YALC (Saturday) Round-Up Post!

So as most of the Book Blogging community that resides in England probably knows, this weekend is YALC weekend. For those that don't know, YALC stands for the Young Adult Literature Convention and this is it's third year being held in London! This is in fact the first time I've attended, for varying reasons I couldn't make it the last two times it was on. It's part of LFCC (London Film & Comic Con) so I managed to enjoy aspects of both conventions!

I started the day by visiting the Freebies stand (we managed to get in approaching 10 o Clock) before joining the rest of the audience at the 'Resistance & Rebellion in YA' panel, hosted by Anna James and joined by Alwyn Hamilton, Julie Mayhew, Simon Mayo and Kass Morgan. All authors were really insightful and managed to tie their own books into the theme well. I loved Julie Mayhew's idea that if a character changed their mind about something fundamental, then that is in it's own way a type of rebellion. Alwyn Hamilton spoke about writing Fantasy because she could make up her own rules, history and context. I'm really looking forward to reading her book, 'Rebel Of The Sands'. Simon Mayo's book, 'Blame' focused on heritage crime and sounded like a really interesting plot to read. All in all, a thoughtful panel.

Not long after came the second panel of the day: 'Friendship In YA' (once again hosted by Anna James). I had been really looking forward to this panel, largely because of Sara Barnard's presence, whose debut 'Beautiful Broken Things' I really enjoyed. I was also really excited to see that she was joined by Sarra Manning and Holly Bourne! Their discussion was certainly one of the most insightful of the three I listened to that day. So many interesting points raised about the lack of friendship in YA compared to romance, and that it's unrealistic to expect friends never to fall out. After the panel, I hurried to the signing table to get my new copy of 'Beautiful Broken Things' signed by Sara Barnard before buying a bulk load of books (more on that later).

The last panel I attended was the 'Secrets & Lies' panel, hosted by Chelsey Pippin and joined by Sarah Crossan, Keren David, Sophie Kinsella and Annabel Pitcher. While I've not read a book by any of these lovely ladies, I've heard of all of them and they're most certainly on my TBR for great YA. At times it felt like I was watching a comedy panel because the panel was so funny. I'm really excited about all four books of theirs, not only are there a lot of secrets and twists but in their own way they each deal with Mental Health issues which I feel is important to address in YA. We left the panel slightly early to run across to the Chicken House book stand because Kiran Millwood Hargrave was signing books. I read 'The Girl Of Ink & Stars' earlier this week and LOVED it!

After that, Mat and I went to explore the LFCC part of the convention which was great fun. My favourite thing that I took away was of course a Vinyl Pop Figure, and this time I chose Regina from Once Upon A Time because I love that show and I love her! Mat also won himself a Tomahawk at the weapon's raffle which he's very excited about, and we even saw the infamous Iron Throne! All in all a good day!

As you can see, my haul is pretty small but I'm still extra pleased with everything I bagged! I bought a lot of books while I was there, and the Patrick Ness books were signed too! I'm totally knackered after such an exhausting day, but deliriously happy because so many great things happened!

Six Degrees Of Separation: YA Edition! (Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone; J.K. Rowling)

You may have noticed that my posts for the Six Degrees Of Separation meme hosted by Annabel Smith and Emma Chapman have somewhat disappeared off the radar recently. This is mostly due to the increasing lateness and absence of the host posts and it made me a little sad as I enjoyed the challenge so much! Luckily, Teens On Moon Lane are here to save the day! Even better: there's is a YA edition which means that I'm (a) more likely to have read the books, (b) am totally going to start again on the books I've used and (c) will get a ton more recommendations to read! Also, it might make things even more of a challenge as I'll only be allowed to use YA books!

So this month's picked read is a book that I'm sure nearly everyone will have read. 'Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone'! This series has become iconic classics in the eyes of children, teens and even adults all over the world. It was one of the few series that I pre-ordered and waited in line for every time, and it was the one to make me realise how much I loved Fantasy as a genre. I've picked the first book in particular rather than the whole series, but that was an option too. Now for my six links!

'Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone' contains probably one of the most famous friendship trios of all time: Harry, Ron & Hermione. They are my absolute favourites too because they are so different, and yet their love for each other seems to hold no bounds despite their friendship being tested at times. Another great trio? Patrick, Charlie and Sam from 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' by Stephen Chbosky. I love these three! They are the symbol of how teen friendships should be: accepting each other's differences and protecting each other's hearts.

