Books I read in August!: You Can't Touch My Hair, The Nearest Faraway Place, Like Other Girls, Tales from Moominvalley

Heyyyyyy look at that it's my August reading roundup! Let's dive in!  I started off the month on the train down to London listening to Phoebe Robinson's You Can't Touch My Hair on audiobook. I've been loving listening to Phoebe on her podcast 2 Dope Queens, with cohost Jessica Williams. I also watched Jessica Williams' film The Amazing Jessica James on Netflix so it's been v 2 Dope Queens saturated month. And there's nothing wrong with that! I also took The Nearest Faraway Place by Hayley Long down to London with me, which I enjoyed very much. I wrote a blog post comparing it to The Faraway Nearby and you can read that here if you fancy. I read Claire Hennessy's Like Other Girls, which was pretty intense and full of issues and stuff. I rounded off the month reading Tales from Moominvalley on a deck chair looking out at the water on the west coast of Scotland. A pretty nice August with some good reading moments!

You Can't Touch My Hair- Phoebe Robinson

The Nearest Faraway Place- Hayley Long

Like Other Girls- Claire Hennessy

Tales From Moominvalley- Tove Jansson 

Look how well the colours on the covers of these books go together- all peachy, orangey, reddy vibes! Go read that post I wrote about The Nearest Faraway Place/The Faraway Nearby why don't ya!

Books I read in February!: Wuthering Heights, A God in Ruins, The Handmaid's Tale, Rolling Blackouts

February! My reading has really slowed down the last two months. I blame loads of essay marking and also writing of stuff. I did read some biggies in February though. I finally got round to reading The Handmaid's Tale and Wuthering Heights. I listened to A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson on audiobook, which I had been putting off for ages. And I read Sarah Glidden's Rolling Blackouts, an extremely good graphic novel. 

Wuthering Heights- Emily Brontë

I literally, in the literal sense of the word, had the Kate Bush song in my head every time I picked up my kindle to read this. I didn't realise how much second generation Cathy there was in this. Or how the book is set up as a story told by someone else. Or even have any idea what Wuthering Heights was about apart from moors, Heathcliff and Cathy. Maybe I've not even watched any of the film/tv adaptations? Anyway, now I know all those things and I enjoyed it. I loved the melodrama of the romance, and the creepy darkness of all the scary dark bits. So many people just Stuck in situations. V bleak. 

The Handmaid's Tale- Margaret Atwood

This one had been on my TBR list for years and I've read so many books inspired by it that it felt about time I finally read The Handmaid's Tale. I was totally engrossed in the story and kept wanting to go to bed early to read more. A lot of books I've read that were written after this, now seem so obviously a response to it. In some ways I feel like what has come since is better, but The Handmaid's Tale had to be the first one. I did enjoy it a lot though and the context that comes in to play at the end does give the story a bit more nuance. I now follow Margaret Atwood on twitter, you should too.

Rolling Blackouts- Sarah Glidden

I found Sarah Glidden's first graphic memoir, How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, so compelling and thoughtful and reflective so I was very keen to read Rolling Blackouts. It's in a similar style, but with Glidden taking more of an observer's view of the rest of her group, two journalist friends and a marines (I think) vet, as they travel through Turkey, Syria and Iraq in 2010, pre Arab Spring. Super interesting, greta storytelling, beautiful artwork.

A God in Ruins- Kate Atkinson

Oh Teddy. I listened to this one on audiobook, and it a great way to read it I think, Kate Atkinson's  wonderful vivid storytelling accompanying me as I walked about. I really liked the world of Life After Life, and while this was different and less multiple lifey, I enjoyed hopping around in time to different parts of Teddy's life after he survives the war. I've read several of Atkinson's books, but I may have to read a few more. Or maybe just revisit Behind the Scenes at the Museum, because I was enthralled by it as a teenager. 

More stuff soon I promise! I went to a couple of Aye Write! book festival events this month in Glasgow so I'll write up wee reviews of them soon and do some reviews of new releases soon too! I just finished reading A Conjuring of Light, which was wonderful.

Books I read in July! Part 1: The Lives of Christopher Chant, The Uncommoners: The Crooked Sixpence, Rooftoppers

Helloo! Here's part one of my July reading roundup. I read 9 books in July so I'm splitting the reviews up into chunks. I read three lovely middle grade/ children's books, which was such a nice, cosy, comforting thing to do. The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones, The Uncommoners: The Crooked Sixpenec by Jennifer Bell, and Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell.

