Why We Blog About Books

If you followed my blog before, you might have noticed that I haven't posted since near the beginning of this year. And the year before I had a similar length of break. It was all down to stress. I started this blog under the premise that I just had to write about books, to express my opinions, to communicate the ridiculous emotions that thread through my skeletal core after reading almost everything, amazing or terrible. However, as I got into writing more blog posts and made more commitments to the blog, I found reading had become a chore; it had become something that I was doing for the blog, rather than myself, and thus, eventually I ceased reading almost entirely, no longer being able to keep up with posting.

Upon returning to the blog, I feel different: I've matured, I've developed, I now know that this blog is for me to throw all my emotions, joys and tribulations at people who actually care, people who want to read about how a certain person feels about a certain book. Nothing is forcing me to keep an uptight schedule of 2/3 reviews a week, or to participate in Top Ten Tuesdays every week, or to write the most extravagant reviews. Blogs are for feelings. They're for emotions. And that comes naturally, not through force.

With that, I hope to provide well-written, entertaining, sassy reviews regularly, but there is no schedule. They'll come when they'll come. I might do Top Ten Tuesdays on a certain week. Then again, I might not. All I can promise is an outpouring of creative and emotional material to do with books.

Love :)

Winter Biannual Bibliothon - Days Two & Three

Days Two & Three

Day three is just closing as I write this. I'm hoping to get a bit more reading done before I sleep but that's depending on how long my English essay and Physics revision takes me. Yesterday and today have been ridiculously hectic, what with going back to college and re-adjusting to being permanently exhausted. I'm so glad I read the whole of Paper Towns on Sunday for the sole reason that it's freaking impossible to read great amounts when I'm tired and have so much work. It's looking like I'll be able to finish all four of my chosen books for this bibliothon though, so all is well. Unfortunately I don't have pictures as I haven't had time to take pictures for Instagram but I'll give you a quick summary.

At home I've been reading Half Wild by Sally Green.
Once again, I'm freaking loving it! I missed Nathan and Gabriel so much it's ridiculous. They have potentially my favourite relationship in literature. Unfortunately I haven't been able to take it to college because:
For one, it's signed so I don't want to ruin it;
For two it'd be unbearable heavy.

So, at college I've been reading At the Sign of the Sugared Plum by Mary Hooper.
As with every other time I've read this, I'm overinvested in the characters and am terrified of one specific character dying. If you haven't experienced this before with a book, you guys should seriously read this so you can understand the feeling of your heart shaking in trepidation as you open the book for the millionth time. The character isn't even ill but you just know they're going to die and it's destroying you inside. I can't leave it now though; this is a readathon after all! I WILL SUCCEED THIS TIME AROUND!

All in all, I haven't read as much as I'd have liked to since starting college again, but I'm extending my day for another few hours by going to bed at midnight now, so hopefully I'll be able to read a little more.

I hope you're doing well if you're doing this bibliothon as well, and aren't suffering to the extent that I am lol! See you,


Abi Ainley

Winter Biannual Bibliothon - Day One

Afterthought: I've just noticed that both authors I read today are Greens. Damn I wish I'd realised this sooner so I could've dressed in green or something in acknowledgement of this.
Day One

So... Day one is over and I've had a pretty successful reading day, considering I've had to start on my English Lit essay and do a ton of Maths work.

I actually started Paper Towns at half one in the morning when I couldn't sleep...

...but promptly resumed my usual practise of watching Youtube videos way too late. HOWEVER, it did get finished today and I'm really happy about it!

I'm currently just about to start my second book, Half Wild by Sally Green. This is the one I chose for the "reread your favourite book from a series" challenge and I'm relying on it being a quick second time read like Half Bad was. If this isn't quick I'm going to be seriously done haha.

Super excited to reread this!

In conclusion, this day went pretty well but I'm seriously dreading the rest of this week! I start college again tomorrow which means so much homework and potentially not enough time for reading all of this. *expands time itself* I will try though. Here's to reading in every 30 second slot I can find!


Abi Ainley

Winter Biannual Bibliothon - Tag

The Winter Biannual Bibliothon Tag!

As I said in my TBR post, these challenges are for vlogs really, but I wanted to give it a go in written format, so there's going to be bits I can't do however I'll try my best. :D

1. Did you participate in one of the last Bibliothons?
Nope, This is my first serious readathon altogether so I'm super excited!

