2017 in Books | What I Read

Hi, I managed to finish my Goodreads challenge and as per normal it was down to the last few days before I completed my pledge of 35 books. That doesn't sound like much but when I look back I'm in awe of just how many stories and worlds that I've been able to explore. Doing the math it works out at 10 and a half days per book, based on how slow I know I read some of these books, I'm really surprised I hit my goal this year.

 2017 Pledged Books

1. Riot - Sarah Mussi ★★★★☆
2. Seed - Lisa Heathfield ★★★★☆
3. Radio Silence - Alice Oseman ★★★☆☆
4. The Lonely Life of Biddy Weir - Lesley Allen ★★★★☆
5. Nerve - Jeanne Ryan ★★★☆☆
 

6. Solitaire - Alice Oseman ★★★☆☆
7. Beautiful Broken Things - Sara Barnard ★★★☆☆
8. The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins ★★★★☆
9. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick ★★★☆☆
10. Feed - Mira Grant ★★★☆☆

11. The Potion Diaries - Amy Alward ★★★★☆
12. Royal Tour - Amy Alward ★★★★☆
13. Monster - C.J. Skuse ★★★☆☆
14. The Sky Is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson ★★★★★
15. The Shock of the Fall - Nathan Filer ★★★★☆

16. Paper Butterflies - Lisa Heathfield ★★★★☆
17. If I Was Your Girl - Meredith Russo ★★★★★
18. ...And a Happy New Year? - Holly Bourne ★★★☆☆
19. This Savage Song - Victoria Schwab ★★★★☆
20. Luckiest Girl Alive - Jessica Knoll ★★★☆☆

21. A Quiet Kind of Thunder - Sara Barnard ★★★☆☆
22. Who Runs the World? - Virginia Bergin ★★★☆☆
23. How to Love - Katie Cotugno ★★★★☆
24. Elizabeth Is Missing - Emma Healey ★★★☆☆
25. How Hard Can Love Be? - Holly Bourne ★★★★★

26. Nina is Not OK - Shappi Khorsandi ★★★★☆
27. The Apple Tart of Hope - Sarah Moore Fitzgerald ★★★★☆
28. The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion ★★★★☆
29. It Only Happens in the Movies - Holly Bourne ★★★★★
30. The Bone Dragon - Alexia Casale ★★★☆☆

31. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler ★★★☆☆
32. Damage - Eve Ainsworth ★★★★☆
33. The Young Elites - Marie Lu ★★★★☆
34. The Rose Society - Marie Lu ★★★☆☆
35. The Midnight Star - Marie Lu ★★★★☆

This year I only gave four books five stars. I feel a bit mean about this as looking back there were so many books I really enjoyed but at the time of reading can't have blown me away. The four books that I awarded five stars where; If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo, The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, How Hard Can Love Be? and It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne.

What where your favorite book this year?
Sam 

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Reading Roundup | September

Hi, It's been a while since I've done one of these monthly book reviews and to be honest I want to go back and post the previous books I've missed for my own reference. I'm really behind on my Goodreads challenge but I'm not surprised because I've been slow/lazy with reading. I really need to plan what I want to read during the rest of year to stay on track so keep an eye out for a TBR for the rest of 2017. Both the books I read this month where finds at my favourite charity shop for books because they are only 50p each.

Reading Challenge 24/35

How to Love

Author - Katie Cotugno

Page Count - 389

First Published - 2013

I bought this book about a year ago and finally got round to reading it. As there was such a long time from picking this book out I'd forgotten what it was about, but it's obviously a romance book of sorts. 

Reena has loved Sawyer LeGrande since she can remember. The son of her parents friends they have grown up together but Sawyer has never shown Reena any attention until one day they fall in messy love. Sawyer leaves without an explanation, leaving Reena behind. Time passes and Reena has a new love of her life, her daughter Hannah. One day Sawyer arrives back in their lives and Renna has to work out where he fits in her new life.

This book was such a fun read because of the writing style of telling both the before and present story in alternative chapters. I overall wasn't blown away by this book but I did enjoy reading it and seeing how the story developed. I don't want to give spoilers but there's so much more to this story than I've explained above. I really enjoyed how as the reader was giving little bits of information from the past that then made the present situation make more sense.

