Bookish Brits Vlog 30: UKNA?

UKNA? What is it not? What is it? Where does it come from? Why is it so rare?

Our intrepid reporter-writer Julianne investigates.

All that's left is for you to decide - do you even want it?

(It's been a while since I reposted my Bookish Brits vlogs on here - bear with me while I catch up!)

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Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon - October 2016

I made the last minute decision to sign-up for the readathon today! I was considering it before but as I have two books I want to finish by tomorrow, plenty more on my TBR, and a cold that'll stop me doing anything more adventurous, I decided it made sense to go for it!

In this post I'll be keeping track of how it goes. To begin, here's the Opening Meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

London, UK.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness. I've heard so many good things about it. I only have a two book stack (check it out on Instagram and Litsy) of books I must read, after that I'm going to pick up whatever I fancy from my many overflowing piles.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Dinner! I'm not a big snacker, but I do have nuts and seeds on hand.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I need to finish 25 books before the end of the year to complete my Goodreads Reading Challenge...I'm quite behind! I'm also behind on all my other reading challenges, so I want this readathon to help me catch up.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

I've been aware of this readathon for as long as it's started, but have never taken part before, being too intimidated! I'm looking forward to finally getting over this and hopefully joining in the many readathons to come!

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And here's the End of Event Survey:

Which hour was most daunting for you?

Around hour 4-5 I started to flag so I switched from reading short stories to reading a novel!

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

The Rest of Us Just Live Here was fantastic and kept me engaged for the rest of the Readathon.

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season?

Nope! This was my first one, so I'm hardly an expert!

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

I loved the use of social media, it really made me feel like I was part of something when I checked in on Instagram and Litsy and Twitter.

How many books did you read?

I had a good go at two, but I didn't finish either! I'm a very sleep-dependent person and I had a cold so I didn't stay up reading!

What were the names of the books you read?

The novel I was reading was The Rest of Us Just Live Here, by Patrick Ness, and I was also reading the Doctor Who: 12 Doctors, 12 Stories collection.

Which book did you enjoy most?/Which did you enjoy least?

I don't think it's really fair to compare them but I found the short stories hard-going.

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

I will definitely be a reader in future Readathons! It was a lot of fun!

Top Ten Tuesday: Villains in Books

I could not resist this topic as I love a book villain, especially one who is a little bit sympathetic or is extremely clever!

Top Ten Villains in Books

1. Voldemort, from the Harry Potter series - I thought I'd kick off with a classic and couldn't resist putting Voldemort on the list. He's got it all. He's physically frightening, creepy, wants to kill the lead character, wants to oppress all Muggles, you name it, if it's evil, Voldy wants to do it. Plus his middle name is Elvis in the French translation, which is très drôle, non?

2. President Alma Coin, from the Hunger Games trilogy - I know Snow is more iconic but Coin is ultimately more cunning, and therefore more interesting to me. I love it when a villain appears to be the good one but has a self-serving plan.

3. Speaking of self-serving, Piper Greenmantle in Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle is the queen of selfishness. She does whatever suits her in the moment without really thinking about it and that makes her much more scary then any of the other potential villains in this series.

4. Another villain that appears to be 'the good one' is Silarial, the Queen of the Seelie Court in Holly Black's Modern Fairy Tale series. The Seelie Court make a good show of being genteel but behind all that prettiness they're child-snatching monsters.

5. The Queen in The Sin-Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury has so much power she gets away with only the thinnest veneer of civility, which is quickly brushed away when things don't go as she had planned.

6. Opal Koboi, from the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer, is probably my favourite villain on this list. She pretends to be an upstanding businessfairy, but is actually deliciously evil and brilliantly cruel. It's so much fun to both see her put Artemis and the others in danger and get her comeuppance.

7. Opal seized power from her father, and another favourite villain who grasped power when she had the chance to get it is Circe, from Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy. She was the girl who wasn't gifted, who could only access power when her best friend allowed it, and when there was the risk that she would never be able to wield it again, she took matters into her own hands. I have a lot of sympathy for her - even though she does terrible things to get that power.

