Top Ten Tuesday | First Impressions

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 Books I Loved Less/More Than I Thought I Would', so my list is divided in half with five books I liked more than I thought I would and five I liked less than I thought I would. On with my list!

Books I liked more than I thought I would

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: I know! Considering how much I talk about this book, who'd've thought I wasn't always sure it was going to be for me. I don't know what it is, but I'm never drawn to books set during the '80s so I really didn't know what I was going to make of this. What I got was a fantastic coming-of-age story along with totally unique witchcraft - I love it!

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng: I saw Mallory @ The Local Muse mention this and decided to pick it up, but it seems the '80s aren't the only decade I tend to stay away from - to be honest I don't tend to read much fiction set in the 20th century after the 1950s, and I'm not usually a big lover of family sagas because there's always at least one person I don't care about and I get bored, but this debut proved to be the exception. It's written and plotted beautifully and I can't recommend it enough.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn: This is a tricky one in that I didn't realise I had actually really enjoyed it until a couple of weeks after I finished it. When I initially finished I wasn't sure how to feel about it, and I felt little cheated by the ending, but then I couldn't stop thinking about it and the more I think about it the more I realise how cleverly it was plotted.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: Austen and I have a difficult relationship and a couple of years ago I read Northanger Abbey after avoiding Austen for around five years. I actually quite liked it, and I'm tempted to give her another chance.

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney: I had a very similar experience with this book as I did with Dark Places. I couldn't stop thinking about it despite not enjoying it as much as I thought I would, and now I think I'd like to re-read it in future so I can fully appreciate it.

Books I liked less than I thought I would

St Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell: I went into this short story collection full of hope and it just wasn't for me. I liked a lot of the ideas behind some of the stories, but I felt like every single story had a very weak ending that Russell just didn't know how to execute... so she didn't do anything. Not for me, sadly!

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn: Unlike Dark Places, I haven't developed a new respect for Sharp Objects since I finished it and I was so hopeful. I don't really have any interest in reading Gone Girl, but I do think Flynn is a fantastic writer and I was very excited to read her debut; I love stories that explore mother and daughter relationships, especially the creepy ones like Carrie and Black Swan, and I'm all for Southern Gothic, but this story and I didn't get along at all. Dark Places felt clever, Sharp Objects felt gratuitous.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik: I didn't dislike Uprooted, but I didn't love it either and I was hoping I would as my lovely friend Natalie @ A Sea Change thought very highly of it. I just felt kind of 'meh' about the whole thing and that was mainly because of the way it was written; I don't know what it is about Naomi Novik's writing in this book, but it felt like a struggle to get through. The cover is beautiful, though.

Among Others by Jo Walton: So many people love this book and I hated it! I really wish it didn't because it sounds like the perfect book, but I had way too many problems with it to enjoy it.

Summer Days & Summer Nights ed. by Stephanie Perkins: I really enjoyed My True Love Gave to Me, but I ended up DNFing this one. So many of the stories were so bloody depressing until it eventually got to the point where I realised I didn't care anymore. I did enjoy Leigh Bardugo's story, so I'm planning to read Six of Crows this year.

Which books made your list this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | Best Books of 2016

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 'Top Ten Best Books Of 2016'! Now as many of you may know, 2016 hasn't been a great reading year for me at all. I think we can all agree that 2016 has been a bit of a crap year in general, and unfortunately a busy job and generally feeling low have meant I haven't been reading as avidly as I'd like to. I read half the amount of books I read last year, and so many books were a lot more underwhelming or disappointing than I would have liked them to be, so I have a top eight rather than a top ten. I could have picked another two, but I decided just to go with the books that have actually stuck with me this year in some way or another!

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison: This one's a re-read after I read it for the very first time last year, in fact I re-read it twice this year: I read the paperback and also listened to the audiobook and I loved every minute of it. It's still one of my all-time favourite books, and I'm confident I'll be reading it again in 2017, too.

The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig: This one was such a pleasant surprise. I loved the sound of the premise so I was sure I was going to like it, but I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought I was going to. It was a real adventure, and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on The Ship Beyond Time.

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: I think we all know by now that I adored Moreno-Garcia's debut Signal to Noise, so her second novel was my most anticipated read of this year and I really enjoyed it. It's the first vampire novel I've read in a while that felt fresh and new, and I can't wait for her next novel!

