#BookTag – Stay At Home Tag

June 16, 2020May 30, 2020 The Biblioshelf1 Comment

Hi Bibliofriends,

It seems to be that the world is slowly returning back to normal as we tentatively emerge out of lockdown. Nevertheless, I still wanted to have a go at the Stay At Home Book Tag which has been doing the rounds recently. I found this over at Zeezee With Books but it was originally created by booktuber Princess of Paperbacks.

Laying in bed — A book you read in one day

The Wicked King by Holly Black – the pages just kept turning, turning and turning until the very last one!

Snacking – A book that is a ‘guilty pleasure’ read

The Robert Langdon novels by Dan Brown – I just live them and think they’re full of suspense and conspiracy.

Netflix — A series that you want to start

The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty – I recently purchased the FairyLoot exclusive editions so I’m looking forward to reading them!

Deep clean — A book that has been on your TBR for ages

The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte – this was one of the first books on my Goodreads TBR. It sounded really intriguing but I still haven’t got around to picking it up.

Animal Crossing — A book you recently bought because of the hype

Crescent City – House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas – I don’t really think this one needs any explanations at all!

Productivity — A book you learned from or had an impact on you

Remember This When You’re Sad by Maggy Van Eijk – this book helped put a lot of things in perspective for me.

FaceTime — A book you were gifted

I have a special anniversary edition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy which was gifted to me from some friends in school.

Self-care — What is one thing you have done recently to look after yourself

Spend time reading out in the garden in the sunshine! Also putting myself on a work schedule so that I make sure to take proper breaks on the days I’m working from home.

BONUS — An upcoming release you are looking forward to

The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott – This is a July release which I was fortunate enough to be accepted for on NetGalley so I’m really excited to get around to reading it!
Or:Written in Starlight by Isabel Ibañez, the sequel to Woven in Moonlight.

What has been your reading highlights from Lockdown? What have you been doing to look after yourselves whilst we’ve all been staying at home? As always, feel free to tag yourselves and drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#BookTag – Book Festival Book Tag

June 9, 2020May 27, 2020 The BiblioshelfLeave a comment

Hey Bibliofriends!

How are we all doing now that things are gradually getting back to a “new normal”? I’m starting to really resent that phrase and just want to be able to spend time with my friends again doing things I enjoy! 😫

I found this Book Tag on Alice and her Bookshelf’s blog. She has some amazing content so do stop by and see her post!

Rules:

Pingback to the creator of the tag @bookprincessreview
Tag the person who tagged you
Find an answer to match each prompt

My book festival:

Author Lineup – name your top three authors:

Living on the doorstep of the Cheltenham Literature Festival I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many amazing authors including Salman Rushdie, Sarah J Maas and Ian McEwan but there are definitely some authors that are still at the top of the ‘want to meet’ list:

J.K. Rowling – I would just love to meet the person behind the phenomenon that is Harry Potter
Neil Gaiman – I bet he is really funny and would be quite quirky and entertaining
Carlos Ruiz Zafon – just because I absolutely love his writing and would really like to hear where the inspirations for his stories come from

The Official Schedule – how do you determine what books you are going to read next?

To be honest, my books are pretty much stacked up and my shelves are overflowing so I normally just go through the stack in the order that I want. The exceptions to this rule are if I have to read something for an author request or through NetGalley; alternatively, at the minute I’m trying to clear some of my backlist books that have been on my shelves for years so I’ll alternate a newer book with an older one. It’s kind of all random to be honest!

ARC Drops – what ARC would you wait hours in line for?

The new Cormoran Strike novel Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith and the last in the Cursebreakers series by Brigid Kemmerer, A Vow So Bold and Deadly.

The Swag – what bookish merch/pre-order incentives/etc. is your favourite?

I have a pretty stationery addiction so any kind of stationery or notebooks; something practical that I can use! Not a big fan of the pins as I never know what to do with them.

The Panels – what topic would you love to see some of your favourite authors talk about?

