November Book Haul

Hello!

In my last post I mentioned that I would probably do a follow up blog a few days after the last post to go into more detail about the mini haul I had.

I lied.

And I am so so sorry! I got caught up with overtime at work, cross stitching gift tags and cards, reading, and watching Netflix. So, I'm going to be a good little elf (as it can now be classed as the Christmas season - at least according to the number of houses with Christmas lights) and give you all a more detailed look into my book haul!

November 11th - payday

So the day I got paid, I went for a wander around the shopping area where I work, with the intention of buying Christmas gifts for people. Instead, I ended up purchasing three books for myself, as well as some hairdye, and well, no presents,

Each of these books came from the same Charity Shop - Scope in this instance - and were a complete steal at a total of FIVE POUNDS for the three.

1. The Noahs Ark Quest - Boyd Morrison

*Note - known as The Ark in the U.S. Also, I forgot to take a photo of this one!*

"The greatest archaeological discovery in history could mean the end of mankind"

This book focuses on a woman named Dilara Kenner, who is contacted by a man who claims to have vital information regarding her missing dad. So, she drops everything to go meet this man, However, when she meets him, he tells her of Noah's Ark and the potential death of billions. And I am 99% certain her father is linked into this all, or at least I hope he is! Just as the man begins to explain what he is on about, he actually collapses, and, with his dying breath, tells Dilara to find a certain man named Tyler Locke, who will be able to tell her everything she needs to know.

When she finds him, he agrees to investigate this claim of Noah's Ark alongside Dilara, and they reveal some interesting information. Religious fanatics have infact got a weapon from the Ark that will allow them to recreate the very same effects from the Biblical Flood, which could cause the death of millions.

I'm interested to read this, and see where it takes me. However, I do think it sounds a little too far fetched, I mean, how would these religious fanatics know where teh Ark is, or infact have anything from the Ark itself? I guess I'll have to read to find out!

2. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

I have a confession. I've never actually read a Dan Brown book before. I know! So, pick yourself up off the floor, dust yourself down, and continue reading whilst getting over this shock!

Robert Langdon is asked to perform a lecture in the U.S Capitol Building when he is rudely interrupted by a disturbing object encoded with five symbols being found in the building. Langdon looks into the object, and finds that there is an ancient invitation into a lost world of potentially dangeroud wisdom. His mentor is kidnapped, and Langdon realises that the only thing that can save him is infact to accept said invitation and plunge head first into a world of Masonic secrets, hideen history and an inconceivable truth

Now, I think I am getting myself into a lot of confusion here, as I have infact realised that this is e third in the Robert Langdon series, although the synopsis makes it sound as though the books are standalones and I do not need to worry about missing the first two. Here'ls to hoping!

3. The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton

Whoever donated this book to charity - I owe you one. Big time.

This book has won the Man Booker Prize award in the year of its release - 2013 - so imagine my surprise and delight when a book I have heard nothing but amazing things about has been placed on a shelf in my local chairty shop! I grabbed this baby and was never letting go - I even reluctantly had to hand it over to the cashier and gave this look of desparation for the book to be put in a bag so I could have it back before she kept it for herself!

The Luminaries is set in New Zealand in 1866. The main character - Walter Moody - has arrived in the country with the aim to make his fortune there. On the night of his arrivalhe finds himself in the company of twelve local men who have met in secret to discuss a chain of unexplainable events. A wealthy man has vanished, a prostitute attempted suicide, and an enormous fortune has found its way into the home of an incredibly unlucky drunk. Moody soon finds himself drawn into this mystery, which involves a network of fates and fortunes that is profoundly complex an ornate, and I cannot wait to get involved myself. However, at a whopping 800pages and then some, I am going to be on a while reading it. That is, when I eventually get round to starting it at all!

Extra Purchases

Megan Olivier, a BootTuber I follow, announced she was having a book clearout and wanted to sell some of her books on ebay. So I thought I would go for a wander over there and see whether there was anything worth bidding on. I am so pleased I did, as I can announce I have won two bidding wars in order to get two wonderful books.

The books I won were:


Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys
The Girl In The Red Coat

Now, I am currently reading Between Shades of Gray and I am loving it. I need to find the time to just be able to sit and read it and get it finished so I can post a review for you guys!

Both of these books are centred around war. One is the story of a Latvian girl, the other a little girls journey through life, perhaps the most heartbreaking war story to come out of WW2 next to Anne Frank. If you have seen Schindlers List, you will recognise the image on the cover of the book.. This image is a replica of a still of "the girl in the red coat" from the black and white film Schindlers List. This little girl can be seen in a specific scene amongst number of Jews living in Ghettos in a German-occupied Poland. The author - Roma Ligocka - attended a screening of Schindlers List when it was first released, and knew in an instance this little girl was her.

From that alone, I wanted to know more. I cannot wait to read TGITRC after BSOG, and I will definitely tell you all about it!

So, that is is for my little mini haul! Until my next post - I wish you all well!

***** have you read any of the books I've mentioned? Or from these purchases could recommend any? Please let me know in the comments below, I love reading your comments and thoughts on the items I blog about!

An Update of all Kinds, including a Mini Haul and BookTube info!

Hello followers! I have a quick (at least I hope it will be) update with regards to a couple of issues. Firstly, I want to discuss BookTube and how things are going with that, then I want to discuss a mini haul (although that may come later as there are pictures for that one and I don't want to drag out this post) and tag's I've been requested to do by fellow BookTubers.

