Best summer reads

Summer is over- although I don't go off to uni for another three weeks (eek!) all the schools are going back so I thought I'd do a quick post summarising the best books I've read this summer. Most of these were perfect summer reads that made me feel all warm and fluffy inside and so I would definitely recommend for a holiday but some were just absolutely incredible books that I happened to read over the summer.

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

The final part to the Anna and the French Kiss series did NOT disappoint! I read this in about a day, it was so good and made me feel so warm and happy inside. I would recommend this series to anyone at any time of the year!

Written in The Stars by Ali Harris

When I picked this up on a whim in WHSmith I hadn't heard of it before, but since then I've seen it on iBooks and best seller charts and I'm so glad it's doing well. This book is so unique and such an interesting perspective on the whole "what if?" idea.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

This book needs no introduction. It's not a feel-good read but it's amazing and I can understand the hype. It made me laugh and cry and I loved Teddy and Adam so much. Read this before you go see the film!


My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

This was the best summer read. I read this in America which was perfect as it's based in the USA. A great book about summer romance and first love and I can't wait to read Huntley Fitzpatrick's next book.


Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell is possibly one of my favourite humans of all time.  Her new book is much more mature, it doesn't feature teenagers as the protagonists and I would definitely give this to my Mum to read. I already can't wait for Rainbow's next book!

Those were the best books I've read over summer, let me know if you've read any of these and leave any book recommendations for me in the comments!

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xxx

"The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives"

If you know that quote, I love you. It's from Roald Dahl's Matilda, which I first read about age 6/7 and is still one of my favourite books. A young girl who reads to discover amazing worlds and adventures so she could escape? Tiny Alex who was being bullied and was stuck in horrible primary school (which when you're little seems like the entire world) could definitely relate.

My parents used to nickname me Matilda as I was always reading. Pretty much anywhere we went anywhere I would turn to my Mum and ask for my book so I could bury my nose in that and ignore what ever was going on around me (yeah I was a joy to have at events). When I was at school and had no friends I would go to the library and read and pretend I wasn't alone.

Matilda taught me two very important lessons. 1) Books are basically the best thing in the world and 2) even if you're small you should still stand up for what's right (even if you're standing up to someone bigger and scarier than you). If you asked me today what book had influenced me most, Matilda would probably be my answer. Most importantly, it sparked my love of reading.

In Year 3 (so age about 7 as I was one of the youngest) my teacher used to read us Roald Dahl books like Danny Champion of the World and BOY. My brother loved Roald Dahl, and so I had already read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and a few others. I used to go home and read the rest of the book and then feel pretty smug as the rest of my class asked me what happened in the end.

I never really stopped reading from then on, Enid Blyton and Jacqueline Wilson were my main authors but I read pretty much any book I could get my hands on, whether this was from the library or from Waterstones. My reading helped me flourish at English, as I was always keen to read our set book (the whole reading a chapter in class thing meaning we took about three months to finish a book drove me crazy) and discuss it. The best teacher I ever had was Mr R in Year 5 who encouraged me to read and pushed me further, as he knew I was capable of handling stuff above my age range. When the year 8's were reading Mice and Men I was keen to read it and he lent me a school copy saying "don't tell anyone as I'm pretty sure I'm not meant to do this". Thank god for good teachers. This all led to me scoring the highest marks in the end of year English exams in both year 5 and year 6, and cemented to me that English was my favourite subject.

English in Secondary school was a dream. I had some amazing teachers and I was being encouraged to read around the subject and think independantly. I achieved A and A* in English at GCSE and went on to study it at A Level which was hundred percent my favourite class ever. The material was so amazing and being able to pick my own coursework title and develop it was just a dream come true. In Year 13 I was applying to Uni and there was only one course that I wanted to do- English Literature.

Then on the day of my 18th birthday I recieved the news that I would be going to Warwick to study English Literature. Throughout my whole life I've struggled to answer the question "what do you do in your spare time?" as the answer is mostly reading. Now I finally felt how I chose to spend my time was valid and I'm going off to study a degree in what I've been passionate about since I was five or six. Pretty cool stuff.