Conservationism in literature: how our stories could influence a greener planet. I’m not necessarily talking about climate change and global warming etc. as they are bigger headlines and often talked about, but ways in which we can save our endangered animals and ecological systems so that Mother Nature can be sustained for our future generations.

Yallfest, Yallwest, BookCon/BookExpo, YALC, Etc – what book festival/con would you go to if you had the choice?

I go to Cheltenham Literature Festival every year as it’s so amazing and right on my doorstep. I’d like to visit the Hay-on-Wye Book Festival as I’ve heard it is very good and also YALC in London.

Have you ever been to any book festivals yourself? Where would you go if you had the opportunity? Feel free to tag yourself and as always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#BookTag – Books As First Dates

June 2, 2020May 27, 2020 The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Happy Tuesday Bibliofriends!

This week’s ‘Books As First Dates’ Book Tag comes from @BooksAre42 on Twitter. You should definitely check out their blog as they have some amazing regular content and brilliant reviews.

I had a lot of fun doing this tag as it made me try to think outside the box for books that I normally wouldn’t mention.

This tag was originally created by Alice at Love for Words.

The Rules

↠Link back to the original tag.
↠Thank and link back to the person who tagged you.
↠Tag 5+ bloggers.
↠Have fun!

First and Last – A Book/Series You’ve Read and Enjoyed, But Can’t Bring Yourself to Read Again

The Caraval Series by Stephanie Garber – this series was so brilliant and fun to read but I just feel like I’m done with it now that I know what happens in the end.

With A Friend of My Friend – A Book/Series Someone Recommended to You That Turned Out to Be Different from What You Had Expected

The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth – I didn’t really know what to expect when I read this but I actually found it really enjoyable. I’m not normally a massive dystopian fan but I found this series to be such a gripping story. I think the films kind of spoiled it for me as some elements were good but others were a bit of a let down compared to the books.

Double Date – A Book Whose Sequel You Immediately Had to Read

I remember finishing Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo and ordering Crooked Kingdom immediately afterwards. I could not put that series down and the ending practically ripped my heart out.

Let’s Go to The Movies – A Book/Series That Should Be Adapted to The Screen

I recently read Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez and think this would make an incredibly delightful film. I could imagine the Bolivian backdrop being picturesque and spectacular; the weavings and animals could be wonderfully magical as well.

Dreamy Stargazing – A Book That Made You Go Ahhhh And Ohhhh

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas gave me all the feels! I think it’s probably the most swoonworthy book I’ve ever read!

Fun at The Fair – A Book Full of Colors

A slightly different stance on this one. The picture book The Day The Crayons Quit by Oliver Jeffers is one of my favourite books to teach with. I love the way all of the different colouring crayons are made to have different feelings and personalities.

Amusement Park Adventure – A Book That Was A Rollercoaster

The Descendant of the Crane by Joan He is a book I read recently and in my review I likened the pace of it to that of a rollercoaster. The first half of the book was like going up the steep incline and then the rest of the book is the dramatic drop, loop-the-loop and tunnel all rolled into one. It ends quite sharply too so a rollercoaster seemed the perfect way to describe it.

Picnic with Cherries – A Book Whose Food Descriptions Made You Feel All *Heart Eyes*

Either:
Wicked Like A Wildfire by Lana Popovic for all of the bakery references
Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye for the amazing Asian flavours
Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal which is all about food and cooking
or the sticky cinnamon buns from Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin.

Trip to The Museum – A Book That Taught You Valuable Stuff

The Secret History of the World by Jonathan Black was incredibly in-depth but had a really interesting take on the esoteric and religious symbology behind the different creation stories of the world. Stephen Fry’s Mythos was also a brilliant insight into Greek mythology.

What would make your Books As First Dates list? Would we be double-dating on any of the above choices? Again thanks so much to @BooksAre42 – check out their Twitter or Blog pages! Feel free to tag yourselves if you haven’t done this tag already and would like to!

