Top Ten Tuesday | Fictional Places I Would NOT Want to Live In

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Bookish Worlds I’d Never Want to Live In', which I found to be a really fun topic! So often when I love a story, particularly a fantastical one, I can find myself thinking 'I wish I'd gone to Hogwarts' or 'I wish I lived in The Shire', but I've never given too much thought to the places I really wouldn't want to live in.

For my list this week I've decided to stick with fictional places. I thought of mentioning The Book Thief because I would have hated to live in Nazi Germany, but in the end I felt like, for me, it was a little disrespectful to mention real places because some people really have had to live through that. Anyway, on with my list!

Panem from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Let's just get this one out the way with because it's probably on most lists this week, right? Pretty much any dystopian novel has a setting I wouldn't want to live in, but Panem in particular I'd hate because if I'd been chosen to take part in the Games when I was younger I'd've been the first one to die.

Airstrip One from Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell: Carrying on with that dystopian theme, Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the most depressing novels I've ever read and I would hate to live somewhere where the government was quite literally watching me all the time.

The town from The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: There's a reason why The Lottery is one of the most famous American short stories ever, and this story alone earns Jackson a place as one of the best horror writers in my opinion. I can't say much without giving anything away, although this story's so short I recommend you reading it asap, but trust me when I say I wouldn't want to live in that town and I guarantee you wouldn't want to live there either.

Neverland from Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie: Disney Neverland looks fun, but the Neverland in the book is just as creepy as everything else. I don't understand the whimsy around Peter Pan, it's so strange and unnerving, and even as a child I don't think Neverland would have appealed to me unless Robin Williams was there.

The Other World from Coraline by Neil Gaiman: Having everything I want in exchange for having buttons sewn into my eyes? Yeah, no, that's not happening.

Westeros from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin: Admittedly I haven't read the books but I watch Game of Thrones and no amount of money could convince me to live there. It's so brutal and I wouldn't last five minutes.

Wonderland from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: Unlike Peter Pan, I love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and I've always been fascinated by it. Having said that, the world is just so bizarre that I think I'd go mad and, while I love stuff that's a bit weird, I think Wonderland would be just a bit too weird for me.

The Stillness from The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin: There's no way I'd want to live in a world where the earth decides it doesn't want you there every few years and has a little apocalypse to wipe a few million people off it.

Giant Country from The BFG by Roald Dahl: This is going to sound ridiculous, but I'm terrified of giants. I know they're not real but the idea of them scares the crap out of me so Giant Country is my idea of hell. I don't want to be anyone's dinner, thanks.

The Fifteen Realms from Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder: There's a plague spreading across this world killing thousands at a time and even the healers can't do anything about it. No thanks.

Which places made your list this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | Unfinished Finished Series

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Ten Finished Series I Have YET To Finish', and I found this topic really, really difficult. I'm amazed I managed to make it to eight, because for a while I honestly thought I might have to settle for three.

I love a good series, don't get me wrong, but I was wary of them for the past few years. I was tired of the same structure to every trilogy I picked up, which is one of the main reasons I read so few YA series nowadays. I've read quite a few first books in series, but I didn't want to include series on my list that I knew I wasn't going to continue. I hated Legend and I wasn't all that impressed with Angelfall, so there was no way those two were going to make their way onto my list.

In terms of series, I have a lot more finished series that I haven't started yet, never mind finished, so I wasn't going to include them either. And then there are the series I love that are ongoing, such as the White Trash Zombie series and The Lunar Chronicles, as well as a lot of graphic novel series that I love.

So in the end I managed to scrape together eight, and here they are!

The Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy: I didn't start this series until I was in uni, and I thought it was fantastic. I speed through these books and they're so much fun; I love Derek Landy's sense of humour. Then uni got in the way, and for whatever reason I just didn't return to the series - I want to, though! I read the first six, I believe, but rather than start at book seven I think I may actually re-read those first six and read the series in its entirety from start to finish.

The Dust Lands trilogy by Moira Young: One of the few starts to a YA trilogy that I loved was Blood Red Road, and even though I own Rebel Heart and Raging Star I still haven't read them. Boo me!

The Joanna Stafford trilogy by Nancy Bilyeau: This historical crime trilogy came to an end this year, and I read the first book, The Crown, in February. I enjoyed it (and reviewed it here!) and I got my hands on a copy of the second book, The Chalice, I just haven't read it yet. I'm not sure when I'll complete the trilogy as I'm hoping for the release of an edition of the third book, The Tapestry, that will match the two I already own.

