Top of the List

       My Map of You | Isabelle Broom

        Always With Love | Giovanna Fletcher

Courting Trouble | Kathy Lette

            The Rocks | Peter Nichols

I'm sure that none of you actually believe that I only have four books on my 'to be read' pile because that's definitely not the truth! I have a huge stack by my bed that constantly topples or threatens to fall over, as well as having a few scattered between home and uni. My TBR is literally never-ending, which most of you will probably identify with.

I thought it would be nice to share a few of the books that are right there at the top of the list and are next to be devoured. I'm currently reading I Am Malala which I'm really enjoying, so after that I'll be able to get stuck in..

What are you reading at the moment? I'm always on the look out for new titles to add to my list so send them over!

Orlagh

xoxo

Top 5: Amazon Book Wishlist

I have about ten different wishlists on Amazon of all the books, movies and boxsets I'm waiting to buy when I win the lottery and have millions to blow! I thought that I could list a few of the books I've had my eye on and let you know what I'm into at the minute..

1. Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel by Jane Costello

"The Moonlight Hotels sits on the shore of England's best-loved lake, Windermere, exuding vintage glamour. Lauren loves the hotel, for hidden inside its faded walls is the key to her most precious memories. So, along with her best friends, Cate and Emily, she signs up to a new dance class in it gorgeous ballroom. They aren't going for the men, they're going for a laugh - although a little romance wouldn't hurt... But then a chain of events off the dance floor puts their friendship to the ultimate test, and makes Lauren question everything she holds dear."

This is Jane's newest novel that was released recently (24th). I've already heard lots of great things about it and having read some of Jane's previous work, I feel that it will live up to expectation. 

2. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

"Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. 'Jess and Jason', she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy... And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she's only watched from afar."

The Girl on the Train is one of those books everyone was talking about last year and I still haven't got around to reading it! It's at the very top of my list of stories to read. 

3. The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District by James Rebanks

"Some peope's lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks' isn't. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, he and his family have lived and worked in and around the Lake District for generations. Their way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand, and has been for hundreds of years. A Viking would understand the work they do: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the gruelling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the fells."

This is a bit of a random one for me as this isn't the kind of book I would normally go for, but a blogger I like recommended it after she and her boyfriend both read it. I looked it up and kinda fell in love with it, so I'm looking forward to reading it!

4. After You by Jojo Moyes

"Lou Clark has lots of questions. Like how it is she's ended up working in an airport bar, spending every shift watching other people jet off to new places. Or why the flat she's owned for a year still doesn't feel like home. Whether her close-knit family can forgive her for what she did eighteen months ago. And will she ever get over the love of her life. What Lou does know for certain is that something has to change. Then, one night, it does. But does the stranger on her doorstep hold the answers Lou is searching for - or just more questions? Close the door and life continues: simple, ordered, safe. Open it and she risks everything. But Lou once made a promise to live. And if she's going to keep it, she has to invite them in.."

I cannot wait to get my hands on this book. The sequel to Me Before You (review here), I have high hopes for the rest of Lou's story and I'm excited to see the rest of her journey unfold.

5. Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team and a Dream by H G Bissinger

"In the state of Texas American football is a religion, And nowhere is more fanatical about its football than the small town of Odessa. There, every Friday night from September to November, a bunch of seventeen-year-old kids play their hearts out for the honour of their high school. In front of 20,000 people. In 1988 Bissinger spent a season in Odessa discovering just what makes a town pin its hopes on eleven boys on a football field. He lived with the students, coaches and townspeople who dedicate their lives to their team, sharing their joys and triumphs, their pains, injuries and bitter disappointments. He returned with a compassionate but hard-eyed story of a town driven by money, race and class, where a high school can spend more on medical supplies for its athletics program than on its English department."

I love the TV series Friday Night Lights and only recently discovered that it was based on this book by Bissinger. I really want to read this and find out about the real people who inspired on of my favourite stories.

There you have it - of about ninety books on my Amazon list, I've narrowed it down to the top five that I'll be buying next (hello, payday). What's at the top of your wishlist? Let me know what you're loving right now!

