Books in August

August has been a much more successful reading month than July. Although I didn't love them all, they didn't feel like a chore to get through. I have also been slowly making my way through the first Game of Thrones book (I have read it before but it was such a long time ago that I felt I needed to read it again before I dived into the second book). I have also put Fire and Blood on my Christmas book list because I hate the thought of having to wait until 2026 to find out what happens next in House of the Dragon (we're all Team Black, right?) So here is what I read this month:

The Road by Cormac McCarthy | I had high hopes for this book but I just don't get the hype? I love an end-of-the-world, dystopian novel but there was just not enough going on in this book. The story follows a man and his child who are trying to navigate a world in which almost everything has been destroyed. That's essentially the whole story. This quote: "If you break little promises you'll break big ones" was the only thing I remembered when I finished the book.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas | I was unsure about this book when I first started it but it got better as it went along. I will have to read the rest of the series now that I have started it and I'm hoping I get more into as I work my way through them. 

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer | This one has got to be the most irritating one of the series so far. Edward's possessive personality is so inappropriate and it often made my physically cringe. He is so much worse in the books than they portrayed him in the films. One book left in the series now though so nearly at the end... phew.

Sidesplitter by Phil Wang | I love a good memoir and although I don't read comedian's memoirs exclusively, they do make up a big proportion of the ones I do read. This was my favourite read of the month. It had me laughing from the get go. I love Phil Wang's style of comedy so much and his humour came across so clearly in his writing. He has such a refreshing outlook on culture and belonging and it was often as insightful as it was funny.

I am away for a couple of weeks in September so I'm not sure how much reading I will get done. My plan is to get through a couple of books on my kindle that have been on there for literally years. I'm guessing it will probably be a slower reading month though!

What have you read recently that you've loved?

Books in July

July seems to have been a bit of a slow month for reading. It probably didn't help, however, that I was reading multiple books side by side and kept getting distracted by important things such as the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader documentary on Netflix (has anyone else watched this yet?) It also didn't help that I wasn't overly into the books I chose to read so they were a bit of a chore to get through. There was only one I really enjoyed!

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley | I have read a couple of Lucy Foley's books before (The Paris Apartment, The Guest List... I also have The Hunting Party on my bookshelf). That being said, I always find her books just 'ok'. I always find the premise of her books really appealing but they are just never quite as good as I hope they will be. The Midnight Feast was no different. This novel is set during the opening weekend of a new resort which was once the grounds for an unfortunate incident 15 years prior. I struggled with this one because I didn't like any of the characters and it's really hard to care about what happens to them when they are so unlikeable. The chapters were short so it wasn't overly taxing but I think I can say with some confidence that I'm not a huge fan of Lucy Foley.

Mrs England by Stacey Halls | This is the second Stacey Halls book I have read and I loved it as much as the first. The good news is that I already have The Foundling on my shelf waiting to be read next and I can't wait! Mrs England is about a children's nurse in 1904 who goes to work for a family in West Yorkshire and uncovers all sorts of secrets about them as well as confronting some difficult situations from her own past. I love a good piece of historical fiction and Stacey Halls hasn't let me down yet. 

Lock in by John Scalzi | This is about a virus which causes some of the population to 'lock in' i.e maintain their awareness but be unable to move. It's got a few hints of a crime/thriller novel as the main characters begin to solve a murder which, on the surface, makes no sense. I have had this on my kindle just about since it was released 10 years ago. I love a bit of sci-fi but this just seemed to miss the mark. Again, I didn't really care for the characters. I don't think all of the technical jargon was never well explained so I had to re-read parts and in the end I just thought 'well if I don't understand it now, I never will'. It got more enjoyable towards the end but it took me a while to get through because I wasn't crazy about it.

In August I am planning to read The Road by Cormac McCarthy (my brother and I both unknowingly asked for this book for Christmas and decided we would read it at the same time). I also want to read The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and A Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (although I'm unsure how this one will go down, despite the rave reviews!) So hopefully a better month of reading next!

Books in June

Don't ask me what condition I was in when I made this decision but over New Year I told myself that I could not buy any books in 2024. I know - what was I thinking? Who even am I? I told my family and they all but laughed in my face, not believing for a single second that I was capable of going a whole 12 months without buying a single book. I was in a habit of buying books and then leaving them on my shelf unread for, in some cases, years. So I'm on a bit of a mission to get through as many of the books I currently own and I've done reasonably well so far. I've read 23 books so far this year and have purchased (through book vouchers or Waterstones points) only a few. I've also been gifted some books too and who am I to say no to free books? So here is what I read in June! 