8. That's enough individuals - now let's move on to a villainous organisation. Rush Recruitment is the big bad of the Hobson and Choi series by Nick Bryan (my boyfriend - the fourth book is out today so I couldn't resist including them on my list), an evil recruitment agency/human trafficking organisation. They're genuinely terrifying, even though so far they haven't appeared that frequently, because they have their fingers in so many pies and commit such appalling acts.

8. In the marvellous historical fantasy Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho, the villain is really institutional prejudice. Everything would have gone a lot differently for the main characters had they not had to deal with racism and sexism throughout their lives - and a good part of the plot involves them fighting it efficiently and hilariously, in order to save the day.

10. Similarly, but more extreme, the villain in Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill is the entire goddamn system. Everything is hopeless for frieda and isabel because all the odds have been stacked against them. And that's the most frightening thing of all.

Let me know in the comments if any of your favourite villains are on my list, and if you've participated in this week's Top Ten Tuesday.

Top Ten Tuesday was created and is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Five More Contemporary YA Books to Read Before YALC

YALC is in ELEVEN DAYS TIME! But don't worry, there's still time to get some reading done...maybe just a little if you've got to work! If you want some moral support, the YALC Readathon Challenge is still open, and if my first recommendations post wasn't enough, I am here for you:

1. Counting Stars, by Keris Stainton

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Counting Stars is at the older end of YA, it could be called NA (New Adult), and it is my favourite of Keris' books that I've read so far. It follows Anna who moves to Liverpool after she finishes school to move into a shared house and work at a theatre, keeping her YouTube channel going all the while. Anna and her housemates deal with adulthood in very different ways, and it was really interesting and entertaining to see them work their way through grown-up problems for the first time. I wrote a draft of a NA novel last year and Counting Stars, although quite different from what I'm working on, confirmed my belief that it's important that we have more books featuring characters of this age. Keris will be leading a workshop on Writing YA on the Saturday at YALC.

2. Hacker, by Malorie Blackman


This is a really quick read so ideal if you haven't got much reading time in the next couple of weeks! Vicky's father, a programmer at a bank, is wrongfully accused of stealing a million pounds. To clear his name, she logs into the bank's system and tries to work out what has been going on. It was first published in 1992, so it is a bit dated - for a more detailed explanation, watch the video above - but it's still a quick read, ideal for younger teens.

3. Remix, by Non Pratt

Non will be joining Sophia Bennett on the 'Teenage Soundtrack: Music in YA' panel, and rightly so, as Remix is all about the power of music to bring friends together. I made it sound totally cheesy then, didn't I? It's not, I promise! Remix is about best friends, Kaz and Ruby, who are going to a music festival together. Their favourite band in the world is playing, and a bunch of their friends are going. In theory, this should be the perfect break from normality, but both of them have secrets they're trying not to let slip out... I did a full review of Remix here.

4. Lobsters, by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Another book featuring a music festival is Lobsters, but it's quite different in tone - Remix is more serious, full of friendship and romantic dramas, whereas Lobsters is very much a heartwarming romantic comedy. The tag line is 'A socially awkward love story' and that is exactly what you get, as Sam and Hannah try and fail and try again to get together. It's very funny. In fact, I don't think I've stopped laughing at it and I read it months ago - lines from the book pop into my head sometimes and I start cracking up all over again. I would share my favourite line, the one I laugh at the most, but I don't want to spoil it for you. Just read it for yourself! The authors are leading a workshop on co-writing.

5. Nobody's Girl, by Sarra Manning

If festivals aren't your thing, why not take a trip to Paris with Bea, who has been obsessed with France ever since her mum first told her that her absent father was a Parisien. When she gets the chance to explore Paris for real, she can't resist - even though she was meant to be in Spain with her school's Mean Girl clique. She finds romance and adventure and gets into a lot of trouble with her mum. My full review is here.

Have you read any of these? If you haven't, get on it! While we're having this heatwave, why not roll with it and take copies of Remix and or Lobsters to the park? Go on! Join the Readathon!

Many thanks to Hot Key Books for sending me a copy of Counting Stars and to Walker Books for sending me Remix.

Five Contemporary YA Books to Read before YALC

As host of the 2016 YALC Readathon Challenge I've been thinking a lot about what books I would recommend by authors attending YALC. Hopefully I'll do several posts in this series, but I thought I'd start with five contemporary YA books, as that is my favourite genre!

