Black Roses – Jane Thynne Review

Posted on by shannon5597

Black Roses (Clara Vine 1): Amazon.co.uk: Thynne, Jane: 9781849839853: Books

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 468

Hi everyone! Welcome to my first book review of the year!  I have officially finished my first book of the year (even though I started this one back in December) and it has got my reading year off to a great start!  Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres and I tend to read a lot of it so I am sure this won’t be the only review of one you’ll see from me this year!  So let’s get into the review (don’t worry there are no spoilers!).

Black Roses by Jane Thynne is a historical fiction novel set in 1933 Berlin, as Hitler enforces his regime and life is rapidly changing for those in the city.  The plot follows Clara Vine, a young British actress as she moves to Berlin to further her acting career and secure a part in an upcoming film.  Before long Clara finds herself rubbing shoulders with the wives of the Nazi elite, most notably Magda Goebbels.  And then she meets Leo Quinn, a British intelligence agent working undercover in Berlin and she soon finds herself swept up in spying on her new acquaintances and reporting back to Leo.  As the plot progresses Clara begins to understand just how dangerous her new life is as the balance of trusting and being trusted becomes more and more precarious.  Overall, I found the plot to be exciting and interesting, with a few unexpected twists along the way!  The novel begins with a bang, describing a dramatic event that occurs later on in the plot, however from here the first half of the novel can feel a tiny bit slow at points but as this is the first book in a series this is just due to the author setting the scene and introducing the setting.  The second half of the novel speeds up significantly and the characters really come into their own, driving the plot through the dramatic events and building suspense for the ending.  The ending is well thought out and intriguing, encouraging the reader to continue on with the series, which I definitely will be!

As for the characters, Clara Vine, our heroine is extremely well written and rounded, and its great to see her grow and change throughout the novel is such a realistic way.  Clara is everything a good heroine should be, she is relatable despite the situations she finds herself in, she is determined and self assured but still has moments where she really questions her decisions and I really love how passionate she is about facing her fears to stand up for what she believes in.  Leo Quinn is a great character, he is serious and intellectual but also more emotional than he first lets on and the slow process of getting to know him just adds to the joy of the read.  The romance between these characters is lovely to read and a welcome break from some of the darker elements of the plot but I love that it doesn’t become the main storyline.  I hope that we will see more of them together in the next book.  The Nazi wives play a large part in the plot and each is written with great detail, giving a perfect snapshot of the kind of women they were and the part they played in enforcing Hitler’s regime.  Seeing things from the point of view of the wives and girlfriends was such a unique perspective, and as someone who has read a decent amount of historical fiction I found it immensely interesting.

The highlights of this novel were really watching the main characters develop, the unique experience of reading about things from the perspective of the Nazi wives and also the setting of 1933 Berlin pre war.  It was so eye opening to read about how life slowly but surely changed for the residents of Berlin and how swept up most people became in Hitler’s ideas and bought into his plans for Germany.  It was so refreshing to read about this topic before the war actually started and was actually a first experience for me!  I am so looking forward to continuing with the series at some point! 

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars!

3 word review: Atmospheric, immersive, exciting

Thank you so much for reading and I’d love to know your thoughts if you have read this book or any historical fiction recommendations you may have!  

See you soon,

Shannon 🙂

My Top 5 Books Of 2020!

Posted on by shannon5597

Hi everyone!

It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything about books, or written anything at all for that matter, and I have missed it.  So I have decided to make a comeback with the top 5 books I read in 2020! This year has been a trying and difficult year for us all but one positive I can take from it is that I have had quite a succesful reading year! As it stands, I have read 26 books of my goal of 25 with a good mix of my favourite genres, ones I rarely or never read and some non-fiction making up the numbers! This year has been a good reading year for me in terms of quality as well as quantity so picking my 5 favourites has been tricky, but without further ado here they are!

