The end of an era

For those of you who don't know for the past ten months, I have been living and working in Paris as an au pair whilst studying french in the local college.  I began this experience as a shy eighteen year old girl who had never lived away from home before, and I leave it as a nineteen year old who knows far more about herself than she did before. My time living abroad has given so much to me including the time to pursue my passions all while being in the company of interesting adventurous individuals and the backdrop of one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

For me, this time abroad has not come without its challenges. Being separated from your family and put in a world where you are unable to fully comprehend the language is mentally and emotionally draining. There have been days and nights, where I have wanted to give up, where I have wanted to buy the cheapest ticket I can back to the UK, where I wished I would have gone to University straight away or stayed at home and worked-the way many of my friends did. However, those days are not the ones I will remember and will stay with me for the rest of my life. The days I will remember are the times I walked along the champs elysees in the sun with friends or bathed in the sun in buttes chaumont with friends and complete strangers singing la vie en rose. Those nights I cried myself to sleep because all I wanted was my family will be forgotten and all that  will be remembered are those times I walked through Paris in the dark and saw how the lights reflected off the Seine. How I spent evenings by Canal St Martin watching the world go by. 

Ultimately, anything in life worth having is worth working for and these ten months have shown me that more than any other time in my life so far. I am leaving this place with fantastic memories and knowing so much more about this wonderful city. I am leaving this place with a much better sense of self and a pride in my interests and achievements. I am leaving this place with friends who come from different places and different walks of life, but have bonded over their love of travel, disney, art and life.

I was uncertain for a while, if I wanted to share this post. It is different from anything which will have been seen on this blog before. To be frank, I don't know if anyone will read this post, but the reason I posted it is for some reason someone finds it and they are unsure if they want to study or work abroad. I want you to read this and know that it will be hard, but know it is worth the risk. You may in fact have one of the best years of your life.    

A plague on both your houses by Susanna Gregory

This historical fiction mystery book has an incredibly strong plot and even better setting. The story follows the physician Matthew Bartholemew who lives in a monastery. Throughout the novel we see Matthew develop as he faces a number of challenges including a supposed suicide, a murder and the outbreak of the plague.

It was an addictive read and I couldn't put it down. It was fueled with suspense, tension and atmosphere. My only criticism is some of the character development, particularly in relation to the way the romance grew. I felt it was contrived at points and the women in the relationship is poorly written comparatively to the rest of the novel. Gregory seems to have used her love interest as a plot device and has not taken the time to flesh out her character. However, this is the first in a series so it is possible this romance will strengthen as the story continues. Ultimately, I loved Matthew as a character which is the most important element, as the story revolves around him.

This is the second time I have entered into the genre of mystery historical fiction. Initially, I read CJ Sansom's Shardlake series. His books are undeniably stronger. So if you wanted to have an introduction to the genre, I would recommend Sansom over Gregory. For those who have already read this genre, Gregory holds her own and is definitely worth a read!

Writing Tools: 50 essential strategies for every writer by Roy Peter Clark

In case, you haven’t guessed this book focuses on writing.

I appreciated and respected the concept of the book which was the idea that most writers aren’t the next Dickens. They are people that practice their craft and learn the tools to make it work for them.  I found this inspiring and it helped motivate me, on those bluer days, when I forgot how much I enjoy writing and how happy it makes me when I manage to write every day.  

Roy Peter Clark’s writing style was excellent and meant it was evident from the first page that he was knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the subject.  The way the book was structured was also very helpful.  Each chapter came with a list of activities at the end which practiced the tool which had been taught in the previous section. 

My one struggle with this book centred around the fact, I don’t think I was the target audience.  I am relatively new on my “writing journey” and as much as I would love it to become a career, it is very much a hobby.  I felt this book was made more for those who were already paid writers or those who were closer to considering writing as a career rather than more at an exploratory level.  

Either way, if you have an interest in writing, this could still be of great use to you. 

Writing times <3

Nineteen Minutes

Picoult is famed for writing about controversial subjects which cause the reader to battle with their emotions with each page and this novel is no exception.  This novel explores the effects on a small town of a shooting in the high school.  The pervading question throughout is who is really responsible for this tragedy? 

As Picoult tries to give some sort of an answer to this question, the reader is introduced to a variety of unique individuals and a plot filled with twists and turns which demonstrates the complicated links between family and friends in the community.  

Excellent character development and thorough research combine together to make this book impossible to put down.  A must read.

Stories that have moved me

Sometimes you read a novel and when you turn the last page, you realize that the story you have just read has changed the way you see the world. 

