Tuesday 1 September 2015

Introducing TBR Tuesdays: TBR Tuesday Take 1: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Okay... so... I was reading a post by Daniel (TheBloggersBookshop) last night and it made me reflect on my blog: how it was doing, what I liked and what I didn't. 


Although I haven't been blogging for ages, already I feel there are a few changes I want to make, to prevent Repetitive Dull Blog Syndrome (I may have established a new syndrome whilst writing this post). Anyhow, the first change I've made, is to make Review Thursday and Book Tag Monday fortnightly to ensure I can maintain posting. 

And from that change came TBR Tuesday!

About TBR Tuesday...

  • TBRT is going to be a fortnightly blog post (starting today) in the alternate week to Review Thursday and Book Tag Monday. 
  • I'll share a book on my TBR: about the book, price, where I got the book, why I want to read it, etc. 
  • I thought it would be interesting to give a new perspective of not just what I think after reading a book but also before.

Its Time...

Welcome to TBR Tuesday! Today's book to be read is... 

Me & Earl & The Dying Girl


Price:   RRP £7.99
(Actual price varies based on the shop)

Plot (Goodreads Summary)

Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.

Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.

Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.

And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.

Why I want to read this
  • The book seems to have a pretty quirky kind of tone to it. Greg's voice isn't that of a typical, popular high school student and nor is his story.
  • The title is equally quirky and really catchy. As soon as I heard the title I wanted to read it.
  • I was lucky enough to attend the UK première of the film adaptation and its Amazing! 
Random fact about the book
  • There are at least 3 different UK covers of the book. All 3 are unique and suit the story in a slightly different way. 

Well that's all for the first ever TBR Tuesday. I really hope you enjoyed the newest feature of my blog. I look forward to sharing another book on my TBR in two weeks. 

See you on Monday!








Monday 24 August 2015

Book Tag Monday: 4 Seasons of Books

It's been quite a few Mondays since I last posted... A HUGE sorry for not posting it's been a hectic summer and I planned to post so much more. That aside, I'm back and ready to post   reviews tags and maybe something new.

Today's tag was based off of endless scrolling on Twitter (my main distraction in life). I saw quite a few posts and thought it looked pretty cool so 'Why not?' was my general trail of thought. It's a pretty visual tag which suits me as I have a whole Instagram dedicated to the aesthetic elements of books (can be found here). But since it is a blog I'll add a description on the books and whether I have read them etc.

Lets Begin...

Spring
Based on the title alone I chose SEED by Lisa Heathfield.
I promise to read this soon as it  comes highly recommended from Michelle @ChelleyToy who also gave me the book during her amazing YALC Blogging workshop. The spring feeling is not just limited to the book title as also during YALC I picked up a SEED bookmark which is biodegradable and embedded with seeds a definite Spring season thing and finally  the story is all about a nature Cult.


Summer
I couldn't resist picking I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson. This is definitely a book that stands out for Summer! It's highly acclaimed and I'm already excited for it. Here's a summary from Amazon:
Jude and her twin Noah were incredibly close - until a tragedy drove them apart, and now they are barely speaking. Then Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy as well as a captivating new mentor, both of whom may just need her as much as she needs them. What the twins don't realize is that each of them has only half the story and if they can just find their way back to one another, they have a chance to remake their world.

Autumn/Fall
This was an easy decision. Extraordinary Means by Robin Schneider.

Firstly this book is amazing everyone must read it! I also am giving away a copy as I loved it so much to celebrate 1k on  Instagram! The story has a lovely autumn feel yet I enjoyed it in the blazing summer heat (on holiday as there's rarely a hot UK summer). I literally have nothing to say besides if you're reading this you should read it! If you're uncertain just check out the stunning cover (with AUTUMN leaves) and blurb.

Winter
My winter collection is surprisingly less exciting than I pictured it. *Begins to add endless winter books to Amazon basket* I recently picked up Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle to complete my John Green collection. 
There's a definite winter feel instantly from the cover and the book consists of three short Winter Holiday romances. I'll definitely be taking this out around Christmas!

Well.. That's all the seasons done! I wasn't tagged by anyone and so I'll tag anyone reading this who wants to join! 

See you Thursday!