The His Fair Assassin trilogy by Robin LaFevers: I have NO IDEA why I still haven't finished this trilogy, it's kind of ridiculous. Maybe this is something I should get to this month, because I loved Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph.

The If I Stay duology by Gayle Forman: Maybe Where She Went is more of a companion novel than a sequel, but give me a break, I'm clutching at straws here. I really enjoyed If I Stay, it's probably one of my favourite contemporaries, so I'd like to read Where She Went soon.

The Healer trilogy by Maria V. Snyder: I didn't love Touch of Power, but I liked it enough to want to know what happens next.

The Khalifa Brothers duology by Salman Rushdie: I had to read Haroun and the Sea of Stories when I studied postmodernism during my first year of university, and I loved it. Now I just need to get my hands on a copy of Luka and the Fire of Life.

The Fruits Basket series by Natsuki Takaya: Love the manga and love the anime, I just haven't gotten around to finishing the manga yet!

Which books made your list?

Top Ten Tuesday | Most Owned Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find out everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Authors I Own the Most Books From'. I didn't think I'd have that many, but I actually filled this list really easily!

Get ready to marvel at my appalling photography (though in my defense I took these pictures with my phone).

J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter 1-7, The Tales of Beedle the Bard and The Casual Vacancy.

Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant 1-7, The End of the World and Tanith Low in the Maleficent Seven.

Maria V. Snyder

Study series 1-3, Glass series 1-3, and Healer series 1-2.

Tanya Huff

Vicki Nelson 1-6, Quarters 1-2, and The Silvered.

Garth Nix

The Old Kingdom 1-3, Across the Wall, A Confusion of Princes, and Shade's Children.

C. J. Sansom

Matthew Shardlake 1-5 and Dominion.

Neil Gaiman

Smoke and Mirrors, Good Omens, The Graveyard Book, American Gods, Neverwhere and Stardust.

Celia Rees

Witch Child, Sorceress, Pirates!, Sovay and Blood Sinister.

Natsuki Takaya

Fruits Basket 1-11.

Stephenie Meyer

Twilight 1-4, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, and The Host.

Which authors made your list?

J.

Top Ten Tuesday | Desert Island Chums!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find out everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Characters I Would Want with Me on a Deserted Island'. It's up to us whether we pick the characters based on their survival skills or their attractiveness, but as someone who quite likes being alive I've decided to pick the characters I reckon I'd have the best chance of survival with!

1. Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
   Considering Thorne managed to get himself and Cress out of a desert alive, all while being blind, I'd say he'd be a pretty good companion on a deserted island! Plus he's hot.
2. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
   Do I really need to explain this one? Katniss is the ultimate wilderness survival expert; she could hunt and keep all eleven of us fed, not to mention safe!
3. Sirius Black from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
   At first glance Sirius might seem like a bit of an odd choice, but the way I see it anyone who managed to outwit dementors to escape a place like Azkaban would be a good person to have around on a deserted island. And if he's with me he can't fall through the veil and die.
4. Saba from the Dust Lands trilogy by Moira Young
   Saba's a real tough cookie. She managed to survive some pretty intense stuff in Blood Red Road and I just love her.
5. Finnick Odair from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
   I'm taking Finnick with me for those days when Katniss wants a day off from hunting and we're all in a mood for some fish. Plus he's a great swimmer - I think he'd definitely come in handy!
6. Sybella d'Albret from the His Fair Assassin trilogy by Robin LaFevers
   I'd take Sybella with me to join the ranks of Katniss and Saba in this little miniature army I'm building up. I think the three of them would make an awesome team.
7. Jack Barak from the Shardlake series by C. J. Sansom
   Perhaps another odd choice, but Jack's another character who's good at surviving. I like my chances if I'm surrounded by a group of survivors!
8. Helen Graham from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
   I imagine this seems like a really, really bizarre choice, but Helen's one of those people with a real strength of character. She took her son and left her alcoholic, abusive husband despite the fact that such conduct was frowned upon in her day. I want someone on that island with me who's got some real balls.
9. Skulduggery Pleasant from the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy
   First thing's first: Skulduggery's already dead, so that's one less person to feed. He's also hilarious; I want him around to make the rest of us laugh.
10. Yelena from the Study series by Maria V. Snyder
    Yelena survived years of abuse, managed to get out of being executed, and survived her time as a food taster. She's also magic, so I definitely want her with me. Besides don't you think her and Sybella would be the best of friends?

