Amy | Lost in a Good Book

2017 Goals

01 Jan 2017 Leave a comment

Review policy A new year means time for new yearly goals. I have only a few this year, some will be more easily achieved than others I have no doubt, but I am going to try my best. These are, of course, on top of other goals I have pledged to achieve this year like finishing my numerous reading challenges and trying to absorb every new awesome books that will come out this year that I will probably not get to read until next year or the year after. But it’s a starting point.

Read more books from my own shelf

I definitely keep accumulating books faster than I am reading them so I am making an effort to source form my own shelves more frequently. I started last year but this year I am stepping it up another notch.

Finish half finished series

I am partway through so many series, four at least off the top of my head. I am aiming to finish those and stop leaving characters and moments hanging unread.

Read books by authors with the surname starting with E, Q, X, and Z

I realised last year while looking through my review list I hadn’t read anything by authors with those surname letters. I plan to fix that this year and finish my alphabet collection.

Reread Harry Potter

Because why not, really. I didn’t actually get to complete my reread last year, but I am going to go back to book one work my way through happily and uninterrupted.

Finish reading all the requests I didn’t get to last year

Overwhelmed with shame and guilt I am about not having read these yet, but I am going to work through them one by one and get it done! Sorry, every one!

Start using new blog features I’ve developed

They really aren’t anything special but I have a couple of little features I am going to start including with books and reviews. I’ve had the little logos done for months but never gotten around to implementing them yet.

Don’t stress so much about blogging

Sigh. Let’s only hope. I have already embraced the idea that I don’t need to review everything I read, now I need to stop looking at when I last posted and just focusing on posting something. Always better than nothing at all. Never give up, never surrender and all that.

So that’s the plan. I’m looking forward to a great year of blogging and reading, and judging how past years have turned out blog wise, I know how this year will go, but I am going to keep on doing it any way because I love it. As per usual, thank you all for coming on this ride with me, it’s always a blast. May 2017 be marvellous on all fronts and you read something spectacular!

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, 2016!

31 Dec 2016 Leave a comment

by Amy in Rambles Tags: happy new year, new year, new years eve

NYE This has been a particularly tough year. I’ve had a few family dramas taking up a lot of my time, I’ve been working a lot, and a couple of months ago I moved house and have been without internet since which has just been delightful and made blogging an almost nonexistent activity.

But aside from that! On the positivity train, I discovered so many amazing books and authors, and went to so many wonderful events. I discovered a range of amazing Aussie authors, specifically a lot of fantastic women writers. I fell in love with authors like Sarah Ayoub and Megan Jacobson, not to mention Fleur Ferris and Shivaun Plozza.

I had a wonderful year in terms of book events, meeting again some favourite authors like Garth Nix, Melina Marchetta, and Ryan O’Neill. I met David Levithan for the first time which was awesome and made me remember how much I love his books. I also got to meet Rainbow Rowell, Alice Pung, Kirsty Eager, and a range of fantastic new authors I am looking forward to falling in love with through their works.

I was a bit bad this year, abandoning my second hand hauls for a lot of retail book buying, though in my defence I was very thrifty, getting the best prices. Either way my bank balance is not that happy with me. I am hoping to be a bit more conservative next year and maybe make use of the fact I work in a library and should borrow before I buy like I used to do. Not that I don’t enjoy seeing my shelves lined with gorgeous books 😀

In terms of challenges I did surprisingly well all things considered. I met my 80 book goal on Goodreads and I exceeded my Australian Women’s Writer’s Challenge for books read. Reviewing I just missed out, but I still think I did very well. My Book Bingo was also a success, I made a winning line, and I filled up the majority of my card. I’m really excited about making up my 2017 card; in addition to a new Goodreads goal and AWW up my sleeve I will certainly have a lot of diversity and variety in my reading.

