TOP 5 WEDNESDAY | CHARACTERS YOU'D WANT AS FAMILY

Back again with the Top 5 Wednesday posts, and this time it's character's you'd want as family, as the title of this post says.

1. The Weasley Family (Harry Potter)
It's an obvious one, but who wouldn't want to be a part of the Weasley family? If you don't want to be a part of this family and live in the Burrow, you're lying.

2. Blue Sargent (The Raven Boys)
I'd like to be a part of her mad house full of psychics and socialise with the Raven Boys.

3. Mia Thermopolis (The Princess Diaries)
I really want to be a princess.

4. The Night Court (A Court of Mist and Fury)
Actual friendship and family goals, I love how much they love each other.

5. The Fossil Sisters (Ballet Shoes)
My childhood dream family, I want to be a dancer and live their lives and be in their house with all their lodgers.

Rosie

Shoutout to the various Poldark families who almost made it into this list

JULY AND AUGUST READING WRAP UP 2016

In about mid-July, I wrote a mini post saying that my July reading wrap up was going to be a bit late as I was away at the end of the month. After looking at my Goodreads, I realised that I'd only actually completed 2 books in July, which didn't seem enough to make a whole wrap up about. So, in short, that's why my July and August wrap ups are combined this time, with a (not so) grand total of 8 books over the two months. I'm also currently reading 'Sense and Sensibility', but Jane Austen books take me so long to read that it's putting me in a bit of a reading slump.

Books Read:

1. 'Magnus Chace and the Sword of Summer'- Rick Riordan
Reading Magnus Chase was interesting for me, as I am completely lost when it comes to Norse mythology (apart from Thor, Loki and Odin because of the Thor films). When reading Percy Jackson, I was already familiar with the basics, Gods and some stories in Greek mythology, but here I had no clue what was going on and spent quite a lot of time fairly confused. This book was nothing like I thought it was going to be, there was much less emphasis on Godly parents than there usually is in Rick Riordan's writing, and I expected it to be more similar to his other books that it turned out to be. I thought it was a good book and I'll be continuing on with the series, but it was no where near as strong as the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series, and at times I found it much too slow for my liking.

2. 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'- Stieg Larsson
I've mentioned before how my parents wouldn't let me read this book until I was over 18, and now I can see why. This book is not for the faint hearted and it is DEFINITELY not for people aged under 18. This is quite a horrible book at times, but it makes up for it with just how clever it is and how it keeps you gripped from the start. I didn't realise that this was a mystery as well as a crime thriller and I really enjoyed that aspect of it, I love mysteries that keep you guessing constantly. It's such a genius book, but be warned that it does get quite graphic and violent. I'm told this is the most horrible book of the trilogy, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes next.

3. 'A Court of Mist and Fury'- Sarah J. Maas
Again, this is not a book for the under 18s. I really enjoyed this book, but judging from everyone's reactions on social media, I expected to love it a lot more than I did; I don't think it helped that I read this really slowly while on holiday and I was in a bit of a reading slump at the time. But then the ending happened and ohmygosh I need the next book urgently, the fact that we have to wait another year will kill me. What I really appreciated about this book was that so many books ignore the traumatic events of the book before once it's over, but Sarah J. Maas actually addressed it and addressed the impact it had on Feyre and the other characters. It made the story seem so much more realistic and honest. I liked Feyre's character development, I absolutely hated Tamlin's character development, and I really enjoyed seeing more of Rhys and the Night Court- I've been excited to see more of Rhys since the first book. A really great continuation, this trilogy keeps getting better and better.

4. 'Since You've Been Gone'- Morgan Matson (audio book)
This is the one Morgan Matson book that I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy and wasn't actually sure if I'd ever read, but I get really in the mood for contemporaries in the summer and this seemed like the perfect summer read, so I downloaded it as a audio book. I was kind of surprised but I ended up really enjoying it, I liked (nearly) all the characters, I liked the list and I liked watching Emily's character development. I also really liked the fact that I could related to Emily quite a lot. One thing I want to add though is that I really hated Sloane, I hated every scene with her in, and I found her was so annoying and manipulative. It wasn't my favourite Morgan Matson book, but it definitely wasn't my least favourite.

5. 'The Unexpected Everything'- Morgan Matson
This is by far my most favourite Morgan Matson book, I absolutely loved it and I want to read more about this story and these characters. I found it really refreshing, I'm so tired of romance only happening at the end of books and not getting to see any of it, and it was nice to have romance all the way through this one. One thing I'd liked to add is that I love all the subtle links between all of Morgan Matson's books. I loved this book so much, highly, highly recommend.

6. 'The Fey Man'- James T. Kelly
This book was the absolute definition of a cover buy (the cover also reminded me of Shrek haha). I got this super cheap on Kindle over a year ago and it had really been weighing on my mind that I needed to read it. I started this book before my holiday, but didn't finish it before I left, I then took a three week break from reading it and forgot everything I'd read. But I finished it off after 'The Unexpected Everything', which was a pleasingly relevant thing to read before (you'll know what I mean if you've read 'The Unexpected Everything', no spoilers). I'm glad I finally read it, but I'm not bothered enough to continue with the series, neither the story nor the characters did anything for me, and overall it was only okay.

7. 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'- J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany
I wasn't sure about either the Cursed Child or Fantastic Beasts, to me it honestly seemed like a bit of a money grab (especially the play being in an unnecessary two parts), I don't think either of them were needed and I think the Harry Potter story was finished and over (this is why I've also never bothered to read the little add extra bits about the Harry Potter world and wizarding all over the world that are released). Unlike a lot of people, I wasn't excited about either the Cursed Child or Fantastic Beasts when they were first announced, but it's Harry Potter so I can't not read them. Also unlike a lot of people, the fact that this was a play and not a novel didn't bother me so much; I've been comparing it to Shakespeare in the way that Shakespeare is very 'tell' rather than 'see', but the Cursed Child is very visual, and I think it would be more enjoyable if seen rather than read, especially if you consider that dialogue in plays is very stiff and stunted, but it always works well when you watch rather than read it. I appreciate that it wasn't actually written by J.K. Rowling, but I really hated the characterisation of Harry, Ron and McGonagall, I don't think any of them would act the way they do in the book, and I wasn't a big fan of Rose either. (Scorpius would not have been in Slytherin, big plot hole, doesn't work with his character). I did quite enjoy it, but only if I completely disassociated it with Harry Potter and thought of it as something else. I completely agree with everyone who says it's more like fan faction, and it's definitely easier to enjoy if you pretend it is.

8. 'Much Ado About Nothing'- William Shakespeare
I saw a production of this play a few weeks ago, and I always like to read Shakespeare plays after I've watched them, as it helps me to get a better understanding of the story. 'Much Ado About Nothing' is a lot of fun, a typical nonsense Shakespeare romantic comedy, but it has a great cast of characters and I'd say it's one of my favourite Shakespeare plays that isn't a history.

Rosie 

TOP 5 WEDNESDAY | BOOKS I WILL NEVER READ

Firstly, just remember that everyone is entitled to their opinion here, ta. I really like hearing about books that people really didn't enjoy or that they'll never read, I secretly do quite enjoy a bit of book bashing (unless someones opinion is different from my own, then I'm just like everyone else and get really defensive over my favourite books). I made a post a bit like this at the end of last year titled 'five series I have no interest in' where I said that I had no interest in ever reading the Lunar Chronicles and then I read it and loved it, so these opinions may change over time, and I'm going to try and not have any repeats from that list here. I'm going to enjoy this one. (I'm also going to cheat a bit here and include authors I will never read, because I cheat at every book-blog-post-related task). I'm very annoyed, I'd written this whole post in advance and then half of it disappeared, ugh. 

