Tag: bookblogger

Magical Readathon 2024 – Wrap Post

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Hey Bibliofirends,

April is over, as is the first part of the Magical Readathon challenge for 2024! This readathon is so vast and wide ranging that I’m sure I’m only scratching the surface of the entirety of it, however I’m actually feeling quite OK with just keeping it as an April and August reading quest for myself. I’m guilty of piling heaps of pressure on to complete all of the elements, and usually always end up biting off more than I can chew! I probably would have been a little more successful in my goal had The Tortured Poets Department not come out, however there is no way I am blaming Taylor Swift for distracting me from my reading when she drops a 31-track album that is quickly becoming my favourite!

The Magical Readathon which is hosted by the fabulous G @bookroast! You can find out more information about the Readathon in general, my created character Nárendîl Damenor, chosen career paths and my monthly TBR in my initial TBR post here.

The End Goal

Since my mid-point review, I knew I was pretty much guaranteed to complete one of the six Callings I was aiming for – and I did! I managed to complete the four reading prompts required for the Aeldia Excavationist Calling and I am pretty chuffed about that as it was one of the newer ones. The key traits of being patient, detail orientated, analytical and curious seem to call upon my own natural strengths anyway and I am such a big fan of archaeology – it seemed like the most fitting calling of them all for me to be honest!

Completed Prompts and Books

✅ Animal Studies – A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
✅ Conjuration – Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
✅ Elemental Studies – Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
✅ Inscription – Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura
✅ Lore – Reread The Legend of Dia
✅ Restoration – Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

The Autumn Equinox Challenge

In August for the Autumn Equinox part of the readathon, my character Nárendîl Damenor is going to have to achieve a D in Animal Studies and a Q in Restoration. This means completing 5 books which is definitely do-able in August and I’m so excited to see what the prompts are for these.

I haven’t really accessed the Guild parts of the Readathon just yet, perhaps that can be something I look into during August! Anyways, that’s all for Part One at least!

Have you taken part in the Spring Equinox part of the Magical Readathon? Did you manage to achieve your chosen calling this month? Feel free to drop me a comment and let me know where your character is headed next and what you’re looking forward to from the Autumn Equinox!

T xx

Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag

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Hey Bibliofriends,

I’ve been a little MIA recently due to a certain artist releasing a double album (🤯), with a week’s worth of easter-egg dropping promo before it to boot. Needless to say my brain has been a little bit wrapped up in The Tortured Poets Department and therefore the reading and blogging have been slightly lacking. I have so many thoughts…!

Anyway… I found this Quarter Crisis Book Tag over on Lauren’s blog Little Bit of All That and the prompts were brilliantly centred around reviewing reading habits so far in 2024 that I thought it was a good way to remotivate me and bring me back into the zone! The original tag creator is Roisin’s Reading over at YouTube. I know we’re technically past the quarter point of the year, but I figure we’re close enough to it that this still counts!

How many books have you read so far?

So far in 2024 I have read 24 books. I’m 5 books ahead of schedule to reach my target of 65 by the time 2025 rolls around. April has been quite a successful month for me as I’ve been taking part in the Magical Readathon which you can read more about here and check out my mid-point review of that challenge as well. I’ve got 3 books on the go currently which I’m hoping to complete by the time April is done, however I fear that my audiobook is going to get a little sidelined for the rest of this month.

Have you found a book that you think might be a 2024 favourite?

Having read Fourth Wing, Iron Flame and House of Flame and Shadow in 2024 – they’re going to be very high up on my list. One book I was surprised to love as much as I did was Faebound by Saara El-Arifi. I gobbled up in in about two days! Something about the setting, characters and writing style just resonated with me and I can’t wait for the sequel!

Any least favourite book of the year?

It makes me a teeny bit sad to say this but so far, it’s either going to A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft (review here) or Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura. Although I haven’t managed to get around to reviewing ROTLH yet, I went in it for the archaeology and history but it turns out it was about 10% that and 90% smut… not quite what I had anticipated.

