Bookish Brits November Book Club: The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

'You're not Mia Thermopolis any more, honey, ' Dad said. 'You're Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo. Princess of Genovia.'

A PRINCESS ME Yeah. Right.

One minute Mia's a totally normal Manhattan 14-year-old. Next minute she's heir to the throne of Genovia, being trailed by a trigger-happy bodyguard, taking princess lessons with her bonkers old grandmere, and having a makeover with someone called Paolo. Well, her dad can lecture her till he's royal-blue in the face, but no way is Mia going to turn herself into a style-queen. And they think she's moving to Genovia? Er, hello?


As part of the Bookish Brits, we have started our own monthly book club. We'd love for you to join in on the discussion! In November we have been reading The Princess Diaries by meg Cabot which is a series that I really loved. I was really hoping for more time to fully enjoy my reread of the first book in the series and perhaps read some of the sequels but you'll see from the video above that that didn't quite happen. What are your thoughts on The Princess Diaries? I'd love to hear from you.

 And! Don't miss out. You can always join us next month for our December book club choice: Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle!

REVIEW: Pawn by Aimee Carter

I was fairly excited to read Pawn by Aimee Carter as I really enjoyed her previous series based around the retelling of a Greek myth.  I was hoping that Pawn would similarly be a really engaging and fast-paced story with great characters.  And while it is quite fast-paced and is very quick to read, I found myself not really connecting with any of the main characters. And that is a shame.  It is the first book in the series being published in January by MiraInk and perhaps some of the issues that I had with Pawn will be addressed in the sequels...

Pawn is a dystopian story set in a world that deals with a merit system.  Every person must take a test and the results of that test will determine the type of job you will have, how well you are treated and generally the type of life that you will lead.  The number that your test decides you are is then permanently marked on your skin.  This system sees 1s and 2s at the lowest spectrum and at the top we have the 7s.  The only people in this society with 7s are the ruling family, the Harts. Their 7s are passed down from generation to generation and really go against the meritocracy of the rest of this society. 

Kitty, our main character, is dyslexic and has grown up in an orphanage. She's told certain things about how the test will accommodate her extra needs but, of course, they don't and she ends up as a 3. In desperation she tries to run from her duties as a 3 and in the process catches the attention of some very powerful people.  She is offered a choice: be a 3 and leave everyone she knows and loves and do miserable, back-breaking work for the rest of her life OR join the Hart family and become a 7.  It seems a simple choice however joining forces with the Hart family comes with its own risks. 

There is plenty of secrets and twists in this story. And while I did enjoy the mystery of it all and I really liked the political intrigue I wish there had been one or two more reliable characters. Somebody that Kitty and the reader could trust and not really question.  There is only one person in the entire novel that remained honest and loyal to Kitty and frankly, there wasn't enough of this character in the book for my liking.  Because of all the twists and secrets, I felt like I wasn't able to properly connect with Knox or Celia or anyone else. And therefore I also wasn't in a position to fully understand their motives for all of the deceit and dishonesty or anything else. And without that emotional connection I felt very distanced from the action and emotion. 

I like the idea of this book.  It's an interesting story about sacrifice and social justice and equality and being true to yourself and fighting for what's right. But I feel like a lot of those messages were lost a little bit in all of the twists and turns. Perhaps things will be less muddled in future books!

Bloggers on Bullying: My experiences

I'm writing this blog post to tie in with the Anti-Bullying Blog Week being hosted by Sophie from A Day Dreamer's World.

As I mentioned in the vlog for Monday's blog post, I have quite a lot of personal experience of bullying.  Let me break it down into separate areas for you:

Look at the size of those glasses!

Appearance

I think my appearance has been the aspect of me that has been targeted the most by my bullies. As a young child, I always had really crap hair styles.  Think 'bowl-cut' with a really dodgy, uneven fringe.  Then there was the terrible idea of getting my hair permed during middle school. That was a disaster. That was followed by a short boy cut. The thing with this is that I really love my hair. I love the colour of it - it's dark brown with some very subtle rust coloured strands. Even now I find it really striking to see some bits of grey hair on my head. I will never, ever dye my hair because I love the colour of it too much. And I find it sad that for many years growing up, I really hated my hair.  I wished upon many stars to be blonde and beautiful instead.

I have always struggled with my weight.  This has been an aspect of my life since I was a pre-teen and that thought depresses me so much.  Why was I was worrying about my weight at such a young age? Why is any young person?  I was bullied a lot for being overweight. I ended up quitting the sports teams that I loved so much because of how self-conscious I felt about my body. What I'd really love to do, and I wish I'd been doing this all along, is to join a martial arts class in the area or to swim regularly. Who cares about the size of my thighs or that my stomach isn't quite flat, right?

I have been wearing glasses since before I was three years old.  At first they were these horrible, thick Coke bottle lenses that really magnified my eyes and face.  And until I was a teenager they were also plastic frames with really bright colours - pink, purple, red. Colours that really stood out.  My glasses were something that I was picked on for many years. There would be name-calling and people would steal my glasses, they were broken at different times. I had to wear a 'dork strap' when I was playing sports. It was all very traumatic.  I look back at pictures of me with those glasses and I think they're adorable. Plus, I had no control over my imperfect eyesight.

Also? This tie-dye shirt was my favourite

Race

 I've talked about it on this blog before: I am half Native-Alaskan.  My mother is from the Tlingit tribe who live in Southeast Alaska and when I was much younger she and I would spend time together making Native American arts and crafts.  Those memories that I have with her are amongst my favourite and happiest memories of my childhood. I am very proud of my heritage ...but there were times in my life when I wasn't. 

