Best Books of 2011.

I'm yet to tally up just how many books I've read this year, but I feel as if I've read more than I ever have before, which is one of the lovliest feelings I know.
Some were gobsmackingly beautiful, some were incredible, some were magical, some were sad, some were morbid and some were downright awful. Which is never nice in a book.
And with a hot Australian Summer approaching, I'm sure a few of you haven't got a clue what your set to read.
Here are my top 25 books of 2011! Enjoy!

1. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.
BEST BOOK OF ALL TIME IN MY BOOKS!!! I can't believe how... inspiring it is- it makes me question myself, it makes me want to do things I never otherwise would have become so interested in.

2. I capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.

So beautiful. So glorious. So magic filled. So full of everything one could wish for- love, hope, pain and loss.

3. Un Lun Dun by China Mieville.

Oh my gosh. Unsurpassable in it's imagination, fantastical world and beauty. I cannot utter more on this lovely, undefyable book.

4. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick.

Imagination will go anywhere in this book.

5.Matched by Ally Condi.

My first YA dystopian and the book that got me onto my favourite book theme ever.

Plus it is amazingly beautiful in it's origonality.

6.Sunshine by Norma Klein.
It is heartrendering, it is so so sad and it has a need to be read.

7.Forgotten by Cat Patrick.

I just clicked with this one- it is so interesting and unusual- I loved it loved it loved it.

8.Article 5 by Kristen Simmons.

Dystopian. Amazing. Disastorous. Wonderful.

9.Days Like this by Alison Stewart.

Dystopian. Disastors in out world. Incredible. Unlike anything else.

10.Attack on New York City by Wilborn Hampton.

It will try you and make you feel more than ever before.

11.This is Shyness by Leanne Hall.

Dystopian of sorts. (Though I didn't think that when I read it, strangely.) Very different from other books I have read. Very strange. Very brilliant.

12.Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

You can connect with the characters, and although it isn't a new book, it is so amazingly readable and loveable- no wonder it's a classic.

13.The Apothecary by Maile Meloy.

Amazingly adventurous and a very very fun, paced terrifically, read.

14.Jane by April Linder.

Retelling of a classic and so alike the classic (not that I've read it, as such, but I can just tell. believe me, I can tell.) that it is itself. If that makes any sense whatsoever. It's so alike, but at the very same moment, it couldn't be more different. 

15.A few Right Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill.

As it is rightly called- Australian Crime Fiction at it's best.

16.Garden of the Gods by Gerald Durrell.
We meet Mother, Roger, Spiro, Theo, Larry, Margo, Leslie and Gerry all over again. Need more push?

17.Below Stairs by Margaret Powell.
I'm a period Drama setting queen. I'm obsessed. (It is a good thing to be obsessed about.)

18.Carry on Jeeves by P.G Wodehouse.

I officially met Jeeves and Wooster. It was so worth it.

Special Mentions go to-
One small Island by Alison Lester and Coral Tulloch.
For being so inspiring to me.

The Invention of Hugo Caberet by Brian Selznick.
A re-read and ever so amazing, as usual.

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper
For making my sister happy that I read it, for having a thrilling ending and for being thrilling all over.

The Giver by Lois Lowry.
Re-reading and my first children's dystopian.

Neversink by Barry Wolverton.
I got to meet a very nice and wordy Walrus. What else can you ask?

Otto and the Flying Twins by Charlotte Haptie.
Re-reading. For making me believe in magic all over again.

City of Lies by Lian Tanner.
For inspiring me and for making my mind come to life.

Reckless by Cornelia Funke.
A re-reading. For showing me the light and dark in fairytales.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
For making me feel gloriously well read.

Priceless by Bradley Trevor Grieve.
For inspiring me and forcing me to chose what is right for my life.


Yours truly,
Romi.x

Follow Friday. (3)

Welcome to my third Follow Friday! Before we start- Happy New year!

Q: The New Year is here — and everyone wants to know your New Years Blogging Resolution! What are you going to try to revise, revamp and redo for 2012 on your blog?

A. I think my main blogging resolution would be to do more reviews and host a competition! I vamped up my blog recently, and am really happy with it, so that is already done!

Happy Follow Friday! I'm really excited to check out some blogs!

Romi.xxx


P.S. All bloggers from Perth, Australia, check out this competition!

Waiting on Wednesday... (no. 4)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine where you can spotlight a book or books that you're super thrilled in intense amounts for, so everyone you know will thus end up being super thrilled for it too! (If they like the sound of them; otherwise they can share what ones they're super thrilled for!)
This week, I'm waiting on...

Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale.

When seventeen-year-old Rosie’s mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington’s Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty-per-cent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when she tells her mum’s best friend, ‘Aunt Sarah’ that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie was not her biological mother after all... Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, hitching along on her ex-boyfriend’s GAP year to follow her to Los Angeles. But all does not go to plan, and as Rosie discovers yet more of her family's deeply-buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonising decision of her own - one which will be the most heart-breaking and far-reaching of all.. (From Goodreads.)

Why I'm waiting...
I had seen Someone Else's Life, the cover, a while ago, and it looked interesting; then I saw it again recently, advertised in a giveaway I think, and I remembered it and immediately added it on goodreads.
It sounds like a very unusual story, very different from a lot of books about and I just have a feeling that it's going to be super special...


What are you waiting for this Thursday? (I'm a little behind!)
Romi.x

Forgotten by Cat Patrick review...

Title- Forgotten.
Author- Cat Patrick.
Publish Date- 2011.
Publisher- Hardie Grant. (AUS)

Now for the review...

Synopsis:
London Lane doesn't remember old things, things that she's done things like what she wore the day before, why someone at school might be holding a grudge against her, who the mysterious boy in (yes yes yes) brown converses is; since she was only six years old, she could no longer remember the old things, the done things, only the future- she can see, for instance, where she will live when she is an adult, who she will meet... even when she will die.
But with the meeting of a strange and interesting boy, London gains a strange nightmare, as scary as it is interesting. She needs to know why she is in black, why people are crying. She needs to know who died.

Thank you to Brodie from Eleusinian Mysteries, where I won Forgotten!

What I thought:
From three pages in I was hooked by this unique and strange story; the concept of a girl who could only recall her future, not her past, got to me in a way that few books did- it didn't drag out the story to make it a massive read, discarding anything that didn't matter and ending with a book like no other.
I loved it from the cover I won (which is my favourite one about!), to hearing that a movie is on the way, to brown converse wearing people, to a girl called London, to the very last page.
And the unexpected and totally unfornseen (maybe even for London!) twist towards the end, was amazingly done and gave the tale that extra bit of amazingness.

The story was very different to what I first thought it would be like, and I almost didn't get the chance to read it at all, so I am indebpted to Brodie for giving me the chance!
This was definitely one of my favourite reads for 2011, and will be an absolute re-read very soon!

Read it as soon as you possibly can!

Romi.x

Follow Friday. (2)

Welcome to another Follow Friday! My second, in fact! Before I start, Hello and Merry Christmas to all my followers and everyone who visits this page and my blog!

Question-

If you had to spend an eternity inside the pages of a book, which book would it be and why?

Answer-

Hm... I've always wanted to visit the World of Harry Potter, with or without Voldewort (I'd love to help Harry, Hermione, Luna, Neville, Ron and Ginny, not to mention all the other hunderds of amazing characters there too, save the wizarding world; BUT I would adore to visit the Inkworld, from the pages of Cornelia Funke's best selling books and who can bypass the world of Pride and Prejudice? Total Period Drama Swooner here.

I thought of this a while ago, and in the end the answer was perfectly simple.

I'm a writer. If I had to spend my life anywhere else, it would be in the pages of my own books and stories, meeting my own characters.

Happy Friday!

Romi.xxx

Tom Sawyer-

By- Mark Twain.

Read status- Read.

Like Status- Mildly liked.

Synopsis in a few words- Tom Sawyer is adventurous, much to some people's distaste, and he along with his closest friends, embark on many adventours together... from visiting graves at night, to swinging (urgh) dead cats about your head for luck, Tom and Huck do it all.

Feelings on the book in a few words- It was a very interesting read- sort of like Treasure island in it being a classic Boys book- that's what it reads like for me, a book to fill imaginative girls and boys (though probably mostly boys in that age) a scare and a time of vivid fun.

The Wind in the Willows-

By- Kenneth Graham.

Read status- Read!

Like Status- Liked it- not loved.

Synopsis in a few words- The story of some animal friends along the river- all having fun and saving their friend, reckless Toad, from every possible form of disaster.

Feelings on the book in a few words- It was so different from all the old TV shows, plays and films I've seen, particularly the ending, but it was well worth the reading experiance!

The Call of the Wild-

By-Jack London.

Read status- Read.

Like Status- Creeepy.....

Synopsis in a few words- A lone Wolf in the wild of America, ready to pounce on whoever comes near enough to make it worthwhile- a once domesticated animal, left to be wild...

