Tuesday 14 November 2017

Top Ten Tuesday | Top Ten Books I Want My Future Children To Read


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke And The Bookish. Lists galore, I can think of nothing better!

I haven't done a Top Ten Tuesday in forever! This week's topic is books you want your future children to read and I love this topic. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to get involved this week as there are so many great books from my childhood that I would love my future children to read, and those that I read more recently that I wish I had read as a child.

1. Harry Potter
If my future children only read one book series in their lives, I would obviously want it to be Harry Potter. I didn't read this as a child and I feel that I would have loved it much more if I had. The popularity ruined it for me so I would love my future children to just enjoy this series for what it is and experience the magic.

2. Jacqueline Wilson
Is there any British girl that didn't read at least one Jacqueline Wilson book growing up? I only read a few of her books but she has so many books with such great messages and important lessons that can really get children thinking.

3. Winnie the Pooh
My mum read Winnie The Pooh stories to me as a baby and I have been obsessed with Winnie The Pooh ever since. I really want to pass my love on to my children. I definitely want to read these books to any future children as babies and hopefully they'll share my love and want to read them themselves when they get older.

4. Roald Dahl
Who doesn't love Roald Dahl's books? I grew up reading these books, they were even my school reading as a younger child, and the stories are timeless. There are so many important lessons to be learned from the books as well.

5. Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
I had to read this book for school as a 11/12 year old and I still remember the impact it had on me to this day. This is the only book I ever read for school that I enjoyed and that really made me think. It's one I would really love to reread and definitely one I think my future children should read.

6. St Clare's series
Enid Blyton's St Clare's series is one I started as a child and never finished but have started to read again this year and am still enjoying it. This series is the perfect fun boarding school story for younger children and I think despite the first book being written in 1941, it can still be read and enjoyed by all ages to this day.

7. Percy Jackson series
This is another series that I read to late. I have recently decided not to continue with this series as I just find it a bit too young for me. However, I really wish I had read this when I was younger as I definitely think it is something I would have loved. I would love for my future children to have an interest in Greek mythology, like I do, so I would definitely want them to pick up this series.

8. Deeper Than Blue by Jill Hucklesby
This is a pretty random book that I don't think many people at all have heard of (it only has 250 Goodreads ratings) but this was my favourite book when I was younger. This story had such an impact on me and teaches such valuable lessons about life, friendship and loss.

9. Catherine/Cathy MacPhail
As a teenager, I absolutely adored Catherine MacPhail's books and made my way through every one in my school library. She has written about everything from teenage pregnancy to bullying to creepy doppelgangers to teenagers trapped in an underground cave. There's something for everyone and again her books are full of really great messages and lessons.

10. Confessions Of Georgia Nicholson series
I may change my mind about this one when it comes to actually having a child at the age to read this but this is a series I loved as a teenager, and still enjoyed as a not-so-teenager, and it taught me a lot about how to be a teenage girl.

What books would you want you future children to read?

Sophie :)

Monday 13 November 2017

Let's Talk | Organising My Goodreads TBR & Down The TBR Hole #1

If you're anything like me, you spend way too much time on Goodreads adding book after book to your 'Want To Read' shelf until it reaches an unmanageable number. That is the point I have reached recently. I currently have 415 books on my TBR shelf on Goodreads, some of these I own and I most likely will get to them eventually, but the majority of them are just books that seemed interesting to me at one point and I haven't thought about since. As that number is constantly growing, it seems about time I found some way of getting it under control.

For the past couple of years, I have used a system that organises my TBR by priority. I have a 'top shelf', 'middle shelf' and 'bottom shelf' on Goodreads and when I add a book to my TBR, I decide whether it's a book I am desperate to read as soon as possible, one I would like to get to soon, or one I might like to pick up in the future. This system worked for me for a while, however even this has become a bit unmanageable recently. The only real way to get this under control is probably to get the number down!

A few months ago, inspired by a post on a blog I follow (I tried to hard to find who it was but it was too long ago), I went through my Goodreads shelves and got rid of a good few books. If I remember rightly, I had around 500 books and got it down to just under 400. I was so proud of myself but that is still a huge number. More recently, I saw a post on Escape Life In The Pages featuring a meme called Down The TBR Hole, originally created by Lost In A Story about a year ago. It involves going to the oldest books on your Goodreads TBR shelf and looking at 5-10 at a time to decide whether or not you're still interested in them.

" It works like this:
  • Go to your goodreads to-read shelf. 
  • Order on ascending date added. 
  • Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books 
  • Read the synopses of the books 
  • Decide: keep it or should it go?"
So I figured while I await some fabulous advice on how to organise my Goodreads TBR (if you have any please, please, please let me know!), I would try this out and see if I can get the number down. I'm not including the books I own because if I own them I probably want to read them.

