Top 10 ‘Older’ Books Not to be Forgotten

Top 10 Tuesday is a meme hosted every Tuesday at The Broke and the Bookish where bloggers compile lists of different top 10s. This week it’s

Top Ten “Older” Books You Don’t Want People To Forget About

I’m trying to use books which I think may end up being forgotten. Not sure if I can make it to 10 but I will try my best.

1) Pop Co.- Scarlet Thomas Scarlett Thomas is probably better known as the writer of The End of Mr Y but I preferred this one. Her more recent releases haven’t quite met up to standard so I hope this one doesn’t get lost because of them.

2) Random Acts of Heroic Love- Danny Scheinmann I read this book before I started my blog. It had been very popular for a while but I haven’t seen a review of it in a long time. When I read it I adored it and wanted to share it with everybody.

3) An Equal Music- Vikram Seth This is another one I read in my pre-blog days. I read it when A Suitable Boy (which I have never managed to finish) was at the height of its popularity, and it’s probably overshadowed by A Suitable Boy. The descriptions of music and playing made me want to pick up my violin again.

4) The Historian- Elisabeth Kostova Beware about this vampire novel, it gave me funny dreams! I was in half a mind whether to include this one or not. It still seems to be quite well know, but it didn’t have the greatest amount of hype so I thought I would add it just in case.

5) The Lover’s Dictionary- David Levithan Considering this wonderful little novel is written by a traditionally YA author I worry that it will be drowned out, or will be seen as a book for teenagers, rather than the adult novel it actually is.

6) The War of Don Emmanuel’s Nether Parts- Louis de Bernieres: when I read the review which put me onto this book I didn’t even know it existed. Louis de Bernieres is best known for Captain Correli’s Mandolin, and a lot of his work prior to that is given little notice. The War of Don Emmanuel’s Nether Parts, however, is the best I have read by him.

Yup 6 is my limit.

BBAW: Appreciation

Hia guys. It’s Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Whoop whoop!

Book Blogger Appreciation Week is just that, a week to appreciate your favourite book blogs, to find out more about them, and to find great new blogs.

Welcome to anyone who is visiting for the first time. Feel free to have a look around. Comment if you want to. I’d love it if you want to follow me too.

Today is all about giving a shout out to your favourite blogs. I’m going to list five, but I also want to direct you guys to my blog roll, all great blogs which you should check out just not my very, very favourites right at this moment in time (although it can change from day to day). I would love you to give those guys support too but if you’re pressed for time have a look at these 5.

1) Judith @ Leeswammes’ Blog Judith’s tastes are very similar to mine, which is pretty much why I read her blog. If I like the synopsis of a book she is reading and she has enjoyed it I am almost guaranteed to enjoy it too. My wishlist is full of books I read about on Leeswammes’ Blog. Judith’s reviews are always very detailed too, so you can be sure you know what you’re getting into. Judith is also the host of The Literary Giveaway Hop which I have participated in a few times, and is great fun.

2) Ellie @ Curiosity Killed the Bookworm I originally discovered Curiosity Killed the Bookworm through twitter, and ‘i probably still ‘interact’ with Ellie the most that way. Technically I shouldn’t like Curiosity Killed the Bookworm. Ellie mainly reviews YA, which I very rarely read. However her reviews are so enthusiastic that when she does read something I might be interested in I can’t help but want to read it too. That’s how I discovered Charlotte Street which I went crazy over a couple of weeks ago. I also love Ellie’s blog layout, it’s probably my favourite looking blog on my blog list.

3) Sam @ Sam Still Reading  I’ve been following Sam Still Reading from not long after it was set up and I love how similar Sam’s progress has been to my own. Sam reads a lot of similar books to me (although maybe a bit more historical fiction). Her reviews are quite similar to mine as well, simple but they cover everything I would want them to cover. It’s almost like Sam Still Reading is tailor made for me.

4) Anna @ TwoOrThreeThingsIKnowAboutHer I only discovered Anna’s blog this weekend when she commented on one of my posts. She hasn’t been blogging for long (her blog only has 5 posts at the time of writing) but I enjoyed reading all the posts. I like that her reviews aren’t so much reviews as thoughts about the books she’s read, has been reading, or is yet to read. I also love that she takes her own photos for all her posts.

