G is for Grant | Blogging from A to Z

Feed
by Mira Grant

Ah, here it is: my favourite book of 2014. People who've been following my blog for a while are probably sick of me gushing about it, but I'm not going to stop talking about this book until I've gotten more people reading it. And hopefully loving it, too.

I adored this book. Adored it. I'm not a big reader of zombie books at all, but Feed isn't your typical zombie book - in fact I'm not even sure I'd class it as a zombie book because it's less about blood and guts and killing zombies and more about how the world would react to this kind of virus. Grant's attention to detail in this book is just stunning, and in Georgia Mason she's created one of my all time favourite heroines. Georgia made me want to trust journalists, that's how much I love her.

I'm not gonna lie, it's not all that hard for me to get emotional; give me a heartbreaking scene in a book or a film and the likelihood is I'm going to tear up. There have only been a few books, however, that have made me sob, and Feed was one such book. This book broke me - in fact I'm fairly certain I cried more over this than I did The Book Thief, and I cried quite a lot over The Book Thief.

I've since made it my mission to read as much of Grant's work as possible, because I just think she's fabulous. I still need to read Blackout, the final book in the Newsflesh trilogy, which I haven't finished yet because I don't want this trilogy to end, and also because both Feed and Deadline made me cry and I'm not sure I can take any more heartbreak. Grant also writes under her real name - Seanan McGuire - and has written an urban fantasy series following a changeling, October Daye. I have the first book in that series, Rosemary and Rue, and I'm looking forward to reading it soon!

Basically Feed is amazing. Read it.

Characters I'd Invite to Christmas Dinner! | Twelve Days of Christmas!

My Twelve Days of Christmas continue, and today I thought it'd be fun to do a Christmassy version of a tag that was wandering around the world of Booktube a while ago: The Literary Dinner Party Tag. The original tag, in which you select various literary characters you'd invite to a dinner party, gave you eleven characters, but I've added an extra one for the sake of keeping up with the twelve theme!

I've kept some of the character types you have to choose from the original tag, but also added/altered a few just for my own enjoyment. And if any other bloggers out there want to give it a try then please do!

So, without further ado, let us begin!

1) One character can can/likes to cook

Perhaps a bit of a weird choice, but I would invite Hannibal Lecter. As long as you're not rude he's a perfect gent even though he's a cannibal. Plus in my head Hannibal looks like Mads Mikkelsen, who portrays him in the show and makes my mouth water (hurr hurr hurr). If you've seen the show then you'll know what I mean when I say the way he cooks people looks delicious.

2) One character who owns a house/estate/apartment/palace where you would like to host your dinner

I'd go with Chandresh from The Night Circus. Just imagine eating your dinner in that circus, and you'd have some great entertainment!

3) One character who would bring the best presents

Maybe a bit of an odd choice, but Sherlock Holmes. He's done so many bizarre things and been to so many different places that I feel as though he'd just have an accumulation of weird stuff to hand out to people at Christmas.

4) One hero

Harry from the Harry Potter series. That guy must have had so many awful Christmases as a child that I'd love to invite him over for a great party.

5) One heroine

Georgia Mason from the Newsflesh trilogy. I love her, and I'd love to have a conversation with her.

6) One villain

Jude from the Noughts & Crosses series. I suppose it's debatable as to whether or not this guy is really a villain, but he certainly ain't pleasant. Having said that he always fascinated me, so I'd be interested in listening to what he had to say for himself.

7) One romantic couple

Cinder and Kai from The Lunar Chronicles. I love these two a lot.

8) One non-romantic couple

Katniss and Prim from The Hunger Games. These girls need some good food to eat.

9) One under-appreciated character

Rubeus Hagrid. Such an awesome guy who gets barely any credit, why Harry and Ginny named their son after Dumbledore and Snape and not this guy I'll never understand.

10) One character of your own choosing

I will always love Sirius Black, so he'd be given that extra seat at my dinner table.

If you'd like to have a go at this then go for it! I'd love to see what your answers would be.