One thing I noticed about 2016 is that another year has now been and gone before I get a copy of The Book of Dust in my hand, the book by Philip Pullman that I’ve been hanging on for since it was first announced. The late 2016 estimate clearly was wrong, I was waiting got an 11th hour announcement but none came. Pullman tweeted mid-December saying the new date is now late 2017. So I will no doubt see you this time next year with an update one way or another.

While that didn’t eventuate I did celebrate the 90th anniversary of Winnie the Pooh on the blog. Blocking out October to bring you all things Pooh and Milne (at the time of posting three posts short but on their way, see internet issues for explanation). Next year is the big one, bigger probably than my HDM of 2015. 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the first publication of Harry Potter. Even as I type those words it freaks me out. 20 years! How on earth? But with seven books and eight movies, and so much additional material it’s clear to see how it could span such a space of time and feel like it wasn’t that long ago we first fell into the wizarding world. Still, it makes me feel very old and makes me realise just how young I was when I picked up that first book.

So that they year that was, the plans ahead, and a bunch of rambles in the middle. That about does it for me this year I think. I’m not going to make promises about posting more, trying to balance life and blogging. I am instead going to do my best, read what I choose and share what I love. I am not going to let guilt of blogging dictate me and I am going to try and remember why I wanted to start this blog in the first place. That’s my mini plan at any rate.

I wish everyone a very happy new year, whether you are braving a big city celebration or a night in with friends, family, or just the dog. Don’t fret if all you have to celebrate New Year’s is a book, a wine, and a dog at your feet. I celebrated on my own last year like that but it was fine because I just had to remind myself that it’s not drinking alone if the dog is home.

Have a happy new year and read something spectacular!

AWW 2016 Final Update

31 Dec 2016 2 Comments

by Amy in Australian Women Writers Tags: australian women writers challenge, aww, aww 2016

AWW16 Let’s take a moment to thank Past Amy for actually kind of keeping on top of this before her world crumbled and the big bad men stole her internet, her free time, and made her work all the time.

With that done, I am rather proud of myself for participating in this finally. I loved it. I made an effort to read more Aussie women books this year even without this challenge, and through chance and circumstance I discovered some great books by Aussies this year so it’s great this challenge was here to share them with you all. While I haven’t been able to review as many as I planned due to having no internet in the house for two months, and having a lot of personal and work commitments, I have read more. I will be getting reviews up for them though eventually I just have run out of time. I have included a complete list of all books read below, review links included and I am certainly looking forward to doing this again next year, with total success!

AWW BOOKS Sep-Dec

Black by Fleur Ferris – Review

Mad Men, Bad Girls, and the Guerilla Knitters Institute by Maggie Groff – Review

The Eye of the Sheep by Sophie Laguna

Hate is Such a Strong Word by Sarah Ayoub

Breathing Underwater by Sophie Hardcastle

Australian Women Writers Challenge 2016 Total

Read: 28/25

Reviewed: 13/15

The Princess Companion by Melanie Cellier – Reviewed

Dead, Actually by Kaz Delaney – Reviewed

Almost Dead by Kaz Delaney – Reviewed

The Reluctant Jillaroo by Kaz Delaney – Reviewed

Yellow by Megan Jacobson – Reviewed

The Yearbook Committee by Sarah Ayoub – Reviewed

Frankie by Shivaunn Plozza – Reviewed

Risk by Fleur Ferris – Reviewed

Pieces of Sky by Trinity Doyle – Reviewed

Wish List by Belinda Williams – Reviewed

Darkest Place by Jaye Ford

The High Places by Fiona MacFarlane

The Stockmen by Rachael Treasure

Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta – Reviewed

The Farmer’s Wife by Rachael Treasure – Reviewed

Jillaroo by Rachael Treasure

The Boundless Sublime by Lilli Wilkinson

The Girl and the Ghost Grey Mare by Rachael Treasure

Elliane by Judy Nunn

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

The Rouseabout by Rachael Treasure

The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham

The Princess Fugitive by Melanie Cellier

Black by Fleur Ferris – Reviewed

Mad Men, Bad Girls, and the Guerilla Knitters Institute by Maggie Groff – Reviewed

The Eye of the Sheep by Sophie Laguna

Hate is Such a Strong Word by Sarah Ayoub

Breathing Underwater by Sophie Hardcastle

Black by Fleur Ferris

30 Dec 2016 2 Comments

by Amy in 5 Stars, Young Adult Tags: five stars, fleur ferris, young adult

Published: 22nd July 2016
Publisher: Random House Australia
Pages: 276
Format: Paperback
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

Ebony Marshall is in her final year of high school. Five months, two weeks and four days . . . She can’t wait to leave the town where she’s known only as ‘Black’. Because of her name, of course. But for another reason, too.

Everyone says Black Marshall is cursed.

Three of her best friends have died in tragic accidents. After Oscar, the whispers started. Now she’s used to being on her own. It’s easier that way.

But when her date for the formal ends up in intensive care, something in quiet little Dainsfield starts to stir. Old secrets are revealed and terrifying new dangers emerge.

If only Black could put all the pieces together, she could work out who her real enemies are. Should she run for her life, or stay and fight?

I loved this book. I love how Ferris can make the simplest real life things turn into something creepy and unsettling. I love that she highlights these real life disturbing situations and turns them into something worthy of a horror story. My favourite thing is that with all the monsters invented over history, ‘it’s just people’ is often the scariest thing out there and Ferris knows how to bring these hidden real life monsters out from the shadows.

This is of course helped by having a character like Black. Her voice, her manner, her personality is perfect for this story, the right mix of everything. She isn’t a snob or some wild, social outcast who shuns people and they dislike her because she rebels. She has built a wall around herself to protect herself after life continues to torment her. I think Black is to be commended for her strength and the fact that she doesn’t let it change who she is, the fact her defences are there for her own sanity, is something I commend.

Ferris is always wonderful at creating strong family dynamics, and like Risk before, Black has a wonderful mother/daughter relationship. It was one I enjoyed seeing, the realistic love and protection and fierceness in both of them made them come to life. It wasn’t just two characters on a page that happened to be related, Ferris highlights their relationship well making them complex and genuine and they could easily be real people.

I loved the creepy nature of this story, Ferris makes it so vivid; I was there with Black with the uncertainty and the fear. I was drawn into the story by the subtleness and how the evil sneaks up on you, how the peculiarities of people suddenly snap and chaos unfolds. The tension and heightened emotion works well and Ferris paces it perfectly and makes you wait and wonder, and makes you wonder what will happen and marvel at the fact it is happening at all.

You can purchase Black via the following

Amazon Aust | Book Depository

Booktopia | QBD

Angus and Robinson | Dymocks

Book Bingo 2016: The End of the Journey (With a Win!)

30 Dec 2016 Leave a comment

by Amy in Book Bingo Tags: book bingo, book bingo 16

Bingo As 2016 comes to an end, so too does my 2016 Book Bingo challenge. Given the hectic nature of the past few months, I did admittedly entirely forget about doing this so there are no updates or anything which I’m a bit sad about. The good news is that looking at my read pile I realised I covered a lot of ground in the past few months. I may not have been able to finish my card, but I managed to secure a bingo so I’m taking that as a win. I’m sure the point it to get a line anyway, not fill your card. So I’m pretty stoked, and looking at all the red on my chart I did well considering I thought it fell off the wagon a few months ago. My full list of books read is below, some of them managed to get a review, others didn’t, but I’ve linked in those that had and included their Goodreads link. I may still write reviews for some of these but this is where we stand at the moment. I loved doing this again, I haven’t made up next year’s yet but I have a bunch of new ideas and categories to cover so I’m looking forward to creating it. Did you do any book bingos this year? It definitely helps you read things you may not typically pick up and I’ve discovered some amazing books this way.