2. What was your favorite part of last Bibliothon?
I didn't do it so I can't say.

3. What are you most excited about for this Bibliothon?
Getting through a ton of books. The second book I'm going to read, At the Sign of the Sugared Plumb by Mary Hooper, I've had for 5/6 years and started reading a million times but I can never finish bit because I don't want one of the characters to die. This will be the time I will finally finish it! Hopefully. I can't promise anything. The fear of him dying may destroy me once again.

4. Give us a hint for your favorite upcoming challenge video!
If I can find time to do it, I'm so excited to do the "That was in the book DIY". Other than that, the character swap one sounds like something I could get quite creative with. ;)

5. What book are you most excited to read this week?
At the Sign of the Sugared Plum. I'm bricking it. If I can finish it this will potentially be the longest time ever taken for me to finish a book from start to finish! I'm also excited for Half Wild, as usual. I could reread those books eternally and never get bored.

6. What was your favorite & least favorite reading challenge of the past Bibliothons?
Haven't done any of the past ones.

7. What was your favorite & least favorite video challenge of the past Bibliothons?
Can't answer again lol.

8. 45 seconds TBR in alphabetical order - NO CHEATING!
Before:

6.92s later (Quite fast for me. I think the library volunteering's sped me up a bit!):

At the Sign of the Sugared Plum
Half Wild
Messenger of Fear
Paper Towns

9. What is one suggestion you’d have for the next Biannual Bibliothon?
There's a Goodreads book club group that reads separate books to the Biannual Bibliothon throughout the year, but I think it'd be awesome if there was a Goodreads group for discussing the Bibliothon as it runs, or maybe just a section in the book club group for it.

10. Who do you tag?
Anyone reading this and hasn't already done it! I think most people I know are doing this already so I'm just going to leave this open. Haven't done it? You're tagged!

You can find out more about the Winter Biannual Bibliothon video challenges(or blog post challenges if you're me ;D) here (I've just got to add that the hair in this video is on point. Very impressed!)

Until next time(so tomorrow),

Keep reading!

Abi Ainley

Winter Biannual Bibliothon TBR

The Winter Biannual Bibliothon

Quick Note: Unfortunately I won't be reading the group read, which is Soundless by Richelle Mead, this time around as I want to get through the books I've chosen and don't have enough interest in it to warrent me reading it. I'm kinda sad because I'd love to join in with the group discussion at the end, but I just really don't want to read it.

The Biannual Bibliothon is, as it says in the title, a readathon that occurs twice each year, once in the Winter and once in the Summer. This Winter one is running from the 3rd of January to the 9th and there are video challenges to go with it, which I will try to do in written form when possible, but some don't look like they're possible to do over a written blog. There are 7 criteria for books you have to read but you're allowed to double up:
1. Read the group book: Soundless by Richelle Mead 
2. Read a book that's been sitting on your shelf for over a year.
3. Read a book over 300 pages.
4. Read a book from your favorite genre.
5. Reread your favorite book in a series.
6. Read a book based on it's cover. 
7. Read a book that's been recommended to you more than once.
You can find more information on their Youtube channel here: The Biannual Bibliothon

And these are the books I'll be reading over this week-long period:

At the Sign of the Sugared Plum

by Mary Hooper

Fulfils: 1) Read a book that's been on your shelf for over a year.

Messenger of Fear

by Michael Grant

Fulfils: 2) Read a book that's over 300 pages long. 5) Read a book based on the cover.

Half Wild

by Sally Green

Fulfils: 3) Read a book from your favourite genre. 4) Reread your favourite book from a series.

Paper Towns

by John Green

Fulfils: 6) Read a book that's been recommended to you more than once.

Keep reading!

Abi Ainley

Book Tag: Help Me

This book tag was created by Aria (bookgeekmoviefreak) You can view her Youtube channel here . Enjoy!

The Questions:

1. You have a test tomorrow, but instead of studying you’ve been reading. Which fictional character do you call to help you cram for this test?
Elfie from A Lonely Magic. Just have her tattooed onto me and I'll be good to go ;)

2. Payday is still 2 weeks away, but you are broke. Which rich character do you ask for money to help you out?
I don't think I've ever actually read a book about a rich character... crap.

