Tuesday 31 January 2017

January Wrap Up

Already at the end of January, say what? I had a great month! I basically did nothing. Just lay around the house, read a lot and watched a lot of tv shows. Oh yeah, and I went to Rome for a week, but other than that I was just plain lazy and it was awesome! I love study breaks!

I got to go on a week's vacation with my lovely friend Livia and we visited Rome. It was my first time travelling to Italy for a holiday and I really enjoyed it! The worst thing that happened to us there, was having to decide if we'd eat Pizza or Pasta every single night. Safe to say, I added a few grams to my weight there :P

I think we went to every single tourist attraction you could visit and I fell in love with roman history! What an amazing feeling to actually stand in the colosseum and think about how long that edifice has been standing there.

  

BOOKS READ


   

1. Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff 4.5
2. This Raging Light by Estelle Laure 4.5
3. Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins
4. The House of Hades by Rick Riordan 4.5

COMICS READ


    
1. Ms Marvel Vol 1 3.5
2. DC Essential Graphic Novels 2017
3. Mer
4. Hidden Universe Travel Guides: The Complete Marvel Cosmos 3.5
5. The Adventures of Technicality Man

   
6. Green Lanterns Vol 1
7. Batman Detective Comics Vol 1 4.5
8. Scooby Apocalypse Vol 1 3.5
9. Nightwing Vol 1

2017 READING CHALLENGES UPDATE


Read 3 Science Fiction books set in space
Progress 1/3 (33 %)

Read 5 Books from my TBR Pile
Progress: 1/5 (20 %)

Read 10 new Comics (TPB)
Progress: 5/10 (50 %)

Flights of Fantasy
Progress: 2/10 (20%)

Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge
Progress: 4/26 (16%)

Blog Recap


In case you missed it here's a recap of this month's posts and Reviews.

Kicking Off 2017

❥ My first book review in the New Year of Gemina

❥ My New Year Edition for Stacking the Shelves

❥ My review of DC Essential Graphic Novels 2017

❥ My book review of This Raging Light

The NetGalley Edition for Stacking the Shelves

❥ My Graphic Novel Review of Mer

❥ Swissbookworm's First Blogaversary

The Second NetGalley Edition for Stacking the Shelves

❥ My book review of Hidden Universe Travel Guides

My Top Ten Comics for Top Ten Tuesday

INSTAGRAMMING


   
   

CURRENTLY WATCHING


   

I'm currently obsessed with these four series at the most. I was so excited for Riverdale to start because I loved the comics as a child and the season premiere was so good! Shadowhunters season two finally began and Teen Wolf returned too. Can't believe i's already the last season! How am I supposed to coope without Styles in my life? Oh yeah, and I finally started with season one of Supernatural! I've never seen the series in the right order, just episodes here and there. So now I'm finally filling the blanks.

I'd like to know

What were you up to in January? Did you read a lot? Did you have a great start into the new? What TV series or comics are you currently obsessing over? I'd love to talk more about that with you in the comments section! :)

Top Ten Tuesday #5: 10 Comics On My TBR


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.   

Today's topic is Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Comics / Graphic Novels on my TBR. Of course I've got tons, but I decided on showing you these 10 titles on my list. By the way, I'm so glad to finally participate again in TTT. It's been such a long time!

TODAY'S TOP TEN PICKS


    

10. Grayson by Tom King
9. Smallville Season 11 Vol. 1 by Bryan Q. Miller
8. Suicide Squad Rebirth Vol. 1 by Rob Williams
7. The Death of Captain America by Ed Brubaker
6. Superman Unchained by Scott Snyder

    

5. Batgirl Birds of Prey by Julie Benson
4. Batman Rebirth Vol. 1 by Scott Snyder
3. Captain Marvel Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick
2. Superman Action Comics (Rebirth) Vol. 1 by Dan Jurgens
1. The Flash New 52 by Robert Venditti / Various

Some of these are already in my shelves and longing for me to finally read them. Others I still have to hunt down when my bank account finally allows it :P


I'd like to know

What are your Top Ten Choices today? Do we have any similar comics on our list? I would love to check out your post, so feel free to leave the link in the comments. Have a great Tuesday! :)

Monday 30 January 2017

Book Review: Hidden Universe Travel Guides


About the book

Title: Hidden Universe Travel Guides: The Complete Marvel Cosmos
Special: With Notes by the Guardians of the Galaxy
Author: Marc Sumerak
Genres: Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Marvel
Published: October 25th, 2016
Read: January 2017

My Copy

Publisher: Insight Editions
Edition: Kindle
Purchase Location: NetGalley
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review


My Rating:


Goodreads Summary

The ultimate guidebook to Earth, the Nine Realms, and other dimensions from Marvel Comics, as told by Peter Quill, Rocket, Groot, and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Ever since Super Heroes like Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy started stomping around planet Earth, we’ve had to open our horizons a little and embrace the wider reaches of space. If you’re thinking of journeying to one of the many new realms for a little R’n’R, then don’t leave home without Hidden Universe’s guide to the cosmos. Whether you’re looking to enjoy the divine splendor of Asgard or soak up the multicultural atmosphere of intergalactic waypoint Knowhere, this is the book for you. It even provides some tips on surviving excursions to Planet Moord and Chitauri Prime, if you like your vacations to be on the extreme side.