Twilight and New Moon by Stephanie Meyer | I can't tell you exactly what made me what to re-read the Twilight series but here we are. I rewatched the films last year and mostly enjoyed them. I forgot how different the book was to the film and I'm aware that there are a lot of problematic areas so this was for nostalgia more than anything else. I was curious as to how they would read as an adult compared to a 14 year old who was so adamantly Team Edward (can I be Team Charlie now?) I've always loved Jasper and Emmett but they are so much better in the books than in the films. Anyway, it's just one of those easy-to-read, familiar series that fill the gap between other books. 

Questions I am Asked about the Holocaust by Heidi Fried | This was fascinating. I studied History at university but haven't had a whole lot to do with the subject since graduating so it was refreshing to spend some time delving back into it. I also read a few other WW2 related books this year which I have loved. Fried's book is only around 150 pages and it is incredibly interesting. She basically just talks through common questions she gets asked about the Holocaust and answers them in simple terms. I've spent a long time learning about the holocaust throughout various stages of my education and there were still things that she discussed in this book that I'd never even considered about people's lives in the camps. Definitely recommend! I read this on the free BorrowBox app which connects to your local library card and lets you 'borrow' digital copies of books - I would highly recommend downloading it if you don't already have it as, if you're like me and can't resist buying a book, this is a great way of finding something new to read without having to buy anything. 

Bones and All by Camille DeAngelis | I actually saw the film trailer for this a while ago and was intrigued by the premise. I won't lie, I had to re-read the opening paragraph about 4 times before it made any sense to me but once I made it past the first page (always a good sign) I really enjoyed it. Well, enjoyed it as much as a person can enjoy a book about cannibalism. It has some touching moments of friendship and loss and heartbreak in there too and it makes you feel for the main character despite her tendency to self-sabotage. 

In July I will probably read the next book in the Twilight series (Eclipse) and I have a couple of thrillers on my shelf that have been recommended to me too. I might also reread the first Game of Thrones book again as I'm watching House of the Dragon at the moment and I just want to be in that world again.

Books in February

February seems to have passed by in a blur, don't you think? It's been a busy one and with work and deadlines and adventures, I haven't done an awful lot of reading! But the books I have read have been great and are definitely ones I'd recommend. So here they are: 

Romesh Ranganathan | Straight Outta Crawley

I love a good biography by a comedian. Romesh is one of my favourites at the moment and I knew his book would be a good read. It is funny and honest and really interesting. I always wonder how comedians can be so funny on paper but I found myself laughing out loud on a few occasions reading this one! It's perfect if you're looking for something easy and entertaining to read. 

Karen Thompson Walker | The Dreamers

I had seen this book everywhere online before I bought it. There was a huge fuss around it and I couldn't resist indulging in the hype. In a town in California, residents begin to fall prey to a  mysterious sickness that causes them to fall asleep for days, weeks, months. Nobody understands what is happening, nobody can explain it, nobody can cure it. People drop one by one and those still awake try desperately to avoid the inevitable. I loved this book. When I got to the end, I wanted to keep going. I wanted to know how and why. I wanted to know more about the dreams. I wanted to know the fate of some of the characters. It's my must-read of the year so far.

At the moment I'm reading Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. I'm also hoping to get through Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney because I recently read Normal People and absolutely loved it. I've also just bought The Familiars by Stacey Halls which I'm excited to read!

What are you reading at the moment?

xo

Books in January

The Christmas period is always a great time to get loads of reading done. The days and nights always seem really long and I  always find myself staying up until the early hours of the morning working my way through my latest book. And of course there's the fact that with Christmas comes a ton of new books too! So here are the books I read over Christmas and into January:

Jodi Picoult | A Spark of Light

This wasn't my favourite Jodi Picoult book. I was lured in by the idea of the timeline being set backwards but I found that took away from the impact of the book. If the events have been written in chronological order then the 'ending' might have been more shocking. Instead there was no time to get to know the characters and love them before we found out their fate so the blow had much less of an emotional impact than it could have. That being said, it did raise some interesting stories and viewpoints surrounding abortion and I think it's quite an important read in that aspect.

