Top Ten Tuesdays: Characters who are Fellow Book Nerds

Hello everyone and welcome back to my bookish blog! Today is time for another Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and Bookish. This week's topic is Top Ten Characters who are Fellow Book Nerds! It came as no surprise to me that a lot of these characters were childhood favourites of mine, as I have always been a complete geek when it comes to books! :) 



10) Isabel Archer - Portrait of a Lady
This book was an epic challenge for me - 680 pages! But I loved the fact that Isabel was the clever, intelligent one and she loved reading! I take that as no coincidence! Also, in true book geekishness, can we please all appreciate how beautiful this cover is?! I think it is one of my favourites ever!

9) Anastasia - Grey (Fifty Shades of Grey)
I may be judged for saying this, but in some ways I felt I could relate to Anastasia - I really liked her as a character! I can't lie, I wouldn't be complaining if a rich man bought me first-edition copies of a book I loved! Who wouldn't love that, let's be honest! :)

8) Liesel - The Book Thief
I don't think anyone can claim to be more committed to books than Liesel! To steal books illegally from fires and read them over and over again until you have the opportunity to steal another? I applaud that commitment to reading!

7) Alice - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
And so begins my selection of favourite childhood characters! Sitting in/under a tree in the sunshine reading a book in a pretty blue dress? What could be more peaceful?! Life goals...that is all.

6) Charlie - Perks of Being a Wallflower
I love Charlie, he is such an adorable character. He forms such a close bond with his English teacher because he gets all his favourite book recommendations and I just think that's fabulous!

5) Pat - Silver Linings Playbook
Pat is another character I just love. In an effort to win back his ex-wife, he begins to read all of the books she teaches on her syllabus, and he learns so much in the process, which I think aids his recovery! He also has very strong reactions and emotions towards certain books, which to me is the sign of a great reader!

4) Hermione - Harry Potter
Yes, she may read textbooks mainly, but we can't discriminate here! You can't really fault Hermione, she is another character who reads and is the most intelligent person there! This can't all be a coincidence...

3) Violet - All the Bright Places
Violet and Finch bond over quoting Virginia Woolfe. Bleurgh, I know, it is quite cringey, but at the same time, I don't think I could honestly say that a boy quoting my favourite authors wouldn't win me over!

2) Belle - Beauty and the Beast
I know this is slightly cheating as it is the Disney film version of this which I love most, but as I used to have a Disney book version as a child, I am counting this. As I am sure I have said before, Belle is just my idol. As her name suggests, she is beautiful, she is courageous, she loves reading, she is French AND she gets given her own library. I mean come on...how perfect can life get?!


1) Matilda

Matilda easily swiped my top spot in this one! Matilda was one of my favourite books as a child because I loved her all through the story as she was escaping the wrath of her parents by shutting herself behind a wall of books, or wandering off to the library. For the story to then end with her having magical powers, what a great finale! She was bright, she was loved by her teachers (story of my life...joking!), and then she had magic powers! This little book geek defeated the hellish Ms Trunchbull, so this heroine deserves my top spot!

So there you have it! I have to say, this was my favourite Top 10 Tuesday: each one of these characters celebrates a slightly different reason why I love reading, and I love each and every one of them very much! Characters who love books really are the best kind :) Who are your favourite nerdy characters? 

Top Ten Tuesdays: Books that Celebrate Diversity

Hello my lovely readers...iiit's Tuesday so that means it is time for another Top Ten Tuesday! Today's title is 'Top 10 Books that Celebrate Diversity', and there seems to be a lot of focus amongst other bloggers, particularly those who read a lot of YA, on LGBTQ books, which is great! Unfortunately, I have not read many books with LGBTQ characters, so this post will take a slightly different angle. I have chosen to include books that not only celebrate diversity, but also highlight the struggles that others encounter, which people who are considered 'normal' may not understand, as I think that is equally as important.

So let's get started!


10) The Colour Purple - Alice Walker
I couldn't bear to put this book any higher because it is just such a harrowing read, and under a title of 'celebrating diversity', it just didn't feel right. This book is set in the deep American South, and centres around the struggles of a young woman who was abused by her father and gets married to someone who isn't much nicer! Unfortunately, it seems that this wasn't a rare occurrence in that society, and the book is written very well...just don't expect it to be uplifting!