1. 'Four'- Veronica Roth
I've never spoken about my feelings for the 'Divergent' series on my blog before, but I'll go into a little bit of detail now. I loved the first two books, they were fantastic, I was so excited for Allegiant that I pre-ordered it in hardback. And then it happened. Allegiant was one of the worst things I've ever read, not only did I just not enjoy the story, it was really poorly written. Tris and Four's chapters sounded so similar that 90% of the time I couldn't remember who's point of view I was reading from. I hated Allegiant so much that it's put me off the entire Divergent trilogy and I still haven't (and probably won't) watch the films- not to mention that I also hate three of the main actors. I will never read 'Four'. This may be the only one on the list that I know 100% I will never, ever read. I'm willing to give Veronica Roth another chance, as part of me still remembers how much I enjoyed the first two books, but I'm reluctant.

2. Anything by Khaled Hosseini
'The Kite Runner' is my most hated book of all time and I refuse to read anything else by Khaled Hosseini, regardless of how many people tell me how amazing these other books may be. Never.

3. Anything by Colleen Hoover
Absolutely none of her books appeal to me, simple as. It also annoys me that all of her characters have weird names, not every character needs to be named something original and quirky.

4. 'Girl Online'- Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella)
I used to really like Zoella, I read her blog, I watched all her videos and, like everyone else, I just really wanted her life. That was until 2014, when 'Girl Online' came out. Once it was revealed that the book was actually ghostwritten, I went completely off Zoella, so much so that even now I greatly dislike her. I have no problem with ghostwriting in the way that some celebrities do it, which is putting their name on the front but openly acknowledging in the book that it was written by someone else, but what really annoyed me with Zoella was that she claimed that she'd written the book herself, giving no acknowledgement to who actually wrote it, and would've continued to have claimed it as her own if Penguin hadn't revealed that it actually had been ghostwritten. After the backlash from that, I do believe that Zoella has written the other books in the series herself, but it now feels like she's milking the story and I've heard that the books are not very well written. This whole thing has put me completely off Zoella as a person and I will never read anything she writes.

5. 'Half Bad'- Sally Green
I couldn't really think of a last book for this list that wasn't a repetition from other, similar lists that I've made, and then I rediscovered this one. I have absolutely no interest in paranormal books, especially ones about witches, and I am confident that I will never, ever read this book.

Rosie

TOP TEN TUESDAY, BOOK DEBATE #6 - DESERVING OF THE HYPE

This title is a mouthful and a half, but I'm combining my 'top ten tuesday' and 'book debate' series to bring you my top ten overhyped books/series/authors that I believe deserve all the hype they get. (I'm excluding Harry Potter from this list because that one is a given). There are certain books and book series that everyone seems to have read and nearly everyone seems to have enjoyed. Recently, I have found myself not enjoying some of the books that people seem to love the most. The following list are some of the most overhyped books that I've read and agreed with the general consensus on; these are the overhyped books that I really enjoyed and I think are worthy of the vast amounts of praise they get.

1. 'The Book Thief'- Markus Zusak
Like everyone else, this is one of my favourite books. It was so clever and well written and I cried so hard during it. I do love a book that makes me cry.

2. 'The Hunger Games'- Suzanne Collins
I didn't read this when the film first came out and everyone else was reading it, because I was snobby and didn't want to be like the crowd. I am so original, I know. I then watched the film, fell in love with it, watched it three times in a row, and binge read the whole trilogy super quickly. Such a fantastic, classic dystopian trilogy.

3. The Raven Cycle- Maggie Stiefvater
Everyone loves this series, I love this series, and it's so, so, so deserving of all the praise it gets; one of my absolutely favourites and I am a tiny bit obsessed.

4. The Lunar Chronicles- Marissa Meyer
I had little interest in this series, and I hypocritically said I was never going to read it. I picked it up when 'Winter', the final book came out, purely because of how obsessed everyone was with it, and I was just suddenly really tempted to try it out. Ended up loving it, definitely worth all the praise.

5. 'Anna and the French Kiss'- Stephanie Perkins
Everyone loves Stephanie Perkis' 'Anna and the French Kiss' companion trilogy, and for good reason. The stories are so much fun, the characters are great and the romance is to die for. I was hesitant to read these books at first, as I wasn't sure I'd enjoy the plot, but I ended up absolutely loving them (especially 'Anna and the French Kiss') and now I kind of want to go to boarding school in Paris.

6. Morgan Matson
Morgan Matson is a well-loved, contemporary author and I've really enjoyed every single one of her books. They're the definition of a perfect summer read, and she deserves all the praise and hype she gets.

7. Sarah J. Maas
As with Morgan Matson, Sarah J. Maas is an incredibly popular author, and I've absolutely loved every single one of her books. She's such a strong writer and storyteller and her books leave you dying for the next one. I know she can only get better.

8. 'A Darker Shade a Magic'- V.E. Schwab
I started this when it first came out, but I found it a really slow read and I gave up at about 100 pages through. Fast forward a year to when the second book was coming out and, like with the Lunar Chronicles, everyone was obsessed and, again, I was suddenly tempted to give it another go. At the time, it was really cheap on Kindle, so I downloaded it and read it super quickly and fell in love. So deserving of the hype, I'm so excited for the next book.

9. Rick Riordan
Rick Riordan is a genius. He deserves all the praise he gets, not just for his great stories and fantastic characters, but also for the fact that his work is so accurate to the mythology and he's just so damn clever in the way he can seamlessly link it all into modern culture.

10. 'Fangirl'- Rainbow Rowell
'Fangirl' is the most popular book of a well-loved author for good reason. It's so relatable to so many people and it doesn't shy away from the honest fact that university can be really hard, and isn't all perfect and easy and fun. Very often, it's the books with the most relatable characters that are the most popular.

Rosie

TOP 5 WEDNESDAY | BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR

I've shortened the name of this one slightly in the title of this post, but the full topic is the 'top 5 books I want to read by the end of this year'. I wrote a post in January called '16 things I want to read in 2016' so I'm taking some inspiration from there of some of the books on that list I have yet to read. I am determined to completed that list.

1. 'Poldark'- Winston Graham
I read the first book in this series, 'Poldark', over a year ago and I really enjoyed it, but never got round to reading the rest of the (super long) series. Since the TV show (which I am obsessed with) is coming back in September, I need to get on with reading them. I need to reread the first book, though, as I can't remember anything that happened.

2. 'Illuminae'- Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
This has been on my TBR on Goodreads since long before it came out, I've been dying to read it but for some ridiculous reason, I just haven't got round to it yet. The format of the book looks so cool and I know it won't take me long to read, I really need to get to it before the second book comes out.

3. 'Mrs Dalloway'- Virginia Woolf
This was on my TBR months ago, the story really intrigues me and I need to finally get round to reading it.

4. 'To Kill a Mockingbird'- Harper Lee
I STILL HAVEN'T READ IT, OKAY.

5. 'A Dance with Dragons; Dreams and Dust'- George R.R. Martin
So this is the penultimate currently published book in the Game of Thrones series and I really need to get down to it and finish the last two books. This was on my TBR in January/February, but I'm feeling reluctant as there's a storyline which I really hate (you know which one it is). I really need to finish this series, I've been reading it for years, and then I can finally let myself watch the TV show.

Rosie

TOP 5 WEDNESDAY | FAVOURITE FIRST SENTENCES

I did my first 'Top 5 Wednesday' post a couple of months ago, but for the first time I am actually going to be doing more than one. I really liked the topics of the next three weeks, they're ones I really like hearing other people talk about, and this first one in particular is one that I've never really thought about properly myself. So, as the title of the post says, these are my top 5 favourite first sentences of books (in a kind of order of favourites).

'Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.'

('Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'- J.K. Rowling)

It's the start of it all and I get chills but at the same time feel all warm and comforted when I read it.

'Marriage is a word that tastes like metal-'

('Brazen'- Katerine Longshore)

I mean, come on, it's incredible. I knew I needed to read this book the minute I saw that first sentence, and it's a sentence that has stuck with me in the year and a half since I finished the book. Astounding opening line.

