tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60861340264374513112024-03-19T13:45:02.366+00:00So Many Books, So Little Time'"When I look at my room, I see a girl who loves books."' Looking for Alaska, John GreenSo Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.comBlogger1802125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-60979045087634864662018-01-03T08:30:00.000+00:002018-01-03T08:30:39.106+00:002018: Reading Resolutions<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm going easy on myself in 2018.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This year I've read the fewest books since 2011, and I'm actually okay with that. I've removed the stress of review copies, taken away any semblance of a schedule, and I'm finally, finally reading on whims and fancies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So here are my (scarily relaxed) reading resolutions for 2018.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Read 52 books. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One book a week. I can do that, and anything more than that? GO ME!</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Get back into classics again. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As my reading petered out and I reached for quick and easy reads the classics fell off my TBR. It's time to bring them back, regardless of whether they take me a little longer than others. </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Start going to book events again.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I miss my bookish friends. A 3-day binge at YALC just isn't enough to last me a whole year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What are your reading plans for 2018?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sophie</span></div>
So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com268tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-85401633307131063412017-12-31T08:30:00.000+00:002018-01-01T13:46:12.857+00:002017: A Year in Review<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Bookish</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I celebrated my eighth blogoversary in January.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I launched a brand new website, </span><a href="http://www.thecopperboom.com/" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;" target="_blank">The Copper Boom</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">, with one of my faves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">YALC!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I re-read the <b>'Harry Potter' </b>series for the first time in around 7 years. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I visited the <b>Harry Potter: A History of Magic</b> exhibition at the British Library. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I read 'War and Peace'!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I went to Andersen's first ever <b>#AndersenYA blogger event</b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I went to <b>Scholastic's #BloggerBookFeast</b> in January. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Bookish Stats</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">(as of 'Call Me By Your Name')</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I read <b>100</b> books in 2017:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>17 </b>contemps, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>27 </b>adult novels,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>6 </b>debuts,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>12 </b>UKYA novels,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>1 </b>short story collection,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>7 </b>classics,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>8 </b>LGBT novels,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>7 </b>non-fiction books,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>18 </b>series openers, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>26 </b>fantasy novels, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>30 </b>audiobooks, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>2 </b>poetry collections, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>9 </b>DNFs,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>5 </b>graphic novels. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://solittletimeforbooks.blogspot.com/2017/12/2017-best-books-of-year.html" target="_blank">My favourite books of 2017.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Personal </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I <b>swapped my job</b> at Maximum Pop! for an office job. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I visited <b>Berlin, New York City, Malta</b> and <b>Amsterdam</b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I saw <b>School of Rock, Kinky Boots </b>and <b>The Christmasaurus </b>on stage. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I saw <b>Don Broco </b>at Alexandra Palace in November.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I went to the launch of <b>Derren Brown's 'Rise of the Demon' </b>ride at Thorpe Park. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>How was your 2017?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sophie</span></div>
So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com92tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-63282849517567543982017-12-28T08:30:00.000+00:002017-12-28T08:30:06.039+00:002017: The Best Books of the Year<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Well, it's been a while hasn't it?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I don't think I've ever left my little corner of the internet for so long before, not since I launched So Many Books, So Little Time in January 2009. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2017 has been an interesting. Lots of changes, new things, and new priorities. I've decided that I'm not going to completely abandon this little 'ole blog entirely, but I doubt I'll ever come back in the same. I am going to try and aim for a few posts here and there though, starting with my traditional end of year wrap ups. I couldn't not!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So without further a do, my favourite books of 2017.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My reading has really changed this year. I've focused less on volume and review copies and the latest releases, instead I've gone for what I fancy. And I've read some incredible books. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknwFWeOWpgWKHBKCaj3Pzmz3QvI4bgXZQzMWlwas7I01ONLkyvj4SKljWbhBruyhrb39KlCIcRHMMh7csMOTsvFVMJj26bJGtSXEajkPFe7UV4n3yp1uoDJATHF1ungHM7vaNlQ0S6kMk/s1600/2017+YA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="1600" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknwFWeOWpgWKHBKCaj3Pzmz3QvI4bgXZQzMWlwas7I01ONLkyvj4SKljWbhBruyhrb39KlCIcRHMMh7csMOTsvFVMJj26bJGtSXEajkPFe7UV4n3yp1uoDJATHF1ungHM7vaNlQ0S6kMk/s400/2017+YA.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>For the first time in years and years, YA hasn't been my reading focus in 2017. But I've still read some stunners. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'This Beats Perfect' by Rebecca Denton</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One of my first reads of the year and still one of my favourites. Sweet, fun and full of heart, it's the kind of book that you'll be reading long past your bedtime. I've fallen a bit in love with boy band lit this year and Rebecca's debut kicked it all off. I am so ready for book two. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'A Court of Mist and Fury' by Sarah J Maas (re-read)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I re-read the first two books in the series ready for the final and I loved it even more, but especially 'ACOMAF'. The romance, the sexytimes and the danger are an intoxicating combination. I couldn't get enough of it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'Once and For All' by Sarah Dessen</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Queen Dessen strikes again. Sarah's books are like coming home and Louna's story is no exception. I loved the back drop of weddings and romance and happy endings, plus the drama and stress of wedding planning. And of course, the insane characterisation and romance to die for. Sarah is my forever fave. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue' by Mackenzie Lee</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Oh, this book. I kept hearing wonderful things about this historical romp and I eventually broke and read it on holiday. How I fell in love. Monty and Percy are adorable and I was championing them from the start. if you want a romance you make you feel a little swoony, look no further. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'The Cruel Prince' by Holly Black</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Holly Black going back to the dark and dangerous world of faery was always going to be a dream. Man, I loved it. Holly makes the deadly appealing, the terrifying intoxicating and the magical real. I'm so looking forward to going back to this world. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXCRS4aKWu6mbhyhkR1IS6dfXuzq0ohIkc1RXURrlx0K6a22_R9X57kNh5gQlc9PdpdnBf67UVudX9bHoSrqWbynst5Geg6mSXz9U0OfE06nDNNEIG6UwIgd9eXVxjEJ7kYUzHNwDh00E/s1600/2017+adult.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1600" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXCRS4aKWu6mbhyhkR1IS6dfXuzq0ohIkc1RXURrlx0K6a22_R9X57kNh5gQlc9PdpdnBf67UVudX9bHoSrqWbynst5Geg6mSXz9U0OfE06nDNNEIG6UwIgd9eXVxjEJ7kYUzHNwDh00E/s400/2017+adult.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>YA took a bit of backseat for me this year and I got to sample some incredible literary and general fiction novels. These were the ones that I was shouting about from the rooftops.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'The One We Fell in Love With' by Paige Toon</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A mish-mash of timelines and POVs, 'The One We Fell in Love With' feels a little different for Paige Toon but it had everything I've come to expect from Paige Toon: warmth, emotion, flawed and lovable characters and always, always ready for her next story. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'The Parasol Protectorate' series by Gail Carriger </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This SERIES. I devoured all five books over the summer in a bit of frenzy. I loved Gail Carriger's YA series, but this topped it. Alexia is total brilliance, Conall is swoony and every character has a little something something that I couldn't resist. Love. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'All Our Wrong Todays' by Elan Mastai</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This epic, romantic, sci-fi novel is my Book of the Year for 2017. I couldn't get enough of it. 'All Our Wrong Todays' is just utter brilliance and I almost don't want to say anything about it because I don't want to spoil it. The opening line hooked me and I hope it does the same for you:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"So, the thing is, I come from the world we were supposed to have."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'Sweetpea' by SJ Skuse</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I love CJ's YA novels, but I didn't quite know what to expect from her first adult thriller. Violence, sex, language and I loved it. Dark, twisted and generally bloody brilliant. I can't wait for more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'The Last Piece of My Heart' by Paige Toon</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yep, another Paige Toon book. I love Paige and her novels and this is one of my very favourites of hers to date. Bridget has been a side character in a few of Paige's books and I'm so glad she finally got her own story. This book made my heart smile and ache and cheer. Gorgeous. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'Exit West' by Mohsin Hamid</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I devoured 'Exit West' in a single sitting. It's an important, engaging and gorgeous written book about immigration, love, life and the people that make up your world and I think everyone should read it. The audiobook is completely wonderful too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>I've done a lot of my 2017 reading via audiobook this year, and these are the best of the best. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'Harry Potter' series by JK Rowling (re-read, obviously)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Read by: Stephen Fry</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This was my first full re-read of this years in about 6 or 7 years and my first audiobook listen of the series. It was a pure delight. What a way to return to a world I know so well and love so very much. I'm already tempted to go back for round two...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue' by Mackenzie Lee</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Read by: Christian Coulson</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The narration of this sassy, funny, swoony historical romp was pitch perfect. I didn't ever want to stop listening. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'His Dark Materials' trilogy by Philip Pullman</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Read by: full cast recording, narration by Philip Pullman</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I know, I know, I'm shamefully late to the party. But I really fell in love with Lyra, Will, Pantalaimon, Iorek and the rest of the characters. Philip Pullman's narration was magical and the rest of the cast were equally as wonderful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>And the non-fiction and graphic novels. I didn't read many of these in 2017, but what I did read blew me away. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'Take Courage: Anne Bronte and the Art of Life' by Samantha Ellis</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Oh, Anne. She was my favourite Bronte before I read 'Take Courage', but after? Now she's one of my heroes. If you think there's a reason Anne is the least popular Bronte, read this book. There is a reason but it's definitely not that she's the least talented or the least impactful or the least powerful. It was all Charlotte's doing... Brilliantly warm, clever and impassioned. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'Shrill' by Lindy West</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I actually listened to this on audio read by Lindy and it was brilliant. I'm pretty sure I devoured it in a few days. Lindy is bold, funny and completely unapologetic about it - I totally fell in love with her and her voice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>'Paper Girls: Volume 1' by Brian K Vaughan</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A fierce, fun and nostalgic start to what I'm sure is going to be one of my new favourite comic series'. If you like 'Stranger Things' (and who doesn't) then this is right up your street. This is from the guy who wrote 'Saga'!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What were your favourite reads of 2017?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sophie</span></div>
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<br />So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-46366268410897862642017-07-13T08:30:00.000+01:002017-07-13T08:30:46.132+01:00Books I Couldn't Finish (14): The Girl on the Train, Good Me Bad Me & My Cousin Rachel<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I used to finish every book I started, whether I was enjoying it or not. But life is short. I’ve realised that I don’t have time for books I’m not fully involved in any longer so if I don’t like something or don’t connect with it as much as I want to, I’ll put it aside. It still makes me feel guilty though, especially if I received them for review so I still want to talk about them, explain why I didn’t like them. Here are the most recent books I DNF-ed.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Girl on the Train, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paula Hawkins</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is one of the most hyped books of the last few years and I eventually caved in to the pressure, but I was totally unmoved by it. I was so surprised by how slow this was. SO SLOW. I got so frustrated that I ended up Googling what happened so I could DNF it and be done. Whoops. I really, really wanted to like this and buy in to the hype, mostly so I could watch the film, but I think I'll just watch the film instead. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After reading and loving CJ Skuse’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sweetpea </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was desperate for something similar, and sadly this wasn’t. I was suitably horrified by the things going on, but I also felt no compulsion to keep reading or really find out what had happened and what was going to happen. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t just finished something I really, really loved. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTW243g4tdejSza4x0u2Aatf-EIkCjLVKnT1yQAAi3s1ar1e4AJuqNNSUHezjhL9KpTQYQ0FO5UCYYJc3jl7ipcla5UClxuTbOnxLdpF3a2O8QLSIcwkR93oA_N8OpyU3lvhyphenhyphenGZzYlfq2T/s1600/my+cousin+rachel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="224" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTW243g4tdejSza4x0u2Aatf-EIkCjLVKnT1yQAAi3s1ar1e4AJuqNNSUHezjhL9KpTQYQ0FO5UCYYJc3jl7ipcla5UClxuTbOnxLdpF3a2O8QLSIcwkR93oA_N8OpyU3lvhyphenhyphenGZzYlfq2T/s200/my+cousin+rachel.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Cousin Rachel, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daphne du Maurier</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am officially gutted that I didn’t fall in love with this. I picked it up so I could see the movie, but i just never found myself wanting to get back to the audiobook - I was perfectly happy to do my chores and walk around town without it. That for me is a sign that my audiobook just isn’t working. I’ll be giving this another go when Autumn hits and prime du Maurier weather is back again. </span></div>
