June/July Bookpile.

You may have noticed that June yielded zero books in the bookpile, due to me napping more than reading. Which is fine to do sometimes, right? So this is a double month.

In June I was reading City of Heavenly Fire at home whilst Scarlet was my on the move book of choice. COHF is a tome - look at it, its utterly ridiculous so clearly it wasn't moving from my bedside, which meant it took a whole month to read. Hilarious as I read the entire rest of this series in a month alone (5 books, remember Morgenstern Month in 2013?). It's good, but I can't work out if it is the last in the series? Scarlet was as good as Cinder if not better, I like the introduction of new Disney Princesses (for lack of a better collective term) with each new book in this series and I can't wait to see where it all goes.

I picked up Gone Girl after it was highly recommended by a pal. I generally avoid the kind of books I see everyone reading on the tube to avoid The Da Vinci Code syndrome, but I was sold on this (also the movie looks good). I would have given Gone Girl 4 stars if it hadn't been for the ending. The ending was the MOST disappointing ending I've read in a while. 2 stars. ONLY TWO.

How I Live Now had been on my list for a while, after the film shot straight to the top of my Best Movies of 2013 list, in a lonely hotel room last December. I really, really loved the book, and I really, really enjoyed seeing how they changed things to make it work better as a film. I would normally hate these things. I like that in the film Daisy was more neurotic, everything was a bit darker. I like that the book wasn't as dark, but the ending was a bit sadder. I like the contrast between the two. I want to watch the film again.

SIGH Battle Royale, I am reading (still, still reading) Battle Royale. I don't know if its just that I'm struggling with the translation, or I'm just more of a Hunger Games kind of girl. But I'm not loving it (SORRY SOPHIE) - I don't like any of the characters, I don't care about what colour their socks are (way, way too much detail) and I want them all to die. Its not terrible, I'm just struggling to stay interested in this book.

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May Bookpile.

This month's book pile is a bit of a lie....I really only read 2 of these books in May. Frostbite, the second in the Vampire Academy series for a bit of vampire/high school fun, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane - which is deliciously dark and perfect.

I tried to read The False Prince or as I like to call it The False Book Cover - the cover looked amazing but LIES its for 8 year old boys and I didn't love it. I've been carrying American Gods around in my bag but have had so much Real Life Stuff going on (leaving my full time job!!!) that I have barely picked it up. I've read it before, but after reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane I wanted MOAR GAIMAN so why not pick the heaviest book I own to tote in my tote for a few weeks.

Basically my book pile for May should look like this:

I did way more doing this month than reading - too much real life I guess. This is my pile of sketch/note/diary books I've been working in.

Strange times.

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April Bookpile

April kicked off with me caving in and purchasing the next book in the Divergent series, which is at least a million times better and more gripping than Divergent. I was so enthusiastic about this book that I wrote a whole drunken rant and emailed it to Lipsy, you can read it here (mortified).

In my last bookpile post, I promised I'd read some grown up books in April. I have read 3. Just Kids was gifted to me while in New Zealand by one of my dearest friends, who said the book reminded her of me. I could not have read this book at a better time in my life, as I start new projects and go down a new path in life, I feel like being gifted this book at this time is the universes way of telling me everything is on track.

The Marriage Plot however, is dull. Dull dull dull, I've never wanted a book to end so quickly.

Cinder is a wonderful retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale, with a bit of a dystopian spin. Generally I shy away from fairytale retellings but this one involved robots so, winning. I read the whole thing on the train back from Glasgow and cannot wait to get my mitts on the next book in the series.

I found The Last Werewolf (and the rest of the books in this series) on a pile of books at work marked FREE, who doesn't love a good werewolf I thought, taking them all home on the sly. The opening novel is pretty good, probably aimed at men, has a Buffy reference on page 31, and I've enjoyed it. I love a good werewolf, me.

Feb/March Bookpile

February and March bled together this year, I was lying on a beach during the time when one turned into the other so this months bookpile is a double pile of the utter nonsense I devoured whilst I was dozing on said beach losing track of time.

Vampire Academy is surprisingly excellent, if you like teenagers and vampires and potentially attractive Russian cowboys (?!) you will enjoy this book immensely. I guess its kind of similar to Buffy? I'm pretty excited for the film coming out in April (and Divergent, what a month for YA movies omg).

I finally caught up with the rest of London and read the rest of Aaronovitch's Peter Grant series, which is superb and gets better with each book. I like that the only way to describe these books is "Harry Potter but in the Police and grown up" then there is a substantial amount of hilarious Harry Potter references scattered throughout. Oh the hilarity.

Do not ask me what convinced me to start reading the tripe that is the Sookie Stackhouse novels but I picked them up in an op shop for $3 each and couldn't put the first one down despite making noises like 'huh' and 'pfft' during the course of the 3 days it took me to finish it. I had already tried reading it once before - prior to the YABC times, Lipsy and I would print out a chapter of the first book, read it and add our comments (examples like "how did this get published!" and "I think I wrote a story like this when I was 14") in RED then post it on. Hilarity ensued - but it only lasted about 3 chapters. I guess being half asleep helped me to enjoy it this time around and I've gotten as far as the second book. I gave up on True Blood after Season 3. I now own 4 of the books and I guess I'll save them for days when I need a laugh - although, Eric Northman where have you been all of my life.

I vow to read some proper grown up books in April.

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January Bookpile

I spent a cosy first week of 2014 totally absorbed in Rivers of London, the perfect mix of London Town and magic - also unexpectedly hilarious, five stars.

