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

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 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 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

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