'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' covers the very heavy topic of Mental Illness too. From the get-go it's clear that Charlie, our narrator, suffers from some form of social anxiety (more about his mental well-being is revealed later on). 'The Shock Of The Fall' by Nathan Filer also covered this topic and did it in a very impressive way. This story is also narrated by a young boy, Matt, an unreliable but interesting voice to hear the story from. I loved the scrapbook like form in 'The Shock OF The Fall', similar to Charlie's constant letter writing in 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower'.

My next pick, 'Neverland' by Shari Arnold has a different story-line to 'The Shock Of The Fall' but they had one thing in common: Grief. 'The Shock Of The Fall' starts with the death of Matt's younger brother Simon, and Livy Cloud is also grieving over the recent death of her younger sister to terminal illness. This grief forms the foundation of both stories and is the cause of some major plot points. I really enjoyed the way that both stories handled these topics too.

'Neverland' is a retelling of the famous Fairy Tale, J.M. Barrie's 'Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'. My next pick 'Cinder' by Marissa Meyer also retells the famous story of 'Cinderella'. I adored both: each with strong female leads and a really great romantic story involved. These were the first works I read by each Author too.

'Red Rising' by Pierce Brown belongs to the Science Fiction genre, which is where my previous choice 'Cinder' also falls. Both are a form of Dystopian too, where society is filled with prejudice and controlled by powerful, tyrannical leaders. I adored both of these books, especially as they alluded to space: one of my favourite Sci-Fi settings. Both books are the first in a series too!

This month I moved from Magical Friendships > Mental Illness > Grief > Fairy Tales > Science Fiction. I can't wait to see next month's pick and pick more links!

Six Degrees Of Separation (All The Light We Cannot See; Anthony Doerr)

This month's post is a little late (not my fault, the hosts posted late and I had no idea what the book was until they'd done it!). Despite this, I'm still excited to be doing it and seeing what I come up with.

So this month's book is Anthony Doerr's 'All The Light We Cannot See' and I can already tell you this is going to be a hard one because I've thought of so many books for it and I've used them all before. I'm determined never to use the same book twice so I'll just have to put my thinking cap on.

My first choice is Jane Elson's 'How To Fly With Broken Wings', a book I read earlier this year and in truth, didn't enjoy a whole lot. The reason I linked it is because of the slightly tentative similarity in terms of two children, one boy and one girl, with very different upbringings meeting and becoming friends. There are links in Elson's book to their neighbour's WWII past also, which is when 'All The Light We Cannot See' is set. This choice feels a little bit desperate but the links are there.

Elson's novel is very much a coming of age novel set around three children and their decision to band together. I thought I'd pick a much better one with a similar idea: Patrick Ness' 'More Than This'. A little philosophical in nature, the three children that are forced to help each other also come from very different upbringing's but find they share similarities that make them inseparable. Both stories are very much coming-of-age stories though I connected a whole lot more with Ness' characters than with Elson's.

'More Than This' is a slightly bizarre read because it's genre is not easily defined. What seems to start off as a Literary Fiction, philosophical read quickly twists into a Sci-Fi, Dystopian thriller and it's done masterfully. 'Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children' by Ransom Riggs also did something of the sort. It started out as a Horror with great atmosphere and creepy happenings, and then without warning seemed to turn into a Middle Grade Fantasy. Not only that, but these are the first books I've read by both retrospective Male authors.

I have to say, the first thing that caught my eye about Ferrett Steinmetz's 'Flex' was it's similar front cover to Riggs' book. Weird, creepy little girls: one floating and one burning. My thoughts on both of these books were a little mixed too and I have to say that in both cases I started off liking it, but didn't enjoy the second half of each novel quite so much. There are characters in each book that have strange powers too, though the plot-lines are very different.

The main character Paul in 'Flex' is definitely a Detective type (though that isn't technically his job, he used to work for the force. Peter Grant in 'Rivers Of London' (Ben Aaronovitch) also works for the police force, though in a very special department that hunts supernatural disturbances rather than creatures. I like that both main characters are diverse: one with an artificial leg and the other an ethnic minority. It certainly makes a change from the stereotypical raincoat wearing, cigar smoking Caucasians I'm used to seeing in Thrillers. Both characters certainly have the tragic past/women and booze thing going though!

'Moon Over Soho' by the same Author has a pretty obvious link. Same characters, same setting and same Supernatural problems. I liked this second installment better though and thought the 'villains' of the story were really interestingly portrayed, unlike the disaster of a bad guy in 'Rivers Of London'. I have high hopes for the rest of this series!