5.  Kirsty’s Great Idea (Babysitters club #1) – Ann M. Martin

Genre: Childrens

Rating: 4.5 stars

I think I’ve talked before about how I love a good reread of a book I’ve previously enjoyed, and this year brought me an unforeseen but welcome one!  My younger cousin loves to read so for Christmas I always get her a book, this year when thinking of which book to get her I was reminded of the Babysitters Club series which I had been given by my older cousins and loved when I was younger.  Once I had bought the book I decided to read it again and leave little notes in it for my cousin so that it would feel like we were reading it together.  I thoroughly enjoyed this blast from the past!  The characters were well rounded, there was diversity and important discussion about family relationships and how families can differ and, of course, a strong sense of friendship and fun.  I hope that my cousin enjoys this book as much as I did and that we can continue on with the series together!

4. Good Friday – Lynda la Plante

Genre: Adult Detective/Mystery

Rating: 4.5 Stars

A couple of years ago my friend gave me my first Lynda La Plante novel, Murder Mile, as part of my birthday present.  As soon as I started it, I was hooked.  Since then I have read a couple more of the Jane Tennison detective novels (not in order) and this was the one that I read this year!  The Jane Tennison series follows Jane, a female police officer in the Met, as she progresses through her career, rising through the ranks and solving crimes.  The series takes place in the 70s/80s in London and also offers a look at the kind of real life crimes taking place at that time.  Good Friday focuses on terror crimes being undertaken by the IRA at the time and is a suspenseful and addictive read.  The way Lynda La Plante writes just draws you in and completely immerses you in the mystery of the story.  This also extends to her main character Jane, who you really root for in every individual book and across the whole series, willing her to overcome the issues surrounding sexism in the police and rise through the ranks as she duly deserves.  The appearance of familiar characters throughout the series is a nice link between the books, although I wouldn’t say the series has to be read in order.  If you’re in the market for an addictive, exciting detective series then I can recommend none better than the Tennison series by Lynda La Plante.  I’m looking forward to continuing my love affair with it this year by going back to the very first book!

3. The Familiars – Stacey Halls

Genre: Adult Historical Fiction

Rating: 4.75 stars

The Familiars is the debut historical fiction novel by Stacey Halls.  For me, this book was one that as soon as I heard the synopsis I knew that I would love it.  The story is set in 1600s Lancashire and follows the young mistress of a large home currently pregnant for the fourth time after three previous miscarriages.  Fleetwood is desperate to provide her husband with an heir and to finally carry a baby full term.  To help her through the pregnancy she employs the services of a local girl, Alice who becomes her companion and saviour whilst guiding her through the pregnancy.  However, Alice is soon drawn into accusations of witchcraft, which are rife in the area, and arrested therefore causing Fleetwood to go to any length to clear her name and have her back for the birth of the baby.  The historical accuracy and believability of this novel is a testament to the enormous amount of research the author must have done in order to write such a compelling novel.  This is further justified when you learn that Fleetwood was a real person and Gawthorpe, the house in which the story is set, a real house.  This story is thrilling and sad and a lovely look at female friendships and loyalties.  After reading this book alone I can say with confidence that I will be picking up everything that Stacey Halls writes from now on! 

2.  Cilka’s Journey – Heather Morris

Genre: Adult Historical

Rating: 5 stars!

Cilka’s Journey is the follow up book to the super popular Tattooist of Auschwitz.  I read the Tattooist of Auschwitz a couple of years ago and was blown away by it.  Cilka’s journey follows Cilka, a young prisoner at Auschwitz as she is singled out for her beauty and brutally used by one of the camp’s commandants.  She is given the horrendous job of manning the hut where prisoners spend their last night before being taken to be executed.  Although in a position where she gets additional rations and other tiny perks Cilka faces magnificent hardship, even seeing her own mother come through her hut and being taken away.  However, Cilka only ever uses her position for good, sharing out extra food and trying to comfort those aware enough to know where they are headed.  In an agonising, cruel turn of fate Cilka is charged by the Russians when Auschwitz is liberated and spends another portion of her life in a siberian prison camp.  Cilka again overcomes hardship and works her way to becoming a nurse and caring for the camp’s sick.  Knowing that Cilka was a real woman and that this horrifying story was real makes the novel undeniably moving but incredibly inspiring. I would recommend that everyone reads both of these books as they are stories that need to be told.