Monday 27 July 2015

Book Tag Monday: #TheGreatBritishSummerBookTag

It's Monday again already! (I think I'm losing track of the days already) anyhow another Monday another tag and I was tagged for this by:
Maisie @ThemaisieAllen
Gill @book_magpie

Unfortunately the weather is largely disappointing for summer but on with the tag...

Q1) You've been offered a weeks holiday, staying in a 5 star hotel and being pampered to within and inch of your life on a hot tropical island, all expenses paid! (assuming this is your thing) However, in return you have to give up one of your precious books! And give it up forever, no second copy! What book could you just NOT give up for this great opportunity?


This is most certainly my thing! I'm horrendous at favourites but I know for definite I couldn't live without All The Bright places by Jennifer Niven. I'm yet to re-read it but honestly I feel I learnt so much from this Amazing book (and its incredibly beautiful inside and out). p.s. feel free to check out my beautiful handmade miniature bookmark of the book here on my bookstagram.

Q2) It’s one of those rare genuine summer days we have here and you’re sitting comfortably on a sun lounger in the garden, its almost 30 degrees in the shade! You have your feet in a bowl of iced water and a deliciously cool drink in your hand. What book would you want to be reading right at this moment?

My sunshine reads tend to vary from my non-sunshine reads I have a strange mental partition between books I can and can't read in the sunshine. (I learnt the hard way by trying to read Rain in the sunshine *holds head in hands*). I tend to read either really summery books or a gripping storyline. Last year I read Sophie Mckenzie's Close My Eyes in the blazing heat so I think maybe Cat Clarke's new novel I recently picked up would work well.


Q3) Its the UK, so the summer isn't always sunny, bright and warm. What book that you weren't especially fond of would make a great umbrella to protect you from those sudden downpours/thunder/lightning/floods we often have?

My worst book nightmare would be to intentionally damage books. But, if I had to sacrifice one I'd choose PromTastic. As much as I tried there were so many POV's and I really struggled to get through the book. I requested it (my first ever review request) and shortly after starting realised that it was probably aimed at a younger audience than myself. That said I would in no way discourage people from buying it because it simply wasn't my cup of tea.


Q4) It's a warm, sultry night and you're by yourself on the beach with friends who are all paired off in couples sitting around a campfire chatting and eating overcooked sausages. What book character  do you wish you could snuggle up to?

Ooh...I love this question already! I'd choose Luke from It's About Love. (Very close to me chasing down characters from TFIOS and THG). Honestly, part of my decision may be relative to my recent reading of the story. However, not only would Luke be able to hold endless conversation on films and TV (fingers crossed that includes Sense8) but I'm sure there'd be a bundle of film references too. *EXT: BEACH CAMPFIRE*

Q5)  One of those rare heatwave hot days of summer has caused the roads to melt, the internet to crash and hoards of mutant, zombie porcupines have taken over your town, as they do! What author would give you the best advice to get out of this sticky situation before you are caught and turned into one yourself?

Lauren Destefano: I follow her on Twitter and she's just brilliant! Her book released in September is about a girl who sees the dead so that could be a useful Zombie Attack guide. In general she has a real honest insight into the world and her advice would probably involve cats too which is totally cool!

Well that's all for now! (Until Thursday)

I tag:

Michelle-@ChelleyToy
Naz-@Snazzyreads
Beth-@BookLoverx
Daniel-@theblogbookshop




Thursday 23 July 2015

Review Thursday: Remix by Non Pratt (+ a bit of YALC)

It's Thursday!! And that makes it time for my first Official Blog Review! *cheers and dances* 


Okay... So, for my first review, considering its the start of summer, I decided to review Remix by Non Pratt. However, I already reviewed this for Maximum Pop (Q&A style) so I'll make it not too long and leave the link below.

http://www.maximumpop.co.uk/non-pratt-remix-review/

If you haven't become completely distracted from Maximum Pop's fabulous website then Congratulations! & enjoy my review.
:D

About Remix
Author- Non Pratt
Pages- 304
Published- June 4th 2015
GoodReads Summary-

From the author of Trouble comes a new novel about boys, bands and best mates.
Kaz is still reeling from being dumped by the love of her life... Ruby is bored of hearing about it. Time to change the record. Three days. two best mates. One music festival. Zero chance of everything working out.

My Thoughts on Remix
The cover for Remix instantly grabbed me. Yellow books are just sunshine on my shelves and the Festival style cover is just perfection! (Great work publishers you got me!) From the start of the book I could instantly draw different similarities between myself and both Kaz and Ruby which I loved. The book covered a variety of themes including; sex, relationships, lies and life. But I really appreciated that beyond all else the theme of friendship overshadowed the whole book which I feel is rare. Remix was Unique Non could easily have focused the whole book on sex yet instead she told the story of friendship which was truly admirable. The split perspective was so individual as beyond the characters individual fonts they also had distinct voices and personalities. 
I really enjoyed this book and think it's truly a great summer read! It's a real, honest story and I certainly have no complaints.

You can get a copy here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Remix-Non-Pratt/dp/1406347701

Last but not least... YALC
I had the pleasure of meeting Non Pratt last weekend at YALC. She was genuinely so lovely and we discussed the book, characters and a Twitter conversation we'd had after I got Trouble. Non did the coolest signing... (so much so 2 hours later I realised I'd completely forgotten to take a photo with her). But here's a picture of Non from the lovely Google and a picture of my artistically signed and redesigned book. (Please note: This in no way affected my review of the book and the review was written prior to meeting Non.)

That's about all for now. Until my next post on Monday , Laters!

Monday 20 July 2015

Book Tag Monday: Behind The Username

So its been a month since my introduction post and I've been overthinking the whole thing but after the amazing Bloggers 101 at the Young Adult Literature Convention this weekend I'm feeling inspired and ready to jump in. Thanks again to all the lovely bloggers who made me feel so welcome...

Onto the booktag!

So Daniel (TheBloggersBookshop) tagged me about an hour ago to do this and I was so excited that I've done the tag instantly. (p.s. amazing tag Daniel)

Username

BrokeFromBooks

Reason behind the username

I was on my way back from a Waterstones signing sitting on the train when conversation turned to if I'd ever set up a bookstagram (which turned out to be my first step into the bookish world). I thought about it (as I had several times before) and proceeded to conjure up a range of names some completely atrocious (Bookasaurus/ Bookasaurus rex was an option)!
Before midnight I'd  come up with BrokeFromBooks I loved it as it summarised how books emotionally could break you and your heart yet also how buying books was straining my bank account. An added bonus and to my utter surprise it wasn't already taken on instagram so I grabbed it. Just over 3 months later here I am :D

Number of characters in username

14 

Book number 14 on my shelf

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

Have I read it?
No sadly I haven't but I've heard a lot of great things and since its a pretty small looking book I think I should hopefully be able to fit it in soon.

Acrostics Username 
Butter by Erin Lange
Remix by Non Pratt
Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill
Kiss (a) in the Dark by Cat Clarke
Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Reached by Lauren Oliver
On the Beach at Night Alone by Walt Whitman (penguin LBC)
Messy by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan
Boys Don't Cry by Malorie Blackman
Onehundred (The 100) by Kass Morgan
O
K
Slated by Teri Terry

Oh dear... * covers face with hands* I'm all out of O and K books its a shame so many start with T and T isn't in my username aha so I may update this in the future *searches Amazon for YA beginning with K and O to buy*

Well this tag was more difficult than expected but great fun! 

I tag some of the lovelies I met at YALC:
Michelle-@ChelleyToy
Naz-@Snazzyreads
Megan-@BookAddictdGirl
Anna-@enchantedbyya

Can't wait to see your book tag post!

Monday 8 June 2015

Welcome To My Blog!

Hi all!

I'm Sophia and welcome to my blog (IAmBrokeFromBooks).


I'm 17 years young and when I'm not reading I'm on Netflix and any time in between that and school work is spent talking and posting about books through Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and now right here on my very first blog. I'm thrilled to be starting the newest chapter of my bookish life and glad you're interested so stay tuned.


Coming up I'll have:



  • Book reviews
  • (Hopefully) Author interviews
  • An overexcited blog post (or two) about this years YALC
  • Book Hauls
  • Posts on my ever-growing To be Read Pile 
  • And a whole lot more


So welcome and I seriously cannot wait to share everything bookish (a bit of TV) and anything in between.


Goodbye For Now,

Sophia (BrokeFromBooks)