Lily Allen | My Thoughts Exactly

I loved this. I devoured the whole thing in two days and would happily read it again. I've always liked Lily Allen - her songs are fun and I've always found her funny when she's been on panel shows. I think it's her laugh that does it, it's weirdly infectious. Her book is the story of her journey through the music industry, how it impacted her family life and her ongoing battle with the media. She tells some brutally honest stories but they are so interesting and she shows herself to be this really strong, courageous person - an inspiration and a real cry for all women to be those things too. 

Haruki Murakami | The Strange Library

I have tried to read a Murakami book before and never quite made it to the end. The Strange Library is a quick read and has a lot of graphic novel features to it. It's dark and weird and nonsensical and probably completely out of my depths. I didn't love it. It might be one I need to hide away on my book shelf for a few years down the line. 

Nicholas Sparks | Every Breath

The last Nicholas Sparks book I read (Two by Two) was one of my favourites and believe me, I have read them all. This one fell short. The opening of the book promises this spectacular, unbelievable story but not much really happened. As far as Sparks' books go, and if you've read any of his books before then you'll know what I mean by this, it lacked the drama and tragedy that trademark his stories. It left me feeling flat. 

Aside from Lily Allen's book, it has been quite a disappointing month for reading. Not that I regret reading any of these books but hopefully February will bring me something I love. My first pick for this month is Romesh Ranganathan's autobiography. It's great so far!

What have you been reading lately?

xo

October Reads

October is my favourite month of the year. It's the time when autumn really starts settling in. The leaves start turning and creating beautiful orange and yellow landscapes before falling and creating that familiar crunch under our feet. The air is crisp and it has that fresh bite that warns us the seasons are changing. It's the time when all my boots come out of hiding and I get to dig out my favourite scarf. 

Oh and it's also the month of my birthday and Halloween so what's not to love about this time of  year?

As it was my birthday mid-way through the month, I asked for a few books to be knocked off my amazon wish list - it was growing at an exponential rate as I am a sucker for seeing a review online or in a magazine at the hairdressers and instantly feeling like I have to read that book!! So here are a few of the books I have acquired this month and am really excited to read!

Kate Atkinson | One Good Turn - I have heard so many great things about Kate Atkinson's books. I've bought a couple of her books before on recommendations from friends so I have quite a collection growing but I especially can't wait to dig into this one. The One Good Turn synopsis promises a deep, touching detective story, beginning at Edinburgh Festival when a bunch of people witness a road-rage incident and become involved in the drama. Their stories and lives unfurl through this mystery and I can't wait to find out what happens (the reviews promise a great ending!)

Nora Ephron | Crazy Salad and Scribble Scribble - In an attempt to improve my writing I have been reading lots of Nora Ephron lately, apart from the books that amazon and goodreads reviews have warned me won't be appreciated unless I'm a middle-aged woman with concerns about getting old (not yet, not yet). This particular book is a collection of her essays about women and about the media. I've delved into a few of the essays about women and I just love the tone and wit of her writing. I can't wait to read more of this one.

Joanna Cannon | Three Things About Elsie - When I went back to work in September I spoke to a lovely lady about our mutual love of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. After we gushed about how sweet a book it was, she then asked if I'd read Three Things About Elsie. I hadn't but I went out and bought it even after being told it was a bit of tear-jerker. It's about an elderly lady, Florence, who becomes obsessed with a man who appears in her life again after apparently dying over sixty years ago. Who is he? What does he want? I don't know but I want to find out!

Jodi Picoult | A Spark of Light - I can't help but love a Jodi Picoult book and I was going to wait a while to read this one but I ummed and ahhhed and in the end just decided why not? It's about a gunman who takes people hostage at a women's reproductive health centre and the big questions surrounding the idea of the right to chose. It touches on so many hot topics and relevant issues that have been in the media lately so I'm really hopeful that this will deliver.

Also on my birthday book binge this month I bought Feminists Don't Wear Pink (and other Lies) by Scarlett Curtis, Turtles All the Way Down by John Green, Lock In by John Scalzi and Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. I don't know how many of these I'll be able to get through during November but I am going to give it a good go! 