3. There is a burglar in your house, which character do you call to help you beat up the burglar?
Riley/Cobalt from the Talon series. Not much a burglar can do against a dragon ;).

4. There is a spider/snake/something else that really scares you in your house. Which character do you call to get rid of it for you?
Hagrid. He does all that malarkey.

5. You’ve had a really bad week, which character do you call to cheer you up?
Flicker from Dragonfriend. He's absolutely hilarious and I could really have a good laugh with him!

6. There is a zombie apocalypse going on, which character can totally handle him/herself in this apocalypse? Pick the character that would give you the highest survival chances.
Wes from the Talon series. He could hack into everything and could track the zombies and stuff to keep us away from them.

7. Your house caught on fire, you need a place to stay. Which character’s house do you want to stay in?
Lazarus' house from The Watcher in the Shadows. It's HUUUUUUGE and full of awesome mechanical toys. Even if they do get possessed by shadows <.< >.>

8. Because your house caught on fire, you obviously don’t have any clothes. Which character do you want to borrow clothes from?
Just Irene from The Watcher in the Shadows :p. It's in the 30s so she'll have loads of cool clothes!

9. You’ve been wrongly accused of something, which character can weasel him/herself out of any bad situation and can certainly help you get out of this pickle.
If I'm literally stuck in a pickle I'm sure Hermione Granger could get me out with a bit of magic. However, if this is not a literal pickle, I'll go Cassel from the Curse Workers trilogy. He's sly and seriously good at getting out of bad situations ;)

10. You just broke up with your boyfriend/girlfriend, which character do you call to be your rebound.
Riley from the Talon series. He's not with Ember yet; it's fine xD


Thanks for reading this! Unfortunately, due to it being exam season, I won't be able to do as many blog posts as preferred over the next month and a half, but I'll still post up maybe one a week. I'll be doing a giveaway when I get back so keep an eye out for about 6 weeks time!


Abi Ainley

The Dragon's Hoard: New Books I'm Grasping After for my Collection

HI!

I love writing book reviews and all, but I can't possibly make a blog all reviews so I thought it might be fun to give you a book recommendation each week for what I'm desperately after for my collection! As with many bookworms, I can't get enough of owning physical books and am always on the lookout for more - most of the time I'm needing more than I could ever afford! Hey ho, it's fun to imagine owning them all ;)

Here's one that's coming out in May. I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't a new one to you!:

A Court of Thorns and Roses

by Sarah J. Maas

Release: 7th May 2015

Goodreads Description:

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

My Idea:

With names like Feyre and Tamlin, what could go wrong? With faeries and magic, really guys, what could go wrong? Now I'm not going to lie and pretend I've read Sarah J. Maas' other books. I'd like to but there's just so many other books! However, I'm excited to have this be my first and it looks pretty badass if we're being honest...

Now for one that's been recently released but I haven't got my hands on it yet:

Paper or Plastic

by Vivi Barnes

Released: 1st March 2015

Goodreads Description:

Busted. Alexis Dubois just got caught shoplifting a cheap tube of lipstick at the local SmartMart. She doesn’t know what’s worse—disappointing her overbearing beauty-pageant-obsessed mother for the zillionth time…or her punishment. Because Lex is forced to spend her summer working at the store, where the only things stranger than the staff are the customers. Now Lex is stuck in the bizarro world of big-box retail. Coupon cutters, jerk customers, and learning exactly what a really is (ew). And for added awkwardness, her new supervisor is the totally cute—and adorably geeky—Noah Grayson. Trying to balance her out-of-control mother, her pitching position on the softball team, and her secret crush on the school geek makes for one crazy summer. But ultimately, could the worst job in the world be the best thing that ever happened to her?

My Idea:

This is a book I've picked up from seeing it on booktube. I haven't read one of these cheesy (allegedly it's pretty anti-cliche but the description doesn't sway me!) girl-meets-boy romances since I was newly in high school. There's always the time to have another go at some old genres long forgotten!

All you grammar nazis out there may be thinking: "Hey! There's two. You said 'a book' singular" but hey guys, I want a lot of books and can't possibly choose only one: sue me ;)

See you later!

Abi