T xx

#BookTag – Tell Me About It!

May 26, 2020May 23, 2020 The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Hi all!

A week or so ago I was tagged for the Tell Me About It Book Tag by @Bookleit on Twitter. You can visit her original YouTube post here.

This was a really fun range of questions all about book genres so if you’d like to have a go then feel free to tag yourselves!

Which genres are the ones you tend to pick up?

My favourite genres are probably Fantasy (YA/Adult), literally anything with magic, fairies, elves, witches and wizards, dragons, mythology – it’s the perfect escapism. My other favourite would probably have to be Historical Mysteries – think along the lines of Robert Langdon or the Scott Mariani books, those historical-type conspiracies where they’re so intricately designed that you could almost believe they’re real.

Which genres are the ones you’ll pick up but aren’t your favourites?

I’ll happily pick up Science-Fiction, more traditional historical novels and even some types of crime fiction if it is a particular author that I follow.

Which genres are the ones you’ll never pick up or maybe just a few times a year?

Genres I pick up a few times a year are the self-help style psychology books or memoirs and occasionally I’ll read some of the classics or noteworthy fiction titles from the most recent decades, Man Booker Prize winners etc…

Which author do you feel you’ll always connect with? *The connection thing is up to your interpretation… it can be the writing style of the author, the plot of his/her books in general, etcetera*

I’ll always connect with anything J.K Rowling, Sarah J Maas and Carlos Ruiz Zafon are my main go-to authors. I’ll read absolutely anything they write because I just love everything about their stories – the plot, the characters, the writing style, everything! 😍

Which author of one of your favorite genre you can’t connect with? *For example, if your favorite genre is ya fantasy… Which ya fantasy’s author you can’t connect with?*

I don’t know why but both times I’ve tried to read Laini Taylor or Renee Ahdieh, I just haven’t seemed to get to grips with their writing styles or the plots they create. It makes me a little bit sad as I know a lot of people who absolute adore their books.

Which book or books do you feel are overhyped?

The Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo I feel was massively overhyped – Alina just outright annoyed me and in no way was I swooning over The Darkling. It just didn’t happen for me. That being said, I couldn’t put the Six of Crows duology down, they were brilliant!

Which book or books do you feel are underrated?

Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popovic – I thought this was so beautifully written and really made me want to visit Kotor in Montenegro.

Roar by Cora Carmack – I loved how the different types of weather influenced the magic and I grew really attached to the band of characters.

The Cemetery of Forgotten Books Series by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – I absolutely adore Zafon’s writing. He definitely has a particular style which probably isn’t for everyone but he is one of my go-to authors and I think his books deserve a little bit more airtime than what they’ve received.

Huge thanks to Bookleit for the tag, make sure you stop by her Twitter and YouTube channels!

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone! ☺️

T xx

Book Tag – Buffy the Vampire Slayer

October 2, 2019September 29, 2019 The Biblioshelf1 Comment

Hey Bibliofriends,

Any of my friends will know how HUGE a fan I am of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is one of my all-time favourite TV shows in the entire universe and every galaxy from the Milky Way to Far, Far Away! With that in mind, this book tag was at the top of my list to try and get around to doing.

The BTVS book tag was originally created over at Lauren’s Book Slaying blog and has also evolved slightly through Sarah’s blog at Written Worlds too. I think mine is a mashup hybrid of both of the above but I’m having super fun reliving one of my favourite fandoms! Have a go yourself if you’re a Chosen One / Scoobies fan! ☺️

Buffy – A character who lives a double life

Buffy really is one of the all-time saviours of the fictional world. When they ask you at school what you want to be when you grow up, my first thought was always Buffy, until I remembered that I’d probably get funny looks from all of my teachers…nothing wrong with living in fantasy world every now again! The character that immediately came to mind when thinking of this tag was Professor Severus Snape. He is my absolute favourite Harry Potter character, flawed hero, ultimate double agent and I loved the way J.K. left pondering over his loyalties right until the very damn end!

