So that has been my Sunday, but what have I been doing the rest of the week?
What I've Been Reading
Fractured - Sarah Fine - I finished the second book in the Sanctum series in the middle of the week. It was an extremely frustrating ending to that book. It was a cliffhanger, which I love when a series is finished and I can immediately start reading the next in the series, but despise when I have to wait for the final book. Luckily, the third book is due at this year, so I'll look forward to that.Getting Over Mr Right - Chrissie Manby - I also read Getting Over Mr Right as I felt a bit lost after reading Fractured. I was in that post book hangover where I didn't know what to read. I find books like this the best solution to my problem. It was a great book. Perfect solution to my book woes.
The Second Chance Cafe - Alison Kent - And finally, I started reading this book last night, and I'm certain I'll finish it today. It is such a lovely read. A truly nice book, with a bit of drama, a bit of mystery and lots of romance. It's a perfect book to be reading whilst the weather here is so nice.
What I've Watched
I've watched mostly films this week. I had a catch up on The Musketeers on BBC then just sat watching films. I watched Joanna Lumley meets Will.i.am on iPlayer, which was awesome. He is just such an interesting person, he really surprises you with his intelligence. And he is just so lovely, he seems like a genuinely nice person, which is always great to see of a celebrity.
I've watched a couple of films this week as well. I watched The Pixar Story, which was really interesting. The history of Pixar is not something I thought I would find interesting, but seeing the progress in computer animation and how it was powered a lot by Pixar and all these artists that were asking why they couldn't try it was immense. When you see the amount of work that went into creating Toy Story and A Bug's Life you truly appreciate what amazing work they are, not just the stories, but the work of creating the films themselves, it is awesome really. And I then went on to watch Saving Mr Banks, because I was in a Disney mood without actually wanting to watch a Disney film.
Also, I saw this video on youtube. It made me feel motivated to try and watch all the films which appeared in it. Watch it. It is epic.
I've watched a couple of films this week as well. I watched The Pixar Story, which was really interesting. The history of Pixar is not something I thought I would find interesting, but seeing the progress in computer animation and how it was powered a lot by Pixar and all these artists that were asking why they couldn't try it was immense. When you see the amount of work that went into creating Toy Story and A Bug's Life you truly appreciate what amazing work they are, not just the stories, but the work of creating the films themselves, it is awesome really. And I then went on to watch Saving Mr Banks, because I was in a Disney mood without actually wanting to watch a Disney film.
Also, I saw this video on youtube. It made me feel motivated to try and watch all the films which appeared in it. Watch it. It is epic.
 |
Bitterblue - Kristin Cashore
Eight years have passed since the young Princess Bitterblue, and her country, were saved from the vicious King Leck. Now Bitterblue is the queen of Monsea, and her land is at peace.
But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisers, who have run the country on her behalf since Leck's death, believe in a forward-thinking plan: to pardon all of those who committed terrible acts during Leck's reign; and to forget every dark event that ever happened. Monsea's past has become shrouded in mystery, and it's only when Bitterblue begins sneaking out of her castle - curious, disguised and alone - to walk the streets of her own city, that she begins to realise the truth. Her kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year long spell of a madman, and now their only chance to move forward is to revisit the past.
Whatever that past holds.
Two thieves, who have sworn only to steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck's reign. And one of them, who possesses an unidentified Grace, may also hold a key to her heart...
|
This was another fabulous book. Kristin Cashore is an excellent world builder. Its not just the world she has created though. It's the entire thing. Throughout all of her books you are aware that she has developed these characters well. Is aware there is a story waiting for all of them. So to have a book written about a Secondary character from Graceling was lovely. It really showed Cashore's skill in developing her characters that she could go ahead and create stories which stretch out over various different characters, different stories and yet still have them intertwine.
I liked Bitterblue, she was so lovely. So eager to fix things that had been done wrong to her people, but so clueless of how to do it. I liked that there was greater exploration of Leck's grace and the influence he had on others. Things which had only been touched upon in the other books were explored, such as Po's Grace. I liked that. I especially liked the notes at the end of the book where Cashore explained how she had put so much work into Po's grace after miraculously making everything alright for him. It shows the care that went into writing this book.