BookTube

So, incase any of you wonderful people did not know, I am on YouTube, attempting a video version of this blog. However, my laptop refuses to connect to the Internet properly (damn you technology) therefore, I am having to use my Kindle to blog, as well as borrowing other people's laptops (such as right now, I'm using my boyfriends laptop whilst he isn't here). Sadly, this means that I am unable to record and upload my videos to YouTube, meaning I am having to do them on here instead.

BUT

Every cloud has a silver lining. As does this cloud! Because I cannot upload to YouTube properly, it means I will be responding to tags and uploading reviews to this blog instead, which is excellent for my own peace of mind, as I feel like I have been neglecting my blog slightly. (Sorry everyone :( ). SO you shall see updates on here more often, starting with two tags from Wanderness, one from The Sheep and the Wolf, and the final one from Michael from Bitten By A Radioactive Book.

Mini Haul

Since payday (11th November for me) I have purchased five books. Three of these books have been very briefly discussed in a mini update video on my vlog, and they are The Noahs Ark Quest, The Lost Symbol, and The Luminaries. The other two additions I won on ebay as a fellow BookTuber was having a clear-out of her books, and these ones are Between Shades of Gray and The Girl In The Red Coat. I have already started reading Between Shades of Gray and I am very excited to see how it pans out, so look out for that post!

In the mean time, I will post in the next couple of days with regards to the Mini Haul and discuss each in more detail (at least two of them have maps within the first few pages - exciting stuff!). But for now, I shall bid you all a good evening (if you're in the UK at least). If you are not on GMT, then I hope you are having or have had a lovely day!

**I'd love to hear your thoughts on my recent changes from BookTube to blog, is it something you are looking forward to? Please leave your comments below, and please leave your blog details if you want me to follow you! If you follow me, I will follow back!

Twenty-Eight and A Half Wishes: A Review

Hello! Today I bring you a review blog of the book Twenty-Eight and A Half Wishes, a murder mystery novel by Denise Grover Swank! So, let's get started!

I got this book on the Amazon Kindle Store, for a total of ZERO POUNDS. Yep, that's right, a total of nothing. Which did make me a bit dubious about this book, as most books that are free on Kindle are in fact either Classics, such as Jane Austen, or not exactly the greatest. So I went into this with a restricted view.

HOWEVER, I have since found out that it has won an award - "The Beacon" - and won the Unpublished Division, Mainstream Category in 2010. And this then changed my view. If the book has won an award, it must be good, right?

OF COURSE IT IS.

I fell in love with this book quite quickly. when i first picked it up I was in the middle of doing my dissertation - which was a very bad move. It meant that I didnt follow it as well as I should have, and lost interest in favour of panicking over my dissertation and other assignments. So it was left to gather metaphorical dust on my Kindle, until I finally picked it back up again this summer on the recommendation of a very good friend. And I am so pleased I did.

The book is about a girl named Rose, and Rose has these - usually - pointless visions, such as a leaky pipe or dog escaping. Usleless to her, but useful to the people she seems to be talking to at the time.Until one day...

"It all started when I saw myself dead."

I KNOW RIGHT?!

So naturally, you need to know why she's suddenly having visions of herelf dead. However, when she gets home later that day, she finds her mam(mom/mum/mother) dead in the exact spot where she should be dead herself. And with the help of her sister Vi, her sisters husband, her nosy neighbours across the street, and a wonderful, gorgeous, mysterious new next door neighbour called Joe, hilarity ensues in the form of not only trying to solve the murder that she seems to be framed for, but also in the form of Rose trying to break free of the obedient mould she's always been in.

This book is full of twists, things I definitely didn't see coming! I was left hating Joe (the hunky next door neighbour) at times, whilst also left me hating myself for hating him, if you get what I mean? His actions are sometimes questionable, but they all tie in together at the end.

This book is the first out of a series of mystery novels, and I will be purchasing them all - eventually!

Overall I give this book a solid 4 out of 5 stars. It is only losing a star because of my own reasons, nothing wrong with the book itself, just my emotions all over the place! I would highly recommend this book, it makes you luagh, cry, drop your Kindle on your face while reading in bed in shock, and overall leaves you questioning so many different things!

A must-read, and at 0.00GBP, you would be crazy to say no!

Have you read this book? Or another one like it and you think I would enjoy it? Please leave your thoughts and recommendations in the comments, I love your feedback and recommendations!

Monthly Update - November 2014

Hello!

So, October is finally over, with the month ending in its usual fantastic way - Halloween! This year however, I opted for a night in with my boyfriend and parents, as opposed to going out and getting drunk silly, especially with a supposed 8.5 hour shift the following day! AND, I decided to blog for you wonderful people too! Is there really a better way to spend Halloween? I doubt it 😉

So, with the end of October comes November, and in true November style, I'm starting to feel a little Christmassy, and I don't know why. I kind of feel like Jack from The Nightmare Before Christmas. You go from pumpkins and scariness one night to Santa Claus, reindeer and sleigh bells the next. One of the issues with this however, is that I work in retail. And as soon as that Christmas music starts, I have a dread of Christmas!

Anyway, back to the task in hand...an update!

So this month I managed to finish a whole two books! I know! Someone stop me before I get out of hand! I have also been experimenting with designs in terms of Christmas cards and gift tags in the form of cross stitch, something a little handmade to make each gift extra special and personal for the person on the receiving end. I'd love to share them with you, but they aren't completely done yet and I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!

What else did I do in October??

I created a goodreads account! If any of you are avid readers or have a goodreads account, please leave it in a comment below so I can find you guys and add you on there, I love looking at people's reading interests and gaining inspiration as of what to read next!

So, that's pretty much it for the update, although I do have a review that needs writing for my Kat read, Twenty Eight and a Half Wishes, so I'll be posting again soon!