Pokémon Go Book Tag

I'm so obsessed with Pokémon Go right now, so when I saw the Pokémon Go Book Tag created by Read at Midnight floating around social media I knew that I just had to do it! Pokémon and books? Yes please! Let's get started...

I have always loved reading since I was a little kid. When I was younger I remember being really obsessed with anything Roald Dahl especially The Twits, Matilda and The BFG, then as I got a bit older I discovered the Harry Potter series and Jacqueline Wilson's books and when I was in my early teens I fell in love with the Georgia Nicolson series by the late Louise Rennison and The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. These books were all so influential to me as a young reader and are what sparked my passion for reading.

 

I'm not a huge reader of the classics but two that I really enjoyed are Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.

I didn't necessarily lose interest in this one because it is everywhere, but it is one that lots of people love and I just don't get and that is Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I read the first book in this series and it just didn't work for me so I won't be continuing on with it.

Two books that came out this summer that are very similar to one another are The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware and Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard, I've read them both and despite being similar I love them exactly the same.

I have been wanting to read the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon for about eight years now and I've always put it off because it's a HUGE series with each book standing between 800-1000 pages. I really want to watch the TV series but I want to read the books first so I really need to get around to them soon!

A book that I read late into the night recently was The Graces by Laure Eve - I just had to know what was going on with this book! It was totally worth the late nights because it's turned out to be one of my favourite books of the year.

I have sooo many bookish OTP's! Instead of a big long list, I'm going to go with my most recently discovered couple Libby and Jack from Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven, they're so cute and perfect for each other!

A series I love for a quick, fast-paced read is the Saga series by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. The plot and dialogue is always whip fast and entertaining and because they're graphic novels they are really quick little reads.

As someone who loved The Cursed Child and has a constant hunger for more books/movies/plays set in this world, I will never get tired of being in J.K Rowling's Wizarding World. Hogwarts really is my home.

A book that I really wasn't sure about when it first came out was Cinder by Marissa Meyer. The synopsis sounded really wacky and I wasn't interested in it at all. Then a few of my friends convinced me to give it a go and I loved it! I've now read the whole series and it's one of my favourites,

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson is a series that is so beloved and raved about and I'm very excited to get around to it. I've always been a bit intimidated by Brandon Sanderson's books but he's such an accessible High Fantasy author and after loving the Mistborn series I really want to read more by him.

There is an absolutely gorgeous collectors edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard that retails at most places for around £500. I love Harry Potter, but I don't love it that much.

There are already so many debut novels coming out next year that I'm really excited for but one that stands out to me is Caraval by Stephanie Garber. It sounds like such a magical fantasy and I'm so jealous of everyone who has a proof copy already!

I have a lot of favourite authors who are auto-buy for me but the author whose books I have bought religiously since I first discovered her writing at thirteen years old are Sarah Dessen's.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor - March 2017 seems like forever away!

This was such a fun and creative tag! 

Be sure to check out the original post here and if you'd like to do it then consider yourself tagged

What Kind of Book Buyer Are You?

As a book lover I tend to visit a lot of bookshops regularly (as we do) and I’m also friendly with a few booksellers. Over time I’ve come to find that there are six (to my knowledge) types of people who buy books from a book shop. I thought that it would make a fun post to share with you my findings today.

The Researcher:- 
First off we have the category that I myself fall into. The Researcher knows what they like and what they want from their books. They spend hours reading reviews and have a carefully selected wish list. The Researcher rarely picks up books on a whim and they tend to know an awful lot about a book before reading it. The Researcher goes to a bookshop on a mission with a list of books in mind. Nothing beats the satisfaction of finding the book that they want in stock nor the disappointment on discovering that they don’t carry the book in question.

The Browser:- 
The Browser is my personal favourite kind of book buyer. They treat bookshops as their own personal cave of wonders. They can lose hours perusing the bookshelves, occasionally pulling out books that catch their attention. You can often find them sitting in one of the comfy chairs flicking through their findings before deciding if they want to buy. The Browser loves bookshops and the art of book shopping almost as much as they love reading itself.

