Sunday Funday: Update!

Hello all! 

This is only going to be a quick update on how I’m doing with my 2017 Book Challenge, my monthly challenge, and my yearly challenge as well. Boy have I set myself a lot of challenges this year!

So let’s start! At the moment I’m reading Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly and as I said in my previous blog post, I went through a seriously bad bout of procrastination and just all round hectic schedule so I didn’t have as much time as I wanted to to read the book. Meaning I have fallen behind on my monthly reading list, which also means that I’ll probably have to shorten my list for next month down to possibly 4 books a month instead of 5 just to see how I get on.

I am currently on page 161 and I’m just about to start chapter 16 at the moment. I have to admit I am finding it quite difficult to read as it’s in a different style than I am used to but so far, I am really enjoying it. It’s eye-opening for sure!

My goal for this book is to finish this tonight or by tomorrow so I can at least read one more book for this month before March is officially over. And the next book I’m hoping to read is either Heartless by Marissa Meyer or The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon. Still haven’t watched Beauty and the Beast yet so I don’t want to spoil myself by reading that first!

I apologise if this is not as interesting as my usual blog posts but I just want to keep you updated! And if you have any questions, or if you want to chat about this particular book, then leave me a comment down below!

As usual, happy reading!

~A.

Sunday Funday and New Purchases!

Hello all!

I’m back, finally, and managed to shift this bug that I’ve had for the last week that has left me practically bed-ridden! But I’m back and full of ‘umph’ to get this blog back up and running again.

So today’s blog is going to be a little update on where I’m up to in regards to my 2017 Book Challenge and some new books that I’ve recently purchased.

As some of you will already know, I finished reading ‘Dear Amy’ by Hellen Callaghan, I put up a blog post about it a couple of days ago, and moved onto ‘Hidden Figures’ by Margot Lee Shetterly and am currently still in the midst of reading that. I haven’t managed to get a lot of reading done this week mainly due to the sickness bug but I want to rectify that because I still have 3 books left for this month and only 2 weeks left to read them! My reading gear needs to shift into overdrive if I want to get this month’s reading list done!

But, without further ado, let’s get into my new purchases from this weekend. It’s a long one again because I have no self-control when it comes to books. I know, it’s a serious problem, but one that I’ll think about another day!

 

  1. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

I didn’t actually end up getting this book from a normal book shop, which is strange given that that’s practically where I live, but we were walking around Toys R Us in the next city over from us for my nephew’s Christening presents and I thought I’d have a browse through the book section (even though it’s only kids books) and lo and behold, I came across this one. Now I remember reading this in either Year 7 or Year 8 of High School and I absolutely loved it! I used to love reading Michael Morpugo books and I remember reading another one of his books, ‘Born To Run’ about a dog. So I knew I just had to buy this one. Plus it was cheaper than what I would have paid in a bookstore so it’s a win-win!

Summary:

‘I saw the grey soldiers ahead of us raise their rifles and heard the death rattle of a machine gun…’

A powerful story of the truest of friendships in the worst of wars from the award-winning former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo.

Price I Paid: £3.99
Retail Price: £6.99

 

2. Mini Classics: The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

I was really excited when I saw these as well because we walking through yet another toy shop and I, again, was drawn towards the kids book section. These weren’t obvious at first, I was actually quite disappointed because there weren’t at lot of books to choose from in general as most of it was just nursery rhymes and books to help with reading for very younger children. Then I saw these and immediately picked them up! I’m a sucker for old stories and then I flipped through them, they are so beautifully illustrated as well (by Easter Garcia Cortés). I can’t wait to read through these books as they were part of my childhood as well. Plus, again, I saw how much it should have cost me and how much it actually cost me and it definitely was well worth it the buy!

Summary of The Jungle Book:

When the boy Mowgli is found by a wolf pack he embarks on a series of thrilling adventures with his friends and protectors Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther. 

Summary of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass:

When Alice sees a white rabbit take a watch out of its waistcoat pocket she decides to follow it, and a sequence of most unusual events is set in motion.

Summary of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:

After a cyclone carries Dorothy far from home on the grey Kansas prairies, she is stranded in the magical and mysterious land of Oz. Here she encounters adventures and surprising characters, including the Wizard of Oz himself, as she searches for a way back home.

Summary of The Wind in the Willows:

When Mole leaves his little underground home he meets up with a water-loving Rat. Together they mess about it boats, get lost in the Wild Wood, and join Toad and Badger in the battle to take back Toad Hall.

