Monday 25 May 2015

A Reading List Worth Binging...

I pretty much suck at doing book posts. My reasons? I dunno, I just read whatever takes my fancy when I finish a book, and it usually gets passed on to a family member or a charity shop, so I rarely have them for long enough to take a photo. I'm probably making excuses, so I'll keep it to a minimum; I recently joined Goodreads, so if you wanna know more about what I'm reading in more detail find me there! 
 

I recently finished The Strain trilogy by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan after getting a little obsessed with the television programme (that everyone probably missed - but should watch ASAP for old-school scary vampires.) While the second book is mostly just padding out the narrative, the others are addictive, and really hard to put down. While vampires seem like a huge cliche now, The Strain builds up a number of narratives following the plethora of characters, from different backgrounds, including CDC officials attempting to fight the "disease" and a holocaust survivor who's been fighting the vampires for years. An amazing trilogy for anyone in the market for a new book(s)...

While I'd be the billionth person to bring up Game of Thrones on the internet, I have been truly hooked on the Song of Fire and Ice series by George R.R Martin which inspired the series. I think everyone knows what it's about by now, but whether you're a fan of fantasy (for reference, I'm not!) or the television series, the books go into epic detail about the entire goings on in Westeros. And despite the huge size of the books, I guarantee you won't get bored.

Outside of a book series, I finished The Girl in 6E this weekend, written by Alessandra Torre, this book is awash with smut and blood. (This book list is making me seem like a huge weirdo, I know.) While some of the sexual content is mostly unwarranted, it can be forgiven given the underlying themes of love and isolation in this novel. I read this in less than a day, and sure it's got quite mature themes, but if you've seen/read the previously mentioned series' you've probably already seen worse.

And while I'm also late to this party, I spent the beginning of this year (nb. it was actually about 5 days, I was addicted) indulging in the entire Hunger Games series. As a young adult novel, these really are easy to read, and mostly true to the films. Being super cheap on Amazon, these are a trilogy of books you've no excuse to not pick up. I'm sure you'll become obsessed like me, and struggle to keep a secret what is going to happen in the final movie that comes out this winter...

I could go on for an age about books but these are some of my standouts from the past few months, let me know if you pick any of them up. And I'm always looking for new recommendations so do leave them for me, either here on on Goodreads!


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Monday 30 September 2013

Reading List - Books I've Read and Reviewed

It's no secret by now that I'm quite the book worm, so I thought I'd share with you some of the books I've finished recently, and what I thought of them. So basically, a review, I don't make anything simple, do I?








The Time Keeper - Mitch Albom
This one is actually relatively new in terms of its release date, and I'd had it on pre-order for what felt like a lifetime. When it came I'd just finished reading another book so I got cracking straight away, and to my surprise I loved it THAT much I'd read the whole book in 2 days. It was such a compelling story, combining three different people, and the stories of those with too much time, and those with not enough. Its very suggestive on how much we value time, and how much does it really matter? Without giving away too much, I thoroughly recommend it to all of you, and if you get the chance to read this book - TAKE IT. (However, I do not approve of theft...)

Beautiful Ruins - Jess Walter
I'd seen this one flying around in all sorts of press, including Grazia and Glamour magazine, so I was totally intrigued, only when I saw the beautiful cover art in Waterstones was I drawn to it, but this really was quite a pleasant read. The story isn't told chronologically, but yet, manages to tell the story without going back on itself, its well written, set in a 1960's Italy and present-day Hollywood. I find that some of the Italian parts aren't excessively interesting, but for those that like strong descriptions of the scenes, you'll love it. Described in Grazia as a perfect summer beach read, it is just that, a pleasant easy read, and one I can thoroughly recommend if looking for something light-hearted.

The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
We've all seen the film, or at least one of Nicholas Sparks' heart-wrenching romantic dramas. I liked the film and thought the book would be similar, but in my opinion was so awfully written it took me a good few weeks to finish this teeny book as I was simply so uninterested by it. Big thumbs down from me, I can't even say anything more than how boring I thought it was.


Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote
I'm totally madly obsessed with Audrey Hepburn at the moment, and I decided, before I watch the film, I was going to read the book. This wasn't an issue at all given how tiny this book actually is, it's only around 100 pages but I loved reading it, it really isn't different to the film at all, and now I feel very much like I want to read other books by Truman Capote.

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
I read this on recommendation of that gorgeous lady Zoe Newlove, and I expected great things from it when she said she'd read it four times! It had big claims to live up to, given it states 65 million copies had been sold on the cover, and quotes from Will Smith and Madonna grace it's back cover. I'll admit, I didn't know what to expect at all, and I found it was such an easy read, and reminded me of books I read as a child. It's a fable about a shepard who crosses the desert to reach his dreams, and the troubles and people he meets along the way. I think it is quite the inspiring book, and does have things you can carry into your everyday lives. I loved this book, and will definitely be keeping to read again, maybe even buying other books by Paulo Coelho.

Hope you've all managed to stick with me through my rambles! Do any of you have any book recommendations you think I may like based on these? And what's your favourite book? I'm all for a new read!
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