Meet the Bookworm: Elfie

At the beginning of 2020 I sent a couple of bookish questions to some bloggers and bookstagrammers who have been crazy enough to fill them out. In this series you’ll get to read their answers, admire their favourite reads and share their favourite stories. If you want to join the series just drop a comment below!

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Name
Elfie

Blog
Ballet and Books

Twitter Handle
@ElfieRiverdell

Instagram Handle
Balletandbooks_

What sort of things do you like to read? Any favourite books?
I usually read fantasy, but I’ve recently tried to read more contemporary as there are a lot of important topics being introduced to YA at the moment. My favourite books are The Hobbit, Sky in the Deep and Turtles All The Way Down (At the moment)

Would you like to share any happy/funny reading related memories or stories?
So. I had a huge crush on Richard Hammond (yes, the Top Gear presenter) when I was at high school. I used to check his autobiographies out of the school library and tell the librarian it was for a project because I was embarrassed!

If you could write yourself into any story, which one would it be? Would you change anything about yourself or have any magical powers?
I would say I’d write myself into A Song of Ice and Fire as a whole series. Maybe I would be a wildling. I always liked the wildlings.

What got you interested in books? Any particular books or people?
I always loved Jacqueline Wilson as a child, and I remember I had a book by her full of writing tips. I think she definitely influenced my obsession with reading!!

Do you enjoy writing as well as reading? What sort of things do you write? Do the novels you read inspire you?
Yes! I write mainly Middle Grade and YA fantasy! My debut novel The Forest of Fallen Stars was released June [2019]!

Was there ever a point where you found yourself reading less? Why? Do you have any tips for getting out of a reading slump?
Only really when I’m overly busy or stressed in my life generally. I try to reread past favourites or pick up shorter books to get out of a reading slump!

What made you decide to engage with other bookworms on the internet? Are your internet bookworm friends different to your real life bookworm friends?
I don’t really have any real life bookish friends, so I think that’s the main reason I joined the online book community!

Do you have any reading routines? What about blogging or bookstagramming routines?
I try to stick to themes on my blog and Instagram. The colour theme is usually inspired by the season but I like to change it up every now and then!

Has interacting with bookworms online changed your reading at all? Do you think it’s for the better?
I think it’s definitely taught me a lot about different things. I like to ask for recommendations based on people’s life experiences. For example, if I’m looking for a book that has a transgender main character, I will ask the bookish community for books with good and realistic representation. I think asking for recommendations from lots of different people is always a good thing.

If you blog or bookstagram what do you find most challenging? Any 2020 reading/blogging/bookstagramming goals?
Probably the pressure of numbers. Instagram taking away the number of likes on a post has been really helpful, but it still bothers me a little. I’d like to write more reviews next year, and post more frequently. Maybe I will even create some sort of regular schedule, haha!

Would you want to work in the wonderful world of books? Why/why not? Do you have a dream job in the book world?
Yes! I would love to work for a publisher alongside writing my own novels. I’m currently drafting my second book, but I’m also really interested in going into publishing or becoming an agent!

What advice would you give your younger self? Do you have any advice for budding bookworms out there?
Don’t feel pressured to read something, just because everyone else is! Don’t feel bad for liking something others have a problem with, and don’t let anyone judge you for being a dyslexia book nerd!

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Thanks Elfie for filling out the questions and joining my blog! Are you a fan of fantasy too? Which character would you be from Game of Thrones?

Another bookworm will be featuring on my blog so stay tuned for that, otherwise we have the usual Top Ten Tuesday coming up next week. You can check out all the other lovely bookworms I’ve met here. If you fancy joining the series let me know in the comments and I’d love to feature you!

Meet the Bookworm: Alex

At the start of 2020 I sent a couple of bookish questions to some bloggers and bookstagrammers who have been crazy enough to fill them out. In this series you’ll get to read their answers, admire their favourite reads and share their favourite stories. If you want to join the series just drop a comment below!

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Name
Alex

Blog
Spells and Spaceships

Twitter Handle
@blogspells

What sort of things do you like to read? Any favourite books?
I review SFF, which stands for Science Fiction & Fantasy. I like the adventure and escape that these genres provide, aswell as being a bit of a secret geek myself, these genres appeal to that side of me! One of my all time all time favourites is classic in the fantasy genre, The Lord of The Rings. Over the last couple of months I’ve read a couple of brilliant self published books, Kingshold by D. P. Woolliscroft and The Lost War by Justin Lee Anderson.

What got you interested in books? Any particular books or people?
I always loved books as a kid, my parents probably starting off that love by reading to me as a child. The first time I can remember being in love with a book or series though was Harry Potter. I was I think 7 yrs old when the first book was released, and after reading the first couple, I dropped everything and read each new release constantly from the day of release until I’d finished it. I have a lot of love for these books!

Was there ever a point where you found yourself reading less? Why? Do you have any tips for getting out of a reading slump?
Yeah, most definitely. I used to read a lot of history books as well as fantasy (and more recently science fiction) – I went to University and the hobby I used to love became a full time part of my education where I couldn’t simply sit back and enjoy a book; I had to take notes, analyse the information, compare to other books and race to take them out of the library or buy them permanently myself. Reading the books as a researcher rather than as a hobby and an interest really knocked away that enjoyment for a while afterwards. I’m a definite mood reader and being forced to read a lot of books and in a way that I didn’t enjoy just put me off for a while. I started reading more fantasy again, and went for less serious or in depth books to rediscover that ‘reading for fun’ feeling. My advice if in a slump would be to read a different genre to the one you have been doing. Sometimes I mix it up with a general non fiction such as the brilliant Sapiens and Homo Deus books.

Has interacting with bookworms online changed your reading at all? Do you think it’s for the better?
Yes definitely. I’m exposed to and recommended loads more books than I’d find myself just through looking at Amazon and Goodreads. Some of these have been self published with only a small number of reviews (or in some cases none) that have came highly recommended from other bookworms. This is essential both for helping new authors and for finding hidden gems! It’s changed my reading in that I feel I read more and am spurred on to finish a book so I can talk about it with others, and to try the next intriguing read. Without this community I’d probably read less.

What advice would you give your younger self? Do you have any advice for budding bookworms out there?
It would be not to wait til I’m almost 30 to redevelop a reading passion! I read around a book every week to two weeks now, and it sort of feels like a journey of discovery, there are so many amazing books I greedily want to read as many as I can. There’s still so many I’m desperate to read on my TBR. My advice would be not to read too many short or long books; mix it up a bit. Try and read different styles of story or sub genre. If you’re unsure about starting a big series you can always read the first book and come back to the series at a later time.

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Thanks Alex for filling out the questions and joining my blog! Are you are Lord of the Rings fan too? If you did a humanities subject at university, did you find it difficult to read for fun and study books at the same time?

Another bookworm will be featuring on my blog so stay tuned for that, otherwise we have the usual Top Ten Tuesday coming up next week. You can check out all the other lovely bookworms I’ve met here. If you fancy joining the series let me know in the comments and I’d love to feature you!

Why ‘No Post on Sunday’

If you’ve ever seen Harry Potter you’ll remember well the scene where Mr Dursley sits back smugly with a cup of tea, indulging in the fact that there’s no post on a Sunday. Obviously you’ll then remember that he does, in fact, recive some post. Quite a lot of it.

But without magic letters delivered by magical owls down quite ordinary chimneys, the rest of us are at the mercy of Royal Mail who do, in fact, not deliver any post on Sunday. No squeaky hinged letter box opening and slamming shut as hoards of junk mail and the occasional council tax bill flop to the floor of our tiled entryway. We just wait until Monday to recive that Chinese menu and local flyer.

