I thought I’d do little wrap ups from time to time on Sundays, to summarise what I’ve read during the week and what I’ve been up to!
This week has been slightly uneventful in terms of reading. My mum and I were really busy helping my grandma move house, and so every time I had a break where I could’ve read I was far too tired! I have barely updated my Goodreads this week, as I have been doing odd reading here and there, but not much else!
I’m still reading Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, the third book in the Outlander series. While I am enjoying it, I think I need a bit of break from this series to read other things, as these are VERY long books. I’m loving the story though and I obviously can’t say a lot (I don’t do spoilers), but I definitely want to review Outlander for you guys at some point!
Pages read: 55
Currently on page: 375 of 1072
I also am reading History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera, a contemporary novel following Griffin, whose ex boyfriend and best friend has died in an accident. The novel flips between Griffin and Theo’s relationship in the beginning, and the present day where he has attended Theo’s funeral and meets Jackson, who was dating Theo when he died. I’m really enjoying this so far and I have already cried a few times. It is subtly beautiful and a really great piece of YA fiction, with some great LGBTQ representation and positive family relationships.
Pages read: 73
Currently on page: 73 of 320
Lastly, due to my complete lack of enthusiasm and energy this week I decided to pick up something comforting and fun, so I decided to start Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling for the gazillionth time. There is no question as to whether I’m enjoying this or not, it is my favourite series of all time and – as I read books 1-3 at the start of the year – I decided to pick up where I left off.
Pages read: 45
Currently on page: 45 of 734
As such, my total page count for the week is 173 pages, which I am pretty pleased with. I’m hoping next week to spend a bit more time reading and relaxing as I don’t have much plans, other than seeing Matt Haig at the Edinburgh Book Festival on Friday, which I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT. Maybe next week’s check in will see me having finished one of these books, or maybe even two!
I turned 21 on the 18th of May and was lucky enough to be surrounded by the most amazing people and I can safely say it was the best birthday I’ve had in years. While I was not gifted any books, I received two extremely literary birthday cakes, and I received a gift card for the mothership, Waterstones! And thus, I have a book haul for you guys!
Let’s start with the birthday cakes though…because….cake.
My best friend Lauren had this cake made for me for my birthday. To Kill a Mockingbird is my favourite book of all time and I could not believe my eyes when I saw this cake. I got very emotional and did not enjoy cutting through it with a knife. It was too pretty to eat!
Now that I’ve made you all hungry (sorry!), shall we talk about the books I bought? Yes? Okay!
P.s. If you are interested in any of these books and would like too purchase them for yourself (I don’t blame you), I have linked to their pages on Amazon.
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (published by Vintage, translated by Stephen Snyder).
He is a brilliant maths professor with a peculiar problem – ever since a traumatic head injury seventeen years ago, he has lived with only eighty minutes of short-term memory.
She is a sensitive but astute young housekeeper who is entrusted to take care of him.
Each morning, as the Professor and the Housekeeper are reintroduced to one another, a strange, beautiful relationship blossoms between them. The Professor may not remember what he had for breakfast, but his mind is still alive with elegant equations from the past. He devises clever maths riddles – based on her shoe size or her birthday – and the numbers reveal a sheltering and poetic world to both the Housekeeper and her ten-year-old son. With each new equation, the three lost souls forge an affection more mysterious than imaginary numbers, and a bond that runs deeper than memory. (Goodreads)
Funnily enough, when I was perusing the shelves in Waterstones this book stood out to me for the title. I read the title and automatically (and quite wrongly) assumed that this book was going to be some sort of trashy romance novel. However, when I picked it off of the shelf and sceptically read the synopsis, I bought it without question and took it home and began reading instantly.
I am fascinated by memory and I have recently been studying amnesia and cognitive impairments to memory at university. I also am extremely interested in and love reading about intergenerational friendships and relationships of any sort, as I find these books immensely heartwarming and important, as I myself love socialising and learning from older people. I am 50 pages into this book so far and I adore it!
Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami (published by Harvil Secker, translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen).
Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are vanishing cats and smoky bars, lonely hearts and mysterious women, baseball and the Beatles, woven together to tell stories that speak to us all.
Marked by the same wry humor that has defined his entire body of work, in this collection Murakami has crafted another contemporary classic. (Goodreads)
I have only ever read one book by Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart, and I thoroughly enjoyed his writing and am eager to read more by him. The title of this book intrigues me, as I think it could be very poignant and shed valuable insights on society and on the relationship between genders, showing this through its absence. This book was released this month and so is only available in hardback at the moment, but I love the cover!
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (published by Sphere).
Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination, but an answer.
In heaven, five people explain your life to you. Some you knew, others may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie’s five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his “meaningless” life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: “Why was I here?” (Goodreads)
I have wanted to read this book for some time, as I am extremely taken by this idea of five people who may have been constant or strangers in a person’s life being so integral to retelling their story. I am interested in different perspectives on afterlife and the idea of heaven, as while I don’t necessarily believe in heaven, the notion is both interesting and comforting. I am excited to read this and see if it moves me in the way I expect it to!
Men Without Women by Ernest Hemingway (published by Arrow).
First published in 1927, Men Without Women represents some of Hemingway’s most important and compelling early writing. In these fourteen stories, Hemingway begins to examine the themes that would occupy his later works: the casualties of war, the often uneasy relationship between men and women, sport and sportsmanship. In “Banal Story,” Hemingway offers a lasting tribute to the famed matador Maera. “In Another Country” tells of an Italian major recovering from war wounds as he mourns the untimely death of his wife. “The Killers” is the hard-edged story about two Chicago gunmen and their potential victim. Nick Adams makes an appearance in “Ten Indians,” in which he is presumably betrayed by his Indian girlfriend, Prudence. And “Hills Like White Elephants” is a young couple’s subtle, heartwrenching discussion of abortion. Pared down, gritty, and subtly expressive, these stories show the young Hemingway emerging as America’s finest short story writer. (Goodreads)
I hate to confess it…but I have never read any Hemingway before, which is shocking! I love American literature and American classics, and I thought a short story collection may be the ideal place to start with Hemingway. Also, this book has the same title as the Murakami book I purchased, and I am eager to read them back to back to establish whether Hemingway played a significant role in inspiring Murakami’s work. Can’t wait to read this, plus it is a short book, a quick read.
Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum (published by The New York Review of Books, translated by Basil Creighton).
A grand hotel in the center of 1920s Berlin serves as a microcosm of the modern world in Vicki Baum s celebrated novel, a Weimar-era best seller that retains all its verve and luster today. Among the guests of the hotel is Doctor Otternschlag, a World War I veteran whose face has been sliced in half by a shell. Day after day he emerges to read the paper in the lobby, discreetly inquiring at the desk if the letter he s been awaiting for years has arrived. Then there is Grusinskaya, a great ballerina now fighting a losing battle not so much against age as against her fear of it, who may or may not be made for Gaigern, a sleek professional thief. Herr Preysing also checks in, the director of a family firm that isn t as flourishing as it appears, who would never imagine that Kringelein, his underling, a timorous petty clerk he s bullied for years, has also come to Berlin, determined to live at last now that he s received a medical death sentence. All these characters and more, with all their secrets and aspirations, come together and come alive in the pages of Baum s delicious and disturbing masterpiece.” (Amazon)
I love the sound of this book! I love books set or written in the 1920s, and I have never read anything that would be considered a German modern classic. This sounds mysterious, interesting and decadent. I can’t wait to pick this up.
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (published by Fourth Estate).
Fifteen-year-old Kambili’s world is circumscribed by the high walls and frangipani trees of her family compound. Her wealthy Catholic father, under whose shadow Kambili lives, while generous and politically active in the community, is repressive and fanatically religious at home.
