Autumn Reading Tag

I've been seeing the Autumn Reading Tag going around YouTube over the past couple of weeks so I thought I'd give it a go here!

1) Are there any books you plan to read during autumn? 

Yes, as I mentioned in my currently reading post I really want to read The Bear and the Nightingale, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying. Outside of those three I'd also like to read The Girls by Lisa Jewell as it has a really autumnal cover, as well as The Girls by Emma Cline (if I finally get around to buying it). I'm also expecting Bloom by Estee Lalonde to arrive any day now, so I'm probably going to read that too. Unless I seriously up my reading game that should comfortably see me through to the start of December.

2) September brings back school memories: what book did you most enjoy studying and what were your favourite and least favourite subjects?

The first part of this book is really difficult, as there were several books I read and adored at uni (included Bastard out of Carolina, Beloved, and There But For The, to name a few). If i was to narrow it down to high school, though, I really enjoyed both Of Mice and Men and An Inspector Calls. My favourite subject was, surprise surprise, English Literature and my least favourite was either PE or Religious Studies - the first because I am very ungainly and slightly asthmatic, the second because we literally only watched films and never actually learnt anything important about any religion other than Christianity.

3) October means Halloween: do you enjoy scary books and films?

I enjoy thrilling films/tv shows - I'm not so great with gore. I also don't particularly enjoy scary books - although I do like a bit of Scandi-crime every so often (in both tv and books) which is as scary as I get!

4) November means bonfire nights and firework displays: name a book that's kept you gripped.

Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill is by far the most gripping book I've read this year. I powered through it and really loved it - even if it horrified me 90% of the time.

5) What is your favourite cosy comfort read?

I'm going to avoid saying Harry Potter and instead go for anything by John Green - less because the content of his books were particularly soothing and more because I find his pattern of writng very reassuring.

6) Curled up with a good book, what's your hot drink of choice?

Peppermint and Licorice tea by Pukka! It's sweet and fresh and perfect no matter what time of the day.

7) Any plans you're looking forward to over the next few months?

I'm going to Portugal at the start of November for a long weekend with two of my best friends, which I am super excited for!

That's all for the tag! I'm not going to tag anyone specifically but tweet me @VickiMaitland if you have a go!

The original tag was created here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObARs7jQGuQ

Cozy Book Tag

It feels like donkeys years since I last did a tag, and this one is Autumn themed, so let's get cracking! The first two pictures are from GoodReads, again because of bad lighting when I get home from work!

1) Crunchy Leaves - a book with orange and red hues.

I literally picked up the first orange and red book I saw, which happened to be Emergency Kit: Poems for Strange Times. This was a book I assigned at university but I never read as much of it as I should have - hopefully that will change soon!

2) Cozy Sweater - a book that makes you warm and fuzzy.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman is an adorable, if slightly sad, story about pensioner Ove. This was one of my Booktober books, and I adored it! Full review to follow.

3) Autumn Storm - the genre you read on a rainy day.

Dystopia or classic literature, when the weather is grey these genres seems to match the mood perfectly. I'm currently racing through The Maze Runner series, perfect rainy autumn reading, but I've been known to pick up Austen to bide my time during a dull patch.

4) Cool and Crisp Air - a character you'd like to switch places with.

This is really hard, especially as a lot of my favourite characters find themselves in situations I'd never want to be in! Sam from Perks of Being A Wallflower is effortlessly cool, though, and I'd love to stand in her shoes for a while. Frankie, from The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is another strong female character I'd love to be for a day or two!

5) Coats, Scarves and Mittens - a book with a cover you want to hide.

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer. You'll know if you read my review that I loved this book, but the cover just doesn't do it justice. It's not an ugly cover at all, but it's far too innocent for the content of the book. If I could change it to something darker and grittier I would.

6) Hot Apple Cider - a book that's been under-hyped.

I'd never heard of I'll Give You The Sun before I read it, and I completely loved it! It really surprised me considering how good it was that I hadn't heard of it before.

