Life Of A Blogger: 'What Superpower Would I Choose'?

The thing is (if I wanted to) I could probably write quite the essay on this. I've had many a lengthy debate on the best superpower and those kinds of conversations usually last hours. This is definitely going to be my favourite topic in weeks because I love the whole idea of superheros and powers etc. In fact, just last night I was watching 'Misfits'! However, having thought about it long and hard I have settled on: Telekinesis.

My love for this type of superpower didn't come from any kind of superhero movie at all! It actually came from my favourite book (and consequently, film) of all time: 'Matilda'! When I was a young girl, I always thought that the scene where she makes herself breakfast without moving from the table was cool, and the scene where she tries to show Miss Honey her powers by moving the jug was particularly funny. But most of all, it was the first time that I fully saw a 'heroine' using her powers to defeat a 'villain'. In this case, Miss Trunchbull. Forget about Thanos, Sauron, the Sherrif Of Nottingham, Voldemort, Dracula and all other great villains for a second. Because for me, Miss Trunchbull will always be the epitome of evil and so that makes Matilda the most awesome of all heroines.

Telekinesis opens up a lot of possibilities too! Not only could I just move things with my mind (I would never have to get out of bed again?!) but I could also fly (by moving myself) and maybe even become invisible (by bending the light waves around me...am I milking this enough yet?). Telekinesis allows me to do a whole range of things I always thought were cool (why just control one 'element' when you can make all of them move with your mind?). So yes, Telekinesis is definitely my choice for a superpower!

Book Review: The Shock Of The Fall; Nathan Filer.

Why did it take me so long to read this book? I will never know! I'm glad I finished it to day though, because tomorrow is 'Time To Talk' day, in support of raising awareness about (and removing the social anxiety over topics like) Mental Health. Looks like I finished this book just in time! Also, this book was the winner of the 'Costa Book Of The Year' in 2013, so will go towards my Monthly Motif challenge this month.

SOURCE: Bought
TYPE: Paperback

TITLE: The Shock Of The Fall
AUTHOR: Nathan Filer
SERIES: --
PUBLISHER: Harper Collins
PAGES: 314
GENRE: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction

RATING: 5/5 Stars

Blurb:
'I'll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother. His name's Simon. I think you're going to like him. I really do. But in a couple of pages he'll be dead. And he was never the same after that.' 


Debut novel about one man's descent into mental illness, following the death of his brother in childhood. Filer is a mental health nurse with a unique and startling insight into mental illness, and this book highlights a much-neglected subject.

What I Liked:

• I really liked the way that the book was put together. It told the story from the POV of Matt, a nineteen year old boy suffering with schizophrenia and trying to come to terms with his past by writing about it. Not only did it include the story (written via computer and typewriter), but various diagrams, letters and reports to give better understanding as to what was going on. It made for very interesting reading!
• The characters were so well-written and complex. Matt was an enjoyable (if slightly distracted) narrator and although it was clear that he was ill, he still came across as an intelligent, patient and funny boy. It was clear that the horrifying accident that had taken place during Matt's childhood had brought up feelings of guilt, anxiety and anger in him and his family, and I liked the way that was made clear. The interactions between characters felt very real too. I have so often read books and thought 'Nobody would ever say that/use that phrasing' but I had no problems with this book!
• Having worked as a Mental Health nurse himself, Filer clearly knew his stuff when it came to the system. The nurses in the book behaved exactly how I imagined they should and all letters/official documentation looked professional and real. Everything felt well-researched (right down to the Eastenders story-lines) and world-building like that is always much appreciated by readers like me.

What I Disliked:

• This wasn't even a major issue for me, but for readers who don't like books to jump around too much, you might need to strap yourselves in for this one. Matt is often distracted, with a short attention span. He will interrupt his story with other stories or memories or things he feels are important and hasn't told you yet. But he also has a great memory and remembers to come back to the point eventually. It was a little disorientating at first but I soon got used to it.

Overall Conclusion:

This, in all honesty, is probably one of the best books on the subject of Mental Health that I have ever read. I am no great reader on the subject, and so don't claim to be an expert, but if you are and you haven't read this book then I strongly recommend it. It's a unique and interesting read, with both fantastic imagination and a strong, factual basis. The characters are well-written, the story-line had me gripped from start to finish and the way it was put together coupled with how real it felt made it my favourite read of the year so far.

Top Ten Tuesday: My picks for 'Fantasy Books I Can't Believe I Haven't Read'.

I am a huge lover of Fantasy, but there are some definite staples that I have missed over the years. 

