June/July: Books I've Read

This month I decided to join June and July's post together just because in July I read the first book on the list with in two weeks but then ended up reading two books around the same time which carried on in to July so it just made more sense to collaborate both months.

From Notting Hill To New York Actually by Ali McNamara

My friend brought me the first and second book from this series for my birthday absolutely ages ago and after a few years I finally managed to read the first book last year and it was amazing so I'm not to sure why its taken me this long to read the second.

After finishing my May book I picked this one up on the bank holiday and plough through half the book in two days which was an achievement for me in its self. What I love about this series is the characters, the drama and how this one girl can manage to get up to the most craziest things without even meaning to. After every chapter ends you just want to start reading the next because you NEED to know what happens like how she becomes friends with Bradley Cooper like come on!

From Notting Hill With Four Weddings Actually by Ali McNamara

So it didn't take me that long to make a start on the third book in the series now did it? This time I decided I would actually just get on and get reading it as I just had to see what happened after the most romantic proposal in the last book.

After finishing the last book in the series I just had to know whether or not there were going to be any more and after tweeting Ali McNamara she said there was nothing in the pipe line at the moment which was gutting but least she didn't rule it out.

I would love to see a fourth book in this series as I'm dying to know what happens next and whether they do end up having a baby in the end and just what random things Scarlet manages to get herself in to now!

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Screen Play - JK Rowling

Finally gotten around to reading this after having it on my bookshelf since Christmas even though I have seen the film so many times I just had to pick this up and get it read as I'm trying to read as many of my books before I get my Kindle. 

It was such a quick read as well because its not your typical book as its a script from the film rather than an actual story which I quiet like although its taken me a while to get used to the style. Even though like I said I've seen the movie so many times I've really loved reading the script and all the illustrations are really nice and the cover is beautiful.


So you may be wondering why this month I read one of my books on a Kindle? Well my mum kindly lent me hers so I could give it a test run and see if I got on with it ok because I have always said I preferred reading an actual book but actually after reading on the Kindle I really liked it as its exactly like reading a book and its a lot more light weight and easier to hold.

Another reason why I wanted to convert is because I have been running out of book space on my shelf as well as the Kindle versions actually being a lot cheaper than buying the actual book. Plus when you go on holiday you can take as many books away with you as you like without having to take up to much room.

My mum has actually offered to get me a Kindle for my birthday in September which is amazing and will be such a good present rather than just having money so I've got 12 books to try and read between now and September which I probably wont be able to do but I will give it a go!

May: Books I've Read

Found reading this month a real struggle again but I think this may have been because I wasn't really enjoying the book I had chosen to read to begin with which is a real surprise because she is my favourite Author.

Always The Bridesmaid by Lindsey Kelk

I barely used to read before until I was randomly looking at the book section in Tesco and stumbled across a book called "The Single Girls To Do List" by Lindsey and instantly fell in love before my best friend recommend her I Heart series which are now my favourite books of all time and got me back in to reading.

I was really surprised when I picked up this book and didn't instantly click with the characters and the story like I usually do with her other books which is why it's taken me a lot longer to read than usual. It wasn't really until half way through the story that I started to enjoy what I was reading and had the urge to keep on going.

I found the beginning of the book rather slow which is unusual for me but there was just something about it that I wasn't really enjoying until half way through and things started to pick up and the plot started to get interesting. But by the end of the book I couldn't put it down as I wanted to find out what happened with the wedding, the job and Will and Tom her love interests. I really loved the texts, emails and messages that were included at the end as it gave an extra insight in to what happened next.

Its meant to be a stand alone book so whether she will write a follow up book who knows but I really hope she does as I want to know what happens next!

I still have "We're on a break" to read which is her most recent novel which I think I'll read next because she is releasing another I Heart book in September which will be an instant read for me and I like to be up to date with all her books.

March/April: Books I've Read

So I may have missed my end of March book's I've read post and that is simply because I was naughty and didn't read a whole book last month I only read half of a book whoops. The month kind of ran away with me so I thought I would join March's and April's posts together instead.

Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

So I originally started reading this back in March after I finished her quick read book. The reason I choose to read this was because its been sitting on my shelf for nearly 3 years since I moved in to the flat and there is already 2 sequels to the book out so thought I better get a move on.

I have to admit when I was reading the first chapter I wasn't 100% sure if I was actually going to like this book or not but as the story progressed and a few chapters in I began to find myself falling in love with Polly and the characters around her. There is one really sad part in this book that I totally didn't see coming at all but it did spice up the story and made things change for the characters.

Summer Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

After I read the first book in this series I just couldn't not start the next one after how it ended! I finished the first one and the next day I picked up the second book and read a good 8 chapters which is totally unlike me!

I am so glad that I decided to read this book next as I have completely fell in love with the characters and they're stories. Even though things get really tough again for Polly in this book and everything seems to be falling down around her. I am just so happy to see her pick herself back up and get it going again. Also I am so glad Neil was still in the story I love that little bird.

There is a 3rd book in this series but it's a Christmas story so therefore I am going to leave this until November time to read along with the next Rosie Hopkins sweet shop story. I cannot wait to see what happens next for both of them but it doesn't feel right reading a Christmas book in spring although saying that after the way this book has ended I really want to read the next one.
                                         

Harry Potter: Page to Screen 

"I checked this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading" is the quote that always comes to mind when ever I pick up this book because its huge and full of so much detail. Again another book that has been sat on myself for nearly 2 years. When I was given it for my birthday I was over the moon but it was just so much to read that I would often flick through it and read bits here or there.

I finally decided that this month I would take on the mamouth task that is reading this book and actually started from the beginning this time. The book its self is beautiful full of so many sections, interesting facts, photos and designs that made the film but it was difficult to read due to the size compared to normal books and the weight of it as well.

I haven't actually managed to finish it this month but I have made a dent in it so hopefully by the summer I will have finished it. So I shall keep you up to date on my progress each month.

I am actually so surprised this month that I managed to read two 400 page books as for me just reading at the best of times is a real struggle so to actually read two of them is a real achievement for me. I think it does really help if you get engrossed in the story.

February: Books I've Read

I have to say this month I have lacked on keeping up with my reading a book each month even though I have still managed to read one book but that was only because it was a quick read book which I spotted by my favourite author in Tesco otherwise I wouldn't have read one book this month.

I did mention in my January post that I was going to use this time to try and finish two books I already had started reading and out of the two I picked up 50 Shades of Grey and anyone who has read the book knows that its quite big and I am a very slow reader so hopefully I can get this one done in March so that I can start on some of my other books!

A Very Distant Shore by Jenny Colgan

I love reading any book by Jenny Colgan and I have so many on my book shelf that I have't even read yet and when I saw this one in Tesco for £1 under the quick reads section I had to get it. It wasn't until I got home that I noticed the little boats on the front were very similar to another one of Jenny's new books The Summer Seaside Kitchen which turns out is set in the same place and is a small spin off book.

I haven't read her new book yet or even brought it because I still have so many others to read but after reading the first few chapters of this book it has made me want to go and pick it up and it be my next book.

The book its self is 34 chapters and only 160 pages long which is great for a quick read and somebody who is a slow reader like myself. It did feel really weird reading like two pages and the chapter being over but the story its self was so good and I loved every moment of it.

The only issue is I have fallen in love with the two main characters and I am not 100% sure how much they are included in the main book. I know that Lorna will be because she is the main characters best friend but as for Saif I have no clue but that won't stop me reading.

So here we are going in to March already and time to start another new book or maybe finish 50 Shades who knows maybe I'll do both!

January: Books I've Read

So as I mentioned in my new years resolution post which you can read here. I said that I would try and read at least one book a month due to owning so many that I haven't got around to reading yet!

