November Reads

Finally back on track with Reading Reviews! Here’s what I read in November.

November Reads

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

I started reading Frankenstein in October, thinking it would be a suitable read for over Halloween. I didn’t find it scary but it does make you think! You really feel for the monster, I felt really sorry for him. Shelley has a beautiful way with words and it’s well worth the read, it’s a classic for a reason. The only reason I didn’t love it was I felt it dragged in places and my mind started to wander.

 

 

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Another classic, although a more modern one. Lolita is a story that we probably all know something about, bit it something small. It tells the story of pervert Humbert Humbert, who falls in love with 12 year old Lolita and sets forth to seduce her. The book is very uncomfortable in parts, but there’s no doubting that Nabokov is a fantastic writer, he has a wonderful turn of phrase and it’s easy to see why this is a masterpiece.

 

 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

This is the first book in the YA fantasy series. It follows Karou, a 17 year old girl who lives in Prague, goes to art school and spends her time drawing fantastical monsters. Except for the fact that these monsters are not part of her imagination, they are real and the only family Karou knows. She runs errands for Brimstone, collecting teeth from hunters around the world, not really knowing what Brimstone’s work is. Karou doesn’t much much of her life, but as the angels start to arrive, Brimstone and co.’s enemies, Karou is about to find out a lot more about her past. I really loved this book and the idea behind it. I’ve read a lot of YA fantasy series and I really loved the setting in Prague, probably because I’ve been there twice. The two worlds that Taylor has created are well thought out and interesting.

The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith

This is book number 16 in the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series, about Precious Ramotswe and her agency in Botswana. Mma Ramotswe’s assistant, Grace, persuades Mma Ramotswe to go on holiday but of course she can’t just relax and get wraps up in a few different mysteries! These are feel good light mysteries, they’ve really made me want to visit Botswana!

 

 

 

The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

 The Pillowman is play about an author who writes some twisted, gruesome stories and finds himself and his brother under arrest when a number of recent child murders bare striking resemblances to the stories. This is probably the first time I’ve read a play outside of school, I’d love to see this on stage as it’s dark and twisted and there’s short stories within the story of the play which just adds these layers and really make you think. Added to this is the fact it’s set in an unnamed totalitarian state and the themes of censorship and interrogation that crop up make this play a fascinating read. McDonagh is the writer and director of In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths so if you like those films you’ll enjoy this play!

Persuasion by Jane Austen

The only other Austen I’ve read is Pride and Prejudice, which I did like but I’ve never really felt compelled to read other Austen novels. But when the Reading Challenge called for a classic romance I decided to give Austen another go and settled for an audio book of Persuasion. Set in early 1800s, Anne Elliot was in love with Captain Wentworth but rejected his proposal due to family and friends persuading her to do so. Years later Wentworth crops up on the scene and Anne is still in love with him. But does he still feel the same way about her? I didn’t love the book, it was ok. It felt like there were too many characters than needed, which made it hard to remember who was who. I can see why people would love the book, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

The Second Book of General Ignorance by John LLoyd and John Mitchinson

I started this book in April 2012 and only finished it now. But don’t let that put you off! There wasn’t a real reason for doing so, except for the fact it’s the perfect book to dip in and out of, that there’s no need to hurry through it. If you’re a fan of QI and just a fan in general of fact books, then you’ll definitely get something out of this. Now to give it back to my aunt, who’s probably forgotten that she even owns this!

 

 

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Book two in the Daughter of Smoke and Bones series and seeing as it’s a book in a series then I won’t say much about it! It follows on from the first book (review up above), where by the end Karou has learnt a lot more about her past and she spends this book dealing with this knowledge and putting it to good use! We get to see more of the other world which is nice too as it helps build the entire setting of the book.

 

 

 

The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell

Having read and loved Jen Campbell’s Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops series I decided to give this book a go. In it, Jen tells us about books all over the world, starting with the UK, then Europe, Africa the Americas, Australasia and finally Asia. All continents covered except Antarctica, which I’m sure would have been covered if there was a bookshop there! In between these descriptions are interviews with authors, where they state their earliest memories of bookstores, the bookshops they love now and what their dream bookshop would be if they ever ran one. I loved hearing about all these bookshops, some are so innovative and cool, others just sound cosy and small but are anchors to the communities they are in. I read it more or less in one go, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had just picked it up every now and again, just so I could savour it more!

