Top Ten Bookish Facts About Us

Angharad

• When I was in primary school, I won a Harry Potter colouring competition and received a signed copy of Order of the Phoenix and some other goodies. That was the start of my love for the series.
• I was always entering library reading competitions as a child that required you to read a certain amount of books in a certain amount of time. Being as competitive as I am, this trained me to become a fast reader which comes in handy now when you've got a TBR as long as your arm.

• When I was eleven, a poem we had to write about recycling in school was published in a poetry book. My mother proceeded to carry the book around with her, showing it to everybody and anybody.
• I always 'receive books' for special occasions but people never know which books to get me so what I actually get are gift cards. I don't mind because it gives me an excuse to hide in Waterstones for hours on end.
• I recently got a book related tattoo! It was drawn up by Becky and it is a take on Rhysand's tattoo from A Court of Mist and Fury. 

Becky

• I also have a tattoo inspired by A Court of Mist and Fury! After reading ACOMAF, we both fell in love with the book and rushed out to get almost matching tattoos inspired by Rhysand’s tattoos - of mountain peaks with three stars above them.
• When I was eleven, I won a short story competition and got to meet Jacqueline Wilson. I’ve got to say, to an eleven year old, this was probably the best prize in the world. Since twelve years have passed since then, I honestly don’t remember much about what happened (and I have no clue what my short story was about) but I got this photo taken with Jacqueline Wilson and a signed, personalised copy of her book Love Lessons.

• I did actually want to be a writer when I was younger. Most people who know me these days don’t seem to expect it, since I’m definitely more of a photographer than a writer now, but it’s true. The first “book” I remember writing when I was ten (by hand, stuck together with a glue stick, and with a 3D cover made from pieces of coloured card) was called “What Should I Do?” and was about a young teenage girl who had an abusive home life and well, wondered what she should do about it. Evidently, I was a pretty messed up child. Why I wasn’t writing about a girl getting a pet unicorn or something when I was ten years old is beyond me. Anyway, I’m no writer anymore, but my husband has wrote a couple of YA novels that he’s in the process of trying to get published!
• When I was twelve, I was part of a book club in high school. We had to read three new releases and choose our favourites for a local book awards ceremony. One of these books was Sleepwalking by Nicola Morgan, and although I wouldn’t consider this book to be the greatest now, it massively impacted me at the time as it’s the book that got me into dystopian fiction. I think if I’d not been assigned this book to read, I would’ve never read The Hunger Games, and then most likely wouldn’t have been into reading as much as I am.
• Probably one of my biggest reading achievements was reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in a day, on it’s release day. Honestly, I’m not 100% sure how I did it - I don’t think I could manage it now. That book is a hefty 600+ pages and I must have been about eleven or twelve when it was released.

Tell us some interesting facts about you - bookish or not! Leave them in the comments below.

Love,

Ten Books That We Feel Differently About Now That Time Has Passed

This weeks Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is ten books that we feel differently about now that time has passed! We were really excited about this topic - don't you always find that you can love a book upon finishing it, but dislike it years down the line, and vice versa? 

As always, we've picked five books each! 

Angharad's Picks: 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I first read this book pretty much when it came out and at the time as I wasn’t a huge reader, I thoroughly enjoyed it as I had nothing to compare it too. However, now that many years have passed and my ‘read’ pile has grown significantly, I realise that I didn’t like this book as much as I thought I did. In fact, I preferred the movie version.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I read this book, I went to DNF it but then I tried again. I read it and rated it 2/5 stars but I rated its sequel, A Court of Mist and Fury, 5/5 stars. Looking back, I know my main problem with the first book was Tamlin. I don’t like abusive characters being romanticised and I felt like he was. However, I now appreciate the world-building and Feyre’s character development. 

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

This is a short story and by short, I mean like less than 100 pages. I loved it so so much after reading it but as time has passed, I wish this had been made into a full-length novel because it had SO much more to give.

The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne

I read this book last year when I was going through my annual ‘crime-thriller’ phase so I read this novel among many others and I feel like although I loved it, I didn’t appreciate it enough. I loved the spooky, desolate setting and more than once it made chills run down my spine. Realistic and scary and I do recommend it if you like this genre!

