Go, Set A Watchman

Hello wonderful people!

So, I know it's not a Friday. And I know I'm not scheduled to post. But I just had to blog about this exciting news!

One of my all time favourite books is To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I adore this book (and the film) and I think its messages are ones that will stay with me for life. I think this book will stay with me for life.

Harper Lee has never written another book after To Kill A Mockingbird.

UNTIL NOW!!!!!

She has just announced that on July 14th, her second book will be published!!!! 'Go, Set A Watchman' is a sequel, of sorts, to TKAM, and tells the story of a grown up Scout. Harper Lee originally wrote this sequel from the POV of grown up Scout, with flashbacks. But her publisher said she preferred the flashbacks and so Lee wrote a book entirely about Scout's childhood - et voila, To Kill A Mockingbird. But today/recently, a friend of Harper Lee found the original script and it is now being published!

I'M SO EXCITED YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND OH MY GOOOOSSSHHHHH.

*fangirl moment over* (kinda)

Anyway, that's all for now. I just wanted to share that EXCTING news with you.

I hope you all have a lovely week. Love you!

Bethan
xxxxxx

"For thus the Lord said to me; "God, set a watchman; let him announce what he sees.""

Isiah 21

I may have bought more books....

Hello! I went to town on Saturday with my gorgeous best friend to spend some of my birthday money. I had three £10 book vouchers, so I bought a lot of books.... And here's a book haul!

Three of these books - If I Stay, The Night Circus and We Were Liars - have really vague blurbs, but trust me, I've heard enough times that it's better to go into these books knowing next to nothing. Just trust me on that one. :)

The first book I bought was If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Here's the blurb:

A cold February morning...
A snowy road...
And suddenly all of Mia's choices are gone.

Except one.

As alone as she'll ever be, Mia must make the most difficult choice of all.

 The only thing I'll add to that is that Mia is in a car crash and slips into a coma. She has to decide if she'll die or if she'll stay and wake up. I saw the film for my birthday and I really enjoyed it so now I'm looking forward to reading it!

I also bought the second book, Where She Went. I won't share the blurb because I don't want to spoil
those of you that don't know what happens in the first book.

The third book is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which I have wanted for ages! :

The circus arrives without warning.

No announcements precede it.

It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.

That's all I'm going to give you, because that's all I know. I am going to read this book knowing nothing more than that blurb there, because I've been told that that is best.

Next, I bought The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey:

The 1st wave took out half a million people.

The 2nd wave put that number to shame.

The 3rd wave lasted a little longer, twelve weeks... four billion dead.

In the 4th wave, you can't trust that people are still people.

And the 5th wave? No one knows. But it's coming.

On a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs.
Runs from the beings that only look human, who have scattered Earth's last survivors.

To stay alone is to stay alive, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan may be her only hope.

Now Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death.

I have already read this book and I LOVE IT. It is such an amazing, epic sci-fi. I do have this book on kindle but...

I also bought the second book, The Infinite Sea (which I won't show the blurb for because spoilers) in
book form and it would have looked odd having just the second one on my shelf.

The last book I bought is We Were Liars by E. Lockhart:

We are liars.
We are beautiful and privileged.
We are cracked and broken
A tale of love and romance.
A tale of tragedy.

Which are lies?
Which is truth?
You decide.

Definitely go into this book knowing nothing. I'm currently reading this and am speeding through it - it's only around 225 pages and the short chapters make it easy to speed-read. I am really enjoying it so far and am very intrigued.

And that's my book haul! Yes, I did buy 6 books and carry them around town. I have a problem...

I finished the last Skulduggery Pleasant book. Oh my goodness, the battle was so intense! It was such an epic book. I know a lot of people haven't even heard of the Skulduggery Pleasant books, but they're very good. They're funny and awesome, a little bit dark and a lot violent but absolutely fantastic. :)

Thanks for reading guys! ♥

Mockingjay: Part 1 Official Trailer Talk

Hey guys!
Oh my goooooooddnnnneeeesssss!!!! MOCKINGJAY TRAILER IS OUT FINALLY!!!!!!

I have goosebumps... I've already watched it.... *counts on fingers....and toes* 14 times. A lot of that was so I could analyse it but... actually, all of it was for funsies. But I was analysing as I watched.

*WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ MOCKINGJAY OR THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY, LEAVE NOW. THERE WILL BE SPOILERS*

~(•-•~)

Okay. So it starts off with a hovercraft flying over the woods with Katniss and the gang (wat) in it. I'm assuming this is taking off straight after Catching Fire, so this hovercraft is going to District 13 or, like the book, is taking Katniss to District 12 (I'm hoping it's this option). During this, Katniss is giving a monologue, or so we assume. It then turns out she's talking to Snow - like Skype. But cooler. Snow says something about "The things we love the most destroy us" ya da ya da. More weird Snow logic.

Then we get our first proper look at DISTRICT 13. And it is AMAZING! Boring and grey and run like a machine, just how I pictured it. We see Katniss going down in a lift and then she's trying out her awesome bow and arrow with Beetee, who is in his wheelchair. We also get our first look at District 13 Effie, pinning the Mockingjay badge on Katniss. I know Effie isn't in District 13 for a lot of Mockingjay, but I think she'll be a great add in, especially with the loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman. He missed some scenes, and I think some of his lines were given to Effie.

We get a look at Gale shooting his gun crossbow thing and blowing up some targets, and then Katniss in her mockingjay outfit with her awesome bow and arrow. There are some people charging through mist or water or something at peacekeepers who are firing guns. Seems like a district riot to me! 