7) Pumpkin Spice - favourite comfort book. (The original question says comfort food, but since it's a book tag I've made it bookish!)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I think this one is pretty obvious, but the first sentence of this book alone can make me feel settled and calm.

What are your answers? Do the tag and let me know on twitter or leave a comment below!

The Happy Skin Tag

As you're reading this I'm just waking up to my final day in France! I've spent the past four days there visiting one of my closest friends, so there might be some kind of travel related post up on Tuesday. In the mean time, here's a quick little tag! Tanya Burr did this tag a few weeks ago and I thought it looked fun so I'm giving it a go.

1) How would you best describe your skin?

A little on the oily side, prone to blackheads but not to breakouts. I also have over reproductive skin cells on my cheeks, upper arms and occasionally on my thighs, which means I get little red bumps on my skin unless I scrub scrub scrub!

2) What are your main skincare concerns?

My T-zone is my main problem area for shine, so I try and counteract that whenever possible. Obviously I also have to watch out for the skin on my cheeks etc too.

3) What's the weirdest natural ingredient you've ever used in your skincare routine?

I wouldn't say this is part of my routine, but I tried out cinnamon and honey as an exfoliator the other day. It worked really well, and I've never heard of using cinnamon before!

4) How do you define happiness?

This is a bit of a loaded question after my Art of Emotion module this semester. For me, happiness is being comfortable in who you are, where you are, and who you're with.

5) Describe your skincare routine in five words.

Easy, exfoliating, speedy, cleansing, daily.

6) Top skincare tip.

Clean your face morning and night. Even if it's only with a warm, damp, flannel, it really makes a huge difference.

7) What makes you laugh every day?

My friends. They are always hilarious.

8) What steals your skin's natural radiance?

Lack of sleep/poor diet for sure. I really notice it if I have a couple of nights out!!

9) What are your top tips for healthy glowing skin?

Exfoliate in the evenings, especially in summer as it really makes a tan look even more beautiful. Keep hydrated and, most importantly, eat well!

10) What's your skin care 101?

Similar to the above but - keep hydrated, eat well, and get a good eight hours of kip a night! find a nice face mask that you can pamper yourself with once or twice a week, too, as it makes a real difference!

11) What is your happy place?

I love being surrounded by fields and nature, and anywhere my friends and family are!


I'm tagging anyone and everyone! If you do take part, tweet me a link to your post @VickiMaitland, tag me in your Instagrams (@vickimaitland) or leave a comment below!

The 'Me Time' Tag

As promised, after Friday's post thinking about priorities I thought I'd take a step back and reevaluate my own 'consumption of time' (for want of a better phrase). The 'Me Time' tag was a collaborative project between Estee and Amelia.

Q1) What do you read or watch in your 'me time'? I have got super into The West Wing recently, and that's been my go to TV show for the past few weeks. Sadly I don't have access to it at uni (boo hiss), so my down time is mostly spent watching YouTube. Bob's Burgers is a great one for an essay break as they're only 20 minutes long. I'm (still) currently reading Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, so that's my 'me time' bath read at the moment!

Q2) What do you wear? I'm pretty boring and I'll just wear my average day to day clothes. I'm not a huge fan of trackie bottoms or hoodies, so if I want something super comfy I'll probably just pull on a pair of harems, a loose t-shirt and a snugly sweater. I used to always be a bra on gal, but recently I've been enjoying the freedom of going bra-less on a down day.

Q3) Beauty products? I'll normally have a bath on a 'me time' day, so I'll toss in a bath bomb (if I have one, they're such a treat - actually they'll be a post up soon about why bath bombs are a sign you may need to check your privilege, but that's for another day). I'll put on a hair mask - either make my own from coconut oil and castor oil or (as that's a bit messy and coconut oil can clog up pipes really badly) I'll massage some Roots into my scalp and let it tingle! I'll put on a face mask - any of the ones from my 'Mission Skin' post depending on where the mood takes me. After the bath I'll always take the time to do a full body moisturise (I just use Superdrug's own brand Vitamin E moisturiser) or at this time of the year I like to do a bit of gradual tanning - I use Turn Me On by UR CHEEKY gradual tan and let me tell you there isn't too much gradual about it! Normally 'me time' means a no make-up day, but if there's the chance I need to look presentable I'll slap a bit of concealer under my eyes and a flick of mascara on my lashes and Bob's your mother's brother.

