Achieving My 2015 Reading Goal?!?

October 31, 2015 ~ Natalie Cotterill ~ 3 Comments

I did it. I actually did it. I have completed my goodreads reading challenge! I only challenged myself to read 50 books, but up until summer I was so far behind with it I never though I would actually achieve it. Now I have, and two months early! I never put pressure on myself to achieve it though, even though I wanted to! But this meant that I could just enjoy reading, after having a major reading slump throughout most of 2014 / early 2015. Thank goodness that’s over. I shall refer to those months as the dark ages.

But in celebration I thought I’d look back and share some of my favourite reads from the 50, and narrowing it down was not easy at all, but I think I have a reasonable amount to share – 5. (Well, 6.) They’re not in an order. That would be impossible.

The Queen of the Tearling / The Invasion of the Tearling – Erika Johansen

These books are just so good! Honestly, I thought they’d be okay when I picked up the first one during summer, but it went way beyond my expectations and I immediately went and picked up the second one. I finished that one at 2am the other morning because I couldn’t put it down, which is why I wouldn’t allow myself to pick it up during school time as I had too much work and not enough time! (I now consider myself a master of self control). If you haven’t read them yet, please do. They’re now on my favourites list of all time. The only bad thing about them is that the third book isn’t out until next summer…

Go Set a Watchman – Harper Lee

I still can’t believe that this book is a thing. To Kill a Mockingbird is my favourite book of all time so needless to say I was more than a little excited for this one. (I was trembling with excitement when it arrived – more excited than a five year old for christmas I think!) It was so great to read more about Scout and Atticus and what happened next in their lives.

The Wrath and the Dawn – Renée Ahdieh

If you’ve read my review, you will know just how much I loved this book. It’s so unique and different, especially to what I’d normally read. I absolutely adored the setting and characters in this book and this is another which has a sequel out next year and I desperately want to get my hands on!

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – Benjamin Alire Sáenz

If I had to pick a word to describe this book it would be an easy decision: beautiful. I feel head over heels in love with the story, the characters, the writing style – everything to do with this book. It was stunning and I plan to reread it very, very soon, which is usual as I’m not a big on for rereading books, especially not so soon after I finished it! (Usually I leave at least a year!)

The Giver – Lois Lowry

This was such a thought-provoking read, and actually quite short too. I don’t know whether it’s because I particularly enjoy books that make you think and question basically everything, but this was such a good book and I would really recommend it! It was actually the first book that I read in 2015 – so it’s clearly left an impression!

Poetry Book Recommendations

October 8, 2015October 8, 2015 ~ Natalie Cotterill ~ Leave a comment

Seeing as it’s National Poetry Day, I thought I’d share some of my favourite poetry books with you all. I am a self confessed poetry nerd – I love it. I write my own after all! It’s so weird to think that this time last year I had just left my role as Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Young Poet Laureate… It honestly feels like yesterday and the time has just disappeared. I’m very much the kind of person who will pick up an anthology and read a couple of poems out of it and put it down again – I cannot pick one up and read it from cover to cover. I never have been able to, I don’t know…

I’ll start with my current favourite: And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. This book is just perfect. I love love love Maya Angelou’s writing style; it’s honest and raw and as much as I love those poems with vivid imagery and are all symbolism, poems that say things as they are – “ugly poetry” as I heard Jen Campbell call it in one video – is my absolute favourite. But don’t think that this is harsh and unpleasant to read, this is quite the opposite. It’s beautiful and I’m going to run out of adjectives by the end of this post if I say any more…

The next three I want to talk about (they are in no order from now on) are by Carol Ann Duffy. I own The World’s Wife, The Other Country, and The Bees. I haven’t actually read any from the bees yet as I only got it recently from the charity shop but it’s so gorgeous! The poems in The World’s Wife are written from the perspectives of the wives of famous people, and I really enjoyed this concept as some of them were humorous, some were gritty; there was a nice mix. The Other Country (I haven’t read many from this one, but the ones I’ve read I’ve enjoyed) focus on people from other countries, immigrants and other cultures, as far as I could tell. They’re really lovely books to just pick up and read a couple from as they’re not difficult reads, but they’re thought-provoking, and I like time to process them after I’ve read them.

The Divine Comedy by Dante is one of the most famous epic poems to have ever been written. It follows the story of Dante (I believe it’s him anyway – it’s a first person narrator) traversing through, hell, purgatory and then paradise to find salvation – I believe anyway. I’m only on page 46. I’m absolutely loving it though – I fell in love almost immediately – and whilst I was expecting to enjoy it, I didn’t expect to fall as quickly in love with it as I have. Also, this book is my baby. It. Is. Stunning. It contains images that go with the poem and it just helps with my understanding (it’s not difficult to understand, but the pictures just make it very clear) and the pages are gold edged and ugh. This book.