  1. The Foundling – Stacey Halls

Genre: Adult Historical Fiction

Rating: 5 stars

Following on from reading The Familiars, I could not wait to get my hands on Stacey Halls’ newest novel, and I was not disappointed.  The Foundling is set in 1700s London and follows Bess Bright, a woman who had to give up her only daughter due to poverty.  Bess saves for years to get her daughter back, but when she goes to collect her she is told that she has already claimed her daughter.  The story follows Bess as she tries desperately to track down her daughter, with much more along the way.  There are many other facets to the plot of this brilliant novel but I feel that it’s best to let you discover that for yourselves. What I will say is that this novel is a beautiful portrait of a mothers love and the lengths a woman will go to in order to protect her child.  The descriptions in this novel as so incredible that you feel like you’re there in the story and give you such a bond with the characters that you’re fully invested. I honestly cannot recommend Stacey Halls highly enough and cannot wait to see what she publishes in the future!

So there you have it, my top five books read in 2020.  I hope you enjoyed this post and I’d love to know what your top five books were! Here’s to a good reading year in 2021!

See you soon!

Shannon 🙂

Right Book, Right Time

Posted on by shannon5597

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Hi everyone! Happy Spring! I hope you’re all having a great year so far and that the weather is finally starting to get warmer where you are (it’s still freezing in Scotland!). Last week I finished reading a book and it occurred to me that perhaps if I had read that book at a different time then I may not have enjoyed it as much as I did. So this post is going to be a kind of discussion of that mixed with a relaxed review of the book, so let’s see how this works!

The book in question is On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher. I love Carrie and have reviewed her non-fiction book All I Know Now on this blog previously. I watch her videos on youtube and am even lucky enough to be going to see her perform as Wednesday in The Addams Family Musical next month with my best friend so I was very excited when I heard that she was writing a fiction novel. On the Other Side is a story about a woman called Evie who has passed away in old age and has found herself unable to get into her own heaven without first ridding her soul of three secrets she kept her whole life. The story has elements of magical realism which were subtly done apart from one. In order to avoid spoilers for those of you who may want to read the book I won’t say which part it was but the instance seemed, to me, a bit out of tune with the rest of the magical realism system used and therefore it came across as a tad far-fetched. However, that being said I very much enjoyed the other touches of magic in the book, something that usually I may have found a bit distracting as I tend to enjoy more realistic stories.

The characters in the novel were written excellently, each with flaws and quirks that made them very real and easy to warm to. Evie was a great heroine, kind and unafraid to be herself while also putting the needs of others before her own desires. A shared trait between most of the characters was that they were sweet, again something which may have irritated me slightly in other novels or even if I’d just been reading this at a different time.

This is why I think it is so important to read what you feel like you really want to read instead of what you feel others think you should read or forcing yourself to read your TBR in a pre-set order. Reading and books are to be enjoyed and to enjoy them to their full potential we must read them when we feel the time is right and when we’re in the right head space for them. Do you feel like you want to pick up a book set at Christmas time in the middle of June? Do it! Do you feel like you want to read a fluffy contemporary instead of that non-fiction that’s been sitting on your shelf for months? Do it. Read what makes you happy when it makes you happy.

I hope you enjoyed this post and that maybe it made you pick up something to read that will make you happy like On the Other Side made me happy! Leave your comments below to tell me what you think!

See you soon,

Shannon 🙂

Goals for 2017

Posted on by shannon5597

Hi everyone, Happy New Year! I hope that you’re doing well and that 2017 is going smoothly so far! As I’m sure you all know, at the beginning of every year many people like to make resolutions for the year ahead to try and improve certain elements of their lives. Personally, I feel like resolutions is quite a strong word that implies that the things you’re going to work on were wrong or bad and that if you don’t ‘fix’ them they’ll stay wrong or bad which seems like quite a negative and strict ideology to place yourself under. However, like most people, I do want to improve myself and certain aspects of my life over the next year so I have set myself some goals to aim towards, and if I reach them that’s great and if I kinda reach them but not quite then it’s great that I tried! So without any further rambling here are my goals for 2017!