Feelings on the book in a few words- It was creepy and scary and unnerving! I don't think I would personally venture to read it again, due to the overall scaryness of all those strange and wild animals who are quite... yes, creepy.

Mini Booklist reviews...

More!

A Series of Unfortunate Events book one-

By- Lemony Snicket

Read status- Read

Like Status-liked.

Synopsis in a few words- The story of three very unfortunate siblings and their lives after their parents die in an awful and mysterious fire.

Feelings on the book in a few words- I really liked it, but then progressed to read three more of the books in the series; I like it a lot less now, because all the other books were so repetitive! It was crazy!

Huckleberry Finn.

By- Mark Twain.

Read status- Didn't like so didn't read.

Like Status- A bit... weird...

Synopsis in a few words- The story of Huck Finn, life with his irresponsable and drunken father, life beside one of the best known rivers in the world, and of course, adventures that come with friends...

Feelings on the book in a few words- I read Tom Sawyer, but found Huck's individual tale to be a bit too... hmm... well it was too comparatively not me a book; I found it not in my taste at all.

A Little Princess-

By- Frances Hodgson Burnett

Read status- READ!

Like Status- LOVED!

Synopsis in a few words- A girl bought up by her wealthy father, who doted on her and always taught her what was right; the story of a compassionate girl who is left in a very sad place.

Feelings on the book in a few words- Oh my gosh- I adored this book! It is tre amazing! That is all.

Romi.xxx

Sam, Grace and the Shipwreck by Michelle Gillespie reivew.

Title- Sam, Grace and the Shipwreck.
Author- Michelle Gillespie.
Publish Date- 2011.
Publisher- Freemantle Press.

Now for my reivew...

Synopsis:
When Sam, a stockman, realises that there is something wrong and then see's a ship that has wrecked upon a rock, he goes at once to get help from a nearby house where the Bussell's live.
And there we meet Grace, a young girl who won't let Sam go by himself and sets out with him to save the drowning people in the cold sea.
They bring children, men and women in from the sea, but then Grace looks for Sam and can't find him.
He can't be...

Thank you to Freemantle Press for this review copy!

What I thought:
The story is one to remember and I'm thrilled that it has been commended rightly, by being made into a story for all ages to read and thrill over.
The pictures are very unusual and they are perfect for this story, they seem almost urgent and in this story, a story of urgancy for help, that is perfect!
The story is very well written and captures the imagination of the reader, well of this one, and it is definitely a story to behold and say "I've read this, I know the story as well."
Very powerful and generally lovely.

Romi.x

Waiting on Wednesday... (no. 3)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine where you can spotlight a book or books that you're super thrilled in intense amounts for, so everyone you know will thus end up being super thrilled for it too! (If they like the sound of them; otherwise they can share what ones they're super thrilled for!)
I'm waiting on two series and one book this week...


                                           The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling.

The exciting tales of Harry Potter, the young wizard-in-training, have taken the world by storm, and fans just can't get enough of the magical world of Hogwarts and beyond. If you buy one of the Harry Potter books, we guarantee you'll want the next...and the next...and the next -- so why not have them all, right at your fingertips? With the Harry Potter Boxed Set (Years 1-7), Barnes & Noble.com offers simple one-stop shopping for your Harry Potter library! As easy as the wave of a magic wand, you can get all seven Harry Potter books delivered to your doorstep at once. (from Goodreads)




                                                         Inkworld series by Cornelia Funke.

Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

Characters from books literally leap off the page in this engrossing fantasy. Meggie has had her father to herself since her mother went away when she was young. Mo taught her to read when she was five, and the two share a mutual love of books. He can "read" characters out of books. When she was three, he read aloud from a book called Inkheart and released characters into the real world. At the same time, Meggie's mother disappeared into the story. This "story within a story" will delight not just fantasy fans, but all readers who like an exciting plot with larger-than-life characters (from Goodreads...)


        
                                                                    The Harry Potter Prequel by JK Rowling.

The Harry Potter prequel is an 800-word story written by J. K. Rowling, and was published online on 11 June 2008. Set about three years before the birth of Harry Potter, the story recounts an adventure experienced by Sirius Black and James Potter.

Why I'm waiting...

Harry Potter series-

I am a self proclaimed Harry Potter fan and have only read book one myself, even though I listened to the stories and know all the tales, but I decided that next year I'll place all 7 books from the amazing series on my booklist and read them all!  I've been dying to read them since I decided on that and have almost started, but keep forcing myself to wait!