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski

I read this book a while back and I rated it 3/5 stars. I didn’t enjoy it that much but I hear that the next two books are definitely an improvement. Thinking back, I really enjoy the character of Kestrel and I am interested to see where her journey goes. It is refreshing to have a fantasy character that relies on her brains and isn’t a good fighter. They are equally as dangerous.

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Becky's Picks:

Deathless by Catherynne M Valente

When I read Deathless, I did really enjoy it. I gave it five stars and immediately classed it as being amongst my favourite books. However, after reading it a second time, I can see that there's so many little things I missed the first time round. This is such a perfectly complex book, and it'll definitely take me a few reads to fully appreciate everything that it has to offer. 

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

I adored the first book of this series, but was really disappointed with Ruin and Rising, and I think I let this change my opinion on the trilogy as a whole (for the worst). I fell back in love with Leigh Bardugo's writing after reading Six of Crows, and now I've learned to appreciate Shadow and Bone as though it was a standalone. Plus, if I ignore the final book, I can pretend that Alina ends up with the right person... 

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

When I read Red Queen, I felt as though I'd read something really new and unique, but when the sequel came out I just couldn't bring myself to be bothered about it - in fact, although I probably will read it eventually, I still haven't got around to it. Unfortunately, this is just one of those books that I found faded away with time as I read books that I preferred. 

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

Like many people did, I got swept right into the hype surrounding The Mortal Instruments. I couldn't get enough of the series and basically counted down the days until City of Heavenly Fire was released. Back when I read them, I rated each book five stars. Now that a couple of years have passed, and now that I've seen the Shadowhunter franchise be dragged through a film and a netflix show, I can definitely say I'm way over it. (P.S. it's very likely that I'll still read the rest of the Shadowhunter books though...)

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Now before I say this, don't get me wrong - I will always love The Hunger Games. This is the trilogy that got me back into reading in the first place, and I'll be forever grateful to Suzanne Collins for that. When I hadn't read a book properly for a long time and decided to pick up The Hunger Games not long before the film came out so I could go and watch it (despite my reading drought, I still firmly believed in reading the book before watching the film) I thought it was by far the best thing I've ever read. Now I can see that, although I do love the books and still enjoy re-reading this series, my severe lack of literature for a couple of years was probably the reason that I thought so highly of it. 

Ten Books Picked Up On A Whim

This week's Top Ten Tuesday hosted by the amazing The Broke and the Bookish is 'Top Ten Books Picked Up On A Whim.' We have combined some books that we bought without much knowledge of them but ended up loving. 

+ Becky's choices +

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas I picked up Throne of Glass at Waterstones on a whim, during one of the many times that I needed to get a second book for the buy one get one half price offer. I saw the cover, read the blurb and thought I’d maybe enjoy it a little bit, and that if nothing else, it’d at least be an interesting, light hearted read. I definitely didn’t expect it to be the start of one of my favourite series! The book follows the beginning of the story of Celaena, Adarlan’s best assassin, as she is released from her imprisonment in order to take part in a competition to become the crown’s royal assassin.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor Around the time that I really started getting into YA books, I got Daughter of Smoke and Bone for Christmas. Again, this series is now one of my all time favourites, so big thanks go to my Uncle for picking it up for me. It’s the story of Karou, a girl half of this world and half not, as she navigates the secrets surrounding her past and the monsters she works for.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir I genuinely don’t know how I ended up getting hold of An Ember in the Ashes. I’d heard nothing about it, never even heard of the title or author before, but it appeared on Amazon and I immediately bought it there and then just after reading the small synopsis. The book, set in a land inspired by Ancient Rome, follows Laia, a slave, and Elias, a soldier, and how their worlds collide.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh A beautiful, modern retelling of Arabian Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is the story of Shahrzad and Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan. I downloaded the free Kindle sample of this, was immediately sucked into the story, and knew that I had to order a hardback of it straight away.

Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen This is the story of Kelsea, the young heir to the throne of a torn kingdom, trying to learn how to bring peace to the land as well as contending with the Red Queen of Mortmesne. This is another book that I stumbled across during a time when I had nothing to read and was looking for something simple that I could get through quickly and easily, and it turned out to be a really interesting story! I can’t wait for the third instalment of this series to come out later this year.

