Tag: books

The TIME 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time

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Aloha Bibliofriends,

Several months ago (back last year!) I was scrolling through my news feed and the Time 100 Greatest Fantasy Novels of all time popped up! I couldn’t resist clicking on it and I knew back then in October that I wanted to do a post on it. If you love your fantasy fiction and you haven’t seen the list yet, you should definitely check it out here! Each cover takes you to a link giving more information about each novel that made the cut – very helpful for the ones you may not have heard of!

I wanted to see how many of them I had read altogether so split the 100 up into 3 different parts:
Books I’ve already read = 📖
Books currently purchased and on my physical TBR = 📚
Books I’m wishing to buy and read in the future = ✨

The run down – in chronological order:

The Arabian Nights ✨

Le Morte D’Arthur by Thomas Malory

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 📖

Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll 📖

Five Children and It by E. Nesbit ✨

Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers 📚

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis 📚

The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis 📖

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien 📖

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien 📖

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien 📖

A Hero Born by Jin Yong

The Once and Future King by T.H. White ✨

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl 📖

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

The Wandering Unicorn by Manuel Mujica Lainez ✨

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin 📖

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart ✨

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin 📚

Watership Down by Richard Adams 📚

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

The Princess Bride by William Goldman 📚

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter 📖

The BFG by Roald Dahl 📖

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce ✨

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Redwall by Brain Jacques

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Whynn Jones

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman 📖

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie 📚

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Tigana by Guy Gabriel Kay ✨

The Golden Compass (Northern Lights) by Philip Pullman 📖

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman 📖

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman 📚

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling 📖

Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley ✨

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin 📖

American Gods by Neil Gaiman 📖

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling 📖

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson ✨

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss ✨

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare 📖

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin ✨

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin ✨

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor ✨

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern ✨

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller ✨

Angelfall by Susan Ee

A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell 📚

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro 📚

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir 📚

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin ✨

Get in Trouble by Kelly Link

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo 📖

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh ✨

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders 📖

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir 📚

The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang

The Changeling by Victor Lavalle

Jade City by Fonda Lee ✨

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi 📚

Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore ✨

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi 📚

Circe by Madeline Miller 📖

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang 📚

Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Witchmark by C.L. Polk

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James ✨

Children on Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi ✨

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang 📚

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia ✨

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender

The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal 📚

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez 📖

Books I’ve already read: 22/100
Books purchased and on my TBR: 16/100
Books I want to buy/read in the future: 22/100

Total: 60/100

Normally I’m quite bad with lists so I don’t feel that this isn’t too bad for me although it could be way better – hopefully 2021 will have me ticking lots more of these off my list as part of my reading goals! Obviously one of my all time favourites Tolkien was on the list (yay!) – not gonna lie, I’m happy my favourite Harry Potter book Half-Blood Prince was on there too! I was amazed to see one of my favourite reads of 2020, Woven in Moonlight, made it onto this list as well – I’m so excited for the sequel to come out later this month! I also can’t wait to start reading The Poppy War Series which is one of the ones I definitely will be reading in 2021 – I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about it.

How did you score? How many of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of all time have you read? Were there any surprises on the list for you or novels which you feel have been tragically missed off? Which ones are on your TBR? As always, drop me a comment to chat! ☺️

T xx

Top Ten Books of 2020!

The Biblioshelf9 Comments

Hello Bibliofriends!

Happy New Years Eve to you all! I don’t know about you but I am so pleased to be saying ‘good riddance’ to 2020 and HELLO 2021! Even without that teeny tiny global pandemic, this year has definitely been a toughie, particularly in the mental health and work department.

In spite of that, this is the first year since 2017 that I’ve actually managed to reach my Goodreads Reading Challenge Goal – hurray for the small wins!

This year I really managed to get my ass in gear on my blog and with Netgalley so some amazing books landed in my reading shaped lap. Surprisingly it wasn’t that difficult for me to sift through and pick out a top 7 books that I loved this year and then it was a little more difficult to try and fill out the remaining 3 spots to make it a top 10 – the pedantic-ness in my brain prevented me from quitting at the Top 7… I mean who ever heard of that? 😂

10. A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

This was a surprisingly enjoyable read for me as I wasn’t expecting to warm to the new narrators after loving Rhen and Harper’s viewpoints so much. Needless to say, I now cannot wait for the final instalment of this series to come out next year especially after reading a sneak peek a short while ago! Read my review here!