Thanks for reading, 

Orlagh

xoxo

Thirteen Weddings.. by Paige Toon

Paige Toon is definitely one of my ALL TIME favourite authors - the excitement that overcomes me when I receive her newest releases in the post is embarrassing. I even read The Longest Holiday in one 6 hour sitting. Yeah, they're that good. I can't quite put my finger on what it is that's so special about Paige to me but I think its because her writing is so beautiful, and her characters live lives that I would die to have (Meg Stiles, anyone?). I actually finished Thirteen Weddings a while ago but immediately lent it to my sister and only got it back recently - I like to skim read again before reviewing.

I could literally babble on and on and on and on (!!!) all day about my love for Paige's novels but today its all about Bronte and Thirteen Weddings.

Here's what the blurb says:

Last year, Bronte left Sydney for a wedding in England, where she met newly single Alex. After a night of passion they parted ways, and Bronte returned to Australia.

 Now working on a picture desk for a magazine in London, Bronte is about to meet her new colleague, who turns out to be all too familiar. Although awkward at first, as Alex is now engaged to the girl he was on a break from when they met, they soon become friends.

 But as the two get closer, and the wedding day looms, it is clear that Alex and Bronte have unfinished business...

Here's what I thought:

From the outset when Bronte meets Alex and the beginning of their story unfolds, I was instantly rooting for Alex and Bronte to make it. However, a year later when Bronte comes across Alex again and their lives are completely different to the first night they met - Bronte decides its time to let go and move on. Give up. Bronte begins working part time as a wedding photographer and meets a certain Australian singer, Lachie, who brings out Alex's jealousy - making him question his choices.

Bronte wants nothing from either men but, in typical Paige fashion, things don't go to plan and nothing in life is as simple as you might hope. With lots of laughs, and a few tears, Thirteen Weddings is Paige at her absolute best. She writes warm, witty characters and has an easy, laid-back writing style that is easy to fall in step with.

Not only is this story based around the love of a couple (or multiple), there is also the theme of friendship running throughout. A minor story is of Bronte's friend who battles with alcoholism, showcasing the different emotions and trauma that Bronte feels as a helpless bystander. There is also the mysterious story surrounding Bronte's family permanently looming in the background and only towards the end when you find it out do you understand why it is so ironic that Bronte, who hates churches, loves being a wedding photographer. A nice little twist to spice things up without taking away from the main story of Bronte, Alex and Lachie.

As a whole, I thoroughly enjoyed this newest release of Paige - another fantastic novel to add to an ever growing list of captivating from one of chick lits finest writers of the moment. A must read for everyone who adores Paige as much as I do.

You can buy Thirteen Weddings here as well as at most good bookstores. Check out Paige's website to learn about her other novels and follow her on Twitter.

Thursday's Favourite: The Love of Her Life.. by Harriet Evans

There's so many books out there that I've read which I think deserve to be reviewed and shared. So, from now on I will be posting up a review of a book, every Thursday, which I've read and that isn't necessarily seen as 'newly released'. And today marks the first.

If you asked me to list my all time favourite books this would be up there for sure. I read this a few years ago and really think it deserves a review.

Here's what the blurb says:

Like every woman, Kate thought she'd never meet the love of her life... Until she did. But are the destined to be together?

Kate Miller has lived in New York for three long years. Now, with her father ill, its time to come home and face everything she left behind...

Her friends: Zoe and Francesca, bound to her forever as a result of one day when life changed for them all. Her family: her adored father and his much younger wife. The job: she abandoned on a glossy woman's magazine. And, the man she thought was the love of her life, whose heart she has broken.

What really happened before Kate left London? And can she pick up the pieces and allow herself to love again?


Here's what I thought:

I'm not going to lie, it took me a few chapters to really get into Kate's story. It was a bit frustrating because all you are given is little snippets and hints - which meant it was a bit slow and you weren't really understanding the information you were being given. Like, why was she so distant and uncomfortable around her supposed "best friend"? BUT all these questions get answered so in the end I loved it.

Towards the half-way mark, there comes a massive twist and you learn of the event which took place and made Kate flee London. Everything suddenly becomes clear and makes so much more sense - I even found myself reading back through some passages and enjoying them so much more because I fully understood everything and why Kate and co. were acting the way they did.

The reason that this is one of my favourites is because it brought out such strong emotions in me. I laughed, I cried, I got angry and exasperated, and at some points I just wanted to scream. I was there the whole way through with Kate, and felt the pain and love alongside her.