Humbugs and Heartstrings by Catherine Ferguson

Every Christmas I read one or two of these lighter, fluffier books and make no apologies for it! This book is a loose reworking of A Christmas Carol, where Bobbie works for the meanest, Scroogiest boss Carol, who is actually a old friend of Bobbie’s. They used to be very close but something happened to deteriorate their relationship. The only reason Bobbie stays working for her is because she’s saving for an operation for her brother Tim (see, very Christmas Carol!). When a cracked lady reads Bobbie’s tea leaves and sees not only a reconciliation with Carol but a new man in Bobbie’s life, things start getting a bit crazy. It’s a bit cheesy but I enjoyed it. It’s also currently only £0.99 on Kindle at the moment too.

Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

I thought I had read this before but turns out I haven’t. I’ve read other Pooh stories but not this one. This seems to be all the original stories and the original of Winnie the Pooh but please correct me if I’m wrong. I enjoyed this, Pooh bear is childhood staple and I definitely identify with Eeyore to a certain degree! No Tigger in this book though, he must come later on.

 

 

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

I love Rainbow’s YA novels Fangirl and Eleanor and Park, she writes contemporary young adult novels really well. So when I heard she was writing a fantasty novel when I went to her book signing last year, I was a bit surprised but also intrigued. Then I found out it’s based on the characters from Fangirl. No, not Cath and Levi, but the characters that Cath writes fanfiction about. Rainbow has made it clear that this book is not Cath’s intruptation of the characters nor the ‘original author’ of the books in the Fangirl book but Rainbow’s own take on the characters. Ok then, so does this make is fanfiction? Seeing as the original author in Fangirl is considered canon and this is Rainbow’s take on it? I still don’t know exactly how I feel about this book. There are elements I do like: the mix of contemporary world and the world of Mages, the characters of Baz and Penny. Things I hated like how the name of the bad guy in the book is the Humdrum and the fact the school is set in Watford (right where the studios for Harry Potter are) and things I’m unsure of (how the magic works, hated it at first but I’ve warmed to it). There are very clever Harry Potter vibes, including Harry and Draco fanfiction, which I don’t mind really. The book is slow to start, which I think didn’t help me at the beginning but once it gets going I did find it a bit of a page turner. If you liked the fanfic in Fangirl then you’ll probably like this. If you didn’t like the fanfic, then you won’t like this. But if you were unsure or could take or leave the fanfic then you might enjoy this. It does have classic elements of Rainbow’s writing and if there was a follow up book to this I might pick it up. Though considering the amount of people I’ve seen who LOVE this book, there’s probably going to be plenty of fanfic online about what happens after this book!

November Stats

Number of books read- 12

Ratio fiction to non-fiction- 10:2

Male to Female authors- 5:7

Number of eBooks- 2 (Frankenstein and Humbugs and Heartstrings)

Number of books borrowed from library- 7 (Lolita, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine, The Pillowman, Days of Blood and Starlight, The Bookshop Book and Carry On)

Number of Audio Books- 1 (Persuasion)

Reading Challenge Completed

A Classic Romance- Persuasion

A Book that Scares You- Lolita

A Play- The Pillow Man

A Book Based On or Turned Into a TV Show- The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine

A Book You Started but Never Finished- The Second Book of General Ignorance

A Book Set at Christmas- Humbugs and Heartstrings

A Banned Book- Winnie the Pooh

Read a trilogy Book One: Daughter of Smoke and Bones

Read a trilogy Book Two: Days of Blood and Starlight

 

There we go! That was a big reading month and as you can probably tell, I’m trying to finish off all the Reading Challenge themes. I’m slowly getting there, only 7ish left to go!

Blog Every Day in November Wrap Up #BEDN

So today's the last day of Blog Every Day in November. I did it, I actually managed to post once every day! Now admittedly I don't think every blog post is perfect or up to scratch but I'm glad I did the challenge and managed to stick to it. It has helped me get back into blogging and get my creative juices flowing. I have a few ideas for December too, so hopefully I'll stay on track and get them done.

I've enjoyed doing this challenge a lot, I especially liked the Self Care Sunday post, which I will do every now and again to check in and see what I'm doing. I also loved the Nostalgic Beauty post, the Random Acts of Kindness post, and the Style post, it made realise that I do actually have some little bit of style! It was fun to do some of the themed posts, in fact the four listed above were themed posts and things I possibly wouldn't have tried if I didn't do the theme. And I'm delighted to be back on track with my Reading Reviews! I'll have my November one up in the next day or two.

Thanks to Elizabeth from Rosalilium for hosting this, thanks to everyone who was also doing the challenge and read and commented on my posts. I tried to read some others myself and comment too, but I'll admit I didn't do it as often as I should. Please leave a comment below if you did the challenge too and I'll be sure to check out your blog!