9. Romanov by Nadine Brandes

What a magical retelling this was! The sentimentality and personalisation in Anastasia’s character really made me warm for her. The mystery of the Romanovs is one of my favourite historical conspiracies so I was overjoyed that I enjoyed this read so much. Read my review here!

8. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I totally binged this book in a day. After hearing so many brilliant things all over socials it was one of the first books I bought from an ‘in-real-life’ bookshop after lockdown. The intrigue had me turning page after page! Read my review here!

7. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

This book had been on my TBR for ages but the sheer size of it had always been putting me off. Thankfully lockdown gave me a little headspace in order to tackle the tricky narration of Cromwell. I loved the way Mantel characterised Cromwell; it was almost like seeing the historical period through his eyes rather than a 20th century historian’s. Fabulous! Read my review here!

6. My Fence is Electric: and Other Stories by Mark Newman

I was so thrilled to be approached by Odyssey Books to review this collection of short stories by the fabulous Mark Newman. His storytelling was the perfect antidote to the strange times that we were living through and really made me love this genre again. Slightly macabre with a hint of the weird and wonderful I highly recommend this collection! Read my review here!

5. Anna K by Jenny Lee

Crazy Rich Asians meets Sex and the City in this retelling of Anna Karenina. Although I’m not familiar with the tale of Anna Karenina it didn’t matter in the slightest as I was completely engrossed in the messy lives of these teenage New York rich kids! Read my review here!

4. The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott

This eco-fable had me really pondering the impact we humans have on the natural world. The magical elements of the legendary creatures woven into the story certainly appealed to my fantasy loving nature whilst at the same time delivering a powerful message to the reader. Read my review here!

3. Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez

It was really refreshing to read a fantasy story rooted in Bolivian folklore and culture. Ximena’s talent with woven animals is one of my favourite magical abilities. I can’t wait for the sequel to come out next year, it’s definitely one of my most anticipated releases for 2021.

2. The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

By golly did the opening of this book pitch me straight back in time to 1893 New Salem. I really love a distinctive narrative voice and this is definitely what Alix E. Harrow brought to this tale. The insertion of women’s suffrage and empowerment, a sapphic romance, witchcraft-a-plenty, and the bond between three sisters made this a total 5-star read for me – it blew my mind! Read my review here!

  1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

If you’ve read any of my posts, lists or tags since October then this should be no surprise that Addie LaRue is my all-time favourite book of 2020. It was the book I didn’t realise I needed in my life. Addie’s story was told so poetically and beautifully and I loved the way Schwab tackled the theme of identity and what happens when you’re not really sure who you are anymore. This book has definitely made its way into my God-Tier of favourite books EVER! I loved it! Read my review here!

That’s a wrap!

Dear 2020,
You’ve been a pretty crap year to be honest – but thank you for bringing so many fabulous reads into our lives. I guess you weren’t all that bad after all!

What were you favourite books of 2020? Did you read anything that you know you’ll treasure for all time?As always, drop me a comment to chat! Thanks for putting up with me this past year. Have a wonderful New Year everybody and enjoy ringing in 2021!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Characters I Want To Spend New Years With

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Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

How was everyone’s Christmas? I hope you all got to spend it in the nicest way possible given all of the Covid “restrictions” etc…

This week’s Six For Sunday is gearing up for one of the biggest party times of the Year with Characters We’d Want To Spend New Years With! Now, as we are still under pandemic times, I’m forgoing the rule of six and turning it into a rule of seven as I would love to go to a massive-non-socially-distanced-rave-style-mosh-pit-party with these guys! 😆

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot.

Characters I Want To Spend New Years With

Addie LaRue

Jesper (Six of Crows)

Gandalf – with Fireworks! (Lord of the Rings)

Peik Lin (Crazy Rich Asians)

Tyrone Lannister (Game of Thrones)

Cassian (ACOTAR)

If only fictional worlds were one big reality where I could actually play that party out in real life!!! #eclecticbunch!