Soulless by Gail Carriger: I'm glad 2016 was the year I finally read some Gail Carriger and it was so much fun. I'm planning to finish this series and then I'm looking forward to reading Carriger's other work.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn: This was a strange one in that I finished it I was a little disappointed with the ending, but I also haven't been able to stop thinking about this book since I finished it and the more I think about it the more I appreciate just how brilliantly plotted it is. I didn't care for Flynn's debut, Sharp Objects, but I think this is a fantastic thriller.

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney: I had a very similar experience as Dark Places with this one, too. After I finished it I felt a bit underwhelmed, but like Dark Places I haven't been able to stop thinking about it and I think it's actually a really well put together novel and a perfect read for those cold winter months.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng: Probably the best book I read this year. It's heartbreaking but it's so, so beautiful and another one that's plotted so well. I can't recommend it enough!

Sofia Khan is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik: One of the best adult contemporary novels I've read in a long time. This was so much fun to read but was also really thought-provoking in places and just a really good book. I'm looking forward to The Other Half of Happiness!

Which books made your list this week?

Olympic Book Tag

The 2016 Olympic Games begin this Friday, which is bizarre; it feels like only yesterday I was watching the 2012 opening ceremony and Rio seemed so far away. How time flies.

Despite not being sporty in the slightest I do enjoy watching bits of the Olympics and luckily, for unfit bookworms such as myself, the lovely Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight has created an Olympic Book Tag so people like me can get involved with the celebrations without breaking out into a sweat, tears or any other kind of bodily fluid.

So, without further ado, let's do the Olympic Book Tag!

I actually found this really difficult to answer, because it's very rarely that I love a book from the very first page. Some of my favourite books in the world I wasn't sure about when I first started reading them, and some books I hate I thought I was going to enjoy when I read the first page. In the end I decided to go with My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland, because it was just what I needed when I read it and, from the very first page, I was invested, interested and entertained.

Technically it's more of a space trip than a road trip, but the title says it all: Becky Chambers' gorgeous debut really is about the long way to a small, angry planet. I love this book, and I can't wait to read A Closed and Common Orbit!

I really don't like love triangles, so I can't answer this one. I'm sure there are some brilliantly written ones somewhere but they're not something I enjoy reading at all.

I enjoyed Transformations, I love poetry that's inspired by fairy tales, but I'm still learning how to understand poetry; I read fiction and non-fiction way more than I read poetry, something I'm trying to rectify, so when I do read poetry I don't always understand it the first time around...

You can't get more summery than a summer-themed anthology! Honestly this anthology is a lot gloomier than I expected it to be considering how cutesy the cover is, so I'd recommend My True Love Gave to Me over this one.

There's a lot more violence in Dark Places than I was expecting, but it suits what's essentially a violent story. I wasn't keen on Gillian Flynn's debut, Sharp Objects, but this book is brilliant.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Fingersmith is the twistiest, turniest book I've ever read, and it's fantastic. Check out Sarah Waters if you haven't already!

I'm still not over it.

One of my favourite novels of all time, The Goblin Emperor's like a rich, delicious bar of chocolate you have to savour to enjoy. To be honest whenever I read this book I speed through it because I love it so much, but it's certainly slower than a lot of the more action-packed fantasy books out there.

I adored The Rainbow Fish when I was a little girl - it's one of the first books I can remember reading, or having read to me, along with The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and I think I actually liked this one more than The Very Hungry Caterpillar...

If you didn't know already I love guinea pigs, so what could be more perfect than A Guinea Pig Pride & Prejudice?

I know it's basically SFF blasphemy, but I really didn't enjoy Among Others and I had to force myself to finish it. Check out my review here if you'd like to know more about my thoughts on it!

Whose friendship could possibly be better than Harry, Ron and Hermione's? I love these three dorks, and this series, a hell of a lot.

All three of these books are on my TBR! Dark Mermaids is a crime thriller that features Olympic swimmers who, rather topically, were doped by their government; The Fair Fight is all about 18th century female boxers; and Eat Sweat Play is a non-fiction book about the role of sport in women's lives.

Thanks to Shannon for creating a great tag, and if you want to do it then do it! I'd love to see your answers.