Who would you take with you?

J.

Three Trilogies I Want to Finish This Year!

I'm a terrible finisher. It's sad, but it's true, and one of the many things I seem to struggle to finish most nowadays is a series. I start a series, adore the first book, and then end up too worried about the rest of the series being disappointing that I never finish it.

Finishing a series is one of the best feelings when it comes to reading. Sometimes it can be sad to say goodbye to characters you've grown to love, but there's something so satisfying about closing that final book and knowing you were there for the entire adventure.

There are three trilogies I'm determined to finish this year. All of them are trilogies which I own the first and second books of, but still need to get my hands on the third!


The Dust Lands Trilogy by Moira Young

I read Blood Red Road around this time last year and I absolutely loved it. Not long after finishing it I bought myself a copy of the second book, Rebel Heart, and somehow I still haven't gotten around to reading it. I think I enjoyed Blood Red Road that much that I've been so worried about reading Rebel Heart and finding it to be a huge disappointment.

Back in May the final book in the trilogy, Raging Star, was released, and now that it has been I think I'm going to buy myself a copy and then marathon the rest of this trilogy, because I love the brutal world that Young has created and I really want to know what happens to Saba, Jack and all the other characters I grew to love in the first book.

The Healer Trilogy by Maria V. Snyder

Touch of Power, like Blood Red Road, is another book I read last year and then bought myself a copy of the second book, Scent of Magic, upon finishing it. I have to be honest I'm not quite as into this trilogy as I am the other two trilogies on this list, but I still like it a lot. I started Scent of Magic earlier this year and then accidentally got distracted by another trilogy. Basically the Newsflesh trilogy has taken over my life this year and I don't regret a thing because I'm obsessed with it and I love it. That being said I still want to finish this trilogy and find out what happens to Avry, Kerrick and the entire land of Kazan. I've heard pretty good things about the finale of this trilogy so far, so it could be that I just need to get my hands on the third book, Taste of Darkness, and marathon this trilogy, too!

The His Fair Assassin Trilogy by Robin LaFevers

Unlike the other two trilogies on this list, His Fair Assassin is the one trilogy of which I've read books one and two, and the one trilogy that isn't complete just yet. Mortal Heart won't be released until November, and I'm really looking forward to its release!

I love me some historical fiction, as I'm sure most of you know by now, so I picked up copies of Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph earlier this year. I read Grave Mercy back in February, and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, so as soon as I finished it I picked up Dark Triumph and loved it. This is one of those rare instances in which I've enjoyed a second book in a trilogy more than the first (though it's not the first time it's happened; my favourite book in The Hunger Games trilogy is Catching Fire). I'm really looking forward to Mortal Heart's release and seeing how this trilogy wraps up! 

Are there any series/trilogies/duologies you plan on finishing this year?

J.

What's Up Wednesday! | 28/05/14

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

Right now I'm a little bit over halfway through Deadline, the second book in the Newsflesh trilogy, and I've already cried. I'm loving this trilogy so much, and it's recently revealed something that I definitely did not expect. I'm probably going to have to go out and buy myself a copy of Blackout once I'm done with it; I have to know how this story ends.

It's also been a while since I picked up Maria V. Snyder's Scent of Magic, which I started pack in April. I'm hoping I can finish it and read Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl in the next couple of days, before I make a start on my June TBR, but that all depends on what kind of mood Deadline leaves me in.

What I'm Writing

I've been a bit bad this week in terms of writing and haven't really done any. I think what I really need to do is sit down and actually write out a proper plan for my WIP. I know it's pretty shocking that I don't already have one, but because I know where my novel's going I've always just been writing towards that point. Now, though, the story has expanded so much compared to what it once was so I need to organise all of my subplots before I drive myself mad.

What Inspires Me Right Now

For some reason I always struggle to think of an answer for this section of WUW, and then I see someone else's and I'm like 'damn, why didn't I think of that?' For whatever reason I find it difficult to pinpoint something as a definite inspiration, and sometimes I think we just can't be inspired but we need to make things anyway. Half the struggle of making any art form - whether it's writing, painting, singing, photography - is pushing yourself to do it when you're not feeling inspired. So I guess what inspires me is that every book lining the shelves in the book shops is there because someone slaved away at it, no matter how inspired they were.

