Thursday, 31 December 2015
December Wrap Up: Surprise Parties and Birthday Book Hauls
Wednesday, 30 December 2015
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell // Soul-Sucking Genius
Title: The Bone Clocks
Author: David Mitchell
Genre: Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Literary Fiction
Warnings: Violence, war
Rating: 5 stars
Goodreads | Book Depository
The Bone Clocks is something unique and all together incredible. I cannot begin to imagine how much time and thought went into it, because the nature of it is simply astounding.
The book begins with a teenage Holly Sykes running away from home, and ends almost 60 years later when the world is crumbling to pieces. But from that very day in the summer of 1984, the events of Holly's life are shaped by unfathomable forces that don't come clearly into sight until many years later. Her little brother's disappearance, the strange old lady at the docks - everything is connected by a strange truth: that there are beings on this earth that are free from the limitations of time. Split into 6 sections, The Bone Clocks follows Holly's life from the perspective of herself and others that play key roles in it.
The book begins with a teenage Holly Sykes running away from home, and ends almost 60 years later when the world is crumbling to pieces. But from that very day in the summer of 1984, the events of Holly's life are shaped by unfathomable forces that don't come clearly into sight until many years later. Her little brother's disappearance, the strange old lady at the docks - everything is connected by a strange truth: that there are beings on this earth that are free from the limitations of time. Split into 6 sections, The Bone Clocks follows Holly's life from the perspective of herself and others that play key roles in it.
Tuesday, 29 December 2015
Top 10 Tuesday: Most Anticipated 2016 Releases
Thursday, 24 December 2015
Four Things about Fangirl
Title: FangirlFangirl is so much more than a book about Fanfiction. It's about relationships and anxiety and the escape that fiction can provide.
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Warnings: Protagonist with anxiety
Rating: 4 stars
Goodreads | Book Depository
Cath was a very relatable protagonist, and as a writer and an introvert I was really able to connect with her. Her social anxiety was written excellently and came through in her hesitations around new people and her concern when it comes to her twin sister Wren and her father. There was nothing romanticised about her anxiety - it was honest and beautifully written.
Tuesday, 22 December 2015
Top 10 Tuesday: All I want for Christmas... is ALL OF THESE BOOKS
Friday, 18 December 2015
Is there such thing as 'lesser' fiction?
"Whatever do you mean by 'lesser' fiction?" I hear you cry.
In the eyes of some, a well-read person is not someone who reads a lot, but someone who only reads 'proper' books. Do you use an e-reader? Do you listen to audio books? Are you a slow reader? Do you prefer YA or fantasy? If so, then some will tell you that you're reading habits are inferior.
Tuesday, 15 December 2015
Top 10 Tuesday: Best Books of 2015
Friday, 11 December 2015
The Emoji Book Tag
I was tagged by Greenish Bookshelf ages ago to do the emoji book tag, and I am finally doing it!
Tuesday, 8 December 2015
Top 10 Tuesdays: New-to-Me Authors in 2015
Monday, 7 December 2015
Music Match Monday - Throne of Glass
Song: Castle by Halsey
Book: Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas
I'm starting off this Music Match Monday with one of my favourite series and favourite artists. WARNING: This post may feature spoilers for Throne of Glass book 3 (Heir of Fire) onwards.
Celeana is bound to work for the evil king, but opposes him in secret. People hope that their Princess Ailen is still alive and can lead them to overthrow the king and although Nehemia saw the potential in her to rule, it takes a long time for Celeana to accept her destiny as Ailen. It is only at the end of Heir of Fire when the rumours spread of Ailen's return that she makes her way back to the castle, finally ready to oppose the king and avenge all of his wrongs.
Castle can also work for pretty much any strong female character in fiction because it's all about taking control of what you want.
Want to take part in MMM? Add a link to your post below!
Saturday, 5 December 2015
Book Review: Demon Road - my troubles with tone
Title: Demon Road (Demon Road #1)
Author: Derek Landy
Genre: Paranormal
Warnings: Violence and gore, elements of horror
Rating: 3 stars
Goodreads | Book Depository
An ebook copy of this book was provided to me via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amber leads a dull and uninteresting life... until she grows horns, turns red, and bites a guy's finger off. From that point onwards, her life spirals out of control. Forced to go on the run from her demon parents who want to eat her, Amber goes on a wild road trip in order to find a way to stop them from their ritualistic child eating.
With a premise like that, who wouldn't want to read more?
Unfortunately, the answer is me.
Amber leads a dull and uninteresting life... until she grows horns, turns red, and bites a guy's finger off. From that point onwards, her life spirals out of control. Forced to go on the run from her demon parents who want to eat her, Amber goes on a wild road trip in order to find a way to stop them from their ritualistic child eating.
With a premise like that, who wouldn't want to read more?
Unfortunately, the answer is me.
Friday, 4 December 2015
Absolutely Everything to do with Fairytales
If I haven't established it already, I love adaptations. I love when someone takes an old story and reinvents it, so it's convenient that I also love fairytales because that adaptations are endless! Even now that I'm an adult (by law, not by nature) I still enjoy these stories about adventure and magic, as can anyone of any age. Here is my list of absolutely everything to do with fairytales:
Wednesday, 2 December 2015
My Story is on The Guardian Website!
This year I attended The Guardian Summer School Masterclass for creative writing. As part of the class I was taught by some amazing writers and ended up producing a short story which is now on their website! I posted the same story here back in August but now it's officially on The Guardian website for everyone to see.
To read my work on The Guardian you can go here. And whilst you're there, read the work of the others who attended the class. They are all amazingly talented and have written incredible stories.
To read my work on The Guardian you can go here. And whilst you're there, read the work of the others who attended the class. They are all amazingly talented and have written incredible stories.
Tuesday, 1 December 2015
In which I am terribly clumsy
In an attempt to look at the success of the individual posts on my blog, I accidentally reverted all of my blog posts from the last month or so into draft form. As I was trying to fix it, I published all of my drafts. I thought I'd deleted everything but it's all back to normal now!
Sorry for any confusion!
New to My Redbubble Store: Minimalist
As always I am happy to take suggestions for designs. If you buy anything from my Redbubble store, share it on instagram and use @astronomicalbooks so I can see!
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