Now obviously, being a book blog, this post is not about the postal system. Despite it’s opening it’s actually an emerging but not often noticed theme on my pocket of the internet: I never post on a Sunday.

I can’t remember when I made this rule so if you delve into the murky realms of my blog’s conception you may find the odd post thrown up on a late Sunday night or early Sunday morning, potentially back when I was stumbling into my student house after a late night trip to McDonalds for a share box of chicken nuggets and a handful of laughs with my friends. Regardless, certainly in the last few months I’ve been firm to not post on a Sunday.

It’s not just posting I don’t do. I don’t blog hop, I don’t reply to comments and I don’t, and this one is the hardest of all, check social media. No squeezed in scroll of Bookstagram while waiting for the pasta to boil, no far too long read of Twitter in bed, that was only meant to be five minutes but is now pushing an hour. Even, despite it not being anything to do with my blog, no peak at Facebook to see the people I only vaguely once knew on holiday with other people I don’t know at all, coupled with memes that stopped being funny the first time they appeared on everyone’s feed.

Not posting, or blogging, on Sunday doesn’t mean I don’t read. I still have an audiobook on while I mop the floor, stretch out in a warm bath clutching my latest loan from the library, squeezing the pages extra tight so the book doesn’t land in the soapy scented water. But it takes the pressure of it, not thinking about which reviews I need to write up next. I often stall over the app screen on my phone when I have some down time, landing on Duolingo or the Tetris app than my go to social medias and WordPress.

I enforce no social media Sundays to give me a guaranteed moment of quiet in the week. A day where there’s no work deadlines crammed in and no niggling pressure to compare my life with others through an unhealthy screen addiction. Blogging isn’t my day job and I do it for fun, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a lot of work.

I never had the luxury of balance at university: hitting drawn out long periods with no deadlines and suddenly the frenzy when they all come at once. Getting in late from the library only to set my alarm for 8am, laptop an arms reach from my bed to start ASAP the next morning. My friend and I would meet outside her house, sit together in the library crawling over our notes, tapping away at our assignments, allowing ourselves one quick soggy sandwich break outside before starting it all back up again. Then we’d have dinner as a group, some budget meal like curry or our speciality: chicken nugget pizza, before saying we’d do it all again tomorrow. I’d often start my laptop back up again that night, if we didn’t all take a late night trip for ice cream or chicken nuggets.

Leaving university I was craving the balance a 9-5 job gives you. Not squinting at a computer screen after dinner, trying to polish an assignment of before bed, and going on actual proper day trips with my boyfriend, rather than quick afternoon trips down to the beach where we’d skim stones and eat ice cream, finishing up with piping hot chips on the seaside and the promise to not think about work for those few hours.

Having no social media Sunday is not exactly easy. I find myself using it just a little bit more Saturday, before I go to sleep, knowing I’ll miss it Sunday morning. It is definitely, and strangely, addictive. I’ve heard the Instagram algorithm punishes you for such inactivity and I find myself behind on blog comments at the beginning of the week. I don’t allow myself to take photos for my Bookstagram on Sundays, because it’s a no blogging day, and that often means I’m behind and don’t have the light to take good ones midweek.

I wouldn’t say I feel incredibly relaxed for this detox and, only being one day, it’s not a massive deal. I’ve not given it up for good or for a few months, like some of my friends have. I also don’t think I’m massively addicted. I know it’s what everyone says but I do have quite a good balance generally: I’m not glued to my phone over dinner, I don’t login to my socials on my work laptop and my Saturdays are often spent in remote countryside castles where lack of signal reverts my smart phone to a slightly rubbish selfie camera.

However, I still am sucked into the murky realms of social media, time flying away from me too fast, all too often and I have felt the pressure to be more on top of my blogging to do lists. I think it’s important to spend a day away from a demanding hobby like blogging, to keep it fun and just to put it in perspective. Because, at the end of the day, nothing bad is going to happen if I don’t reply to the odd comment on a post or ignore a Twitter chat for a while. It helps me step back and I think I’m a better blogger, and more chill person, because of it.