What Else I've Been Up To

Last Friday was the Hannibal finale, and now I have to wait another year for season three. On the plus side there's going to be a season three so I suppose I can't really complain. I think I speak for all of us in the Fannibal family when I say we're all still pretty emotional.

Over the past few days I've managed to marathon the first series of Orphan Black. I started watching this show back when it first came out but, for whatever reason, I didn't carry on after episode two. I kept seeing it all over Tumblr, though, so this week I decided to pick up where I left off and I really enjoyed it. Tatiana Maslany is an amazing actress. If you're into sci-fi/thriller shows then I recommend checking it out!

One of my friends has also recently got me into an online game called Town of Salem which is deadly when it comes to procrasination. I don't know why it's so addictive but I've been enjoying it. It's a game in which you're given a role in the town, but no one else knows your role and you don't know anyone else's and it's a race to see whether the Town, the Mafia, or the Serial Killers win. It's surprisingly fun.

Other than that it's been pretty quiet/boring here. I'm off to the cinema tomorrow (what a shock) to see Maleficent, which I'm really excited for, and I'm hoping to go and see the new X-Men film soon, too.

What's new with you?

#WeNeedDiverseBooks | Whitewashing and YA

Before I say anything I'm going to say that these are just my personal thoughts. I am by no means an expert on racial issues and it's not my intention to insult or offend anyone, I'm just adding my own thoughts to the debate!

Over the weekend #WeNeedDiverseBooks trended on Twitter as authors, publishers, librarians and readers from all over the world talked about why diversity in literature - and in children's literature in particular - is important. You can find an article about it here!

So I thought today would be the perfect opportunity for me to talk about my thoughts concerning whitewashing and YA.

The majority of us, if asked, will say that we're not racist, and while I don't think most people who say that are lying it is possible to be racist without realising; especially if, like me, you're white. Most of us who are white don't tend to realise just how privileged we are.

I'm not trying to lecture anyone, and I'm certainly not trying to demonise white people. I'm a white person myself, and I think it's ridiculous to say that because someone's white they're therefore a horrible person, but I do think more of us need to realise just how underrepresented people of colour are.

YA today is fantastic at giving minorities - and I hate to use the word 'minorities' - a voice. Not only is YA well known for giving readers brilliant female characters who are more than just 'the love interest' or 'the sidekick', but many of these characters also happen to be people of colour.

So why haven't publishers and film makers noticed this?

Take The Hunger Games, for example. Katniss Everdeen is one of the best heroines to grace YA today; she's flawed, brave and loving. She's also olive-skinned, though the film franchise would have you believe otherwise. In fact fans of the series who only watch the films and don't read the books might have no idea that Katniss is a woman of colour at all.

Don't get me wrong, I love Jennifer Lawrence; I think she's fantastic as Katniss, but she is white. Other than Lawrence, several other actresses were considered for/interested in the role: Kaya Scodelario; Chloë Grace Moretz; Emma Roberts; Saoirse Ronan; Emily Browning and Shailene Woodley just to name a few.

Is it just me, or are all of those actresses white?

In her own words, author Suzanne Collins said: "In her remarkable audition piece, I watched Jennifer embody every essential quality necessary to play Katniss." (You can find the rest of that article here).

If the author's happy with the choice then I suppose the rest of us should be too. Collins knows Katniss better than any of us could ever hope to, and as I said before I do think Lawrence is a brilliant Katniss, but how do they know they wouldn't have found the qualities they were looking for in an olive-skinned actress if they didn't audition any?

Sadly it's not only the film industry that whitewashes its characters, the publishing industry does too; it's notorious for putting a white model on the cover of a book which features a non-white protagonist. Perhaps one of the most shocking examples of this is the cover of the first book in Julie Kagawa's Blood of Eden series, The Immortal Rules.

This series, set in a post-apocalyptic future where vampires roam the earth, features a heroine named Allison Sekemoto. If her surname isn't enough of a clue, Allison is Asian. Fantastic! I can't remember the last time I stumbled across a book with an Asian protagonist.

Hm. I don't know what's worse: that the cover designer didn't read the book and assumed the heroine was white, or that the cover designer did read the book and put a white model on the cover anyway.