1) 'The Fellowship Of The Ring'; J.R.R. Tolkien.

So we all know that this book (and indeed, this series) is considered one of the greatest Fantasy Books of all time. And yet, despite calling myself a Fantasy fan, I still haven't read it! I haven't even read 'The Hobbit'. It's a shame because I really enjoyed the movies (yes I watched the films first, please don't be angry) so I think I would really like the books! I'd also love to get into some of Tolkien's other works too!


2) 'The Final Empire'; Brandon Sanderson.

Brandon Sanderson is a massively popular Fantasy fan and yet, I've never read anything by him! I was originally going to put 'Elantris' here but as this book has a lot more in the series and is the one that my friend both recommended and bought for me, it seems best to name this one instead. This is arguably one of his most popular books too so it seems like the right place to start in order to get into his work!


3) 'Assassin's Apprentice'; Robin Hobb.

Robin Hobb is a huge name in Fantasy! I see him everywhere I go and even bought his entire 'Tawny Man' Trilogy for £3 in a charity shop while in Wales. I would really like to read this one (and the two that follow) first however, because I like to read things in order if I can. I was also approved last year for the first book of 'The Fitz & The Fool' series so I really need to get on and read some of Hobb's work ASAP!



4) 'A Storm Of Swords: Steel & Snow'; George R.R. Martin.

What I mean here really is, why have I not read this entire series so far yet? I am so in love with the whole concept of 'Game Of Thrones', the books are phenomenal (as is the TV series) and Mat and I just finished playing the first episode of the Telltale Game (trying to please Cersei was the most stressful experience of my life). I just want to read all of it ASAP. I can't wait to get onto the 'Steel & Snow' volume of this book this month!

5) 'The Wise Man's Fear'; Patrick Rothfuss.

I mention this book a lot because I really need to read it. When I read 'The Name Of The Wind', I found it to be one of the most expertly crafted Fantasy novels that I had read in a long time. The writing was amazing, the characters so complex and well-written and I loved the structure of it too. I so badly want to read the next in the series, as well as 'The Slow Regard Of Silent Things'!



6) 'The Lies Of Locke Lamora'; Scott Lynch.

This book just has such an interesting synopsis and I would love to get my hands on it. I've heard so much about the 'Gentleman Bastard' series and a lot of people have recommended it to me! Rogues and Thieves are always my favourite character archetypes to read about, especially if there's a whole band of them! I hope I can read this soon!




7) 'Inheritance'; Christopher Paolini.

This is the last book in the 'Inheritance' Quadrilogy and I still haven't read it, despite buying it on the day it was released! Frankly, I'm ashamed and would like to rectify this as soon as possible because it was such a good series that I really loved when I was a teenager! If anyone hasn't read it, I strongly recommend it for excellent world-building!



8) 'Magic Study'; Maria V. Snyder.

I loved 'Poison Study' so much! Assassins, intrigue, politics, mystery, magic, romance, it was all there! I still can't understand why I didn't immediately start the next book in the series because I'll bet it's just as amazing as the first one was. And it left me on such a cliffhanger too! I hope to get round to this book as soon as possible, it looks amazing!



9) 'The Ambassador's Mission'; Trudi Canavan.

I read 'The Black Magician' trilogy quite a while back, when I was in my mid-teens. I absolutely loved it! Not many people in the Blogosphere seem to have read it (that I follow anyway) but it really is a well-constructed story-line, likeable characters and pretty good world-building. This is the first book in a new series that is set in the same world and I also received this for my birthday years ago, only to not read it! Oops!


10) 'Bloodhound'; Tamora Pierce.

I rave about this amazing Fantasy author so much but I actually haven't read all of her books. Having read the first four series set in Tortall, I couldn't wait to fully delve into the 'Beka Cooper' series which was also set in the same place some years later. I actually did read and enjoy 'Terrier', and waited eagerly for 'Bloodhound' to come out! Unfortunately, when it did I never found time to buy or read it and it has remained on the 'one day I will get round to that' place in my brain for a while now.

Last Week's Shenanigans (26th January - 1st February)...

The week has been pretty uneventful other than my continuing illness throughout the week. Seriously guys I have such a bad immune system and that became pretty clear as I spent the week with constant headaches and colds. Though I had Tuesday off, I did actually go into work for the rest of the week! On Sunday I had to get up super early to go to a workshop at work which I did not appreciate (I hate early mornings on my day off). However, the event was kind of fun and the rest of my day off was productive. I'm just quite tired at the moment because I'm not getting a lot of sleep.

