July Book Haul

Originally I planned to just do one big end of summer haul but considering the amount I have gained already and the fact that I know I will be getting more I have decided to do one now and another later. So without further ado on with the haul. :)

First of all I got Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo. I read this in school in year 8 and I really want to read it again. It is about 2 brothers in WW1.

I also got The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, I got this in preparation for my A-level as it is the book I'm studying.

I went on holiday to Wales and while there we went to Laugharne which was where the Poet Dylan Thomas and his family lived and there was a nice little museum. I picked up A Dylan Tomas Treasury, so basically a collection of his work.

Next I got War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I got this because one day I want to read it and it was only £1.99, which is bloody good.

Then I got a book that so many people go on about- Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. Over the past 6 months I've really started to enjoy contemporaries so I'm looking forward to this one.
 
Finally I picked up Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas. All I know about this is that it is about an assassin and she has to fight all the other assassins in the kingdom to earn her freedom? Anyway as soon as my friend found out I had this she demanded that I read it straight away- not that I did- but I think that is a sign that it is good don't you think?

Those are all the books that I have aquired over the past month. I don't mind me collecting more as I've managed to practically half my TBR pile this year :)

Speak soon,
Jade xx

July Wrap-up!

This month was the best for reading in a long time! I read 7 books in July which I am super proud of and attribute to all the readathons this month. Because of the amount and the fact I want to write reviews for pretty much all of these I'm not going to tell you about my thoughts on the books like I normally do.

First I read a book I have been longing for for months- The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick. This is a novel based on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, it is Lizzie's diary spanning just before to just after her videos and gives us insight into more of Lizzie's thoughts, conversations and other things that Lizzie didn't share in her vlogs. I adored this book and gave it 5 stars.

Next I finished Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. I liked this book, I just found it a little slow and ended up giving it 3 stars which was not something I thought I would do with a Jane Austen novel.

Then I read Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. This was brilliant! It follows 2 Will Grayson's and what happens to them on their own and also when they meet also Tiny who is awesome. I gave this 4 stars.

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs was my next read. This is the sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and is continues straight on from it. This book had the same strange, quirky, tense vibe as the 1st except it was way more action packed; 5 stars.

Then I tackled Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. This is set in 1999/2000 and is about a guy who's job is to read people's emails in an office to make sure they aren't breaking any rules. But instead of sending a warning to these 2 girls he starts falling for 1 of them. I wanted to read this in time for meeting Rainbow Rowell- which as of right now (when I'm writing this) is tomorrow and I can't wait!- cause I can't go if I haven't read one of her books that I own! I gave it 4 stars.

I also read another Northanger Abbey this month but this time by Val Mcdermid. This is a modern retelling of Austen's novel; I liked it but I had a few issues with it that I will go into more depth in my review. I gave it 3 stars.

Lastly I read Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnely. A mermaid book. It is beautifully made and its a good story too. It follows a group of mermaid who have to save their world. I gave it 4 stars.

On the last day of July I read a really good chunk of Landline by Rainbow Rowell and I am loving it!

So that is what I read in July 😃 I don't know how much I am going to read in the first 2 weeks of August as I'm holiday but I will post a small tbr soon.

Speak soon,
Jade xx

Bout of Books 11 TBR!

As I mentioned previously the read-a-thon- Bout of Books 11 starts on 18th August till 24th and I am planning to read a couple of specific books and then read whatever takes my fancy :) The 3 books I have in mind however are:

• Tape by Steven Camden
• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins ( I really need to get this read!)
• The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald (I'm looking forward to this but mostly I need to read it before I start studying it next year)

Those are the only books that I'm setting myself to read and if I get through them I'll just pick up what I'm feeling at the time. Again I'll be posting updates and also doing some of the challenges. What are you planning on reading during the week? I know I'm probably going to have some new books by then so I might read one of those :)

Speak soon,

Jade xx

Bout of Books 11!

