The Overflowing Library

A mega reading month for me due to Easter Holidays and 8 PJ days in a row when the Connor household were all poorly. I've read some amazing stuff and been on a bit of a Aussie YA fix Book read in April 58) 50 ways to find a lover by Lucy Anne Holmes (British Books Challenge) 59) Smart by Kim Slater (British Books Challenge) 60) Weirdos vs Bumskulls by Natasha Desborough (British Books Challenge) 61) Starring Kitty by Keris Stainton (British Books Challenge) 62) Sweet Damage by Rebecca James 63) Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta 64) The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart 65) Trouble on Cable Street by Joan Lingard (British Books Challenge) 66) Close to the wind by Jon Walter (British Books Challenge) 67) Notes from the teenage underground by Simmone Howell 68) To all the boys I've loved before by Jenny Han 69) Now you see me by Emma Haughton (British Books Challenge) 70) Out of the easy by Ruta Sepetys 71) This Old Thing by Dawn O'Porter 72) Feeling sorry for

Today's Bookcase Showcase comes from author Jeff Povey as part of the blog tour for his new book Shift   The mainly Ed McBain collection “I scoured the internet, old bookshops, anywhere I could think of, to find all of McBain’s books.  I sourced interviews with him and read about his methods and how he went out with New York cops looking for stories or characters.  I thought he was amazing.  I’ve got a lot of Jack McDevitt there as well, a sci-fi writer I discovered in an old bookshop by accident.  I hadn’t really read sci-fi until then.  He got me hooked.” The Jonathan Coe and Kate Atkinson picture “You can’t not read Johnathan Coe at some stage.  Kate Atkinson is just a hero of mine. Oh dear, I just realised that my long forgotten novel is in these pictures (there were clearly a few that didn’t sell J ).  I was actually focusing on Wodehouse – as anyone with a sense of humour should.” Rufus the dog in the library “Rufus was d

The English government have closed the borders with their Celtic neighbours. Any Celt found in England is branded with a tattoo, found twice they are executed. Scottish Lizzie is the 'property' of psychopathic London gang boss Alexander. Can Lizzie escape Alexander's deadly grip and at what price her betrayal? My Thoughts I wasn't sure when I first heard of this book but actually I really enjoyed it. Very gritty and very much a page turner.   It is very much an older YA. The scenes with Lizzie and Alexander are uncomfortable where you see the way in which she is treated as he property used when he decides to and discarded when something better comes along. All the way through you get a real sense of dread for Lizzie and the way her life is whilst she is associated with Alexander and his gang. The story says a lot about where our world could be heading if the economy continues t

The closest he will ever come to happiness is when he's hurting her. Will she let him? A beautiful and twisted story of first love and innocence lost--written when the author was just eighteen. Sphinxie and Cadence. Promised to each other in childhood. Drawn together again as teens. Sphinxie is sweet, compassionate, and plain. Cadence is brilliant, charismatic. Damaged. And diseased. When they were kids, he scarred her with a knife. Now, as his illness progresses, he becomes increasingly demanding. She wants to be loyal--but fears for her life. Only the ultimate sacrifice will give this love an ending My Thoughts I'm not sure I have the words for this one It's like watching a car accident happen in front of your eyes. You want to look away but can't because you need to know what happens next. Hands down the creepiest most intense relationship I've ever read about in a YA

Here is my list of all the various titles that have caught my eye of late when browsing online which I cannot wait to get my hands on... Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld Darcy Patel has put college and everything else on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. Arriving in New York with no apartment or friends she wonders whether she's made the right decision until she falls in with a crowd of other seasoned and fledgling writers who take her under their wings… Told in alternating chapters is Darcy's novel, a suspenseful thriller about Lizzie, a teen who slips into the 'Afterworld' to survive a terrorist attack. But the Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead and as Lizzie drifts between our world and that of the Afterworld, she discovers that many unsolved - and terrifying - stories need to be reconciled. And when a new threat resurfaces, Lizzie learns her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she loves and cares about mos

Audrey's father taught her that to stay human in the modern world, she had to build a moat around herself; a moat of books and music, philosophy and dreams. A moat that makes Audrey different from the echoes: sophisticated, emotionless machines, built to resemble humans and to work for human masters. Daniel is an echo - but he's not like the others. He feels a connection with Audrey; a feeling Daniel knows he was never designed to have, and cannot explain. And when Audrey is placed in terrible danger, he's determined to save her. The Echo Boy is a powerful story about love, loss and what makes us truly human My Thoughts While I'm not certain this book was entirely for me I can certainly think of several people I'd happily recommend it to. Echo boy is set in the future in a works where echos are used as robotic human like servants and starts dramatically with the death of the main character's parents at the hands of one of the echos. The story

