Amy | Lost in a Good Book

Book Sale Bargains

26 Jan 2018 Leave a comment

by Amy in Book Sale Bargains Tags: australia day, book sale bargains, book sales

What better way to celebrate Australia Day than going to a book sale? Especially one you have to drive 45 minutes to get to in order to snag some free books. One of the Newcastle Libraries were giving away their discarded stock so naturally I was there when doors opened to grab up a bundle of books I certainly don’t have room for and yet inevitably needed to have because of reasons.

It was the typical book sale madness, people crowding at unopened doors because…not sure why. To get in first? To get in a few seconds before anyone else? It’s always the same, at every sale. After the doors did open and people rushed on in, I did the rounds. One thing I like about good book sales is they have things in happy categories. And with library book sales there’s different ones. Instead of breaking things into biographies, sport, cooking etc, everything is in the non fiction pile, and all large print is in the large print pile, and therefore can quickly ignore two sections and focus on the fiction, YA, and children’s. I didn’t get any children’s books this time, being a library sale discarded children books aren’t generally going to be the popular or well known ones. But I did manage to score some great YA books which I was surprised to find in there. I get excited about finding great books in book sales, but then I get sad that it was being discarded because it’s such a great book.

Despite the mini madness happening with boxes and books and people everywhere, I managed to get in and out within 30 minutes, and managed to score 14 books in the process. I am quite excited by what I got, a lot I haven’t read before and have wanted to read for ages so while I have no room to put them anywhere, I am glad I have them and can’t wait to read them.

The latest additions to my collection:

Dodger by Terry Pratchett

A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Spark by Rachael Craw

The ZigZag Effect by Lili Wilkinson

Time and Time Again by Ben Elton

Educating Simon by Robin Reardon

The Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The Burning Soul by John Connolly

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allysse Near

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

25 Jan 2018 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, Young Adult Tags: rainbow rowell, three stars, young adult

Published: 26th February 2013
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 323
Format: Book
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars

Eleanor is the new girl in town, and with her chaotic family life, her mismatched clothes and unruly red hair, she couldn’t stick out more if she tried.

Park is the boy at the back of the bus. Black T-shirts, headphones, head in a book – he thinks he’s made himself invisible. But not to Eleanor… never to Eleanor.

Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mixtapes, Eleanor and Park fall for each other. They fall in love the way you do the first time, when you’re young, and you feel as if you have nothing and everything to lose.

I had been hearing about this book this ages and I finally got to read it last year. I liked it don’t get me wrong, but it certainly wasn’t the Big Grand Amazing YA Book I’d heard it praised as. The amount of love and praise didn’t match up with the book I read. It was, for lack of a better word, sweet.

When you break it down it is also heartbreaking and admirable, and the characters are the best they be at the time, but matter how I tried, I didn’t gush over it. It remained very sweet. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it being sweet though, it is the kind of sweet that touches you a little inside and makes you happy and then breaks your heart while making you smile.

I will say a strong point was most definitely the characters. This book is all about the characters and I loved them; I loved their uniqueness, how different Eleanor is from, dare I say it, most girls. I also loved that Park is who he is regardless and he gets through high school as best he can. I loved that I was surprised and proud of these two, I adored them just a little and Rowell has written them well. I feel their characters were able to shine in the setting they were given, the 80s was a great environment to tell this kind of story, one I think needed the retro feeling.

The narrative was well told, Rowell gives you both Eleanor and Park’s point of view and seeing them interact with one another from both sides is a great example of misconceptions and hiding personal truths. I felt sorry for Eleanor’s life but proud of her at the same time. I felt she was a wonderfully strong character even when she didn’t feel it herself.

Park’s initial reservations and desire not to stand out by helping her is a kick in the gut but you also understand where he is coming from (even if you think him a coward). Social expectations, bullying, and peer pressure are all explored in this novel, and Park is a clear example of trying to remain unnoticed, seeing something is wrong, but not being strong enough to stand up against it. Seeing his development over the book was good, a bit disappointed it took as long as it did, but I ended up being proud of him which is a good result.

I don’t think this needs to be a Big Grand YA, I think this is a beautifully sweet and wonderful story that gets you right in the heart and makes you pity and love these foolish teenagers and their lives. Maybe the very fact that it is sweet and heartbreaking is what makes it wonderful?

You can purchase Eleanor and Park via the following

Dymocks | Booktopia

Book Depository | Wordery

Fishpond | A&R Bookworld

Amazon | Amazon Aust

Anna and the French Kiss

24 Jan 2018 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Young Adult Tags: four stars, stephanie perkins, young adult

Published: 16th July 2013
Publisher: Speak
Pages: 372
Format: Book
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Can Anna find love in the City of Light?

Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection. So she’s less than thrilled when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year.But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new people, including the handsome Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he’s taken —and Anna might be, too. Will a year of romantic near misses end with the French kiss she’s waiting for?

There are definitely two emotions one experiences whilst reading this book. On one hand, it is sweet and adorable and there are lovely French sites and wonderful friendships and cute, sweet romances. On the other hand, there’s a boy who essentially cheats on his girlfriend because he hasn’t got the emotional stability to be alone, both have too many emotions that can’t seem to stay balanced for more than five minutes, and other kinds of moral problems that just don’t sit right.

Focusing on the good though, I loved that Perkins took the friendship route. I loved the entire first half where Anna and the nice French boy Étienne St Clair become friends as he shows her around France. There’s not anything to worry about and you fall in love with their friendship. I loved that Anna didn’t pine for the boy across the room without really meeting him, she got to know him and be a close friend first and foremost which made their relationship and the story much better.