I don't want to give anything away, which makes this really awkward. I loved the characterisation of everyone. I loved that you could see the strain that was being put on Po and Katsa's relationship as they are both such huge personalities that were struggling to be both together and independent, the key thing which Katsa had struggled with in her story. I'm glad that you could see that development f characters after getting the 'happily ever after' type ending with no true knowledge of what happened next. I think that's why I liked Bitterblue. After the ending of Graceling you were left wondering how they were going to get past everything. You get to see how in Bitterblue.
One thing I didn't like was that all these fantastic characters were introduced and developed, and I did feel a bit like I didn't get the full story for them. I wish Bitterblue had carried on longer. And it was already quite long. I wanted more. I always wanted more with all Cashore's books though. But, with this one especially. I needed more of a resolution than what was given. That may just be me though, I don't know how others felt, but I wanted more. That's the great thing about this world and these stories that have been written, there is the opportunity for me to be written, if inspiration should ever strike for Cashore. More could be written, and I for one hope there will be.
Has anyone else read this book? What did you think?
Well, this is a strange Top 10 Tuesday. I've never really thought about this kind of thing, but The Broke and The Bookish have proposed it, so who am I not to answer? I must warn you, though, my list is going to come across a bit like the places of the world I wish to see, because some things on my bucket list simply involve getting to see the places I read about in books.
1. I intend to read A Christmas Carol. It's a classic, I will read it before I die. I love the film The Muppets Christmas Carol, so, in theory, I should like the book too, right? I am not a fan of Dickens though, I read Great Expectations back at school, and it was a chore, but A Christmas Carol is shorter at least.
2. I want to go to America. All the states. Any of the states. I read so many books which are set in America, and yet I have never stepped foot in the country. I feel that is a travesty, and as such wish to remedy it and visit one day. I know only what I read about and see on TV.
3. I want to go to Paris. I know, another travel one, but it's true. I read It Started with a Kiss, and they went to Paris for a weekend, and it was romantic. And I read Anna and the French Kiss and Paris seemed ace. I've never been. Considering you only need to cross the channel, it's confusing as to why I've never been.
4. I would love to meet JK Rowling. The woman made my childhood. I spent months, probably years fantasising about going to Hogwarts. I kind of hope that it is. It's nice to think so anyway.
5. I am determined to finish the entire A Song of Fire & Ice series. I will read it until it's end, whenever that may be. I may not have gotten past the third book, but I will make it to the end one day.
6. I want to attend a blogging event. Of any type. One day I wish to attend an event with other bloggers, maybe when I'm a bit more established and know who I am as a blogger. It would be nice to meet the people who write the blogs I read.
7. One day, when I own my own home, or live somewhere on my own, independent of my family, I want to have a library. A library like that in Beauty and the Beast, or, at least have some bookshelves filled with my favourite books. The freedom to show my books off to the world.
8. Prague. I have wanted to go to Prague ever since I read about it in the pages of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. It sounds magical, and I would like to see it
9. I don't know if this counts as bookish, but I wish to write a book. A whole book. This is definitely one of the more farfetched things on my list, but it is something I have always dreamed about doing. I have several ideas for books, as I'm sure everyone does, but I am just not very good at writing, as shown by my entire blog. I have never pursued writing as a thing, and so I'm not all that good at it.
10. The final thing on my bucket list? I hope that this blog will last a full year. I'm not known for my perseverance. I have been at my current job maybe five months, and already I'm thinking about where I could go to next. So, if this blog can last the year. If it can last my laziness and flakiness then I know I'll have done something right.
Hi all, so this week I have been a terrible blogger. For shame. I did not stick to my schedule, and I didn't finish up writing some of these posts until the day of posting. I'm trying to get ahead in my posts so I can pull back a bit and write more posts, but I feel like I don't have the time. That is mostly because I have a renewed love for The Sims 2. I know, I'm old school, The Sims 4 is coming out this year, and I've not even progressed to The Sims 3. As us ts2 loyalists say, they have pudding faces, they aren't pretty, I do like the customisation of that game though, but The Sims 2 Graphics, way more cool. That's all my geekiness out of the way.