Which characters would be on your invite list for a New Years Party? How do you think you’ll be spending NYE this year? Are you looking forward to finally seeing the back of 2020?!
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Books I Want To Buy As Presents

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Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

Our Six For Sunday theme of Festive Goodness takes on the dreaded Christmas Shopping element this week! I wish more of my friends love books as much as I do as it would make things so much easier! Nevertheless, here’s the books I be buying as presents – let’s hope Secret Santas aren’t reading this! 😂

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot.

Books I Want To Buy As Presents

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

I would buy everyone this book! I know it probably wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste but I love it so much; it’s my favourite read of the entire year and one of my favourites of all time.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Songteller: My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton

I’d have to buy two copies though… one for my Dolly-loving friend – and one for me! 😂

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

I have a friend who I think would really appreciate the world building the plot concept in this book. It was a really good read and I can see them liking it!

The Space Between Worlds
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline

Again, I would have to buy two copies of this and give one to a friend so I had someone to chat about it with! I have to admit, I’m so nervous about finally being able to read the sequel. The first book is one of my all-time favourites so the sequel will have a lot to live up to!

Ready Player Two (Ready Player One, #2)
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

We can list books we’d want to buy as presents for ourselves can’t we?! 🙈

Mexican Gothic
Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

The above comment works for this one too! I actually do have a friend who I would buy this for. She loves YA and I know she hasn’t got around to purchasing this one for herself yet.

The Black Flamingo

Which books would be on your own Christmas list or which books are you buying for other people this holiday season?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#SixforSunday – Books I’d Like To Spend The Holidays In

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Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

Our Six For Sunday theme of Festive Goodness is really getting me hyped up and excited for Christmas and New Year. What better way to start thinking about which books I’d want to be spending the holidays in than with this week’s S4S prompt?!

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot.

Books I’d Like To Spend The Holidays In

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

There’s just something about the world of Narnia which screams Christmas to me! Perhaps it’s the wintry landscape but I could definitely imagine this being a really cosy and twinkly place to spend a white christmas.

Christmas at Hogwarts

Nothing says Christmas Banquet like a Hogwarts Christmas Feast. I would love to go to Warner Bros. Studios to see the big Christmas tree in the Great Hall and sip on some butter beer whilst listening to Flitwick and his random toad choir!

The OASIS from Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

If you don’t know already, this is one of my all time favourite books in the whole universe so it’s no surprise that I’d take any opportunity I could get to go exploring all of the different sectors and worlds within the OASIS. I bet there’s even a planet where it is actually Christmas everyday just so you could sing the Wizzard song and it would actually come true for a change!

Carcassonne (Labyrinth) from The Languedoc trilogy by Kate Mosse

I really love the world building in this series. Kate’s description of the medieval towns really wants to make me visit this beautiful region of France.

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

Party on the Heimdall anyone?? Pre BeiTech involvement obviously…!

The Shire (The Hobbit) by J.R.R. Tolkien

I can just imagine Christmas in the Shire being such a great time where everyone comes together to have a big festive gathering at the Green Dragon or the Prancing Pony! I’d definitely by up for a Christmas party there, especially if Gandalf brings his fireworks!

Where would you want to spend the holiday season?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

November Wrap Post

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Yoohoo Bibliofriends!

I’m finally getting around to writing my Wrap up for November! It was a month of epic proportions, read more below! ☺️

Life Update

This month has been so hectic, it’s unreal! School is just always so crazy and it seems that it’s only my social life that is in lockdown while work has gone full throttle!

In other news… I’ve actually moved house! We have been gradually renovating a property for a few years with the intention of moving into to when it was fully finished but other circumstances had us quickly having to move out of our old house and into our new one in a bit of a rush! It’s because of all those goings on that I have barely had the energy to read, let alone blog or tweet so there’ve been more gaps than I would have liked in my posting schedule this month! Thankfully, we are gradually getting our furniture set up and the boxes unpacked. I now have my own Office/Library space and my new house is just a walk away from the village centre where there is a library AND a bookshop! I’m in book heaven! Haha!

Blog Life

What I’ve Been Reading in November

  • The Savage Garden by Mark Mills – literally… that’s it – this is how my family know it’s a hectic time; I can;t remember the last time I only ever read one book in the month!!
  • I am part-way through reading a book called The Last Gospel but there’s still a fair way to go left in that before I finish it!