Book vs. Adaptation | Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Dark Places is Gillian Flynn's second novel and was published in 2009, the film adaptation followed in 2015 after the success of the 2014 adaptation of Gone Girl. You can check out my review of the book here!

After Gone Girl pretty much took over the world it seemed only natural that filmmakers would be quick to snap another of Gillian Flynn's novels to adapt. Dark Places was the novel of choice - though I believe Sharp Objects is getting a television adaptation - and honestly I'm surprised I didn't see this advertised everywhere. Either I just wasn't looking for it, because at the time of its release I'd never read any of Flynn's work, or the marketing was kind of poor.

This year I finally dove into Flynn's work. So far I've read Dark Places and Sharp Objects, which I've also reviewed here, and I still haven't decided if I'm going to pick up Gone Girl. I think it's inevitable that I will at some point, but I think I need a bit of a break from Flynn's worryingly dark brain before I do.

While I wasn't a fan of Sharp Objects, I did really enjoy Dark Places - in fact after I read it I realised I'd actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I had - and because I think we can all agree that Charlize Theron is basically a goddess I was eager to check out the film adaptation. I love watching a good crime drama, I watch a lot more crime fiction than I read, and I enjoyed watching this one, too. Is it as good as the book? No. Is it still pretty good all the same? Yes.

First thing's first: if you have read the book (and personally I think you should read the book first because there's a lot more to get out of it) don't go into the adaptation expecting the characters to look at all like they're described. Charlize Theron looks like... well, Charlize Theron, but she's still a great actress. Actually I forget how good an actress she is until I see her in something and I'm reminded that she's hella talented, and she's brilliant as Libby.

Most of the changes between the book and the film, and there are changes as there always are when it comes to adapting a story into a different medium, involved cutting things out that would have made the film too long. The basics are there and a lot of it's done well; Charlize Theron is a very good Libby, but I think the cast as a whole played their parts well, even Chloe Grace Moretz made a character I wasn't entirely sure I believed in the book a lot more plausible. That being said, I'm not sure I would have understood the film as well as I did if I hadn't read the book first. Obviously I can't know for certain that that's true - I can't erase the book from my memory and watch the film again - but something about the film felt a little... lacking compared to the book. It's not a bad film at all, but there's no doubt that the book is better.

Ultimately if you're a fan of the book I think this is a decent adaptation and one that you'll enjoy. If you haven't read the book I recommend you do simply because you're missing out on a very good book, but this is still a great film if you just want to curl up with some popcorn and try to figure out whether the butler did it or not.

Review | Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Sharp Objects

by Gillian Flynn

My Rating: 

When two girls are abducted and killed in Missouri, journalist Camille Preaker is sent back to her home town to report on the crimes. Long-haunted by a childhood tragedy and estranged from her mother for years, Camille suddenly finds herself installed once again in her family's mansion, reacquainting herself with her distant mother and the half-sister she barely knows - a precocious 13-year-old who holds a disquieting grip on the town. As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims - a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.

I was bitten by the Flynn bug.

If you saw my review of Dark Places you'll know I finally read some Gillian Flynn, and that I didn't love it as much as I'd hoped I would. On reflection, however, I'm thinking of bumping Dark Places from a 3 star read to a 4 star read because I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I finished it, and I do genuinely think that Libby Day is one of the best heroines I've read in a while.

Naturally, when I realised I had actually enjoyed Dark Places more than I thought, I decided it was about time I picked up Sharp Objects. I'm not all that interested in Gone Girl, but as Sharp Objects sounded like the kind of small-town, Southern Gothic story that I like to read I was really eager to dive in. And I really wasn't a fan.

Unlike Dark Places I don't think this is going to be a case of me misjudging my feelings, because I haven't thought about Sharp Objects other than to think 'man, that was effed up'. Seriously if you're feeling a little fragile, do not go anywhere near this book. It's so depressing!

Obviously I wasn't expecting sunshine and rainbows. There were lots of depressing bits in Dark Places too, but in Dark Places they felt like they were there for a reason. Sharp Objects, perhaps because it's Flynn's debut novel, simply feels as though it's been written fucked up for the sake of being fucked up. I found this story so difficult to believe.

Sharp Objects reminded me a little of Carrie in that it's set in a small American town with a freaky, obsessive mother and her abused daughter, but I actually found Carrie easier to believe. It's a book about telekinesis, and I don't even like Stephen King's work that much.

