Our Favourite Characters #HarryPotterBookNight

Today is a very magical day - it's Harry Potter Book Night! Before I go and start my reread of The Chamber of Secrets, we thought we'd share our top three favourite characters from the series each. And yes, we did...maybe...argue about this a little.

This was the easiest thing in the world for me. I didn't even have to think about my top three in the series.

1. Sirius Black (Art by viria13)

My ultimate bae, the love of my life, my first ever book boyfriend etc. etc. I've loved Sirius since the age of eight when the third movie came out - I saw it five times in cinemas because I loved him that much. I love how sassy he can be but also the depth he has because of his family history. I'm obsessed with him, and there is no character in the world who will ever reach his level.

2. Regulus Black (artist unknown)

Yes, I'm obsessed with the Black family. Regulus is just gah. Honestly, can you say that you don't admire him for what he did? I personally think he has a much more interesting redemption story than Snape (my second least favourite character, only rivaled by my hatred for Pettigrew but more on that later). I spend far too much time on his tumblr tagging, just sobbing quietly and rocking back and forth.

3. Remus Lupin (Art by anxiouspineapples)

Yes, I realise the series is about Harry's generation and not his parents but dnjfdkf REMUS FREAKIN' LUPIN. I loved Remus from the third movie (guess which one was my favourite, go on...guess!) and I just can't let him go. While Sirius and Regulus are more like 'I love you because you're beautiful. Please be mine.' I think I'm more like Remus, well I don't think - I know. I'm more of the quiet, bookish type and I'm not a werewolf (I know I had you all fooled!) but I do have a serious illness. I just get him.

OH! James Potter is a very close fourth for me. This is the thing Chami and I argue about. I love him with my whole heart and she thinks he's a 'big ass douche'. It's very hard to be friends with her sometimes.

Top Five Books To Read In The Holidays

Today, we are teaming up with Bookworld to bring you a post on our top five favourite books to read in the lead up to the holidays. If you don’t already own these books (or maybe you’re just looking for an early Christmas present for yourself), you should head over to Bookworld so you can spoil yourself! Without further ado, let’s get onto the post.

I’ve always found that the days leading up to the holidays are best spent reading some wacked up book with crazy world building and quirky characters. After all, you did just spend months with school or work and what better way is there to prepare yourself for holidays then letting your mind go crazy.

VAMPIRE ACADEMY by RICHELLE MEAD
So if you have read Vampire Academy or are one of the odd few who haven’t, then now is the time to read it again or for the first time! I really have no words for it and I haven’t really met someone who hasn’t enjoyed the whole series. One of the best things is that you don’t have to wait for all the Vampire Academy books to come out as they all have already been released. You can just constantly feed your obsession every second of the day until it is done. It is a good option to go with if you’re not ready to go into epic fantasy or hardcore dystopian. It has just the right level of realistic and fantastical elements in it that you won’t feel totally jolted going into the holidays! If you are put off by this book just because of “Vampire” in its title, then I will personally kill you. In this series, Vampires are a culture so please don’t discriminate before you read it. Give it at least two books until you seriously get into it!

MAXIMUM RIDE by JAMES PATTERSON
Ugh, I don’t know if I am going to regret talking about this damn series because Ely can vouch for me that this series seriously messes her and I up so badly. Picking Maximum Ride is my way of saying; pick something you’ve read before! Rereads are the best, especially when they are childhood reads that you loved. There are too many books to count in this series and sometimes it is not the best of times, but it will earn a place in your heart after having gone through such an extensive journey with it!

Just like Chami, I think series are the way to go during the holidays. There’s nothing quite like marathoning a series you’ve been looking forward to and falling completely in love with the story and the characters (hopefully). I’m also a big believer of re-reading during the holidays, especially re-reading series that I read as a child.

HARRY POTTER by J.K ROWLING
First and foremost, Harry Potter. I think this is probably pretty self-explanatory, but I’m going to explain my personal reasons anyway. For me, Harry Potter has always meant Christmas for me – I watched the first movie for the first time on Christmas Day when I was six years old. Even more than that though, it’s just one of those series that makes me incredibly happy (and also incredibly sad in parts) but it’s my go to series when I need something I know I’ll love.

