June Reads #BEDN

Yes, the title is correct. I'm doing a quick review of what I read in JUNE! I'm so far behind my reviews and feel like it would be unfair to skip these past months to talk about what I recently read. So I'm using Blog Every Day in November to catch up with these reviews. I'll pace them out throughout the month so not every post is a bookish post (though is that really a bad thing?!).

June Reads

The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine

This book was the Waterstones Children's Book of the Month for June. It's for readers around 10-14 years old. It's set in Sinclairs, a brand new luxurious department store in London. Sophie's father has just died and due to complications in the will, she finds herself with a home and money. So she gets a job in Sinclairs, where is makes friends and enemies. And has to solve the mystery of the clockwork sparrow that was stolen the night before opening day or else she'll have no job. I loved this book, it was sweet and it felt like a mix between Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart series meets Mr Selfridges meets Enid Blyton. An enjoyable read for girls and boys!





Finders Keepers by Stephen King

So this book was on my 2015 Releases I Was Most Looking Forward To. It's the follow up book from Mr Mercedes, which I loved! In this book, Morris Belamy is obsessed with author John Rothstein, who wrote a popular series about a character called Jimmy Gold. When Belamy reads the final book, he's livid about how it all ended and confronts Rothstein, who has become a hermit. He kills him and takes his notebooks, convinced there is another Jimmy Gold novel in there. He hides the notebooks and cash and is then sent to jail for another crime. He waits patiently until the day he will be reunited with the notebooks. Fast-forward almost 30 years later to 2009 and a young Pete Saubers finds the notebooks and cash. He uses the money to help his family, who are broke due to his father being injured in the Mr Mercedes attack. The book then cuts to 2014 when Belamy is released on parole and starts looking for the notebooks. Bill Hodges asked to investigate this whole story to help Pete, who is now in grave danger. While I did like the book I felt it slow to get into. I was used to Hodges being the main narrator from the first book and he didn't enter the book until it was at least 100 pages in. There was a lot of building up of the story and not enough of Hodges' colleagues, Holly and Jerome. It wasn't the worst ever, I did enjoy revisiting Hodges and co. in this book. I'm just hoping there is a lot more of them in book 3!


You Say Potato by Ben Crystal and David Crystal

The title of this book is definitely what drew me to it! I enjoyed reading this, some parts are by Ben (who's an actor), some by David (the father, who's a Professor of Linguistics) and sometimes it's the two of them having a conversation about a topic. It goes around England, explaining about different accents, how they formed, what the perception of them are today and also how the trends in popularity of accents affects media like TV, film and voice over work. It's entertaining without being too heavy, it definitely isn't for someone who probably has a career in this sort of thing but if you've ever wondered how such small islands can have such broad accents, then I think you'll enjoy this!



Wild by Cheryl Strayed

This is a book I've been meaning to read for years, even before the film came out and I eventually got around to it! Cheryl Strayed's life has been turned upside down. Having never really recovered from her mother's death, she turns to cheating and drug taking, eventually leading to the breakdown of her marriage. Having previously heard about the Pacific Crest Trail, Cheryl decides to hike it. She hikes through California, to Oregon and finally to Washington. On this journey she hits some highs (making friends, making peace with her mother's death and her own life, the euphoria of being able to build up stamina and speed) and lows (oh the damage she does to her unprepared body! Not being able to find water sources, not having any money, encounters with wild animals and creepy men). I liked reading this, I was rooting for Cheryl and at times when things looked bleak I was hoping it would all turn around. It sounds to me like this is an American equivalent to doing the Camino walk. I loved seeing a woman doing this basically on her own, depending on her own strength (physical and mental) to get through the trail. Now to decide if I want to watch the film!