What are you reading at the moment? Have you read any of these books?

xo

September Reads

To say that September saw me back at work and beginning my next module of  university work, it has been a good month for reading! It seems to have been the month of books-I-can't-put-down. It has been a long time since I've stayed up until the early hours of the morning reading books because I wanted to read just one more chapter but I've been doing that almost every weekend since the start of the month. Here's what I've been reading:

Notes on a Nervous Planet |  Matt Haig

The first of this self-help/self-care duo is called Reasons to Stay Alive; a book I read in one sitting a couple of summers ago. They are both full of little pieces of advice, anecdotes, wisdom and stories that help pick you up when you're not feeling so strong. Notes on a Nervous Planet is particularly relevant if you're mega invested in social media and the online world as it has lots of advice and information about taking the internet with a pinch of salt. Something we all need to do every now and then! 

Normal People | Sally Rooney

I loved loved loved loved loved this book. As soon as I had finished it I wanted to go straight back to the beginning and start all over again. The story follows two main characters - Marianne and Connell - as they move from a small Irish town to a university in Dublin. I loved them both and was invested in both of their stories and I so badly wanted things to work out for both of them. Every day I was desperate to get home to find out where the story was going to take them next. This book deserves every bit of praise it has had and I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda | Becky Albertalli

Super cheesy YA fiction is my guilty pleasure. I had seen the trailer for this film and liked the idea of it so picked up the book in WHSmiths. Simon, who is gay but has not yet found the courage to tell anyone about it, begins an anonymous email relationship with a boy from his school. At some point someone finds out about the emails and threatens to spread them around before Simon has even had a chance to tell anyone his secret. Disaster. I loved Simon, I thought he was such a loveable character and bits of the story made me laugh out loud. Plus, I think I smiled through the whole of the last quarter of the book so if you need something to make you smile, this is the one. 

May Reads

It does not matter how many times I tell myself that I am not going to buy any new books until I've read all the books on my shelf, it just doesn't happen. So here is mix of all the new and old books I ready in May!

The Keeper of Lost Things: This was a quick, easy read. The story centres around a man who collects all of the lost things he comes across day-to-day. Then, when he dies, he leaves the collection to his housekeeper, who then has to figure out what on earth to do with a room of lost and unclaimed artifacts. There are nice elements to the story and characters that are likeable but the back stories that are linked to the belongings are tedious to read and don't add much to the overall story. It was okay but it's not one that I'll be passing along.

No Dream is Too High: I've been on a bit of an all-space book diet over the past year or so. If an astronaut has written a book, chances are I've read it recently. But I didn't enjoy this book so much. I think that because it was more focused on giving life advice rather than the ins and outs of being an astronaut, it just read like an obnoxious cover letter. Some of the stories that are told just seem to be in the book for the sake of it, to add an element of Buzz Worship where it didn't belong. 

Pigeon English: I don't know why I left it so long to read Pigeon English. It's one of those books where nothing really significant happens so you find yourself half way through the book with no idea where the story is heading (but in a good way). The story is about a family who move to London from Ghana and live on an estate rife with drugs and gang culture. It is told through eleven year old Harri who gets caught up in the whirlwind of a recent murder. It's a slow build-up but worth it for the ending!

March Reads

This year is going so fast that I just can't keep up. Without trying to sound like a Game of Thrones character, it has felt like such a long winter. A couple of days into April and it was still snowing. I went out today in three layers and a pair of boots. I think I'm ready for a change in the seasons now. Here are a few books that helped my days feel a bit brighter last month:

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - As someone who loves Sheldon Cooper for being a bit of an oddball, I love that Eleanor Oliphant is just the same. She has her quirks, her differences and the little things that make everyone else think she's a bit weird. But it goes so much deeper than that and she becomes a loveable character for so many reasons. It's not often I finish reading a book knowing I'll return to it one day but I definitely will with this one. 

James Acaster's Classic Scrapes - Advertisers really have me pegged - I heard a 30 second snippet of this book on an audible advert whilst waiting for a youtube video to load. So I bought it. Almost immediately. Until recently I'd never paid much attention to James Acaster's comedy but he has quickly become one of my favourite comedians. Read this for some laughs (and you will be in complete disbelief that all of these terrible things can happen to one person) and then watch his new stand-up series on youtube - amazing!

Everything I know About Love - I saw this book floating around online for a while and bought it not knowing really what it was. All I knew was that people were loving it. And it is worth a read - it made me laugh all the way through and made me incredibly sad at some points too. It's heartwarming and personal and incredibly easy to indulge in. One of the best memoirs I've read (and believe me I have read a few!)

What is everyone else reading at the moment?!