What about you? Do you spend any days away from your social media, or do you have other way of balancing your life? What are your other hobbies, besides blogging? Would love to hear from you in the comments!

How I Measure a Year

I almost missed this but this week my blog turned one! 1️⃣🎂🎉 So, how do I sum up a year? Back at school I sung a song “How do you Measure a Year in the Life” which was, like all songs you sing at school, quite a chore and not too exciting. The song found lots of bizarre ways to measure a year- I remember one idea was to use sunrises or cigarettes.

Overall my take home was I don’t have any idea how to measure a year more than the lyricist of this song, but thought I’d give it a go anyway. Here’s me measuring a year on the blog:

Posts written: 109. Wow that’s quite a lot of reviews, wrap-ups, Bookish opinions and lists.

Followers: 382. I’m very impressed with my blog on this account. I never thought it would get this many followers and I’m super grateful to all of you!

Most Viewed Post: Top Ten Books I read At Uni. Yep, apparently you guys loved reading about all my favourite reads from uni, and there were some real crackers 👌

Most Popular Month: August. I actually am a tad disappointed by this because I hoped to keep improving my engagement every month, but evidently my blog is a summer read.

My Favourite Post: Ten Female Book Characters in STEM. By faaar. I loved talking about some of my favourite characters, the ones that inspired me the most or I related to a lot. I’m going to try write a similar post this year but with books I read in 2019 and you’ll be glad to know it’s already got some characters on!

Bookish events I attended: 2? I think two, but one was YALC so definitely good fun. The other was a panel with VE Schwab, Samantha Shannon and Neil Shusterman

Biggest Blogging Acheivment: getting offered a copy of Muse of Nightmares. As a small blogger I’m super pleased to be on the tour next week!

Friends made through Blogging this year: countless. I’m in like two blogging group chats and get to chat lots in the comments sections.

Best advice received this year: not all your posts have to be reviews. My friend told me way back when I started this blog and since I have lots more interesting and regular content!

Search terms: ok, this is just a bit of fun, but here are what people have been searching this year to find my blog:

• Bookish weird items– mmmh hope I don’t count as one of these?
• Top platonic relationship fanfics– I feel this poor soul possibly didn’t find what they were looking for
• Top ten female characters in books– hey! I’m super happy I show up when you search this!

So there you go! That’s my year on the blog. How old if your blog, if you have one? What was the best blogging advice you ever received? Did you go to any bookish events this year? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Review: Caravel by Stefanie …

With the recent release of Legendary, the sequel, I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and polish of Caravel- a novel that screams the enchantment of The Night Circus but is stuffed with more action, adventure and even more plot twists.

This circus-esque novel follows two sisters in their attempts to flee from their abusive father by entering a dangerous yet enchanting game- Caravel, a travelling circus where the main attraction is watching half the audience attempt to solve clues to win a prize. This years prize: a wish.

“He’d heard every person gets one impossible wish—just one—if the person wants something more than anything, and they can find a bit of magic to help them along.“

But when older sister Scarlett enters this mystical game, in the hope of winning the wish and escaping her abusive father, she soon finds the price for playing is higher than she realises and the game more deceptive than she thought.

Caravel is a light and easy to read YA fantasy that hooked me in from page one. With rumours and half truths flying left right and centre, all covered by the dazzle of Caravel, the book is well paced, intriguing and well written. I particularly enjoyed following our guarded main character, Scarlett, as she attempts to make sense of the game that has swallowed her plans and sent her future spiralling out of her grasp.

“Every person has the power to change their fate if they are brave enough to fight for what they desire more than anything”

The descriptions in Caravel are sparse and delicate, one of my few critisms I have of this novel. Each chapter is dotted with intricate detail, as I’d expected, from describing the buttons and bows that adorn Scarlett’s dresses to the strong perfumes of a potion stand. The writer included a lot of finer details to embellish the plotline.

