The Overflowing Library

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristi at www.thestorysiren.com Another awesome week here at the overflowing library! Bought This weekend I got to go to Cambridge which is one of my most favourite places in the world. One of the many reasons why I like going there is we detour to Ely on the way and go to Topping and Co, possibly one of the best bookshops I have ever been in mainly because they have loads of signed books up for grabs. Whilst there I picked up Reckless by Cornelia Funke and Birth of a Killer by Darren Shan . I've not really heard a lot about either of them except that I've heard both of the authors are good and being the signed book addict I am I couldn't resist. I also found Shift by Rachel Vincent and The year the gypsies came by Linzi Glass really cheap so picked them up too. I haven't got as far as this book in the shifters series - I have enjoyed it so far, and the last time I read a Linzi Glass book I loved it. Won A very lucky week fo

Trash By Andy Mulligan Published by David Flickling Books (Random House) Raphael is a dumpsite boy. He spends his days wading through mountains of steaming trash, sifting it, sorting it, breathing it, sleeping next to it. Then one unlucky-lucky day, Raphael's world turns upside down. A small leather bag falls into his hands. It's a bag of clues. It's a bag of hope. It's a bag that will change everything.  *** This book was totally different from anything else I have read so far this year. It hit on a variety of topics which made me think and was generally a nice read. The story was told from the point of view of three boys (along with occasional commentary from other secondary characters) who live and work in trash, namely the city landfill site. They make their living from wading through the rubbish thrown out by the people in the city they live in. The first thing that really struck home for me whilst reading this was how this was in fact normal life

I have loads of books I love that I haven't done full reviews on here because I read them well before I starting blogging. I wanted to share a few of them with you every once in a while so I will be doing a post like this every once in a while until I get through them all. I'm going to start with one of my absolute favourites, The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling I am the first to admit I initially missed the Harry Potter craze. I only joined in once book four had been published. Harry Potter was the series that finally pulled me back into reading again. When I was a teenager I didn't know what I should be reading. I was too old for Enid Blyton but too young for adult books and the ones we had to read in school certainly weren't inspiring. I stopped going to the library or to bookshops and I had quite a few years when I just didn't read. I certainly didn't plan to start to again but at the age of 16 I happened upon Harry and my reading habits haven't be

My reading age is 16 and it has been that way for a while. I love it and don't see any reason why I should change it. I love what I read and I like to think that I read a wide range or styles and genres. It did occur to me the other day that this isn't true. I don't read classics or anything remotely weighty. People find this a bit strange especially as my degree is in history. I often have people either buy or recommend me weighty historical tomes or classics because they know I teach History and I like reading. What I can't get through to them is the fact that I don't actually read those types of things anymore and I've been trying to pin down my reasons why. So far I have the following: Classic Novels were the types of books I had to read in school. While I have always loved reading I hated reading shakespeare or hobbit or great expectations in school. I don't know if that was because I was being told I had to read them or because you only got to read a

Paranormalcy by Kirsten White Published by HarperCollins Children books on 6th January 2011 Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal. Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.  *** You don't know how jealous I have been of everyone who already has this. Grrr UK release dates!

Pastworld by Ian Beck Published by Bloomsbury Pastworld is the greatest theme park ever devised. London - the real London - transformed into a living, breathing recreation of the Victorian era. To Eve, a lifelong resident of Pastworld, horse-drawn carriages and gas lamps are modern technology. Eve doesn't even know she's living in a simulation - until she is forced to flee the only home she's ever known, and to confront the truth about her city and herself. To Caleb, a tourist visiting Pastworld, the theme park is the perfect antidote to the stifling conformity and regulation of 2048. The gritty wildness of the past is thrilling - until he finds himself at the scene of a murder, holding the knife, and suddenly becomes a fugitive from an antiquated justice system. And in the midst of it all, in the thick London fog, a dark and deadly figure prowls, claiming victim after victim. He's the Fantom, a creature both of the past and of the future, in whose

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl Published by Penguin Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen. Sometimes life-ending. Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and fin