What I’ve Been Watching in November

  • The Umbrella Academy – I finally finished it! It had such a strange ending and I have so many more questions so I hope there’s going to be another series coming out soon!
  • We’ve finally caught up with The Crown ready for the new season! We’re such big fans of it in our house that we’ve already finished Season 4! The costumes and make-up are on point; it’s amazing how the actors really look and sound like the royals! Such drama!
  • I binge-watched Emily in Paris on one Saturday (seeing as we were in lockdown 2.0 and all!). It’s such a cute series, nowhere near as fun and original as Sex and the City was but it’s still a wonderful show to watch. I loved the characters and the costumes as well as that glorious Paris scenery. Roll on Season 2 – I need to know what happens next after that cliffhanger of an ending!
  • Little Italy – If you ever need a film that’ll make you crave pizza, this is it!
  • Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island – This premise and location had so much potential – unfortunately, I felt it was bit of a let down.

What I’ve Been Listening to in November

  • What with all of the US Election hype – I found myself addicted to the Americast podcast just to keep up with all of the goings-on.
  • Ready Player One (Audiobook) – deal of the week for just £3.99 – YES PLEASE! Ready Player One is one of my all-time favourite books ever so it’s been great listening to the audiobook before the release of the sequel. I think I missed out on the Waterstones signed editions but it safe to say that I can’t wait until August next year for the paperback to come out! I definitely need to read this soon!
  • Miley Cyrus’ Plastic Hearts album finally dropped – I have been downloading all of the live covers I can get my hands on in the promo run up to this album and I absolutely love it! It’s practically been on repeat with her duet of I Got So High That I Saw Jesus with her sister Noah Cyrus and the Heart of Glass Blondie cover she did too. It definitely feels like Miley has evolved from her chrysalis into a beautiful musical butterfly with this album.

What I’m Looking Forward to it December

  • Spending more time reading and finally finishing some books.
  • Unpacking the rest of my boxes and actually living in our new house.
  • Seeing people from my support bubble.
  • CHRISTMAS!!!

What are you looking forward to reading and doing in December?

As always, drop me a comment to chat! ☺️

T xx

#SixforSunday – Red and White Books

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Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

It’s finally December!! For the past few years, I seemed to have lost my Christmas mojo and it just became another time of year with an excuse to eat and drink far too much – but this year I am getting super excited for Christmas! Maybe all of the crazy lockdown life has made me grateful for a time to celebrate with family, even if it is “restricted” more this year!

Anyway, before we actually get to Christmas we have a brand new Six For Sunday theme and this month it’s all about Festive Goodness! For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot. This month is all about the red and white coloured books – nothing says Christmas than a little red and white striped candy came right?!

Red and White Books

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I binge read this book in less than 24 hours. Mysterious clue-solving treasure hunt for a massive inheritance around a big grand mansion… I sure did love it! If you enjoyed the film Knives Out then you’d probably enjoy this read! You can read my review here.

The Inheritance Games
Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel

I took the opportunity during the first lockdown to actually pick this mammoth brick up and read it. After I got over the narration style it was actually thoroughly enjoyable and incredibly well-written. I’m not sure how long it’ll take me to get around to reading the next two instalments though! 😂

Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, #1)
The Truth About Ruby Valentine by Alison Bond

This was one of those books where I read the review in a Sunday magazine and just had to have it. I would trawl the second hand bookshops just looking for a copy until I finally got one!

The Truth About Ruby Valentine
Everless by Sara Holland

I loved the concept of blood and time being currency in this book as well as the folklore surrounding the Sorcerer and the Alchemist. It seemed so unique and originally described. A five-star read from me but sadly I didn’t feel the sequel lived up to it as much.

Everless (Everless, #1)
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

It wouldn’t be a Biblioshelf post without a something from Throne of Glass right?! 🙄

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2)
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding

What a furore this caused when it came out!! I won’t spoil it for anyone wanting to read it but I am glad that they didn’t use this book as the screenplay for the third film – this is one of those instances where I’m afraid I love the movies more than the books!