5) Chris @ ChrisbookaramaThe main thing I like about Chrisbookarama is Chris’ Friday Bookish Buzz feature, I get probably about 90% of my book news from this feature (the rest comes mainly from bookriot, and occasionally from The Guardian or twitter), even when my reader is out of control I stop scrolling for Bookish Buzz. I also like how varied Chris’ reviews are, there’s pretty much something for everyone.

 

Top 10 Books Read in the Lifetime of this Blog

It’s time for another Top 10 Tuesday (which is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish). I only occasionally join in with this meme but I really liked the look of this week’s topic.

Top Ten Books Read in the Lifetime of Your Blog.

Well my blog is almost 3 years old (in fact my blogiversary is at the end of this month) and in that time I’ve red and reviewed almost 200 books. So it’s a bit difficult to pick just 10…I shall see what I can do. In no particular order…

1) Pop Co.- Scarlet Thomas This is the story of a woman who creates spy kits for kids as part of a large toy company- Pop Co. One day she receives a strange coded message, who is it from and what do they want?

I really enjoyed this book. It made me think about things like the morality of corporations, and see more everyday things in a different light.

2) Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism- Natasha Walter. This book is basically feminism for the modern world. It’s one that I recommend all women read, whether you consider yourself a feminist or not.

3) Brooklyn Bites Series- Scott Stabile. These are a series of short stories set in Brooklyn and all have a connection to food. The descriptions are especially good. I’m not usually a reader of short stories but I loved these, plus they show that just because something is self-published doesn’t mean it’s no good!

4) The Lucifer Effect- Phillip Zimbardo: I studied psychology at uni and this means that a large proportion of my non-fiction reading is psychology related. The Lucifer Effect is the book written about Zimbardo’s famous Stanford Prison Experiment which studied how a person’s authority would effect their behaviour. The experiment had to be cancelled because of some of the effects, and it took a long time for Zimbardo to feel he could write this book. This meant he could apply his findings to new world events and actually means it was published at a time when people were looking for answers. It’s a scary book to read because it suggests there are things we could all be capable of but I think it’s important too.

5) Handle with Care- Jodi Picoult: I’m quite a fan of Picoult and this one is my favourite, probably because I connect with it personally. It’s a story about a woman suing her midwife because her daughter was born with severely brittle bones which should have been picked up on her scan. Well really, no, it’s more about her daughter.

6) How to be a Woman- Caitlin Moran: This book is basically Caitlin Moran’s biography, with a bit of a feminist kick. It pretty much made me fall in love with her.

7) The War of Don Emmanuel’s Nether Parts- Louis de Bernieres: since reading Captain Correli’s Mandolin I had been looking for a Louis de Bernieres’ book as good. The War of Don Emmanuel’s Nether Parts does that and more. It’s basically about a South American country with dodgy politics and the goings on of different groups and people

8) Kafka on the Shore- Haruki Murakami: I discovered Murakami thanks to the bookish community online and Kafka on the Shore is my favourite of his that I have read.  I can’t really adequately describe it, and I had trouble reviewing it, but it is fantastic.

9) Mockingbird- Kathryn Erskien: is the story of Caitlin, a girl with Asperger’s Syndrome whose brother has just died. It is a story about grief but ultimately it’s a story about Asperger’s, and Caitlin is portrayed wonderfully.

10) Middlesex- Jeffery Eugenides: Is the story of Cal, who is a hermaphrodite, about her growing up, and about his family. It’s one of those books that you can’t really tell people why they need to read it, just that they have to.

Top 10 Posts on this Blog

Top 10 Tuesday is a feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week there is a different topic and this week it’s the top 10 posts on your blog. Any post you are proud of and want people to see.

I’m going to try and link a post on everything I cover (books reviews, musings, film reviews, children’s hour)

1) Review: When God Was a Rabbit- this is my most popular post (as in the number of times it has been read). I’m pretty proud of the review, and it was one of the first review requests I was given.