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristi at www.thestorysiren.com all book links go to www.goodreads.com A fab week despite the fact I didn't think I was getting anything From www.readitswapit.co.uk Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson I've been thinking about getting this for a while as I thought it would be a good one for school. Looking forward to it. Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver I noticed the other day that there is a gorgeous looking hardback set of this series on Amazon. Thought I'd see what they are like before I fork out for it. For review Entice by Carrie Jones I'm hoping this book resolves the story threads set up in the last book because I could have thrown the last one across the room when it finished on a huge cliff hanger. Bought Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale I found this hardback edition in a local charity shop for £1.50. I have actually read this but swapped it a while back. This edition was so nice I thought I'd get it. Vampi

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready Published by Simon Pulse Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.  Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone. Well, sort of. Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost. It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding--and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.  As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings fo

One for all you book lovers today. I am a bit of a signed book addict. I love having signed books but living where I do means I very rarely get to author signings. I therefore love it when I find a website selling them. The other week I found this site http://www.firsts-in-print.co.uk/ Yet to buy anything from them but they have an awesome selection of signed books so I don't think it'll be long before I get ordering!

I thought I post this just because I am a little bit proud of myself. as of yesterday my new blog address is www.overflowinglibrary.com I happen to think it is rather cool (I am a self confessed technophobe and have been paranoid that my computer was going to burst into flames the moment I tried to change it) Yay no flames in sight!!!

The Body Finder by Kim Derting Published by HarperCollins December 2010 I have been waiting for this for what seems like an age. It looks awesome and I can't wait for the UK release (please feel free to correct me if I have the date wrong but I think that is when Amazon says mine will be dispatched) Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers. Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly published by Bloomsbury BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.  PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape. Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the ca

The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley Published by Bloomsbury Michael Vyner recalls a terrible story, one that happened to him. One that would be unbelievable if it weren't true! Michael's parents are dead and he imagines that he will stay with the kindly lawyer, executor of his parents' will ...Until he is invited to spend Christmas with his guardian in a large and desolate country house. His arrival on the first night suggests something is not quite right when he sees a woman out in the frozen mists, standing alone in the marshes. But little can prepare him for the solitude of the house itself as he is kept from his guardian and finds himself spending the Christmas holiday wandering the silent corridors of the house seeking distraction. But lonely doesn't mean alone, as Michael soon realises that the house and its grounds harbour many secrets, dead and alive, and Michael is set the task of unravelling some of the darkest secrets of all. This is a nail-

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristi at www.thestorysiren.com Awesome week for books this week. I wasn't actually expecting to get an awful lot but I did and it was all a bit too exciting!!   For review (thanks to penguin for both of these - you made my week!) Matched by Ally Condie  This is the only book I thought might turn up this week. I found out I was getting a copy last week about 10pm after my day out with a coach load of 15 year olds in the middle of London (Norfolk kids seriously do not have a clue about London, I spend the day on edge). I was so excited.. All I can say is it is definately worth all the hype surrounding it as it is awesome! I read it in a matter of hours yesterday after receiving it friday evening after work. Beautiful Darkness by Garcia and Stohl I did not know this was coming my way and I was so totally freaked out when I opened it. I had been at work late and got in about 9.30 and jumped around a lot when I opened in (in front of a room full o

The Prophecy of the sisters by Michelle Zink Published by Atom Sixteen-year-old Lia Milthorpe and her twin sister Alice have just become orphans, and, as Lia discovers, they have also become enemies. The twins are part of an ancient prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other. To escape from a dark fate and to remain in the arms of her beloved boyfriend James, Lia must end the prophecy before her sister does. Only then will she understand the mysterious circumstances of her parents' deaths, the true meaning of the strange mark branded on her wrist, and the lengths to which her sister will go to defeat her. *** I don't usually like books that are very slow to start like this one it but I found this book incredibly engaging and enjoyed it quite a bit. The main thing I loved about this book was the historical setting the story was based in. I loved reading about how things were done and about a world which is both so similar and so d

