Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling

synopsis – A remarkable sequel to the best-selling Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Harry Potter is a wizard. He is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Little does he know that this year will be just as eventful as the last even getting there is an adventure in itself! The three firm friends, Harry, Ron and Hermione, are soon immersed in the daily round of Potions, Herbology, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Quidditch. But then horrible and mysterious things begin to happen. Harry keeps hearing strange voices, sinister and dark messages appear on the wall, and then Ron’s sister Ginny disappears

My thoughts – As many people know, the Harry Potter series are my favourite books of all time. I love love love these books and can read these again and again. having said that, this is my least favourite book of the series. I still love it, but i think it has something to do with the giant spiders. This does put me off a little bit from this book. It still reads quite child like, as this is when the books were still primerally for children. I love the rest of the story, especially as this is the book where we first meet Dobby, just a shame about the giant spiders.
theres not really much else i can say about this book, apart from i love the series!

Rating – 5/5

 

Be Careful What You Wish For – Alexandra Potter

Synopsis – Heather Hamilton is always wishing for things. Not just big stuff – like world peace or for a date with Brad Pitt – but little, everyday wishes, made without thinking. With her luck, she knows they’ll never come true…

Until one day she buys some heather from a gypsy. Suddenly the bad hair days stop; a handsome American answers her ad for a housemate; and she starts seeing James – The Perfect Man who sends her flowers, excels in the bedroom, and isn’t afraid to say ‘I love you’…

But are these wishes-come-true a blessing or a curse? And is there such a thing as too much foreplay?

My Thoughts – this was a bit different from other chick lit books that ive recently read as it involved a bit of magic. If anyone has seen the film Just My Luck starring lindsay lohan and McFly, it was very simular in theme to that.

it centres on Heather who always makes wishes but they never come true, and she thinks she doesnt have a good life, compared to what she thought she would. Then when she meets  gypsy woman in the street, her luck seems to change and she gets everything she wants. However, when a crisis strikes, is it really everything she wants?

i did like how the ‘magical’ part played in this book, it wasnt just romantic fluff, and who should she choose. I thought the first half of the book was really good and fast paced and really hooked me in. However the last 100 or so pages really dragged a little bit for me, and i thought that quite a few of those could be cut out.

However, i did enjoy the book a lot, definitaly one i would recommend to someone who is looking for a light read

Rating – 4/5

 

WWW Wednesdays (30th Nov)

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme held over on Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following questions 🙂

What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. I’ve had this book recommended by a few people and i have to say that they are all right, its brilliant! I’m only a few chapters into it, only started it last night, but i had to force myself to put the book down. I think that this is going to be the start of a really good series!

 

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished two books in the space of a week 🙂 I’m still trying to hit my target for the year, so hoping i can do it!

The first book i finished was Cuckoo by Julia Crouch. I recieved this in the post as part of a book ring, and i read this over a couple of days. this book was fabulous, a real page turner and if you havent given it a go i would recommend it!

 

 

The second book i finished was Be Careful What You Wish For by Alexandra Potter. I’m going to post my thoughts on this book later on tonight, but i enjoyed this book. The first half was a bit better than the end, i felt towards the end it became a little rushed and predictable, but other than that, i enjoyed this fluffy little book!

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

Next up its another book off my TBR pile, Step on it Cupid by Lorelei Mathias. I’ve not heard of this author before, and i got this one on a bundle of books last year, so this will be a new experience for me 🙂

 

Me Me Me!

Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that at the minute I’ve been negecting half of my blog. Since my blog title is The Reading and Life of a Bookworm, i think i should write a bit more about me myself and i!

So, I’ve decided to write a few posts about myself and what i like and my opinions on things, other than the book part. So starting tomorrow, running alongside my book posts, im going to write a bit more about myself.

The topics ive thought of so far are, music, tv, people, food, drink, films, technology, Christmas, websites and shopping

so, just as a start im going to answer these random questions 😀

1. what are three ways to win your heart? Liking the same things i do, letting me into your life and being happy to be around me

2. do you like lightning? yes, not too keen on the thunder though!

3. have you ever cut someone else’s hair? nope, did my own once, and really ruined it!

4. last person you said ‘i hate you’ to? I’m not sure, i dont really like that phrase.

5. rain or sunshine? sunshine

6. last stupid thing you said to anyone? probably something daft to the boyfriend!

7. biggest turn off? being a slob

8. fave movie? Dirty Dancing

9. would you date someone who smokes? already do

10. would you date someone who was addicted to drugs? no, just because of the implications because of it, like money.

11. what’s your biggest turn on, physically? tall, dark and handsome

12. would you have sex w. someone you weren’t dating? nope

13. have you ever missed someone and regretted breaking up with them? I’ve had it the other way round, regretted the break up, but it wasnt my fault

14. have you ever dated someone more than once? Yup, current relationship 🙂

15. if you could go on ONE DATE with any celebrity, who would it be? At this moment in time, Taylor Lautner

16. what’s your relationship status? In a relationship

17. do you like cuddling? Yup

18. do you hold grudges? depends what its over

19. do you regret dating anyone? yeah

20. hugger or kisser? depends

21. missing someone? yeah

22. most important lesson you’ve learned from your exes? People lie

23. are you happier single or in a relationship? in a relationship

24. how important are looks? on whom?

25. would you rather date someone who was SUPER-HOT or someone who was nice? Someone who was nice, a lot of super hot people are horrible inside

26. do you stay friends w/ the people you’ve dated? some i have, some i havent

27. would you fight over someone you wanted to be with? probably

28. do you kiss on the 1st date? I’ve not really done the whole dating thing!

29. if someone cheated on you, would you take them back if you really loved them? yeah

30. some random girl comes up to you and says “who the hell are you”? What do you say back? who are you?

31. are you spoiled? no

32. name three things you would not tolerate in a relationship? long term cheating, taking advantage, being mean

33. which one of your friends do you think would make a good prostitute? umm none?

34. did you miss anyone today? Yeah

35. last person to see you cry? probably my boyfriend

36. Who/what made you cry? Cant remember

37. are you a forgiving person? yes

38. would you ever share a girl/boyfriend with your best friend? noooo

39. i’ve come to realize the last person who gave me a hug…loves me a lot

40. are most of your friends guys or girls? guys, and some girls too

41. how long does it take you to get ready to go out ? hour or two

42. how many people do you know of named Adam ? maybe one or two

43. are any of your friends cheerleaders ? nope

44. what was the last thing you burnt ? My finger on the iron

46 what color is the bra you have on now ? red

47. do you straighten your hair every day? some days

48. do you worry about the size of your boobs? errr no?

49. are you the typical girl who’s addicted to gossip? nope

50. what are your favorite girly magazines? cosmoplitan

51. did you ever spend all day/night getting pretty for a guy? several times

52. did you ever cry during a romantic movie? all the time

53. would you leave the house without makeup on? yeah

54. what’s the biggest turn on about guys? already answered this?

55. are you a girly-girl, tomboy, or in the middle? Bit of both, depends what I’m doing

56. is pink truly the best color in the entire universe? YES

57. what’s the most expensive piece of clothing you own? i dont really own expensive clothes

58. what color do you absolutely despise? brown

59. have you ever stole? yeah, not proud of it though

60. have you set your hair on fire? No, who does?

61. do you wear sweat pants? no

62. do you know anyone who has lost their virginity? seeing as I’m 21, i know several

63. have you ever ran into a door because you didn’t see it? yep, ouch

64. doesn’t 50 Cent suck? i’m not a fan, but thats a bit rude!

65. do you like hugs and kisses(xoxo:))? repeated question, again!

66. do you act gangster? no

67. ever made a prank phone call? Yes, at work sometimes, the whole office gets involved 🙂

68. last kiss? boyfriend

69. what bill do you hate paying most? Car insurance

70. where was the last place you had a romantic dinner? boyfriends

71. what did you want to be when you were growing up? teacher, farmer, writer, childcare admin

72. favorite NON sexual thing to do at night with a guy? play Xbox

73. when did you first start feeling older? ???

74. favorite guilty pleasure? Cheesy music

75. what famous person(s) would you like to have dinner with? JLS

76. what famous person would you like to date? same question again

78. what do you hate about your school? i dont go to school

79. last person whose bed you laid in besides your own? boyfriends

80. have you lost a friend recently? yes

81. ever have a sleepover with the opposite sex? er yea

82. do you use smiley faces on the computer a lot? yes 😀 😀 😀

83. is it easier to forgive, or to forget? forget

84. do you give out second chances too easily? yes

85. is your best friend pretty? yes

86. is it awkward when you run into your exes? yeah

87. have you ever changed clothes in a vehicle? yup hehe

88. can you make yourself cry? no

89. is your life simple or complicated? busy

90. are you easily confused? yes

92. are you taller than 5′4″? nope

93. have you ever liked someone who treated you like crap? yes

94. is your current hair color mostly your natural hair color? yes

95. does everything really happen for a reason?

 

 

Its Monday! What are you Reading? (28th Nov)

Its Monday! What are you Reading is a weekly bookish meme held over on book Journey. Its a chance for fellow book lovers to discuss all things bookish.

I had a bit better bookish week 🙂 I have 8 books to read  by the end of the year, so im hoping that i can reach the target, ill be disappointed if a dont!

Books Finished

I actually for a first time in a long while managed to read two books in the space of a week!

