2015 Reading Goals | Update #1

Sunday, 7 June 2015

2015 Reading Goals | Update #1

Back in January we shared some of our reading goals for the year and today's post is the first in our update series sharing how we're all getting on so far. Read on to find out who's on target, what books we've been loving and what we'll be reading (and reviewing) next!


Lulu... 25 books read, 3/5 books vowed to read
I have read about 25 books so far this year and - believe it or not - actually managed to knock off some from the five I mentioned in my goals for this year: Ready Player One (absolutely freaking loved it!), Memoirs of a Geisha (what a chunk of a book, but so worthwhile) and I have been stuck on book four or five in the Narnia series, so yeah...getting there! I plan on reading Code Name Verity in June, but we'll see :) And Anna Karenina...well, there's always December haha! Just finished Just One Day and I have a serious case of wanderlust now!

Cat... 1/5 books vowed to read

I have only read one of my vowed to read books so far this year, and that was Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, which was an absolutely amazing read. Such an interesting concept and well executed. I plan to get back to the list as soon as possible!

Ali... 18/20 books read, 4/5 books vowed to read
Thanks to a lengthy commute, I am smashing my challenge. I've read all but one of my vowed reads, and as I've just picked up the last one I'm sure I'll do them all. Favourites so far? It's a three-way tie between Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill, H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald and Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix.

Erin... 4/5 books vowed to read

As I'm not taking part in the Goodreads challenge this year I have no idea how many books I've read so far in total, however my 'vowed to read' challenge is going well. After failing to read all five of my choices last year I was more realistic this time around, opting mostly for books I already own or had reserved at the library. For now I've come to a standstill on this particular reading challenge though as my fifth and final choice, Marissa Meyer's fourth Lunar Chronicles novel Winter, isn't due for release until November! My favourite of the four I have managed to read would have to be UnDivided (Neal Shusterman).

Anjali... 23/48 books read, 2/5 books vowed to read
So far this year, I think I'm doing pretty well! According to Good Reads, I'm 4 books ahead of schedule. My 'vow to read' list, however, is only doing so-so. I've read The Wicked Will Rise, by Danielle Paige, and also Let's Let Lost, by Adi Alsaid, both of which are on my 'vow to read' list. I enjoyed both of them, but I think my favourite book so far this year has been Carnival of Souls, by Melissa Marr. I've also been continuing reading the Moral Instruments series, by Cassandra Clare, and just have the final book to read.

Ria... 12/30 books read, 0 (almost 1) /5 books vowed to read
Uh oh. I'm definitely not doing well so far with this year's challenge. After a promising start I seem to have stagnated with just 12 books under my belt 6 months into the year.
I have started on my books I've vowed to read with The Night Circus - which I'm crawling through at the moment - and am hoping to pick up either Hollow Pike or Geek Girl over the next few weeks. I think the main problem with getting back into reading is finding the time at the moment and reading books I need to review! Now that Summer's here I'm determined to get back on track though! 
 

Sophia... 2/5 books vowed to read

I have to say I am doing rather well in that I now own copies of four of these books and I have read two of them! I read (and adored) The Luminaries earlier this year and nothing has quite matched up to it yet! It was entirely engrossing and everything I hoped it would be. I've also read The Rosie Effect which was good too but it didn't have the same wow factor for me as The Rosie Project. After my current read I intend to start The Valley of Amazement and my sister has cheekily nicked my copy of The Miniaturist so I will have to wait for her to finish that before I can finally see what all the fuss is about! As for 100 Years of Solitude I've put that down as one of my summer reads so I feel confident that I will have achieved my goal of reading these five books in 2015!

Now it's your turn to share! We'd love to know how you're getting on with your own goals and what books you've been loving in 2015. Don't forget to leave us a comment below!

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Bookish Links #5

Saturday, 6 June 2015

Bookish Links #5

Welcome to another Bookish Links, where we bring you some of our favourite content from all over the web!

1/ Putting Faces To Names? - first up is Cait's interesting piece on how she doesn't picture faces for the characters when reading a book. Do you picture characters based solely on the author's description, or perhaps you always see them as famous faces or people you've met? - let us know in the comments!

2/ Thoughts On Half-Star Ratings - where do you stand on half-star ratings? The star rating system is probably the most popular in the book blogging community but what if you don't want to use half-stars? Stormy's post explores how to decide whether you want to round your rating up or down.

3/ A Must-Read For Bloggers! - Carly shared a great post titled 'Bloggers Aren't Billboards' which discusses the PR side of book blogging. Have you had any similar experiences working with publishers? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

4/ Why Goodreads Is Awesome! - BB's very own blogger Anjali posted this great list on why everyone should be using Goodreads. If like us you're already a member don't forget to leave us your profile links in the comments and join our BB group!

