- new posts every sunday -

Wednesday 25 December 2013

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you've had a great morning, opening presents and getting everything you wished for :) .
I got some lovely presents, including a beautiful Hunger Games Catching Fire poster and a Hunger Games Catching Fire movie companion - very happy =D.
Right books, yes. I got Pretties by Scott Westerfield, which I'm really pleased about. I read Uglies a while ago and have been meaning to buy Pretties and now I finally have it! I also got Heroes of Olympus: House of Hades. I have been waiting to get this since it first came out but I had no money to buy it! I am going to be reading for the rest of the day to try to get Clockwork Princess finished so that I can move on to Heroes of Olympus. Too many books to read!
Also, massive surprise from my parents - they bought me a Kindle Paperwhite! I have been saving up for one but I still had a while to go until I had the money I needed. I'm so happy - I love reading actual books and I will never stop buying actual books but Kindles are very convenient, especially when I want to read a book RIGHT NOW...which is often!
I have a lot of money from relatives so I will be using some of that to buy more books. I am definitely going to buy The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore. I need to know how this series ends! I will also probably be getting The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. I really really want to read this because it sounds so good!
Well, I hope you all have a great day and eat far too much.
Merry Christmas and thanks for reading! <3

This is the poster.
Isn't it beautiful? It's the arena and just...urgh I just love it so much!


And this is the movie companion. This is going to be the rest of my Christmas day. And reading. ^.^

Tuesday 24 December 2013

Merry Christmas Eve!

Hey guys. Merry Christmas Eve! I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas (Eve). I hope you're excited for Christmas because if you're not, then where is your festive spirit?! I will upload something tomorrow, as I said, wishing you a happy Christmas, but for now, here's a poem for you all :). Enjoy and sleep well!

Children asleep,
Dreaming sweet dreams.
Milk and carrots and
Mince pies, laid out
On the fire place.
Waiting for him to arrive.

Stockings,
Hung up by the fire and
Candles, wax dripping
Down the side.
Nothing to be heard but 
Soft, soft breathing.

Early in the morning,
Children wake with shrieks and
shouts, jumping on
Their parents' beds.
The joy on their faces as they
Search under the tree because
Christmas has finally come.

I'll post something tomorrow.
Bye! Thanks for reading <3

Monday 23 December 2013

Book-Tube-A-Thon Complete!

Hey guys! So the Christmas BookTubeAThon has finished and I loved it! I started reading Clockwork Princess on Friday, when the BookTubeAThon first started, and I was struggling to concentrate. This BookTubeAThon really helped motivate me to read and I read over half of the book in 2 and a half days *cheering and applause*. I am now right in the heart of the story and because of this I'm reading a lot faster than I was. I'm not a very fast reader so I wasn't expecting to get through all of Clockwork Princess and half of another book. I expected to read about as much as I did so I'm happy :) .
In other news, IT'S NEARLY CHRISTMAS!!! It is Christmas Eve Eve and I am so excited (...mainly for the books I asked for and the Dr. Who Christmas special...).
Christmas has sort of creeped up on me this year. I think it's because I'm normally counting down the days at the start of October but this year, I didn't because I was counting down the days until Catching Fire came out. Only after I saw Catching Fire did I start to think about Christmas. But then there was school and homework to think about and I didn't really have time to be excited about Christmas until we broke up for the holidays. So now I'm in a bit of a panic, trying to become all festive before Christmas.
It just doesn't feel like Christmas to me. Maybe it's all the rain we've been getting here in Wales. It isn't very Christmas-y. I want snow! At least I have snow on my blog <3
Right, I will post something tomorrow and on Christmas day. I'll probably post a poem or something like that tomorrow and on Christmas day I'll let you know what books I got and stuff.
Thanks for reading <3 p="">xoxo,
Bethan

Friday 20 December 2013

Christmas Book-Tube-A-Thon

Hey guys! So, I watch a Youtuber called abookutopia - I'll leave a link to her Youtube account below - and she just posted a video about the Christmas BookTubeAThon. The BookTubeAThon is an annual event set up by a few Youtubers and there are a few categories all to do with reading that you have to complete in a week. So one of them is read 300 pages a day and another is re-read a book etc. etc.
 The same Youtubers have decided to start a Christmas BookTubeAThon which won't be over a week but over 3 days. It won't have any categories - it's literally just trying to read as much as possible in three days.
I know I'm not on Youtube but I have decided to do this BookTubeAThon because it seems fun and I need some motivation to read as the book I am reading at the moment is a bit slow at the moment.
The Christmas BookTubeAThon lasts from Friday 20th December (so today) until Sunday 22nd December at midnight.
If you have twitter and are planning on taking part in this BookTubeAThon, follow @BookTubeAThon. They will be holding 'sprints' which I think is basically loads of people reading at the same time and seeing who finishes the book first? I'm not sure as I don't have twitter but if you do take part and do have twitter then definitely check it out.
I'm going to see how many books I can get through in these three days and I'll post something at the end of the BookTubeAThon to let you know how many books I read and what books I read and stuff.
Okay, well bye guys. I'll post something on Monday.
Thanks for reading <3 p="">
abookutopia - http://www.youtube.com/user/abookutopia