 

Elizabeth is Missing

Author - Emma Healey

Page Count - 275

First Published - 2015

I've had this book on my radar as one I've wanted to pick up and it finally turned up at 50p. I hadn't realised until writing this post but this is another book that moves from past to present. This book does it more creatively through the main character getting confused and transitioning from present to past via memory triggers.

Maud is elderly and losing her memory to dementia. She writes notes to remind herself of things but doesn't remember what they mean. There's one note however that keeps resurfacing which is that her best friend Elizabeth is missing. The present story interlinks with the disappearance of Mauds sister
Sukey when she was a little girl. Maud is trying to solve one disappearance while getting confused and trying to solve the mystery behind her sisters disappearance.

I found this book a little long winded because I didn't have the time to sit down and totally indulge. I find this is a massive issue I have with my overall reading experience, it's me not the book. Again no spoilers, there's so much more to this story and if you only read it for one reason read it because it's an insight into dementia and how it affects people.

Any short story recommendations (I've got a lot of catching up to do on Goodreads)?

Sam

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Books I Want To Read In 2017

Hi, I wanted to share my Goodreads 'To Read List' which is pretty much what I would like to read this year but I'm open to change. My goal yet again is 35 as I only just manage to complete it again (December is always a blur), but I think it's still a worthy number to accomplish. Most of the books on my list are ones I cross referenced with my local library's inventory to see what I could go and read for free. I think it's really important to support your local library as more and more are being shut down because they are seen to be unused. Plus you can read loads of books and you don't have to feel guilty about your bank balance.

 

Books I Want To Read In 2017

To Get From The Library

1. Way Down Dark - Smythe, J.P.
2. All the Bright Places - Jennifer Niven
3. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
4. The Heart Goes Last - Margaret Atwood
5. Luckiest Girl Alive- Jessica Knoll
6. Dear Amy - Helen Callaghan
7. We Were Liars - E. Lockhart
8. The Daughter's Secret - Eva Holland
9. Faceless - Alyssa B. Sheinmel
10. Illuminae - Amie Kaufman
11. The Bone Dragon - Alexia Casale
12. The Next Together - Lauren James
13. The Next Beginning - Lauren James
14. The End of the World Running Club - Adrian J. Walker
15. Solitaire - Alice Oseman
16. Drop - Katie Everson
17. A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness
18. If I Was Your Girl - Meredith Russo
19. I Was Here - Gayle Forman
20. Paper Butterflies - Lisa Heathfield
21. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
22. Nerve - Jeanne Ryan
23. Furthermore - Tahereh Mafi
24. The Lost and the Found - Cat Clarke
25. This Savage Song - Victoria Schwab

Physical Copies I Own

1. Seed - Lisa Heathfield
2. Riot - Sarah Mussi
3. The Potion Diaries - Amy Alward
4. The Potion Dairies : Royal Tour - Amy Alward
5. Beautiful Broken Things - Sara Barnard
6. Radio Silence - Alice Oseman
7. The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins
8. The Lonely Life of Biddy Weir - Lesley Allen*
9. Sockpuppet - Matthew Blakstad*
10. The Last Days of Night - Graham Moore*

So there is my collection of books I'd really like to read this year or at some point in the future at least. This post isn't that helpful for what the books are actually about but I'd like to do some smaller TBR posts with synopsis when I choose what I'm reading at that time. Every book sounds really interesting to me and I can't wait to see which of these books leaves a lasting impression.

 Have you read any of the books above or do you have anything you'd recommend I read?

Sam

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*book was won in a Goodreads giveaway

Reading Roundup | June-July Book Reviews

Hi, I failed at blogging last month and I realised early on I wasn't going to get much reading done in July so I've combine the past two months reads together. In total I have five book and I'm currently still two books ahead of my target so I don't need to worry too much. It's a while since I read some of these books so I hope my reviews are still helpful.

June-July Reading Roundup - Year Book Count 22

The Crooked House

Author - Christobel Kent
Page Count - 401
First Published - 2015

Alison was once Esme, one night when she was a child evil came into her home and killed her family. Years later she returns with her boyfriend to attend a wedding and she is forced to deal with truths she has been hiding from.

This book took a grueling three weeks to finish (because it made me fall asleep), I wish I could say it was worth it but it really wasn’t. I’m not the biggest fan of suspense novels as a genre favoring more light hearted themes but I’d like to think I’d know a good example of such writing and this really wasn’t that. I expect to be gripped by revelations and itching to read on with the suspense but I didn't experience either. The plot was flaured and drawn out, the time period and location was confusing jumping around all the time. The ending was a sham, I feel cheated for investing so much time in this book.

Shiver | The Wolves of Mercy Falls

Author - Maggie Stiefvater
Page Count - 434
First Published - 2009

On a more positive note the Wolves of Mercy Falls series was much more my kind of story. A bitter sweet teenage romance series between Sam and Grace, they didn't meet in the most conventional way as Sam is a Werewolf. This series doesn't have the deepest plot and I was grateful for that, it's an easy book to pick up and read a few chapters. Written in my favourite style of split perspectives it gives a great insight into how both characters feel.

The first book in the series sees Grace finally meet Sam as a boy and they instantly fall for each other, she's always know him as the wolf that saved her the day she was dragged into the woods by the pack many years before. Now the wolf pack is provoked and attacks a boy, he's pronounced dead and things start to go badly for the pack as his father is a possessed hunter out for revenge.
 

Linger | The Wolves of Mercy Falls

Author - Maggie Stiefvater
Page Count - 416
First Published - 2010

Following on for the first book the second sees Grace slowly becoming more and more ill. Her need to be with Sam starts to pull her family apart as they can't understand the depth of the feelings of such a young couple. Sam continues to battle with his need to remain human so he and grace can be together.

The book see added characters of Isabel (sister of the boy bitten) and Cole (a newly recruited Werewolf). This gave the book a whole new dynamic and more personality and teenage worries to cover. I personally loved that extra characters where added for a different perceptive. It gave the story more depth and took the focus away from the young romance, which I feared would become a little bit repetitive.

Forever | The Wolves of Mercy Falls

Author - Maggie Stiefvater
Page Count - 489
First Published - 2011

This book sees the continued friendships and relationships of the characters. Conflicting emotions of wanting to remain themselves and the freedom of the forest. I honestly wanted to love these books because I've heard really good things about Maggie Stiefvater but I wasn't blown away. I personally think there are much better book series out there. I think this is down to the fact that teenage romances seem like a distant memory to me. I loved Sam and Graces relationship, it was well written and illustrated just how linked they where but I preferred the sexual tension between Isabel and Cole.

My overall opinion of this book ending was that there was still more of a story to tell. Maggie has written information in the back of the book which eludes to it being the last book of the series but since the books release a fourth book 'Sinner' has been released. As I can’t get a cover to match the books I already have I’m going to borrow it from the library. 

Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel

Author -  Jane Costello
Page Count - 453
First Published - 2016

The moonlight hotel is a forgotten relic located on the edge of lake Windermere. The location of the new Salsa class where Lauren and her friends meet lots of new and interesting people. The hotel becomes the cause of much gossip as it's sold and closed for refurbishment. This in Laurens opinion is an attack on her childhood memories of her late Father.

Lauren is the main character and story teller, she has many mishaps which are funny but felt a little forced at times. She had one true goal in life to visit Australia, a mixture of events makes her rethink her long time desire. There was a nice amount of silliness with embarrassing situations and seriousness with the story touching on revenge porn. Even though the story is only told from the perspective of Lauren there are a few different plot lines which all join up to complete the story at the end. It’s a nice easy read and one I’d recommend for reading on a beach holiday. It's your classic holiday romance book.

Have you read The Wolves of Mercy Falls? Any good reads to suggest?
Sam

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Reading Roundup | May Book Reviews

Hi, Look at that massive pile of books! May has been an awesome month for reading where I've used every bit of free time working my way through my TBR shelf. I think the fact that it's light a lot later has helped as I feel more alert into the evenings. As you can imagine this is quite a long post so get comfy and maybe grab a drink before you start, good luck!

May Reading Roundup - Year Book Count 17

The Martian

Author - Andy Weir
Page Count - 369
First Published - 2011

Mark Watney is one of a six manned mission to collect samples from Mars. A large storm hits and the team are forced to make an early exit from their mission. Five of the team successfully leave but Mark Watney was struck by debris and feared dead, he is left on Mars. To every ones surprise Watney didn't die and so his solo mission to survive alone on Mars beguines.