My Favourite Sci-Fi Heroines | Sci-Fi Month 2014

Sci-Fi Month continues! Today I'm going to be talking about my personal Top 5 Science Fiction Heroines. I love me some female protagonists, in fact if I pick up a book while I'm out shopping and I don't find the slightest sniff of a female character in the blurb I will not buy that book. I've got nothing against male protagonists, but I'm 23 and I'm tired of sausage fests.

Linh Cinder from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: I love The Lunar Chronicles. Since reading Cinder I've become a lot more confident in reading sci-fi, and Cinder has become one of my favourite heroines. After spending so many years convincing myself that I wouldn't be welcome in the science fiction fanbase, it always seemed so male-orientated when I was younger, it's been a real joy to stumble across a series like The Lunar Chronicles, which has not one, but four heroines. There's a heroine for everyone in this series, which I love, but Cinder is most definitely my personal favourite.

Cosima Niehaus from Orphan Black: Another story with a heroine for everyone. I started watching Orphan Black earlier this year and I love it! Tatiana Maslany is the most amazing actress and I love all of the clones, but there's just something about Cosima which always makes her the first clone I think of when I think about the show. She's adorable; I love her passion for science and I really wish my hair looked like hers.

Georgia Mason from the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant: For those of you who have been following my blog for a while this should come as no surprise. I adore the Newsflesh trilogy, and after reading Feed earlier this year Georgia quickly became one of my favourite heroines of all time. Who knew anyone could love a journalist so much!

Sarah Connor from the Terminator series: I grew up watching the Terminator films with my Dad, and no matter how many times I watch it I never get tired of Terminator 2. What I love about Sarah is that she's actually incredibly flawed, and yet she's still an incredibly competent, resilient, tough lady. For an action heroine of the early 90s she's awesome; she isn't put into a box as a hardcore, emotionless bitch, but she's also far from typically feminine. I have a lot of time for Sarah Connor, and I was very disappointed when she didn't make an appearance in Terminator 3!

Inara Serra from Firefly: Ah, the show that was cancelled before its time. Like Orphan Black, this is another show with a cast of characters who are difficult to compare because all of them are likable and dislikable for completely separate reasons. I love the women in Firefly; Kaylee is adorable, Zoe's fantastic and River's a sweetie (albeit an annoying one). Any one of them could have made my list, but what I love about Inara is the way she challenges the stereotypes we have surrounding sexuality and getting paid for one's 'services'. Plus she always wears the prettiest dresses.

Are there any heroines of sci-fi that you love?

Books I Want Adaptations Of!

Book adaptations have been everywhere over the past few years, and this year has seen plenty; from Hannibal to Outlander to The Maze Runner.

I love adaptations, I'm always fascinated by what different directors and actors and screenwriters do with the stories we know and love; I can't wait to see Francis Lawrence's adaptations of Mockingjay and I was ecstatic when I learned that Bryan Fuller is involved with the adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods.

That being said, there are still a few books out there that I would love to see adaptations of, and today I thought I'd share them with you!

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while will know that back in May I read Mira Grant's Feed, the first book in her Newsflesh trilogy, and loved it. It broke my heart, but I loved it, and I think it would make a brilliant television show. I wouldn't want to squeeze this story into a 90 minute film, and considering each section of the book starts with a quote from Georgia or Shaun's blog I think they'd be great episode openers. I know I'd watch it!

C. J. Sansom's Dissolution, the first in his Shardlake series, is another book I think would make a great television drama. I love a good historical drama, and historical crime is especially fun! Considering this particular book takes place in the creepy, confined space of a monastery I think it'd be a lot of fun to watch. Dissolution was in fact adapted for BBC Radio 4 in 2012, but sadly I hadn't read the book then and had no idea it had been dramatised - I wish the BBC would make it available to listen to again!