So what's the point of this post? I guess all I'm trying to say is a) Matilda is freaking awesome and B) if you love the arts (whether that be literature or music or art) don't let people scare you into thinking you can't continue those to uni, that you have to choose a "real subject". Reading has been my passion and my love since I was tiny and age 18 I still love it. And any parents reading this- encourage your kids to read. It is 100% the best thing my parents ever did, and I will never be able to thank them enough for allowing me to be an anti-social kid with her nose in a book as I couldn't be happier right now.

Books read in America

Saw this in The Strand bookshop- I love it!

Whilst I was in America, I got a chance to catch up on my reading. These were the books I read and enjoyed :) 

The first book I read was My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick. Sam has always been controlled by her mother and told not to mingle with the family next door, but when she meets Jase, she can’t help how she feels towards him. I loved this book! It was the perfect romance YA to read in summer, and the characterization of Tim, Jase and Sam. The “secret” comes late in the book which was kind of annoying as I just wanted to know, but I loved it so much when it happened. The ending left quite a few questions, but a bit of mystery is always good! 5/5

The second book I read was Written in the Stars by Ali Harris. I first picked this up because I saw “Stars” and thought of TFIOS (pfft no I’m not obsessed). It’s about a woman who slips on her wedding day and splits into two lives, one where she leaves her husband at the alter and the other where she marries him. When I first started this I was like “oh I know what’s going to happen” but as the novel progressed I was really surprised! I can’t say too much without giving anything away but it’s definitely not the plot and the ending I expected. I really want to read more Ali Harris books now! 4/5

The third book I read was If I Stay by Gayle Forman. This was so highly recommended to me, and it definitely lived up to the hype. It tells the story of Mia who when she’s in a car accident, is able to see her body in the hospital. I feel like it was more philosophical about life/death and living etc than actually about the storyline. The characterization was really well done, I particularly liked Adam and Teddy’s character. I wouldn’t rush to read the sequel, but I did really like this. 4/5

On holiday, I also took to using the Kindle app on my phone a lot, as it was easy and convenient. I re-read one of my favourite books, 19 Minutes, by Jodi Picoult about a school shooting in a small town in America. I first read this years ago, and I love it so much. It’s so chilling and haunting and well written, and the characters are just incredible. I just went back and forth, reading my favourite chapters again and again, until I’d probably read it about three times and decided it was time to read another book! 5/5

Let me know what books you’ve been reading this summer!

xxx

Stephanie Perkins- I love you!

A while ago I was browsing on Twitter and saw that an author I follow retweeted Stephanie Perkins' tweet saying that her book "Anna and the French Kiss" was free on iBooks. I had never used iBooks but I quickly downloaded it and got Anna and the French Kiss. I had seen this recommended before and I couldn't resist the chance to read it for free!

I read this book in a matter of days, it was that good. It's set in Paris, where Anna who is originally American, goes to boarding school and meets a new group of people. It is a romance story, but it's also about friendship and growing up. It has such a good storyline and honestly some of the best characterisation I've read in a long time. I won't say too much to avoid spoilers, but it would be a perfect summer read for anyone! (Warning- You will want to go to Paris after reading this...)

Almost as soon as I'd finished this, I picked up Lola and the Boy Next Door, which is the second one in the series. The two are not directly related, as Lola is about a girl called Lola (obvious but yeah) however, Anna does feature quite heavily in it (I love Anna as a character, so I was so glad to see her come back!) I read Lola and the Boy Next Door in a few days as well, and enjoyed it just as much. I would say that the characters in this are just as amazing, Lola is quite a quirky character which I liked because the conventionally "standard" female protagonist in YA fiction is just so overdone. Also, can I just say how brilliantly I think Stephanie Perkins incorporated Lola's gay parents- it wasn't massively overstated and it actually was a plot/character device instead of just being thrown in for the sake of it (as some authors tend to do)

Stephanie's third book comes out in August 2014 and is called "Isla and the Happily Ever After" and features both Anna and Lola! I'm so excited for this book.

I just had to write a post to gush about these books, I love stumbling across a new series, and these books just left me feeling so warm and fuzzy I had to write about them! Pick up Anna if you get a chance, I promise you will love it (if you love YA/romance type books)

June Book Haul!

