July 2013 Book Haul

From top to bottom:

City of Bones The Little Book of Quotes - £7.99 from the Waterstones book signing
City of Bones Postcard Collection - £5.99 from the Waterstones book signing
Navigating the Shadow World - £6.55 from Amazon
City of Lost Souls - £7.99 from Waterstones
City of Bones Movie Tie-In Novel - £7.99 from the Waterstones book signing

Clockwork Prince - £7.99 from Waterstones
Clockwork Princess - £10.99 from Waterstones

The Novice - Gift
The Magicians' Guild - Gift
Angelfall - £6.99 from Waterstones
Insurgent - £7.99 from Waterstones
Divergent - £7.99 from Waterstones

Unspoken - £6.99 from the Waterstones book signing

The Cuckoo's Calling - £13.99
The Casual Vacancy - £3.99 from a charity shop

I know the amount of books I've bought this month does look insane but I did attend a book signing, plus Waterstones were doing a buy one get one half-price deal so that makes it okay... right? Besides my boyfriend gifted me The Novice and The Magicians' Guild so I've only actually paid for 13 of these books... quite harmless really... *cough*

Aside from the books I bought at the book signing at the start of the month (blog post on that here), I also bought City of Lost Souls, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess, Angelfall, Divergent and Insurgent as I'd already read them my Kindle and loved them all so I wanted a physical copy of each to display on my bookshelf.

In addition, being a massive Harry Potter fan, when I heard about JK Rowling being revealed as having written The Cuckoo's Calling under a pseudonym (article on this here), I naturally had to rush out and buy it straight away! I also found a really good copy of  her other adult book, The Casual Vacancy so I'm hoping to read them both soon.

As well as buying a ridiculous amount of books I also bought an even sillier amount of TMI/TID-related merch but in an effort to keep this post from being double its size I thought I'd save that for another time!

Here's hoping I can control my book and related merchandise buying compulsions in August...

Top Ten Tuesday: Topics that make me not pick up a book

This week's Top Ten Tuesday theme is words or topics that make you not want to pick up a book. The topics that I avoid the most are ones that make me sad or upset. When I read a book I like to be entertained or happy, not crying my eyes out!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme by The Broke and the Bookish which each week features a differently-themed list related to reading or books. To learn more about this meme click here and you can view their original post on this week's theme here.

Words/topics that I avoid in books:

1. Vampires

I tend to be quite prejudice towards any book that is about vampires. However I've heard lots of good things about some vampire series like Vampire Academy and The Morganville Vampires so maybe I need to be a bit more open minded.

2. Werewolves

I've never been keen on werewolves and I often find myself getting annoyed at werewolf characters in stories.

3. Cancer

Hence why I've been avoiding the very popular The Fault in Our Stars like the plague.

4. Depression/other mental illnesses

I don't like reading books that make me feel sad or unhappy and I find mental disorders particularly painful to read about in fiction.

5. Death

I'm fine to read books where one or two of the characters die over the course of the story but I can't deal with books that centre around death or dying.

6. Poetry

I want to like it but for some reason I just can't!

7. Anything 50 Shades Of Grey-esque

I couldn't get even half-way through the first 50 Shades book so I have no interest in trying to read a similar novel.

8. Gore

I'm not really a fan of thriller or horror books anyway but anything overly-gory just makes me feel sick!

9. Books without love

Yes, okay, I am a big soppy girl but I need some romance!

10. Being preached to

I like to think that I'm a pretty open-minded person but I am not a fan of being preached to, whether its about religion, animal rights or anything else.

As other bloggers have mentioned there are exceptions to every rule but for the most part these are the things I try to avoid when choosing a book. 

What things put you off picking up a book?

Meeting Cassandra Clare, Jamie Campbell Bower and Sarah Rees Brennan!

WARNING: picture heavy post!

My ticket for the signing

Outside the church

Waiting for the Q&A session to begin

The books I bought at the signing

Queuing to get my books signed - you can just about see Sarah and Cassandra. Shame I didn't get a picture of Jamie!

My signed books!

I still cannot believe that at this time last week I was travelling back home from meeting Cassandra Clare, Jamie Campbell Bower and Sarah Rees Brennan! The event was held by Waterstones (whose staff were very lovely) in St James's Church in Piccadilly and consisted of a Q&A session with the authors and Jamie and then a book signing afterwards. Jamie even surprised us by playing two of his songs which were honestly so good. I've had 'Get Your Guns' on repeat ever since last week!

All three were so chatty and friendly but unfortunately by the time I got to the signing table we were being rushed through so I didn't really get the chance to talk to Cassandra Clare but both Sarah and Jamie were sweet to me when I met them. What a shame I suddenly became all shy and couldn't manage more than a smile and a couple of words!

I am so glad I overcame my nerves about going on my own and went to this event! It was great to meet more fans of the books, especially @ohmyeverdeen who very kindly helped me navigate the London Underground afterwards.

If you'd like to watch the event yourself it was filmed by @tmibritain and I've linked all her videos from YouTube here:

1. Q&A part one

2. Q&A part two

3. Q&A part three

4. Jamie singing part one

5. Jamie singing part two

Top Ten Tuesday: Best and Worst Movie Adaptations

I've only just discovered The Broke and the Bookish and their weekly 'Top Ten Tuesday' feature so forgive me for being late! Each week they post a top ten list on a book/reading-related theme and this week is the top ten best and worst movie adaptations. To see their original post on this week's theme, click here.

