 When I was a bookseller I couldn't imagine not buying books brand new. But. I was only paying £3.50 for a paperback so of course I would. Now, with being currently unemployed but a desperate desire to own my own books I have rediscovered my love of charity shops!
In some ways they are worse for me than working in a bookstore was as the stores near me often have a deal on where you get 3 or 4 books for 99p (!!) but if you only want one or two, it's still 99p so you're like 'may as well just grab something!' This sis exactly what happened to me last week. I picked up 5 books - although in the first shop where I bought two I easily could have bought about 7! - two of which I only bought as it was 3 for 99p! However, I am thrilled with what I did find as normally it's just Harry Potter, Twilight, some Cassandra Clare and John Green as well as the occasional other popular series that I either own, have read, or don't want, that are available in my local charity shops.
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(Apologies for the lack of images in this post. I'm cooped up in bed in pain at the moment!)
There are so many books out there that it actually breaks my heart a little knowing I will NEVER be able to read them all. And I know, at least in my case, that because of this we try to make sure we only read books that are worthy of our time, that are great, exciting, fun... popular... Yep. Be honest - most of the books we buy and read are ones we've heard of. We'll pick up a book which a friend or blogger has recommended, with hype all over social media and with the marketing team behind it to enable it to be on the number one spot of a bestseller list before it's even gone to print over something that sounds decent but has a shoddy, generic cover and has probably only been read by a handful of people (who actually know the author). We buy books we are guaranteed to love. If EVERYONE else loves it it has to be good, right? But what about all those other books on the shelf? The ones spine on, not face out with a review. That one book that you swear has been there since this store opened and nobody has ever touched. What about all these books that could be wonderful, but will never get the attention they deserve because they weren't written by Cassandra Clare, John Green or Jennifer Niven? So, without further ado - here is my list of the best books you've never read! THIS IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW. *I received a proof of this book from Ink Road Books, an imprint of Black and White Publishing*  I picked up this book with no idea what to expect. The synopsis sounded good and I had read a chapter sample which intrigued me but I was worried it wasn't going to be able to follow Caraval. I was wrong. Street Song is magnificent! For once, a contemporary with believable characters who aren't completely two dimensional! They had personalities, they had reasons behind their words and actions, they were DIVERSE. We had a Polish, Catholic character, it has LGBTQ rep... it was just brilliant. I love a good forbidden romance story, and Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby is a very unique one of those! I picked this book up on a whim as the cover drew me in. At first it looks like a typical contemporary and the title just seems like a lovey-dovey romance - particularly with the cartoon heart -, but then you notice the background has actual, anatomical hearts and you start to wonder hmm, is this actually what it seems? It's not. And it is. But it's so much more.  Hello everyone!
I'm writing this post very last minute (as in 45 minutes before I would normally have it scheduled to publish!!) as this weekend was a nightmare; I took a migraine every day from Friday-Sunday and yesterday was just hectic with taking my gran to a hospital appointment, taking my mum to physio and then a trip to the cat cafe before dinner with a friend. I was on the go from 7am until about 11 at night. Needless to say, I'm exhausted! (Let's not mention I woke up at 7:30 this morning and then took a two hour nap at 10am..) However, not even migraines and non-stop days - ooh Hamilton reference ;) - can get in my way of providing you with some content so here's a look at my Top 5 Must Read books! Before I start, I have numbered these books from 5-1 but in all honesty that only reflects my feelings right now. Ask me tomorrow and I might tell you number 1 isn't even on the list anymore. I've tried to make this a list of books that are special to me. Every single one of these books has a hold on my heart in some way and although this is not an exhaustive list of my favourites, it's a list of books I think for one reason or another, everyone should read. Now that is over, let's go!  Welcome, welcome, to my first ever review on my blog!
Again, I'm using that reference from Caraval that I used on my first post but this time I have good reason considering it is the book I shall be reviewing! I'll be honest with you guys, I'm not the most elegant when it comes to articulating my thoughts so I do apologise in advanced if my reviews are subpar and mostly involve the words/phrases: "ugh" "it's just" "I can't" because that's just how I do things. So, now that I've finished my little review ramble I can actually get on with the damn review!  Hello everyone!
Today's post is actually going to be the start of a little segment on this blog titled: "Did I Mention I Love..." where I will highlight a book or series I love, similar to a review but focused more on older books (books that have been out for more than a year) and they will be less detailed than your typical review; perhaps a recommendation is a better word! I will still post detailed reviews but they will on new releases, ARC's, or other books that publishers/authors have sent to me in exchange for a review! Phew, now that explanation is out of the way let's get on with the first ever Did I Mention I Love... |
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