Xander – A character who mostly just provides comic relief

To me Xander provides much, much more that just comic relief. Yes he has some corny lines and sometimes you could just eye-roll at some of the things he says, however he plays a vital role within the gang and the way he grows up and matures from season to season is actually quite remarkable. His role in the Adam storyline and his poignant conversation with Buffy about Riley in the middle of season 5 are some of my favourite Xander moments. I really struggled to think of a book character who merely provides comic relief. After trawling through my shelves I settled upon Simon from the Shadowhunters series. I find it amusing that his role within the series happens really by accident. In that way, I feel that he draws several parallels with Xander.

Willow – A bad-ass witch

I really like Willow’s character arc thoughout the whole Buffyverse. She goes from scared Scooby geek-girl and ends up changing the entire future for slayers all across the world. There’s only one seriously bad-ass witch that could possible rival Miss Rosenberg and that is Manon Blackbeak from Throne of Glass. She puts the scare in scary and is such an awesome character. Like Willow, I feel that her character arc goes through a pretty big shift and that momentous chapter towards the end of Kingdom of Ash just breaks my heart every time.

Giles – A character who fills the role of an absent parent

There would be no Buffy the Vampire Slayer without Giles. As a teacher myself, I can never really get over the fact that he gets caught so many times just ‘hanging out’ with Buffy and Co. and it doesn’t really seem to raise any eyebrows – imagine the safeguarding if that were to happen in the UK! 😂 The way he looks out for the Scooby Gang brings about some of the most sentimental moments of the whole series and I couldn’t imagine it without him. When thinking of a book character who steps into that absent parent role, my mind came up with one person only…Molly Weasley – the ultimate Harry Potter matriarch. The way she looks out for Harry as if he were her own is enough to melt any Death Eater’s heart.

Oz – Name a book with werewolves

I don’t think I ever particularly liked Oz in the Buffy series and I can’t really explain why. Perhaps it’s because I’m not really a werewolf fan. The last book I read with werewolves was called Pinnacle and was one I was asked to review by the author Lynn Veevers on Goodreads. It was quite an interesting read however after reading/watching lots of things with werewolves in, I’ve decided that they are just not my cup of tea.

Angel – A character who is extremely broody

Tall, dark, handsome…hangs out in shadows and dark cemeteries. There’s only one Angel right? His and Buffy’s relationship was like the ultimate forbidden lover’s trope and although he isn’t my favourite of all of Buffy’s boyfriends you can’t deny that he is kinda her soulmate; even SMG herself picked Angel for Buffy over Spike. The broodiest guy I could think of for this character was Cardan from Holly Black’s Folk of the Air series. His attitude throughout both The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King just smacks 100% pure brood. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for this series finale in November and I’m hoping that my ‘Cardan-is-secretly-a-good-guy’ theory actually comes off.

Spike – A character who has a huge redemption arc

I am such a Spuffy fan and Spike is one of my favourite characters within the Buffyverse. Some of those little moments in season 6 and 7 made me cry…a lot! Can I vote for Snape again?! If not him, then perhaps Lucien from A Court of Thorns and Roses. I don’t feel like his redemption arc is huge but I think he comes through in the end.

Anya – A character you just tried to love, but couldn’t

Anya definitely grew on me as a character. The bunnies skit from Once More with Feeling is definitely one of my Anya highlights! One of the characters who I just could not love no matter how far through the series I read was Alina Starkov from the Shadow and Bone trilogy. I just found her annoying and strangely whiny – it’s almost as if her power was greater than the character that she was and I didn’t feel that she justified her hero status.

Tara – A book with a LGBTQA relationship

Tara really grew into her role throughout the Buffyverse. After re-watching seasons 5 & 6 she totally blossomed into becoming a pivotal role within the Scooby Gang. I like the humility and morality that she brings to the group and without discussing spoilers, what happened towards the end of season 6 actually made me quite sad. The book series that immediately came to mind when I read this prompt was Shadowhunters by Cassandra Clare. I think Magnus Bane is utterly fabulous and I wish he could be my gay best friend!

