Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Currently Reading March 2018

I'm trying to be better with reading this year, so far I'm not going well with that but I'm hoping to change that! I thought I'd share the books I'm currently reading (I know I should only read one at a time but I get distracted easily) 
Women's History for Beginners - this is really interesting so far! It's an overview of women's roles and contributions throughout history, all condensed into 200 pages! 
Odalisque is a reread for me! I never finished the third book in the trilogy so I decided to start it over again. I remember enjoying this when I first read it (years ago), so I hope I still like it!
       

Rat Queens! This is so beautiful and funny, I highly recommend this!

Look how stunning it is!
What are you reading?
Megan xo

My Favourite Novels

Hello! I thought I would share my top 5 stand alone novels with you. I guess a couple technically have other books after them, but they can be stand alone!
I really like Stephen King novels. He can be spooky and creepy, but at other times he can be serious and funny (he wrote Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption!). The Stand is one of the former, set in a world where 99% of the population has died from a weaponised form of the flu, the survivors fight to survive. This mother flipper is a TOME, my edition has 1421 pages! I love it.
I first read the Hobbit in year 7 (ack 14 years ago) and I was the only person in my class who liked it. Everyone said they thought the songs were stupid, well I think they are amazing and I love everything about The Hobbit. I've read it at least 5 times.
I was in Kinokuniya one day looking at the Penguin Classics,  and an old gentlemen approached me and told me that I should read My Family and Other Animals, that he loved it. I've never had someone do that before and I figured for $10 that I should buy it. This book is gorgeous. It's a autobiographical recount of Gerald Durrell's time living on an island in Greece called Corfu when he was a child with his mother and siblings. He basically just had adventures all day long and adopted animals. There are two other books that he wrote also about his childhood, which I need to read ASAP!  I cannot recommend this book enough.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy is another book set in a post apocalyptic world (it's one of my favourite things to read about), and it's one of the creepiest I have ever read as it was so real. It's about a father and son walking on the road...sounds simple but the struggles they face and the cruel people they meet make this one of the best and scariest books I have ever read.
Ok, Night Watch is technically not a stand alone novel, but it's just so freaking good that I had to include it. There are around 45 million Discworld novels (OK I am exaggerating, but there are 40 and that's heaps!), and the City Watch series is my favourite. In Night Watch, Sam Vimes goes back in time and becomes his younger self's mentor! Sam Vimes is one of my all time favourite characters out of anything EVER and The Discworld series are some of the best books I have ever read and highly highly recommend them if you love British humour.
Oh yeah by the way, my copy of Night Watch is the one I chose for Sir Terry to sign when I met him in 2011...you know...no big deal or nothin'.
Have a great day
Megan xo

Series I Haven't Finished

Just like my post about books I need to read, this one is about series that I have started and haven't finished yet! This is also one of my plans for 2014. 
First up is The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. I started this several years ago. I read the first and second book (which I have misplaced) and never read the third or even purchased the fourth!
I also need to finish The Percheron series by Fiona McIntosh. I've read the first two and they were really good! I read them several years ago, so I might need to do a reread  of these. 
The Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness. The first book in the series was one of the best books I read in 2013, so I am excited to read the other two! 
There are a few comic series that I haven't finished, including Sweet Tooth by Jeff Lemire. This series is really interesting and I am planning to catch up with it soon! 
Also on my list is Locke & Key by Joe Hill. This was so good! And I really, really want to catch up! 
Lastly is Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan and others. Vaughan is responsible for my most favourite comic series of all time, Y: The Last Man. I have read a bunch of these but still have a few left til I am finished!

That's everything! I am so excited to catch up on all of these series.
Megan xo

Books I Have to Read in 2014

Hello! Today I am sharing a few books on my shelf that I have been putting off reading because they are large and daunting, so I am hoping to knock them out this year! So in no particular order....
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. I've had this for a couple of years and it's 985 pages scare me! I love Murakami so I need to read this. 
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. I've heard this book is really good, but it is massive and I worry it's going to be hard to get through. 
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. My brother got me this for my birthday a few years ago. I've read Crime and Punishment, which was good, so hopefully I can enjoy this one too. However, I struggle with classics...fingers crossed this isn't too difficult!
The Final Confession of Mabel Stark by Robert Hough. I have had this on my shelf for so long, I am embarrassed to say how long - so I HAVE to read this. It sounds really good too! 
Habibi by Craig Thompson. This comic was also a gift and it is a big one with 672 pages. The cover is gorgeous, and the story sounds interesting. 

I am really hoping I can get through these 5 books this year, as I've been putting off reading them and the longer I leave it the worse I feel! Have you been avoiding any books because of their size or for another reason?