2) Bookish Gifts: Clothing- over Christmas I made a whole series of posts on bookish gifts. This one about clothing is probably my favourite.

3) 50 Shades of Grey and Decency- I only wrote this post last week but it’s already my most popular musing post- I think it’s managed to hit on a mood.

4) Review: The Elegance of the Hedgehog- I basically ordered everyone to read this book in this review. Fantastic book.

5) The Popularity Contest- this post is all about how a book’s popularity effects your reading of it. It’s my favourite musing post I have written.

6) Children’s Hour: Giraffes Can’t Dance- This is my favourite Children’s Hour post to date (when I post reviews of children’s books). Actually, that isn’t completely true, my favourite is the one coming out later this week.

7) Harry Potter Week: Summery Post- I’m cheating with this one a bit. When the final Harry Potter film came out I had a Harry Potter week when I posted something Potter related every day. This is the post that links to all the other posts.

8) Film Review: Easy A- this was one of my first film reviews, and probably my favourite. (the film is very entertaining by the way)

9) Review: Living Dolls- this is my favourite non-fiction review. A book I think all women should read.

10) Me and Books- This is about me and my history with books. It goes I think some way into giving my reviews authority.

Top 10 Sites I Visit that AREN’T About Books

A lot of bloggers I follow take part in Top 10 Tuesday (which is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) and frequently I read the posts after Tuesday and wish I was around on Tuesday to actually take part! (Tuesday is my sign class day which makes writing posts difficult) For ages I have been meaning to look at their list of topics so I can actually take part by writing a post in advance (something I rarely do). So this is my first Top 10 Tuesdays post and the topic is….

Top Ten Blogs/Sites You Read That AREN’T about Books:

1) Failbook- this site posts funny social media site items (mainly facebook statuses) and I am totally addicted, seriously I can read it for a whole evening.

2) Postsecret- does what it says, posts secrets, on postcards. Some funny, some moving.

3) Mimi and Eunice- cute and funny cartoons

4) Facebook- not 4th because I love it but because I spend so much time there…

5) Twitter- see facebook!

6) The Guardian- okay so this cheats a bit as I tend to read articles on books…but I occasionally go outside that sphere when I see something interesting

7) Dear Dave and Nick- letters to the Prime minister and his lapdog (err I mean Deputy….) about what is going on. With great decoration!

8) Thx, Thx, Thx- a thank you note every day about little things and bigger things

9) XKCD- funny, sarcastic, sometimes complex, comics

10) WordPress Freshly Pressed- Each day that I visit wordpress I have a quick look to see what blog posts are being featured, and sometimes I read them.

The Book Blogger Hop is Back!

Oh it’s been such a long time hasn’t it? Jennifer @ Crazy for Books has decided to revive the Book Blogger Hop. She missed it and I have to say I did too. The rules are the same as always except now the hop runs from Friday to Thursday rather than just over the weekend, so there’s plenty of time to join in. I only found out it was back last night so that’s why I didn’t post on Friday.

This week’s question is….

Who is your favorite book character? I’ll give you a maximum of two choices, but they have to be from different genres!

Oh that’s a difficult one! I always liked Luna in the Harry Potter series. She’s obviously clever, and stramge, wonderfully so. I love that she doesn’t really care what anyone else thinks of her.

It’s Book Blogger Appreciation Week!

This year is the first time I’ve participated in Book Blogger Appreciation Week (or BBAW) and I’m very excited! Last year I can’t say I was very connected with the blogging community (which is the focus of this year’s BBAW).

Today we are talking about Blogger’s who have inspired us and encouraged us.

Well in a way my blog was inspired not by bloggers as such but by a community. The Book Club Forum was where my blog started, as form of a member book review thread (which does still exist). The forum does have its own blog which is contributed to by a number of members and lots of members have their own blogs.

As for blogger’s themselves? Well I can’t get away without talking about Jennifer at Crazy for Books because it was really her Book Blogger Hop which introduced me to the book blogging community. For similar reasons I want to highlight Sherry at Semicolon who runs the review of reviews, which is a great way to find new books and new bloggers.

