(Really Late) August Wrap Up

August Wrap Up ?

I know it's technically the 20th September but hey its never too late to do a Wrap Up!
So I have read alot last month! 17 books in fact, I dont think I have read this much during one month in a long time and it's a pretty good feeling knowing I have finished alot of my TBR books.

These are the paperback books I have read...

1.  Storm by Amanda Sun (the final book in the Paper God's series) 4 / 5
I loved reading this series and it was amazing but I just felt like the ending was rushed and as bad as it sounds I expected someone to die, yet no one did and the ending felt a bit too happy for me ??? I mean they have powers from the gods yet after a huge fight they were all okay ? Pfft

2. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 3.5 / 5
Okay so I finally got around to reading this book and after all the hype I had heard about it, I had pretty high expectations but I just felt like I was reading an entirely different book to everyone else ? I loved and hated reading this book. The plot twists left me reeling but I loved Emily Bronte's writing style. Heathcliff wasn't amazing and wonderful like everyone always talks about, I mean he is an intriguing and mysterious character but he is also kind of an asshole . The writing was amazing and I do love the way in which Emily Bronte writes but I felt let down by all the hype.

3. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey 3 / 5
Since I am studying this book in my English Lit class I needed to pick it up and it was a good book but I didnt find myself loving it, and parts were difficult to read but I mean thats what the book was trying to portray.

4. The Crysallids by John Wyndham 4 / 5
I love this book, incredible read written by one of my favourite authors.

5. The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham 4 / 5
Okay I struggled to get into this book but jeez once the actions started I loved it. Such unique ideas come from Wyndham and they always work so well.

6. The Seeds of Time by John Wyndham 3 / 5
Not one of my favourite Wyndham books but a good read nonetheless.

7. The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham 5 / 5
I loved this book so much, I am just disappointed I didnt pick this book up earlier. The concept behind this book is so eerie and sinister but I can't really note any flaws. I read this book within a few hours since I just couldnt stop reading it.

8. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris 5/5
 It has been a long time since I have picked up a psychological thriller and I was somewhat hesistant since it isnt something I would typically read but this book was incredible.
I really enjoyed this book, I was on the edge of my seat when reading this and I was just mesmorised by this sinister world. Hannibal Lector himself is so creepy and everything he said just made my skin crawl but Harris does such an amazing job portraying him.

and on my kindle:

9. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx 3 /5
Since I am studying this book in English Literature, I decided to pick it up and read it on the plane (to Austria) it didnt take long to read and it was an okay book. I didnt feel particularly engaged with the characters but hey

10. Solitaire by Alice Oseman 2.5 / 5
So I had heard alot of positive stuff about this book so I had hopes that I would actually enjoy this book but I struggled to since I just found the main character (Tori) so irritating, the only characters I liked and actually found remotely interesting was Nick and Charlie. I would prefer to say I liked this book but I just felt disappointed and I always find it difficult to read a book when I dont like the protagonist.

11. To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han 4 / 5
I don't usually like reading 'teen romance' books but I was somewhat intrigued by this book, I really enjoyed it and I honestly thought I would hate it. Lara Jean was such a sweet and genuine character and I loved reading about her.

12. PS I Still Love You by Jenny Han 4/5
A sweet sequel, enjoyable and I loved reading more about Lara Jean's family.

13. Miss Periguines Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs 5/5
I am gutted I didnt read this book series earlier, I loved it. Such a unique and intriguing storyline and I couldnt stop reading once I started. Jacob Portman was such an amazing character and the concept behind this book and the 'peculiars' was incredible. I loved the picture elements since they added so much character the book.

14. Hollow City by Ranson Riggs 5/5
Great Sequel which I read in a couple of hours and the plot twists!!!  I am so excited for the final book to be released this month!

15. 99 Days by Katie Cotuguo 3/5
Good book with a pretty stupid female protagonist, however I loved the character growth throughout the book. Important message about gender inequality featured at the end of the novel which was the main reason I liked this book to be honest.

16. Asylum by Madeliene Roux 4/5
This book was amazing, it has been a long time since I have read a book that has given me chills (from being scared). I loved the concept behind the book (a summer school based where a mental asylum used to be), such a creepy and intriguing storyline.

17. Sanctum by Madeliene Roux 4/5
A great sequel to the first book although I did struggle occassionally to understand how the 'clues' linked and whether or not the antagonist was possessed or just psychotic, but I guess that's the point.

Hopefully, I will continue with this reading streak but since I go back to Sixthform for my final year, I am unsure as to whether my reading will continue at this pace...

YALC 2015 DAY 2

Day 2 was probably the most hectic day for us despite the fact we only headed to the convention for 10am. Since public transport runs alot later on a Sunday and we couldnt be bothered to walk 4miles because we were shattered.

We got to YALC at around 10.30 and headed straight to the first panel, Mental Health in YA. This panel was so interesting especially with the diverse range of authors, Matt Whyham, Brian Conaghan. Annabel Pitcher, Holly Bourne and Imogen Russell Williams. It was so riveting to hear about authors discuss the issues with Mental Heath since it is usually a topic not discussed.

I then headed to Holly Bournes signing and met another lovely girl called Eve while queuing, we found out that we had both headed down from 'the North' to attend YALC and it was very cool to find out she was from a town only 20mins away from where I live (it's obviously a small world)! Meeting Holly Bourne was very cool since I am a huge fan of her writing since she always creates such interesting characters and tackles issues like mental health with style and grace.

I am currently reading her new book, Am I Normal Yet? I love it so far and yet again she has created a book with interesting and diverse characters. The protagonist, Evie struggles with OCD and she is also a hardcore feminist. It's such an interesting read so I would definitely recommend reading it.

We then headed to Louise O'Neill's book signing, where she signed my book and she was so lovely. I am a big fan of her writing and her book, Only Ever Yours, is so important as it highlights the big issues when it comes to being a girl in society nowadays.

 Following Louise O'Neill's signing, we grabbed some food and then started queuing to meet Melinda Salisbury. I loved reading her book, The Sin Eater's Daughter so I was very excited to meet her and I really needed to know how to pronounce her lead protagonist Tyrelle's name.

We then headed to Jenny Valentine's signing, author of Fire Colour One, we managed to be the first ones in her queue which was pretty cool. She was very lovely. Following her signing we then headed to Sarah Pinborough's signing, author of the Death House,

After this we went to get more food and then went to Liz Kessler's signing. It was lovely to meet her and it was kinda crazy since I had been brought up reading her Emily Windsnap books. She was one of the main reasons I started reading so I was internally fangirling when I met her.

We then headed to Steve Camden's signing which was very cool since I am a huge fan of his writing and he was such a lovely guy. 

Fun Fact: Steve wrote down my name, telling me he loved my name so if you hear of any characters in his new books called Verity it could possibly be because we met at a book signing!!

(I don't really know what I am doing in this pic but Steve Camden wanted us to pull funny faces?)

So after all the signings we headed to the nearest tube station to catch a tube back to Euston so we could get home. We had ALOT of baggage so it was pretty awkward catching 2 tubes and then finding out that our 11 coach train home had been changed to a 5 coach train so we ended up having to squeeze on a train. We happened to be sitting next to a woman and her baby so that meant we couldn't sleep since the baby was so energetic...

Eventually we got home, after an amazing weekend at YALC. I am definitely going next year since it was so much fun meeting authors and other book lovers. I managed to get 15 books signed over the weekend and since it was my first ever book convention, I didn't know what to expect but it was such an amazing experience and I loved every minute of it. Bring on YALC 2016!

YALC 2015 DAY 1

So YALC 2015 (aka Young Adult Literature Convention) ran from Friday 17th - Sunday 19th July, it was my first time ever attending a book convention and comic con since YALC was running alongside London Film and Comic Con it was pretty cool when we got on the overground and there was a guy dressed as the joker and another guy as doctor who sat beside you.

So on Friday I headed down to London from my house in the Lake District, we arrived at around 5ish and then grabbed some food from Camden Market and then headed to Pax Lodge (one of the guiding world centres) which was pretty cool since while we stayed there we go to meet loads of Canadian/American guides. Upon our arrival we went straight to bed since we were shattered.

DAY 1
We got up early (around 7am) since we needed to be catching the overground to London Olympia at 8, we grabbed some breakfast and then headed out with loads of books..

Once we arrived, we headed upstairs to floor 2 (where YALC was being held) and picked up some goodie bags *insert picture of my badge covered bag*

We then wandered around the floor and got to meet author of Tormaline, James Brogden, he was lovely and signed both my books by him. I am currently reading Tormaline and I would definitely recommend it if you love fantasy/mystery books. 

We then headed to our first panel of the weekend, YA: The next generation, the panel included the authors Alice Oseman, Lucy Saxon, Helena Coggan, Taran Matharu and it was chaired by Samatha Shannon. It was a really interesting panel as the 'young' authors spoke about their opinions on how they were viewed by publishers etc and what their age means for their writing.

(left to right) Samatha Shannon, Lucy Saxon, Helena Coggan, Taran Matharau and Alice Oseman.

Following the first panel, we stayed where we were for the Shadowhunters panel, this panel was basically a discussion between Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan about what was next for the Shadowhunter universe and they gave us exclusive news about Lady Midnight, which was very cool! Cassie mentioned how there would be an engagement/??!!  It was a hilarious panel and i was laughing throughout the entire panel mainly due to Sarah Rees Brennans wacky and cool style of interviewing. We also managed to get seats on the third row which meant we were so close to her and we could actually hear what they were saying.