In January I kicked of the year well. I took part in Bout of Books 10.0 and now I am taking part in the next one! YAY! It you don't know what Bout of Books is here is a brief explaination:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

Yes, another read-a-thon. Apparently I can't get enough of them :) I will be posting daily updates every day (hopefully) here, and will probably post on instagram and twitter also (@jadeling97). I'll let you know what my TBR is in a couple of days too. Let me know if your looking forward to this as much as me :)

Speak soon,
Jade xx

Under-hyped Readathon Wrap-up

The readathons for this month have come to end :( But there is another next month and the Under-hyped one was a brilliant way to finish it all off. I read 2 books this week, both under 3,000 ratings on Goodreads. They were:

Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid. This is the 2nd book in the Project Austen campaign thingy, it is a modern retelling of Jane Austen's novel. I have mixed feelings on this book, I did enjoy it but I also had quite a few issues with it. Overall I gave it 3 stars

Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly. This is the first book in a children's series about mermaids. I enjoyed this one a lot more, the world is awesome and it was really fun I gave it 4 stars.

So those are the books I read during the readathon, let me know what you read!

Speak soon,
Jade xx

Booktube-A-Thon 2014 Wrap-up

It has come to an end :( Sorry I didn't post updates for the last half of the week but I didn't much free time and if I did I was either sleeping or reading, so I decided to leave it till today's post. I didn't read as much as I originally wanted to but considering how busy I was I am pretty proud of myself!

I read 3 books this week all of them pretty good too:

First I finished Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. I gave this book 4 stars and I really enjoyed it, I went into it blind and I certain never expected it to be so fun and wacky! I'm not going to into too much detail as I am planning to get a review up soon-which is the same for all of these so keep your eyes peeled! My friend Carolina picked this for me to read so it completes the challenge of reading a book that someone else picked.

Then on Saturday I finished Hollow City by Ransom Riggs, the sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. This was so good and I desperately need the next book! It didn't stop from beginning to end, there was always something happening and the author did an amazing job at creating tension. Easily a 5 star book! This completed the challenge of reading a book with pictures in it.

Finally on the last day of the booktube-a-thon I finished Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. This I found quite slow at first but I adored the 2nd half! It was very different to the books I normally read being an adult book and so it kinda dealing with different issues and trials. I have a lot to say on this book so look out for my review. Overall- because I did have a few issues with it- I gave it 4 stars.

And that is all I read during the booktube-a-thon. 3 books, 3 challenges, I am pretty happy with that. Are you happy with how you did if you took part? Yes, I planned to read a lot more but I found that even though I didn't reach my original goal-heck I even changed my TBR slightly- I still enjoyed it and that is the main thing.

Speak soon,
Jade xx

Under-Hyped Readathon TBR

So starting on the 21st July it is the Under-Hyped Readathon! So as I mention in an earlier post the idea of this is to read the books that you own that have been pushed aside by super popular, hyped-up books. For me I went with books that have less that 3,000 ratings on Goodreads and these are my books that fitted in that bracket and will therefore be reading:

• Tape by Steven Camden
• Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly
• Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid (Project Austen #2)
• Because it is my Blood by Gabrielle Zevin 
• Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

So hopefully I will get through all of these but I at least want to read the first 3, the others will be a bonus :) Let me know what you're planning on reading.

Speak soon,
Jade xx

Wonderful Webseries!

At the end of 2012 I discovered the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice in the form of a vlog. Since then a number of webseries have come up out of the woodwork. I love them (and probably get too invested and obsessed) But either way I wanted to share these with you, they re-imagined classic stories and used the platform of social media to make the characters relatable and real it genius! Some of the series have finished and perfect for binge watching while others there is still time to get drawn into the series. :) I can ramble on about these for years so I'm only going to tell you about Pemberley Digital's work in this post because otherwise it will go on forever!

First is the one I have already mentioned-The Emmy award winning webseries: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. The basic premise for this is that Lizzie and in extension Charlotte Lu are doing a vlog for Lizzie's Thesis. Some of the drama happens on screen but the rest is done in costume theatre. We see Lizzie and her family (especially sisters) go through a lot and we see them grow (and I love some good character development) We see them fall in love and out, make mistakes and also have fun. Plus it isn't just Lizzie who vlogs, Maria Lu, Lydia, Gigi Darcy and even Mr Collins do the odd video just to spice things up. This series never fails to make me laugh, it is what I turn to when I need a pick me up.