I also want to mention Judith at Leeswames’ Blog who seems to have very similar taste in books to me, and who introduced me to the (surprisingly addictive) world of giveaways through her Literary Blog Hop Giveaway (do visit her blog, today she announced another giveaway hop for next month).

I also want to mention Jackie at Farm Lane Books, simply because she’s the blogger who seems to have the closest taste in books to my own taste. I really trust her recommendations.

Finally to all my readers, commenters, and subscribers. Thank you for all your support.

Sharing the Love

During my time in the blogging world I have found lots of other fantastic blogs. You can see everyone I follow (more or less, it needs updating) on my sidebar but sometimes I have found the need to give a special mention to blogs I love. I thought that as it is a happy time for my blog it would be nice to look back and share the love. Do have a look at the blogs in my sidebar too, they are all fantabulous.

Reading in the Bath: when I first wrote about this blog it was very new, with only 2 posts but I highlighted it because I thlought it showed potential. Now it’s a bit older my hopes are confirmed. I still love the chatty style of writing and the eclectic mix of books.

A Thousand Books with Quotes still remains a favourite of mine. Rather than a standard review format this blog picks out favourite quotes from great books. When I first posted about this blog I said that it could be good to find new books with a tone you like but I find I generally prefer it for remembering books I have loved. (Also check out the picture up top, enough to make any biblophile jealous!)

An Old Flame: Oh the sadness when a loved blog goes. For a while An Old Flame lay redundant, but still there. Now it is gone. I used to love Trina’s discussion posts but as she started blogging more about the books her boys were reading, and eventually decided it didn’t fit with her old blog format she started moving more over to her new blog which focuses on children’s books. It is still a great blog but not of the type I read.

Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing is another one which drew me in through discussion (do you sense a theme here?). The reviews are very detailed. A good blog for YA.

A Novel Review: again the discussion got me interested, I like the layout of the reviews too.

Harry Potter Reviews: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

 

Last but by no means least

A Book a Week “This book was really worth the wait, and not at all a let-down.”

Alison’s Book Marks “The elements of this story twist and turn and come back around on you”

Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review “A fitting end to the journey but a bumpy ride along the way.”

3 Evil Cousins “We wanted his final story to end spectacularly. Alas, it was not to be.” (can I just say despite the fact that I loved Deathly Hallows this review is awesome!)

The Symposium “this is definately not one of my favorite books in the series and not one of Rowling’s better efforts.” (this review is very detailed, and I found it a little difficult to find a summing up quote)

Geeky Blogger’s Book Blog “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling’s fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget.”

Harry Potter Reviews: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I will get these all done by the end of today!

Speculative Book Review “readers will find the Harry Potter series conventional when comparing it to the more innovative epic fantasy that is geared toward adults.”

Melissa’s Bookshelf “Vividly written, though not necessarily perfectly written, the tales of Harry Potter never seem to disappoint (yes, some are better than others), and the Half-Blood Prince is no exception.”

In the Shadow of Mt. TBR “While Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling  was an easy and comfortable read, it often fell flat and fizzled in places.”

Book Brothel “This might be the best book yet in the series – it’s full of action, great characters, suspense, mystery, and a struggle of good against an uncompromising evil force”

In Which Our Hero “Rowling’s storytelling skill becomes more apparent with every volume”

Harry Potter Reviews: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Librarian’s Book Reviews (Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince) “Rowling is a master of the multiple plot lines”

Word Lily “At this point, I’m a bit disappointed”

Library Queue “really not a lot happens in this book considering it’s the longest book in the series.”

Bookish “I think it’s pretty amazing that Rowling’s fantastical series is the closest thing to reality I’ve seen in a long time.”

Books, time and Silence “Yes, Order of the Phoenix may be dark, but it is gloriously so.”

 

It is sad that I found it difficult to find much love for this book (or at least from bloggers who I have not already mentioned in these posts). Of course I want to show both sides of the coin but it makes me sad when people don’t like books I love.

 

Harry Potter Reviews: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Books “completely un-put-downable (I read all 700-ish pages in a single day), and the ending totally blew me away.”

