Happy World Book Night!

Happy World Book Night!! I have suspended my A-Z of books for one week because I am excited to be a book giver of Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London which I first read in 2012 and have re-read a number of times since!  I collected my books from our vibrant if small local library yesterday and have been giving them out to strangers, friends and colleagues all morning!

Mewster wanted in on the action, to be fair anything to do with boxes and Mew is all over it but hey I like to think I have a literary cat... To those of you who have received a copy from me a really hope you enjoy it, don't forget to pass the book on so as many people as possible can enjoy!

My A - Z of books

Hello again!  Just under a month to go until World Book Night, I can't wait to pick up my books from my local library and start preparing for the big day (night)!

To continue my celebration of  becoming a book giver for World Book Night, and to celebrate all things books I continue my A-Z of books with the letter 'E'.  Enigma by Robert Harris:

I am a total book snob, I will be judgey about a book cover and I'm unlikely to ever read books like the Da Vinci Code because of the hype surrounding it and Dan Brown.  When I worked at Waterstones during my degree I was like this about Robert Harris, I don't really know why, I just was.  I had seen the film Engima (the one with Kate Winslet in) but just hadn't made the link to Harris' book, a friend recommended it to me.  Now I was a bit dubious but I trusted her taste in books so I gave it ago, I liked it a lot and I've re-read it at least once, possibly twice.  You're probably picking up on my slightly lukewarm review?  Usually I fill blog posts about books I've liked with far too many exclamation marks and I overuse the term 'awesome', so why am I including a book I 'liked' in my A - Z of books?  Because Engima represents a time when I got over my book snobbery (even if it was just a little bit) and decided to read books I wanted to read, rather than just read books I thought I should read or be seen reading.  I think that's quite grown-up really.

Here is a recap of my A-Z so far:

• A
• B
• C
• D

My A - Z of books

Hallo, welcome back!  This week my A - Z of books focuses on 'D' for Dictionaries.  When I was at University I was living in a shared house with MozzyMr and a bunch of super brainy folk.  When we couldn't afford to go out we'd play Scrabble, things were so competitive that one Christmas I asked MoMa and MoPa for the largest dictionary they were happy to buy me, because if I had the largest, most detailed dictionary then I had the best chance of winning with obscure words...

(I am aware this photo contains Thesauruses not Dictionaries, thank you bye)

Chez Moz has at least six dictionaries, we like words, and we're competitive when it comes to Scrabble and this is why I had to have Dictionaries within my A -Z of books.

Here is a recap of my A-Z so far:

• A
• B
• C

My A - Z of books

Week three and we arrive at 'C' on my A - Z of books journey, and so to Caitlin Moran.

Author, journalist, feminist, and Sherlock lover, there is no better combination in my mind!  Her books; How To Be a Woman, Moranthology and The Chronicles of Narmo approach a broad range of topics including feminism, botox, shoes, Sherlock, kids, the workplace, strip-clubs, love, and Topshop with a sense of humour that resonates with me.  

Her books made me re-engage with feminism and acted as a launchpad for me reading a range of modern feminist articles and books.  I understand her humour isn't for everyone but I would urge you to read her books, in particular How To Be a Woman.

Here is a recap of my A-Z so far:

• A
• B

My A - Z of books

Welcome back to my A - Z of books, these posts are to celebrate being chosen as a World Book Night 2014 book giver and to celebrate all things books!

A scan of my copy of the BFG.  You can see the remains of 'The Walt Disney Company' transfer stickers on the cover.  I applied those transfers to everything I owned!

And so to 'B' on my list....it had to be The BFG by Roald Dahl, this was the first book I bought with my own money and I adored it.  We were on holiday in York, I can't remember how old I was when I bought it but whilst curled up on my camp bed in the hotel room breathing in new book smell and feeling like a proper grown up for having bought a book I lapped the story up.  I plan to visit the Roald Dahl museum at some point, my nieces report that it is pretty good!

Standard practice, writing my name over everything, I've even gone with 'I like the BFG'.  Never one to exaggerate apparently.

Almost everyone I know adores Roald Dahl books, which did you first own and which is your favourite?

Here is a recap of my A-Z so far:

• A

My A - Z of books

Woo hoo!  I am so chuffed to be chosen as a World Book Night 2014 book giver.  I was a book giver in 2012 with The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak which is one of my all time favourite books.  When I saw that Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch was listed I had to apply again, I adore his Peter Grant books and can't wait to share Rivers of London with friends and strangers alike!

To celebrate I thought I would write a series of weekly posts outlining my personal A - Z of books, showcasing authors and books that have influenced me in my *cough* 32 years.

So lets begin with A:

It seems appropriate enough to start with 'Aaronovitch' as my A on this list.  A friend at work recommended this to me, once I had finished it I was hooked on the series.  A symptom of writing my old 'A Month of Reading' posts on this little blog was that I read books that I thought I should read rather than books I really wanted to read.  Rivers of London was one I really wanted to read and from that point onwards I stopped writing the posts and started reading everything I wanted to whether high or low brow.

I hope you'll join me next Tuesday for 'B' on my A-Z of books!

World Book Night 2012 - Getting Ready!