When I was much younger, my skin colour was fairly dark.  It was much more obvious than it is now that my background was different to all the other little white boys and girls that I went to school with.  The town that I grew up in (8+) was not a very diverse place to live. In my elementary school there was one half-Korean girl, one black girl and my brother and me.  Later, in other schools there would be slightly more differing backgrounds but still not very many.  I dealt with so much racial bullying and name-calling growing up that it actually pains me to recall it all. My brother got into physical fights on a regular basis and for him that seemed to work.  I was not so lucky. 

There is a Mexican fast food restaurant that was in our town, Taco Time. In their meal deals they include a small portion of tater tots that they called 'Mexi-tots.' Mexi-tot was actually my 'nickname' at that school (before I transferred out of it) and I'd get quite a few people throwing their potato-based snacks at me as I passed them in the hallways or in the cafeteria. And I hated myself for it.  I remember being no older than 8 or 9 in the shower. And I remember thinking to myself that if I just scrubbed off this 'dirty' top layer of skin, I'd be white and perfect and people wouldn't be so mean to me.

From my HS yearbook (I wasn't doing homework)

Behaviours

 I was listening to somebody else talk about their experiences with bullying once and something she said stuck in my brain for a long time as not being right. And I couldn't work it out until recently.  She said that she'd been asked what her favourite music was and then was bullied because of her choice. And she said something along the lines of 'if I had just said something else that other people would have recognised things would have been different' - and this makes me sad. This is another example of victim-blaming and it makes me incredibly unhappy.  Because I was bullied for not conforming with other students in my year. I didn't dress like them. I didn't listen to the same music. I enjoyed school, I loved to read.

And it was not my fault for being bullied. I was bullied for being different but that doesn't mean that anything in the way I looked or anything I said or did was wrong.  The fault was not my own and it is never the fault of the victim either.  I didn't see that as I being bullied but I definitely do see it now.

Those are my experiences of being bullied.  I've glossed over some areas because they are still painful and I'm not sure that anybody needs to hear those specific details.  I share my experiences with bullying in order to do three things (and these are things I mentioned in my vlog):

1. Let you know that if you are being bullied that you are not alone. I've experienced it, others have been in your same position.  It isn't something shameful or personal to you.  Speak to someone, get help.

2. If you are being bullied, please know that it is not your fault.  It may not seem like it right now, but there's nothing wrong with you. You're fine just the way you are. You deserve to live your life the way you want to live it and to be the person you are without bullies stripping away your happiness or your confidence.

3. If you are being bullied, I really want you to know that things will get better. It's tough now and I'm not going to lie: it's going to be tough for a long time. But things have a way of getting better. Find great people to surround yourself with. Find something you love to do, the rest will follow.

Finding Your Inner Cherokee Guest Post by Siobhan Curham

Today I have the very lovely Siobhan Curham here for a special guest post for Anti-bullying Week to promote her FREE non-fiction e-book which she has written as a guide to help those who have been bullied to work through their feelings, gain confidence and become happier people.  I've read the book and I thought it was fantastic. Very interesting, hopeful and inspiring.  As a teenager I was a victim of bullying and all these years later and I still find the advice and support that Siobhan Curham has given in Finding Your Inner Cherokee something that I still need to hear, advice that I still need to be reminded of.  I think it's a wonderful thing she is doing and I am more than happy to support and promote this book! 

To find out more about Finding Your Inner Cherokee or about Siobhan Curham, please do visit her website: www.siobhancurham.co.uk 

Finding Your Inner Cherokee Guest Post

by Siobhan Curham

In March of this year, my novel Finding Cherokee Brown was published. Finding Cherokee Brown tells the story of a 15-year-old girl who finds the confidence to stand up to her bullies in her own unique way. After the book was published I received many emails from readers telling me that the book had helped them deal with bullying in their own lives. This made me want to do more to help and so the idea for Finding Your Inner Cherokee was born. Finding Your Inner Cherokee is a non-fiction e-book, full of case studies, exercises and advice, designed to help victims of bullying find their inner strength and become happy again.

When we think about the emotions that bullying causes, fear is often top of the list. But anger is just as common – and can be just as destructive if it isn’t dealt with properly.

When you are constantly being picked upon, anger starts building inside of you like the red hot lava in a volcano. And this is perfectly understandable. What you are going through isn’t fair. It isn’t right. After a while you can start feeling furious at the injustice of it all. And if you don’t find a safe way of letting your anger out, you can start to turn it in on yourself.

As a writer (and Official Word Nerd!) I am a great believer in the therapeutic power of the written word. The following exercises are featured in Finding Your Inner Cherokee and are the most effective ways I have found for releasing tension and anger, through writing.

Journal it Out

Find a time when you won’t be interrupted and turn to a fresh page in your diary / journal / random notebook. Imagine for a second that your feelings of anger are filling a tank inside of you. See your writing hand as a tap. As you start to write about how you’re feeling, let your anger flow out through your words. Get it all out on to the page. It doesn’t matter if there are spelling mistakes or commas in all the wrong places. As long as you are writing freely that’s all that counts. It is fine to swear and be as mean as you like. Don’t hold anything back. Write until you feel your anger fade, then when it’s all gone, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Just relax for a few moments and, when you feel ready, open your eyes and write down five things that you are grateful for. I know that some days it can be hard to find even one thing to be grateful for but make sure you do this last part of the exercise as it’s a great way of switching your brain from negative to positive. It doesn’t matter if it’s just that you’re grateful for the opportunity to express yourself, or that the sun is out, or that you had something nice on your toast for breakfast. As long as it makes you feel grateful it’s all good.


Write a ‘Dear Bully’ Letter

First off, don’t panic – I don’t mean actually send your bully a letter, but writing one that you will never send can actually be very therapeutic. Often, because we’re afraid of our bully, we don’t say anything when they start to pick on us. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to say anything. I bet you have loads you’d like to get off your chest. Well, here’s your chance, in the safety of a letter that will never be sent.