The Lives of Christopher Chant

This wonderful prequel is set years before Charmed Life and follows Christopher Chant's childhood before his adult role of Chrestomanci begins. Christopher has the ability to travel between worlds, which he does at night in his sleep, unbeknownst to his parents visiting wonderful vivid lands. Upon his Uncle Ralph's discovery of this power, Christopher is sent to these lands to bring back magical objects and artefacts. These dangerous trips lead to several disastrous injuries and it isn't long before Christopher's nine lives are discovered. Now destined to be the next Chrestomanci (for whom having nine lives is very important), and down several of those lives already, Christopher is sent off to Chrestomanci Castle to receive his magical education, much to his dismay as he has ambitions of being a cricket player. If you've read Charmed Life, you'll see a lot of Cat in Christopher as he gets used to the grim loneliness and strange magic of the castle. The goddess he meets in one of the worlds is a brilliant character, as is the cat Throgmorton. Full of Diana Wynne Jones' wonderful world building, charming details, and the perfect grumpy little boy voice. Definitely read this, Charmed Life and Howl's Moving Castle. I'll be getting myself a copy of every other Diana Wynne Jones book asap!

The Uncommoners: The Crooked Sixpence

After their grandma Sylvie has a fall and is rushed to hospital, Ivy Sparrow and her big brother end up travelling through a suit case to a land beneath London, where everyday objects like colanders and belts have very Uncommon special usages in a very magical way. Their grandmother's past is intertwined with this underworld, but unfortunately that past is a big mystery as Sylvie lost her memory in a car crash years ago in 1969.  They have to figure out how their grandmother is linked to this uncommon world in order to ensure the safety of their family. The world building is vivid and wonderful creating one of my favourite alternate Londons. Ivy is a great lead character too. It really reminded me of Heap House by Edward Carey, with its uncommon objects, and had much of the charm of Diana Wynne Jones about it too!

Rooftoppers

This is a beautiful book. As a baby, Sophie is found floating in the sea in a cello case after a shipwreck in the English Channel, by a man named Charles. He raises her, but her place with him is threatened by the childcare authorities, who believe no young lady should be raised by a man alone. Sophie believes her mother was in that boat and has vivid memories of her playing the cello. She strongly believes her mother is still alive. So Charles and Sophie run away following a clue in her cello case to a Parisian music shop. With a fondness for high places, Sophie learns all about the city from its rooftops and along with some new rooftop dwelling friends, goes in search for clues to the possible whereabouts of her mother. It's a really magical-lovely-spellbinding-wonderful rooftop world, with a heartwarming and impossibly exciting story. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

That's it for part 1 of my July reading round up. Part 2 coming soon, featuring Passenger, Uprooted, On the Other Side and Ctlr, Alt; Delete!

Zoella Book Club Reviews: Everything Everything, We Were Liars, Fangirl

Helloo! When the Zoella Book Club books were announced I was very pleased to see three titles that I had already read and enjoyed immensely. Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon, E. Lockhart's We Were Liars, and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, are all excellent choices for the book club for sure. It's great that so many people will get to read them! I will definitely be reading through some of the other titles from the list too, but I reckon I've read the best ones! Here are my reviews for these wonderful books:

Everything Everything

Nicola Yoon's Everything Everything is the story of a teenage girl, Madeline, who is allergic to absolutely everything. She can never leave her house, which was been carefully kitted out with state of the art air filtration systems, an air lock at the front door, clean white walls, even her books arrive decontaminated. Madeline is home schooled through online tutors, and her longterm nurse, Carla, checks her vitals several times through the day. The only people Madeline usually sees in person are her mum, who is a doctor, and Carla. When a new family moves in next door, she begins to speak with the son, Olly, through miming and notes held up at their windows, and then IM messages. Madeline is very wary of the dangers of the outside world due to her disease, but she is especially worried about the effects of falling in love. Narrated in first person by Madeline, this book is deals with love, trust, freedom and isolation perfectly. Having the main character unable to leave their location created this great limitation where, because things were kept simple, down to one setting, the author was able to fully explore this space and spend more time focussing on characters and development, which resulted in me really caring for the characters. Simplicity really is often the key. There were so many moments that gave me chills, and I was rooting for Madeline and any chance of freedom she could get, to live a 'normal' life.