Recently, this has happened to me twice. Both in books which are categorized as middle grade. Their settings were completely different, however, the messages they gave me were equally profound.  As I am sure you can guess from the photo images on this blog post, the novels which have inspired these thoughts are "The Giver" by Lois Lowry and "Wonder" by RJ Palacio. 

The Giver is a dystopian tale which follows a young boy called Jonas as he is given a role in this community. However, his role is different from any other and means he will never see life in the same way again. Wonder similarly follows a young boy called Auggie as he is about to start his first year at school. In contrast, this book is a contemporary and Auggie struggles to fit in as he has obvious facial deformities. 

Despite their obvious differences in settings and writing style, Wonder is far more lyrical whilst the language in the Giver is precise but simplistic, both books have been among my favourites this year and have had a lasting impact. To me, they both epitomize the idea of appreciation. Appreciation of what we see, appreciation of friends and family and appreciation of the individual and what we each have to offer. I would highly recommend these books to readers of any age as anyone would gain from reading such well thought out and emotion evoking tales. 

Let me know if you have read any of these books in the comment section below and feel free to tell me your thoughts :) 

Name of The Wind and The Wise Man's Tale By Patrick Rothfuss (Series Review)

Synopsis:

'I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

My name is Kvothe.

You may have heard of me'

Review: 

A high fantasy novel which follows the tale of Kvothe. I don't want to delve too much into the plot in this post, because this is one of those special stories which takes you on a path of discovery through a beautifully crafted and well thought out world. As a result of this, I feel any attempt to summarize the plot would not do it any justice. 

The writing in both books was superb with lyrical prose and lively vivid imagery which only added to the original plot and fresh narrative voice. All of these elements caused me to feel so many emotions and I became attached to all of the characters.  

I loved the first book in this series so much, that a small part of me feared I would be disappointed in the second as can be the case with many trilogies.  

However, Rothfuss's The Wise Man's Tale proved to be a marvelous exception. 

Both the world and characters continued to develop and continued to demonstrate the dedication that ensured the first book was a success.  I have recently been in a fantasy phase, and whilst I have enjoyed many of that genre. I have to say no one quite has Rothfuss's ability to make such realistic human characters.  In my opinion, he was particularly adept in this skill with the creation of Denna, who next to Kvothe is my personal favourite. 

I would recommend this series to everyone, it is just incredible. All the hype this story has received is completely deserved! Anyone who has read this series, leave your thoughts below :) 

Slaughterhouse V by Kurt Vonnegut

The focus of Slaughterhouse V was war and I have to say, I have never seen this subject so thoroughly or so beautifully examined in such a short space or in a work of fiction before. The plot itself revolved around Dresden and there is  semi biographical element adds a richness to this text which makes it completely unique.  However, for me, the writing itself is what made me love this book. Each word was carefully selected and fuelled with meaning. There was no excess, it just simply was, which somehow managed to make the novel all the more haunting. 

This is undoubtedly a must read. 

I have left my favourite quotation to give you a taste for the writing style:

"We will all live together, no matter how dead we may sometimes seem to be"

Films vs Books

It's an ongoing argument heard by all english students across the country. Why read when we can watch a brief summary in a film? Don't get me wrong, I love films. They are a fantastic way to introduce ideas to a wide audience and I don't deny they have the power to influence and change the way you see the world. I vividly remember watching The Shawshank Redemption when I was thirteen years old. Many of my thoughts about crime and justice came from that film.

Film has a visual power which books cannot necessarily offer. In The Shawshank Redemption, you can't hide from the violence and the injustice which seeps through the storyline. Sometimes, when reading it is possible to hide from certain elements such as violence as you are focussing on other elements such as the style of writing. However, the beauty of reading is that you allow your imagination to do a part of the work.

 A film requires no effort on your part, but a book the author relies on your mind to see what he or she is trying to present as well as the words. Ultimately, words are not enough. You have to be open to the possibility of seeing something which is not directly in front of you. You have to be willing to imagine, which is a great skill.  Reading is a more drawn out process, which is why people often opt for the film version but this drawn out process gives you an opportunity to really consider the message or characters that are being portrayed. For an extended amount of time the thoughts of that character live with you, so they have time to brighten your day to day life or influence you in a far greater way.  Moreover, films can only capture an element of what that person feels. Actors do a fantastic job at emoting these feelings and thoughts, but it is only through reading that you can truly understand the exact thoughts of a character because they are written in front of you. Seeing those thoughts of figures who live a similar or completely different life experience to you gives you the opportunity to feel empathy which is why reading is so significant in society as a whole today, despite the progression of film.