Thursday 19 December 2013

Creative Thursday

Hey guys. Sorry for not posting a normal post this week - I honestly had no idea what to blog about! I promise I will post next week because I know what I'm going to post next week ;) So, another poem this week. I don't know if I will be posting Chapter 1 of the story I started next week because I'm very busy with homework that I'm trying to get done - don't want to be doing school stuff over Christmas! I think it will be poems for a while until my routine is back to normal. Enjoy!

Dancing, falling,
Spinning, floating.
In your hair, on the tip of your nose.
Melting on your woolen scarf and
Landing on your palm.

Beautiful, innocent,
Falling to earth like
Angels.
Pieces of lace
Floating on a winter breeze.

They are like falling stars
A diamond of light.
No two are a like
Just like you and I.

Snowflakes.
Spinning across the sky
and dancing on the breeze.
Shattered glass and 
crystal tears and
a new life beginning.

Thanks for reading guys! I'll post something next week <3

Thursday 12 December 2013

Creative Thursday

Hey guys. So today, I thought I would post the start of a story I've been thinking about starting for a while. Here's what would be the prologue.

The girl sat on the metal table, her legs swinging back and forth. She was around seven with curly brown hair and large, curious brown eyes. She wore a green t-shirt, pink and purple stripy tights and a pair of worn denim dungarees. Her eyes studied the large mirror in front of her, her head tilted slightly to the side. A group of doctors huddled together behind the mirror, writing notes and speaking in hushed voices. A man stood at the back of the room, watching them. His name was Dr Charles Monk. The door next to him opened and a man walked in. His features were masked by the shadows in the room. His voice when he spoke was calm "When is the final test?"
Charles cleared his throat and nodded toward the group of doctors crowded around the glass, scribbling in their notebooks furiously, "They will be going in very soon. The doctors plan to strengthen her one more time, and then they will test her. She is expected to be ready." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his lab coat to hide their shaking. The doctors looked up at the girl, then two of them left the room. They were seen a moment later on the other side of the mirror. The voices in the room ceased and the doctors approached the little girl. She continued to swing her legs, now looking down at her feet instead of the mirror. "Hello," one of the doctors said. He sounded nervous. "I'm Dr Cresswell. This here is Dr Isgrave," Dr Cresswell nodded to his female colleague. She opened her mouth to speak when she was interrupted by the girl. She looked up at them, her brown eyes shining, "Are you going to hurt me again?"
Dr Cresswell looked stunned but Dr Isgrave wasn't phased, "We're going to test you again, yes. Does it hurt when we test you?"
The girl nodded and squeezed her eyes shut. A tear rolled down her cheek, which she hastily wiped away with the back of her hand. "Get it over with then," she said through gritted teeth. The tears were coming fast now, making paths on her face. Dr Cresswell looked at his colleague who was staring at the girl with no emotion in her expression. This girl was an experiment to her, nothing more. "Very well then. Dr Cresswell, could you please fetch the machine for me?"
Dr Cresswell left the room and re-entered a moment later pushing a big machine along on wheels. It had what looked like an oxygen mask connected to a tube. Wires and plugs were scattered around the machine and a screen was placed in the center.
Dr Isgrave flicked a switch and the machine booted up. She handed the mask to the girl, who placed it over her nose and mouth. The tears had stopped and her legs were no longer swinging. Her hands were shaking as she tightened the strap around her head. She had done this enough times to know what to do. Dr Cresswell placed electrodes on her collar bone. The screen lit up, showing the girl's heart rate. As he placed the last electrode onto her chest, he whispered in a wavering voice, "I'm sorry."
The girl looked back at him, her eyes steely with hate and her mouth set in a firm line. She was so young, yet she was unforgiving. Dr Cresswell turned away, his gaze on the floor. Dr Isgrave spoke in a clear voice, "Turn it on." He flicked another switch on the machine and pressed a few buttons. An opaque fog made its way through the tube and filled the mask on the girls face. She sucked it in obediently, knowing she would be punished if she resisted. Her tears had restarted, sliding down the mask. Her little hands were clenched around the edge of the table, her entire body ridged in silent agony. Dr Cresswell turned away, pretending to make notes while the girl arched her back in pain. Finally, he heard Dr Isgrave turn off the machine. He heard the girl gasping and glanced over his shoulder at her. She was covered in sweat, her hair stuck to her temples and neck. She was rubbing her palms on her tights, sucking in air while Dr Isgrave wheeled the machine back out of the room. She came back in with a plastic chair and placed it in front of the table. Dr Cresswell decided to leave the room and re-joined the group behind the mirror. Dr Isgrave was speaking to the girl, asking her to lift the chair. The girl stared at the chair, hands clenched into fists at her sides. The chair began to lift, wobbling a little in the air. It hovered in the air at eye level to the girl before it crashed back down to the floor. The man beside Charles exhaled. Dr Isgrave nodded at the mirror and the doctors began scribbling again. The girl looked at her, "Did I do okay? Will you let me go now?"
Dr Isgrave smiled, like a cat that has cornered a mouse, "Oh no, dear. I don't think you're ever going to leave."
The girl's look of relief vanished and was replaced by a look of anger. The girl screamed and the mirror shattered. Dr Isgrave covered her ears, trying to back out of the door. But the girl turned on her, screaming and then splayed her hands forward. Dr Isgrave flew backwards, then forwards, hitting all the walls. Then she dropped to the floor as doctors began flooding in through the door and broken mirror, carrying restraints. They pressed her wrists and ankles against the cold metal and tied them down. Dr Isgrave dropped to the floor like a rag doll, bruised and bleeding. She had a nasty cut on her forehead and her arms were bent at odd angles. The girl was crying now, thrashing out at the doctors. All at once, they lifted up into the air and were flung away from her. They hit the walls and dropped. The man turned to Charles and nodded his head "She's ready."
He walked out of the room, closing the door with a soft click, leaving Charles to deal with the experiment that was now lying on the table, whimpering and unconscious.

