ABC Book Challenge: H

Time for another instalment of the ABC Book Challenge.

I hope everyone has had a good start to the week so far.

 

Books I have loved beginning with H

 

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Harlequin by Bernard Cornwell

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling

Helen of Troy by Margaret George

Heretic by Bernard Cornwell

Heroes and Villains by Angela Carter

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

Holes by Louis Sachar

Hood by Stephen R. Lawhead

Howard’s End by E. M. Forster

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

 

Books on my TBR list beginning with H

 

Hades’ Daughter by Charlotte Carol

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Rather surprisingly I only have one book on my TBR list beginning with H!

I would love to hear your thoughts on some of these books. Please feel free to drop me comment. Also if you are taking part in the ABC Book Challenge please drop me your link in the comments and I will head over and check it out. 

 

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Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge: Update 3

Hello my fellow Book Dragons!

Well as I’m accelerating towards my deadline of 21st September it is looking less and less likely that I will complete the challenge in the time limit. However, I do intend on finishing all the books on the list this year because it will make my TBR list smaller as they have been sat on the list for a very long time. If I had not been so distracted by other books I might have got further.

So here is the list so far. As usual the crossed out books are also links to the reviews.

Good as gold:- The Casual Vacancy by J. K Rowling

The Book is Better:- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

On the bandwagon:- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Attwood

Short and sweet:- The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Actually want to read:- Jaws by Peter Benchley

Not from around here:- Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

In a friend zone:- The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

Wheel of format:- Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Past love:- Matilda by Roald Dahl

Armchair Traveler:- A Room with a View by E. M. Forster

 

Anyway, I will keep trying to get a few more ticked off before the deadline.

Happy reading.

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Anticipated Releases Book Tag

Hello everyone

Today I am taking part in the Anticipated Releases book Tag. A massive thank you to Blair for tagging me.

 

So here are the rules…

  • Thank the person (or persons) who nominated you
  • Answer all the questions down below
  • Pingback to the creator: Ellyn @ Allonsythornraxx
  • Nominate 5+ bloggers to do this tag

 

Your most anticipated release of the year…

Well the book I was most looking forward to this year came out a couple of weeks ago.

Tidelands by Philippa Gregory

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A book you are not anticipating…

The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman

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I will be honest with you, I really cannot stand Philip Pullman’s books, I have tried several times and always end up giving up. My husband however is eagerly awaiting the release of this book, hence why he named the cats Lyra and Pan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most underhyped anticipated release…

I’m not entirely sure on this but I have chosen a book I am looking forward to but does not appear on the top of lists of up coming releases on Waterstones.

A Silent Death by Peter May

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A book you’ve been waiting on forever…

Winds of Winter by George R. R. Martin

When will this book ever come out? I’m not sure I can wait much longer.

 

Your top 3 ‘can’t-wait’ books of the year…

 

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James

 

Top 5 most anticipated backlist books on your TBR…

Death of Darkness by Dianne Duvall

Star Trek Discovery: The Enterprise War by John Jackson Miller

Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King

Heads you Win by Jeffrey Archer

Jeeves and the King of Clubs by Ben Schott

 

I nominate: – Becky | Sara | Sarah | Sofi | Amanda

 

That’s it for now.

Happy Reading

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WWW Wednesday 4/09/2019

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The rules are answer the questions below and a share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you will read next?

 

What I am currently reading:-

Classics: A Very Short Introduction by Mary Beard and John Henderson

Started this a couple of days ago and really enjoying it. This is preparatory reading for my course in October.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Started this last night, so far so good.

 

What I recently finished reading:-

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Just recently finished this and must admit I have never been so pleased to finish a book before.

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Really enjoyed this and was good to read after seeing it live a couple of years ago.

 

What I plan on reading next:-

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Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Been on the reading list for way too long and is one of my summer reading challenge books.

 

Please drop me a link if you are also taking part in the WWW Wednesday.

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A Little Rant

Hello!

Now I am sure my little rant that I am about to have a lot of my fellow Book Dragons will agree with.

I have been waiting for a very large order of books to arrive for the course I am starting in October and today it finally arrived. Needless to say I was very excited when two big boxes arrived. However, that excitement went to disappointment very quickly when I realised two of my books were badly damaged. The one book has many pages with chunks missing out of them and the other book is stained on every single page.

Now I have sent an email to the company with pictures and sadly I have not had a response today, hopefully tomorrow. I did not ring because they recommended emailing due to a waiting time of approximately 20 minutes on the phone.

The thing I was most annoyed about was that both these books had clearly not been checked at all by the person who packed the box and both books especially the stained one are very much in the face, wrong! I have had this happen before and it really upsets me that people do not check the books and instead of a box full of lovely, exciting books you have a box of disappointment.

Anyway that is my little rant.

Please let me know in the comment section if you have had any book delivery disasters.

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The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (Review)

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

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About the author

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Donna Tartt is an American writer who received critical acclaim for her first two novels, The Secret History and The Little Friend. Tartt was the 2003 winner of the WH Smith Literary Award for The Little Friend. Her novel The Goldfinch won the Pulitzer Prize in 2014.