Q4) Current favourite nail polish? I have been loving the Barry M Speedy Quick Dry polish in Pit Stop - it's such a great neutral colour. I also love Sally Hansen's Good to Grape polish (although that's not cruelty free - it was a gift!). Painting my nails can feel like it takes forever sometimes, so on a 'me time' day I take my time and put on an episode of my favourite show to watch whilst my polish drys.

Q5) What do you eat and drink? I will always have a nice big cup of tea during my 'me time' - a friend recently gave me a box of Teapig's Popcorn Tea which is an extra special treat. Give me a couple of malted milks and a bar of dark chocolate and I'm sorted! A nice freshly blended smoothie will also do the trick during summer.

Q6) Current favourite candle? I love minty scents - I think they're so clean and refreshing, and my sister got me a Candy Cane Yankee Candle for Christmas that I've been eeking out. Sainsbury's do a nice Madagascan vanilla one too. If I had the money I would splash out on a soy candle, but student living doesn't allow those frivolities!

Q7) Do you have 'outdoor me time'? In the spring/summer I love going for walks around the fields where I live. I'll either pop on a comedy pod cast or my favourite album and I'll just go for a wander. If it's super hot reading outside in the sun is just the best thing ever.

Q8) Would you go and see a movie alone? I haven't, and I don't know if I would. I'm not a huge cinema fan - unless it's a really big film I don't see the point in spending the money and I'd much rather watch it in the comfort of my own sofa.

Q9) Favourite online stores? If you saw my back to school haul you'll know I am a big fan of boohoo.com, ASOS is pretty good too . I don't actually shop much online - usually I'll have seen something in store first then I'll go back and buy it online if its not in my size or something.

Q10) Anything you like to do during 'me time'? I really enjoy re-ordering my bookshelves - so if I've got the time that will be a 'me time' activity. Going through old photos, letters and ticket stubs etc is really lovely way to spend down time too. A scroll through my Instagram feed is nice if the physical copies aren't there, as it reminds me of happy memories and days when I was feeling myself.

I'm tagging anyone else who wants to take part - tweet me (@VickiMaitland) to let me know that you've taken part! I'm also going to tag a couple of fellow bloggers, Katie and Gemima. I know tags might not be your thing though, girls, so no pressure!

Fifteen Festive Favourites Tag

It's the last week of November, so I think I'm allowed to get a little festive, especially considering Tom created this tag at the beginning of the month! So sit back, take a sip of Mulled Wine or Nog, and join in the Christmas Cheer!

1) Festive Food - Brandy Butter. I love it on everything - especially a warmed mince pie or Christmas pud!

2) Reindeer - I always liked Vixen, mostly because its the nearest sounding to my own name!

3) Day of Christmas - I like the four calling birds, but only after the long five gold rings, and when I was little I would sing it as quickly as I could.

4) Christmas Song - Mine is a tie between White Wine in the Sun by Tim Minchin (which I weirdly identify with even though my Christmas is more like 'Mulled Wine in the Cold'), Parade of the Wooden Soldiers by Harry Connick Jr. (which I have loved from the Disney Christmas Sing A-Long VCR (that is really taking me back!)) and It Feels Like Christmas from The Muppets Christmas Carol. As a rule I prefer the classics (The Christmas Song, Deck the Halls, Winter Wonderland) to the new tunes, although I have a strange place in my heart for Only You by The Flying Pickets. Controversially, I cannot stand All I Want For Christmas Is You - it is so overplayed.

5) Christmas Present - Even though I love getting socks, books are always my favourite gifts to give and receive.

6) Film - The Muppet's Christmas Carol! My family watch it every year and it never gets old, and, as I've mentioned, It Feels Like Christmas is up there with my favourite Christmas songs! It has to be the English VCR version though, as the DVD copy cuts out The Love Is Gone - which is a sad but beautiful song. The Polar Express is a close second though.