I'm going to start by saying I have mixed feelings about this book, I think with all the hype and the fact that it has recently been made into a film I expected more. The writing style (log entries) was one I was excited to experience and it made total sense within the story. I think part of the excitement was lost with the retelling of past events for example there's a major issue, one that could cause Marks untimely death, but he's documenting it after the event so you know he's fixed it before you even find out how bad the event was. I loved the concept and the problem solving element, the what will try to kill Mark Watney next element but it was undermined by the for-mentioned point.

I can't help but be a little bit disappointed by the point in time that the book ended as well. I've since seen the film and I think it worked a lot better because you'd see the event and then he'd go talk to the log about it. The film did make his survival appear a lot easier and a lot shorter so for that I'm glad I read the book first because I felt a lot more strongly about the ending of the book versus the film.

The Girl With All The Gifts

Author - M.R. Carey
Page Count - 460
First Published - 2014

I featured this book on my Spring TBR list and I was told it's a good read which I can now confirm to be true. I enjoyed this book so much, I'd picked it on a whim unknowing it's true content. This might be a spoiler but the book is about Zombies and it totally for filled my need for a zombie fix. I don't think knowing about the zombies makes any difference as I would have worked it out by about page 20 anyway.

Set in a time of a zombie invasion there is a research center where Melanie is kept. She is strapped in her chair and taken to class with a gun pointed at her at all times. Days with lessons from Miss Justineau are the best and Melanie looks forward to seeing her favourite teacher. Her friends start being taken away never to return and she starts to wounder what's really behind the big metal door at the end of the corridor.

The story dragged a little in places but I always wanted to read on and see what would happen next, it's so hard to write reviews that don't include spoilers. The ending was a lot deeper than I envisioned and the story had a really nice twist on the classic zombie outbreak.

The Glittering Art of Falling Apart*

Author - Ilana Fox
Page Count - 294
First Published - 2016

This book was one of a group of books I won on Goodreads, you can see what I won here. With that in mind I don’t think this is a book I would ever have picked up but I am so glad this book came into my life. The story is set in the present day from the perspective of Cassie. She has a love for her family’s rich history and Beaufont Hall which has been left to the elements. One day when it becomes inevitable that they must sell the hall Cassie finds some old diaries while clearing up. These diaries belong to Eliza a member of her family she has never heard of, reading the contents starts to unravel a dark family secret.

The chapters are split between the present day and the past setting of the dairy entries, this was really well done and I never got lost with the time difference. I liked the element of mystery and the shared feelings of dismay and elation of Cassie as she discovered the history of Eliza life. I worked out the ending quite early on but that made me want to read quicker to confirm my theory and I don’t think any other ending would have satisfied me.

 

Just a Girl Standing in Front of a Boy

Author - Lucy-Anne Holmes

Page Count - 403

First Published - 2014

Jenny Taylor never had it easy, the target for the classroom bully's and picked on by her own Father, she now suffers from depression. That is why 'The Smiling Fanny Manifesto' was created by her best friend, it's a set of daily tasks that Jenny must complete to keep her depression at bay. These tasks have led Jenny on some crazy adventures and made it possible for her to meet her roommate Al and current boyfriend Matt. One day Jenny's mum turns up after leaving her father with the plan of bonding with her daughter. Meanwhile Matt proposes and Jenny meets Joe King who changes everything.

I can't say any more with out giving away the plot but it was so good. I always doubt chic-lit novels of having a well thought out plot and an unexpected ending but this book had both. I need to give this genre more credit but I read some really bad chic-lit books in the past. This book would make a really great summer read.

 

The Age of Miracles

Author - Karen Thompson Walker

Page Count - 369

First Published - 2012

Julia is eleven when the slowing first starts, the Earth is taking longer to rotate and the days are getting longer. When people finally become aware of the shift the days are already a few hours longer and people start to fear the end of time. Society starts to split between real timers and clock time followers, causing a rift among humanity. The animals and plants start to die and the world looks very different.

This book was so much more than I was expecting and I was hooked from the first chapter. I honestly hadn't payed that much attention to the blurb and I think that made me love it all the more. From the cover I was fooled into thinking it was a young adult soppy romance but it's so much more. The concept for the story was so new to me and really got me thinking, the fact that such a small amount of time could cause the degeneration of the Earth and it kept getting worse.

 

What Milo Saw

Author - Virginia Macgregor

Page Count - 419

First Published - 2014

Milo is a nine year old boy with Retinitis pigmentosa, he's slowly going blind and this gives him a new perspective on the world. His gran is taken into a nursing home and Milo realised it's anything from perfect and sets out to expose the Nurse in charge for all the wrong doing. There are loads of other intertwined character plots but I don't want to add spoilers.