9) Elizabeth is Missing - Emma Healey
Maud suffers from Alzheimer's. I didn't rate this book very highly as it was written very erratically, but actually, it does serve as a very strong testament as to how confusing the life of a person suffering with this condition must be! I really struggled to follow the thread of the story! Nevertheless, being the first book I had read with a character like this, it was definitely an eye-opener!

8) My Name Is...? - Alastair Campbell
This story is about a girl called Hannah, who suffers with alcoholism. Cor, these first 3 have been depressing, right?! I promise I'll cheer it up as we get higher up the list. Again, this book was such an eye-opener for me as it describes the effect that Hannah's condition has on her mother too, and it's really powerful!

7) The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Okay I know I said I would cheer this up...I promise I will after this one! For those who follow my blog, you may remember my recent review of this book, and remember how strong the emotions were that it provoked within me. It made me so angry to see the treatment of a girl in the 1960s with depression, and how decisions were always made over her head. I am glad that we live in a society where this is slowly changing, but unfortunately it is not changing quick enough, and this book serves as an extremely powerful, and emotive testament to that.

6) The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
Yay, a much cheerier note! Set in South Carolina, this is the story of Lily's search for her mother's history, when all she has to go on is a picture of the Black Madonna with a place name on the back. She finds a trio of beekeepers who agree to look after her, and teach her the way they worship Black Madonna. I found this absolutely fascinating, as I had never encountered this religion/belief before, so I think it is a great celebration of more obscure cultures, and I really enjoyed it!

5) Me Before You - Jojo Moyes
People may think that this is a classic contemporary romance, but come on, this is Moyes: it is so much more than that! Lou meets Will, who has suffered a motorcycle accident which has left him in a wheelchair. This is one of the few books I have read that involves a disabled person, and it is such a beautiful story, and Will is such a wonderful character - definitely a must-read!

4) Henry's Demons - Patrick and Henry Cockburn
This is the only non-fiction addition to this list! This is the biography of Henry's schizophrenia, told from both his point of view, and that of his father. I read this book a long time ago but it has always stood out to me as it is such an open, honest, and in some places entertaining account of such a life-changing condition. Not only does it affect Henry, but his whole family's lives are turned upside down by his 'demons', and once again, it is a complete eye-opener to a condition that is so misunderstood.

3) The Rosie Project/The Rosie Effect - Graeme Simsion
I love Don Tillman! He is such an endearing character, who seems to suffer Asperger's syndrome. However despite this, he is the cutest character I can think of, and I love all his quirks and how intelligent he is, and just everything! He is a fabulous celebration of how amazing those with Autistic Spectrum disorders can be! :)

2) House Rules - Jodi Picoult
Along the same theme, this is one of my favourite Jodi Picoult books! Jacob had Asperger's syndrome, and one day his behaviours make him look very suspicious when there is a murder case in the town! This fantastic story tells of how his mother fights to get his voice heard - why should his voice be any less heard? An absolutely amazing read!

1) The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne
Celebrating diversity is about seeing through any prejudice, right? And who sees through prejudice better than young children? Their youthful innocence allows them to become friends with whoever they like, irrespective of any prejudice or misconception. That is why The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas tops my list, because it is the perfect example of an unlikely friendship, that would not have occurred had prejudice played a part. Unfortunately it doesn't have the happy ending it should, but nevertheless it will always be one of my favourite stories and is thus very deserving of top spot!

Thank you for reading my latest Top Ten Tuesday! What do you think? I have tried to include as many different examples of diversity as I could. What books really celebrate/highlight diversity for you? I'd love to hear about them in the comments below :) 

Top Ten Tuesdays: Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession

Hello everyone, and welcome to another Top 10 Tuesday! This was started by The Broke and Bookish, and the topics just get better and better! :) This topic gives me the chance to share with you the last 10 books I have bought. I have spent far too much money on books recently, convincing myself that I need to so that I can complete my A-Z author challenge, but I can never stop at just the ones I need! Luckily for me, my mum took me shopping 2 weeks ago, and decided to treat me to some books, so a lot of the ones I am going to talk about today are courtesy of her..*thanks mummy*!

So...to the bookshelf! I am going to order these in the order that they were acquired...oldest being 10, and therefore first :) The shameful think about this is that I have bought all of these in less than a month...I really need to start budgeting better!

10) A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving/ Grey - EL James
These two are the only ones on this list which I have actually read so far! They share 10th place as I ordered them at the same time, to fill my I and J spots for my A-Z challenge. I actually really enjoyed both of them, despite them both being a lot longer than I expected them to be...the longest on my challenge, in fact!


