May TBR

May 10, 2019 The Biblioshelf5 Comments

Hey Biblifriends,

We’re nearing the middle of May so I thought I’d better post my May TBR already… 🙈😂

April’s OWLs Magical Readathon was so brilliant and I’m thrilled I passed 11 of my 12 exams, but I’ve got to admit, it’s really knocked the stuffing out of me! It’s almost like I binged on books during April and now I can’t bear to read…or post…or bookstagram. I’ve hit the slump big-time!

To add to this, life has also been hectic. Next week at work, my little darling Year 6 kids are sitting their end of Key Stage 2 SATs exams so we’ve all been revising our socks off trying to get ready. I’ve also been spending my non-working life doing lots of things with friends including catching up with movies, going to our pub quiz and spending almost the entire bank holiday weekend listening to live music at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival (more on that in my monthly wrap at the end of the month).

Hence my little Biblioshelf hiatus – sorry guys!

Anyhow, in a bid to get myself out of my slump, and in preparation for one of 2019’s most anticipated series finales, I’m rereading Caraval by Stephanie Garber which is the first of my May TBR books.

My other three books are: Legendary by Stephanie Garber; Finale by Stephanie Garber; Obsidio (Illuminae Files #3) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

Crates I’m expecting this month:

FairyLoot’s May Unlikely Romances Box
FairyLoot’s Finale Collector’s Edition Box
ShelfLove Crate May Box: We Hunt the Flame and Romanov – this will be my first ShelfLove Box and I’m super excited as I cannot wait to read these two titles!
Wizarding World May Box (which I think is themed around Quidditch)

So it looks set to be an exciting month in bookish terms, here’s hoping I actually get myself out of this slump in time to actually read! 😂

What are you all reading this month? Are there any hot new releases you’re really excited for? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Top Ten Tuesday – Inspirational / Thought-Provoking Quotes

May 7, 2019May 6, 2019 The Biblioshelf1 Comment

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed the Bank Holiday weekend if you’re in the UK!

I can’t remember the last time I actually wrote a Top Ten Tuesday. If you don’t already know, TTT is a weekly, list-themed book prompt hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. The theme for this week is ‘Book Characters That Remind Me of Myself’. I’m not feeling particularly reflective this week so I thought I would take this opportunity to go back to last week’s topic ‘Inspirational/Thought-Provoking Book Quotes’ as I missed it and I adore quotes! As there are so many wonderful ones out there in the world, I decided to narrow down my search by thinking of my ultimate go-to authors and choosing my favourite quotes from them. Whilst they may not all be philosophical in the inspirational/thought-provoking category, I feel they’re still pretty special. There’s also a couple of random ones about libraries because what bookworm doesn’t love a good library…?
(Disclaimer: Pictures are not mine; I’ve tried to include sources where possible.)

“Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you.”
― Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind (picture: quotefancy)

“I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane (picture: Risa Rodil)

“So many books, so little time.”
― Frank Zappa (Picture: Risa Rodil)

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”
― R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (Picture: Tee Public)

“Every book has a soul, the soul of the person who wrote it and the soul of those who read it and dream about it.”
― Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Angel’s Game(Picture: Picture Quotes)

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (Picture: Pinterest)

“A Library is a hospital for the mind.”
– Anonymous (Picture: Pinterest)

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
― K.Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Picture: TeePublic)

“To the stars who listen— and the dreams that are answered.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury Picture:https://rayyyofsunshinee.tumblr.com/post/159736257128/i-wanted-an-acotar-themed-background-for-my-phone

“We may sit in a library and yet be in all quarters of the Earth.”
– John Lubbock (Picture: librarysubscriptions.com from Pinterest)

What quotes do you find particularly inspirational / thought-provoking? Do you have any favourites? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

April Wrap Up

May 2, 2019 The Biblioshelf5 Comments

Wow, what a busy month April was, particularly the end of the month, hence the lack of posting on here and on my Instagram. I’m hoping to catch up at some point soon… 😂 Participating in the OWLs Magical Readathon has definitely helped my reading challenge. After being about 2 books behind schedule last month, I’ve now read 21 of my target 50 books and am 6 ahead of schedule! Having two weeks off for the Easter holidays definitely helped! You can read more about my Magical Readathon escapades here. I’m hoping to get a wrap post up for it during the start of May.

Books I’ve read this month:

Mirage by Somaiya Daud – musings here.
Five Give Up the Booze by Bruno Vincent
Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye – musings here.
The Lost Sisters by Holly Black
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – musings here.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman (reread)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander [J.K. Rowling] (reread)
To Best the Boys by Mary Weber
The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien [audiobook]

Films I’ve seen this month:

Wild Rose (15)

I love country music so a film about a single mum trying to get to Nashville was definitely going to be on my “must-see” list. Also, it has Julie Walters so it’s a win-win! Asides from the brilliant soundtrack, the film has a great sentimental message at the heart of it too.

Greta (15)

This film FREAKED ME OUT – but in that great ‘scary-movie’ kinda way! It isn’t a jumpy film with the non-existent soundtrack and bad guys jumping out from everywhere but it definitely leaves you really reconsidering the phrase ‘the kindness of strangers’. Kudos to Isabella Huppert for playing one hell of a scary psychopath! Basically her character utilises her lonely widow status by leaveing fake handbags on the subway in the hope that people will bring them back to her. She befriends them but then gradually wields her stalkerish and obsessive ways with them. If you love films that leave you with the chills, then this one may just be right up your street.

As the calendar has been quite busy and I was away for part of the holidays, I didn’t really get to see as much as I like at the cinema. May is definitely going to be busier as I’ve already got three films scheduled this weekend and one of them is Endgame! 😆

Other life stuff:

My friend Emma got married in April! This was my second wedding of four this year. She lives in Lanzarote so she and her now-husband had a quiet UK ceremony for their friends and family over here before flying back to Lanzarote for the ‘party’ part of the celebrations and their friends over there. It really was the perfect celebration to suit my friends; her dress was beautiful and the lace hair piece (which she had instead of a veil) was so gorgeous and intricate. It was a wonderful day which very nearly ended up with us crashing a country dancing event that was also going on in the hotel!
Keeping with the wedding theme, I spent the last weekend in April on a hen party for my Potterhead friend who I’ve known since primary school. We had Potter-themed T-shirts, went on a cauldron cocktail making experience at the Cauldron Pub in London and then finished with a Witchcraft and Wizardry escape room at Escape Leicester. Cocktail making was so much fun – there were robes, interactive wands, magically stirring drinks, fire, mythical beast heads and alcohol a-plenty! It’s amazing we made it back to the train in one piece! The Escape Room was also an absolute blast. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite make it out of the room as we ran out of time, however we’re hoping to go back sometime to complete it again. We’re all such competitive people that the idea of not finishing the game left us slightly dejected until we saw online that it only had a 51% success rate… at least we weren’t the only ones not to finish!
The Racing Club I am a part of were treated to a morning on the gallops to watch one of our new horses whose stable-name is ‘Happy’. She wowed us with her speed so we’re looking forward to seeing what she can do once the summer season commences fully. Afterwards we were treated to some deliciously home-baked cakes. One of our members really has top-notch baking skills.
The rugby team I support has made it into the top 4 of our league which means we get to enter the play-offs this month! Our boys have worked so hard this year and we’re looking forward to seeing them get their rewards. The final games of the season will be super exciting!

April has been so fantastic and it seems like there is going to be so much to also look forward to in May.

How was your April? Did you meet your reading goals or see any cool films? What are you most looking forward to doing in May? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx