Month: June 2016

June 2016 Wrap-up

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So after a bit of an absence, I seem to be back at it this month. Here’s what has been on my blog this month: Reviews: The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude (3.5/5) The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle (4/5 stars) The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell (4/5 stars) The Rook by Daniel O’Malley (4.5/5 stars)     Recommendations: Lit Lists – My Favourite Classics Part 1   Other posts: I’m giving away an A Court of Mist and Fury mug to one lucky Australian book nerd, and there’s still time to enter the giveaway. My July Book Haul – I got a few really awesome books this month that I’m really excited to get into. #BRINGBACKTBSCOVERS – Bloomsbury have decided to change the covers of the beautiful The Bone Season series by Samantha Shannon to awful generic designs, and I’m not standing for it. Book Photography Tips #1 – I give some tips on why it’s sometimes a good idea to totally underexpose your photos. Pastry Book Tag – I decide to tag myself in …

Book Review: The Rook by Daniel O’Malley

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What’s it about: A high ranking bureaucrat in a government agency dealing with the paranormal wakes up with no memories of who she is, but a trail of letters outlining that someone else in the organisation is trying to kill her. What did I think? Oh my goodness. What a fantastic read. So, I’ve had this on my ereader for AGES, but never started it until I saw the trailer. Yep that’s right. A book trailer actually made me want to read a book. Curious? Why not give it a little look-see then: This book centers around Myfanwy Thomas, a bureaucrat in the Checquy, a secret government agency that deals with the paranormal. Although Myfanwy has some pretty serious superpowers, to the dismay of her superiors, she has a rather nervous disposition, making her unsuitable for field work. However, her ability to push papers almost rivals her supernatural powers and have allowed her to excel in the Checquy anyway, until someone takes away her memories. However, in true Myfanwy fashion, she is too organised to …

Book Photography Tips (#1)

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So some people on Tumblr said they might be interested in seeing some book photography tips. And rather than do a massive post I thought I’d focus on one particular tip at a time. These tips will be pretty specific to people using a DSLR as I don’t know how to do any of this on a camera phone (because I don’t use mine much). These will also require that  you have a basic knowledge of using your camera (exposure, aperture, and ISO). I haven’t really picked the best book to demonstrate this with as the cover has a grainy texture, but oh well. Photography Tip #1 – Always shoot in RAW (if you can). Many cameras by default will collect your images as JPEG files. JPEG files are fine and usually what you will need at the end, but you have much higher flexibility if you shoot in RAW format. RAW format basically saves all the data from the photograph, the exposure, shadows, highlights, etc, and this allows you to basically change any of …

Lit Lists – My Favourite Classics (Part 1)

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I definitely collect beautiful editions of classic novels, but I am finding myself a bit overwhelmed with trying to actually read them all, because I have a lot of them now. But I thought I would share some of my favourites with you all. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Probably my favourite classic of them all is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This book is actually where my collecting of classics edition started. This book is just the ultimate gothic tale. Mary Shelley was a genius, and a beautiful writer and the combination is fantastic. This book is so deep and rich with symbolism and no two people seem to come out with the same interpretation of it. This edition Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll This is another book that features heavily in my collection, as well as on my body (I have a rather large Alice in Wonderland tattoo on my back), so I obviously love it. It’s vivid and absurd and just so incredibly fun. This edition  Dracula I was surprised when I first read this. …

ACOMAF MUG GIVEAWAY!!!

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So I bought this AWESOME ACOMAF mug on ReadatMidnight‘s society6 page, but I accidentally bought two of them, so I will be giving one away (to an Australian resident – as shipping is expensive – sorry). HOW TO ENTER: You can do ANY of these things: Comment on this post (and be following me) Reblog the giveaway post on Tumblr (and be following me) Repost the instagram GA post and dont forget to use the #acomafmugga (for an extra entry give me a shoutout!) Don’t forget to tag me (and follow me) You don’t have to do all these things but you get an entry for each one. TERMS and CONDITIONS: You must be an Australian Resident You must be willing to give me your address You must be over 18 (or have a parents permission) You must respond within 24 hours of being notified or I will pick another winner No giveaway blogs/accounts The giveaway will close on the 8th of July 2016 (midnight Sydney time). Goodluck and may the force be with you.