We Were Liars

I highly recommend reading this book. I felt completely drained after reading it, which has to be a sign of a well written book. Most reviews and recommendations I've seen on We Were Liars give absolutely nothing away, so I may follow suit on that. But essentially it is mostly set on a family's private island on the coast of Massachusetts, where 17-year-old Cady spends the summer with her cousins. What I will say is that from the beginning there is some great... experimentation with the creative writing. There are metaphors that you don't realise are metaphors until you're half way through them and figure the character's heart hasn't actually fallen out her body and rolled down the lawn. It turns to poetry at points, to great effect. It's really great to see this kind of clever writing in a young adult book, young adults definitely deserve to be seen as clever readers. The reader follows with Cady as she slowly regains her memory, the story slowly revealing itself to the reader through the same fog the character is experiencing. There's romance, friendship, family, tragedy, heartbreak, memory loss, the works. Go read it now! ...And then make sure you have somewhere to have a lie down when you finish it.

Fangirl

Fangirl is the story of Cath and her twin sister Wren, heading off to college for the first time and growing apart as they each find their place away from home: Wren being socially adventurous and outgoing, Cath being mostly afraid to leave her dorm room. Cath is deeply involved in the Simon Snow fandom and has a huge online following for her fanfic. I got right into the Simon Snow fanfic, (I really want the Simon Snow series to be real- there's room in this world for Harry and Simon), and I loved that it was about fandom, BUT I didn't really end up liking the main character Cath or main love interest Levi. I don't know what happened, I connected with her at the beginning when she was too scared to find the dining room and hiding in her dorm and eating tacos with her dad. I think I found her relationship with Levi a little off putting, he seemed sort of fatherly towards her... it was kind of icky. All that aside, I enjoyed reading it and I am kinda thrilled that the world of fandom has been so sensitively explored in the capable hands of Rainbow Rowell. If you haven't already, I really recommend reading Carry On, which is Rainbow Rowell's own exploration of the Simon Snow characters and is so much fun! 

Top 6: Summer YA Reads

Helloo, I thought I'd share my recommendations for top summer YA reads today! It's definitely raining outside right now, but that doesn't mean you can't curl up with a summery book and pretend we're enjoying a proper sunny summer. Some of the following are sunny, fun beach reads, others sunny, deserty, or boaty with excellent heroines, and some pretty intense reads perfect for when you've got time on your holidays to read a whole book in a day. So, if you're wondering which YA reads should take up valuable flipflop room in your suitcase, look no further than:

1. Asking For It- Louise O'Neill

Right in at the deep end with Louise O'Neill's harrowing Asking For It, which tackles head on issues of rape culture, victim blaming, and slut shaming to name but a few. Asking For It is the story of Emma O'Donovan, a confident, pretty, popular girl in her last year of high school in a small Irish town. Emma is raped by several rising football stars at a drunken house party, remembers nothing, and learns of these events, along with the whole town, through explicit smartphone photos shared on social media. Emma's own refusal to believe the events occurred, and the town's fear for the boys 'ruined futures' chimes true with just about every campus rape victim blaming story you've heard of in recent years. Being inside Emma's narrative in the aftermath of this traumatising experience is harrowing, but also so compelling. Why am I recommending with super dark and intense book as a summer read? Well I reckon you'll want to read it in a oner, and then have several hours/days to reflect and recover, ideally with wine in easy reach and a swimming nearby. 

2. How Hard Can Love Be?- Holly Bourne

Lightening the mood a little is Holly Bourne's How Hard Can Love Be? the second book in the Spinster Club series! Am I Normal Yet? followed Evie, who was dealing with both sixth form college, making friends with Amber and Lottie, and keeping on top of her OCD. How Hard Can Love Be? is Amber's story of her summer holiday spent in California working at the summer camp where her mum now lives with her new husband. Hoping to rekindle a relationship with her recovering alcoholic mum, searching for the special bond that they maybe never even had, harbouring a crush for fellow camp councillor and former prom king Kyle, and keeping up feminist discussions with Evie and Lottie via Skype, Amber has a very full plate, and that's before you mention all the little American school children under her care. Holly Bourne is so good at making angst seem not angsty at all, making How Hard Can Love Be? a super engaging and fun summer read. 