Image and video hosting by TinyPicThe Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

I used to own this book and picked it up once but couldn't get into it so donated it. I then regretted getting rid of it so added it to my Goodreads TBR again. This is obviously such a popular book but I think I'll just stick to the film, I don't see myself ever picking this up.




Judgement: Go


Image and video hosting by TinyPicAlong For The Ride by Sarah Dessen

This is a YA contemporary about a girl who is going to spend the summer wither her dad in a small beach town. I know I want to read more Sarah Dessen since she's like the queen of YA contemporary and that is my favourite genre. I love summer stories and I love small beach towns so this is definitely my cup of tea.



Judgement: Stay


Image and video hosting by TinyPicSize 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

This is essentially a chick-lit, murder mystery set in college dorm with an ex-pop star as the main character and wannabe detective. I'm not completely sold that this is something I would enjoy but I do love books set in college dorms and I'm intrigued by the synopsis enough to want to give it a go. It sounds like it could be pretty funny, maybe a bit Bridget Jones-esque, which could be a lot of fun, but with a darker tone to it as well.


Judgement: Stay


Image and video hosting by TinyPicOne Day by David Nicholls

I didn't have a clue what this was about until I read the synopsis again. It's a very popular "chick-lit" book about a couple and their relationship but on one day over twenty years. It does sound really intriguing but I don't honestly think I'm interested enough to pick it up. I know it's a movie and I'm not the kind of person who has an issue with watching the movie if I'm not super interested in reading the book.


Judgement: Go


Image and video hosting by TinyPicHow To Eat A Cupcake by Meg Donohue

This is another "chick-lit" book about two childhood friends who open up a cupcakery together. I'm pretty sure the only reason I added this to my TBR is because I love baking and I love cupcakes. I don't think I was ever particularly interested in the story at all, and I'm still not. I don't think this is something I would like now and I don't find the synopsis all that interesting.



Judgement: Go


I don't think getting rid of 3/5 books from my TBR is too bad a result, hopefully this can really help me get that number down. I would like to do this quite regularly so there will likely be another one soon, but for now if you have any tips on how to organise my Goodreads TBR or tips to help me cut the number down, please let me know. I clearly need help!

How do you organise your Goodreads TBR? Do you have a huge number like me (please make me feel better) or have you got yours under control? Do you get stressed like me if the number gets too large?

Sophie :)

Sunday 5 November 2017

Bullet Point Reviews | Some 2016 Reads

Back in April I did a similar post to this in which I included very short bullet point reviews of some of the books I had read in previous years but had never gotten around to reviewing on the blog. I make notes for all my reviews after reading the book but I occasionally end up forgetting about those reviews and they never actually make it to the blog. Now that is has been some time since I read them, for the most part I don't remember quite enough to write a detailed, coherent review. However, I do still have the original notes that summarise my main thoughts on the books and decided to share them in order to share something of my opinions on these books. They may not be the most helpful or well-written reviews but at least it's something, right?

Image and video hosting by TinyPicThe New Girl by Tracie Puckett
Series: Webster Grove #1
Published On: January 1, 2012
Published By: Tracie Puckett
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 76
Format: eBook
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★
Amazon | Goodreads

- I didn't hate it but I definitely didn't love it.
- It was very short so it was easy and quick to read.
- I liked most of the characters.
- If it wasn't a story about a student-teacher relationship I probably would have liked it more. I just can't read about this topic without feeling very uncomfortable.
- The ending was unnecessary and completely unrealistic.

Image and video hosting by TinyPicCity Of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #1
Published On: March 23, 2007
Published By: Walker Books
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Pages: 506
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★
Amazon | Goodreads

- I was so scared by the insane hype surrounding this series that I put off reading this book for so long.
- Luckily, I ended up really enjoying it.
- I really like all the characters and each of their quite different personalities.
- I found the world very fascinating, though a bit confusing. I think it was well developed but could do with some more explanation, which I assume will come in the rest of the series.
- I will definitely be continuing on with the series, I can't wait to see where it goes.

Image and video hosting by TinyPicThis Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E Smith
Published On: April 2, 2013
Published By: Headline
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 404
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★★
Amazon | Goodreads

- This was a fun, quick summer read. Exactly what I would expect from Jennifer E Smith and just as good as I thought it would be.
- I really enjoyed both the story and the characters. I even enjoyed the 'famous person' aspect, which isn't usually my thing.
- I really loved the small town setting. It is something I generally enjoy but it also added to the summer feel of the book.
- This is a great book for putting you in the summer mood. It has a great romance and a fun story. However, it isn't anything particularly special or unique.

I hope these were somewhat helpful in giving my opinions of these books. There should be a second part to this coming soon. If you have read any of the books mentioned, what did you think of them? Did your opinions differ to mine?

Sophie :)