Books to Love: Graduates in Wonderland

There's a huge part of me that loves writing and receiving letters. When I was younger, whenever I met a new friend on holiday, as we said goodbye on the last day we always exchanged addresses so we could send each other a letter. It's not something that often happens anymore. Now when we meet someone new, we exchange numbers and spend the next 10 years of friendship texting each other our favourite quotes from Harry Potter and memes about having to wait so long for the next series of Pretty Little Liars.

So, of course, the inner letter-writing, 19th century lady within me loves to read letters by other people too. I spend a bit of time every year reading Letters of Note and watching the video clips of Letters Live. I read and reread Love Letters of the Great War and bookmarked all of my favourite letters. There's just something so beautiful and honest and warm about writing a letter.

When I first heard about Graduates in Wonderland I knew it would be a book I would enjoy. Best friends Jessica and Rachel have just graduated from Brown university and are headed off on separate adventures around the globe. They keep in touch by email, sending each other lengthy commentary on their day-to-day lives, including all their mistakes and mishaps, as well as the beautiful moments that happen during their travels. 

This book was so easy to read, it just felt like I was catching up with old friends. The stories were laugh out loud funny on occasion and their friendship was truly lovely to read about. It also made me feel better knowing that at some point they were both half-way across the world also worrying about the same things I worry about and they were out there making the same mistakes I've made since leaving university. 

I'd recommend this book to anyone that is just about to leave university or has just left. But just so you're warned: side effects include a huge dose of wanderlust and a desire to write letters to absolutely everyone. 

Books to Love: After You

Earlier this year when all the hype surrounding Me Before You kicked up, I decided I'd read the book. (it wasn't really a hard decision, books are hard to say no to... don't you think?) I'd been hearing about it for a while and everyone kept saying how good it was. Okay, so I caved!! Like always. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. It was fun and heartwarming and I didn't want it to end. 

For those of you that don't know, Me Before You is the story of Louisa Clarke (Lou), a charming, quirky cafe-worker. When she loses her job and is forced to find another one pronto, she takes a job looking after Will, a paraplegic, who is not very happy about having her company. Considering it touches on such a difficult subject, it balances Will's problems with light-heartedness of Lou's character so well. It's a story to make you laugh and cry and feel everything in between.

I knew there was a sequel and I picked it up a couple of times walking around Waterstones but always put it back, Would it be a half-hearted follow-up to the story? Where could the author really go with a storyline like that one? But I'm glad I talked myself into it because I ended up finishing it in just a couple of days.

In After You, Lou is living in her own little flat, working a job that pays the bills but means she has to wear a hideous costume every day, and doesn't speak to her family. Then, one day, she gets a knock on her door and it changes everything. 

Once I'd read the blurb I already had an idea about what might happen but I was completely wrong! I didn't expect the story to go in the direction it did but I quite enjoyed the storyline. And it made me laugh out loud on a few occasions: cue strange looks from Callum from the other side of the sofa. Plus, I just love Lou. She's such a relatable character - quirky, clumsy and a bit dopey. But lovely nonetheless. When I got to the end of the book I found myself wanting to know what happened to her next!

So, Jojo Moyes, if you're reading this (on the off chance that you like to read random, obscure blogs over your morning coffee) we'd love some more Lou!

Books to Love: Reasons to Stay Alive

"Every time I read a great book I felt I was reading a kind of map, a treasure map, and the treasure I was being directed to was in actual fact myself." - Matt Haig

It's a very difficult thing to listen to somebody explain their anxiety or depression to you. People have tried to explain it to me before and whilst I told them I was understanding and sympathetic, I didn't really get the full extent of the situation. It's like when somebody shows you a photograph of somewhere and you get the general gist of what it was like to be there, but you'll never know what that sand felt like between your toes, what the ocean sounded like when it hit shore or how that ice-cream tasted on a such a hot day. We see the picture but it's flat, two-dimensional. It doesn't tell the whole story.

When I struggle to put my thoughts or feelings into words, I read. I read because so often other people say what I need to much better than I do. They explain things in a way that makes total sense even though the words won't come together in my head when someone asks me, "How do you feel?"

I love Matt Haig as an author and when I bought this book it wasn't for any other reason but that. I like his writing. For the past few months it has been buried underneath a mountain of other books, forgotten. A couple of weeks ago I wrestled it out from the back of my back shelf and devoured half of it in one afternoon.