Most read genre?

Fantasy for the win here! It makes up a majority of my reading to be honest. Although I have also read Yellowface which is contemporary fiction, a Taylor Swift bio and I’m currently reading a non-fiction book about horseracing just to ensure that there is some variety in my reading diet!

A book that surprised me?

The Brothers Hawthorne surprised me as I didn’t think I would like this spin-off / continuation (whatever you want to call it!) after the main trilogy had ended. I am so glad I picked it up at the start of the year because it was spectacular! You can read my review here. I guess you could also say I was surprised by how much I took to the Game of Thrones audiobooks. It’s really got me back into the series and I’m currently on the final one!

A book that has come out in 2024 that I haven’t yet read?

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo has been sat tempting me on my shelf, along with A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal. They’ll most certainly be conquered within 2024 – that’s a guarantee!

One goal you made that you’re succeeding at?

Well I’m on track with my 2024 reading goal, but I’m also posting ‘quite’ regular content on my blog which was a mission I kind of rejuvenated a few months back. I’d neglected it for well over a year (maybe even two!) however, my life has recently balanced itself so I’ve been able to find time to write posts and enjoy making content again!

One goal that you need to focus on?

I find that blogging is almost two-parted. There’s the part where you churn out all of your posts and content, but then there’s the other part where you immerse yourself and engage in the community around you. I think that’s the part I need to focus on now, visiting other people’s blogs rather than focusing on my own. I also need to write constant reminders to myself to not leave it too long before actually writing a review of the books that I’ve recently read and just ploughing into the next read! 😂

Quarterly Year Crisis Book Tag is officially wrapped. What books have surprised you so far this year? Have you kept on top of your reading goals or do you have a specific goal you wish you could focus on more? Feel free to consider yourself tagged if you’d love to have your own go at this tag! As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Magical Readathon 2024 – Mid-Point Update

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Hey Bibliofirends,

Can you believe we are halfway through April already?! It definitely feels like a ‘blink and you’ve missed it’ one. This month, I decided to do the Magical Readathon which is hosted by the fabulous G @bookroast! You can find out more information about the Readathon in general, my created character Nárendîl Damenor, chosen career paths and my monthly TBR in my previous blog post here.

Current Progress

I feel a bit like I’ve bitten off more than I can chew with trying to complete 13 prompts and books, however the challenge has definitely motivated me to try and keep up my reading pace. I’ve completed 5 out of the 13 prompts so far which is almost halfway through. Returning to work today is obviously going to slow my progress so for the remainder of the month I’m honing down on the career paths which I want to take the most.

Completed Prompts and Books

✅ Animal Studies – A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
✅ Conjuration – Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
✅ Elemental Studies – Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
✅ Inscription – Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura
✅ Lore – Reread The Legend of Dia

The next half…

Out of the 6 Career Paths I wanted to take, they’re still all open to me as I’ve managed to complete at least one prompt in each one. I’ve kind of ordered my remaining TBR list in the likelihood of what is going to be achievable over the next couple of weeks and which career paths are the most appealing.

Aeldia Excavationist is my most likely path as I only have to complete the Restoration prompt for that career and my book pick is Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros – I’m not going to be able to stay away from that one for too long!

Abjurer and Master of Elements are the two most likely runners up. I only have to complete my audiobook of A Dance of Dragons by George R.R. Martin to finish all of the Abjurer prompts and for Master of Elements there is, Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, Zhara by S. Jae-Jones and The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni to go…

Paths that may fall by the wayside and are being ruled out are: Star Whisperer, Craftsmage and Archmage.

That’s where my character Nárendîl Damenor is headed next on their first trip into Aeldia and Orilium! Are you taking part in the Magical Readathon this year? Feel free to drop me a comment and let me know your career paths or TBR lists! Wish me luck in the next half, I think I’m gonna need it!!

T xx

Easter Holiday Book Haul

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Happy Sunday Bibliofriends!