Take a piece of paper and begin it as you would a real letter, addressed to your bully. Then let rip. Tell them exactly what you think of them, how they make you feel, what you wish they would do (emigrate to Mars on a one-way ticket, perhaps?). Feel free to be as rude as you like and if you want to, write in BIG, ANGRY CAPITALS in ANGRY, RED INK. Keep writing until you’ve said everything you want and need to. Don’t hold back at all. If you start to cry while doing this exercise, just let the tears out too. When you’ve finished and feel you’ve got nothing left to say, I want you to add one final sentence:

I FORGIVE YOU.

Okay, I can practically hear you yelling, ‘WHAT?!!!’ But please bear with me. I’m not asking to do this because I want you to be kind to your bully. I’m asking because I want you to be kind to yourself.

There’s a famous quotation that some people attribute to Buddha and some to Jesus. Either way, it’s extremely wise, and it goes like this:

‘Not forgiving is like drinking a cup of poison and hoping the other person will die.’

Let me adapt that quote especially for you:

‘Not forgiving your bully is like drinking poison and hoping the bully will die.’

Basically, what this means is that anger and unforgiveness are like poison. They eat away at you from the inside, keeping you tense and stressed and uptight. But your bully is completely unaware of your angry thoughts. So they carry on doing what they’re doing, oblivious – and you carry on hurting.

By releasing your feelings of anger towards them, and forgiving them, you are actually setting yourself free. Instead of constantly stressing and feeling bitter, you create the time and the headspace to concentrate on far happier things. It’s obviously a lot easier to forgive once the bullying has stopped, but practising forgiveness while you’re still being bullied is a great way to ease your anger.

Even if you find it hard to do it with any meaning, always write ‘I forgive you’ at the end of an angry letter to your bully. Remember that by forgiving them, you aren’t letting them off the hook, or condoning what they’ve done, you’re actually helping yourself to feel happier.

Finding Your Inner Cherokee will be available from Amazon Kindle and all other e-book stores from 18th November and can be downloaded for FREE at my website: www.siobhancurham.co.uk

REVIEW: Finding Your Inner Cherokee by Siobhan Curham

Finding Your Inner Cherokee by Siobhan Curham is a wonderful (free!) non-fiction e-book that addresses the subject of bullying.  It is written by the author of Finding Cherokee Brown which was published by Electric Monkey earlier in the year and is the story of a girl who is dealing with bullying at school.

Though related to the same issues that are addressed in Finding Cherokee Brown, you do not need to have reading it to enjoy Finding Your Inner Cherokee.  Finding Your Inner Cherokee is a short guide filled with stories about other people's experiences with bullying as well as advice and activities that are there to help, support and empower victims of bullying.

As a child and teenager, I was bullied. So Finding Your Inner Cherokee (and also Finding Cherokee Brown) were very emotional reads for me.  While I didn't carry out all of the exercises included in the book all of the activities and advice really made me stop and think more about how bullying did affect my happiness, my confidence and my life.  

Finding Your Inner Cherokee is a very helpful, hopeful and inspiring book.  I wish that I'd read it as a teenager and even though it has been many years since my own personal experiences with bullying, the message that this e-book contains are still messages that I find important to be reminded of!

A huge thank you to Siobhan Curham for providing me with a free review copy of this book prior to its publication.  Finding Your Inner Cherokee is being published for free during Anti-Bullying Week, please visit here for more information. And stay here on the blog and read a guest post by Siobhan Curham about Finding Your Inner Cherokee!

Anti-Bullying Week

It is anti-bullying week and the Bookish Brits have decided to talk about anti-bullying all of this week and next so do check it out.  This is my video.  I actually had to film my video twice as the first time ended up being very emotional and I cried.

Another book blogger, Sophie from A Day Dreamer's World, is also hosting an Anti-Bullying Week and I have plans to talk more about bullying and my own experiences later this week to tie in with her plans.  I also have a special review up tomorrow and a guest post from Siobhan Curham.  Keep an eye out! 

To keep up with the Bookish Brits:

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Garth Nix Reading Challenge 2014

 I'm very excited to announce that in 2014, I will be hosting my first ever reading challenge! Will you join me in reading books by Australian author, Garth Nix?! His first book in the Old Kingdom series, Sabriel, is one of the books that got me into reading YA and I'm thrilled that Hot Key Books will be published a NEW BOOK in the Old Kingdom series called Clariel in September of 2014!

I wanted to do this challenge last year but decided against it with the publication delay of Clariel.  2014 is the year though! I've collected a huge pile of books to get me going and I'm putting on my game face. See the determination? Let's do this.

Find out more about Garth Nix and his books using the following links: Garth Nix on Facebook, Garth Nix on Twitter, Garth Nix on Goodreads, The Old Kingdom Chronicles, and The Keys to the Kingdom 

So what is the Garth Nix Reading Challenge?

The Garth Nix reading challenge is pretty self-explanatory - for all of 2014 we are all aiming to read as many books by Garth Nix as possible. These can be new-to-you Garth Nix books or re-reads. They include any books written by Garth Nix. I've listed many of his books at the bottom of this post but I'm sure I've missed out a few.

When signing up the reading challenge, there will be different levels to choose from. You can choose from anything to just 1 or 2 books up to reading his entire bibliography. It is up to you to decide how challenging you'd like to make it!

 For every book you review each month you will get an entry into the draw to win a monthly prize pack. Towards the end of the year I hope to do some kind of special prize draw for any readers who have gone the extra mile. Monthly and end of year prize packs are still in the process of being finalized and may have some restrictions to them.

