Well, this has been a very long time.
It's been two years since I last wrote a blog post on here; work and general life have gotten in the way, but I've still been reading and still buying far too many books for me to actually manage to get through.
I wanted to start writing here again to give myself a creative outlet. It's far too easy for me to spend my days off asleep, watching crime dramas or eating copious amount of Pringles, so I figured I needed something better to do with my time (although as I'm writing this I do have an episode of Criminal Minds on, so...)
I can't wait to get back into writing again - let's see how this goes!
Friday, 5 January 2018
Wednesday, 6 January 2016
review | a spool of blue thread by anne tyler
It's not very often I'm completely captured by a book from the very first chapter - that may have something to do with my incredibly short attention span - but A Spool of Blue Thread did just that. Following the Whitshank family back through three generations, describing the twists and turns that come with ordinary family life, I find it hard to describe A Spool of Blue Thread as anything less than absolutely lovely.
If you prefer fast-paced writing with plenty of action and suspense then this may not be for you, but Anne Tyler's writing is beautiful and keeps you wanting to read more. The way she writes characters you can both despise and adore is incredible; I cared about them despite the fact that they were hard work, selfish and sometimes unbelievably annoying.
Despite some people describing this as a slow read, I found it hard to put it down. I felt downhearted when I knew it was coming to an end, as I just wanted to carry on reading - and being a novel about not-so-exciting family life, that is a true indication of just how wonderful this book is.
*A Spool of Blue Thread was kindly sent to me for review purposes by Penguin Random House, but all opinions expressed are my own.
Tuesday, 5 January 2016
review | harry potter and the philosopher's stone illustrated by jim kay
If you know me, you'll know I'm a ridiculously huge Harry Potter fan. I've read the books countless times, and recently downloaded the audiobooks so I can enjoy it even with my eyes closed. So when I saw that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was being re-released with gorgeous illustrations, I knew I needed it! Thankfully, my parents were kind enough to give it to me for Christmas, and it's just as beautiful as I thought it would be.
Despite it being an illustrated book, it's not overwhelming - some pages are full illustrations, whereas others are all text with some illustrations scattered throughout to break it up a little bit. The new edition brings back the same sense of excitement that was present the first time I read this book, and although it is an incredibly familiar story to me, it felt as though I was still looking forward to the next page and what it would bring - pretty much solely down to the illustrations.
Much to my delight, Scholastic and Bloomsbury have announced they plan to release a new illustrated edition each year, and I for one can not wait to see all of the books lined up on my bookshelf!
Have you seen the new illustrated Harry Potter? What did you think?