It cuts to a scene in what I assume is the District 13 cafeteria. The TV is one and Peeta is speaking from the Capitol, telling everyone to lay down their weapons. (Peeta why?! *cries*) Haymitch talks to Katniss and tells her that Peeta is the Capitol's weapon, like Katniss is their's. We see Katniss talking to President Coin and Plutarch, telling them that they need to rescue Peeta as soon as possible or they can themselves another mockingjay. 

FINNICK.

Katniss picks up a white rose in a vase. This is obviously when she goes back to her house in the Victor's Village and finds the rose in her bedroom. I don't think this is her bedroom, but it's still her house. This bit creeped me out.

Then; Katniss in (I'm assuming) the District 8 'hospital' with everyone doing the three-fingered salute thing. 

Right, this next bit of them bungee jumping down a tunnel or something - is this a Peeta rescue mission? That's my theory, anyways.

We then see the bombing of District 13 - I think. Katniss and the gang are underground and dust is falling from the ceiling. Everybody looks a bit worried. So I'm assuming it's the bombing.

There's a scene of a damn breaking and Katniss standing under rain or water or whatever. I have no idea what that's about

We see the attack on District 8, which is one of my favourite scenes in Mockingjay. It doesn't go in to too much detail. It just shows Gale and Katniss aiming their gun/bow and fire at Capitol hovercrafts and blow them up. Awesome!

And then I explode because it ends. Such. A. Good. Trailer.

Thanks for reading guys. Love you all ♥

Birthday book haul

Hey guys!
So yesterday was my birthday! Yup, I'm now 15.... How weird. Naturally, I got several books for my birthday. Here's a book haul! I was meant to post this yesterday but I went to the cinema with Charlotte to see If I Stay - really good. :) - and then I was super tired and just wanted to sleep. But it's here so. :)

First book was from my brother - thanks bro - and it is The Dying of the Light by Derek Landy. I am not going to type the blurb because it is the last book of the amazing, yet not well-known Skulduggery Pleasant series that I have loved since I was about 9-10. They're so funny but really dark and this is the final one and I'm not ready! Once I finish the VA series (I've nearly finished Spirit Bound but I'm reading To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee for English, so I haven't had time to finish it :( ) this will be the first book I read.

My second book is also from my brother and that is a really nice, 'vintage classic' copy of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee:

'They don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'

Scout and her brother Jem can understand that idea of sin, but in the small American town where they live, evil comes in many shapes and they have to learn to recognise it, and understand how people behave. Their father's unpopularity when he fights for a black man in trouble reveals other mockingbirds.

 As I just mentioned, I am reading it for English and am loving it, so it's really nice to have a beautiful copy of my own to read instead of the rubbish, written on, torn apart, broken-spined English department copy.

The third book is Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas:

Meet Celaena Sardothien. Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving her life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake. She got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament - fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin's heart be melted?

I have wanted this book for so long, and as you saw in my London haul, I bought the second book Crown of Midnight and the book of novellas, The Assassin's Blade and I have just ordered the third book, Heir of Fire, using a £20 Amazon voucher my Aunt gave me (as well as pre-ordering the Blood of Olympus. I'm so excited!) So now I can marathon it!

Book number four is a beautiful copy of A Tale of Two Cities, from my good friend Elena. I'm not going to type the blurb because I'm sure you all know what it's about because 1) it's a very famous classic and 2) It's been in a book haul already as I already own a copy of this. But, Elena saw it and thought of me because it is mentioned a lot in the Infernal Devices series, which I love, so I don't care because it's gorgeous (as you can see)

The next three books were a boxset from my parents and it is a hardcover set of the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu. I'm only going to show you the blurb for the first book, Legend, as I don't want to spoil you or myself as I have only read Legend:

Once known as the western coast of the United States, the Republic is now a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors, the Colonies.
Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a military prodigy. Obedient, passionate, and committed to her country, she is being groomed for success in the Republic's highest circles.
Born into the slums of the Republic's Lake Sector, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.
From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered, and Day becomes the prime suspect. Now, caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June tries desperately to avenge Metias's death.
But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths to which their country will go to keep its secrets.

I got this out of the library 2-3 years ago and loved it. But then forgot about the second book coming out soon. So I'm really looking forward to another trilogy marathon, especially because these books are super fast-paced, well-written and action-packed!

I then got Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi from Charlotte. Here's the blurb:

No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon. But Juliette has plans of her own. After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time - and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever.

I can't wait to read this book. I want to get the other two books so I can, guess what, marathon it. >.<

The last book is also from Charlotte and that is Cinder by Marissa Meyer:

Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation.
Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future.

I have already read all the Lunar Chronicles - I borrowed them from my friend - but it is definitely a series I would like to own. They're all loosely based off fairytales - this is based off Cinderella, the second book Scarlet, is based off Little Red Riding Hood, the third book Cress, is based off Rapunzel, and the last book coming out next November, Winter, is based off Snow White. There is also going to be a spin off book coming out this January called Fairest, based off the Wicked Witch in Snow White.

And that's the end of my birthday book haul! I got so many other lovely things for my birthday, including a massive Guardians of the Galaxy poster which I adore.

Thanks for reading guys. Love you! ♥

Extremely long post...

So, as I warned on Thursday, I have a very long post for you today....Seriously it's so long...
I just need to get everything done so I can post what I want, instead of having to pick from an existing list.
What to expect in this post:

+ Another Book Haul (oops...)

+ July Wrap Up (new!)

+ Liebster Award

+ Beautiful Blog Award

+ Sunshine Award

+ Winner of a Photo Challenge

Let's get started with the book haul! All of the blurbs are from Goodreads.