To Sign Up:

• Write a post or page on your blog linking back to this one.
• In that post/page write a list of the titles you hope to read.
• Add the reading challenge button (at the top of this post) to your sidebar.
• Fill out the Mr.Linky form below, make sure the link you add goes directly to your sign up post and has your blog name as the title. Links to anything other than sign up posts will be deleted and only people who have created a sign up post will be eligible to win the monthly prize pack!
• And finally, as you review the books on your blog also add your review links to monthly sign-ups on this blog!

Challenge yourself:

In The Old Kingdom series, necromancers use a set of 7 bells in order to control the dead. I'm using them as different levels to challenge you...

Ranna - the first bell, the smallest. A taster! Read between 1-2 books by Garth Nix in 2014.

Mosrael - the harsh, rowdy second bell. Walk farther into ... Garth Nix's stories by reading 3-5 books. Good option if you're only thinking of reading The Old Kingdom series.

Kibeth - the difficult and contrary third bell. Reading 5-8 of Garth Nix's stories. Good option to choose if you're considering reading Keys to the Kingdom or Seventh Tower series.

Dyrim - the musical fourth bell. Reading 8-10 books! Perhaps you're feeling particularly brave and want to delve deeper...

Belgaer - a tricksome, thinking bell. Most necromancers scorn this bell but please don't scorn this level by reading 10-15 in 2014! This works out roughly to 1 book a month.

Saraneth -the deepest, lowest bell. Dig deep and challenge yourself to read 15-20 books.

Astarael - the sorrowful. The final bell. Challenge yourself to read 20+ Reading that many Garth Nix books will be a happy experience, I'm sure!

The Old Kingdom series

Sabriel
Lirael
Abhorsen
Clariel (published September 2014)

Seventh Tower series

The Fall
Castle
Aenir
Above the Veil
Into Battle
The Violet Keystone

Keys to the Kingdom

Mister Monday
Grim Tuesday
Drowned Wednesday
Sir Thursday
Lady Friday
Superior Saturday
Lord Sunday

Troubletwisters (written with Sean Williams)

Troubletwisters
The Monster
The Mystery

Other standalone titles:

The Ragwitch
Shade's Children
A Confusion of Princes
One Beastly Beast 

Story anthologies (that I'm aware of! I'm sure there are more)

Across the Wall (including Abhorsen story, The Creature in the Case)
Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron
Rags and Bones: New Twists on Timelesss Tales
Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd
Zombies vs. Unicorns
Steampunk! An anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories

So that's it! Please do sign up and join in this fun reading challenge with me!

Top 10 Favourite Reading Memories

Recently, I asked other book bloggers (Faye and Lucy!) what their favourite reading memories were. And in asking others, I started thinking of my own. Sitting down to think about it properly made me realise I couldn't narrow it down to just one. Or even a handful. So I created this post of my top 10 instead! I'd love to know your own reading memories, please share yours in comments!

In no particular order...

Buying the last book I needed to complete the Anne of Green Gables series in a garage sale

The first memory I thought of was buying Anne's House of Dreams by LM Montgomery, which was the final book I needed to complete the series. I have no idea who bought the other Anne books for me (was it a present? did my dad buy them?) but I can definitely remember how it felt to find this particular book in a garage sale in really good condition and for only 25 cents! It was amazing. 


Reading The Outsiders by SE Hinton in middle school 

This memory was very strong as well.  I had a really wonderful middle school teacher.  He really tried to get us all to think differently and to make changes both in our lives but in other people's lives too.  And along with some other wonderful books (Pigman, Summer of a German Soldier) we read The Outsiders by SE Hinton.


Receiving The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner for Christmas

I picked up the first book, The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, in a second-hand bookstore on one of my family's travels when I was very little.  And that alone would have made this list of favourite reading memories... except that awhile later, after desperately trying to locate the other books in the series on my own, I was gifted more than 30 of the books as a present by a family friend.  Seriously my favourite Christmas present ever!

Discussing the Harry Potter series with E 

And moving onto a more recent reading memory... some of you may have seen me tweeting about E reading the Harry Potter books. The boy is only 7 and already he has read all seven books twice and is reading them all through for the third time at the moment (currently on Order of the Phoenix!).  And one of my favourite things in the entire world is being curled up on the sofa with a book and with E and his book, both of us reading.  And then afterwards, we'd sit together and talk about what we'd both been reading.  E always has some really great insights and questions about the books he's reading and I love that this is something we've shared for such a long time.  I really hope that our book discussions continue for much longer...


The Littlest and Steve Cole at the Hay Festival

It's a strange one, this one, in that I wasn't there when it happened.  I never wrote a blog post about it, but earlier this year, me and N and the boys all went to the Hay Festival.  It wasn't something that N was interested in at all but he agreed to take the boys around and keep them amused while I went to see a bunch of different events.  One of the events that he took the boys to was to hear Steve Cole speak about his series Cows In Action.  And from what I hear from N and the boys, his event was amazing!  Steve Cole came out wearing a black Spiderman costume and really interacted with the children in the audience and got everyone involved.  More backstory: The Littlest has had problems with his speech. He was in speech therapy for over a year and as a result, he never spoke to strangers, he didn't speak in general to anyone outside of the family. Before this, his lack of confidence in his speech and his shyness were his dominant features when out in public. Back to the Hay Festival... Steve Cole asked if anyone in the audience had any questions and on his own accord, The Littlest raised his hand. Steve Cole called on him and very clearly, L asked him a question. In a microphone in front of a large audience. It makes my eyes well up at just the thought of it. I love that Steve Cole connected with my son in such a way to get past all of The Littlest's insecurities and and got him to speak.  Another favourite memory is hearing the excitement and enthusiasm from both boys after this event!

