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REVIEW: Clockwork Princess Manga by HyeKyung Baek & Cassandra Clare

Posted on 3 November, 2014

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I’ve never read a manga before, so I’m not sure what I was thinking when I took one on for review. It was certainly an experience, but not one that I regretted at all. I’ll definitely be reading more graphic novels in the future!

This book is the manga version of Clockwork Princess, which is the third book in the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. I first read Clockwork Princess when it came out, so it was really nice to read the manga and revisit the story without taking ages to read the book. The manga allows you to dip in and out of the already existing story, although I did feel as if I couldn’t grasp the whole story like in the book by Cassandra Clare.

The illustrations show incredible talent from the illustrator, HyeKyung Baek. I am always in awe of artwork because I’m not a very artistic person. I can see myself getting used to the manga style, but I didn’t feel it worked well from the point of view of someone who has read the book before. I found it very difficult to work out which characters were which because I already had an image of them in my head.

I think the manga is a great idea to introduce new people to both graphic novels and the original novels by Cassandra Clare. Whilst I would recommend it, it’s not a book I’ll re-read in the future and I wouldn’t be interested in reading any other graphic novels of books I’ve already read unless I had complete faith in it.

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Winter Re-reads

Posted on 29 October, 2014

As the nights get dark and the leaves fall off the trees, I like to embrace the cosiness of autumn turning into winter and re-read some of my old favourites. I’m trying to re-read a book a month now because there are so many worlds I want to explore all over again. I used to re-read so much but lately I haven’t had as much time.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

When I first read this book, I didn’t love it immediately, so I’m really interested in seeing how much I love the beginning when I’m re-reading it. Perks was made into a movie starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, and is written in the form of letters send to “a friend.” It’s definitely a novel for fans of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and offers a modernised version of Holden Caulfield’s story.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I completely adore all of Maggie Stiefvater’s novels, and Shiver is one of my favourites. It’s not often that I read a supernatural novel that I love, never mind a werewolf novel. It truly is the best werewolf novel I have ever read, and will most likely ever read. Grace, the protagonist, has grown up watching the wolves, and one wolf in particular. A strange turn of events means that Grace is caught up in the world of the wolves, and Sam is more reachable than she once thought.

The Mediator: Love you to Death & High Stakes by Meg Cabot

This is a bind up edition of the first and second books in the Mediator series. I adore them so much, and I can remember reading them when I was 10 and devouring them very quickly. Some of the content did worry me when I was younger, so I’m looking forward to reading them with more maturity than I had then. Suze Simon has always been able to see spirits and it’s her job as a mediator to help them fulfil their wishes so that they can pass on. Some are simple, but some can also be troubling…

The Isobel Journal by Isobel Harrop

This book is AMAZING. It’s the type of book you can curl up with and read within an hour, and then you’ll want to go back and read it all over again. It’s a collection of drawings by the author, compiled to create a snapshot into her life. Isobel is also one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, which is really reflected in The Isobel Journal.

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Best of Both Worlds

Posted on 27 October, 2014

You may be wondering why the title of this post is a Hannah Montana reference, and why I have a very bad coloured in side of my hair in the picture above. (You should also know that I’m listening to the Hannah Montana soundtrack, and watching my childhood float away.) You see, lately I’ve been feeling a lot like Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, and I wanted to talk about my double life.

One one hand, I can stand up in front of 50 people and talk about books for an hour. I can socialise with other bloggers and readers and don’t make too much of a fool of myself. I’m incredibly organised and like to have things planned far into the future.

On the other hand, I can barely walk through Primark without feeling like I’m on the verge of a panic attack. I worry for days and days before meeting someone, trying to examine just what I could say. I do homework the night before because I spend more time blogging and procrastinating.

Lately, blogging has been seeping into every aspect of my life. I love it so much and I love the freedom of being able to share what I love doing more than anything in the world, but I’m not sure I want to rip the wig off yet. As my blog changes, I change with it and whilst I love the metamorphosis, it can be hard to brush away the parts that still want my blog to be hidden.

I’m so lucky to be where I am now. I’m a 15 year old, able to do what I love and have been offered such amazing opportunities. Blogging has changed my life in so many ways – I’m more confident than I was before, I’ve learnt invaluable skills that I wouldn’t have learnt any other way, and I’ve made the best friends I girl could possibly wish for.

Sometimes, though, it can be hard to get the balance right. This week I’m going on holiday and I’m worried if I’ll be able to get enough WiFi to schedule and write posts. I’ll spend time on Twitter when I could be socialising offline. Is my balance right?

So yes, I feel exactly like Hannah Montana right now. Slowly the wig is coming off, but I still need to get my balance right before it comes off for good.

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Leaving Your Mark on Books

Posted on 23 October, 2014

I’m the sort of person who likes to keep their books in pristine condition, and people have often remarked how tidy the spines of my books are. In contrast, there are some people who believe that a well-cracked spine means a lived-in book.

Recently, though, I’ve discovered a few books that have a history.

In a copy of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, I found this note. Whilst I would never, ever write in a book without being able to erase it, I find it so interesting to read notes that other people have written. It creates so many different questions in my mind: Who is Miranda? Why was she in Miami? How did the book get to be in the charity shop? It’s a whole fictional world in my head, within the fictional world of the book.

