Distraction Technique No.1

I'm currently doing a temporary work placement so I feel like my blog has been massively neglected this past week and a half :(. So I thought what better time to do a rambly post than when I'm stuck here until 7pm! Being back in the real world of work/ studying has made me remember (sadly) how little time it leaves for your own reading. I grabbed a freebie; Hidden Fire roughly a fortnight ago and I still have yet to reach 50%. Granted, the book itself isn't all that gripping at the moment, but still! I am not a slow reader, so even the most difficult of books shouldn't take this long to read. Eliot's mammoth novel Middlemarch was read in a week - I was pretty impressed with myself! Lol! I will admit though, I really did enjoy it. Once you were in the right mind set, the pages just flew by. It's one of the rare course books that I haven't actually sold on to other students. They don't usually tend to pick the most enjoyable of books.

Speaking of course books, the count down has officially begun! The 1st of October is coming quickly and I will be starting my Ma English. I'm quite nervous in a way even though it's the same university that I studied my Undergraduate degree at. I worry that maybe my brain isn't quite up to the standard of Masters level. We'll soon find out though I suppose! A fair few of the modules sound wonderful:

• Gender and Culture: An Introduction
• Neo-Victorian Mutinies: Gender and Racial Trauma
• 'The Great Pretender': Masculinity in Contemporary Women's Fiction.
• Angela Carter

Soooo many choices! I'm hoping two modules run but there isn't a lot of information about it:

• When we Dead Awaken: Gendered Approaches to Myth and Fairytale
• Gender and Mystical Experience in the Middle Ages 

How good do they sound?! Too good to be true, that's for sure haha. Fingers crossed they'll run though. I love studying literature with regards to gender - it's fascinating. The pictures surrounding are Swansea, the place in which I study. A university directly opposite the beach, you cannot complain. It's a beautiful place and I am absolutely in love with it.

 xxx

WWW Wednesday #7/ Waiting on Wednesday #5

Wednesday's meme is hosted over at Should Be Reading, a meme which I'm actively taking part in in which we show off the books we've read, we're reading and going to read :).

The rules are simple. All that has to be done is to answer the following three questions:

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

I'm reading A Hidden Fire by Elizabeth Hunter. It's a freebie from Amazon and is the group read for a discussion I'm participating in. I'm around 45% of the way through and it really isn't grabbing my attention at all. It should make for an interesting discussion though!

What did you recently finish reading?

I recently finished reading Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James. This one surprised me. I felt pained rating the book at a 3/5* as everything within me was screaming that I shouldn't give this book anything slightly positive after my reaaally not liking the first. My inner feminist really wasnt't feeling all that happy. BUT, this one actually had a storyline, it wasn't entirely focused on the smutty scenes. I found that I'd learnt to tune them out and skip on to the next bit. It made for a much more bareable book!

  

What do you think you'll read next?

Something from my ever growing pile of Net Galley to-be-reviewed books. I've been incredibly lazy with them! So I'm going to go with Two and Twenty Dark Tales by Georgia McBride and Michelle Zink.

-x-

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine , which allows us to show off the books we cannot wait to get our hands on :). My choice this week is:


Nalini Singh - Angels' Blood

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she is the best- but she does not know if even she is good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, Elena knows failure is not an option—even if the task is impossible.

Because this time, it's not a wayward vamp she has to track. It's an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other—and pull her to the razor's edge of passion. Even if the hunt does not destroy her, succumbing to Raphael’s seductive touch just might. For when archangels play, mortals break.

xxx

My blog button aaaand Facebook page :)

I've finally made myself a blog button! Feeling really pleased with myself. It's so nice to be getting used to html and photoshop. It's really basic but I love it. Heeeere it is:

Love, love, love it. I have to give credit where it's due though. I googled the pictures and then played around with two images to create it. The image of the beautiful forest is completely credited to  http://thoosah.deviantart.com/art/ and the silhouette of the girl is http://weheartit.com/klarihkardashian . So happy with it! :)

I kept myself occupied last night because I've also set up a Facebook page as well :). It's looking a bit lonely so I'd appreciate some company guys :).
xxx

Review: 'The Legend of the Chosen' - Jennifer Selzer & Daniel Huber

Legend of the Chosen – Jennifer Selzer and Daniel Huber

Synopsis:

In the beginning the gods created evil

Left alone it grew vengeful

Angry, it sought to destroy all of existence

The Bethel galaxy is all that remains.

Bethel, the charmed central planet of the galaxy is on the brink of the year’s most anticipated event: the celebrated Twilight Bloom. Quade Decairus has no reason to believe that this year will be any different than those in the past: food and music, friends and the good cheer of those he loves the most. So why has he been plagued with nightmares of the end of his world coming on this very night?

Prophecies masked as legends. Impossible visions, bringing universal destruction. Only one man can seek those chosen to stop the evil and save them all.

In a world rich with magic and technology, a seamless blend of Fantasy and Sci-Fi, Destiny’s Kingdom explores Quade’s journey as he quests to save a galaxy that has always known peace and prosperity from a powerful evil only he can face.