Discovering Charlotte's Web by EB White

I've told this story so many times that I feel like maybe it's a bit tedious by now? But it's still one of my favourite reading memories as well as being a favourite childhood memory. Charlotte's Web was my favourite book as a child. I carried it around with me everywhere and I read it a countless number of times.


Reading Northern Lights by Philip Pullman and Sabriel by Garth Nix

For a long time after leaving high school, I kind of floundered in my reading choices. There was nobody around anymore to steer me in the right direction of good books. So I relied a lot on bestseller lists and the like.  It wasn't until I was employed by WHSmith after I moved to the UK that I started to explore other types of books.  It wasn't until then that I began to make decisions about what type of reader I am.  And in a very short amount of space I read both Sabriel by Garth Nix and Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. And I loved the worlds and the characters and the writing styles of each of these books enough that these books hooked me onto reading young adult fiction...


Visiting the library

This is just a general and collective memory of visiting the library regularly throughout my life.  I love the library.  It has been my happy place for many, many years. I never feel as comfortable as I do surrounded by books!

Reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling at midnight

I know, I know. Two different Harry Potter memories on this list? It might be overkill, but both of these memories are very important to me.  This final book in the Harry Potter book came out just before my birthday. And I'd stayed up to buy and read the book at midnight.  I'd stayed up as late as I could that same day but then had to go to sleep. Well, that afternoon N had planned a surprise meal with some friends and I remember I was near the end as we were driving into Kingston.  I was crying quite badly and I asked N to stop the car and check the final pages of the book to make sure that my favourite characters were still alive in the end and didn't die during the Battle of Hogwarts. It was such an overwhelmingly emotional day, that one.  It will always stay with me.


Meeting authors and book bloggers and being part of this community 

I couldn't write a list like this and not acknowledge how incredibly lucky and grateful I am that so many wonderful opportunities are available to me! I absolutely love being part of the UK book blogging community.  I won't lie and say that everyone gets on with everyone else, but it's pretty close! Being a part of all this has been one of my favourite things in life. Yes, life.  Thank you all!

What are some of your favourite reading memories?

Here we go again

I've in the middle of another reading slump! I've started maybe 10 books recently and none of the books I've picked up so far are keeping my interest or concentration. I'm enjoying everything I've picked up so far but it's a case of 'it's not you, it's me' and I think it's because all of those books I'd tried have been sent for review. 

I'm trying to forget about the books I think I 'should' be reading and give myself a break.  Last month I only read (and finished!) books that I was LOVING and it was very laid-back and without pressure and felt very much like reading used to feel before I became a book blogger. While at the end of the month I did have a mini-freak out at reading less than half of what I'd normally read, I did also feel a lot better about my reading. 

Yesterday, in another attempt at reading without pressure, I went to the library. I usually don't check out many books from the library because there's always that niggling feeling of 'surely you should be reading review books' and I want to banish that feeling forever.  So here is a picture of my library haul.  Aren't they pretty?

So just a mini-update on my reading lately.  I also haven't felt like reviewing anything either, so no upcoming reviews for me. I do have something exciting lined up for this weekend though and I have been in the mood for some more discussion-type posts, so watch this space!

Have you read any reading-slump-busting books lately?

Litograph Posters, T-Shirts and Tote Bags

I was on Twitter recently when somebody mentioned Litograph. I was on my way out the door but I had the presence of mind to quickly write down the website address.  I'm so glad that I did. Most of my Christmas list this year features the products on this one website! (Just so you know, I am not getting paid or otherwise imbursed for this post!)

I've seen other websites that do a similar thing - using the entire text of a well-loved book to create an unique poster - but out of them all, Litograph is my favourite. I love their designs. I love the wide variety of choice based on the titles they've chosen. I love that there is the option of posters, t-shirts and tote bags and not just posters. I love that with each of these items you can choose your own colour scheme and that the t-shirts come in women's sizes.

In all honestly, I am just in love with these designs!  There's way more selection the website but here are some of my favourites:

This Alice In Wonderland t-shirt is gorgeous. The text and image of Alice falling continues on the back as well. It's $34 which comes to just over £20 so is a bit pricey for a t-shirt... but wow, I would love it.

And I think this black and white option for the Pinocchio t-shirt makes it really stand out. (Colour option available though!)

I don't know about you, but I ADORE Anne of Green Gables. I wanted to BE Anne growing up. Completing the series of Anne books was one of the first things I spent my own money on. I want the entire range of Anne products from Litographs but this tote bag made me yelp in excitement!

I also really love the simplicity of this The Secret Garden tote bag. I love tote bags. I would carry this around with me proudly! Tote bags are $29 which works out to just over £18.

But, if you're looking for the posters, I also really love how reasonably priced they are. Posters come in two sizes with only $5 difference ($24 and $29). I'd totally go for the larger size. I love this Peter Pan poster...

Or maybe this Pride and Prejudice poster. I do love me some Elizabeth and Mr Darcy.

So, there you have it! Those are my recommendations for bookish inspired gifts for this week. I really do hope that you check out Litographs. 

Which is your favourite poster, t-shirt, or tote bag for Litographs?

REVIEW: A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge

Guest review by Kulsuma

I love books which take you by surprise and A Face like Glass by Frances Hardinge is exactly that. The cover is beautiful and the mysterious blurb intrigued me. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started but the story immediately grabbed me and didn’t let me go for an instant. Even when I wasn’t reading it, I was itching to get back into the complex, crazy world of Caverna. I whizzed through the pages and I was sorry when the book came to an end. You know when you want to read a book again for the first time? I had that feeling.

Neverfell is found by Master Grandible in his cheese tunnels when she is five years old and he decides to keep her. However, something about Neverfell’s face shocks him so much that Neverfell’s face is kept covered for the next seven years when visitors come to the house and she never goes out. You see, people in Caverna don’t have Faces; they have to learn to show expressions like happiness, pity and anger.