I had to read Haroun and the Sea of Stories during my first year of university, and I highly recommend it if you're a lover of stories - this book is so much fun! It's bizarre, but it's brilliant, and I think it would make a fantastic Studio Ghibli film. Sadly Studio Ghibli has recently said that they are taking a break from animated films, but hopefully that break won't be a long one because their animation is just stunning. When they decide to return to animation, I'd love to see an adaptation of Haroun and the Sea of the Stories; they did a wonderful job with Howl's Moving Castle, so I'd love to see them interpret this book!

Anne Brontë's Agnes Grey is one of my favourite classics. I'm not entirely sure why I love it so much, I just do, and yet it doesn't have a single adaptation aside from another by BBC Radio 4 which I did manage to listen to. It was only an hour long, which I can understand because the book itself isn't long at all when we compare it to other Victorian novels, and while I did enjoy it I'd love to see Agnes come to life on my screen. I love a good period drama, and I think Agnes Grey would make a lovely one!


All of us are guilty of a good old chick flick every now and then, those feel good, comfort films that we put on when we need cheering up, we feel ill or we just want to have a laugh, and I'd love to see someone make a chick flick out of Elizabeth Noble's Things I Want My Daughters to Know. I don't know what it is about this book exactly, I just loved it a lot when I first read it. It's the kind of book that can make you both laugh and cry in the space of a few minutes, and it handles quite a sensitive storyline in a really lovely way. With the right director I think this book would make a very sweet film.

Are there any books you'd like to see adaptations of, or do you prefer your stories to stay on the page?

J.

Stories & Songs

For those of us who love books, the stories and characters we adore never leave us when we close the book, instead they follow us around and sometimes even influence what we do and the choices we make. Sometimes, when you're sat relaxing with your iPod and your headphones, a song starts to play that reminds you of a story or a certain character, and before you know it you can't listen to that song without remembering that particular book.

It's certainly happened to me more than once, so today I thought I'd share with you a small selection of songs that make me think of some of my favourite books!

Feed

by Mira Grant

"O Children"

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Pass me that lovely little gun

My dear, my darling one

The cleaners are coming, one by one

You don't even want to let them start

They are knocking now upon your door

They measure the room, they know the score

They're mopping up the butcher's floor

Of your broken little hearts

O children

Forgive us now for what we've done

It started out as a bit of fun

Here, take these before we run away

The keys to the gulag

O children

Lift up your voice, lift up your voice

Children

Rejoice, rejoice

The Gargoyle

by Andrew Davidson

"Iris"

The Goo Goo Dolls

And I'd give up forever to touch you

'Cause I know that you feel me somehow

You're the closest to Heaven that I'll ever be

And I don't wanna go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment

And all I can breathe is your life

When sooner or later it's over

I just don't wanna miss you tonight

And I don't want the world to see me

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

Blood Red Road

by Moira Young

"Barton Hollow"

The Civil Wars

I'm a dead man walking here

But that's the least of all my fears

Ooh, underneath the water

It's not Alabama clay

That gives my trembling hands away

Please forgive me father

Ain't going back to Barton Hollow

Devil gonna follow me e'er I go

Won't do me no good washing in the river

Can't no preacher man save my soul

Hannibal

by Thomas Harris

"Drumming Song"

Florence + the Machine

There's a drumming noise inside my head

That starts when you're around

I swear that you could hear it

It makes such an almighty sound

There's a drumming noise inside my head

That throws me to the ground

I swear that you should hear it

It makes such an almighty sound

Louder than sirens

Louder than bells

Sweeter than Heaven

And hotter than Hell

I ran to a tower where the church bells chime

I hoped that they would clear my mind

They left a ringing in my ear

But that drum's still beating loud and clear

Catching Fire

by Suzanne Collins

"Glory and Gore"

Lorde

There's a humming in the restless summer air

And we're slipping off the course that we prepared

But in all chaos, there is calculation

Dropping glasses just to hear them break

You've been drinking like the world was gonna end 

(it didn't)

Took a shiner from the fist of your best friend

(go figure)

It's clear that someone's gotta go

We mean it but I promise we're not mean

And the cry goes out

They lose their minds for us

And how it plays out

Now we're in the ring

And we're coming for blood

You could try and take us

But we're the gladiators

Everyone a rager

But secretly they're saviours

Glory and gore go hand in hand

That's why we're making headlines

You could try and take us

But victory's contagious

July Reads!