The first book is Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth. Here's the blurb:

Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation's faction leader did the same. Tobias's transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.

Newly christened "Four," he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future - and the future of the entire faction system.

Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps in the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

Four contains four short stories from Tobias' point of view - The Transfer, The Initiate, The Son and The Traitor. It also includes three exclusive scenes from Divergent in Four's POV. I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it was really great to learn more about Tobias and the way he thinks. I'm so glad I picked this up. :)

The next books I bought are the entire Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. I won't put the blurbs here as I don't want to spoil you or myself, as I have only read the first two books. This series was an absolute bargain, though. I bought all six books for £15!

I have just finished the second book, Frostbite, and I loved it! You might remember me putting the first book, Vampire Academy, in a previous book haul - click here - so yes, I do now have two copies of the first book. But I'm giving one copy to Lauren when I see her on Friday because who doesn't love a free book?

I then took two books out of my library, the first one being the book I am currently reading, How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff:

Fifteen-year-old Daisy is sent from Manhattan to England to visit her aunt and cousins she's never met: three boys near her age, and their little sister. Her aunt goes away on business soon after Daisy

arrives. The next day bombs go off as London is attacked and occupied by an unnamed enemy. 

As power fails, and systems fail, the farm becomes more isolated. Despite the war, it's a kind of Eden, with no adults in charge and no rules, a place where Daisy's uncanny bond with her cousins grows into something rare and extraordinary. But the war is everywhere, and Daisy and her cousins must lead each other into a world that is unknown in the scariest, most elemental way.

I had the chance to buy this book and get it signed when I went on a trip with school to hear a few authors talk - Meg Rosoff being one of them - but I decided against it. I am seriously regretting that now. After watching one of my favourite BookTubers, Ariel Bissett, rave about this book while reading it in the BookTubeAThon, I saw it in my library and grabbed it. Reading it now, I really wish I'd bought it and had it signed by the author.... Bad choice, past-Bethan. Bad choice.

The second book was one I had seen the spine of on several BookTubers' shelves, and that is The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper knows she's not the hottest girl at school, but when school jock and resident moron Wesley casually refers to her as a DUFF - Designated Ugly Fat Friend - the gloves are off!

If there's a thin line between love and hate then Bianca has crossed it. She just never thought she was capable of breaking anyone's heart...

It just seems like quite a light-hearted book, something to read in a mourning period.

The last book I bought for 50p in a charity shop and it is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens:

After eighteen years as a political prisoner in the Bastille, the ageing Doctor Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There the lives of two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil roads of London, they are drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror, and they soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine.

I already have a cheap paperback copy of this book, but this is a beeeaauutiful copy! I mean, look at the spine!

And that's the end of my book haul! Part 2 - July Wrap Up.
This is a new thing I've decided to do at the end of every month. I saw Paige from The Joys of Being Paige do something like this, and a few BookTubers do something like it, so I've sort of combined them to make my own thing.
At the end of every month, I will show you all the books I have read in that month and give them a rating out of 5 stars and share few songs with you that I am really loving. That sound okay?

Bookshelf:

Every Day by David Levithan - 4 stars
The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter - 4 stars
Half Bad by Sally Green - 3.5 stars
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness - 5 stars
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - 4 stars
172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad - 4 stars
Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth - 5 stars

Playlist:

Ink // Coldplay
One // Ed Sheeran
Thinking Out Loud // Ed Sheeran
Riptide // Vance Joy

Part 3 - The Liebster Award.
Oh my goodness, 5 people have nominated me for the Liebster Award... Better get on with it then!

Rules:

- Thank the blogger that nominated you and link back to their blog.

- Provide 11 facts about yourself.

- Answer the 11 questions they have given you.

- Nominate 11 bloggers and notify them on their blog.

Thank you to Celia from Crazy. Crazy. Crazy., Jollygirl from Reflections of a Jollygirl, Mahnoor from MahnoorApple, Emily from Lynde Avenue and Hannah from In the Heart of Hannah.

Okay... 11 facts...

1. I am small compared to all of my friends, but I'm actually around average height. Which is annoying because it makes me feel smaller than I am. The fact that I'm super skinny also helps the image that I'm really small.

2. I'm not entirely an introvert, but I'm not an extrovert either. I like to call myself an "Extroverted Introvert."

3. According to Pottermore, I am a Ravenclaw with a Hawthorn and Phoenix Feather, 12 and 1/2 inches, surprisingly swishy wand. I've always loved being a Ravenclaw. :)

4. I am terrible at thinking up facts about myself...

5. I bite my nails. The only time I will stop biting my nails is when I have a coloured nail polish on them - I have light purple on at the moment.

6. I play the piano and I have just passed my Grade 4 with a Merit. XD

7. I have two older brothers. Gareth (the oldest) and Huw. They may be annoying but I love them.

8. I have never flown on an plane.

9. I am going to London for the first time later in August and I'm so excited!

10. I have really pale skin, so I get sunburn really easily.

11. I am taking French, Art and History for my GCSEs, as well as the compulsory subjects.

Onto the questions! 55 questions....
First up - Celia's questions:

1. If you could meet one fictional character, who would you meet?
Already this is hard..... I can't choose! Will Herondale, so we can get married? Either him, Tessa Gray or Hermione Granger. Because those two girls are basically me, and we could have some nice conversations. But I think I'm going to stick with Will.

2. If you could meet one celebrity, who would you meet?
I'm not going to count authors, otherwise I would die. I think I'd choose Jennifer Lawrence? Just because she's so nice and she's so funny. Or Benedict Cumberbatch. Or David Tennant. One of those.