7) Cracker Toy - Like, Tom, I love getting the screwdrivers. They always come in handy!

8) Cracker Joke - What do you call a cat in the desert? Sandy Claws!

9) Decoration - BAUBLES EVERYWHERE. My mum hangs them from gold string off curtain rails and piles them into glass vases. It makes everywhere look so festive, and I love them in classic gold and red.

10) Candle Scent - I love Yankee Candle's Christmas Memories and Candy Cane Lane scents. Anything with cinnamon and nutmeg - and a hint of peppermint - works for me though.

11) TV ad - I loved the M&S one with Antonio Banderas in it - even though its a bit sexist I loved the production value and it has stayed with me for the last 7 years!!  John Lewis never fail to disappoint either.

12) Tradition - For me its watching The Polar Express and The Muppet's Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve with my family.

13) Place to spend Christmas - At home with the family. Boring, I know, but its my favourite thing to do! Even spending it at my relatives doesn't feel quite right!

14) Christmas Fact - I don't think I have a Christmas fact, let alone a favouite one!

15) Snowman Accessory - The scarf. I love the snowman film, and his scarf is the classic symbol of Christmas.

There we go! I tag Katie-Kins Duncan to do this, along with anyone else who wants to join me in the festive spirit. Let me know if you take part by leaving a comment or tweeting me @VickiMaitland. My next post will be on going cruelty free, as I promised after my Herbal Essence Review.

Spooky Scary SkeleTAG/ The Halloween Tag

This tag was created by the wonderful Anna Fox (aka Annavslife) and although she didn't tag me in it as it is the week of All Hallows Eve I thought I'd give it a go!

1) What's your favourite horror movie? I am not a horror movie fan. I don't like gore, I don't like jump-scares. Just no. It doesn't appeal. However, if you add some singing in, then its fine by me, so my favourite horror-style movie is probably Sweeney Todd (the Tim Burton version).

2) If you were in a horror movie, how far do you think you'd get? I don't think I'm main character material, but nor am I unfit enough/motivation enough to be killed off early. I'd give myself a solid 15-20 minutes of running around screaming before I was offed.

3) Favourite scary video game? I'm not really a gamer, and overall prefer board games to anything else. However, I have played the odd game of Plants vs Zombies in my time... so that will have to be my choice.

4) Favourite scary story? I do enjoy the odd scary book (or perhaps tension filled book is a better way to describe it - again not good with the gore) and my favourite was this series of creepy stories that this kid was getting told by either his uncle or an old man in a house and I can never remember what it is called and I don't own it and it bugs me. But that book.

5) What's one unusual thing you are afraid of? I hate windows at night when the lights are on inside. It really creeps me out that I don't know who could be looking in but they could see everything. When I was really little I used to have nightmares that lots of people would be crowed outside my bedroom window behind the curtains waiting for me to open them. Creepy.

6) What's your first memory of Halloween? I was never raised particularly Halloween-y as Mum thought it was a stupid Americanised holiday (although she'd always let us dress up), but we would always hollow out a pumpkin and make pumpkin soup - and the taste of it always reminds me of home.

7) What's your favourite memory of Halloween? A few years ago, a group of friends and I went on a spooky walk around a water garden. There were actors dressed up to creep out of the shadows, tombstones, general Halloween decor. I remember running around giggling a screaming five or six times before we could be dragged home.

8) Best Halloween costume? When I was little mum would make these elaborate costumes and wigs and do all mine and my sisters make-up, and I remember looking very spooky in them. Recently, although not for Halloween, I dressed up as Belatrix and everyone said I looked scary!

9) Worst Halloween costume? I tired to go as Morticia Addams the other year, but a walk in the rain turned my make-up and straightened hair into a total mess!

Which is scarier...

10) Werewolves or Vampires? Probably werewolves, as I think it would be harder to appeal to their human side once they had shifted.