Haig share his personal experience of anxiety and depression in Reasons to Stay Alive but he understands that not everyone suffers in the same way, so he shares useful advice but not in self-help guide kind of way.  He knows that what works for him might not necessarily work for everyone. He says, "When we are trying to get better, the only truth that matters is what works for us." And it's his honesty that makes this book so special and worth reading. It highlights so many of the problems that develop as a result of anxiety and depression - physical, mental, personal - making it a useful read for not only those who suffer but also those who know somebody that suffers.

It's such a relatable and uplifting book, one that makes you realise how big the world is and how beautiful it can be.

"You need to feel life's terror to feel its wonder." - Matt Haig

Books to Read: Martin, Thériault & Strayed

This year I'm trying really hard to read the books I already have gathering dust on my bookshelf before I buy anymore. And I've got lots. I've read some incredible books already this year and I can't wait to get stuck into more. Here are the three that are next on my list of books to read.

Dangerous Women Part I, George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois | It's hard not to get stuck into a series when it's literally everywhere you turn your head. I'm slowly making my way through the Game of Thrones books and I bought Dangerous Women on a whim in Waterstones. It contains seven short stories. The first is entitled The Princess and the Queen which is basically a prequel to Game of Thrones, set in Westeros and focusing on the Targaryen's during the civil war. It's also comprised of more tales by different authors and I'm really interested to see what they're like. 

Wild, Cheryl Strayed | I fell in love with Strayed after reading Tiny, Beautiful Things and she's one of the reasons I've thrown myself into writing like I have done this past year. Wild is the story of Strayed's hike along the west coast of America which she took after the unexpected death of her mother. Riddled with grief she sets off on the eleven hundred mile journey on her own. I've heard nothing but good things about this one so I can't wait to read it and follow her along that journey. 

The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman, Denis Thériault | I'm actually half way through reading this one and it's only 108 pages so I can't imagine it will take much longer. I was immediately taken in by the idea of this book when I read what it was about. Bilodo is a lonely postman who fills his days by secretly reading the letters of a long-distance couple and soon enough he gets entangled in their lives. I was hooked in the beginning but the storyline took an odd turn and I found myself losing sympathy for the central character. That being said, I'm intrigued to find out what happens at the end!

Ever since I started working full time I've found it really hard sleep in for very long on a weekend. I hated it at first, it drove me mad but I've learnt to love it. This morning I woke up at 6.50am, brewed myself a cup of tea and sat under a blanket with a book. The world feels peaceful at this time of day and I find I can get lost in a book for hours. 

Let me know if you have any book recommendations. I'm always searching pinterest and blogs for my next read! 

Books to Love: Very Good Lives

"We do not need magic to transform our world; we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better." - Very Good Lives, J.K. Rowling

It's authors and women like J.K Rowling that make me feel proud of being a part of this generation. She's intelligent, she's down-to-earth, she stands up for what she believes in and she cares so deeply about the influence Harry Potter has had on people. She understands what position she's in, the platform she's on and how she can use it for good.

I've kept up-to-date with her writing because I enjoy it. I read The Casual Vacancy and bought The Cuckoo's Calling the Christmas that it was released (even though I haven't got around to reading that one yet.) Then I stumbled across this post from Sian Louise who recommended Very Good Lives, something I'd never heard of before.

Very Good Lives is the 2008 commencement speech Rowling delivered to the Harvard University graduates. True to Rowling's style, it's witty and powerful and has something that everyone can take away from it. In it she talks about failure and how it isn't always a bad thing. She talks a bit about her journey, the problems she faced and why she made the decisions she did. She encourages those who can to use their positions to do good, much like she has. 

My favourite aspect of it was when she touched on imagination. When I first read the cover I wondered how she was going to talk to hundreds of 21 year old graduates about imagination without sounding like she was delivering a Year Two literacy lesson. But she talks about how you can use your imagination to empathise with other people, to imagine yourself in their position, which is so important in building an understanding and tolerant society. 

There's something about people and society that she just gets and if she'd have delivered that address at my graduation then maybe I'd have left knowing there's so much more to offer the world other than a degree. 

Very Good Lives is a book I imagine I'll be returning to often and I hope it's one that you'll decide to try. It's beautifully written and illustrated too so what's not to love?