I ended up going in a bit of a crazy direction with this week's picks, because I seriously struggled to think of really good links. I will do better next time!

Six Degrees Of Separation (Reasons To Stay Alive; Matt Haig)

The first Saturday of September meant time to play Six Degrees Of Separation again! I really love the week where I move from one month into another, purely because it means I get to post a lot of stuff.

This month's book is 'Reasons To Stay Alive' by Matt Haig, an author I've been interested in reading for a while. This book is part-memoir, and focuses mostly on the subject of depression and suicide. It certainly promises to be an interesting read, and I would love to get round to it at some point!

Like I said, 'Reasons To Stay Alive' focuses on the topic of Depression and how it can horrifically affect the lives of those who suffer with it. In Gabrielle Zevin's masterpiece, 'The Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry', A.J. is also suffering with depression after the recent death of his wife. It takes some big changes in his life and his beloved books to pull him out of a very dark place. My limited knowledge of 'Reasons To Stay Alive' told me that Matt Haig also puts great stock in the power of words when it comes to healing and appreciating life.

On the subject of Mental Health, Susan Nussbaum's 'Good Kings, Bad Kings' was a fantastic read on the subject. It featured many voices and a diverse range of characters (just like 'The Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry') that are each trying to find their own way to happiness. Both books were truly impressive works of fiction too, and they actually have quite similar covers. I mean, just look at all that yellow!

'Carnival Of Shadows' by R.J. Ellory may at first glance look like a huge leap from 'Good Kings, Bad Kings'. In fact...it is. But I won both books in a Goodreads 'First Reads' Giveaway, and for me that is as good a reason as any to link the two. I guess they both managed to take me out of my comfort zone a bit too: Nussbaum's work because of the subject and Ellory's because of the genre.

The first book that pops into my mind to link to 'Carnival Of Shadows' is 'Child 44' by Tom Rob Smith. My flat mate suggested this one to me and I really ended up enjoying it. The similarities are clear in that both are Crime Thrillers in which there is a murder to be solved. They both feature a Government Agent (FBI in 'Carnival Of Shadows', MGB in 'Child 44') who blindly follows the ideals of their superiors until they figure that something is very wrong with the system. Both of our heroes have a very shady childhood too, and a much deeper personal connection with the mysterious murders than they realise.

Ryan Graudin's 'The Walled City' has very few things in common with 'Child 44' in terms of plot-line. But both contained that level of thrill and suspense that rendered me unable to put the book down. There are some similarities in terms of lives being at stake, secrets being kept and criminal activity, but really for me, it's the adrenaline levels I had while reading the books, and the atmosphere that the authors mastered that links these two. I love that they are both based on very real events too, that taught me a few things about History that I had no idea about, and made it very hard to believe that I wasn't reading Dystopia rather than factual situations.

I've read very little Asian Literature, but both 'The Walled City' and 'Under Fishbone Clouds' by Sam Meekings are very much grounded in Chinese society and history. They both took a completely different approach but they both show tough times, a love story of sorts and taught me a whole bunch about the culture that I know so little about.

I've really enjoyed writing today's connections! I certainly feel that the list went down quite an interesting path this month. I look forward to October's pick!

Six Degrees Of Separation (The Paying Guests; Sarah Waters)

Oh my goodness, it's the beginning of the month AND a Saturday! That means not only a lot of posts today, but one of them is my favourite, most challenging Meme: Six Degrees Of Separation!

This month's chosen book is Sarah Water's novel 'The Paying Guest'. I have just about heard of this book in fact (literally a couple of weeks before writing this post) and I have to say that the cover doesn't give much away. Time to delve into the synopsis!

The first thing that I decided to look at (after reading the synopsis) was the reviews that this book had received. They were pretty mixed but the general sense that I got was that most people found this book quite difficult to trawl through and doesn't meet up to people's expectations in terms of content, which is exactly how I felt while reading Eleanor Catton's 'The Luminaries'. Both books are pretty long and when comparing this with a not too impressive subject matter, sound like a trek. Plus they both have mostly hidden women on their cover.

Speaking of long books, my longest read so far this year was George R.R. Martin's 'A Storm Of Swords: Steel & Snow' with an impressive 625 pages ('The Luminaries' had 834!!). The length thing is really all I can relate with these two, other than the impressive cast of characters, each with their own secrets, ambitions and desires to sort through. I feel like George R.R. Martin's series does it a little better however.