5/ What To Do With Your Completed Colouring Book Pages! - after we recently shared a roundup of some of the best colouring books for adults we stumbled across this awesome article from the team over at Omiyage Blogs, who showcased some fab ideas for upcycling your completed pages - our favourite is the garland!

6/ Tips For Debut Authors - if you are a debut author with questions about querying then this is definitely the post for you! Find out more about literary agent Carly's top tips over on her blog.

7/ Books & Biscuits - this month we're finishing the roundup on a fun note with these adorable biscuit versions of book covers, featuring the shortlist for the Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction! (thanks to Michelle for pointing this one out to us!)

Don't forget to leave us links to any bookish articles you've written or enjoyed reading recently! 

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Church of Marvels | Leslie Parry | Review

Friday, 5 June 2015

Church of Marvels | Leslie Parry | Review

*Review copy provided by Hachette Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Image from GoodReads. 


It's 1895 New York. Four people, each searching for something, find their lives intertwining in Leslie Parry's Church of Marvels. Twin sisters Odile and Belle Church have been brought up in The Church of Marvels, a circus troupe, which burnt to the ground, their mother inside. One day Belle leaves, leaving only a note. Odile sets out on a journey from Coney Island to the city to find out what happened, why she left, and to bring her home.

As Sylvan cleans out the privies behind houses, he discovers a baby girl, left alone in the cold. He rescues her, knowing what it's like to be an orphan, and his search begins for her mother.

Alphie finds herself locked away in an insane asylum, in which she is sure her mother-in-law is responsible for. One day she meets a strange speechless girl who produces hidden scissors from her throat. A move which may destroy them, or save them both.

As the lives of these four individuals begin to entwine, the connections are made and the secrets start to spill forth. Written in third person from three of the characters' perspectives, alternating chapters, Church of Marvels is a wonderfully written book with fantastic language and imagery throughout. It's a story of love and loss, of hardship and pain, of family, of loneliness, of turn-of-the-century New York.

This was an interesting read for me. I found myself immediately drawn into the story, and enjoyed each introduction to the characters as the chapters went by. But somewhere in the middle I got a bit lost at times, and found that sometimes the abundance of prose and lack of dialogue for pages and pages on end was hard to read; I suspect I possibly missed a key sentence or two because of it. The story, however, was really interesting, and I did like how all the characters eventually connected. It did take a while, probably the last quarter of the book, but I did enjoy it more and got into to it a bit more when they did connect, after the slow going in the middle there. I enjoyed reading a book set in the late 1800s though, as I don't usually read novels from that period.

If you're after a story that is "The Night Circus meets Water for Elephants" (thanks, GoodReads, though I haven't read either of those yet - they're on my list), a story that is beautifully written and full of intense characters, pick up a copy of Church of Marvels. It was published in May this year, and is already receiving great reviews. Also...just look at that beautiful cover! Love it!

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Features | YA books that deal with real world issues

Thursday, 4 June 2015

Features | YA books that deal with real world issues

As much as I love escaping into fantasy worlds far different from the real one, some of my favourite books are those which deal with real world issues. Not only do they make really interesting, thought provoking reads but they are so important, as it provides a way of educating people on certain topics that may not necessarily be discussed in society often as they can be difficult to talk about.

Trigger warning: This post will discuss the following topics: Suicide, rape, abusive relationships, eating disorders, racism, teenage pregnancy and gay relationships. 

Suicide

There seem to be quite a lot of YA books on this topic, but the most notable is Jay Asher's 13 reasons why. Hannah has just committed suicide, but she leaves 13 tapes saying why she decided to kill herself, which is what the book centres around. This is definitely a book I would recommend reading twice. The first time I struggled to understand her motives for killing herself,as none of the reasons seemed that bad on their own, but the second time it was much easier to see how they all fitted together. I think everyone should read this book, as it really makes you think about the way you treat people. and how things that seem insignificant to you could really hurt someone else. Although it is completely fictional, it was very realistic. Another really good book that centres around suicide is Random by Tom Levine. A short book, but also thought provoking none the less. For a different perspective, Love letters to the dead by Ava Dellaria is an interesting read. Unlike the other two, it focuses less on suicide itself and more on the after effects, as it is told from the perspective of a girl who committed suicide's sister.