Anyone who knows me knows just how much I love going to the theatre and Cats is one of my favourite musicals of all time (it’s up there with Les Mis, if it hasn’t beaten it – it’s a tight competition). What makes it better is that it’s actually based of a poetry book by T. S. Eliot – Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. I didn’t actually realise that “Old Possum” was a nickname for T. S. Eliot until a while ago. Then it all made sense! I also really love this book which I had for my birthday, Now We Are Six by A. A. Milne. Winnie the Pooh was probably my favourite programme when I was little (and to be honest with you I’d watch it now if it was on TV at some point) and these poems are just so amazing. They’re really humorous, even when I read them now. I found this other book, Of Mutability by Jo Shapcott in a charity shop and picked it up on a whim. That was a good choice. I love that there are so many different styles within this anthology and the poems just had something about them that draws me in and makes me fall in love – but that “something” I can’t explain. I don’t know why, it’s one of those feelings that you can’t put into words it’s so weird (in a good way!).

Finally these are my favourite four anthologies that contain poems by a variety of different poets. 100 Best Poems For Children is one of my oldest books and if I remember rightly I bought it whilst in Ireland years ago. It contains stunning illustrations and I have just always loved the poems in this book, my favourite being “The Listeners” by Walter De La Mare – I’ve always loved that poem, and probably always will. I also adore England’s Best Loved Poems which is edited by George Courtauld. There are brief explanations of the poets and poems before each one and this is such a nice touch, and the poems are so well selected. One Hundred Favourite Poems, selected by Classic FM listeners has a wide variety of poems and it’s great for flicking through if you don’t want to read poems by one poet. All of these four books are good for that. Finally Best-Loved Poems, edited by Neil Philip is a beautiful book as well. The pages are gold edged and contain small illustrations and it’s gorgeous. The poems are sorted into themes (they are in England’s Best Loved Poems as well) but there is such a range of themes that you can pretty much always find one in here to suit your mood.

These are just a small few of the poetry books that I own and I adore them all. I may do a complete collection blog post / video sometime in the future, but I’m not too sure. If you want to get into poetry, I’d definitely recommend starting with an anthology containing poems from many different poets as you can find the ones you enjoy the most as well as the theme / genre / period.

(Overly Ambitious) October TBR 2015

October 1, 2015 ~ Natalie Cotterill ~ 8 Comments

I do have half term at the end of this month, but I still think that this TBR is extremely ambitious. I didn’t even read fourteen books in July or August when I had time, especially not including classics. The problem is I have a lot of books that I have started and want to finish, it’s halloween so, like everyone else, I want to read something (slightly) scary and I have some books for review. We’ll see. I’m going to aim for half of them I think, and hope for the best!

What We Left Behind – Robin Talley (this is an ARC that needs to be reviewed before its release date of the 22nd)
The Light That Gets Lost – Natasha Carthew (Again this is an ARC but it doesn’t come out until November – but it looks so good and I cannot wait to read it)
Need – Joelle Charbonneau (This is an ARC that comes out very early November and so I need to read this! The plot looks so intriguing and I’m really looking forward to starting it, although I may leave it to a time when I have a little less work to do because it seems like the kind of book I’ll want to focus on properly)
The Invasion of the Tearling – Erika Johansen (Oh my days the sooner that I get to this the better I cannot wait…!)
The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde (I’ve already started this and I’m really enjoying it! I just had to put it down for a while because I was really tired by the time I was getting to bed (and when I picked it up therefore) and couldn’t focus on it)
The Divine Comedy – Dante (This book is so so beautiful and I honestly am so excited to read it! This is another one that I’ve already started).
More Than This – Patrick Ness (I’ve already started this, but struggled with it as a read before bed as it’s quite dark and I wanted something I could just chill and relax with!)
Rook – Shannon Cameron (This was the Perustopia book club book and yes I missed the liveshow deadline thingy (the time to have read it by) but I’m about halfway through and am struggling to get motivated to pick it back up, despite the fact that I was really enjoying it)
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs (This is as spooky as I’ll go – I’m such a wimp – and it’s perfect for halloween coming up!)
Lady Chatterley’s Lover – D. H. Lawrence (I need to read this for school asap, but I’m struggling to find the motivation (for the same reason as Dorian Gray, I’m too tired to focus on a classic in the evenings when I read!))
The Accident Season – Moira Fowley-Doyle (I’ve heard that this is set in October and there’s something about reading a book in the month it’s set! It’s also quite short!)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – William Shakespeare (Since starting Hamlet at school this year and realising just how much I enjoy (and actually shockingly understand) Shakespeare, I’ve wanted to pick up another of his plays, and this is the one I have, for some reason, wanted to read for ages!)
On Chesil Beach – Ian McEwan (I have started reading this and I’m really enjoying it so far, and it’s really short!)
Brave New World – Aldous Huxley (I’ve been meaning to read this for ages and I’m enjoying dystopians at the moment)