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So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-50073495616592309302017-07-04T08:30:00.000+01:002017-07-04T08:30:00.186+01:0047 Once and For All, When It’s Real & Built<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I rated </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once and For All </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4.5</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">stars, </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When It’s Real </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 stars</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Built</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> got 3 stars. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As bubbly as champagne and delectable as wedding cake, Once and for All, is set in the world of wedding planning, where crises are routine.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Louna spends her summers helping brides plan their perfect day and handling every kind of crises: missing brides, scene-stealing bridesmaids and controlling grooms. Not surprising then, that she's deeply cynical about happy-ever-afters, especially since her own first love ended in tragedy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When handsome girl magnet Ambrose enters her life, Louna won't take him seriously. But Ambrose hates not getting what he wants and Louna is the girl he's been waiting for.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maybe it's not too late for a happy ending after all?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sarah Dessen is my hero and that’s definitely not a secret. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once and For All </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">has everything I’ve come to love and expect from a Sarah Dessen novel, but it also had that extra feeling that made it feel like my favourite of her novels. Even when I wasn’t reading this my mind was in Lakeview and wanting to dive back into Louna and Ambrose’s story. I fell head over heels for them. If you’ve still not read anything by the Queen, seriously, do yourself a favour. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-B6hF-Cj2ED6P0LwILJsAAb5DuGln6KjDO7qXZ2eMNhwCx-tsD0kwTz_O8DI9hFTm59v3g3viHr466tLv5V-RfF1Y43t5sD9lcaA8FL_rSmXbqjbGjo-NdJFnBhWb5rfyrc9c9t7CuN4J/s1600/when+it%2527s+real.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-B6hF-Cj2ED6P0LwILJsAAb5DuGln6KjDO7qXZ2eMNhwCx-tsD0kwTz_O8DI9hFTm59v3g3viHr466tLv5V-RfF1Y43t5sD9lcaA8FL_rSmXbqjbGjo-NdJFnBhWb5rfyrc9c9t7CuN4J/s320/when+it%2527s+real.jpg" width="202" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When It’s Real, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Erin Watt</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">313⎟ HQ ⎟ 30th May 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Under ordinary circumstances, Oakley Ford and Vaughn Bennett would never even cross paths.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There's nothing ordinary about Oakley. This bad-boy pop star's got Grammy Awards, millions of fangirls and a reputation as a restless, too-charming troublemaker. But with his home life disintegrating, his music well suddenly running dry and the tabloids having a field day over his outrageous exploits, Oakley needs to show the world he's settling down–and who better to help him than Vaughn, a part-time waitress trying to help her family get by? The very definition of ordinary.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Posing as his girlfriend, Vaughn will overhaul Oakley's image from troublemaker to serious artist. In return for enough money to put her brothers through college, she can endure outlandish Hollywood parties and carefully orchestrated Twitter exchanges. She'll fool the paparazzi and the groupies. She might even start fooling herself a little.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because when ordinary rules no longer apply, there's no telling what your heart will do…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m a huge fan of Erin Watt’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Royals </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">trilogy so I pre-ordered this beauty as soon as I knew it was a thing and i gobbled it right up. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I did the whole, ‘I’ll read a chapter or two before bed’ and ended up reading 75% of the book! Then I finished it before i got out of bed the next morning. It is THE perfect weekend reading and I loved it. Sweet, sassy, funny and completely swoony - I really enjoyed it. I’m so glad there’s only a few months until Erin Watts’ new book. Bring. It. On. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXYkMDnfWsNjQ_ypOisZyhyphenhyphenO5mUJKIPa1TsS1JnYKia7MYO7FNPJr3OOJhC36j_XL9GnhqkDh8tR_ZIeaYqfl5-G3Kr-dnkm1ukbAFp1imesPxEteBWFQ6zj5jLbgRrg_6YvmeXlvznwef/s1600/built.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXYkMDnfWsNjQ_ypOisZyhyphenhyphenO5mUJKIPa1TsS1JnYKia7MYO7FNPJr3OOJhC36j_XL9GnhqkDh8tR_ZIeaYqfl5-G3Kr-dnkm1ukbAFp1imesPxEteBWFQ6zj5jLbgRrg_6YvmeXlvznwef/s320/built.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Built, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jay Crownover</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">353⎟ Harper⎟ 5th January 2016</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes you have to tear everything down to build something new…</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sayer Cole is frozen inside. At least, that’s what it’s felt like for as long as she can remember. She’s yet to let anyone past her icy exterior – and the one guy she thinks might melt her heart couldn’t possibly be interested in someone so uptight.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rough, hard and hot-as-hell, Zeb Fuller has rebuilt his life and his construction business since protecting his family sent him to jail all those years ago. His elegant client, Sayer, makes him feel like a Neanderthal in denim, but despite the many hints that he’s been dropping to get to know her better, she seems oblivious to his charms.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just as things finally start to heat up, Zeb’s past comes back to haunt him and he needs Sayer’s professional help to right a wrong and to save more than himself. As these opposites dig in for the fight of their lives, fire and ice collide in an unstoppable explosion of steam…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jay Crownover’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Marked Men </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">series is light, fun and easy to read and that’s exactly what you get with this new spin-off series. But sexy and swoony with tough topics woven through the middle wasn’t quite enough this time. It was fine, but I had very little attachment to the characters themselves. It just didn’t do it for me, unfortunately. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I do have book two in the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saints of Denver </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">series so I may pick it up and hope it gets better - we’ll see!</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-03e0f925-ffd7-40fc-b78d-fff5285f0a12"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie</span></div>
So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-53409030867367035942017-06-22T08:30:00.000+01:002017-06-22T08:30:10.638+01:00Meet 'The Copper Boom'At the beginning of June, myself and the most excellent Sarah from Behind on Books launched a brand new bookish website: meet '<a href="http://www.thecopperboom.com/" target="_blank">The Copper Boom</a>'.<br />
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We are beyond excited about it.<br />
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What are you going to find on TCB? A bit of everything:<br />
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<ul>
<li>YA</li>
<li>Classics</li>
<li>Adult fiction</li>
<li>New adult</li>
<li>Random bookish musings</li>
</ul>
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There's a bit fo soemthing for everyone and we'd really love it if you'd come and pay us a visit. </div>
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You can also find us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thecopperboom__/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/thecopperboom_" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. </div>
So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-90133368414850482742017-06-20T08:30:00.000+01:002017-06-20T08:30:21.956+01:00Mini Reviews: Warbreaker, All Our Wrong Todays & The End We Start From<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTK_cvrlZ51r_0kf4h4wmnQJTH-oA-cQZeeCdHZJJmyt2FJcfxr_QbR5ojKZjIknaSLxQKK6nCCbep8ZrAgmPUnbef4R-1I4dgD6h4TFxrWYFISVuuDGh-NTRp20KADWgLleWN0crrenhyphenhyphen/s1600/warbreaker%252C+wrong+todays%252C+end+we+start+from.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTK_cvrlZ51r_0kf4h4wmnQJTH-oA-cQZeeCdHZJJmyt2FJcfxr_QbR5ojKZjIknaSLxQKK6nCCbep8ZrAgmPUnbef4R-1I4dgD6h4TFxrWYFISVuuDGh-NTRp20KADWgLleWN0crrenhyphenhyphen/s400/warbreaker%252C+wrong+todays%252C+end+we+start+from.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I rated </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Warbreaker </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">stars, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All Our Wrong Todays </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5 stars</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The End We Start From</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> got 3 stars. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_g2zXk4tQXiNBnYnG_g6omgEpZgx3hV6qsSyRp6YEB6d2xMXP-R7rbtnj8H_FZuqCWX1JqvTusQmWK0s0oC8dITnEMCJ7Wwc1pGXh0OInQvmP37MKV_TZAgE1WEVG1KdeXxtEHAS-ois/s1600/warbreaker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_g2zXk4tQXiNBnYnG_g6omgEpZgx3hV6qsSyRp6YEB6d2xMXP-R7rbtnj8H_FZuqCWX1JqvTusQmWK0s0oC8dITnEMCJ7Wwc1pGXh0OInQvmP37MKV_TZAgE1WEVG1KdeXxtEHAS-ois/s320/warbreaker.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Warbreaker, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brandon Sanderson</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">672⎟ Gollancz ⎟ 29th December 2011</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WARBREAKER is the story of two sisters - who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, a lesser god, and an immortal trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Theirs is a world in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren's capital city. A world transformed by BioChromatic magic, a power based on an essence known as breath. Using magic is arduous: breath can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the rewards are great: by using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be performed.</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-34282f96-bc14-1323-baa8-9dae8bf6a1ae"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brandon Sanderson proves again that he is a master of what Tolkien called 'secondary creation,' the invention of whole worlds, complete with magics and myths all their own.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can’t resist Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasy stories. The world-building, the magic system, the epic character growth and the connections the characters form never fail to blow me away. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of everything i’ve read by Sanderson so far, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">warbreaker </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was probably the one that was slowest to get going. It’s a long book and I have to admit that I wasn’t really sure how the magic system worked for a good while, but once it was properly explained I loved it - as always. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s not my favourite Sanderson but I still really, really enjoyed and I’m excited/sad that i’ve only got </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elantris </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Way of Kings </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">series left to go. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphyphenhyphenjTm6e8LjCSseyQ93m3frjF8tVD6Ui5_-JMbG5hyphenhyphenUrMVYqINuBmYlumb1wDCLqkYRcay58C_unmD5XZ5kvnabyBgTU2QDKy46Gq3ftPiuIAXB0-CZA-CVJgZJSthU38fvnskRBTksRb/s1600/wrong+todays.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphyphenhyphenjTm6e8LjCSseyQ93m3frjF8tVD6Ui5_-JMbG5hyphenhyphenUrMVYqINuBmYlumb1wDCLqkYRcay58C_unmD5XZ5kvnabyBgTU2QDKy46Gq3ftPiuIAXB0-CZA-CVJgZJSthU38fvnskRBTksRb/s320/wrong+todays.jpg" width="208" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All Our Wrong Todays, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elan Mastai</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">400⎟ Michael Joseph ⎟ 2nd March 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audiobook read by: Elan Mastai</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, the thing is, I come from the world we were supposed to have.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That means nothing to you, obviously, because you live here, in the crappy world we do have.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But it never should've turned out like this. And it's all my fault - well, me and to a lesser extent my father.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And, yeah, I guess a little bit Penelope.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In both worlds, she's the love of my life. But only a single version of her can exist.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have one impossible chance to fix history's greatest mistake and save this broken world.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Except it means saving one Penelope and losing the other forever - and I have absolutely no idea which to choose . . .</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I freakin’ LOVED this book. It’s easily one of the best books I’ve read this year and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I finished it. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In sitting here trying to find the words to make you rush out and read it, I actually don’t really want to say much about it. All I knew about the novel before diving in was from reading the first few pages of a Kindle sample where i promptly fell in love with the narrative style and and Tom’s voice. I was so intrigued by the world he was born into and what he did that could have changed so much. That fascination and interest in everything lasted even beyond the last page. It was completely wonderful. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All Our Wrong Todays </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is cinematic and intimate, funny and sad, fascinating and horrifying - it’s all I could want in a story. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The audiobook is also read by the author and I can’t recommend it enough - Elan Mastai did an excellent job.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMgHKKI-4RNBRuG_6sxNYYeUiPLHqMoHBzS6f7jsoeIsxA9y9fEIBvPDxGiEKcgCj36aQNjbDJ5oGx_ueL6GI79v8fULuelfGy0hAw_V0BplTPVvgrR0PTtQ6C9FO1lYpJfcrZaTfpgdNX/s1600/the+end.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMgHKKI-4RNBRuG_6sxNYYeUiPLHqMoHBzS6f7jsoeIsxA9y9fEIBvPDxGiEKcgCj36aQNjbDJ5oGx_ueL6GI79v8fULuelfGy0hAw_V0BplTPVvgrR0PTtQ6C9FO1lYpJfcrZaTfpgdNX/s320/the+end.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The End We Start From, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Megan Hunter</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">140⎟ Picador ⎟ 18th May 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanks to Netgalley and Picador for the review copy. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the midst of a mysterious environmental crisis, as London is submerged below flood waters, a woman gives birth to her first child, Z. Days later, the family are forced to leave their home in search of safety. As they move from place to place, shelter to shelter, their journey traces both fear and wonder as Z's small fists grasp at the things he sees, as he grows and stretches, thriving and content against all the odds.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a story of new motherhood in a terrifying setting: a familiar world made dangerous and unstable, its people forced to become refugees. Startlingly beautiful, Megan Hunter's </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The End We Start From</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a gripping novel that paints an imagined future as realistic as it is frightening. And yet, though the country is falling apart around them, this family’s world – of new life and new hope – sings with love.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini Review</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved the concept of the flooded Britain of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The End We Start From </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and the sparse, distant writing style, but it didn’t 100% work for me. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s an incredibly short book - I read it in around an hour - and it really felt short too. I didn’t feel like I had a chance to fully connect with the characters - who are only referred to by their initials - and I just wanted MORE about what was happening to the world around them. London was flooded, water levels high enough to force people from even the tallest tower blocks, but there was no why or how or anything really. It had a much more internal focus, but without the chance to connect with the main characters. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was an interesting read though and I really did like the beautiful writing, I just wanted more. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-34282f96-bc41-a6e2-4fe1-e0efe5d3c918"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie</span></div>
So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-47035405006607905012017-06-16T08:30:00.000+01:002017-06-16T08:30:20.882+01:00Exploring Classics: The Invisible Man<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Originally serialised in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pearson’s Weekly </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in 1897</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My edition</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: the Penguin English Library paperback</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxdKU9hRWUyswkRQvfVsyJcQxD6GCXu7zatRByeTLd0pdkCnrQzKKOx1p9o_qYww2ctNE-SlPO6UtQ4KwiL8_oQc6gQfUHegIyd55OMqoWx3V77REJjoJH02xfDhJldfz05u2iKiIfCCwx/s1600/the+invisible+man.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxdKU9hRWUyswkRQvfVsyJcQxD6GCXu7zatRByeTLd0pdkCnrQzKKOx1p9o_qYww2ctNE-SlPO6UtQ4KwiL8_oQc6gQfUHegIyd55OMqoWx3V77REJjoJH02xfDhJldfz05u2iKiIfCCwx/s400/the+invisible+man.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHEN I Discovered This Classic</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had read and studied </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Time Machine </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Island of Doctor Moreau </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at school, but I didn’t really didn’t know about any more until I stumbled across the four HG Wells’ books in the Penguin English Library series and the sheer volume of his other novels in other editions. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHY I Chose to Read It</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though I don’t remember much about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Time Machine </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">other than the Morlocks, I grew to love </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Doctor Moreau </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">while studying it at A-level and I’ve wanted to read more of Wells’ books since. After finishing </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">War and Peace </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wanted a quick and easy classic to get my back in my groove, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Invisible Man </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">seemed to fit the bill!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHAT I Thought of This Classic</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Honestly? Not a lot, really. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had pretty high expectations for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Invisible Man </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">but I was actually pretty disappointed. The story of a scientist turning himself invisible and then turning to violence, theft and murder on his mission to find the cure and keep his condition from becoming public knowledge was strangely boring. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Told in third person, I felt a weird distance from Griffin (I just had to look up his name which speaks volumes really…) and for a long time I didn’t really understand what he was doing and why. I’m all for unlikeable characters, but Griffin is an awful person and I really struggled to care about anything that he did or that happened to him, especially as he turned increasingly to violence. I ended up reading </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Invisible Man </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">purely to finish it, and I only did that because it’s short. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BUt4AhaFU2k/" style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">One of the books I'm currently reading! ••• I haven't read HG Wells since school so it's really about time I picked up another. I studied The Time Machine and The Island of Doctor Moreau (which I grew to really love). ••• Do you like classic sci-fi? Do you have a favourite?</a></div>
