• Books

    Making lists & buying books..

    To Read or Not To Read; That is the question!

    Okay, so I started out this year with an aim of getting out more; meeting friends, etc. It’s now half way through the year and I want to spend more time alone. Sound crazy? Hear me out!


    I have finally compiled a reading list & it just keeps getting longer! It’s now nearly 300 books long. I started out as “I’ll add just one or two so I know what to read next”, Before I knew it, there were too many books on the list.


    To add to this I have accepted the “GoodReads 2017 Challenge” of reading 12 books in 2017. It started with 10 but I upped it to 12 and as of December I have completed reading over 15 books, my final target.

    I have also recently decided to create a list called “Lifetime Reads” as in I plan to read them. The list is full of Classics like “Alice in Wonderland”, “Great Expectations”, “The portrait of Dorian Gray” and “Lord of the Rings”. The total number of books is 20.

    The problem is once to start looking into reading, you end up spending hours staring at reviews and adding new books to be read.


    ANOTHER THOUGHT BELOW:

    Is it me or do you find since becoming a reader again; if you go to book sales you can’t help but pick up about 2-3 books. I work in a library and we have a running book sale & every time I go in there (twice a week) I end up looking for new books.

    They are all second hand, some rubbish quality but others obviously well loved & like new, plus the prices are so damn cheap -30p paperback & 50p hardback!

    What are YOUR opinions?

  • Books,  REVIEWS

    [REVIEW] Wicked – Gregory Maguire

    Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

    All about Politics, Witches and Wizards.

    I want to say I am reviewing this book after not reading in ages! Now that I think of it, I really should do a re-read at the end of the year when I get some time out of my busy reading schedule.

    This book is my all-time favourite book and it’s pretty good if I may say so myself. On my first read, I dived right into and it took me about 3 days to finish it. I really loved it.

    It is basically the backstory of who the “Wicked Witch of the West” in “The Wizard of Oz” is; where she came from, how she became “wicked” and why the wizard doesn’t like her.

    WARNING:

    I personally read the book before seeing the musical and felt it was an added bonus to the book & a FANTASTIC SHOW but do not be under the illusion that if you do decide to choose to approach Wicked the other way you will get the same experience ..you WON’T

    If you are looking to read this book (and the rest of the series) before watching the musical on Broadway/west-end I would wholly recommend this. However, I must caution anyone who has watched the Musical – This book is a long and sometimes quite a hard read. Although it is interesting it’s NOT like the musical suggests; fun and easy.

  • Books

    Christmas Reads? 2017

    As you are probably already aware, by the date this was posted, that Christmas isn’t far away. This is the closest I get to being festive online and I am getting excited to have lots of fun with family and friends!

    I am doing my top 3 reads that I think you could read this Christmas (2017). As always it is your choice on what you read but I think these are some brilliant suggestions to get you in the Christmas mood…

    1. Harry Potter – JK Rowling – Yes, there are scenes where the characters are around at Christmas but it is not a festive book as such but when I read the books they made me feel awesome & festive!
    2. Little Women – Louisa May Alcott – This is a book I am currently reading. It is a classic & once again after watching the old film I understand there are scenes of Christmas but not Christmasy.
    3. A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens – This is the classic tale of a business man in Victorian London who gets shown how to be festive. I’ve seen loads of film adaptations but never read the book.

    Are you planning on reading any Christmasy books this year? What are they & are they traditional tales or modern classics? Tell me in the comments below.

     

    MERRY CHRISTMAS, ONE & ALL

  • Books

    GoodReads Reading Challenge 2017.

    I am finally coming up to the end of my GoodReads Challenge in 2017.

    As you might have noticed I upped my amount of books to 15 as I went over 12 earlier in the year.

    This may seem quite small but it is because I am going from; A person who would not touch a book, in months, to; A girl who is now reading pretty much all my free time (when not sleeping, volunteering at a library – with free access to more books, learning a language or studying at home.)

    The reason I choose the GoodReads Challenge was that I needed the motivation to read again.

    I had the perfect opportunity to start from scratch and make a new blog . to try and encourage me to carry on going. I am now in about 4 groups on facebook dedicated to reading and blogging so I have the community around me now.

    How are you progressing with your Goodreads challenge? Are you happy reading? Do you feel more pressure to read within the book community because others are? Give me your thoughts and your responses to others!

  • Books,  REVIEWS

    [REVIEW] #ad Cold Feet: The Lost Years – Carmel Harrington

    35960041
    GIFTED*
    A trip down memory lane with the original cast!

    This book arrived nice & early with a press release explaining the publishing date, plus quite a bit of information on both the book and author. I then picked it up to read and here is my review…

    This book is centred around the lives of the original cast of Cold Feet. It is an easy read and is based on the time between the old first series 1-5 in the 90/00s and the beginning of series 6. The current series airing in 2017 on ITV (UK) is series 7.

    After reading a few paragraphs it is easy to slip back into the characters’ world in Manchester (UK). It shows light comedy and lots of relationship troubles as you expect from people that age.

    We get to have another fun look into the lives of David, Karen, Adam, Jenny & Pete. Also, it includes their friends, family, work partners and others. It, however, is set very close to Rachel’s death. She is brought up a lot which drops the tone sometimes but overall, it suits the storyline.

    This book is not only interesting it has good humour and suited for anyone over 15.

    Would you recommend this book? Yes, I would to anyone who enjoys the TV series. It’s a fun read!

    DISCLAIMER: I got this book from the Publisher “Hodder & Stoughton” for an honest review

  • Books,  REVIEWS

    [REVIEW] Girl, Interrupted – Susanna Kaysen

    One woman’s journey through Mental Health.

    Once I received this book I set about reading it. It only took me 2-3 days to finish this book because not only is it a short book but interesting.

    It is an autobiography; about the author, Susanna Kaysen’s few years spent within a mental institution (famous for housing Sylvia Plath) on a teenage girls wing.

    The reason I picked this book up was that I had already watched the film (with Angelina Jolie, Brit Murphy & Winona Ryder) which made me fascinated about how close to the book the film was.

    The film was brilliant, I wondered if the book was too? Yes, the book lived up to expectations and gave a more detailed account you are unable to get with a film.

    The first thing this short novel showed me is how honest the author is; we really get inside her head and she explains well what is going on around her and her emotions.

    The 1st person works well with the 3rd person throughout because we get the feeling that we are experiencing it with the people involved. As far as I know, the names have all been changed but each person has their own identity which makes you want to learn more about them.

    “Sometimes the only way to stay sane is to go a little bit crazy

    Would I recommend this book to a friend? Honestly, I would recommend this to anyone that has a keen interest in mental health. It is very thought-provoking and makes you question yourself at times!