Blurb

It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a thirteen-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don’t know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love-and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch combines vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and suspense, while plumbing with a philosopher’s calm the deepest mysteries of love, identity, and art. It is an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the ruthless machinations of fate.

Review

I must admit I was excited to read this book to begin with but sadly that excitement did not last. Several times I almost gave up on the book and went for days when I did not read it but I kept coming back to it because I wanted to get to the end and see what happens.

Theo is a very troubled young man who really needs help, even at the end of the book he still in my opinion needs help and I just hope he gets some. I also found him to be terribly frustrating at times and wanted to shake him.

I did not like Kitsey at all in the book whether as a child or an adult, she was simply spoiled and rotten to the core. Boris however has a very troubled life and at times acts very disturbingly but he has a good heart and tries to help his friend Theo.

My favourite character and the reason I kept reading was probably Hobie, he was such a sweet kind hearted man who only wants what is best for the people he knows. Hobie teaches everything he knows to Theo and gives Theo amazing opportunities to better himself and give him a fantastic career but Theo takes advantage.

In my personal opinion I think the book could have been a lot shorter as there was a lot of waffle which just made the book drag on. It was like the author did not know how to stop or edit her work. I really do think that if it had been shorter and more to the point it would have been a good book but I was just losing the will to live and the ending was a massive disappointment to me. I even had to switch off the percentage on my Kindle because the lack of movement just depressed me.

Overall I did not enjoy this book at all but because I finished it I gave it 2 out of 5 dragons. I do not think I will read it again and I am not sure I will try Tartt’s other novels. However, this is only my opinion and I know a lot of people would not agree.

Purchase links

Waterstones

Book Depository

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August Wrap Up

Well I can’t believe it is the end of August, it really has flown by.

Happily I’ve read quite a few books in August and thankfully I have also finished The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt that has just been dragging.

Books I have finished (as usual click the picture to go to the review)

Captain Marvel: Higher, Further, Faster by Liza Palmer

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4/5 Dragons

249 pages

 

Your Body’s Many Cries for Water by Fereydoon Batmanghelidj

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5/5 Dragons

196 pages

 

My Cat is a Dick by Malcolm Katz

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3/5 Dragons

144 pages

 

Matilda by Roald Dahl

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5/5 Dragons

240 pages

 

Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell

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3/5 Dragons

80 pages

 

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

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2/5 Dragons

881 pages

Total pages: 1790

Total pages this year: 11550

 

Friday Poetry

2/8:- John Rice

9/8:- Robert Graves

16/8:-Christina Rossetti

23/8:- John Bunyan

30/8:- Christina Rossetti

Christina Rossetti is definitely a firm favourite of mine.

 

Mid Week Quotes

7/8:- Bill Watterson

14/8:- Sophocles

21/8:- Euripides

28/8:- P. G. Wodehouse

 

Book Tags

Down the TBR Hole #13

ABC Book Challenge: G

Down the TBR Hole #14

 

So that is my August wrap up. Thankfully I read a few more pages than last month.

Please drop me a comment with your august wrap up links or if you want to chat about the listed books.

Happy reading

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Waterstones Challenge: Wrexham

Hello My Fellow Book Dragons!

I have had a wonderful day with my husband, we went to Chirk Castle and then afternoon tea at a Hotel called The Sweeney. Between these two locations we also managed to fit in a Waterstones visit.

 

We visited the Waterstones at Wrexham and I was really impressed with what I saw, even though we only had a quick ten minutes in the store because we had to get to our booked table for afternoon tea. Everything was laid out well and I loved the genre signs above the bookshelves and the staff were wonderful.

The thing I was really impressed with was that Wrexham store had a big display of the A Very Short Introduction books which are done by Oxford University Press and I needed one of these for a course I am starting in October. So I immediately bought the book and a cute notebook to go with it because I do love a notebook.

The book I bought was Classics: A Very Short Introduction by Mary Beard and John Henderson.

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So after a busy and enjoyable day I am going to have a sit down and read a few chapters of my new book.

Happy Reading.

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New Books: 27/08/2019

Hello Everyone.

I have been busy trying to complete my Diet and Nutrition Diploma and this has also involved getting a few more books. So my new books are course related but some fun ones as well.

Course books

Fed Up with Asthma by Sue Dengate

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By the author of the bestselling books Different Kids, Fed Up and The Failsafe Cookbook, Fed Up with Asthma tackles one of the most dangerous and insidious health issues to be associated with the Western lifestyle: asthma. Sue Dengate examines the scientific research to show links between a whole range of synthetic and natural food chemicals such as sulphites, MSG and salicylates and the steadily increasing numbers of children and adults diagnosed with asthma; and also shows how to avoid them using the failsafe diet. If you are interested in good health and being free of asthma, you can’t afford not to read this book.