A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson

I read Life After Life by Kate Atkinson back in August 2013 and really enjoyed it. This is a companion novel, which focuses on Teddy, the younger brother of Ursula, who was the protagonist in Life After Life. It was another book that was on my most anticipated books of 2015. And it did not disappoint. The book cuts back and forth throughout different timelines: When Teddy is a child, when Teddy is an adult and in the RAF, Teddy and his family, his daughters life and her relationship with her children and finally when Teddy is an older man. We get lots of different insights in the book and while I usually don't like books that zig zag through time, I loved this one. It slowly reveals little bits and pieces, almost like putting a jigsaw together and you finally start seeing the bigger picture. It gave me chills at times and it had me crying on a bus on the way home from work when I finished the book. It is probably my favourite book of the year. Atkinson does a lot of research for the book, especially for the RAF chapters and Penguin have a fantastic podcast where Richard E. Grant interviews Atkinson and they discuss 5 items that influenced the writing of this book. It's spoiler free but if you'd rather go in not knowing much then wait to listen after. You can read either Life After Life or A God in Ruins first, they won't spoil the stories but I'd probably go with the order I read them in. Definitely pick this up!

The Edible Atlas: Around the World in 39 Cuisines by Mina Holland

  If you're a foodie, then this is a book for you! Mina goes around the world and talks about the cuisine is certain countries (with some countries like France and Italy even split up into different regions as there is so much to choose from there!). She goes through why certain items are more popular there and the history of the region, with anecdotes of her own experiences of being in that country or cooking that cuisine, to recipes and must have pantry items for you to own to experiment with each cuisine. I loved the mix of everything, it was like a mix of a history, memoir and recipe book. Like I said, if you're a foodie then you will enjoy this and how to branch out into new exciting cuisines.



Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

I spoke briefly about this in my Furiously Happy book review post. While living in Ibiza, Matt Haig's mental health took a serious dive. This book documents what he felt during this time, as well as after when he moved back home to try recover. He also just has pages that are lists and tips with dealing with mental health or when someone you know is suffering. I found myself crying at times over this as I felt that Haig finally put into words what I've felt in the past. It's a short small book but it's well worth the read. It's not perfect, it is definitely subjective at times but I feel like everyone will at least get something out of reading this. Paula over at Cornflakegirl's Musings has a much better in depth review which is well worth checking out here.


Workin' It! Rupaul's Guide to Life, Liberty and the Persuit of Style by RuPaul Charles

Since I've started watching RuPaul's Drag Race last year, I've been such a big fan. So when I saw this in a shop I snatched it up straight away! This book is a mix between a coffee table book (in that the photos of Ru by Mathu Anderson are stunning and are worth picking up this book for alone) and RuPaul's tips and tricks to life, from styling yourself to your own personal attitude towards everything. If you're looking for something that's more of a biography for RuPaul's life, then you ain't going to get much here. The idea isn't original, there are plenty of books out there that have this kind of advice in them. What is slightly more special about this is that it appeals to a greater audience. It's for both men and women of all sexual orientations and Ru has a great attitude when it comes to loving yourself. I need to pick this up and flick through it again to help me with boosting my own outlook in life. Drag Race fans will love this!


June Stats

Number of books read- 8
Ratio fiction to non-fiction- 3:5
Male to Female authors- 4:4
Number of eBooks- 2 (The Edible Atlas and Wild)
Number of Audio Books- 1 (Reasons to Stay Alive)
Number of books borrowed from library- 1 (A God in Ruins)

Reading Challenge Completed

A Book with a Number in the Title- The Edible Atlas: Around the World in 39 Cuisines

That's it for June! Phew. That was hard having not done a post like this one in months! So just July, August, September and October to catch up on now!

Blog Every Day in November Challenge #BEDN

So last year I successfully completed the Blog Every Day in May challenge by Rosalilium, This year I tried to do it but ran out of steam as I was so busy and stressed. When Beth from Plastic Rosaries (one of the fab friends I made from the BEDM in 2014) asked me if I was going to do the Blog Every Day in November challenge, I was in half minds. There's been a lot of changes in my life recently and I've just been so over the place, stressed and anxious that I didn't think it would be a good idea. On the other hand, I want to get back into blogging regularly, I've missed it and this could be a good way to get back into the swing of things. I've decided to give it a go, I don't know if I'll get through every day but that's ok! Hopefully I can get back on track.