The First Evil – An ultimate book villain

The First Evil is pretty much the ultimate villain as it’s almost unstoppable. It’s not corporeal, neither can it die…it can really be overcome. There are so many parallels that you an draw between the First Evil from Buffy and the shadow that the Ring of Power brings over Middle Earth. Therefore, as the creator of that evil, Sauron has to be my choice for being the ultimate book villain. To create something so dark which causes a war involving many races of men, elves, dwarves, orcs etc. almost takes over the entirety of Middle Earth… He’s deliciously wicked but completely got what was coming to his corrupt, evil backside!

Bonus: Sunnydale – A bookish town/city you most definitely would never want to live in

Sunnydale: in Jonathan’s words, “A lot of weird stuff happens here.” Trying to think of a place where I would not want to live in the fictional world… it would be either be Mordor, as one does not simply walk into it – or it would have to be Morath from Throne of Glass. Both places are hubs of evil and contain countless armies of villains and monsters. I’ll definitely be avoiding those places on my fictional travels.

There we have it, my little tag-ode to one of my all time favourite TV shows. I haven’t managed to get around to buying or reading ‘Slayer’ yet by Kiersten White but it’s definitely on my 2020 TBR. If you’re a fellow BTVS fan then feel free to tag yourself and play along!

As always, drop me a comment to chat! 😊

T xx

Six for Sunday & Life Updates

March 17, 2019March 16, 2019 The Biblioshelf4 Comments

Happy Sunday Bibliofriends!

Six For Sunday

I see the Six for Sunday tag in a lot of places and was keen to try and give it a go. For those that don’t already know, Six for Sunday is a weekly meme created by Steph @ A Little But A Lot and has a different weekly prompt based on a monthly theme.

March’s theme is ‘An Ode To…’ and this week’s prompt is ‘Bookish Couples’. As almost every story I read seems to contain a couple of some sort it wasn’t very hard to think of at least six which could be included here. I picked couples that the author made me buy into and really gave me those bookish feels as opposed to the ones whom I wasn’t 100% invested in (Ron and Hermione, I’m talking to you!).

Feyre and Rhysand (A Court of Thorns and Roses Series – Sarah J Maas)

Everytime someone says ‘bookish couple’ I automatically think of these guys! ACOTAR reignited my love for reading and their ship gives me all the feels!

Arwen and Aragorn (Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. Tolkien)

This was the first bookish couple I fell head over heels in love with. It was probably helped by the fact that Aragorn was played by Viggo Mortenson in the film series but this pair was a dead cert for S4S this week.

Jude and Cardan (The Folk of the Air Series – Holly Black)

This book series is my new obsession. Despite the ending of The Wicked King [no spoilers, don’t worry]…I am still Team Judan! Roll on Queen of Nothing!

Magnus Bane and Alec (Shadowhunters – Cassandra Clare)

For me, Magnus Bane is the coolest character BY FAR in The Mortal Instruments Series. I just loved the way his relationship with Alec unfolded and the journey they went on through the books (honestly…I think I’m just a little jealous).

Lou Clark and Will Traynor (Me Before You by Jojo Moyes)

I don’t even know where to begin describing this couple…or this book. I loved it, even though it made me bawl my eyes out! A tragic but lovely story.

Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy (Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen)

Surely there can be no list of bookish couples without a nod to the ultimate classical pairing! I find it amazing how these stories and the relationships within them still seem to have relevant meanings and messages today.

Who would make your list? Drop me a comment an let me know!

Reading Updates

Next week, the Fairyloot readalong for A Curse So Dark and Lonely begins so I’m hoping to clear my currently reading shelf in preparation for that!

Earlier in the week, I finished Onyx and Ivory by Mindee Arnett. I really enjoyed it and was surprised at how invested I became in the characters. Kate and Corwin very nearly made my list of Bookish Couples above but in the end I settled on the others.