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A post shared by Sophie (@solittletimeforbooks) on <time datetime="2017-05-30T12:39:21+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">May 30, 2017 at 5:39am PDT</time></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Something I really do like about HG Wells’ novels is that his science fiction really is scientific fiction. It’s fun and interesting and I loved the bit where Griffin explained what he did to make himself invisible. It was as smart and fascinating as I’ve come to expect, but I just found the rest of the story lacking. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will give HG Wells another shot though - I’d really like to finally read </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The War of the Worlds. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WILL It Stay a Classic</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hmm, I’m not sure. It’s not the most popular of HG Wells’ novels, but it’s not the least popular either. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHO I’d Recommend it To</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Fans of classic sci-fi</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Those interested in science</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review format from Stacey at </span><a href="https://theprettybooks.wordpress.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Pretty Books</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as part of the Classics Challenge. </span></div>
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So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-52564446665793839922017-06-13T08:30:00.000+01:002017-06-13T08:30:28.512+01:0045 Not Just Jane, Ghachar Ghochar & The Last Piece of My Heart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZsvhYqyR4UUi9NiFvocKc7FTkS8b5dDoVkA1hoA69DV_xFrnbcooQF0P4UStGLMQ9YfTpE_eBpZhA_NGVqH8ar_m-WEHNMuSUz74jwP1oAzM0lCtYbHaCNIAcuEzQj6HZpQGytsPxJFkQ/s1600/not+just+jane%252C+ghachar+ghochar%252C+the+last+piece+of+my+heart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZsvhYqyR4UUi9NiFvocKc7FTkS8b5dDoVkA1hoA69DV_xFrnbcooQF0P4UStGLMQ9YfTpE_eBpZhA_NGVqH8ar_m-WEHNMuSUz74jwP1oAzM0lCtYbHaCNIAcuEzQj6HZpQGytsPxJFkQ/s400/not+just+jane%252C+ghachar+ghochar%252C+the+last+piece+of+my+heart.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I rated </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not Just Jane </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.5</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">stars, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ghachar Ghochar </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 stars</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Last Piece of My Heart</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> got 4.5 stars. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hSanSU-IUBajC1iWTcch-r1CuZt8eymFyXHqz9VwyPIiQOIIoHDjt2SOVp2AcQHl07arL6xh_QWyI7LcDK90IcOS2_FsE8Cxi1iZbK0kGwV7FW3p3__ixwa8-yUkiB0-Mr1TNx2gIhvS/s1600/not+just+jane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hSanSU-IUBajC1iWTcch-r1CuZt8eymFyXHqz9VwyPIiQOIIoHDjt2SOVp2AcQHl07arL6xh_QWyI7LcDK90IcOS2_FsE8Cxi1iZbK0kGwV7FW3p3__ixwa8-yUkiB0-Mr1TNx2gIhvS/s320/not+just+jane.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not Just Jane: Rediscovering Seven Amazing Women Writers Who Transformed British Literature, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shelley DeWees</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">336⎟ Harper Perennial ⎟ 12th January 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jane Austen and the Brontës endure as British literature’s leading ladies (and for good reason)—but were these reclusive parsons’ daughters really the only writing women of their day? A feminist history of literary Britain, this witty, fascinating nonfiction debut explores the extraordinary lives and work of seven long-forgotten authoresses, and asks: Why did their considerable fame and influence, and a vibrant culture of female creativity, fade away? And what are we missing because of it?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You’ve likely read at least one Jane Austen novel (or at least seen a film one). Chances are you’ve also read </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jane Eyre</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">; if you were an exceptionally moody teenager, you might have even read </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wuthering Heights</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. English majors might add George Eliot or Virginia Woolf to this list…but then the trail ends. Were there truly so few women writing anything of note during late 18th and 19th century Britain?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not Just Jane</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Shelley DeWees weaves history, biography, and critical analysis into a rip-roaring narrative of the nation’s fabulous, yet mostly forgotten, female literary heritage. As the country, and women’s roles within it, evolved, so did the publishing industry, driving legions of ladies to pick up their pens and hit the parchment. Focusing on the creative contributions and personal stories of seven astonishing women, among them pioneers of detective fiction and the modern fantasy novel, DeWees assembles a riveting, intimate, and ruthlessly unromanticized portrait of female life—and the literary landscape—during this era. In doing so, she comes closer to understanding how a society could forget so many of these women, who all enjoyed success, critical acclaim, and a fair amount of notoriety during their time, and realizes why, now more than ever, it’s vital that we remember.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rediscover Charlotte Turner Smith, Helen Maria Williams, Mary Robinson, Catherine Crowe, Sara Coleridge, Dinah Mulock Craik, and Mary Elizabeth Braddon.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was so looking forward to learning about some of the pioneering women who wrote in the 18th and 19th centuries and I was blown away by some of the things these women achieved, how they were treated and the tragedy in them being forgotten. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The stories of all 7 women in this book were fascinating and I loved learned about the things that they achieved, but even more fascinating may be the glimpse Shelley DeWees gave us into a different side of Victorian society - the darkness, the persecution, and the unfairness of living in that time as a woman, regardless of social position. I did sometimes struggle to go back to it as it was a collection of biographies rather than a narrative non-fiction, but it’s a brilliant read for every literature fan. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD8EQqDaTzSRsuhW1FWX3iXkoPy-h-kMpD3Sgpyv4H_vR6t2V3ZM7NAsHKjks53rBS85CiOy8AWgDpNMEKdPwa-jh58gOfRv20qgZba5dWlTPsOvZUZxTL3xEGwfsuSYHQPT0_zK6fRRIn/s1600/ghachar+ghochar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD8EQqDaTzSRsuhW1FWX3iXkoPy-h-kMpD3Sgpyv4H_vR6t2V3ZM7NAsHKjks53rBS85CiOy8AWgDpNMEKdPwa-jh58gOfRv20qgZba5dWlTPsOvZUZxTL3xEGwfsuSYHQPT0_zK6fRRIn/s320/ghachar+ghochar.jpg" width="211" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ghachar Ghochar, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vivek Shanbhag</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">192⎟ Faber & Faber ⎟ 20th April 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this masterful novel by the acclaimed Indian writer Vivek Shanbhag, a close-knit family is delivered from near-destitution to sudden wealth after the narrator's uncle founds a successful spice company. As the narrator - a sensitive young man who is never named - along with his sister, his parents, and his uncle move from a cramped, ant-infested shack to a larger house and encounter newfound wealth, the family dynamics begin to shift. Allegiances and desires realign; marriages are arranged and begin to falter; and conflict brews ominously in the background.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Their world becomes 'ghachar ghochar' - a nonsense phrase that, to the narrator, comes to mean something entangled beyond repair. Told in clean, urgent prose, and punctuated by moments of unexpected warmth and humour, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ghachar Ghochar</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a quietly enthralling, deeply unsettling novel about the shifting meanings - and consequences - of financial gain in contemporary India.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After reading a short sample of this, I was captured by the simple style and the reviews of the book. I snapped it up!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ghachar Ghochar </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is the story of a family as it almost becomes corrupted by wealth. The relationships change, the goals and attitudes of the family members, the way life is altered beyond recognition - but not in a good way. I loved watching the clashing of family dynamics and the distinct lack of agency the unnamed narrator of the novel has and the effect that has on the family. It’s a very short novel - I read it in under two hours - and the ending was a bit of a shock. I felt like there was a lot more to the story and I’m not really sure what happened in the end. I even popped into a bookshop to double check that my Netgalley proof hadn’t been cut short!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanks to Faber and NetGalley for the review copy.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFfPH672orVXZduM-7WHGqrMbfoNYeTe75ALjXxmrSricZ9wMIxoAmvpcqPxZp4d99tgDJiAQcOe2fIEYQkmvIV1r8hqOya3vhT5DIwkk2ocy6w3gw72xe3QHAxwomavfsSYI0Eq2fq40/s1600/last+piece.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFfPH672orVXZduM-7WHGqrMbfoNYeTe75ALjXxmrSricZ9wMIxoAmvpcqPxZp4d99tgDJiAQcOe2fIEYQkmvIV1r8hqOya3vhT5DIwkk2ocy6w3gw72xe3QHAxwomavfsSYI0Eq2fq40/s320/last+piece.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Last Piece of My Heart, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paige Toon</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">432⎟ Simon & Schuster ⎟ 18th May 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When life feels like a puzzle, sometimes it's the small pieces that make up the bigger picture... Join Bridget on a journey to put her world back together.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A successful travel journalist, Bridget has ambitions to turn her quirky relationship blog about the missing pieces of her heart into a book. But after a spate of rejections from publishers, she accepts an alternative proposition.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nicole Dupré died leaving behind a bestselling novel and an incomplete sequel. Tasked with finishing the book, Bridget is thankful to have her foot in the publishing door, even if it means relocating to Cornwall for the summer and answering to Nicole's grieving husband, Charlie...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My love for Paige Toon’s novels in no secret. I’ve followed her career since </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lucy in the Sky </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">debuted 10 years ago and loved every one, but </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Last Piece of My Heart </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is one of my favourites in a long while. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve loved Bridget from her side roles in a few of Paige Toon’s other novels, but she quickly became one of my very favourite heroines - she’s the type of person I’d love to be friends with. I felt like I was following her every step of the way on Bridget’s journey and I fell in love with her, Charlie and little April. One of my favourite elements of Paige’s books is always the locations and I thoroughly enjoyed my virtual trips to Cornwall, Ireland, Sydney and Thailand - I wonder where she’ll take me next! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I laughed, cried and didn’t want the book to end. Why do I have to wait another year for her next book?!</span></div>
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So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-22732664127117560192017-06-09T08:30:00.000+01:002017-06-09T08:30:18.680+01:0044 The Fate of the Tearling, American Monsters & Stay With Me<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I rated </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Fate of the Tearling </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.5 stars, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">American Monsters </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.5 stars</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stay With Me </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">got 4 stars. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBj2r9F6nSZBnKWSx9LpBDQrqgSIhTetOk9VsMF_pN6xaKcylO7wza45GxjhaCkLgxsEKer67zgdlClXoy5yOqnUcHJ3dKXEE-h-N6aNvnOE9sb4fOOb6Kym1u4USEXOBYZrJieFZIMMGu/s1600/fate+of+the+tearling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="325" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBj2r9F6nSZBnKWSx9LpBDQrqgSIhTetOk9VsMF_pN6xaKcylO7wza45GxjhaCkLgxsEKer67zgdlClXoy5yOqnUcHJ3dKXEE-h-N6aNvnOE9sb4fOOb6Kym1u4USEXOBYZrJieFZIMMGu/s320/fate+of+the+tearling.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Fate of the Tearling, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Erika Johansen</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">496⎟ Bantam Press⎟ 1st December 2016</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read by: Polly Lee</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since ascending to the throne, Kelsea Glynn has grown into a powerful monarch and a visionary leader.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But in her quest to end corruption and restore justice within the Tearling, she has made many enemies. Chief amongst them is the evil and feared Red Queen, who now holds Kelsea – and her magical sapphires – captive in her castle in Mortmesne, a deal brokered to protect the Tearling from a Mort invasion.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the Tearling needs its Queen, and the Mace, head of Kelsea’s personal guards, will not rest until he and his men rescue their sovereign from her prison.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now it is time for the fate of Queen Kelsea – and the Tearling itself – to be revealed . . .</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini Review</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved the first book in this trilogy and really enjoyed book two, but it really felt like </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Fate of the Tearling </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dragged a little. It was a little underwhelming as a finale for me. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The novel was split between Kelsea’s story in the present and the visions Kelsea was having of Katie, the daughter of one of the women who made the Crossing with Tearling. While Katie’s story was interesting and important to what was happening in the present story, there was so much time dedicated to it that it almost felt like it overtook Kelsea and her predicament. It almost felt like Kelsea’s imprisonment was partly to allow for Katie’s story to take precedence. I wanted more Kelsea, Penn, the Mace and the rest of her guard - they were the characters I fell in love with and wanted to follow. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was a disappointing end to a brilliant, political fantasy series and I wasn’t 100% convinced by the conclusion. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbFA-DgVJI8NRiLRT9Glz3bEPq9MHK6-xn9qV4pW1QkNaFLiIVQfH9dysh9c4TZ4cT34zBa5bviCNXTAFsD31YUu_fk1eT5xPAPiP4XeGMUVgqnfM0Cn9oA5rAXiE-g6JBsJJExV_IQUoA/s1600/american+monsters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbFA-DgVJI8NRiLRT9Glz3bEPq9MHK6-xn9qV4pW1QkNaFLiIVQfH9dysh9c4TZ4cT34zBa5bviCNXTAFsD31YUu_fk1eT5xPAPiP4XeGMUVgqnfM0Cn9oA5rAXiE-g6JBsJJExV_IQUoA/s320/american+monsters.jpg" width="208" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">American Monsters, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Derek Landy</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">464⎟ Harper Collins⎟ 25th August 2016</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The epic conclusion in the mind-blowing supernatural thriller from bestselling author DEREK LANDY, creator of international sensation </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Skulduggery Pleasant</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bigger, meaner, stronger, Amber closes in on her murderous parents as they make one last desperate play for power. Her own last hopes of salvation, however, rest beyond vengeance, beyond the abominable killers – living and dead – that she and Milo will have to face.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Amber’s future lies in her family’s past, in the brother and sister she never knew, and the horrors beyond imagining that befell them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved the first book in the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Demon Road </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">series. It was one of my surprise reading hits of 2015 and I loved how quick, fun and witty it was. Then book two came along which was still good, but had a little second book syndrome, though my hopes were still high for the finale. And I was so disappointed. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In book two, I really didn’t like the way Amber’s non-demon appearance was constantly ridiculed and sneered at and though that was almost compensated for in a change in attitude in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">American Monsters, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I still didn’t like the forceful ay Derek Landy wrote the female characters. It was so forceful, as if he was writing them to be ‘feminist’ because he knew he should - it didn’t align with anything else. I also didn’t think that the book was well written. The prose jarred and the speech felt insincere; I can’t help but think that this book was rushed out so he could refocus on </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Skulduggery Pleasant, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">his real money-maker, to the detriment of this series which could have been really, really good. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the review copy. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIWQ54GD-DibfSmoccu3Z-zCKoBs5dkVMshY4qcF_VEunVxlM5899Yk5xM7COg7FekjDffXGGQ0Xeq89Dyx4tEwF_Pvj3PQwm8bn0CgXd0b2X0IGBGqDaOgBx9WT8NFZPCOGAMkwg7QfTf/s1600/not+just+jane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIWQ54GD-DibfSmoccu3Z-zCKoBs5dkVMshY4qcF_VEunVxlM5899Yk5xM7COg7FekjDffXGGQ0Xeq89Dyx4tEwF_Pvj3PQwm8bn0CgXd0b2X0IGBGqDaOgBx9WT8NFZPCOGAMkwg7QfTf/s320/not+just+jane.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stay With Me, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ayobami Adebayo</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">305⎟ Canongate⎟ 2nd March 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">'There are things even love can't do . . . If the burden is too much and stays too long, even love bends, cracks, comes close to breaking and sometimes does break. But even when it's in a thousand pieces around your feet, that doesn't mean it's no longer love . . .'</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yejide is hoping for a miracle, for a child. It is all her husband wants, all her mother-in-law wants, and she has tried everything - arduous pilgrimages, medical consultations, appeals to God. But when her relatives insist upon a new wife, it is too much for Yejide to bear. It will lead to jealousy, betrayal and despair.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unravelling against the social and political turbulence of 1980s Nigeria, Stay With Me sings with the voices, colours, joys and fears of its surroundings. Ayobami Adebayo weaves a devastating story of the fragility of married love, the undoing of family, the wretchedness of grief, and the all-consuming bonds of motherhood. It is a tale about our desperate attempts to save ourselves and those we love from heartbreak.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shortlisted for the Baileys Prize for Women’s Fiction and all over the Internet, Ayobami Adebayo’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stay With Me </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is everywhere. And for good reason. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was actually really unsure of this for the first third of the novel. I found the cultural differences jarring and I struggled to wrap my head around the situation that Yejide found herself after her marriage to Akin, but I eventually became utterly engrossed. The Nigerian political unrest of the 80s and 90s was the backdrop to their struggle to conceive and live with the pressures to have a family. I did still struggle with the alien-ness of some aspects of their life and culture and it made me realise just how little I know about that part of the world. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really don't want to spoil this beautiful, heartbreaking and surprising novel, but I was definitely that: continually surprised. Adebayo really keeps you on your toes and turning pages as fast as you can. I cried, I gaped in shock and I’m so glad I persevered. Beautiful.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie</span></div>