Mad About the Boy (Bridget Jones, #3)

What are your favourite red and white books covers? What kind of colours make you think of Christmas? Are you looking forward to the Festive Season?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

Biblioshelf Musings – The Savage Garden

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Hello Bibliofriends,

There are so many hectic things going on in my life right now that I’m getting waaaayyyy behind on all of my scheduled blog posts! 🙈 Normally, I get into a good habit of scheduling posts a week or two in advance but with a house clearance and Parents’ Evenings at work there has been very little time for reading or blogging! 🙃

The Savage Garden by Mark Mills is a book I picked up at an English language bookshop whilst visiting my friend in Lanzarote. I was immediately sold by the fact that the story is set in a large Memorial Garden near Florence in Italy (my favourite city ever!) and bought it straightaway. I’ve been trying to get through my gigantic, colossally mammoth large collection of books as part of my house clear-out so it seemed a perfectly good time to pick this one up.

Book: The Savage Garden by Mark Mills
Genre: Fiction / Mystery
Publication Date: 2007
Publisher: Harper
Pages: 388
Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

The story of two murders, four hundred years apart – and the ties that bind them together.

From the author of the acclaimed national bestseller Amagansett comes an even more remarkable novel set in the Tuscan hills: the story of two murders, four hundred years apart-and the ties that bind them together. 

Adam Banting, a somewhat aimless young scholar at Cambridge University, is called to his professor’s office one afternoon and assigned a special summer project: to write a scholarly monograph about a famous garden built in the 1500s. Dedicated to the memory of Signor Docci’s dead wife, the garden is a mysterious world of statues, grottoes, meandering rills, and classical inscriptions. But during his three-week sojourn at the villa, Adam comes to suspect that clues to a murder are buried in the strange iconography of the garden: the long-dead Signor Docci most likely killed his wife and filled her memorial garden with pointers as to both the method and the motive of his crime. 

As the mystery of the garden unfolds, Adam finds himself drawn into a parallel intrigue. Through his evolving relationship with the lady of the house – the ailing, seventy-something Signora Docci – he finds clues to yet another possible murder, this one much more recent. The signora’s eldest son was shot by Nazi officers on the third floor of the villa, and her husband, now dead, insisted that the area be sealed and preserved forever. Like the garden, the third-floor rooms are frozen in time. Delving into his subject, Adam begins to suspect that his summer project might be a setup. Is he really just the naive student, stumbling upon clues, or is Signora Docci using him to discover for herself the true meaning of the villa’s murderous past?

My Musings

Now I’m not just saying this because it’s set in Italy but the setting and the Memorial Garden featured in this novel really hooked me in – right from the map of it on the very first page! The fact that the whole plot basically spirals out of the design and layout of a garden was a pretty unique concept and it’s probably this element of the story that I enjoyed the most.

Like with my love of treasure hunts and all things Robert Langdon-esque, the way each of the statues and groves related to Greek mythology and provided clues for the murder mysteries at the centre of the plot was intriguing – whilst the references and links to Dante added that extra layer of geeky literary goodness.

Overall, the main character Adam was a good narrator. He didn’t reveal all of his findings directly to the reader which made the suspense and guessing last a little longer, but he did reveal enough to let you wonder how he was going to then ‘tell-all’ to the other characters in the story. There was enough action and character conversation balanced with Adam’s internal dialogue to keep the pace moving quick enough. What I also loved was the way that the story didn’t just end as soon as the culprits had been discovered, there were additional twists near the end of the story which made me respect the whole book that little bit more.

If you’re on the lookout for a gently suspenseful mystery filled with a little Dante, a dash of Greek mythology and set against a glorious Tuscan landscape then you might enjoy spending a little time with The Savage Garden!

Connect with me here:

Twitter | Goodreads | Book Sloth: @thebiblioshelf |Email: thebiblioshelf@gmail.com

#SixforSunday – Children’s Books I’d Love To Read

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Happy Sunday Bibliofriends,

We are continuing our Celebration of Children’s Books this November with a post today all about children’s books I’d love to read! We have just rebanded all of our books at school and my class has so many in there that I’d love to read. I’ve given up trying to look at the amount of books on my TBR as I just keep adding and adding and adding to it! I wish I had about 8 heads so I could read 8 books all at the same time! 😂

For those who don’t already know, Six for Sunday is weekly meme hosted by Steph over at A Little But A Lot.