This month I actually managed to read books 3 altogether which I am really pleased about. Here are the books I managed to read this month/Finish off;

Christmas At Rosie Hopkins Sweet Shop by Jenny Colgan:

I have been a massive lover of Jenny Colgan's book ever since I was introduced to her and read "The Cupcake Cafe" followed by "Christmas At The Cupcake Cafe" in which I then went on to look at what other books she had written and purchased "Welcome to Rosie Hopkins Sweet Shop" and this book is the follow on story set not long after the first book during Christmas time.

What I love about Jenny's books is when reading them you really feel like you can relate to the characters and that you know them on this different level. As I am a slow reader it did take me the whole month to read it.

I do have the next book in this series ready to read but I think because once again its another Christmas themed book I shall save it for December hehe.

The Disney Book:

I have actually had this book since April 2016 when it was first released and over a few months I managed to get through half of the book before I stopped reading it altogether so I decided that I would finally finish it off as I can't stand having half finished books.

Although a lot of the stuff in the book I already knew there were a few things that I didn't and learnt about which was great. This book included a copy of an original cell from the movie Brave and I am so happy with the cell I got as each book has a different one.

The Case of Beasts: Explore The Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them:

Ever since the movie has came out I have been obsessed with this everything relating to the film its like Harry Potter all over again.

This again was another book that I was given just before Christmas as a present and started reading. I really enjoyed reading this book as it went in to a lot of detail about how bits were filmed, cast costumes, creature design and how the cast felt about each others characters.

The book even included lots of different pouches that included maps, wanted posters, game cards and other bits from the film which were really cool. I am actually hoping to get the wanted posters framed to go in the living room.

So here we are going in to February and I have so many books to choose from right now and 2 that need to be finished! So I am thinking I might use this month to finish these off before starting something new!

Wish List: Disney Books

I love reading and I especially love reading books that relate to Disney whether they are Artwork books, books on the history of rides and parks or even Walt himself. I don't currently own many which is a shame but money is tight at the moment but I thought I would share a few of the books that I would really like.

1. The Art Of Pocahontas - Amazon - £30 - £90

This book is such a rare gem and very difficult to get hold of especially new, I'm quite funny about buying used books especially if they don't provide proper copies of the book.

This book was first released in 1995 and hasn't been reproduced since and I was actually lucky enough to find a new copy for £32 rather than the usual £50 - £90 price tag, This will be a birthday present from my mum and I am so excited for it to come.

2. Maps of Disney Parks: Charting 60 years from California to Shanghai - Amazon - £22.68
Now this book isn't out until the end of October and I have already placed my pre order for a copy because this is something that fascinates me because its the history of the parks over the last 60 years and with the recent park in Shanghai now open it will be great to see how the parks and maps have changed over the years for the eras.

So the next few books on my list happen to be artwork books from some of my favourite movies. I love looking through Artwork books because it gives you an incite in to how the movie was produced and the concept art that then may become a reality or never made it to the final cut. Like for example Meeko was originally meant to be a turkey.

3. Tangled Artwork Book - Amazon - £19.96
4. Zootropolis Artwork Book - Amazon - £17.00
5. Inside Out ArtBook - Amazon - £19.99
6. Big Hero 6 ArtBook - Amazon - £19.98
7. Art of Ratatouille (Pixar Animation) - Amazon - £19.99

8. They Drew As They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney's Golden Age - Amazon - £19.99
This book was only released back in September last year and it appeared to have slipped off my radar. I don't know much about this book but from the reviews I have seen I can see that is about the golden age of Disney and all the Disney artists who worked on a few select movies.

9. Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Disney Little Golden Book - Amazon - £7.55
This book has been on my list for ages! And its full of loads of drawings from the Disney Animated movies along with positive quotes so essentially like a self help book or something to pick you up when your're feeling down.

10. Art of the Disney Golden Books - Amazon - £25
I have been meaning to buy this book for a while now and I know a few people who own this already and the inside of the book is just beautiful full of tones of photos, artwork and writing about the History of Disney.

So I think the next book I may have to buy is number 10 as the more I see of it the more I want it closely followed by the Tangled and Zootropolis artwork books.