Rape and abusive relationships
Just listen by Sarah Dessen is a good read for looking at the topic of rape.Although it's not the main focus of the book, but it does play an important role in the story. I particularly like this book because it doesn't go into too much detail about the rape itself, but instead focuses on the after effects, making it appropriate for younger readers. Anorexia is also discussed a fair amount in the book. The topic of abusive relationships is covered in Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. Again, it's not the main focus of the book, but it is covered, as one of the families is affected by a manipulative and abusive person.

Teenage pregnancy
I think this is one of the most important topics that teenagers need to be aware of and educated about, because in a lot of cases it's very easily preventable. One of my favourite books is Boys don't cry by Malorie Blackman. This doesn't deal with the pregnancy itself, but describes what happens when Dante is told about a baby he didn't know he had and is left to look after it completely on his own. This book is very original, as stereotypically people would expect the mum to be the one dumped with the child, and I think that is what makes it such an amazing book. It also has a gay character and focuses on some of prejudices faced by gay people. Another good read is Trouble by Non Pratt (I'm sure that has to be a fake name but it amuses me nonetheless). Fairly light-hearted considering the subject matter, but a very entertaining book.

Racism
Noughts and crosses, another one by Malorie Blackman, is the main one for this category. Despite being set in a fictional world, where white people are heavily discriminated against and black people are seen as superior, it has a lot of parallels with the real world If you like books with a lot of action, this is great read.

Eating disorders
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson is a fantastic book. It is told from the perspective of someone with anorexia. Whilst I can not say if this is authentic or not, having never experience Anorexia myself, it seems like it gives a good insight into what it might like to have the disease, and it also discusses bulimia as well. If you like plot heavy stories you might not enjoy this as it focuses a lot of Lia's (the mains character) thoughts and feelings, but for me that was one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much.

Gay relationships
I couldn't do this entire post without mentioning a John Green book. Will Grayson Will Grayson, which he co wrote with David Levithan, is by far the most light hearted and fun reads in this list, and it is also my favourite book by John Green - controversial I know since everyone else seems to obsessed with TFIOS. I particularly liked this book because it 2 of the main characters are gay. One of them is how you'd imagine a stereotypical gay guy, the other is as far away from that as possible. The fact that it showed two different images and didn't just stick to the classic stereotype makes it a really good read. Plus, with not one but two amazing authors writing it, how could it possibly be bad?

Sorry for the very long post, my posts seem to be becoming extremely rambly (is that a word? Not according to spellcheck), so thanks for sticking around till the end!
Katie x

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The Summer I Turned Pretty | Jenny Han | Review

Wednesday, 3 June 2015

The Summer I Turned Pretty | Jenny Han | Review

The Summer I Turned Pretty follows Belly, a young girl who spends every Summer with her mother, brother, mother's best friend and her two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Despite having known each other all their lives, Belly has always had a soft spot for the boys, Conrad in particular. The book contains quite a lot of flashbacks from their younger years, so the reader can get a feel for the relationship Belly has with the boys and their mother, Susannah. Whilst young Belly annoyed me with her need to fit in and her naivete, she was as young as 8 in some chapters so I understood why she behaved the way she did, I just enjoyed it slightly less than the current-day chapters. 

Overall, the book was really enjoyable and I whizzed through it, dying to know what happened to the characters next. The Summer I Turned Pretty is more about getting to know the characters, which I wasn't used to in a contemporary book as they're usually standalone's but seeing how this one laid the foundations for the trilogy, without giving too much away was really interesting to me as it's not something I've ever read before. I would highly recommend reading this book, and the whole trilogy, if you like contemporary. 

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Unnatural Creatures | Neil Gaiman | Review

Monday, 1 June 2015

Unnatural Creatures | Neil Gaiman | Review

*Image courtesy of Ann Arbor District Library

Summary:

This book is a collection of short stories, new and old, written by authors from as far back as the late 1800’s to as recent as 2011. All the stories, chosen by Gaiman, are about supernatural creatures. Some of these creatures are as normal as bees and wasps that can write and create detailed maps, others are as obscure as a meat-eating plant that looks like an ink blot.

Review:

At 465 pages, Unnatural Creatures is not as easy a read as a collection of short stories usually is for me. I’ll admit, some of the short stories felt a bit longer than I would have liked. That being said, however, I had a wonderful time reading this. The diversity of the authors made sure that the entire book was never boring and that there was something for everyone. I’ve even written down several of the authors to read more of.

With one or two exceptions, the stories in Unnatural Creatures make for a good read for anyone with a short attention span and, considering the reading slump I was in, this was very helpful to me. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is in the midst of a slump or is trying to find something new. You can always trust Gaiman’s judgement when it comes to selecting good stories.

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