October 2020 | Books & Babble

Saturday 31 October 2020

Book Tag | All About Halloween

Happy Halloween! Of course I had to figure out a way to slot in some Halloween themed book tags into this month and when better to post this tag then on Halloween? I did some googling to find some of the book tags and I discovered this one on Madame Writer although I think the original creator of this tag is Catfairy Books but their page is no longer active.

What are your favorite Halloween movies?

Starting off with one of my favourite things to talk about! I love spooky themed films although full on horror is a bit too much for me so I tend to stick to the fairly family friendly ones. I wouldn't be me if I didn't mention Hocus Pocus because at this point it's a tradition to watch it every October and it's just such a comfort movie for me and I love everything about it. Some other films I love to watch in October include Coraline, Sleepy Hollow, Halloweentown, The Craft and Scream.

What is your favorite Halloween book?

This is more of a most recent favourite Halloween book than an all time favourite. I recently read The Haunting of Hill House in preparation for watching the Netflix adapatation and it was definitely spooky and atmospheric. I really enjoyed reading about the house, the disturbances and how it affected the inhabitants. It was very creepy and a perfect way for me to kick off my October TBR.

What other Halloween books would you recommend?

I've only really recently got into reading horror/spooky books so I don't have tons to recommend. These three books are all ones I read this month and enjoyed for different reasons. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill is a creepy, atmospheric short story that is perfect to scare the socks off of you. A Pinch of Magic by Michelle Harrison is a fun, magical middle grade that follows three sisters on a perilous quest and is great if you want something more light-hearted but still has that magic feel. Lastly, Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween by Lisa Morton is a great non-fiction book that examines how Halloween began and it's impact on different countries and pop culture. It's really informative and was really well written.

Do you own any Halloween ugly sweaters?

I don't but now I wish I did. Ugly sweaters aren't really something that I feel like I need in my wardrobe but as a lover of Halloween I feel like I need to own at least one just so I can say that I do!

What are some of your favorite Halloween costumes?

I was nearly always a witch at Halloween as it was my favourite thing to dress up as. When I was a teenager I did go to a party dressed as Wednesday Addams and I really loved going as her as she's one of my all time favourite characters and there was a lot of black involved! I don't dress up all that much but future costume ideas include the Black Swan dress and a Voodoo doll so now I just need to get invited to some more Halloween parties!

What are you doing for Halloween this year?

Everything is so up in the air at the minute with parts of the UK still being in lockdown and having to social distance everywhere. I'm definitely still going to be carving some pumpkins as I always love doing it even if makes our kitchen into a sticky mess! This year we're doing a pizza night with a scary movie marathon and possibly answering the door to trick or treaters if there are any. If not me and my brothers will probably just end up eating all of the sweets ourselves!

What is your favorite childhood Halloween memory?

I think Halloween in general was such a massive deal in our house as my mum loved Halloween. We'd decorate the house and carve pumpkins ready to put outside. We'd always have a pretty quick dinner and then my older sister would take me and my brother trick or treating. We'd always go to the posher neighbourhoods as they always had the best sweets and sometimes we'd get money too! Then we'd come home and sort through our stash, sometimes we'd watch a film, have hot chocolate and eat some of our sweets before bed.

If you decide to do this tag please let me know so I can check out your answers by leaving a link in the comments. Happy Reading and Happy Halloween!

November 2020 TBR + 1000 Doors Readathon!

It's that time of the month again so I'm here to plan out my November TBR plus mention the readathon I'll be taking part in this month. I had a great reading month in October and I read some great books as well as a ton that really put me in the Halloween/Autumn mood. I've tried to include a few books that still have a darker vibe to them as it is still autumn and I am still leaning towards those types of books.

I'm only taking part in one readathon this month although there were a few that I was interested in. I really wanted to do the next round of Believathon hosted by How To Train Your Gavin on booktube which is a month long middle grade readathon but I just don't own any middle grades physically and I didn't want to have to soley read them through scribd so I'm putting this off until the next round. I was also interested in the next rounds of Musical-A-Thon and the Gilmore Girls Readathon but having had a look at the prompts I couldn't really fit them to match my TBR without adding another 8 books to it which is a real shame. The readathon I will be participating in is the 1000 Doors Readathon which I'll talk a bit more about further down.

I'm also participating in the The Winternight Trilogy Readalong which is also hosted by Meg With Books and you can find the announcement video here and can check out the twitter page here. We're reading the first book The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden in November and then the second and third books in December and January. I've been looking for an excuse to start this series so I was so happy when I saw that a readalong was happening and immediately knew I had to join in.

