The Book Lover Survey

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading? 
I was encouraged to read from a young age.  My dad used to make up stories for me when I was really young or read to me from a book, then I would be allowed 'five minutes' to read from my own book.  When I got a bit older I had trouble sleeping so he would read more complicated books to me such as Terry Pratchett ones and The Hobbit which helped me get to sleep!

Where do you usually read? 

In bed, usually at night or sometimes in the morning if I'm off work.  Also on the train if I'm going to be alone but I don't often get the train these days!

Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once? 

One!  I've tried reading a couple but it just gets really confusing.

What is your favourite genre? 

It's so hard to choose!  I enjoy teen books like The Hunger Games and the sort of dystopian ones which are appearing everywhere now but then I love Jodi Picoult's books which are courtroom dramas, I guess??

Is there a genre you will not read? 

Not so much won't but I don't tend to read any traditional crime or horror books.

Do you have a favourite book? 
Probably The Time Traveler's Wife but obviously I love the Harry Potter series too...

What is your least favourite book?
I read The Lovely Bones for an English project at school and absolutely hated it, I'm not even sure why.  I think it just seemed so creepy and all the characters were really annoying!

What is the longest book you have ever read? 

I recently read The Host which was really long!  I can't be sure if this is longest as it was on my Kindle but it definitely felt like it!

What was the last book you bought? 
The last book I bought was The Rosie Project as the eBook was on Amazon for 99p.  The last 'real' books I bought were a selection of chick lits from Asda which were £1 each, including the first in the 'I Heart..." series.

Do you prefer library books or buying books? 

I prefer to buy them but I do go to the library occasionally.  For example, I wanted to read the Pretty Little Liars books but they about £5 each and there's about 12 of them now, so instead I get them from my local library who can buy them in for me!

What are you currently reading?
I'm currently reading I Heart New York which I'm enjoying but it's making me want to go there so badly!

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If you've done this tag/survey, please leave a link in the comments so I can read yours :)

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: Currently Reading

I'm currently reading The Finishing Touches by Hester Browne!

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: Favourite Book

This week we are talking about our favourite books, mine is The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt

Yes I am in my jammies... Don't judge me!  This is the Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt tag which was started by TheLibraryOfSarah and you can find the original video here.  It was really fun to do and I recommend it if you make videos and enjoy reading!

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: Favourite Author

This week we are talking about our favourite authors.  Mine is Jodi Picoult and in the video I'm explaining why she's my fave and going through the books I've read by her telling you a little bit about them!

Please rate the video and subscribe if you enjoy - we appreciate any feedback!!

Who is your favourite author?

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts - Currently Reading

Watching the video to find out my thoughts so far on The Host by Stephanie Meyer!

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Books to Read

Books to Read

1. Life of Pi I had sort of wanted to read this for a while then as the film came out I decided I'd do it soon, definitely before seeing the film!  I got this for my Kindle off Amazon for 20p!

2. Divergent I've heard good things about this series, it's one of those 'if you liked The Hunger Games then you'll love this!' so it's worth a go.  Currently on my Amazon wishlist.

3. Killing Floor I hadn't heard of the Jack Reacher series until my friend mentioned it and said they are amazing.  We were off college for a week and she read FIVE!  As far as I can tell this is the first installment but there's also one actually called Jack Reacher... hmm.

4. The Fault In Our Stars Well of course I need to read this to find out what all the fuss is about!  It went down to about £4 on Amazon so I bought it before it went back up!

5. The Woman in Black I loved the film, and I went to see the play when it came to Glasgow and it was so good.  It was only two guys acting the whole thing - then the woman in black of course, imagine having her job, what a skive!!  I've not read any scary books since those ones from school (Babysitter, Babysitter 2, Babysitter 3, etc... I'm sure there were other ones but those stand out!) so I thought it would be quite interesting, also to see how it differs from the film and the play.

Have you got any books high up on your 'to read' list?

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Recently Read: The Gift

I bought this at a car boot sale earlier in the year a long with a couple other books of this genre.  Car boots and charity shops are the best places to get cheap books!  I really like Cecelia Ahern for some easy reading; her stories are always sort of fairy-tale-ish, sometimes involving magic and things like that which are a nice escape from reality.

The Gift is set at Christmas so I had been waiting until this time of the year to read it.  The story is about a workaholic called Lou who is very well off but he ignores his family: his wife and two young children.  He often cheats on his wife with women from work and avoids spending time with his 5 year old daughter and baby son.  However one day he helps out a homeless man who sits outside his work building, and slowly Lou's life is changed.

The first thing I found unusual about this book was the male protagonist!  Usually these sort of chick-lit books are female so this was a nice change.  Also I found Lou to be such an infuriating character and I think that you can always tell a good writer when you actually feel angry at a character!  For example Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter, ahhh, she actually drives me crazy!