When Nigeria begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili’s father sends her and her brother away to stay with their aunt, a University professor, whose house is noisy and full of laughter. There, Kambili and her brother discover a life and love beyond the confines of their father’s authority. The visit will lift the silence from their world and, in time, give rise to devotion and defiance that reveal themselves in profound and unexpected ways.
This is a book about the promise of freedom; about the blurred lines between childhood and adulthood; between love and hatred, between the old gods and the new. (Goodreads)
I read Americanah by Adichie this year and I absolutely adored it. Her ability to create flawed but realistic characters and to immerse you in a story is like no other. I love her work, as it is extremely empowering and feminist, as well as just incredibly beautiful to read. I am so excited for Purple Hibiscus, and I am excited to read more about Nigeria and the circumstances of Nigeria in this story.
I am extremely pleased with the books I have purchased and I can’t wait to read them all over the summer months. I have a variety of books from a diverse group of authors, and I am pleased to say three of the six are pieces of translated fiction! I am looking forward to reviewing each one as I read them. I’m going to be busy!
This is a rather self indulgent post, however I thought it could be fun!
1/ I am terrible at reading more than one book at a time.
2/ I have to have a cup of tea or coffee on hand if I am reading at home.
3/ I always lose my bookmarks.
4/ The first book I ever read start to finish on my own was a book about Postman Pat when I was in primary 1.
5/ I started reading Harry Potter after the third movie came out (I was 8) and because my mother refused to tell me what happened in the next one.
6/ My mum, older brother and I used to get the Harry Potter books at the midnight releases, and there was an order to who got to read them when. My mum read them first, then my brother, and I got them last. It was torture!
7/ I broke my ankle when I was 11 and wasn’t allowed to go outside during lunch or breaks at school, so I stayed inside alone and subsequently finished a book from The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton every day.
8/ I got a book from my secret Santa at work last Christmas and I cried with excitement.
9/ I prefer paperbacks to hardbacks. Dust jackets upset me.
10/ I am a proud Kindle owner, and I love using an ereader every once and a while.
The time has come for me to share a few of my favourite books. This is not a final list as that would be VERY difficult to do, and the list is ever changing. However, here are a few of my favourite books (or series of books) that won’t be budging any time soon.
1/ To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I first read this in 2014 during a rough patch in my personal life and it uplifted me and made me so happy. So innocent in the narration and such a heartwarming but equally heartbreaking story. This is one of the few American classics I actually enjoyed, and I read and reread this regularly. It is very accessible in terms of classics as well, and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to start on that route.
2/ Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
I became sorely addicted to this book from the offset, as it was entirely not what I was expecting. Not only was it not solely a romance as I had previously thought, as it tells a great deal of Jane Eyre’s childhood as well as her time at Thornfield with Mr Rochester, but it is extremely feminist. I enjoy this aspect as given the time period that it is from and the fact that the Brontë sisters wrote under male pseudonyms -presumably in a bid to get published without interference- this book would probably not have fit the traditional mould for a classic. I love the writing and the story itself, and prefer this to some of the 19th century British classics I have read previously.
3/ Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
This book was such a quick read for me, and one that I truly adored! I love books that are set in the southern states of America, specifically during the early to mid 20th century. This book follows multiple characters and boasts a diverse cast of individuals. While it touches at points on race, there are also mentionings of sexuality. It is a warm book, that made me smile relentlessly. It ranges over a few decades and follows several plot points which I enjoyed. It gave me a To Kill a Mockingbird feel, which is probably in part why I loved it so much. I know that this is also a very popular movie, but I am yet to watch it!
This is one of the best books I have read this year, and one that in all honesty has changed my perspective on myself and my experiences. I found this book absolutely beautiful and so eloquent. The writing has so much emotion in it and is such an honest look at mental illness. If you would like to read my review of this book, it is available here.