2 Kids and Tired Books “I think this is the funnest Harry Potter book.”

Reading Comes From Writing “Once I finished I felt that it was worth it all in the end”

The Avid Reader’s Musings “The fourth book marks a drastic changing point in the series.”

You’ve GOTTA Read This “Terrifying, gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, with a few hormones thrown in just to prevent tears”

Harry Potter Reviews: Harry Potter and the Prisioner of Azkaban

As before I’m trying not to use the same blogs over and over but post reviews that I liked reading.

Book Addiction “this book is a true comfort read for me… I love going back to the familiar story and rediscovering Sirius Black and his contribution to Harry’s history.”

Jules’ Book Reviews “Most will agree that this is one of the best in the series, and this kicks off the rest of the books.”

Notes from the North “There is a great mixture of excitment, humour, and scariness.”

Pile on the Books “Since this is my favorite of the movies, I found myself many times wondering why things hadn’t happened/weren’t happening in the book.”

Jenny’s Books “Yeah, no. Nope. I can’t think of anything bad to say about Prisoner of Azkaban. Every time I read it, I have one of those reading experiences where everything else falls away.”

Harry Potter Reviews: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Today I will be looking at reviews of Chamber of Secrets on other blogs. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. I’m trying to use different blogs every day but do check out some of the previously mentioned blogs, most of them also review Chamber of Secrets.

Reading Through Life “I liked this book, but not as much as I liked Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Or, at least, in different ways.”

Bailey’s and Books “Rowling also knows how to build suspense and adventure that makes me want to keep turning the page”

Book Journey “I find each trip to Hogwarts to be more magical.”

Alita. Reads (watch out for series wide spoilers in this one) “I was amazed by Rowling’s attention to small details that become important later on in the series.”

And you can find my review on the previous post.

 

Related articles

• Harry Potter Reviews: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (lucybirdbooks.wordpress.com)

Harry Potter Reviews: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

I promised that everyday during Harry Potter week I would share some Harry Potter reviews from other blogs. I’m trying to share reviews that I think you guys would like to read, if you think you’re review could be featured here please link me up of e-mail me.

Today we’re looking at Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, book 1:

Giraffe Days “There are so many things to love about Harry and this series, it’s hard to know where to begin”

Whatcha Readin’, Books? “What is not to love about this book?”

Loving Books “While Sorcerer’s Stone isn’t my favorite of the Harry Potter books, it does provide a great base for the entire series and leaves me hoping that my Hogwarts letter is just 10 years late.”

Lovely Little Shelf “Re-reading this first book was like sliding into a warm bath.  It was the coziest thing in the whole world.”

And you can read my own review of Philosopher’s Stone here

Blog Hop

This weeks blog hop is a little different, instead of answering a question we get to promote a giveaway…for another blog.

I want to highlight Dizzy C’s Little Book Blog’s giveaway. She’s giving away a signed copy of Emotional Geology by Linda Gillard. This is fantastic book and is now out of print, so if you’re a fan of ‘real’ books this could be your only chane to get your hands on a copy. It’s an international giveaway so no restictions.

Over on her blog Dizzy C also has an interview with Linda Gillard and her own review of Emoional Geology so you should look those up too.

I’ve already read Emotional Geology (my review), as well as two other books by Linda Gillard (Star Gazing, A Lifetime Burning) and she’s a bit of a favourite of mine. I don’t own either Emotional Geology or Star Gazing though so I’ve entered in hope of having my own copy.

Happy blog hop weekend everyone.

Mimi and Eunice

I’m loving the Mimi and Eunice cartoons by Nici, and as today is Nici’s birthday what better way to celebrate than with a couple of cartoons?

Click for pop out

Blogs

Image via Wikipedia

I thought it had been a while since I highlighted a new blog I had found, and this week on the blog hop I found one that I think is worth highlighting.

Reading in the bath is a new blog (literally there is less that one page!) which seems to be pretty eclectic in the books mentioned (although it’s a bit difficult to tell this early on). I love the tone of this blog, it feels like you are chatting with a friend.