Legend of the Chosen is book one in the Destiny’s Kingdom series.

Goodreads||Amazon

My Review: 4/5*

Showcase Sunday #10

It's Sunday again so we all know that it's time for Showcase Sunday. It's a lovely weekly meme hosted by Vicki over at Books, Biscuits and Tea, and it allows us to show off all the lovely buys this week. I'm posting this before I head off to an archery competition with the boyfriend - it's like 7am, so that's blogger dedication for you :). So, I haven't been so good this week, here's what I got:

Books

    

Unfortunately, I didn't realise that the Gena Showalter book was the fourth book in the series so have a bit of catch up to do! Also couldn't resist the final Fifty Shades. Let's see how this trilogy ends.

NetGalley

None received so far this week, but waiting approval or to be declined on these:
   

Kindle

         

I went a bit mental this week with the books! I think all except one are free on the Kindle buys though :) so that is awesome. What lovely buys did you guys get this week?

xxx

Feature & Follow #4

So here's Fridays meme: Feature and Follow hosted over at Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The aim of the blog is to gain new followers! :)

How to participate:

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

What sets this Hop apart from others, is the Feature. Each week they will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow the Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy.

                         Featured Blogs: Nette's Bookshelf & Cheerful Reviews

Q (Alison Can Read): Best cover? What is the best cover of a book that you've read and loved?

Hmmm, good question. There are so many lovely covers and I'm terrible for judging books by their covers. It's so nice to look at your books and they're so pretty haha. I thinkkkk I'm going to pick The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood. It just looks really cool! It's a shame it's only on my Kindle. May have to buy a hard copy for the shelves.

Q (Parajunkee): What is the best cover of a book that you’ve read and didn’t like?

Awkward. I tend to just go off books because of their content no matter what their wrapping is. If I had to chose, I'd probably go for William Gibson's Neuromancer. I absolutely hated the book, didn't understand it, didn't like it. Have no interest in even trying to understand it, BUT the cover is pretty cool :). 

xxx

WWW Wednesday #6/ Waiting on Wednesday #4

Wednesday's meme is hosted over at Should Be Reading, a meme which I'm actively taking part in in which we show off the books we've read, we're reading and going to read :).

The rules are simple. All that has to be done is to answer the following three questions:

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

 I'm currently reading Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James. I know, I know, I trashed the first book in the series but I couldn't resist finding out more about the elusive Christian Grey. So far I will admit this book is better than the first in the sense that it has an actual story line BUT, the smutty scenes are still irritating, the vocabulary is still very limited and I still cannot stand the figure of Ana Steele. If anyone needs a good shake it's her! Haha.


What did you recently finish reading?

I recently finished Kristin Cashore's Fire. I really enjoyed it. Everyone that had spoken of the book said that it was a lot better than Graceling which I loved anyway! So I was really looking forward to reading this. Needless to say, I really did enjoy this book BUT I disagree with it being above Graceling. Out of the two I've read so far, it is still my favourite. Really looking forward to reading Bitterblue and *fingers crossed* she writes more! :)

 

What do you think you'll read next?

Probably 13 by Kelley Armstrong. I think I've been putting it off so long just to prelong the ending of the series. I'm not sure though. The Works book shop has had a sale on recently due to its moving location so I nabbed four books for £3.96 yesterday! Plus my to-review pile is massive. I keep meaning to finish reading George R. R. Martin's series; A Song of Ice and Fire as well but just can't seem to get round to it!

-x-

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine , which allows us to show off the books we cannot wait to get our hands on :). This weeks book is a book which has been out for awhile but I've recently ordered from eBay:

 

The Vagina Monologues - Eve Ensler

Summary:

"I was worried about vaginas. I was worried about what we think about vaginas, and even more worried that we don't think about them. . . . So I decided to talk to women about their vaginas, to do vagina interviews, which became vagina monologues. I talked with over two hundred women. I talked to old women, young women, married women, single women, lesbians, college professors, actors, corporate professionals, sex workers, African American women, Hispanic women, Asian American women, Native American women, Caucasian women, Jewish women. At first women were reluctant to talk. They were a little shy. But once they got going, you couldn't stop them."
So begins Eve Ensler's hilarious, eye-opening tour into the last frontier, the forbidden zone at the heart of every woman. Adapted from the award-winning one-woman show that's rocked audiences around the world, this groundbreaking book gives voice to a chorus of lusty, outrageous, poignant, and thoroughly human stories, transforming the question mark hovering over the female anatomy into a permanent victory sign. With laughter and compassion, Ensler transports her audiences to a world we've never dared to know, guaranteeing that no one who reads The Vagina Monologues will ever look at a woman's body the same way again.

I think it sounds absolutely fantastic! Can't wait to read it, so it may actually be my next book. It's something I really want to use on my Masters course as well so here's hoping. My inner feminist is doing a little jig right now, lol!

So, what are you guys reading and looking forward to reading this week? :)

xxx