• Books,  Uncategorized

    NarnAThon #Readathon

    Here are the details about NARNATHON.

    I am inviting you all, bloggers and vloggers to join me in reading the complete 7 book series “Chronicles of Narnia” over the complete month of September. This is a readathon designed to get people reading more & reading children’s classics

    • There will be no prizes – everyone who finishes is a winner.
    • I will be doing twitter sprints over the month of September.
    • Aim to read up to 3 books a week, to complete the challenge.
    • when mentioning this challenge on social media use “NarnAThon

    PLEASE NOTE: If you want to take part, please leave a link below in the comments to your blog (WordPress/Blogspot etc) or vlog (Youtube). You Must Link Back To This Post when participating online, on your attached blog or vlog post. – You can always contact me via Twitter!

    Good Luck NARNATHON’rs!

  • Books,  REVIEWS

    [REVIEW] Harry Potter 2 (&tCoS)

    Nearly everyone is aware of Harry Potter. This week marks the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter & Chamber of Secrets being published.

    This is my review on the second book in the Harry Potter series and hopefully will not encounter too many spoilers. It is a solid sequel to book number one and is a reread for me, over 10 years later.

    This book takes off from the first in the series as we follow Harry through his summer holidays and 2nd year at Hogwarts. It has quite a few familiar faces and a few new ones.

    This book is a children’s classic that is well-known throughout Europe, UK & America and other places, for both its film series and books. It has been made popular everywhere.

    My favourite character to read about is Dobby. He causes mayhem throughout the book but is kind with a sassy attitude (when not beating literally himself up!) Also he looks out for Harry when no-one else seems to.

    My least favourite character to read about was the Dursleys are they are repulsive and luckily don’t feature much in this adventure… but when they do, they are horrible to our hero Harry.

    This book is a fun read but the themes of the book are slightly more mature than the first in the Harry Potter series. I am looking forward to continuing my re-reading of the complete 7 book series and I know the series not only gets longer but darker and more sinster in each book.

    Would I recommend this book? Of course. Any age can read this book from young children to the elderly.

    Do you like this series? Are you celebrating the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter? What is your favourite book & characters in the series? Please write your thoughts in the comments below

  • The Library

    …borrowing library books?

    Borrowing books from the library is a relatively new concept to me. I have always been someone who has always bought books either from charities or bookstores. I also like ordering books online and receiving them, however that way you can’t judge size or whether you will enjoy it.

    In a library and book shopping in stores you can scan through a book judge it’s length and decide whether you like it unlike online when you need to guess unless you have already seen it somewhere.

    The library is handy if you are a speed reader and go through books quickly as you only borrow a book for 3 weeks at a time. You can renew books via the phone and now internet. A library book means you save up from £3-20 borrowing a book (as long as you don’t get an overdue fine!!)

    I have volunteered at my library (post here) for over a year now, i have been borrowing books all the time. It takes roughly a week to receive a book; if it is not from your closest library. as they have a postal system where 6 local libraries transfer books around the area for members to borrow.

    I would highly recommend you check out your local library if you can’t afford to buy the latest book out. It takes roughly 2 months for a book to come into a library after being published and if it’s a popular author there could be waiting lists to borrow the book. I would still choose to do this.

    Please note that a lot of libraries in the UK are closing down or being run by volunteers like me.
    This is due is lack of funding. If you see an event by you
    r local library – please support it!

  • Favourites,  The Library

    Library Volunteering: 1 YEAR ON.

    As you might be able to tell from the title I have now been a library volunteer locally for over a year and what a year its been. I have had my ups and downs but overall helping out has been a good experience & I aim to carry on for another year…

    Meeting new people

    In a library, it is impossible to go a shift without seeing and greeting new people. They are either regular members of the library or new-comers. Sometimes you bump into people you know outside the library and start a conversation and get distracted. I love chatting to members about books and how their life is going.