6/ The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
This is a childhood favourite of mine, that I can vividly remember reading. While Pratchett was quite a challenging author for me to read at the age I did (I believe I was 9), I loved this book. So imaginative, so fantastical yet in many ways with realistic and relateable characters. This book spurred on a love for satirical wit and humour, and the portrayal of the Wee Free Men, aka stereotypical Scottish pixies is second to none. So funny. So excellent!
7/ Anything by Maya Angelou
If you would like some context as to why I love Maya Angelou and what I have read by her, see my author spotlight and my review of Letter to my Daughter.
8/ The Cicero Trilogy by Robert Harris
Starting with Imperium and ending with Dictator, this series is jam packed start to finish with drama, action and intrigue. I loved this series, it being the most recent addition to this list. That being said, there is so much information in these books and so many references totally lost on me that it will definitely require a reread at some point soon. For my review on the first book, Imperium, click here!
I hope you guys enjoyed this post. This week there will be a book review on Sunday and hopefully some more content next week after my day at the Edinburgh book festival.
GREETINGS FELLOW POTTERHEADS! Apologies, I don’t mean to shout. I am just SO UNBELIEVABLY EXCITED. Today’s book review is of one of the most anticipated books of the year, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the play written by J.K. Rowling as a follow up to the Harry Potter series.
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016. (Goodreads)
I will begin by saying that as a child, Harry Potter played a massive part in my life. It is the first book series I ever truly loved, and most likely played a massive role in shaping the reader I am today. The eager anticipation of waiting for the books to be released are fond memories I carry from childhood, and so waiting for this book was the first time since the Deathly Hallows that I had that feeling. When my copy of the book arrived, I could barely contain myself. I opened the book up and was overcome by emotion and nostalgia upon reading the first page, just experiencing the feelings I used to get when reading the latest instalment of the series for the first time.
While excited for this story, I was also incredibly nervous and (I hate to admit it) slightly sceptical. You know when something is absolutely perfect the way it is, and you are scared that anything extra may wreck it? That was my fear for the HP series, and I was slightly concerned that Rowling was making a mistake going back to following Harry’s life in the wizarding world. I was nervous that the book wouldn’t live up to my expectations. Turned out it surpassed them tremendously.
Now, I realise there will be some skeptics out there, and I have seen a number of reviews saying that this play read like bad fan fiction and left a bad taste in their mouths, however I disagree. I will concede that it is both not the same as the Harry Potter series or anywhere near as good as them, however for die hard Potterheads who simply want nothing more than to visit the wizarding world again, it is a must read.
The story was meticulously calculated, with plot points weaving together and linking to each other. The plot in itself was great, I enjoyed where it went and I thought it did a good job of incorporating existing aspects of the series while keeping the story fresh and exciting. It pretty much overlaps with the final scene of the last Harry Potter book, 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts. I absolutely loved finding out where all the characters were and what they were doing, I loved seeing the relationships between my favourite characters and seeing what happened after the last chapter of The Deathly Hallows. I don’t want to spoil this for any HP fan who hasn’t yet read it, so I shan’t say any more about the plot.
Obviously this book is written in script and stage direction format, which I worried may be an obstacle. However, it was all too easy to recognise J.K Rowling’s writing and to quickly fall back into it. I almost forgot this was written as a play as I read it, imagining only the story. In a way, the stage directions added to the experience as they made visualising actions easier. I can only imagine how fantastic this play must be to see in real life. I hope at some point to be able to see it down in London, as it appears to have both a tremendous cast and seems as though it shall be artfully carried out.
If you want to take a trip down memory lane (or Diagon Alley?) for old times sake, and want to find out what happened to the boy whose story you followed through 7 books then you should read this book. If you want to cry, laugh and feel all of the feels then again, I think you should read this book. Try and read it with an open mind, as nothing will ever be as brilliant as the original Harry Potter books. While I agree that it is almost like reading a fanfiction, I find it hard to care if it means I can be back in the wizarding world, following a story I am so invested in and will continue to love.