Inkworld series-

I read all the books in the Inkworld series when they first came out and it was definitely a favourite series then and still is now; I haven't read the books for ages, but like Harry Potter, decided to add them to by '12 booklist! I am dying to get back into the Inkworld!

The Prequel-

I just found this now- how have I not heard of it??? I'm about to read it online, so I'm thrilling over what it is going to be like!

What are YOU waiting on?

Romi.x

Book Winner!

This is a post of quite quickness to announce the winner of the three YA books I had been sent to giveaway!
The winner of Audition, Lola and the Boy next door and Across the Universe is... Gabbie!

Congratulations! Please email me HERE with your address (despammify the email address before sending!) and I shall post off your three YA books!


Merry christmas everyone! Thank you so much for following me and inspiring me!
Romi.xxx

Booklist, more mini reviews...

Today's Mini Reviews are-

Romeo and Juliet.
The Hollow Tree.
The Importance of Being Earnest.

Romeo and Juliet-

By- William Shakespeare

Read status- Read it!

Like Status- And Loved it!

Synopsis in a few words- The story of two young adults who fall deeply in love, only to be torn apart by their families hate for each other.

Feelings on the book in a few words- I was enthralled by this unbelieveablly amazing love story of seperation and power; I loved it, espcially once I had read the whole thing and could think over the story, though the beginning was a bit hard going on the crazy and outlandish words.

It was educational and magical.

The Hollow Tree-

By- Jacob G. Rosenberg.

Read status- Didn't read.

Like Status- Didn't like.

Synopsis in a few words- The story of a family, and a boy in particular,  who have the oppertunity of being very wealthy and having all the best things; so why, the boy's parents ask, would he fall in love with a poor girl? 

Feelings on the book in a few words- This was a very odd story; I read a bit of it but decided almost immediately that it was far too strange and uncomfortable to continue reading; I was drawn very much in by the beautiful cover, the shadowlike characters, the text, but it gave me such a weird feeling; like when you see a movie on TV and have no idea what it is, you can sense that something you really don't want to know about is about to happen. That's how I felt with this. (And I think I was right)

The Importance of Being Earnest-

By- Oscar Wilde

Read status- Read!

Like Status- Liked it, didn't love it.

Synopsis in a few words- The story of, essentially, four people; two men and two women, all fall in love with each other and find out who each truly is, not the person they are hiding behind...

Feelings on the book in a few words- I adore all the productions of The Importance that I have so far seen, but the book wasn't quite as good as them... it was my first (I think) script and I enjoyed the different format, but at points it was just a bit difficult to grasp the storyline, and to be honest, some bits soared over my head!

Romi.x

Faves of Twenty Eleven Book Awards.

This is a very awesome book award and super fun thing hosted by Nomes at Inkcrush;  check it out!
I'm joining in this year, but will be doing things a little differently; I'm only doing one post and am deciding my favourite awards to... well award; not doing all of the ones you can do.

So, without further ado, I'll start!

favourite book read in 2011

My Family and Other animals by Gerald Durrell.

most powerful book

Hm... Not really sure on this one, maybe Forgotten or Wonderstruck.

most beautiful story

I honestly cannot decide on this one.delicious rainy day comfort read

I'd say Forgotten or Matched.

adrenalin-fuelled, unputdownable award

Days Like this.

the beautiful prose award

Matched and Crossed.

most atmospheric and vivid setting

Un Lun Dun.

i-so-want-to-go-there award

Un Lun Dun.

most original and imaginative

Probably Un Lun Dun again!

best under-appreciated, hidden gem book

My Family and Other Animals.

i-had-no-idea-i-would-love this-so award

Forgotten. most haunting story

The Giver.

outside my comfort zone but gosh how i loved it

Days Like This would probably suit this one; it was thrillerish at points, but got me even more in love with dystopian!

series that i’m loving

Matched.

.  would make the best movie

Days Like This.

 want to re-read already

Almost all of them! Seriously!

favourite female main character

I loved Lily from Days like This and London Lane from Forgotten, EvaNine from Wondla and Cassia from Matched.. favourite male main character

Gerald from My family and Other Animals.

. best couple <3

London Lane and her boyfriend (no spoilers for you that way) and Lily and hers.

. who i so want to be best friends with

Gerald, London, EvaNine and Lily I think....

. favourite pet/animal character award

Roger, My family and Other Animals.

 

These are my favourite ten covers...

Hope you all enjoyed this and will join in too!
Romi.x