So I recently did some shopping for books because now my exams are nearly finished hopefully I'll be reading more!

The first three books I ordered online and I was so excited when they arrived!
 Okay so I have never read the Uglies series? But I've heard loads of good things so I definitely want to try them! They should really dark and interesting, and I'm excited to read these!













The next book is "My Life Next Door" which I thought just sounded like a really sweet summer read. I've been reading so much young adult romance novels lately, I'm not even sure why :P

This book I was so excited to read, and I've already started. It's the second one to Anna and The French Kiss, so read that first if you haven't (IT IS AMAZING). You could read this without having read it but it would spoil the ending of Anna and the French Kiss! I am already loving this and I can't wait for Stephanie Perkins to release her third book!

 This last book was a bit of an impulse buy from Foyles at Waterloo Station when I was coming back from Guildford. It's such a huge book, I almost didn't realise until  I picked it up again that it's like 700 pages. But this might be nice for if I'm going away for only a few days to have a nice thick book to get through as opposed to having to take two in case I finish one. I love Paris, it's my favourite city (equal to only London) and I just thought I'd give this a go! 

So those are the books I brought and will be reading in June! If you've read any of these or have any recommendations let me know! 

Follow me on goodreads for more book related goodness! alex_bach

Book tag!

Tag: Questions About Books

I've wanted to do a post where I answer questions about books, so I thought a book tag would be perfect!

1. What is your favourite book? If I had to pick one it would be "The Fault In Our Stars" by John Green.
2. Who is your favourite author? John Green, Mitch Albom, Jodi Picoult, Rainbow Rowell, Roald Dahl.
3. What genre do you prefer? My favourite genre is probably Young Adult which is on par with Dystopia. 
4. What is your favourite book series? The Hunger Games series or the Maze Runner series.  
5. What books did you hate reading in school? I liked most of them, except I remember in Year 6 we were supposed to read Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo and I never finished it because I found it boring. 
6. What is the first book you remember reading as a child? My first ever reading book that I was sent home from school with was a picture book with no words...but I think it would have to be the magic key books!
7. Bookstores or libraries? Bookstores 100%.
8. How many books do you own? Waaaay too many, probably over 400. 
9. Do you read before bed? Yes.
10. What is your most comfortable reading position? Curled up on my bed or on the sofa. I also really love reading on trains for some reason? 
11. What is the most recent book you read? I recently finished "Trouble" by Non Pratt and I am currently reading "The Time of My Life" by Cecilia Ahern. 
12. What quote from any book will you never forget?  The quote from My Sister's Keeper "I wanted to tell him to pick up that baby, and hang the stars and moon on her crib so she would never hurt her family like I would" or pretty much any quote from TFIOS. Literally, I can quote entire passages from that book. Is that lame? 
13. Science Fiction or Fantasy? Science Fiction.
14. What books do you regret reading? Hmmm. They say even bad books have been published, so you can learn something from the writers as they must have done something right. 
15. How large is your bookshelf? Not big enough! I have one bookshelf by my door with five shelves and then one under my desk with two long shelves and they are overflowing. 
16. On average, how many books do you read per year? I would say about 50? I'm really not sure. 
17. What book can you read hundreds of times and never get tired of? The Fault In Our Stars, My Sister's Keeper, 19 Minutes, Looking For Alaska, Hunger Games.
18. Do you like to read outside? I like the idea of reading outside but in reality there is too much sun or too much wind or the clouds ruin everything and I can never get comfortable. So no. 
19. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from a book? There is always hope. 
20. Of the past year, what is the greatest book you’ve read? This is so hard because I have read so many amazing books over the last year! I'll say my top five- Stargirl, Maze Runner, How To Say Goodbye in Robot, How We Met and all the Mitch Albom books I've read this year. 

Hope you liked this!