But Neverfell has Faces in abundance and this makes her dangerous. Neverfell’s face shows all her inner feelings and she’s not very good at lying. When Neverfell ventures out of the safety of Master Grandible’s tunnels for the first time, it is the beginning of a wild, action-packed adventure.Unbeknownst to Neverfell, she has enemies galore; enemies who would not hesitate for a second to kill her for reasons she’s trying to figure out.

A Face like Glass is a real gem. I loved Neverfell. It was hard not to like her. She’s lived with the reclusive Master Grandible for seven years, has no memories of the first five years of her life and is in constant danger. She’s a heroine who grows through the book. Of course at the beginning she is slightly naive, but she learns quickly. She is kind, caring and above all, loyal to a fault.

I loved all the other characters too. My favourite is undoubtedly the ever-paranoid Grand Steward; the leader of Caverna who has ruled for five hundred years. He does not trust anyone but himself, so much so that he has given up on proper sleep. He sleeps in shifts, for one half of the day, the right side of his body rests, and vice versa. He does all this so he can keep a permanent watch over his kingdom and scout out any would-be assassins. I wish we had seen more of him.

The world Frances Hardinge has created is simply magical. There are so many crazy, outlandish things to take in but it all makes sense. Most of all, I adored Hardinge’s writing. It was fluid, vivid and glittering. I have loads of favourite lines. A criticism is that there were a few conversations that I thought should have taken place between certain characters towards the end of the story. Overall, A Face like Glass was a brilliant, magical wild ride. I loved the world Hardinge created and the characters I met. I can’t wait to read more from her.

Amazing review, thank you Kulsuma!

UKYA in November

A little bit late with this blog post... but better late than never, right? There are lots of amazing UKYA books out this month! I enjoyed After Eden and I have Dark Satanic Mills, Butterfly Grave, and Tinder on my TBR pile.

I don't have any guest posts or interviews lined up this month but hopefully you'll see some reviews up on the blog this month.  Let us know which books you are most looking forward to reading?

Butterfly Grave by Anne Cassidy (7th November, Bloomsbury)

Joshua’s uncle has survived a near fatal accident and Rose and Joshua drive to Newcastle to visit him, along with their friend Skeggsie.

Joshua is convinced they are being followed. Can it be true, or is it just his paranoia? Rose and Joshua do not know who to trust – even Joshua’s uncle has a dark past, touched by murder. And then the precious murder notebooks are stolen and it is Skeggsie who pays the price for Rose and Joshua’s so-called meddling. Somebody out there really does not want Rose and Joshua to find their parents. But who? And why?

A taut and pacy thriller, perfect for teens.

After Eden by Helen Douglas (7th November, Bloomsbury)

When mysterious new boy Ryan Westland shows up at her school Eden Anfield is intrigued. On the face of it, he's a typical American teenager. So how come he doesn't recognise pizza and hasn't heard of Hitler? What puzzles Eden most, however, is the interest he's taking in her.

As Eden falls in love with Ryan, she stumbles across a book in Ryan's bedroom - a biography of her best friend - written fifty years in the future. Unravelling Ryan's secret, she discovers he has one unbelievably important purpose ... and she might just have destroyed his only chance of success.

Tinder by Sally Gardner (7th November, Indigo)

Otto Hundebiss is tired of war, but when he defies Death he walks a dangerous path. A half beast half man gives him shoes and dice which will lead him deep into a web of dark magic and mystery. He meets the beautiful Safire - pure of heart and spirit, the scheming Mistress Jabber and the terrifying Lady of the Nail. He learns the powers of the tinderbox and the wolves whose master he becomes. But will all the riches in the world bring him the thing he most desires?

Fairy tales are often the cruellest stories of all; in this exquisite novel Sally Gardner writes about great love and great loss.

Katya's War by Jonathan L. Howard (7th November, Strange Chemistry)

The battle lines have been drawn. The people of Russalka turn upon one another in a ruthless and unwavering civil war even while their world sickens and the deep black ocean is stained red with their blood. As the young civilisation weakens, its vitality fuelling the opposing militaries at the cost of all else, the war drums beat louder and louder. Katya Kuriakova knows it cannot last. Both sides are exhausted - it can only be a matter of days or weeks before they finally call a truce and negotiate. But the days and weeks pass, the death toll mounts, and still the enemy will not talk. Then a figure from the tainted past returns to make her an offer she cannot lightly refuse - a plan to stop the war. But to do it she will have to turn her back on everything she has believed in, everything she has ever fought for, to make sacrifices greater even than laying down her own life. To save Russalka, she must become its greatest enemy.

Roses by G.R. Mannering (6th November, Sky Pony Press)

A dark rendition of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast!

'As the gates clicked shut behind them, she heard the distant roar of a beast.'

She bears no name. Her silvery appearance is freakish to the numerous inhabitants of Sago, the cosmopolitan capital of Pevorocco in a fantasy realm. With her mother vanishing at the instance of her birth, she is sent to live with the cruel, rich Ma Dane, where she is punished daily for something, though she knows not what. Tauntingly named Beauty, she flees Sago in a violent uprising that sets out to massacre all Magics and journeys to the furthest point of the country.

But Beauty cannot hide in the grassy Hillands forever. Before long, the State officials find her and threaten to take her back to war-torn Sago where death surely awaits. In a midnight blizzard she escapes them, running into a deep, enchanted forest to a great and terrible beast who will bargain for her life.

But can Beauty accept Beast? Eternity is a long time.

Close Your Pretty Eyes by Sally Nicholls (7th November, Marion Lloyd Books)

A gripping psychological thriller from the author of the bestselling WAYS TO LIVE FOREVER.

