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Thursday, 4 June 2020

Features | Book Suggestions for Completing the Far Left Column on Book Bingo

Have you completed a row on Book Bingo yet?

If you missed the memo, at the beginning of May we designed and posted a Book Bingo sheet for us to try and complete by the end of June. Despite the fact that a lot of us a lot more time on our hands at the moment, it can still be tricky deciding what to pick up and read, even without a Book Bingo sheet on the go!

I thought it would be fun to put together a couple of posts of suggestions of books that would fit some of the rows. If you're really stuck you can read all the books I suggest checking out and then boom! A complete row; go you! Gold star (virtually).

Some of the squares on our Book Bingo are about personal choice, or books that you've read in the past, so I'm not going to be suggesting books for those rows (I'm thinking about squares such as 'a genre you don't read very often' and 'recommended by a friend' because I can't comment on those for you). But let's get into it!



Left column


Non Fiction | Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

Like at all. It's not that they don't interest me, or that I don't think they're worth the time; it's mostly due to the fact that I love fiction too much, and why would I spend my hours reading non-fiction when I could be reading about dragons? It's that kind of feeling.

But when I picked up Girl, Wash Your Face and flipped to the front page to check it out, I started reading and couldn't really stop.

 Shout outs | Becoming by Michelle Obama; The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank; The Moth by Catherine Burns; The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy by Michael F Patton and Kevin Cannon.


A book with magic in it | The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss 

I still can't quite comprehend how good this book was. Ever since discovering the YA genre, it's not often I dive into adult fantasy books, but I had heard some many great things about this book that I had to pick it up. I'm so glad I did, because it was amazing. The magic in this book is called Sympathy, which is sort of like magic and alchemy mixed together. Definitely recommend!

Shout outs | Harry Potter by JK Rowling; The Magicians by Lev Grossman; Carry On by Rainbow Rowell; Graceling by Kristin Cashore.


Set in a big city | An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, by Hank Green

Hank Green's debut novel was amazing. Normally alien invasions and sci-fi genres don’t draw me in, but there was something about An Absolutely Remarkable Thing that was, shockingly enough, absolutely remarkable (and I’m 100% no one has made that joke before, she says sarcastically). It's set in many large cities around the world, but predominately New York and LA.

Shout outs | Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (London); Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (New York City); Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (Singapore).


Featuring a mythical creature | Eragon, by Christopher Paolini

I was about 15 years old when I first read Eragon, and since then I've read it multiple times (although I haven't actually finished the series! Eek!) Whenever anyone says 'dragons' (which happens more in my life than you might expect), then I think of Eragon. Can I caution you, though? Don't watch the movie. 

Shout outs | Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan; Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller; Mythos by Stephen Fry.

A book with a number in the title | Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

There were actually so many books that I could suggest for this box! You can check out a long list which Erin put together for our Book Club May theme here. But if you haven't read Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, and you enjoyed YA fantasy mixed with great characters and spectacular heists, this is the duology for you. Get on it!

Shout outs: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid; Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte; One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus; Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline.


And you've done it! You've completed a column! Congratulations! I hope this has been helpful and at least given you some ideas for books to read.


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Wednesday, 3 June 2020

Features | Book Suggestions for Completing the Central Column on Book Bingo

How is your Book Bingo sheet coming along?


If you missed the memo, at the beginning of May we designed and posted a Book Bingo sheet for us to try and complete by the end of June. Despite the fact that a lot of us a lot more time on our hands at the moment, it can still be tricky deciding what to pick up and read, even without a Book Bingo sheet on the go!

I thought it would be fun to put together a couple of posts of suggestions of books that would fit some of the rows. If you're really stuck you can read all the books I suggest checking out and then boom! A complete row; go you! Gold star (virtually).

Some of the squares on our Book Bingo are about personal choice, or books that you've read in the past, so I'm not going to be suggesting books for those rows (I'm thinking about squares such as 'a genre you don't read very often' and 'recommended by a friend' because I can't comment on those for you). But let's get into it!


Central column (with the free space!)


Featuring a sports team | Harry Potter (any) by JK Rowling

So right off the bat (ha, sports joke ... get it) I'm struggling with what to suggest for this one. Turns out I don't read a lot of books that have sports teams in them ... but this is the ideal opportunity to remind that you Quidditch is a sport, and it features not one but four sports teams ... even more if  you read Goblet of Fire. So maybe use this as an opportunity to re-read one of the Harry Potter books. You're welcome.