But I was struggling to picture Caravel in all it’s glory. For a girl who has dreamed of visiting the game all her life, Scarlett does very little adventuring of her own. The reader doesn’t get elaborate descriptions of the circus or how others are playing, Scarlett only tries foods when she must and only explores what is required by the plot. The book felt a little short, it could have easily been bulked out with a few more descriptions of the glamouress Caravel and the unimaginable sights that were too often mentioned but not shown without detracting too much from the plot.

However, this is a minor detail. And although the lack of description of Caravel itself annoyed me a bit it does keep the plot quick and fast paced- a feat I know many readers would enjoy. It is gripping and what descriptions there are are certainly not lacking.

“Every touch created colors she had never seen. Colors as soft as velvet and as sharp as sparks that turned into stars.“

Caravel’s plot is as straight forward as the game the novel is named for. As Scarlett second guesses each and every half truth she is told so does the reader, and the confusing mixture of clues our protagonist receives are somewhat difficult to follow and even harder to spot. But with the insistence that Caravel is “only a game” and Scarlett’s tentative nature of second guessing each action or motive the twists and turns embellish a story that is clearly better explained than guessed.

“It’s better this way, sister. There’s more to life than staying safe…”

The sisterly bond between Tella and Scarlett was refreshing in YA. More often do characters act out of romantic love or spite in this genre and it was nice that this novel touched on a new motive. Although we do see Scarlett’s motherly nature towards Tella, a relationship similar to that of Katniss’s and Prim’s, we also see that they are friends and catch glimpses of their childhood where they played games and heard stories together. This adds a soft edge to Scarlett’s otherwise seemingly reserved and nervous character.

I would recommend Caravel to anyone looking for a short, fun read. It’s quick, enchanting, and like the circus, it’s over too quickly.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ /5

Let’s Compare Notes

Have you read Caravel? Do you agree with me? Have you ever read The Night Circus, or anything similar? Would love to hear from you in the comments section!

Fall tbr Update

Hello all, hope you’re having a great Tuesday! I’ve taken a break from my NaNoWriMo, which is at 926 words, not exactly on target but oh well, to write a Top Ten Tuesday! Also if you’re doing/have done NaNo, how on earth do you keep up?! And writing that much in so short a time, I’m finding it very tricky 😣

This week’s topic is backlist, but I thought I’d revisit an old list, my Fall tbr, and see how well or not well I’m doing!

1. Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas ✔️

I succeeded! Yep, I polished of this one last month I want to say? It was not as amazing as I was hoping, but I still enjoyed it! You can read my review here.

2. The Railway Man by Eric Lomaz ✔️

I’ve read this! It was startling, shocking and amazing. It’s message is so important and I definitely recommend this novel.

3. The Raven King by Maggie Steivfater ❌

This list was going so well. Sadly, Gansey and friends continue to be Welsh kingless in my mind.

4. A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab ❌

I still keep putting it off for its brick like tendencies 😬 hopefully I’ll pick this novel up soon.

5. To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo ❌

I am so excited for this novel. It sounds so good and I am just as sad you with my failing to read it.

6. Magnus Chase and The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan ✔️

I’m currently reading this! And as I’m over half way through I think I definitely deserve a gold star for this one!

7. Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamiliton ✔️

We’re on a role with the ticks! I read it, loved it, and am completely gutted to have finished this incredible series. Definitely one of my favourite series ever.

8. The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon ❌

Ok, yes, I am still failing on this account. I will get round to reading this one it’s just not my most anticipated read.

9. Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz ❌

A read with a deadline. I intend to read this novel before I go see Hamilton in February. Also Hamilton 😍

10. Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein ❌

It’s sitting on my shelf glaring at me. I’m sure I’ll read this exciting, plane related read soon!