'I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.'

('I Capture the Castle'- Dodie Smith)

Like with 'Brazen', I knew I wanted to read this book the minute I saw that sentence. It's incredible and weird and so engaging. One of the very best.

'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.'

('Pride and Prejudice'- Jane Austen)

It's a classic. 

'Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told that she would kill her true love.'

('The Raven Boys'- Maggie Stiefvater)

It's the entire series summarised in one opening sentence, but it hooks you immediately and practically forces you to read on.

Rosie

This was hard

TOP TEN TUESDAY - ALL TIME FAVOURITE BOOKS (2016 ED.)

Today's Top Ten Teusday post is one which I personally love hearing about when other people talk about it, my all time favourite books. I've called this one the '2016 edition', as my favourites will almost definitely change over time as I read more things. (In no particular order, except the first three).

1. 'Anne of Green Gables'- L.M. Montgomery
I've spoken about this book so many times but it's my favourite book of all time. It's the definition of all feel-good book and it makes me feel warm and happy and desperate to live on P.E.I.

2. 'Ballet Shoes'- Noel Streatfeild
I don't think I've mentioned this before? But this book comes in very close behind Anne with just how much I love it. There's no particular reason, I loved it from the moment I read it and it's high time I gave it a re-read.

3. 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'- J.K. Rowling
I couldn't choose a favourite Harry Potter book, so I've gone with the first one as it's the start of it all and it's so wonderful and magical and warm and I really don't think I need to say any more about it.

4. 'The Importance of Being Earnest'- Oscar Wilde
This is my most favourite play of all time, occassionally I'll forget about it and then I'll rediscover it and remember how hilarious it is and how much I adore the characters and I'll fall in love with it all over again.

5. 'The Luxe'- Anna Godbersen
Part one of my favourite books/authors that no one else has ever heard of. This is a guilty pleasure, historical romance fiction set at the end of the 1800s and it's so much fun and so swoony and I love it.

6. 'The Looking Glass Wars'- Frank Beddor
Part two of my favourite books/authors that no one else has ever heard of. I don't really want to share either of them. This is a retelling of Alice in Wonderland and it's such a fantastic take on the story.

7. 'The Book Thief'- Markus Zusak
It's everyone's favourite.

8. 'The Dream Thieves'- Maggie Stiefvater
Everyone knows how much I love the Raven Cycle quartet, but I think this one is definitely my favourite of the series. If you haven't read it yet, what are you doing?

9. 'How to Be a Woman'- Caitlin Moran
Caitlin Moran is one of my favourite writers, she's hilarious but also so relatable and clever and she has a way of writing about serious topics in a way that's funny without undermining the topic. I'd go as far as to say that this book changed my life.

10. 'A Christmas Carol'- Charles Dickens
It's just a really enjoyable read (plus Muppet's Christmas Carol is my favourite film and it's really accurate to the book).

Plus an honourable mention to 'The Year of Reading Dangerously' by Andy Miller, I wanted to include it but couldn't fit it on the list but HA I've snuck it into the post anyway.

Rosie

This was hard

OBLIGATORY PLANE POST

As everyone else does around this time of year, I'm doing a post on what's in my plane carry-on bag for my 9 hour (cry) flight next week. I love these posts, I love seeing what other people have in their handbags and carry-on bags, so for me this is a lot of fun.

Firstly, a little bit of 'admin', the basics before you even think about packing your carry-on: The Bag. My carry-on bag is my black classic Fjallraven Kanken bag, which I got for Christmas and have featured in an outfit of the day post on the blog before. Whilst we're on the topic, now seems a good enough time to talk about what I'll actually be wearing on the plane. Planes are cold so I'm going to be wearing my Topshop Jamie jeans (my favourite jeans, and also the only pair of trousers I'm bringing on holiday with me, it's going to be hot), and a thick jumper. I'm also wearing my bulkiest shoes, so that I don't have to pack them in my suitcase and take up too much room.

There are three main categories to the carry-on bag: 'listening material', 'reading material' and 'everything else'. I'm bringing all this stuff but, frankly, we all know I'm just going to spend the entire journey watching films.

Listening Material
There are two things I want to mention in particular for my listening material, so we'll start with the latest edition to my iPod. Hamilton. I haven't spoken about Hamilton on my blog yet but, like everyone else in the world, I am OBSESSED. It's one of the best, most clever things I've ever listened to and it's the only thing I'm listening to at the moment. My whole family is absolutely loving it and I know it's going to be basically the only thing we listen to over the next few months (we're already so excited for October 2017 when it's coming to the UK).

The other thing I wanted to mention is Audible, which is another one of mine and my mother's new obsessions. In the spirit of summer, the audiobook I've downloaded for the holiday is 'Since You've Been Gone' by Morgan Matson, which I've already started and am really enjoying. I've heard so many fabulous things about it and I know it's going to be the perfect summer read listen. I'm really enjoying Audible and I'd highly recommend it. (I'm on a one credit a month contract, in case you were wondering).

Also included in listening material is your own headphones, as the free ones they give you on the plane are really uncomfy.

Reading Material
As with the listening material, there are two main things in my reading material. We'll start with magazines, which I'm planning to stock up on at the airport. I haven't decided on which ones to get yet, but I know a copy of Heat magazine will definitely be featuring in there somewhere.

The other part of my reading material is, obviously, the book I'm currently reading. I'm bringing two books on holiday with me, as I don't tend to read that much when I'm away, and I'm so excited for both of them. The book I'm currently reading is 'A Court of Mist and Fury' by Sarah J. Maas (SO excited to have this one), and I'm also bringing 'The Unexpected Everything' by Morgan Matson, which I know is going to be the perfect summer read. Both of these are quite long and I know I'm going to just love both of them.

Everything Else
The everything else section of this post is a couple of random things in my bag that I think would be good to have on the plane with you; all of the 'wash bag' variety. Firstly, wipes, both hand and face. Wet wipes are just really useful to have and I more or less never leave the house without a packet in my bag (ditto tissues). Face wipes are also really useful to have on a plane, as it's more difficult to wash your face properly, but face wipes can help to keep it clean and reduce the chance of the plane doing anything bad to your skin. Along the same lines we have a toothbrush and a mini toothpaste, because oral hygiene is important; and lip balm and moisturiser, because planes are really drying.

Rosie

JUNE READING WRAP UP 2016

In June I read 6 books, including 1 audiobook. In June, my mum and I discovered Audible and it has changed our lives; initially I was reluctant, I was snobby and didn't think an audiobook was the same as reading a physical book, but I've tried it and I've really enjoyed it. I wasn't going to count my audiobook towards my reading goal for the year, but Goodreads counted it automatically for me and, frankly, I couldn't be bothered to go through the effort of changing it. Expect more audiobooks to come. I'm also currently reading 'Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer' by Rick Riordan; I'm feeling a bit reading-slumpy (after 'The Crown') so I'm taking it slow but I'm getting through it. (Also yay I'm officially on my summer holidays).

Books Read: 

1. 'Red Rising'- Pierce Brown
I downloaded this book over a year ago on Kindle and it had been weighing on my mind to read it soon; honestly, if I didn't already have it on Kindle, I don't think I would've bothered to read it. (I only finally decided to read it because I watched a load of Pierce Brown and Tashapolis videos on Youtube). I went into this book completely blind, the only thing I knew was that it was set on Mars, and still it was nothing like I thought it was going to be. I really wasn't enjoying it, I considered giving up around 30% of the way through, but I decided to give it a bit more of a chance and I ended up quite enjoying it. I enjoyed the links with Greek and Roman mythology, especially since I've been reading a lot of Rick Riordan lately. I don't think I'm going to be continuing with the series, but it was quite an enoyable read.