1. Read 10 Books

Every year for the past few years I have set myself a reading goal on Goodreads. I love the process of tracking the books I’ve read and seeing how many pages I’ve done and my average rating at the end of the year. However, last year and the year before I didn’t quite manage to reach my goals, in 2015 it was 50 books and 20 in 2016, and it left me feeling a bit deflated. Therefore this year I have set myself a target that I know I will manage to reach (I’m already one down!) and probably surpass so at the end of the year I can feel a little more accomplished in the reading department. I’m also feeling really excited about the books I’d like to read this year so here’s hoping they’ll be great!

2. Write More

I love to write. I particularly like to write about books on this blog and general goings on in my diary. Both of these came to a bit of a halt last year as I found myself really busy with University and all of the things that come with that, studying and an amazing group of friends (old and new) that I love hanging out with. In the last month or two I’ve begun to write again, and read again, and I’ve been reminded how much I love being able to look back at what I was reading or what I was feeling and also how much it clears and calms your mind. So I’d love to post more regularly here and write more regularly in my diary this year so that next year I can look over everything I’ve done and be able to set new goals!

3. Say Yes More . . .

I’m the kind of person that worries a lot, mainly about tiny things that don’t need to be worried about, it’s how I’ve always been. Unfortunately, because of these worries I tend to say no to opportunities or experiences that may have been amazing because I’m scared or worried about them and I think it’s not worth the hassle. For example, I almost said no to coming to Edinburgh (my dream city!) for university because I was too worried. Thankfully I came to my senses and moved but the moral of the story is that it was the best decision I’ve ever made! So this year I want to say yes to volunteering opportunities that might be useful in my career, I want to say yes to nights out even though I can’t really be bothered and I want to say yes to getting out of my comfort zone. Who knows where it’ll lead!

4. Get Up Earlier

If I’m being totally honest when I don’t have to be up for University I rarely get up before 12pm. That’s not to say that I sleep until then, I usually wake up naturally around 9.30am but I can spend a whole lot of time just staring at my phone browsing various social media apps, then when I do get up I feel like I’ve wasted half of the day and get a bit grumpy. So it’s time to break out of this pattern and get up and be productive, even if being productive just means reading my book or going into town to look at the shops its better than lying in bed! So here’s hoping that 2017 Shannon will find the willpower to get up earlier more regularly and see how much she can achieve!

5. Meditate

In the past few years the idea of mindfulness and meditation has become increasingly popular, and for good reason! Just ten minutes of meditation a day can do so much good to both your mind and your body. I’ve tried meditation before but never really stuck to it, however I’ve read up on it and discovered that doing it in the morning works best for me so I’m giving it another go in the hopes of finding a calmer and more creative mind, I’ll let you know how it goes!

I hope that you’ve enjoyed hearing about a few of my goals for 2017 and I’d love to know what yours are, feel free to share!

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Until next time,

Shannon 🙂

Top 5 Books Of 2016

Posted on by shannon5597

Hi everyone! I hope you’re enjoying the festive season whether you celebrate or not and that you’re looking forward to 2017! At the beginning of this year I set my Goodreads Reading Challenge at 20 books thinking that this was a low number that I’d easily achieve as the year before I had read almost double this, however the truth is that it is much harder to find the time to read when you’re at University, at least it is in my experience. Not only do you always have something that you should be working on but in my case you live with friends and therefore there are long evening conversations, TV show marathons and Taylor Swift singalongs that fill the time that I’d previously spend reading. That being said, I did not reach my reading goal this year. It is 4 days until the end of the year and I’ve read 15 books, but I’ve made my peace with it and ultimately it’s not the end of the world. So many of the books that I read this year were amazing and I really wanted to share that on this blog so without further ado here are my top 5 favourite books that I read in 2016!

5 – Forgive Me Leonard Peacock By Matthew Quick

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Genre: YA Fiction

Forgive Me Leonard Peacock is a great young adult novel that features important issues such as suicide. This was the second book that I read in the year and it has stuck with me for the rest of 2016 due to the haunting writing style and the emotions that it caused me to feel towards the main character Leonard. I feel that this novel tells a very important story while also remaining thrilling and readable and therefore it has made it to my favourite reads list! If you’d like to know more about this book I’ve written a full review here.