The first one was The Sweetest Taboo by Carole Matthews, and i have to say i didnt really enjoy this one as much as id like to have. It for me was just far to unrealistic.

The second book i finished was Cuckoo by Julia Crouch. I recieved this in the post as part of a book ring, and i read this over a couple of days. this book was fabulous, a real page turner and if you havent given it a go i definitaly would recommend it!

Reading now

I’m currently reading Be Careful What You Wish For by Alexandra Potter. Its really good as although its chick lit, it does have a bit of a spooky twist thrown in. It reminds me of Just My Luck, a movie starring Lyndsay Lohan and my favourite band McFly! I’m about halfway through and really enjoying it!

Reading Next

Next up is another chick lit, i will get them all read! This time its Step On It Cupid by Lorelei Matthias, I got this in a bundle of books a couple of years ago, and i havent heard of this author before.

Synopsis – Amelie’s life is arranged just how she likes it. Brilliant job, great social life, and on-off love-life. So it’s a shock when she realises one day that everyone she knows seem to be happily coupled up – getting married even. Is it time she thought about settling down?

Assigned an awful project in work – writing the ad campaign for Britain’s biggest speed-dating company – she is forced against her will into plenty of market research. And with her best mate Duncan, her annoying boss Joshua and her ex-boyfriend Jack all causing havoc in her life, maybe a speed-dating romance could be her salvation…

Books Brought

I brought one book last week,  i had read 4 books, so as my ‘read 4, buy 1 challenge’ I brought one book from the top of my wishlist. This was Old School Ties by Kate Harrison.

Synopsis – Your school days are supposed to be the best days of your life – and Tracey Mortimer has no argument with that. Sixteen years ago she was the most popular girl in school, ruled her own gang, and dated the cutest boy in her year. Now it’s all rather different: she’s 33, stuck in a dull marriage that’s only tolerable because her husband is rarely at home. And although she dearly loves her two children, a life of kids TV and alphabetti spaghetti is hardly exciting… Then Tracey spots an advert from a TV company wanting to make a reality-style show on a perfect school reunion – giving Tracey the chance to re-live the good old days. But not all her old school classmates remember their school days quite as Tracey does. Tracey made Suzanne Sharp’s life hell – so what better way to get her own back than revenge, live on national television…

I have quite a busy week this week, hope my reading doesnt suffer! Have a good week everyone 🙂

 

 

 

Cuckoo – Julia Crouch

Synopsis – A dark, juicy, deliciously unsettling, read-it-in-one-sitting psychological drama.

Rose has it all – the gorgeous children, the husband, the beautiful home. But then her best friend Polly comes to stay. Very soon, Rose’s cosy world starts to fall apart at the seams – her baby falls dangerously ill, her husband is distracted – is Polly behind it all? It appears that once you invite Polly into your home, it’s very difficult to get her out again…

My thoughts – I read this book as part of a book ring, i had heard many good things about this book and when the chance came up to read it, i jumped at the chance. The book centres on a family, who seem to have it all. And then, Polly comes to stay. Polly has lost her husband, in seemly a tragic car accident leaving her and two young sons behind. When Anna invites her to stay, Polly agrees. Once Polly gets her feet under the table however, things start to happen. Everyone seems to have a secret (or three!) and during the book these all come out. I thought it was brilliant how these all came out.

I dont want to say to much more and ruin the plot for anyone that hasn’t read the book, but its safe to say everything was good until Polly came along.

This book is creepy, in a good way. There are so many twists and turns and it is so nice to read a book that is nor predictable. It is very fast paced, and once i had picked the book up i found it extremely difficult to put down again. The writing style was a little different to what i am used to, but i settled into it very easily.

I didnt expect the ending, what a brilliant end. I even had to read it a couple of times over to make sure that I had understood it and read it correctly.

This is a brilliant book, highly recommended. Its a book full of twists and turns, a page turner and very difficult to put down!

Rating – 5/5

 

Booking Through Thursday – Thankful

What book or author are you most thankful to have discovered?

Have you read everything they’ve written? Reread them?

Why do you appreciate them so much?

 

Well, I’m going to roll out my old faithful answer to this question.

The books i am most thankful for is the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling.

Basically, these books were my childhood/teenage years. I discovered them after listening to the first on audio book in school narrated by Stephen Fry. I had to have the first couple of books and read them instantly after buying them. I was waiting for the third to be released when i started to re-read the first two again, and this is where my love for re-reading the series began.

After the third book was released that is when the hype of the books really came big. The countdown for the rest of the books was huge and the fans that queued up outside all the shops at midnight grew more and more as the books went on.

Finally the last book was released and i read this in one day, not wanting to hear of any spoilers by accident. I love this series!

I do wish that she would write more books, but if to be truthful i dont think she will. i can but live in hope.

 

 

WWW Wednesdays (23rd November)

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme that is held over on Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following questions.