1. Girl Out of Water, by Nat Luurtsema

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This is the first book I read for the YALC Readathon Challenge (go on, join me!) and it was a great way to *PUN ALERT* dive in - Girl Out of Water follows Lou Brown's attempts to find new friends and a new place in the world following her failure to get into Olympic swimming school.
It's funny (Nat is on the Funny YA panel), heartwarming, and deals with an issue I think is underexplored in fiction - coping with failure. Not everyone is going to succeed against all the odds. Sometimes the odds are never in your favour - and you keep going, like Lou learns to do.

2. Love Song, by Sophia Bennett

I have read some amazing books so far this year and plan to read many more - but I'm sure whatever happens this will be in my top five. I was not expecting to fall in love with a story about a girl who goes on tour with a boyband, but reader, I fell HARD.

I am finding @sophiabennett's Love Song so unputdownable I am literally reading it while I #ukyachat. Not even kidding I'm on page 156

— Julianne Benford (@ladyjulianne) April 8, 2016

@SnugglingonSofa @sophiabennett I basically had to abandon my own writing to finish it because it was so addictive! I even ignored Two Dots!

— Julianne Benford (@ladyjulianne) April 11, 2016

I am really looking forward to the Music in YA panel!

3. London Belongs to Us, by Sarra Manning

Both Sarra Manning's 2016 releases. View on Instagram

If you've never read any books by Sarra before this is a great place to start - though if you're spoiler-averse you may want to read Guitar Girl and Adorkable first. An enormously entertaining love letter to London filled with snappy one-liners, it follows Sunny's pursuit of her wayward boyfriend (or is he ex-boyfriend?) over one night and features pastries, parties, perilous road journeys, dramatic confrontations and hairspray. There are also several girls you'll wish you could be friends with - highly appropriate as Sarra is on the #SquadGoals panel.

4. Boy Meets Boy, by David Levithan
Look at my beautiful hardback. Just look at it.

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If just gazing at the cover isn't enough to make you pick it up, this is an LGBT classic. It's a pretty straightfoward romance story with the usual tropes but it's set at a school where there isn't really any homophobia - it's a utopian vision of what school should be like, and although it's not realistic, it's lovely to disappear into a world where things are a little more as they should be.

5. My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend, by Eleanor Wood

From my 'Music March'. View on Instagram

This is a funny and surprisingly realistic story about Tuesday Cooper, a music blogger who starts getting comments from her favourite rockstar. One thing leads to another and he becomes the secret boyfriend of the title, getting her into trouble with friends and family alike. It's really interesting seeing how she deals with the mess she's in and moves towards adulthood.
What books by YALC authors do you recommend? Would you choose different books by these authors? Let me know! And don't forget to vote for your favourites!

The YALC Readathon Challenge 2016

There are two inspirations behind this bookish bonanza - traditional reading challenges, which I don't think have been done before for YALC, and the YALC Readathon, which was previously run by Jess Hearts Books (the creator), Michelle from Fluttering Butterflies, Vicky from Books, Biscuits and Tea, and Carly from Writing from the Tub.

I originally planned to start a YALC Reading Challenge months ago, because of the sheer number of authors who are going to be at YALC (the Young Adult Literature Convention) this year. I have a LOT of reading to do. And so have you! There are some amazing people on the list with fantastic titles under their belt.

However, I then got the flu. I could barely use my computer for the best part of three weeks thanks to muscle pain and fatigue that my doctor insisted was completely normal! Sure enough, I did eventually get better, but now I've lost so much time I decided to combine both ideas, and host the first Readathon Challenge!

Enough about me, onto the rules:

The books that you read for the 2016 YALC Readathon Challenge must be by authors who are appearing at YALC this year. You can see the list of authors who have been confirmed so far here. I also run the annual YALC Goodreads list, where you can vote for your favourite reads.

If you're unable to attend YALC this year, you can still take part in the challenge - there will be a lot of livetweeting during the convention! If you're not in the UK, why not sign up and sample some of the finest authors the British Isles have to offer, as well as some internationally successful reads?