Lets Compare Notes

Have you read any of these? Are they on your tbr? How are you doing with your tbr? Would love to hear from you in the comments, and feel free to drop your list by!

How I Post Consistently

I recently did my first ever guest post over on a publishers website *eek!* And have been given permission to cross post! So here’s my guest post on How I post Consistently, which you can also find here

It Won’t be Easy

The life of a blogger is not easy. You’ve got to juggle writing content, social media interaction and that pesky little thing of your life away from your laptop. Or Smartphone as the case may be. It’s not always easy and any form of regular input to your blog is impressive, whatever your situation.

However, posting consistently is key to successful blogging, in my opinion. I read somewhere, when making a blog was a fleeting idea in the back of my mind, that to get followers you had to be everywhere. People forget, hype moves away and if you’re not posting regularly your existing followers won’t remember you and new followers won’t find you. It’s important, but definitely not easy.

I’ve been a blogger since April and will not claim to be an expert in the art of consistent posting. There were times, my dissertation due, exams coming up and the constant battle of looking for work after university, where my blog was on the back burner. It’s not my career, it never had priority over my work or social calendar, but that didn’t mean I wanted to let it flop.

Think Ahead

The first step to posting consistently, for me, was to work out how often I could realistically post. My original intention was a book review, a ‘meme’ and another post every week. Did it occur to me that I fall into slumps, that I don’t realistically read a book every week or that a busy week might drag me away from my laptop? It was what I could achieve on a good week, but normal weeks aren’t full of Friday meetings finishing early or long train rides to visit friends. Two posts a week is slightly less than I can write but very achievable on weeks when I’m busy or in a slump or have no inspiration on what to write. There’s no shame in flooding your drafts with potential posts since there will be an inevitable moment where your grateful for the hoardes of drafts you’ve stocked up.

Savor Moments of Inspiration

The second step in tackling regular posting was ideas. Whether you blog about books, your life, or even you pet dog there are going to be days when Fido doesn’t do anything to merit a post. I originally intended to blog when I felt like it. In those wonderful moments when the words write themselves and I find myself furiously tapping out a post on my smart phone. It worked for a bit but I soon discovered inspiration, although often, is far between. I’d have twenty ideas for a post one week but then have none for the next. To counter this I began to drop down all the ideas, no matter how silly, as they appeared and began to select a favourite each week. And if none of these take your fancy find a tag or meme that another blogger has done recently. You don’t need to be tagged, you can just go for, honestly no one will mind. These posts are often very well received because they’re often funny and if the tag is quite popular other bloggers might flock to it the same way you have.

Find a Schedule that Works for You

This brings me nicely into my third point- regularity. I’m not convinced that posting on the same day ever week will improve your blogging repitoir or your followers but it can help with regular posting. My posting has become much more consistent since I joined in with a Tuesday meme. It gave me a regular posting schedule which put more structure in my week. I know I post once on Tuesday and have to have a post published between then and next Tuesday, which isn’t all that difficult. And it gives me a sort of deadline to work to that makes me actually get on with it, above all else.

A trick that I’ve started to use lately, but have found infinitely useful, is setting aside time to blog. I’m not saying always stay in on a Monday night and work on your blog, I’m suggesting finding small pockets of down time and working in them. I blog on my commute, but whether it’s your bus ride home or the ad break in Strictly you might find these little moments infinitely useful, no matter how short.

A final quirk I feel I should doff my hat to is scheduling. Personally, I don’t schedule posts. I find it difficult to keep track of what’s posting and to interact with comments and shares on social media. But if you’re in a hotel room in some exotic tropical location on your family’s annual holiday you don’t really want to be worried about writing a blog post and miss the traditional ‘who won Monopoly argument’. Scheduling can make consistency easier and you never know, it might work really well for you.

Lets Compare Notes

So there you have it, some small tips that have helped me manage my posting. Would be great to hear from you if you have any tips of your own and if you think mine might be helpful?

