The Book-tube-a-thon! (My First Read-a-thon)

I've loved watching booktubers for a while now and it's actually what got me interested in blogging about books. I've always been a 'reader' but since stumbling upon John Green's The Fault In Our Stars early last year and all the booktubers who were talking about it, I've completely fallen in love with reading and the community.

Because of this I've decided to take part in the booktube-a-thon which is a read-a-thon that has come from the world of booktube. I know that I'm not a 'booktuber' in the sense that I post videos about books but I feel like being a book blogger is the next best thing! I'm not sure if I'll attempt all of the challenges yet because I tend to read really slowly if I'm not completely in the mood to read that certain book so things like reading a classic in a few days might not be the easiest thing for me but I'll give as many of them as I can a go! I've already picked out my 'over 500 pages' book which is going to be one of the later Harry Potter books depending on how much I read before then (I've just started Goblet of Fire) but the rest I think I'll just see what I want to read.

Let me know if you're taking part in the book-tube-a-thon too, I'd love to be able to keep track of what I'm reading with someone. I'm not sure whether I'll review the books as I read them or if I'll just post all the reviews at the end of the read-a-thon but there will be separate reviews for each of the books I read.

Lucy x

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

223 Pages

Rating: 5/5!

This is the third time I've read this book and I'm pretty sure almost everyone (if not everyone) reading this will already know a lot about the Harry Potter series so I'm going to keep my review quite brief.

Every time I go back to the Harry Potter books I fall in love with them all over again. Having not read the full series since I was about 10 I decided this summer was a good time to re-read them and I'm completely in the Harry Potter mood already. It's so easy to see why these books have such a massive following and, in my opinion, they fully deserve it.

I also re-watched the film after finishing the book and it's still as good as ever, even if it is beginning to look slightly dated (because of things like the special effects).

If, for any reason, you've not read this book please read it. You won't regret it.

(Book 18/50)

Lucy x

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

211 Pages

Rating: 5/5!

The Lover's Dictionary is a love story told in dictionary extracts.

This is the third David Levithan book I've read and the more I read his work the more I fall in love with his writing. This is a very quick read (it took me about 3/4 hours I believe) because his poetic style flows so beautifully that it is impossible to put down.

There's not much I have to say about this book other than I thought it was really beautiful. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who's interested in reading poetry or anyone who is just a fan of beautiful writing in general. Yet again, David Levithan didn't disappoint and I look forward to reading more of his books.

(Book 17/50)

Lucy x

James Potter and the Hall of Elders Crossing by G. Norman Lippert

405 Pages (according to Goodreads)

Rating: 4/5

James Potter and the Hall of Elders Crossing follows James Potter (Harry's son) during his first year at Hogwarts as he and his friends fight to stop the world of magic from being revealed to the muggle world.

This is definitely a must read for any Harry Potter fans. I'm a Harry Potter fan however I have not read each book 10 times like some truly dedicated fans. I really enjoyed this book because after the final installment of the Harry Potter series, I found myself wondering what would be next for the characters (more so than other series/novels) and this provided an answer for that. One thing I really loved about this book is that it incorporated so much of the original series, from just the characters right through to little details such as the Marauders Map having blank spaces where the castle had changed after the battle.

This was my first experience with fanfiction and I have to say, it was a good one. The plot was exciting and like something that could be from the original series and the characters were all stayed true to what J. K. Rowling created.

This book is only in ebook form and it is a free download. Click here to go to the Goodreads page where you can download it.

(Book 16/50)

Lucy x

Matched by Ally Condie

366 Pages

Rating: 3.5/5

In the world 'Matched' is set in, their society controls everything from the size of their meals to the person they marry. On her 16th Birthday Cassia is excited to meet her match who will be her perfect partner for life, however she quickly finds herself falling for someone else and begins to feel the urge to make her own decisions.

I didn't know what to think going into this book as I had seen both good and bad reviews but overall I did like it quite a lot. I thought the concept was really interesting and it was different to other books I thought would be similar (for example, Delirium by Lauren Oliver) due to the way the society was constructed. I found that element in particular really interesting and it'll be interesting to see in the others in the series how this society element develops.

I got this for Christmas (it's taken me ages to get round to reading it, I know) and while it maybe isn't something I'd chose for myself, I really enjoyed it and will read the others in the series! The only reason I didn't give it a higher rating is because I didn't find it particularly gripping and it seemed to take me a long time to read it.

(Book 15/50)

Lucy x

Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan

167 Pages

Rating: 5/5!

Love is the Higher Law follows the story of 3 very normal teenagers living in New York and their experiences with 9/11. The description on the back of the book says "On 9/11, thousands of people died... but millions upon millions came together in ways they never would have imagined." and I feel that really sums up the story.

This novel very much focuses on the attitudes of New Yorkers during the horrific time and the ways in which they joined forces rather than the catastrophic events of September 11th 2001. The 'author's note' at the end of the book explains how David Levithan was in New York at the time and this seemed to give him the perfect perspective to write this novel.