Welcome to Sanditon is a spin off from LBD and is loosely based on Austen's unfinished novel Sanditon. This is a really fun series with Gigi Darcy as one of the main characters and Gigi is just brilliant! This one is quite short so I don't want to give much away but it is about a town and its people trying to find a balance between old and new.

And the final one for today is Pemberley's current on-going webseries- Emma Approved. Emma is a matchmaker/ lifestyle coach and her aim is to make people's lives and the world better! She has a good heart and tries her hardest but she can sometimes be a little blind and make mistakes, we see her and the rest of her company and clients grab life and run with it along with a couple of familiar faces. There are new episodes every Monday and Thursday 9am PST and it tends to have a different story arc every month. All the arcs have been hilarious with their own ups and downs but I have to say this month they are really pulling it out of the bag- its awesome this month.

That is all the series I'm going to mention for now apart from 1. Pemberley Digital has just started filming their next series Frankenstein MD- yep that's right, somehow they are going to modernise Mary Shelley's Frankenstein! I have every confidence that it will be brilliant but I have no idea how they are going to do that. Be sure to check these because they really are good and if you need something to do on a rainy day then these are perfect :)

Speak soon,
Jade xx

Booktube-A-Thon Update Day #2!

Today was super nice cause I got to read at the beach which was a nice change from the bed :) Plus I finished Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. So that is 158pgs today and the challenge to read a book picked out by someone else completed! Over the past 2 days I have read 308pgs. I've got some catching up to do if I want to read 2100pgs/7 books but I'm sure I can do it :)Next I think I'm going to read Attachments by Rainbow Rowell- I might even start it tonight. What books and challenges have you completed so far?

Speak soon,
Jade xx

Booktube-A-Thon Day 1

The Booktube-A-Thon is here! Yay! Today has been pretty good, I feel a bit out of sync with it all as I haven't watch any videos related to the readathon. With the internet connection where I am, I'm lucky to be able to post on here! I have twitter though and some times instagram so I'm not completely disconnected- It slightly bad how much I use it normally- but I don't need internet to read so its all good :)

So to start off with I decided to read Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan which completes the challenge to read a book someone else chose for you as my friend Carolina picked this out for me to read this week. It has been good so far and it has got really interesting in the last few pages! By the end off today I have read 150pgs, which I am quite proud/surprised of since I'm on holiday and was out for most of the day; despite this I'm still hoping I can finish all the books I want to read this week and complete as many of the challenges as possible.

Let me know how you are faring so far and follow me on instagram or twitter (jadeling97) to keep up with how I'm doing :)

Speak soon,
Jade xx

#ayearathon wrap-up! (Classics)

The yearathon for July is up and it went super fast. I'll be honest I didn't read that much but I did read more than I read in a week classics wise so that's good :)

First off I let myself finish The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick. This isn't technically a classic but it is based on Pride and Prejudice so I'm letting it count and I read about the last 200 pages or so.

Then for the rest of the week I read Northanger Abbey and I have only just finished it. I enjoyed it, but I found it super slow- especially the beginning and think that is why it took me so long.

I also read some of Dylan Thomas' work- I'm not sure if this counts as classics, I mean obviously he was a genius and his stuff and- in my opinion- deserves to be classic. But some of his poems are only around 50yrs old, so I'm not sure what to class them as. Either way I read it :)

So yeah... not as great as I hoped but I was super busy and I still read. How did everyone else do? Also what is your opinion on poetry? You see about a year ago I hated it and found it boring, I remember dreading it in school. But now I am so intrigued by it and I love all the metaphors and hidden meanings.

Speak soon,
Jade xx

Booktube-a-thon TBR!

