Tuesday 29 December 2015

Top 15 Reads of 2015

Today I will be talking about my Top 15 Reads of this year, which was hard to decide....and not because I read so many good books and couldn't decide, but because I didn't read enough and honestly some of these books are only on the list because I didn't read many outstanding things. 

Hopefully 2016 will be better! 

Now let's get onto my list :)

#15 Asking For It by Louise O'Neill
This is number 15! I am sure many out there would disagree with me, but I didn't really enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I think that Louise is very inspirational and an amazing writer but this book was too real for me. By that I mean, I go into books to get a sense of escapism from real life issues - which is highly unrealistic, but at the time I was reading this book, I just wanted to escape again and couldn't. 

14# Carrie by Stephan King
This is another book that wouldn't have made the list if it weren't for the fact that I didn't read many good books this year. Carrie was a good read, short and was interesting but I didn't love it. 

13# Am I Normal yet? By Holly Bourne
I like this book a lot, but it is definitely my least favourite out of all of her books! This is why I only gave this book a rating of 4.7 stars which may seem like a lot, but her books for me are usually 5 stars.


12# A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
We read this book in class as part of the curriculum and I loved it. I don't think it would have made it onto here as I didn't enjoy it enough for it to be this high up on my list. 

11# The Awakening by Kate Chopin 
I read this book because it looked interesting and I really love reading pre-1900 literature so i picked it up and loved everything about it. The book was written in the late 19th century where feminism was not recognised at all, and this authors way of thinking was decades before her time. (which is sadly the reason it didn't receive praise whilst she was alive.)


10# Killing the dead by Marcus Sedgwick

Killing the dead is a book I picked up because it looked interesting - which is exactly what it turned out to be. It was a short thriller based on the lives of different people in order to piece together the story of a suicide. 

9# George by Alex Gino
I read George recently and thought it was really interesting, as I had never seen a book like this before aimed at a younger audience. I gave it to my little sister to read who is enjoying it so far!

8# Everyday by David Levithan
I am a huge fan of David Levithan, and my plan for 2016 is to finish the rest of his published books because I love that dude so much. This book is definitely a favourite of mine from his work!

7# Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
I bought this book last year, but only read it recently and loveddd it! Then I had to wait for the sequel which was slightly disappointing since the first book was so amazing - aka the reason only the first book is on this list. 


6# Geek Girl Series by Holly Smale
The Geek Girl series is probably one of my favourite series' ever. I read the first book on the last day of 2014, then the rest of the books that were out at the time on the days following. This is why I rated the series an average of...

5# Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare
This book broke me. Cassandra Clare is an author that knows how to break people using her powerful words AND KILLING OFF CUTE CHARACTERS.

Now...I couldn't pick just one number 1...so here are the 4 number 1's!

1#Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Carry On legitimately made me cry. It was too perfect, but what else can you expect from Rainbow Rowell?

1# Aristotle and Dante Discover the secrets of the universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
This book also made me cry...it was beautifully written and so cute (I hear rumours of a sequel?)

1# Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
This book also made me cry. I cried so much that I had to read it 3 more times and tweet the author about the perfection...so I am pretty sure Becky knows she has ruined my life in the nicest way possible.


1# Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller
I also cried when reading this....but guys I cry a lot. With these number 1's I just cried a little harder than usual.



So those are my top 15! I hope I read really awesome books next year :-)

(Disclaimer: The images used in this post are not mine!)

Yours Faithfully, 

~ She Who Writes

Tuesday 15 December 2015

December TBR

This month is way too hectic. Therefore my TBR will only consist of 3 books! (I am really stressed right now and can only manage this many, maybe less.)

1# City Of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
2# Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
3# Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I have read two out of three of this books, but oh well!!

(Disclaimer: The images used in this post are not mine.)

Yours Faithfully,

~ She Who Writes 


Saturday 28 November 2015

November Wrap Up!

Hello! it's been a while...but as I said in my last post, school has been hectic so I haven't been able to read as much or post as much as I usually do. 


This month I managed to read only 4 books, and out of those four only 1 of them was on  my TBR. 

The reason I didn't stick to my TBR, and the reason I hardly stick to my TBR's is because I like reading what I feel like reading at the time - which I assume most people do.

 I create the TBR as a guideline, but sometimes my reading mood is contemporary only or dystopian only. 

Now onto the wrap up for November....
(DO - EXO)

1# Carrie by Stephan King

2# Angels Twice Descending by Cassandra Clare and Robin Wasserman 


3# All Wraped Up by Holly Smale


4# George by Alex Gino

This month was a really good reading month for me, but also really stressful because of tests and the ever increasing workload. 

Hopefully I will have some reviews up sometime soon on the books I read this month so stay tuned!

(Disclaimer: The images used in this post are not mine. BTW the gif is of a singer called DO from an amazing korean band called Exo...check them out.)

Yours Faithfully, 

~ She Who Writes

Tuesday 17 November 2015

--------YA SHOT 2015-------


This post is a bit late seeing as YA SHOT happened over 2 weeks ago. (but better late than never)



YA Shot is a literature festival that took place on the 28th of October this year, where I got to go to so many amazing workshops and meet both middle grade and YA authors. 

You can find out more info at the website which is:

You can also find out more information by checking out my YAShot post and some interviews I did with the creator of the event - Alexia Casale, and CJ Skuse, author of Monster and many other fantastic novels including Dead Romantic which I read a while ago. 


So onto what I did...
here, enjoy a nice picture of my husband Darren Criss.

1# I got there and received a bracelet which allowed me to enter all of the events.
2# Then I went and planned my day...
#3 Then I went to a a few workshops, my favourites being the workshop hosted by Taran Matharu and another one hosted by Benjamin of Tomes.


#4 Then I went to a few signings, got to meet Alexia in person - she is also very awesome in real life!


 
I wish I could have stayed longer, but I live so far away so I had to leave at 4pm :(.

I really hope this event becomes in annual thing! 

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for more posts. 

(Disclaimer: The images used in this post were mostly mine, but not all were.

Yours Faithfully, 

~ She Who Writes