Today marks the last day of my Easter holiday before the Trinity Term starts tomorrow! I cannot believe we are entering the final term of the year already. I’ve had an incredibly relaxing break and got to spend a lot of it with my partner who also took some time off work. We travelled to see my parents who live in Cornwall and also did some day trips around our local area and took a mini train adventure to Cardiff.

With all of that adventuring there was plenty of secondhand book shopping to be done and it’s fair to say that I had myself a little binge and bought 8 books! Here are my purchases!

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

After saying in a previous blog post that I probably wasn’t going to read this before the film (with Blake Lively in it) comes out, I may have caved in and bought a copy. It was only £3 and the spine is still in perfect tact!

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Turns out I’ve had this on my TBR list on Goodreads since 2020! I don’t know why I never forked out for a brand new book, but I was always on the quest to find a secondhand copy. Seeing it on the top shelf of one of my favourite second-hand bookshops earlier this week was like a treasure hunting dream come true!

Temeraire by Naomi Novik

Whilst in Cardiff, we found this fabulous bookshop called Troutmark Books down one of the tiny shopping arcades. If felt like they had miles of books, I could barely see the top shelves, let alone attempt to reach them. I’ve heard that the Temeraire series is supposed to be pretty excellent and after my recent enjoyment of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon film, what better time to start reading it!

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

Funny story, I also bought this copy from Troutmark Books in Cardiff, but it felt a little like a forced buy. A few days earlier I had bought ‘One Dark Throne’ back in a charity shop and thought that that was the first book in the series (the title being ‘one’ and all…!). I couldn’t remember which Kendare Blake book I had actually purchased either! Picture me sat on the floor of a secondhand bookshop, amidst the stacks, trying desperately to get enough signal on my phone to load Goodreads and discover the order of the series – reader, I bought Three Dark Crowns anyway! Luckily for me I now own books 1 & 2 in the series! 😂🙈

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

See the above comment for this one! I can’t believe I purchased the sequel before the first instalment in the series but thankfully a quaint little bookshop in a ‘technically’ different country came to my rescue!

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

I have been intrigued by the premise of this story ever since the hardback came out in 2022 and it won the Book Prize. It reminds me of the type of magical realism Salman Rushdie writes about. My secondhand copy is a little battered and definitely well-read, however for the bargain price of 30p I knew that it was destined to be mine!

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

This is not my typical genre but when I was at University I got a First for a paper I wrote all about the d’Este family and the duchy of Ferrara in Italy which this novel is about. Obviously my purchase had nothing to do with the gorgeous cover either…! 👀

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Again not something of my typical genre, but I have heard such amazing things about this writer and this book so I figured now was the perfect time to start! I haven’t seen the Hulu series yet either so I’m going to be completely unspoiled!

That’s my bargain book haul – 8 books for the total price of £18.10! Obviously I have absolutely nowhere to put these having rearranged my shelves once this month already – eek! Have you read any of these? What books have you been buying this month? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Happy Scrabble Day!

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Hey Bibliofriends,

Writing this blog has introduced me to a whole range of new knowledge and information including the fact that today, April 13th, is National Scrabble Day! The popular word game Scrabble was invented by Alfred Mosher Butts in 1938. Alfred was born on April 13th 1899, hence why we celebrate Scrabble on this day.

As a lover of board games and etymology, it’s no surprise that Scrabble is one of my favourite board games. We haven’t played in a long time, namely because the last time my mother seemed to think she could take up to 30 minutes to decide what her next word was going to be…! 🤨

Nevertheless, in honour of National Scrabble Day, here are 10 of my favourite weird and wonderful words to spell with Scrabble tiles!

1) bedazzles = 30 points
Any kind of references to dazzling and sparkly things is going to make me happy. Bedazzles will score you a minimum of 30 points due to its double z but could net you a whopping score if combined with a triple letter or word tile.

2) mozzarella = 30 points
Following the zz theme, the cheese lover in me is always seeking ways to try and create this word!