So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-43174253467331722882017-06-06T08:30:00.000+01:002017-06-06T08:30:13.394+01:00Exploring Classics: War and Peace<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHq_KYmrJxnfqsrmWlW55S6ZGNgcHJXBGHmD1YdaGX17DEIIvJasGYXAjRlvC_cRkw3mrgRlkH51_Q-SFWFeS-QRRPaghw9uGC-9nI6jjRoqVZN_F4Agysr691JMljdAbUT9uP6CoGuCn/s1600/War+and+Peace.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHq_KYmrJxnfqsrmWlW55S6ZGNgcHJXBGHmD1YdaGX17DEIIvJasGYXAjRlvC_cRkw3mrgRlkH51_Q-SFWFeS-QRRPaghw9uGC-9nI6jjRoqVZN_F4Agysr691JMljdAbUT9uP6CoGuCn/s400/War+and+Peace.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Translated by: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anthony Briggs</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Originally serialised in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Russian Messenger </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">from 1865-67</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My edition</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: the Penguin Clothbound Classics hardback</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHEN I Discovered This Classic</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m honestly not sure. It feels like I’ve always known about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">War and Peace. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s a novel that in the literary world people pretend to have read or one they claim they will never attempt. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHY I Chose to Read It</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As with so many classics and period drama fans, I lapped up the stunning 6-part mini-series adapted by Andrew Davies for the BBC in 2016. I fell in love with the sweeping luxury of Russian high society and the bumbling Pierre and moody Prince Andrey. I was sold. And then last summer I read </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anna Karenina </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and fell head over heels in love. I knew that I’d have to tackle </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">War and Peace </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and decided to start it at the beginning of 2017.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHAT I Thought of This Classic</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This epic novel details the lives of Count Pierre Bezhukov, the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys and the people surrounding them, spanning 1805 to 1820, covering the period of several wars, but most significantly Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. We see them fall in and out of love, live and die, and navigate high society in times of peace and fight in times of war. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s no escaping how long </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">War and Peace</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">; my edition is 1440 pages long, 100 of which are notes on the text. I planned to read 7 chapters a day so I would finish it by the beginning of March. That didn’t quite go to plan and it ended up taking me nearly five months to conquer, but it really was worth it. And not just because of the pure triumph of turning that final page. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I fell in love with in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anna Karenina </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was the breadth of the story, the unbelievable growth and development of the characters and the flaws in them. I couldn’t help but fall in love with hapless, dreamer Pierre; I learned to love moody, firm Prince Andrey; and I think Princess Marya is vastly underrated throughout the whole novel. As ever, the way Tolstoy portrays his female characters and the way they are treated inside marriages that started with grand declarations of love and equality don’t sit right with me, but I really do get the feeling that that is purely Tolstoy’s own views on marriage and the role of women at the time. Natasha, Marya and Hélène are all spirited and strong with distinct personalities. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background: #FFF; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: -webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width: 99.375%; width: calc(100% - 2px);">
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BOuDm7NFK4g/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Sophie (@solittletimeforbooks)</a> on <time datetime="2017-01-01T11:12:21+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jan 1, 2017 at 3:12am PST</time></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the major worries about diving into </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">War and Peace </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is the dullness of the war sections of the novel. I have to confess that, yes, some of the mundane scenes, the political ones, the ones detailing intricate histories are boring and it does take a degree of sticking power, but I found that the other sections of the story and characters kept me going. Those sections I flew through, even surprising myself. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It wasn’t until the second part of the epilogue where I genuinely wanted to stop reading. For the later books in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">War and Peace, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tolstoy definitely starts to lean towards explorations of philosophy and history, but it really came out in the epilogue. Of the 28 chapters only about a quarter of them actually feature the characters i’d spent the last 1300 pages with. Tolstoy waxed lyrical about historians and the recording of history, free will, cause and effect and the flaws in even trying to document a historical event because only the winners and the higher classes were able to do so. While all this has validity and relevance to the story, i really don’t think it had a pace in the epilogue. An introduction, an afterword, an author’s note, sure - just not an epilogue! It was dry, boring and I was very ready to be done at that point. If </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">War and Peace </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was to go out on submission now, that definitely wouldn’t be there and I’m pretty sure it would lose about 400 pages!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But whining aside, I knew what I was signing up for and I really did enjoy the experience of reading Tolstoy’s masterpiece. It was a really worthwhile endeavour and I’m so freaking proud of myself for doing it! Even if it took me nearly twice as long as it should have done...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WILL It Stay a Classic</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course! It is said to be one of the finest novels ever written, and the masterpiece of Russian literature. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHO I’d Recommend it To</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Those interested in war, war history, Russian culture and politics. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Fans of Russian literature. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Those with serious reading stamina. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review format from Stacey at </span><a href="https://theprettybooks.wordpress.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Pretty Books</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as part of the Classics Challenge. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie</span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-84680961287258772742017-06-02T08:30:00.000+01:002017-06-02T08:30:05.687+01:00On the pure indulgence of re-reading<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-KlHCDjbFg8F49_0qm3nqNJ7PYDaQGgcb778W3yF5f8VfVZYipj2EoUsbdBa5LUDRsTA-GMyY6g0KvgqsUm8NYDayiKME4cq06eZ2RjKUwvXm0_MC5y8GxTHO_PkrmDSe9i9vbM2WO0Ay/s1600/On+the+pure+indulgence+of.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-KlHCDjbFg8F49_0qm3nqNJ7PYDaQGgcb778W3yF5f8VfVZYipj2EoUsbdBa5LUDRsTA-GMyY6g0KvgqsUm8NYDayiKME4cq06eZ2RjKUwvXm0_MC5y8GxTHO_PkrmDSe9i9vbM2WO0Ay/s400/On+the+pure+indulgence+of.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve had a strange reading year. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-c85e1b62-30d7-daf5-bf4f-388f97e80a0d" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last year’s influx of classics has dwindled to three (though one of them was </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">War and Peace </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">so, ya know); the YA reading has taken a nose-dive; and the non-fiction and memoirs have gone through the roof. I’ve also indulged in some glorious re-reading. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since I began blogging in 2009 re-reading was something that I felt I wasn’t allowed to do. I had too many review copies, I had a reading schedule, I had goals and challenges I needed to meet. But this year it’s all changed. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of the 47 books I’ve finished as of writing this, 7 of them have been re-reads: the last five Harry Potter books which I reveled in listening to on audiobook for the first time and then the first two books in Sarah J Maas’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Court of Thorns and Roses </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">trilogy in time for the finale. And it was glorious. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sheer joy of re-discovering and falling in love with books I either know I’ll always love or ones I had adored the first time around was so nice. Re-reading is the epitome of stress-free and pleasure reading. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I enjoyed it so very much that I’ve vowed to re-read whenever the urge strikes me. It takes me right back to being a kid and a young teenager who would finish a book I loved and start it all over again immediately. Some books I would read every month, every other, every year, completely guilt free and loving every second of it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More of that, please. </span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie </span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-39829068007346780382017-05-30T08:30:00.000+01:002017-05-30T08:30:11.482+01:00Mini-reviews: A Court of Wings and Ruin, Wishful Drinking & Exit West<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicASbtZbWpu_Mhrl3fpvDvVwklOmc-LDfFE0mid3ta3ATZVvk-nkQE_Ybwkh0HmHhyH5T_Jxz0lfLVZal6oc8mj7h_GjuK94IeQT8hl-9xZL-sj__bex-uqOls-EsVEYVtSIeZ06sGDXXp/s1600/acowar%252C+wishful+drinking%252C+good+me+bad+me.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicASbtZbWpu_Mhrl3fpvDvVwklOmc-LDfFE0mid3ta3ATZVvk-nkQE_Ybwkh0HmHhyH5T_Jxz0lfLVZal6oc8mj7h_GjuK94IeQT8hl-9xZL-sj__bex-uqOls-EsVEYVtSIeZ06sGDXXp/s400/acowar%252C+wishful+drinking%252C+good+me+bad+me.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I rated </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Court of Wings and Ruin </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4.5 stars, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wishful Drinking </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 stars</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Exit West </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">got 4.5 stars. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9eHrB8SqUatm0h9kIUrjPG4on57-8VVg7qGv38RjT1MnktkYFyVRl2_panp36Z38-saZSPA7mopgWjm8t4qffYmQjOSkJbL37efy0LDI9n5IqCWmInmn5uNPNVWzJZByr4Php017Y-Q0/s1600/acowar1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9eHrB8SqUatm0h9kIUrjPG4on57-8VVg7qGv38RjT1MnktkYFyVRl2_panp36Z38-saZSPA7mopgWjm8t4qffYmQjOSkJbL37efy0LDI9n5IqCWmInmn5uNPNVWzJZByr4Php017Y-Q0/s320/acowar1.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Court of Wings and Ruin, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sarah J Maas</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">720⎟ Bloomsbury⎟ 2nd May 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's manoeuvrings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit - and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords - and hunt for allies in unexpected places.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-review</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m a huge fan of this trilogy and for the most part, ACOWAR was a perfect ending, but some really problematic elements about the novel have been brought to my attention and I can’t ignore them. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I HATE how SJM's issues with bad rep have made my friends and other readers feel. For an author with so much clout, it's really, really not on. I feel like she tried a little more to be inclusive in this book, but she missed the mark. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Putting that aside, I’m a die hard Feysand shipper and I adored them even more, I fell even more in love with Azriel, Mor, Amren and Cassian and the wonder of Velaris. It was a finale full of emotion, action and I could easily have read far past the already chunky 720 pages. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGritVgjQVX1Dx5TDOlXc7rq_cfIoxduR9Xiop_Vb4xUgxs3mGTdf3MJux0g7xJpzlcq27lITO0GseSSaO64VdGnJlb-rkozMiGnMbpViA6aQ-SyjBcWfqImKXHfzqEh9vdDERGGuJQpDb/s1600/wishful_art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGritVgjQVX1Dx5TDOlXc7rq_cfIoxduR9Xiop_Vb4xUgxs3mGTdf3MJux0g7xJpzlcq27lITO0GseSSaO64VdGnJlb-rkozMiGnMbpViA6aQ-SyjBcWfqImKXHfzqEh9vdDERGGuJQpDb/s320/wishful_art.jpg" width="205" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wishful Drinking, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carrie Fisher</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">176⎟S&S⎟1st June 2009</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audiobook read by: Carrie Fisher</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher tells the true and intoxicating story of her life with inimitable wit. Born to celebrity parents, she was picked to play a princess in a little movie called </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Star Wars</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> when only 19 years old. "But it isn't all sweetness and light sabres." Alas, aside from a demanding career and her role as a single mother (not to mention the hyperspace hairdo), Carrie also spends her free time battling addiction and weathering the wild ride of manic depression. It's an incredible tale - from having Elizabeth Taylor as a stepmother, to marrying (and divorcing) Paul Simon, and from having the father of her daughter leave her for a man, to ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-review</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A blisteringly funny, wise and honest journey through Carrie's life and the battles with addiction and mental illness that she's faced along the way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m about the make a confession: I’ve never seen </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Star Wars. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Any of them. At all. And yet I thoroughly enjoyed this nonetheless. Carrie and her family lived a fascinating life and her writing is so warm and witty that I couldn’t help but love her for that, even if I’d never know her as Princess Leia. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And the audiobook, narrated by Carrie, is completely wonderful. I listened to the whole thing in only two sittings and I’m really looking forward to reading more of Carrie’s work, even though I do get a lump in my throat when I think of her loss. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">240⎟ Hamish Hamilton⎟ 2nd March 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audiobook read by: Ashley Kumar</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An extraordinary story of love and hope, travelling from the Middle East to London and beyond, from the bestselling, Man Booker-shortlisted author of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Reluctant Fundamentalist.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nadia and Saeed are two ordinary young people, attempting to do an extraordinary thing - to fall in love - in a world turned upside down. Theirs will be a love story but also a story about how we live now and how we might live tomorrow, of a world in crisis and two human beings travelling through it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Civil war has come to the city which Nadia and Saeed call home. Before long they will need to leave their motherland behind - when the streets are no longer useable and the unknown is safer than the known. They will join the great outpouring of people fleeing a collapsing city, hoping against hope, looking for their place in the world . . .</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Exit West </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is a book that I kept seeing all over Instagram and booktube and the stories of beautiful writing and importance of the story completely captured me. I had to read it. And I’m so very glad I did. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I grabbed it on audiobook and devoured it in one go during a day of chores. I loved it. This novel is the perfect example of magical realism telling you about the real world more powerfully than a piece of realistic fiction. The doors that join cities in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Exit West, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the growing of Black London and the local reaction to immigrants fleeing to safety across the world. Take out those doors and the reactions that are left behind are real, the horror immigrants are fleeing is real. </span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie</span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-18725583250807328442017-05-26T08:30:00.000+01:002017-05-26T08:30:32.927+01:00Books I Couldn't Finish (13): Following Ophelia, The Girls & The Essex Serpent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYXeWd0uGx9lzqVIMZOfBQ5pKGON0nSZifuRDKEBRvhr1rk__SnDfBhwXaWWX58sthzCTTXpA1t-PXjjvQxQhNGmSfgG8bW9iy2i4BwDsMO2ANeRMyAygfVDqubGEHf9SXN3USzWunpAn/s1600/following+ophelia%252C+the+girls%252C+the+essex+serpent.