I enjoyed the narrative a lot; I liked the normalcy of it before the relationship drama really began. I liked seeing Anna find her feet and making friends, seeing her navigate through this French school as best she could. Character \wise though, Anna was complicated. To be honest, all the characters were interesting and had some issues, but my word they were dramatic. Very dramatic, and so many emotions! Anna was such an emotional yo-yo it was hard to keep up. She also cried a lot. A lot. For no reason, at the drop of a hat, for the smallest thing. It’s a character choice I guess, the sensitive girl, but I swear there are times when crying is not the right reaction and there’s some stuff that maybe could be solved without tears.

St Clair was another emotionally and angst-ridden teen. St Clair is the typical YA boy: the hair, the smile, the eyes, the way he chews on his nails is even meant to be adorable, and I’ll be honest, at times I hated myself thinking that was adorable but credit where credit is due, Perkins makes you fall in love with these two and makes all the problematic moments easy to forget. Like Anna, St Clair is an emotional confusion which makes him a pain at times with his own indecision, but I guess it is meant to be romantic or something.

I certainly shifted between them being adorable and rolling my eyes at them which was weird. They shifted between the two so quickly so one minute I was rolling my eyes then I was ‘awwing’ at their sweetness. It was an odd experience but in a weird way, I think the sweetness worked out, even if it was hilarious at times watching them discusses their situation and I hate St Clair at times for his actions.

I know there are problems in this about characters and their actions, but I think I was won over because it was sweet and it was a romance that was built up through friendship and accidental feelings. But I will openly admit that I feel a bit wrong in doing so.

You can purchase Anna and the French Kiss via the following

Publisher | Book Depository

Amazon | Booktopia | Kobo

Wordery | Fishpond | A&R Bookworld

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Really Liked But Can’t Remember Much About Them

23 Jan 2018 Leave a comment

by Amy in Top Ten Tags: Top Ten, top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original and weekly meme created by The Broke And The Bookish in 2010 but has since moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in 2018.

Topic: Books I Really Liked But Can’t Remember Much About It

So many books fall into this category. I know I loved it, but heaven help me if I try to recall whatever happened in it any further than a vague scene. These are books I have actually even recommended to people and yet can’t really tell them what it is about, which is super handy. I remember the emotional connection, the plot not so much. Writing this list though has made me realise I want to reread many of these books.

Tithe by Holly Black

This was my first Holy Black, and it got me excited about reading about Faeries and the Court. I must have a reread of this whole series because I can’t actually remember anything about it.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

It was weird, I know that, but very good. I know there is a pond, a lane (of course), and a funeral.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

My first introduction to Le Guin and I was surprised how engaging this book was. I remember loving the notion of the forbidden magical fruit.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

I read this at uni and I remember being surprised how much I liked it for a classic. There is a scandal of sorts, and it’s quite depressing, I recall that much.

The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey

This was actually in my Top Five one year, that’s why it’s surprising I can’t remember much about it. I did love it, I might have to revist my review and remember what happens.

Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr

More faeries I loved. This was the final book after a well built up series, my favourite of them all, I was very invested and emotional about it and yet it doesn’t seem to have stayed. I do recall the big battle scene happened in an old house, that counts, right?

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

Harriet gets her notebook found and there’s a quote from my favourite poem in there

Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

A mystery/detective style story set in Victorian England. I love Pullman so I am a bit sad I can’t recall this one very well.

Are We There Yet by David Levithan

This was a wonderful story, it was beautifully sad and lovely, I couldn’t tell you what it is really about but it was about two brothers and a possible trip to Paris?

5th Blogiversary Celebrations + Giveaway (INT) (DRAWN)

23 Jan 2018 26 Comments

by Amy in Giveaway Tags: blogiversary, giveaway

I can’t say I even thought about doing this for five years when I started out. I don’t think I even thought how long I would be doing this for. I remember reading other people’s five-year posts when I have been in the game less than a year and marvelling at how long that was. Now, having reached that milestone myself, I can’t believe how time has flown.

My review style has changed in five years, my writing voice has changed in five years. I have certainly gotten into my own rhythm which took a few years to discover. I probably have felt better blogging this year than maybe in the last four. This wasn’t something I entirely noticed, but there was something I realised I was missing that I have had in past years; stress and guilt. I didn’t have any stress and didn’t have any guilt this past year. Not to the extremes I have had almost every past year at least. I seemed to have taken my 2017 goal of stressing less and relaxing about blogging to heart, even partially unconsciously.

In order to celebrate five years of blogging (and five years of rambling and gushing all over the interweb), I am offering a giveaway of some of my favourite books. The books I am giving away include my Top Five from last year, as well as a few of my favourite books I’ve read or reread in the last five years. One book I am excited to add to the list is Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King which has FINALLY been published in Australia (thank you Text Publishing!). I have also included Becky Albertelli’s latest book, (at least until her new one comes out), The Upside of Unrequited, And I couldn’t not throw in Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones which is one of my all-time favourite YA books (don’t judge it by the movie, it’s a hilarious and delightful experience).

Since it’s a mini milestone of five years I am giving TWO lucky people the chance to win and once again I am opening it up internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to your country. If you want to check out the books in more detail I’ve included some links below, I have actually reviewed most of these so that’s a little bit of extra guidance.

I want to thank everyone for supporting me for all these years, who knows what will happen in the next five years but I am certainly excited to find out.

Good luck to all entrants and happy reading!

The Selection

La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust) by Philip Pullman

The Upside Of Unrequited by Becky Albertelli

The Martian by Andy Weir

Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson

Fight Like A Girl by Clementine Ford

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

To enter: For a chance to win one of the pictured books simply enter here and complete the Rafflecopter form.

Please note: This giveaway is international on the basis the Book Depository ships to your country. To see if you are eligible you can check their website.