11) Ghosts or Zombies? Zombies for sure, although little girl ghosts are terrifying!

12) Creepy Dolls or Creepy Clowns? I always fins clowns a little bit creepy, so when a doll is scary I get more freaked out than when a clown is. So, doll.

13) Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers or Leatherface? This will show how much I don't watch horror films as I only recognise Freddy and Leatherface. And I thought Michael Myers was Austin Powers...  So after a quick google, Leatherface is visually the most intimidating, so I'll say him.

There is my (somewhat feeble) attempt at the Halloween tag. Let me know if you give this tag a go either by leaving a comment below or tweeting me @VickiMaitland.

The 'Feminism is my Jam' Tag

This tag was created by Kristina (@KristinaHorner) in coalition with Feminist Apparel (so sorry for the obvious plug in the last question). I was not tagged by anybody, but wanted to join in the fun! Here goes!

1) How and when did you realise you were a feminist? I think I was probably 17 when I began to identify as a feminist. I always knew I was interested in women's issues, but when I began to expand my online world from the realm of young British male YouTubers into a more female centered one that was when I really learnt about feminism. I studied is as a political ideology during my A Levels and found myself getting more and more passionate. I'm still learning though, so if you ever feel the need to call me out on something please do!

2) What is your favourite feminist book/movie/song? Its not strictly feminist but I love Lily Allen's F*** You (I'm asterisking just in case) as it is super bolshy and empowering. I also love the Sister Suffragettes song from Mary Poppins. My favourite TV show is Parks and Recreation, which is super empowering and has such strong female roles.

3) Where do you go to read up on current feminist topics? Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook - I make sure the people I follow are people who are interested in and support feminism. I'm also a member of my universities feminist society, and their weekly discussion groups are really interesting.

4) How do you 'treat yo' self'? Buying makeup and home-ware is a huge treat for me. I'm just starting to really get into make-up and it can be really expensive when I want to try out everything. I'm also trying to make my room look more homely this year, so investing in candles, pot plants and flowers is a big treat.

5) What is the most effective way to explain feminism to a newbie? Going slowly and being patient with them is very important. Calling them out and explaining why you are calling them out is also important. I'd also probably show them Emma Watson's He for She speech as it is a great starting point for people who are ignorant to feminist ideas.

6) Fill in the blank: I kick the patriarchy to the curb by _____? Like Kristina, I think speaking up and calling out are the best ways to get feminism heard. I also try to support female creators where I can, and I'd estimate that a good 90% of my YouTube feed and Tumblr dash is female ran.

7) Do you have any feminist YouTubers to recommend? Rosianna, Leena, Lex, Anna... The list could go on.

8) What is your favourite Feminist Apparel t-shirt? I love the 'Cats Against Catcalls' tee as well as the 'I Think Your Sexist Jokes Are Boring' one. Sadly I own neither, but would love to if I had the money.

I tag anyone who wants to take part, as well as the ladies at Parallel Magazine (you can support their kickstarter here)

The British Tag

I haven’t done a tag in ages, so when this popped up a couple of times on my subscription feed I thought I’d give it a go. Originally created here, I saw Sanne and Lex’s versions.

Q1) How many cups of tea do you have a day and how many sugars do you take? I love tea. I drink at least 4 cups a day, although none of this is traditional builders brew. I don’t like milk, so I drink a lot of herbal teas (my favourite brand is PUKKA and I’ve become a bit of a snob about it). My dad recently bought me a loose leaf tea strainer and some teas to try, and I’ve been loving Darjeeling. When I do drink builders, I have it with a slice of lemon. I never take sugar.

Q2) Favourite part of your roast: My mum cooks the best roasts, so I would love to say all of it, but if I had to pick it would be the gravy. I love mum’s gravy.

Q3) Favourite dunking biscuit: Malted Milks are fabulous but don’t last very long. Rich Tea’s are the most hardy when it comes to dunking. I also love dunking chocolate into a mint tea, it’s delicious.

Q4) Favourite quintessentially British pastime: The Sunday Roast. The whole family have to sit down for Sunday roasts. Fish and Chip nights form a close second.