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS by LEMONY SNICKET
A Series of Unfortunate Events is my other go to series. I’m sure those of you who’ve read it will probably understand where I’m coming for, though I admit it isn’t the happiest series in the world. I read these when I was a child as well, so it just brings back all these happy memories of my childhood and reminds me why I fell in love with reading, which is especially great when I’m going through a bit of a reading slump. If you’ve never picked these up, then you definitely should these holidays!

SHATTER ME by TAHEREH MAFI
Finally…Shatter Me.
Did you guys actually think we’d make it through a whole post without mentioning this series? (If you did then you clearly don’t know us at all). We both adore this series more than anything in the whole world. It’s such a great trilogy – the characters are amazing (Warner and Kenji are the best, of course), they’re easy to get through and the writing is absolutely beautiful. Together we’ve probably re-read this series about a hundred times – that’s how obsessed we are. What better way to spend your holidays then re-reading your very favourite series?

So those are our top five choices of series to read leading up to the holidays. Leave us a comment below telling us your favourite books to read during the holidays. If you’re interested in any of the books we’ve mentioned, make sure to check them out on Bookworld and take advantage of their free shipping Australia wide!

5 FANDOM FRIDAY #1

Hi guys, today I'm participating a new link-up thing! As you can see by the title of this post it's called '5 Fandom Fridays', and it's hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick. If you want to find out more about it, I'll link both of their introductory posts here and here. The topic today is 'Geeky Clothing Items I Need In My Closet Immediately', so let's go!

1. LITERALLY ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING CAPTAIN AMERICA
So I've developed this serious obsession for Captain America lately that totally has nothing to do with Chris Evans...nope, nothing at all. I actually already own a hoodie that I pretty much never take off, but I need more stuff...obviously!

2. Slytherin stuff
I have a few Slytherin things already, but not enough! I'm really not fussy what it is, just as long as it's Slytherin.

3. Sherlock stuff
In the same way, I'd like some more Sherlock stuff. I have to say, those shoes and the jacket are totally my favourites. I would LIVE in them.

4. Book Purse
So I know this is technically an accessory, but come on- just look at their beauty! Can any of you honestly say you wouldn't buy one of these? I'll just leave the Etsy link here...

5. Jamaica Inn jewellry
Yes, this is an accessory too. Basically, Jamaica Inn (by Daphne Du Maurier) is an amazing book and I love it very, very much and I would give my soul to own any of these. Again, here's the Etsy link.

So that's it- my first 5 Fandom Friday! I hope you all enjoyed it and if you participated, link your post below! Also, sorry that I don't have Etsy links for everything - I had most of them saved on my computer already :(

COLOUR SCHEMES #2

As it turns out, I really like making these colour scheme things and it seems like some of you do too. Today, I've got a couple more for you! I've decided this is going to be a weekly feature, so check back every Saturday for more colour schemes...

I will eventually get around to doing the whole series, and I'll do a separate post of just those when it comes to that.

I picked this one thinking it would be a nice bright, summery one but apparently not...

I've been reading this book for ages but I just don't have the desire to keep going. I was hoping that this might give me the boost I needed.

This is actually one of my favourites. The colour scheme fits so unbelievably well with the story- I just love it.

Mint green is one of my absolute favourite colours, so I had to do Fangirl, obviously.

So that's it for this week. Next week is going to be incredibly awesome as we have my lovely friend, Ebony of Daring Damsels joining us. See you all then!

DISCUSSION: My Favourite Female Characters

I think I should start this discussion post but saying that this is list isn't all of my favourite female characters, in fact if I was going to list all of them then we'd be here for an awfully long time. I decided to do this post today because I've been thinking about female characters in YA a lot lately- a lot of them get labelled as being 'strong' just because they're kickass. Strong for me means being not just physically strong but mentally strong too. Some of these characters are physically strong, others aren't but let's get started.