Gifts for Bookworms #BEDN

No surprise here, I love books and I love bookish themed presents! I've slowly started to build up a collection of bookish accessories like bags, mugs and clothing and thought it would be fun to share some of the things I've seen online that have caught my eye.

During the week I shared by Books Are My Bag bag collection so here's some more totes! Clockwise from top left: The Great Gatsby from Out of Print Clothing, Go Away I'm Reading from Red Bubble, Books Are My Bag 2015 Grayson Perry Tote (from bookshops if they still have them!), Professional Bookworm from Society6

Wear your bookishness with pride! Clockwise from top left: If Lost hoodie by NerdGirlTees on Etsy, We're All Mad Here necklace by TempestSociety on Etsy, Library Long Sleeved Top by Out Of Print Clothing, To Kill a Mockingbird brooch by House Of Ismay on Etsy.

I could do a whole post about mugs alone! But I limited myself to these. Clockwise from top left: Cats in Literature Mug by The Literary Gift Company, Harry Potter iPhone cover by Primark, Penguin Classic Book Mug, Children Literature Map of Britain by The Literary Gift Company

This is just a taster of what's out there. The best two websites I've come across are The Literary Gift Company and Out of Print Clothing, I had to stop myself from going mad and posting all the things on those sites! Etsy is a great way to buy handmade if you like that idea. But nothing will beat local bookshops! They'll have beautiful editions of classic favourites, exciting new releases and related products like mugs, notebooks, bags and other quirky things. 

I hope you've found some inspiration for the bookworm in your life. Or as a reward to yourself for getting all Christmas shopping done!

All Time Favourite Christmas Ads #BEDN

Even though tomorrow's Blog Every Day in November theme is Christmas, I don't want to wait until tomorrow to post this. The other week I did a spotlight on some of the new ads out this Christmas but sometimes you just can't beat a classic!

Classic Coca-Cola Holidays Are Comin' ad, need I say more?!

The young girl in the Cornflakes ad always reminds me of my sister at that age, even though she wasn't that blonde. In the ad we see her older brother and sister and we used to pretend it was me, my brother and sister in the ad!

Every Irish person will remember the Telecom Eireann ad where the little girl rings Santa, another classic.

I love everything about this ad, the music, the bookish reference, the beautiful snow scenes. And then there's the Irn Bru take on the Snowman which is hilarious.

Horsies! Just from hearing the music alone I can picture the horses going through the snow. Do they still show this ad?

I love the atmosphere in this ad, the stillness and eeriness, the snowy scenes over Dublin and the really clever 'Even at the home of the black stuff, they dream of a white one'. 

I loved the Monty the Penguin ad from John Lewis last year, it really melted my heart!

All beauty addicts probably remember this ad! I love all the women vying for space in front of mirrors or any shiny surface they can find. But the music makes this ad most memorable. 

Another Boots ad, this one doesn't have much to do with what Boots sells to be honest (though they did try and slot in a few shots) but I love the message of this, the idea of a family waiting to have Christmas with one another. 

There's a McDonald's ad too which I love, same eerieness stillness as the Guinness one where they show a McDonald's that is shut and then at the end they say something like 'the best place to be this Christmas...is at home. Merry Christmas'. Or something to that degree. 

October Reads #BEDN

The last of the catch up reading posts! And we'll be back on schedule for the year (not that there's a lot of the year left!). Let's jump right in.

October Reads

Darkmouth Worlds Explode by Shane Hegarty

 This is the second book in the Darkmouth series by Irish author Shane Hegarty. I read the first one back in May as part of the Children's Book of the Month and I loved it. Finn is a legend hunter (monster hunter to you and me), just like his father was and his father before him and so on. But Finn's a bit rubbish at training, he'd rather be a vet! This book picks up at the end of the last one, so I won't say much to spoil it, but Finn returns along with Emmie, his best friend, and they must save the day again. It's packed with those cool drawings too, just like the last book, and I loved the humour. It's a great series for 12 year old, boys and girls and I love supporting Irish authors. I'm looking forward to book three, I must find out when that is out!

More Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell

I also read the first book, Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops, in May. I really enjoyed both books, working in a bookshop has made so many of these ring true (questions like 'I'm looking for a book, it has a blue cover. Oh you know the one!' or 'The book had a girl who falls for this guy but it doesn't go that well but it does in the end. Does that sound familiar?') but I think all book lovers would enjoy these quotes and stories. The other week I was in a bookshop, just when The Girl in the Spider's Web came out, so the other books in the series were also on display. I heard a man turn to his friend and ask him 'Should I read that book? The Girl with the Magic Tattoo?'. Sounds like a delightful book to me!