Without revealing too much about the actual plot, the development of Lou's character through the story is really interesting, and Gabe (the homeless man) becomes more and more intriguing.  On a separate note I actually cried at a bit in this which is rare!  I hardly ever cry at books - the last time was when Hedwig died (second Harry Potter mention, obsessed much?)!

Although it was set at Christmas, it wasn't particularly Christmassy which was a bit disappointing but overall the story was really good.  I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads!

Have you read any good books which are nice and Christmassy?

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Louise Loves #5

I totally forgot to do this last week, OOPS!  I knew that would happen haha, never mind.  Anywayy here are some favourite bits from this week :)

Phone Cover

I got this phone cover from eBay, it's so cute!  It also comes a few different pastel colours too but I went for the mint green one.  I don't think it will last very long though as the lace is real and will probably fray and get dirty.  I've already had to cut some bits off and seal the edges with clear nail polish!  The wee flower is also from eBay if you just search for 'dust plug', I think it cost £1.29.
[£2.99 from this seller]

Pretty Little Liars Book Series

I love the TV series and I was quite curious about the books as some of my friends have read them.  Instead of buying them I've been getting them from my local library as they are £4.99 each and there's about 11 of them!  I have just finished book 7 and it is starting to get really interesting - yes it took 6 books haha.  It is different from the TV series which can get very confusing if I watch an episode one day then I'm reading the book later!  They have actually killed off or cut out half the current TV cast!

Kit Bag

The bag I was using was getting too small so I bought a bucket bag which is a cheap alternative to the professional Charles Fox or Wigs Up North bags.  It came to just under £20 including P&P.  It's really nice and spacious and has little pockets all the round the outside - which does make me slightly paranoid about people stealing stuff from it!

Inside I have two clear bags, one for skincare, one for my palettes; another bag for tools such as sponges, spatulas, spoolies (lots of ssssss!!); my brush belt and then a few loose items which don't fit in the pockets.  The only thing is that the strap is squint... like it's been stitched on the wrong way??  I'm not sure if there's anything I can do about it, might try email the seller and see what they say.
[£16.80 from this seller]

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If anyone is interested I could do a post on what I have in my kit at the moment but unfortunately as the college basically forced us into buying Bobbi Brown the majority of it isn't cruelty free, however I have added in a few bits of my own.

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Recently Read: Girl Meets Boy

I heard about this book from Kathy at JustKissMyFrog and it sounded very interesting so I went on a hunt to find it!  I love the cover it's so pretty, there is another one which is really ugly so obviously I had to have this one...

Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith is part of the Canongate Myth series which incorporates mythical characters in a modern re-telling of the story.  The character in this book is based on Iphis who is from Greek mythology, she is brought up by her mother as a boy because at that time her father could not afford a girl and would have killed her.  As she grows older she falls in love with a girl, Ianthe, and they are to be married, obviously Iphis starts to panic because on the wedding night her fianceé would find out that she wasn't really a boy.  Iphis and her mother pray to the gods and they transform her into a boy in time for her (his?) wedding.

Anyway, onto the actual book!  It is set in Scotland and the protagonist is Anthea who moves in with her sister and gets a job with her in a creative team at a bottled water company - a controversial subject in itself!  She hates it and there are a lot of sexist males in the team that the sisters have to compete with.  That is until Anthea sees Robin, a beautiful, masculine yet very feminine eco warrior who is graffiti-ing the company's sign outside.  She falls in love and Girl Meets Boy tells their unconventional love story through Anthea and her sister, Imogen's eyes.

It is a very short book, I read it in about 3 sittings in 2 days which is very quick for me - I am a slow reader!!  I really enjoyed it and I would recommend it to anyone interested in feminism and gender roles - that sort of thing, it is very interesting!  The only thing I would have liked was more details about Anthea and Robin meeting and getting to know each other.  Because the book is so short it just went from Anthea seeing Robin outside to the next chapter where Imogen is freaking out because her sister is a lesbian haha!

I would really like to read some more of Ali Smith's books now!

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Recently Read: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Recently Read is a series I started in March (along with my blog!) and have since abandoned slightly!  Mainly because I am only mentioning books that I actually enjoyed and think are worth telling other people about.  Here are the two I have done previously:

To Kill A Mockingbird
The Tenth Circle

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is by Stephen Chbosky and I have wanted to read it for a while.  Since the film was coming out I decided to get a move on and read it so I could go and watch it at the cinema!

The general plot is a year in the life of an American boy as he starts high school.  The book is unusual as it is written in the format of letters written to an unknown receiver.  It is not mentioned at all but it becomes obvious that the boy, Charlie, has a mild form of Autism - which can make social situations quite challenging for him.  He starts high school with no friends but gets talking to two senior pupils and the story goes from there.