The first book I've read since my book haul and the one I was the most excited to read but sadly it left me feeling like it was hard work. I loved the idea behind the story of people only seeing what they want to see for an easy life and that a small boy had so much passion to put things to rights but it just seemed to drag. For me personally there was too much of characters feelings included, I wouldn't have minded if they where plot integral but they just weren't. I would still recommend this book because the subject matter is so interesting and overall it was a good read but it should have been a bit shorter.

If you made it to the end of the post well done, it took forever to write so I hope it was enjoyable and you've maybe found a new favourite. What have you been reading recently?

Sam

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*These books where won via a Goodreads Giveaway

Book Haul

Hi, I've been feeling the urge to buy some new books for a little while now, I've been reading more and more recently and decided I need some new titles to add to my TBR shelf. I wanted to get as many books for as little as possible so was quite happy to pick some unknown titles which sounded interesting.

I bought my selection of books online from the Works on a 6 for £10 offer, they only retail at £2 each anyway. Honestly the selection is a little rubbish but they do have a few gems and just in the time I was thinking over placing an order a lot of books sold out and where replaced by new titles, so it's worth giving the range a look over once in a while. These are all books I know very little about and haven't researched, below is an idea of the plot.

 

That Night - Chevy Stevens

Toni and her boyfriend Ryan are charged with the murder of her younger sister. Eighteen years later Toni is released and struggling to adjust, Ryan is sure he can prove the truth that they are indeed innocent. I think this is going to be a massive who done it story which is going to have dark twists and turns. Psychological thrillers are definitely a genre I need to read more of.

 

Burnt Paper Sky - Gilly Macmillan

A tale of a missing child and suspicion of the public against his mother. That's all the blurb gives away, another physiological thriller and one which I'm sure has you choosing sides.

 

The Crooked House - Christobel Kent

Alison has a dark past that she has been running from since she was teenager, she is the sole survivor of a violent attack on her family. Now years later with a new name and a back office job she meets Paul and realizes in order to find happiness she must resolve her past. This book sounds harrowing with the subject matter but then I'm questioning if it's going to be a bit chic-lit.

 

  Take Back the Skies - Lucy Saxon

Catherine is one of the privileged, the daughter of a senior government official. She doesn't have to fear the same things as others but she still craves freedom and stows away on the skyship Stormdancer. This is the first book in the 'Take Back The Skies' series, after a tiny bit of research I found out that the author was only 16 when she wrote this.

 What Milo Saw - Virginia Macgregor

This is the book I'm most excited to read. Milo is a boy with Retinitis pigmentosa and he is slowly going blind. For the time being he sees through what appears like a small whole, this makes him see the world in a totally different way. One day his gran is taken into a home and that's when Milo realises not all as it seems. With the help of his trusty pet pig Hamlet, Milo sets out to expose the nursing home.

Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel - Jane Costello

Set in Windermere, this book seems like the perfect summer read. Friends Lauren, Cate and Emily join the dance class at the Moonlight Hotel, a chain of events puts the girls friendship to the test. I think this will be a great story of unraveled truths and secrets.

Which book would you pick to read first?

Sam

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Reading Roundup | April Book Reviews

Hi, I am so happy with my reading progress this year and I think so far I've made some great choices with the books I've decided to read. I'm yet to find a book that has blown me away but I'd recommend all the books featured in this months reviews. We read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for this months #Sassybooks pick.

 April Reading Roundup - Year Book Count 11

The Year of The Rat

Author - Clare Furniss

Page Count - 352

First Published - 2014

This was a book I picked up as part of a bulk pack, a young adult novel featuring a girl suffering from grief after the loss of her mother. Pearl loses her mother due to complications during pregnancy, she leaves her family with a premature baby to look after. Pearl was happy the way things where and is filled with hatred for her new little sister Rose, who she see's as the Rat. Pearl starts to fail at school and stops being social and basically loses the will to carry on. 

I feel the book only lightly covers things like depression and missed out on things that could have given it more depth. The weirdest thing is that Pearls mother comes and visits her after her death, the first instance being the day of the funeral. This is left quite open to interpretation of either being real or a figment of pearl's imagination but I don't feel it helped with her recovery, the book was a bit far-fetched in places due to this. I did still enjoy the story, it was a quick read and the book ended on a positive note.