I'm continuing on with reading the The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater and I'm now on to the second book Linger. I didn't love the first book, I gave it three stars, but I own the entire series so I do want to read all of them before probably unhauling. I'm also finally reading Horrid by Katrina Leno after months of talking about it! I'm having to bump Shadowsea by Peter Bunzl over to November as I didn't manage to get to it in October so I'll definitely be prioritising it. My classic for the month is going to be Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and my non-fiction read is going to be I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai both of which I'm really excited to get to.

1000 Doors Readathon

As soon as megwithbooks announced she was co-hosting this readathon I knew I had to participate. This readathon is a month long if you want more time to complete it but the main part is going to be from the 1st until the 8th of November. The concept is so unique and I'm really excited to see what books I'll be reading for it. You see you can't really plan your TBR for this because this is a choose your own adventure type of readathon. On November 1st we'll be able to choose our first prompt from a selection of doors and go away and read that book. Once you've finished, you go back to the video and choose your next door and prompt based on what you thought about the book you've just read. There are five layers so five prompts overall. Basically everyone's experience is going to be different and because of how you get each prompt you can't really do any planning!

I just loved the concept! I think it sounds super fun and interactive and I can't wait for the first of November to arrive. If you'd like to participate or check out the announcement video, I've linked it in the heading above.

So that's what my November TBR is looking like at the minute! A lot of these are books are dependent on time and whether or not I can fit them into the prompts I get but hopefully I'll be able to get through most of them. What are you planning on reading in November? Are you participating in any readathons? Let me know in the comments and Happy Reading!

WWW Wednesday | 28/10/2020

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween by Lisa Morton last night and this was a great, informative non-fiction book. It's incredibly well researched and has loads of detail about the holiday. It has different sections on how Halloween was started, traditions from different countries and it's impact on pop culture. If you have any interest in Halloween, I'd definitely urge you to pick up this book.

What are you currently reading?

I'm just over halfway into A Pinch of Magic by Michelle Harrison and I'm really enjoying it so far. This is the first book in a magical middle grade series about three sisters who are trying to break an ancient family curse with the assistance of some magical objects. This has been really fun, I love the whimsical writing and the characters are super entertaining. The plot's picked up a lot now so I think I'm going to try and finish this one out today.

I am seriously slacking when it comes to Daja's Book by Tamora Pierce. I've still got eleven chapters to listen to between now and Saturday in order to finish it on time. I just haven't been in the mood to listen to my audiobook even though I do really like this series. I'm determined to listen to an hour or two today though.

What do you think you'll read next?

Yes, it's finally happening. I'm starting My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix later today and I can't wait! I've been so hyped for this book so I can't wait to get stuck into all the campy horror goodness.

1988. Charleston, South Carolina. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. . But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act… different. She’s moody. She’s irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she’s nearby.

Abby’s investigation leads her to some startling discoveries - and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? What are you currently reading and hoping to pick up next? Leave a comment or link your own WWW Wednesdays below for me to check out!

Top Ten Tuesday | Upcoming YA Releases Perfect for Halloween 2021

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that highlights ten books that all relate to a certain topic and is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This Weeks Topic Is...

A Halloween Freebie so I decided to highlight ten upcoming releases that I think would be perfect to read next Halloween if like me you like to do a bit of seasonal reading in October to put you in the spooky mood.

#5OnMyTBR | Ghosts

This meme was created by E. @ Local Bee Hunter's Nook and you can find the announcement post here. Also, side note, these aren't necessarily books that I own physically but they're all on my Goodreads TBR and they'll mostly be the five most recently added.

This Week's Prompt is...

Halloween Freebie so I decided to pick five ghostly tales. These books all involve ghosts in one way or another and although they won't be on my October/ Halloween TBR this year, who knows, they might pop up next year!

Down The TBR Hole #7

My current to-read shelf is at 3972 this week so two less then last time! At least it's a start!

The rules

Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books. Of course if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?

Pastworld by Ian Beck

A murder mystery set in a Victorian London themed theme park? Very intrigued.

Verdict: Keep

Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

Sounds cute but probably not a book I'd pick up on my own if i'm looking for a romance fix.

Verdict: Remove

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

It's a sleeping beauty retelling but the synopsis makes it sound boring and it's also shelved as christian fiction a lot (which I have no problem with as a sub-genre ), I just prefer not to read fiction with a lot of religious aspects in it.

Verdict: Remove

Chasing Alliecat by Rebecca Fjelland Davis

It has an interesting premise but I'm always wary about books with a lack of ratings from users purely because availability is probably going to be a problem with getting my hands on this book. I'll remove it for now but might take another look if I'm able to find it physically.

Verdict: Remove

I'm Not Her by Janet Gurtler

I feel bad removing this because although it sounds like a fine book there are also a thousand others with the same plot.

Verdict: Remove

Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison

Again, another fairytale retelling which normally I would be a sucker for but Beauty and the Beast ones are so hit or miss and I've already read a gender flipped version that I didn't enjoy. I'm probably not going to pick this up at any point.