 Shout outs | Check Please!, by Ngozi Ukazu (hockey)


One Word Title | Scythe, by Neal Shusterman

If you haven't already picked up Scythe by Neal Shusterman, now's your chance! Here at BB we really love this book. If you're not familiar with it, check out the discussion between Erin and I in 2018. The Arc of a Scythe triology was so good, and I remember just thinking about the story lines long after I had finished the books.

Shout outs | Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (graphic novel); Dry, by Neal Shusterman; Stepsister, by Jennifer Donnelly (retelling); Cinder by Marissa Meyer (retelling); Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks (graphic novel).

FREE SPACE | All the books

A free space in Book Bingo means you don't have to read anything! Boom! But if you do want to read something, you can slot any book you'd like into this central square. Here are some quick fire suggestions that I've read in the past year that I really enjoyed.



Book cover: Goodreads | Movie cover: Rotten Tomatoes

Adapted into a TV show | The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Sometimes when they turn books into TV shows and movies it can be a real disaster. I do think, however, that they (the movie and TV people) are getting better at creating adaptations that not only live up to the book's epic-ness, but they are sometimes even better. I'm not saying that's the case with The Magicians, but I really enjoyed the trilogy by Lev Grossman, and I have really enjoyed the TV show adaptation (there have been tears, you guys).

Shout outs | Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin (although let's be honest, you've probably seen the entire show and never picked up the book right? Yup, same); A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness; Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett; Anne of Green Gables, by L. M Montgomery.


Published in 2020 | Yes No Maybe So, by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

Excuse my copy of this book. It's an ARC, hence the not-quite-finished cover, and it got bent in the post. If you're after a cute YA romance, check out Yes No Maybe So. It was a really sweet tale of Jamie and Maya, and they're adventures canvassing their neighborhood for an upcoming election. I didn't think it was as cute as some of Albertalli's other stories (like Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda), but it was still pretty cute!

Shout outs: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins; Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare; The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson.


And you've done it! You've complete a row! Congratulations! But in all seriousness, I hope this has been helpful and at least given you some ideas for books to read.



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Wednesday, 6 May 2020

Features | The Blogger's Bookshelf Bookish Pub Quiz!


With lots of us staying home at the moment, many are turning to online pub quizzes for entertainment (we love this one from Anna), so we thought it might be fun to create our very own bookish quiz to share with you!

Below you'll find information on each of the rounds as well as downloadable pdf files with the questions and separate pdf files with the answers. Feel free to complete the quiz in full, or pick and choose rounds to play with your friends or add to your own family quizzes!

If you do use the quiz please let us know by tagging @bloggersbookshelf on Instagram, @blog_bookshelf on Twitter or drop us an email to bloggersbookshelf@gmail.com and don't forget to let us know your scores - we would absolutely love to hear from you!


Main Rounds (10 Questions Each)


Round 1: Name the Author

Our first round is a list of 10 titles and the challenge is to correctly guess who wrote each one. We've also included the year each book was released to give you a hint.

Downloads: Questions | Answers

Round 2: First Lines 

This round features 10 first lines from popular novels and it's up to you to name which book each one is from.

These can be a little tricky if you haven't read all of the books, but we've included several which mention character names to give you a few extra clues!

Downloads: Questions | Answers

Round 3: Guess The Year

In this round we've listed 10 books which were released between 2010 and 2019. All you have to do is put them in the correct order, working form the one released in 2010 all the way through to 2019.

It's up to you how you wish to score this round but we would suggest 2 points for a correct placement in the list and 1 point for being one spot out!

Downloads: Questions | Answers

Round 4: YA Characters

For our final main round we've listed groups of 3 characters, each from popular YA novels. To score points you'll need to correctly name the book/series you would find them in.

Downloads: Questions | Answers


Mini Rounds (5 Questions Each)


Round 1: Harry Potter

We couldn't share a quiz without including a Harry potter mini round! These questions will likely be easy points for those who love the wizarding world, but they may catch out those who aren't such big fans!

Round 2: Awards & Records

All of the books featured in this mini round have won prizes/awards or hold a Guinness World Record, but can you name all five?

Downloads: Questions | Answers


Picture Round (10 Questions)

 

Round 1: Emojis

One of our favourite parts of IRL pub quizzes has to be the picture round! For our bookish picture round we've used emojis to represent 10 popular books. In some cases the emojis are used to spell out the title, in others we have used them to describe the plot.

If you enjoy this round, we encourage you to have a go at making some of your own!

Downloads: Questions | Answers
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Saturday, 4 April 2020

Bookish Links #55 - Bumper Edition!


1. Olivia's book The Insecure Girls' Handbook was recently released. In this post she answers questions about the writing process.

2. To keep fans entertained whilst working or schooling at home Neal Shusterman is reading some of his lesser known short stories and sharing them over on YouTube.