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYXeWd0uGx9lzqVIMZOfBQ5pKGON0nSZifuRDKEBRvhr1rk__SnDfBhwXaWWX58sthzCTTXpA1t-PXjjvQxQhNGmSfgG8bW9iy2i4BwDsMO2ANeRMyAygfVDqubGEHf9SXN3USzWunpAn/s400/following+ophelia%252C+the+girls%252C+the+essex+serpent.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I used to finish every book I started, whether I was enjoying it or not. But life is short. I’ve realised that I don’t have time for books I’m not full involved in any longer so if I don’t like something or don’t connect with it as much as I want to, I’ll put it aside. It still makes me feel guilty though, especially if I received them for review so I still want to talk about them, explain why I didn’t like them. Here are the most recent books I DNF-ed.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Following Ophelia, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophia Bennett</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m a huge fan of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood - the art, the movement and the TV show from a couple of years ago - so I was really excited to get my hands on this. But my iffy relationship with historical fiction strikes again. And honestly, it was really rather slow and I just had no motivation to push through. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another victim of the hype train? Probably. This was </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">book of the summer last year and I just wasn’t feeling it. It was edgy; the atmosphere was wonderfully cloying and thick; and the story being based on the Manson murders was intriguing, but I just didn’t click with it. I was really disappointed that I didn’t fall in love with this as everyone else in the world seemed to adore it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Essex Serpent, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sarah Perry</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Girls </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was the book of the summer, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Essex Serpent </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was the book of the autumn and winter. I’m not sure if I saw a booktuber that reads literary fiction who didn’t include it as a favourite of 2016. I patiently waited for the paperback, and now I’m glad I didn’t buy that (unbelievably beautiful) hardback. Though Sarah Perry’s writing was just as beautiful as the cover, there was so little agency in the plot and I had no motivation to continue with it. </span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie </span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-81607105407000690162017-05-23T08:30:00.000+01:002017-05-23T08:30:04.222+01:00Mini Reviews: The Penelopiad, Take Courage & Sweetpea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I rated </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Penelopiad </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 stars, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Take Courage </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5 stars</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sweetpea</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 4.5 stars each. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MhzHhdYo020-vM_Oi6oTze6udyY1QkLaHOQ_we3_1s_EEVNDcKyZ9PTXcI8JHLe8hcSA340si2Klr1oWG2dyeLLdMA9tENzjwRJ-yMdWJjUSQNSYiyqsVbkHBe3i9TMzmkKGp_1rOn_j/s1600/the+penelopiad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MhzHhdYo020-vM_Oi6oTze6udyY1QkLaHOQ_we3_1s_EEVNDcKyZ9PTXcI8JHLe8hcSA340si2Klr1oWG2dyeLLdMA9tENzjwRJ-yMdWJjUSQNSYiyqsVbkHBe3i9TMzmkKGp_1rOn_j/s320/the+penelopiad.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Penelopiad, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Margaret Atwood</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">199⎟Canongate⎟11th October 2005</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Penelope, wife of Odysseus, maintaining a kingdom while her husband was off fighting the Trojan war was not a simple business. Already aggrieved that he had been lured away due to the shocking behaviour of her beautiful cousin Helen, Penelope must bring up her wayward son, face down scandalous rumours and keep over a hundred lustful, greedy and bloodthirsty suitors at bay…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then, when Odysseus finally returns and slaughters the murderous suitors, he brutally hangs Penelope's twelve beloved maids. What were his motives? And what was Penelope really up to?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I watched countless booktube videos singing the praises of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Penelopiad </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and with my love of Greek mythology, I had to have it. It didn’t quite live up to expectations, though. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book is odd. Really odd. The narration is split between Penelope and a chorus (written in verse) of the 12 maids that play a big part in this story - much in the style of the fates and their positions in tales of myth. It’s very clever, very original and a lot of fun, but I didn’t really ever connect with the story at any point. I’m familiar with the story and still it made very little impact. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was a solidly enjoyable story and the audiobook was great, however. If you want something quick and unusual, I do recommend </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Penelopiad. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_sNioOg_Tf4Skm2H-vbwMdUkQ0MLPZ0_gHTjPNNnnT4zVfOQyZ3XACOd-mESaBHPnedOmYtfe0I8WpSzZq8TN5rBMEZJMwHrTHPKaPOm_6PuMBwc1RRWa5ygRCAreocmkiA2juYJBA0y/s1600/take+courage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_sNioOg_Tf4Skm2H-vbwMdUkQ0MLPZ0_gHTjPNNnnT4zVfOQyZ3XACOd-mESaBHPnedOmYtfe0I8WpSzZq8TN5rBMEZJMwHrTHPKaPOm_6PuMBwc1RRWa5ygRCAreocmkiA2juYJBA0y/s320/take+courage.jpg" width="198" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Take Courage: The Art and Life of Anne Bronte, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Samantha Ellis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">352⎟Chatto & Windus⎟12th January 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anne Brontë is the forgotten Brontë sister, overshadowed by her older siblings -- virtuous, successful Charlotte, free-spirited Emily and dissolute Branwell. Tragic, virginal, sweet, stoic, selfless, Anne. The less talented Brontë, the other Brontë. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or that's what Samantha Ellis, a life-long Emily and Wuthering Heights devotee, had always thought. Until, that is, she started questioning that devotion and, in looking more closely at Emily and Charlotte, found herself confronted by Anne instead. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Take Courage is Samantha's personal, poignant and surprising journey into the life and work of a woman sidelined by history. A brave, strongly feminist writer well ahead of her time -- and her more celebrated siblings -- and who has much to teach us today about how to find our way in the world.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh, this book. I loved Samantha Ellis’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How to be a Herione, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">but I adored </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Take Courage. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Samantha Ellis is one of my favourite writers now - this exploration of the genius and wonder of Anne Brontë is pure joy. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anne Bronte is the forgotten Brontë; the saintly, quiet, meek sister; the weak link in literature's most famous literary family - except she’s really, really not, and Samantha Ellis proves it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anne is my favourite Brontë, even though she was the last of the 3 sisters I came across. I thought </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jane Eyre </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was okay, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wuthering Heights </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was fun but I hated everyone, and then came </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Agnes Grey </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Tenant of Wildfell Hall </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and I fell in love. She was miles ahead of her sisters and yet all of the credit is given to Charlotte. I knew there was some tension between Anne and Charlotte and honestly, the things that Ellis uncovered about their relationship really didn’t warm me up to the oldest Brontë sister. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you love the Brontës, read this. If you think Anne is the weakest Brontë, read this. If you think Charlotte was the pioneering woman author of the 19th century, read this. Just read it; you’ll fall in love with Anne Brontë and never look back. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TEAM ANNE!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnhdyaTdz3el2L0ug6luofWtiYqE-Jm7eGi-UtV3UN3aCyohVznuDz_yCfpm15UZ-Vioj6Z-4DE_YXRhN-aZlwxvFG5wb1gSm7_1XfLeZOCktmKGrFZeeEsJ75uSdkqJAi3JiAV2l-fgxC/s1600/sweetpea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnhdyaTdz3el2L0ug6luofWtiYqE-Jm7eGi-UtV3UN3aCyohVznuDz_yCfpm15UZ-Vioj6Z-4DE_YXRhN-aZlwxvFG5wb1gSm7_1XfLeZOCktmKGrFZeeEsJ75uSdkqJAi3JiAV2l-fgxC/s320/sweetpea.jpg" width="202" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sweetpea, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CJ Skuse</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">384⎟HQ⎟20th April 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The last person who called me ‘Sweetpea’ ended up dead…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I haven’t killed anyone for three years and I thought that when it happened again I’d feel bad. Like an alcholic taking a sip of whisky. But no. Nothing. I had a blissful night’s sleep. Didn’t wake up at all. And for once, no bad dream either. This morning I feel balanced. Almost sane, for once.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rhiannon is your average girl next door, settled with her boyfriend and little dog…but she’s got a killer secret.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although her childhood was haunted by a famous crime, Rhinannon’s life is normal now that her celebrity has dwindled. By day her job as an editorial assistant is demeaning and unsatisfying. By evening she dutifully listens to her friend’s plans for marriage and babies whilst secretly making a list.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A kill list.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From the man on the Lidl checkout who always mishandles her apples, to the driver who cuts her off on her way to work, to the people who have got it coming, Rhiannon’s ready to get her revenge.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love CJ’s YA novels - they’re dark, funny, and unusual. With </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sweetpea, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">she goes several steps further and I loved it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sweetpea </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">isn’t for the faint of heart - murder, sex, swearing and the darkest humour I’ve read in a long while. I honestly don’t want to say too much about Rhiannon’s exploits; I honestly think it’s best discovered when reading. I honestly don’t want to ruin this for anybody. It’s just so much fun. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bridget Jones </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">meets </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dexter, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">indeed. Utterly brilliant and one of my favourite reads of 2017. Dark, twisted and just generally bloody brilliant. Emphasis on the bloody. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie</span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-41019070002849549352017-05-19T08:30:00.000+01:002017-05-19T08:30:12.600+01:00Books I Couldn't Finish (12): Sorceror to the Crown, Castle Dor & The Driver’s Seat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1OTe9m1dqO8fuLIrzWVpxhYtuJh7bQ48EvOaZ_IicLu_NZ5TUvpMJmOy200acUKETBEqYK0hcXSHCGPLnzw9ZD_NwOgDsupU93HLiQGCDxLynaIhwwyEuRA_ah5EdZE8mI_KrdnKuWqJ/s1600/sorcerer%252C+castle+dor%252C+the+driver%2527s+seat+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1OTe9m1dqO8fuLIrzWVpxhYtuJh7bQ48EvOaZ_IicLu_NZ5TUvpMJmOy200acUKETBEqYK0hcXSHCGPLnzw9ZD_NwOgDsupU93HLiQGCDxLynaIhwwyEuRA_ah5EdZE8mI_KrdnKuWqJ/s400/sorcerer%252C+castle+dor%252C+the+driver%2527s+seat+%25281%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I used to finish every book I started, whether I was enjoying it or not. But life is short. I’ve realised that I don’t have time for books I’m not full involved in any longer so if I don’t like something or don’t connect with it as much as I want to, I’ll put it aside. It still makes me feel guilty though, especially if I received them for review so I still want to talk about them, explain why I didn’t like them. Here are the most recent books I DNF-ed.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhps3PTuthA1GdkuXiSUPpdEGe-MHSNQcEKMaHXjlVcgqM6XwKXassxB7LEvAY7OSe3b_dJS_uRYTLwgzRgUr2ctRkMOTHJt_OrNZ9rLp9ZJapjEeDh00Eyt-E0_MRrZ7AZqHdcSjOqALe3/s1600/sorcerer+to+the+crown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhps3PTuthA1GdkuXiSUPpdEGe-MHSNQcEKMaHXjlVcgqM6XwKXassxB7LEvAY7OSe3b_dJS_uRYTLwgzRgUr2ctRkMOTHJt_OrNZ9rLp9ZJapjEeDh00Eyt-E0_MRrZ7AZqHdcSjOqALe3/s200/sorcerer+to+the+crown.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8yVTIS-L6ZLP0NNoZ8AnUjMz6OHOv8Wki721KqTkviH1IZc_1S8sJBUXuj0VfQgiHaSE_wCDGBHgQq2CEsRQslJtkXtnH6236htG-kGSk_kwzXRCmQtHhoKw4arANfLkRBAF5fu_ZIH_/s1600/castle+dor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8yVTIS-L6ZLP0NNoZ8AnUjMz6OHOv8Wki721KqTkviH1IZc_1S8sJBUXuj0VfQgiHaSE_wCDGBHgQq2CEsRQslJtkXtnH6236htG-kGSk_kwzXRCmQtHhoKw4arANfLkRBAF5fu_ZIH_/s200/castle+dor.jpg" width="127" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Castle Dor, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daphne Du Maurier</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh, Daphne du Maurier, how I love thee. And yet, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Castle Dor </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I just couldn’t get on with. I think my issue with this lay in the fact that it wasn’t really du Maurier’s novel. It was begun by Arthur-Quiller Couch and carried on by du Maurier and I could feel that it wasn’t her. Add that to my strange relationship with historical fiction and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Castle Dor </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">just didn’t work for me. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_co-c-4cPkpFToTNgPyDVfEK16RqPtNl9osi3iC1ZifjLBvcKNOtt18jKCBdihzQAa_6dAB-Dh6j4eJsUZrfk7qNqgY2yinNmryLqo_OaMCJnR8ogBH91TUSUOAz0lYj_x8498Ox2_vOs/s1600/the+driver%2527s+seat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_co-c-4cPkpFToTNgPyDVfEK16RqPtNl9osi3iC1ZifjLBvcKNOtt18jKCBdihzQAa_6dAB-Dh6j4eJsUZrfk7qNqgY2yinNmryLqo_OaMCJnR8ogBH91TUSUOAz0lYj_x8498Ox2_vOs/s200/the+driver%2527s+seat.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Driver’s Seat, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Muriel Spark</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You know how you read a few books by an author and you just can’t like any of them? And then you have to admit that author may not be for you? That’s what’s happening with Muriel Spark and I. I thought </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was pretty boring and I didn’t even get half an hour into this audiobook (of a novella which is under 200 pages long…). I can’t remember a single thing about it. Sorry Muriel Spark, I’m letting you go. </span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie</span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-6597663713512077862017-05-16T08:30:00.000+01:002017-05-16T08:30:09.765+01:00Mini Reviews: Goodbye Days, Caraval & The One We Fell in Love With<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3Dne8SzLlJssBE5G39A9iEuHfxB7po0lwZVlmpnE38X3J6VVWrm24xuc5XqRU5CxA-cJlvE_67Sefcnehk4hqZiI7e5z6I-9w9IavEAR3n7ANQIrSvH0wDqhnJyA8HqrbLcmXgHVNTEP/s1600/goodbye+days%252C+caraval%252C+one+we+fell+in+love+with.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3Dne8SzLlJssBE5G39A9iEuHfxB7po0lwZVlmpnE38X3J6VVWrm24xuc5XqRU5CxA-cJlvE_67Sefcnehk4hqZiI7e5z6I-9w9IavEAR3n7ANQIrSvH0wDqhnJyA8HqrbLcmXgHVNTEP/s400/goodbye+days%252C+caraval%252C+one+we+fell+in+love+with.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I rated </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goodbye Days </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 stars, </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Caraval </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 stars</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The One We Fell in Love With </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by one of my very favourite authors</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">got 4.5 stars each.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goodbye Days, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jeff Zentner</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">416⎟Andersen Press⎟6th April 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can a text message destroy your life?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carver Briggs never thought a simple text would cause a fatal crash, killing his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. Now Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident and even worse, there could be a criminal investigation into the deaths. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then Blake’s grandmother asks Carver to remember her grandson with a ‘goodbye day’ together. Carver has his misgivings, but he starts to help the families of his lost friends grieve with their own memorial days, along with Eli’s bereaved girlfriend Jesmyn. But not everyone is willing to forgive. Carver’s own despair and guilt threatens to pull him under into panic and anxiety as he faces punishment for his terrible mistake. Can the goodbye days really help?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book made me sob. Multiple times. It was so brutally emotional that I honestly can’t even decide if I enjoyed it or not. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jeff Zentner’s writing is beautiful and every feeling that Carver felt came across vividly and with such skill that I felt it all. His descriptions of the sultry Nashville summer, the humour in Carver’s recollections of time with his friends, the acute agony of his grief and the stress of Carver’s situation made it a book impossible to put down. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jeff Zentner is a wonderful writer and I’ll definitely be reading </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Serpent King </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">when my heart is fully healed from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goodbye Days. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review copy provided by Andersen Press. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHI741pG2sZxVsh-QWlr-IwLWNTs53SCMjqU7EK_Hi50HcQ2v5T8hAmrQZ7NYMwsseZnGmUhJIqXeDt5RFmqrj9iGUU3pECJuLsxZ4G-YRZy0-_B7_nO2iydw3a-pRMRY9Q-Fqpf97Gh0U/s1600/caraval.