What I've Been Reading
What have I read this week. Not much I'm afraid, oops? I've been busy. Or I've been lazy. I suppose it depends on how you want to view it.
I admit, I've had this one on my currently reading thing on Goodreads for a good few weeks. It was one of those books I just couldn't get into. The '20s speak did not gel with me. I did not like Evie. It was hard. I know you don't need to like the main character, but it helps. Anyway, I finished the Graceling series and I was in a rut. The Rosie Project helped, but I didn't know what I fancied reading, so I carried on reading this during my commute. I don't know what happened, but something clicked, suddenly I got it. This book was good, it kept true to the era and the characters were pretty unique.
This one was an impulse buy for my Kindle. This and the second book in the series Fractured, were on offer at 99p. Who can say no to a 99p book? Not me. It seemed like the kind of book that would be an easy read, and it was. I finished it in a couple of days, and now I'm reading the second. It's not an amazing series by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not bad. Not every book I read is going to be a 5-star rave worthy book. This is one of those that isn't amazing, it was nice; an apt adjective for it's nondescription of whatever you're describing. I liked this book enough to commit to reading the entire series, but not so much that I think all and sundry should read it.
What I've Been Watching
I've had a slow week in tv land. I've been watching a couple of new shows and neglecting my current ones.
 |
 |
I've been watching Treme, which I bought last weekend from Amazon. I'd seen a couple of episodes before and liked it, it's set in New Orleans after all. As it's HBO, I just could not find it anywhere online so I had to buy it. I've been enjoying the occasional episode I've been catching.
I've also been watching Believe, a new show which has started on NBC. It's an interesting all about a girl that has special powers who people want to control, or something. I have no idea, but I've been enjoying it. It's an interesting premise, I'm waiting to see if it has the power to become something awesome.
No youtube videos this week. I've watched some trailers for films based on books, such as The Giver and Maze Runner. Isn't it strange how I had no interest in these books until I saw the trailers? I had the same thing with The Hunger Games, so I'll get on it and get reading them... soon. I'll give no specific date, because I'll only disappoint.
What I've Bought
So this is a bit different. I don't tend to buy loads, but sometimes I get excited by things and want to tell everyone. I've already shown everyone in the real world, so why not rave to internet world as well? (Also, I know you're all real people, all 5 of you, but you're not physically her so you're internet people.)
The necklace was a gift, but it's still new, so it counts. It's stunning isn't it? I was so excited when it came in the post, there are not words. And the books were an impulse buy at Asda. The books are so cheap there! I couldn't say no. I've already read Fangirl, it was the book which introduced me to the work of Rainbow Rowell, but I have it on kindle, which is not the same. And Just a Girl Standing in Front of a Boy has been on my wishlist for a while, and so when I saw it for £3.50 I snapped it up whilst I ad the chance.
Well that's all from me this week. I'll get better at posting, I promise.
I intended to post this yesterday. But, life got in the way. no excuses, I know. I'm trying to get myself organised in my posts, but life so often gets in the way. I can only apologise. Also, I know reviews are dull, but I really want to get this series review all posted. I have some other stuff planned though.
 |
Fire - Kristin Cashore
It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.
This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she had the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.
Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City, The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there's more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.
If only she weren't afraid of becoming the monster her father was
|
So, this book. It took me a while to warm to it. I knew there was something more to all the characters. I held out for them to hook me, but it took me a little while. I did love the story though, I think the story and the world that was created was truly awe inspiring, I may have even preferred over the realms created in Graceling. You could definitely see the development in Casore's writing skill. The frustration I had with the first novel was that the pacing was off at times and parts of the storyline felt rushed through and thrown together. In this second novel everything flowed a lot smoother. At times in Graceling I felt like things were conveniently wrapped up rather than written and developed and wrapped up appropriately. In Fire you didn't have that, the writing was much better and it was well written.
