Building Blocks of Books.. Blog Hop!

This is the first week of a new weekly blog hop hosted by Gemma over on Passion for Novels. Each week there will be a question for us to answer about how a book has changed an aspect of our lives...


This week the question is...

A Book that made you feel brilliant after having a really tough few days/weeks

To answer this I'm going to choose a book I'm sure EVERYONE in the reading world has heard about over and over again (so I apologise in advance if you're sick of hearing about it, but I'm a massive fan!) it is... The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Now, it was actually Gemma (at Passion for Novels) who introduced me to this trilogy, and I had put off reading the first one for ages - mainly because it was around the same time as my first assignments for semester one for university were being finished so I didn't really have the time to indulge in reading just for my own pleasure! But, the second I had handed in the assessment's on deadline day I grabbed my Kindle and started this book... and finished it within about 48 hours!


I literally loved it, for me it was the perfect book at the perfect time, I'd had a crazy couple of weeks trying to get all of my university work in order and up to scratch for hand in and I was really stressed, but this story just literally managed to let me escape! I was glued to my Kindle and the second I had finished it I read the other two in very quick succession! So, The Hunger Games pretty much fell into my lap at the perfect time, when I desperately needed something that would take my mind completely away from all the stresses of the past few weeks, and this book was really perfect for this!


So, if any of you out there have somehow avoided reading these books up until now.. go and read them! They really are truly inspirational and pretty much all consuming, I'm warning you, once you pick up the first one, you'll have difficulty functioning until you have finished all three!


If you want to take part in this brand new blog hop then head on over to Passion for Novels for the details!


Abi.. x

Top Ten Tuesday #1

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, each week we choose our top ten books in answer to the question..

This week the list is... Top Ten Books that would make good Book Club Reads!

For my top ten I have chosen five books which I have hard copies of and five books off my Kindle...

Here are my five hard copies...

#1: Angela Carter - Wise Children, I think this book would be fantastic in a book club, I first read it when I was about 17, and immediately fell in love. It's one of those books that divides people down the middle, about half of the people I knew who had read it absolutely despised it! But the other half were obsessed. It's structurally challenging, and the characters are amazing and complex, I think this would generate some brilliant discussions in a book club!

#2: J.G Ballard - Empire of the Sun has to be one of the most emotional books I have ever read. I really had to put this into this top ten, it's one of those books that I believe puts forward and includes such important yet tragic events that I think it's a must read for pretty much everyone!

#3: Malorie Blackman - Noughts and Crosses similarly to #2, I think this book is a must read. The role reversal Blackman uses is sure to inspire some amazing discussions on this novel, despite the fact that it's targeted at young adult readers I really do feel that you could read this book at any age and it would always have a huge emotional impact. The issues it deals with are so sensitive that I think it'd be perfect for bookish discussions!

#4: David Nicholls - One Day is not a book I immediately thought of, mainly because I felt a bit let down by it! I thought the premise of the book sounded perfect, and had heard mainly good things about it; but, when I myself finally got round to reading it I wasn't as into it as I thought I would be. I found it a challenging read, but the final parts of the book were worth the effort. It was by no stretch of the imagination the worst book I have ever read, but the challenge I found reading it I think would make it ideal for a group of other readers to tackle together and discuss!

#5: Sara Gruen - Water for Elephants I cannot say a single bad word about this book. In short, I adored it. That is the only justification I can give for putting it on this list! I think it is a book that everyone (and I mean everyone!) should have the pleasure of reading! It's magical, escapist, and romantic... a massive favourite and I want to share it with everyone who has not yet got round to reading it!

On to my Kindle books...

#6: Stieg Larsson - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is one of the two books I'm reading at the moment - or trying to read! - but I have to say, it's not an easy read! It is really interesting, and definately full of suspense and intrigue, BUT, it is hard going at times. This is why I think it'd be great in a book club!

#7: Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games I would put all three of this trilogy in if I could, but I've just chosen the first one because it made more sense to! I loved this series, I literally could not put it down, even at work! It is technically YA I think, but still, it's so enthralling that I think it makes a fantastic read at any age, and I'm yet to meet someone who says they didn't like it!

#8: Ian McEwan - Atonement is one I read for university and loved! One of those little gems you get told to read and then end up really enjoying. I think the story is amazing, and the era it's set in is as you can tell one which I really enjoy reading about!