This story is not a casual, forget it after you read, story - it will stay with you for a very long time. It's what Harriet Evans is best at. There's love, romance and laughter, but there's always a twist - and that's what I love. You never know what's coming next.

You can buy The Love of Her Life here or at any good bookshop. You should follow Harriet on Twitter and check out her website to learn about her other books.

The Kite Runner.. by Khaled Hosseini

This is a book that has been on my reading list for a long long time. I'd been recommended it countless times and so I finally took the time out to read it..

Here's what the blurb says:

1970's Afghanistan: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family are forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption. 

Here's what I thought:

Firstly, I think I should tell you that before picking up this book I had absolutely NO IDEA what it was truly about. I had heard that it was amazing and that it was one of those stories that stayed with you forever. I didn't even know why it was called 'The Kite Runner' until a few chapters in when I had one of those 'ahhhh' moments.

The incident that takes place and which haunts Amir for years is definitely not what I had expected in any shape or form. Its brutal, hard-hitting and, for the boys, life changing. Something that cannot be easily pushed aside or forgotten.

When Amir began his return to Afghanistan I thought that it would be quite a basic ending, although thrilling, however I was completely wrong and there was still more twists and turns to come - right up until the very end chapter.

Everyone who recommended this book and told me about it was 100% right - it is still pushing to the front of my mind frequently and I doubt I will ever forget what happened to Amir and Hassan. Khaled Hosseini writes this book brilliantly, I was gripped the whole way through and was empathising with the characters from the very beginning.

A must read for everyone.

You can buy The Kite Runner here and check out Hosseini's website to learn about his other novels.

Things I Want My Daughters to Know..

This is one of my ALL TIME favourite books - I've probably read it about 10 times. I'm not even kidding...

Here's what the blurb says:

How could you say goodbye to those you love most in the world?

Barbara must say a final farewell to her four daughters. But how can she find the words? And how can she leave them when they each have so much growing up still to do?

Take Lisa, in her thirties but terrified of commitment - or brittle, unhappily married Jennifer. Amanda, the traveler, is always a little apart from her sisters and Hannah faces adult life without a mother at her side. 

Barbara's answer is to write each daughter a letter, finally expressing the hopes, fears, dreams and secrets she couldn't always voice. These words will touch the girls in different - sometimes shocking - ways, unlocking emotions and passions to set them on their own journey of discovery through life. 

Here's what I thought:

This book really has a character for everyone - no matter who you are, you'll be able to connect with at least one character.

Lisa - Barbara's eldest - is smart and sassy with a gentle heart and a great love for her mum and sisters. Then there's Jennifer - stoney and cold - is facing more internal battles of her own that even Barbara isn't aware of. Jen really just needs a bit of TLC but is the kind of person who doesn't know how to ask for the help of others.

Amanda - the wanderlust middle child - is always away travelling as a way to avoid her problems at home and her struggle to find a place within her family. Barbara's illness is Amanda's biggest problem that she wants to avoid. Lastly, Hannah - only 15 - is scared about the fact that she wont have a mother present for the landmarks in her life that are still yet to come. Hannah is also worried about her dad, Mark.

The novel surrounds the struggles of the girls and Mark after the death of their beloved matriach - and although Barbara has already passed away when the novel begins, she is a prominent figure from the onset and throughout...

This story speaks to me on a really personal level and there's never been a time that I've read it and not cried my eyes out. Anyone that has a close relationship with their mother and/or sisters will relate to this novel in someway.

Elizabeth Noble writes in the most beautiful way and has such a magical way of connecting with her audience. And as it says on the back of of my novel: "Elizabeth Noble. So good you have to share her."

You can buy Things I Want My Daughters to Know here and check out Elizabeth's website and other novels here. 

Thanks for reading,
xoxo, Orlagh

Coming up..

Just a little sneak peek of what's to come..

I bought these three books this week and I'm excited to get stuck in and read them. What I love about Canterbury is that all the charity shops has a great selection of recently published books - we even have a charity bookshop!

I picked up Love Letters by Katie Fforde and An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell in town on Friday. I always liked to have a browse because there is always something new put out on the shelves. How to Fall in Love by Cecelia Ahern was bought today in Asda for just £4!! Ahern is one of my favourite authors of all time so I know I'll love this book too.

Reviews will be coming soon of these three and I'll be keeping an eye out for more books to add to my ever growing collection of chick lit.

xoxo
Orlagh