1. Violet Baudelaire from A Series of Unfortunate Events
I've talked about Violet many, many times here but I just really adore her. She's definitely not physically strong, but god is she smart! Violet invents things you see, throughout the series she comes up with these brilliant inventions that save her and her siblings. Violet was one of the first characters I ever seriously loved and I think she was a great role model- I know I always wanted to be just like Violet when I grew up. (Okay, so the inventing thing totally never happened)

2. Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series
Of course no list would be complete without Miss Granger. I admit that Hermione isn't my favourite character in the entire series, but I think she's still incredibly amazing. Like Violet, she's incredibly intelligent too but she also has her flaws. (Can you tell I read these two series at the same time?) Also, Emma Watson is just a glorious human being.

3. Liesel Meminger from The Book Thief
If Liesel were a real person, I would totally adopt her as a cute younger sister- I love her that much. I know she's only young in the book but she's so incredibly strong and wise, but she's also a troublemaker. The best thing is, of course, she's a reader!

4. June Iparis from the Legend trilogy
June is one of Chami's favourite characters, and while I'm not as obsessed with her- I still think that June is a wonderful character. Again, she's extremely smart but also extremely badass. I admit, if I was ever going to live in a dystopian world, I'd want June on my side.

5. Celaena Sardothien from the Throne of Glass series
If you know me at all, you probably know that Celaena is most definitely my favourite character right now. She takes badass to a whole new level, and while she isn't exactly the nicest person- she's just so interesting to read about and I can't help but love her.

So those were the five characters I wanted to talk about today. Like I said, this is a very abridged list but I thought I'd just start with these! I hope you enjoyed this post and I will see you tomorrow with another new post :)

Top Ten Books I Loved But Never Reviewed

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and you can find more about this meme here.This week is a freebie week, so I decided to talk about some books I really loved but never reviewed- I got this idea from a previous Top Ten Tuesday post, which you can find here.

1. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
I read this one in a matter of hours and sometimes I still have to pause for a moment and think about this book. I think that's why I never reviewed this book- I just couldn't put into words how I felt. I'm considering doing a full series review once the third book comes out (though I have yet to read the second).

2. Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier
This one is the most recent book I read on this list. I read this just about a week ago and seriously adored it. I had been planning to write a review, but then I watched the BBC miniseries and now I just sit around and constantly ask 'But why? Why did it have to end?'

3. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
Like The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, I read this one in a matter of hours, in fact I stayed up to the very early hours of the morning to read this. Again, I just couldn't find the right words to discuss my feelings of this book and again- I'll be doing a series review once I finish the next two books.

4. Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling
Of course, I read these long before my reviewing days. Obviously, I loved them and I don't think a day goes past where I don't think of something to do with HP. Hopefully, I'll be re-reading them over my winter break (summer for all you Northern Hemisphere people) and I'll be doing a little post on them then.

5. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
I didn't realise I hadn't written a review for this until I was talking to Kelly (Diva Booknerd) the other day about this book. To sum it up, I loved this and if you're interested in a review, I really suggest reading Kelly's because she put all of my thoughts into actual words. 

6. Fury trilogy by Elizabeth Miles
I think I featured one of the books in the trilogy on one of my Top Books of ? (I can't remember what year, I'm thinking maybe 2012) but yes, I really love this trilogy. It's a modern day retelling of the Fates, but it's incredibly twisted and quite dark (not my usual thing) and just amazing.

7. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Okay, so I know I talk about this one a lot- in fact, I think it's almost featured in every one of my Top Ten Tuesday posts. This is another I stayed up quite late to finish, and I also force pretty much everyone to read this- just ask Chami. I'm hoping to re-read it soon and write a review then.

8. Genesis by Lara Morgan
I read this one very early in my reviewing/blogging days, so I never actual wrote a review for this. It's been almost two years, so I don't remember a lot about this book but I remember loving it. Again, I'm hoping to re-read this so I can continue on with series and review it.

9. Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld
Again, this was a series I read quite a while ago. I seriously loved this series- the plot and characters are amazing, and the illustrations are just mind-blowing. Maybe one day I'll give this series a re-read and write some actual reviews.

10. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
This is another I featured in my Top Books of 2012, but never actually reviewed. This one was a pretty quick read for me and I definitely cried. Again, the illustrations are really lovely in this book. This is also the book that ignited my love for Patrick Ness.

So that was my Top Ten for this week. I hope to see you all next week!

Top Ten "Gateway" Books/Authors In My Reading Journey

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and you can find more about this meme here.This week's list is the top ten "gateway" books/authors in my reading journey.

1. Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling

I think this is sort of a given for lists like this for most people. My love for this series started when I was only five years old, when the first movie came out. I wasn't allowed to watch it or read the books  until I was a little older. My older brother was never a big reader, but my mum used to read Harry Potter to him every night and I used to stand in the doorway of my bedroom and listen to her read it. I can remember the day the books were handed down to me, after my brother lost interest in them (at the fifth book). I can remember making space for them in my shelves and carrying them into my room, then devouring the ones the brother had refused to let me read.

2. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

This was probably the first series I ever read, even before Harry Potter. I don't remember exactly how I came to read this books, but I remember reading the first four books in a matter of days and then having to wait until the fifth book came out. Every time a new book was released, I would force my mum to drive me down to the bookshop so I could pick the next book up and read it within the night. I definitely consider this to be the series that really got me into reading and I think I'll love them forever.

3. Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead

After the end of the Series of Unfortunate Events in 2006 and Harry Potter in 2007, I sort of lost interest in reading. I picked up a few books here and there, but I just couldn't find one that I loved as much as those two. Then in 2008, my friends and I discovered Vampire Academy. We'd been through the Twilight stage, which lasted approximately a year for us, but now we'd moved on. I wasn't really that interested in Vampire Academy for the first few months in which my friends read it, but then on one weekend while my family and I were up in the mountains (no internet, no phone reception...13 year old Ely hated it) I picked up the first book. I read all first three books in that weekend and my obsession only grew from there.

4. The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

By the end of the Vampire Academy series, I was back in a reading rut. A collection of horrible school books did not help the situation at all. I read a few books but again nothing too my fancy. Then I discovered Goodreads in 2012, and my life was forever changed. One of the first books I discovered on there was City of Bones which I promptly went out and bought a box set of the first three books for. It was summer break and I was off on this week long camp (possibly the worst week ever), but rather than you know...socialise, I sat in a stinking hot tent and read these three books. Then I came home and ordered the fourth one as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, my love for this series has slightly diminished over the years (mainly because of the unnecessary sequels).

5. Agatha Christie

Around April 2012, I discovered my love for Agatha Christie when I picked up my first mystery novel ever- And Then There Were None. If you know me at all, you'll know that I now considered Agatha Christie one of my favourite authors and mystery as one of my favourite genres. It was literally all because of this little four dollar book I bought from one recommendation. I honestly don't know where I'd be without Agatha now!

6. The Gatekeeper's Saga by Eva Pohler

This is another author/series who has absolutely dominated our blog. Eva was the first (and one of the very few) authors who has ever been kind enough to send us their books, all the way to Australia. Even more than that, she's honestly the sweetest person! But that's not what this is about, I included The Gatekeeper's Saga on this list because it is the series that got me into mythology. That's right, the only reason I ever read Percy Jackson was because I read this first and I needed some more mythology in my life. You can actually get the first book free, so you should definitely check it out!

7. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

I'm one of those people who loves books about World War Two and the Holocaust way more than I really should. This book right here is the sole reason for that. I knew hardly anything about Anne Frank before I read this, but by the end I was sobbing so badly because of her. I can't really describe how much this book broke my heart (we're talking like TFiOS level here, guys) but I loved it. Interestingly, my review for this was the first review I ever posted here!

8. Sarah Dessen

As a child, I was never really into romance/contemporary books- I read a lot of Sleepover Club and Saddle Club books but they aren't romance-y. This Lullaby was my first 'romance' book as well as my first Sarah Dessen book. I loved it, and so I read two other books by her that same month. I believe Just Listen is my favourite so far. But it was because of these books that I read John Green, Maureen Johnson, Stephanie Perkins and many others!

9. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I'll be the first to admit that I absolutely hated Gatsby when I read it for the first time back in 2012. In fact, for a while there I would have said it was my least favourite book ever. You see, it was the first classic I ever read. I know a lot of people got to read classics in school like To Kill a Mockingbird and Pride and Prejudice (like Chami) but my school never did this. Looking back at it now, it wasn't a good choice for my first classic because I just didn't understand the amazingness of it, but now I've had some more experience and I'm actually re-reading it for the first time this month. I know I'm going to love it this time...thanks to the movie adaptation.

10. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

This is another all-time favourite of mine. I actually read this one for school in 2012 (but quite a few months after Gatsby) and I adored it. I love dystopia, though at this time the only experience I had with them was Divergent and Animal Farm/1984 (these two we also studied in class as a comparison between them and BNW). I don't know why I fell in love with this book so quickly, but I loved the world and Huxley's writing. I think this is definitely the book that got me into dystopian literature.

If you participate in this weeks list, feel free to leave your link in the comments and I'll go check it out! And if you didn't, then what are some your 'gateway' books and authors?

BOOK DISCUSSION: Books that you can re-read

Welcome to the second installment of a little thing we like to call 'Book Discussion' here on A Book So Fathomless. The deal with this is every month Chami and I will create post discussing a certain topic that has to do with books in some way, we'll tell you what we think and then you have a chance to tell us your opinions either in the comment section or in a post on your own blog (please send us a link if you do this!). This month's topic is 'books you can re-read'.

The following list aren't all books that I have re-read at this point in time, but ones I feel I could re-read if I got the chance or ones that I do plan to re-read in the upcoming months.

The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling:
This is definitely the series I have re-read the most amount of times. I started reading them when I was about seven (the first movie came out when I was five, but my mum didn't think I was old enough to read the books or see the movie at that time. Little did she know that my older brother used to trick my grandparents into letting me see the movie whenever we were at theirs). Anyway, I've read this series about fifteen or so times since.
The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead:
I haven't read this one as many times as Harry Potter, in fact I've only read it about once or twice again (certain chapters and scenes have been read more than others) but I am actually planning to read through the entire series in the upcoming months in preparation for when the movie actually comes out.
The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare:
This is another book that I've only sort of skim re-read, though like VA I am planning to re-read at least the first book before the movie is released this year and then possibly go onto read the rest of the series before the last book is released.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green:
I've read this book twice since I read it about this time last year and both times I've ended up as a wreck for days afterwards, but there's something about this book that makes me just want to constantly re-read it for the intense beauty of it and of course, for Augustus Waters.
Atonement by Ian McEwan:
This is a bit of a strange book I suppose, especially considering it's the book I'm currently studying in my Literature class but I read this book in January this year in its entirety on a three hour plane flight and I just adored it more than anything. I'm currently in the process of re-reading it again for class and then I plan to re-read again just before exams. If I'm totally honest with myself I'll probably read it again even after we've finished studying it, it's honestly that good.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley:
This is another slightly strange book and another one I studied in Literature (last year). Going into this book, I wasn't sure whether I'd actually enjoy it, after all I'd heard nothing about it and we'd just come off the back of a little George Orwell reading spree (I wasn't a fan of 1984), but two chapters in I knew this book would be amazing. I haven't had the chance to re-read it yet, and sadly I don't own a hard copy of it (yet) but once that is fixed I definitely plan to read this!

So those were my favourite books to re-read, now it's Chami's turn to tell you about hers!

Alright ALRIGHTY! Let us get straight into this business.

Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi
This has been a book that I have endlessly talked about on this blog and read multiple times and Ely sure hell knows it. I haven't counted how many times i've read it, but I read it as a weekly occurrence. It is a habit of life. It is just...unbeliably everything I've ever wanted in a book and it hooks me in and takes me down under.