June Reading Wrap Up

Hello everyone! 

It’s the end of June already, how did that happen?? At the end of the month I always like to read people’s reading wrap ups. It is great to hear opinions on a couple of books at a time, it helps me to put new books on my reading list. Anyway, I thought I’d give it a go and see what y’all think :-) 

I read a lot of books this month! 

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness:

I had heard a lot about this book, all good things actually, and from the outside it looked as though I would really enjoy it. It’s dystopian, it’s fantasy, there is a talking dog…what’s not to like? The plot is very original, with the human race fleeing the planet to a new one. This new planet looks like an Eden, but it has a drawback, all the men project out their every thought and the thoughts and voices of all animals can be heard. Amidst this cacophony, the protagonist Todd finds a quiet spot. He also finds a girl, all his life he has been told that women died out years ago. Now he has to run… This book has a fabulous narrative and a fast pace, but it has so many sad twists that I found it uncomfortable to read. However, I think I will read the rest of the series, I have faith that it will cheer up! 

The American Lover by Rose Tremain: 

Another book I didn’t really enjoy :-( It was a trend this month it seems! The American Lover is a series of short stories, all following troubled characters. Some of the stories are beautiful, some are sad and some end with hope. It was a very mixed bag and it definitely had all the feels! If you like short stories then it is definitely worth a read, the prose is stunning. The characters back grounds are widely varied in country, time, gender and lifestyle. I know I said that I didn’t really enjoy it, but I’m not really a person for sad stories. However, if you like the melancholy, then you should read it.

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie: 

I always love an Agatha Christie! This one follows a plucky young woman, Anne, as she searches for mystery and adventure. Joke is on her I guess, she sure does find it! One day as she waits for a train she witnesses an accident, a man falls backwards onto the tracks. It all seems so much like a tragic accident, but then the doctor strikes her as odd… Following her instinct she pursues him, picking up a mysterious note he drops. This note leads her whole life in a new direction, becoming tangled up in some of the darkest pasts. Aaaannndd I won’t say anymore, can’t go spoiling a good mystery now can I? 

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell:

Another masterpiece by Rainbow, all her books are wonderful and this one might even be my favourite. Who is old enough to remember when internet became mainstream? Well I am :-P This book follows 3 main characters really, in a super witty plot. Lincoln is an internet security officer employed to read the emails of the staff on the newspaper. Except he mainly ends up reading the emails of two friends Beth and Jennifer as they laugh and chat about their day to day lives. The more he reads, the harder it is to stop and he finds himself falling for Beth. Read this book to see if love BEFORE first site can lead to a wonderful encounter :-) 

The Children of Húrin by J.R.R Tolkien: 

Tolkien has long been one of my favourite authors, he manages to spin a whole world within the pages of a book. He is the master story teller and this book is as ethereal and haunting as the rest. The children of Húrin are cursed by the Dark Lord Morgoth, twisting a tragic faith for them both. No matter how far they run, or who they try to become they cannot escape their past or their destiny…This story made me shiver, it was so dark! It also has a very interesting narrative, reading like a history book in a similar style to the Silmarillion instead of the standard prose of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. 

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell: 

Yeah I kind of binged the Rainbow Rowell books this month, but in my defence this is just a little one. Kindred Spirits is a short story written for World Book Day. Elena is a huge fan of Star Wars, so it is completely natural for her to go and join the other hard core fans standing in line days before the release of the new film. However, it is not quite the magical experience she expected. Sandwiched between taciturn Gabe and over-enthusiastic Troy, Elena learns what it is to sleep outside, pee in a starbucks cup and share excitement people who truly feel the same as she does. This story is heartwarming and funny. Seriously, I had to try really hard not to laugh out loud and freak out the other passengers on the train. 

Selected Poems by John Keats: 

I have always been a lover of poetry, especially the darker more gothic styles. However, from some bizarre oversight I had never read any Keats before this month! Shocking, I know!! So to continue my collection of these beautiful Faber and Faber edition of selected poems I decided to pick up this selection of Keats. Andrew Motion has honestly selected the most wonderful of Keats’ work. I have so many favourites now, among them La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Hyperion and Ode to a Nightingale. In fact, I need to give you a quote, that way you can all fall in love as I have and will become equally addicted to Keats. 

I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,

Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,

But, embalmèd in darkness, guess each sweet

Wherewith the seasonable month endows

The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild - 

White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine;

Fast fading violets covered in leaves;

And mid-May’s eldest child,

The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine, 

The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves. 

From Ode to a Nightingale

Keats’ poetry is often scorned as cliché, but I feel like it should be considered more as pure. It is beautiful and ethereal, it’s honesty makes my heart ache. I found it entirely lacking in clichés and fell in love with its return to basic rhyme. 

What books have you enjoyed reading this month? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

Anyone for Fanfiction?

