Every Book I Read in 2021 | reviewed in 1 sentence (kinda)

Happy New Year everyone!

I’m not one for new year’s resolutions, but the 1st January, without fail, always makes me reflect on how much I want to dedicate my time to this blog, (and now my new Youtube channel), and just generally sharing my thoughts on what I read.

If you have taken the time this year to read one of my blog posts, watch one of my videos, subscribe, comment, message me etc. please know that you have filled my heart with so much joy. I wholeheartedly intend to be present on here much more, and keep up with my one video a week schedule throughout the year.

I’m kicking the year off with a review of every book that I read in 2021, of which I read 26 (not my best but not my worst either). It was a pretty mixed bag of reading for me, with only a small number of 5 stars, loads of 3 stars and a fair few 2 stars too. If you’d like to know my condensed thoughts, check out the video below.

I hope that you have a brilliant start to 2022!

Jen x

10 Books I Want To Read Before 2022 | End of Year TBR

Does anyone else have a nearly-the-end-of-the-year reading crisis when it gets to November? Suddenly I have to condense all of the books that I want to read before the year is up into a list that is ACTUALLY manageable!!

So here we are, my top 10 books that I really want to read before 2022 arrives. It’s a mixture of some more light hearted fantasy, some romance (a rarity for me lately) and finishing the books of one of my new favourite authors

1. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
2. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
3. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
4. Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
5. Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
6. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
7. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
8. When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
9. The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro
10. The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jenson

Watch my newest video below to hear all about these books and why I’m so excited to read them…

Can I Write 50,000 Words in November? | Prepping for NaNoWriMo as a “Pantser”

Hello Friends!

It’s that time of year once again where people all around the world try to write 50,000 words in one month, AKA NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)!

I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo twice before. The first time I was successful and managed about 60,000 words, but the second time I gave up at around 20,000 when I fell out of love with the story that I was writing. However, something about this third attempt has me a little more anxious than usual. Not because of my schedule or from any concerns about fitting the writing into my day, but because of just how long it has been since I have sustained any writing routine. I haven’t written regularly for about 3 years, so the challenge of 50,000 words is a significant one!

However, I am in desperate need of a way back in to my writing routine. Goals are a source of motivation and inspiration for me, and I am hoping that this target will be a way of propelling me forward throughout the month.

If you are interested in what I will be writing, you can add me as a buddy on the NaNoWriMo website.

If you want to know a little bit more about how I’ll be tackling this challenge, check out my video below where I build my writing desk, bake some writing snacks, and talk about my project plans!

Book shopping in Cornwall #1

Come along and let’s go book shopping! I’m taking you around some of my local spots and their quirky bookshops!

I’ve been living in Cornwall now for about a year and a half. After growing up and living most of my life in cities, it was a culture shock in more ways than one when I moved here. Among many other things, something I really missed was the variety of shops!

When I lived in Leicester, I had about 5 second hand bookshops within a 5 minute walk from my house. In Birmingham, a trip to the city centre would take me to two huge Waterstones. Now, I find that I have to look a little harder!

On the flip side, what you get in Cornwall is unique, quirky and so well loved. And you get an ocean view!

Watch my video below for some of my local favourites – and ones to check out if you’re visiting.

P.S. Let me know in the comments what your favourite/best second hand book find was! Mine was a 70s box set of Lord of the Rings (which you’ll see at the end of the video!).

BOOKSHELF TOUR!!!

The time has come to finally show you my bookshelves!!! After finally sorting through them, reorganising them, and moving them all into one place for the first time in YEARS, I can now show you all of my physical book collection.

Check out my youtube video to see the full tour.

How do you organise your bookshelves?

For me, I generally organise them by genre, and then by how they fit/look on each shelf (as I’m currently a little tight for space!).

10 BOOKS FOR AUTUMN/FALL | Cosy, Mysterious & Reflective Reads

A bookworm’s favourite season is finally upon us. This week has brought rainy grey days and I am so in the mood for a day locked up at home reading, drinking hot chocolate, lighting candles, curled up under blankets, and all of the cosy vibes.