3. If you had one day to do whatever you wanted (ANYTHING), to have the best day ever, what would you do?
I would get up and it would be a beautiful day. I would go swimming and then get my completed story together (because in this world, I have a completed story) and I would get it published. Then I would meet all my favourite authors and talk to them about writing. And then I would meet all my internet buddies (that's you guys) and we'd meet in a giant book shop and we'd buy some books. Then I'd go home and be surrounded by my friends and family and read. Ta da!

4. Who is your favourite blogger? (if you need to, you can pick more than one)
Thank goodness for that bracket bit!
I'm too tired to write down everybody's names! All of my followers. There you are.

5. Would you rather write one really good best selling book and never write again OR be able to write as much as you want but you will never get anything published?
That's a tough one. That's really hard, because it's always been my dream to get published, but I'm going to have to go with the second option. Because I couldn't give up writing for one best-selling book.

6. Olaf or Sven?
Olaf. :) I love Sven but... Olaf.

7. Do you like the smell of cat food?
I don't own a cat, but I have smelt cat food before and no.

8. What are your two favourite colours?
Blue is my favourite. Second one... I don't know.. green maybe? Or a light purple.

9. Would you rather go bungee jumping or sky diving?
Neither..... I'm not scared of heights - I love Ferris Wheels and looking down - not at all, but with both of those things, there are too many things that could go wrong that would lead to my death... So neither. I'm sorry, I'm chickening out of this question.

10. Put together a frozen yoghurt! Pick three kinds of frozen yoghurt and as many toppings as you want!
Um, we don't really have fro-yo in UK. The only frozen yoghurt I've tried is vanilla.... I'll do it with ice cream instead. :)
Vanilla, Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough and Chocolate Fudge Brownie.
With.... hmm... Chocolate sauce and chocolate chips.
Now I want ice cream...

11. Favourite word?
Discombobulated is a good word.

Now for Jollygirl's questions:

1. What type of music do you listen to? (genre, artists, songs?)
I don't really have a genre, so I'll just list some of my favourite artists/bands.
I love Kodaline, Bastille, Imagine Dragons and Of Monsters and Men. I also love Gabrielle Aplin, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Taylor Swift.

2. What usually cheers you up?
Chocolate.
Reading.
Talking to Lauren.
(This is what happens when I'm sad. In this order)

3. What makes you sad?
Being ignored by my friends.
When someone calls me horrible things.
But sometimes it's something completely different. It depends.

4. Is there something you constantly misplace at your house or anywhere?
My phone at my house, all the time.

5. Do you have a favourite book? Why/Why not?
I do. I have several, but we've been through this before... *sigh* I'll type them out again.
The Hunger Games trilogy, the Divergent trilogy, The Mortal Instruments series, The Infernal Devices trilogy, Harry Potter, TFIOS, Percy Jackson series, Heroes of Olympus series.
Why? Because they're amazing!

6. What is the longest you have slept?
Um... I've slept in to 11:30 before, and I went to bed at 10. So... 13 hours and 30 mins.

7. Do you have anyone to go to for advice?
My mum and Lauren.

8. What is the one habit you are proud of breaking or want to break?
I want to break the habit of biting my nails. Really badly.

9. What do you usually order at a restaurant? What is your favourite restaurant?
My family and I don't really eat out a lot. My favourite restaurant is probably Red Hot Buffet because you have unlimited food. >.<

10. What is your favourite word? Least favourite?
Discombobulated is a good word, like I said in Celia's questions. I don't have a least favourite word though...

11. Describe something that happened to you for which there was no reasonable explanation?
Er..... Nothing really. I can't think or anything!

Mahnoor's questions now:

1. What would you do to someone who insulted your favourite celebrity?
Say nothing, because I hate confrontation, but in my head I would be shouting insults at them.

2. Would you rather get grounded for a month or get banned from reading books for two weeks?
Grounded is where you have to stay home, right? (that's never happened to me before) I'd go for the first one then, definitely. Because I don't go outside. I stay inside. And read books. And blog.

3. If you could take seven fictional characters out for dinner, who would they be and in what order would you seat them?
Will Herondale
Hermione Granger
The Doctor (Ten)
Tessa Gray
Simon Lewis
Annabeth Chase
Luna Lovegood
In this order:

Me, with Will and Hermione either side of me. Next to Hermione would be Tessa and next to Will would be Simon. Annabeth next to Tessa, Luna next to Simon and the Doctor inbetween  Annabeth and Luna. What a dinner.

4. Pancakes or crepes?

Don't like pancakes, never tried crepes.

5. Are you sleepy at this very moment?

No. But I will be later.

6. Blue or pink?

Blue.

7. You get full royalty treatment for a week? What will you do?

Read. Meet my favourite authors. Get all inventors working on a machine to make fictional characters real. Yup.

8. How much do you care about your book's spine being ruined?

Not a lot. Obviously it's a lot nicer to have a non-broken spine on your bookshelf, but several of my paperbacks have broken spines. I'm not that bothered.

9. Super slow WiFi but free or ultra expensive WiFi but wicked fast?

Probably the free one.... But I hate slow WiFi. :(

10. On a scale of 1-10, how awesome would you rate yourself?

A 6. 7 at most.

2 more left. I can do this. Emily's questions now!

1. When is your birthday and how tall are you?

My birthday is 10th September and I am 5ft 3"

2. Sunrise or sunset?

Sunset.

3. Gold or silver?

Silver.

4. Flats or heels?

Trainers! But out of those two, flats.

5. If you could choose another name for yourself, what would it be?

I've always loved the name Laurel. And I really like the name Grace as well.

6. Where do you see yourself in eight years?

Well, that would make me 22, so I would have just finished university, or could be nearing the end of university, depending on my course. I'd like to think with a job in a book shop. ^.^

7. Why are you proud of yourself?

I have a lovely family and amazing friends. And I have 62 followers on this blog.

8. If you could switch places with someone for a week, who would it be and why?

Nobody famous - I wouldn't like the attention. Probably one of my friends, just to see what it's like, being friends with me!

9. If you could go out with a fictional character, who would it be and why?

Okay, I know I go on about him way too much, bu Mr William Herondale! Because he is handsome, he loves reading, he's romantic, and he says such beautiful things.

'Life is a book and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read.'

'There's plenty of sense in nonsense sometimes, if you wish to look for it.'

'I am catastrophically in love with you.'

He also has an amazing sense of humour. *swoon*

10. What is your best subject at school?

I love English and Art.

11. What is your least favourite accessory?

I don't really wear accessories.... So, all of them?

Only one more. It's nearly over! But then I have two other awards to do.....

Hannah's questions:

1. Favourite day of the year?

Christmas. ;)

2. Hot chocolate or tea?

This is tough, because I looooove hot chocolate but I also looooovee Peppermint tea. I'll say hot chocolate, because when you say 'tea' you mean normal tea. So hot chocolate.

3. Lunch or dinner?

Hmmm... lunch, because that tends to be more snack-y.

4. Morning or evening?

Evening. I am not a morning person. Once I'm up, I'm up. But it's the getting up that I find hard.

5. Writing or reading?

I literally cannot choose. :( I don't know! I refuse to choose.

6. Blogging or noveling?

Again, I can't choose.

7. Strawberries or blueberries?

Strawberries. I love blueberries, but strawberries.

8. Skirts or shorts?

Shorts.

9. Dancing or sport?

I don't do sport, so dancing. I don't do that properly. I don't go to classes, or anything. But dancing - if waving my arms around and flailing counts as dancing, because I do that regularly.

10. Frozen or Tangled?

Tangled! Definitely. I love Frozen, but it's not as good as Tangled. Don't hate me. I just love Tangled.

11. Loose hair or ponytail?

Hmmm.... Loose hair. Because I rarely put my hair in a ponytail. Perks of having curly hair #67 - My little baby hairs are super curly and when my hair is in a ponytail, they stick up like little devil horns.

I have my hair in a braid usually, or down. Or in a messy bun.

I nominate anybody who wants to do this. Your questions are:

1. Favourite dessert?
2. Having your picture taken or taking the picture?
3. What do you love most about blogging?
4. Do you have a nickname?
5. Do you consider yourself graceful?
6. If you could go out with a fictional character, who would it be and why?
7. If you could take seven fictional characters out for dinner, who would they be and in what order would you seat them?
8. Are you left handed or right handed?
9. Favourite Disney princess?
10. What usually cheers you up?
11. What is a weird dream you had?

Yes! I am freeeee. Dobby is a freeeeee elf! (I'm sorry, it was right there.)

Now onto the Beautiful Blog Award. The wonderful Kat from (Almost) Completely Mad nominated me for this award.

Let's a-go! (bit of Mario)

Rules:

- Answer the questions given to you.

- Give some questions for the people you nominate.

- Tell the people you nominate that you have nominated them.

1. Traveling or staying at home?

Staying at home. We don't travel a lot, really. But I just love staying at home. I have everything I could want, and it's just comfortable.

2. Sport or dancing?

Dancing. Reasons why on question 9 of Hannah's questions. Up there.

3. Blueberries or strawberries?

Strawberries.

4. Favourite hide out?

I don't really have one. I suppose my room. When I was younger, Lauren, my good friend Rebeka and I would make dens out of branches and stuff by the Scout hut in their street. That was our hideout. But I don't really have one now.

5. Best memory?

I have so many amazing memories. Meeting Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman. Meeting Cassandra Clare. Meeting Rainbow Rowell. And then there are the normal, every day memories. Making daisy chains with Lauren. Laughing hysterically with my family. So many good memories.

6. Favourite blog designs?

I loooooveee Eve's and Tane's. They are both amazing designers. I also really liked Rose's one with the computer header thingy. There are so many beautiful blog designs though - I have yet to read a blog with a design I don't like.

7. Friends or family?
Family. I love my friends, but you can never beat family. Although I've been friends with this girl for so long, she's kind of like family.

8. Favourite outfit?
It really depends on the weather. In colder weather, I love wearing my dark jeans, lace-up boots, a comfy t-shirt with my navy hoodie and my grey-y green-y coat. In warm weather, I like wearing either my shorts with sandals and a floaty vest top thing that Lauren gave me, or an orange lace dress with sandals.

9. Buses or trucks?
Buses?

10. Birds or fish?
I love birds, but I could gaze and read about fish all day. I went through a phase of wanting to be a marine biologist when I was around 8. Once I realised I would need to take science A Level, I dropped that career hope, but the facts and love of marine life stuck. I could literally stand in an aquarium all day.

11. Favourite dessert?
I love all desserts. :) But I especially love Eton Mess. It's meringue with different berries and whipped cream. I love it in summer!

12. Mum or dad?
I can't choose, I love them both equally and infinitely.

13. Frozen or Tangled?
Tangled.

I tag:

Lauren // Pretty Things and Polka Dots

Rose // Truly. Madly. Deeply.