I was hoping for so much more from this book. Parts of it were interesting, such as Camille being a journalist who hated having to do a lot of the things that journalists find themselves doing, such as hounding bereaved family members for quotes after a murder has occurred, but I couldn't quite understand why she also had to be a fairly poor journalist. Why couldn't she be a brilliant writer who didn't like the nitty gritty parts of the job, because as someone who doesn't like being a journalist and also isn't the best writer around I struggled to understand how she still had a job. Her boss feeling sorry for her just isn't a good enough reason for me.

And then there are her mother and her terrifying younger sister. Her mother was a fairly decent villain, but her sister made no sense to me whatsoever. How the hell has this kid gotten away with her behaviour? One minute she's playing with a doll's house and the next she's taking drugs, and while part of me liked that juxtaposition between childhood and adulthood, I just couldn't believe that any town would consider it normal for 13 year old girls to go to house parties and have sex with several 18 year old guys.

It's worth mentioning that if you don't like to read books that feature underrage sex and/or sexual assault, I wouldn't recommend you go near Sharp Objects. There's nothing particularly graphic, but there's also no way that any 13 year old girl can give any kind of consent.

Honestly this was almost a 1 star read for me because, after Dark Places, I just didn't like it at all. I only ended up giving it 2 stars because Flynn, unlike Camille, is a brilliant writer. I mean, hey, I still finished the book, didn't I?

I feel like you really have to suspend your disbelief to enjoy this book, and I'm not quite prepared to do that with my crime novels. I want my crime novels to freak me out because I believe they could happen, not because the protagonist's sister reads like one of the twins from The Shining.

Review | Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Dark Places

by Gillian Flynn

My Rating: 

Libby Day was just seven years old when her evidence put her fifteen-year-old brother behind bars.

Since then, she has been drifting. But when she is contacted by a group who are convinced of Ben's innocence, Libby starts to ask questions she never dared to before. Was the voice she heard her brother's? Ben was a misfit in their small town, but was he capable of murder? Are there secrets to uncover at the family farm or is Libby deluding herself because she wants her brother back?

She begins to realise that everyone in her family had something to hide that day... especially Ben. Now, twenty-four years later, the truth is going to be even harder to find.

Who did massacre the Day family?

I did it. I finally read a Gillian Flynn novel. I don't tend to read crime/thriller books that often, but whenever I do I always enjoy the process of reading them; there's something interactive about a thriller because you can come up with your own theories while you read, or, if you're like me, think of what you might do if you were in such a dire situation.

I'd been meaning to read something of Gillian Flynn's for a while, though in all honesty Gone Girl is the one novel of hers I'm the least interested in reading. I'll probably pick it up eventually, but Dark Places and Sharp Objects appeal to me more. Then I happened to find a brand new copy of Dark Places for only £1.99, so which of her novels I was going to read first was settled.

And? Well, I have very mixed feelings about this book, so much so that I'm still not sure about my rating.

Firstly, it's no secret that Flynn likes to write about unlikable people, and I don't have a problem with that; if an unlikable character is written well then I'll still care about what happens to them, and boy is Dark Places brimming with unlikable characters. But they're also very real characters for the most part. I know some people really didn't like Libby, but I loved her; she's written so well and I could understand how she is the person she is. In fact that's something Flynn does very well; Dark Places is full of characters whose lives were changed by one little thing, a simple lie at the wrong time and shit hits the fan, as it so often does in life.

I liked how we got to see from several points of view throughout the novel. We follow Libby, and then every other chapter we follow Ben, her brother, or Patty, her mother, through the day leading up to the murders. What I loved about this was how cleverly Flynn weaved everything together, so every now and then something would happen that I realised would lead to something terrible later on and I'd find myself saying 'oh no, don't do that!' If a book can make me react like that, then it's written very well.

I really can't fault Flynn's writing. She certainly isn't afraid to explore the darker, grittier, twisted side of human nature, and she does it very well.

Unfortunately, I just wasn't a fan of the big reveal at the end. When we finally find out what happened to Libby's family, and we do find out, I thought it was just too much, bordering on the unbelievable. It's very difficult to talk about without spoiling anything, and I know a lot of people love this book so I'm probably in the minority here, but let's just say I wasn't that impressed with the outcome. For me the ending was disappointing because I felt as though it came out of the blue; a few characters made decisions that made no sense to me whatsoever, but I know some readers will love that. Ultimately it's all subjective!