This month I gave myself a fairly ambitious TBR and then fell into a horrible reading slump, so next month I'm going to set myself less to read with the hope that that somehow helps me to read more. Reverse psychology's weird.

All three of the books on my TBR this month are books I'm already a substantial amount of the way through, and I want to finish them soon!

Deadline

by Mira Grant

Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the news organization he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn't seem as fun when you've lost as much as he has. 

But when a CDC researcher fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun has a newfound interest in life. Because she brings news-he may have put down the monster who attacked them, but the conspiracy is far from dead. 

Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun.

Equal Rites

by Terry Pratchett

The last thing the wizard Drum Billet did, before Death laid a bony hand on his shoulder, was to pass on his staff of power to the eighth son of an eighth son. Unfortunately for his colleagues in the chauvinistic (not to say misogynistic) world of magic, he failed to check on the new-born baby's sex...

The Tenderness of Wolves

by Stef Penney

1867, Canada: as winter tightens its grip on the isolated settlement of Dove River, a man is brutally murdered and a 17-year old boy disappears. Tracks leaving the dead man's cabin head north towards the forest and the tundra beyond. In the wake of such violence, people are drawn to the township - journalists, Hudson's Bay Company men, trappers, traders - but do they want to solve the crime or exploit it? 

One-by-one the assembled searchers set out from Dove River, pursuing the tracks across a desolate landscape home only to wild animals, madmen and fugitives, variously seeking a murderer, a son, two sisters missing for 17 years, a Native American culture, and a fortune in stolen furs before the snows settle and cover the tracks of the past for good.

What are you planning to read in July?

J.

What's Up Wednesday! | 18/06/14

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!

This week I'm back to participating in WUW after taking a week out last week, purely because last week was so boring there was nothing worth sharing with all of you lovely people!

What I'm Reading

After a horrible slump brought on by a sudden onslaught of uni work, this week I've slowly started to get back into reading. On Monday I read Polly Bloom's Old Wives' Lore: A Book of Old-Fashioned Tips & Remedies, which is a little non-fiction book that does what it says on the tin. It probably sounds like a bit of an odd read, but for someone who's currently writing a novel about a woman who works as a healer this book was actually full of some pretty useful information. Not to mention it taught me that haemorrhoids may have played a part in the outcome of the Battle of the Waterloo...

I'm hoping I'll get back into Mira Grant's Deadline this week as I haven't continued with it for over two weeks now! It's not the book's fault at all, I'm loving the Newsflesh trilogy, uni just got on top of me for a while and every time I considered reading for fun I felt as though I wasn't allowed. It's not a good feeling.

What I'm Writing

This week I'm actually going to be having a go at writing one of the climactic scenes of my WIP, which seems a little crazy considering I'm not there yet in terms of where I am in the draft. Not only have I been advised to include one of the climactic scenes in my portfolio for my MA, but recently I've been really stressed (thus my lack of reading etc.) and it made me fall out of love with my WIP. My wonderful coursemates have made me start to fall in love with the idea again, and I think writing one of the scenes I'm really excited to write will help me to write the rest of the novel, too!

I'm also working on a steampunk short story, in which a middle-aged librarian mistakenly sets an assassin on himself, which has been lying around unfinished for far too long!

What Inspires Me Right Now

The other writers on my MA course - they're amazing!

What Else I've Been Up To

Today one of my friends turns 24, so we're spending the day in town looking at all the pretty things we can't afford before a group of us go out for some Thai food this evening - I'm really excited for a stir-fry!

I haven't been up to too much this past week, other than stressing about the future as I so often do - there's something so uneasy about being in your 20's and having no idea where you might be a year from now, but when the thought of life after uni isn't making me want to be a bit sick it's pretty exciting. I just hope I can find a job I can dive straight into; the last thing I want is to be moping around in unemployment.