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHI741pG2sZxVsh-QWlr-IwLWNTs53SCMjqU7EK_Hi50HcQ2v5T8hAmrQZ7NYMwsseZnGmUhJIqXeDt5RFmqrj9iGUU3pECJuLsxZ4G-YRZy0-_B7_nO2iydw3a-pRMRY9Q-Fqpf97Gh0U/s320/caraval.jpg" width="208" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Caraval, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stephanie Gerber</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">416⎟Hodder & Stoughton⎟31st January 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audiobook read by: Rebecca Soler</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WELCOME TO CARAVAL, WHERE NOTHING IS QUITE WHAT IT SEEMS.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Scarlett has never left the tiny isle of Trisda, pining from afar for the wonder of Caraval, a once-a-year week-long performance where the audience participates in the show.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Caraval is Magic. Mystery. Adventure. And for Scarlett and her beloved sister Tella it represents freedom and an escape from their ruthless, abusive father.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the sisters' long-awaited invitations to Caraval finally arrive, it seems their dreams have come true. But no sooner have they arrived than Tella vanishes, kidnapped by the show's mastermind organiser, Legend.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But nonetheless she quickly becomes enmeshed in a dangerous game of love, magic and heartbreak. And real or not, she must find Tella before the game is over, and her sister disappears forever.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This fantasy debut was being praised long, long before the first proofs landed in the UK so by the time that I came to read it, they hype was real. And I think it was too much.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The world of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Caraval </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is enchanting. An exclusive, magical carnival with a dangerous and enigmatic Master; clashing sisters; tricks and lies and betrayal - it should have been everything I could have wanted in a fantasy. And I did love the world that Stephanie Garber created, but it wasn’t enough. I felt nothing for the characters, even getting annoyed at them a fair amount. I guess I just expected more. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The world was fascinating and Stephanie Garber’s writing lovely, but I was generally pretty disappointed with </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Caraval. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It felt like nothing special. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proof copy provided by Hodder & Stoughton. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJ_IV06nyCSm7dHPtFJh0joHHz0IXQ8jUy1cvF076kV_YQuYAOEijO8-QnhXfzBKFlLHuUQ_CmwD_mt9Eo7fS5v2_O_QgeiRudIK7-7r_cUvvAMaaW3T9n7rT29ihg6YrOmXmYl9uBdOY/s1600/the+one+we+fell+in+love+with.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJ_IV06nyCSm7dHPtFJh0joHHz0IXQ8jUy1cvF076kV_YQuYAOEijO8-QnhXfzBKFlLHuUQ_CmwD_mt9Eo7fS5v2_O_QgeiRudIK7-7r_cUvvAMaaW3T9n7rT29ihg6YrOmXmYl9uBdOY/s320/the+one+we+fell+in+love+with.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The One We Fell in Love With, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paige Toon</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">416⎟Simon & Schuster⎟19th May 2016</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Escape to the summer and feel the warmth of Paige Toon's storytelling</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Phoebe is caught between a rock and a hard place. Settle down and get married, or return to the French Alps to pursue her passion?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eliza is in love with someone who is no longer hers. In fact, he probably never was… And her dream of becoming a successful musician seems to be vanishing before her eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rose is out of a job and out of a boyfriend. To make matters worse, she’s been forced to move back in with her mother…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But these very different girls have one thing in common. Angus. The one they fell in love with…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I adore Paige Toon and her books so I’m still at a loss as to why it took me a year to read her last adult novel. But at least I got a burst of Paige Toon happiness right in the middle of a reading slump of epic proportions. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was a little strange at first, getting used to all three girls and their narration as well as two different timelines, but once I settled into their voices, I was captivated. Paige Toon has a way of weaving the lives of characters so real, so layered, so involving that’s impossible not to be sucked into her books and the lives of her characters. As ever, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The One We Fell in Love With </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">deals a hefty dose of emotion, troubled love and wonderful settings. Perfection. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luckily, Paige Toon’s next book is being released this month and this time I’m ready - no dallying for a year this time!</span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie</span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-77682910020825514782017-04-14T16:03:00.000+01:002017-04-14T16:03:32.519+01:00Hiatus<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You'd probably guessed that though, right? The tumbleweed has most likely given it away. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2017 has been an interesting one, and I'm sure that it's in a good way either. Everything has come with a huge dose of stress and drama and I've found blogging to be at the bottom of my list - reading, too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">YA isn't pushing my buttons, I can't settle down with a classic and my reliable adult rom coms aren't doing it for me. That's a total red signal for me. It's time to take a breather. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But in the last few days I have found something that makes me want to read - adult paranormal romance. I've dabbled in the genre before, but I seem to be going full throttle at the moment and it's glorious. Reading something with no other agenda than reading for fun. I don't have to worry about writing a review, release dates, PRs or it being something I have to read for work - I can just binge and enjoy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I'm taking a blogging break until I rediscover why I'm here and my love of reading. It could be a week, or it could be two months. I just hope you'll stick with me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And I can always be found on Twitter (@sophie_waters) and Instagram (@solittletimeforbooks).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sophie x</span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-18212562757512253452017-03-23T08:30:00.000+00:002017-03-23T08:30:06.833+00:00 Mini Reviews: The Bees, Dear Ijeawele & Shrill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtrFb4EQR_FMNqqJhOYFObRW3Mu4MxcZDaDaQHR-hT7wQqYZ1bvKXX78VkOz9uD7QIc8UI4WPCM3mwe4IWZuKOg3Fd2VjWR6QQYmDOSQ2LgI9kbKK2wUlpm2_Qlbckrvu4iKR_dSqoDyN/s1600/bees%252C+ijeawele%252C+shrill.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtrFb4EQR_FMNqqJhOYFObRW3Mu4MxcZDaDaQHR-hT7wQqYZ1bvKXX78VkOz9uD7QIc8UI4WPCM3mwe4IWZuKOg3Fd2VjWR6QQYmDOSQ2LgI9kbKK2wUlpm2_Qlbckrvu4iKR_dSqoDyN/s400/bees%252C+ijeawele%252C+shrill.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I rated </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Bees </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 stars and my two latest non-fiction reads, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear Ijeawele </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shrill </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">got 5 stars each. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAgkRlHXFp3nW2gymTxXU3RMx53omW_8fQQAtxq3CiVEt4gbtcaejc9TCYj91lEa1o6ozPtmhPtQF_dhj2OabuAV72bYaG5KrD5fgulq26XLH-gxVN4za575BwhU-vBt5BQ0e0PJC0pm3/s1600/the+bees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAgkRlHXFp3nW2gymTxXU3RMx53omW_8fQQAtxq3CiVEt4gbtcaejc9TCYj91lEa1o6ozPtmhPtQF_dhj2OabuAV72bYaG5KrD5fgulq26XLH-gxVN4za575BwhU-vBt5BQ0e0PJC0pm3/s320/the+bees.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Bees, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Laline Paull</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">352⎟Fourth Estate⎟1st January 2015</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audiobook read by: Orlagh Cassidy</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Born into the lowest class of her society, Flora 717 is a sanitation bee, only fit to clean her orchard hive. Living to accept, obey and serve, she is prepared to sacrifice everything for her beloved holy mother, the Queen.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Flora is not like other bees. Despite her ugliness she has talents that are not typical of her kin. While mutant bees are usually instantly destroyed, Flora is removed from sanitation duty and is allowed to feed the newborns, before becoming a forager, collecting pollen on the wing. She also finds her way into the Queen’s inner sanctum, where she discovers secrets both sublime and ominous.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But enemies are everywhere, from the fearsome fertility police to the high priestesses who jealously guard the Hive Mind. And when Flora breaks the most sacred law of all her instinct to serve is overshadowed by an even deeper desire, a fierce love that will lead to the unthinkable…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been curious about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Bees </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for a really long time, but it’s sat untouched on my shelf for years. I was on the way back from London one evening and downloaded the audiobook on a whim.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I honestly still can’t decide whether I actually liked it or not. The world building of the hive,the characterisation of Flora and the other bees, the ideas and the themes are all brilliant and it should have been something that blew me away, but there was something there that didn’t allow me to fully connect with the story. I still can’t put my finger on what it was. Maybe that I listened to the audiobook? I’m not sure. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But regardless of my own reaction to the story, I can see why it’s revered, I can see why it was shortlisted for the Bailey’s - it’s clever, inventive and loudly feminist. I’ll definitely picking up Paull’s second novel, just out of curiosity.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnivPfzJwfH4qySwmwm8YDr-bUe3jpgSYAdGpD2GYmRLdYJMz8qfH0O1jPTGaig-PBujfVwilcV8Eyf-X3FRcDm7G08MzlMvkaL7iOcAJ1tfvFOWKRliKlp8a6AfF_PpEDCKZHV7ClH8lq/s1600/dear+ijeawele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnivPfzJwfH4qySwmwm8YDr-bUe3jpgSYAdGpD2GYmRLdYJMz8qfH0O1jPTGaig-PBujfVwilcV8Eyf-X3FRcDm7G08MzlMvkaL7iOcAJ1tfvFOWKRliKlp8a6AfF_PpEDCKZHV7ClH8lq/s320/dear+ijeawele.jpg" width="229" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear Ijewele, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">80⎟Fourth Estate⎟8th March 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have some suggestions for how to raise Chizalum. But remember that you might do all the things I suggest, and she will still turn out to be different from what you hoped, because sometimes life just does its thing. What matters is that you try.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Should All be Feminists</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, her eloquently argued and much admired essay of 2014, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie proposed that if we want a fairer world we need to raise our sons and daughters differently. Here, in this remarkable new book, Adichie replies by letter to a friend’s request for help on how to bring up her newborn baby girl as a feminist. With its fifteen pieces of practical advice it goes right to the heart of sexual politics in the twenty-first century.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I didn’t even know this existed until it flooded social media on International Women’s Day. I had to pick it up. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I grabbed the Kindle edition and devoured it in half an hour on the evening of International Women’s Day. I’ve read two other books by Adichie - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Should All Be Feminists </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Thing Around Your Neck </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- and I never fail to be impressed by the depth, the warmth, the intelligence of her writing. It’s one of the reasons I haven’t touched her novels yet - I know I’ll be blown away by them and I need to make sure I’m in the space to appreciate them fully. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This letter to Adichie’s friend on how to raise a feminist is funny and empowering and I couldn’t have picked a better read for that day. I was so immediately in love that I ordered myself the hardback after only reaching the end of the Introduction in the Kindle edition. Though not all of the topics that Adichie covers in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear Ijeawele </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are relevant to me - motherhood, negative influence of the father’s friends etc - the ideas relate to everything. It doesn’t who are you or what your situation, Adichie’s feminism crosses boundaries. It;s clear, concise and obvious. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just like </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We Should All Be Feminists, Dear Ijeawele </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">should be read by everybody. Essential reading. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyuf7hFHmSDu-W1UVvIyn6g8kV79dJe4TkmVaHfNYmvOZ7dEopiIoZX_5AWCBalkxcBcXduvo7HBEOwNZD9NzZGgpCfDwEWzG53uBCBF28FHm8sfA4xkvBZ4DeRTARi-mSHKNs68hk-oud/s1600/shrill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyuf7hFHmSDu-W1UVvIyn6g8kV79dJe4TkmVaHfNYmvOZ7dEopiIoZX_5AWCBalkxcBcXduvo7HBEOwNZD9NzZGgpCfDwEWzG53uBCBF28FHm8sfA4xkvBZ4DeRTARi-mSHKNs68hk-oud/s320/shrill.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shrill, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lindy West</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">272⎟Quercus⎟9th March 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audiobook read by: Lindy West</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Guardian columnist Lindy West wasn't always loud. It's difficult to believe she was once a nerdy, overweight teen who wanted nothing more than to be invisible. Fortunately for women everywhere, along the road she found her voice - and how she found it! That cripplingly shy girl who refused to make a sound, somehow grew up to be one of the loudest, shrillest, most fearless feminazis on the internet, making a living standing up for what's right instead of what's cool.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Shrill, Lindy recounts how she went from being the butt of people's jokes, to telling her own brand of jokes - ones that carry with them with a serious message and aren't at someone else's expense. She reveals the obstacles and stereotyping she's had to overcome to make herself heard, in a society that doesn't think women (especially fat women and feminists) are or can be funny. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She also tackles some of the most burning issues of popular culture today, taking a frank and provocative look at racism, oppression, fat-shaming, twitter-trolling and even rape culture, unpicking the bullshit and calling out unpalatable truths with conviction, intelligence and a large dose of her trademark black humour.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve wanted to read </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shrill </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ever since I first heard about it. A funny, feminist memoir - what more could you want?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lindy West’s first book is now one of my favourite books of the year so far - I loved it. Lindy talks about her career in writing about feminism, politics and women online; being fat; love; loss; and everything else in between. The hate this women has received purely for being herself and doing her job is disgusting, but the way she’s pulled herself above it is inspirational. I’ve come away from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shrill </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not just with respect for Lindy West, but affection too. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really connected with lots of the things that she wrote about and I found that she articulated things I’ve felt but never found the words for myself, especially around body image and fat shaming. I came out of this book with hope that I could learn to appreciate and accept my body just as Lindy did. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shrill </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me cheer and it made me rage. I loved it, and I especially recommend the audiobooks - Lindy’s narration is wonderful.</span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie </span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-85493662204838957802017-03-21T08:30:00.000+00:002017-03-21T08:30:04.633+00:00Are audiobooks the best way to read a memoir? <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think so. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-b9c3c711-e23f-e263-1b19-c48211b0a4d0" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’d honestly not really thought much about memoirs until I started listening to audiobooks back in 2015. I didn’t think they were for me. I figured they’d take me ages to get through. Maybe they’d even be a little boring. Man, I was wrong. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQznt2vsGNmYI7C354MVqxmeDvDo8VFBNlkDtUMyu-q1J9mzQZOXuvIxERQNRu_pzEVwmQGKaR3FmoS3YMo2eCrkNfx4cvdoJYRdVgalllPMn-TF-8OLOoCLQMfl3Z_d079Emjto9ISie2/s1600/Audiobooks-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQznt2vsGNmYI7C354MVqxmeDvDo8VFBNlkDtUMyu-q1J9mzQZOXuvIxERQNRu_pzEVwmQGKaR3FmoS3YMo2eCrkNfx4cvdoJYRdVgalllPMn-TF-8OLOoCLQMfl3Z_d079Emjto9ISie2/s400/Audiobooks-2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of my favourite things to listen to on audiobook now is a memoir. And I’ve listened to some corkers. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Memoirs are often read by their author and those are often the best audiobooks period. The inflections, the emotion, the humour, the realness - you just can’t imitate that that as effectively for real life as you can for fiction in my opinion. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These are a few of the best memoirs I’ve listened to on audiobook:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyqFqhTP1g5mFanB7omioL22jJXDe4SDi5OBBL7DWsSAyFlG3-oYNscKtVczuwPdR4zkzI2A5zTDTX3Rkk6IsOpybsnIbNBgFon6on5BJqL_pE5AQ56Wv0sYuXuBWK0O72lpUNdSye_My/s1600/Audiobooks+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyqFqhTP1g5mFanB7omioL22jJXDe4SDi5OBBL7DWsSAyFlG3-oYNscKtVczuwPdR4zkzI2A5zTDTX3Rkk6IsOpybsnIbNBgFon6on5BJqL_pE5AQ56Wv0sYuXuBWK0O72lpUNdSye_My/s400/Audiobooks+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shrill, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lindy West</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a very recent favourite - I finished it last week. I adored it and listened to the whole thing in only two or three days.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Lindy talks about her career in writing about feminism, politics and women online; being fat; love; loss; and everything else in between. It’s now one of my favourite books of the year - I laughed, I cried, I raged and I cheered. What more can you ask for?