3) queue = 14 points
We were always on the lookout for the ‘qu’ combination and the word queue was a popular choice to get rid of it!

4) jiffy = 21 points
“In a jiffy!” was always something that my Nan says when my Grandad is constantly pestering her for things! It seems to be a very British phrase and I love the sound of the word!

5) meadow = 12 points
Not necessarily a highscoring word, however meadow is one of my all time favourite words and I find it a useful way of using an ‘m’ and a ‘w’ tile together.

6) gherkins = 16 points
I used to hate gherkins as a child and would pick them out of any burger that they came in! Now my adult tastebuds have developed, I kind of love their pickly goodness!

7) jellyfish = 25 points
So the likelihood of acquiring all of these tiles is pretty slim but it’s still quite a cool challenge to try and lay it down.

8) quizzify = 41 points
Anything to do with quizzes, riddles and puzzles and I am there!!

9) bookish = 16 points
Come on, there had to be a little bookish word love in here too!

10) confuddle = 16 points
Hopefully you’ll get to confuddle your opponents with this whacky word!

Ten totally random Scrabble words that I love trying to create when playing! Happy Scrabble Day to those who celebrate! What words do you play? Have fun creating those words! As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Magical Readathon 2024 – April TBR!

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Hi Bibliofriends!

A few years ago, my friends and I stumbled on this amazing Harry Potter readathon hosted by G @book_roast which centred around a 2-part challenge with the aims of earning your OWLs and NEWTs. Fast forward a few years and G has created her very own Magical Readathon complete with worlds, callings and guilds! I’m finally in the headspace where I’ve watched all of the videos and am ready to embark on my Novice Path on the way to Orilium!

What is the Magical Readathon?

If you’re brand new to Book Roast’s Magical Readathon, the best place to head to is G’s channel over on YouTube. There, you will find a beginner video to tell you all you need to know to begin your quest and the link to the G Drive containing all of the important files and information. It can be a little daunting to start off with, but after watching a couple of videos, the rest of the way is pretty easy and incredibly fun!

My Character

I’m not sure I have enough creative energies to pick my own character so I have very much gone with the ‘pick one thing’ from each list option!

I used a couple of different elvish name generators to come up with the name. I think it means ‘Fire Friend’. I chose the wildling and providence based on what I’ve been used to growing up (we live in a very green part of the country thankfully!).

I purposefully left my Calling blank at the moment. I shortlisted a number of different callings which I wanted to try and pursue and I think I’ll see which one I end up with based on my reads that I achieve during the month. Shortlisted callings are: Aeldia Excavationist, Star Whisperer, Abjurer, Craftsmage, Master of Elements and Archmage.

My Magical Readathon TBR

With my indecisiveness around which Calling I wanted to pursue, I decided to create a list of all the prompts needed for those particular choices and created my TBR list from that. The number next to each one refers to how many of the Callings feature that School of Magic as a required skill. I’ve purposely left Psionics and Divination blank at the minute as I couldn’t work out how to do a prediction bingo prompt and the likelihood of me ticking all of these off my list by the end of April is quite slim! 😂

That’s my Magical Readathon TBR and April Reading Goals all wrapped up into one! Are you taking part in the Magical Readathon? Do any of my April book choices make your monthly TBR too? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

St. Patrick’s Day Book Day

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day Bibliofriends!

Big thanks to Alex at Mybookworld24 for tagging me in this book tag! The original tag creator is Taylor and you can find their post over on YouTube.

I’m not Irish, nor do I live in Ireland, but St. Patrick’s Day is a bit of a celebration where we are for reasons that I’ll explain in one of the tag prompts below!

END OF THE RAINBOW – WHAT BOOK DID YOU HAVE A HARD TIME TRACKING DOWN A COPY OF?

With modern wonders such as eBay and the benefits of global shipping, it’s quite easy to grab a copy of anything nowadays. I’ve had to import several books from America because they haven’t been published in the UK (American Royals books 3 & 4 for example). One book that I’m desperate to find, is the original edition of The Secret by Byron Preiss. It’s about a global treasure hunt which is still unsolved to this day. First editions are available online but they will set you back about £400!