I've been getting ready for World Book Night 2012...

A Month of Reading

I feel I need to start this post by saying don't judge me!  There is a whole heap of young adult fiction contained within this post which quite often makes people scoff but this month of reading is a gold mine of fantastic reads which with the summer just around the corner you might want to consider...

1. Double or Die by Charlie Higson

A number of years ago an ex-colleague of mine recommended and lent me Silverfin the first of the Young Bond series by Charlie Higson. I never thought it would be a book she would read so thought I would give it a go and was very glad I did, it was great. I quickly purchased Bloodfever the follow-up but at that point Double or Die was in hardback and on principle I won't buy hardback books they're just too expensive. 

Wanting a quick read I thought I would give Double or Die a try. Crikey, it's just a bit action packed, very far-fetched but ultimately great.  The good thing about young adult fiction is an absolute disregard for what can't happen and as the young James Bond gets chased, and chased and escapes and escapes in more and more ridiculous scenarios I loved every page. Higson keeps the slightly kitsch elements of the original Bond's but thankfully without the sexist Pussygalores etc.

2. Hurricane Gold by Charlie Higson

I told you I liked the young James Bond's.  As I was nearing the end of Double or Die I got slightly edgy and nervous that I didn't have the next book in the series to immediately move on to.  Hurricane Gold provides a ludicrous villain, fast cars, horrendous but inventive ways to die, guns, gore, and lots of page turning goodness.  Buy it, do it now, off you go....

3. Looking for Alaska by John Green

You may remember I read Paper Towns by John Green in last month's A Month of Reading, and I LOVED it.  You might have guessed from this post already that when I like an author I tend to rush out and buy all of their books and read, read, read (thank god I don't like Patrick O'Brian I'd be broke) and John Green's books are great!  Looking for Alaska is an exploration of beginnings and endings. What I love about Green's books is that he writes about teenagers and their lives in such an ordinary non-Skins way and doesn't pretend that life as a teenager isn't mostly boring and filled with the complicated relationships with friends and family.  I can't say too much about the plot because I don't want to give much away and I do want you to go out and read this book.

4. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Ahhh the exquisite pain of a heart broken teenager.  Colin; anagramer, prodigy, and dumped by 19 Katherines works his way through the heart break with friend Hassan on a road trip (Hassan is one of the best characters I've come across).  This wasn't my favourite John Green book, but that's like saying it's not my favourite cake, it's still cake damn it which means it's still great.  Once again Green's characters are full and normal and funny and smart, the story is something everyone can, on some level relate to and I will eat my imaginary hat if you don't enjoy this book.

That's it for me  and this month of reading, allotment season is kicking off so I suspect my consumption of literature is going to nose dive.  But I'm very excited to say I have been chosen to be a World Book Night Giver!  But more of that later...

A month of reading

1. (not pictured) When God Was a Rabbit - Sarah Williams

I wasn't sure about this one, a number of people had recommended it but I suspected it wasn't for me.  Yes, I admit it; I judged a book by it's cover.  Unsurprisingly the old adage was correct, I really shouldn't have.  It was a pacy book and at no point felt like a struggle to read, the relationships between the characters are complicated at times, but touching as well.  This book hasn't changed my life and I don't think it is one of those books that everyone MUST read but is a good in between book when you've finished a really brilliant book and don't know what to read next. I've lent this one to my mum (hence not pictured) and I'm vain enough to not lend people books that I don't think reflect well on me!

2. The Imperfectionists - Tom Rachman

I read a review of this book on another blog and thought I would give it a go.  The story is set in the office of a failing newspaper, each chapter is written from the view point of one of the members of the office outlining the personal and professional politics, power struggles and ambitions of the staff.  I'm indifferent to this book, which sounds so much more damning than I really want it to.  It is a good book and I didn't struggle to get through it and at no point did I want to give up on it, but the characters were whiney and selfish and I struggled to find a redeeming feature amongst them (I am aware this was a necessary part of the plot, but it doesn't mean I have to like it).  Don't let me put you off this book but borrow it from the library, don't buy it new. 

3. The Confessions of Katherine Howard - Suzannah Dunn

Utter, utter meh.  My (not so) secret shame is an interest in the Tudors and I thought this one might be good.  It was eye meltingly dull I don't give up on books readily, and I didn't with this one but it came close a couple of times.

4. One Day - David Nicholls

This book didn't come to my attention until the film came out, now anything associated with Anne Hathaway makes me yawn, equally anything that is over-hyped switches me off so I wasn't that inclined to read it.  However last weekend my lovely sister-in-law gave me a copy, the copy she had received as part of World Book Night and I'm really glad I got over myself and read it because it was great.  My assumption had been that because Anne Hathaway was involved with the film that the character of Emma Morley would be a bit soft, but no, she was switched on, sarcastically funny and so well written.  This book was great because it portrays what I'm sure we've all experienced; the struggle to identify what we really want to do with our lives and how to achieve it.  Go forth and read this book!

So what have I learnt this month via the medium of books; I am very snobby and judgemental when it comes to choosing books, but equally am happy to admit when I'm wrong about these judgements so that's sort of ok, right?

What books would you recommend?