So the booktube-a-thon is starting in a few days and there are 7 books I am hoping to read that fit in with the challenges. First though some little details: This readathon was created by Ariel Bissett and is technically meant to be done in video form... But I'm a rebel!  My plan is to do daily updates on here and I will do a post on the challenge for that day also. However so I am kinda doing the challenges in video format I'm going to put a clip up on instagram so follow me on there to see them (@jadeling97)  For all the details on this readathon go to the YouTube channel (booktube-a-thon)

Now on with the books:                  

 

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien
The Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman
Finally, Shiver, Linger and Forever by Maggie Stiefvater 

So that is what I am planning on reading, I really hope I can get through them all! Let me know if you a participating too and then we can egg each other on 😄

Speak soon,

Jade xx

This is what Happy Looks Like Review

This is what happy looks like is by Jennifer E. Smith and is about

2 anonymous pen pals meeting. 1 is constantly in the spotlight and the other is avoiding it at all costs. Graham is an actor and he tries find "E" a girl he has been emailing for months and this book documents the difficulty they both safe. Ellie and Graham are both lost and they need to find themselves before their relationship with each other and their other friendships can be fixed and start to grow.

Overall I enjoyed this book but I did have a few issues. Some of the arguments between character could seem petty at times and I feel that some things were left unresolved at the book. I wanted more to come from Ellie and her father on 4th July. Also the ending left me confussed; on 1 hand I thought that Ellie didnt stand by what she had said through the whole book and that this was not consistent but at the same time I found it completely adorable!

This

book is not very deep, there is character development but if you are looking for a deep, thought provoking novel this is not it. If however you are looking for a light, fluffy, quick and fun read (especially in summer) Than this is it. I couldn't put this down! It is in third person and flips between Ellie and Graham, the design of this book with how in incorporates emails and texts is brilliant! The characters are very likeable and Graham is adorable. Like all good contemporaries it left me wanting more and it left me with a smile on my face and a warm fuzzy feeling inside. I gave this book 4 stars and I can't wait to read more of Jennifer E. Smith's work. If you have read this too I would love to know your opinions. 

Speak soon,

Jade xx

The Month of Readathons!

Hello!

July is a very, very busy time. I am going on holiday to Wales, meeting Rainbow Rowell at the end of the month and I need to pack for my holiday in America. Then there are a ton of readathons happening.

First off is this month's AYearAThon. So every month there is a new theme and for July it is Classics. It from 7th-13th July and basically you just read as many classics as you can. This is really good for me as I want to read 6 classics this year and I am super behind! If you want to join here is the Goodreads Group!

Then straight after that is the BookTubeAThon! This was created last year by Ariel Bissett and its from 14th July to 20th July. I believe there will be challenges and stuff so I will post a TBR closer to the date and I will probably do update every few days.

Lastly is Under-hyped readathon. This is pretty self-explanatory, during the week you read under-hyped books. I believe people are using different boundaries to define what those books are; personally I am reading books with under 3,000 ratings on goodreads. Others are doing 10,000 or 5,000 it really depends on the books you own. It runs from 21st-27th July.

So they are what I will be taking part in this month; I will post separate to be read posts and wrap-ups and mostly an update here and there. Let me know if you are also participating in any of these and what you plan on reading!

Speak soon,
Jade xx

My Bookshop Crawl!

So yesterday I participated in the Bookshop Crawl. I went to 2 bookshops with my friend to support independent bookshops. On our little adventure I picked up Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo (which will be a re-read as I did this in school a few years back). Then Carol got More Than This by Patrick Ness. Along with that we just wondered around Warwick- which is super pretty! And that's about it :) These events are important because Independent bookshops need to be remembered and visited! So yeah let me know what you bought on your book crawl :)

#YearAThon TBR!

Today (7/7) is the start of this month's YearAThon and the theme is Classics, and I have a few books that I want to get through :)

• First I want to finish Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, I'm already about a third of the way through and I can't wait to continue and ultimately finish it.
• Another I would like to read is The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald. This I am hoping to study in school next year so I'm using this readathon to read it before hand.
• The War of the Worlds by H.G.Wells is another classic that is waiting on my shelf so I'm thinking about also giving this one a go too.
• Finally if I get through those 3 I will either read some of Pamela by Samuel Richardson which I am part the way through or read some of Edgar Allen Poe's work.

So that is what I am considering reading over the next week; this is super useful for me as I set myself a goal to read 6 classics this year and I'm really behind so I can use this to catch up! Let me know your plans for this week!

Speak soon,

Jade xx