ABC Book Challenge → B

I recently came across the ABC Book Challenge over on The Bibliophagist, and I just thought it would be cool to give it a go! Each week you showcase books with titles that correspond to a specific letter - you include books that are memorable to you and books that are still on your to-be-read pile. It's a great chance to look through what you've read over the years. 

▷B◁

Now onto the letter B...

♡♡ Memorable/Favourite Books → B ♡♡

✿ Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver ✿

Before I Fall has a special place in my heart and it really left a strong impression on me. The book was thought provoking and powerful, and I continue to recommend it to people looking for a good YA read. I recently watched the film adaptation and loved how they portrayed the story - Zoey Deutch played Sam so well.

✿ Bloodlines by Richelle Mead (Bloodlines #1) ✿ 

I absolutely adored Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series, and when Bloodlines came out, I remember being over the moon. The book did not disappoint!

✿ The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting (The Body Finder #1) ✿ 

Violet's power to sense dead bodies really pulled me into the story, and I loved the unravelling of the mystery/crime. I read up to the third book in the series but never had the chance to read the last instalment.

✿ The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ✿ 

The Book Thief was probably one of the biggest books I've ever read (and normally I don't go for big books). The narrator had me entranced from the beginning to the end, and I came to be truly invested in Markus Zusak's characters.

♡♡ Books on my TBR pile → B ♡♡

✿ Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson ✿ 

My love for Julianne Donaldson's Edenbrooke (my review) is the reason I've had Blackmoore on my TBR pile. Every now and then I'm in the mood for some historical fiction, so maybe I'll come round to picking up Blackmoore during that time.

✿ Broken Things by Lauren Oliver ✿

Since Lauren Oliver's Delirium series and standalone Before I Fall, both of which I loved, I haven't found another book by Lauren Oliver that has captured me in the same way. Broken Things sounds intriguing so I would like to give it a chance.

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

Top 5 Wednesday: Characters You'd Want at Friendsgiving

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Thoughts on Tomes. You can join in by heading over to the Top 5 Wednesday group on Goodreads where you can finding the weekly topics!

Characters You'd Want at Friendsgiving

✩ 1. Lisbeth Salander (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson) ✩

Lisbeth is awesome and complex. I'm not sure if she would do much talking during friendsgiving but I can imagine her strong presence/aura filling up a room. With her cool investigative/detective skills, I'm sure she would have all the guests figured out right from the beginning.

✩ 2. Rose Hathaway (Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead) ✩

I always loved Rose's sarcasm and sass so I think she would be a great addition. I feel like Rose would be the life of the party!

✩ 3. Stevie Bell (Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson) ✩

Stevie would be our other detective at friendsgiving alongside Lisbeth. You never know when you're going to need a detective! I would probably steer clear from playing any guessing games or 'solve the mystery' type puzzles cause I'm sure Stevie or Lisbeth would win those.

✩ 4. Elizabeth Bennett (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen) ✩

I can imagine that Elizabeth would be great at carrying a conversation. Weirdly I think her and Rose would get along.

✩ 5. Charlie (Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky) ✩

I just feel like it'd be nice to have Charlie over at friendsgiving!

I had a lot of fun tackling this topic! I can't wait to read everyone else's picks. 

Quick Share: Podcast Episodes To Check Out - Mr Darcy's Earnings? Changing Prisons?

Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well!

I've recently been enjoying a number of podcasts, and there are some episodes I just quickly wanted to share with you all.

1. How rich was Jane Austen's Mr Darcy? 

This podcast episode is presented by BBC Radio 4 More or Less and is only about 8 minutes long so
it will be a quick listen. It puts into perspective how much Mr Darcy would be earning in today's money. The figures that they revealed left me in shock, it was far from what I had been expecting.

You can listen to the podcast episode on this link here, or type into your podcast app 'More or Less Mr Darcy' and it should come up.

I would love to know if anyone else is as shocked as I am about the figures!

2. How to make prisons more humane.

This podcast episode is presented by Future Perfect and is about 23 minutes long. It would be ideal to
listen to during your commute to work/school or while you're doing some chores around the house.

The episode gives you a lot of food for thought by exploring the current US prison system. It presents the stark contrast between the prisons in Norway with that in the US, and opens your eyes to how certain changes to prisons can have a positive impact. Recently I've read quite a few articles regarding the issues faced by UK prisons, which in turn really highlighted the importance of what is being discussed in this podcast episode.

If you are interested in the prison system and ways to potentially bring changes to it, I would highly recommend this episode, or if you just want to learn something new this episode will definitely deliver. You can listen on this link here, or type the title of the episode into your podcast app.

Have you been listening to anything interesting lately, I would love to know!

ABC Book Challenge → A

I recently came across the ABC Book Challenge over on The Bibliophagist, and I just thought it would be cool to give it a go! Each week you showcase books with titles that correspond to a specific letter - you include books that are memorable to you and books that are still on your to-be-read pile. It's a great chance to look through what you've read over the years. 