So yeah, a rather long list, but these are the books that I’m really in the mood to read at the moment! I’m just hoping to have a better reading month than September…

What Would You Like to See?

September 24, 2015October 6, 2015 ~ Natalie Cotterill ~ Leave a comment

So I thought I’d do a short post asking your opinions on my blog. Seeing as I’ve gained a lot (relatively – for me!) of new followers recently I wanted to know whether you would like to see anything else? For example some of my creative writing? I don’t know whether to upload it online or not. I don’t mean a lot – just now and again.

To have even one follower on this blog makes me ecstatic. I started this for me, originally as a way to document my time as Young Poet Laureate, which I didn’t actually really do! Now it’s morphed into my main hobby (other than reading and writing, obviously!) and I just want to say thank you to everyone who has followed or viewed this little space of mine on the internet!

🙂

Back to School Book Recommendations

September 15, 2015September 13, 2015 ~ Natalie Cotterill ~ Leave a comment

It’s that time of year again… the one that everybody dreads. This year is my final school year (it’s so weird to write that) and it’s going to be hectic! I always read less whilst I’m at school as I usually have a load of homework which simply takes forever and so I have no time to read. However, this year it’s going to be different. I’m going to aim to read a book a week by making time before bed to read as there are so many books on my shelf that look amazing! I do think however, that there are certain books that are better than others when getting back into school. Usually they’re shorter, stand-alones (not always, but often) and lighter reads. So I’m going to recommend a few that I’d say are perfect for this season, and most, if not all, have a school aspect in them as well.

Anna and the French Kiss – Stephanie Perkins

Whilst I would agree with pretty much everyone when they say this is a perfect summer read, I would also say that this is a good one for going back to school as it’s super quick to read, lighthearted and it’s set in a boarding school. It’s funny and would be a good book to pick up and read a bit of before bed to relax after a long day of school.

Fangirl – Rainbow Rowell

This follows Cath, who starts college with her sister Wren. This is perfect if you feel that you’re struggling to fit in, or you need a reminder to be yourself. It’s a stand alone with fantastic characters, humour and fan fiction. I read this last year in October time I believe (it was in the Autumn term) so I would definitely recommend this for this time!

Fans of the Impossible Life – Kate Scelsa

Mira is starting at the same school that misfit Jeremy goes to. Sebby, Mira’s friend, sometimes goes to another school, but mostly skips it, meeting Mira when her day is over. This is the story of the friendship Jeremy makes with the two of them as they all struggle to ‘fit in’ at school.

Am I Normal Yet? – Holly Bourne

Evie has had a long time off school due to mental illness and this is her experience of trying to be ‘normal’, which involves starting at college. This book is so, so realistic and had me laughing a lot and I would recommend this at any time of year, but especially now!

Wonder – R. J. Palacio

I recommend this for two reasons. One, it’s amazing. It is such a beautiful story. Two, it is August’s experience of school for the first time. He’s bullied because of the way he looks and he struggles with fitting in but it’s such a lovely story and a really quick read (I read this in one sitting, so even reading a bit a night, it wouldn’t take long to read).

The Harry Potter series – J. K. Rowling

Now what would a school themed post be without a mention of Harry Potter?! As everyone knows, the majority of these books takes place at Hogwarts, a school for Witchcraft and Wizardry. These books are amazing. The first ones I would definitely recommend because they’re lighthearted and funny. The later ones get darker, but they’ll be perfect for those winter months.

There are so many more books that I could have mentioned in this post. I’m tempted to do a part two? I don’t know. I hope this helps if you’re looking for a book to read in this autumnal, back to school season.

My Favourite Books I’ve Read This Summer

September 10, 2015September 2, 2015 ~ Natalie Cotterill ~ Leave a comment

This summer has been pretty good in terms of reading. Normally I read loads on holiday and then the 4/5 weeks after I get back I read barely anything but this hasn’t happened this year! As a result, I have a lot (well, a few) of books to choose from and I’m going to pick my five favourites from this summer. (But they’re not in a particular order). I have / will have reviewed these books, so there will be very little information with them (reviews should be linked if they are already published).