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This was the very first book I ever marked to read on Goodreads and when I saw the reading challenge that was to read the book that had been on your TBR pile the longest (or something to that degree) I decided I should really read this one. Luckily it popped up in my Audible Daily Deals and I got it for a steal. Most people would have heard of this book but it tells the story of Skeeter, a 22 year old from Jackson, Mississippi, who decides to write a book about 'the help', the women and maids who raise children in families just like the one she grew up in. She gets Aibileen (her friend Elizabeth's maid, who's raising her 17th white child) and Minny Jackson to help her. These three women take turns to narrate the story and we learn all sorts about these women, their friends, their relationships and especially the way black people were treated in the South in 1960s. I really enjoyed it, I cried in places too which isn't a surprise as I'm a big sap. If I had one really criticism I would have shortened it a tiny bit, it was just a touch too long. I know this book is not without it's faults as well but it is worth the read.

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

This was my first Anne Tyler book, I'd requested it off NetGalley when I heard some people say good things about it in the run up to the Man Booker Prize. It's a family story that starts with this generation of siblings and tells of their life and family dynamics for over half the book. It then goes back to when the parents were young and then after that to when the grandparents first met. In the first half, the family joke that there's only 2 stories in the family, neither of them particularly interesting, and that they don't really know much family history. As we look back we see there are secrets, secrets that would make much better family stories but were hidden of the years. I did enjoy this book in one sense, I like family sagas, where nothing too exciting happens but this dragged at times and made me so reluctant to pick it up. It sped up a bit once we started going back in time but it took way too long in the book to do that. It wasn't until 60% through that we went to the second story of Red and Abby (the parents).

Mog the Forgetful Cat by Judith Kerr

The Reading Challenge had a category that was to visit an old childhood favourite and so I picked this book. I had never read it before but as a child my aunt gave me Mog in the Dark, which I loved (and still have somewhere). So when my aunt's child turned one, I present I gave was this Mog book and a Mog plush teddy. I enjoy this book, I like Mog as a children's book character and of course, now with the Sainsburys Christmas ad featuring Mog, I'm sure she's going to be very popular this Christmas!


Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

This is the third Cormoran Strike book, by Robert Galbraith (aka. J.K. Rowling) and even though it wasn't announced to be coming out until the summer time, I still put it in my most anticipated books of 2015! The story kicks off when Cormoran's assistant, Robin, receives a package in the mail with a severed leg in it. Due to some of the clues left in the package, Cormoran narrows the list down to 3 people from his past. I really enjoyed this, I downloaded it on Audible so I could listen to it going to and from work. Cormoran and Robin investigate all 3 of these men, leading them to all sorts of stories and trouble, and it really had me guessing until right near the end, which I love in books. There is a lot more emphasis on Robin and Strike's relationship in this and I really hope they don't end up together as it's such a cliche. But I will continue reading this series, it really helped reignite my love of mysteries and thrillers that I've had since being a child. If you liked book one and two, go pick this up now!

October Stats

Number of books read- 6

Ratio fiction to non-fiction- 5:1

Male to Female authors- 1:5

Number of eBooks- 2 (A Spool of Blue Thread and More Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops) 

Number of books borrowed from library- 1 (Darkmouth Worlds Explode)
Number of Audio Books- 2 (The Help and Career of Evil)

Reading Challenge Completed

A Book at the Bottom of Your To-Read List- The Help
A Book From Your Childhood- Mog the Forgetful Cat
A Book with a Colour in the Title- A Spool of Blue Thread

And that's it! October was quiet enough but November has made up for, which you'll see in my next reading post. And there's still a few days to add to it too!

Nostalgic Beauty Look #BEDN

Today's Blog Every Day in November theme is nostalgia. I've written quite a bit on here about nostalgia: Things Children These Days Won't Know, My Favourite Things About Being a Child, my NOW CDs posts with Sharon from Behind Green Eyes. But this particular post is inspired by Sharon's Get Ready With Me 90s Style post. Ah, the memories! So I wanted to do something similar myself!

                          

Above are some of the products I used back in the day. I used the L'Oreal Glam Shine polishes and while this one is from a recent enough Miss Candy collection, I added it because I used to have a two toned twisty lipstick from 17 once! Pinky on one half and whitey on the other. I loved the One by One mascara from Maybelline because the brush was tiny. And I completely forgot about the Maybelline Watershine Diamond lipsticks and glosses til I was researching this post! Lollipop was my fave, a pinky shade. Sticking with Maybelline I had the white Cool Effect and prob one or two of the Fruity Jellys. I had two shades of the Rimmel Metallic Cream Shadows: Notting Hill (lilac) and Kennington (silver). Finally Spectacular had such cool polishes, I don't think I really appreciated them! (not pictured above are any Constance Carroll products, probably my very first adventure into makeup, buying clear mascara and lipstick from them from the small tiny local pound shop!)