 

4 – You Before Me By Jojo Moyes

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Genre: Adult Fiction/Romance

I’m sure that many of you are aware of or have read this novel or maybe you’ve seen the movie (I haven’t yet!) but in case some of you haven’t I’ll tell you about it anyway! The best way that I can describe the contents of this book is that it is a rollercoaster of emotions, as in I shed tears of happiness and sadness more than once while reading! It focuses on Louisa Clark, a quirky young woman as she loses her job and finds a new one, deals with family stresses at home and supports her boyfriend Patrick. However, this story is so much more than just another romance novel featuring a cardboard cut-out female character; the characters and relationships are so real and well-written that it’s impossible not to have real emotions towards them. It is engaging and funny while also managing to break your heart, in short I highly recommend Me Before You, it’d be a great start to your 2017 reading!

 

3 – Code Name Verity By Elizabeth Wein

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Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Code Name Verity is a historical fiction novel set during World War 2 and follows two girls and their contributions to the war effort. I cannot even tell you how much this book blew my mind, the writing is incredible and the plot is so fantastically twisty that you just lose yourself completely. The strange thing about my love for this book is that it needed two attempts to grow, earlier on in the year I had tried to begin reading this book but I just could not get into it, to the point where I thought I would never attempt to read it again. However, I kept it around and when I had nothing else to read I picked it up again and totally fell in love with it which just proves that sometimes you need to give books a second chance. This novel is interesting as it focuses on two young women who are employed by the military which not only helps to shine light on the fact that women were essential to the war effort in more roles than just looking after the children at home but also provides an exciting and elusive perspective to read about. The pace of the novel starts off quite slow but increasingly picks up throughout the novel which builds anticipation and interest. Of all of the young adult historical fiction I’ve read this is without a doubt one of the best, one of those books that I just want to shove at people and shout “Read this please!!”.

 

2 – The Nightingale By Kristin Hannah

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Genre: Historical Fiction

Just in case you hadn’t guessed, I think it’s fair to say that I love historical fiction! I just feel that there are so many amazing books in this genre that don’t get the attention and praise that they deserve, also history is so interesting! The Nightingale is set in France during World War 2 and follows two sisters and their different experiences and approaches to the war. I can honestly say that this is one of the most beautifully written novels I’ve ever read, everything from the descriptions of the houses to the food was gorgeous but the relationships featured in the story take the crown for the most beautiful aspect. Whether it is a friendship, a romantic relationship or that between a mother and daughter Kristin Hannah writes it perfectly. Due to the time period of the novel there are a lot of events that cause the reader to feel a wide spectrum of emotions giving the book a very realistic tone. I cannot think of enough good things to write that would do this novel justice, purely a stunning read.

 

1 – A Man Called Ove By Fredrik Backman

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Genre: Adult Fiction

A man called Ove is a fiction novel set in Sweden following an elderly gentleman named Ove and his experiences with his new neighbours. If you’re looking for a heart-warming novel full of warm and real characters then this is a story for you. This book gave me such a warm feeling in my chest while I was reading it (and when I remember reading it) but that’s not to say that this is a sugary sweet read because it certainly is not. There are sad moments in the novel that are so real and relatable that you feel as though the story could be set in your very own neighbourhood. As with all of the books on this list I cannot recommend it enough and I’m so excited to hopefully read more from this author soon! If you’d like to read more about this novel I have a full review here.

 

Phew that was a long post! I really hope that you enjoyed it and that you’ll want to check out some of these amazing books! Please feel free to comment your favourite books of the year, I’d love to hear them!

Until next time,

Shannon 🙂

A Man Called Ove Book Review

Posted on by shannon5597

 

 

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Published by: Washington Square Press

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 337

Hi everyone! I hope that you’re all well and that at least some of you are still interested in reading this blog! So, last night I finished an amazing book, so amazing in fact that it inspired me start writing about books again! Over the past few weeks I’ve read this book on the bus on the way into uni while the sun is rising over Edinburgh (It’s beautiful, trust me!) and before I go to sleep and I can honestly say that every page induced so many emotions, it was a rollercoaster for sure! The book that I’m talking about is A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. It is a heart-warming tale of an elderly Swedish man named Ove and I can honestly say that it is without a doubt going straight into my all-time favourites!