My Review



Looking back at my reading updates on Goodreads, I would say it’s clear that I enjoyed this book. Thanks to a glitch in my app it seems like I’m overexcited on page 41. What better way to express your feelings, right?

But I actually really did enjoy reading this book. I like to read travel guides in my freetime anyway, and what better travel guide than one explaining the entire Galaxy? (At least how it exists in the Marvel world…) With really great artwork and a brilliant layout you can easily spot what you want to read, and get all the tips you need if you ever plan to visit Planet Moord, Halfworld, Ego or Knowhere (most of which I’d actually advise you not to visit…).

The description of the different planets and worlds didn’t bore me at all, but after a while I had to concentrate on not slipping away with my thoughts. Thankfully, there were the (comical) comments by the Guardians of the Galaxy team to lighten up the mood.

This can be a fun read which you definitely don’t have to read in one sitting and can leave and pick up again anytime you want. If you’re interested in the Marvel Cosmos, I recommend you to have a look at this fun travel guide. It might even help you explain some of the different power sources of our beloved superheroes and villains.

Spoiler Alert! Proceed with caution.


At one point in the book I spent five minutes singing “Dormammu, I’ve come to bargain”. If you read The Complete Marvel Cosmos and have seen Dr. Strange then you will probably too. (If you haven’t seen the movie then I demand you drop everything you’re doing right now and watch it!)


This is me staring at you until you watch the movie!

At another point Rocket used a rather colourful vocabulary to question the author’s thoughts behind putting a place like Cancerverse in a travel guide (my thoughts exactly when I read about that place. I definitely would NOT recommend you going there for a vacation..).

I was thrilled at the appearance and mentions of some superheroes that I knew, like Captain Marvel, the X-Men and Spiderman (described as one of Earth’s legendary superheroes!). And I really enjoyed reading more about the Kree’s background and their planet.

I'd like to know

First of all: Have you seen Dr. Strange?? ;) Second, what are your thoughts on this intergallactiv travel guide? Will you pick it up? Are you a Marvel fan, like me? And who is your favourite superhero by Marvel? (I know, stupid question because I can't even answer it myself.. Probably right at the top would be Spiderman and Captain America (Steve), but there are SO MANY I adore!


Saturday 28 January 2017

Stacking the Shelves #8: The Second NetGalley Edition


"Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual." It's a weekly feature hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I haven't been on NetGalley very long, but I've definitely requested enough material for this month. (But still, I can't stop myself :0) This week I got some of my favourite Comics on my TBR list and I still can't believe I got approved! THANK YOU DC ENTERTAINMENT!! So without further ado, let's see what I got.

The Goodies


   

1. Batman: Detective Comics Comics, Volume 1 by James Tynion IV (So excited to be reading about Batman in this new take!)
2. Green Lanterns, Volume 1: Rage Planet by Sam Humphries (read and really enjoyed it! My first time reading about Green Lanterns)
3. Nightwing, Volume 1: Better Than Batman by Tim Seeley (already read this in single issues, can't wait to re-read it, one of my favourite characters)
4. Scooby Apocalypse, Volume 1 by Keith Giffen (I LOVE Scooby-Doo, can't wait to read this)


5. Millie Vanilla's Cupcake Cafe by Georgia Hill (I get hungry only thinking about this book and it's the only non-Comic in this batch - Thank you HarperCollins UK! Can't wait to read this)

I'd like to know

What are your feelings toward NetGalley? How do you request books? Are you a rather modest requester or do you request whatever you like to read? If you want to share some of your tactics with me in the comments I'd love to discuss them with you! I'd also love to hear what you added this week to your shelves! :)

Tuesday 24 January 2017

Blogaversary! Swissbookworm Turns 1

One year ago today, I created this blog with an outburst of excitement. I can’t believe that already twelve months have passed! So much has happened and I’ve met so many wonderful people in the book blogging community.



I don’t know what better way to spend this day than lying in my bed, eating, reading and surfing on other people’s book blogs! That’s exactly what I’m doing (because I’m on study break I can literally do that without feeling bad about it).

In the past year I was able to read so many books and share my reviews here on my personal blog. I’ve joined a few readathons and other bookish events and I can’t tell you guys how grateful I am for this. Although my recent hiatus just came to an end, I’ve got big plans on posts and reviews for this blog and can’t wait to publish them all.

Thank you all for being here! I’m grateful for every single follower, commenter and friend I’ve got in this community!