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Talking as Fast as I Can, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lauren Graham</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gilmore Girls </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with my whole heart who I wanted to read this as soon as it was announced. I couldn’t even wait for the physical copy to be released, I HAD to read it immediately so I grabbed the audiobook and I’m so glad I did. LIstening to this book is like listening to Lorelai tell you about her alternate life. Brilliant. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Year of Yes, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shonda Rhimes</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shonda Rhimes is a TV legend. With </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Private Practice, How to Get Away with Murder </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and more under her belt, she knows her stuff. Shonda is wise, funny, warm and switched-on - I fell even more in love with her as I listened to this audiobook. It’s inspiring, empowering and essential reading for fans on Shonda’s shows. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And a few on my to listen list:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-bkShEud8VS4zHrNmqh6LlZqFS4KzGRJuGgTmDKO5Cq30VKSsTDvxL5YmM6HCSMRXRgSTjFtyUB7JSqMnilJJdNIgpMRwtqgkTEm2VnSnkRHY32mawPHwc40rt0-McBYu0zWvjxQRXpL/s1600/Audiobooks+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-bkShEud8VS4zHrNmqh6LlZqFS4KzGRJuGgTmDKO5Cq30VKSsTDvxL5YmM6HCSMRXRgSTjFtyUB7JSqMnilJJdNIgpMRwtqgkTEm2VnSnkRHY32mawPHwc40rt0-McBYu0zWvjxQRXpL/s400/Audiobooks+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just Kids, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Patti Smith</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m listening to this as I type this and I’m only a few minutes in, but it’s beautifully written and beautifully read. I’m looking forward to learning more about Patti Smith, her adventures and her New York. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fingers in the Sparkle Jar, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chris Packham</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This wasn’t something that first appealed to me when it came out, but the glowing reviews has got me convinced it’s something I need to try. It sounds sweet and sad and magical as Chris Packham explores his childhood adventures with all of the animals that came along with him. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where Am I Now?, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mara Wilson</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like most people my age, Mara Wilson’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matilda </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is a part of my childhood. I’ve seen it so many times I can recite whole passages along with the movie and Mara will always be that girl to me, but I really want to know who she is as an adult, too. Being a child star must have had a profound effect on her growing up and I’m curious. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please recommend me your favourite audiobooks!</span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie </span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-7850045452354161892017-03-14T08:30:00.000+00:002017-03-14T08:30:23.652+00:00Mini Reviews: The Girl in 6E, Dawn Study & Dramarama<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fFjd9gMYBna904atnNSy9khGAry4aTMbvftrwJH6LUrDzh0qK4J3hN-1g9Xs9IBAkhw_yjqCrCbnSVQvZHIEF2VZkh_-W0r6lBmru7MLFfN4JDdA0sz3FmOIapqleKwSI0xIjXkZH4QJ/s1600/mini+reviews+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fFjd9gMYBna904atnNSy9khGAry4aTMbvftrwJH6LUrDzh0qK4J3hN-1g9Xs9IBAkhw_yjqCrCbnSVQvZHIEF2VZkh_-W0r6lBmru7MLFfN4JDdA0sz3FmOIapqleKwSI0xIjXkZH4QJ/s400/mini+reviews+%25282%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I rated </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Girl in 6E </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 stars, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dawn Study </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">got 4.5 stars and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dramarama </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.5 stars. Thanks to HQ Stories and NetGalley for the review copy of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dawn Study</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfpMiu49mRYQ2aHs1xg8cePq17uFwWR0p70paAWpak9_ecXLz5MpnZEwBBdlezYlLqrTvnTsrtCuuculqugtC8U1qgMWVnFcnS80iIxkwH0b9gFrLbdPg0pONh00kQ6ZXb2m8K2LQcf_m/s1600/the+girl+in+6e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfpMiu49mRYQ2aHs1xg8cePq17uFwWR0p70paAWpak9_ecXLz5MpnZEwBBdlezYlLqrTvnTsrtCuuculqugtC8U1qgMWVnFcnS80iIxkwH0b9gFrLbdPg0pONh00kQ6ZXb2m8K2LQcf_m/s320/the+girl+in+6e.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Girl in 6E, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">AR Torre</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">352⎟Orion⎟12th February 2015</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deanna Madden, aka Jessica Reilly, hasn't touched another person in three years. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She hasn't left her apartment. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She makes money from performing to webcams on a sex site, where her clients pay $6.99 a minute for her time.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She's doing alright. The dollars are piling up in the bank. She's the number 3 model on cams.com.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And she hasn't killed anyone for years.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But when Deanna sees on the news that a little girl called Annie has gone missing, the story rattles her carefully ordered world. It's uncomfortably similar to the dark fantasy of one of her most disturbing online clients. She's convinced he's responsible for the girl's abduction - but no one will listen to her.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, after three years, Deanna finally leaves the apartment.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And this is what happens...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I plucked this off of my Kindle in the midst of a horrible reading slump and it snapped me right out of it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Booktuber Raleen from </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/padfootandprongs07" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">padfootandprongs07</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> called this ‘erotic suspense’ and I think she totally nailed that. It was super sexy from the outset, and unnerving too. As well as following Jessica/Deanna, we also slip into a few other perspectives leading up to and including Annie’s kidnap. It’s creepy, unsettling and there was one perspective in particular that I found </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">so </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">uncomfortable to read that I had to skim it to get the jist of what was happening, but I wanted no details. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Other than the sexy and the impending kidnap, it was actually really interesting to learn about all the different people that Jessica/Deanna comes in contact with while camming and how she’s managed to not leave her apartment in 3 years. But it was the race to save Annie that made up most of the novel. And I couldn’t read it fast enough. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A good, fun read to snap you out of a funk. Not for the faint of heart though!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fcjf8Oy7tWf8xxxFIrNJPXUSMeFprmwcW2w7HTRRs5Pm1c15b44YLC70dGMWNufg695Bkx_L2epBqZjU2ZOlRBqhdI-QFZSLcyq1WzZ1hGTi1yKFwW5h3tPUxrP9sJDs-xgQ-tAKSyN3/s1600/dawn+study+maria+v+snyder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fcjf8Oy7tWf8xxxFIrNJPXUSMeFprmwcW2w7HTRRs5Pm1c15b44YLC70dGMWNufg695Bkx_L2epBqZjU2ZOlRBqhdI-QFZSLcyq1WzZ1hGTi1yKFwW5h3tPUxrP9sJDs-xgQ-tAKSyN3/s320/dawn+study+maria+v+snyder.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dawn Study, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maria V Snyder</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">478⎟HQ Stories⎟9th February 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite the odds, Yelena and Valek have forged an irrevocable bond, and a family, that transcends borders. Now, when their two homelands stand on the brink of war, they must fight with magic and cunning to thwart an Ixian plot to invade Sitia.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yelena seeks to break the hold of the insidious Theobroma that destroys a person's resistance to magical persuasion. But the Cartel is determined to keep influential citizens and Sitian diplomats in thrall, and Yelena at bay. With every bounty hunter after her, Yelena is forced to make a dangerous deal.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With might and magic, Valek peels back the layers of betrayal surrounding the Commander. At its rotten core lies a powerful magician and his latest discovery. The fate of all rests upon two unlikely weapons. One may turn the tide. The other could spell the end of everything.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I adore this series and my love for Yelena, Valek, Ari, Janco and the gang is endless. I really wasn’t ready for this series to end (again).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I took </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dawn Study </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">so slowly at first that I almost felt like something was missing from this last instalment. And then I starting bingeing it, just like I have every other one of Maria V Snyder’s books, and I fell back under it’s spell.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s impossible to talk about the plot of this book without ruining the rest of the series, but I loved the way the threads were all drawn together, the reunions between beloved characters, the new connections formed and the way that everything turned out. It was a perfect finale, and one that I think definitely leaves it open to go back to this world. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dawn Study </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was a totally perfect ending and I loved it. Though I’m still not sure these characters are completely finished with. Well, I hope not anyway.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQju4vJvaoZFbsAcejFVnX7CMyx21cA2moy01kyuPTOXR7he2km9fEEGZ6SvR_qEswXoN_WuUHUMHH8Qbtib6Gff_9OyZX9iTayog9muyAlpRAQMVbbNi6QRMA3jfbFQA3Jp4RTOcZzgUJ/s1600/dramaram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQju4vJvaoZFbsAcejFVnX7CMyx21cA2moy01kyuPTOXR7he2km9fEEGZ6SvR_qEswXoN_WuUHUMHH8Qbtib6Gff_9OyZX9iTayog9muyAlpRAQMVbbNi6QRMA3jfbFQA3Jp4RTOcZzgUJ/s320/dramaram.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dramarama, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E Lockhart</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">320⎟Hot Key Books⎟9th February 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two teen theatre-fanatics. One dream. And SUMMER DRAMA CAMP.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All-round theatre-enthusiast, Sarah - better known by her showbiz name, Sayde - is a girl with ambitions too big for the small and conventional town she lives in. Her life doesn't have the razzle-dazzle she craves. For once she wants to feel special, noticed and be the centre of attention.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This summer Sadye has her talents set on Wildewood's prestigious theatre summer camp. And with her best friend Demi - a flamboyant falsetto, who is equally thrilled to be leaving their small town of Brenton - they will both experience a season of hormones, hissy fits, jazz hands, song and dance, true love and unitards! But despite all the glitz and glam, there comes rivalry and competition, and Sadye will have to prove her talents more than she has ever had to before. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summer at Wildewood will not only determine Sadye's future - but will also test her friendships.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-Review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m a huge E Lockhart fan and I’ve been loving Hot Key Books re-issuing her older books, particularly ones like </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dramarama </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">which didn’t make it to the UK originally. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dramarama </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was just as fun, quick and easy to read as her other novels, but it definitely wasn’t my favourite. I loved the glimpse into the ultra-competitive, harsh and hormone-fuelled world of drama school and E Lockhart’s pitch-perfect exploration of friendship, love, fitting it and finding yourself, but I just didn’t connect with Sadye in the way I had hoped to. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m so pleased there’s another E Lockhart book coming this year. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genuine Fraud, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">get in my eyes. </span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie </span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-64599693007138900112017-03-08T08:30:00.000+00:002017-03-08T08:30:06.572+00:00Slowing Down<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been a bit absent from the blog world really. My reading has slowed right down and the time and energy I used to have to dedicate to writing reviews has all but disappeared - spending all day writing for another website for my job has started to translate into my blog suffering. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_e6sWvnzNgduYPVTI2ET8sM7zVtaKRPaExiWe3JRuWwqmTisfq43xO6jNNPs-UPu1lQgJDR-ayVohVW2-vzb1SuOdEDPx-JaP0S40ZsTHoubPEo5Yz5coVQsVcwBG0j2o6KMbpf00_2Y/s1600/Slowing+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_e6sWvnzNgduYPVTI2ET8sM7zVtaKRPaExiWe3JRuWwqmTisfq43xO6jNNPs-UPu1lQgJDR-ayVohVW2-vzb1SuOdEDPx-JaP0S40ZsTHoubPEo5Yz5coVQsVcwBG0j2o6KMbpf00_2Y/s400/Slowing+%25281%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But I AM reading, it’s just nowhere near at the same pace as I have since, well, forever actually. So when I have read a few books, I’ll be blogging about them, but I think that from now on I’ll be grouping them together in mini reviews and I'm planning on getting out at least one blog post a week. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s what I’m currently reading:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5wdZp_Shct3ejIdko3nTrjG2_UxzEIx3dlox_fhqV6m4-AqnN2W6IYiVYh8L29EQQykMOBu-qIWZ-OmQZ0Nw6tLaFT9T6LpTPklQF1eYSA9l4iys1mw8xjKEbFLiw-wXBgs1_nj_4rfp/s1600/war+and+peace+pcc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5wdZp_Shct3ejIdko3nTrjG2_UxzEIx3dlox_fhqV6m4-AqnN2W6IYiVYh8L29EQQykMOBu-qIWZ-OmQZ0Nw6tLaFT9T6LpTPklQF1eYSA9l4iys1mw8xjKEbFLiw-wXBgs1_nj_4rfp/s200/war+and+peace+pcc.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">War and Peace, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leo Tolstoy</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is one that I’ve been working my way through since the beginning of the year. I’m really enjoying it and it's surprisingly easy to read, I’m just struggling to pick it up during the week when I don’t feel like I have the time and level of clear-headedness I think that it deserves.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dawn Study, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maria V Snyder</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love this series, this world and these characters so I’m taking the final instalment of the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Study </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">series nice and slowly. I’m not ready to say goodbye to Valek, Yelena, Ari, Janco and the rest of the gang, but I’m also desperate to find out what happens. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN94Wure71aUmdgWoNX71n_O_5KuSjSwARi-cCvGvhP85KnYJAMCzWNyL63TJfMTtXwWrqX8Kb6UTvkTpHIZuE2sb4nDQURs0MDUQnvnGuyuXQi2Ckmc3jH4t4pSx_6W3t5V2ZIrfE4QjY/s1600/order+of+the+phoenix+audiobook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN94Wure71aUmdgWoNX71n_O_5KuSjSwARi-cCvGvhP85KnYJAMCzWNyL63TJfMTtXwWrqX8Kb6UTvkTpHIZuE2sb4nDQURs0MDUQnvnGuyuXQi2Ckmc3jH4t4pSx_6W3t5V2ZIrfE4QjY/s200/order+of+the+phoenix+audiobook.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JK Rowling</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comfort reading at its finest! When I was really struggling to get my reading in, I picked back up with my Potter re-reads on audiobook and I’m loving it. I had forgotten how whiny Harry starts to get in this book and just how quick to anger he is! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Bees, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Laline Paull</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is another audiobook read for me and one I’m only a couple of hours into. I’d been considering it for a few days and then took the plunge on a late train ride home from London after a long work together day when I had too much of a headache to read physically. It’s definitely different!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And next up on my TBR are:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipchPPMp-YhV3OCYdulkfSuhdhD5GEmGMJyR_XbQHlrVlgRp880O-f0yy1LocUD0maoy2o90bfHpq4SflUd4Qguy0AFn6uLe0kFy-9AVrRP2EF-ePerwRaKL38F-0HcgWdulcXUpZAn2l6/s1600/dramaram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipchPPMp-YhV3OCYdulkfSuhdhD5GEmGMJyR_XbQHlrVlgRp880O-f0yy1LocUD0maoy2o90bfHpq4SflUd4Qguy0AFn6uLe0kFy-9AVrRP2EF-ePerwRaKL38F-0HcgWdulcXUpZAn2l6/s200/dramaram.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dramarama, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E Lockhart</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love E Lockhart and this is one of her books that’s a little older but wasn’t published in the UK. Hot Key Books’ re-issues of her books make me so happy - I’m super excited to dive into this one while waiting on her upcoming release, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genuine Fraud. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dead of Night, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Michael Grant</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We only got two YA World Book Day titles this year: David Almond’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Island </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Soldier Girls </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">novella from Michael Grant. I’m a bit rusty on the details of book one so I’m going to give this a quick read and hope it’ll jog my memory enough to dive into </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Silver Stars </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">soon. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tender is the Night, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">F Scott Fitzgerald</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m still aiming for a classic a month in 2017 and I think it’s time to read another Fitzgerald - I’ve only read </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Great Gatsby </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and that was back in 2012/2013. As I’ve started collecting the gorgeous </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPSG8_rl-5Y/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Penguin F Scott Fitzgerald Hardbacks</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I guess I need to start reading them!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’d love to know what you guys are reading and what’s coming up next!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie</span></div>