This Readathon Challenge is open from today (3 June 2016) until the final day of YALC (31 July 2016).

Decided to take part?

Step One
Choose how long you want to readathon for - a weekend, a week, a fortnight, a month, from now until the 31st July, a single evening - it's up to you!

Step Two
Choose your level:
Convention Intention - read 1-4 books by authors who are appearing at YALC
Convention Attention - read 5-15 books by authors who are appearing at YALC
Convention Affection - read 16-25 books by authors who are appearing at YALC
Convention Perfection - read 26+ books by authors who are appearing at YALC

You can increase your level if you find yourself reading faster than you expected!

Step Three (optional)
Choose a Bonus Challenge, if you'd like, or more than one if you're feeling brave:

Happy Historian - previously, at YALC... read two or more books by an author who has appeared at YALC in the past and won't be there this year
Brilliant Bookswapper - read two or more books that you want to give away to another blogger or donate to the YALC bookswap
Radiant Reviewer - review two or more books by authors who are appearing at YALC

Step Four
Submit your link below!


If you have a blog, please link to a post that says what level and bonus challenge you have chosen, or update your reading challenges list, if like me, you keep them all in one place. You don't have to be a blogger to take part - if you don't have a blog, you can link to your Twitter or Goodreads instead. You can use the banner above if you wish :)

Personally, I am going to choose the Convention Attention level, and I'm hoping to read the following:

It's going well, I'm already part-way through Girl Out of Water and loving it!

After YALC I will do a post and link to my favourite reviews by people taking part in the challenge. You can also tweet about the challenge and share your progress by using the hashtag #yalcread

I hope you decide to take part in the YALC Readathon Challenge and have an amazing time!

Edited to add, here's a quick video in which I talk about the challenge:

Please note that the YALC Readathon Challenge is unofficial - I have no professional connection with Showmasters or Booktrust.

Limerbooks #1

I have written some limerickesque lines of dubious quality about books I have enjoyed. Can you guess which books they are about?

Don't go trawling through my Goodreads, that's cheating!

Also, I know some of these lines don't exactly scan, you don't have to tell me...

1.

There once was a woman called Linda
Who lived in a time before Tinder
She married and divorced
A small scandal it caused
Then with a French duke she did linger

2.

There once was a girl called Cia
Who studied hard without fear
But her father's bad dreams
Tore life apart at the seams
And death became suddenly nearer

3.

There was a brave orphan named Laura
Her long-lost uncle adored her
He lied about his job
But let her get a dog
Things were never the same as before

4.

There once was a girl who couldn't stop eating
Her sister accused her of lying and cheating
She found out one day
That she wasn't meant to stay
But she refused to let her strange life be fleeting

5.

There once was a princess who didn't know
That into a monarch she would one day grow
She just wanted to be cool
And do okay at school
And for the popular boy to be her beau

Let me know your answers in the comments or tweet me!

Book Review: The Wolf Wilder, by Katherine Rundell

From The British Library

In pre-revolutionary Russia, the pampered aristocrats often keep wolves as pets. But wolves are not happy to sit on velvet cushions in gilded rooms their whole lives long and eventually they snap, and a pampered aristocrat, or a servant, loses a finger or a toe. The aristocracy believe that if you kill a wolf, you will be cursed, so the wolves are sent away to the wolf wilder, who will teach them how to survive in the wild - how to hunt and howl and be as fierce as they should be. The wolf wilder is Feo's mother, and she has been teaching Feo everything she knows.

Trouble arrives one night in the form of the Russian army, who are not happy to have wolves released in the forests nearby, where they hunt and kill elks and birds. Feo and her mother are ordered to shoot the wolves or be arrested. But Feo has grown up tough and strong and brave - after all, wolves are her only friends - and she is determined not to give in.

This was such a lovely book! Full of charm and adventure and very real peril. I loved the idea of wolf wilders, the opposite of animal tamers. It's a concept that is both cute and scary, much like the book itself. The wolves are realistically unpredictable, sometimes they help Feo, sometimes they create more trouble.