(I have nothing against the model, of course, she's very pretty, I just don't think she's quite how readers picture Allison).

I wish I could say The Immortal Rules is the only example of a publisher choosing the wrong cover model, but sadly it happens a lot.

Let's look at Maria V. Snyder's Poison Study, the first book in her Study series. This particular series follows Yelena Zaltana, a young woman who is thrust from deathrow into a new job as the Commander of Ixia's food-taster. As far as Yelena knows she's an orphan from Sitia, the land that lies South of Ixia and is known for its magic-users and its warmer climate.

In the book it's mentioned that people from Sitia tend to have darker skin than those in Ixia, thus leaving Yelena's skin tone unspecified - meaning people can imagine her to be olive-skinned like Katniss or black like Malorie Blackman's Sephy in Noughts and Crosses - but one thing we know for certain is that she is not white.

And yet, once again, we are left with a white cover model. More than once.

Why are publishers so afraid of putting people of colour on the covers of their books? I refuse to believe that books featuring people of colour won't sell because there is an audience for books featuring such characters. Personally I don't care what the colour of the protagonists's skin is - I'll read anything! - and the majority of other readers I come across feel the same.

Representation matters, and both people of colour and white people should be on our book covers. The world is made up of so many different races that in this day and age it's ridiculous that we still think it a novelty to see people of colour in the media.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

J.

What's Up Wednesday! | 23/04/14

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

Over the past week I've read Neil Gaiman's Stardust, finished making my way through a collection of John Donne's poetry and sort of finished Essie Fox's The Goddess and the Thief. I say 'sort of' because I got about half way through it and realised that I was bored, and the story took a turn that annoyed me a little, so I basically skim read the rest. Perhaps I'll have to go back to it at a later date, because everyone else on Goodreads seems to have given it 4 or 5 stars - I must be missing something!

I'm still reading Maria V. Snyder's Scent of Magic. I'm taking my time with it so that, when I do finish it, I can hopefully go out and find myself a copy of the third and final book in the trilogy. I found the last book in Cardiff when I went there the other week, but it wasn't the same size as the other books and I couldn't have a book that wouldn't match its predecessors! I also just started Feed by Mira Grant, the first book in the Newsflesh trilogy, and I'm really enjoying it so far - it's been a while since I read something involving zombies!

This week is also the final week of the Hogwarts House Reading Challenge! This week the challenge is to read a book with a raven-haired protagonist. Initially I was going to carry on with the Study series and read Maria V. Snyder's Magic Study, but after watching Catching Fire at the weekend I'm really in the mood to reread Mockingjay. I haven't read it at all since the very first time I read it and, if I'm completely honest, I can't remember a lot of the details. I can remember the big events but I just can't really remember reading the book all that much, so I'll be starting it today or tomorrow!

What I'm Writing

This week I'm back to novel writing. I'm hoping to work on one of the novel's first flashbacks, in which my protagonist tries to cope with PTSD and meets her husband.

What Inspires Me Right Now

Honestly right now I feel a little more overwhelmed than inspired. It's just been one of those weeks where my stress levels have been high and my head feels like it's full of heavy fluff.

Having said that, my lovely best friend Laura is pretty inspirational. She's in her final year of uni so she has a lot of work to do, which she manages to keep on top of while also maintaining a part time job and voluntary work. She's also always there for me when I need a good rant.

What Else I've Been Up To

It was Easter at the weekend - Happy Easter! - so I spent my weekend eating chocolate and watching Catching Fire with my Dad. Turns out he's something of a Hunger Games fan!

On Easter Monday my poor Mum had to work, but my Dad had the day off so the two of us went to Abergavenny for the day, purely because neither of us had been there before. What's left of Abergavenny Castle is there, as well as a little museum, and all of the entry's free. It was a lovely day, so we had lunch (and an ice cream) and my Dad was nice enough to treat me to a couple of books when we discovered Waterstones were doing a "Buy One Get One Half Price" deal. 

I picked up copies of Feed by Mira Grant and Burial Rites by Hannah Kent - I've been after a copy of Burial Rites since December!

Other than that I've been looking into some freelance work, signing up for the 10th Bout of Books read-a-thon, and getting ready to go back to university this weekend - my Easter holiday seems to have flown by!

What's new with you?

