Book Quote of the Day

“I’ll be looking for you, Will, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we’ll cling together so tight that nothing and no one’ll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you… We’ll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams… And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they wont’ just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me, we’ll be joined so tight…”
― Lyra, His Dark Materials Trilogy: The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman

Book quote of the day

“And she looked back again at the foul and dismal shore, so bleak and blasted with disease and poison, and thought of her dear Pan waiting there alone, her heart’s companion, watching her disappear into the mist, and she fell into a storm of weeping. Her passionate sobs didn’t echo, because the mist muffled them, but all along the shore in innumerable ponds and shallows, in wretched broken tree stumps, the damaged creatures that lurked there heard her full-hearted cry and drew themselves a little closer to the ground, afraid of such passion.”

“His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass” – Philip Pullman

February Book Challenge – DAY 6

Favourite young adult book

I have a few of these as i have read many great ones! Should i be boring and go with the obvious? Yeah, i’m afraid it’s a close tie between the Harry Potter series and His Dark Materials trilogy! Because i’ve read the former more times though, i’m choosing Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows as my favourite! (Does it count as YA though? Not sure)

February Book Challenge – DAY 5

Book you wish you could live in

I always wanted to live in Lyra’s world in His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman because i always wanted a dæmon because it seemed nice to have that constant companion. I also quite liked the idea of being friends with witches and armoured bears. I just love fantasy worlds where anything is possible!

“His Dark Materials”

Image via Wikipedia

I have been re-reading His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman recently.

Having not read it since i was a teenager (and a young one at that), i was intrigued to see how it would affect me this time around.

It’s still as magical and as engrossing a read as it was when i first read it, and it feels pretty much the same. But of course, i now know how controversial the content is, and i understand it more than before.

When i got to that bit in The Amber Spyglass where Lyra and Will start to realise they are in love with each other, i had to stop reading for a while. Having experienced these feelings myself in the time since i last read the series, it feels all the more potent to me. I felt profoundly moved by the description of the feelings and the emotions and the beauty of it. As i also know the feelings on heartbreak, this bit is difficult for me to read.

However, these books are simply awesome and i still love them as much as i did the first time i read them!

June Book Challenge – Day 8

Image by Beppie K via Flickr

Today’s question: What is your favourite book genre?

Fantasy

- I have always loved fantasy novels, i guess it’s the escapism aspect. Forgetting the real world for a few hours is the main reason i read books, and it’s even better when i delve into some strange imaginary world! I loved “Harry Potter” from the moment i read the first book, but i also love the “Wicca” series by Cate Tiernan, “His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman and many others.

June Book Challenge – Day 5

Image by Fenners1984 via Flickr

Today’s question: Book/series that most fascinated you before the age of 16?

“His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman

- I read this at about the age of 12, and was fascinated by the idea of parallel worlds and the possibility of daemons. It made me think a lot about what happens after death and magic and relationships. It was possibly the most grownup book i’d read by that age.

10 great books i have read

I thought today i would share a selection of my favourite books of all time with you.

1) the Harry Potter series

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Brilliant book series, although not so brilliant film versions in my opinion. I had to mention this series obviously, not only because it is one of the bestsellers of all time, but also because it is one of the best series i’ve read. Can’t really say much more on this because so much has been written on it already!

My rating: 10/10 (books only!)

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2) the Twilight saga

I came to this series around the time the first book was released as a film, and having been given the whole series for christmas by my friends, i read them all in succession. I loved the series on the first read, because i love fantasy novels. However, after reading this blog Longest Twilight Rant Ever, and getting my English student critical brain in gear while re-reading the series, i started to think that certain elements of the series are very wrong and a bit creepy! It is well written and a good read if you want something you don’t have to think about, but i think i ruined it for myself a little bit when i started getting all English-student-critical on it!

My Rating: 7.5/10

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3) His Dark Materials trilogy – Philip Pulman

Another series which is brilliantly written and full of great ideas. I enjoyed this trilogy because it made you question your beliefs and so many other things we take for granted in life, and the way it introduces you to all these fresh ideas. I read it as a child of about 11 years old, and thought it was very grownup for a children’s book (that’s the market it seemed to be aimed at), but its a good read as an adult too.

My Rating: 9/10

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4) Holy Fools – Joanne Harris

Joanne Harris is one of my favourite authors, and this is my second favourite of her novels. I enjoyed reading it because it was very different to anything i’ve read before and is quite refreshingly original. I highly recommend this book, although her other books are pretty good too.

My Rating: 8/10

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5) The Lollipop Shoes – Joanne Harris

Known best for Chocolat, Harris also wrote this brilliant sequel  which catches up with Vianne and her daughters (she has had a second daughter since Chocolat). I thought a sequel wouldnt be as good as the first book, but Harris has managed to write something that was ultimately a great story, despite being a little hard to follow at times. As a result of this achievement, this is now my favourite book by Harris. The new characters we meet are interesting and add a lot of depth to the novel, and there is the occasional person from Vianne’s past who pops up. The ending is quite unexpected, and there are several twists in the book, particularly as there are themes of revenge, questioning of identity, and secrecy, and the story is described from 3 different viewpoints. It makes for interesting reading, and i thoroughly recommend it whether you have read Chocolat or not.

My Rating: 9/10

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6) Beneath The Skin - Nicci French

Nicci French produces some nail-biting novels with interesting twists, and this is one particular favourite of mine. The constant threat to the 3 women in the novel is quite chilling and we see how much they are affected by the creepy stalker who seems to know all about each of them and their lives. It keeps you guessing all the way through and as each story unfolds, it is fascinating to see how each woman reacts. I love the suspense of the novel, and my brain was going crazy through reading it trying to work out who the stalker was! Definitely recommend it!

My Rating: 8/10

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9) Atonement - Ian McEwan

I first read this while studying for my English A level, and although it took a while to get into it and i disliked it for a while BECAUSE i was studying it, i later started to appreciate just how good it is. The different viewpoints throughout the book is good because we see the story from different angles and how the central incident of the novel affects each character at the time it happened, and then later on in their lives. I have to admit that the protagonist Briony gets on my nerves a bit through certain bits of the novel, and the little twists throughout make you question the reliability of the narrator, but overall the story is well written and keeps you hooked right to the end.

My Rating: 7.5/10

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10) Wicca series – Cate Tiernan

Not a widely known series, but i discovered this Young Adult novel in my teens and read the whole series (15 books!). Its about a teenage girl who realises she is actually a witch and has amazing powers, and the series chronicles her path in life as she goes through some traumatic and life-changing events as she learns about her new power, and the effects on her family, friends, and lovers. Its well written and the descriptions are really good, and although its a fairly easy read (and i’m a bit too old for the series now!), i still love it! I recommend it for teenagers, and i guess if you liked Twilight you’ll probably like this too!

My Rating: 9/10

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So there you go – I hope this has been an interesting read, and i hope you will feel the urge to read any of the ones you haven’t read already!