Book Log 2015 | October

As I type this I'm snuggled up with a hot water bottle because my parents absolutely refuse to put the heating on minus one degrees is apparently not cold enough to put it on yet! And the idea of curling up in a chair to read a book is starting to sound very appealing to me indeed. So maybe I might just leave this half written and saunter off to immerse myself in a good novel. Or maybe I'll be Good Bethany and actually get something published today since is has been three whole months since my last Book Log update. 

The funny thing is that you won't actually know what happened. Did I or didn't, that is the question!

Mwhahaha!!  

Anyway, I don't know what is but autumn is one of those seasons where I seem to get a lot of reading done. It's probably because I spend nearly all my time indoors because hell no mumma ain't going out in that rain and there is just something quite comforting about curling up with a mug of tea to delve into the lives of all those people.  

So here's a look at what I've had my nose stuck in these past few months: 

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Leuithan 
One night in the most unlikely corner of Chicago, Will Grayson meets...Will Grayson. Told in alternating chapters and voices, each Will Grayson's mind is unraveled. John Green's Will Grayson is forever being put in crazy and uncomfortable situations by his friend Tiny Cooper, who is anything but tiny. While on the other side of the city David Levithan's Will Grayson, is a bit of a loner. He is also a bit depressed and spends most of his time talking to an online friend named Isaac. Suddenly their separate lives are catapulted in an unexpected direction with lots of drama on and off stage! 

The idea of meeting somebody who has the exact same name as you was something that initially interested me. I loved the idea of the alternating chapters and there being two characters which are as equally important as each other. I instantly connected with John Green's Will and his humorous writing style, however it took me much longer to warm to the depressed and lonely David Leuithan's Will but maybe that was the point? For a YA book it was pretty good but I did find parts of it a bit cheesy and boring, plus I've found that most John Green books are very similar. So I doubt I will be reading anymore of his work just because I've seen it all before. 

The Colour of Hope by Susan Madison 
Carter's House in Sweetharbor, Maine has been in Ruth's family for generations. Now she, her husband, Paul and their children, 16 year old Josie and younger brother Will enjoy idyllic summers there. One day, in the wake of a ferocious family rows, all four of them sail to a nearby island only for Josie to be swept away by an even more ferocious storm. The family are trapped in a spiral of guilt and denial that threaten's their love and drags them into a desperate battle with death. 

My grandad gave me this book to read a while ago and since then I have read is at least a dozen times! Its so incredibly emotional and heartbreaking because, as it is narrated by the mum, it puts you in a position where you start to think about how horrible it must be to a loose a child. There are so many dramatic twists and turns that I never expected when I starting reading it. And by the end I was a big fat blubbering mess! But seriously, you need to read this book. 

End of. 

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins 

Every morning Rachel catches the same train, at the same time which always stops at the same signal overlooking a row of back gardens. She is here so often that Rachel has started to feel like she knows the people who live at number 15. Jess and Jason, as she calls them, seem like they have the perfect life- unlike her. But one day Rachel seems something shocking through the train window that changes everything. She now has the chance to become part of their life, but all is not what it seems.

There was a lot of hype surround this book so I purchases it a while ago on my kindle and wrote a full review here

Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling
Harry Potter is an ordinary boy who lives in a cupboard under the stairs at his horrible Aunt and Uncle house. One day letters start dropping on his doormat and are immediantly confiscated by his Uncle. Then on Harry's 11th birthday a giant of a man named Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some life changing news. Harry is a wizard and he has a place at Hogwards School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The most incredible adventures and mysteries await! 

I got the most beautiful collection of HP books for my birthday and I was so eager to get reading them. However I've only managed the first one so far because other books have popped up or been given to me as presents. Still I just love looking at the collection sitting on my bookcase. It makes me smile every single time!

Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
Jean Louise Finch returns home to Alabama from New York to visit her aging father Atticus, twenty years after the events of To Kill A Mockingbird. But she gets a lot more than she bargained for when she learns how much her beloved hometown and close-knit family has changed. Memories from her childhood flood back and starts to doubt everything she ever thought she knew. 

There was a lot of controversy surrounding this book but I did thoroughly enjoy it as a massive fan of Lee's original novel. You can find my full review of the book here.

Under The Paw by Tom Cox
For years Tom might have seemed like your regular bloke but he had a dark secret. He was a crazy cat man. When he met his moggy loving soulmate Dee in 2001, his cat obsession rocketed. This book records their life living with seven of the charismatic and idiotic cats in the country. From how you dispose of mutated mice bodies to dealing with cat depression, it's all here in black and white...with the addition of a few cat hairs that is! 

It is no secret that I myself a bit cat obsessed and living with one cat seems hard enough, let alone seven of the things! Tom is a fellow internet writer too and had me in absolute hysterics half the time. He really has a way with words...and the occasional swear word! So yeah if you are a moggy lover or simply just intrigued about how a book could make a person wet themselves, get reading this beauty now!

And that's it! What have you been reading this month?

Love Beth xx