The Overflowing Library

Another nutty month for me workwise which has meant I haven't spent as much time reading as I'd have liked in the last two weeks but I did get a lot read in the Easter Holidays at the start of the month. I'm afraid this might keep up for a while yet - roll on the summer holidays and 6 weeks of reading time! Books read in April Insignia by SJ Kincaid Chain reaction by Simone Elkeles Charmfall y Chloe Neill Black Heart Blue by Louisa Reid The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa The Messenger Bird by Ruth Eastham The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo Burn Mark by Laura Powell Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins Ghost Flower by Michelle Jaffe Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb The Summer of Skinny dipping by Amanda Howells The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson We'll always have summer by Jenny Han Dream by Daniela Sacerdoti Insurgent by Veronica Roth Callum by Malorie Blackman (e-book) The New World by Patrick Ness (e-book) Hana by Lauren Oliver (e-book) The pe

Ode To My Landing There are five of us in our house, actually six, since the new puppy ‘ Ringo Star’ arrived two weeks ago. I was happy to find him earlier, chilling out in the garden with a good book!  We have books all over our house… We have floor books This random collection of books sit by my computer table at the moment. I collect book stands from junk shops so that I can have ‘Floor Books’ scattered around the house. We have shelf books This particular collection of books and objects belong to my daughter.  I loved this book shelf so much that it appears as Mira Levenson’s book shelf in the Jasmine Skies trailer. http://www.youtube.com/user/MyKindaBook We have ‘escape from the world for longer than you need’ books by the side of the toilet. We have ‘much loved by boys … and girls… but especially boys’… books! We have ‘do not touch my favourite books or my snow domes on pain of death’ book shelves And, f

The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams Published by Simon and Schuster After spending six hundred years on Earth, Seraphina Ames has seen it all. Eternal life provides her with the world's riches but at a very high price: innocent lives. Centuries ago, her boyfriend, Cyrus, discovered a method of alchemy that allows them to take the bodies of other humans from jumping from one vessel to the next, ending the human's life in the process. No longer able to bear the guilt of what she's done, Sera escapes from Cyrus and vows to never kill again. Then sixteen-year old Kailey Morgan gets into a horrific car accident right in front of her, and Sera accidentally takes over her body while trying to save her. For the first time, Sera finds herself enjoying the life of the person she's inhabiting--and falling in love with the boy who lives next door. But Cyrus will stop at nothing until she's his again, and every moment she stays, she's putting herself

Today I have the third extract of Teri Terry's Slated for you to enjoy

When you were mine by Rebecca Serle Published by Simon and Schuster "What's in a name, Shakespeare? I'll tell you: everything. "Rosaline knows that she and Rob are destined to be together. Rose has been waiting for years for Rob to kiss her--and when he finally does, it's perfect. But then Juliet moves back to town. Juliet, who used to be Rose's best friend. Juliet, who now inexplicably hates her. Juliet, who is gorgeous, vindictive, and a little bit crazy...and who has set her sights on Rob. He doesn't even stand a chance. Rose is devastated over losing Rob to Juliet. This is not how the story was supposed to go. And when rumors start swirling about Juliet's instability, her neediness, and her threats of suicide, Rose starts to fear not only for Rob's heart, but also for his life. Because Shakespeare may have gotten the story wrong, but we all still know how it ends. ***  I really loved this book and the main character Rose.

Unrest by Michelle Harrison Published by Simon and Schuster Seventeen-year-old Elliott hasn’t slept properly for months. Not since the accident that nearly killed him. Sometimes he half-wakes, paralysed, while shadowy figures move around him. Other times he is the one moving around, while his body lies asleep on the bed. His doctors say sleep paralysis and out of body experiences are harmless - but to Elliott they’re terrifying. Convinced that his brush with death has attracted the spirit world, Elliott secures a job at a reputedly haunted museum, determined to discover the truth. There, he meets the enigmatic Ophelia. But, as she and Elliott grow closer, Elliott draws new attention from the dead. One night, during an out of body experience, Elliott returns to bed to find his body gone. Something is occupying it, something dead that wants to live again . . . and it wants Ophelia, too . . .  *** I really loved unrest. I was completely hooked from the first page and

Just a quick post to wish everyone Happy World Book Night. Today I was giving out copies of How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff which is one of my favourite books. I dropped a few into staff pigeon holes in the morning and then got some kids I teach to come up to my room at lunch time (without telling them why) then gave them all copies of How I Live How along with their choice of whatever random books I had laying around at home that I was going to find a new home for. Very excited kiddies indeed which was lovely. Something I might need to do more of.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa Published by Mira In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity. Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters. Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad. Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the r

Bookcase Showcase.   Author R.S. Russell I learned this morning that I have too many books and too many bookcases. Because of this, my bookcases often end up shelving and eclectic array of other objects that have caught my fancy over the years. As for any reasonable arrangement of books by genre, topic, date, etc., …forget about it. I don’t even know what genre means anymore. I have no idea what might be made of the photo below. Other than my ignorance of how to focus a cell phone camera, I do notice that books I am currently reading tend to end up in stacks on their backs… if not in a bookcase, then on the coffee table, mantel, and dresser top in my office at home...    As a folklorist (aside from writing fiction), my home reading material is more likely the stuff books are created from, rather than books themselves. I am obsessed with learning what I can of the human heart and with collecting old diaries, journals, letters, photos… and anything else where I might stumble

I love my books. I live in a house which has shelves in pretty much every room stacked everywhere. I have a full library of my own in my classroom purely because I do not have the room at home (No idea what I'm going to do if I ever move jobs). This leaves me with a problem What do I do when the shelf space actually runs out?? I am close to this dark day. Without doing radical like moving, getting rid of my bed / fridge/ bathroom I reckon I have space for one more bookcase then I'm done. One solution that seems obvious to the outside observer is for me to purchase an e-reader of some kind. I'm really hesitant to do this because I love having books everywhere and am reluctant to spend money on something ebooks when often a real print copy of the same book is the same price. I know this line of argument is flawed because I download songs for my ipod and think nothing of it but I can't get my head around not having a pile of books to pick up and flick through and

Today I have the second extract of Teri Terry's Slated for you all to enjoy If you missed extract one find it here

Eve by Anna Carey Published by Harper USA The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her. Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust...and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life. *** I'm not entirely sure what to say about this title except to say that it wasn't the best YA dystopian I've ever read. I did like the concept to this book and thought the

Girl Stolen by April Henry Published by Walker Sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of the car while her stepmom fills a prescription for antibiotics. Before Cheyenne realizes what's happening, the car is being stolen. Griffin hadn't meant to kidnap Cheyenne and once he finds out that not only does she have pneumonia, but that she's blind, he really doesn't know what to do. When his dad finds out that Cheyenne's father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes--now there's a reason to keep her. How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare? *** if you liked Lucy Christopher's Stolen you'll really enjoy this book. I really loved the main character in this book. I loved getting inside her head and seeing the way in which she viewed the world and her situation. The thing I really took from this book is how resourceful and independent Cheyenne is throughout it. You really get an insight of the way in