Something which isn’t exactly book related today. Today I am going to be talking about podcasts; more specifically, my favourites ones to listen to.
Why I like podcasts:
Podcasts are fantastic! I like them for similar reasons to why I like audiobooks; they’re entertaining, diverse, good for listening to when doing other things and they help me combat my insomnia by giving me something to listen to before going to sleep.
There are thousands of podcasts on the iTunes podcast app and these cater to all interests; comedy, factual, fictional and otherwise. I listen to a variety of podcasts, and have different ones for different moods. I often use them as a study tool at university, which is an excellent source! I study sociology and psychology, and if there is a certain sociologist or psychologist or a concept I need a bit of extra help with, I simply type that into the podcast app and can normally find some hidden gem that helps me understand and helps me process what I’ve learned. There are podcasts for everyone, whatever you are looking for! And here are a few of my favourites:
Coffee with Chrachel:
This podcast is the first podcast I ever listened to, and it never fails to make me laugh! This podcast is run by YouTuber Rachel Whitehurst (who I have watched for years) and her boyfriend, Chris. On this podcast they discuss their cats, their day to day lives, video games, cooking programmes, current events and most importantly…coffee! I love Coffee with Chrachel because I have a very similar humour to the Chrachel duo (nonsensical and meme motivated), and it often makes me laugh out loud. As well as this however, Rachel and Chris discuss some very stigmatised topics (such as sexuality and mental health) and share what they go through on a day to day basis, while keeping things light and funny. They answer questions from listeners and each episode is different from the next. As well as this, after having watched Rachel on YouTube for such a long time I love to see her and Chris doing something they are clearly so happy and motivated to do, and I will continue to be a faithful listener and Binch. There are about 90 episodes for you to binge, so get on it! Do me a favour and brew yourself a cup of Joe, grab a cat to cuddle and head straight to Flavourtown with the dynamic duo and their two adorable chunks, Squeezie and Lila.
Okay, but what if?
This is another comedy podcast run by two YouTubers, Nicola Foti and Ava Gordy. Nicola Foti was one of the first people I subscribed to on YouTube back in the day (Soundlyawake) and I discovered Ava Gordy at the end of last year. Together they discuss all numbers of random topics, answer questions from listeners and try and fail continuously to read iTunes reviews. This podcast is truly hilarious and I find it hard to listen to in public without looking truly insane as I laugh out loud. I listen to old episodes time and time again and they always cheer me up. Ava and Nic are hilarious, genuine and brilliantly insane! I love them, and this podcast is definitely for you if you enjoy a whacky time.
Serial:
For the fans of the Netflix show Making a Murderer out there, this podcast is for you. This podcast currently has two series with several episodes in each, about ‘mysteries’ and unsolved or suspiciously solved crimes. I have only listened to the first season, which was comprised of several episodes consisting of information about a real life murder case and a possibly wrongly accused murderer. Serial is full of meticulous detail, and snippets from court cases, interviews with witnesses and much more. It is addicting, and draws you in as you want answers. I would recommend this to anyone who loves watching crime shows, loves a mystery, or a conspiracy.
Desert Island Discs:
An age old BBC Radio 4 show created in 1942, Desert Island Discs is an interview show with a twist. Celebrities such as Judi Dench, Tom Hanks, Paul Hollywood, Whoopi Goldberg and countless other big names sit down to talk about the 8 records they would take with them to listen to on a desert Island, as well as books and one freebie item. In between giving their answers and hearing snippets of the songs they choose, celebrities will answer questions about their choices as well as their careers and any number of other things. It is a great show if there are certain celebrities you want to know more about, and it shows the diversity of music taste and I think helps you get to know them on a more personal level. There are hundreds of episodes for you to choose from, it is definitely an interesting listen!
Witch, Please:
This is a new found enjoyment for me, and it is a Harry Potter podcast! It is run by two super women, who are rereading the entire Harry Potter series and re-watching the movies. While doing this they are delving deep into the themes of the books, analysing certain areas, discussing unanswered questions and basically just geeking out about the Potter fandom. What could be better?! I have only listened to the first two episodes in this Podcast, but I love what I have heard so far. These women exert confidence and intelligence and I admire them. Such a great Podcast, get on it guys!
In Our Time:
Another BBC Radio 4 podcast, these podcasts are educational and informative, while still being accessible to everyone. Melvyn Bragg and guests inform and discuss various topics such as history, philosophy, science, culture and religion. My favourite ones in particular are the ones on culture and philosophy. Bragg consults scholars and relevant guests from the topic’s field to debate and discuss events or theories. This is one of the podcasts that I have often utilised to help me with university as there are podcasts on key figures such as Karl Marx, Descartes and many more. This is both interesting and factual and is great if you want to know more about a certain topic.
There you have it guys! 6 very different podcasts to satisfy any need or mood. I would recommend that if you are interested in podcasts, you have a root around on the podcast portion of iTunes, as there really is something there for everyone. I hope you enjoy and find the perfect podcast for you!
In 2008, J.K. Rowling delivered a deeply affecting commencement speech at Harvard University. Now published for the first time in book form, Very Good Lives offers J.K. Rowling’s words of wisdom for anyone at a turning point in life, asking the profound and provocative questions: How can we embrace failure? And how can we use our imagination to better both ourselves and others?
Drawing from stories of her own postgraduate years, the world famous author addresses some of life’s most important issues with acuity and emotional force.
This review is going to be a short but sweet one, as this book has left me somewhat lost for words.
This speech is bound in an 80 page edition, however it is extremely quick to read due to the small amount of text on each page and the beautiful illustrations interspersed throughout the book. I flew through this in less than half an hour, and as I put it down I teared up a little bit.
This piece was both insightful into Rowling’s past being autobiographical in a sense, and also extremely moving and inspiring. I loved the discussion of failure and how failure is subjective to each and every different person. What Rowling considered her biggest failure may be completely different to you or I’s idea of failure. She argues that failure is what we build the foundations on that lead us to success. Rowling also discusses what imagination is to her and what it can be used for. She reflects on times of her life where she was at her worst and her time at university, or her time working at Amnesty International in London. While drawing on her own experience she creates a beautifully crafted and highly motivational and touching read.
“So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena where I believe I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
This single passage reduced me to tears. It really hit home to me and I found it extremely easy to relate to. This is but one example of the many quote-worthy pages in this small book. I read this book a few months ago now, and it fell into my lap at a time I needed it most. It changed my perspective on my perception of failure, and more specifically, things which in the past I would have considered failures, but which now I consider blessings in disguise or merely experiences. For such a quick read, this book will provide you with a substantial amount of food for thought.
I would encourage not just all J.K. Rowling fans, but absolutely EVERYBODY to read this.
I became sorely addicted to this book from the offset, as it was entirely not what I was expecting. Not only was it not solely a romance as I had previously thought, as it tells a great deal of Jane Eyre’s childhood as well as her time at Thornfield with Mr Rochester, but it is extremely feminist. I enjoy this aspect as given the time period that it is from and the fact that the Brontë sisters wrote under male pseudonyms -presumably in a bid to get published without interference- this book would probably not have fit the traditional mould for a classic. I love the writing and the story itself, and prefer this to some of the 19th century British classics I have read previously.
This is one of the best books I have read this year, and one that in all honesty has changed my perspective on myself and my experiences. I found this book absolutely beautiful and so eloquent. The writing has so much emotion in it and is such an honest look at mental illness. 
f you would like some context as to why I love Maya Angelou and what I have read by her, see my 
amytalksbooks.wordpress.com 