Megan xo

Bracelets and Bookmarks

I bought a few cute things online lately and decided to share them
I got these three from the Etsy store called TallRabbit who is from Perth in Western Australia. They were only $3.50 for all three! 
The kitty one is my favourite - they are so cute
I also bought these bookmarks on Etsy from bethydesign and they were a bit more expensive because they shipped from the UK.
How freaking cute is that?!
Finally is this super cool bracelet set from Nerdburgerjewellery on etsy. Not only is this bracelet awesome, the packaging it arrived in was so cool - I love it when people take extra care in their packaging.
The bracelet somehow managed to end up on my little alpacas head and it made me laugh so I had to include it haha.

I love getting mail and I love it even more when I get packages of cute things!
Megan xo

November 2013 To Be Read Pile

After my book haul I thought I would share the books I actually plan to read in November!

I've read the first two books and there will be one more after this. It's an amazing series!

Next up will be Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, the second book in the Lunar Chronicles series.
I am currently reading Cinder and I love it.  I really enjoy fairy tale retellings!
 The first comic book I will read in November is Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
I love Lucy's style and writing, and French Milk is one of my all time favourite books!
The second comic I plan to read is Saga Vol 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. 
I am so excited to read this because Y: The Last Man is my favourite comic book series of all time, so I am happy to check out something else by Vaughan. 
 Finally, Tekkon Kinkreet by Taiyo Matsumoto.
I have had this FOR AGES and I have no idea why it's taken me so long to pick it up! 

So that's my reading goal for November. What do you hope to read this month?
Megan xo






October 2013 Books & Comics Haul

I bought quite a few books in October, so I thought I'd share them!
I also bought the first Rookie yearbook
Which has awesome stories, articles and photos in it. I love this one! ^^
I also bought two comic books. Morning Glories and
Morning Glories Vol 1 
Scarlet, which looks amazing 
Look at that...oh my god it's so amazing! I can't wait to read it!
Scarlet Vol 1 
So that's all of the books I bought in October! I have a problem...an amazing problem, but it's still a problem!
Have a great day,
Megan xo


P.S I just realised two of the books I bought are called Scarlet hah!
P.P.S be my friend on Goodreads!

Purchases from Katoomba

When we went for high tea the other day we went early and did a little bit of browsing in Katoomba. There are some really awesome vintage stores up there and I will definitely be going back to spend more time rummaging. Here are the few things that I bought - 
I bought is this vintage sewing box. I've been looking for one for ages and I love it!
 I'm going to keep art supplies in there I think!
Typical Noah 
I also got these pretty earrings 
We also went into an op shop and they had a bunch of hardcover Terry Pratchett books! 
At $3 each I had to pick up a few of them. 
Two of them have the funky covers that I love.
That's everything! 
Have a great day
Megan xo

Book Jar DIY

I've seen these book jars in a bunch of places lately, and decided to make my own. I have 94 unread books on my shelf...that is terrible! Everytime I finish a book, instead of struggling to choose a new book I will pick one out of the jar and then I have to read it. I thought it would be a good way to get through books I've been putting off*. Here is how I made mine!
 
I started with a big clean jar I bought for $5 (it might be a bit too big - oh well)
I used coloured MT tape to wrap around the jar, then I used glue and some Martha Stewart glitter for the knob on the lid of the jar for a bit of sparkle. 
 Next I got some sharpies and post-it notes. I wrote 3 books on each post-it, folded it in half so it stuck (no peeking!), then cut them up!

Thank you Nathan for taking this photo :-)
 Once they were all cut up I put them in the jar and placed it on my bookshelf. 
It looks awesome and I think it will make my book choosing way easier!
Megan xo

 P.S I believe the original idea was by Alex In Leeds and now every booktuber is doing it!


*note - I did NOT put War and Peace in this jar because I know if I chose that I wouldn't read it haha!

Book Haul

OK...so my book buying ban isn't going very well! I bought a few books from The Book Depository and a couple at my local bookstore! Here they are -

So excited for this new comic by Lucy Knisley. I love her work!
 Book 2 and 3 of the Chaos Walking trilogy. The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men.
I loved the Knife of Never Letting Go and these two are at the top of my to read list!
 The final purchase from the Book Depository is City of Bones, the first book in The Mortal Instrument series. I've been hearing so much about this lately so I decided to jump on the bandwagon.
 The last 2 books I got at The Turning Page in Springwood, which is my local bookstore. It's such a nice little shop!
I've been eyeing this off for a while, the cover is gorgeous! 
Would you look at that *swoons* 
And finally I got this rug bookmark. I have no idea why but it really appealed to me!
And that's everything! Have a great day
Megan xo