I’m also trying to finish my other read which is the autobiography of David ‘The Duke’ Nicholson who was a famous local horse-racing trainer. I’ve had it on hiatus for a while so I could catch up with some other reads but it’s been hovering on my currently reading list for a little too long now therefore I’m trying to power through it.

Life update:

What a week this has been! Work has been super busy, and at times pure evil; not the kids, they were delightful as always. It’s just all of the extra add-ons that come with being a teacher, sometimes they get on top of you and this week was one of those weeks! We have Parents’ Evenings next week so I’m not sure there will be any let up on that front yet either!

The Cheltenham Festival arrived and it always seems to take over life (and the area where I live) for the entire week. There were four tremendous days of horse-racing filled with some true fairytale stories and heart-warming moments particularly for Andrew Gemmell, a man blind from birth who’s horse Paisley Park won one of the feature races; Willie Mullins finally won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on his 7^thattempt; Bryony Frost (& Frodon) became the first female jockey to win a Grade 1 race at the Cheltenham Festival, such an amazing testament to women competing in the sport. It’s almost sad to think it’s over again for another year.

Yesterday was the final of the Six Nations Championship. Super Saturday definitely lived up to its namesake with Wales winning the Grandslam of the Rugby tournament. As an England fan I’m obviously gutted that we didn’t top the table, and slightly baffled as to what happened in the second half of our match against Scotland; however, I’m sure that we’re now all looking forward to the Rugby World Cup which starts in September later this year.

The cobwebs were well and truly blown away yesterday morning as I was able to fit in a visit to the stable yard where I am a part of their Racing Club (horse-therapy 💖!). It was so windy on the gallops that I could barely open the door of the car and then we kept getting buffeted by the rain. I honestly had to plant my feet firmly in the ground to stop the wind from knocking me over – and I’m not that light! 😂 To top it all off, I finally managed to shift into productivity gear and caught up a little bit with my blog posts too!

What have you all been up to this week? I hope you’ve got some exciting plans either in the book-world or the real-world for the week ahead!

T xx

Greek Mythology Tag

March 16, 2019 The Biblioshelf2 Comments

To me, myths and legends form the absolute baseline for the tradition which today we call storytelling. I recently listened to Stephen Fry’s Mythos audiobook and it has reignited my love all things mythical. I was so excited when Umairah @Sereadipity tagged me in this Greek Mythology Tag that she found Lau Reads’ blog, that it didn’t take me long to get started – choosing the books was obviously a lot harder, there’s so much great literature out there!

☆ Zeus: Favourite book

Of all time?! If I was forced to pick just one, I would probably say The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Záfon as it is so beautifully written.

☆ Poseidon: A book that drowned you in feels

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling– I’m one of those “I-grew-up-with-Harry” types of people and reaching the end of this series was like reaching an end of an era in bookish-life terms. The chapter The Prince’s Tale breaks my heart and makes me cry every damn time.
Always.

☆ Hades: Favourite dark book

Lord of the Flies by William Golding – there’s just something about the realness of it that I find perturbing.

☆ Hera: Cutest couple

Rhysand and Ferye – ACOWAR Chapter 55; need I say anymore?!

☆ Athena: Favourite intelligent heroine

Celeana Sardothian from the Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J Maas. I know that some people may not class her character as ‘intelligent’ necessarily but she is quite cunning and savvy. She always seems to have a plan for everything and if she doesn’t then she makes a point of finding out. She also loves her books.

☆ Gaea: Favourite world building book

Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien – I consider it to be one of the true greats in fantasy literature. To create a world like Middle Earth, base an entire collection of stories, poems and histories in it, then inspire someone like Peter Jackson to bring it to life on the big screen – that is some seriously epic world-building power right there!

☆ Aphrodite: Most gorgeous cover

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. The cover was design by a paper-cutting artist called Rob Ryan and I adore his work, it’s so intricate and pretty.

☆ Ares: Most violent book you’ve read

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis – without a shadow of a doubt.