Today's themed post for the challenge (while you can write whatever you want for every post, Elizabeth provides a post idea for every day to give some inspiration) is Something New About Yourself. So what's new with me? New location, new hair (no longer any green in it!), new nail polishes to try out, new winter leggings, new cousin on the way, new friends to make in this city, new change in my attitude towards life. Or at least I hope a new change. I spoke briefly about my feelings in my last post, the book review for Furiously Happy, and I feel like things are on the up. I want to grab on and work on feeling better. It's not going to be easy at times but it's time to focus on myself for a while. Being the eldest of a large family, I'm a natural worrier and carer. I was always the 'mammy' of my group of friends, I always minded people's purses and money on a night out! I gave up time 2 years ago to help my family when my parents were sick and even still when I go home I pick up slack by making dinners and chores to help my parents. And while I don't mind all that, I don't often give myself the care I need. I'll skip meals or else just eat rubbish, I've neglected exercise and other things good for me, I'll often not assert what I'd like to do when asked and just go with the flow. Before the move I was in a really good place and I felt good. For the first time in years I felt GOOD! I want to get back to that. Wish me luck!

Recent Beauty Buys

It's been a while since I've done a post like this and since moving back to Ireland I've picked up some bits and pieces. Let's start with the nail polish!

I've picked up the Maybelline Color Show Neons in Dealz (Poundland to you in the UK). From left to right we have: Green Zing, Fuschia Fever, Sweet Clementine and Electric Pink

It's clear I'm going through a bit of a pinkish phase! I've worn quite a lot of pink in the last month which I've shown on Instagram. From left to right: NYC Shine a Minute in New York Spring  , Essence Gel Nail Polish in My Love Diary, Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer in It's a Very Berry Bash and L'Oreal Color Riche in Sweet Amethyst

Finally we have the glittery nail polishes. I fell in love with the one of the far right from L'Oreal, it's so pretty! From left to right: Nails Inc Nail Jewellery in Piccadilly Arcade, Claire's in School's Days and L'Oreal Top Coat Sirene in Underwater Kiss

Next up makeup!

So I bought the foundation after seeing Sharon from Behind Green Eyes talking about it, though I probably got it a shade too light. I love these Catrice eye shadows and got this one for half price. I jumped on the Penneys lip liner bandwagon after seeing everyone talking about it! And the berry lipstick was impulse buy as I love this shade for autumn (even though I really need to wear it more out in public!) Clockwise from top left: Catrice Even Skin Tone in Even Ivory, Maybelline Color Show Blush 'em! in 04,  Catrice Velvet Matt Eyeshadow in Pink-Up Girls, PS Matte Long Last Lipstick in Ladies Day, PS Lip Liner in 06

Face products up next

There was a two for one in Boots so I picked up the facial cleanser to go with the face mask. And The Body Shop facial oil was to replace the one I left in England (only a small amount left, there was no point in bringing it over). Left to right: Good Things Avocado and Goji Berry Five Minute Facial Mask, Good Things Mango and Blueberry Purifying Cleanser and The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil

Not much else to go, hair next!

I love when Superdrug have super cheap offers on! I got the shampoo and conditioner for less than half price! Left to right: L'Oreal Elvive Nutri Gloss Luminiser Shampoo and Conditioner, Garnier Ulitmate Blends The Glow Replenisher 1 Minute Treatment and L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil Nourishing Mask Balm

Last but not least the rest of the hair items and body products too. Left to right: Girlz Only Dry Shampoo, Superdrug Limited Edition Lemon Sherbet Dry Shampoo, Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Lotion and Mitchum Pure Fresh Anti-Antiperspirant 

And that's it! It seems like loads but I promise it isn't! A lot of it was needed to replace things in the move (face oil, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, dry shampoo). I threw out a lot of my products before moving, things that were old or almost finished and therefore pointless to pack up. Though saying that I could probably do with going through all my beauty stuff again and purging once more!

Essence Colour of the Year Nail Polish in My Love Diary

So for the past 3 years, Essence has brought out a nail polish shade that corresponds to the Pantone Colour of the Year. I love this idea, there's always a lot of hype about the Colour of the Year in January and I love seeing how fashion and beauty incorporate the colour into what you can wear.