There are so many elements of this novel that are exceptional but the one that stood out to me the most was the characters. Every single character in this book is so realistic with good and bad qualities; there are no cardboard cut-out characters in this book! Of course we have to talk about Ove, the main character, on first appearances he is a stereotypical grumpy old man who harasses his neighbours about driving in their residential area and is stuck in his ways but as the novel progresses we discover that he is so much more complex than this. It could be said that the reason that Ove is such an endearing character is that he is certain to remind us of someone in our own lives, he certainly reminded me of my own Grandad in more than one way! The hidden qualities to Ove’s character are revealed through his relationships with those around him, namely his neighbours. One neighbour who has a particular impact on Ove is Parvaneh, a pregnant Iranian woman who brings out all aspects of Ove. The whole cast of characters in this novel have a fantastic range of diversity, featuring characters of differing nationalities, sexualities and body-shapes which I think we can all agree is how all books should be!

The writing style of Fredrik Backman is exceptionally warm, with the words somehow managing to give you the comforting feeling of being at home while also inspiring a whole range of emotions with the turn of every page. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that this book had me laughing out loud and crying in the same chapter such is the beauty of the authors writing. Similarly to the creation of his characters, the settings and situations in the novel are so realistic and reminiscent of so many suburban lives that it is bound to provide something that every reader can relate to. I would encourage everyone to pick this fantastic novel up and give it a read as I really believe that we can all learn from the love, kindness and light it holds within its pages.

I hope that you all enjoyed this book review and that it won’t be long until I am posting here again. Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

 

Shannon 🙂

Summary

Rating: 5/5

Recommend? YES

 

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick Book Review

Posted on by shannon5597

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Published by: Headline

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Pages: 273

Hi everyone! Today I’m back with my first book review of 2016, how exciting! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year and are looking forward to all of the good times this year is sure to bring. This book is one that I received as a gift for Christmas (I gave my mum a huge list of books I’d like so that she could pick a few and it would still be a surprise for me on Christmas day) and I was so excited to read it, and I’m really glad I did. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is one of those YA books that I feel are just so important. It contains themes of suicide, mental health, sexual assault and parental neglect but these issues are dealt with in an appropriate and sensitive way by the author, and I commend him for this.

The main character, Leonard Peacock, was well-written and interesting. He was a teenage boy with mental health issues but also so much more than that (as all people who suffer from mental issues are) which is another accomplishment of Matthew Quick’s writing as many authors tend to zoom in so far on these traits that their character ends up having no other qualities. Leonard is in a seemingly hopeless situation and portrays himself as having no hope but throughout the novel we repeatedly see this ever-present fragment of hope in his actions, that someone will stop him from committing suicide or even just wish him a happy birthday and this characteristic is one of the things that made me love Leonard. My favourite character in the novel is Walt, Leonard’s next door neighbour who is obsessed with Humphrey Bogart movies and smokes like a chimney. Walt is one of the only people who seem to really care for Leonard and he’s just such a sweet old man that you’d be strange not to love him. Besides this, the relationship between Walt and Leonard is one of the only things keeping them both alive; they are kindred spirits despite their difference in age. Then there is Herr Silverman, Leonard’s holocaust class teacher, one of the most well-written and caring teachers that I’ve ever read in YA. Herr Silverman’s character is one that will resonate with anyone that reads this novel, we all have that one teacher that went the extra mile and changed our lives for the better, and it warmed my heart that this character represented all of those wonderful teachers so well.

The plot of this novel is fast paced and exciting with everything leading up to the murder-suicide that Leonard has planned to carry out on his 18th birthday but despite the fast pace you don’t feel that anything has been missed out. The plot is well thought-out and an emotional rollercoaster – you may need tissues and a cup of tea to help with both happy and sad tears. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book; however, I did feel that the ending could have had more detail and information as we are so emotionally invested in the storyline but apart from that, an excellent and important read for fans of YA fiction.

Hope you enjoyed!

Until next time,

Shannon x

Rating: 4/5

Recommend? YES

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The Real Neat Blog Award

Posted on by shannon5597

Hi Everyone! Here I am with the first of my catch-up book tags! I was nominated for this award way back when by the very lovely Audrey @ ForwardsAndBookwords, thank you Audrey! I am still so humbled and excited when I get tagged to write anything! Now let’s get on with it, shall we?