Eleven-year-old Olivia has been in care since she was five, and is just beginning her sixteenth placement. Her new home is a secluded farmhouse, centuries old, where she slowly bonds with her foster family. But the house holds dark secrets. Olivia discovers that it was once a notorious baby farm, where unwanted children were left to die. She becomes convinced that the place is haunted. She is desperate to save her new family from the ghosts. The danger is real - but does it come from the twisted mind of a very disturbed child? A powerful and thrilling story from one of today's most exciting young writers.

Dark Satanic Mills by Marcus and Julian Sedgwick (7th November, Walker Books)

Set in a near-future Britain, Dark Satanic Mills tracks a young girl's journey from the flooded landmarks of London to the vast, scorched and abandoned hills of the north. Framed for a murder she did not commit, the innocent and beautiful Christie has no other choice but to run for her life. Both a cautionary tale and a rip-roaring road trip, Dark Satanic Mills is altogether an intelligent, captivating and thrilling ride – The Wizard of Oz for a new generation, told in exhilarating shades of light and dark.

Which UKYA books are you most looking forward to reading in November?

Things I'm Drawn To in YA

I saw a Top Ten Tuesday idea in which we were supposed to write about words in the blurb of a book that would entice us all to pick up that book to read. I thought it was an interesting idea and I could see myself writing a list that included maybe 'road trips' and 'Japan' or possibly 'boarding school' but I couldn't see how to make that topic work for me beyond that.

...That is until now. I've been thinking a lot about this recently and there are definitely themes and topics that I'm drawn to again and again when I'm reading.  Some that are more obvious than others and some I've only recently realised the importance of when I'm reading.

Based on the following list, it really does seem that I read in order to fill those holes in my heart that I didn't realise were there.  I'd love to know what topics or themes or words appeal to you when it comes to choosing which YA books you pick up to read.

Step-families and foster families

The biggest thing that appeals to me about reading stories is this feeling of belonging. It's the biggest thing that I'm missing in my own life so I always like reading about it.  Not just friendships (which will appear later on this list) but the relationships that I like the most in stories are the ones where the relationships have no obligation or previous requirement for them to be strong or reliable. The relationships I love the most, the ones that make me cry and feel very emotionally connected to, are where a character finds a place to belong in a family that they aren't born into. I love it when there's a great relationship with a step-parent or a foster parent. Or other unconventional parent figures. One of my favourites of all-time is the relationship with Billy, a teenager living in a care home and his relationship with Ronnie, one of his caregivers which appears in Being Billy by Phil Earle. Something about taking in a child that isn't biologically yours and caring for them like they are is something that I can't resist in any format. The family dynamic of The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale in particular this year had me crying my eyes out.

Angry characters

Keep an eye out soon for an entire blog post soon on angry characters! Something I've learned about myself lately is that for a very long time I've held in all of my angry feelings. Every annoyance, every bit of rage against unfairness or whatever I've kept inside me. It's almost like I feel like I don't have 'the right' to express annoyance or anger. I don't know how that happened and I don't know how to go about relearning things in a different, healthier way so that I don't continue to bottle my anger up.  But until I do know where to go from here, the best I can do is live vicariously through the expression of anger via angry characters in books. I'm drawn to angry music and especially to angry characters in books and TV and film. Through them, I then look back at my life and I think how very different I would be if only I hadn't denied how angry I really am inside. I envy angry characters for that freedom to express strong emotion. I wish I could do it. Particular favourites (again) Being Billy by Phil Earle and Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett.


Strong friendship groups

There is nothing I love more than a really strong friendship group. And this goes for any storyline whether it is a book, a film or a television programme. I love the stories in which these friends are there for each other much like a family unit.  I crave that so much. This of course goes back to finding a place to belong and wanting to be accepted. I can't quite think of a good example of this more recently than Harry Potter. But it's still a pretty good one. 

Funny love interests
 
You know all those brooding, bad boy types that are rife in YA? Yeah, for the most part, you can keep them.  I much prefer a funny boy.  It's no mistake that I'm in a long-term relationship with a man who has made me laugh daily for the past 13 years.  I need humour in my life, I'm drawn to it.  I realise that I can be pretty intense and focus very much on darker or negative things. And I need funny and humorous people and stories around me to balance that side of me out.  Simon from The Mortal Instruments makes me laugh. Dave the Laugh from the Georgia Nicolson books is obviously a laugh. Harriet Manners from Geek Girl is hilarious and I have a massive crush on her!

Psychology

I may have mentioned this before? I quite like Psychology? Enough to be studying for a university degree in Psychology at the moment?  I love it.  I'm quite the psychology nerd and it really makes me happy to see psychology play a huge part in YA fiction.  I especially enjoy psychological thrillers but also many contemporary YA authors write very well about things such as identity that I always find fascinating. I also find memory and language really interesting. My favourite recent YA book that covered psychology has been The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes about a group of gifted teenagers who use their skills towards solving crime.

Mental health issues

And more specifically within the subject of psychology, I really love books that explore some aspect of mental health issues. Personally, I've dealt with depression and anxiety since I was an early teen and I've always felt like mental health issues such as these were quite taboo to speak about or discuss. It made me feel guilty and ashamed and I have no reason to feel either about my depression or anxiety. I much prefer the approach of some authors who tackle these things head-on with compassion and understanding. My favourite book dealing with depression is definitely Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta.