9) The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Z is quite a difficult letter to come by, but I was recommended this by someone on the Goodreads Book Group which started the A-Z challenge, so thought I would give it a go! Unbeknownst to me, it is part of a series, which may mean that I end up reading the full series, because I don't like to leave things unfinished!

8) The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
I am SO excited to read this! I was so happy when I realised that I needed a Q, and that this book was written by Matthew Quick. I did something I never do...watched the film before reading the book. It was on TV, and I must confess, I am usually very lame and in bed by 10pm, but I stayed up until 12.30 on a school night to watch this film! That shows how good it was! I really hope the book surpasses the film, as I expect it to!

7) The Good Women of China - Xinran
Again, X is quite a difficult surname to come by, and I was warned on the A-Z Goodreads group that really a Chinese author is the only option. This suits me just fine as I have never read anything by a Chinese author before, so I am excited to give it a go! This work is biographical too, and I always feel good stories have an even better edge when you know they're true!

6) Instructions for a Heatwave - Maggie O'Farrell
Again, an addition to my A-Z reading challenge. When I got home, it transpired that my mum has this book (one of the few books she actually has in hard copy these days, she is a slave to her kindle), but never mind, I like to have books for myself anyway! I had heard good things about this one, but unfortunately I didn't think it lived up to the hype!


5) The Heroes' Welcome - Louisa Young
Yes, you've guessed it...I also struggled to find a Y! I could not find a single Y in the entire Waterstones Southend store, after having checked all the genres I was open to reading: fiction, crime, SciFi, fantasy, you name it! Just as we were leaving, I found this gem on a table, and am very intrigued by it, because a) how beautiful is the cover?! and b) I have read the first book written by Young and loved it, so let's hope this is just as good!

4) Reunion - Fred Uhlman
I was very intrigued by this one! Of course, it is another addition to the A-Z, and I wasn't exactly spoiled for choice. However I found this and thought it would be interesting, it is only 75 pages long, but the synopsis on the back makes it sound like a lot happens in that space! I am always dubious of books that try to cram too much into a small space because I feel it can seem rushed or disjointed, but I felt the urge to give this one a go!

3) Bonjour Tristesse - Francoise Sagan
This is my most anticipated book! It frustrates me that I have to finish my A-Z challenge before I can read this, because I have been waiting to read The Lovely Bones by Sebold for aaages too. I got an email about this book from Waterstones, as they are doing a scheme where they try to resurrect classics which have fallen through the net of the public radar, which, may I say, I think is a great idea! I was really intrigued by this one, it seems to have a great plot and I was immediately drawn to it when I saw it in the store! Cannot wait to read! :)

2) The Year of Reading Dangerously - Andy Miller
I am worried this one may contain too many spoilers of books I have on my TBR list, but I couldn't resist! A book about how reading changes a man's life for the better? Yes please! I love contemplating the power of books and reading! :)


1) The Skeleton Cupboard - Tanya Byron
My most recent purchase - I saw this when I was at the airport on my way to Portugal, and thought it'd be silly to buy it there when I already had 3 books packed for 5 days! However it has been on my mind ever since, and I finally got round to buying it :) It is a non-fiction book containing stories from a clinical psychologist. You may have noticed that I am fascinated by mental health and psychology, so this is a must-read for me! I hope it is like 'The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat' by Sacks, which is one of my favourite books!

So there we have it, my most recent purchases! What are yours? Have you read any of these...if so, what did you think? I'd love to hear any comments! Please also post links to your TTT in the box below!

Top Ten Tuesdays: Top 10 Hyped Books I Have Never Read

Hello all you beautiful bookish people! Today I will be completing my second 'Top 10 Tuesday' list, started by The Broke and the Bookish. I think today's might be quite a short list, as these books are so famous they don't need much introduction!

So, here we go...bring on the hype!

10) Game of Thrones - waaay too big, and I couldn't not finish the series if I started!

9) Any Dickens! I just can't face it!
8) The Lord of the Flies - should I be ashamed of this?
7) Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses series
6) The Lemony Snicket 'Series of Unfortunate Events' - I just couldn't get into them when I was young!
5) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - I am desperate to see this on stage, but wouldn't dare without reading the book first!

4) Divergent series - I don't know what to think of these, but they're not high on my TBR list!
3) Twilight series...no, not ever.
2) The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit - one of the only books on this list that I am actually really excited to read...I probably have my boyfriend to thank for that! Also...would someone pretty pleaaase buy me these covers?! I love them so much!