Verdict: Remove

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

I think I'm starting to notice a pattern!? A fairytale retelling of Rose Red and Snow White but this one does actually sound interesting. I'm realising that I like my fairytales a bit darker rather than cute fluffy contemporary versions.

Verdict: Keep

Icecore by Matt Whyman

This sounds more like something that my younger brother would enjoy rather than me so maybe I'll pass the recommendation on to him instead.

Verdict: Remove

Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley

This cover automatically made me think of the film Chalet Girl with Felicity Jones which I loved but this book sounds a bit too superficial and fluffy for me.

Verdict: Remove

The Compund by S.A. Boden

Another one that my brother would probably like more than me. I think I would have read it when I was teenager but not any more.

Verdict: Remove

This Week:

Kept: 2

Removed: 8

Overall:

Kept: 30

Removed: 40

Wow, I did a lot better then I was expecting to this week. I might revise my posts though so I can begin removing more books because otherwise I am going to be doing this for the next year or so at this rate!

Book Review | One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus

Title: One of Us is Next
Author: Karen M. McManus • Author's Site
Publication Date: 9th January 2020 by Penguin
Format: ebook via library
Target Audience: Young Adult
Genre: Mystery

Goodreads • Waterstones • Hive

It is a year after the action of One of Us Is Lying, and someone has started playing a game of Truth or Dare.
But this is no ordinary Truth or Dare. This game is lethal. Choosing the truth may reveal your darkest secrets, accepting the dare could be dangerous, even deadly.
The teenagers of Bayview must work together once again to find the culprit, before it's too late . . .

Rating

WWW Wednesday | 21/10/2020

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Top Ten Tuesday | Books I Bought Because of Booktube

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that highlights ten books that all relate to a certain topic and is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This Weeks Topic Is...

Books Recommended To Me. I buy a lot of books because of the online book community as I think a lot of other people do as well. It's where I get most of my recommendations and how I hear about new releases. I also watch a lot of booktube as for some reason I just like listening to other people talking about their favourite books so here's a list of books that I bought purely because I saw someone on youtube talking about them! I'll try and link to who I got the recommendation from but I do have the memory of a goldfish and I can't remember some of them!

#5OnMyTBR | Enemies to Lovers

This Week's Prompt is...

Enemies to Lovers. I struggled slightly with this prompt as enemies to lovers isn't a trope I particularly go out of my way to read, I don't mind if it's included but it's never been why I've picked a book up. I managed to scrape together five books though and I do want to read all of these at some point.

Down The TBR Hole #6

Someone needs to tell me to stop adding books because it's starting to become an addiction, every interesting book I come across on Goodreads, I have an automatic urge to add it even if the likelihood of me getting round to reading it anytime soon is low. My current to-read shelf is at 3974 this week.

The rules

Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books. Of course if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?

Book Tag | The Fall Bucket List Tag

I'm back with another tag! I wanted to do a fall themed tag and I read this one over on The Book Dutchesses blog and the prompts and the graphics were so cute. I don't really tag people for these kind of things but if you do do this tag, let me know in the comments! This tag was originally created by Read by Tiffany although I can't find the original post.

The Cogheart books by Peter Bunzl are a really fun, lighthearted adventure middle grade series that is one of my favourites. It does have some more mysterious elements to it as well but overall it's so fantastical and all of the books are great reads. I'm really looking forward to reading the fourth and final book at some point this year.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab is probably the most hyped book of the year and I'm planning on buying myself a copy within the coming weeks. I've heard nothing but good things and I just have a really strong feeling that this could be a new favourite although I shouldn't build my expectations too high!

I'm loving the Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce and it definitely has a fun friendship group at it's core as it follows four young mages as they develop their magic and battle various dangers. I'm currently listening to the third book on audio and I love this friendship group, they argue and have their differences but you can tell their bond goes deep.

I recently read Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker and it was such a heartwarming graphic novel with beautiful art. It was like autumn in book form, the romance is so freaking adorable and I really want the authors to continue this series.

I haven't read With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevado just yet but I own it and I know that the main character is an aspiring chef and that there's a lot of foodie content. This has a really high rating on Goodreads and although I'm not much of a cook myself (I prefer baking!), I'm sure this will inspire me to set foot in the kitchen!

I thought we'd end with a nice autumnal, mystery read and include Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. This was one of my favourite books I read in 2019 and I really should have picked up the next book in the series by now. I think i'm going to pick this one back up for a re-read before I continue though as I genuinely want to revisit it already.

So that's my tag! What are some of your favourite things to do in fall? I definitely love cosying up in sweaters, lighting a candle or two, making myself a hot chocolate and settling down with a book! Happy Reading!