Sorry the formatting is so weird I had to copy and paste the questions and yeah...it looks weird so sorry

xx 

Three books you may not have read but definitely should

(My terrible iPhone photography. I apologize, I really do) 

These are three books that I've read in the last year, and have absolutely adored. I have also rarely seen them talked about which I think is ridiculous because they should be at the top of the best seller lists. All three are a favourite book of mine (and it takes a lot for a book to make that list)

1. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Green. This is one of the most interesting books I've ever read. It's written from the perspective of a young boy, Max's imaginary friend, Budo. The plot follows Max and his life and that's all I'm going to say! I couldn't stop thinking about this book for weeks after I've finished it and the ending made me cry a little. The use of perspective in this book was so interesting and I have never read anything like this before. If you liked Room or Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, give this a read!
2. How We Met by Katy Regan. I picked this book off the shelf on Waterstones because the title made me think of the TV show How I Met You Mother. Random, but I am so so glad I picked it up! It's about a group of friends who are dealing with the grief that follows the death of one of their best friends Liv. This book spoke to me on a very personal level, and I really felt I could relate to the characters and the pain that they were going through. I have experienced myself the effects that a death can have on a friendship group, and this book depicts it perfectly. It's just so raw and emotive and I cried lots yet I just love it. Anyone who's suffered a loss of a friend will resonate with this. 
3. How To Say Goodbye In Robot by Natalie Standiford. This book was highly recommended by John Green and so of course I was going to read it, and I am SO glad I did! I have never seen this book online or in stores, so if I hadn't read that one blog post I might never have discovered this beautiful creation of a novel. It follows the story of Bea who arrives in a new town and forms a friendship with a boy called Jonah. The plot itself I found exciting and heartbreaking, yet it was the characters that cemented my love for this book. The characters feel so real and are so flawed and beautiful at the same time that I can't help but love them. This book has been followed by the phase "teen romance" but it is honestly not like that. It's about all kinds of love, love for a family member, love for a friend, and the love you can feel for strangers. This book haunted me after I finished it, and I really wish there was a sequel just so I could catch up with the characters :( (Also, I read this in Disneyland Paris in the queue to meet Goofy and Sleeping Beauty, so there's a fun fact). 

So yeah! That is it! If you are looking for a new read, no matter what age you are, I highly recommend any of these books. I love them and I hope you do too! 

xxx

Author profile: Rainbow Rowell

This woman is not only one of my all time favourite authors but also favourite people. If you haven't already, check out her books, then her twitter/tumblr. She's so lovely and talented.

I first read "Eleanor and Park" because John Green recommended it, and I would recommend it for anyone who is or was a teenager. It's probably in the "Young Adult" genre but I really would recommend it to anyone. It's got so much heart and the characters are just so flawed and beautiful at the same time.I also read "Attachments" which is beautiful and lovely and gave me a warm feeling in my stomach. Rowell's latest book is "Fangirl" which I only read a few weeks ago and adored. It explores the world of fandom and fanfic and a young girl who goes away to college and has to find herself.

All of Rainbow's books are just so relatable and have so much heart behind them. I never see many people talking about her, especially in the UK and I don't know why because she's perfect and I know you'll love her books!

Apparently the film rights to "Eleanor and Park" have just been picked up so I'm sure you'll want to be reading it soon! 

Also how cool is her name?! Just looking at her books on my bookshelf makes me smile because of the lovely joyfulness that is radiated from "Rainbow". 

Also her book covers are all so beautiful.

I'm going to stop here before this turns into a document that Rainbow Rowell uses in court to get a restraining order. I just love her and her books so so much. 

I'm just going to leave these here. 

Author Profile: Mitch Albom

I first read "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" and absolutely loved it, and since then Mitch Albom has become one of my favourite writers.

Of his books, I have read "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" "The Timekeeper" (which was incredible) and "For One More Day". I have "Have A Little Faith" on my bookshelf so I will be reading that soon!

I study Philosophy and Ethics and Mitch Albom's books study topics which I find really interesting, such as the concept of time, religious faith and the afterlife. I also love that he doesn't try to force beliefs on people, and his attitude just seems to be "this is what I think, give it a read!"

I just think his books are really unique and always make me think, as well as teaching important values about family and friendship. They're always really easy to read and I find that I get through them really quickly, which I much prefer than slogging through a long book for weeks on end.


For more of me talking/clicking about books check out my goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/17677006-alexandra