I love both films and reading. I think they should go hand and hand and both the book and film industries aid one each other in becoming the best they can be. However, the idea that one should replace the other doesn't sit right with me and in my opinion doesn't do justice to either the film or the book. I understand its not always possible to read the book before you see the film or read it afterwards, but in general I feel it is a good idea to respect both and attempt to read as much as you watch film as what they offer to the mind is different, although fundamentally positive. 

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis Review

This book has left me feeling slightly confused. The reason for this is that I am conflicted about how I have reacted to this story. This story is a character study of Patrick Bateman who is a psychopath but lives a life of complete privilege in New York in the late eighties early nineties.

 It follows his deterioration as he becomes increasingly violent and cruel. The novel is narrated from his perspective and this narration is very cleverly done giving you the opportunity to see how his obsessive behaviour effects every other part of his life. I can see why this book has received such praise since its publication. The pervading theme of the story for me is the idea of wealth, how it can be used, manipulated and how we make certain assumptions about people due to their privilege.  

However, be warned that due to the content there is some incredibly graphic violent scenes. Also, I felt that the book was too long and I began to find it repetitive. One hundred pages less and American Psycho would have been the perfect novel. I would have raved about it, instead I found myself looking at the page numbers by the end wondering when it was going to stop. In addition to this, I didn't find the ending particularly satisfying. I felt it just tailed away. So you see my confusion. It could have been perfect, but it just fell short. Either way, I feel its worth a read because it made me care enough to be disappointed. 

What do I look for?

Sometimes I read a book and I can't point my finger on why I liked it. I know I loved it, but I can't think why. It has that je ne sais quoi which is past words. These are the moments that I treasure, because sometimes what a book offers you is more then can be put into words. However, in general I have found that I love a book when three elements come into perfect harmony and it is these three elements that I search for when I am trying to decide on my next book to read. 

1. Escapism. I want a story that will take me somewhere different, whether that be to a different time period, a fantastical place or simply make me forget that I am sitting in my bedroom or on a train. For me this is the beauty of reading. The fact I can be taken to so many place and can see so many different things and I don't have to carry a passport or go through hellish security.

2. Real Characters. Characters who become people they are so well written. For me, this is epitomised in the Harry Potter series where so ingrained did this character become in the psyche of so many of my generation that those iconic figures seem almost like friends I used to know. Picking up one of those books and re-reading them is like visiting an old memory. Even in that fantastical world, the characters became real because of the human elements that JK rowling provided. Ultimately, I want the author to make me care and only character development can do that. 

3. Purposeful plot. I don't want to know what is going to happen. I want to be suprised, shocked and scared. I want to feel as if it is leading somewhere that there is a purpose to this novel rather then just a description of a day's events. That plot can be simple or it can be complex. It just has to be going somewhere. It has to have an aim, whether that be to make me laugh, make me cry or make me think. If it manages to do one of those things I feel that the book has been worth my time. If it does all of them, it goes down in my mind as one of the best books ever written. 

I hope this offers more insight into what I look for, I was wondering what you look for in a book?   

The Ocean at The End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

I have already mentioned in my previous post how much I love this story, but I loved it so much I felt it required a post of its own. There has been a lot of hype around this book from the Booktube and blogging community. I am here to tell you that this novel is more than worthy of this hype. Firstly, the writing style is just incredible. Gaiman manages to create vivid fantastical images whilst being concise so it doesn't detract from the fast paced nature of the story. Secondly, his character development. The novel is mainly told from the perspective of a seven year old boy who is never named. Yet despite the fact we don't even know these basic details about the protagonist, I completely fell in love with him. He was a realistic heart warming figure.Finally, the plot itself. The plot is unique and completely different to anything I have ever read prior to this story. I don't want to reveal too much as I feel it is best to go into this novel knowing very little about the content, all I can say is you are missing out if you don't read this novel as soon as is humanly possible. There is a high possibility that as a new reviewer, I have failed to do this work justice so instead I will leave you with the words of Gaiman himself; 

"The Ocean at the End of The Lane is a novel of childhood and memory. It's a story of magic, about the power of stories and how we face the darkness inside each of us. It's about fear, and love, and death and families. But, fundamentally, I hope at its heart. it's a novel about survival" Neil Gaiman 

First ever Read-A-Thon Wrap Up

I don't know if wrap up as a title is used in blogs or whether it is fundamentally for reviewers who use you tube as their main forum. Either way, I'm sure the youtubers won't mind that I've borrowed their well loved phrase. As I'm sure you've guessed,  this blog is dedicated to reviewing the books that I have read over the Bout of Books read-A-thon. I was really lucky as I enjoyed all of them! 