Madeline // In the Wind

Eve // Eve of Womanhood

Tane // Fifth out of Ten

Here are my questions:

1. Favourite dessert?

2. Having your picture taken or taking the picture?

3. What do you love most about blogging?

4. Do you have a nickname?

5. Do you consider yourself graceful?

6. If you could go out with a fictional character, who would it be and why?

7. If you could take seven fictional characters out for dinner, who would they be and in what order would you seat them?

8. Are you left handed or right handed?

9. Favourite Disney princess?

10. What usually cheers you up?

11. What is a weird dream you had?

12. How do you usually wear your hair?

13. How often do you read?

Have fun!

I was also nominated for the Sunshine Award. Thank you Elly! Check out her blog, A Girl.

Rules:

- Thank the person who nominated you.

- Answer the questions given to you.

- Nominate a bunch of other bloggers.

- Write some questions for the people you nominate.

- Notify the bloggers you nominated.

- Put the award button in the post.

1. Which would you choose; to be invisible when you wanted to be or be able to fly when you wanted?
As cool as being invisible whenever I wanted to be would be, I have to go with the flying one because I would love to fly.

2. Favourite book character?
I can't choose, there are too many amazing characters!

3. Favourite book genre?
I'm going to say YA fiction, because my favourite genre varies. I love fantasy, dystopian and sci-fi, but I do read quite a lot of contemporary as well.

4. Taking pictures or being in a picture?
Definitely taking pictures. I am really insecure, so I don't really like being in pictures. Unless it's with a friend/friends and we're all pulling funny faces!

5. What hairstyle is your hair in right now?
It's in a braid right now - it was braided now my back but it's gradually fallen over my left shoulder....

6. What are you wearing right now?
Dark jeans, a grey t-shirt with NYC written in a red velvet-y fabric and sleeves down to just above my elbows, bare feet, and light purple nails. Comfy. :)

7. Where are you right now?
I am in my living room on the armchair in the corner.

8. Favourite smell?
I loooooovvee the smell of books - old and new. Vanilla is also amazing, and I love the smell of freshly cut grass - which isn't so great as I have hay fever... But my favourite smell is definitely the smell of book.

9. What is a dream you once had?
Um.... I had a dream a while ago that I was in bed and I suddenly jumped out and was wearing a floaty blue dress and I started dancing. Then I went to school and somebody had taken my bag, so I was wondering around in this dress - nobody asking me why I wasn't in uniform - trying to find my bag, and I started crying because I couldn't find it...
Weird dreams....

10. Favourite colour?
Blue. :)

I nominate anybody who wants to do this award!

Here are your questions:

1. Favourite dessert?
2. Having your picture taken or taking the picture?
3. What do you love most about blogging?
4. Do you have a nickname?
5. Do you consider yourself graceful?
6. If you could go out with a fictional character, who would it be and why?
7. If you could take seven fictional characters out for dinner, who would they be and in what order would you seat them?
8. Are you left handed or right handed?
9. Favourite Disney princess?
10. What usually cheers you up?
11. What is a weird dream you had?
12. How do you usually wear your hair?
13. How often do you read?

And lastly.... I won overall best photo in Anna's photo challenge! Check out her awesome blog, Banana and Bear.

   
Yay! Party. XD I won with this photo.

I have now done all the posts I need to do. I can tell you now, I won't be doing anymore awards for a while.....
I am so sorry for the long posts, but I can post what I like now! Next Monday - life update. :D

Thank you so much if you got this far!
Thanks for reading. ♥

Mockingjay Pt 1 Teaser Trailer Talk

Bonjour!
So, we finally have an official teaser trailer for Mockingjay Part 1. AAAAHHHHHHH, I am so excited!
Here it is below:

It's so good! Ahhhh, it's so epic.

***THIS IS A WARNING - IF YOU HAVE NOT READ MOCKINGJAY, DO NOT READ THIS POST AS THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. ***

Okay, so we see Plutarch Heavensbee and President Coin talking about Katniss, and her walking through a crowded warehouse, which I'm assuming is the "hospital" in District 8 - I think it's District 8. And she has the cool arrows on her back, the explosive ones and stuff, with the cool colour coding.

And we see Cressida! I loooove all the casting choices for Mockingjay. I think Juliannr Moore as Coin is perfect - exactly how I pictured her in the book. And Natalie Dormer, from Game Of Thrones, as Cressida is amazing. I love Cressida's shaved side of her head with the really cool swirly tattoo.

Then President Snow like "All Mockingjay symbols are banned" with a cool, almost crop circle thingy, in the background but it's a mockingjay cut into the grass. Which is AWESOME.

There's a really cool shot of people running down a triangle staircase, which I'm wondering, maybe that's the part where the Capitol is bombing District 13 and they're going down to the basement area? You know what I'm talking about.

Oh my gosh, and the tiny snippet of a war, battle thingy sequence, with people climbing up trees, and charging. Side Note - the hovercraft at the beginning is so cool! Then that boy in the warehouse where Katniss is - "Are you fighting, Katniss? Are you here to fight with us?"
"I am. I will."
*screams and flailing* *rolls around on the floor*
Goosebumps.

I am so excited for this film, oh my goodness. I am planning on re-reading the book soon, probably in late October so I can go into the film remembering everything.

I don't think this is my favourite trailer that I've seen for Mockingjay. I think the second teaser "Unity" is, where Beetee interrupts and says "The Mockingjay lives." which I posted here. I'll leave it at the end of this post anyway. ;) This is still a fantastic trailer - I really think the film producers and directors know what they're doing with these trailers. They are all absolutely incredible and are making me even more excited for Mockingjay, if that is even possible!

Let me know in the comments below what you think of this trailer, and which one is your favourite.

