Hey there!

Just like that, the first quarter of 2021 is over. Time goes by so fast sometimes – like when you’re in the middle of a global pandemic. Too morbid? Sorry.

If you’ve been following me on social media, you would know that one of my goals for this year was to read at least 55 books. I read 56 books last year and this year, too, I’m hoping to at least get close to that number.

With 13 books completed in 3 months, I’m exactly on track!

In this post, I’ll talk about the books that I’ve read till now and give a mini-review as well. Keep reading to find out more!

p.s. if I see even 1 (one) comment on how many Goosebumps books I read, I WILL combust. Thank you.

This series is a guilty pleasure of mine. It’s very light-hearted and playful, and the perfect read for when you need a little break from things. It’s hilarious, engaging, and so very adorable. You can not get enough of this.

2. Darknight (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill #2) – Christine Pope | 3/5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book. The first half of the book felt like filler – like nothing was happening, and I’ll be honest, it did get quite boring. But it picked up the pace near the ending, and I was really amazed at the last part. The book is well-written towards the ending, but the first half? Not so much.

3. Revenge of the Invisible Boy (Goosebumps SlappyWorld #9) – R.L. Stine | 3/5 stars

Frankie Miller is a psychopath. That’s all I have to say.

4. The Gap and The Gain – Dan Sullivan | 4/5 stars

This book is short and is designed to be read within an hour. The concept of the Gap and the Gain is very interesting and innovative – the switch of perspective is a simple thing, but I don’t think people usually make that connection and actively change their perspective, that’s why this book is so important. At times, it felt as if the author is repeating the same thing over and over, but then again, maybe that is required to drive the point home. I really loved this book, and I think everyone needs to read this.

5. 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less) – Thomas Frank | 4/5 stars

This book was a Godsend. I’ve spent 90% of this school year trying – and failing – to get good grades and the problem was I couldn’t figure out where I was going wrong.
But with the help of this book, I was able to do that.

I swear to God, Thomas Frank is a lifesaver.

6. Monster Blood II (Goosebumps #18) – R.L. Stine | 3.5/5 stars

The only thing I have to say about this book is that Andy is so frigging annoying. I get that they’re all middle-schoolers and that’s how they act, but it’s still annoying. That’s all.
Good book, overall.

7. The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need – Joanna Martine Woolfolk | 5/5 stars

This book is the perfect place to start if you’re looking into learning astrology. Everything is written in such a simple language that even a person who knows nothing about astrology would be able to understand everything, and it also covers pretty much everything you’d need to know as a beginner. Really helpful book.

8. Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods – Rick Riordan | 5/5 stars

Re-reading this after so many years, I’m slowly being reminded of why I used to love Rick Riordan’s writing so much. It’s so witty and humorous, I love it! Have I mentioned that I love Percy Jackson? Because I freaking love Percy Jackson.

9. Published.: The Proven Path From Blank Page to Published Author – Chandler Bolt | 4/5 stars

This book is really helpful to anyone that’s even remotely interested in publishing a book. It covers almost every area – from the planning of the plot, to the post-publishing. It’s full of helpful insights and anecdotes, and it can be very helpful to beginners in the writing and self-publishing field. No matter how experienced you are, I believe you’d still find something useful in this book.

10. Full Moon Fever (Goosebumps 2000 #22) – R.L. Stine | 4/5 stars

I must say that this book really lived up to the promise of “2000 times the scare” that this series promises. The story is from the POV of Robbie, who’s turned into a beast – and all the gruesomely detailed thoughts he has about eating animals, ripping apart human limbs, etc. was indeed creepy. The plot itself wasn’t the best I’ve read, but the creepiness made up for it.

11. Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative – Austin Kleon | 5/5 stars

This book was really so insightful and full of some really great advice. Navigating life as a “creative” can be hard sometimes, but this book covers pretty much everything. I really adore this book and I’d definitely recommend every creative person to give this a read.

12. Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered – Austin Kleon | 5/5 stars

After reading Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon, I had very high expectation from this book. It exceeded all of them. Kleon is really out here giving such amazing advice, and simultaneously also giving you the push you need to get started. Go ahead and read this book, you won’t regret it.

13. The Haunted Mask II (Goosebumps #36) | 3.5/5 stars

One thing about R.L. Stine is that you can always count on him to leave you with a good cliffhanger – and that’s also part of what makes the Goosebumps series so interesting. I really enjoyed this book.

That’s pretty much it, for now! Let me know what books you’ve read so far

All the love,

Asteria☽

The post First Quarter Book Update first appeared on Asteria Hecate.