Other than that, I've started watching the second season of Orphan Black, and I've been incredibly excited since I discovered that Marissa Meyer will be releasing a new book, Fairest, in January, which will delve into the backstory of Levana. You can find out more about it here!

What have you been up to?

Review | Feed by Mira Grant

Feed

by Mira Grant

My Rating: 

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED. Now, twenty years after the Rising, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives - the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will get out, even if it kills them.

Have you ever had a book take you completely by surprise, to the extent that what you thought would end being up a book you enjoyed ended up being a book you adored?

Very recently, Feed was, for me, exactly that kind of book.

I can say without a doubt that Feed is not only one of my favourite reads of 2014, but also one of my favourite reads of all time. I loved this book. So much.

Feed is the first book in the Newsflesh trilogy, and follows bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason, and their friend Buffy, who are hired to follow and cover the presidential campaign of a popular senator. They live in a world in which both cancer and the common cold have been cured, but when these two cures met and mutated they transformed into a virus that reanimates the dead.

Civilisation hasn't collapsed in Feed, at least not in the first world countries, there just happen to be zombies and measures have been taken to prevent the spread of the virus. The amount of detail Grant has poured into this world - from the hygiene procedures to the exclusion of red meat from our diets - is just exquisite, and even though Georgia, our main protagonist, spends a lot of the novel explaining certain things about her society to us I didn't find it boring at all.

What I love about this book is that it's unlike any other zombie story I've come across - in fact I'd even go so far as to say this isn't really a zombie story. There are zombies in it, but Feed is a lot more focused on people and the pursuit of truth. As someone who's always been somewhat cynical when it comes to journalism, this novel gave me renewed hope that there are journalists out there who want to find the truth and tell it.

Throughout the novel there are some very powerful and thought-provoking passages from Georgia's blog, and I loved reading them. Georgia has quickly become one of my favourite heroines. I love how committed she is to her job and to sharing the truth with the world. Her narration was a joy to read; she's funny and honest and just gorgeous. In fact considering this book is a little on the chunky side (my edition is 571 pages) I flew through it! Then again, I'm not usually intimidated by larger books unless the page count gets into the thousands, so keep that in mind if you prefer a 300-400 page read.

The entire cast of side characters in Feed were also a delight. Georgia and Shaun's relationship was lovely, and it was so refreshing to read the first book in a trilogy that didn't hint towards any romance whatsoever. I'm not an enemy of romance by any means, but I love series in which romance doesn't develop instantly, and to be honest it's a nice change to read a series that doesn't prioritise a love story over the quality of the plot.

Feed is also the first book to make me sob - really, really weep - since I read The Book Thief a couple of years ago. It's not unusual for me to cry over a book, but it takes a really good book to make me blub and the ending of this book made me sob my heart out. This book has one of the most shocking endings I have ever come across, and if you plan on reading this trilogy then please don't look into the second or third books until you've finished the first - some editions of the second book include a huge spoiler for the end of the first book in the blurb!

Honestly I have nothing to criticise about this book. It's become one of my favourite books of all time and I'm in love with it. I've heard some readers say the villain of this book was a little too obvious, and while I agree to some extent I found the protagonists' story so exciting that I didn't mind that. What I will say is that I wouldn't recommend this to any reader looking for a 'blood, guts and gore' kind of zombie novel; Feed is less about the zombies and more about how the rest of the world is reacting to them, so it would make a great read for anyone out there who's squeamish but still wants to read a zombie novel.

I love this novel, and this trilogy, and I highly, highly recommend it!

J.

What's Up Wednesday! | 04/06/14

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

I feel like this past week has flown by, it feels like only yesterday I was writing last week's WUW post, and as a result I haven't done any reading this week. I'm still in the middle of Deadline by Mira Grant, somehow I just haven't found the time to read!