I Reviewed:

Memes:

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'd Love To Read With My Fairy Tale Book Club
Life Of A Blogger: Goals & Dreams

I Posted:

My First Blogoversary!
January Wrap-Up
Planned Reads For February

Planned Reads For February.

I really enjoyed January's reading and I can't wait to do more reading this month too! I like the new format where I don't list challenge reads because it makes me feel less pressured to complete them every month.

Crossover Books:

1) 'The Shock Of The Fall'; Nathan Filer. I'm a bit of the way through this book and am really enjoying it so far! I can't believe it has taken me so long to get round to this one! It is a very enlightening book on the subject of Mental Health and I look forward to reviewing this one!

Chosen Books:

1. 'The Girl Who Chased The Moon'; Sarah Addison Allen. So this lovely lady's work has been intriguing me for a while and I'm pretty desperate to read another book that falls under the Magical Realism category. All the books in this genre that I have read so far I've ended up not liking. I feel like that's probably my tastes rather than the genre and I'm determined to find one I like!
2. 'Rogue Wave'; Jennifer Donnelly. I read the first book in this series, 'Deep Blue' last year and really enjoyed it (despite mixed reviews). I'm pretty keen to read this one and see how the story continues! I don't get to read a lot of Mermaid books! Also, it's another Netgalley read to tick off of the list.
3. 'Will Grayson, Will Grayson'; John Green & David Levithan. Talking of Netgalley reads, here's one I need to read!  received it last year and am pretty glad I didn't get round to it until now, because February is LGBT month! Of course I want to read something in honour of that and I've sort of missed John Green's writing. Not to mention that I haven't got to a David Levithan book yet. It will be interesting to see how the two author's mix!
4. 'White Cat'; Holly Black. My friend let me borrow this book a very long time ago and I never got round to it! It's still sitting on my shelf and I figure that I should probably get round to it soon. I'm a pretty big Holly Black fan too so I'd like to get onto more of her work.
5. 'A Storm Of Swords: Steel & Snow'; George R.R. Martin. Okay, so the truth is that I recently saw the Season 5 trailer for the TV series and got so excited! I really would like to get further in the books. I won't catch up in time for when Season 5 starts, but there's a chance that I could read all of the books by the time 'The Winds Of Winter' comes out, and consequently, Season 6! Martin's writing always makes me happy so I look forward to the third book of a fantastic series.
6. 'Half Bad'; Sally Green. I bought this last year and never got round to it, especially after reading some pretty scathing reviews of it. But I have read some good ones too, and I managed to get it's sequel 'Half Wild' on Netgalley. It's about time I got round to some of these books just sitting on my TBR pile untouched.

January Wrap-Up.

What a fantastic first month of the year I have had in reading! When January began, I set myself a challenge of six books, as well as finishing my crossover book. I actually managed six of the seven and I'm extremely proud because this marks a good first step in better time management, and catching up with things! I'm going to be doing this post a little differently this time, so without further ado: here goes!

1. 'The Mistletoe Bride & Other Haunting Tales'; Kate Mosse. I started reading this collection of short stories in December and finished in January. It was a nice little sample of Kate Mosse's writing style and there were some enjoyable tales. I found that at times, there was a little too much focus on the finer details of the setting and mood, and too little attention to the plot. 3/5 stars.
2. 'Dreams Of Gods & Monsters'; Laini Taylor. Many have enjoyed this final installment of Taylor's 'Daughter Of Smoke & Bone' series, but for me, it was confusing and pretty anticlimactic with an extra plot-line thrown in right at the last second that felt very unnecessary. The middle portion of the book had some great moments to it, but unfortunately, I much preferred the first two books. 2/5 stars.
3. 'Howl's Moving Castle'; Diana Wynne Jones. Having loved the film, I felt it necessary to give the book a go and see the differences between the two. And there were a lot of differences. Jones injected so much life into her characters and that was my favourite thing about the book. It contained a strong heroine and fantastic side characters! There were some sections that I felt could have been taken out, but I still enjoyed this book. 3.5/5 stars.
4. 'All The Birds, Singing'; Evie Wyld. This book was very short, and brutal in it's delivery. It has won many prizes and I can see why: while horrifically violent in it's imagery at times, it had a quality to it that rendered me unable to stop reading. The ending felt a little inconclusive but Wyld's writing is just so captivating that I would happily read more of her work. 3.5/5 stars.
5. 'The Moment Collector'; Jodi Lynn Anderson. This book started off so well! The writing was good and I loved the idea behind it. A killer on the loose? A ghost posing as a Guardian Angel? A beautiful coming of age story about three children? Well I certainly got the latter of the three, with one of the most believable love triangles I have ever read on the side. Unfortunately, the killer and the ghost aspects left me totally disappointed. The mystery remained unsolved and the ghost seemed to play no role whatsoever. 3.5/5 stars.
6. 'A Song For Ella Grey'; David Almond. I can't believe how disappointed I ended up being in my final read of the month. As an adaption of the story of Orpheus & Eurydice, it stuck to the original myth well and had some enjoyable subtle references. Unfortunately I found the writing style ridiculous to the point of laughing, the romance totally unbelievable, and the characters so poorly written that they became impossible to like or empathise with. 1.5/5 stars.