+ Angharad's choices +

Unbecoming by Jenny Downham

One of my all time favourite books 'Before I Die' was written by the same author so when I saw this in Waterstones, I automatically grabbed it without even reading the synopsis. I'm such a fan of Jenny Downham's writing style. Unbecoming tells the story of three generations of women and it deals with dementia, family and truth.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

I know it's hard to believe that I picked up this book on a whim considering how much hype was surrounding it but, yep, I did. In my defence, it was before I had Goodreads and before I discovered Booktube so I was pretty much living under a rock. I had previously read the Grisha trilogy and although that series should have ended after the first book, I was still a fan of the world Leigh had created. Six of Crows tells the story of six misfits who come together to attempt a dangerous heist.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Yes, it may have the world's longest title and that's probably what drew me towards it in the book shop. The beautiful cover and promising synopsis was also a winner. This book tells the story of Aristotle and Dante as they develop an unlikely friendship and eventually fall in love.

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

I bought this after seeing it in the same section as 'Dare Me' in the book shop. I have always been fascinated with the complexity of teenage girls and their friendships and the authors brave enough to delve into that world. This book follows the story of a group of friends that go on holiday but tragedy strikes when one girl is found brutally murdered. Anna, our protagonist and the victim's best friend, is framed for the crime but is everything as it seems?

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

I think this book is pretty much unknown in the book community so I had no knowledge of it until I was browsing the Crime Fiction section of Waterstones. I've grown up loving this genre and this book's blurb just drew me in. It tells the story of Ted and Lily, strangers who meet at an airport bar. After revealing secrets to one another, Ted reveals that he believes his wife is having an affair and he could kill her for what she's done. Without a beat, Lily wants to help plan the murder and so a dark plan is formed.

What are some books you picked up on a whim?

Let us know in the comments.

Top Ten Tuesday - 10 characters we'd like to revisit as adults

It's that time again for a Top Ten Tuesday by the wonderful people at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top 10 childhood characters we'd to revisit as adults however, we have decided to do our top 10 general fictional characters otherwise the entire list would just be every character in the Harry Potter series. So without further ado..

1. The Raven Gang (The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater)

As you may not know, I did not like the ending of The Raven King (spoiler-free review here.) I feel like none of our beloved characters got closure and so every member of the 'Gangsey' should be written about ten years later. Did they actually mourn Noah? Did Adam become successful? Did he and Ronan live happily ever after? What about Blue and Gansey? Let's get better closure!!

2. Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)

Okay, I couldn't not add my sweet child to this list. "Oh but Angharad, J.K. Rowling did nineteen years later?" I hear you all asking but I will not be satisfied until all of Harry's life is written down for me to read. People underestimate my love for the boy who lived. Just an average Sunday where Harry spends time with his grandchildren, levitating things to make them smile. Sign me up!

3. Sydney (Vicious by V.E. Schwab)

My sweet summer child. I would like to visit Sydney when she is older, considering she is 12 years old when we first meet her. In only one book, she develops so much as a person and a character and I would love to see how she ends up. Is she still friends with Victor? Is she coping with her ability? V.E. Schwab needs to write more female characters.

4. Liz Emerson (Falling into Place by Amy Zhang)

When we meet Liz Emerson in this novel, she is not in a good place. She wants to die as she feels there is no chance of redeeming herself after all the horrible things she has done. Although we get a small snippet of Liz in the epilogue, I would still like to visit her 10 years later. She is a morally grey character which I love in a protagonist but I would like to see how her suicide-attempt affected her and if she changed as a person.

5. Camille & Amma (Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn)

Were there ever two more complex characters than these two? It is no secret that Flynn is capable of instilling fear into our hearts over how good she is at writing terrible and frightening characters. These two half-sisters are characters I would love to revisit. Without spoiling the novel, I want to see the person Amma becomes and if Camille stands any chance of recovery.

6. Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins)

There is not one person in this world that doesn't know who Katniss is but do we know what her life is like ten years later? Nope. Would we like to? Yep. How is she coping after the death of Prim? Is she still in contact with Gale? I would like to hear more about her PTSD and hope it didn't magically disappear and also Peeta's. Before the children and their 'happily ever after.'

7. Lia (Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson) 

We meet Lia, a young girl struggling with anorexia and body dysmorphia, as she comes to terms with the sudden death of her friend, Cassie. We see her difficult journey but we eventually see the start of her recovery so we would love to see what she is like 10 years later. Is she healthy? How is her relationship with her mum? Did she see Elijah again? 