 We then headed to try and get autographs but we ended up getting ticket number 400 and were told to come back in an hour, so we decided to head downstairs into the London Film and Comic Con and ended up getting lost so we missed the signing :(

We did however head to another panel, Being a Girl. They spoke about the importance of feminism in YA writing. It was a lively and interesting talk which involved Hayley Long, CJ Daugherty, Holly Smale, Laura Dockrill, Malorie Blackman and Anna James.

Following this panel, we then headed to the signing booths to meet Laura Dockrill one of my favourite authors and illustrators. When we met her I was wearing my homemade TFIOS tee which had the quote "if the inevitability of human oblivion scares you, I encourage you to ignore it." Laura complimented me about the tee and then wrote "maybe one day I will be wearing one of your quotes on a t-shirt!" She was so lovely and kind, I am very excited to read her new book, Lolita.

We then headed to another panel, Carrie Hope Fletcher's YALC book club. Since I am a big fan of Carrie (and her YouTube channel) it was kinda surreal sitting in her panel. This panel included the authors; Carrie Hope Fletcher, Malorie Blackman, Holly Smale and Samantha Shannon speaking about their books and what has influenced them. 

Following this panel we then headed to Carrie Hope Fletcher's book signing. Due to her being so popular her signing was ticketed and I managed to get ticket number 172, so we decided to chill out for a while. Luckily, this lovely girl gave me her ticket and so we were moved to ticket number 101 so we got to meet Carrie alot earlier than we would have. If youre out there or you happen to read this THANKYOU!

Once we had finished the Carrie signing, we grabbed some food and headed to the main panel area where we decided to chill out and go to the Hunger Games Quiz. We were wandering around the floor and then heard them playing 'The Hanging Tree' and 'Safe and Sound' so I ended up dragging my friend with me to attend the Quiz. We met this lovely girl called Chantel who was lovely and we all shared a love for the Hunger Games. Sadly we didn't win but hey it was a lot of fun.

We then headed off for the night and grabbed some pizza on the way home. We caught the overground back to Pax Lodge and looked through all the free stuff we had collected over the day (which was ALOT).

I Disappeared?

Hello

So I am back! I have been inactive for 2 months now and i am really sorry but school work and exams take up a massive amount of time and i do need to concentrate on my work for sixth form because these grades now determine which universities i will get into which is pretty scary.

Since i have been away though alot has happened so i will provide you with a brief update...

1. I am now planning to study English Literature at university! I am still unsure which university i would like to attend but I now know which course I want to study which is definitely a step in the right direction.
2. I am going to Uganda! I have been chosen to represent North West England girl guides when I travel to Uganda next summer, I was selected with 9 other girls to work alongside the charity Develop with Dignity,they work with women to provide them with information about their health and wellbeing. I can't really believe I was selected all i need to do now is fund raise £2000..
3. I bought a new bookshelf from Ikea while on a roadtrip around the UK, so now my books aren't just piled up on the floor.
4. I went to YALC 2015, I will post a full description of what happened in a later blog post since alot happened.
5. I am currently doing my Queen's Guide Award (The Highest Award in UK Guiding) which means i will be posting alot in the future about my community project.I am planning to set up a blog which will promote reading for young girls and I have already spoken to a lot of authors about helping me with this project.

I am sorry in advance for the lack of posts recently, i promise i will posting more and i will try my hardest not to be inactive

Verityx

Apologies

Hello
I am going to apologize for the lack of posts recently, I have been so busy with my work and studies, my exams start next week so I have been spending most of my time revising. I am currently studying; modern history, english literature and linguistic science.
I will try my best to upload more posts once I have finished my exams :)

Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt

I have seen alot of posts/challenges relating to the 'Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt' so I thought I would have a go and show you some of the books I chose..

1. Find a author's name or title with the letter Z in it. 

It took me while to find a book with the letter Z in the author's name or title but I chose The Program by Suzanne Young. I love this book so much, especially the somewhat horrific dystopian reality Young has created, if you haven't yet read this book/series I would definitely recommend it. 

2. Find a Classic.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is possibly one of my favourite classics, I adore Fitzgerald's elegant way of writing and the characters he create are both extravagant and complex.

 

3. Find the oldest book on your shelf.

My copy of 'The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells' is the oldest book I have on my shelves, it was given to me by my grandfather who shared my love for Science Fiction novels. It's a pretty old copy and I really adore the beautiful designs on the cover of this edition, 

4. Find a book with a girl on the cover. 

I chose Panic by Lauren Oliver, I really like this cover as it is so simplistic and minimalist unlike many other covers.