2. 'A Court of Thorns and Roses'- Sarah J. Maas
I'd put off reading this for so long, despite really enjoying the 'Throne of Glass' series, because I'd kind of misinterpreted what it was going to be about. I thought I wouldn't like the fae element, as that's sometimes hit-or-miss for me, and I thought Tamlin was going to be some creepy, pervy, way older guy. I decided to finally pick it up after all the incredible hype and feedback of the second book, and I really, really enjoyed it. Sarah J. Maas is still a reigning queen of fiction. I'm really looking forward to picking up the second book (hopefully) in July and seeing where the story goes next.

3. 'The Crown'- Kiera Cass
Lets start by saying that a spin-off series to the Selection was 1001% NOT NEEDED. AT ALL. Obviously, because I loved the Selection series, I was going to try out the spin-off, but when it came to this one I literally couldn't remember a single thing that happened in the book before. I had to read a full recap of the Heir, but I still couldn't remember who half the characters were. It's the Selection world so obviously this book was still a lot of fun, I just had way more problems with it than with any of the other books. Everything major in this book (particularly one thing which I won't mention because spoilers) felt really random, out of the blue and rushed. There was no sign that some of these things were about to happen and they were literally just thrust in your face. There was a distinct lack of romance in this book which I was not okay with, I came for the romance, not the politics. (I love politics usually, just not in the Selection). Overall, this spin-off duology was okay, but not a patch on the original trilogy (which I'm now tempted to read again because I need that slushy romance and princesses in my life).

4. 'The Hidden Oracle'- Rick Riordan
I was so, so, so excited for this book because... Apollo. Human. Camp Half Blood. Percy. Camp Half Blood. Apollo. Chiron. Greek mythology. Camp Half Blood. Yay. I hate to say it but this book disappointed me ever so slightly, it felt slightly too young (though I understand it is marketed towards younger people), but it's the usual Rick Riordan genius Greek mythology in the modern world, so it was still pretty fab. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the rest of this series/trilogy/series/I-don't-know-what-it's-going-to-be.

5. 'Bossy Pants'- Tina Fey (audiobook)
I'd wanted to read this for a while, particuarly last year when I went through a faze of reading non-fiction by famous females (particualrly comedians), but I couldn't get my hands on it then. I jumped when I saw it on Audible, especially since it was read by Tina Fey, and I really enjoyed it. I like Tina Fey anyway, but I'd highly recommend listening to this one (and other books by female comedians) on audiobook, as it's really fun to hear them read it themselves, and it puts a different spin on it than when you read it yourself. This book was a lot of fun.

6. 'Shadow and Bone'- Leigh Bardugo
I'd wanted to read this for a long time, so I pounced immediately when I saw it was only 99p on Kindle. I read Leigh Bardugo's 'Six of Crows' at the end of last year which I really enjoyed, and due to that and the premise of this book, I had high hopes. I feel a little let down, it was good, but no where near the level of 'Six of Crows'. The fact that I could feel a reading slump didn't help, I had to force myself to read it a lot of the time, but the story wasn't gripping me so much anyway. Like with 'Red Rising', I enjoyed this book but I won't be continuing with the triology. I just really expected to love this one and I didn't.

Rosie

Nearly caught up on all Rick Riordan

MAY READING WRAP UP 2016

In May I read a massive 7 books, including some very long reads. I finally completed the Heroes of Olympus series this month (you can see how I managed to alternate them with everything else I read), and I just want to read books set at Camp Half Blood forever and ever. I am also about 50% through 'Red Rising' by Pierce Brown, and so I'll hopefully finish that in the next couple of days.

Books Read:

1. 'The Son of Neptune'- Rick Riordan
Like the first book, this had a very slow start and it takes about 200 pages before it actually starts to get going, but after that it's just as great as the rest. I was so glad to get Percy back in this one, but I miss being inside his head in the same way that the first series is. Overall, this is my least favourite book of the series, but it was still a fantastic and genius continuation.

2. 'A Gathering of Shadows'- V.E. Schwab
I actually think that the first book could've been a standalone, but I had so many unanswered questions and I loved it so much that I'm really glad it wasn't. (Shall we briefly mention here again that I was a hypocrite; I didn't finish the first book the first time round, but I absolutely loved it the second time round. Let us speak of this no more). V.E. Schwab is so clever with all the different languages and cultures and worlds she has created, big respect to that. I loved, loved, loved seeing more of Rhy in this one, it was a magnificent continuation and I need the next book NOW.

3. 'The Mark of Athena'- Rick Riordan
What I really enjoyed about this book was getting to see more of Annabeth; you learn so much more about her than you ever do from Percy's point of view and it adds a whole new, really interesting layer to her character. I don't have much to say about this one apart from it's Rick Riordan and Percy Jackson so obviously it's fantastic, and they are actual squad goals on the Argo II.

4. 'Winter'- Marissa Meyer
Again with the hypocrite-ness, I said I've never read the Lunar Chronicles and here I am having finished and loved it. Winter was such as interesting character, without giving any spoilers, you never normally read anything like her, and I'd been excited to find out more since the end of Cress. I also really enjoyed how all the characters were slightly different ages, in YA you normally only read about 16 year olds, but this was a nice change. Another thought I had whilst reading this book was the life on Lunar reminds me a lot of the Capitol in the Hunger Games, but I'm not complaining. I would've liked to see a bit more of the history of the worlds and the Lunar royal family, but maybe that should've occurred in an earlier book. This book was a whopping 800+ pages (longest YA book ever?) but it needed and I loved every single one of those pages, which doesn't often happen with books like that. Just when you thought there was going to be a resolution, more and more things kept happening, and it was an incredible end to the series.

5. 'The House of Hades'- Rick Riordan 
Obviously I couldn't just stop reading Percy Jackson after the ending of the Mark of Athena. I read this one to give myself a bit of a break after some really slow parts of Lord of the Rings and, like every other book in this series, I flew through it in only a few short days. Potential unpopular opinion, I'm not a big fan of Frank; he annoys me a bit too much in his point of view chapters, I much prefer him in other peoples' chapters. Once again, incredible, like nothing I've ever read before. If you've never read any Percy Jackson before, what are you doing with your life?

6. 'The Fellowship of the Ring'- J.R.R. Tolkien
I'd been quite in the mood to read this for a long time, and I was quite in the mood for the Council of Elrond. I've watched these films countless times, I've read The Hobbit book (don't get me started on that film series), but I'd never read the Lord of the Rings before. This is an incredibly solid start to one of the most epic fantasies of all time, I'm really surprised by what they'd left out of the film (where was Tom Bombadil, please?), and I was also surprised about how scary it was. I've always loved these characters so much (Fellowship goals) and I'm excited to see what the rest of the books will bring (even though I know what's going to happen, I can never remember what happens in each film).

7. 'The Blood of Olympus'- Rick Riordan
WHAT AN AMAZING END TO THIS SERIES.Damnnnnnn. I can't give anything away because of spoilers but there's so much I loved about this book. This is joint with the first book for my favourite in the series (the fact that the first book is one of my favourites has surprised me a little bit, honestly). It was just so good. These characters are incredible. Rick Riordan is incredible. I desperately NEED to read the Trials of Apollo NOW, but my brother is hogging it and I have other reading commitments to make first. This isn't without sacrifice. I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't had all the books to marathon like this and if I didn't have the Trials of Apollo to read immediately afterwards, it would've been agony.

Rosie
The Rick Riordan addict 

BOOK DEBATE #4: GIVING UP ON SERIES

We haven't had a book debate for a while, but I wanted to discuss giving up on series and also mention a couple of series that I don't think I'm going to be carrying on with.

Spoiler alert: I'm all for giving up on series.