I liked Fire from the start, she was too likeable not to, but I didn't love her. I didn't like Archer, though, and I think that was where the problem lay. You could tell that there was a strong connection between the two. Archer obviously cared about Fire, but he was so controlling. After reading Graceling and the strong independence of Katsa and her continual refusal to be defined by a man, regardless of if she loved him or not, to see Fire so willing to let Archer manipulate and control her at times frustrated me. Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike Archer completely, but he was so frustrating because he was so selfish. Through out the book it was obvious, so in the beginning when Fire had not grown into the person she was going to be, her timidity frustrated me.
It was a wonderful story though. I'd recommend it to everyone because the story was so much more magical than the first book for me. I connected with it a lot more in many ways. With Graceling I enjoyed the story, but often felt lost with it as things happened, and I couldn't quite believe it. In Fire I didn't have that as things happened and I understood how everything had developed and happened as they did, even if it frustrated me.
That's all from me. Until next time.
So this weeks Top 10 Tuesday from The Broke and the Bookish is a bit more difficult for me. I am not a planner as such. So, there are plenty of books which I intend to read, but I have no specific plans to read particular books in spring, except for a couple of new releases which I have been anticipating which will be read as soon as I can get my hands on them. As such the Top 10 books on my spring TBR list, are more like a few new releases I am looking forward to, and a few books I can see myself reading as they have been sat on my kindle, or on my shelf for a while, and I really do want to read them.
1. Dreams of Gods and Monsters - Laini Taylor: A book I can't wait to read. I love this series. It's one of my favourites, and it is so unique. Also, the covers and these books are stunning. The UK edition is the best, it's all reflective and shiny and seriously you need to see it.
2. To All the Boys I've Loved Before - Jenny Han: I have never read anything by her. I know nothing of this author, but the premise of the book sounds interesting. I want to read this... a lot.
3. The One - Kiera Cass: This one is a bit more embarrassing. I downloaded the first of the series on a whim when it was on offer for kindle, I was thought 'why not' it seemed like a decent premise, and it was during my dystopian end of the word type book phase. I am looking forward to it, though. Sure, the characters annoy me at times, and the storyline is not the most complex or the most original. But, I like it, and it's fun.
4. The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson: This one I bought when it was on offer this week for the kindle. I don't know if it's part of the monthly kindle offers or if it was daily deal, but it was 99p, and I've been contemplating one of his books for a while.
5. Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line - Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham: This one needs no explanation I'm just feeding my V Mars addiction here.
6. Everything is Perfect When You're a Liar - Kelly Oxford: I'm a bit interested in this one. I want to read it but I'm scared I won't like it, I struggle with non-fiction books. We shall see.
7. Cinder - Marissa Meyer: I am a bit late to the party with this one. But, everyone raves so I am going to get around to it, I swear.
8. Holier Than Thou - Laura Buzo: I don't know. This one interested me, I intend to read it. Eventually.
9. Brilliance - Marcus Sakey: I've been planning to read this ever since I saw a post about it on Buzzfeed. The story is what I like to see in films so why not as a book?
10. Sweet Thing - Renee Carlino: This one I'm sure I saw on a book rec list once and it's been on my tbr list ever since.
So what do you think? Have you read any of these?
A summary post seems apt. Okay, so I may have only have 2 posts so far, so it's not like I have that much to summarise, but there is plenty that I've done which hasn't featured on my blog. So, I intend to try and do a weekly summary post of what I've read, watched, seen done, etc. Essentially it'll summarise all I've seen and done each week.
Read This Week
I loved this book. I sped through it at the start of the week and plan to finish reviewing the rest of this series. I just don't want to spam with posts, and also I've not written my review for the second book, Fire, yet, so patience young padawan.
A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby
This book was a huge disappointment, and a review will not follow. I read it a few years back, I was in holiday in Portugal, and it was left in the apartment we were staying in. I remember speeding through it then, and loving it. Now? Not so much. I could feel no sympathy for the characters. Sure they were in ducky situations but I did not see any development in them and eventually I just got fed up of the whole woah is me act.
This book I adored, and will be posting about soon. I'm sure you've all heard about it. If any of you are unsure about reading it then I strongly recommend that you give it a try.