Q5) Favourite word: Spiffing is one of the most British words I know, but my actual favourite word changes from weeks to week. At the moment I really like the word lackadaisical.

Q6) Cockney rhyming slang: Awight Guv’nor, just climb the apples me old china! (Apples = apples and pears = stairs, china = china plate = mate)

Q7) Favourite Sweet: Cough candy is my favourite sweet shop sweet. I can’t resist a good Murray mint either!

Q8) What would your pub be called? This is hard as I don’t want to pick one with either head or arm on the end of it! Maybe… The Creaking Bookshelf? Sounds a bit Harry Potter maybe?

Q9) No1 British person: Speaking of HP, it has to be J K Rowling.

Q10) Favourite shop/restaurant: There is a small bar in my town called Franks Bar, and it does some of the most delicious food I’ve eaten! It’s always a huge treat to go.

Q11) What British song pops into your head? Any and all Spice Girls songs (in particular Wannabe).

Q12) Marmite? YES. Love it.  

I'm tagging everyone, and if you decide to do it tweet me @VickiMaitland and let me know!

Tag: Opposite Books

I haven’t done a book blog post in a while, so here’s a little tag. It was originally created here but I saw it over on LittleBookOwl.

1) The first book in your collection/The last book you bought.

I have no idea what the first book in my collection would be! Maybe one of the Harry Potter books, although I’m not sure I bout any of them with my own money. The last books I bought were a present for my sister: Grimm Tales for Young and Old by Phillip Pullman; The Kill Order, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure by James Dashner; The Devil in Amber by Mark Gatiss.

2) A cheap book/An expensive book 

The cheapest book I own is probably A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Maria Lewycka which I found for 10p on a charity book stall. I’m not counting the free Kindle books. The most expensive is The Norton Anthology of Shakespeare, which came in at a tidy £27 (although it retails at £34). Its over 3000 pages though, so it’s probably worth it.

3) A book with a male protagonist/A book with a female protagonist. 

I’m going to slightly cheat here and pick Woman’s World: a graphic novel by Graham Rawle. Entirely constructed of clippings from 1950’s women’s magazines, it was one of the best books I’ve read. If you’ve read it, you’ll know why it falls under both categories, but for those who haven’t I won’t go into it too heavily.

4) A book you read quickly/A book that took you long to read. 

I sped through The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams last summer, and would really recommend it. I took ages to read The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevski. I had to read it for my course and it took 6 weeks, reading between 100 and 300 pages each time. It’s a very dense book, almost 1000 pages long, and for huge chunks of it not a lot happens. I felt good once I’d finished it, but if I was reading on my own I wouldn’t have got past the halfway point. I never finished the Millennium series by Steig Larson. I’m still ¼ through The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest and don’t know if I’ll ever finish it. I really hated who Lisbeth became after the first book, and it sapped my enjoyment for the series.

5) A pretty cover/An ugly cover. 

The cover of Grimm Tales for Young and Old by Phillip Pullman is beautiful. I got in in hardback and it’s gorgeous. I also love the hardback cover of Mr Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookshop by Robin Sloane. I’m relatively picky with covers, because I can get books on Kindle it needs to be worth my while to get the paper copy. That being said, I do own a couple of ugly books. Ill Wind by Rachel Caine is probably the worst cover that I own (not counting free books, which tend to have less production value).

6) A national book/An international book. 

I presume this means author rather than setting. With that in mind, I’m picking the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman. He’s about as national as I can get, as he is originally from my home county! International books tend to dominate my shelves, with most of them being American, and most of my TBR is from American origin. One of the few translated authors I’ve read was Cornelia Funke, who is German. I loved Inkheart, and I own Dragon Rider.

7)  A thin book/A thick book. 

One of the thinnest books I own is The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan. I loved it and you can find my review here. For a thick book I’ve already mentioned The Norton Shakespeare and The Brother’s Karamazov which are 3000+ and 1000 pages respectively.

8) A fiction book/A non-fiction book. 