Well, I hope you liked it. I'll either post the next chapter next Thursday or the Thursday after. Bye guys and thanks for reading <3

Wednesday 11 December 2013

I didn't know what to post...

Hey guys. So I was struggling for a post idea for this week. I couldn't come up with anything, so I decided to share with you one of my favourite quotes.
"I don't know any perfect people. I only know really flawed people who are still worth loving." - John Green.
John Green comes out with the best quotes. He's absolutely brilliant.
Just a short message for today - Try to be one of those people that is still worth loving.
I'll post something tomorrow for Creative Thursday.
I did this myself. Very pleased with how it turned out. I just wrote out the quote and then brushed purple and blue water colour over the top. I really like it :)
Bye guys!


Friday 6 December 2013

A new look

Hey guys. So, I'm getting a new look for my blog - I'll leave a link to the designer's website at the end - which I'm very excited about. Rose is a great designer and I'm really looking forward to seeing the design she creates for me. If you're wanting to start a blog/have started a blog, definitely use Rose. I read a blog that she designed and it is such a pretty design.
I'll upload something next week.
Designer's website - http://rosey-red-blogdesigns.blogspot.co.uk/
She's very good.
Rose also has a blog. Here's the link for that - http://a-dancers-pointe.blogspot.co.uk/
Bye guys!

Thursday 5 December 2013

Creative posts

Hi guys. So, I've decided to start something new on my blog. I love writing and really want to be an author when I'm older. Every Thursday (well, I'll try to make it every Thursday but if it's a bit late don't hate me - I'm busy sometimes) I will upload a bit of a story I'm writing or a poem or something like that - something creative and artsy. I thought I'd start today with a short poem about December. I hope you like it :).

Goodbye, November.
Goodbye to;
Cold winds and endless rain.
   Dark clouds and grey sky.
Long walks and warm soup
and leaves tossed around on the wind.
 The scent of smoke and the crunch of leaves beneath your feet.
Woolly jumpers and comfy boots
and Winter just around the corner.

Hello, December.
Hello to;
Freezing days and snowy nights.
Numb fingers and frozen toes.
Thick coats, woolen hats,
Gloves and scarves.
Christmas and kindness.
Candles and presents.
Starbucks and fairy lights.
Blankets and fluffy socks
and good books to read.
Snow angels and sledging.
Christmas decorations and sitting by the fire.
Dreaming and wishing
and sleeping away the cold winter days.

Well, I hope you liked it! So, every Thursday I will be posting something like this. Bye guys!