And let me explain why. What's the point of putting yourself through something that you don't like? The saying is true that there are too many books and not enough time, so why read something you're not enjoying when there's something else out there that you're going to love? For me personally, the rest of the series could be good, but if I don't enjoy the first book then I'm not going to carry on. That's a lot of pressure to put onto a first book. At the moment, I'm finding myself in a mentality where I could enjoy a book, but just not enough that I can be bothered to carry on with the series (looking at you 'Red Queen' and 'The Kiss of Deception'). I'm also finding myself a little bit tired of reading series all the time (I write this as I read series upon series upon series), but I now feel that I need some more standalones in my life.

I can understand why people would continue with series, it may get better in the second book, or even the third, but then again, why risk it? I can also understand the feeling of 'maybe I should carry on, maybe I shouldn't just quit and stick it out'. In 2015, I read more first books of series that I'm not going to continue with than I've ever read before in my life, and I feel that maybe I should carry on with at least one of them, just so that I haven't given up on masses of series in one year. 

That being said, I'm coming round to the idea that life is just too short to read things you're not excited about, and so I thought I'd make a list of some of the series I don't think I'm going to carry on with. You should never had to justify why you don't want to read something, but for me these were all books that I was really excited for and was really let down by.

1. The 'Outlander' series by Diana Gabaldon
2. The 'Fire & Floor' series/trilogy/duoloy (who knows) by Victoria Scott
3. 'The Remnant Chronicles' by Mary E. Pearson (maybe I'll pick up the next book, but at the moment it's looking like a no)
4. The 'Red Queen' trilogy/series by Victoria Aveyard (again, maybe I'll continue but most likely not)
5. The 'Magonia' duology by Maria Dahvana Headley (those covers though, ooooommmmmgggg)

TOP 5 WEDNESDAY | SUMMER READS

Anyone who watches booktube will be aware of 'top 5 wednesday', a thing that occurs every Wednesday where you're given a topic and you have to talk about 5 books related to that topic. If that makes any sense. I don't normally do top 5 Wednesday (I always forget), but I really liked today's topic and I wanted to have my say. 

Just a quick little to note to say where I've been. I realise that I've been neglecting my blog since the end of April, but I've got two massive college deadlines tomorrow and next week and so I've been spending all my time working towards them. I have my last two deadlines in early June but after that I am free, free, free.

So here's my first ever contribution to 'top 5 wednesday', my interpretation of 'summer reads', the 5 books I am planning to read this summer. 

1. 'The Hidden Oracle'- Rick Riordan

This book is on the way and I am so excited! I have to finish the Heroes of Olympus series first, which I should be able to do by the end of this month, and then it is all go with this one. I'm saving it for holiday because it's going to be quite a big hardback, so I can bring it on the plane with me. (Along those lines, I might also finally read Magnus Chase).

2. 'Shadow and Bone'- Leigh Bardugo

I've wanted to read this series for so long and it's currently 99p on Kindle so I've finally downloaded it. I'm saving this for holiday as it's just easier to bring Kindle books with you to save space when packing. 

3. 'Shades of Doon'- Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon

I have this on Kindle for summer for the same reasons as Shadow and Bone. I secretly love the Doon series, it's my guilty pleasure, and this is just a nice, fluffy read for the summer. 

4. 'A Court of Thorns and Roses'- Sarah J. Maas

I was undecided about reading this series, I go through fazes of really wanting to read it and not wanting to read it at all. With all the hype surrounding the second book, I'm in a mood where I really, really want to read it, and hopefully that is going to happen soon.

5. 'Sense and Sensibility'- Jane Austen

Every summer I read a Jane Austen book and this is going to be the summer of Sense and Sensibility. 

Rosie

Remember me?

APRIL READING WRAP UP 2016

April was a really good reading month for me, I read a total of 7 books and I'm now 48% of the way through my 50 book reading challenge. I am also currently 400 pages through 'The Son of Neptune' by Rick Riordan, which I am aiming to finish in the next couple of days; I have a lot of big books to read in May.

April was destined to be the most important month of the year book-wise, because The Raven King finally came out. I'd been anticipating this book since August and I'd gotten myself so worked up about it that I was truly scared to read it. It did not disappoint. It was everything I wanted and needed and everything I didn't know I wanted and needed. I feel physical pain that it's over, and when I think of the last line I can't tell if I want to cry or throw up. Beyond incredible. Thank you, Maggie Stiefvater. Plus, I got it four days before the release date so I managed to finish it before it officially came out, which has got me feeling slightly smug.

Books Read:

1. 'V for Vendetta'- Alan Moore and David Lloyd
I read 'Watchmen', a graphic novel by Alan Moore, back in January which I really enjoyed, but, if it's possible, this one was even better. I absolutely loved every second of this graphic novel, it's such an intense and terrifying story, and the complete mystery of all of it keeps you hooked. My one issue with it was the fact that it's not very colourful and a lot of the authority figures looked very similar, so I was often quite confused about who was who, but I'm starting to think that that may have been somewhat intentional. It's such a clever and fantastic dystopian story, I can see why it often makes lists of 'books you must read before you die'.

2. 'Georgy Girl'- Margaret Forster
I hate to say it, especially since my mum got my this book and I always trust her recommendations, but I was really disappointed with this. I got such Bridget Jones vibes from the premise, but it was no where near as fun as I thought it was going to be. I've never read a book where I've absolutely hated every single character, though I do get the feeling that you're not supposed to like them, and overall I just didn't enjoy this book as much as I hoped and thought I would.

3. 'Scarlett-' Marissa Meyer
This book had the reputation of many second-books-in-series in that, though it's good, it's the worst book of the series. Though it wasn't my favourite out of the series, it wasn't nearly as slow as I'd heard it was, and the ending was so crazy and so good. I preferred the bits with Cinder in, I love her as a character and I found her bits slightly more interesting, but Scarlett is an awesome female character in her own right.

4. 'Cress'- Marissa Meyer
I was so glad I had this book to read straight after Scarlett, after Cinder all I wanted was to read the next one straight away, and I'd been more prepared this time. What I'm really enjoying about this series is how it takes place over quite a short period of time, and so the books are more or less following straight on from each other. This book was really interesting as you never get Rapunzel retellings, but I'm really enjoying the sci-fi take on classic stories and I really like Cress as a character. I'd heard really good things about this book, and they are actual squad goals living on the Rampion together. Great, great, great book, the next book is going to be amazing (800 pages of amazing, I may add).

5. 'Moranifesto'- Caitlin Moran
Everyone should know by now that Caitlin Moran is one of my favourite writers, I will literally read anything she publishes, and I can't believe I didn't know this book was coming out until recently. As predicted, this book was absolutely fantastic, Caitlin Moran is often a very controversial writer, but I love every single thing she says and I am nuts about her. Once again, as it happens every time I read a non-fiction book, I really want to read more non-fiction.

6. 'The Lost Hero'- Rick Riordan
It feels so good to be back in the world of Percy Jackson and Camp Half Blood. This is the spin-off series to the Percy Jackson series, which I read all of last year and absolutely loved; this is one of the only book series my brother is passionate about, and he's been on at me to read The Lost Hero for months now. As with all of Rick Riordan's writing, it did not disappoint. Rick Riordan is a genius when it comes to Greek mythology (which Percy Jackson has made me obsessed with), though I was slightly disappointed that mythology didn't feature as heavily as it did in the first series, though it's obviously still a major plot point. I missed Percy in this book, I didn't feel as connected to the other characters as I do to him, but it was a fantastic start to the series and I'm really excited to see where it goes.

7. 'The Raven King'- Maggie Stiefvater 
Where do I even start with this one? I've briefly talked about my feelings earlier in the post, but there is no way for me to properly put them into words. I feel slightly dead inside that the series is over. I don't know what to do now, I've gone on an obsessive rampage and my Raven Cycle mug is currently in the post. As I've said, this was such a perfect end to one of my all-time favourite series. Everything was wrapped up so perfectly, and it was so wonderful and heart breaking and I have all the feels in the world. I'm so glad that this book is so perfect, though I don't know how I can live my life knowing that Henrietta and Aglionby and Blue and her boys are over. I honestly can't handle it; my heart hurts.