While I've seen a lot of films that were adapted from books, I unfortunately haven't read many of the corresponding books yet, so for my top ten list I've decided to do four of my favorite adaptations, three of the worst and three future adaptations that I am looking forward to.

Best:

1. Harry Potter

Although the films weren't perfect in certain areas, I believe they did a really good job of bringing the magic from the books to the screen. Along with the books, these films will always have a special place in my heart.

2. The Hobbit

I really enjoyed watching the first film (hello Richard Armitage and Aidan Turner *wink*) and I am very excited to see the second which is due out in December. The filmmakers have admittedly made a lot of changes from the book but if you're going to make three action movies out of a children's book, this is quite understandable!

3. Girl With A Pearl Earring

While I still prefer the book to the film I believe the film was a good and faithful adaptation of the book and it featured two of my favourite actors; Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson.

4. The Last Song
The film isn't perfect and doesn't have nearly half the emotion of the book but I still think it is a great coming-of-age film. It also featured Liam Hemsworth topless so I'm not going to complain!

Worst:

1. Eragon

There are no words to describe my upset with this adaptation! They made lots of changes which I can usually forgive if they help to translate the story better onto the screen but this was just a bad, bad, bad film. I was so disappointed because it has probably put a lot of people off reading what is actually a very good book!

2. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
I love all of the Narnia books and enjoyed the first two films but my sister and I ended up walking out of the screening of this which is something I hardly ever do.

3. Twilight
I may be a bit biased as I no longer like the books but...

Future adaptations:

1. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
I've been obsessing over this series ever since I read it and I am so excited about the film coming out next month! The filmmakers have released a lot of previews and trailers and I've loved everything I've seen so far so hopefully I will enjoy the film!

2. Divergent
This is easily one of my favourite book series so I am very much looking forward to the film adaptation which is due out next year.

3. The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel

Although the film is still in the very early stages with only a screenwriter attached to it, I am so eager to see this story on the big screen. This series was written by the same author as The Mortal Instruments so I'm hoping if TMI films are a success, it will push this one further into production.

What are your best and worst movie adaptations?

Book cover images from goodreads.com

June Wrap Up & July To Be Read (2013)

Books that I read in June:

Book cover images from goodreads.com

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
Rating: 4 / 5

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Rating: 5 / 5

Angelfall by Susan Ee
Rating: 3 / 5

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Rating: 5 / 5

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Rating: 5 / 5

June was quite a good month for reading despite having my horrible college deadlines in the middle of it. I finished off the fifth book in Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series and started the first book in her other Shadowhuner series, Clockwork Angel from The Infernal Devices. I also read the first two books in the Divergent trilogy, the third of which is due to be released in October.

In June I also read Angelfall by Susan Ee. There is a lot of hype over this book online, which was partially why I downloaded it in the first place, but I did not get on with the first half of the book at all and found myself struggling to continue with the book at certain points. However I'm glad I did persevere as I ended up really enjoying the second half as the plot quickened and new characters and locations were introduced.

Books I intend to read in July:

Book cover images from goodreads.com

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Under The Dome by Stephen King

Although college has finished now I have a feeling I might end up being quite busy in July with the boyfriend moving out of his university flat in July so I've only set myself four books to read. I'd like to finish off The Infernal Devices trilogy with Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess and start the Hush, Hush series which I've heard lots of good things about.

Additionally My July book chosen at random from my book jar is Under The Dome by Stephen King. I am honestly a bit nervous about reading this book as it is absolutely massive but as its a dystopian novel, I'm hoping that I will enjoy it.

What books do you want to read in July?

June 2013 Book Haul

Books:
City of Bones - £2.50 (2 for £5 offer) from The Works

City of Ashes - £2.99 from The Works (present)

City of Glass - £2 from a charity shop

City of Fallen Angels - £2.50 (2 for £5 offer) from The Works

Clockwork Angel - £1.79 from a charity shop

City of Glass Chinese version - present

The Night Circus - £1.99 from a charity shop

Book-related merchandise:
Angelic Power Rune necklace - £4.90 from KnickNatsCrafts
Bookshop bag - £2.99 (If I remember correctly!) from The Notting Hill Bookshop

This month I mainly bought books from The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare after I read the books on my Kindle over the past few months and fell in love with them. I took advantage of the great offers in The Works (a discount book store in the UK) and bought most of the series from there. I also found some great bargains in charity shops, including a pristine copy of Clockwork Angel for only £1.79!

My boyfriend was also kind enough to bring me back a Chinese copy of City of Glass from Hong Kong. It such a pretty book - it has shiny cover art, which my inner magpie adores, and decorated chapter pages.

For book-related merchandise I bought a bag from The Notting Hill Bookshop whilst we were visiting Portobello Road in London, just because I liked the name (yes, I am a sad person). I also bought a Angelic Power Rune necklace from etsy which I wore to the signing with Cassandra Clare on 4th July - more on that later!

Did you buy or read any good books in June? Let me know your recommendations!