What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading Cuckoo by Julia Crouch. I recieved this book as part of a book ring over on the BCF. I only started this book last night, and am only about 50 pages or so in, but so far i think its a really good book. its very dark and mysterious and some kind of underlying mystery, its a book that really hooks you in. Cannot wait to read some more later on.

What did you recently finish reading?

 

I recently finished reading The Sweetest Taboo by Carole Matthews. I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I’m sad to say that i really didnt. I just couldnt get into the story and thought the plot was very unbelivable. Its a shame, because i really have enjoyed previous books by Carole Matthews. I have a few more on my TBR shelves, so I’m hoping i enjoy those a bit more.

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

Next up will be the same book as last week. The book ring book jumped the queue as their are other people waiting to read it, so i got reading it as soon as i could. So, the next book from by ever expanding TBR shelf is Be Careful What You Wish For by Alexandra Potter. I do think the cover is very pretty!

 

The Sweetest Taboo – Carole Matthews

Synopsis – Falling in love isn’t easy. Sadie Nelson ought to know – she’s got two men to choose from and neither one is hassle-free. First there’s Gill McGann, a Hollywood producer who’s flown her from a grey day in London to sun-soaked LA in order to win her heart. He has more to offer Sadie than she could ever have imagined… Then there’s gorgeous actor Tavis Jones, whose sense of fun makes Sadie feel immediately at home. But can they ever be more than just good friends? The longer she leaves it, the harder it gets, and Sadie’s about to discover that in LA anything can happen…

My Thoughts – I have read other books by Carole Matthews and i was quite looking forward to this one, but i have to say i was a little disappointed by this book. The book focuses on Sadie, who goes chasing across to America after a man she has just met. However, things dont go as easily as she had hoped for. These include ex wives, new love intrests, fame, fortune, new friends and glamour.

I have to say, i just didnt find the plot all that believable. A woman goes across to America after a guy she met two days before and ends up with a place to stay and a job in the space of hours, despite not knowing anybody apart from said guy who flew here over to America. I also didnt like the twoing and froing of the relationship between the characters.

I did like the fact that it was told from different perspectives, and different opinions were brought in because of this. I did think some parts were funny too. I do normally like carole matthews style of writing, but i just dont think that this plot worked for me. I konw its chick lit, and its not meant to be thought prevoking or anything, but i was hoping for a little bit more!

I have several other Carole Matthews books on my shelf, so I’m hoping i enjoy those more than this book.

Rating – 2/5

2012 Reading challenges – A Start

Well its time to start thinking about my reading goals for 2012. This is the time of year that all the reading challenges start appearing and the next year i want to start taking part in some short term reading challenges. I already have several long term reading challenges that I’m taking part in, and id like to take part in a few others, preferably shorter ones.

The ones I’m continuing are as follows.

Read Four, Buy One.

This is my personal challenge to help get my massive TBR mountain down a lot over the next year. I have a huge addiction to buying books (like most bookworms!) and i need to stop because i have actually run out of space in my room. So the challenge is, for every four books i read, i can buy one. hopefully i will stick to it!

Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge

This is the challenge to read every book mentioned on the tv show, Gilmore Girls. This was my first reading challenge that i really wanted to do, so i quite like it.

BBC Top 200 Books

This is a list of books that were voted by BBC viewers and listeners of the top 200 books of all time. This is a good list and i have several i have already read, on my shelf and also on my wishlist.

1001 Books to Read

I know that this is no mean feat, its a huge list of many great books that will take me a long time to get through. But i do like a challenge. I’m sure this is the 2006 list and I’m hoping to get through a few more next year.

1001 Childrens Books To Read

This challenge goes hand in hand with the challenge before, but its the childrens version. Now, this challenge is probably slightly easier to get through as a lot of the books are shorter and slightly more well know, to me anyway!

Ultimate Teen Book Guide Challenge

This is a challenge that is all about books for teenagers, a genre that i am getting more and more into as time goes on! This challenge holds over 700 books and again, its not going to be asy, but it will be fun!

501 Must Read Books

Well, this challenge is different to the others in a way because the books are sorted by genre. Childrens, Classics, History, Memoirs, Modern Fiction, Science Fiction, Thrillers and Travel Writing.

World Book Night 2012 Reading Challenge

This is a reading challenge to read all the books on the list for World Book Night 2012. Whats great about this challenge is most of the books on the list i have either read, have on my shelf, or actually want to read.

The New Classics Challenge

This is the list of the best books published between 1983-2008. I like reading modern books, but never know where to start so this reading challenge helps me with that.

 

Now, i am a reading challenge-a-holic. i cant help myself! Now while this might put a lot of people off, this just encourages me! These are my challenges so far, i will be adding to these over the next few weeks 🙂