10 Authors I’d Love to Meet

Seeing authors is one of the privilege of being a YA bookworm. It’s so fun when they go on tour and you can gush in signing lines, clutching your treasured books, trying not to curl the pages before they sign it. It’s always so fun. But it’s never easy meeting all your favourites, I’m lucky to live in England where quite a few visit but not all authors tour here and it’s not always possible to meet them when they come. So here’s a lit of ten authors I’d love to meet.

1. Rick Riordan

Top of the list and has been for years, as a man’s who’s books made my childhood I’d love to meet him. It’s a big dream of mine and if I ever go to the States I’d definitely go see him. (Which I know is a ridiculous thing to say give how big the States is but still!)

2. Tomi Adeyomi

I was one of the unlucky few who didn’t manage to meet Tomi at YALC 😥 Children of Blood and Bone was such a great read!!

3. Cassandra Clare

I want to see if Cassandra Clare is as funny in person as she was on the page. Her characters are always really fun to meet, I can only hope she is as well!

4. Derek Landy

I’ve met and embarrassed myself in front of him loads of times, but I would never say no to meeting Derek again! I once asked him to say “Doors are for people with no imagination” in an Irish accent like Skulduggery’s and feel I need to meet him again and redeem myself…

5. JK Rowling

I know I have like no chance since she probably will never tour again but it would be very cool to see the author of a book series that meant so much to me when I was a kid.

Also here is a picture of YALC from August! Might have missed Tomi but I did see a lot of very cool authors!!

6. Sarah J Maas

I’ve only recently picked up her books but am super jealous of my friend who’s met her already. It would be very cool to meet the maker of Ardlan’s Assassin!

7. Stephanie Garber

Caravel was just, wow, and I’d love to meet the author. I really like her writing and am very intrigued by how she managed to create such a unqiue world.

8. Erin Hunter (s?)

I read the books Warrior Cats as a kid and devoured them. They were a staple and kept my interest in reading alive. I would like to meet the authors (I think they’re 4??) if for nothing else just to say thanks.

9. Angie Thomas

Not only is The Hate U Give an amazing read but makes such an important point. I’d love to meet the author.

10. Catherine Webb

Last but not least, Catherine Webb wrote one of my favourite books (which no one has ever heard of) and I’d love to meet her. Although I might need to get a new copy of her book for signing if I ever meet her since I read mine to the point that the pages fell out…

Let’s compare Notes

So there you have it! Ten authors I’d love to meet. Who would you want to meet? Who have you met? If you did this TTT then feel free to drop your link off!

Ten Book Blogs I Absolutely Love

Everything is going so well at the moment- two of my closest friends got married and I got to eat the best cake ever surrounded by good friends and great banter, my boyfriend got a job and we’re now house hunting ( :O ) and it’s Tuesday so I get to write a list!

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is all about book bloggers I love so here’s a small list of ten bloggers who inspire me to write and always offer some great content. I’ve tried to tag their about page or latest content so that you can go check them out too if you fancy blog hopping!

1. Book Book Owl

It is no secret that we bookworms have been known to indulge in the odd ‘cover buy’: a book that looks absolutely gorgeous on our shelf. And in the spirit of loving pretty things this blog is beautiful, I love this blogger’s photos, bookstagram and wonderfully colourful blog.

2. Paper Fury

I’m sure she’ll appear on more lists than just mine, but Cait’s persistent posting on all social media, funny asides and exceptionally colourful bookstagram make her a firm favourite. She never fails to make me laugh!

3. Chrissi Reads

Honestly it’s the dedication this blogger shows that impresses me so much. So many times I visit a post and see Chrissi has commented or liked it and it’s really very impressive!

4. Written Word Worlds

Sarah is a booktuber and blogger and not only am I uber jealous of her colourful shelves I find her blog posts to be well written and the art and images they feature to be absolutely amazing.