Thank you all so much for reading! ♥

UPDATE REGARDING THE WRITING CHALLENGE: You may email me your entry if that makes you more comfortable! :)

BookTubeAThon 2014 and Paige's Photo Challenge: Category 2

Hey, guys!
And my mood is down again. *sigh* Joy of joys. It wasn't a bad day - in fact, it was a very good day. I'm just tired and school's nearly finished but that means GCSEs and I miss this girl far too much - more than she misses me, I'm sure. She's moved on, while I'm still clinging - and I have the overwhelming desire to go home, but I am home. But it feels like I'm not. I want somebody to hug me and say 'I understand' and really mean it. I just want somebody to understand and to hold me while I sob. So yeah. Down again.
I have so many posts I need to do. I had to do Creative Thursday yesterday, but I have to do this post as well. I also have to upload my second entry for Paige's Photo Challenge, and do my Words post on Sunday and the lovely Christina nominated me for the Liebster Award, so I couldn't do this post on Monday. Also, the read-a-thon starts on Monday, so really, I needed to get it done before then. So yeah, lots of posts!

I'll be uploading my 2nd entry for the Photo Challenge in this post as well (as you can see in the title) so, despite having loads of posts to do, I have it organised, don't worry. ;)

Anyways, the post. This year, I will be doing the BookTubeAThon! Yay! Basically, the BookTubeAThon is something created by Ariel Bissett (who is a wonderful YouTuber I watch) and a few other BookTubers and it is reading marathon. It starts on Monday July 14th at midnight your time and ends on Sunday 20th July at midnight your time. Basically, it lasts for all of next week.

The read-a-thon is a great way to motivate you to read, which is why I'm doing it - my TBR pile is more like the Empire Estate building x100,000,000 and that isn't even half of it. Ariel has created 7 challenges for everybody taking part to try to complete in the BookTubeAThon week. I thought I would tell you which books I would be attempting to read for each challenge and give you some more information about the BookTubeAThon.

Challenges:

1. Read a book with pictures.
For this challenge, I am going to be re-reading (my signed copy of) A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. I love this book and it has these beautiful illustrations in it, as you can see in the pictures below. Click here for the blurb.

2. Start and finish a series.
This is the challenge I don't think I will finish. I decided on another re-read for this one and chose The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Reading this will also double-up with Challenge 6. Click the links for the different blurbs (although if you don't know what The Hunger Games trilogy is about, I... I don't understand where you've been living); The Hunger Games - Catching Fire - Mockingjay.

3. Read a book with red on the cover.
I will be reading Half Bad by Sally Green, which is a book I took out of my school library as I have heard of it before and it sounds interesting and like it would be a good read. And it has a lot of red on the cover! It has this really cool flip cover thing. So the front cover is black (the 1st picture) but the back isn't the blurb, it's the same cover but white (the 2nd picture). Click here for the blurb.

4. Read a book that somebody else has chosen for you.
For this, I gave my good friend (and Parabatai - all you TMI lovers out there will know what I'm on about) Jee a list of 5 books for her to pick from. I had a strong suspicion she would choose this book for me, as I had just bought it for myself and a copy for her, for her birthday. And that book is Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. I know, cheesy title, but these books are meant to be absolutely amazing! So, yeah. I'm really excited to read this. Click here for the blurb.

5. Read a book in the genre that you have read the least of this year.
I haven't read any classics this year, so I will be reading a classic I have been meaning to get to for a while, and as it is quite a short one, I thought it would be perfect. I will be reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is something like 115 pages long, so should take me an afternoon. Click here for the blurb.

6. Read a book-to-movie adaptation.
As I said for Challenge 2, The Hunger Games trilogy will work for this as well, as I could watch either The Hunger Games or Catching Fire. However, if I don't get to Challenge 2, so therefore would not be doing this challenge, I will be reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner, as it is coming out as a film quite soon. I don't know if you have to watch the movie adaptation as well as read the book, but a few of the Youtubers I have seen do a video like this have chosen to read a book that has a movie not yet out on DVD or not yet out. So yeah. Click here for the blurb.

7. Read 7 books.
If I read all of these books, I will have read 7 books, so I will have completed this challenge. So hopefully I will read them all, but I doubt I will start and finish THG trilogy.

There you go, those are all the books I will be reading for the 2014 BookTubeAThon! Yaaaaayyy!

If you will be participating in the BookTubeAThon, please let me know in the comments and tell me which books you will be reading.
If you are thinking about participating but are not sure about a few things, head over to the official BookTubeAThon channel by clicking this sentence.

Ariel and a few of her friends will also be holding reading sprints on Twitter, so follow @BookTubeAThon if you're interested.

ALSO! Also also also also also, Ariel and some other BookTubers I watch have created a page on The Book Depository of 100 books they love. If you want to buy any of them, add them to your basket and at the checkout, enter the code BookTubeAThon into the 'coupon code' box and you will get 10% off your total cost. I bought 172 Hours on the Moon (click on the name for the blurb) there for £2.90 (that's $4.96 for you Americans) which ya know. Is not bad for a book! If you're interested click this link here to go to Ariel's video about what she's reading for BookTubeAThon, and in the description box below, click on the '100 Books Discount' link and have a little browse. Just thought I'd let you know!

The Great Gatsby and The Maze Runner are both on my Kindle, so that's why that's on the pile (do you like my case? OWLS!)












And finally, my entry to Paige's Photo Challenge: Category 2! Category 2 was Handwriting. Here it is!

It's really not very good but I didn't know what else to do. I thought I'd share this with you. I wrote it a few days ago. I don't know if you can read it. If you can't, don't worry because I'm thinking of typing it up and posting it on here, maybe for Creative Thursday, maybe just mid-week.