Monsters of Men was a bit of a chore, I have to admit, but I'm glad I read it. Even if I am feeling more than a little distraught by the end of this trilogy. Are Todd and Viola the Will Parry and Lyra Belacqua of the 2010's? I think so. Also, is there a movie being made of these books yet? Its pretty rare that I read a trilogy as intense as this (this sentence could end here) and find myself thinking it would make quite a good series of films. But they could, they really could. I think editing a lot of this book in particular down could help.

The Host is a great example of where editing a book down to make it work as a film works well. I watched the film a few months ago and surprisingly, really enjoyed it (Max Irons). The book however was a bit of a slog. I was promised "hotness" - and was a little disappointed. I really enjoyed the science fiction alien elements, but the love story felt a little flat for me (hey even I will admit at least Twilight is a bit sexy) and it just went on and on and on. And on. And then you thought something would happen, but it went on again.

We're now 4 days into Feb and I haven't been able to get into a single book I have picked up. Despite having a huge pile to read, I'll take recommendations.

Book Pile - Dystopian December

Both books I read in December were of the dystopian teen fiction genre.

Divergent was sold to me as 'like the Hunger Games, but with guns and stuff' - famously as soon as you tell me a book is 'like the Hunger Games' I am all over it, and this was no exception. It is a bit rubbish (and not really at all like the Hunger Games, apart from the whole "faction" thing. And teenagers fighting. Its really not like the Hunger Games.) but it is perfect if you have epic jetlag. I read this book solely between the hours of 3 - 6am and I think if I was reading it in any other frame of mind I wouldn't have made it past the first chapter (see: The Uglies) but because my mind was all over the place my heart was all over the ridiculously thin love story (and hot on a train make out scenes). The film looks frightful, I can't wait.

I know I said I wouldn't be able to stomach reading The Ask and the Answer after I finished The Knife of Never Letting Go, (Lipsy sums that book up nicely over on her blog by the way) but here I am, reading it, crying myself to sleep every night.

In hindsight, December isn't the first month I have spent reading dystopian teen fiction and it probably won't be the last by any means.

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a year in books

I spent much of this year with my nose in a book, and accidentally documented this on Instagram.

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How I Live Now

How I Live Now is probably the worst possible film to watch when I'm miles from England, but I just watched it twice in 24 hours anyway and then worked out how long it will take me to save the money to move to a farm with a garden and some cows so at least it was motivational as well as beautiful and depressing and terrifying. I lay awake for 3 hours thinking about it after the first viewing. Also there is a goat dressed up as a unicorn and some good woolly jumper action.

Necromancy November Bookpile

In November all the books I read were about people controlling the reawakened dead in their various forms.

October Book Pile.

In October my commute was cut by half so I have lost my dedicated 2 hours of reading time each day and its taken me a while to adapt to my new and improved 20 minutes each way  in heaven. Thus, I have only barely read 2 short books this month. Sad times.

However, 2 very good books they were. I was pretty chuffed when Lipsy gave me her copy of Crown of Midnight to read before her (thats a BFF right there). Whilst reading it I was reminded heavily of the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix which I haven't read in a while, so it felt natural to move onto that next. Everything about these books is similar, but different. The Throne of Glass series is like Sabriel's sexier older sister. Re-reading Sabriel was, as always like visiting an old friend. That old friend is of course a white cat/free magic elemental called MOGGET but an old friend all the same.

Lets ignore the ever growing to read pile next to my bed while I take some time to revisit old classics. I'm in the swing of my new commute and using it as an excuse to take actual lunch breaks to read, its all roses from here.

(Check out last months bookpile // Follow me on GoodReads)

September Book Pile

In September I only read books that are white with red on them.

The Knife of Never Letting Go hasn't left my brain since I finished it. It was beautiful and heartbreaking, and made me feel so many feelings. I was reminded of the first time I read Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. I may or may not read the rest of the series, it really depends on how my heart heals.

(goodreads)

August Book Pile

The Elite is not as good as The Selection. Uglies is so awful I couldn't even finish it. The White Dragon was probably my favourite of that trilogy, but not that series. I still haven't finished Wolf Hall.

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basking books

July Bookpile aka Morgenstern Month

After last months pathetic attempt at a bookpile I was left feeling bereft, friends. I have a constant pile of anywhere between 5 - 20 books to read at any one time and spent days staring at this pile, desperate for something I could lose myself in over the summer, able to focus on anything I picked up beyond the first few pages. UNTIL I REMEMBERED A friend had given me City of Bones a few months previous and I was put off by starting it because it has THE WORST COVER OF ALL TIME (accolades galore), but what did I have to lose? I figured at least I'll read it fairly quickly as it is (one page in) utter trash.

HO HO MY FRIENDS was I wrong! These books are superb in their teenage glory! And thus July 2013 became MORGENSTERN MONTH and all I  have done in the abysmal heat we have had of late is lie on my bed indoors lost in this utter tosh, unable to pull myself away from the pages filled with INCEST (is it? are they? what?!) and MAGIC TATTOOS and ANGEL THINGS and THE FIT ONE OUT OF MISFITS.

I. Cannot. Wait. For. The. Next. Book. In. This. Series.

Also please bask in the glory of me as I prance around in my underwear laughing maniacally because I read all 5 of these books (they are not small) (ok maybe the writing is kind of big) in one month. BASK!

More on The Mortal Instruments series on GoodReads. They will, literally, have no affect on your life whatsoever until you see the trailer for the forthcoming (obviously) film and are filled with bad casting rage (apart from the aforementioned fit one out of Misfits who btw is so perfectly cast I can not even) By the way if you want something equally as entertaining to read, check out some of the reviews and comments on these books on GoodReads. Literally hours of entertainment!

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June Bookpile.

Pathetic. Between a work trip to Seattle and turning 30, Young Adult Fiction was all I could handle in June.

You should see the pile of books I tried to read and gave up on.
[goodreads]

Stoker

Film of 2013, hands down.