It took me a few letters (rather than chapters?!) to get into it as it started out quite slowly but once you get to know him and used to his style of writing you are quickly drawn into his world.  The language in it is also very simple and easy to read which is always nice!  Charlie is such a lovely, warm character you can't help but love.

Also, something happens at the end which really makes me want me read it again, having that knowledge... ooh mysterious eh?  Sadly I don't have time with my Reading Challenge this year... maybe next year!

I am looking forward to going to see the film, I think we are going on Friday!

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Recently Read: The Tenth Circle

This is the second in a series I've started doing where I just discuss an interesting book I've read recently.  Click here to see my thoughts on To Kill a Mockingbird.

This book is called The Tenth Circle: A Novel by Jodi Picoult, who is my favourite author at the moment.  I can just pick up one of her books and start reading, knowing I'll enjoy it without knowing anything about it.

The basic plot line to this one is about a 14 year old girl who is raped by her ex-boyfriend at a house party, however no one believes her and thinks she is just making it up to get revenge on him for breaking up with her.  She is driven to self-harming and evens attempts suicide.

In Picoult's books there are always more than one protagonist so each chapter is from a different point of view, the girl, her mum, her dad, the detective, even the mother's lover at one point too!  This way you get a lot of different perspectives, but it also keeps you thinking, trying to work out the truth for yourself.

Then of course there is the twist... I won't give it away as it came as a huge shock to me!  Especially as Picoult's twists always come in right at the end - if you have seen/read My Sister's Keeper by her then you will understand! - whereas this one was a lot earlier, more in the middle.  There is another one at the end too but I had kind of seen it coming, and it was connected to the first twist; the first one was definitely the biggest surprise!

One thing I love about Picoult's novels are that she often includes a minority community into them somehow, and I just love reading about their lifestyles and how they differ to our own.  The ones that come to mind are the Amish, Native Americans, and in this one Eskimos (don't worry I have checked, that is completely politically correct!).  She brings it into this book as the girl's father was brought up in a Yupik (an Eskimo tribe from Alaska) community and his childhood is often referred back to throughout the book.  How accurate these descriptions are I do not know, but I'm sure she does her research!

Overall, this wasn't my favourite Picoult novel (I love the ones with lawyers for some reason!) but it wasn't my least favourite either.  If you liked My Sister's Keeper you will probably like this too, although I will warn you now, it is very creepy at the start with sexual references, especially when you remember they are only 14, ahhh!!

Please excuse my writing style, I feel it's still a bit higglety pigglety but I do do maths at uni, we don't write, pffft!!!!  Hopefully it will improve with time, thanks for reading :)

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Recently Read: To Kill a Mockingbird

Whether I will make this a series kind of thing or not I am unsure, but I am just going to give some of my thoughts on this book I read recently.  It's not going to be any in depth book review so don't worry - I got a C for Higher English okay!  If you do like this sort of thing and would like me to keep doing it then please let me know, any feedback is greatly appreciated!

 

I don't know if you will have noticed but to the right of my blog I have a little widget thing which is the 2012 Reading Challenge and I am aiming to read 40 books this year.  I love reading and I would always have a book on the go but I am quite slow!  One of my new year's resolutions was to read more so I thought this would be a fun way to keep track of it and I also got a Kindle for Christmas which has definitely encouraged me to read more, and also quicker!

For the past few months I have created a wee routine of reading a more intellectual/thought-provoking book (ie. Jodi Picoult books, classics...) and then I will read a more simple 'beach' type novel (ie. Shopaholic series, Pretty Little Liars...).  I find this a really good method because after reading something which you need to use your head more for you tend to just want a book to have a break with, something really easy and entertaining to follow it up with!  I decided to read To Kill a Mockingbird for one of the more 'difficult' reads as I have never read it before; I know it is quite a popular book for schools, but we didn't do it.

It was completely different to what I expected!  I think most people know the gist of the story - a white lawyer defending a black man convicted of rape, but from the perspective of the lawyers children.  What surprised me was that there actually wasn't all that much mention of this in relation to the rest of the book.  It is divided into two parts and the first part is all about the children's lives and how they spend their time and then in the second half they start mentioning the father's case more and then they have the court case nearer the end which the children sneak into.

I did really enjoy it and only had to look up a few words (some I just assumed or guessed what they meant...).  I would like to read it again now that I know what to expect!  So if you have not read this book then you definitely should read it once!  The protagonist Scout, who is about 7 I think at the beginning of the book, is just cutest little girl with such a big personality.  It is so interesting seeing life through her eyes.  Also the ending is just fantastic and so gripping!

On another but related note, Goodreads is a really good website for keeping track of all the books you've read and more importantly I find, the books you want to read!

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