What's Up Wednesday! | 16/04/14

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

At the weekend I finished my first Shirley Jackson novel, The Haunting of Hill House, and I really liked it; I'm really eager to read more of her work now, particularly her short fiction - I still haven't read The Lottery!

I'm also currently reading three other books: I'm still reading Maria V. Snyder's Scent of Magic, I'm about a third of the way through Essie Fox's The Goddess and the Thief (which is a great read for fans of Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone) and I've just started Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, for the third challenge in the Hogwarts House Reading Challenge! I've been meaning to read Good Omens for a while now, so I'm really excited to have finally started it! 

What I'm Writing

Honestly I've been a bit naughty this week because I've barely done any writing. I've started to realise that the LGBT retelling of Beauty and the Beast I've been working on could be stretched into something longer than a short story, but I don't want to start writing another novel when I'm still working on Bloodroot and Bracken.

I've also been making notes on a shiny new idea I've had this past week, which is also historical/paranormal fiction. I can't seem to be able to break away from the genre, but I don't care!

What Inspires Me Right Now

Again, reading! So far April's been a great reading month for me, and there's nothing more inspirational than learning from published writers!

What Else I've Been Up To

On Friday I went to see Noah. It was... interesting. It wasn't the worst film I've ever seen but it wasn't spectacular either; it was nice to see the story of Noah being portrayed in a darker way, it is basically an end of the world story after all, but it felt as though the director had had too many ideas that he simply mashed together, meaning that the end of the film felt like the end to a different film than the one I started watching at the beginning.

Before I went to the cinema I had a look in The Works and came out with three books for only £5 (how could I resist?). I got myself copies of Stephen King's The Green Mile, Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora, and Charlotte Brontë's The Professor. I'm not a big fan of Stephen King's novels but I really like the film adaptation of The Green Mile, and I've heard great things about the book.

Then on Saturday I met up with two of my friends in Cardiff, neither of whom I've seen for quite a few months, so it was lovely to catch up! I always enjoy going into Cardiff - the shops are great - and while I was there I bought myself a little jar that looks like a honey pot (it's so cute!) so that I could make myself a TBR jar.

I've been wanting to make a TBR jar for a while now, and the bonus challenge for Ravenclaw in the Hogwarts House Reading Challenge is to make a Ravenclaw-themed book jar. So after I bought my jar I bought some blue paper to write all of my unread books on (shockingly, I own 128 unread books!), and then I made a blue and 'bronze' easter chick; I'll just pretend they're eagle chicks!

And of course I'm still watching Game of Thrones and Hannibal, and they're both so good! The latest episode of Game of Thrones was just brilliant, whereas the latest episode of Hannibal broke my heart a little bit. Poor Dr Chilton, he's grown on me. 

I've also started watching The Crimson Field, which is a historical drama about a group of women who journey to France during the First World War to work as volunteer nurses. I've only watched the first episode so far but I really enjoyed it, and I highly recommend it!

I feel like I could use their expertise myself, the past couple of days one of my wisdom teeth has been really sore, so it looks like I'm going to have to go to the dentist and see if it's growing through like it should be or if I need to get it removed. Hopefully it feels worse than it is!

What's new with you?

What's Up Wednesday! | 09/04/14

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

My reading's been going really well this past week! Last week I read Tim Manley's Alice in Tumblr-Land, which was a lot of fun, and over the weekend I reread Tim Burton's The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories for the Hogwarts House Reading Challenge, then read Mitch Albom's The Time Keeper, which was a fantastic read. Last night I finished Affinity and it broke my heart. I was hoping to finish it last week, but I decided to leave it until this week so that it could be my paranormal read for the Hogwarts House Reading Challenge. Next week the challenge is to read a book with an eccentric character, so I'm thinking of finally reading Derek Landy's Kingdom of the Wicked. That series is full of eccentric characters!

On Monday I also started reading Maria V. Snyder's Scent of Magic, the second book in the Healer trilogy. I reviewed the first book, Touch of Power, on Monday - you can find that review here if you're interested! While I'm on a reading kick I'm hoping to cross a few other YA books off my TBR list: Half Bad by Sally Green, which I found in my local library, Vivian Versus the Apocalypse by Katie Coyle, which I received for Christmas, and The Host by Stephenie Meyer, which I've owned and not finished for far too long. I don't know if I'll read all those books over the next week, but I'd like to at least cross Half Bad off my list so I can return it to the library!