3. Anjali compiled a list of books that are all over 500 pages, but definitely worth your time.

4. Kate shared some of her all time favourite books.

5. Over on Instagram, Kelly has started sharing writing prompts to help us all stay creative whilst we're staying home.

6. If writing more is something you're hoping to do, you'll also love this post from Michelle.

7. Anna shared her tips for reading more, as well as some of her favourite titles.

8. Emma added a bookish accent wall to the Ravenclaw bedroom at her Harry Potter themed B&B; here's the how-to!

9. If Thrillers are your thing, check out this list of 5 gripping titles for your TBR.

10. Alternatively, if you want a lighter read Jaime's post has you covered.

11. The Baby-Sitters Club is coming to Netflix! Here's a first look at the poster for the series.

12. It's not too late to join in with the 2020 Magical Readathon. Visit the website to find out more about how to get your O.W.L.S.

13. Love reading about food? Megan has an amazing list of titles to add to your TBR.

14. If you're a book blogger, you may find Holly's post about Netgalley to be a very relatable read.

15. Our final link is to Kelly's review of Fierce Fairytales. How beautiful is that cover?!
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Friday, 3 April 2020

Features | What We're Reading During Self Isolation


Like many around the world at this time, the Blogger's Bookshelf are in self isolation, whether that be for their own safety and health, or that and government decree. For us bibliophiles, self isolation and/or lockdown just means more time to read.

We thought we'd share with you what the BB team is reading during this time. We would also love to know what you're reading if you're self isolating at the moment. Drop us a comment or flick us a Tweet.

"Audiobooks have definitely been my friends this week!

I was already working my way through the Harry Potter series in this format as and when each one became available from my library and just finished The Order Of The Phoenix yesterday; I have The Half-Blood Prince lined up too! For a little break from HP, I also just finished listening to Checkmate, the third book in Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses series, and have a few other titles reserved including Little Women (which I’ve never read) and The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo (which I read a physical copy of last year and loved).

Aside from the audiobooks, I’ve just picked up Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen as last year I really enjoyed her most recent novel The Rest Of The Story." - Erin



"I'm currently in a bit of a reading slump and frankly, all of my free time that I would usually spend reading has been taken over by Animal Crossing.

However, I made myself finish the book I've been reading at the weekend (a reread of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (again excellent)) so that I could start on The Hand On The Wall by Maureen Johnson. All of BB have raved about this series and after finishing the first two books last year I couldn't wait to get stuck into the third when it came out this month, and I finally made it to the top of the library reserves list last week!" - Sophie

"So far I've been gravitating towards the kind of cosy romance stories that guarantee a happy ending, like The Little Shop of Happy Ever After by Jenny Colgan, and The Oyster Catcher by Jo Thomas. Both are novels where the heroine's world is shaken at the start but with the kindness of strangers everything works out in the end." - Anastasia


"The past few weeks I've been reading Artemis Fowl. I never finished the series as a kid for some reason, so caught up on the last two books before diving into The Fowl Twins, which is the beginning of a new series by Eoin Colfer. I'm about to pick up some stories which will be pretty feel-good, like The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky novella by Mackenzi Lee and Yes No Maybe So which is the new one from Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed." - Anjali

"I've been turning to old favourites right now. I'm re-reading The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman, and working through the audiobooks of the Harry Potter series. I'm trying to see this as a chance for reading and writing." - Kelly

"I'm currently reading In the Country by Mia Alvar. I've found attention span waning and am, like many I suspect, a little homesick. So a short story collection about Filipinos around the world seems like the perfect antidote right now." - Ria

What are you reading during self isolation?

Photo by Fabiola Peñalba on Unsplash

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Sunday, 15 March 2020

Features | February Reads


Let's pretend I'm not sharing this roundup a few weeks late... Similarly to January, February was another good reading month with 10 more titles crossed off my TBR, including seven 4-star ratings. So far 2020 has been pretty kind to me reading-wise!

Several of the books I picked up in February have received a lot of praise in the blogging and bookstagram communities over the last few months, including The Silent Patient (Alex Michaelides), Such A Fun Age (Kiley Reid) and American Royals (Katharine McGee) - all of which I'm glad I read. American Royals was defintiely the biggest surprise of the month as it's not really a title I would usually have gone for but I just couldn't honestly rate it less than 4 stars as it was such an entertaining book. I think the fact I opted for the audiobook format really helped too!

I also thoroughly enjoyed my February book club selection for 'a book with a tree or leaf on the cover' which was A Place For Us (Fatima Farheen Mirza) and would definitely recommend picking up a copy.