The rules of this award are:

1. Thank and link the blogger who nominated you.

2. Answer the seven questions your nominator provided.

3. Nominate seven other bloggers.

4. Create seven questions for your nominees.

Audrey’s Questions for me are:

  • What author would you most like to have as a best friend? 
  • I have to go with the clichéd answer of J.K Rowling; not only does she seem up for talking about Harry Potter at pretty much any time but she is super knowledgeable and full of wisdom which I think would make her a very compassionate best friend and someone you could really learn from.

 

  • What’s the biggest goal you want to achieve in your lifetime?  
  • The biggest goal that I would like to achieve in my lifetime is to be truly happy and fulfilled and to make as many other people as possible feel this way too. I feel that in the materialistic world that we live in happiness is underrated and often overlooked but what is better than making others happy and being happy in the process? For me, nothing.

 

  • Would you rather be the published author of an incredibly successful book or be best friends with all of your favourite authors of incredibly successful books? 
  • This is a tough one but I think I’d rather be an author. It was always a dream of mine when I was little to write and publish my own novel someday and I was always starting novels that never got finished so it would be amazing if one day I had an idea good enough to write a whole novel on! Also my best friend Eilidh @ Turning The Faucet On is going to be an incredibly successful author one day, it’s inevitable, so if I were to be an author too I’d have the best of both worlds!

 

  • Do you prefer paperbacks or hardbacks? 
  • Ooh another tough one! I love those really floppy paperbacks that you get because they’re just so floppy y’know? But then I always feel that hardbacks are so luxurious and fancy because we don’t generally buy hardbacks that often here in the UK so I guess I see them as a treat? However when it comes to actually reading them I find hardbacks quite tricky to read and also they’re heavier.   Do you see my struggle? So basically I love both, any book will do for me!

 

  • Do you collect anything (beside books)? 
  • I guess you could say that I collect photographs, I am always looking through old photos when I’m at home or my granny’s, I absolutely love that you can catch a moment in time and keep it forever like how amazing is that?! So I love photos and keep even silly ones. One day I hope to have the funds to collect guitars because guitars are beautiful and I need them all, thank you very much.

 

  • When is your favourite time to read? 
  • My favourite time to read is just before bed when I am snuggled up in bed, with the only light being my lamp that casts a warm glow over my whole room. I feel like this is such a magical time to read and it makes me feel really calm and happy. That being said I like to read anytime and anywhere!

 

  • How many books would you estimate you’ve read in your lifetime? 
  • This is something I would absolutely love to know, imagine being able to know exactly how many books you’ve read in your lifetime and what each of them were! I would estimate that I’ve read between 200-400 books in my lifetime which I know is quite a wide range but I’m just not sure!

 

Thank you to Audrey for the awesome questions!

I nominate:

Eilidh @ Turning The Faucet On

Simon

Erika @ Erika In Bookventureland

My 7 Questions for you are:

  1. What is your favourite word?
  2. If you could go on holiday anywhere on earth or somewhere in space where would you choose?
  3. What is your favourite type of cake? (a tough one I know)
  4. Tea or Coffee? Explain your choice.
  5. What is the last film you saw in the cinema and did you enjoy it?
  6. Do you write in your books?
  7. What do you love most in the world besides your friends and family?

I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Until next time,

Shannon 🙂

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Remember Me?

Posted on by shannon5597

Hi everyone! It’s been a wee while hasn’t it! Firstly I’d like to say welcome back, it feels good to be back writing again. Secondly, I’m very sorry for all of the unanswered comments and tags that I have left undone over the past few months, it has all just been a bit crazy. So, where have I been?

Well, at the beginning of September I moved to the beautiful city of Edinburgh to begin studying at university. This is a massive step and I was very nervous but I’m happy to report that so far everything has been great! One of my biggest fears was meeting my flatmates but I had nothing to fear as they are some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met and we’ve become a little family in no time at all. So as you can imagine I’ve been pretty busy getting to know people, going to university, exploring the city, studying, learning how to use the washing machine and even partying a little bit (ok maybe more than a little bit). Because of this I haven’t really had time to blog, or read for that matter, but now that I’m settled in and have completed my first semester (eek) I hope that I can jump right back in!