The Cover Lover:- 
Whilst it’s true that the cover lover will often fall victim to a beautiful cover design it’s also the marketing on the outside of the book that can catch their attention. I’m talking about a snappy synopsis, a quote from a favourite author and award winner stickers. Cover Lovers can often be found in bookshops near public transport looking for a cover that catches their attention with promises from the press to be a great read. After all, they don’t have time to investigate much further; they have somewhere to be and are looking for a good book to pass the journey with.

The Bargain Hunter:-
The Bargain Hunter is perhaps the most easily recognisable type of book buyer. They are the ones clutching tightly to their smartphones blatantly looking for a cheaper offer online and comparing prices. If they are shopping in a group or with another person you may overhear them say “I think I’ll leave it, it’s cheaper on Amazon.”

The Newbie:- 
The Newbie can be a person of any age who has just discovered a book (or new genre) they love for the first time. Wide eyed they’ll excitedly dash over to the area in the store where they discovered their first love looking for something similar. Booksellers are the newbies new best friend as they ask for more books by the same author or similar titles.

The Wanderer:- 
The Wanderers are a diverse bunch. They usually exclude book lovers altogether and tend to come into a bookshop with their last intention being to buy a book. I’m talking about the civilians off the street looking for free Wi-Fi, coffee, shelter, and a toilet amongst other things. You know the type. They’ll do a full rotation of the shop whilst exclaiming to their friend that they “don’t really read.”

 So there you have it. The six types of people I’ve encountered whilst book shopping. Which group do you fall into? Have you ever come across a different type of book buyer?

A Bookish Christmas Q&A

Today I'm getting festive on the blog with A Bookish Christmas Q&A a fun little idea I had for a blog post way back in August. This Q&A combines two of my great loves books and Christmas and I had so much fun putting this post together. I hope you enjoy reading it and if you'd like to answer the questions yourself to add some festive fun to your own blog do feel free!

1.) Advent Calendar: what's the next big book release you're counting down to?
A book release that I'm counting down to is The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson this book is out on the 1st January so I haven't got much longer to wait! All of my blogger friends who've been lucky enough to read this early have been raving about it and if I receive some money or a gift card for Christmas you can bet that this will be the first book I pre-order! The Art of Being Normal is a UKYA Contemporary about a boy who wants to be a girl and it sounds like it's going to be a really powerful and moving read.

2.) Snow Day: which best friends from a book could keep you entertained all day long?
I'm going to go with a recent favourite friendship of mine and that is Delia and Emma's from It's Not Me It's You by Mhairi McFarlane. These girls made me laugh out loud and I closed the book wanting to be their third BFF. I'm sure with these two around a day inside would fly by as we drink wine by the fire and chat with the Peshwari Naan online.

3.) The Nativity: which book/series would you most like to see adapted into a movie, TV show, play etc?
I'd actually really love to see Dash and Lily's Book of Dares translated into a Christmas movie. I think that the scavenger hunt across Manhattan and gorgeous bookish romance would make for the most perfect festive film.

4.) Carol Singing: which musical book character/s would you like to turn up on your doorstep caroling this Christmas? 
I've really thought about this one and I've decided that Mia and Adam from If I Stay would be perfect. Mia on her cello and Adam singing Silent Night would be so beautiful.

5.) The Perfect Gift: which book from your wish list would you most like to find under your tree on Christmas morning?
There's actually not a whole lot of books on my Christmas wish list this year - a lot of the ones I really want aren't out until next year now. Two that are on my wish list that I know have already been bought for me are Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King and Girl Online by Zoe Sugg - I'm so looking forward to reading them both!

6.) Do You Want To Build a Snowman? What do you think are the key ingredients for a life like character?
I think that what makes a character feel real to me is when they feel like they've got a past and a future outside of the story that I'm reading, like I'm only getting a glimpse into a short time in their lives. I also like characters to not feel too perfect, I'm all for flaws and character growth.

7.) Tree, Tinsel, Fairy Lights: most decorative book cover of 2014?
One of my favourite covers of 2014 is for Winterspell by Claire Legrand. I'm a sucker for a purple cover and this looks beautiful and haunting all at once.

8.) Christmas Kisses: which book crush from this year would you most like to kiss underneath the mistletoe?
Choosing just one is hard! But I'm going to go with Ben from You're the One That I Want by Giovanna Fletcher. Ben stole my heart from the very beginning of this book. He's kind, selfless and loyal and is exactly my type.