Rosie
Weeping tears over the Raven Cycle and my beloved boys

THE BOOKS ON MY KINDLE

I thought I'd make a nice list (in the form of a pretty pointless blog post) for you all of all the books on my Kindle app (I have the app for my iPad) and the couple of books that I've downloaded on my mum's Kindle. I really like lists and I really like books. At the time of buying, all these Kindle books were very cheap, I've never spent more that £3 on a Kindle book before and I have a very unhealthy habit of buying them when they're super cheap (plus you can get a lot of the classics for free).

Books in bold are ones I haven't read yet

Throne of Glass
The Assassin's Blade
A Darker Shade of Magic
Between Shades of Grey
Fangirl
Anna and the French Kiss
Lola and the Boy Next Door
Isla and the Happily Ever After
Code Name Verity
Modern Romance
Red Rising
The Fey Man
The Anne of Green Gables Complete Collection (only 99p for 10 books) - I've read 3 of them
Doon
Destined for Doon
Shades of Doon
The Bronze Horseman
The Maze Runner Files
Absolute Beginners
Great Expectations
The Picture of Dorian Grey
Agnes Grey
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Rosie
(The pointless blog post writer)
(And newly 19 year old - it was my birthday yesterday, wooooo)

MARCH READING WRAP UP 2016

I've been reading fairly slowly recently, which is frustrating me slightly, but in March I read 6 books, which isn't bad going really. I also finally gave up on 'The Bronze Horseman', which I had a lot of problems with but which I spoke about briefly in this post here. It's something of a relief not to have that book-burden on me anymore.

In March, I read two books by Jeffrey Eugenides, which now means that I've read all three of his novels. This is kind of weird in itself, as I wouldn't consider him one of my favourite authors, but he's one of the only people who I've read all of their books. I also unintentionally read them in publication order.

Books Read:

1. 'Anna Karenina'- Leo Tolstoy
This book had been on my radar for a while, but I was a little apprehensive as it's so huge and old and I don't think I've ever read a translated book before. I know this might be due to the translation, but I was surprised by how straight forward the language was, I rarely found myself confused (except with the complicated Russian names) and the writing wasn't as old as I expected it to be. This book also surprised me in other ways, namely the story lines and the fact that it was so slow and long and took me a good four weeks to read, but that didn't put me off at all, like it usually does. What surprised me about the story lines was that Anna Karenina wasn't actually the sole focus of the novel, she doesn't appear it in all that much compared to the other characters, and that I actually preferred Levin's storyline to hers. (If you've seen the film first, like I had, the film is all about Anna and not really about Levin, whereas he is actually the other main character. Great film, by the way, highly recommend). I expected to like the book, but I actually really loved it, it may be one of my all-time favourite books. It was absolutely fantastic and I'm hoping to read Tolstoy's War and Peace very soon. I love Anna Karenina.

2. 'Salt to the Sea'- Ruta Sepetys
Damn this book was sad. I'd been excited to read it since I first heard it was coming out and I got Titanic-like vibes from the premise, and it did not disappoint. This book was very quick and easy to read, none of the chapters were longer than 3 pages each (which I like), but in those short chapters you still got a proper feel for the characters. I love historical fiction and I like when you can tell that an author has really researched their work, which you definitely could with this book. I also liked the mystery aspects to it. I'm not the first person to say this, and I'm not going to be the last, but I'm amazed at how this was the biggest maritime disaster in history, even bigger than Titanic, and no one has ever heard of it. My dad knew about it but my mum didn't and I didn't have a clue until I read this book. It was a really fantastic and heartbreaking and terrifying read, as all good books should be. (I also like how there's a link between Ruta Sepetys' two books and I'm planning on reading the first one, though they aren't actually linked properly like a series, 'Between Shades of Grey', next month).

3. 'Modern Romance'- Aziz Ansari
What I liked and appreciated about this book is that it wasn't your typical, same-old celebrity autobiography book that everyones written. This was an actual, proper research book and I found it really, really interesting. I've never read a book that was like a proper research paper before and it was a really good way for me to get into more non-fiction writing. This book was non-fiction done properly and seriously, and it was a really interesting deviation from normal celebrity books.

4. 'Middlesex'- Jeffrey Eugenides
This book is nothing like I thought it was going to be, but it was interesting to read a book on hermaphrodites, as that's not a commonly found topic in books. I can't tell whether I liked this book or not, at the time I enjoyed it, but looking back on it I'm not sure if I did. It was a good story and a well written book, my dad's now reading it and he's really impressed with the writing, I'm just confused about my feelings on it.

5. 'The Marriage Plot'- Jeffrey Eugenides
I thought I'd enjoy this book, and then I found out what the story was actually about (the blurb gives no spoilers away), and then I wasn't sure if I would like it. I surprised myself by enjoying it literally straight away. The first half of this book was much stronger than the second half, but overall I really enjoyed it.

6. 'A Darker Shade of Magic'- V.E. Schwab
I didn't think I was going to get to finish this one by the end of this month, so that was a nice surprise. I marked this book as a 'did not finish' around April last year, as I was finding it quite slow to read and I wasn't really into the story, but I decided to give it another go after all the hype surrounding the second book (which has just come out) and because it was only 99p on Kindle. What the hell was wrong with me? I flew through this book in two days, I enjoyed every second and, frankly, I'm embarrassed about not finishing it before. I loved it. I'm now so excited to read the second book, which sounds incredible, and I'm glad it's out already so I don't have to wait ages for it. The only thing that pains me with these books are that the American covers are so stunning and the UK ones are only okay. What the hell was I thinking giving up on this last year?

Rosie
(The ADSOM obsessive and humble-pie eater)

TOP TEN TUESDAY - BOOKS ON MY TBR

If you remember back a couple of months ago, I made a post talking about a new idea I'd had called 'Top Ten Tuesday'. The premise is simple, on a Tuesday (but not every Tuesday) I will post a list of my 'top ten' of a certain thing. I do love a good list. So, to start us off with the first ever Top Ten Tuesday post, here's the top ten books on my TBR (To Be Read) list.

1. Anne of Windy Willows
Anne of Green Gables is my favourite book series of all time, but I've never gotten past the third book. This is the fourth book in the series and this is going to be the year that I finally read it.

2. The Handmaid's Tale
The sound of this book really appeals to me and I've wanted to read it for ages, so I probably should soon.

3. Great Expectations
I watched and loved the BBC TV mini series of Great Expectations when it was on a couple of years ago, but I feel like I was too young to properly read Dickens at the time. I've read A Christmas Carol twice since and I love it, so it's high time I have a go at another Dickens' novel.

4. Sense and Sensibility
Every year I read a Jane Austen book, and this year is going to be the year of Sense and Sensibility. (Again, I love the film of this).

5. The Grisha Trilogy
I've wanted to read this trilogy for a while now; I read and really enjoyed Leigh Bardugo's other book, 'Six of Crows', so I have high hopes for the trilogy it's based on.

6. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
As with many of these books, they're books I just haven't got round to reading yet. I've read the Hobbit a couple of times and watched the Lord of the Rings films multiple times, and I have no idea why I haven't read the books yet.

7. Bossy Pants
Last year I went on a bit of a mini rampage and read loads of books by female comedians, but I never got the chance to read Tina Fey's book and I want to rectify that because she is great.

8. Love Nina
My best friend recommended this to me years ago but I've never got round to reading it.

9. Illuminae
This book has been on my TBR list on Goodreads since I first heard about it in March 2015. I've heard countless amazing things about it and there is no excuse for why I haven't read it yet.

10. The Cuckoo's Calling
I want to read more murder mystery books and Robert Galbraith, aka J.K. Rowling, seems like a pretty good place to start. My mum loves these books, I've heard only great things and obviously I trust Galbraith's/Rowling's storytelling and writing abilities!