I also loved the other human characters. Feo's mother was fascinating and I wish she had been in the book more. Rakov is a terrifyingly heartless villain, keeping the stakes high. The friends Feo makes while on her journey are so wonderful I can't bear to describe them - I think you should get all the fun of meeting them with a fresh mind. The descriptions of Feo's environment are wonderful too - I could easily imagine Feo's warm and much-loved home, and the harsh, snow-filled world outside.

I would very much recommend The Wolf Wilder to readers who want to lose themselves in a story that blends history and fairytale.

On Choosing to Read Books that Sound Similar to the Book You're Writing, and Book Review: Suite Scarlett, by Maureen Johnson

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Many writers say that, out of fear of being influenced, they don't read books that may be similar to the book they are writing until they have finished writing it. This has never made much sense to me.

Firstly, it is highly unlikely that what you're writing is that similar to what other people are writing. Neil Gaiman summarises this very well in the intro to The Good Fairies of New York, a book that he avoided reading for five years because he was afraid it would be too similar to American Gods, and that of course was totally different to American Gods.

Secondly, how are you going to know if it is similar unless you read it? How can you accidentally be influenced by something you are reading and paying deliberate critical attention to? I have never had much patience for the 'writing comes from somewhere outside of me, it's not something I do so deliberately' idea. I think it is an excuse. It's often trotted out to explain a lack of diversity in books. 'It's not my fault all the characters are white and middle-class! The story and the characters just came to me'. No it didn't. You made it up. You continued to make it up as you were building it from the germ of an idea into a full-length novel. It's your job, as the writer, to turn a critical eye on your work and correct the unconscious biases that you expressed through it. It's not a sacred gift from outer space/the gods/the muse that you may not alter once it arrives.

Similarly, I think that writers should read books that sound like they might be similar to their own current projects - with the resolution to learn from it and then change the book they are writing if necessary so that they are more distinct. If you go in with this attitude, how can you be influenced by accident?

That said, I can understand why a writer might not want to change their ideas in response to another book - if they really love the idea as it is. It does kind of make sense, although that's not how I feel - I know complete originality is impossible, but I can give it a good go! And maybe that's why I haven't finished writing my novel yet!

I first heard about Suite Scarlett on the blog Reading With Tequila (No link as it's long gone), and wanted to read it because it's about a girl whose parents' business is failing and the YA novel I've been working on is about a girl whose parents' business is failing. I wanted to check for similarities, maybe pick up some pacing guidelines, that sort of thing.

Nuh-uh. Foiled. Suite Scarlett is completely different from my novel in almost every way. It was obvious from less than a chapter in. So I got to put the writing part of my brain on hold and just enjoy it, which is always good.

Scarlett Martin lives in the Hopewell, a formerly glamorous, but now faded and decrepit, New York hotel with her parents, elder sister Lola, brother Spencer, and younger sister Marlene. Although they still just about own the hotel, they've had very few guests in recent years, which means that Lola and Spencer have had to get jobs in addition to helping out at the hotel. They each hold a key to one of the suites, and it is their responsibility to clean and maintain it and look after the guests. On Scarlett's fifteenth birthday, she is presented with two very exciting gifts: a mobile phone, and the key to the Empire Suite - the biggest, most luxurious, and most commonly-empty suite at the Hopewell.

It should be an easy job, allowing Scarlett plenty of time to enjoy her summer, but all too soon she has a guest, the eccentric, demanding, and extremely meddlesome Mrs Amberson...

I absolutely loved Suite Scarlett. I'm a complete sucker for books in which teen characters have to deal with money problems (which is why I'm writing one) and I love weird and wonderful families, difficult siblings, and above all, secret plots! Mrs Amberson is a complete busybody and is delightfully frustrating - just when you desperately want her to stop sticking her oar in, she'll redeem herself. Scarlett's relationship with witty, obstinate Spencer is lovely, and I found Lola and her rich-but-dull boyfriend fascinating. It's a very easy read, one for when you want to relax and be charmed by a book, and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the sequel, Scarlett Fever.

I'm hoping that the novel I'm currently editing will be less cute and have a bit more grit to it, but if any reader likes it as much as I like Suite Scarlett, I'll be very pleased with myself.