Price I Paid: £4.99
Retail Price: £40.00

 

3. As Old As Time: A Twisted Tale by Liz Braswell

These next 3 books were bought in a bookstore this time round and I had just had to pick these up! The first is As Old As Time by Liz Braswell because the premise and the book cover really intrigued me the most. It’s a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast (who doesn’t love re-tellings!) but it’s from the perspective of what if it was Belle’s mother who cursed the Beast. That just sounds mysterious and it makes me wonder how on Earth this is going to play out! I just had to pick this one up! And just in time as well as Beauty and the Beast was just released in the cinema as well!

What I really like about this is that it is the third book of a series where Liz Braswell takes fairytales and twists them into something else. I think the other two are Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty so I’ll have to invest in those two as well and look into whether she’ll be writing anymore in the future!

Summary:

Can the enchanted rose reveal hidden truths? Could it be that Belle’s mother was the one who cursed the Beast all those years ago?

Experience the third title in a thrilling series that puts a twist in much-loved tales, exploring what would happen if key turning points did not work out as planned.

When Belle touches the enchanted rose hidden away in the Beast’s castle, memories flood her mind – memories of a mother she thought she would never see again.

And, stranger still, it seems her mother was actually the beautiful enchantress who cursed the castle and all its inhabitants.

Shocked and confused, Belle and the Beast will have to unravel the dark mystery about their families that is 21 years in the making.

Price: £7.99

 

4. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

So, so, so excited for this book! I saw it a while ago, read the blurb and the first page and knew I had to buy it but I was saving up to go to Amsterdam with my friend at the time so I couldn’t. Boo! But I was just browsing through the shelves after picking up the book above and immediately saw the green cover out the corner of my eye! I picked it up almost straight away with no second thought! It’s such an intriguing story and I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where the main character is a fanfiction writer or a twin story for that matter either so really excited to read this!

Summary:

Cath and Wren are identical twins and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they’re off to university and Wren’s decided she doesn’t want to be one half of a pair any more – she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It’s not so easy for Cath. She would rather bury herself in the fanfiction she writes where there’s romance far more intense than anything she’s experience in real life.

Now Cath has to decide whether she’s ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she’s realising that there’s more to learn about love than she ever thought possible…

Price: £7.99

 

5. The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

This book was a bit of a guilty pleasure kind of buy because I was watching ‘Hailey in Bookland’ on YouTube again and I saw her mention this book in a couple of her videos (go check her out if you haven’t already!). I saw the cover and picked it up, knowing it’s not usually my cup of tea, and thought I’d give it a go! The synopsis and first page seem interesting enough but only time will tell I guess. Not as excited to read this but I suppose my mind will change once I start reading.

Summary:

Before the scandal, Andie had important plans. And zero of them involved walking an insane amount of dogs, being in the same house as her dad or hanging out with Clark. Now there’s a whole summer stretching out in front of Andie without a plan. And Andie always sticks to the plan.

But here’s the thing – if everything’s always mapped out, you can never find the unexpected. And where’s the fun in that?

Price: £7.99

 

I hope you enjoyed my long blog post again and enjoyed reading through the new purchases I have bought! Let me know if any have piqued your interests or if you’ve already read them! I love to read your comments!

As always, happy reading!

~A.

Sunday Funday!

Welcome back to another edition of Sunday Funday!

So I’ve managed to finish reading ‘Dear Amy’ by Helen Callaghan by today so I can finally cross that off my list! Yay! And I can move onto my next challenge of the year which will be *drumroll*…

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly for challenge number 8; ‘A book that became a film’ and this book has 265 pages so I should hopefully finish that by either Wednesday/Thursday this week and get onto the next book to be read! And I’m also really excited, because if you haven’t seen on my Instagram, we visited some family today for my nephew’s Christening (I was a Godparent, it was very nerve-wrecking!) and my Grandma brought along a HUGE bag full of second-hand James Patterson novels and he is definitely one of my favourite authors so I was super excited! It’s just been a very good day indeed!

My review for ‘Dear Amy’ should be out tomorrow so be on the lookout for that as well as I don’t want to spoil anything on here about it.

 

Updated 2017 Book Challenge List;

  1. A book you read in school.
  2. A book from your childhood.
  3. A book published over 100 years ago.
  4. A book published in the last year.
  5. A non-fiction book.
  6. A book written by a female author.
  7. A book written by a male author.
  8. A book that became a film.
  9. A book published in the 20th Century.
  10. A book set in your hometown/region/country.
  11. A book with someone else’s name in the title.
  12. A book with a character with my first name.Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan
  13. A book with a number in the title.
  14. A book somebody else has recommended to you.
  15. A book with over 500 pages.
  16. A book you can finish in a day.
  17. A book that has previously been banned.
  18. A book with a one-word title.
  19. A book translated from another language.
  20. A book that will improve a specific area in your life.
  21. A book set somewhere you’ll be visiting this year.
  22. An award-winning book.
  23. A book on the New York Bestseller’s List.
  24. A book published in your birth year.
  25. A book where the main character is part of the LGBT community.
  26. A book where a character has a physical illness.
  27. A book where a character has a mental illness.
  28. A playDoctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

 

I hope you enjoyed this blog post for today and let me know any suggestions you may have for future challenges in the comments below.