This might be a tad lazy on my part, but I may as well throw in 'A Storm Of Swords: Blood & Gold' while I'm at it because they are in essence two parts of the same book. The similarities are obvious here: same author, same series, same characters, same setting etc. Like I said, they are actually technically meant to be read together as one book, but the set I received for my birthday split them up. I'm glad it did though, there's a lot that happens!

'The Queen Of The Tearling' by Erika Johansen was a book that I liked but didn't love. The setting was a little unclear, the young queen's obsession with what beauty truly is irritated me and I felt like the first book in the series didn't bring a whole lot to the table. Like George R.R. Martin's spectacular series however, it was overflowing with political intrigue and worked with multiple POVs to keep the reader guessing as to what would happen next.

In some ways, 'The Hobbit' by J.R.R. Tolkien reminded me a lot of the aforementioned book. For the most part both books involve a journey involving a large group that had an absolute ton of enemies to fight or outwit. That group all had very distinct personalities and were journeying to help one member reclaim their birthright and face a great evil.

The similarities between Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Trilogy, of which 'Eldest' is the second book, and J.R.R. Tolkien's books set in middle Earth are often pointed out. There are lots of different races in both (Elves, Dwarves, Humans, even Urguls sound a little like Orcs...) and the lore behind it all is very similar. Galbatorix is comparable with Sauron too and let's not forget that both books include Dragons (though Smaug is considerably more evil than Saphira).

This one mostly ended up delving into my beloved High Fantasy/Epic Fantasy genres but I'm quite pleased with how this list turned out!

My 22nd Birthday Haul!

I don't plan on doing my post on my two week hiatus until  tomorrow, so instead I'll settle for telling you all about the Birthday bits that I received both on my Birthday and today when my parents came to visit and drop the rest off. I of course took a picture to give you all a taste of my haul, and I'll explain in more detail after!

I trust that most of you will probably have looked straight at the books, but I'll list everything in case you're interested! So obviously my first presents came from my wonderful partner Mat who as you all know, took me to Paris as a Birthday treat. While we were there however, he surprised me on my actual Birthday with something I didn't expect. A trip to Disneyland! Most of you might not know how special this is to me, but I have never been in my life and have always adored Disney/wished to go. My wish finally came true! The tickets came with a little toy Lady whom I adore. Just before we left Paris, Mat also took me shopping and bought me a few cosmetic/beauty bits and a beautiful Michael Kors rose gold watch, which is something I have been wanting for a very long time. My whole time in Paris was one of the best things I could have asked for and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Upon returning home, I had a lovely box of 'Happy Birthday' chocolates waiting for me from my two lovely flat mates, Meg & Tash. Chocolate is actually the love of my life so they definitely made a good choice there! The rest of the presents I received when my parents came up. Most of my family outside my parents and sister gave me money. The books however, came from my close family. Book-wise, I received:

• 'The Sin Eater's Daughter' by Melinda Salisbury
• 'Bitter Greens' by Kate Forsyth
• 'More Than This' by Patrick Ness
• 'The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers' by Christopher Vogler

The first three are fiction books I have been after for a very long time (or at least, as soon as I heard of them, and I am so pleased to finally receive them! Thy all look so good and I look forward to hopefully finding three new authors to love! As for the last one,it is a non-fiction book I have been interested in reading for quite a while. Mythology has always fascinated me and it's influence on writing is sure to be an intriguing topic that I would like to know more on.

My sister, as well as two of the books, bought me whole host of 'Frozen' related bits (Top Trumps cards, a poster, a tumbler, a mug, a notebook and pens, stickers, key rings, etc.) because I absolutely adore that movie. It ended up having a bit of a Disney theme all in all and I was ultra pleased with all of my presents.

Six Degrees Of Separation (Elizabeth Is Missing; Emma Healey)

Well I'm off on holiday soon but I just about have time to do this challenge this month, so here we go! As usual, it's hosted by Emma Chapman and Annabel Smith.

This month's chosen book is 'Elizabeth Is Missing' by Emma Healey. I have had my eye on this book for quite a while but haven't got round to buying it yet! It looks really good though and comes highly recommended.

My first pick that I have linked to 'Elizabeth Is Missing' is Diana Wynne Jones' 'Howl's Moving Castle'. These two books seem very different, but they actually both focus on an elderly heroine trying to solve a mystery. That is the main link that I think these two books have. As well as that,both women are each technically suffering the consequences of some kind of curse. A literal magic one in Sophie from 'Howl's Moving Castle' as she is trapped in an aging body, and a figurative one for Maud who has Alzheimers disease.