Travel

One of my strongest memories of my childhood is being in the backseat of the car, on a road trip. My dad was two things as I was growing up: 1) restless and 2) afraid to fly.  This meant that we drove everywhere.  The longest trip we went on spanned between Alaska and Venezuela. While I don't remember that specific trip very well, I am still very much attracted to stories that expose me to other places. I love books that involve road trips the most because of my own nostalgic memories and because of how much fun they are, but I also really love books that take me to new places like This Northern Sky by Julia Green in which a girl spends the summer on the Outer Hebrides.  I'd never come across this as a setting before and after reading this (beautiful) book, I really wanted to visit to see if it compared to my mental picture of it.

Emotion-filled stories

There are certain authors who I am in awe of.  Somehow they are able to fill every page of their stories with emotion and make me as the reader feel very strongly about what's going on.  I read these author's books and I just know that I'm going to fall in love and have my heart broken or feel very complicated emotions all at once and not know what to do with it all.  I have a lengthy list of such authors and will be bringing you that blog post soon.  One such author is Cat Clarke. Especially Undone which had me bawling uncontrollably. 


Sports

And finally, we have my last favourite topic in YA - sports. I love reading a good book about sports.  I played quite a few sports growing up and partially the attraction to sports within YA that I like so much is that if it's a team sport you usually get this great relationships amongst teammates and again that is another way of belonging. But aside from that, I always really love the dedication and skill involved in playing sports. I admire that. 

So that's it for me.  What topics are you most drawn to? I'd love to hear about it in comments!

Jewellery Inspired by Books at Luna's Little Library

Hello! It's getting close to Christmas now and every year I find it a struggle to think of what to add to my Christmas list. N asks me around this time of year what I'd like and my answer? Always seems to 'I don't want anything' and that just cannot be true. What is true is that I don't really know what's available out there to add to my wish list and maybe that is also true for you?

So I'm hoping to write semi-regular posts leading up to Christmas (and possibly beyond if there is enough interest) and show you some gift ideas that a book lover like me (and I'm assuming you) might enjoy.

I'm very excited about my first choice.  My other bookish ideas won't have a time limit placed on them, but this one does. So you'll have to get in there quick.  The lovely Luna from Luna's Little Library has been super creative this year and made up some absolutely gorgeous jewellery inspired by some of her favourite book covers.  I mean it, they are beautiful! She had been asked to sell the jewellery but decided against replicating the necklaces and earrings and instead came up with the idea of an auction.

Starting bid of only £5

The auction has already started and the bidding on some necklaces and jewellery sets are now closed. There's still plenty of time to dive into the auction and win yourself a very pretty literary-inspired necklace! Be quick though. Each item is available for three days only and the last items will go up on the 10th of November. The Frostfire by Zoe Marriott necklace (above) auction has started today!

The starting bids are very reasonable. A portion of the profit from each sale goes to very worthy causes. I love how the uniqueness of each of these necklaces and how well each of them corresponds with the book covers. I'm hoping that the success of this auction will inspire Luna to create more! If you have any questions about the bidding, postage costs, the charities that Luna will be donating to or anything else, please do visit this Questions page. There is the added bonus of being entered into a draw to win yet more jewellery for every bid.

You can still bid on this necklace if you're quick about it!

The jewellery I'm most looking forward to now (after winning two items already!) are:

The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale (my favourite book this year)

Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott (one of my favourite books ever)

and Unhinged by AG Howard.

I also really love this Hollow Pike by James Dawson necklace (auction ends tomorrow!) I'm so glad to see so much #UKYA support!

But... I love so many of the necklaces and jewellery sets, it was very hard to narrow it down! 

So, what are you waiting for? Wouldn't it be amazing to treat yourself to a lovely, book-inspired piece of jewellery? Or perhaps ask your family and friends to treat you instead? Head over to Luna's Little Library and don't miss out!

Which of Luna's necklaces/sets is your favourite so far? Which one are you most looking forward to seeing?

Netgalley November Goals

I've decided to take part in Netgalley November, which is a thing being co-hosted by Faye from A Daydreamer's Thoughts.  It's a brilliant idea. I did a lot a few weeks ago to bring up my feedback ratio (by 20%!) but more is always needed. I shall do my best to update this page throughout the month with my progress.

My goals for Netgalley November...

Starting Feedback Ratio: 38.8%
Finishing Feedback Ratio: 42.4%

I think the above two numbers will be the best judge of how successful Netgalley November will be for me. I think if ALL of the books below were read and reviewed this month, my percentage would go up by a further 20% so my goal is ... a 10% increase by the end of the month. Which means writing reviews for the 4 books I've already read and reading and reviewing a further 6 titles. Wish me luck!

Here is the list of books that I have available to read during November: 

To read: 

Shadowplay by Laura Lam
The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa
A Taste of Darkness by Maria V. Snyder
More Than This by Patrick Ness
Alienated by Melissa Landers
Pawn by Aimee Carter
Finding It by Cora Cormack
Keeping Her by Cora Carmack
Diamonds and Deceit by Leila Rasheed
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
Playing Tyler by TL Costa
Winter Damage by Natasha Carthew
Time After Time by Tamara Ireland Stone
Gemini Rising by Eleanor Wood
The Bell Between Worlds by Ian Johnstone

Witch Finder by Ruth Warburton
The Almost Girl by Amalie Howard

(Oops! I requested more books this month which means more work to raise my feedback %)

But there are also books that I've read and not yet written reviews for.  I have to keep in mind that each of these reviews will bump up my feedback ratio, so I really need to get a move on...

Reviews for: 

Crash Into You by Katie McGarry
Addicted To You by Krista and Becca Ritchie
Pawn by Aimee Carter
Keeping Her by Cora Carmack
Winter Damage by Natasha Carthew
Popping the Cherry by Aurelia B. Rowl
Geek Girl: Model Misfit by Holly Smale

Wish me luck on my goals! Are you taking part in Netgalley November? Are you willing to share your feedback ratio perecentage? What are your Netgalley goals this month?