Books to Love: All The Bright Places

I fell in love with this novel almost immediately and not once did it lose its tight grip on my heart. Violet and Finch are strangers until they meet at the top of the school Bell Tower, both leaning over the edge prepared to jump. She’s a writer who lost her sister in a car crash, an accident she blames herself for. He’s an eternally troubled soul with a lot to say about everything. It’s clear that his mental state is vulnerable but he still manages to breathe life into Violet. As their stories unfold and their lives entangle it becomes clear that they both have their own mountains to scale. As they begin to explore Indiana for their school project, they learn a lot about their home, a lot about each other and a lot about themselves. They fall in love in the most perfect way and teach each other about all the little things in life that matter. Something that we all need reminding of every now and then.

I have a pull towards these types of novels, especially ones that brace the subject of suicide but in an uplifting way. I didn't get to the end of this book feeling depressed and cheated, instead I felt satisfied, like it had served its purpose. I loved the characters and I thought for a while about whether I identified more with Finch or with Violet. In the end I think there are parts of them both that resonated with me and I devoured this book from cover to cover wanting to know where their journey would take them next. 

This novel is a bittersweet story but one that delicately and honestly explores the issues surrounding mental illness. It’s beautiful and heart-breaking and one that you will keep with you for long after you’ve turned the last page.

Have you read All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven? What did you think?

New Reads: October

I have a mass of unread books in my bookcase. Probably enough to stack a whole other shelf or two. But my list of 'To Be Read' books increases every time I go on Bloglovin and read a glowing review of some weird, wonderful and obscure book that I'd never have heard of otherwise. The point of this post is not to tell you all how big my collection of books is getting but to instead tell you that I'm really weak willed and went and bought even more books at the weekend. So I'm going to share them with you! They're all completely different genres and moods so it's quite a mixed bag.

Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham | I've never watched Girls but I've seen Lena Dunham on TV a few times and every time I see her she makes me laugh. Like when she did the lip sync battle on Jimmy Fallon. You know when you catch yourself smiling at your computer screen? That. I spotted her book in Waterstones and decided to give it a go. Why not? I love these type of books that are just a collection of stories/advice/anecdotes, it makes for easy reading. I started reading this one first and so far I'm really enjoying it! If you liked Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? then you'll probably like this one too.

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki by Haruki Murakami | I was intrigued by this one because it had black pages. Why would a book have black pages? What does it mean? The novel sounds like a bit of a mystery, one that is based around Tazaki whose best friends, all of which have a colour in their name, stop speaking to him one day. Why? Why? Why? He eventually meets someone named Sara who reveals all. I read the first page while I was browsing and I was hooked straight away. I can't wait to read more! 

New York by Edward Rutherford | I went through a phase of being obsessed with all things New York. Well, I wouldn't really call it a phase since it plagued my whole life. I'm talking framed photographs, notebooks, pens, tshirts, Everything! I still obsess now. I thought going there this year would get the obsession out of my system but if I see anything New York related I still feel like I have to have it. Anyway, I spied this book on the bottom shelf of Waterstones and I was intrigued by it for two reasons. First, it's New York. Obviously. Second, it's historical fiction. The history nerd in me did a little happy dance when I picked it up. The book starts somewhere in the seventeenth century and continues through until the present day. It's fictional but it's based around real, historical events from the civil war up to the events of 9/11. 

Now that the temperature is dropping and nobody wants to be outside, it's the perfect time to buy a few books to read on the long, dark evenings. I can't tell you which book I'm most excited to read. Have you bought any new books lately? What books would you recommend? 

The Last Days of California by Mary Miller

I usually entitle these posts 'Books to Love' and I so badly wanted to love this book but I just didn't. I first heard about it over a year ago and it's been on my 'To Read' list for all that time. In true book hoarder fashion, I had so many other unread books on my shelf so I never bought it. Then one day as I was wandering around Waterstones, my favourite way to kill time, I spotted it straight away and because I had a gift card, I picked it up and headed straight over to the tills. I didn't even think twice.

What's it About? Jess is from a Christian family who are embarking on a cross-country road trip to witness the rapture. Over three days the family get themselves into all kinds of situations, as you can imagine when there are four people in a car driving that kind of distance. Jess is only 15 years old and her only sibling, Elise, 17 years old, is her only real companion. Their parents seem to be in their own little world. Together they deal with religion, family, boys, drugs, alcohol, all the issues you would expect teenagers to face.