Books That I’d Love To Read

The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan

So I must confess that I have “borrowed” these books from our school library because I really need to read them before the new series comes out! Thankfully – and almost unbelievably – I have managed to avoid all spoilers for the series so I really need to hurry up and read them before something spoils it for me!

The Famous Five by Enid Blyton

We recently bought a new house and the lady who lived there had left all of her stuff due to her being in a care home. Amongst the shelves of railway books were the original Famous Five paperbacks. I never really read anything by Enid Blyton as a child but it would be lovely to make my way through this series.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

I have never actually made my way through all of the Chronicles of Narnia. I’ve definitely read The Magician’s Nephew and I think I’ve read a majority of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe but I really do want to read the rest of the series to see if I can identify all of the religious symbolism in it.

A Pinch of Magic by Michelle Harrison

I thought it best to include a fairly contemporary read and I’ve heard so many good things about this book that it makes me want to see if I can read it and link it to our Curriculum somehow.

Wonder by R.J. Palachio

I haven’t read this yet and feel like it’s one of those Kid’s Lit staples that you have to read at least once. I think it kind of marks some sort of turning point or acceptance to discuss disability/differences in children’s lit that we hadn’t quite experienced before.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

I recently watched the Artemis Fowl movie on Disney+ and now I have that need to read the entire series! It was really fun!

Which children’s books do you have on your TBR list?
As always, leave your links below or drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

#BookTag – Outstanding Blogger Award!

The Biblioshelf3 Comments

Hi Bibliofriends,

Earlier this month I was nominated by the wonderful Alicia @ Colourful Bibliophile for the Outstanding Blogger Award. This is a completely new one for me so I’m so thrilled to get my first nomination!

Rules:
  • Link to the creator’s original award post.
  • Answer the questions provided.
  • Create 7 unique questions.
  • Nominate 10 other bloggers. Neither the award’s creator nor the blogger that nominated you can be nominated.
  • At the end of 2020, every blog that ping-backs the creator’s original post will be entered to win the 2020 Outstanding Blogger Award!

Alicia’s Questions:

Good news! You can now communicate with animals, aside from your pets what animal are you talking to first? 

Perhaps a leopard or a panther – some kind of spirit animal rather than something like a squirrel!

You can make any ONE fictional character (books, movies, video game, etc) come to life, who are you choosing?

Just one – from that broad a range of sources?!?! Perhaps James Halliday from Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – just so that he can create the OASIS and I can be a part of it. What a dream!

If you were a God/ Goddess what would you be Patron of?

Books is the automatic answer here right? Either that or something totally out there like Pokémon or waterfalls! 😂

What 3 songs would you use in a soundtrack to your life?

Awesome question!
Florence + the Machine – Shake It Out
Dolly Parton – 9 to 5
Spice Girls – Say You’ll Be There
Such a random mix! Haha!

A new species of animal has been discovered, what does it look like and what is it called?

It lives in the darkest depths of the rainforests so nobody has ever seen it’s real form. Some people think it is made of shadow although lucky eyewitnesses think it may look a little like a Niffler…
It eats lies, justice and inequality (and other general worldwide bullshit really) therefore it has been named Inprobumbra Comedenti 

You’ve found an enchanted doorway that can take you anywhere. Where are you going?

Middle Earth – ASAP please!!! I’d love to tour The Shire, see the elves in Rivendell wander the glistening streets of Gondor.

Space Travel is now available to everyone & the first Space Rollercoaster has been invented. Would you ride it?  

Hell yes! I am such a rollercoaster-junkie! Space Mountain is one of my favourite rides at Disney World so if it’s anything like that then count me in!

My Questions:

  1. TV networks are down; you can only have access to one streaming service, which are you picking and why?
  2. You are stranded on a desert island and can only have 3 unread books from your TBR – what are they?
  3. If you were Prime Minister / President for the day what law would you pass and why?
  4. If you could dive into the world of any book/film which would it be?
  5. Your favourite beverage to drink while reading?
  6. You can bring back one mythological creature to live on Planet Earth – which would it be?
  7. Favourite thing to do when you’re not reading / obsessing about your TBR / blogging?

I am nominating:

YOU – I am so rubbish at tagging people to take part in things (it gives me such a complex! 🙈). So if you’re reading this and you feel like giving it a go then consider yourself tagged! ☺️

Have a good week Bibliofriends!

T xx