Watched This Week
 |
 |
 |
So this week I have started a rewatch of Game of Thrones (as well as a re-read). I bough the Veronica Mars movie (and loved every second of that film. I love Veronica Mars and all it has done is made me want more) and I've begun watching Shetland which has started airing on the BBC. I feel like they are trying to make it Broadchurch, but whatever. I liked the first episode, so I'm willing to give it a chance.
And, I've also been watching rubbish on Youtube. Here are a couple of my favourite videos of the week:
Well that's all for this week. I hope you enjoy. I'm still working on my schedule and the layout of my posts, etc. so, please bear with me. Until next time.
Graceling - Kristin Cashore
 |
In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are both feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing.
Feared by the court and shunned by those her own age, the darkness of her Grace casts a heavy shadow over Katsa’s life. Yet she remains defiant: when the King of Lienid’s father is kidnapped she investigates, and stumbles across a mystery. Who would want to kidnap the old man, and why? And who was the extraordinary Graced man whose fighting abilities rivalled her own?
The only thing Katsa is sure of is that she no longer wants to kill. The intrigue around this kidnapping offers her a way out – but little does she realise, when she takes it, that something insidious and dark lurks behind the mystery. Something spreading from the shadowy figure of a one-eyed king...)
|
This book was excellent. I need to say that now. I was wary about reading this at first. It has been sat on my lengthy TBR list for a long while. I just kept finding reasons to put off reading it because I was so unsure if I would ever like it. TO be honest, I was only motivated to read it after reading a review over on Paper Riot which really reminded me of why I wanted to read it in the first place. After all it is a fantasy novel, which immediately drew me to it, and it has an interesting premise: what if people were born with a unique skill? All I can say since I've read it is that I'm ashamed it took me so long to get around to it.
This book was filled with some truly wonderful characters, they were well developed, and you truly felt that there was a story to be told about any one of them (which, to be fair, there is a story to be told later about one of them, so it goes to show that it's true). That is definitely something I like to see in a book, there is nothing worse then having the supporting cast being there simply as 2d characters to help move the protagonists story along. That was not the case in Gracling. Each character ad their own independent motivations and were not used simply as plot points, if anything I almost wished we got to learn more about them, such as Raffin and Bann, who you wanted to know everything about. You wanted to know the pat of others, such as Helda, what happened with her? I wanted more.
Katsa was such a wonderful character, though. I was genuinely sad to reach the end of her story. She was so strong and independent and inspiring in some ways. You could see how driven she was to be independent of everyone and to not be tied down to one single person or one single place. She was determined to be a person in her own right, without being defined by those she associated with. It's not something that always appears in books, so often a female protagonist is a 'strong, independent woman' yet as soon as a romantic interest comes along you can see her slowly being defined by her relationship with them. In this book that was not the case, it went the complete opposite way, frustratingly so at times.
I don't want to spoil anything for anyone so I'm very conscious of not revealing plotlines or revealing too much. I do need to speak a little bit about the ending though. I felt the ending to this book was a bit rushed at times. This may partially be because I was rushing through to reach the end, as I simply couldn't stop reading. I do feel it was rushed and wrapped up a little too conveniently. Not that I'm complaining. I don't know if that viewpoint is influenced by the fact I am so used to reading series where there is a major plot twist which stops everything being wrapped up nicely to allow the series to continue. The beginning was stronger than the ending, but regardless I adored this book and even that ending does not affect my opinion.
So have any of you read Graceling or any in the series? What were your thoughts? I'll follow up with reviews for the rest in the series soon.
So, I figure one of my regular posts can be Top 10 Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish.
This weeks theme is top 10 all time favourite books in X genre (I'm free to choose whatever genre I wish). I have chosen the fantasy genre. I have based a books genre off of the genres listed on the books' Goodreads page, so if you don't agree with my classification of a book that is where I got my info from.
So here it goes...
1. The Hobbit: JRR Tolkien - This was one of my favourite books as a child. It's still one of my favourite stories, even if it has been many years since I read it. It's a classic which I think everyone should read at some point in their life.
2. American Gods: Neil Gaiman - Now this book I struggled with. It took me a couple of attempts to get through it. Mostly due to it's length. I enjoyed it though. The entire mythology behind it was truly immense and it was for that reason it is one of my favourites. It is not strictly what you would think of as fantasy, but I feel the mythological elements to it qualify it enough for my liking.