Most of my books are fiction, so I’ll pick one of my favourites: NW by Zadie Smith. I have mentioned this book loads, but I really do recommend it. Both On Beauty and White Tigers are on my summer TBR pile. For my non-fiction pick I’m choosing Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg. I highly recommend it for any writer – it is wonderful.

9) A romantic book/An action book. 

For this I’m going to pick matching books: Pride and Prejudice and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I love these as a pair, and think they’re so much fun to read back to back. I don’t really read straight romance, but so much of YA lit has romance in it, even if it’s action, so The Hunger Games series would cover both of these.

10)  A book that made you happy/One that made you sad. 

Again, I don’t often read wholly happy or wholly sad – I like to think literature is and should be more complex than that. With that in mind, I’m saying pretty much any book by John Green, in particular Looking For Alaska. Both hilarious and heart breaking. If I could twist this to a film, I’d say Extremely Loud, Incredibly Close. I cried throughout the film, but its happy and sad at the same time. I think the book is on my reading list for my traumatergies module next semester, so I’m really looking forward to reading it.

There you have it! I tag everyone, so if you do give it a go please leave a comment to let me know or tweet me @Vicki Maitland!

Tag: Social Media Book Tag

I am a huge fan of book tags, but I rarely see them on blogs. I know lifeofafemalebibliophile has a wonderful Tag Thursdays segment on her blog, but she seems to be the only one I've come across. I find most of the tags on YouTube, which sometimes means there's questions I can't answer, so if you've got a blog and do book tags, or know a blog which does please let me know - I'm always on the look out for new reads!

I found this tag over on Margaret's channel, and it was originally created by Reagan, so with all the admin out of the way let's get down to it!

Twitter: a book you want to share with the world - Rather aptly (because of the length of some of its entries), I've chosen The Lovers Dictionary by David Levithan. I was completely blown away by this book! I'd read Adverbs by Daniel Handler previously, and was pretty impressed with it, and this book has a similar premise but delivers ten times better. Everything about it, from the premise to the layout to the plot to the language was all stunning. AND it's only 215 pages long, so everyone's got the time to read it! I did a review of it over on my book exclusive blog, so if you want to find out more of my thoughts you can check it out here (although if you don't have time to look at it right away I'm planning on transferring a lot of my posts from that blog over here, so it'll probably be up in the next few months anyway).

Facebook: a book you enjoyed that was recommended by someone else - The Night Circus by Erin Mogenstern was recommended to me by my sister. I picked it up expecting it to be a children's fantasy/magic book, and was stunned at how beautiful and adult it was. Definately a YA/adult read, it follows Le Cirque de Reves - a mysterious circus that arrives out of nowhere, opens at dusk and closes at dawn. A wonderful read, and I would definitely recommend it again!

Tumblr: a book you raved out before blogging, but haven't since - When I was younger I adored Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. It was mystical and magical and everything I wanted from a book as a young reader. I really want to go back and re-read it. I saw the film and read one or two of the sequels, but nothing could beat the original...

Myspace: a book you don't plan on re-reading - I like to think I'm pretty good at sticking books out even if I don't like them, but there were several on my eighteenth century literature course which I was very happy to see the back of. Pamela by Samuel Richards is one of those. That book couldn't be over soon enough!

Instagram: a book with a gorgeous cover - Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler. Not only has it got a wonderful cover, but Maria Kalman has done beautiful illustrations throughout. Again, I've done a review here.

YouTube: a book you wish would be made into a movie - The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri N Murari was full of suspense and action, and set in such a beautiful place with a horrific foreground I could really imagine it looking wonderful and haunting on the big screen.

Skype: a book with characters you wish you could talk to - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Elizabeth Bennet is one of my favourite characters of all time, and I wish I could have a conversation looking into those fierce eyes! Similarly, I'd love to have a chin wag with almost any of the more minor characters (plotwise, not in our hearts) in Harry Potter.

There you go! I'm tagging anyone who wants to give it a go, but let me know if you do in the comments, or by tweeting me @VickiMaitland