During this season, I find myself gravitating towards cosy, mysterious and reflective reads. I like my stories to be atmospheric, strange, and thought provoking. I enjoy a slightly slower paced story, because I am at home a lot more and have more time to dedicate to the books that I read.

Here are 10 of my suggestions for books that I think are perfect for Autumn.

Check out the video below to see what they are…

Organising my Reading Nook | Reorganising my Bookshelves

I moved into my new home a month ago, and I have finally sorted through my books and created a little reading nook. Watch me create this space on my latest video!

Buying my first home has been a big project, and with so many areas needing so much work, I was determined to create a space without buying anything new or doing any major work at the moment. So I used two bookshelves that I had used previously in different spaces, brought in my cosy green chair, and filled the corner with plants!

I hope you enjoy watching me create this space!

Howl’s Moving Castle | Book vs Movie Comparison

I recently read Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and LOVED it. I adore the Studio Ghibli movie and had never really believed that the book could match the way I felt about the film. But I was so wrong! This book added so much to the movie for me, and I enjoyed it equally as much, just in a very different way. Here are my thoughts on why you should read this book too. Please let me know your thoughts, as well as any differences you spotted between the book and the movie!

BOOK REVIEW | AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS BY MARGARET ROGERSON

TITLE: AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS
AUTHOR: MARGARET ROGERSON
PUBLISHED: 26TH SEPTEMBER 2017
PUBLISHER: MCELDERRY BOOKS
FORMAT: HARDBACK

RATING: 3.5/5 STARS

“Yet no matter what they were doing, everyone in the forest waited with an indrawn breath, waiting for the taste of autumn, the smell of change, the first news of a king and queen unlike any the world had known before.” 

FAVOURITE READS OF TWENTY SEVENTEEN

☆ Autumn by Ali Smith
review
Sometimes, a book comes along that simply, unexpectedly, blows you away. Other than a beautiful cover, and my favourite season for a title, I knew very little about the content of this novel before reading it. Never having read an Ali Smith book before, I was unsure of what I would think of her writing style. After closing the final page of this book, Ali Smith’s entire works found their way into my TBR! This is a melancholic, yet hopeful examination of post-Brexit Britain, and it was done thoughtfully and with just the right amount of wit. It was easily my favourite read of the year.

☆ Caraval by Stephanie Garber
review
Caraval was pure fun to read. It felt like a Night Circus meets Professor Layton mash-up – in the best possible way. Not often do I finish a book and want to open it up and start again immediately, but this was one of those books. I’ve already planned my re-read to prepare for the release of the sequel in 2018.

☆ Magic with Skin On by Morgan Nikola-Wren
review
2018 has been a year of discovering lots of modern free-verse poetry. I think I’ve read seven or eight new collections (much more than my usual one or two poetry books a year). So I’m saying a lot when I say that Magic with Skin On was my favourite poetry collection of the year. This collection of poetry and prose was moving, lyrical and utterly breath-taking in its crafting of language. It has become the poetry book I recommend to all, whether poetry reader or not.

☆ A Million Worlds With You by Claudia Gray
review
This was one of the first books I read in 2017, so it clearly stuck with me
throughout the year. A Million World With You is the conclusion to one of my recent favourite sci-fi series, and it was so refreshing to read a final book that satisfied every loose end, character arc, relationship and still kept me on my toes.

☆ Of Dreams and Rust by Sarah Fine
The sequel and conclusion to the Of Metal and Wishes duology; a steam-punk Phantom of the Opera retelling (yes, it is very cool). I enjoyed the first book, but the sequel made these books into some of my favourites. The characters were wonderful, and their development in this second book was brilliant. The exploration of culture and war was so interesting when set against a steam-punk backdrop.

☆

What were your favourite reads of the year? Let me know in the comments!