I refuse to believe that it's the end of March already.

Rosie

RECENTLY

I thought I'd do a more chatty post today about things I've been watching/reading/listening to recently and also a little bit about where I've been.

So, where have I been? I've been fairly absent from the blog for a while, though this year I'm not in the major blogging slump I was in last year. We'll start at the beginning. In December, I sent off my university application through UCAS and, since January, I've been having all my interviews. I don't think I've spoken about this before, but I'm going to be studying nursing next year. Nursing applications are not like usual applications; in any other course, you apply for your five unis and then you can sit back and wait as the offers come in over the next month or so. With nursing, you send off your application and then you wait for your interviews to come in, and then you wait some more, and then you wait some more. In the mean time, all your friends doing history, English, maths, etc. have their five offers and no one not doing nursing can understand why you're waiting so long. So then, finally, the offer for an interview comes through, you go to the interview, and then you have to wait a further few weeks for either an offer or a rejection based on your interview. Repeat the process five times.

In other words, I've been very busy and just a teensy tiny weeny bit stressed.

So now all my interviews are done, I've got my offers, and we'll talk about all that more in later months.

If you've seen my last post, you'd see it was a playlist post. Because of that, I'm not going to go into too much detail about what I've been listening to recently, but I wanted to talk a little bit about podcasts. Again, I'm not going to talk about them in too much detail because I have a post on them planned for later this month, but I'll talk about it briefly. Recently, I discovered the humble podcast, and I fell in love. I'm podcast obsessed. It started with discovering 'Welcome to Night Vale' in January, and I can't talk enough about how much I love it. It's genius, it's fantastic and you all need to listen to it right away. I started looking for more podcasts to listen to, and I've discovered a few gems that I want to recommend. Firstly, my second favourite podcast, 'My Dad Wrote a Porno'. Honestly one of the funniest things I've ever listened to, I had to stop listening to it in public places because it had me laughing out loud; the second series is coming out in May (I think) and I'm so excited. Other podcasts that I'm enjoying are 'Backlisted Podcast', 'So Many Damn Books', 'Guys We F****d', 'Alice Isn't Dead' (created by the team behind Night Vale), 'The Black Tapes' and 'Limetown'. Expect more detail soon.

So onto books. Obviously, with my reading wrap ups, you know what I've been reading each month so I don't need to go into too much detail there, but I wanted to talk about a few bookish things. Namely, not finishing books. In January, I started reading 'The Bronze Horseman' by Paullina Simons; it's such a highly rated book, so many people love it, it's been said to be a fantastic love story in a fascinating setting, I had high hopes. And, this week, I officially marked it as a 'did not finish' book on Goodreads. I got 33% of the way through on Kindle, which is roughly 277 pages out of 800, and decided that I couldn't take it anymore. The story was so slow, it was taking me ages to read and just nothing was happening; I've read a couple of negative reviews that say the same thing happens basically the entire way through. I was also really disappointed with the setting, the siege of Leningrad is such an awful but interesting part of history and I was really excited to read a book where the main character was living it but, again, reviews said that this topic was barely even touched upon. My main problem with this book, however, was the characters. They're all annoying and infuriating and a lot of the time they just made me really uncomfortable. Right from the beginning, Tatianna and Alexander's relationship felt wrong, I hated it from the moment he followed her home on the bus and every romantic encounter they had made me feel uncomfortable and I didn't want to read on to see how it developed. One thing I can never stand in books is main characters that are annoying and frustrate me through their actions. Tatianna is a classic case of an awful main character. She's so annoying and self-centred and she does the most stupid things. I honestly can't stand her and a main character like that will ruin a good book for me. I just really did not enjoy this book and I see no reason for pushing myself to finish it.

Other bookish thoughts at this moment in time; I marked 'A Darker Shade of Magic' as a 'did not finish' book last year, but all the hype around the second one is making me want to give it another go, which I'm going to do later this month. I'm currently reading 'Middlesex' by Jeffrey Eugenides, but three chapters in (spoiler alert) two siblings have married each other and that's kind of putting me off it a bit. Right now at this very second in time I'm researching 'The School for Good and Evil' by Soman Chainani as I have the sudden urge to read it. And, finally, I've preordered 'The Raven King' by Maggie Stiefvater and I am beyond beyond excited, I need it so desperately it hurts. (But there's a theory that Adam is going to turn into a tree and dear God I do not want that happening, so, so badly, that cannot happen, please).

And finally, what I've been watching recently. I don't tend to watch that much TV anymore, but recently my family has got really into 'The Night Manager', it's so tense, so good, the cast is great and I'd highly recommend. I've also been watching the new second series of 'Raised by Wolves', written by Caitlin Moran and her sister, which is one of my favourite things out there. The show is based on the Morans' own childhood and is absolutely hilarious, as you would expect. And finally onto what I've been watching on Netflix. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I've been watching (and loving) 'Barbie- Life in the Dream House'; it's strangely addictive and entertaining, and I feel quite sad that I've finished all the episodes. And the last thing I have to talk about today is 'Reign'. I love historical fiction with princesses set in courts, and this is ticking all the boxes for me. I don't mind that it's not historically accurate, I love it, and it's got me really in the mood to read historical fiction of the same nature (recommendations would be welcome). 'Reign' also has Megan Follows in its favour who, as the actress of Anne of Green Gables in the most fantastic film ever, makes me quite emotional every time I see her.

Rosie

FEBRUARY READING WRAP UP 2016

I didn't have the best reading month in February, in total I read 4 books, and I've read 11 books so far in 2016. I'm also just over half way through 'Anna Karenina', which I'm really enjoying but is taking me a long time to read, and I'm also still 33% of the way through 'The Bronze Horseman', which is so long and slow I'm debating giving up on it. We'll see. I have big plans for March (lots of library books to read).

Books Read:

1. 'And Then There Were None'- Agatha Christie 
I watched the new BBC version of 'And Then There Were None' when it came out at Christmas and I absolutely loved it; I was desperate to read it afterwards and this month I finally picked it up. This is the first Agatha Christie book that I've read and I was surprised at how quick and easy it was. The story flows so smoothly and I sped through it without even realising (I think it took me about 24 hours to read). What I love most about this story is the premise, I absolutely loved the way it was centred around a poem, it was absolutely genius. A fantastic read and a really great start into Agatha Christie's novels.

2. 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'- Douglas Adams
I picked this one up on something of a whim, I just randomly felt like reading some sci-fi. I enjoyed this book, but I definitely wanted some more world building from it, there's quite literally the whole universe, and I felt that the story was really lacking in more detail. I'm undecided about whether or not to carry on the series, I wasn't going to but I'm hoping to get some more world building out of the later books and I feel that the story is missing something if treated as a stand-alone. Overall, however, I did really enjoy it.

3. 'Absolute Beginners'- Colin MacInnes 
The two sole reasons I read this book were because of how much Andy Miller raved about it in 'The Year of Reading Dangerously' (yes, I'm still talking about it) and because it was only 99p on Kindle. I honestly do not have a clue about how I felt about this book. It's got very 50's-era language, which meant that a lot of the time what they were saying and the story itself didn't make much sense to me; it may be just me, but not a lot seemed to happen. I am definitely not the target audience for this book, and I'm really not sure what to say about it.

4. 'Cinder'- Marissa Meyer
HYPOCRITE ALERT. I am the biggest hypocrite in the world. In December I wrote a blog post called '5 series I have no interest in' and I marked the Luna Chronicles as one of them, as I normally struggle to get on with sci-fi, no matter how much I want to like it. In my defence here, however, I did also say that I wasn't entirely decided against reading it, I just wasn't sure. Ever since Winter (the final book) came out in December, and after seeing the hype surrounding that, I've been kind of wanting to pick up Cinder and see for myself. After reading Hitchhiker's, I was in a spacey mood, so I finally jumped on the bandwagon and read it. Basically what I'm trying to say is that I really enjoyed and I'm planning on binge-reading the rest of the series asap. The book wasn't as spacey as I thought it was going to be, but I actually wanted more (I think/hope this will increase as the series develops). I really liked the futuristic, new technology aspect, and I like how it combined all your typically YA new technology/killer disease/future world aspects without being your stereotypical dystopian novel. I really, really enjoyed this book and I'm excited to see where it takes me.