This month I have read two physical books:

- 'The Mistletoe Bride & Other Haunting Tales'

- 'All The Birds, Singing'

This month I have read two Netgalley/Edelweiss reads:

- 'The Moment Collector'

- 'A Song For Ella Grey'

All in all, not a bad start to the year! Of course there is my Bookish Bingo challenge to consider as well, and here is how I'm doing so far!

Forgotten Fridays Pick: Howl's Moving Castle; Diana Wynne Jones.

White Cover: The Mistletoe Bride & Other Haunting Tales; Kate Mosse.

Mystery Or Thriller: The Moment Collector; Jodi Lynn Anderson.

Freebie: All The Birds, Singing; Evie Wyld.

2014 Release You Missed: Dreams Of Gods & Monsters; Laini Taylor.

Based On Mythology: A Song For Ella Grey; David Almond.

Book Review: A Song for Ella Grey; David Almond.

Oh dear, I'm afraid that I was a little disappointed with this one. It definitely wasn't the best book to end January on. Still, there were a few moments worth mentioning!

SOURCE: Netgalley
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: A Song For Ella Grey
AUTHOR: David Almond
SERIES: --
PUBLISHER: Hodder Children's Books
PAGES: 293
GENRE: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Retelling

RATING: 1.5/5 Stars

Blurb:
Claire is Ella Grey's best friend. She's there when the whirlwind arrives on the scene: catapulted into a North East landscape of gutted shipyards; of high arched bridges and ancient collapsed mines. She witnesses a love so dramatic it is as if her best friend has been captured and taken from her. But the loss of her friend to the arms of Orpheus is nothing compared to the loss she feels when Ella is taken from the world. This is her story - as she bears witness to a love so complete; so sure, that not even death can prove final.



What I Liked:

• Despite the low rating, I did like the connection to the original Greek Myth of 'Orpheus & Eurydice'. It had a coherent plot-line with both clear and subtle references to the source material that I really enjoyed picking out. For example, it didn't just focus on the love story, but other aspects of Orpheus' life (his time travelling pre-Eurydice, his death, etc.) and I was thankful that it at least stuck to the Myth well. The different world in which it was set (North England, rather than Greece) shone through as well and made for interesting reading.

What I Disliked:

• I'll start with the characters because they were my biggest dislike. The narrator and 'main' character may as well have not been there. All she did was complain that she was losing Ella, reminisce over her childhood with Ella and generally talk about how much she adored Ella. There was no character development for her at all, she just constantly came across as a miserable, clingy child. Ella & Orpheus were even worse. I know Ella (or Eurydice) was meant to be 'Fairy-like' but must she giggle and kiss everyone all the time? And of course, why give Orpheus an actual personality when he can just grab his Lyre and sing until everyone loves him. Where was the romantic development? Because from what I read, people can now fall in love over the phone. The rest of 'the gang' faded into oblivion in my mind and as for what seemed to be the only teacher in school, his constant berating of his students and outburst about the terrible curriculum had no place in the story.
• The writing in this book just became a bit too frilly for my liking. I like it when a book is a little poetic,but only when it comes naturally. This writing style felt forced and like Almond was trying too hard to be fancy and dramatic with his words. Half the time I ended up skimming yet another passage about Orpheus charming the birds and bees and rocks with his lyre and I honestly felt either bored or was laughing my head off. Rather than make the book meaningful or beautiful, it made it ridiculous and slightly nauseating.

Overall Conclusion:

What more is there to say? The world-building was okay, it did stick to the Myth and it had a coherent plot-line that didn't confuse me. But it also tried far too hard to be the world's most philosophical book and I wasn't convinced. It had the world's fastest insta-love which I hated, and the characters were dull and had no real impact or personality at all. Also, I feel like Almond really wanted this book to be an ode to Youth and I have never seen or heard of teenagers behaving or talking like that in my life. Sorry.