Month: June 2016

Summer Biannual Bibliothon TBR 2016

~ Natalie Cotterill ~ 5 Comments

It’s that time of year again, where all of the readathons happen in a short space of time! I have only just found the challenges and dates for this readathon, which just goes to show how I’ve been living under a rock these past few weeks (considering I knew I wanted to participate this year and had been keeping an eye out (or so I thought) for the dates). I have tweaked one of the challenges slightly, but other than that, here is my TBR. If you want to find out more then click here.

Read The Group Book – The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson.

I want to read this anyway, though if I’m honest I would prefer to save this for my holiday later in the summer as Morgan Matson’s books are perfect for hot sunny days. This will be possibly the last one I pick up therefore, if I even get through them all (which I doubt).

Free Choice / Wild Card Book – Moonstone by Sjón

I desperately want to read this and it’s super short. I only received it for review a few days ago but it looks so interesting, I can’t wait to pick it up.

Read a Book Off of the Host’s List of Recommendations 

Okay, this is the one I’m changing slightly as I don’t own any of the books on the list and I don’t really want to buy any more at the moment unless I can get them for a good price on kindle. However the one I would most like to read (More Happy Than Not) is not available for kindle (at least I can’t find it listed on amazon) and so instead I plan on reading Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick, as there is a Matthew Quick novel on the list!

Read a Book With Your Favorite Mythical Creature – A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

When I was deciding which book for this challenge I realised two things: one, I don’t have a particular favourite mythical creature and two, I have very few books that I know to include them. However, this fits the title as (I believe) it is about fairies and I really want to get around to reading it very soon. (This can also be used for the challenge about reading an author you haven’t read before).

Read a Book You’ve Been Putting Off Picking Up – Soundless by Richelle Mead

I really wanted to read this when I first got it, however since then I’ve heard more and more negative reviews and have been putting it off. I would like to find out for myself what it is like though, so I do plan to eventually get around to picking it up.

Read a Book from an Author You’ve Never Read Before – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

This can also count for one I’ve been putting off, though I’m not sure why. It looks fabulous and unique and I definitely plan to get to the whole trilogy this summer.

Read a Book in a Different Format than You Usually Read – Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

I’ve heard so many amazing things about this graphic novel and I still haven’t picked it up yet, despite having it for a fairly long time. It looks like something I’ll enjoy so I hope that I get around to reading this.

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I don’t know how many books I’ll get to during the readathon (between 3rd-9th July) but I’m hoping for three as I have a lot of things to get sorted and there are 2,250 pages in total. Are you participating in this readathon? I’d love to know your TBR if you are!

Take It As a Compliment – Maria Stoian

~ Natalie Cotterill ~ Leave a comment

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Genre: Graphic novel, Nonfiction

Publication Date: 21st November 2015

Format: eARC from Jessica Kingsley Publishers via Netgalley

“I was fifteen.”

“I never saw him again.”

“They chanted after me, ‘Oscar the Grouch, Oscar the Grouch.”

Bringing together the voices of males and females of all ages, the stories in this collective graphic memoir reflect real life experiences of sexual abuse, violence and harassment.

Each experience is brought to life by Maria Stoian’s exceptional artwork. Her unique and varied styles powerfully reflect the tone and mood of the different stories and in just a few pages express the complex emotions felt by victims of sexual abuse.

Covering acts such as sexual violence, public sexual harassment, domestic abuse and child abuse, this is a reminder for survivors that they are not alone and a call for all of us to take action. The stories clearly show that assault of any type is not an honour bestowed on anyone. It is not a compliment.

(From goodreads.com)  

Normally I try to write a certain number of words for my reviews, but I don’t think I’ll make my usual target for the simple reason that this book left me speechless and speaks volumes for itself.

Maria Stoian’s art clearly marks each new story and portrays horrific events so well that this book was just fantastic. The illustrations are wonderful; the careful choice of style and colour to match each individual account made this book unique, as I find that it is rare to find a graphic novel where the styles differ throughout. Her images perfectly encapsulate what is going on in the stories that are being told – true accounts – and capture emotion, making me feel a whole array of different feelings whilst I was reading it.

This is such an important book though, and I urge everyone to pick it up. The stories that it shares cover a massively important issue in today’s society and highlight the fact that we need to listen instead of judge, and do something to help. That these stories are true makes it so much more emotional to read as the reminder that it is the truth constantly nags at you and it really hits home.

There is no plot to comment on, just heartbreaking true stories that made me hate the world around me but also brought me a little closer to comprehending what many people go through. This graphic novel left me speechless, and though it’s not long, it packs a powerful punch and can make you feel all kinds of emotions. It’s one of those books that I think everyone should read, as its message is so important and is vividly portrayed throughout this graphic novel. It’s so difficult to put my feelings about this book into words other than ‘everyone should read it’, and I can’t explain why, except for the fact that this has the potential to help so many people.

Rating: 5 / 5.

Finally Getting My Act Together

~ Natalie Cotterill ~ Leave a comment

So I would feel awkward if I just suddenly got back to how I want my blog to be with regular posts etc without writing something to a) apologise for my long, long absence and b) explain where I’ve been and what I’ve got planned.

So… Sorry about my long absence, it should not happen again because I never have exams again. Never has an apology felt so good.

As you can probably guess, I have been doing exams. Nine and a half hours of sitting in silence (except for one of them where a bunch of year sixes were allowed to run riot right outside the door to the exam room, whilst screaming at each other) and I am now free. I have my leavers’ assembly and meal this Thursday, though if I’m brutally honest I’m not bothered about going at all. It’s just something I feel I have to go to. And I need to give my textbooks back.

But yes, come September I will be starting university *cheers*. I have been lucky enough to get an unconditional offer for my dream course so I will definitely be starting at UEA, which makes me extremely excited, as I’ve already met a load of people on my course, and they’re all so so lovely. I will be studying English Literature with Creative Writing (no surprise there) and my course (here’s the exciting bit) is assessed just by coursework. Meaning I won’t disappear for three months. Maybe two weeks if I’m disorganised and don’t schedule any posts (because this is me we’re talking about, and I have the organisational skills of a loaf of bread).

I will, at some point, be starting my youtube channel again, though I think I want to get back to normal with my blog first as I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew as I’d like some reading time too – I need to catch up with my goodreads goal (though I’m only four books behind, which I’m pretty pleased about). Or I may start initially with a video every two weeks. I’m not entirely sure yet (see my previous comment about my organisational skills).

So yes, I think that’s all for now. I do plan (hopefully) on sharing some more of my creative work on here, be it responses to prompts in some of my creative writing books (which I can finally use), or something I’ve written off the top of my head. I also may branch out from books from time to time, though I’m unsure. I’ve made some big changes in my life recently that I’d love to share with you as I’ve been surprised by how easy they have been to make. Obviously come September I will talk about uni, I mean, I talk about it constantly now.