I thought I would use today's post to refer you all to my friend's new blog so he can get some more followers. Yes this is a very shameless plug. http://johnboysplace.blogspot.com/ John is one of my best friends and one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He is a frequent visitor to our house and often is found sat in my library gazing at my books in a similiar way to I do. This blog was set up recently because I suggested it might be a good way for him to put his poetry out there. He has been writting poems as long as I have know them and it is amazing to watch as he literally just writes them out. I don't get poetry at all  but I think its good. He even got to into the top ten of an international competition held on amazon about the time Beedle the Bard came out for writing a poem about Harry Potter. He has also written me some lovely songs for school about a variety of things I sing to kids (badly may I add) So please check it out and leave a comment or two

I have asked the authors I have interviews on my blog the following question and thought I ought to have my own answer for it too. Which five characters from books would you invite to a fantasy dinner party and why?  I have thought long and hard about it and have come up with the following dinner guests Sally Lockhart from The Ruby in the Smoke (and following books) I love this series of books and I loved Sally Lockhart as a character. She is living in a time when she's not taken seriously because she is female but she gets on with it anyway and doesn't put up with any rubbish. i reckon she'd be brilliant conversation. Tally Youngblood from Uglies (and following books) Admittedly but the end of the series probably not the best candidate for a dinner party but I loved the character of Tally in the early part of the series. She was down to earth and brave and stood up for what she believed in. I loved her fun loving edge as well. Again by the end another perso

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney Published by Little Brown Books on 2nd November Some schools have honor codes. Others have handbooks. Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds. Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers. In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it. I can't wait for this book - it sounds awesome. I love a good boarding school story and a good debut novel. Hopefully this sound tick all those boxes for me.

The Giver by Lois Lowry In the "ideal" world into which Jonas was born, everybody has sensibly agreed that well-matched married couples will raise exactly two offspring, one boy and one girl. These children's adolescent sexual impulses will be stifled with specially prescribed drugs; at age 12 they will receive an appropriate career assignment, sensibly chosen by the community's Elders. This is a world in which the old live in group homes and are "released"--to great celebration--at the proper time; the few infants who do not develop according to schedule are also "released," but with no fanfare. Lowry's development of this civilization is so deft that her readers, like the community's citizens, will be easily seduced by the chimera of this ordered, pain-free society. Until the time that Jonah begins training for his job assignment--the rigorous and prestigious position of Receiver of Memory--he, too, is a complacent mod

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld Published by Simon and Schuster In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts.   *** I really enjoyed this book. I haven't read a great deal of steampunk (except Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel) but I definately think it is a genre I definately need to get into more. The Historian in me really got into the alternative world set up around the outbreak of World War One especially as it is an era I already love. I like how the book was set around an historical event even though it was taken into a different direction. I loved the world Westerfeld had set up with the Dar ...more I reall

In my Mailbox is hosted by the awesome Kristi at www.thestorysiren.com I had an awesome week this week bookwise. I did many happy dances at the front door whilst in the process of opening packages. For review I can't tell you how appreciated this little package was from Bloomsbury this week. I got home on friday after a hellish week at work (think 5am start and a bus load of 14 year olds on a 15 hour round trip and you're starting to get the picture). Thank you very much Emma. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly I am super excited about this one as I enjoyed her first book A Gathering Light and I do love historical fiction. I love the UK cover much more than the American one. The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley This book looks mega creepy. I do love reading stuff by UK authors. I believe it is also set in East Anglia - yay! Pastworld by Ian Beck This looks like an awesome book - the village meets victorian england meets big brother. I have never heard of it befor

The Thirteenth Chime by Emma Michaels Published 2010 by Bokheim publishing No one knew of its existence until it was removed from the attic upstairs. In a beautiful house that overlooks the sea, an antique clock has the power to change the course of their lives. The power the clock resonates will not only force Destiny and ex-boyfriend David on a journey into the depths of one man's mind long dead, but into the mind of a man filled with hatred and bent on revenge. With the only clues to the nature of the clock having disappeared into the sea, Destiny and David must retrace the steps the man had taken into the darkness, before they fall prey to the trap he had set in motion over half a century ago. Hatred never dies *** I enjoyed this book and it certainly had its merits. I enjoyed the overall premise of the story and the whole mystery surrounding the Grandfather clock. The books was fast paced at the end as the who