As you can see from this month's roundup above, another favourite from February was The Interestings (Meg Wolitzer). I also gave 4-star ratings to On The Come Up (Angie Thomas) and the audiobook versions of Harry Potter; both The Chamber Of Secrets and The Goblet Of Fire.
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Tuesday, 10 March 2020

Bookish Links #54


1. How gorgeous are these new holographic Harry Potter inspired stickers over on Sophie's shop?

2. Have you tried out the Book Of The Month subscription? Jamie shared her thoughts in this recent post.

3. Taylor Jenkins Reid talks Daisy Jones and the Six, and how she got into writing fiction in this podcast episode.

4. We love this colourful bookish print by Meenal Patel!

5. Haven't read The Secret History yet? Here are 10 reasons why you should add it to your 2020 TBR.

6. Amy's list of books she loved as a child brings back lots of memories!

7. Whilst we're talking children's books, Elsie also has an amazing list of titles her family loves.

8. Have you caught the Noughts and Crosses adaptation yet? All six episodes are available over on iPlayer now.

9. How amazing is this bookish wall Emma created for her Harry Potter inspired B&B?

10. Anjali shared a recent book haul, have you read any of these titles?
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Wednesday, 15 January 2020

Features | A Year In Books - 2019


Since the beginning of 2018 I've kept a reading spreadsheet as a way to record my year in books so I thought it might be interesting to share a quick roundup from 2019.

According to my (possibly not very reliable) mathematics skills, I read a total of over 21,000 pages in 2019, including my longest read of the year American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. I also became an avid audiobook listener in 2019, with audiobooks totalling over 170 hours at normal speed (although I usually choose to listen at 1.25 or 1.5 speed!). Books I thought worked particularly well in audiobook format included Bridget Jones's Diary, Daisy Jones & the Six, The Rest Of The Story and They Both Die At The End.

Only 28% of the books I read were actually published in 2019, but since I didn't end up buying a single book all year it's more than I had expected! My most read genres were YA and Contemporary, and thanks to downloading Borrow Box my top formats were audiobooks and ebooks. Audiobook subscriptions can be expensive, especially if you get through a lot of books in a year, so I'd highly recommend this app if your local library uses it.

As well as sharing my overall top 5 reads of the year here on BB, I also mark my favourite book from each month on my spreadsheet, leading to the twelve titles listed above. Two of the titles (Harry Potter and Amy & Roger's Epic Detour) were re-reads, two were sequels to books I had previously enjoyed (Wilde About The Girl and Us Against You) and four were written by authors I had never read before.

My best reading month of the year ended up being November, with 14 books completed, although 4 of which I had started before November 1st. Choosing my top read from this month was pretty tricky as there were three 4 star titles (Naturally Tan, Genesis and The Toll) as well as a 4.5 star read (The Rest Of The Story), however I just loved They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera in audiobook format so much that I ended up rating it 5 stars.

One thing I would love to see change in 2020 is my average rating. Currently I'm not very good at DNFing (I just don't like to give up on books!) but I think this could really help increase the number from a 3.5, closer to a 4. I've actually decided to experiment with making another change when it comes to ratings in 2020... but more on that in another post!
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Wednesday, 27 November 2019

Features | 6 Audiobook Recommendations

Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash

2019 has been the year that I've really embraced audiobooks thanks to Borrow Box; at the time of writing this post I've listened to no less than 21 titles since I first got the app back in March! With that in mind I thought it might be fun to share a few of my favourites...


1. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Read by Alex Reid, Ari Fliakos, Arthur Bishop, Benjamin Bratt, Brendan Wayne, Fred Berman, Henry Leyva, Holter Graham, January LaVoy, Jennifer Beals, Jonathan Davis, Judy Greer, Julia Whelan, Nancy Wu, Oliver Wyman, P.J. Ochlan, Pablo Schreiber, Peter Larkin, Robert Petkoff, Robinne Lee and Sara Arrington

Kicking off the list is one of my favourite reads of the year, which I enjoyed in both ebook and audiobooks formats back in August. As the story is told entirely through interviews, the audiobook was the perfect format to allow the characters to come to life. If you love interview style podcasts you'll love this one.


2. They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

Read by Bahni Turpin, Michael Crouch and Robbie Daymond 

A more recent listen, and another book looking very likely to make it onto my top 5 list for 2019, is this YA title from Adam Silvera which follows two teens on their End Day. Listening to the story rather than reading it seemed to make the characters feel really realistic and made the ending even more heartbreaking.