Book Haul!

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I haven’t done a book haul in ages because I haven’t been buying too many books. Mainly because I’ve been poor (as I’m a student and HR are terrible at doing their job) and I am actually really running out of place to put them. We are planning to renovate the library and do floor to ceiling bookshelves (it will be like 20-30 linear metres of shelves which will be amazing and I can’t wait!) but it hasn’t happened yet. But these are the guys I have picked up recently. So the the first books I picked up are The Hallowed Ones and The Outside by Laura Bickle. I read the first book and then it took forever for The Outside to come in the mail, but it’s here now and so everything is okay. We can all stop panicking. This series is about a young Amish girl who takes in an outsider during a vampire apocalypse. It has an awesome protagonist, and it’s super gory. I loved it. See my review of this one here: Book …

Book Review: The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

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I heard about this book ages a go, and heard it was great, but with no ebook available, and it generally impossible to find anywhere, it did take me some time to get around to reading it. Seriously, make ebooks available people. You will make more money, and I wouldn’t have to die waiting for the next book to arrive. Anyway… What it’s about: A girl in an Amish community takes in an outsider during a vampire apocalypse against the advice of her elders. What I thought: Really freaking enjoyed it. The main character, Katie, is an Amish girl who wants nothing more than to go on her Rumspringa and see the outside world. Katie is generally considered a bit too headstrong for the Amish, but is essentially a very good person at heart. She’s sensible, she cares deeply about the welfare of others, and is the sort of person who will always do what she thinks is right, even if others disagree, and the consequences may be fairly severe. She’s also sensible and for …

#BRINGBACKTBSCOVERS

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So, in case people are not aware, there is a travesty of publishing about to happen… THEY ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE COVERS FOR THE BONE SEASON SERIES BY SAMANTHA SHANNON. YES! These beautiful covers: Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely LOVE this series to bits. The most exciting moment of blogging EVER was when I got to the release the first official teaser for the third book, The Song Rising. So naturally, I love Bloomsbury, because they gave me that absolutely incredible opportunity to be part of one of my favourite series. And I’ll always love them for that. I review books for them frequently (and hope I continue to do so), and I have a fairly good relationship with the wonderful people working there. But I am pretty damn cranky with this proposed cover change. These are the proposed new covers: What the f**k guys? Seriously? This is the worst cover change I’ve seen since the Across the Universe cover change. And you know what, I never bought the third book in …

Pastry Book Tag!

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Bookwormaniac created (I think) this tag, and I saw it on Readwatchreviewblog and decided to tag myself because I thought it looks fun, even though my coeliac’s disease means that I have absolutely no idea what most of these taste like (except macarons which are usually gluten free! Whoo!). And I haven’t done a tag in forever. So, let’s start shall we? Croissant: Name a popular book or series that everyone (including you) loves.   A Court of Thorns and Roses. Tumblr is all about this series right now, and with good reason. It’s just so awesome. All of tumblr can’t be wrong. Easy. Next!   Macaron: Name a book that was hard to get through but worth it at the end. How are macarons easy to get through? they are so tiny and delicate. Anyway, although gone girl was incredibly addictive and I read it in no time, it was difficult for me as I actually know an Amy Dunn, and I’m still traumatised from my encounter with her. So terrifying. If you think Amy …

Book Review: The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell

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“Stories can start revolutions.” What it’s about: A young wolf wilder (someone who takes in formerly domesticated wolves and tries to rehabilitate them so they can again survive in the wild), Feo, is perused by soldiers, and their insane captain, through the Russian wilderness as she attempts to save her mother from being falsely imprisoned, while trying to avoid being swept up in a revolution. What I thought: Well, firstly, this book surprised me in the fact that it is not a fantasy novel, as I had originally expected. At most Feo’s role as a Wolf Wilder could be described as slightly uncanny. But that shouldn’t really count against the book in any way because it is a beautiful little oddity of a book. “People say we can’t do anything about the way the world is; they say it’s set in stone. I say it looks like stone, but it’s mostly paint and cardboard.” This book isn’t one I would recommend to those who require a great deal of action in their novels. This book …