STAY AT HOME BOOK TAG

I recently came across the Stay at home book tag over on Evie Jayne's blog who I've recently started following for reading and book related posts. The tag is created by Princess of paperback over on YouTube. 

I've decided to join in as I love anything book related and it looks a fun tag.

1. Laying in bed – a book you read in one day 

There are many books I've read in a space of 48 hours. But the ones that spring to mind when it comes to in the space of a day, are by Cara Hunter. I absolutely love thrillers and they are my go to genre. I've read 3 of Cara Hunters books with the 4th currently sat on my tbr pile. I love how gripping and fast paced her books are.

2. Snacking – a book that is a ‘guilty pleasure’ read.

I'm not sure I'd call it a guilty pleasure exactly but there is a book that since I've been a teen I've read a few times and that is Before I die by Jenny Downham. It's such a heartbreaking and life affirming read its actually been awhile since I've reread it. The first time I read it I was 15 and then I read it again in my late teens and again in my early 20s. I can't bear to get rid of it when I cull my books. 

3. Netflix – a series that you want to start

I've watched Shadowhunters on Netflix and definitely want to read the book series by Cassandra Clare. There are some other series I want to read which aren't on Netflix or made into shows they are all the same kind of fantasy genre though:

- Games of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

-  A court of thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

- The Lunar chronicles  by Marissa Mayer 

- The Thrones of glass By Sarah J Maas

- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo 

4. Deep clean – a book that has been on your TBR for ages.

There are a good few books that have been on my tbr list for awhile and I've only got copies of them this year. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott , Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and The Belle Jar by Sylvia Plath are all classics that I've just never got round to reading although I plan to read them all this year. 

 5. Animal Crossing – a book you recently bought because of the hype.

There are 3 that spring to mind the first is The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary which I've absolutely loved and definitely worth the hype in my opinion. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell I've seen frequently in some of the book groups I'm in and I absolutely loved that one as well. The last one is Half a world away by Mike Gayle which I've yet to read but is on my tbr pile after seeing it in a few groups as a must read.

6. Productivity – a book you learned from or had an impact on you.

The book I can say that has has the biggest impact on me is a very recent one. I only picked it up last week and it's Reasons to stay alive by Matt Haig. It's honestly one of the best books you will read if you have a mental illness, struggled with mental illness in the past or even know someone who does/has. 

7. Facetime – a book you were gifted

 I am very particular about books and very rarely let people choose them for me, hence why I have an Amazon wishlist dedicated to books. Stuart however gift ed me two classics for Christmas last year that I'm excited to read. The first is Little Women that I mentioned above that has been on my tbr for ages. Then there is Rebecca by Dephane Du Maurier.

8. Self care – what is one thing you have done recently to look after yourself

I've been making sure I have time to myself to read each day.  I also love having a relaxing bath and facemask at least once a week. 

BONUS – An upcoming release you are looking forward to.

There are quite a few that I've got my eye on:

- The Book Of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult - 

( October 20th 2020)

- Liar by Lesley Pearse (June 25th 2020)

- All The Lonely People by Mark Gayle (July 23rd 2020)

- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 

( August 20th 2020)

- Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell ( August 6th 2020) 

I tag:

Vicki at Tippytupps 
Debbie at My Random Musings 
Kathleen at Kathleen Jowitt 
Sophie at Funnily Enough
Plus anyone else who wants to join in.

My 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge

This year I've really got into using Goodreads to track what books I've read. At the beginning of 2019 I chose to set a target on there of reading 60 books by the end of December. I actually managed to complete that at the beginning of December and so in total I've read 63 books this year. I'm hoping to finish book 64 by the 31st though.

I'll definitely be setting myself a challenge for 2020 along with other reading goals which I'll be sharing about more in tomorrow's post. Its actually lovely to see the stats from Goodreads  and I've done a screenshot of them for you to look at.

How to raise a happy autistic child has be my favourite non fiction read this year. It's such a helpful insight into autism and really has helped with my understanding of what it's like for my son. I highly recommend this book if you have a child or a child in the family who is on the spectrum.

I've read two classics this year The Handmaids Tail and Wuthering Heights and out of both I definitely prefer Wuthering Heights. I plan to read more than 2 classics in 2020. I've also read alot of thrillers/crime/mystery books which was expected as it's my favourite genre. My favourite out of that category were the 2 by Cara Hunter In the Dark and No way out. 

My favourite fiction book of the year is The Great Alone. Fantasy wise A curse so dark and lonely was a winner a for me. 

My least favourite book of the year is a tie between The Stranger and Blood Orange. I finished reading them, but they were reads I just couldn't get into.

I've read some reads from my favourite authors and enjoyed  A spark of light by Jodi Picoult. Lisa Jewels books were as great as usual. Nine perfect strangers by Lianne Moriarty was a bit of a disappointment. YOU I loved after having watched the Netflix show. The Secret library was a great book about books with facts I didn't know. 

I'm pleased with the mixture of reads for this year and I definitely need to register at my local library in 2020.  I definitely want to broaden my reading next year and read books I wouldnt usually go for such as poetry for example. Come back tomorrow to find out about my reading goals for 2020.

Creativity Books with Carlton Kids

When it comes to books Blake has quite a collection of different types from general story books, lift and flap books and touch-y feel-y ones. He loves to sit on my lap and listen to me read to him on a daily basis and I make it part of his routine during the day to have story time. He has recently started getting into his sticker book which one of his friends got him for his first birthday so when I was given the option of choosing a few kids books from Carlton Kids I chose some creativity books as they will be ideal for him as he gets older. 

The ones I chose are the monster creativity, dinosaur creativity and the cars, trains and planes creativity books. These are all themes I know that Blake will love. He is especially into cars, trains and planes at the moment. 

The books include: 

• Drawing Fun 
• Puzzles and Games
• Mazes 
• stencils 
• reusable stickers

At the moment I feel Blake is too young for most of the activities in them but I feel he will be able to have fun with the stickers and possibly the stencils once he is a little older. 

Carlton Books have a fab range of books that are suitable for boys and girls and I would recommend you check them out.  Do your little ones love books like these? 

Books To Read List #1

Recently I've been pretty guilty of getting sucked into the world of Netflix and

 Pretty Little Liars.This has meant that sitting down and reading a good book hasn't happened as often as I would have liked.

So I am making it my goal to start reading more again and I wanted to share with you

the list of books that I have sat on my shelf unread which I am planning to get through 

over the coming months. 

So here are the books I currently have on my shelf to get through. 

- The Paying Guests By Sarah Waters

- Dream a Little Dream By Giovanna Fletcher

- The Bone Clocks By David Mitchell 

- Twisted By  Lynda La Plante 

- The Tea Planters Wife  By Dinah Jefferies

- The Unmumusy Mum

- Playful Parenting  By Lawrence J. Cohen

Have you read any of these books? 

I'd love to know.