Today's find is something I happened to find while wandering around London in the summer which I was very very excited about and recently reminded of by Clover at Fluttering Butterflies in a recent post where she talked about American Candy she missed. The place I found was a shop called Cybercandy which also have a website www.cybercandy.co.uk They sell a variety of sweets, cereals and drink from around the world but the thing I got really excited about was I absolutely loved these bad boys (for those of you who haven't had one they are pretzels dipped in chocolate). when I was a teenager. My week was made if mum happened to go to ASDA where they stocked large packets of them. I was devastated when they stopped making them in the UK. So imagine the scene - in the middle of London - wander in unassuming shop and they they are - a whole stand no less and I havem't had one of these bad boys in about 10 years. I don't know how I contained the pure excitment. I have y

I'm posting this out of pure curiousity as crying at books is something I generally don't do. I've certainly felt a little sad when reading different books and my old lodger would sob at books (my old 6ft, 20 something, male lodger no less). I could even tell what type of book would send him off and actively used to seek out and give him books that would make me cry - yes I freely admist this probably makes me mean. I used to work alongside the English department at work and they would often go to bits over different books but I assume it was the overly in touch with their emotion qualities that they had that made them do this. To cut a long story short I want to know is it just me that doesn't cry at books. Am I emotionally dead inside? On the other hand what types of books is it that sends you off. To give you an idea I have given the following books to my old lodger and successfully made him cry with each one Before I die - Jenny Downham Life on a refrigdator

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl Published by Penguin in November (not sure on this as goodreads only has the UK release date but I sure Amazon isn't sending it to me until then) Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen. Sometimes life-ending. Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no

Numbers 2 the chaos by Rachel Ward Published by Chicken House 2010 Adam sees 'numbers' - when he looks in peoples' eyes he can see their death-dates, just like his mum Jem used to. Adam has trouble dealing with his awful gift, and when he realises that everyone around him has the same series of numbers, he becomes deeply afraid of what might happen in 2025. Desperate to find out what could be about to go wrong, Adam spends hours researching possibilities - war, nuclear accidents, killer viruses. He knows something big is coming, but what? And is there anything he can possibly do about it? *** My first initial thought when I finished reading this book was that this was what book one should have been! I read the first book in a series a while back because I loved the concept but I was really disappointed with it as I felt it really didn't deliver. This book was much stronger and I for one really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the main characters Adam and Sarah much mor

Candor by Pam Bachorz published by Egmont Book Ltd Oscar Banks has everything under control. In a town  where his father brainwashes everyone, he's found a way to secretly fight the subliminal Messages. He's got them all fooled: Oscar's the top student and the  best-behaved teen in town. Nobody knows he's made his own Messages to deprogram his brain. Oscar has even found a way to get rich. For a hefty price, he helps new kids escape Candor, Florida before they're transformed into cookie-cutter teens. But then Nia Silva moves to Candor, nd Oscar's carefully-controlled world crumbles. *** I enjoyed this book and loved the premise laid out in Candor. The ideas in the book are fresh and original and the book in itself is quite chilling in places. The story centers around the idea that families who are having problems, be it with their unruly children or they want to give up smoking, move to Candor a seemingly perfect town in America. However perfectio

In my mailbox is hosted by Kristi at www.thestorysiren.com After the last few weeks of having a mental amount of books I managed only toget a few books this week. This is probably a good thing because it was getting to the point where I though I may not be able to get into bed. I've now had the opportunity to sort out my TBR shelves a little (ready and waiting for half term when I imagine I will go book buying mad) and I have claimed two extra bookcases in the library so my gorgeous collection has space to breathe (mad I know!). I now have two YA bookcases (with a shelf of giant random books) and a bookcase of adult books (some of which are my husbands which I have graciously allowed onto my shelves as they are either books I have read or will read at some point). My OCD tendencies loved all the alphabeticalising. Books I got Buffy the Vampire Slayer Volume 2 - Various Authors published by Simon Pulse I won this in a competition back in August held at once upon a bookcase