It's a year and a half on from Paper Aeroplanes, and Renée is now living with her Aunty Jo. They even have geese, and Renée likes to sit and watch them, wondering if she'll ever find 'the One' - someone who will love her no matter what, and be there for her no matter how bad things get. She and Flo are in their final year at school, and they've got some tough choices to make - like will they go to university? And if so where - and will they go together? Renée's usual ambivalence on the matter shocks Flo, who had assumed they'd continue as they were, the best and closest of friends, forever. She feels as though she needs Renée's support more than ever, so when a handsome young boy enters Flo's life, she finds herself powerfully drawn to his kindness, and his faith. Renée and Flo's friendship will soon be tested in a way neither of them could have expected - and if Paper Aeroplanes was a book about finding friendship, Goose is the

What if you had the chance to start again...but only if you promised never to look back? Samantha is popular, rich, and seemed to have it all...until the night she and her best 'frenemy' Cassie disappeared and only Sammy resurfaced, with no recollection of who she is or what happened. Sammy's a stranger in her own life - a life she no longer wants any part of. Losing her memory is a chance to start again. Then Sammy begins receiving mysterious notes warning her about that night, urging her to not look back. But she can't let it go. As she starts poking around in her past she begins to remember...and something sinister begins to surface. My thoughts I literally had no idea what to expect from this author not having read any of her previous books but I was keen to read this book as lots of my blogger friends went nuts when it dropped through their letter boxes. I don't want to say too much about this book for fear of spoiling it but I will say tha

When Alex meets Kate the attraction is instant. Alex is funny, good-looking, and a little shy – everything that Kate wants in a boyfriend. Alex can’t help falling for Kate, who is pretty, charming and maybe just a little naive… But one of them is hiding a secret, and as their love blossoms, it threatens to ruin not just their relationship, but their lives. My thoughts This review is deliberately short because of two reasons. Firstly I'm not certain I have the words to do it justice and secondly I don't want to spoil it for others. You can always rely on a Cat Clarke novel to rip you to shreds emotionally. This was no exception. It's gritty and hard hitting throughout. The story itself is one of those where you just know from the outset that it isn't going to end well for the characters involved. The situations they find themselves in are impossible and you just know that whatever happens their lives are going to be changed forever. The thing I loved abo

Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father. Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met. My thoughts A super sweet offering from an author who I have come to expect great things from. The Geography of You and Me was a quick and lovely little read which I enjoyed thoroughly. The Geography of You and Me is the story of Owen and Lucy. They are very different and meet during a blackout when they both end up stuck in an elevator.

How do I organise my bookshelves?   I don’t.   How can I find anything?   I can’t.   Books are stacked all over the place, piled two or three deep on sagging shelves. Sometimes I worry that the sheer weight of them might bring the house down. The bookshelf in this photo, however, is different. These are the sacred shelves to the right of my desk where I keep my hallowed collection of reference books (in fact there are another three shelves below these but they wouldn’t fit into the picture).   I like to have these volumes close to hand so I can keep checking things as I’m writing.   It’s a wide-ranging mix of subject matter.   On the top shelf Special Effects rubs shoulders with The Treasures of the British Museum and the Concise Encyclopedia of the American Indian .    Ancient Egyptian Jewellery snuggles up to the Top 10 of Everything and The American Civil War .   What’s interesting is how they all feed into each other. The Native American books date from t

Today at 12:30pm former Book Blogger Liz De Jager will be talking books on the third Book Break Episode Check it out below as it promises to be awesome.

I got a really exciting email last week regarding a new book deal from Cassandra Clare and Holly Black. They have a new series coming out published by Random House in the UK in September called Magisterium. What a fantastic name! The first book will be called The Iron Trial  and you can see the synopsis below. About Magisterium Book 1: The Iron Trial  Callum Hunt has grown up knowing three rules by heart. Never trust a magician. Never pass a  test a magician gives you. And never let a magician take you to the Magisterium. Callum is about  to break all the rules. And when he does, his life will change in ways he can’t possibly imagine.  The Magisterium series is a five-book series of fantasy novels, one book for each year of  Callum’s life as he struggles between the forces of good and evil, and discovers his true destiny. The authors have spoken about the new series in a video which you can also see below

In the early 1980s Ada and Stefan are young, would-be lovers living on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall--Ada lives with her mother and grandmother and paints graffiti on the Wall, and Stefan lives with his grandmother in the East and dreams of escaping to the West. Just a quick review for this book. I wanted to read this book purely for the historical setting and was excited to get stuck into it. However it didn't quite do it for me. While I loved the setting I struggled to connect with the characters and therefore didn't get drawn in like I wanted to. Don't get me wrong it was beautifully written but something just didn't do it for me unfortunately.