Personally, I was alive during 9/11 but I was too young to remember it. Because of this, I found this novel really interesting as I found it explained what it was like in New York during the time and immediately afterwards in a way that news clips and reports can't. Love if the Higher Law is one of the most believable novels I've read in a long time and I felt like I was reading personal accounts from real people rather than the story of 3 fictional characters.

I honestly can't recommend this book highly enough. It was a quick read but is definitely the kind of book you will think about after finishing. I am amazed at the fact I haven't heard much about this book and it definitely deserves more attention. This is another of David Levithan's books that I have fallen in love with.

(Book 14/50)

Lucy x

Heist Society by Ally Carter

332 Pages

Rating: 4/5

Heist Society is the story of a girl named Kat as her and her friends set up the biggest theft in history. Having grown up in a family full of thieves, Kat knows a thing or two about the family profession but will they succeed?

I really enjoyed this book however for some reason didn't love it. I'm not quite sure what it was about it but I didn't find it as gripping as Ally Carter's other books that I've read. I still think it's an original story with a good plot and lovable characters regardless of my not loving it which is why I think it deserves a 4/5.

Although I didn't love this series like I did with the Gallagher Girls series I still think it's a fantastic book and I can understand why other people love it.

(Book 13/50)

Lucy x

The History Boys by Alan Bennett (Play and Movie Review)

This is one half of what I studied for Year 11/Unit 2 English Literature GCSE. To see the review of the other half (Lord of the Flies) click here.

Play Rating: 3/5
Movie Rating: 3.5/5

The History Boys is a much loved play written by Alan Bennett. Set in 1980's Yorkshire, The History Boys follows the story of 8 boys as they strive to get places at Oxford and Cambridge.

I found the play enjoyable to read however I found after watching the movie I enjoyed it a lot more. The way some of the actors (particularly Richard Griffiths as Hector and Dominic Cooper as Dakin) brought the characters to life was incredible and I feel it added so much to the story. They managed to give the characters so much depth that I felt was a lot harder to get from just reading the play.

In my opinion, the casting for the movie was perfect. Richard Griffiths and Dominic Cooper especially I felt fitted the roles perfectly and I couldn't imagine them being played by any other actor. The casting of each character I felt was brilliant however those two stood out to me personally.

If this were not part of the English Literature course I probably wouldn't have picked it up. I did enjoy reading it but if I hadn't studied the themes and choice of language etc in school I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it half as much.

After a lot of debating with myself over whether to count this as part of my 50 books challenge or not I decided I would as I feel that although it's not a novel it is still noteworthy. What are your opinions on what counts and doesn't for the 50 books challenge?

(Book 12/50)

Lucy x

Bout of Books 7.0 Read-a-thon (Why I Can't Take Part)

As many of you are probably aware, the Bout of Books 7.0 read-a-thon runs through this week (13th May - 19th May). Unfortunately for me, this is also the first week of my GCSE exams in school. For those of you outside the UK, GCSE exams are the exams taken in Year 11 (aged 15 or 16) that pretty much determine whether you do A Levels (higher education that often leads to going to university), a college course or get a job. They're kind of a big deal. Because of this, there's no way I would be able to justify taking part in a read-a-thon when I'm meant to be revising but that doesn't stop me from following others who are taking part and following their progress!

I first found out about the read-a-thon by watching LittleBookOwl's video on YouTube explaining it. She's a fantastic book-tuber who I really enjoy watching and is posting video updates throughout the read-a-thon.

For her blog post about Bout of Books 7.0 click here or for the video click here.

Another of my favourite book-tubers who is taking part is JesseTheReader. He is also posting video updates along the way.

To see his initial video about Bout of Books click here.

Although I can't take part in this read-a-thon my exams will all be over by June 13th so if anyone knows of a read-a-thon during the summer please let me know. I love the idea of read-a-thons and would love to take part in one!

The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan

210 Pages

Rating: 5/5!

The Realm of Possibility is a novel written in verse from the perspective of 20 different high school students. The short insight to each characters life is done in such a way as to tackle many issues teenagers face on a daily basis without going into too much depth.

When I bought this book online, I had a feeling that I would absolutely love it and I did. I found it from seeing a page of it posted on tumblr and I fell in love with the writing immediately and  ordered it that same night. I don't really have much to say about this book, I just think if you have even the slightest interest in novels written in verse, poetry or even just beautiful pieces of writing such as song lyrics you should read this book.

(Book 11/50)

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

317 Pages
Rating: 5/5!

13 Little Blue Envelopes follows the story of Ginny as she travels Europe following the instructions from her dead Aunt. Each envelope tells her to go to a different place and complete a unique task and she may only open the next one when she has done so.

I loved this book. The writing style was so easy to read that I found myself finishing the book quickly despite being very busy at the moment with revision for exams in school and the plot itself was brilliant. I loved each country Ginny visited and I found that the people she met and things she did in each country made it all the more interesting.

I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you're looking for a something quick and fun to read this summer. I will definitely be reading some more of Maureen Johnson's books in the future!

(Book 10/50)