I chose Cornelia Funke's 'Inkheart' next because both books are roughly aimed at the same age and contain similar story elements. Magical lands, strange creatures, and interesting characters are rife and I really enjoyed both books. Both books were also made into pretty good movies!

Obviously I chose 'Inkspell' as my next link because Cornelia Funke wrote both books. As they are part of the same series the rest of the similarities between these two books will be pretty clear. I thoroughly enjoyed both books in the series, the world-building, plot and characters are really nicely written.

Next on the list is Christopher Paolini's 'Eragon'. The reason why is because in the cases of both books, I didn't finish the last in the series. 'Inkdeath' was going to be a great read and I distinctly remember starting it but not ever finishing it. I also remember running to the shop to grab my pre-ordered copy of 'Inheritance' only to never actually read it. I really ought to go and revisit these series because they are both so good, but I haven't got round to it yet!

'Dragon's Curse' by H.L. Burke was my next choice for one obvious reason. Like 'Eragon', it contains Dragons! The plot-lines vary quite a lot other than that, as 'Dragon's Curse' is a very Beauty And The Beast-esque story, while 'Eragon' is more of an adventure story about a boy's relationship with his Dragon and their adventures together. I really liked both books though, and their respective plots are well-written.

I chose my final pick, Steven Savile's 'Moonlands' because it did a really good job of picking out fairy-tale elements in a story without it being a well-known retelling. I mentioned the similarities to Beauty And The Beast and there is a romance of this nature found in Savile's book (though I didn't find the pacing quite as believable). 

I found this month's list especially difficult to write, especially as I am trying very hard not to use books that I have already used. Hopefully, next month's pick won't be so difficult for me!

Six Degrees Of Separation (The Rosie Project; Graeme Simsion)

I almost completely forgot about doing this challenge today, but I'm so glad I didn't! Hosted by Emma Chapman and Annabel Smith, click the picture above if you want to know more!

Those of you who have read my Planned Reads for this month will know that this is one of them and I'm really excited about it! It looks so good! I found this chain pretty hard, but I got there in the end!

My first pick feels a little like cheating because I promised myself I wouldn't use books that I have already used. I have never actually used this book per say, but 'All The Birds, Singing' by Evie Wyld was one of Annabel's and Emma's previous picks for this challenge. Still, I don't think that counts as cheating, especially as I read the book after taking part in the challenge, so I'll use it. The similarities are of course that both books are set in Australia and they have Australian (well, Evie Wyld is Anglo-Australian) authors! Other than that, they are completely different. One is a light-hearted entertainment story while the other a brutal, heavy read.

Something about Rene Denfeld's 'The Enchanted' makes me thing of 'All The Birds, Singing'. Both have very heavy atmospheres and touch upon a lot of sensitive topics such as violence, sexual abuse, childhood traumas. I thought the writing style was pretty similar too and I loved the use of Symbolism in both novels to compliment the ongoing story.

'The Girl Who Chased The Moon', by Sarah Addison Allen, might seem like quite a light-hearted, fluffy read compared to my previous pick but there is a connection. Magical Realism itself can be quite a broad genre and I feel like both books use it in different ways, but it is there in both cases. I really enjoyed both reads and count them as two of my favourites in my limited encounters with this genre.

My next pick is 'Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea' by April Genevieve Tucholke. Part of the charm that comes from 'The Girl Who Chased The Moon' is it's Southern setting. I've never been an overly huge fan of Southern Gothic books but then I guess, I haven't read many! Both books definitely have that kind of vibe to them though and I loved it. As well as that, the lead romantic males are both mysterious strangers with a dark secret/power that draws in the lead female. A pretty common trope I guess, but there's the connection.

While on the subject of the slightly paranormal, and that is certainly what I would call my previous pick, Becca Fitzpatrick's 'Hush, Hush' definitely falls along those lines. Of course the mysterious boy here is an angel (at least, a fallen one) rather than 'the Devil' but they both fall along the similar lines of bad boy falling for a sweet, innocent girl. And just look at the colour scheme for those covers! Come on that's a match made in heaven!

On to my last choice, 'Dreams Of Gods & Monsters' by Laini Taylor. This book always springs to mind at the very mention of angels, and it's no surprise because there are plenty to be found within the pages. There's a sort of forbidden love story in both books too, and that adds another interesting connection between the two.

Not a bad list, I certainly went down the Paranormal romance route in the end didn't I? It's amazing how much of a far cry it is from this month's book but there you go!