Top Five // Authors You'd Like to Meet

I was thinking about giving T5W a go but I decided that before I jump into the weekly meme that I would give you some top fives from some of the previous topics. This topic was taken from the January 2015 topics. Here we go!

5. Lucy Ribchester - Author of one of my all-time favourite books, The Hourglass Factory, Ribchester seems like the ideal person to be friends with. Her book is all about suffragettes and the circus so we'd probably have some great conversations discussing feminism and how much we both love the circus vibe! She also owns a dog who is rather cute, so that would be an added bonus of meeting Lucy Ribchester!

4. Philippa Gregory - I love history, and Gregory's Cousins' War series was my first dive into historical fiction. It was her books that have inspired me to become a history teacher, and although they may not be historically accurate they still capture an amazing atmosphere of what it must have been like to live in those times. Gregory is also a historian so I feel that if I were to meet her I'd gain some great knowledge about the past.

3. Holly Black – I’ve read The Iron Trial and The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, both of which I absolutely loved, and Holly Black seems like such an interesting person to meet. I love her writing style and the stories she tells, so even just getting to meet her would be awesome. She’s also friends with Cassandra Clare, so it would be great if I could meet them both at the same time for a panel or signing because I’d love to see them together

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2. Rainbow Rowell - We all know how cute and relatable Rainbow's books are, so it would be an awesome experience to meet the woman behind the characters that I love so much. I can't help but think she'll be completely awesome and really funny so she'd be the ideal person to meet. I've heard great things from people who've gone to her events so hopefully if I ever meet her we'll get along really well!

1. Patrick Ness - I've only read two of his books, but Patrick Ness is quickly becoming the sort of author I really admire and support. Four of the books on my TBR are written by him and I can't wait to find out what else he's written. Ness seems like an awesome person and anybody who could write such great stories must be great in real life as well. It would be interesting to get to know him and how he thinks of such original stories
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Which authors are on your list?

A x

Bookish Musings // Reading Slumps

When the days started getting shorter, the evenings becoming darker; I thought it would be the perfect setting to get some proper reading done. I'd saved a lot of my bigger TBR books to the end of the year so I could plough through them indoors with a nice cup of tea. But, maybe I put too much pressure on myself to read all of those books.

Most months I'm able to read around 10 books, but this October, I'm struggling to finish 5. This may be because I've completed my GoodReads challenge *pats self on the back* but I don't know whether it's just because I've had enough of reading for the moment.

The problem is, a lot of the books on my shelf have been there for a while and I haven't been able to pick them up any sooner. My more recent purchases are looking more exciting to me and I would like to read some of the more recently published books. At the same time, I don't like my books to sit on my shelves for too long so I try to read them in the order I bought them. This usually means I harbour quite an interest in the books I own to read without that excitement fading.

Unfortunately, autumn is a good time to curl up with some BookTube videos and movies so reading may sit on the backburner for a while before I fully commit back to it after I've taken a break.

Reading slumps can be quite a good thing as they allow you to rediscover new hobbies and activities that you may not have become involved in if you had your head stuck in a book. I'm not saying I'm going to continue to keep my reading to a minimum, but merely that I think it's a good thing to embrace the slump and take something from it.

What's your opinion on reading slumps?

A x

Buzzfeed // If Men Were Women

As a feminist, I feel this video really helps to give males an idea of what it's like living in a world where you're still treated as "weak" and "meek". This is important and I hope you all learn from it as I have.


Happy reading,
A x

Book Review // Legend by Marie Lu

Cover designed by Lori Thorn

Title: Legend

Author: Marie Lu

Cover Designer: Lori Thorn

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 295

Where: Goodreads | BookDepository

My word, what a book! I haven’t read any dystopian in a while and I honestly don’t know why. I love the action-packed story; the corrupt society and the valiant rebels. Yet, it’s never my go-to genre when I finish a book. I’ve been reading a large amount of contemporary recently so it was nice to jump into a different world with a new setting and interesting characters. I think the characters are where we’ll start…

Day is the Republic’s most wanted criminal. Sorry, what was that… one of the two perspectives in this book is a wanted criminal? Yes, please! Day is a great perspective and you really get a feel of the world when you’re reading through his eyes because he’s living on the streets and looking after himself. The thing that makes Day relatable is his love for his family and friends. He’s so loyal and wants to help the people he loves so much that sometimes he becomes more human than you think.