What I'm Writing

Today I'm working on more of my novel, but these past few days I've actually been returning to a few pieces of short fiction and some poetry! There's a couple of competitions I'd like to enter - I want to get more of my writing out there! - and there are quite a few short stories lying unfinished in my documents folder that I'd really like to finish. Some of them have been there for over a year!

What Inspires Me Right Now

Yesterday I spent more time than I should have on Pinterest. I love gathering story inspiration there, in fact I have a board for my novel that I fill with pictures and photographs - it's a lot of fun!

Also, shout out to Pinterest who, when I searched for pictures of a noose, put a phone number and website at the top of the page for anyone who might be considering suicide. I know a lot of websites probably do that now, but it still makes me glad when I see it there.

(Don't worry, I'm not suicidal - there were just a lot of nooses in the 16th century!)

What Else I've Been Up To

This week I have not one, but two cinema trips to tell you about!

Last Thursday I went to see Maleficent with a couple of friends, and to be honest I had a very similar experience seeing this as I did to seeing Godzilla: I can't decide how I feel about it yet. I was really hoping for a story that was about a villain that was evil because she liked being evil, I'm a little bored of villains being 'misunderstood'.

That being said there were some elements of the film that I really enjoyed, and even if the story isn't the most original I've seen you should definitely see it for Angelina Jolie's performance. She was a fabulous Maleficent.

Then on Saturday one of my friends came to visit me. We went to Bella Italia for dinner - I had the most amazing cheese and chicken pasta dish that I would have taken a picture of if I hadn't been starving - and then we went to see the new X-Men film. I enjoyed it, but I think I like X-Men: First Class just a little more.

I also recently heard Channing Tatum has been cast as Gambit, and I'm not impressed. Gambit's always been one of my favourites and I'm still not over the fact that he wasn't in the original films. Hopefully Tatum will surprise me with a Gambit-worthy performance.

I've had a very nostalgic week, too. After we went to see X-Men, my friend and I decided to watch The Road to El Dorado; it's one of those films I always seem to end up watching with her, and we know it that well that I'm pretty certain we can quote the entire film at each other. Then I discovered that it's 14 years old this year!

On Monday I made another one of my friends sit down and watch The Lion King because she had a Disney-deprived childhood, and that's when I remembered that The Lion King came out in 1994, making it 20 years old this year. I feel so old!

What's new with you?

Reading Wrap-Up | May 2014

I only got through two books this month because I ended up becoming obsessed with a new trilogy that I'm currently in the middle of finishing, but I enjoyed both of the books I read!

Attachments

by Rainbow Rowell

My Rating: 

"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ?

In May I read my very first Rainbow Rowell book and it was very cute! I've been interested in Attachments for a while now because when it comes to contemporary I tend to read more adult contemporary than YA contemporary, not entirely sure why, though.

Now that I've read this I'm even more eager to read Fangirl and Eleanor & Park to see what Rowell's YA is like. If you're interested in more of my thoughts on Attachments there'll be a review up on Friday!

Feed

by Mira Grant

My Rating: 

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED. Now, twenty years after the Rising, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives - the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will get out, even if it kills them.

And here we have my new obsession. I bought Feed over Easter - it's one of those books I've been seeing in Waterstones for years and kept meaning to pick up - and as soon as I started reading it I loved it. This book is so funny and thought-provoking and sad. I bauled my eyes out when I read the end of this book, in fact I haven't cried that much at the end of a book since I read The Book Thief.

It's the first zombie book I've read and I loved it because the focus isn't really on the zombies, it's more about journalism, politics and the truth, and it's safe to say Georgia Mason is now of my new favourite heroines. I adore her.

I definitely recommend this trilogy (I'm over half-way through Deadline right now and it's just as brilliant) but don't look up either of the second books if you haven't read the first - some versions of them have spoilers in their blurbs!

Those are the two books I read in May, and I'm really not at all bothered I only managed two; I've discovered a fantastic new series, and now I really want to check out Mira Grant's Parasitology books, too.

What did you read in May?

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?