POT OF GOLD – WHEN YOU FOUND THAT BOOK, WAS IT WORTH THE QUEST?

Obviously I haven’t got a copy of The Secret yet, I may have to cave in and buy a reprinting! On the American Royals front – YES, it was definitely worth the quest! I love that series so much!

CELEBRATING A RICH HERITAGE – NAME A BOOK THAT CONTAINS A WELL-DEVELOPED CULTURE.

The City of Brass or Daevabad trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty is a seres which I feel transports me to a whole other world. It is so rich and vibrant in world-building and character-development that you cannot help but soak up the atmosphere and culture of this other land.

SHAMROCK SHAKES – WHAT’S YOUR FAVOuRITE FOOD TO SNACK ON WHILE READING?

I find it so difficult to snack whilst reading. It has to be something which doesn’t get mess all over the pages, therefore crisps and anything fruit related are out. Perhaps Maltesers or Haribo Starmix 😋

FOUR LEAF CLOVER – NAME A BOOK YOU THOUGHT WOULD BE ‘JUST ANOTHER GENERIC BOOK’, BUT TURNED OUT TO BE SOMETHING GREAT.

Back in 2017, I received a copy of Roar by Cora Carmack in a Fairyloot box. I fell in love with the storms and magic within the book. It’s a series which I’m desperate to reread and then finish one day!

IRISH WHISKEY – WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE TRADITION OF ST. PATTY’S DAY?

Where I live near Cheltenham in the UK, we have a massive horse racing festival for the Gold Cup every March at Cheltenham Racecourse (aka the home of jumps racing). This year, we have just finished Race Week which ran from 12th-15th March. It is a HUGE deal and people come from all across the UK and Ireland to be here. The Irish contingent and representation during this week is massive and due to the proximity of the event being close to the 17th March, the Thursday of the meeting is always known as St. Patrick’s Thursday! There’s always a lot of Guinness hats floating around and the atmosphere in town is buzzing! To add to this, the Saturday after the Gold Cup (i.e. yesterday!) is usually always the final day of the Rugby Union Six Nations tournament and is known as Super Saturday where all 6 teams (one being Ireland) play in three back-to-back matches. It literally takes up the whole afternoon and evening.

So I always associate St. Patrick’s Day with my two favourite sports! It’s quite a bust time with lots of atmosphere and excitement around the area I live in!

Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? What traditions do you normally participate in? If you feel like having your own go at this fun tag then consider yourself tagged!! As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Happy Pi Day! STEM Representations in Books!

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Happy Pi Day Bibliofriends,

March 14th is Pi Day (3.14) – a day to celebrate all things Mathematics! At the school I teach at, we are celebrating by merging Mathematics and Literacy together by holding our inaugural Pi Poetry Competition. This merging together of two fairly opposing subjects got me thinking about the importance of Maths and STEM representations in books. This week is also British Science Week across the UK so I thought this was the perfect time to share some of my favourite books which have STEM representations! [Book synopses taken from Goodreads]

To Best the Boys by Mary Weber

From the patriarchy to the science representations and medicinal references, this was a YA fantasy which really made me champion Rhen’s character!

The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart

I loved how Andrea Stewart created such a motivated and intelligent protagonist in Lin. The bone shard magic interwoven in the pages of this story was so brilliantly crafted and explained that it gave me a real buzz whilst reading. You can read my review of The Bone Shard Emperor here.

This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria

Ancient Greece meets Artificial Intelligence in This Golden Flame. I loved Alix’s character and although I’m not a huge fan of a.i. related things, I really grew to love his character and the way his sense of conscience was portrayed throughout the story. Check out my review for it here!

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

I have so much love for this series! I found it really interesting how Michael Crichton blended coding and genetics with dinosaurs and an eccentric man who thought it would be a brilliant idea to bring them back to life! Crichton breaks down the technical aspects behind the science and translates it in a way which is easy for a wide range of readers to enjoy!