The first book I read was Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay which is a fantasy novel which has 524 pages and it is the first book in a series. This book follows an artist Caius Crispin as he journeys from his home town to the mystical kingdom called Sarantium.  Out of the three novels I read, this was my least favourite of the three as there were times when the writing style frustrated me. The author would sometimes feel it necessary to point out if a situation was ironic which I personally felt detracted from the story as I felt the writer was focussing on showing off rather then on moving the story forward. However, there was some beautiful imagery intertwined throughout this novel and I thought the story itself was interesting so I will pick up the second one. 

The second book I read was Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith which is 161 pages . This book is told from the dual perspectives of two sisters who have both moved back into their Grandparents house and it follows their journey as they fall in love and learn more about each other as well as the world around them. There is a lot more to this book then I feel I can reveal without ruining it for whoever reads this review so I will stop there. Just know that this is the most seamlessly charming and profound story that I have probably ever read. I can't wait to re-read it and I plan to make all my friends read this story too!

The final book I read this week was The Ocean at The End Of the Lane by Neil Gaiman which was 243 pages. I am going to do a full review and possibly discussion piece on this novel as I loved it so very much so keep your eyes peeled for that. Its the first novel I have ever read by Neil Gaiman and I just want to read more of his work as this story was just fantastic. 

Overall I managed to read 928 pages. I am really proud of this as I was back at work this week and I caught an illness. I normally average around one book a week so I read 300 pages so I have tripled what I usually read! I hope everyone else had a great read-a-thon! Please let me know how it went in the comments below :)

The Good Girls Guide to Getting Lost: A memoir of three friends, two continents and one unexpected adventure by Rachel Friedman

This was the perfect introduction to travel memoirs for me at this moment in my life. This memoir focusses on the story of  Rachel, a twenty year old american who falls in love with travel after a spontaneous trip to Ireland the summer before her final year in college, which completely contrasts her usual planned good girl image. In Ireland she meets an australian girl called Carly who appears to be the epitomy of travel chic. Post college she decides to travel further and reunites with Carly in Australia and they both decide to travel to South America.  I felt instantly connected to Rachel and how she talked about her experiences. I loved the fact that she did not shy away from the difficulties of being away from home or the fear that is often felt, but no one really talks about. I felt similar to her on so many levels particularly this idea of being a good girl. This idea of being defined by education and getting all of your self esteem from grades. Or, on a deeper level being defined by other peoples expectations of you.  I am known as the typical good girl and am currently on my gap year and living abroad in Paris so this book really spoke to me. This memoir also really inspired me to travel more, Friedman's description of all of her locations made me want to see all of these wonders for myself. I would recommend this to anyone who has ever held the title of a good girl and to anyone who has ever found that title slightly oppressive or negative. Moreover, I would recommend this to anyone who loves travel or who are considering the idea of travel. This book is not great for factual advice, but ultimately that doesn't matter because it was just so absolutely brilliant and what I needed to hear at this moment in my life. 

MY FIRST EVER READ-A-THON :)

I am so excited to say that I have decided to do a read-a-thon. I have wanted to do one for ages but they have all seemed slightly too intense and formidable. This one seems perfect as the aim is to just read more then you usually would and it also includes fun challenges throughout the week! I have copied and pasted the blurb below with more information about the event, I will hopefully post a tbr for this read-a-thon tomorrow. 

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 9.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green is iconic and I've heard so many people talk about the story and I was just so excited to start it. As I'm sure many of you already know, this book follows the tale of three close teenage friends who have suffered or who are suffering with cancer. It is a story of love, loss and learning to value life. The book is narrated by a sixteen year old girl called Hazel and we learn within the first few pages that her cancer is terminal. Due to this, she is an incredibly reflective character and some of her thoughts which are introduced to us are profound. I loved the dynamic between Hazel and Augustus who is the love interest in this novel. They both have contrasting personalities, but yet you equally care for both of them. I have heard from many people that The Fault in Our Stars is their favourite book and it brought them to tears. It is not my favourite book and it did not bring me to tears. It was a touching book and it made me feel quite contemplative, however, there were a few too many cliche moments which made it feel less realistic. I think if there had been less of those than there is a strong possibility that I would have cried. I still strongly recommend this book and I am excited to see how it is interpreted in film, which is being release in June.