3. The Rest of Us Just Live Here- Patrick Ness

Patrick Ness's The Rest of Us Just Live Here, is basically from the perspective everyone in town who wasn't in Buffy's scooby gang, or in Dumbledore's Army, or in Bella's coven. All the non-chosen ones, who have to deal with the mysterious mystical goings on, or the next end of the world, as bystanders. Mikey is a teenager, who just wants to go to prom with his friends and graduate before the high school is blown up again. Mikey's more ordinary issues, dealing with unrequited love, battling OCD, and navigating family life all play out against the backdrop of another epic mystery for the 'indie kids' to solve, with snippets of these absurd and melodramatic stories providing a juxtaposition to the main chapters. Perfect summer reading as it's in the run up to prom, with just the right amount of satire of hero stories and conviction in the heroism of everyday actions. Full of heart, humour, and warmth. 

4. Bullet Catcher- Joaquin Lowe

This one's on the summer list for its sandy desert setting. Bullet Catcher by Joaquin Lowe follows the story of Imma, who lives in a desert land populated by gunslingers and once great, but now died out bullet catchers, and who leaves the small town of Sand on the tail of a stranger she saw catch a bullet, in search for her possibly dead and definitely long lost brother, Nikko. Gungslingers and bullet catchers representing either good or evil, hero or monster, Imma has to work out which is which and therefore which path to take. I thought this was a great read, I really engaged with Imma and found the plot to be driven by plenty of action and momentum. A total page turner for poolside reading, and a potential new favourite gunslinging heroine. There may be another gunslinging heroine on this very list though so choose your fave!

5. The Girl From Everywhere- Heidi Heilig

Heidi Heilig's The Girl From Everywhere is a perfect Hawaii based, time travelling, summer read! Nix Song lives on a pirate ship with her father and their crew, spending their days using historical maps to time travel to places and times collecting fantastical creatures and mythical objects from all around the world. Nix is sixteen, and is particularly good at finding the perfect maps for time travelling, as each map can only be used once. The story begins in India in 1774, travelling to present day New York, and then to Honolulu 1883. Most of the story plays out in Hawaii, where Nix's late mother once lived, her father desperate to find a map to take him back to the time before her death. The story was exciting and compelling and I really like Nix and found her soul searching and life planning very relatable, even if her concerns were time travel based! Definitely recommended reading for anyone who loves Pippi Longstocking, Lyra of Northern Lights fame, and pirates!

6. Rebel of the Sands- Alwyn Hamilton

This beautiful shiny book will look great in the sunshine. Our second gunslinging heroine of the list: Set in a desert land with magical sand beasts and a Rebel Prince uprising against the king, Amani Al'Hiza is determined to leave her tiny dead-end town and head for the bright lights of the big city. Our heroine is particularly skilled with guns, and can definitely fend for herself, although it helps that she can pass for a boy. The world building is brilliant- I had amazing imagery in my head of this Middle Eastern meets cowboy Western land, especially appreciating the train scenes, there's just something about a desert train that I really love. Romance, adventure, mythology, and gun-slinging are all woven together beautifully, in what I was very pleased to learn is the first part of a trilogy. I reckon this one would be perfect for any summer train-based travel you may have planned!

Let me know your summer YA recs! 

Books I read in March!: Rebel of the Sands, Sofia Khan is Not Obliged, A Gathering of Shadows

I read and marked like a zillion essays and dissertations in March so my reading brain was very tired, but I did manage to read three whole books! I also read some graphic novels and you can read my round up of the ones I read in February and March in their very own dedicated post. The few books I did manage to read were the wonderful Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton, Ayisha Malik's Sofia Khan is Not Obliged, which I loved, and much anticipated sequel to A Darker Shade of Magic- A Gathering of Shadows, by V.E. Schwab. 

Rebel of the Sands

I may have initially judged this book by its beautiful shiny cover, but the contents were no disappointment. Set in a desert land with magical sand beasts and a Rebel Prince uprising against the king, Amani Al'Hiza is determined to leave her tiny dead-end town and head for the bright lights of the big city. Our heroine is particularly skilled with guns, and can definitely fend for herself, although it helps that she can pass for a boy. The world building is brilliant- I had amazing imagery in my head of this Middle Eastern meets cowboy Western land, especially appreciating the train scenes, there's just something about a desert train that I really love. Romance, adventure, mythology, and gun-slinging are all woven together beautifully, in what I was very pleased to learn is the first part of a trilogy. Follow Alwyn on social media too, she's great! 

Sofia Khan is Not Obliged 

I took the recommendation of Leena Norms in her Fresh Reads video, and I regret nothing! I loved this book. It was so much fun and I learned so much about British Muslim culture. Sofia Khan has just broken up with her boyfriend, due to his unwillingness to move out of his parents house after their potential future marriage. Discussing her dating experiences at work, as a publicist at a London publishing house, her boss convinces her to write a Muslim dating book. This book is essentially that, a British Muslim dating book. Full of wit and humour, balancing religion and relationships, marriage-obsessed relatives, racists on the tube, praying at work, writing her book,  and joining a Muslim dating site, Sofia's story is extremely entertaining and engaging. 

A Gathering of Shadows

A Gathering of Shadows is the much anticipated sequel to A Darker Shade of Magic, and I was very excited to see what would happen next after the very fast paced first book. This sequel takes place four months after the events of book one, and spans several months too, so we get a real feel for the wider world. Lila is the more central protagonist this time and she has essentially become a pirate and it's great. She has also been practicing magic under the tuition of her ship's captain, Alucard Emery, and learning as much as she can about Red London. Back in the city itself, Kell and Rhy are under much closer protection after both almost dying to defeat the Dane twins in White London, with Prince Rhy busy planning the massive international event, The Element Games, to be hosted in the city, and Kell essentially just pining after Lila. I really enjoyed the book, it was a great sequel, picking up the pace from the first book, and continuing this great pacing throughout. I loved Lila's new pirating life, and oh! that amazing opening scene. The bustling crowds of the Games really reminded me of the Quidditch World Cup, so that obviously sat very favourably with me. There was an effort throughout to remind the reader of details and events from the first book, which I found to be very elegantly executed and helpful, and that certainly isn't an easy thing to pull off. I found the chapter lengths to be perfect too; there is really just an overall brilliant attention to detail throughout. An amazing sequel- so excited for part three!


I'm currently reading Riverkeep, so far so good, and I have such a big tbr pile right now it's a little overwhelming but as far as problems go, it really could be worse! I just got a copy of The Girl From Everywhere from Hot Key Books and I have a sneaky feeling it's going to jump to the top of the pile...!

Graphic Novels of Feb and March: In Real Life, Skim, Embroideries, Fun Home, Chicken With Plums

This year I'm counting graphic novels in my reading challenge because they totally count and as I read 5 over February and March I thought I'd round em up here in this very post. It turns out my local library has a pretty good collection so I've been working my way through that!

In Real Life

I picked up this beautiful graphic novel by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang on my birthday. As usual I was drawn in by its beautiful illustrations but the story was worth staying for. Anda is a high school student who loves online gaming, specifically the massively-multiplayer role-playing game Coarsegold Online. Anda is REALLY GOOD at this game, and is part of a all-girl guild. Real life and online life collide as Anda makes friends within the game with another kid in playing in China. I loved the art, I loved the story. I feel like it has a really strong moral heart within it. Also the physical copy is a beauty. The colours are wow!

Skim
I found Skim in the library, and was drawn in by the authors Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki who also wrote This One Summer, which I read last year. I also remember reading excerpts of this in my Sequential Narrative class in Toronto. So I was happy to finally read this story of Kimberly Keiko Cameron, nicknamed 'Skim', a wannabe Wiccan at high school in the early 90s. There's a suicide storyline, when a classmates' boyfriend kills himself, and the school becomes obsessed with spotting depression in its students. Skim is secretly meeting her English teacher Ms. Archer during all this, while also figuring out her friendship with her best friend, finding dates for the formal, and generally navigating teenage life. A really nice coming of age story, encompassing all the complications of high school. Has the same kind of thoughtful nostalgia as This One Summer .

Embroideries
The beginning of my Marjane Satrapi season. I had recently rewatched the Persepolis film (of which I now have a book copy and will read soon!), and spotted Embroideries in the library. This is such a funny and truthful little book. It's only a hundred or so pages, but there is so much good stuff packed in there! Over an afternoon of tea drinking, we learn of the love stories and sex lives of several generations of Iranian women in Majane's family. Her grandmother, mother, aunts, neighbours, cousins, all have stories from their various marriages and romances. I absolutely love Marjane Satrapi's humorous narrative style and her artwork is just great, capturing the personalities of each character in simple ink. 10/10 definitely read this! If anything. it's super enlightening!


Fun Home
I listened to Fun Home being discussed on the SRSLY podcast and then, once again, spotted it in the library. I'd been looking out for Alison Bechdel work, so I was very pleased to find it. This is a longun, with Bechdel looking back over her childhood at her relationship with her father, who died when she was in college. His death came just a few weeks after she came out as a lesbian to her parents, at which time her dad also came out as gay. Bechdel looks back over events in her childhood to unravel the mysteries of her father and their relationship and come to terms with his death I guess. This was a really interesting graphic memoir, mostly set in the family's funeral home business. Thoughtful, unapologetic storytelling and detailed artwork. Definitely wroth reading.


Chicken With Plums
Continuing Marjane Satrapi season, the library also had Chicken With Plums! Set in November 1955, Nasser Ali Khan is a celebrated tar player, and Marjane Satrapi's great-uncle. The story takes place over the eight days leading to his death, after he has given up on life due to the breaking of his beloved tar. Satrapi tells stories of his past and of his childrens' futures too, again with the same humour and wit she is known for. Offering glimpses into Iranian culture pre-1950s, and handling issues of death, love, life, and music with humour and grace. Also now I want to eat chicken with plums mmmm.





Any graphic novel recommendations are most welcome! Lemme know!

Books I read in February: The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School, How Hard Can Love Be?, The Marvels, The Sleeping Prince

These be the novels I read in February! I also read some real nice graphic novels, which I reckon I'll talk about in a separate post! Yippee! Kim Newman's The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School was lent to me and then I bought my own copy because I liked it so much! How Hard Can Love Be? by Holly Bourne was so much fun, definitely lived up to her previous work which I have loved. She just really does teenage voices well. The Marvels by Brian Selznick is a beautiful big heavy shiny book full of illustrations and I really enjoyed the format. And Melinda Salisbury's The Sleeping Prince, a much anticipated sequel, did not disappoint!

The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School

Ooh I right enjoyed this! Set in a boarding school for students with special gifts, the daughters of criminal masterminds and outlaws, and famous bug scientists. Amy Thomsett is sent by her mother after her gift for floating has become too strange for her to deal with. With her new friends Amy sets up The Moth Club after the mysterious Hooded Conspiracy abducts a girl from their dormitory. The mystery deepens as a serious case of mass-hysteria, mass-hypnoses completely overtakes the school. I was hooked pretty quickly and loved the way this novel unfolded. I found there to be some weird pace-slowing exposition of characters in a few key places. Also there were SO MANY NAMES to remember, with each student at any time being referred to by their first, second, or nickname, or by their house. This problem probably could've been solved if I had found the big list of students listed by year and house in the back... None of this dampened my enjoyment though. If you enjoy dreary coastal boarding schools, beating up bullies, moth species, female friendships, and superheroes in wartime, then this book is for you. 

How Hard Can Love Be?

The much anticipated second book in the Normal Series. I loved Am I Normal Yet? and Holly Bourne's previous book The Manifesto on How to be Interesting. This one follows Amber, as she leaves the Spinster Club for the summer to spend a few months in California with her mum and her mum's husband, at their summer camp. There's the usual strong feminist discussion throughout, with Amber skyping back home to Evie and Lottie, and with her new camp friends. Amber navigates the summer with said fellow camp councillor friends, trying to figure out her relationship with her emotionally distant and recovering alcoholic mother. There's also a very handsome prom king boy called Kyle who is showing a lot of interest in Amber, much to her befuddlement. So a whole load of issues to tackle all with Holly Bourne's signature humour and wit. Loved it! Not sure what ground the third in the Normal Series will cover, I mean surely that's everything now? Maybe pubes? Not enough Spinster Club pube chat yet for sure. 

The Marvels

On a very different note, I got this beautiful shiny gold book for Christmas and was super intrigued to see how the balance between illustration and text would read. A story of shipwrecked theatrical sailors in 1766 leads in pictures to a story of several generations of sons working and performing in a London theatre. The illustrated story stops with a fire at the theatre and we pick up in 1990s London, with a schoolboy named Joseph who runs away from boarding school to his uncle's bizarre historical townhouse, where he slowly begins to unravel the mysteries of Billy Marvel and his theatrical descendants. The unfolding of the mystery was very enjoyable and seeing the relationship between uncle and nephew grow was rather lovely. It got me right in the heart. And the real stories it's based on were very interesting too. This beautiful book is definitely not style over substance. 