3. Howl's Moving Castle: Diana Wynne Jones - This book took my years to get around to reading, but I always knew I would love it. After all, I adored the anime film, so there was no way I wouldn't like the book.
4. Graceling: Kristin Cashore - I only read this book recently, as in last week (with a review of the series to follow soon). I know it took a while for me to catch up with everyone else's hype, but I understand why everyone has been bigging up these books.
5. Daughter of Smoke and Bone: Laini Taylor - How psyched am I for next month when the third book in the series comes out? I didn't expect to like this book. It took me forever to buy it after some of the reviews I read, but eventually I decided I was intrigued so decided to buy. I am glad I did. This book had everything, I couldn't put it down, so it's definitely a favourite.
6. Good Omens: Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett - This book was immense. I wanted to read it for a long time, and it just wasn't available in my local bookstore (this was back in the days before I had my own bank card to buy things online with, so a few years ago indeed) so when I eventually got it I was wary. You know when you've hyped a book up so much in your mind and so you are fearful of starting it, in case it disappoints? I had that, but I got over it and it was awesome.
7. Throne of Glass: Sarah J Maas - Another book well known in the blogosphere, so I won't bother to go on about it. But it is a favourite, of course.
8. The Night Circus: Erin Morgenstern - This book was something I had heard of for a while, but didn't think it would interest me, then I saw a review online. That review completely changed my mind I instantly went out and bought it. It took a while for me to get into it, I didn't instantly warm to it. Once it hooked me though, it hooked me. I would recommend it to everyone.
9. The Bone Season: Samantha Shannon - Another book which needs no introduction. Everyone and their mom was talking about this book before it came out. I even saw it referred to as the new Harry Potter. That is a poor comparison. Sure, both are series with excellent world building, but that's where the similarity ends. Don't let me saying that to put you off though, I think the comparison and the hype ruined this book for many. Go in with no expectations and you should enjoy it more.
10. A Discovery of Witches: Deborah Harkness - This book has been lurking on various recommendation lists for me for a while. I overlooked it as the synopsis didn't intrigue me. Eventually, I decided to give it a go, mostly because I was forever seeing it around and because the protagonist it a historian, and I studied history and I figured that was a good enough link. I would recommend it to anyone who is struggling to find a good modern fantasy/supernatural type novel intended for an adult audience.
And there you go. That's my first Top 10 Tuesday. What did you think? Have you read any books on my list? Are there any fantasy novels which you think should be on my list but aren't? What are your recommendations for me?
2. American Gods: Neil Gaiman - Now this book I struggled with. It took me a couple of attempts to get through it. Mostly due to it's length. I enjoyed it though. The entire mythology behind it was truly immense and it was for that reason it is one of my favourites. It is not strictly what you would think of as fantasy, but I feel the mythological elements to it qualify it enough for my liking.
3. Howl's Moving Castle: Diana Wynne Jones - This book took my years to get around to reading, but I always knew I would love it. After all, I adored the anime film, so there was no way I wouldn't like the book.
4. Graceling: Kristin Cashore - I only read this book recently, as in last week (with a review of the series to follow soon). I know it took a while for me to catch up with everyone else's hype, but I understand why everyone has been bigging up these books.
5. Daughter of Smoke and Bone: Laini Taylor - How psyched am I for next month when the third book in the series comes out? I didn't expect to like this book. It took me forever to buy it after some of the reviews I read, but eventually I decided I was intrigued so decided to buy. I am glad I did. This book had everything, I couldn't put it down, so it's definitely a favourite.
6. Good Omens: Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett - This book was immense. I wanted to read it for a long time, and it just wasn't available in my local bookstore (this was back in the days before I had my own bank card to buy things online with, so a few years ago indeed) so when I eventually got it I was wary. You know when you've hyped a book up so much in your mind and so you are fearful of starting it, in case it disappoints? I had that, but I got over it and it was awesome.
7. Throne of Glass: Sarah J Maas - Another book well known in the blogosphere, so I won't bother to go on about it. But it is a favourite, of course.