2013's polish The Green & The Grunge, 2014's polish Purple Sugar, 2015's polish My Love Diary

This year's colour is Marsala which is described as a full bodied earthy wine red. When it was announced I wasn't too gone on it but it has grown on me slowly.

 The colour has grown on me even more since swatching! Not going to lie, I mainly picked up the polish as I had the polishes from the past two years and wanted to add to the collection. But I LOVE this shade for autumn, it's beautiful. I've been on a soft pink and neutrals kick recently and wearing this colour is like a step up, still has the softness but it's just richer, deeper. I perfect transition shade from summer into autumn, when I usually like wearing berry and copper shades.

I saw some actual Pantone nail polishes yesterday when in Boots but they were sets for Christmas and none of them seemed to have this shade. It would be a cool idea if Pantone brought out some core colours and added some seasonal trendy ones! Sephora seem to have some Colour of the Year products as well on their website. I have a feeling the Colour of the Year things will become more and more popular, I'm dying to know what it's going to be for 2016!

Late 2015 Book Releases I'm Looking Forward To

So the past 2 years in January I've published a post about the upcoming books releases I'm looking forward to. You can read the post from earlier this year here. But because a lot more books are announced later in the year there are often more releases that I look forward to so I thought I'd do an updated post about the books coming out later this year.

I'm starting with the books mentioned in my original post in January. In it, I hoped that there would be another Robert Galbraith book even though none had been announced. But yay! It was announced a few months ago. Career of Evil is the 3rd Cormoran Strike novel and starts when Robin, Cormoran's assistant, opens a package containing a woman's severed leg. Book is out October 20th.

I listed The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch in my January post but at that time we didn't have a cover. It'll be the 6th book in the Rivers of London series which follows PC Peter Grant. I don't know anything about the plot but I hope it carries on after Broken Homes, book 4, which ended in a massive cliffhanger and wasn't featured much in book 5. Now I originally listed the release date as November 19th and some sites are still listing it as that (including the last update I saw on the publishers website) but Amazon and Waterstones are listing it as June 2016, The last one was pushed back if I remember correctly but I have my fingers crossed for this one!

Winter by Marissa Meyer was another book I mentioned without a book cover. It's book 4 in the Lunar Chronicles and will centre around a retelling of Snow White. I've really enjoyed this series and I'll hopefully be doing a buddy read with a friend once it's released which I'm very excited about. Book is out November 10th.

I enjoy Alexander McCall Smith's No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels. It follows Precious Ramotswe and her agency in Botswana, They are often classified as soft detective novels, they're definitely not hard hitting crimes but more stories centred around the characters. The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine is due out September 17th.

I've read all of Rainbow Rowell's books (except Landline, though it's on my to read list) and this is her first fantasy book. In Fangirl, main character Cath would write fanfiction about the Simon Snow wizard series (not so loosely based off Harry Potter) and Carry On is a Simon Snow book! I'm not sure how I feel about it, it's very different to her other books but I will give it a go. Book is out October 8th (as are SO many other books! Major day for book publications).

I've read two of Mark Mason's books before (Walk the Lines, about walking all the London Underground lines above ground and Move Along, Please, about a journey from Land's End to John O'Groats on local buses) and really enjoyed them. It seems this book is about interesting facts and stories from all of Britain's postcodes. Out October 15th.

And to end I have two amazing coffee table books. The first one is a completely illustrated copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. From what I've seen it looks stunning and is perfect for all Harry Potter fans. Out October 6th

Finally this is make up artist Lisa Eldridge's first book, Face Paint: The Story of Make Up and I say it'll be amazing! I love Lisa's YouTube videos and she's shared some sneak peeks on her Instagram. If you're a makeup lover or know someone who is, this book is a must! Out October 13th


I've probably missed a few more, like I mentioned above October 8th is a massive day in book publications, loads of other books will be released around then in time for Christmas. Will any of these be on your Christmas wishlist? Comment below!

