Books I'm Voting for in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2018

It's rare for me to have read many books that get nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards. In previous years I've felt a bit behind when it came to new releases, but somehow in 2018 I read a whole load of them, and from more than just the YA Fantasy and Science Ficiton category! Even more surprising is that many of the nominees are actually some of my favourite books of this year - so I guess the hype doesn't always lie! Here are the 6 books I've voted for in the semifinal round ✨

Where are the University Aged Books?

Lately I have been considering the relationship between my age and my love of YA. You can see this in a post I wrote a few months ago about the nature of YA and what I think attracts adults to YA, which you can find here. I have been reading more adult fiction for university in this past year and a half, and with this wider range of books I've started to wonder why no one talks about the in-between stage of teenage life and adult life.

What is it that attracts adults to read YA?

When I first started this blog I was 17, and all I read was YA. I read the occasional classic or adult book too, but YA was where my heart was at. Now I'm almost 20 (yikes), and the YA section is still my first stop when I enter any book store. I love the genre as much as I did then, maybe even more, and I don't think my age is ever going to change that.

May-August 2017 Book Haul

I'm back today with another 2017 book haul! I decided to share a book haul post every 4 months this year rather than have them at the bottom of my wrap up post every month. I try really hard not to buy too many books, and I find that this is a much more effective way to track my bookish spendings. You can find part 1 of my 2017 haul here.

YALC 2017 Recap and Haul

I think it's official. I'm going to go to the YA Literature Convention every year for the rest of my life. I'm not a big socialiser and I didn't really talk to anyone other than the three friends I went with, but the atmosphere of book nerdiness and being surrounded by fiction is enough for me to have an amazing time.

The Cover Changing Curse

I'm pretty sure one of my earliest readerly woes was when the Artemis Fowl series changed covers. I had just finished the third book when I went to the bookstore and found that the fourth book was there, but looked entirely different. I spent hours searching on the internet to try and find copies of the remaining books in the covers I loved, but they were all painfully expensive and disappearing off the face of the earth by the second. And so I had to settle for a cover change.

Books I Almost Put Down But Thankfully Didn't

It's rare for me to put a book down with no intention of picking it up again. When I do this, it's normally because I get super frustrated in my inability to get into a story, and it's often made worse if the book is very hyped.

January-April Book Haul

I rarely do book haul posts because I never buy enough books in one month to make a post about it. So I decided to collate my hauls from the first 4 months of 2017 to make this one big post. Turns out I bought wayyyy more books than I thought I did. I might need to set restrictions on myself for the rest of the year!

Does Good Sci-Fi Need to be Realistic? (and is it really different from fantasy?)

There can be a fine line between science fiction and fantasy, so much so that they can occasionally be hard to distinguish from one another. So what makes the two genres different?

5 E-ARCs I Need to Read

I've been marvellously on top of my Netgalley and Edelweiss requests this year. Instead of focusing on catching up with older requests, I've been reading my newer requests the month they are released so they don't pile up. That way I can publish my reviews in good time in the hype build up around the release dates. However, that does leave a couple of ARCs that I need to reserve for further down the line, not to mention a few e-copies I requested many moons ago back when I was a mess and when the releases had come and gone. That leaves a total of 5 books that I really ought to be reading this year, and I'm hoping with this post I can get some encouragement on which books to read next!

My Totally Irrational LOATHING of People on Book Covers

Is there anything in particular on a book cover that puts you off a book all together? Something that stops you from even questioning what the story is about? Because I have that big time. I hate images of people on books. I can't explain why - I just do. It's something about having a face on a cover with eyes that stare into your mind and try to steal your soul that is a big nope for me. But this dislike is a very specific one.

Books/TV Shows I Wish Were Also Graphic Novels

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
Today's topic was on favourite graphic novels or ones on my TBR, but since I haven't read so many (other than Paper Girls, Ms. Marvel and Nimona which I love) I thought I'd put a little spin on it.

End of Year Book Survey 2016

This is my first time doing Perpetual Page Turner's brilliant bookish survey and it was a lot of fun! In it I look at my reading statistics, as well as some of the best and (the not-so-best) books of 2016, as well as what books I'm looking forward to this year.

Diverse Reads of 2016

Reading diversity is super important, so I've decided to list all the diverse books I read this year (with the encouragement of these challenges 1, 2)! I will also be writing the reason why these books are diverse, so you might be able to read about social identities you haven't read before, or maybe find some more books that represent YOU!

Underrated Middle Grade Books You Need to Read

In England we don't really have such thing as a middle grade, but there are some books from my early teens that were way too good (and sometimes even a little dark) to be classified as kids books. A lot of these books were by British authors and I don't think half of them got the attention they deserved. Here are 10 of my personal favourite Middle Grades that you may have never heard of, but definitely need to read - no matter how old you are.

Who Has Your Vote for Best YA Fantasy & Sci-Fi?

It's finally that time of year where Goodreads collects together some of the finest books for their choice awards. Of course, I haven't read all of these books (as much as I wish I could), so I'm going to be focusing on the category I am most familiar with - Best Young Adult Fantasy and Sci-Fi.

The Problem with Killing Off Minority Characters in Fiction

Characters die in fiction all the time, especially in Fantasy, Crime and Sci-Fi. It's just the nature of the genre. But something that has recently come to my attention is that, for some reason, it seems like the person of colour always dies first.

The Problems of Interpreting Fiction Differently

Maggie Stiefvater shared this article on her twitter a while ago and it got me thinking about our freedom to interpret fiction.

Why diversity across all forms of fiction is so important to me

It's no news that representation in fiction is important to me. I mention it a lot on this blog, and my friends know I highlight diversity or lack thereof in books and TV frequently. But one thing I haven't explained is why it's so close to my heart.

YALC Book Haul!

Around 3 weeks ago I went to YALC with a bunch of my book nerd friends and it was honestly so much fun. I was only there for the Sunday and I couldn't stay for the evening party, but there was so much to do and see in one day and the guests were on point so there was never a dull moment. Who says all the good conventions are in the US?