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – Benjamin Alire Sáenz

This is such a beautiful book! I absolutely adored it and read it in less than a day. Everything about this book is perfect and if you haven’t already read it, then go and read it.

The Wrath and the Dawn – Renée Ahdieh

Completely different to things I’d normally read but it was fantastic – the plot was fast paced and interesting and I could picture the setting perfectly.

The Queen of the Tearling – Erika Johansen

This was amazing. I loved it so so much. The attitude of Kelsea kept making me laugh and I particularly liked the relationship she had with her guard.

Am I Normal Yet? – Holly Bourne

This book. Mental health and being a teenager are perfectly summarised. So normal, yet it explains complex and difficult issues clearly.

Extraordinary Means – Robyn Schneider

Every character was completely different in every way, with their own quirks and habits. It also accurately sums up how society reacts to outbreaks of a disease.

My September TBR

September 4, 2015September 2, 2015 ~ Natalie Cotterill ~ Leave a comment

To add to the “Top 3 Books of Whatever Month Just Passed” (Obviously the month is named) monthly thing I plan to do on here, I’m also going to write a “TBR” post in the early days. I’m very much a mood reader, so I’m not saying for certain that these are the books that I’ll read, but they’ll be the ones I’m most eager to get to. I think I’ll probably only list about 2-4 depending on how I’m feeling (like whether there are any books I definitely want to read or I’m just going with the flow).

So, for the month of September, I’m listing five (six if I include rereading Hamlet for school). This is possibly too optimistic as I’m going back to school and it’s going to be hectic. But one of these books is for school!

(I couldn’t take a photo of all of the ebooks so I used one I took for Instagram of Fans of the Impossible Life)

The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood (this one is for school)
Fans of the Impossible Life (ARC) – Katie Scelsa
The Secret Fire (ARC) – C. J. Daugherty, Carina Rozenfeld
Ryan Revisited – Sam Davis
Shadows – Paula Weston

All of these are ebooks (Hence no picture!) as four of them I was lucky enough to receive from publishers through Net Galley. The Handmaid’s Tale I just already owned as an ebook. What books do you plan to get around to reading this month? I hope to read all of these, or at least four books (my mind will probably change as to which I want to read next).

Challenging myself?

August 27, 2015August 27, 2015 ~ Natalie Cotterill ~ 2 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I actually enjoy challenging myself. One way in which I like to do this is reading books that I find intimidating… Whether this is because of their length, language or genre, I like to have something that pushes me outside of my comfort zone, even if it takes me forever to read!

So I currently have a couple of books on the go that I have been reading for a while now. The first is Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and this is a challenge (for me) because of its length (it’s over 1200 pages with tiny font!) and also the language is quite old fashioned. I’m about 200 pages in now and I’ve been reading it for like, three years! But it takes me ages to read just a couple of pages and I don’t pick it up that often in fairness. I’ve wanted to read this book since forever – I absolutely adore the musical (I went to see it two years ago (I think) and I had wanted to see it for as long as I can remember). It’s so interesting to read the book because there is so much detail that the musical / film simply cannot include (such as Fantine’s background). I really want to finish this book by the time I finish university (Four years – I have one year of school left before I will hopefully be going to uni) so I’m not putting too much pressure on myself! I am loving this book, it’s just slow going.

The second book is L’étranger by Albert Camus. This is the french and original version of The Outsider. I have studied french from year one to AS level (year twelve). (No I’m not fluent – year one-six was, for the most part, repeating a load of vocab; great for travelling and finding your way, not so great for language proficiency – but I’m not complaining! My teacher was lovely). Although I really was not a fan of the AS / A2 course – hence why I have dropped it – I still want to improve my french. I bought this before I started my AS course when I was contemplating languages at university (during that unfortunate phase where I was questioning what I wanted to study – my mind is certain once again). However although I now know for certain that I want to study English it doesn’t mean I want to give up with languages as I still want to learn Spanish and improve my french. I’ve read very little of this novel so far, as I keep putting it off, but I do want to pick it up again soon.

Another book is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (I’m 33% of the way through on my kindle and I’m really enjoying it) which was a push for me as I’d been put off Dickens due to not enjoying Oliver Twist (although I love the musical film). Also I have recently begun picking up books in the fantasy genre; something I’d never really considered, but I’m really, really enjoying.

Have you picked up a book despite it intimidating you? I really wanted to read these books before but put them off because they scared me a little… Have you done the same?

Natsbythesea

Books, dogs, and a new life by the sea.

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