    Reading new authors:

    Being in a library you see lots of books being checked in and out, you start out a conversation with the member; get to asking “whats your favourite author or series?” and create a list of of new books or old favourites, then you go and read the synopsis and see if its something you would like to read yourself. I have found lots of new book series and authors this way.

    Getting involved in the Book Community & creating this Blog:

    Because of my volunteering, I got the confidence to create this blog and run it 100% myself, with technical help from my good friend Matthew. This blog has become an outlet for all my library wonderings and get the word out about libraries closing. The library also inspired me as a blogger as I write reviews for books I read and I also now get requests from publishers and authors who would like honest reviews online which makes me feel proud.

    Do you use your local library? Has your library closed down?
    Do you prefer to own books rather than borrow?
    Tell me WHY in the comments below.

  • Books,  REVIEWS

    [REVIEW] #ad Pigeon Blood-Red – Ed Duncan

    GIFTED*

    This book attracted me to the synopsis. I like most crime books and haven’t read one in a while. As a short book of only 201 pages, I thought it would be quite quick to read, which it was.

    DISCLAIMER: This book was sent to me via the publisher and author. This doesn’t affect my full review below.

    This book focuses on criminals and the people around them, both good and bad. As I was reading this I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is an interesting book which is a fast-paced and good character and plot-lines.

    The characters, although not relatable due to being criminals, are interesting and make you want to read more. I felt myself being drawn into the storyline and wanting to read more about the characters. Chapters were generally quite short which kept the pace at a constant level.

    The main storyline is about a criminal enforcer who is looking for an expensive necklace he lost while in transit. We find out early on who took it and why, but we don’t know who will keep it in the end or what he will do to get it back. It has multiple storylines that some aren’t related but they are all very interesting.

    Although when I first started reading about Robert I was immediately sympathetic to him and his life I believe the best character is definitely Rico as we see his story progress the most and even if you don’t agree with the actions he does, you still want him to succeed. He comes through as a macho male and you don’t see much of his emotions but you still understand him.

    Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would as this author is not well-known and created a great short (just over 200 words) novel which was engaging, interesting and a fun read. I hear there are 3 books to this trilogy being planned. The 2nd book is already out and the 3rd should be released soon, so look out for Ed Ducan’s older work and the rest of this series.

    Do you love crime books? & a quick read?
    Do you like reading about “Gangsters” and criminals?
    This is the book for you.

  • Books,  Favourites,  REVIEWS

    [REVIEW] Animal Farm – George Orwell

    “ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.” – George Orwell

    As I finish this book I am reminded why I wanted to read it. Not only is it a good commentary on modern sociology but a great book to read. This book follows the liberation & revolution of a farm in England that drives out all humans and establishes a hierarchy of animals in control of themselves. It is a quick read and rather interesting. This is a tale that shows the darker side of human nature through the eyes of animals copying them.

    This book is one of my favourite books of 2018. I thoroughly enjoyed and had a good time reading it (but slightly distressed, due to graphic descriptions within the book). This is a great read that has a brilliant film adaptation.

    George Orwell, the author, is famous over the world for writing both this and “1984” among other less-known novels. Both books have individually stood the test of time & known all over the world for being modern classics.

    Did I see the ending coming? Honestly, Yes as well as watching the film first I could also tell by the way it was written how it was going to end, but that didn’t take anything away from the final few pages when I was reading it.

    Would I recommend this book? Yes, to all ages over 12 (purely due to graphic violence). This is a book that anyone, anywhere can read and if you didn’t know; it is based on the real-life event of the Russian Revolution.

    SPOILERS BELOW…

    Although Snowball is taken out of the equation early on and to be honest you don’t know whether to trust him or not, about 10 pages into him leaving the farm I started to question Why? …and I wanted him to come back.

    My favourite character has to be Boxer, not for the way he is but because he shows how loyal he is to the farm, how his undying devotion eventually is his own demise. He is the best character and lovable throughout the book.