Can I just say I have seriously missed you guys, and for anyone reading this thanks for sticking around during this unexpected and lengthy hiatus. I’m going to try and catch up with all the tags I have kindly been tagged in over the next few weeks and hopefully have some serious quality reading time!

Damn it feels good to be back!

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Shannon 🙂

The Reader Problems Tag

Posted on by shannon5597

TRPT - 1Hi everyone! Guess whose back with another fun tag? I am! The wonderful Raven over at Dreamy Addictions has tagged me to do this tag, so thank you very much Raven! I have seen this tag going around both in the blogging community and on Booktube so I’m excited to be able to take part. Now let’s dive straight in!

You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?

I used to be very strict with myself when it came to my TBR and what to read next. I would make myself read the books in the order that I got them even if I wasn’t really in the mood for the kind of book it was but nowadays I just read what I want, when I want and let me tell you; it feels gooooood!

TRPT - 2

You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

Usually I persevere until the end, just because I’m always hopeful that the story will rectify itself and turn out good in the end but there have been cases when I have just decided to put down a book halfway through and never pick it up again, it just depends.

The end of the year is coming and you’re so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?

This question describes my life right now, I’m about 2 or 3 books behind schedule for my reading challenge and I really, desperately want to catch up but at the same time I don’t want to rush through books and not fully take the time to enjoy them just to reach a certain number so the answer to this question is; we’ll have to wait and find out!

The covers of a series you love. Do. Not. Match. How do you cope?

Well, at present, the covers of my Harry Potter books don’t match and it really annoys me, to the point where I will not let this happen again and will go out of my way to make sure that all the books in the series I love match (eg the Lunar Chronicles). Also, I plan on buying multiple other editions of the Harry Potter books in the future so that’s what I think about when I look at how muddled they look!

Everyone and their mother loves a book you really don’t like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

Usually I bond over books with my best friend Eilidh – Turning the Faucet On – whether we share the same opinions or not. Most of the time our opinions are the same and we have a great time analysing characters and talking about our favourite parts but equally I think we quite like to squabble over who is right when we disagree (don’t get us started on Ron Vs Draco).   Also, now I get to bond over books with you guys in the comments of my posts and your posts and it is really lovely to feel so included in the bookish community!

You are reading a book and are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

Honestly I think I’d just let it all out (quietly, of course). I am of the opinion that crying is nothing to be ashamed about, probably because I cry all the time, and if you can connect with a book on such a level that it has the ability to make you cry then that’s a wonderful thing! And if someone sees you crying over a book then that might spark a conversation and a new bookish friend could be made. And if you’re really embarrassed then you could just hold the book in front of your face so no one would see!

TRPT - 3

A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you’ve forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you reread the book? Skip the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads?

I would 100% just reread the first book, what’s not to love about rereading a book that you thoroughly enjoyed? And then the sequel will be even more exciting because you will be reminded of how much you loved the first one!

You do not want anyone, ANYONE, borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope?

I guess it depends who it is, for example if it was my sister I would just say no but if it was a friend I’d probably point them towards the Bookstore or the internet or maybe even the library.

You’ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

If it was a really awful reading slump where I just didn’t want to read anything at all I’d probably pick up one of the Harry Potters because they always get me back into a reading mood. Or I might just reread another of my favourites and sometimes I just let the reading slump be. So I might watch some TV or a movie then see how I feel when I get bored of that.

There are so many new books coming out that you’re dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

This depends on how much spare money I have that month and whether I feel I deserve to treat myself (I can usually find an excuse). I would say that compared to other book lovers I’m actually pretty tame as I never really buy more than 4 or 5 unless it’s been my birthday or Christmas.

After you’ve bought the new books you can’t wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them?

Honestly, not that long. Usually I would just read them one after the other as I don’t like to have too many unread books on my shelf and if I can’t wait to get to them then why leave them waiting??

Thanks again to the ever wonderful Raven for tagging me! As for tagging people, I want to tag anyone that reads this so go ahead and take part, it’s fun – I promise!

Until next time,

Shannon x