#9: Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Travellers Wife is one we have all heard lots about, romantic, captivating and above all an incredible love story! I sobbed pretty much throughout this novel, and the film adaptation as well! I just think this is a book that a lot of people would really enjoy, quite an easy read but at the same time tragic!                                                                         

#10: Stephen E. Ambrose - Band of Brothers I have a feeling this would be quite a random one in this list, but I promise there is a reason! As you can probably tell from some of my other choices, as well as reading, I have a huge passion for history, particularly the periods of the first and second world wars. I think they are such a vital time period to recognise and learn about, and I love to read about them! Stephen E. Ambrose is in my opinion a fantastic writer, and this book is one of my all time favourites. I have visited Normandy, and visited the museum in which much of the information about Easy Company is housed, and it is a story which has forever touched my soul! I just think it's such an important topic, that it would be a shame not to include a book like this on a book club list!

What would your top ten be?



Abi.. x

Wishlist Wednesday #3

Wishlist Wednesday is a weekly blog hop post hosted by Pen to Paper in which we each write a post about a book that is on our wishlist.. either new or old it doesn't matter!

This week I've chosen Dead Until Dark from the True Blood collection by Charlaine Harris.

WHSmith Synopsis:

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much - not because she's not pretty - she's a very cute bubbly blonde - or not interested in a social life. She really is ...but Sookie's got a bit of a disability. She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill: he's tall, he's dark and he's handsome - and Sookie can't 'hear' a word he's thinking. He's exactly the type of guy she's been waiting all her life for. But Bill has a disability of his own: he's fussy about his food, he doesn't like suntans and he's never around during the day ...Yep, Bill's a vampire. Worse than that, he hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, with a reputation for trouble - of the murderous kind. And then one of Sookie's colleagues at the bar is killed, and it's beginning to look like Sookie might be the next victim ...


I have constantly heard SO much good stuff about this book, literally about 99% of the people I know who have read it have raved about it and so I'm desperate to read it. I am literally obsessed with pretty much everything vampire related, so I know I will enjoy this book, there is no question! I am yet to own a hard copy but I have the first two books from the collection on my Kindle waiting to be read so I really hope I get round to them soon!

Abi.. xo

Wishlist Wednesday #2

Wishlist Wednesday is a weekly blog hop post hosted by Pen to Paper in which we each write a post about a book that is on our wishlist.. either new or old it doesn't matter!



This week I have chosen When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman.


'Product Description'/Summary from Amazon:
Young Elly's world is shaped by those who inhabit it: her loving but maddeningly distractible parents; a best friend who smells of chips and knows exotic words like 'slag'; an ageing fop who tapdances his way into her home, a Shirley Bassey impersonator who trails close behind; lastly, of course, a rabbit called God. In a childhood peppered with moments both ordinary and extraordinary, Elly's one constant is her brother Joe.

Twenty years on, Elly and Joe are fully grown and as close as they ever were. Until, that is, one bright morning when a single, earth-shattering event threatens to destroy their bond forever.

Spanning four decades and moving between suburban Essex, the wild coast of Cornwall and the streets of New York, this is a story about childhood, eccentricity, the darker side of love and sex, the pull and power of family ties, loss and life. More than anything, it's a story about love in all its forms.


This book has been on my wishlist for a couple of months now, I just havn't even got round to buying myself a copy let alone reading it! Everytime I go into Smiths or Waterstones I either don't remember to pick it up, or can't find it!

Fingers crossed I remember to get my hands on a copy for myself soon and hopefully it'll fullfill my expectations as from what I've heard it's pretty good!

Abi.. x

Wishlist Wednesday #1

So, Wishlist Wednesday is a blog hop hosted by the lovely Pen to Paper in which we discuss a book that has been on our wishlists for a while, or even one that we've just added!

The book I have chosen for this week is the well known One Day by David Nicholls, a book which many have read and raved about, and has now been made into a feature film released in cinemas starring Anne Hathaway.

'Product Description'/Summary from Amazon:

My copy, still with its sale stickers on!

'I can imagine you at forty,' she said, a hint of malice in her voice. 'I can picture it right now.'
He smiled without opening his eyes. 'Go on then.'
15th July 1988. Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways.
So where will they be on this one day next year?
And the year after that? And every year that follows?
Twenty years, two people, ONE DAY. From the author of the massive bestseller STARTER FOR TEN.

I actually bought this book around a year ago.. or what seems like a very long time ago anyway! I saw it discussed on the TV book club which was on channel 4 and liked the sound of it so went out to my local Smiths and got my hands on a copy intending to read it as soon as I could. I absolutely fell in love with the concept of the story, and thought the structure of the narrative would be unlike anything I had read before, plus, I'm a sucker for a love story. As usual with me though, something else cropped up, another book I was more excited about, or one of the many books I have to read for University muscled into my queue of 'To Read Soon' books, so 'One Day' unfortunately got pushed to the back of my bookcase...

When thinking about which book I would choose this week, I suddenly remembered it, and now am desperate to read it after re-reading the blurb! Maybe this will be my next page turner?