Tuesday 3 December 2013

Monthly favourites + Book haul

Hey guys! So today I thought I'd mix my already planned book haul with a November Favourites. I'll start with the book haul.
I only have a few books but I thought I'd still do a book haul because I wanted to see how it turned out. Most of them are from my local library but I have bought some. I also haven't read any of these books yet unless I say so.
The first book I took out of my library is Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah.
A friend of mine read this book and absolutely loved it. Since then I have been meaning to read it but have never gotten round to it. I saw it in the library and decided to take it out because I knew if I didn't I'd forget about it. I am really looking forward to reading it! It's based on a true story and is about Adeline's child hood in China during the Second World War. Her mother dies two weeks after giving birth to her and Adeline becomes know to her family as bad luck. Her father remarries to a woman who is horrible to her and her brother while her half-brother and half-sister are spoiled. You can see the similarities between this story and Cinderella, which is why I thought it sounded like such an interesting book.






Another book I got out from the library was Wish Me Dead by Helen Grant.
The blurb of this book intrigued me - it sounded interesting and I wanted to give it a try as I have read another of Helen Grant's books - The Vanishing of Katharina Linden - which I quite enjoyed. Here's the blurb:
I wished Klara Klein dead.
It came true.

I wished for the most gorgeous boy in town to finally notice me.
It came true.

I wished to be rid of the poisonous busybody who destroyed my family.
It came true.

I didn't mean for this to happen. Not me, Steffi Nett, the shy one who never says anything. But as the body count increases with every wish I make...
Who else could it be?
Ooooohhhh, spooky. I just thought it sounded quite good and decided to try it out.
Last book I got from the library is one that I ordered. I saw the third one in the library and decided to get the first one. It is The Declaration by Gemma Malley.
It tells the story of Anna Covey, a 'Surplus'. She was not meant to be born. In a society in which ageing is no longer feared and death is no longer an inevitability, children are an abomination. Anna is living in a Surplus Hall, learning how to make amends for the selfish act her parents committed in having her. One day, a new inmate arrives and Anna's life is thrown into chaos.
So I thought that sounded quite good and decided to get it.



The last books are the Infernal Devices trilogy. I have only recently read the Mortal Instruments and immediately got these books. I am currently reading
Clockwork Prince and am really enjoying them! I don't know who Tessa will end up with - Jem or Will. I absolutely love Jem and think his story is so sad but Will Herondale...
Okay, onto the November Favourites. This month, I have been loving the Infernal Devices trilogy. I have also loved - and still love - the Hunger Games: Catching Fire movie. It was amazing! I also loved the Gabrielle Aplin concert and the Dr Who 50th anniversary - did any of you see it? So good! -  November has been a great month! Hopefully, some of the books in my book haul will be in my December Favourites, which will be a bit more detailed, I just didn't want this post to be too long!
I'll upload something soon.
Bye!

Wednesday 27 November 2013

About me

Hey guys. So sorry I haven't posted anything, I have been really busy with homework and reading etc. I thought today I'd tell you a little bit about myself - favourite books, films, stuff like that.
 So, my name is Bethan Downs. I'm 14 and love reading and writing stories. I also like drawing and listening to music. I am obsessed with the Hunger Games, the Divergent trilogy and the Mortal Instrument series. Those are my favourite books. I also love the Fault in our Stars, Harry Potter, Sherlock and Dr. Who. Basically, I'm a massive nerd!
 My favourite films are The Hunger Games and Hunger Games: Catching Fire (saw it on Thursday - absolutely amazing, definitely go see it!) but I like so many other films, including the Disney films :)
 Ermmmm, what else. I'm struggling to think of things because I'm not a very interesting person but I want to tell you guys about me so that you know whether you will enjoy reading my blog or not. You might not like any of the books I like and my book hauls are going to be books of that sort of genre.
 Right okay, well my favourite colour is blue. My favourite authors are Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth, Cassandra Clare, John Green and J.K. Rowling. I really like the dystopian, sci-fi and fantasy genres but I will read anything recommended to me or anything I hear a lot of people raving about. I also like to read something light-hearted or realistic-y, romantic stuff from time to time. That's pretty much me to be honest! I'm sure more of me will come out as I write more blog posts.
 I will be posting a book haul very soon, so keep checking for that. I'll post soon.
Bye!

Sunday 10 November 2013

Welcome to my blog

Hello! Welcome to Think. Read. Write. Dream. a.k.a. my blog. My name is Bethan Downs and I love to read. I thought I'd start my own blog to share with you (if anybody is actually reading this haha!) my favourite books, my thoughts on film adaptations of books I have read, book reviews and monthly book hauls and some of my writings.
I expect I will post once a week, but please don't hold me to that. It will probably be on a Monday, but it could vary depending on homework. I also might post twice in a week if something happens during the week and I feel the need to tell you guys!
I really hope you enjoy reading my blog. I'll post something soon.
Bye!