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!
So today I may have gotten a little carried away in WH Smiths and also on Amazon, but I think I probably speak for a lot of people when I say there is really nothing better than a new book day. Most people probably get like this over clothes (I kinda do as well, and don't get me started on buying new makeup) but nothing makes me happier than a massive stack of new books. To go with my other growing stack of new books. I'm pretty sure I could now open a library.
1. Delirium - I will admit to being heavily influenced by other fiction enthusiasts when it comes to books. Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly capable of finding new books by myself, but if I find someone obsessing over something on Tumblr, it definitely makes me very curious to try it myself, especially if there is a strong fanbase behind it. Delirium is one of these occasions, I was going to order it off Amazon last week but for some reason didn't, then I stumbled across it today and it was the last copy and of course I made some excuse involving fate just to justify spending more money. I am SO excited to read it.
2. Vampire Academy series - I have a friend who I used to work with, with an almost identical taste in books to me. She has spent most of the last couple of weeks going crazy for these books, so when I saw the box set on sale I figured I'd be stupid to not buy them. I'm a little apprehensive that they may turn out a little 'Twilight-y' as they're centered around vampires but even if this is the case I will definitely give them a go. I cannot possibly leave a book unread, no matter how much it may or may not appeal to me once it's sat on my bookshelf.
3. Fallen & Torment - These were two books that I picked up on a whim when I was in WH Smiths this afternoon. I almost bought the entire series but I had just spent £100 on makeup about 10 minutes earlier and figured I should probably try and restrain myself a little, so I settled for two instead. I thought that was a personal achievement for me as I was in the mood to buy the entire bookshop. From what I could gather from the blurb, these books focus around angels, a supernatural theme which I find hasn't been represented much in fiction in comparison to the vampires and werewolves that have taken over since the birth of Twilight. I have a feeling that I will have two new fictional characters to fall in love with and cry over now, and I am sure we will all bear the brunt of my emotional trauma over the next few weeks.
I now have to make sure I don't buy any new books for a while. I literally have an entire desk and a whole shelf of my bookshelf full of unread books from as far back as 2012 to get through. I have an awful habit of just buying and buying books and not getting round to reading all the ones I already have, so the next few months will be a bit of a test for me.
I also need about 8 more bookshelves to store them. Or a whole room dedicated to them-the sooner I get my own place the better!
