Second- hand rummaging

Forgive me, as I have not added to the sales of all these wonderful authors. But I must be excused for my student budget! Look at all of the goodies I found in charity shops today.... a lot of the books I've been meaning to buy, but never actually got around to it!

Lucky - Alice Sebold
Playing Away, Still Thinking of You, Husbands - Adele Parks

The Self-Preservation Society - Kate Harrison

Lipstick Jungle - Candace Bushnell

You Drive Me Crazy - Carole Matthews

The Bride Stripped Bare - Anon

Happy reading!!!

the [problem with the] bookshelf

i'm having a slight problem. I'm packing, getting all excited for my move-into-flat day on Saturday. The dvds I want with me are packed, the exclusive CDs are packed and the rest on iTunes........ and then there are the books.

I want to take all of my books with me. Yes, all 78 of them!!! There's just one problem - I know for certain that they will not all fit in my tiny tiny tiny tiny dorm room.

So which ones do I take? I love them all, and if I leave them behind they will surely find themselves in the trash can [the brother is moving into my room].

This made me think of something as I looked at all of my wonderful books -which is your favourite book of all time? I found mine hiding on the top of my bookshelf whilst sorting out my collection:

Danielle Steel - The Ring

"In the turbulent days of Germany nin the Thirties, Kassandra von Gotthard met the man who changed her life ... Dolff Sterne.

She was the beautiful wife of a wealthy banker. He was a famous Jewish writer.

Together they shared a love that happens only once in a lifetime. But theirs was a love fated to end in tragedy.

The fateful day came when Dolff was wrenched from Kassandra's arms by Nazi soldiers - leaving her heartbroken and humiliated. And Kassandra decided that her life was no longer worth living. All that she leaves for her descendants is her memory of pain and a diamond signet ring. A ring that will carry the destiny of the von Gotthards to new lives and new loves..."

My best friend from Australia sent it to me to read about a week before we lost touch forever, so this book really means a lot to me. It made me cry absolute buckets, but it had me gripped all of the way through.

And it's definitely on the take-to-dorm pile!

the bookshelf



I love my parents' work book clubs. Look what my mum brought home for me today, all shiny and beautiful with the promising of a great read. And all for a fiver! Has anyone read My Best Friend's Girl or the Cupid Effect yet? The Chocolate Run is why I'm so excited about reading the other two - I love that book SO MUCH. It's amazing, please go and buy yourself a copy if you haven't read it already! It's one of the best books I've ever read, it really picked me up and made me laugh and smile as well as the usual ahhhs of romance. The trickiest bit about this collection is deciding who to give my spare copy to!



My two weeks in Spain were amazing, loved almost every minute of it. I knew I would love Lucy Diamond's Over You as soon as I read the first page. I don't intentionally pick up novels about family life, although I thoroughly loved every part of it, so much that it's now creased, bent and full of sand from me lugging it around with me everywhere I went. I genuinely cared about Josie and all of the decisions she made, and felt like laughing and crying with her all of the way through. A very fabulous novel, I loved it.

I wasn't so keen on Be Careful What You Wish For. It is written from the main character's point of view and written in such a simple way that I thought she was a teenager, not in her thirties. It was a good storyline although not used in the best way. I found it a bit annoying, and found myself reading quickly through it to get it finished rather than to find out what happens next. I also wondered why, if everything she wished for came true, and she was so devastated when her bag was stolen, why didn't she just wish for it to come back?

Bridget Jones was as fabulous as expected, and even funnier than the original. I loved Beach Babylon. It really made me laugh and you have to kind of read it twice after remembering it's all real and has all happened. I'm gutted that I can't find Fashion Babylon anywhere, I'm really looking forward to reading it too.

the bookshelf



these are the beach reads that I've finally sorted out for my (second) holiday! Very exciting stuff!

the bookshelf

Lucy Diamond - Over You

Look what came through my door this morning. So pretty! So shiny and new. And utterly fabulous, I'm more than pleased that it's arrived in time for my holiday! I still haven't read Any Way You Want Me, which is near to the top of my reading list, although I feel that with all of Lucy's excitement about the release of this book, it shall have to jump straight to the top of the reading pile.

I'm not too sure what I'm most excited about - two weeks in Spain or the bookshelf I'm taking with me?!

now reading

Has anybody read this book? I got through all of my holiday reads and couldn't bear to wait around Athens/Luton airport for two and a half hours without a new book in my hand. So, with the limited choice on display at Athens, I picked up Be Careful What You Wish For by Alexandra Potter - I loved the cover, and the blurb offered a good, light read for my flight.

After being wrapped up by Gossip Girl I didn't get the chance to read it, however after coming home I logged onto Trashionista (naturally.!) and found disappointing reviews for Potter's new release, Me and Mr Darcy, with links to people who also weren't very pleased with this book. I'm still going to continue to go ahead and read it, but wondered if anyone had any views/reviews on this book or any of her others? I've never heard of the author before but her novels include Calling Romeo, Going La La, Do You Come Here Often? and Mr and Mr Darcy. She has a new release for January 2009, titled Who's That Girl?

The heart-throb in Be Careful What You Wish For is called James... what a perfect name for a heartbreaker............ Another thing that inspired me to read one of Potter's books is the author herself, who has achieved what I aspire to do in future - Potter has worked as a features writer and sub-editor for women's UK glossies including Elle, More, OK! and Vogue. Wow!

the bookshelf - holiday reads

The Bride Hunter - Amy Appleton

I picked this book up a few weeks before my holiday and it looked so delicious that I jumped straight in and started reading it, before finding that life was too hectic to sit down and enjoy it completely. So I reopened it on my first beach day in Greece... and couldn't put it down. It's fantastic, I LOVE IT and it's jumped straight into my shrine.

I'm a hopeless romantic and all throughout the novel I was wishing for Becca to find her own man, at the same time admiring her for the changes she makes to the lives of those unlucky in love. I was gripped until the very last pages and it was so fabulous that I was tempted to turn back to page one and read it all over again.

It's full of twists and turns and unexpected surprises - go and read it, now!

I didn't know that 'Amy Appleton' had her own blog here too, at http://amyonlove.blogspot.com , so if you haven't already then check that out!

the bookshelf

Holly's Inbox - Holly Denham

I picked this book up from WHSmith, after hearing about the international success of her website

http://www.hollysinbox.com/. It read well, and being in its email form, I finished it in just a day.

I enjoyed reading it but wasn't as gripped as I thought I would be - there was huge hype surrounding this book but I'm not sure it lives up to it. I much preferred reading the emails as they unravelled in real time on her website.... and where was all the scandal? There was gossip, back-stabbing, friendship and office bitching, but scandal I wasn't really so sure about.

I was left a bit disappointed, and although I loved the warmth of the characters I couldn't really click with Holly as much as I hoped I would. It's a fun, light read, although not gripping enough.

Next read: The Bride Hunter - Amy Appleton

the bookshelf

The Chocolate Run - Dorothy Koomson

I can't remember the last time I found myself giggling out loud so often when reading a book. This book is FANTASTIC! I picked it up from WHSmith one night to start reading in the interval at Bingo (yes, really) and I haven't been able to put it down for so long. I love Amber, the main character. She's so warm, bubbly, funny... and she's a chocoholic!

I haven't finished reading it yet but I'd definitely recommend it. It's cheered me up no end and has been getting me through my breakup with my boyfriend, making me smile every day.