Rosie

2016 READ-A-THONS

This maybe should have been posted closer to the start of the year, but I'm doing it now. For those of you that don't know, a read-a-thon is a challenge where you have a set amount of time (usually a week) to read as many books as possible that either fit a certain theme or have the goal of clearing your TBR slightly. I've made a short list here of all the read-a-thons (that I currently know about) that I would be interested in participating in this year. I'm also going to put a link here to Little Book Owl's video on Youtube, where she goes into much more helpful detail about read-a-thons happening in 2016.

AYearAThon
(Link to the Goodreads page here)
The AYearAThon happens for one week in each month of the year, making it 12 read-a-thons in total. Each read-a-thon has it's own theme, for example the theme for February is 'New Adult/Romance' and it is occurring right now (from the 8th-14th). To my knowledge, there is also a 'group read' every month, a book everyone participating is encouraged to read as part of the read-a-thon- like a book club book.

BookTubeAThon
(Link to the Youtube channel here)
The BookTubeAThon is probably the most popular and well-know annual read-a-thon. There are two BookTubeAThons, the main one takes place in the summer months over the course of a week, where people are challenged to read seven books that all correspond with the set read-a-thon challenges, which are announced nearer to the time. For those with Youtube (or Booktube) channels, there are also daily video challenges that go along with this read-a-thon. The second BookTubeAThon is the Christmas BookTubeAThon which happens in December (duh). This one is seen as being much more relaxed, lasting only three or four days, and so reading less books that all still fit with a Christmas-themed challenge.

Bout of Books
(Link the the website here)
Bout of Books is a low-pressure, week-long read-a-thon that happens multiple times a year, where participants are encouraged to read more than they usually would in a typically week. There is no set theme or reading list for the Bout of Books, it's very much a do-you-own-thing, chilled read-a-thon.

TBR Takedown
The TBR Takedown is another read-a-thon that occurs multiple times throughout the year and, obviously, the aim is clear some of your TBR books. Unlike Bout of Books, the TBR Takedown has some reading challenges to go along with the read-a-thon, though these are optional. TBR Takedown has a Twitter account where they will announce the dates closer to the time.

Slay That Series Read-a-Thon
The Slay That Series read-a-thon is taking place from 13th March- 20th March and the aim is to either finish one or multiple series that you've already started or to read a whole series.

Cram-a-Thon
The Cram-a-Thon usually takes place in July and December. The aim of the read-a-thon is literally to cram and read as many books as possible in a short period of time. I believe that there are also some reading challenges that go along with it. The Cram-a-Thon has a Twitter account, and I believe they will be announcing the July dates some time in May.

Harry Potter Read-a-Thons
There are two main Harry Potter read-a-thons. The first is the Harry Potter Read-a-Thon and usually takes place around the end of July, to coincide with Harry's birthday. The second is HarryXmasToYou and, you guessed it, takes place in December. HarryXmasToYou takes place during the whole of December, rather than being only a week long, and also includes Watch-a-Thons, where you watch the Harry Potter films. The aim of these read-a-thons is obviously to read the Harry Potter books.

Rosie 

JANUARY READING WRAP UP 2016

Hello and welcome to my first reading wrap up of 2016! In 2016 I am aiming to read at least 50 books, my Goodreads challenge is set to 50 but I'm hoping to surpass that again. In January I read 7 books without realising it, which I think is a good start to the year. I'm also 214 pages through 'The Bronze Horseman' (on Kindle). In 2016 I'm planning on reading a lot of new things that I wouldn't normally pick up (which I've already started this month), and I'm excited to see where the rest of the year takes me.

Books Read: 

1. 'I Capture the Castle'- Dodie Smith
I started reading this book in December, but it's a very slow read and so I finished it at the start of this month (this annoyed me, I wanted to end 2015 on a complete and finished book). I have started reading this book multiple times over the years, but it's very slow and I never got into the story so I never finished it. I finally decided that it was high time I read this book the whole way through, and I was determined to do so. Once you can finally get into this book, it's quite good, it didn't wow me, but I enjoyed it. This book is okay, it's not the worst thing I've ever read, but it's so slow and I think that's what brings it down for me.

2. 'Watchmen'- Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
I rarely read graphic novels, but this one has really put me in the mood to read more. This graphic novel was great, it's definitely not a cheerful, nice, suitable-for-young-people story, but I really enjoyed it. I love Watchmen, I've been intrigued ever since I first saw the film trailer years ago, the story was great, the artwork was great, overall top notch.

3. 'I am Malala'- Malala Yousafzai
There is no doubt about it, Malala is an incredible person. I was a little apprehensive going into this book, there's a lot (a LOT) of history and politics that I wasn't sure I'd enjoy, but I really loved every second of this book, it was so interesting and it's got me wanting to read way more non-fiction about more serious topics. This book made me realise how ignorant I was about all these awful things happening all over the world (in my defence, I was too young for it all), and what I hadn't realised is that Malala and her father had done so much campaigning work throughout their lives and were already so well known, even before they became more widely known about in the Western world. The book stops not long after the shooting and all the medical treatment, but I would have really liked to read more about all the things she's done afterwards; I'm just hoping that one day she'll write a second book. Highly, highly recommend.

4. 'Anna and the French Kiss'- Stephanie Perkins
I only read this book in December, but I absolutely loved it and was itching to read it again. Again, I loved it, it's a lovely story with fantastic characters and I just have a great time with it every time.

5. 'Welcome to Night Vale'- Joesph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
Since the start of January I have started listening to the Welcome to Night Vale podcast and I am completely and utterly obsessed. Obviously, I had to read this book as soon as possible. I'm sad to say that I was slightly disappointed with this book, it was obviously as excellent, weird and genius as the podcast, but it didn't wow me in the same way the podcast did. I think what makes Night Vale so special is the actual listening experience, so I am planning on listening to the audio book of this as well at some point, which I think I should have done from the beginning. Night Vale is very close to my heart and I would definitely recommend this book to any fans of the podcast (listen to the podcast before you read it, though).

6. 'The Year of Reading Dangerously'- Andy Miller
This book. Holy shit. This book. I borrowed this off my dad to read on my way to work when I didn't want to bring my Kindle on the tube. This book has literally changed my life. I've had a full-blown epiphany about books and what I do and don't want to read anymore. I feel like it's caused me to grow up in the space of less than a week. I'm so obsessed, if you love books then please read this book, I'm desperately trying to get everyone to read it. The basic premise of this book is Andy Miller trying to get back into reading, starting with all the classics he's claimed to have read but never has and working his way up from there. The book is some of Miller's thoughts on the 50 books he read in that first year. Obviously, I loved this book, Andy Miller is hilarious, a genius, a mastermind of words, and it's just so, so real and relatable; he's managed to persuade me to read so many new old books (and non-fiction). This is the ultimate book about books. I'd highly, highly recommend it to anyone who loves books and reading. I love it so much I can't comprehensively write my thoughts on it.

7. 'Fair Play'- Tove Jansson
I've read all of Tove Jansson's Moomin books, but this is the first time I've ever read one of her books not written for children. If I'm being honest here (which I'm going to be), I just didn't get this book. It was a nice, really well written collection of short stories about two old friends (in both senses of the word 'old'), but the stories didn't connect or flow and, in all honesty, I didn't understand it. There's nothing wrong with not understanding books, some books are nice, but they're just not for everyone.

Rosie