Anyways.
Thanks for reading. Love you. ♥

Mockingjay Teaser Trailer

Bonjour!
Quick, short post just to show you the new Mockingjay teaser trailer. Here it is below:

It looks so cool! And Peeta *sobs* Noooooo..... :(

I am so excited for this film! November must come sooner!

Anyway, that's all for today. Celia has posted Chapter 5 for her writing challenge, so you'll be able to read that tomorrow. :)

And just a little note: my friend Megan has just started her blog, The Life of Meg, so please go check that out! She's only just started it, but she will be getting it designed properly, it's just in the beginning stage at the moment! She'll be posting about books and films, as well has life-updates and stuff like that. So go check it out here please. :)

Thanks for reading ♥

Oops...Another Book Haul...

Hey, guys! I hope you all had a great weekend! I really hope you're enjoying my entries for Celia's Writing Challenge - Let me know any improvements or feedback you have in the comments below!
Anyways, I may or may not have added more books to my TBR....I'm sowwy... Let's just get straight into it!
The two books I bought at the Carnegie Shadowing event I was telling you about ages ago. I ended up reading out the book summaries before each performance and it was amazing! Everybody was super nice - I got chocolates at the end to say thanks! - and I met a girl in her second year of university (she was a judge) called Bethan who was basically me....Other teachers and judges were saying how similar we were :) She was reading A Tale of Two Cities, which is my favourite classic....So weird!
The first book I bought there I have mentioned in a previous book haul that I was reading. It is Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell:

Everyone thinks that Sophie is an orphan. True, there were no other recorded female survivors from the shipwreck which left baby Sophie floating in the English Channel in a cello case, but Sophie remembers seeing her mother wave for help. Her guardian tells her it is almost impossible that her mother is still alive, but that means still possible. You should never ignore a possible. So when the Welfare Agency writes to her guardian threatening to send Sophie to an orphanage, she takes matters into her own hands and flees to Paris to look for her mother, starting with the only clue has - the address of the cello maker. Evading the French authorities, she meets Matteo and his network of rooftoppers - urchins who live in the sky. Together they scour the city for Sophie's mother before she is caught and sent back to London, and most importantly before she loses hope.
{blurb via}

I love this book and I'm so glad I have my own copy now. It's a lovely, heart-warming book and the cover is beautiful! I mean, look at it!

The next book from Carnegie is The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks. Here's the blurb:

I can't believe I fell for it.

It was still dark when I woke up this morning.


As soon as my eyes opened I knew where I was.

A low-ceilinged rectangular building made entirely of whitewashed concrete.

There are six little rooms along the main corridor.

There are no windows. No doors. The lift is the only way in or out.

What's he going to do to me?

What am I going to do?

If I'm right, the lift will come down in five minutes.

It did. Only this time, it wasn't empty.
{blurb via}

Okay, so that doesn't really explain it much...Basically, Linus Weems (pronounced Reems) is 16 years old and thinks he's helping a blind man. But then the "blind" man kidnaps him. And then he shoves him in this bunker and starts to kidnap more people. I haven't read it yet but my friends have say it's amazing. They warned me not to read it before bed, though, because according to them it's "very disturbing". So I'm looking forward to reading it!

Next book!

These next four I got from the library. The first book is 0.4 by Mike Lancaster:

It's a brave new world. 'My name is Kyle Straker. And I don't exist anymore.' So begins the story of Kyle Straker, recorded on to old audio tapes. You might think these tapes are a hoax. But perhaps they contain the history of a past world...If what the tapes say are true, it means that everything we think we know is a lie. And if everything we know is a lie does that mean we are, too?
{blurb via}

I have read this before and oh my gosh.... This. Book. It  got me into sci-fi and if you haven't read it, please do. It should be a lot more well-known than it is. Please read this if you like sci-fi. SO. GOOD!

The next book is Fated by Sarah Alderson. Here's the blurb:

What happens when you discover you aren't who you thought you were? And that the person you love is the person who will betray you? If your fate is already determined, can you fight it?


When Evie Tremain discovers that she's the last in a long line of Demon slayers and that she's being hunted by an elite band of assassins - Shapeshifters, Vampires and Mixen demons amongst them - she knows she can't run. They'll find her wherever she goes. Instead she must learn to stand and fight.

But when the half-human, half-Shadow Warrior Lucas Gray is sent to spy on Evie and then ordered to kill her before she can fulfill a dangerous prophecy, their fates become inextricably linked. The war that has raged for one thousand years between humans and demons is about to reach a devastating and inevitable conclusion. Either one or both of them will die before this war ends.

If your life becomes bound to another's, what will it take to sever it?
{blurb via}

It sounds really good, so I decided to pick it up. Really excited to read this!

This book is called The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (bit of a mouthful!) by Jennifer E. Smith:

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?
{blurb via}

This isn't the type of book I normally read, but after reading and loving Fangirl (by Rainbow Rowell) I decided to pick up another cutesie book. I have head great things about Jennifer E. Smith's books - I really want to read all of her books; this one, This is what Happy Looks Like and the Geography of You and Me. I am really looking forward to reading this. :)

And the final book I picked up is Every Day by David Levithan. The blurb is below:

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There's never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It's all fine until the morning A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with - day in, day out, day after day.
{blurb via}

I am so excited to read this one! It just sounds like a really great read.

UPDATE: Got another book from my school library today, so I thought I'd add it as it is the book I'm currently reading. It's Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Here's the blurb:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Etienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?
{blurb via}

Really enjoying this book so far, despite only being on page 23. That's the end of my update. ;)

And that concludes the book haul! I hope you enjoyed it. :)

Thanks for reading ♥
Love you all!