5. Jenniely

Jenn’s blog and twitter really inspire me since she is very involved in the community and seems so happy to share her seasoned blogging advice and is always happy to interact with new bloggers!

6. Almost Amazing Grace

One of my favourite blogs, I love how Grace writes. Each of her posts could easily be an extract from a book, they’re so well written and captivating.

7. Reading Under the Blankie

It’s clear this blogger doesn’t do anything by halves. Her posts are always beautifully laid out, well written and easy to read with lots of interesting and informative content. I admire the time she puts into her blog each time I check out her posts.

8. Nut Free Nerd

Holly is a book lover on her year abroad from the US to England and it’s so fun hearing about all her adventures both in fiction form from her book content and real life. She’s been studying at Oxford this year, a town I know well, and it’s very funny to see her take on it!

9. Book Lovers Blog

A great friend and an amazing blogger, this blog got me interested in blogging in the first place and always offers inciteful and well written posts. It helps that we have basically the same taste in books.

10. Hammock of Books

I met this blogger through Top Ten Tuesday actually since we pretty consistently swap comments on posts and some great YA fantasies appear on her lists! I like how colourful her blog is and really enjoy reading all the funny tags 🙂

So there you have it! The bloggers that impress me the most. What blogs do you love? Have you check out any of the above? If you’ve done a Top Ten Tuesday it would be great to check it out!

My Favourite YALC 2k18 Moments!

Hellloooo. So to not overload you too much (I’ve posted quite a lot last week) I pushed this post to this week. But only slightly. And it’s still a lot of posting in a row. Ooops.

But anyway, with the excitement of YALC last weekend and everyone settling in to enjoy their new books I though I’d share a few of my favourite memories of the day.

If this post is extremely confusing, I have another friend called Hannah who I went to YALC with, I’m not just talking about myself in third person…

I got to practice my French

Not something I’d really expected at book con, but my friends and I attempted to answer a quiz whereby famous bookish phrases were translated into French and we had to work out which books they were from.

Alwyn Hamilton Recognised Us

Having seen her every year for four years, me and my friend were a little excited when she said she remembered us as she signed my copy of Hero at the Fall, completing my signed collection of the Rebel of the Sands trilogy.

My Friends can Pitch Impossible Pitches

My friend Hannah read her elevator book pitch at an agents arena talk and got a round of applause and high praise from the agents! Meanwhile I discovered that pitching a book in a sentence was near impossible 😛

On a similar vein, my friend Jo pitched her YA fantasy to an agent and got told it was very marketable! And she promised that if she’s ever signing at YALC I can tag along, defo not going to forget that one in a few years time 😉

We got Tonnes of Cute pics

I refer you to the image below:

Also in the pic with Alwyn Hamilton in I am wearing clothes! I’m wearing a strapless dress 😛

I ate Italian Food

Because all good days end with pizza, so we headed to Pizza Express and then a Pizza shop the next day. I may have an actual addiction.

Laura Stevens is just as Happy to see Us

I got to nearly the front of Laura Stevens, author of The Exact Opposite of Okay, signing line and saw her giddy excitement and enthusiastic crowd photo-ing as the attendant told her how long her signing queue was. It’s so nice how excited she was!

I got Cake, obvs

Feeling a bit bummed about missing out on meeting Tomi Adeyomi since her queue was so long, my friend and I got to fangirl about Children of Blood and Bone in the relaxing area and then got to scoff some very tasty cake. Not quite as good as meeting the author, but the cake was pretty great.

I got Books and Met some Fab Authors

My full list of purchases can be found here.

Despite the tricky signing lines and clashes I met Samantha Shannon, Alwyn Hamilton (twice because she was wondering round the convection and we bumped into her!), Laura Steven, Sally Nicolls, Louise O’Neil and Matt Kileen! And they were all fab!

So those are my YALC highlights! Did you go? Whats a cool Book con memory you have? Would love to hear from you in the comments!