3. Genesis by Bernard Beckett

Read by Becky Wright 

I first read Genesis back in 2014 and really enjoyed it, so when I noticed my library had the audiobook version I thought it would be the perfect way to re-read the book. At just short of four hours I got through my re-read over the course of one day and loved revisiting the story.


4. Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding

Read by Imogen Church 

As mentioned in this post I shared a few months back, I thought Imogen Church did a great job bringing the character of Bridget to life through this audiobook. Similarly to the interview format in Daisy Jones, I think the diary format worked really well as an audiobook and would definitely recommend this one if you're a fan of the Bridget Jones movie adaptations.


5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Read by Stephen Fry 

How could I share this list and not include Harry Potter? This one was my Netflix replacement back in October whilst on holiday in an internet-free cottage and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm now in the library queue for books 2-4 and can't wait to continue with the series in this format.


6. The Rest Of The Story by Sarah Dessen

Read by Rebecca Soler

My final recommendation is The Rest Of The Story, a YA Contemporary set by a lake. It may be cold here in the UK right now but I think this one would be perfect for your summer 2020 TBR.
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Friday, 28 June 2019

Features | Delightful Dedications


They're short, they're snappy, they're delightful. Dedications are a great way to start a book. 

Not only does a dedication give you some insight into an author's life (especially if they give a reason for the dedication), but they can often be quirky, funny, have inside jokes that only the dedicate-ee (not a word?) gets, or perhaps gives a tip of the hat to past books in a series, but they're often heartwarming and a beautiful way to begin a book.

Just like the acknowledgements at the end of a novel, I always find myself reading the dedication. Over the years I've read some truly beautiful ones, some quirky ones, and a couple of very out-there ones. I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the dedications that can be found in the first pages of some of the book on my shelf. Enjoy!

The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket | The End, by Lemony Snicket:

A note: While we're on the subject of Lemony Snicket, you should check out all the rest of his dedications in A Series of Unfortunate Events. They're just as golden as these ones.

The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis:

Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman:


The Selection, by Kiera Cass:


A Darker Shade of Magic, by V.E. Schwab:


Tiger Lily, by Jodi Lynn Anderson:


The Bane Chronicles, by Cassandra Clare:


Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell:


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling:


A Note: Perhaps my favourite of all time.

Fun fact about me: I actually have a book dedicated to me (and my sister). Okay, so it was a book written by my dad, but it still counts, right?

What about you? Do you have favourite dedications?


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Tuesday, 12 March 2019

Bookish Links #49


1. These handmade corner bookmarks are adorable!

2. International Women's Day may have come and gone but these titles would still be great reads any day of the year.

3. How many books could you read in one year? This test has the answers.

4. Sophie shared mini reviews of four titles she read in February including On The Come Up by Angie Thomas and Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan.

5. If you're looking for some audiobooks to listen to this year you'll love this post.

6. Michelle shared her thoughts on all of the companion books to the Harry Potter series.

7. Continuing with the Harry Potter theme, Rachel sorted 2019 releases into their Hogwarts houses.

8. Jessica shared some new favourite authors she discovered last year.

9. We loved Jamie's post all about how her reading life has changed since becoming a parent.

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Friday, 4 January 2019

Features | 12 Books I Have To Read This Year


It's a brand new year and despite completing my GoodReads challenge of 52 books read in 2018 with just a few hours to spare I am somehow entering 2019 with even more books on my TBR than I had 12 months ago. It might have something to do with the fact that I reread the entire Princess Diaries series this year instead of reading all the unread books languishing in the corner of my room but really, who can say? All I do know is that there are an embarrassing number of unread books in that corner and it's time to start getting through them, so here are 12 books I have to read in the next 12 months, before the embarrassment becomes too much.

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

My mum bought me a copy of Northern Lights right after I first read the first three Harry Potter books. I read the first chapter, decided it wasn't as good as Harry Potter, and it has sat on my bookshelf ever since. Having spent the intervening 20 or so years hearing how great this series is, I think it's well beyond time to get it down from the shelf.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee

This one hasn't been on my TBR for very long but it still seems like I'm the last person on the internet not to have read it yet. I've only heard great things about The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue and now there's a sequel as well it really is time to join the rest of the book blogging world and read this book.

The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman

I read the first two novels in Grossman's Magicians trilogy in 2018 and thoroughly enjoyed them but I have a tendency these days to wait far too long to finish a series. It has already been a few months since I read The Magician King and if I don't watch out it'll be a year or more before I finish this last book in the series.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

I've been a fan of the Green brothers' content for years and having read and enjoyed all of John's books, I was extremely excited to hear that Hank was releasing a novel of his own last year. I even preordered it. Yet I still haven't read it. I will get to it soon.

Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton

I devoured the first two books in this series back in 2017, preordered this final instalment as soon as I could, and waited for it impatiently. Then I put it with the rest of these books and didn't read it. If anyone knows why I have recently developed this habit of putting off the final instalments of book series, please let me know.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This is just a classic that I can't believe I haven't read yet and I really think it's time to actually pick it up this year.

The Upside of Unrequited and Leah On the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

I adored Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and am so sure that I will love these two companion books by Becky Albertalli that I bought them both as soon as I finished reading Simon, but yet again, they have sat neglected on my shelves for months, even though I know I will love them. Well, not for much longer.

The House of Hades and The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Are you sensing a theme? It feels as though I have been reading this series for years, taking far too long between each book, so perhaps my number one reading goal for 2019 is to read these two books and finish this series. Then I can move on to the next Camp Half-Blood series. And there will probably be another one before I finish that too.

Puddin' by Julie Murphy

Dumplin' was one of my favourite books of 2018, so if Puddin' is even half as good then I just can't wait any longer to read it.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Another book that everyone else seems to have read and another book that I've owned for far too long, I have almost read The Secret History so many times over the years and had it recommended to me even more often, so it really is getting embarrassing now that I still haven't read it.

Reading one of these books a month sounds pretty manageable but, as we can see, I am very good at putting off books I really want to read for no apparent reason, so we'll see how it goes. Are there any books you feel like you need to read this year?
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Friday, 2 November 2018

City of Ghosts | Victoria Schwab | Review


Cassidy Blake's parents are The Inspectres, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one. When The Inspectres head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn't sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn't belong in her world. Cassidy's powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself. 

If Victoria 'V.E.' Schwab wrote a shopping list, I'd read it. I adore her Shades of Magic series, and have also read her Villains series, and the Monsters of Verity series, both of which are brilliant. When I saw she had a new middle grade book coming out this year I was well excited.

“Every time I get nervous or scared, I remind myself that every good story needs twists and turns. Every heroine needs an adventure.

Despite the fact that this book is aimed at a younger generation, it didn't make it any less enjoyable for me. I really enjoyed Cassidy as a character and her best friend Jacob was awesome. I loved the Edinburgh setting, and all the street names and buildings I was familiar with, having spent a little time there a few years back. The fact that Cassidy is such a Harry Potter fan was such an added bonus, and it was so much fun reading the references scattered throughout the story.

This story has a little bit of everything: history, humour, adventure, supernatural, a bad guy, a dream team and of course, an incredible setting. You don't have to be in middle grade to enjoy this book, and I'm already looking forward to the next one!

Have you read City of Ghosts? Or any of Schwab's other books? 
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Thursday, 11 October 2018

Carry On | Rainbow Rowell | Review


I'm not going to lie, I was didn't think I would like this book. I knew going into it that people have compared it to Harry Potter fanfiction and my head just wasn't going to let that go. But it was Rainbow Rowell, and seeing as Anjali had recommended it and she's a big a Potterhead as me I thought I'd give it a try.


Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who's ever been chosen.

 That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right.

 Half the time, Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here — it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up.

I won't lie to you, I went into this comparing every little character to a Harry Potter character and I wasn't the biggest fan. I didn't like how they had to say random phrases to make things happen, I understand Harry Potter spells are sort of random phrases but like different nursery rhymes would do certain things. It just sounds a bit rubbish compared to a snazzy word, imagine trying to have a serious duel and you had to say Mary Had A Little Lamb or something.

Another thing that confused me was the fact they were always going on about how some smaller spells were a waste of magic. The further I got through the book I realised this was because they didn't have unlimited magic, that using magic was like using energy and doing constant magic would make you exhausted. Again, definitely too into my mindset of Harry Potter.

However, once I got used to Simon as a character and wasn't constantly comparing everything to Harry Potter I did enjoy it more. Once the plotline thickened and I'd figured out whether Simon and Baz hated each other or loved each other I started to get into it. I'd gone into the book thinking Simon and Baz were a couple so you'd understand why I was slightly confused at their hatred for each other.

Although, while the storyline was great and I did enjoy it I did feel like this wasn't the first book. So many conversations touched on previous incidents and storylines that felt like I'd started reading the third and last book in a trilogy before reading the first two. This is just being picky though, I did really like it. Enough for a 3 1/2 - 4 stars worth anyway.


Have you read it yet? Did you enjoy it? 