8. Elisa (Fire and Thorns trilogy by Rae Carson) At the end of The Bitter Kingdom (without giving away too many spoilers), Elisa has shown her country's enemies who's boss and got her happy ending. However, with this sort of ending, I always wonder if the happiness stuck around. What was the rest of Elisa's rule (and relationship) like? I (quite unexpectedly) really enjoyed this series, and definitely wouldn't complain if I learned more about the story later down the line!

9. Katsa (Graceling Trilogy by Kristin Cashore) Graceling was my favourite book in this series, and although Katsa appeared in Bitterblue, I've always wanted to read more about her. She progressed so much throughout the trilogy and I would love to know more about her adventures, the school she founded, and of course, her and Po.

10. Amy Elliot Dunne (Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn)

My forever antagonist. What happened with her and Nick? Did they have the baby? Did Nick stay with her? Did she cull her murderous ways? I love Amy, I love how she's complex. Yes, she's nuts but she's interesting and I want to see how she is 10 years later. We had such an ambiguous ending but I would love to see Gillian's thoughts on what happened to the toxic pair.

Do you agree with any of our choices?
Leave us a comment!

Top 10 Bookworm Delights

Part of Top Ten Tuesday by The Broke and the Bookish

As a reader, we all have little things that we love. Explaining them to non-readers earns you some funny stares but in this bookish community, they are welcomed and understood. We have combined a list of our Bookworm delights -

• The smell of a new book - who doesn't, upon cracking the spine of a book, check the coast is clear and then stick their nose between the pages? (I hope it isn't just me.) The smell of a new book is one of the best things about reading. Also, when it gets to a point of extreme book hoarding that your bedroom starts to smell of them too!
• Finding that perfect quote/paragraph - when you come across something that just has to be underlined, highlighted, bookmarked etc in a book. When it explains everything you're thinking but can't articulate, that makes your heart cry with the sheer genius of it. Yeah, you know what I mean don't you? Closely followed by then plastering it all over your social media.
• Receiving a book in the mail - the amount of times I have nearly broke something running down the stairs when I see a book on the doormat or nearly ripping the arm off a postman as he hands it to me is too many to count. Tearing off the packaging and just seeing that new, untouched book is worth getting up early, every time.
• Books with maps - if a book has a map in it, Becky has to stop herself from automatically giving it 5 stars. It allows you to become even more immersed in the book but it can seriously injure your pages as you constantly flip to the beginning to see where your beloved characters are in the world.
• Reorganising your bookshelves - pretty much a daily (okay, monthly) routine. Should you go for alphabetical order? Colours of the rainbow? Favourite to least favourite? The possibilities are endless. Many times I have moved my books around just to put a new favourite at the top. It is all fun and games until someone moves one though. Not a good idea.

• Book merchandise - the reason why half of us have no money. Raven Cycle tarot cards? Take my credit card. Pretty posters? You can never have too many. Having all the Harry Potter characters in Funko form? Completely acceptable. Also a good way to find some very talented artists. 
• Meeting fellow readers - there is no better feeling than meeting someone based on your love of books. Seeing someone enjoy a book you recommended and then proceeding to scream at each other in message form is the most satisfying feeling. Just like the characters in our beloved books, we too have made lifelong friends thanks to the written word.
• Finishing a book - I know a lot of people will be like "how is finishing a book good? It means it's over??!" I see your point but it is also incredibly satisfying to get to the end of a book, whether it is good or bad and especially if it's very long. It is a sense of accomplishment... for about two minutes before you start another book.
• Finding a new favourite character - there is no greater feeling than meeting a character in a book that you grow to or instantly love. Whether it is because they remind you of yourselves or they are someone you aspire to be, it really is a magical feeling. What is not so magical is then having your heart torn to shreds when something bad happens to them. Unfortunately, that is what you signed up for.
• Sitting down with a good book & a cuppa - such a British sentence, but it is true. Add rain, cosy blankets and a nice snack to the mix and you're in heaven. When you are sad or stressed, I recommend doing this. Relax and find your home between the pages. 

What are some of your Bookworm Delights?

Let us know in the comments!