Local Library Love: Beckenham Library

Today is National Libraries Day and in celebration I am beginning a new occasional feature:

This feature will celebrate my favourite local libraries, and if there is a library close to your heart that you'd like to write about, let me know - I'd love to have some guest blogs on this topic.

Today I am going to be sharing my favourite library of all with you, the very first library I ever visited, Beckenham Library.

That's how the entrance looks now that they have self-issue/return machines, but when I was a kid there used to be two desks behind that wooden window-frame, one for returns, and one for taking out books. I didn't mind queuing up to take out books - after all, I had plenty to read while I was waiting! I also remember that time there was a Hot Guy working at the library, and I stood in the queue anxiously wondering if he'd judge me on my book choices...

The first space you enter is the generously-sized children's section. I loved rummaging through the boxes of picture books, finding books for my homework (and for fun) on the non-fiction shelves, and, later, picking up Enid Blyton and Jacqueline Wilson novels I didn't have at home. If it wasn't for this library, I would not have been able to read every single Goosebumps book! I was also obsessed with one particular book about jewellery from all around the world - I was always really interested in different cultures. I got it out over and over again for what must have been at least three years. A few years ago I found it in the library sale and bought it for the sentimental value!

The children's section was full of kids, which is great for the library and for the children of Beckenham, but it meant I couldn't take any photos.

However, if you turn left as you go in, you'll find a corner that is my little slice of heaven, the teen section. I may be getting perilously close to 30 but this is still, in my opinion, the best part of the library. Nobody was browsing here so I took plenty of photos.

Here is a photo which shows off the wall displays:

I discovered so many of my favourite YA books here. When I was doing my MA and trying to read as much teen fiction as humanly possible, I came in one day and found Simmone Howell's Notes from the Teenage Underground by chance. I'd never heard of it before. I was able to read and fall in love with her second novel, Everything Beautiful, as well, thanks to the library. I also found Notes from the Teenage Underground in the library sale, a few years later, and bought it, though I was so disappointed it would no longer be on the library shelves!

I've also borrowed books by Malorie Blackman, Sarra Manning, Robin McKinley, Kate Cann, Gabrielle Zevin, Cecil Castellucci, Carolyn Mackler, Julia Bell, Susie Day, Tanuja Desai Hidier, Sophie McKenzie, Mitali Perkins, E. Lockhart, Kirsten Miller, T. S. Easton, and Marcus Sedgwick, as well as quite a few Buffy tie-in novels.

I remember how excited I was when I got a teenage library card and my borrowing limit went from six to eight. I used to go to the library on a Saturday morning, and borrow eight books. As teen books back then were often really short, I'd have read six of them by Sunday evening, and would then have to make the other two books last for the rest of the three weeks before I'd go back to the library! I used to reread the best bits over and over.

Graphic novels and revision guides! I wasn't a big graphic novel reader when I was a teenager - I was averse to illustrations in books, preferring to imagine everything in my own head - but there was usually another person going through this box on a Saturday morning!

That chair used to be where the graphic novels and revision guides are and they used to be on the end of where the quick reads are now. I didn't spend much time sitting in it though - the seats in the adult section are more comfortable...

though not much better, at least there's some padding! There are proper tables and chairs in the centre of the main library and also some desks in the reference section, but obviously they were being used, so I couldn't take any photos.

Thanks to the general fiction section I got to read books by Angela Carter, Ali Smith, Stella Gibbons, and many more whose names don't spring to mind right now. I used to be able to see a list of every book I'd ever borrowed by logging into the library catalogue but they changed the software and the history has gone, and I've misplaced the handwritten lists I kept before joining Goodreads.

Another section I love - the craft books! I am guilty of renewing some of these books for years!

I always like to check out the displays in the library. Bromley Libraries have their own list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, a selection from this list can be seen above. I also find it nearly impossible to resist checking out the new books displays! I have given into temptation looking at these shelves so many times - and so has someone else, recently, judging from the gap on the bottom row below!

There are so many other parts of the library that I love - the sci-fi and fantasy section, which helped me, as a teenager, work my way through most of Anne McCaffrey's back catalogue, the horror section, where I tried various different vampire series, the music section, where I found sheet music to borrow, and most recently, the cookbooks.