1) The Fifty Shades of Grey series - never in all my years of working at Waterstones have I ever seen book hype as big as it was for the FSoG series! Absolute CRAZINESS!

I am sure there are people reading this who think that my preconceptions of some of these books are totally wrong (they usually are), so please get in touch! All I need is a bit of a push in the right direction :) What 'hyped' books do you really feel you should read?

Top Ten Tuesdays: Best Books I Have Read in 2015 (so far...)

Hello everyone, and welcome back to my blog! I am so excited to announce my first Top Ten Tuesday, started by The Broke and the Bookish...what a great idea! This was quite easy for me, as out of the 33 books I have read so far this year, I awarded 9 5* on GoodReads, so my (easy??) task now is to just rank them, and add one! :) Needless to say...these books are all very highly recommended - so go and pick them all up!



10) The Opposite of Loneliness - Marina Keegan
This gets a spot purely because of her title essay "The Opposite of Loneliness", which I think is so poignant and quirkily observant of the life of a young adult, that it would be an insult to not include her!

9) Grey - EL James
I have no doubt that this will surprise/disgust many people (trust me, it surprised me too!), but I think I had such low expectations for this book that I actually thought it was great! Any book that I finish within 24 hours has got to be pretty special, and I was addicted!

8) The First Phone Call from Heaven - Mitch Albom
I love the sprinkle of magic dust that Albom adds to all his stories, and the way they leave you feeling warm inside. This was a great start to my A-Z challenge!

  

7) Echo Boy - Matt Haig

This is the first time (of three) where Matt Haig will appear on this list, because I just think he is not just an incredible writer, but an incredible person (more on that later!) On the face of it, this is a simple SciFi story, but Haig always manages to leave you contemplating his stories for weeks after by injecting pertinent observations of 'what it is to be human', and it leaves me reeling every single time!

6) One Mile Under - Andrew Gross
Gross is by far my favourite crime author, so I was very excited to receive this book to review! I was not in the slightest disappointed, as always, this story is a gripping thriller with loads of great twists and turns - highly recommended!

5) Past Mortem - Ben Elton
I am excited by Ben Elton! This was my second read by him (the first being The Two Brothers), and it was completely un-putdownable! I just couldn't stop reading...the murder mystery was so much more than just a crime story...there was love, there was humour, there was mystery, there was suspense...it's incredible! I can't wait to read more from Ben Elton! 

4) The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes
Talk about great things in small packages! This little gem is amazing - a great life commentary (as well as a great story!) on the effects of memory, and how one missed detail can affect our perception of a past event forever. Definitely worth a read - I read it in 4 hours!

3) The Humans - Matt Haig
I owe so much to this book, as it is what caused me to discover Matt Haig! I have recommended this to everyone who will listen to me! This story has everything...it is funny, it has a great storyline, and Haig achieves something wonderful: he gives such an outlandish opinion on what makes us human, that you'd think he was an alien looking down on us! If you want a book to shift your perspective, then go and get a copy of this right now! 

2) The Shock of the Fall - Nathan Filer
Filer is a registered mental health nurse, and this novel is thus fabulously researched! Describing a boy's journey through bereavement and subsequent guilt-induced descent into schizophrenia is no easy task, but Filer does this to perfection. This book is amazingly written, and I think has a really important message to share about a very misunderstood condition! Read it!!!

1) Reasons to Stay Alive - Matt Haig
Anyone who has heard me rant about this book will not be at all surprised to see it at the top of my list! This book is the most amazing and incredible thing I have read, not just this year, but ever! This is the only book in this list not to contain an ounce of fiction - it is Haig's open, honest account of his struggle with anxiety and depression. I admire Haig's bravery; it can't be an easy thing to sit and write about the most painful time of one's life, and must be even harder to then share that story with the world, but I, along with many others, am so glad he did! His tone is so resonant, no holds are barred, and however upsetting this book may be to read, it is INCREDIBLY important that this book finds its way into the hands of as many people as possible! Whether you find yourself suffering with mental illness yourself, or think you may know someone who is and want to know how to help, or even if you think you don't know anyone affected (trust me, you do!), then PICK THIS BOOK UP! It's a quick read, but one of the most important ones you will ever have.


So there we have it, my first every 'Top Ten Tuesday'! I hope you have got some inspiration from this post, and would love to hear your comments! :)