So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-30158696228703400712017-03-01T08:30:00.000+00:002017-03-01T08:30:01.921+00:00My Endless Netflix Queue<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2017 hasn't been a particularly strong reading year for me so far. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's just coming up to the end of February at the moment and I've read the same number of books in two months that I'd usually have read in one. I'm being picky, resistant, and worryingly resistant at times. Work has been busy and intense with long days and very little free time and it's wreaked havoc on ability to pay attention to a book. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But I still need a daily dose of stories. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Enter Netflix. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTp0-lO8F1ZbN8iF_5GJ-bKp8lQRRwxKAkGyuOTUs4Jg6aQhOULvoFhWi7ZmdbPxDccpB5WRlP13HuIeCjAQ9W7hCyTDIffbM2uZ_B-a7wTQ1lSiprh4B6KZhn1h9r8a2L_g8J0q-lTf0w/s1600/My+Endless.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTp0-lO8F1ZbN8iF_5GJ-bKp8lQRRwxKAkGyuOTUs4Jg6aQhOULvoFhWi7ZmdbPxDccpB5WRlP13HuIeCjAQ9W7hCyTDIffbM2uZ_B-a7wTQ1lSiprh4B6KZhn1h9r8a2L_g8J0q-lTf0w/s400/My+Endless.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So as the reviews become a little sparse on here, I thought I'd give you a peek into what I've watched recently, what I'm in the middle of and what's on my endless watchlist. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Watched and LOVED</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9wXNn-HSRB5xYpV4spNL64SXnjK9oHgzdGRbmtutvQDrh5Wv2h02aX3YVaeXus7i9pga9jXrxTqAbPg9dDV36_ACdbHyMUma1EeC-Vwzfr2ONkFC72BbhZehx4Eie0ibvIhZWZULk4MP/s1600/Watched.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9wXNn-HSRB5xYpV4spNL64SXnjK9oHgzdGRbmtutvQDrh5Wv2h02aX3YVaeXus7i9pga9jXrxTqAbPg9dDV36_ACdbHyMUma1EeC-Vwzfr2ONkFC72BbhZehx4Eie0ibvIhZWZULk4MP/s400/Watched.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Santa Clarita Diet</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I binged this whole series in a day while working. Whoops. It's gross and funny and I actually wasn't sure if I liked it until about half-way through, but I definitely enjoyed it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>iZombie</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The lovely Stacey over at Pretty Books was raving about this last year and I immediately jumped on the bandwagon. LOVE. It's clever, witty, funny and just completely brilliant. Also totally different to what you'd expect from a zombie show, so if you're not a fan, give it a go anyway. </span>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>The Shannara Chronicles</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I actually started watching this on TV but forgot about it while waiting between airing dates (I am SO impatient now...) and then rediscovered while browsing Netflix. I started it all over again and got sucked in straight away. I binged the whole 10 episodes in a day while working. I may have a problem. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Currently Watching</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs6dYRtfP_Cblk3l3hGyHXKMLTLOIGw4pXgU-lef61iXKQNSYmWBIzp467xSL9fEusdp5LacNN7mgiocElhYlKLGLWG9nEZrcZosRUMzRV2ZzjdSCObKUhqdWYoTmChsytfF9OHRR7EDK_/s1600/watching.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs6dYRtfP_Cblk3l3hGyHXKMLTLOIGw4pXgU-lef61iXKQNSYmWBIzp467xSL9fEusdp5LacNN7mgiocElhYlKLGLWG9nEZrcZosRUMzRV2ZzjdSCObKUhqdWYoTmChsytfF9OHRR7EDK_/s400/watching.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Riverdale</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am OB-SESSED. It's like the best mash-up of <i>Pretty Little Liars, Veronica Mars </i>and <i>Gossip Girl </i>and it's glorious. Mystery, drama, romance and wit - what more could you ask for in a teen drama? Oh, bingeability maybe? It's got that in spades. I watched the first episode before there was a second and nearly cried because there wasn't any more!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Brooklyn Nine Nine</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have so much love for the Nine Nine. I like to save it up until I have a chunk of episodes and then binge them when I need something to cheer me up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>The 100</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I was completely obsessed by this last year, watching seasons 1 and 2 TWICE in the lead up to season 3 hitting UK screens, and then I just didn't witch season 3? Yeah, I have no idea either. But the US side of my Twitter feed are starting to talk about season 4 and it's got be back in game. Time to get caught up before we get season 4 in the UK. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>True Blood</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am so late to the game with this. I mean, I did watch the first two seasons when they originally aired, but like lots of TV shows airing around this time, I lost track while I was at university. And then I spotted the first season for super cheap on Amazon Prime and I figured why not. Now I'm properly obsessed. Genuinely considering paying £20 for season 5 on Prime level obsessed...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm also still watching <i>Pretty Little Liars </i>- I am so ready for the final half of the season and for it all to be over. Same with <i>The Vampire Diaries</i>! I'm only watching it for Caroline and Damon at this point. And <i>Supernatural</i>? I am so behind I can't even.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Endless To-Be-Watched List</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A Series of Unfortunate Events</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I waited to watch this because my sister also wanted to watch it but was never in the mood. And I waited. And I waited. Now she's decided she doesn't care and I'm way behind the curve. I've only heard amazing things though so I can't wait. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The OA</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm not even really sure what <i>The OA </i>is about, I just know that people I trust are in love with it and I want in. I also just trust Netflix to deliver amazing shows. Gimme. </span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Crazy Ex-Girlfriend</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I've heard how clever and fun this is, and though I wasn't convinced at first, I really want to watch it now. I feel like this could be a really great end-of-day wind down show to binge watch during a busy week. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sense 8</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So. Behind. I swear I'm the only person left with Netflix who hasn't watched this. One day, one day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And that barely even scratches the surface. Good grief...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Have you watched anything good lately? Tell me all about it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sophie</span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-7444249718010109512017-02-25T19:07:00.001+00:002017-02-25T19:07:46.942+00:00Exploring Classics: The Diary of a Provincial Lady<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmD-l_Aj92ZZvKlOvwkwSkRjVfymFtuX3nL23VvG0TciUNp60PMn-XtLyKN7wjbF483M0LKtlixRDTyEnZo3FdqmIPeIJbMUkiAkp3_mFPGp8VsKTUDukFq9tSZMd6g-P8vmN02bKFxiu2/s1600/The+Diary+of+a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmD-l_Aj92ZZvKlOvwkwSkRjVfymFtuX3nL23VvG0TciUNp60PMn-XtLyKN7wjbF483M0LKtlixRDTyEnZo3FdqmIPeIJbMUkiAkp3_mFPGp8VsKTUDukFq9tSZMd6g-P8vmN02bKFxiu2/s400/The+Diary+of+a.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Originally serialised in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Time and Tide </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in 1930. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My edition: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the VMC Designer hardback. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHEN I Discovered This Classic</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think I first saw this when Sarra Manning mentioned it. And then she mentioned it again. And again. And then I started collecting the VMC Designer editions and well, I had to.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHY I Chose to Read It</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sarra Manning. It was a podcast called The Books That Built Me which Sarra was a guest on that finally pushed me over the edge!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHAT I Thought of This Classic</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book is pretty much what the title says it is. A series of diary entries about an unnamed provincial lady as she wrestles with unreliable staff, an uninterested husband and constantly battles with the irritating Lady Boxe. And it’s wonderful. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There's no real plot to this series of diary entries, it's just the day to day life of an upper class provincial lady living in the country with her husband, two children and bothersome servants. It's soft and ambling and an insight into the daily life in the 1930s that would usually be ignored in favour of high drama, a big romance or a scandal. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The provincial lady's fixation on growing bulbs, her tireless efforts to fit in (which never really work) and her consistently bad approach to money are fascinating and sound as if they should be boring, but it's actually not at all. If you like stories led by characters and the ups and downs of daily life, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Diary of a Provincial Lady </i>is for you. it's the type of book I can imagine passing on to my mum and then my nan as well. I think they both would have enjoyed it a lot. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Diary of a Provincial Lady </i>is the perfect book to devour on a rainy Sunday afternoon while dreaming of summer. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WILL It Stay a Classic</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This novel hasn’t been out of print since it was published in 1930. I don’t think it’s going anywhere!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHO I’d Recommend it To</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Fans of Nancy Mitford. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Those who want a cosy Sunday afternoon read. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review format from Stacey at </span><a href="https://theprettybooks.wordpress.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Pretty Books</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as part of the Classics Challenge. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie</span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086134026437451311.post-23283720396666308642017-02-16T08:30:00.000+00:002017-02-16T08:30:31.166+00:00Mini-Reviews: Arcanum Unbounded, Scrappy Little Nobody & Long Way Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqQ-MWr9HHfYGNiDmkJ6qpUBC-xX7EmgiJpVuKBfh4IftITByCJwA033TPq-z6xvPchkoBHtTx3N2D-y_50j-bxjx0nj_WrKPdIxqrpMUj6QRr6z5UqW9JHtPMlRaKPBoO6R09JzdTQaY9/s1600/mini+reviews+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqQ-MWr9HHfYGNiDmkJ6qpUBC-xX7EmgiJpVuKBfh4IftITByCJwA033TPq-z6xvPchkoBHtTx3N2D-y_50j-bxjx0nj_WrKPdIxqrpMUj6QRr6z5UqW9JHtPMlRaKPBoO6R09JzdTQaY9/s400/mini+reviews+%25281%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m starting to struggle to find the time to write full review for everything I read, and even find the time to read enough to post enough full reviews to fill the schedule I used to. SO. My reviews from now on will be as and when I read three books and compiled into a collection of mini reviews. Just keeping you guys in the loop!</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-3ef9b7b9-2f62-d476-0133-597beb1bba9f" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I rated all three books four stars and ‘Arcanum Unbounded’ was sent for review by Gollancz. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkVsM9YRu_eqSKDN671VLWEelBOeJPL9uE6ii9X0qkdEnLViPDE_ILPoZR3A24d6RiATb5tiGByh0CprTRK0CxAGonmtw3BqaDyPs13TmtcHWik1B9hMMHNhk6FVTSsYM4VUqVPjv_sKe_/s1600/arcanum+unbounded.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkVsM9YRu_eqSKDN671VLWEelBOeJPL9uE6ii9X0qkdEnLViPDE_ILPoZR3A24d6RiATb5tiGByh0CprTRK0CxAGonmtw3BqaDyPs13TmtcHWik1B9hMMHNhk6FVTSsYM4VUqVPjv_sKe_/s320/arcanum+unbounded.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arcanum Unbounded, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brandon Sanderson</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">672⎟Gollancz⎟24th November 2016</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These wonderful works, originally published individually, have been collected for the first time and convey the true expanse of the Cosmere. Telling the exciting tales of adventure Sanderson fans have come to expect, Arcanum Unbounded include the Hugo Award-winning novella 'The Emperor's Soul', an excerpt from the graphic novel 'White Sand', and the never-before-published Stormlight Archive novella 'Edgedancer'.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been slowly working my way through Brandon Sanderson’s backlist over the last few years so I was super excited when this popped up on my radar.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a collection of 9 stories, but I wasn’t able to read two of them as they contain spoilers for ‘The Stormlight Archive’ and ‘Elantris’ which I haven’t read yet. I really don’t want to spoil anything or anyone with this one so I’m just going to talk about my two favourite stories. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">‘The Emperor’s Soul’ is the first story in the collection and it was amazing. It’s inspired by Asian mythology, features a super cool magic system surrounding soul stamps and the seriously badass Shai. It’s perfect as a novella, but I could easily have read a full-length novel about this story. ‘The Secret History’ is the longest story in this collection and the best. I can’t even tell you who it’s about or what, but I can say that it’s set in the background of the original ‘Mistborn’ trilogy and it’ll give you some much-needed answers. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is an incredible collection that’s perfect for any fan of Sanderson, and wherever you are in hs backlist. It’ll hook you if you’re a newbie and it’ll reunite you with some of your favourite characters if not. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21lTprWrZVFDXPccqNfWeM4tyrJjtJ4y90vhuACLkFN4xUjGSEjc2SC5VnsgFsoH9OfyByj0KGRyzkCFxR9OBOOSXO-OMmnKMcavSPeG0QLbojqzUhj1SpkvzKqUM-sid2hQ4bmEscgNT/s1600/scrappy+little+nobody.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21lTprWrZVFDXPccqNfWeM4tyrJjtJ4y90vhuACLkFN4xUjGSEjc2SC5VnsgFsoH9OfyByj0KGRyzkCFxR9OBOOSXO-OMmnKMcavSPeG0QLbojqzUhj1SpkvzKqUM-sid2hQ4bmEscgNT/s320/scrappy+little+nobody.jpg" width="209" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Scrappy Little Nobody, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anna Kendrick</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">304⎟S&S⎟15th November 2016</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A collection of humorous autobiographical essays by the Academy Award-nominated actress and star of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Up in the Air</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pitch Perfect</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Anna Kendrick’s autobiographical collection of essays amusingly recounts memorable moments throughout her life, from her middle-class upbringing in New England to the blockbuster movies that have made her one of Hollywood’s most popular actresses today. Expanding upon the witty and ironic dispatches for which she is known, Anna Kendrick’s essays offer her one-of-a-kind commentary on the absurdities she’s experienced on her way to and from the heart of pop culture.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love Anna Kendrick so I was really excited to read her first book. And it was totally worth the wait. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though I pre-ordered the hardback, my favourite way to read memoirs to to listen to the audiobook when it’s narrated by the author. Anna’s humour comes across so vividly in her reading of the book and I raced through this six-hour audiobook in only a few days. It’s funny, sweet and honest about Anna as a kid as well as her journey through drama camps, theatre and her first movie roles to become the star she is today. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really loved how down to earth she’s stayed and her stories of being awkward in social situations and experiences of meeting people she admires. It was funny and refreshing. I think she really respected her teenage audience in the way she discussed her relationships and sex as well - it was honest and blunt and self-aware. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Highly recommended, especially if you love </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pitch Perfect </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">or are interested in how celebs become celebs.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJBoS4Gg9uU1yjxiw7Ftq-dFFsYjyJlyp7mzj9pJL0DFMN8zf9E9x-8czMmCYkGfvGaiElaguDMg5FLaSPwf6XaKo2HsEn_er9uxJfWFtcB-4lmmJxM1IL525mgsdPRfi13MTSavf3TxO/s1600/long+way+home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJBoS4Gg9uU1yjxiw7Ftq-dFFsYjyJlyp7mzj9pJL0DFMN8zf9E9x-8czMmCYkGfvGaiElaguDMg5FLaSPwf6XaKo2HsEn_er9uxJfWFtcB-4lmmJxM1IL525mgsdPRfi13MTSavf3TxO/s320/long+way+home.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Long Way Home, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Katie McGarry</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">448⎟HQ Young Adult⎟1st February 2017</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Synopsis</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seventeen-year-old Violet has always been expected to sit back and let the boys do all the saving.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's the code her father, a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, raised her to live by. Yet when her dad is killed carrying out Terror business, Violet knows it's up to her to do the saving. To protect herself, and her vulnerable younger brother, she needs to cut all ties with the club—including Chevy, the boy she's known and loved her whole life.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But when a rival club comes after Violet, exposing old secrets and making new threats, she's forced to question what she thought she knew about her father, the Reign of Terror and what she thinks she wants. Which means re-evaluating everything: love, family, friends…and forgiveness.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Caught in the cross hairs between loyalty and freedom, Violet must decide whether old friends can be trusted—and if she's strong enough to be the one person to save them all.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mini-review</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love Katie McGarry’s books. A new one from her is one of my reading highlights of the year and ‘Long Way Home’ was no exception. It was just what I needed, when I needed it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Motorcycle clubs in themselves are problematic and I think that was really tackled with Violet and Chevy’s story. The position of women, the way they’re treated and the inherent violence and rivalry that comes with them. It was the most aware and most clever books in the series, while still being steamy and addictive and tackling big issues. It was just really well done. When I wasn’t reading ‘Long Way Home’, I wanted to be. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think this might be the last in the ‘Thunder Road’ series, and if it is I’m looking forward to what’s coming next, but I do hope there will be more. </span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie</span>So Many Books, So Little Timehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14044634459274703941noreply@blogger.com1