazed by this MV, which is so entertaining to watch! The girls are really cute and the songs on the album are nice. They surely put you in a good mood!

20/01 || Mai Jene! – Yumemiru Adolescence 7th single

This is one of the first groups outside H!P I got interested into. I didn’t listen to this single as much as the previous, so this song has yet to grow on me, but I find it pretty good. The MV is nice as well and the girls are so cute I cannot help but melt ❤

27/01 || Doushiyou, Watashi / Ichigo Ichie – Ciao Bella Cinquetti 11th single

Doushiyou, Watashi was an instant favorite of mine. I love the music and in particular I love the lyrics, which are written by my lovely Kanyon ❤ Ichigo Ichie has yet to grow on me, but I like it. This single made me like this group and I want to follow them more closely than before. I still hope for another name change though…

~Top Ten H!P Idols~

~Added to my wishlist~
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard: I cannot wait for this book to be published in Italy. I read Red Queen almost as soon as it was published here and I hate waiting for sequels!

~Currently into~
House, M.D.: as I said before, as soon as Netflix arrived in Italy, I got obsessed with this series. I’m going to watch it until the last episode and then cry desperately from the House loss 

Baking cookies: my parents gave me a lovely recipe book as a present which has like 600+ cookies recipes. I love cookies and I also love baking them, so I’m so excited of trying out some recipes I’ve never tried before!

~My works~