As always, happy reading!

~A.

Sunday Funday!

Hello all!

I’ve managed to finish reading The Invasion of the Tearling and so… that means… I can FINALLY MOVE ON TO A NEW BOOK! But I won’t be doing a review of this book (The Invasion of the Tearling) mainly because I took a long break between reading parts of it that I’d have to properly read through it again regularly to even give a decent and worthy review of it.

And so, because it’s Sunday Funday and because of the books that I included on my March Reading List, the book I am going to choose for the next two weeks (might not take me that long to finish it) to read is *drumroll please*

 

Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan!!

blog-post-28022017-4

The reason I have chosen this one is because it’s the first one that I thought that I could probably get out of the way first and to really get me buckled down and into reading again. It always tends to be thrillers/horrors/mysteries that get me reading after a long bout of not doing so.

Plus, it has a name in the title AND a character with my name in it so it’s a win-win really but alas, I can’t use the same book for two challenges. Stupid rules that I came up with!

 

Here’s my Sunday Funday list as a reminder, and hopefully in two weeks, I can cross through the one with a character with my name in the story. And I’m excited to be able to cross of number 28 after finishing reading Doctor Faustus. I’ll let you know probably next Sunday how I get on, how far I am into the book and my first impressions of it so far.

  1. A book you read in school.
  2. A book from your childhood.
  3. A book published over 100 years ago.
  4. A book published in the last year.
  5. A non-fiction book.
  6. A book written by a female author.
  7. A book written by a male author.
  8. A book that became a film.
  9. A book published in the 20th Century.
  10. A book set in your hometown/region/country.
  11. A book with someone else’s name in the title.
  12. A book with a character with my first name.
  13. A book with a number in the title.
  14. A book somebody else has recommended to you.
  15. A book with over 500 pages.
  16. A book you can finish in a day.
  17. A book that has previously been banned.
  18. A book with a one-word title.
  19. A book translated from another language.
  20. A book that will improve a specific area in your life.
  21. A book set somewhere you’ll be visiting this year.
  22. An award-winning book.
  23. A book on the New York Bestseller’s List.
  24. A book published in your birth year.
  25. A book where the main character is part of the LGBT community.
  26. A book where a character has a physical illness.
  27. A book where a character has a mental illness.
  28. A playDoctor Faustus: the A Text by Christopher Marlowe

 

And as always, happy reading and I’ll see you tomorrow for another exciting blog post!

~A.

Sunday Funday!

Welcome to what I call ‘Sunday Funday’.

I thought about what days I would be more likely to post on here and Sunday came to mind. Then I had the problem of trying to figure out what posts I could do periodically on a Sunday.

That’s when Sunday Funday came to my mind. And anyone who reads this can get involved too! That’s what’s so brilliant about it! Below will be a list of challenges for me to do over the course of this year (and I know I started late but I’m going to make up for it!) and each Sunday or every other Sunday, depending on how fast I can read the books, I’ll be posting my updates on the challenges, which one I’ll be doing next, what I’m finding difficult about it and so on.

So the 2017 Book Challenge begins!

  1. A book you read in school.
  2. A book from your  childhood.
  3. A book published over 100 years ago.
  4. A book published in the last year.
  5. A non-fiction book.
  6. A book written by a female author.
  7. A book written by a male author.
  8. A book that became a film.
  9. A book published in the 20th Century.
  10. A book set in your hometown/region/country.
  11. A book with someone else’s name in the title.
  12. A book with a character with my first name.
  13. A book with a number in the title.
  14. A book somebody else has recommended to you.
  15. A book with over 500 pages.
  16. A book you can finish in a day.
  17. A book that has previously been banned.
  18. A book with a one-word title.
  19. A book translated from another language.
  20. A book that will improve a specific area in your life.
  21. A book set somewhere you’ll be visiting this year.
  22. An award-winning book.
  23. A book on the New York Bestseller’s List.
  24. A book published in your birth year.

There’s really only one rule for this and that is; a different book MUST be used for each challenge.

These are just a couple of ideas that I have at the moment and I fully expect the list to expand as the year goes on and I get a few more suggestions about what I should read as well.

It would be totally awesome if you would like to take part as well and let me know how you get on. I’ll probably update this list every Sunday as I go along, adding challenges on, updating when I’ve finished a challenge or updating in general. I’m really excited to get started on this and I hope you are too!

Happy reading!

 

~A.

 

The images is from my own copy of The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen.
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