Top Ten Tuesday | Books That Made Me Cry

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 out everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's Top Ten Tuesday theme is a freebie - we can pick our own topic! So, as I'm currently in the middle of a trilogy that's breaking my heart more and more with each page I turn, I thought today would be a fitting time to share with you the top ten books that have made me cry. Unfortunately I could only think of nine, but that'll have to do!

I never used to be much of a crier when it came to books and films, but half way through adolescence I started becoming an emotional wreck whenever I watched or read something which, for whatever reason, really struck a chord with me. There are a lot of instances in which I haven't cried where I probably should - I've never found any of the deaths on Game of Thrones particuarly cry-worthy, nor did I cry while reading Mockingjay - but do something horrible to a character that I love and I'll weep.

So, in the order I read them, here are the ten nine books that made me weep:

Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman
I first read this series, which deals with themes such as race and terrorism, back in my early teens, and it had a huge impact on me. The first book in the series has always been my favourite, though the other three are also brilliant in their own way, and it has the honour of being, to my knowledge, the first ever book that made me cry. This is still one of my all time favourite books, and if you haven't read it you're missing out.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter is always going to be one of my all time favourite series, and as a lover of Sirius Black I'm sure those of you familiar with the series can understand why this book made the list. I'm still not over it.






Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

I'm sure all of you can understand why this book's on the list. Oddly enough I didn't cry because of the deaths in this book, I actually cried because of the epilogue. It was so emotional to see these characters that I'd grown up with leading happy, peaceful lives, and knowing that as soon as I finished reading the epilogue the story I'd followed for the past ten years would be over.



Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

During the first year of my A Levels I studied War Literature, and while Birdsong wasn't on our syllabus we were given it to read by our teacher and I'm so glad we were. If you're familiar with the BBC adaptation but haven't read the book please, please read it; the adaptation was appalling compared to how exquisite this book is. Considering it takes place during WW1 I'm sure you can imagine why this book made it onto my list, and now is the perfect time to read it as this year marks 100 years since the start of the war.


The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

WW2 this time, and I imagine even those of you who haven't read Zusak's masterpiece know someone who has; this book touches everyone who reads it in some way, and I'm not ashamed to say I cried more than once while reading it. If you've yet to read it then do pick it up, but I'd recommend the film adaptation too - it's a great adaptation!



The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

An obvious one, I know. Do I really need to say why this book made me cry? I'm pretty certain everyone in the world has read this book by now. I wouldn't call this book one of my all time favourite books by any means, but all the same I found it very emotional.





Glitches by Marissa Meyer

This is probably a bit of an odd one because it's really more of a short story than a book, but I cried reading this. If you're familiar with The Lunar Chronicles then you've probably read this (but if you haven't Meyer has made it available online here!) and if you're not familiar with The Lunar Chronicles then you need to make yourself familiar with them. It's one of my favourite series, and it's so fun. This is a prime example of what I mentioned earlier: getting emotional over a certain character.

Cinder is one of my favourite fictional heroines (why not check out my Top 5 YA Heroines?) and this story takes place before the events of Cinder when Cinder is a little girl. It just broke my heart to see her so little and so vulnerable and so unloved by the majority of the people around her. I definitely cried.


Feed by Mira Grant

And now we're onto the trilogy I mentioned above as currently being half way through. I can't say too much about this book because the reason it made me cry - and I mean really, really cry - is a huge spoiler for those of you who might want to read it. Those of you who have read this book, however, can probably guess why I cried so much at the end of this book. This is another case of growing attached to a character and then having my heart broken because of it. If you haven't read these books yet please do, I haven't even finished the second book yet but I'm already certain this is one of my new favourite trilogies.


Deadline by Mira Grant

Yep, that's right. The second book made me cry, too. In fact I'm not even half way through this book yet and I've already cried almost as much as I did at the end of the first one. Again, those of you familiar with this book can guess why it's already made me into an emotional wreck. Read this trilogy, but prepare yourself for heartbreak.



So those are the top ten nine books that have made me cry! Which books make you emotional?