review

Au Bout du Monde – Amsterdam

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A couple of months ago, my boyfriend and I went to Amsterdam for a five day holiday to get away from work stress and flat-searching problems. Amsterdam certainly did the trick to take our minds off worries back in England. For me, it was mostly because, without realising, we had stumbled upon bookshop heaven!

In the middle of the week we took a walk along the Singel canal and to my pleasure found THREE bookshops in a row. I could not believe my luck! We walked up the stairs to the first bookshop to find a very calming atmosphere – the perfect shop to put all our worries behind!

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Tales of the Greek Heroes – Roger Lancelyn Green

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Over the past year, when reading certain books, I’ve felt as though I am missing something. The feeling first started when I read Donna Tartt’s The Secret History a few years ago, but I always assumed that I was just too young to fully understand the book. But more recently, when reading Ali Smith’s Girl Meets Boy, The Magus by John Fowles and many other novels which hint at or are inspired by Greek mythology, I have felt completely out of my depth. References that other people seem to fully understand fly right over my head.

I don’t remember learning much about Greek mythology when I was at school, which I find quite shocking seeing as it plays such a vital role in our culture – especially art and literature; two subjects I have an interest in. Wanting to catch up, I immediately researched and decided to buy a well-respected translation of Ovid’s Metamorphosis.  Continue reading →

One Day – David Nicholls

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What a brilliant idea for a book! One Day dips in and out of the lives of two people on the same day every year over the period of twenty years. At first, I was unsure whether the concept would work, but it does – at least for the first half of the book. I have to admit, I had been avoiding this book until I read this review at Lit Addicted Brit. This is the third book that I have read for the Pay it Sideways Challenge.

It’s June 15th 1988, the day after Emma and Dexter’s graduation. As they lie in bed, smelling of cigarettes and alcohol, they talk of the future. It stretches before them, filled with hopes, dreams and endless possibilities. Little do they know that their lives will not go as planned and the age of forty, which seems so far away and unimaginable now, will come along much quicker than they would like. Continue reading →

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

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The Hunger Games… If you’ve never heard of it, then where on earth have you been hiding? The book was first published in 2008 but has only recently come to my attention, which probably has something to do with the recently released film – oh, and the fact that EVERYONE has been talking about nothing else for the last few months! In the end, I was finally persuaded to buy the first book in the trilogy when I saw it for a couple of pounds in my local charity shop. It was perfect timing, as I had just finished struggling through two particularly long and challenging books and was on the look out for an addictive, but quick and easy read.

So, did it live up to all the hype? Well, yes and no. It’s true that, like everyone else, I rushed through the book, hardly stopping for food. However, by the end, I did not find myself desperate to read the next book in the trilogy. Continue reading →

Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops – Jen Campbell

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I don’t usually win things, so I was extra-specially excited to win this fabulous book from the brilliant Me and My Big Mouth. I have been following Jen’s progress on Twitter and her blog for a while now and have been desperate to get a hold of Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops.

The title pretty much says it all. If you have ever worked in a bookshop – or any shop for that matter – you will understand that customers say a lot of strange things and this is a collection of some of the most bizarre and most entertaining! Whoever you are and wherever you work, this book will leave you in stitches! Continue reading →

Island Bookstore – Amsterdam

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The Jordaan is a very pleasant area of Amsterdam. It’s the place to go if you want to take a bit of a time-out from the bustle of the centre and escape the tourist crowds. Before arriving in Amsterdam, I had heard of a wonderful bookshop in the area called Island Bookstore. On my first day, armed with a map and camera, I embarked on a quest to find it!

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Lont Antiquariaat – Amsterdam

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When my boyfriend and I decided to plan a last minute trip to Amsterdam in April, I had no idea that it would turn into such a bookshop extravaganza. I had been to Amsterdam before but I don’t remember seeing even one bookshop. I must have been walking around with my eyes closed. There seems to be one on almost every street corner! Sure, there are plenty of things to see in Amsterdam; coffee shops, canals, clubs and cafés, but it’s the fantastic bookshops that got me excited.

The first one I came across was closed. It had a quaint and inviting window display with some obscure looking children’s books and old postcards pegged across a washing line. Peering inside, I could see the shop was absolutely crammed with books! Seeing that this was a place not to be missed, I noted down the opening times and vowed to return.

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A Storm of Swords 1: Steel and Snow – George R. R. Martin

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Words cannot explain how much I am enjoying the A Song of Ice and Fire series and especially the first instalment of the third book. (NOTE: If you have not finished the first and second books in the series, A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings, you will find some spoilers in this post).

As I have mentioned in a previous review, compared to the fast paced opening book, I found A Clash of Kings to be a bit of a disappointment. The plot dragged and got bogged down with unnecessary details and a lot of battles. Well, there are no such problems with A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow.

At the end of A Clash of Kings, we are left, as always, with a handful of cliffhangers. Things have gone from bad to worse for the Stark family. Catelyn is in a similar state of distress and grief as at the end of A Game of Thrones. Continue reading →

Bookwise – Southwell

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Recently, a couple of friends and I took a much needed day off. We didn’t want to travel too far from home, but wanted to get away from the same old cafés in the centre of Nottingham. We were hoping to spend the day drinking tea, eating cakes and having a good old girlie natter and catch up. At the suggestion of one of our parents, we drove over to the nearby town of Southwell, which seems to be the land of lovely tearooms.

We did indeed spend a couple of hours eating, drinking and chatting, but left enough time to have a little explore. Southwell is a picturesque town with a beautiful minster and some interesting shops. Of course, my eyes were kept peeled for a good bookshop, and as luck would have it, I did not need to look very far!

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The Snow Child – Eowyn Ivey

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I was thrilled when The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey landed on my doorstep free from Waterstones! It was also followed by perfect, wintry weather but for some reason, winter slipped past and before I knew it spring was blooming all around me, and I had still not picked the book up! So at the beginning of April, when the weather surprised the whole of the UK with a couple of days of unexpected snow, I was secretly quite pleased. This book is definitely meant to be enjoyed on a snowy day whilst wrapped up in a comfortable blanket or duvet.

This magical story was inspired by the old Russian fairytale of Snegurochka, or The Snow Maiden. The fairytale is about a lonely, old couple who make a little daughter out of snow. Although, I had never heard of this particular fairytale, when I was younger I used to love Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen. There is something about a cold, icy setting that is just perfect for a magical tale, and when reading The Snow Child, I felt all of those fond memories coming back to me. Continue reading →