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Friday, 29 June 2018

BB Book Club | Book Titles In Other Languages

Mongolian edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*

While we haven't started reading it yet (although high-fives all round if you have!) July's Book Club pick is Portuguese Irregular Verbs, by Alexander McCall Smith. You can find the BB Book Club July announcement here, but in short, the book tells the tale of a professor of philology, the study of written words and language.

In keeping with a language theme, and before we dive into the 128-page story, I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the books we know and love, and check out their translated titles. Book titles that are translated often have completely different titles than the original, and this happens for a few reasons: the translated language simply doesn't have a word that means the same thing as the original language word, or the phrase, metaphor, simile or structure of the original version doesn't translate well, or turns into waffle in the new language.

Some of the book titles I'm sharing today have been translated from their original language into English, and some have gone the other way. One is similar to the original English version, but for the most part, the translation has made a big difference.
philology - noun: // the study of literary texts and of written records, the establishment of their authenticity and their original form, and the determination of their meaning.

1 | The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green


The Macedonian translation of this well-loved Young Adult novel by John Green is 'The World is not a Factory for Fulfilling Wishes'. The original title, if you remember the story, is an altered version of a quote from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, when the character Cassius says: "the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars." In this context, one interpretation says that it is not fate that drives people to their decisions, but rather simply being human, and all that comes with that. Green takes the quote and changes it in TFIOS, the meaning being altered to infer that the fault most definitely is in our stars; there are some things that happen in life that are thrown upon us, with no fault of our own (like cancer in the story). The Macedonian translation, then, doesn't really have the same meaning, nor the same catchy nod to Shakespeare.

2 | Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer


While the original English title doesn't really make too much sense - I guess Twilight is when the sun goes down? Vampires, sun, Edward sparkling etc - but the French translation is 'Fascination'. Um. I guess that's true?

3 | Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver


Short, simple, makes sense in English. The German title of this YA story is 'When You Die, Your Entire Life Passes Before Your Eyes, They Say'. Long, with commas, and I guess it makes sense in German.

4 | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Steig Larsson


Originally published in Swedish, the title was 'Men Who Hate Women'. When it was translated into English in the American market, it was changed. This has to big one of the biggest book title changes in recent history. The whole focus of the title changes from a man-centred one to a woman-centred title.

5 | The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien


There have been many translations that have been a bit iffy when it comes to Tolkien's Middle Earth stories, but the Swedish translation of 'The Hobbit' is 'The Hompen'. To make it funnier, some of the main characters, locations and creatures were renamed, including poor Biblo Baggins, whose named changed to Bimbo Backlin. In fact, there was a lot of funny translations in The Hobbit - you can find them here. Even just a skim read of this article will have you picking up the Swedish changes.

While we may laugh at the translated versions of some of these books, it's important to remember that it goes both ways: an original title in a language other than English might not work if it's translated to English. Every language has different sayings, different meanings, and a different culture driving the way the language works, so a translation is never going to be spot on.

And, after all that, these titles I've shared have been translated back into English so we can enjoy them. We may have missed the meaning behind some of them, too.

Do you know any other books that have different translated titles? Feel free to share them! 

*Photo by Anjali; shows Mongolian edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the translation of which reads pretty much the same as the English. Don't mess with Rowling! 
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Friday, 15 June 2018

Leah on the Offbeat | Becky Albertalli | Review


“Imagine going about your day knowing someone’s carrying you in their mind. That has to be the best part of being in love- the feeling of having a home in some else’s brain.” 
When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat—but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends—not even her openly gay BFF, Simon. 

 So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting—especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended. - Goodreads 

I seem to be reading a lot of LGBT books this year, and I wonder why that is. Perhaps there are more of them than there used to be, or they're on my radar more because so many of them are just such good reads. *Shrugs* Who knows. What I do know is that I am totally cool with that, and if YA books continue to be anything like Leah on the Offbeat, then bring.it.on.

After reading Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda earlier in the year, I absolutely loved the character of Leah Burke, so when I saw that Becky Albertalli had written another book from Leah's perspective, I was super excited. And she did not disappoint.

Leah is a brilliant gem of a character and I love her. She is this sassy, kick-ass drummer of a teen, who rocks her own style, and while she hasn't come out to her friends, her mum knows she's bi and is 100% supportive of that. Leah has a great way with words and I found myself laughing out loud at points, and then getting really emotional at times. Her banter with her friends and potential boyfriends/girlfriends is excellent, and Albertalli writes it wonderfully.
“I'm basically your resident fat Slytherin Rory Gilmore.” 
It's your typical great teen novel, in a way, with high school ending, prom to worry about, break ups and make ups, road trips to colleges they might be attending, and a whole lot of drama. But it's also this sweet story of a girl figuring out who she is, not for herself necessarily - she already knows that - but perhaps who she is in relation to others.