☆ Hephaestus: Hottest book you’ve ever read

Sex and the City by Candace BushnellI guess. I don’t tend to read that much fiction that I’d define as hot so this was difficult! 😂

☆ Artemis: A heroine who doesn’t need a man to save her

Manon Blackbeak from the Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J Maas. I didn’t really like Manon that much at first, but then Queen of Shadows happened! Manon’s journey in Kingdom of Ash nearly killed me, I was in floods!

☆ Apollo: A book that is an exception to a genre you don’t usually like

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – I’m not really interested in spaceships / artificial intelligence / futuristic planets etc. but I loved Illuminae. (Like a lot of books, Gemina and Obsidio are on my TBR!).

☆ Hermes: A book that stole your heart

One Day by David Nicholls. The ending played with my heartstrings far too much!

☆ Hestia: A book you go back to for comfort

Harry Potter – every time! Whenever I visit the Warner Brothers Studio Tour my eyes always well-up when I get to wand shop at the end and I read the quote on the big screen: “No story lives unless someone wants to listen. The stories we love best do live in us forever. So whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.” 💙

☆ Demeter: Favourite book setting

Anything that takes place in the sea/ocean or underwater. I don’t know why but I’m just drawn to water worlds; perhaps I was a fish in a previous life!

☆ Dionysus: A book you are most anticipating in the next year

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal for a 2019 release; however, if we are talking about the next chronological year until March 2020 then I would have to say Queen of Nothing by Holly Black. After the ending of The Wicked King, I’m desperate to know what happens!

☆ Hecate: Favourite magical read

Harry Potter (again!), it brought the magic back into my love for reading!

☆ Nemesis: Favourite revenge story

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. The way Bardugo weaves all of the different characters and their stories/motivations together in one thrilling heist narrative was brilliant!

So there’s my list. Have a go if you like the sound of it and you’re a fellow Greek myth fan!

Happy listing!

T xx

Bookish Adventure Tag!

March 6, 2019 The Biblioshelf2 Comments

Umairah @ Sereadipity celebrated reaching 100 followers with a special Bookish Adventure Tag. This is my first tag and I had such a lot of fun!

Here are the rules:

Write about one place mentioned in a book you wish you could visit and why.

List 3-5 things that you would do there.
Mention which souvenirs, if any, you would bring back with you.
Then tag some more literary explorers and please link back to the creator

To be honest I had to condense it loads as I could ramble on forever about my Dream Bookish Destination! Here goes…

Dream Bookish Destination:

When someone says ‘Ultimate Bookish Destination’, Middle Earth is the first thing that pops into my head. I know it’s not exactly one destination but I can’t thing of a single place that I’d love to visit more. There’s just something so magical and unforgettable about Tolkien’s world. Trouble is, if I ever got to visit, I don’t think I’d ever want to leave!

Things I would do:

Rent a room at the Prancing Pony and drink pints with hobbits.
Attend one of Gandalf’s famous firework parties in the Shire then eat breakfast, second breakfast and elevenses the morning after.
Sit and read books by the waterfall in Rivendell.
Go horse riding with the Rohirrim across Rohan.
Visit the Lonely Mountain and try and steal a bit of Smaug’s treasure.
Have tea with Radagast the Brown and his amazing menagerie of animals.
Wander through the streets of Gondor and see the famous White Tree.
Steer well clear of Minas Morgul and the creepy spider lair.
Go on a walk with the Ents.

Souvenirs:

The Light of Eärendil – because it would be way cooler than using my phone as a torch…
If I couldn’t bring back a horse from Rohan, I’d make do with a Rohan flag that I could use as a throw-cover or something.
A piece of treasure from the Lonely Mountain; just to say that I, like Bilbo, could pass for a thief and because I like shiny things! 😂

Tag! You’re it! Feel free to have a go at your own Dream Bookish Destination.

Thanks again to Umairah for creating the Bookish Adventure Tag. I had a blast!

T xx