It wasn't a bad book. It had it's funny moments and it definitely had it's relatable moments. But I think I assumed it was going to be more serious than it actually was. It didn't really resonate past a 'been there, done that' kind of feeling. I just didn't feel connected to any of the characters and I didn't feel that much really happened, certainly not enough to get invested in it in any kind of way. Neither of the parents were particularly likeable, both Jess and Elise seeemed to swap and change personalities at any given second. I like a character I can root for but I just felt disconnected the entire way through this book.

I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either.

It was an easy read, one of those read-in-a-day holiday books. And who knows, maybe I'm just past the age of reading those kind of teenage angst books now. Have you ever read The Last Days of California?

If you have any recommendations, leave them in the comments below. I'd love to know what your favourite reads are!

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin | Pinterest 

Books to Love: The Time Traveler's Wife

If I was banished to an island and could only take three items with me, this book would definitely be one of them. You know when you love a book so much and you've read it and re-read it a thousand times and you've dropped it in the bath so the pages are wrinkled and the edges are dog-eared and some of the pages are coming away from the spine... That kind of love? Yeah, that's The Time Traveler's Wife to me. Thankfully the copy in the picture is one that my boyfriend bought me for my 21st birthday and believe me, it is cherished. 

Blurb: This is the extraordinary love story of Clare and Henry who met when Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock periodically resets and he finds himself pulled suddenly into his past or future. In the face of this force they can neither prevent nor control, Henry and Clare's struggle to lead normal lives in both intensely moving and entirely unforgettable. -  Audrey Niffenneger

Every time I read this both I find something else to love. It's packed with so much academia, science, arts and languages, as well as the deep stuff; love and tragedy, family and friendship. It's so well written and there are so many people and parts to love it in. Plus Henry and Clare's relationship is something to aspire to and definiely worthy of being stamped with a 'relationship goals' tag. It's funny and sweet and incredibly moving. I urge you to read it if you haven't already.

If you've seen the film and liked it, I promise you'll love this 100000x more. 

Have you read The Time Traveler's Wife yet?

Books to Love: Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

I love short stories. I like having something that I can get emotionally invested in without the commitment of a 500 page novel. And every now and then I come across a book or an author that sparks up my love of writing again. Cheryl Strayed did just that within the first few pages of her book Tiny Beautiful Things. You might be familiar with Strayed if you've read/watched Wild recently, the story of a woman's long trek of self-discovery after the unexpected death of her mother and her divorce. And not only does Strayed have a memoir under her belt, but also a series of essays and a novel too (Torch) which is next on my reading list. 

Tiny Beautiful Things is a collection of advice columns written by Strayed under the pen name 'Sugar.' It sees questions and worries on life, love, friendship and family answered and soothed by the poetic advice of Strayed. Her anecdotes make the book that much more personal and Sugar almost becomes someone that you start to root for too. And not only that but her strength and faith kind of make you want to  be a better person too. She's often witty and her writing is so lovely it'll make you want to devour everything she's ever written. 

I can't recommend this book enough if you're looking for something uplifting and easy to read!

What have you been reading lately?

Books to Love: Paper Towns by John Green

It's bank holiday Monday and I've been up since 6am getting ready for work, anyone else feel my pain!? But if not then I hope you have a lovely day, whatever you're doing, wherever you are! Do any of you have plans to sit in the garden in the sunshine with a good book? Oh, you are. Great! Why not give Paper Towns a go? (Smoooooooth transition!)

Young Adult fiction seems to be all the rage at the moment and there are people everywhere screaming the benefits of reading this kind of novel no matter what age you are. If you're not convinced, read this BBC article by Adam Eley. 

Summary: One night Margo Roth Spiegelman climbs through Quentin 'Q' Jacobsen's bedroom window and they run off for a little adventure, the morning after which Margo goes missing. Quentin and his friends then try to find her and soon enough another adventure ensues! It's a bit of a mystery/coming-of-age tale about people and love and friendship. It's a lovely read for almost any age! 

Why I love it: As with a lot of other YA novels, this is such a feel good book. It makes you fall a little bit in love with Quentin and his friends and then want to devour everything John Green has ever written. It made me chuckle to myself, say 'awwww' way too many times and then want to send virtual hugs to Q. It also made me want to read Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman (and I don't even like poetry!) 

Read if you loved: The Fault in our Stars, Eleanor & Park, pretty much anything by John Green or Rainbow Rowell (and let's face it, what's not to love?)

This is definitely one to watch before the film comes out in August! Have you read it already? Did you like it?