I found this postcard in a copy of White Teeth by Zadie Smith, but this one isn’t so much of a secret. Although I also bought it in a charity shop, a sticker inside meant that I knew who it belonged to (I’m not sharing it because of personal details). I love the personal touches and seeing a glimpse into other people’s lives. It makes books so special.

Have you ever found notes in a book you’ve bought? Would you write them yourself?

Blogging Uncategorized

Blogging and Business

Posted on 17 October, 2014

Since the start of September, I’ve been taking Business Studies lessons. Due to having such a passion for social media and marketing, I’m really glad I chose to take the class because I’ve learnt so much from it so far.

There are many principles in business that apply to blogging too (if not all of them!), and I’ve found that I’ve discovered so many ways to expand my blog and feel very motivated about blogging since September. I thought I’d discuss a few on the blog today:

Non-Monetary Motivational Factors:

Since learning about motivational factors, I’ve been able to change them up so that they affect the way I blog in a very positive way.

Job Rotation: By applying job rotation, where you switch between different tasks to reduce monotony, I’m trying to make sure that I’m not getting bored by a continuous routine of blogging tasks. I’ve created a rota of days to carry out different tasks – commenting on blogs, writing and scheduling posts, and creating blogging schedules, for example. It also means that I’m rotating the content going up on the blog, and the extra motivation means that it’s easier than ever to come up with fresh and original ideas.

Job Enrichment: When based on my blog, job enrichment means that I’m giving myself more interesting and challenging tasks to do. I’ve always been one for doing things that are wild and crazy, but I love having a small idea and developing it into something that is greater than I ever imagined it could be. Currently, I have a few of these on the go and I’m really excited about developing them further.

Promotion, Marketing & Research:

Market Research: It’s so important to find out just how much the consumer (or reader, in this case) is going to like an idea because that’s the person you’re catering for! The first person I try to make happy is myself; I won’t post something I’m not happy with and don’t have 100% faith in, but the second person is YOU. In the next few months, I’m going to be carrying out lots and lots of research to ensure that I’m growing my blog for the better, and not for the completely wrong reasons.

Direct Marketing: I want to try to make visiting my blog a personal experience for everyone who decides to click on, or type in, the link. I also have a few other direct marketing ideas, such as creating a monthly newsletter which I should be developing for the start of 2015.

Do you think it’s important to run your blog strategically, or do you prefer to ‘go with the flow’?

Book Review Uncategorized

REVIEW: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Posted on 6 October, 2014

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Heir of Fire is an incredible book. The third in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

I’ve put together a review graphic because I cannot put my thoughts into coherent sentences. Basically: It’s AMAZING. Read it now!

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Cheltenham Literature Festival 2014

Posted on 4 October, 2014

A few months ago, I was invited to speak on a panel at Cheltenham Literature Festival. It’s hard to imagine that anybody would want to listen to me talk for a minute, let alone go to an hour-long event! The panel was chaired by Nicolette Jones and my fellow panellist was her daughter, Rebecca Clee.

I’ve been looking forward to this for ages but, even now that the event has happened, it feels surreal. I would never have imagined something like this could happen.

Travelling to Cheltenham, I was incredibly nervous. Excited also but mostly nervous! My worry beforehand was that nobody would turn up, and I’ve also been worrying that I’d seize up and wouldn’t say anything at all.

When I arrived, I eventually found the Writer’s Room, where I felt very out of place with some of the big names in the same tent! I felt very spoiled! Then I met up with the amazing Debbie, who made the day ten million times more awesome. I can’t think of a better person to share the day with!

I then got to meet both Nicolette and Rebecca. I’d like to thank them for being so lovely and very easy people to talk to – it made the whole experience brilliant. It’s fantastic when you get to meet people who are passionate about reading and are very happy to talk about books. I think that’s the magic of the festival!

Usually I’m on the other side of the stage watching the event so whilst I’ve been aware of the work that goes into each event, I only knew a fraction of the effort. From stewards to sound people to the people who make sure your festival experience is the absolute best one, everyone tries their hardest to make sure everything runs smoothly.

I had an incredible time and would love to do it again. It’s the best thing in the world to talk about books in front of people who love them just as much as you do, of all ages. We managed to cover lots of different topics, and I hope that everyone who watched enjoyed it and picked up lots of recommendations.

A massive thank you to Cheltenham Literature Festival, Nicolette and Rebecca for making my day extra special.

Blog Tour Book Review Uncategorized

10 DAYS TO GO: 5 Reasons to Read The Maze Runner

Posted on 30 September, 2014

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With the looming release date of the highly-anticipated movie adaptation of The Maze Runner, here are five reasons you should read the book:

One

The Maze Runner is action packed and will keep you up reading until the early hours. With a unique premise, it’s easy to slip into the world created by Dashner.

Two

Reading the book before you watch the film will give you a major advantage over everyone else!

Three

The world is so original – it even has its own dialect! This book is no pile of klunk.

Four

There are so many dystopia novels out there at the moment, but this novel is one of the best. It’s adventurous and mysterious, with characters that you grow attached to and learn to love.

Five

Once you’ve read The Maze Runner, you can read the rest in the series before those movies are released!

The Maze Runner is out now in paperback (£7.99) from Chicken House.

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