9.) Snow Ball Fight: a book that you thought would be a lot of fun but left you feeling cold.
A book that comes to mind is Conversion by Katherine Howe. I was highly anticipating this book and it sounded like something I would love and so when I didn't end up enjoying this one I was pretty sad.

10.) Christmas Traditions: a book that you read over and over again.
With a massive TBR pile that never seems to go down I don't have much time for re-reading these days but a book series that I always return to and have re-read more times than I can count are the Harry Potter books. I can't see that ever changing!

11.) The Night Before Christmas: a book that kept you up reading late into the night.
The last book that did that for me was The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. This is hands down one of the craziest books I've ever read and I could not put it down not only because I wanted to see how this series would end but because of the none stop action and revelations! This book completely gripped me and had my heart racing - definitely not one to pick up for some light bedtime reading!

12.) Rudolph: which book shone the brightest for you this year? 
There's still another month of this year to go so I don't want to commit to a favourite book of the year just yet but a book that always comes to mind when I think of my favourite books of 2014 is The One Plus One by Jojo Moyes. I fell in love with everything about this book and for me Jojo Moyes can do no wrong.

The Taylor Swift Book Tag

This tag was created over at The Book Life and I decided to do it because it gave me an excuse to listen to Taylor Swift for an hour, answer questions, look up funny Taylor Swift Gifs and think about books.

1. We are never getting back together: a book or series you were pretty sure you were in love with but then wanted to break up with
A big one that stands out for me this year is Conversion by Katherine Howe. I went into it sure I was going to love it and in the beginning I did but then I just got really bored and even though I stuck with it till the end I wish we had a book break up and I didn't waste my time.

2. Red: pick a book with a red cover
I've gone with one of my favourite covers of the year...

3. The best day: pick a book that makes you feel nostalgic
Last Chance by Sarah Dessen. I got my first copy of this book free with a magazine when I was around thirteen years old. I took it on holiday with me and read it over and over that summer and so I have a lot of fond memories attached to it. It was also the book that sparked my love for Sarah Dessen.

4. Love Story: pick a book with a forbidden love
I'm going to go with my latest favourite book with a forbidden love and that is The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski. Not only did I love this book but I loved the romance here.

5. I knew you were trouble: pick a book with a bad character you couldn’t help but love
This is a bit of a strange pick but I'm going to go with Bloody Mary from James Dawson's Say Her Name. At times, as legend suggests, she was so scary but other times I felt really endeared towards her.

6. Innocent: pick a book that someone ruined the ending of 
Mockingjay. I think this was actually the first time I ever encountered a spoiler for a book on the internet and it was a couple of days after Mockingjay came out. Still not over it.

7. Everything has changed: pick a book that has a character who goes through extensive character development
A character who really stands out in my mind is Sydney from Vampire Academy and Bloodlines by Richelle Mead. I actually didn't care for Sydney that much in VA and when I heard the Bloodlines spin off series was going to be about her I wasn't too keen but now five books into that series she has developed so much and is now one of my favourite heroines.

8. Forever and always: pick your favourite book couple
I have so many favourites and I can't choose an ultimate one so instead I will go for one of my new favourite couples of this year and that is Beast and Sybella from Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers.

9. You belong with me: most anticipated book release
Right now I am pining for Ashes to Ashes the final book in the Burn for Burn trilogy by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian. Luckily I don't have much longer to wait!

10. Come back, be here: pick a book you wouldn’t lend out to anyone for fear of missing it too much
My signed copy of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It's one of my favourite books and most treasured possessions and it's never leaving my side.

11. Tear drops on my guitar: a book that made you cry a lot
I'm such a crier especially when it comes to books but the book I think I cried the most with both whilst reading and after reading is Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. If you've read it you'll know why.

12. Shake it off: a book that you love so much you just shake off the haters
I almost didn't give this book a chance because it was receiving a lot of bad reviews on Goodreads and I'm so glad that I did because it's actually one of my favourite reads of 2014 and that book is The Rain by Virginia Bergin. A lot of people didn't like the main character but I actually found Ruby's voice to be really different and what made this book so good.

The End