Room

Author - Emma Donoghue

Page Count - 402

First Published - 2010

To Jack Room is the whole world. At five he has never seen past the four walls that keep him and his Ma confined by their captor, hidden from the world. Room is an award winning book which is now a movie, I saw the trailer for the film and knew I wanted to read it. The book is split into five sections, one for each part of Jacks perception of the world at different times. Written from Jacks perspective in the language of a five year old, his innocents and belief in his mothers words forming his understanding of his world. I was a  little worried about the writing style but it was really lovely to read.

This book was a really good read, I'm not normally a fan of massive chapters but I had the time to sit and really enjoy reading this book over the Easter weekend. I was drawn into the story and found Jack so sweet, you're rooting for the family the whole time wishing only the best for them. It's a tragic story but one that makes you re-evaluate the world.

All The Rage

Author - Courtney Summers

Page Count - 257

First Published - 2015

This story is told from the perspective of Romy a rape victim. She's ignored and called a liar, no one in the small town wants to believe that Kellan the towns golden boy would do wrong, least of all his father the town sheriff. To make matters that much worse Romy falls out with her best friend after she betrays her by providing evidence that makes her rape claim seem even more questionable. The ordeal effects Romy in so many way but she just keeps on going regardless, trying to put the past behind her and dealing with bullying on a daily basis.

Within the small town there is a party that takes place every year, the worst kept secret and a type of right of passage. It's the following morning that Romy finds herself on the side of the road unable to remember what happened too her, but she's not the only one to have gone missing. There is so much going on in the story it starts with a flash back to the night of the rape for Romy to wake up on the side of the road unknowing of what happened too her. The book then jumps two weeks into the past retelling the story up until Romy wakes and then continuing into a mystery tale of what happened to the missing girl.

The actual rape story is a little underdeveloped and over shadowed by what happens next. I thought that it would go deeper into Romy's feelings but she generally just bottled everything up, I guess that was her coping mechanism. Overall I enjoyed the story it was a quick read and one that I didn't predict the ending, which was nice.

Have you got any book suggestions of what I should add to my TBR?

Sam

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling | #Sassybooks April

Hi, I'm back with another #Sassybooks review. This month we decided to read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone which I think for the majority of us is a re-read. Don't forget to check out Charlotte's and Hayley's blogs for next month's book choice.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Author - J.K. Rowling
Page Count - 223
First Published - 1997

I have mixed feeling about re-reading this book, I can't remember when I got into Harry Potter but I think the third book was released so quite late in the game really. I originally read these books via copies from the library, funnily enough they didn't have any of the kids covers left so I checked out the adult versions, which had much moodier cover artwork. I think the Harry Potter series was the first set of books within the fantasy genre I read and made me truly fall for the characters and the world they occupied. The fact they are fantasy is really minimal and the books reflect a lot of parallels between the two worlds so it's really easy to relate too. Please don't judge me on this really dog eared copy of Harry Potter, my mum bought it for my sister hoping that Harry Potter would be the book to get her into reading but nope.

On to the story, so you'll already know it unless you've lived under a rock the past 19 years, if that's the case here's a summary. Harry Potter is a young boy who thinks he is as ordinary as they come and has been dealt a bad hand in life, he lives with his Uncle and Aunt in the cupboard under the stairs after his parents untimely death. On Harry's eleventh birthday he finally receives his letter of acceptance to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry and that’s when things get interesting. This book will be 20 next year, when did my childhood become so distant I would have been 8 when the first book came out. This book of just over 200 pages is where it all began, the ignition spark for the flame that set the nation a light for the wizarding world and it has a lot to answer for with all the people awaiting their letter to Hogwarts. Harry, Ron and Hermione will forever be a big part of a generation of kids lives.

My mixed feelings come form the fact that on re-reading this book I've found that the film has altered my memory on what happened and there where characters all over the place I wasn't expecting, which was rather amusing. I felt that the language of the book was a lot simpler than I remember, but I totally get why as I was a young kid when I first read this book and I'm sure that was Rowling's intention. The stories along with the characters gain experience and become so much moodier along the time line and my most recent memories are of the last books. With that said I truly enjoyed the experience of indulging back into my childhood and the plan is to continue re-reading the rest of the Harry Potter series.

Have you ever re-read the Harry Potter series?

Sam

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