What I'm Writing

Considering it's over a week into Camp NaNoWriMo I'm pretty behind, but I'm not letting it get to me. I'm having such a good reading month, and such a good time just relaxing, that I'm not stressing out too much. Given that my goal is 15,000 words I'm hoping to write three 5,000 word short stories, and when I get into it I can write a short story in an afternoon so there's still plenty of time!

Right now I'm working on an LGBT retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in 17th century Virginia, both for Camp NaNoWriMo and for the competition I mentioned last week!

What Inspires Me Right Now

To be honest all the reading I've been doing is pretty inspirational! Nothing inspires me to write more than reading.

What Else I've Been Up To

Game of Thrones returned on Sunday night and it was amazing! I might be a little bit in love with Oberyn Martell, I still love the dynamic between Jaime and Brienne, and to be honest I'd be happy if Olenna Tyrell ended up on the iron throne. That woman is amazing.

Last week's episode of Hannibal brought with it a few surprises, too, and even though certain aspects of New Worlds annoyed me this week (such as the ridiculous instalove) it looks as though the series is starting to get good. Basically TV is awesome right now!

This Saturday I might be meeting up with one of my friends from university, which will be lovely because I haven't seen him in months. I love going into Cardiff - it's a great place for shopping, and right now I need to try and find myself a jar so I can make myself a TBR jar.

What's new with you?

What's Up Wednesday! | 26/03/13

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

Sadly I've been in a bit of a slump since finishing Strands of Bronze and Gold, not because of that book at all, I just haven't been able to get into anything. I'm not quite sure what I'm in the mood for. I love my Historical Fiction, but I've read quite a lot of it recently and now I'm in the mood to take a little break and ready something a little fluffier, like a light-hearted Contemporary. Sadly, all of my Contemporary reads aren't at university with me.

I'm thinking about picking up Maria V. Snyder's Magic Study at some point this week if I'm in the mood for a bit of Fantasy.

What I'm Writing

I introduced the next big plot point in my current WIP in my seminar yesterday, and I got a lot of positive responses so I'm pleased. Other than writing that scene (which needs a lot of editing) I've mostly been planning this past week.

I've been planning future scenes in my WIP, planning the novella I want to work on over Camp NaNoWriMo and doing a teeny, weeny bit of planning for the Fantasy novel I'd like to work on once I'm done with Bloodroot and Bracken.

What Inspires Me Right Now

For so long writing a novel was something I so wanted to do, but something that terrified me; I was never sure I could stretch an idea to fill an entire book. Over the past week I have begun to feel the most content with my writing I have ever felt, and that in itself is inspiring.

My current WIP started out as a short story almost two years ago, and I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to stretch it out into a novel, but the more I write the more I realise I need to write, and the story just keeps growing. It's a great feeling!

What Else I've Been Up To

Other than uni stuff, I've been watching Hannibal (Beverly, NOOOOO!), preparing for the new series of Game of Thrones (I'm so excited!) and getting ready to go home for my Easter holiday this weekend. This term has been fun but it feels like it's really dragged, and I'm ready to go home and just relax for a bit. I'm taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo obviously, but because I'm aiming for 20,000 words rather than 50,000 I'm not going to let it take over April.

What's especially nice is that my parents are picking me up this Sunday, so I'll be able to see my Mum on Mother's Day for the first time in about four years!

What's new with you?

March Reads!

It's the beginning of a brand, spanking new month and time for me to talk about the books I'd like to try and tick off my TBR list in March!

I have a lot of unread books - I mean a lot - and only a teeny weeny portion of them are at university with me. I do have, however, quite an array of books with me that focus on magic or history or both! This is because of my MA, and I'd really like to read these books in particular soon so I can talk about them in an upcoming presentation about my own work.

Three of these books were mentioned in my February Reads but I didn't get around to them, though I did make a start on one of them!

Dark Triumph

by Robin LaFevers

When Sybella arrived at the doorstep of St Mortain half mad with grief and despair the convent were only too happy to offer her refuge - but at a price. The sisters of this convent serve Death, and with Sybella naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, she could become one of their most dangerous weapons.

But her assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to the life that nearly drove her mad. Her father's rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother's love is equally monstrous. But when Sybella discovers an unexpected ally she discovers that a daughter of Death may find something other than vengeance to live for...