I’ve been tagged

I was tagged by bookquoter

RULES OF THE GAME: (if you wish to participate)

1. Accept the tag and link to the tagger at the beginning of your post.

2. Answer the questions honestly in your post by listing four things.

3. Pass on the love by picking four other people to tag and listing them at the bottom at your post.

4. Notify them that you tagged them.

4 Things That Are In My Handbag

1) My purse

2) A book (Vanity Fair at the moment)

3) 2 lipglosses (a red and a pink)

4) Paracetamol

4 Favorite Things in My Bedroom

1) My books

2) The origami roses my biyfriend made me (there are 364 of them)

3) My Lush stash

4) My CDs

4 Things On My Desk

1) Mini hi-fi

2) Lots of pens

3) Letters

4) A Kurt Hasley print (I still need a frame for it)

4 Things I’ve Always Wanted To Do (but haven’t yet)

1) visit Venice

2) Get married

3) Have kids

4) Pass my driving test

4 Things I Enjoy Very Much At The Moment

1) Reading

2) My job (yes I’m that cool!)

3) Tea

4) My boyfriend

4 Songs I Can’t Get Out Of My Head

1) “look at me I’m a dinosaur…” from one of the CDs at work

2) Stuck with you- Heui Lewis and the news (again from a CD at work)

3) Who let you go- The Killers

4) Build me up buttercup- The Foundations

4 Things You Don’t Know About Me

1) I’m learning to drive at the moment, I’m doing u-turns this week

2) I have a 1 year old niece, Althea

3) I live in Birmingham (UK) but my boyfriend lives in Newcastle

4) I have a big box in my room full of cosmetics.

I tag:

1) Giraffe Days

2) Farm Lane books blog

3) Pink Sheep Cafe

4) An Old Flame

Hoppity-hop-hop

I cannot believe it is Friday again already. This week has gone much faster than last (and I honestly don’t understand why!

As it is Friday it is of course time for the blog hop. If it’s your first time welcome. The blog hop is a weekly event to help book bloggers to find one another hosted by Jennifer over at crazy-for-books.com why not hop over there, add your blog and visit some others?

So on to this weeks question: In honor of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, let’s take time this week to honor our favorite book bloggers and why we love them!

Well I do a little bit of this every week that I find a special blog, but I’m going to honour a couple now:

An Old Flame- I like the book discussions on this blog, it’s a blog that really involves its readers.

A Thousand Books with Quotes- I like how this blog is different. It’s made up of quotes from books that Bookquoter has enjoyed. It really gives a good idea of what the books are about and the style of writing. It’s also a great way to rediscover old favourites.

Have a look at my blogroll too. It has some great blogs written by my friends.

If you’re visiting from the hop hi! Have a look around and feel free to leave as many or as few comments as you would like. I’ll make sure I visit your blog in return.

New this week:

Review: A Lifetime Burning

News: My First Award!

This hops finds

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these. A combination of not having time to look at many blogs the last couple of weeks (although I have looked) and being a bit more strict about what I choose to mention. I’m following more than I’m mentioning but I want to mention those that I particularaly liked. So you should check them out. Onto the blogs!

A Thousand Books with Quotes- I loved this blog because it’s different. It’s no just full of standerd reviews but quotes from books that BookQuoter loved. It’s a great way to see what’s so special about a book. A great way of remembering books you loved, and of finding new ones you could love.

An Old Flame- I didn’t get as far as reviews on this blog but I’m loving the discussion about books and reading. It’s a very interactive blog.

What great blogs have you found this hop?

New Blogs

I’ve looked at a lot of blogs this week. I’m following a few But I want to point to:

The Perpetual Page Turner which is pretty much what I want a book blog too be. There’s actually a focus on books. There are some memes but unlike some other blogs I’ve visited they don’t drown out the reviews, and they actually seem to tell us something about books.

New Blogs

Again I thought it was time to spread the news of the new blogs I found this week. I was less successful this week but successful enough.

Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing- I really liked the article on books which you know in other forms and how that can chage your outlook on them.

Restless Reader- I totally added this one because of the mention of Nick Hornby’s column in The Believer (which is what made up The Complete Polysyllabic Spree), but I am liking the set out of the reviews too.

I also want to mention Stained Glass in the Night which is a new poetry and book blog from a friend from The Book Club Forum.