Hello everyone, 

Let's talk about the fantastic novel by Rainbow Rowell that is Fangirl...what do you guys think of it?

I have to admit that the first time I picked it up I was far from wowed, it took me a good 100 pages to get into the story. For some reason I just couldn't form a mental image of Cath! I always find that if I can't picture the main character I really struggle to make an emotional investment in the story. I don't know if I couldn't get into it because I was in the wrong frame of mind or if I was in a reading slump...who knows? After I finally immersed myself in the world of Cath, Art, Levi, Wren and Reagan I started to enjoy it, but I was still a little underwhelmed considering the hype around this book! 

Then last week I was perusing my shelves looking for a comfort read and there was Fangirl sat on my shelf between Eleanor and Park (which I loved btw) and The Little Coffee Shop in Kabul. I picked it up and was hooked by, ooh let me see, I'm gonna say page 3? Re-reading was a totally different experience! I was instantly immersed in the story and it took me a while to resurface when I was called away from the book. I even found myself liking the addition of the Simon Snow mini-stories and looking forward to the next one, which makes me super keen to read Carry On. 

I'd never really known much about fanfiction until around a year ago, I think for many people it is unchartered territory. The idea of borrowing well known and loved characters to insert them into your own story is fascinating, and I have since developed a love of reading quick fanfiction when I have a spare 15 minutes. I think a lot of writers struggle in the same was as Cath with the stigma and push back against fanfic from more traditional authors who see it as plagiarism. To my mind, as long as the author doesn't mind it and the fanfic writers aren't trying to breach copywriter or earn money from it, then what is the problem? 

The fanfic debate aside, this story is so true to life. I completely sympathise with Cath over how hard it can be to transition from teenager to young adult. University life is hard and can be quite isolating and lonely, it takes a brave soul to be completely undaunted by all the newness! It was really invigorating to actually read an honest account of uni life, so many books paint it through rose tinted glasses, but this story felt real. Here is a quick summary, minus spoilers for those who haven't read it! 

Cath is 18 and starting her first day at college, minus her twin Wren. For the first time in 18 years they won't be sharing a room together, won't be eating together and won't be socialising together. The prospect of this is pretty terrifying for Cath, but Wren has made it pretty clear that while they may both be attending the same college they are not going to be inseparable. This pushes Cath to dive deeper into writing her Simon Snow - Heir of Mages fanfiction, compensating for growing social anxiety and isolation. However, her new roommate Reagan and her boyfriend Levi won't let Cath be alone, much as she might think she craves it! Balancing popular fanfiction, assignments, dating, a sister going off the rails and a fragile father is no easy task, how will Cath cope? Pushed to breaking point Cath needs to decide how she wants her own story to end, or begin... 

I found Cath's story so relatable and it rang so true with some of mine and my friend's experiences that it actually made me quite emotional! The story is engaging and the characters very lovable, especially Levi who reminds me of a certain someone in my own life. If you haven't read this book, or have and found it less exciting that expected, pick it up and try again, I am so glad that I did. 

What did you guys think of this story? Let me know in the comments below, book recommendations are always welcome :-) 

xoxo

Boxing Day Reading

Hello everyone,

If you are anything like me then you'll love spending Boxing Day lounging around reading and recovering from the Christmas dinner food coma! I also like to prolong the magic of Christmas as much as possible, usually I do this by interspersing reading with festive movies. I have often wanted to find a suitably christmassy book to read around this time and this year I did.

My True Love Gave To Me is a compilation of 12 stories based around the festive season by contemporary young adult authors. I picked this up as some of my favourite contemporary authors are contributors, including Gayle Foreman, Jenny Han and Rainbow Rowell.

Two of the stories stood out the most to me, interestingly neither of which were written by the authors that drew me to the book. The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link and The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. Both of these stories are quite fantastical, they follow two young women who fall in love with mythical creatures/magical beings in their search for freedom from the mundane and their lot in life. I don't want to spoil them for you so I won't give too many details, but these two stories are very atypical romances and could easily have taken a darker turn...

I loved all the stories in this book, not just because they were festive, but for the characters. Each individual person was sculpted so perfectly that I wished all their stories were longer. I could honestly have read a book about each and every one, particularly North and Marigold in Stephanie Perkins' It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown. My only niggle about this book is the cover art and the design. I don't think the pale blue is very festive really and the neon pink page edges are rather garish, the overall effect is of a book aimed at young children and not at the teen/young adult market. It would have been more appealing with festive colours or left as it was, but minus the bright pink! However, we all get taught not to judge a book by it's cover so I will try to ignore it and just love the stories and festive cheer. I think some of the stories will become favourites to be re-read around this time of year!

What are your favourite festive reads? Do you prefer something different, away from the festivities maybe? Let me know in the comments below :-)

xoxo