Grave Mercy was the last book I read in February and I loved it, so with Dark Triumph on my shelf I just had to jump straight into it and continue with the trilogy! This will definitely be the first book I finish this month.

Scent of Magic

by Maria V. Snyder

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible... again.

I was hoping to get through the second book in Maria V. Snyder's Healer trilogy last month, but unfortunately I didn't get round to it. Hopefully I'll read it this month, and then I can treat myself to the final book in the trilogy and finish the series during my Easter holiday!

A Discovery of Witches

by Deborah Harkness

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

This is the one book from last month I've actually started! I was reading it with a friend of mine (who has already finished it - I need to catch up!) but then I got distracted finishing a book I was half way through, and then I got distracted by the His Fair Assassin trilogy...

I definitely want to read this book this month, though; I've been meaning to start this trilogy for a while and as far as I'm aware it's gotten pretty great reviews from almost everyone who's read it.

The Witch's Daughter

by Paula Brackston

My name is Elizabeth Anne Hawksmith, and my age is three hundred and eighty-four years. Each new settlement asks for a new journal, and so this Book of Shadows begins…

In the spring of 1628, the Witchfinder of Wessex finds himself a true Witch. As Bess Hawksmith watches her mother swing from the Hanging Tree she knows that only one man can save her from the same fate at the hands of the panicked mob: the Warlock Gideon Masters, and his Book of Shadows. Secluded at his cottage in the woods, Gideon instructs Bess in the Craft, awakening formidable powers she didn’t know she had and making her immortal. She couldn't have foreseen that even now, centuries later, he would be hunting her across time, determined to claim payment for saving her life.

In present-day England, Elizabeth has built a quiet life for herself, tending her garden and selling herbs and oils at the local farmers' market. But her solitude abruptly ends when a teenage girl called Tegan starts hanging around. Against her better judgment, Elizabeth begins teaching Tegan the ways of the Hedge Witch, in the process awakening memories--and demons—long thought forgotten.

Here we have the third and final book that I'd also hoped to get through in February but didn't. Oops!

The Witch's Daughter is the ideal book for me to read right now because the novel I'm working on focuses on witchcraft and the relationship between a mother and daughter. I'm really looking forward to this one!

The Stolen One

by Suzanne Crowley

Kat's true identity is a secret, even from her. All she has ever known are Grace and Anna and their small village. Kat wants more—more than hours spent embroidering finery for wealthy ladies and more than Christian, the gentle young farmer courting her.

But there are wolves outside, Grace warns. Waiting, with their eyes glowing in the dark . . . and Grace has given Kat safety and a home when no one else would.

Then a stranger appears in their cottage, bringing the mystery of Kat's birth with her. In one night, Kat's destiny finds her: She will leave. She will journey to London, and her skill with the needle will attract the notice of the magnificent Queen Elizabeth—and of the wolves of the court. She will discover what Grace would never tell her.

Everything will unravel.

Is anyone else really jealous of the cover model's hair?

Unfortunately I already know the main character's true identity because she's based on a historical figure whose Wikipedia page I was on when I stumbled across this book, but I don't mind! This book is similar to The Witch's Daughter in that it's much more of a mixture of Historical Fiction and witchcraft.

I found my beautiful hardback copy second hand over on Amazon, so if you're interested in reading this book check there or on AbeBooks before you go searching anywhere else - otherwise you might miss out on a bargain!

Burn Mark

by Laura Powell

In a modern world where witches are hunted down and burned at the stake, two lives intersect. Glory is from a family of witches, and is desperate to develop her 'Fae' powers and become a witch herself, though witch-activity carries a threat of being burned at the stake. Lucas is the son of the Chief Prosecutor for the Inquisition with a privileged life very different from the witches he is being trained to prosecute. And then one day, both Glory and Lucas develop the Fae. In one fell stroke, their lives are inextricably bound together.

I read the first few pages of this book last month but I just couldn't get into it and ended up finishing The Rosie Project instead.

I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to enjoy this book or not; the pages I read were okay but they didn't particularly hook me, but I shouldn't judge it until I've given it a fair try! I have no idea if Burn Mark is the first in a trilogy or if the sequel, Witch Fire, concludes a duology. It'd be nice if it was a duology just because there aren't enough of those around, though I am starting to see more of them. I think duologies might be the next trilogies...

That's all six of the books I'd like to read this month! What are you hoping to read in March?