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

This book ventures into the physiology of women actually turning into dragons and I absolutely fell in love with it when I first listened to the audiobook last year! We hear snippets and extracts from a Professor who is studying the morphology of women into dragons with adds a slightly educational feel to this brilliant work of fiction.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing was one of those books that I picked up purely for the hype, but ended up loving with every bit of my bookish soul. The descriptions of the marsh and references to the habits and survival instincts of the creatures that dwell within really showcased the legacy and work of Delia Owens. It’s a must read for any nature lover!

Do you have any STEM based book recommendations? Will you be celebrating Pi Day with your favourite book and pie combo? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

The Spring Cleaning Book Tag

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Happy Monday Bibliofriends!

I hope you had a fun-filled weekend whether you were watching the Six Nations Rugby, celebrating Mother’s Day or just chilling with your favourite beverage and book! When the first signs of Spring are in the air, I get this in-built sense to go into clear-out mode and that has definitely been the case with some of my reads in the past few weeks. In an attempt to clear our a bit more bookshelf space, I’ve been ticking books off that have been sat on my shelves for far too long. Whilst putting together my blog post outline for the month, I stumbled across the perfect Spring Cleaning Book Tag over on 18 Cinema Lane to coincide with this and knew that I just had to do it!

1. The Struggle of Getting Started – A book or book series you struggle to begin because of its size

One of my lifelong reading goals has always been to read The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, along with the rest of the series. The sheer size of them initially prevents me from reaching out for these books, but also – as I’m such a mood reader, I know I’ll have to get my brain into ‘classics’ mode in order to properly focus on reading it.

2. Cleaning Out the Closet – A book or book series you want to unhaul

Being a Fairyloot and Illumicrate subscriber I have so many series on my shelves which I am yet to get started. A couple that have been majorly hyped up and that I’m hoping to get to this year are The Prison Healer series by Lynette Noni and the Kingdom of the Wicked series by Kerri Maniscalco.

3. Opening Windows and Letting Fresh Air In – A book that was refreshing

The People on Platform Five by Clare Pooley was a fantastically refreshing read. It’s such a feel-good story that leaves you with a positive feeling about the goodness of strangers and the forging of new friendships. I’m not much of a contemporary fiction fan but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed both of Clare Pooley’s novels so far.

4. Washing Out the Sheets’ Stains – A book you wish you could re-write a certain scene in

I wouldn’t so much as rewrite, but perhaps remove a fair chunk of the smut scenes from A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas. I really don’t need to know about the hot, spurting of anything thank you very much!

5. Throwing Out Unnecessary Knick-Knacks – A book in a series you didn’t feel was necessary

It’s probably going to have to be one of the Mortal Instruments books by Cassandra Clare. I don’t really remember each individual book’s plot, but I feel like I’m sure there’s one part of it that could either be amalgamated or isn’t really a necessary part of the whole saga.

6. Polishing the Door Knobs – A book that had a clean finish

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – I had so many questions throughout reading this, but I feel like everything was wrapped up succinctly at the very end. It has an incredibly satisfying conclusion that I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

7. Reaching to Dust the Fan – A book that tried too hard to relay a certain message

I found a copy of Paolo Coelho’s The Alchemist in a charity shop and purchased it due to all of the hype surrounding it and that it’s well-known as one of the best-selling books of all time. Having heard many, many things, I went into it thinking that it would be a groundbreaking story that would have me redefining my outlook on my entire life… but I think that was the killer. My expectations were way too high and the message being relayed about becoming your own Personal Legend just seemed to follow Santiago from failed mission to failed mission. I’m well aware that I’ve probably missed the central point of meaning within this whole text, but for me it just tried a little too hard and didn’t quite pull off what I had hoped to take away from it.