 

The Inflammation Syndrome by Jack Challem

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Completely revised and updated-Jack Challem’s powerful plan to safely prevent and overcome inflammatory disorders

Inflammation is what happens when our body’s own defenses turn on us-and it is a huge and growing problem. Written by the author of the groundbreaking Syndrome X, this essential updated edition of The Inflammation Syndrome draws on cutting-edge research conducted around the world to provide a revolutionary approach to healing inflammation-related problems through an easy-to-follow nutrition and supplement program.

Includes new recommendations for individualized diet and supplement plans
Presents fourteen steps for restoring dietary balance, plus recipes and menu plans
Reveals the powerful role inflammation plays in a wide variety of common health conditions-from simple aches and pains to heart disease, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, and athletic injuries
Features dramatic case histories and the latest information on dosage recommendations for anti-inflammation supplements such as fish oils, vitamins, and herbs
Other books by Jack Challem: Syndrome X, The Food-Mood Solution, Feed Your Genes Right, and Stop Prediabetes Now

Read The Inflammation Syndrome and learn just how easy it can be to take charge of your diet and health.

 

Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Dr Christine Northrup

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‘Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom’ demonstrates that when women change the basic conditions of their lives that lead to health problems, they heal faster, more completely, and with far fewer medical interventions. This book offers up-to-date information on every aspect of women’s health.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun books

Tidelands by Philippa Gregory

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THE BRAND NEW SERIES FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR

England 1648. A dangerous time for a woman to be different . . .

Midsummer’s Eve, 1648, and England is in the grip of a civil war between renegade King and rebellious Parliament. The struggle reaches every corner of the kingdom, even to the remote Tidelands – the marshy landscape of the south coast.

Alinor, a descendant of wise women, crushed by poverty and superstition, waits in the graveyard under the full moon for a ghost who will declare her free from her abusive husband. Instead, she meets James, a young man on the run, and shows him the secret ways across the treacherous marsh, not knowing that she is leading disaster into the heart of her life.

Suspected of possessing dark secrets in superstitious times, Alinor’s ambition and determination mark her out from her neighbors. This is the time of witch-mania, and Alinor, a woman without a husband, skilled with herbs, suddenly enriched, arouses envy in her rivals and fear among the villagers, who are ready to take lethal action into their own hands.

 

The Last by Hanna Jameson

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For fans of high-concept thrillers such as Annihilation and The Girl with All the Gifts, this breathtaking dystopian psychological thriller follows an American academic stranded at a Swiss hotel as the world descends into nuclear war—along with twenty other survivors—who becomes obsessed with identifying a murderer in their midst after the body of a young girl is discovered in one of the hotel’s water tanks.

Jon thought he had all the time in the world to respond to his wife’s text message: I miss you so much. I feel bad about how we left it. Love you. But as he’s waiting in the lobby of the L’Hotel Sixieme in Switzerland after an academic conference, still mulling over how to respond to his wife, he receives a string of horrifying push notifications. Washington, DC has been hit with a nuclear bomb, then New York, then London, and finally Berlin. That’s all he knows before news outlets and social media goes black—and before the clouds on the horizon turn orange.

Now, two months later, there are twenty survivors holed up at the hotel, a place already tainted by its strange history of suicides and murders. Those who can’t bear to stay commit suicide or wander off into the woods. Jon and the others try to maintain some semblance of civilization. But when the water pressure disappears, and Jon and a crew of survivors investigate the hotel’s water tanks, they are shocked to discover the body of a young girl.

As supplies dwindle and tensions rise, Jon becomes obsessed with investigating the death of the little girl as a way to cling to his own humanity. Yet the real question remains: can he afford to lose his mind in this hotel, or should he take his chances in the outside world?

 

Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell

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As you can see, lots of lovely new books. I’m hoping that my course books, will prove useful in helping my asthma, as well as writing essays. Tidelands by Philippa Gregory has been preordered for so long that I had forgotten I had ordered it, so it was a wonderful surprise when a signed copy arrived in the post. 

Please drop me a comment if you have read any of these books, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Reading

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Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell (Review)

Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell

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About the author

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Katherine Rundell is an English author and academic born in 1987. Rundell is the author of many children’s books including Rooftoppers, which won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and Blue Peter Book Award in 2014.

Review

This will only be a short review as it is only a short book of 80 pages. This little book is an essay on why it is good to read children’s stories as an adult.

I personally love reading children’s stories as an adult and I think they are wasted on children because they can not appreciate them like an adult can. My particular favourite that I have read many many times is 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. So this book immediately appealed to me, hence why I added it to the cart on a recent Waterstones order.

To begin with I enjoyed this essay and Rundell has some excellent points in the essay but the thing that bugged me the most was that Rundell kept trying to be funny in the book and to be honest, in my opinion just trying too hard and after a while it began to wear thin and just annoy me. I believe if she had cut back on this and stuck to her essay she would have made a far better book.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and it only took me about fifteen minutes to read but because of the fake humour I only gave this book 3 out of 5 Dragons. A good little read but I will not be reading it again.

Purchase Links:-

Waterstones

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