5. Find a book with an animal on the cover.

As someone that isn't really an animal person, it took me a while to find a book with an animal on the cover, but I eventually thought of The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater which obviously has raven on the front. I actually got this copy signed around two years ago when she was doing her book tour in the UK and I got to meet her, she was lovely.

6. Find a book with a male protagonist.

I choose Paper Towns by John Green, I really liked Quentin (the protagonist) in this book, he added depth and humor to the plot. I originally read this book, 3 years ago and I definitely need to reread it before the film comes out in August (i think), but I am disappointed in the casting for the film as Cara Delevingne definitely isnt my Margo.

7. Find a book with just words on it.

I was kinda confused about what this meant but I went with The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, I love this cover so much (it has a lot of words on it??) so I assume that works.. 

8. Find a book with illustrations within it.

I chose my copy of Ink by Amanda Sun, I actually finished reading this book last night and I loved it. I was kinda hesitant to read this book as I wasnt sure what to expect but it was a beautiful book which really helped to broaden my views on Japan and their amazing culture. I would definitely recommend reading this book.

9. Find a book with gold lettering.

Sabriel by Garth Nix will always have a place in my heart as the book that introduced me to the wonderful world of reading. I first read this book when I was 8 or 9 (I am not sure) and I loved it. it was the stepping stone that led to me hoarding books and becoming a massive book nerd. It is an incredible book which I love to pieces.

10. Find a diary (Real or Fictional)

I chose The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, this book is incredible. It really provides an insight into how her world was and it breaks my heart every time I read it that a young girl like Anne had to go through this.

11. Find a book written by someone with a common name (like Smith).

I chose my copy of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins as I assume 'Collins' is quite a common name.. 

12. Find a book that has a closeup of something on it.

I chose Looking for Alaska by John Green, despite the fact I didn't really like the book itself and I love the cover (I am sorry but the plot was boring and I didnt really feel any emotional connection with the characters..) but I love the cover? I guess the daisy counts as a close up ..

13. Find a book on your shelf from the earliest time period. 

I dont really read historical fiction before the 20th century, I am not really sure why it just never really interested me but one of the books on my shelves set in the earliest time period would be Great Expectations by Charles Dickins.

14. Find a hardback book without a jacket.

I chose my copy of A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond, I love this edition and it was one of the few books I have bought due to their cover.. but after reading the book I dont really regret it, Almond is an incredible writer.

15. Find a book that is teal/turquoise

I chose Wonder by R.J Palacio, after my friends practically forcing me to read this book I couldnt thank them more for introducing me to such an outstanding book. 

 16. Find a non-YA book.

I chose Empire of the Sun by J.G Ballard, one of my favourite authors. As someone with an avid interest in history, I found this book an incredible read. It was such a heartbreaking novel but Ballard tells this horrific tale with elegance and beauty.

Unplanned Book Haul

So I went into town today with a close friend and I ended up buying quite a few books which I hadn't really planned to do. I thought I would share with you what I bought and why.

1. We All Looked Up - Tommy Wallach. I have heard alot from my friends about this book, so I couldn't wait to buy it. The story follows four friends on the night a asteroid is about to hit the earth. I am very excited to read this and I knew I had to buy it when I saw it in my local bookshop.

2. One Day - David Nicholls. I don't typically read romance novels but this book sounded different to the typical love crap that I hate. It follows Emma and Dexter, a couple that keep meeting on the same day. I have heard alot of good reviews about this book and I cant wait to read it.

3. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E. Lockhart. I really like Lockhart's writing style so after way too long, I have finally picked up this book. I love the cover on this edition and despite my massive TBR pile I will try to read this book asap.

4. The Hobbit - J.R.R Tolkien. (1937 Edition). I am a massive LOTR fan and after finding this beautiful edition in a local charity shop for only £2, i knew I had to buy it. Sadly it is not a first edition but it is still an amazing find especially in a rural town like the one I live in, I am looking forward to rereading this book as I first read it over 2 years ago..

5. I'll Give You The Sun - Jandy Nelson. After hearing loads of positive reviews of this book, I knew i should listen to the masses and read this book. It follows the story of twins, Jude and Noah, and their first love. I usually find books similar to this, full of cliches and I am hoping this book is different to the masses of cheesy love stories.

6. The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey. Another charity shop buy, this book managed to catch my eye and I knew I needed to read it. Following the story of Jack and Mable, a childless couple living in 1920s Alaska, that are beginning to lose sense of who they are until they meet 'the snow child' a young girl named Faina, it seems like a really intriguing read and it is not something I would typically read but nevertheless, I am very excited to read this book.

(Appologises for the lack of posts recently, I have been very busy with revision for my May/June exams but I will try my best to post as much as I can. )