▷A◁
So here we go, starting with the letter A...

♡♡ Memorable/Favourite Books → A ♡♡

It was quite a struggle for me to find memorable/favourites beginning with the letter A, I was hoping this would be one of the easier letters!

● Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly ●

I loved how fast paced and action packed the book was, and I read it during a time there were a lot of great book releases focussed on angels/fallen angels. I remember being completely invested in the main characters Willow and Alex. Sadly, I discontinued the series after reading the second book which just wasn't as good as the first one.

● Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen ●

Definitely one of my favourite Sarah Dessen books!

● Altered by Jennifer Rush ●

Altered was a book that came highly recommended by a friend and it definitely lived up to my expectations. The premise of Altered was really interesting, and again I would say the action in the book made me fall in love with it.

♡♡ Books on my TBR pile → A ♡♡

● Angelfall by Susan Ee ●

Angelfall has received a lot of love over the years, so I've been super curious to find out why everyone loves it!

● Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery ●

I have wanted to read Anne of Green Gables for what feels like FOREVER.

● An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason by Virginia Boecker ●

This book was released last month and I was totally intrigued by the summary. It sounds like it'll be a a fun historical read with a twist.

Have you read any of the books above? Is there any books on my TBR list that you would recommend?

Review: Persuading Annie by Melissa Nathan

Title: Persuading Annie

Author: Melissa Nathan
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication date: August 17th 2004
Page count: 352
Buy The Book: Amazon | Book Depository
Rating: 2.5/5

Synopsis

After years as a sweet, good-natured pushover, Annie Markham has had to face up to three hard truths: You've got to be tough to succeed in business and romance. Sometimes your meddling loved ones are right about your worthless, no-good boyfriend being worthless and no good. The only reliable thing about men is that they're totally unreliable. Okay, she's been persuaded. So now, seven years after wisely and abruptly dumping the "love of her life," Jake Mead, things should be going better for Annie Markham, right? Unfortunately, her life's going nowhere, her family's going mental, and the family business is heading straight down the tubes. Could it get worse? Of course! Jake's back, Annie's getting ready for bankruptcy, and no one's ready for Christmas ... let alone a happy New Year. And no amount of persuasion will ever convince Annie that magic does happen and dreams do come true, not even at the stroke of midnight on December 31 at New York's Plaza Hotel ... will it? [Goodreads]

My Thoughts

I really wanted to love this book. It's a modern adaptation of 'Persuasion' which is one of my favourite Jane Austen books, and on top of that I remember enjoying Melissa Nathan's other book called 'The Nanny'. Unfortunately, 'Persuading Annie' didn't live up to my expectations. 

The pace of the book was quite fast which really appealed to me. I fear that if the pace of the book had been slower, I may not have been able to finish it. 

For me, the main reason I could not enjoy 'Persuading Annie' was because of the characters. I can't remember a single character that I liked, they were all very much on the unlikeable scale including Annie and Jack. Because the book is an adaptation, the reader already has an idea of the plot line, so in this case I think it becomes really important to work on the characters and make sure the reader will be invested in them. 

I do think there are some people that would enjoy this book, especially if you pick it up as a lighthearted and quick read, but it just didn't work for me. 

If anyone who is looking to read a good Jane Austen 'Persuasion' adaptation, one of my favourites would have to be 'For Darkness Shows the Stars' by Diana Peterfreund!

Quotes/Moments

"You have a choice. A life of lonely regret or happiness with some pain along the way. You choose."

I'd like to think the choice would be kind of easy?! 

What I Am Currently Reading #6

I am currently reading:

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows

Right now I'm at the 40% mark and I already love how fun and silly the book is including all the twists to history they've added. The humour is right up my street! 

The other day I was reading the book while I was on the tube, and there were a few parts that were really funny but I had to bite my tongue so not to laugh out loud on a tube carriage packed with people. 

Does anyone else think that it can be kind of difficult to fully enjoy a funny book out in public?

Synopsis (Goodreads)

Update: Hi again!

Hi again!

I hope you are all doing well 😊.

I can't believe that it's been about a year since my last post. Time flies far too quickly!

A lot has happened in the 11-12 months I have been away. In July I graduated from university and ended a 3-year chapter of my life. It still feels surreal that it's over!

With the end of my university/student life came the stress of finding a graduate job (life loves throwing lemons at you), so the past few months have been filled with intense job searching, applications and interviews. I am very happy to say that the crazy job hunting rollercoaster has now ended and I've managed to secure a job in the field I've always wanted to work in 💓. I start my new job in a few weeks so I have some time to relax. I am both excited and nervous about this next step, and I'm hoping things will go well.

Recently I've had a lot more time to read and I've been enjoying it so much! My current 'to-be-read' pile is a little outdated so I want to find some new releases to add to my list. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to know.

This blog has a really special place in my heart which is why I always find myself back on here. I hope I can give it some love over the next few months and just take it from there.

Lots of love,

- The Wild Reader