Lost in a Good Book

Despite being pretty much forgotten about since I first posted this in January (no surprise there), I have actually managed a Bingo win in these final days of the year! How serendipitous. When I was paying attention I actually really enjoyed choosing books for these categories. I think I’m actually going to keep them for next year as well, there are many ones I didn’t get to read and would love to, and would love to read more of what I did.

I will be writing up reviews for those without them at some stage, I’ll update the links as they come. I’ve linked the Goodreads page which has my star rating on them as a start. I can recommend most of what I read, there were a few that fell short, but that’s ok, the good books balanced out the bad ones in the end. Once again I also discovered some great books and authors on the way which is a win in itself too.

A Fairytale Retelling: Frogkisser! by Garth Nix

Published This Year: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman – REVIEW

On TBR For More Than A Year: Beside Myself by Ann Morgan

Reread A Series: Harry Potter by JK Rowling  – REVIEWS

Author Of A Different Ethnicity: The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera

A Classic: Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien – REVIEW

Non-Human MC: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Free Choice: Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

Chosen For The Cover: Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen – REVIEW

Short Stories Collection: Night Music by John Connolly

Was A Gift: Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

Book About Books: Julie and Julia – REVIEW

Self Published: Moonstruck by Nikki Rae – REVIEW

Non-Fiction: Fight Light A Girl by Clementine Ford – REVIEW

Graphic Novel: Fables by Bill Willingham

One Word Title: Wonder by R.J Palacio

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.

Was a Gift – Elianne by Judy Nunn

Child Main Character – Yellow by Megan Jacobson – REVIEW

Set in Australia – Dead, Actually by Kaz Delaney – REVIEW

A Fairytale Retelling – The Princess Companion by Melanie Cellier – REVIEW

Author You’ve Never Read – Time and Time Again by Ben Elton

More Than 50 Years Old – My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin

That ‘Every One’ Has Read – The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Second Hand Book – The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham

On TBR List for More Than a Year – Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

Free Choice – Heart and Brain Comic Collection by Nick Seluk

LGBTQIA Character – The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis

Recommended by a Friend – Darkest Place by Jaye Ford

Chosen for the Cover – The Memory Book by Lara Avery – REVIEW

Self Published – The Crow Box by Nikki Rae – REVIEW

Involves Greek Mythology – Antigoddess by Kendre Blake

Turned into a Movie – Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Reimagining a Classic – Hamlet by John Marsden – REVIEW

 It a few months into my 2016 Book Bingo and I’m long overdue for a check-in. As May begins I’ve read 7 books and no Bingo as of yet. I haven’t been actively trying to fill it in for a few months but I’m going to try again as I catch up on my reading this month. There are a few I’m looking forward to filling in like Reimagining a Classic, or finding one from an author with my initials, and as always I’m adding the Book Bingo icon to my review posts so you can see which books have been included in between updates.

A Fairytale Retelling

The Princess Companion by Melanie Cellier

I was really excited to read this story, it’s a retelling of The Princess and the Pea fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen, and what drew me to it was that this delightful story rarely gets the attention other fairytales do and I was excited to see what Cellier’s retelling would be. It was a remarkable story, and one she managed to expand into a full-length novel considering it is one of the shortest fairytales I know of. It is still The Princess and the Pea story we all recognise, but told in a way that it becomes a whole new story on its own. There’s still so much of a fairytale in this story: woodcutter’s daughter, godmothers, princes, and kingdoms, but Cellier manages to create something more intricate and complex than the original tale. It is sweet, creative, and incredibly clever.

Set in Australia

Dead, Actually by Kaz Delaney

I’ve had Kaz’s books sitting on my shelf for way too long before I finally got a chance to read them but I’m so glad I finally made the time. This YA story has a side of paranormal but still keeps the everyday contemporary feel as well. There is so much to love about this book: the characters, the mystery, the fabulous writing that sends your heart and mind crazy with anticipation and suspense. I loved everything about this book from start to finish, it’s enthralling, it’s messy and complicated, but that is what makes it exhilarating to read.

LGBTQIA Character

The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis

I read this in part because I was going to Penguin Teen’s YASquad and wanted to read the author’s attending but I like to think I’d have picked up this story anyway. There is so much to love about this story, the boys themselves in particular. The story is told in three parts, with each of the three boys telling their story. This is a LGBTQIA book because of Ryan, a guy who isn’t yet brave enough to come out and who struggles not only with his friend’s death, but trying to work out who he is now that he’s gone. Seeing him come to terms with himself and the struggle he faces is touching and heartbreaking at the same time.

Author You’ve Never Read

The Midnight Watch by David Dyer

When I first learnt about this book I was so excited to read it. This is the story of The Californian, the ship famous for being near the Titanic when she sank and not coming to her rescue. It is a brilliant read that takes a lot of its narrative and dialogue from official records. This is Dyer’s debut novel and it is filled with emotion and history and all things to make you angry and frustrated and heartbroken. If you love the story of Titanic and reading incredibly real historical fiction then this is a wonderful read.

On TBR For More Than A Year

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

I can’t believe how long this book has been out before I got to read it. I had it on my TBR when it was released in 2010 I think it was. I’m glad I read it though because it’s a great story, it’s clear why this won so many awards. This is a historical coming of age story set in 1960s Australia. It’s a compelling story about a totally different time and the innocence, prejudices, and hidden secrets of a small town.

Recommended By A Friend

Darkest Place by Jaye Ford

I have been wanting to read something of Jaye Ford’s for a while and this was a great chance to start. The recommendation came with so much praise for this story and the emotions that were experienced whilst reading I was looking forward to having the same reaction. It was certainly as intense and suspenseful as promised. The story is about a woman who is trying to start her life over after a horrible accident but she learns that her new place isn’t the new start she was after. She is convinced there is someone sneaking into her apartment but no one believes her and there’s no evidence to support her claims. As you read you want to believe her but start to doubt yourself and wonder whether she is overly paranoid or is actually right all along.

Self Published

The Crow Box by Nikki Rae

As a longtime lover of Nikki Rae I jumped at her new story. Rae has always self-published, all the way back with her Sunshine Series and The Donor novella. The Crow Box is the start of her new series and is filled with all the things I love about Rae; her stories are dark, intense, with twists and surprises and a little paranormal element that makes it a thrilling read. Reading Rae is a clear example of why self published people shouldn’t be judged or thought less of, there can be some incredible stories out there if you give them a go.