Oh, and I have to mention that we do get a lot of Simon in this book, which is wonderful because I didn't want his story to end either. Being in the same tight circle of friends as Leah, we discover more about Simon and his relationships, and what their plans are after they graduate. We're one year on from the events in Simon Vs so in a way, it feels like a sequel even if it's Leah's story, Leah's focus, and not Simon's.

One last thing before you rush out to get yourself a copy: the geek in this book was my all time favourite thing ever. Do you know how many references there are to Harry Potter? So.Many!
“You can’t just like Harry Potter. You have to be balls-out obsessed with it.” 
Other wonderfully geeky things that Leah brings up include (but not limited to): Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (the Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice musical that I basically grew up on), Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Love Actually, Grease, and Star Wars movies, Hamilton the show, HGTV, Roswell (okay, not specifically the show but it's a street name in the book and I like to think it's in reference), Gilmore Girls, Doctor Who, and even things like fan fiction and OTP (one true pairing). It was a top-notch geeky book, and I loved everything about it.

If you read and loved Simon Vs then you need to pick up Leah on the Offbeat.

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Thursday, 24 May 2018

Features | How I track my reading - Bullet Journalling


As a kid I used to be a part of a reading challenge with my local library, the challenge was to read 6 books over the 6 week summer holidays. We had little booklets to track them with and each week we'd have a librarian check them over and give us a sticker if we were on track. At the end of the 6 weeks if we managed to reach our target we got a reading challenge medal!

Nowadays the targets are a little higher with my reading challenges, this year I'm planning on 45 books. For the past 4 years, I've been increasing it by five books a year and I've been hitting it each time so fingers crossed I make it! Not only do I track my reading on Goodreads but I also use my bullet journal.

Above is the tracker I have for this year, although I will say this photo was taken in March so quite a few books have been added to it since then. Why I do this as well as tracking on Goodreads I hear you ask?

It's cuz it looks damn pretty that's why. Plus it's easier to look back on. Last years page I can easily flip back on whenever I like and see all the books I read instead of figuring out dates and months on Goodreads. As well as the problems when it comes to rereading! I've lost track how many times I've read Harry Potter and it's hard to keep track of that on Goodreads.

Of all the trackers in my bullet journal, which is a lot as I do like to track, this is probably my second favourite page behind my mood tracker!

Do you just use Goodreads to track your reading, or do you use something else? 

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Friday, 11 May 2018

Features | Bookish Podcasts


Podcasts are the in thing now, right? Who would have guessed seventeen years ago when the first iPod was released that there would soon be so many podcasts on every available topic? Honestly, there are so many to choose from these days that it can get overwhelming! So I'm here to recommend just a few podcasts with a literary twist, for all kinds of book lovers.


Bonnets at Dawn takes an in depth look at the lives and works of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, comparing them through research, conversations, and interviews with writers, historians, and various members of the Austen or Brontë fandom world, to determine once and for all who is the queen of English literature. Recently the podcast has also started to expand to include other writers, like Elizabeth Gaskell and Louisa May Alcott, and it's a must listen for anyone interested in female writers of the past.


Book Riot's Hey YA is the podcast for people who want to stay up to date with what's going in the world of young adult literature. Every week hosts Kelly Jensen and Eric Smith discuss YA book news, talk about topics relevant to readers and the industry, and recommend books both old and new. If you're passionate about YA and the topics that often surround it then this is the podcast for you.


In each episode of First Draft with Sarah Enni Sarah talks to writers of young adult and middle grade fiction about their books, their lives, and how they write. If you're a reader of YA or middle grade books then there's a good chance that Sarah has spoken to one of your favourite authors, and if you're interested in finding out about the process behind some of your favourite books, or just in how published writers work, then you'll definitely find something interesting in these conversations.


With each episode of What Page Are You On? hosts Alice Slater and Bethany Rutter pick a literary theme and discuss books they've read and would or would not recommend that fit within that theme.  Like a little book club of two, Bethany and Alice have discussed themes including true crime, books set in the eighties, and ghost stories, and have also recently started a book club for readers to get involved in too.


Witch, Please began as two scholars re-visting each of the Harry Potter books and movies in order to discuss them as literary texts but once they ran out of books and movies the hosts, Marcelle Kosman and Hannah McGregor, expanded the series to encompass all that the Wizarding World has to offer, from fan families, to brand loyalty, to book design. Hannah and Marcelle, joined by occasional guest hosts, are here to discuss everything there is to discuss about the world of Harry Potter under a feminist literary lens.
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