8. The Night Circus: Erin Morgenstern - This book was something I had heard of for a while, but didn't think it would interest me, then I saw a review online. That review completely changed my mind I instantly went out and bought it. It took a while for me to get into it, I didn't instantly warm to it. Once it hooked me though, it hooked me. I would recommend it to everyone.
9. The Bone Season: Samantha Shannon - Another book which needs no introduction. Everyone and their mom was talking about this book before it came out. I even saw it referred to as the new Harry Potter. That is a poor comparison. Sure, both are series with excellent world building, but that's where the similarity ends. Don't let me saying that to put you off though, I think the comparison and the hype ruined this book for many. Go in with no expectations and you should enjoy it more.
10. A Discovery of Witches: Deborah Harkness - This book has been lurking on various recommendation lists for me for a while. I overlooked it as the synopsis didn't intrigue me. Eventually, I decided to give it a go, mostly because I was forever seeing it around and because the protagonist it a historian, and I studied history and I figured that was a good enough link. I would recommend it to anyone who is struggling to find a good modern fantasy/supernatural type novel intended for an adult audience.
And there you go. That's my first Top 10 Tuesday. What did you think? Have you read any books on my list? Are there any fantasy novels which you think should be on my list but aren't? What are your recommendations for me?
So I am another twenty something starting a book blog. Let's get started with getting to know each other.
My name is Becky, and I am a History graduate living at home with her parents in the West Midlands. I work full-time at an Insurance Brokers in the Finance department. I know how did I go from History to finance? That's a story for another day.
I love reading, I'm not too fussy what it is. I love fiction books, I have a soft spot for YA. Fantasy is a genre I love. I am not ashamed to admit I love reading fanfiction from time to time. I also have an addiction to Netflix. Binge TV watching is something I adore. I like pretty things so often binge pin on pinterest. I enjoy clothes, but I hate shopping.
I've toyed around with the idea of creating a blog for myself for a while now. I read all these wonderful blogs that are just so inspiring, and I always think to myself 'well that looks like fun, why don't I do that?' I know blogging isn't easy. Hell, writing isn't easy. And the thought of posting my thoughts on a public forum is not easy for me. I'm quite private. And extremely shy. And filled with fear of exposing my thoughts for anyone to see. Not that I'm expecting many readers. But there is the opportunity for others to read it, you know?
I love reading, I'm not too fussy what it is. I love fiction books, I have a soft spot for YA. Fantasy is a genre I love. I am not ashamed to admit I love reading fanfiction from time to time. I also have an addiction to Netflix. Binge TV watching is something I adore. I like pretty things so often binge pin on pinterest. I enjoy clothes, but I hate shopping.
This blog is mostly for me. I know writing regularly helps you to improve, so for me I will be writing to improve my skill. Or give myself any kind of skill really. It is also to encourage me to think over what I read. I read a lot of books, and I wish to try and think more about what I read. I suffer often from book amnesia where I'll forget what I read or what happened in a book. I have a habit of plowing through a book at a fast pace and not always registering what happened. I have a theory that if I write a review about what I read it will force me to think more over what I have read.
I don't intend to review every book I read. I want to try and write something about a lot of them though, because if I don't enjoy something I will stop reading. There are too many good books out there to power through with a bad one. Will I post about the ones I don't enjoy? I might. I might mention any books I haven't been able to continue with maybe make a collective post every so often about my abandoned books.
Well, that's all from me for now.
I'll try and post regularly. I've got some ideas for a posting schedule. I might be using some old reviews for a little while, whilst I develop a routine. I'll try not to though. I want this blog to do well, and no one likes old content.
I don't intend to review every book I read. I want to try and write something about a lot of them though, because if I don't enjoy something I will stop reading. There are too many good books out there to power through with a bad one. Will I post about the ones I don't enjoy? I might. I might mention any books I haven't been able to continue with maybe make a collective post every so often about my abandoned books.
Well, that's all from me for now.
I'll try and post regularly. I've got some ideas for a posting schedule. I might be using some old reviews for a little while, whilst I develop a routine. I'll try not to though. I want this blog to do well, and no one likes old content.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
Social Icons