Now, for this look I tried to recreate what I prob looked like when I was first wearing makeup. I can't remember what base I went for so I used a BB Cream as I probably would have loved those growing up, I hardly even wore base and still don't wear it much today. Everything else I used was either exactly what I used to use or else as close as I could get these days!

After I applied based I did my eyes. Because I couldn't get my hands on any Rimmel or Maybelline products (though you can if you want to pay out), I eventually tracked down this Miss Sporty silver cream shadow. Seriously, cream shadows are NOT in these days! I really wanted to find a more lilacy one as I preferred that Rimmel eyeshadow (because purple brings out the green in your eyes!) but that shade is not in either, only darker purples, On my eyelashes I used Maybelline's Full N Soft. It's a travesty that you can no longer buy it over here, sort yourself out Maybelline! On my cheeks I used Natural Collections Peach Melba, I used to use Natural Collections blush all the time. On my lips was the closest I could find to the Fruity Gelly which was Maybelline's Coloursensational Gloss (thanks to Dealz!). Included above is a Barry M glitter eyeliner. Now, I never used Barry M growing up, it just wasn't local to me at all. I did however used to love glitter, so much so that I remember going to one of the Credit Union quizzes in 6th class and sticking my face into my glitter (which I probably got free from Bliss or Sugar). I remember one of the boys on my team just being bewildered by my face, you could have seen me from space with all the glitz I piled on! The Mini Milk above is also something I didn't use back in the day but I totally would have and now I want a Mini Milk, I haven't had one in years!

With the glitter liner added

Also above is some Body Shop Fuzzy Peach shower gel. I got it a few years ago when they brought out of a bunch of retro stuff, I snapped it up so fast! I used to always get Body Shop gifts from my nana and smelling Fuzzy Peach brings back lovely memories. I also recently purchased So...Kiss Me, I LOVED that one growing up, definitely my favourite. You can get them in Penneys very easily these days if you're looking for a trip down memory lane.

I didn't wear a lot of nail polish growing up but I do remember my first Rimmel polish. It was a hot pink 60 Seconds one my aunt bought me one year for my birthday. This one is quite similar, it's Fifty Shades of Pink, a limited edition one for 50 years of Superdrug.

Finally, because I know you want to know where I got my bitchin jewellery from, the necklace and jelly bracelets were both from eBay. However Penneys have been selling the tattoo necklaces and other 90stastic jewellery like mood rings so you might still pick something up. The only thing I'm really missing is some of those glittery butterfly clips! Maybe I'll try buy some of the above stuff I'm missing and put together another look some day. Thank you Sharon for the inspiration to do this, it was so much fun!

Travel Dreams #BEDN

Today's Blog Every Day in November theme is travel dreams! And it's something that's been on my mind a lot recently. It's been a while since I've had a proper holiday abroad. Last time actually was 2008! Well, technically I have been abroad since then. I've travelled to and from the UK and Ireland a lot over the years and that is abroad! But I don't think it really counts as Ireland is home and I did live in Manchester for a while.

I'd love to travel more but it's just something that hasn't happened for a number of reasons. There's so many places I'd like to go, I have a Pinterest board for that, but if I won the lotto tomorrow I'd go to America. On a big road trip!

I'd probably start with New York. It's iconic after all! And with Nurse Fancy Pants, Cherry Sue and LovelyGirlieBits all talking about the Big Apple recently, it's been on my mind a lot! I'd then head onto Chicago, Las Vegas, LA and Seattle. I have friends in LA and it's killed me that I haven't been able to go visit them yet. There are so many other places I'd like to go too though. Especially New England in the autumn, Chloe from Nurse Fancy Pants was there recently and her Instagram is just so pretty from her New England road trip!

Realistically though, the next time I go 'properly' abroad will probably be somewhere in Europe. I've already been to Spain, Italy, France and Czech Republic so I'd ideally like to go somewhere new to me. Scandinavia has always intrigued me, I did an unauthorized summer holidays project one year because I was fascinated (ya, I was one of those kids) and I do have a friend in Norway that I could go see! And I'd be able to see Northern Lights too which would be amazing! Germany, Austria and Netherlands are also high on my want to see list. If I was to go somewhere I'd already been before though it would be Prague. I've been twice and loved it! I love the vibe of the place, it's a beautiful city.

At John Lennon Wall in Prague 2008

There are so many other places I want to go and I doubt I'll ever see them all. Which is ok with me as I know I'll see enough to make me happy. And right now I'd be happy enough with a weekend away in Ireland!