8. The Tiring, Yet Satisfying Finish of Spring Cleaning – A book series that was tiring, yet satisfying, to get through

Another potential unpopular opinion alert on the horizon… These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong is a series that I struggled to get through. I had high expectations for this duology however it didn’t quite hit the mark for my bookish brain. I think there was a lot going on between river monsters, rival gangs, romances, friendships, betrayals, etc… The satisfying element of it was that I absolutely loved the idea and premise of a 1920s Shanghai Romeo and Juliet retelling, and of course the hype following this series made me feel like I’d achieved something from completing it, but it wasn’t quite the enjoyable journey I had anticipated it to be.

That’s a wrap on the Spring Cleaning Book Tag! What are your thoughts? Consider yourself tagged if you feel like participating in your own Spring Cleaning bookish fun! As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

The Barbie Book Tag

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Happy Barbie Day Bibliofriends!

Whilst trying to come up with a monthly outline for my blog posts, I discovered that March 9th is Barbie Day owing to the fact that on this day in 1959, Barbie made her debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York! Fast forward 65 years and Barbie now has a major cult following and an Oscar nominated film to her name. I was originally going to today as a prompt to pick out my favourite pink book covers on my bookshelves, but then I came across this Barbie Book Tag on the Buzzy Book Blog and I just had to have a go – you know how much I love a good tag!

Barbie is everything: the most amazing protagonist you’ve ever read?

It is so hard to pick just one from the whole ream of amazing protagonists that I’ve ever read… this was by far the most difficult prompt selection. However, without inciting too much violence, if you pointed a you-know-what at my head the first protagonist I would be screaming out would be Aelin Ashryver Galathynius from the Throne of Glass series – hands down. It’s no secret that I adore these books and I love every single fibre of this character’s existence! The journey that she goes on is immensely epic!

This Barbie is a mermaid: a book with magical creatures?

Last year, one of my school pupils brought Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell into the classroom. The bestiary of magical creatures transported me right back into that childish sense of wonderland that I had to get myself a copy. It was really enjoyable to be surrounded by Sphinxes, Griffins, Ratatoskas, Krakens and even more magical creatures. The illustrations were also divine so this would have to be my pick!

This Barbie is a doctor/lawyer/diplomat: a book with a female protagonist that takes place in a work environment?

I am currently reading Yellowface by R.F. Kuang and it feels like the perfect pick for this. It’s not exactly your traditional office-based tale, however the references to the working world of the publishing industry make it feel like it fits this prompt well.

This Barbie is a celebrated author: a book by your favourite author?

Again, I don’t have one particular favourite author, however Carlos Ruiz Zafôn ranks incredibly high on my list! His tale Marina is a deliciously gothic and macabre YA story about a mysterious shrouded woman encountered in a graveyard.

This is Midge: a book about motherhood?

I saw Ruth Jones (Nessa of Gavin and Stacey fame) at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2023 and although contemporary fiction – especially one so outwardly ‘woman-centered’ – isn’t really my cup of tea, Ruth Jones absolutely sold me on this book. The fact she narrates the audiobook was what really swung me into the Audible purchase to be honest. Love Untold centres around the narratives of four generations of women within the same family. It is a tale filled with love, humour, compassion and about the ultimate bond between mothers and daughters. I loved it so much I gave it 5 stars!

There’s only one Alan: a book with friends to lovers?

Every time I have the friends to lovers prompt, there’s only ever one book on my mind – and that is You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry. It has such a special and poignant significance in my heart!

He’s just Ken: a book with a trash boy

If I’m being perfectly honest, I’m not entirely sure on the actual meaning of a trash boy – however I choosing Damian Venturi from Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb. His was a character that I could not warm to in the slightest. It wasn’t that he had any majorly negative traits or off-putting qualities. He wasn’t a villain, he wasn’t exactly a hero either – he just made me feel a little… indifferent?!

If tags are your thing, then consider yourself tagged and have a go yourself! Don’t forget to share your links below so I can visit and see your prompt selections! No I’m off to celebrate Barbie Day by rewatching the movie! As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx