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Sunday 31 July 2016

Potterhead July: Appreciating Sirius Black And The Role He Plays


Despite this week being a constant mess, I've managed to get to contribute to Potterhead July hosted by Read at Midnight.

The entire month of July, many bloggers have written posts focusing on Harry Potter in the lead up to The Cursed Child release. Well today was the day and I was looking forward to this post so much for this month, I really wanted to write about my topic even though it was suppose to go up on Thursday. 

Character Appreciation Post 


Sirius Black

There are so many inspiring and memorable characters in the Harry Potter series, probably one of the reasons why the franchise has been so successful, and I can name so many characters I love. Yet, Sirius Black has become my all time favourite character. I do think there will be spoilers in what I will write about Sirius, so do take note if you haven't watched the series or seen the movies! 

Sirius appears in the third book/movie, The Prisoner of Azkaban, at a time when Harry begins to learn more of his parents and their lives. In this book, the absence of his parents and their love is obvious but the addition of Sirius creates such a huge impact in Harry's life. 


I love Sirius for what he represents in the series as well as Harry's life. He's introduced into Harry's life as a father figure, trusting confidant and loyal comrade. But what he represented most was hope. I've always seen Sirius as a beacon of hope, even if that sounds cheesy. Sirius is locked up in Azkaban, a place that anyone will despair in, but it's the hope inside of him that keeps him alive. He perseveres because he knows that if he can maintain hope, he can do anything. I love that message. I love that Sirius displays strength and resilience all through one aspect, hope

Sirius instills hope in Harry as well, albeit a kind of false hope. For one night Harry believes he can leave his aunt and uncle to live with Sirius. Later, in the two following novels, that hope is still somewhat there even though Sirius is still on the running. The fight to regain Sirius' innocence is hopeful for both, and in an ideal world it could've happened. 


Sirius is a role model, although I do admit not always a perfect one, and the lessons he teaches are ones to remember. Friendship is a huge one. He displays the kind of faith and loyalty towards his friends that are usually reserved for family. In this I saw how friends can become family and the amount of love you give you will receive. The friendship story between Sirius, Lupin, James and even Peter was one to admire, and in emphasising that I could really appreciate how important friendship is and what constitutes being friends. 

Harry could learn love and trust from Sirius, but he also learnt how to deal with grief and the consequences of too much pride, recklessness and impatience. There were so many things that Sirius portrayed, which really resonated with me. His character was important to the story, to Harry and to me. It surprises me that a character who didn't have much time in the series manages to play such a pivotal role, and for that Sirius is by far the most inspiring character in the Harry Potter series.

Huge thank you to Read At Midnight for hosting such an amazing event! Check out the other posts here. Also Happy Birthday to The Boy Who Lived & J.K Rowling!

Who Is Your Favourite Character? What Do You Think of Sirius Black?

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Tuesday 26 July 2016

Top Ten Tuesdays: Things Books Have Made Me Want To Do

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish, where we list our top ten according to a topic of the week. Check out future topics here!

Top Ten Things Books Have Made Me Want To Do
Clearly half of these aren't realistic and are pretty much death warrants, but why not!! 


1. Solve a crime
As a massive fan of crime/thriller, it would be super awesome to be a detective or use detective skills to figure out who the true killer was etc. Even though it would be super dangerous. And scary. But oh well. 

 


2. Travel 
SO many books about road trips, flights, backpacking etc. It really calls out the travel bug in me and I just want to pack my bags and leave ASAP. 


3. Enter dangerous tournaments/game shows etc. 
This goes out to the likes of the Hunger Games and the Triwizard Tournament. Definitely crazy but also downright awesome right? Right?



4. Go to boarding school 
More of a teen thing but I loved reading about living in a boarding house/dorm room. No parental or all the fun that comes with being around my friends 24/7. 



5. Be a cheerleader
Or belong to an American type of clique in high school really. This comes from reading too many books set during the US school system. 



6. Time travel
Back to historial eras, most likely the Tudor times, or into futuristic settings like in Ready Player One because Oasis would be awesome. 



7. Kick some ass!! 
There are so many heroines in YA these days and I am super jealous of their kick ass skills - mostly Celaena Sardothien and her assassin skills. Like seriously, how insane would it be to have A+ ninja moves. 



What Have Books Made You Want To Do?


Sunday 24 July 2016

PrintedWordsAnd Turns Four With Many Celebrations And Gifts!!

I don't know how to start this post off but it's been four years since I've started blogging. FOUR YEARS?! I don't know where time's gone. I definitely have written a post on how I started and things like that, but briefly - I was in my last year of high school and I figured why not. Now here we are. 

It still feels surreal but for the past four years I've gone from having fun to trying to build up this blog and committing more to it. I definitely still have a lot of work to do but I've invested so much time into this that now it's become my baby. I don't know if this is me bragging but I really am proud of where the blog has gone. It started off on a basic website to something that I've designed myself and will continue to pour more effort and love into. Already I'm thinking of re-designing and creating more content. There's so much work but I do it because I love it!!

I wanted to share the reasons why I love blogging but also some tips if you're contemplating on starting or have started blogging. I don't claim to be an expert for 4 years is pretty lengthy right? I feel like I would've gained some things from these past few years. To celebrate I also have a mini giveaway just to thank you all for supporting me! Read on lovelies! 
1. Blogging Community 
The people that are on here, both bloggers and just readers, are absolutely amazing. Whilst I'm not 100% involved - I admit, I can be terrible with keeping up and replying/writing comments - I do not forget that there are so many fantastic people I've connected with. I really appreciate any kind words and all the people I've been acquainted with.

2. Books!! 
Really I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to talk about books. I love that I can write about what I want and feel passionate about, and know that there are people who feel the same way I do.

3. Share what I love
When I started this, a part of me did it because I only had a handful of people to talk to about books, so this became an outlet to discover others who would want to know what books I wanted to recommend. I blog to share with you guys my favourite reads - especially those I think deserve more attention. I want to share books that are unknown but are amazing reads, which is why I'm here.

4. Discover new books
This definitely comes under connecting with the community, but I blog about books I love and in turn I get to discover books other bloggers love. It's a win-win situation, am I right?
 
1. Write About What You Love 
Discover your passion and write about it. If you start to follow a trend or think you need to write what people want to read about it, then it's going to show. You're either going to sound generic, bored or really uncertain about the content. That's the worst. Instead, write about what you love and how you feel about the subject will come across. It also means that you'll be passionate about it and will want to keep on blogging.

2. Consistency is key
This is huge and something I definitely do struggle with. Having content on your blog is key to having readers. You don't necessarily have to be posting every day but having a constant pattern for every week is great because visitors can anticipate when you will be releasing new posts and will come by! I'm still getting there with this but I swear it's super important to blogging!

3. Organise like a boss
Organisation is huge for being consistent. Whether this be having all your contacts listed and filed, month scheduled out or even having posts written well in advance - being organised is going to be a life saver when it comes to blogging. It's never easy, especially if you lead a busy life, so having a day (or two) to really dedicate time to working on your blog and getting things organised is something to consider!

4. Be Personal
I love being able to connect with blogs/bloggers and a lot of the time it's because they come across as sincere and genuine - pretty much a real person. I know who the person is, their personality, likes/dislikes and if we ever become acquainted it's just an instant connection. I don't know if that's overtly weird but I do enjoy knowing the person behind the blog.

I wanted to show my appreciation by gifting you guys with some things that I love. There are three giveaways to enter, two of which are international. The giveaways will last 2 weeks before I announce the winners. I'll make sure to tweet you guys but this post will be updated as well. Just read the guidelines and you're set!

PRIZE ONE: FAVOURITES BOOK PACK (INTL GIVEAWAY)

There are so many books that I love but I wanted to share with you guys three of the ones that are really precious to me, and hopefully you'll love them as well! For the first week it'll be a secret, but I'll reveal what the three are on my Twitter a few days before the giveaway ends so keep an eye out! Make sure The Book Depository ships to you because they'll be my trusty delivery guys. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PRIZE TWO: BOOKISH MUG OR TOTE (INTL GIVEAWAY)

I've admired PaperFury's bookish designs for so long on her store, which is why I wanted to gift one of you guys your choice of a mug or tote bag from her various options! Check out her amazing designs to see which one you would like to win, and snap me a pic once you do get it! Also do make sure Society6 ships to your country as well!


Mug Examples - many more to choose from!

Tote Examples - many more to choose from!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

PRIZE THREE: POP! VINYL DOLL (AUST GIVEAWAY)


Personally, I think is a super exciting Giveaway. I love Pop! Vinyl Dolls and I'm on my way to collecting all the different figurines. For this giveaway I'm going to stick to bookish related ones, namely Harry Potter or Alice in Wonderland because they're both books I love with characters I love. Check out the standard size figurines on the Zing website and pick your favourite!

Figurine Examples - many more to choose from!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
That's really everything to this post. I just wanted to say thank you once more for preserving with me and my blogging journey. It's been a huge one already, and hopefully there are many more to come! Good luck to everyone entering in the giveaways! 

HAPPY BLOG BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Thursday 14 July 2016

A Court of Thorn and Roses Won Everyone Over But Me

Title: A Court of Thorn and Roses
Series: A Court of Thorn and Roses #1
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: May 5th, 2015
Add to Goodreads | Buy from The Book Depository

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it... or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Review


I am so torn by this  book, even after the length of time between this review and reading the book.

Sarah J. Maas is an amazing writer, portraying in depth characters and well structured worlds. They're both fascinating to read about and also memorable, which I really appreciate. I loved Feyre for her strength, perseverance and her independence. She was skilled and smart, but lacked the nurturing she needed. Once she had that assistance, she blossomed and I could see the development, which I really enjoyed. I fell so hard for Tamlim, even though I hate anything to do with Stockholm Syndrome because it feels so wrong. There was so much intensity between them and their relationship development, albeit it was almost like insta-love. By the end I was rooting for them so hard though - so many feels!!

The world did and will grow as the series progresses, which I love the most as I read any fantasy based novel. I learnt so much and it was kept interesting by the different regions supported by the different creatures of the land. The magical elements to them were very fascinating and worth learning about, and I'm glad Maas put a different spin on faes/fairies.

Her writing excelled in some areas, but in others I was left feeling unsatisfied. The plot jumped around a lot and tried to fit a little too much into the 400 pages. I understand that it was trying to cover background information as well as set up for a sequel but the beginning felt abrupt, and in between that and the climax it was drawn out for way too long. There was a lull that was suppose to build up to a suspenseful climax but I just felt really bored after awhile. The ending was thrilling but because they had left it until too long it was rushed and I couldn't appreciate it as much. I was also slightly bothered at how Feyre reached her solutions through constant help from a certain male character, because it reduced her character to merely just a damsel waiting to be guided by a knight.

A Court of Thorn and Roses is an interesting take to Beauty and the Beast because of the change in the world and creatures explored. However, I wasn't totally won over by the entire story finding it an okay read amongst other fantasy works, especially with Maas' other novels. I do know it's an immensely hyped up series - everyone seems to love it - but it just wasn't for me.

Monday 11 July 2016

Mid Year Review: Best of The Year So Far

We've reached the mid year mark so I'd thought it'd be fun to revisit the first half and see what I've enjoyed sharing with you guys and reflecting on some goal progression. It's been a super fast year already and hopefully the last half will be even more exciting!

Posts To Check Out

Top Ten Tuesday 

Let's Talk 

Reviews


Favourite Reads




Goal Progress


I said I wasn't going to have specific goals this year but to focus on myself. That we can chat about later. I do think that I am trying to be more consistent with the number of times I post and the timing around it as well. I've gone from posting twice a week to committing to three times a week, so fingers crossed it happens. Also a tentative schedule of every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. New videos on Thursdays as well!!

How Has The Year Been For You?

Thursday 7 July 2016

The End of The World Goes Horribly Wrong in Good Omens


Title: Good Omens
Author: Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet
Publication Date:
Add to Goodreads | Buy from The Book Depository
According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes NutterWitch (the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner. 
So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth's mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture.
And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist . . .

Review


Good Omens is a fascinating read, but takes time to mull over. You have to be in the right mood to read this book but check out my video to find out more of what I thought about it!


Tuesday 5 July 2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Reads Under 2000 Ratings (Under-Hyped)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish, where we list our top ten according to a topic of the week. Check out future topics here!

Top Ten Reads With Less Than 2000 Ratings on Goodreads
At first I read 200 ratings and I freaked out cause I was like, I haven't read anything less than 200 ratings. Phew. 

1. The Troupe by Robert Bennet Jackson
A full five star read for me and definitely one to read if you don't read any of the others I'm listing! (Rating: 1285)
2. A Face Like Glass by Francis Hardinge
A fascinating take on a magical world and individually and uniqueness (Rating: 1698)
3. Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allyse Near
A modern day fairytale, that is actually haunting but also gut-wrenchingly sad (Rating: 650)
4. My Brother Jack by George Johnston
This Australian classic is amazing piece of work (Rating: 1399)


5. Minders by Michele Jaffe
Sci-fi YA where a girl can see into a troubled guy's mind and there relationship starts from there (Rating 1215)
6. Scatterheart by Lili Wilkinson
This was a childhood read, explaining the journey to Australia as a convict with a sweet love story (Rating: 532)
7. I Am God by Giorgio Valetti
If you want to read crime fiction, this is IT! (Rating: 1407)
8. The Minnow by Diana Sweeney
This was a bittersweet read about a young girl who finds herself having to be a mum suddenly (Rating: 321)

What Reads Do You Recommend For Me?

Sunday 3 July 2016

Looking Back Through June | Monthly Wrap Up

On The Blog


Top Ten Tuesday
Upcoming Anticipated Releases

Talking Personal
Catch up with me and what I've been up to the past few months!

Let's Talk: I Discuss
Difficulties in Writing Reviews | My Favourite Authors | How I Find Time To Read

July releases to get excited about!

Reviews
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
The Dressmaker (Movie vs. Novel) by Rosalie Ham
The Lake House by Kate Morton


Posts For Thoughts


Reading Time


I flew through 10 books this month, which is super great but also kind of cheating because of those 10, 7 were re-reads from a series. Oops.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
The Revenant by Michael Punke
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Illustrated Version) by J.K Rowling and Jim Kay
The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling

(Video of book thoughts to come!!)

How Did June Go For You?