The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick Book Cover

Book Review: The Silver Linings Playbook

Imagine your life is a film directed by God. A rom-com, obviously, complete with happy-ever-after ending… Welcome to Pat’s world. It’s a world of silver-linings and true love, but also a world where God makes movies and Kenny G lurks in your attic. It maybe isn’t a surprise to learn that Pat has spent some time in a mental health facility. The problem is, Pat’s now home, and everything feels off. No one will talk to him about Nikki, his estranged wife; his beloved Philadelphia Eagles keep losing; he’s being pursued by the deeply odd Tiffany and his new therapist seems to recommend adultery as a form of therapy. In this enchanting novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat’s mind, showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective.

3.5* Read

Stacking the Shelves & Wrappin’ It Up June 2014

This has been a good month for me book-buying wise. I’ve managed to not purchase too many, which is always a bonus, and usually means that I have an excuse to splurge next month… I’m going to try not to (unless it’s a pre-order) and that way I might actually make a teeny tiny dent in […]

Top Ten Tuesday – Cover Trends I Love and Loathe

I thought this was going to be a tricky topic for me, and it was, I’ve edited this so many times!! OK, so I know there are a ton of things I like and dislike on covers but I haven’t consciously sat down and thought about it much before, I decided to actually think about it today so I could organise my thoughts and create a post that makes sense… I’m not sure I’ve achieved that! I wanted to do a rant-style post on this a while ago and saved it all up for today… and I’ve basically discovered that in most cases there can be exceptions to my own cover rules. Brace yourself.

My Independent Bookshop

My Independent Bookshop is a joint venture between Penguin Random House and hive.co.uk. It’s a social website that allows anyone to set-up an on-line “bookshop” in the UK and link it to an actual local independent retailer. The individual’s page showcases their favourite reads, and when someone buys a book through the bookshop, a small percentage of the sale goes to the real independent retailer.

What Do You Do While Listening To An Audiobook??

I’m new to this whole audiobook thing, in fact until recently I’d never even considered listening to/reading an audiobook. Of course, I thought they had value, just not for me. Apparently, according to many of the bloggers I follow, I’m wrong.

But the big question is, what do you do while listening to an audiobook??

Top Ten Tuesday – My Summer TBR List

I don’t get a “summer” anymore. Of course, I get the season of Summer, if you can call it that here in Ireland, but I don’t get a full-on summer break because I’m an adult now with a full-time job *boo, hiss* so I don’t expect to be able to do any more reading than normal *sigh*.

For this week’s TTT, I’ve made a TBR list of books due out over the summer that I’d like to read. It’s pretty ambitious, but I’d like to get to these at some point.

Liebster Award – Third (and Fourth) Time’s the Charm!

In the space of a week I received two Liebster Award nominations – bringing my total to four. Four. In just over two months of blogging. I’d just like to take a minute and be very grateful for that. This is going to be a long post with 22 questions in total! Feel free to grab a cuppa before we get started!

Mental Health Awareness Month – Food for Thought

Quite a while ago, I stumbled upon TED Talks when researching Public Speaking for a management course.
It was love at first sight.
The talks cover everything from social commentary, to technological and medical advancements, some are very serious, and others very entertaining. As it’s Mental Health Awareness Month, I recently found some talks that focused on #MentalHealth and thought I’d share them…

Top Ten Tuesday – Best Books in 2014

Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far in 2014 It’s June! It’s Summer (in the Northern hemisphere)! It’s the mid-point of the year!! Really, why is time going by SO quickly?! According to my Goodreads I’ve read 30 books so far in 2014 including rereads (not too shabby), so below I give you my Top […]

10 Bookish Questions

I found (and answered) these questions over on 101 Books – feel free to leave your answers to all, or some, of the questions in the comments (or re-post if the notion takes you 🙂 ). 1. What’s the first book you remember reading? Alpaca by Rosemary Billam – I can’t actually find this anywhere […]

True North: Finding Us Review and Giveaway!

Nathaniel Morrisey thought he had a handle on his affections for the one woman he ever cared about, Julia North, who happened to be his boss’s daughter and best friend’s little sister. But Jules is about to blow that calm self-control he’s had a tight grip on all to hell.

The North brothers are wild, adrenaline-junky thrill-seekers who thrive on challenge, speed and danger. Their little sister, Jules, is a sweet, quiet, bookworm who’s been overprotected all her life by her hulking big brothers… but she is a North after all, so she has her own wild streak—a secret that none of them expected, especially not Nate!

2.5* Read

Top Ten Tuesday – Books for the Beach Bag

Top Ten Books That Should Be In Your Beach Bag Beach bag. Now there’s a nice idea. Unfortunately beach-weather isn’t really something that Ireland is known for, and if by chance we do get a heat-wave and I’m not working (now that I’m an adult, not a student, and “summer holidays” are a long-gone memory…*sniff*) […]

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire Book Cover

Book Review: Beautiful Disaster

Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand… Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

4.5* Read