Marie Lu - Author

The other perspective we get in Legend is from June. A girl high up in the military society, who seeks vengeance for her brother’s death, and doesn’t question the society she lives in. June is the other side of the scale to Day: she doesn’t have to scavenge food or worry about family sickness. Everything she needs is available yet the death of her brother is what kick-starts her into meeting Day and beginning to think for herself. I felt a connection to June because we’re both female and we both follow the rules. Yet June beginning to think for herself is also a reason I felt connected to her because that’s something I’ve started to take very seriously as well.

Legend follows June and Day, the perfect soldier and wanted criminal, who cross paths through a terrible murder and slowly start to unravel the secrets the government have been keeping from them. This is a great story, full of action and mystery (although, I guessed most of it pretty early on) that shows what it’s like living on the streets and within skyscrapers. My only qualm is the instalove that made it impossible to assume anything other than romance would blossom; I was hoping the romance could begin in the next book. This is a brilliantly written, original novel that kept me hooked throughout and desperate for more. I highly recommend.

HIATUS ||| Where have I been?

Well, it looks like I've been neglecting the blog.

I know, I know, I was 5 posts in and then I gave it up again. BUT NOW I have a plan. I aim to upload weekly, whether it's a review, top 5 or wrap-up. I also want to take some photos of the books I've been reading and get into that.

Getting back into blogging is going to take a while and I don't plan on doing so straightaway, in fact I'm not going to start properly blogging again until September. That's when school starts and that's when order returns to my life. I'm also looking into getting myself a nice camera, so, you might not see me until 2016. That's quite embarassing, but I don't want to jump blindly into this. I want to plan and make sure I'm giving detailed descriptions and reviews. This blog should be a document of my reading life, as well as my other interests. That's not happening at the moment.

So, I'm sorry for my hiatus, and I'm sorry that it's going to continue. I just hope you'll stick with me whilst I sort myself out!

Happy reading
A x

CURRENTLY READING ||| What I'm reading at the moment

Hello!

The Easter holidays are here which means I'll have plenty of time to read the books on my TBR and borrow a few from the library. I thought I would share with you what I'm currently reading and what I plan to read afterwards!

Currently Reading:
Forest of Secrets by Erin Hunter. This is the third book in the Warriors series which is a middle grade series about cats living in clans in the wild and the conflict that goes on. I find this series to be enjoyable and quite a quick read. Easy writing and a non-complicated plot.

Current TBR:
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. When I heard To Set a Watchman would be coming out soon I bought TKAM so I could read it first before I buy TSAW. Very excited about this one!
• Warriors #4-#6. I'm planning on finishing up the series whilst on the Easter holidays, let's hope the story stays interesting!
• Winger by Andrew Smith. I've only heard excellent things about this boarding school book. It's a bit big but I'm still hoping to get it finished before I have to go back to school.

What are you reading at the moment? Which book on my TBR should I read next?

Tally ho!
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GOODREADS GOAL ||| 2015 Reading Challenge

It may already be February but I still feel the need to make it known that I'm doing the 100 book challenge this year! I plan to read 100 books by the 31st December 2015 and I'm already on my 24th book, as of right now.

Last year I started recording the books I read, but I didn't challenge myself to a certain amount - I just wanted to see what I was capable of reading in a year. In 2014 I read around 90 books. In 2015 I plan to read 10 more. Luckily, if I start to fall behind the library has a great collection of graphic novels that I can read to catch up with my target! My TBR has also decreased dramatically since that was my goal last year. I wanted to get my TBR down to a manageable number so I would be able to place a book order once I got down to the last three books waiting to be read. This plan has worked so far and I love the spontaneity of ordering books. Normally, I know exactly what sort of book I want to read next but by the time I've made the order I've chosen completely different books to what I set out to read!

Hopefully 2015 will be a great reading year, and I can't wait to see what books I'm yet to read this year!

Tally-ho!
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