I'd quite like to check out the film adaptation, especially as it has the brilliant Charlize Theron in the starring role, and I'm definitely interested in checking out more of Flynn's work; I'm still not that interested in Gone Girl, but I'd like to read Sharp Objects at some point because I've heard it described as having elements of the Southern Gothic to it, and I love me a bit of Southern Gothic. Plus Flynn will be writing a retelling of Hamlet for the Hogarth Shakespeare series which should be a lot of fun.

I didn't love Dark Places, but I did enjoy reading it and I would recommend it. If you have a strong stomach.

Top Ten Tuesday | All I Want for Christmas is Books

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 'Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree This Year'. Like most book bloggers, I'm sure, the things I ask for most when Christmas rolls around are new books. When I was younger I used to ask for a huge pile of books, but now that I'm older I don't expect to find as much under the tree which, of course, is perfectly normal - my poor parents have paid for enough! Nowadays I tend to receive money a lot more which is ideal for me; I already own a lot of books so people are unsure what to get me, so getting a bit of money means I can treat myself to whatever I've been after without specifically asking for something and ruining the magic of the surprise.

So, this week I've split my list! The first half are books I'd like to receive, and the second half are books I plan on treating myself to very soon.

Books I'd Like to Receive

Peter and Alice by John Logan: John Logan is the writer behind Penny Dreadful, one of my favourite shows, but before he was a screenwriter (he also wrote the scripts for Gladiator and Skyfall!) he was a playwright. I love the sound of this play, which is about a fictional meeting between Alice Liddell and Peter Llewelyn Davies, who were the real-life inspirations for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Peter Pan.

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston: First of all, I think that cover is gorgeous, and second of all I've heard some brilliant things about this one, including a rave review from my friend Natalie @ A Sea Change.

Public Library and Other Stories by Ali Smith: This collection of stories are all about why books are so important to us. As a book lover, I'm sure you can understand why I want to get my hands on a copy of this. Plus I keep meaning to read some Ali Smith.

The Lake House by Kate Morton: I've been after a copy of The Lake House ever since I saw this interview with Kate Morton over on Pan Macmillan's YouTube channel!

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi: This memoir is about an Iranian teacher who began a reading group with seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics. It sounds amazing.

Books I'd Like to Buy

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden is one of my favourite classics, but the only copy I own is an old, battered copy that's full of my notes from university. I'd really like to treat myself to this beautiful Penguin Threads edition - it's so pretty!

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn: I really want to check out some of Gillian Flynn's novels after I read The Grownup earlier this year, and while I've heard a lot of great things about Gone Girl I'm actually a lot more intrigued by her debut novel, Sharp Objects. Besides, if Gone Girl is her best novel yet I might as well start from the beginning and make my way through her work that way!

Let Me Tell You: New Stories, Essays, and Other Writings by Shirley Jackson: Shirley Jackson's my favourite horror writer, and this year a new collection of some previously unseen stories and non-fiction was published, edited by her son and daughter. I think it has a gorgeous cover, and I really want it for my growing Jackson collection!

Worlds Elsewhere: Journeys Around Shakespeare's Globe by Andrew Dickson: Expect to see a lot of Shakespeare around in 2016, as it marks 400 years since his death. In this book Andrew Dickson explores Shakespeare's impact all around the world, and why he's still so popular - it sounds really interesting, and if you've been following my blog for a while you'll know this year is the year I've really gotten into non-fiction.

Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon: Another non-fiction book about two fascinating ladies. Mary Shelley is one of my heroes - I think Frankenstein is a masterpiece - and Mary Wollstonecraft is a woman I want to learn more about, so this book sounds very cool.

Which books made your list this week?

Monthly Wrap-Up | November 2015

November was a fairly mixed month for me. I can't believe it's December already!