BookTube-A-Thon 2015 Results

This year’s BookTube-a-Thon was a much bigger success than last year for me! I managed to complete all the goals and read some more after too! Here’s a look at what I read.

1. Book by an author who shares the same first letter as your last name
 

Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke












2. A book with blue on the cover

 Armada by Ernest Cline












3. Read a book without putting it down

 Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour













4. Someone else’s favourite book

 Animal Farm by George Orwell













5. Read 7 Books

 Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas












6. Read last book you acquired

Criminal London by Tom Hollington











7. Read a book you want to read

 Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill













Bonus Books

 The Age of Earthquakes by Douglas Coupland

Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger (started but not finished)




















I’m so happy I managed to complete all the challenges (especially without doubling up, though I see nothing wrong with that!). I’m even happier I read a small bit more too than needed, I felt like I really needed that to get back into the mood of reading. Reviews to follow once I catch up on previous months!

BookTube-a-Thon 2015! Challenges and TBR

Hello! Yes, I have an awful lot to catch up on, a lot has happened in my life and not having a properly functioning laptop doesn’t make things easier! However, that’s for another post, this one is all about BookTube-a-Thon!

This is the 3rd year for the readathon, which is run by Ariel Bissett and involves a ton of other booktube hosts. There are reading challenges, Twitter sprints, video challenges. You can try to do them all or you can just pick and choose. I fully completed the readathon year one (links here) and didn’t do so great last year (links here), however I am SUPER excited and ready to go! And I love that Sharon, Roisin, Chloe and Paula are all involved, it makes it so much more interesting and fun having all these friends involved too.

Now for the challenges. There are 7 for the week and after each one I’ll say that I think I’ll read to cover that challenge.

1. A book with blue on the cover

Easy enough challenge! I’m going with a book I’ve actually already started but I don’t want to leave it hanging. It’s Armada by Ernest Cline, I really enjoyed his first book Ready Player One so I’m hoping to enjoy this book too, which has a similar theme where the real world and the world of gaming collide.

 

 

 

2. A book by an author who shares same first letter as your last name

I really wanted to do one with my full initials, as it’s part of the year long Pop Sugar reading challenge I’m doing, but I can’t find the list of names I had come across before so instead I’m going for Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke, as it’s been ages since I’ve read any of this series and it’ll be a very quick read as well.

 

 

 

3. Someone else’s favourite book

I’m going to go with Ariel’s favourite book, Animal Farm by George Orwell, mainly because I was planning on reading it anyway this read as part of that Pop Sugar challenge! I just need to get my hands on a copy.

 

 

 

 

 

4. The last book you acquired

Had my sister remembered to bring Lena Dunham’s book down, it would be that one. Instead it’s Criminal London by Tom Hollington, a book I picked up in York at the beginning of the week. I barely had room in my suitcase but I read a few pages and it fascinated me. It is set out like a tourist guide book, with walks and stuff, so it’ll be good to plan some things to do in London next time I’m there!

 

 

 

5. Finish a book without letting go

The hardest of all the challenges! Read a book from start to finish without letting go of it. You can stop reading it as long as it’s still in your hands! This’ll be interesting anyway, I hope it comes into the library on time for me otherwise I might struggle with this one! Plus I’m dying to finish the Scott Pilgrim series too.

 

 

 

6. A book you really want to read

I’ve been dying to read Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill for a while now, I bought the book a few months ago but haven’t got around to it. I just hope I can find it in one of the boxes!

 

 

 

 

7. Read 7 books

While you can double or triple up on challenges to complete them, the beauty of having one for each challenge means you’ll complete THIS challenge, read 7 books. I’m going to read the next book in the Throne of Glass series, Heir of Fire, by Sarah J Maas.

 

 

 

 

And that’s it for now! Of course, these will most likely change about, depending on how my week goes (like the books I’m relying on getting from the library coming in on time) but I hope I can still get the challenges all completed even if the books change around.

The BookTube-a-Thon starts at midnight of whatever time zone you’re in, so not long to go here in Ireland! There’s still time to join too and have fun.