The new £10 note was released on September 14th, gracing Britain with the lovely visage of Jane Austen, along with that of Queen Elizabeth II of course. Jane Austen was a popular choice for being on a bank note; she’s one of Britain’s most famous authors and her books continue to be read 200 years after her death.
reviews
Let’s Talk: Philip Pullman
Happy October! I’ve been looking forward to this month for so long! The 19th of October sees Pullman’s new book, La Belle Sauvage (the first in the Book of Dust series), finally being released. And man, am I excited. And on the 20th of October, Pullman is giving a talk at the London Southbank Literary Festival about his new series, and guess who got tickets? Yes, me!
So, with all that going on this month, let’s talk about Philip Pullman. Or more specifically: let’s talk Dust!
When Gaiman and Pratchett collide
For those of you who’ve been with me for a while, you probably already know that I’m quite a fan of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. So, imagine my overwhelming delight when I discovered Good Omens.
The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov
I’ve become a little obsessed with Asimov as of late. I discovered him last year when I was looking into science fiction literature for my Master’s degree, but I didn’t really read much other than the odd short story. I finally decided to tackle his masterpiece, The Foundation Series, this summer. Let me tell you, no regrets!
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I’m a bit late to the party. The Help was released in 2009 and I’ve only just now read it. *Hangs head in shame* Apparently it’s also a film. Suffice to say, I haven’t seen that either.
Hornblower Goes to Sea by C. S. Forester
I’m currently on holiday in the Netherlands, visiting some friends and family and having a good time. Yesterday, I went to Maastricht, a city in the South of the country, and there I spent the day drinking coffee on lively terraces and reading my book in the sunshine…bliss!
2016: Reading in Review
In January 2016 I decided to take part in the Goodreads Reading Challenge for the first time. I set my target to 71 books based on my reading patterns from the previous years when I used to write down all the books I read in a notebook. To my surprise, when I checked my Goodreads account yesterday, I had managed to read 100 books! A few of these books were graphic novels, and I think it also helped that I was completing a Literature Masters degree and had to read books for my courses, so thanks to that I was able to read a lot more than I thought.
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
I think that most people have either read this, have read reviews about this, or have heard of it at the very least, so I’m a bit late to the party (don’t worry if you haven’t actually heard of this…you have now 🙂 ). This novel took me a bit longer to get through that I had planned because I picked up a whole bunch of other books along the way (story of my life). But I finally decided to dedicate my undivided attention to it during my holiday in Jordan and boy was it worth it!
Reading Update: August
September has already started so I’m a bit behind with posting my reading update for last month…sorry! I’m currently back at home in London, visiting my family, and I’ve had plenty time for reading. My mum is also a big reader, so we spent many days in August sitting together on the couch and reading…pure bliss in my opinion 🙂
So here’s what I managed to read last month…
Reading Update: July
July is my favourite month. It’s summer, it’s my birthday month, and it’s finally the holidays! For me: the holidays = more time for reading 😉 So here’s what I read this month…
When Literature and Science Collide 