Bitch Planet, Vol.1: Extraordinary Machine

by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro

Demon Road

by Derek Landy

Winter

by Marissa Meyer

A Guinea Pig Pride & Prejudice

by Jane Austen and Alex Goodwin

Sky Goddesses of Dryden, Vols. I-IV

by Laura Konrad and Danielle Evert

Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale

by Catherine Orenstein

Copperhead, Vol.2

by Jay Faerber, Scott Godlewski and Ron Riley

Disturbance
by Ivy Alvarez

The Falconer
by Elizabeth May

The Grownup
by Gillian Fynn

The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science is still a Boys' Club
by Eileen Pollack

I read ten books in October, and somehow I managed to read eleven in November. Don't ask me how! The Lunar Chronicles finally came to an end with the arrival of my most anticipated release of this year, Winter, and I ended up reading a lot of good books this month - there were no books I didn't like, which is always nice!

My sister, brother-in-law and I went to see Mockingjay Part 2 together in November, and I enjoyed it! I really like what Francis Lawrence has done with the series, and given how sceptical I was about Mockingjay being divided into two I actually think it was done really well and the cast were superb. As with all adaptations there were parts of it that I didn't like as much as others, but as a whole I think it was a very good adaptation!

I was pleasantly surprised by a new period drama in November. Whenever I see the word 'Frankenstein' in the title of a drama I'm immediately wary - there has never been a decent adaptation of Frankenstein - but The Frankenstein Chronicles isn't an adaptation of the book, in fact one of the characters is Mary Shelley, played by the wonderful Anna Maxwell Martin.

The Frankenstein Chronicles is set around nine years after the publication of Frankenstein, and children, sewn together from various body parts, are being found dumped around London. At a time when science and religion are constantly butting heads, it's up to John Marlott, played by Sean Bean, to find out who's committing these monstrosities before all of London discovers what's happening.

If you're in the UK it's on ITV Encore on Wednesday nights t 9pm, and Thursday nights at 10pm. Those of you outside the UK, I have no idea if the drama's already out there or if it's going to be, but if you have the chance to watch it then do - it's surprisingly good!

Winter

by Marissa Meyer

Demon Road

by Derek Landy

The Falconer

by Elizabeth May

The Grownup

by Gillian Flynn

The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science is still a Boys' Club

by Eileen Pollack

Sci-Fi Month | Is Alien Gothic?

Book vs. Adaptation | Carrie by Stephen King

Sci-Fi Month | Do the Undead Breathe New Life into our Classics?

Film Recommendations for Austen Fans

Adult Fiction for YA Readers

November has been a month of highs and lows for me. Earlier in the month my sister and I went to see Imagine Dragons in Cardiff, and they were amazing. I bought tickets for us for my sister's birthday, so we'd been waiting to go and see them since February.

They were so good live and they put on an excellent show - I definitely want to see them again in future, and I'm glad my sister liked her birthday present. It was nice to spend an evening with her; she's ten years older than me, so she's married and has two daughters of her own, so I don't get her all to myself that often.

Throughout November I took part in Rinn @ Rinn Reads' Sci-Fi Month. I didn't read as much as I hoped I would, but I wrote a couple of blog posts I really enjoyed writing and I managed to get a couple of reviews up. I even took a picture of my Lunar Chronicles books on Instagram, and it ended up getting used in an article on Bustle!

November was also my last month at work as my contract came to an end. I was hired as an Administration and Marketing Assistant at the independent publishers, Seren Books, for a year to help organise the centenary celebrations of WW2 writer, Alun Lewis.

My colleagues and I went for lunch and they got me a lovely card and some unicorn-themed gifts; I think of everything it's the other people at Seren I'm going to miss most. I really enjoyed my year in publishing - I basically ended up single-handedly updating the blog, which I really enjoyed doing - and I spent a lot of November applying for new jobs.

I ended up getting an interview for a writing job that I really wanted in the city I went to university, where I still have a lot of friends, but unfortunately I didn't get the job and I'm pretty bummed about it. So right now I'm feeling a little down and a little lost, but I'm sure I'll feel more optimistic when I've stopped feeling sorry for myself. For now, though, I'm going to allow myself a couple of days to just be sad.

Vlora @ Reviews and Cake talked about Why She Doesn't Go to the Library

Jamie @ The Perpetual Page-Turner talked about her Insecurities Then Vs. Now

Kaja @ Of Dragons and Hearts talked about giving authors Second Chances

Amanda @ Of Spectacles and Books talked about Cinderella and the Marginalized

What did you get up to in November?