Ok so first of all, I have decided to change my font for the blog because I can no longer stand to look at Helvetica for a particularly long period of time.
Now onto the important stuff - Fangirl. I'd heard about it on Tumblr, as I hear about many of my books, and several times I picked it up in book shops or put it in my Amazon cart and then decided not to actually buy it after all, due to money, time, or my ever increasing TBR pile. Then one day I was feeling frivolous and my hand just happened to slip on the 'purchase' button and two days later this little beauty dropped through my letter box.
I haven't devoured a book like this in a long time. I was hooked from the first page, the first moment in fact that we are introduced to Cath, mainly because I saw so much of myself in her. Every situation she got herself in, her social ineptness, her complete disbelief that a member of the opposite sex could actually find her attractive, plus her total and utter obsession with Simon Snow - essentially the 'Harry Potter' series equivalent - all combined to make her a carbon copy of me. Aside from the whole identical twin sister situation...
This is my first novel of Rainbow's that I have read, and I'm now itching to read her others. I found her style of writing totally engaging, she painted such a vivid picture of her characters and it was obvious that she truly knew them inside and out. She not only gave me a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience, but she also greatly inspired me with my own writing, and it's made me take a step back to examine how well I know my own characters, and how convincing they truly are.
There are so many adorable moments in this novel, so many that almost made me cry, and so many that were totally and completely heartwarming - it truly was a book that I myself could only dream of writing. I actually now want to write Fangirl fan-fiction (yes apparently it exists).
I would honestly recommend this book to anyone - I think it's the perfect novel for this time of year if you're looking for something engaging and cheerful to read on holiday or whilst sunbathing (fat chance of that in England!!).
So, I have been rather quiet recently, and for that I should apologise. I have been mainly re-reading my favourite series of books (aside from Harry Potter) The Mortal Instruments, as the final book (City of Heavenly Fire) is to be released at the end of the month.
I have however kept up with my near incessant purchase of books. I'm actually at the stage now where my To Be Read pile has grown that dramatically that I'm not sure I need to buy any more books this year, of course that won't stop me, much to my parents' dismay.
I have also been working more on my debut novel, fine tuning the first few chapters and working out where everything is going to happen later in the book. I have trouble usually with the middle sections of stories in the sense that I know what's going to happen, and I know how it happens (roughly) but I never know exactly how to pad it out, so I have bought Ready, Set, Novel! in the hopes that it can help me work out more about my book as I work through it. This is going to be my summer project, ready to start work on it this autumn. I have also signed up to study a BA Hons in English Literature and Creative Writing at the Open University starting in October, so I will be a very busy bee.
The next book on my list to read is Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I have been looking for something a little more light hearted than my recent foray into the supernatural YA novels for which I have a penchant. This one has had my eye for months now, so I eventually caved and bought it. I'm incredibly excited to get reading. I also have the sequel to Delirium (my number one book of the year so far) Pandemonium ready to read afterwards which I know already is going to emotionally destroy me. Requiem (of the same series) is in the pile along with The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer, an impulse buy one day recently in Tesco. I also found the most beautiful copy of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte which I couldn't help but buy today, so of course, that will be devoured in due course.
Finally, my best friends know me better than anyone else, and for my (belated) birthday present, one of them bought me the box set of the Mistborn trilogy to sink my teeth into-as you can imagine I'm very excited for this, particularly as fantasy is one of my absolute favourite genres. This is however, the very tip of the iceberg where my To Be Read list is concerned, and I'm looking forward into delving further into it with you all at my side.
Expect to hear much more of me in the next few months!