By the reference section is Literature, where I found writing how-to books aged 14 and realised that writing could be an actual career. Until then, I just kind of assumed I'd write a book someday as a matter of course but would have to do something else as my real job. I haven't published any novels yet and I do have a day job, but I still have that aspiration I first discovered at Beckenham Library, and two first drafts!

I can't overstate how much this library means to me. I would never have read as widely as I have if it wasn't for this place and its wooden shelves filled with worlds and possibilities. My mum signed me up for a library card when I was two, and I had taught myself to read by the time I was four. I don't come from a wealthy background and could never have bought all the books I wanted to read, so the library was an essential part of my life. It makes me really sad to think that communities across the country are losing their libraries.

Is there a library with a special place in your heart? Let me know in the comments.

Many thanks to the London Borough of Bromley for granting me permission to take these photographs, and to the lovely library staff that have helped me over the years.

Reading Challenges 2015 Wrap Up

I decided not to do any reading challenges in 2014. For the full story, see this post.

However, in 2014, a lot changed in my life and I started reading more frequently, so I decided to sign up for some reading challenges yet again! I decided to stick to more relaxed challenges only. I went through the Novel Challenges list and discounted any challenges with rules that were too strict. I skipped challenges that required me to stick to one goal as I wanted to be able to challenge myself more if I was doing well.

I hoped to stick to the spirit of 2014 - reading for fun - and to try to resist the temptation to create a spreadsheet! "Let's see how long THAT lasts..." I said, and I did resist for the entire year! It's okay, I made a lot of spreadsheets for work. I still love spreadsheets.

So, how did I do?

British Books Challenge

DONE - I beat the goal of reading 12 books by British authors in 2015!

I last attempted the British Books Challenge in 2011 and I managed 7 books out of the 12 I originally planned to read. As I found it so hard I avoided it in subsequent years, but for 2015 it was being run by the wonderful Michelle at Fluttering Butterflies who is a) lovely and b) persistent, so I found it impossible to resist!

I also vlogged the British Books Challenge, which I think helped a lot as it encouraged me to read enough books to talk about in each vlog!


British Books I Read In 2015:

1. Five Children and It, by E. Nesbit
2. Trouble, by Non Pratt
3. The Bookshop Book, by Jen Campbell
4. Beware The Dwarfs, by Terri Paddock
5. Gypsy Girl, by Kathryn James
6. Elizabeth is Missing, by Emma Healey
7. Remix, by Non Pratt
8. The Sin Eater's Daughter, by Melinda Salisbury
9. Wintersmith, by Terry Pratchett
10. The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins
11. The Lost and the Found, by Cat Clarke
12. The Year of the Rat, by Clare Furniss
13. Crow Mountain, by Lucy Inglis
14. Have a Little Faith, by Candy Harper
15. Keep the Faith, by Candy Harper
16. Lorali, by Laura Dockrill
17. Counting Stars, by Keris Stainton
18. Killing the Dead, by Marcus Sedgwick
19. Return to the Secret Garden, by Holly Webb
20. The Wolf Wilder, by Katherine Rundell
21. Witch Wars, by Sibéal Pounder, illustrated by Laura Ellen Anderson
22. Cuckoo Song, by Frances Hardinge
23. The End of Mr Y, by Scarlett Thomas
24. Lobsters, by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Dive into Diversity Reading Challenge

As this has no specific goal I'm not sure how I did..! However, although I read a few novels with LGBT themes, I didn't read many by non-white authors. I think I need to make a serious effort with this next year.

Fairytale Retelling Reading Challenge

I don't think I managed to read a single Fairytale Retelling. Eep.

2015 Classics Challenge

I got talked into this one on Twitter, and I'd already read one book that qualified at the time and had another lined up! But then I kind of stopped...

1. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by Frank L. Baum
2. Five Children and It, by E Nesbit
3. Forever, by Judy Blume

#FinishItFeb

DONE - though I only read two of the previously-unread Artemis Fowl books in February, it took me until July to finish the series!

The TBR Double Dog Dare

DONE - I  only read books I already owned until April 1st with the following exceptions:

• books for my book club
• books I get sent for review that I REALLY want
• books for #FinishItFeb

How did you do with your reading challenges last year?