The Sleeping Prince

The Sleeping Prince is the sequel to The Sin Eater's Daughter, which I read in March last year actually. I've been very organised and gone back to have a look at that review, in which I say it felt very much like the first act in a bigger story. The Sleeping Prince certainly proves this, really widening out understanding of the kingdom. I also was hoping for more movement in the form of travel, and um, TICK, so much of this story takes place on the road, exploring different towns, and it definitely fulfils my wish of more depth of understanding of the rest of the kingdom, after seeing it through Twylla's very insular world. The sequel in fact takes place from the perspective of an entirely different female protagonist. Errin, an apothecary, who is the sister of the guard Lief from book one, is living in poverty with her ailing mother in a rundown town. Mysteries and mythologies are all getting untangled from real history in this book, as a war is beginning following the waking of the titular sleeping prince. Errin seeks help from the mysterious Silas to find a cure for her mother and after a lengthy period of suffering in the horrible run down town, takes to the road to take matters in to her own hands. A strong sequel I think! And I am verrrrry much looking forward to the next book where I'm hoping we'll see more of Errin and Twylla's worlds colliding.

Look out for a post on the graphic novels In Real Life, Skim, and Embroideries!

Top 5: Books to give as gifts this Christmas

Christmas is coming! It's really soon! But you should still have to make it to a book shop for these gift ideas. I've gone for especially pretty books that will make perfect presents, but the content is all good I promise!

1- The Encyclopaedia of Early Earth- Isobel Greenberg

This is a beautiful wonderful hardback graphic novel. Perfect for lovers of really nice illustrations and made up worlds. 

Isabel Greenberg also has a good etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/IsabelNecessary

You can get it for a good price on the BBC shop which is weird but cool!

http://www.bbcshop.com/all-factual/the-encyclopedia-of-early-earth-hardback/invt/9780224097192

2- The Wolf Wilder- Katherine Rundell

I just finished reading this and it so snowy and wolfy and heartwarming, perfect from winter reading by a roaring fire, sheltered from the cold outside! The hardback has a really nice matt dust jacket with silver title and the pages feel soo nice too. The illustrations by Gelrev Ongbico are the icing on the cake.

It's currently under a tenner with free delivery from Book Depository:

https://www.bookdepository.com/Wolf-Wilder-Katherine-Rundell/9781408862582

3- Asking For It- Louise O'Neill

Now this ain't exactly a winter romp. It's about rape culture and slut shaming and is by the brilliant Lousie O'Neill. A perfect gift for the teenage feminist and the grown up feminist too. Make sure you use the hashtag #NotAskingForIt when you're talking about how great it is online. The hardback copy is pretty too.

Louise O'Neill is good person to follow on twitter!

https://twitter.com/oneilllo

It's just over ten squid on Wordery the noo with free shipping too!

https://wordery.com/asking-for-it-louise-oneill-9781784295868

4- A Portable Shelter- Kirsty Logan

Now THIS is a beautiful book. It's a small hardback with shiny silver shells on the cover and lovely illustrations through out too by Liz Myhill. It also has a character called Ruth in it, so an all round winner really. 

"A Portable Shelter is a collection of linked stories about loss, identity and the purpose of stories, inspired by Scottish folktales."

They only made 1000 of this edition so you really better snap it up!

Also under a tenner!

https://www.waterstones.com/book/a-portable-shelter/kirsty-logan/9781906841232 

5- A Winter Book + Moominland Midwinter- Tove Jansson


A Winter Books is a lovely wintery Tove Jansson short story collection, perfect for dreaming of a white Christmas! I would also recommend Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson for some Moomin wintriness. 

Only £6.06 on Wordery and yep free delivery:
https://wordery.com/a-winter-book-tove-jansson-9780954899523

Moominland Midwinter:
https://wordery.com/moominland-midwinter-tove-jansson-9780140305029




Bonus! 6- Dungeon Fun- Colin Bell and Neil Slorance

This collected edition of the first four issues of Dungeon Fun is a wonderful fun gift! It's a great adventure story to whiz through on Christmas Day with lots of laughs and in full colour no less! 

You can buy it from Dogooder Comics:
http://dogoodercomics.bigcartel.com/product/dungeon-fun

And also Neil's etsy store where he has a bunch of other cool stuff!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/artbyneilslorance