The Overflowing Library

I love a good Aussie YA novel. I often find they a very different feel to them in style to the UKYA titles that usually take up my reading time. I can't even put my finger on what it is about them exactly but I like it. Last year I went through a real binge of Aussie YA titles reading book after book which was awesome. I must admit I often stalk Carla's (formerly of the Crooked Shelf) goodreads Aussie YA shelf when I am looking for Aussie titles to read and I while it is always a brilliant opportunity to find new books sometimes trying to get hold of the books is frustrating. One book I've had my eye on for a while is This is Shyness but I couldn't find it anywhere. I was therefore incredibly excited a few weeks back to be offered it and its sequel Queen of the Night for review. In the suburb of Shyness, the sun doesn't rise. Wolfboy meets a stranger called Wildgirl, who dares him to be her guide through the endless night. There are things that can only ...

Everybody knows about the Cooper Killings – the Bel Air home invasion that rocked the nation. There was only one survivor - a sixteen year-old girl. And though the killers were caught they walked free. Now eighteen, Nic Preston - the girl who survived - is trying hard to rebuild her life. She’s security conscious to the point of paranoia and her only friend is a French Mastiff bulldog, but she’s making progress. She’s started college in New York and has even begun dating. But then one night her apartment is broken into and the life Nic’s worked so hard to create is shattered in an instant. Finn Carter - hacker, rule breaker, player – is the last person Nic ever wants to see again. He’s the reason her mother’s killers walked free from court. But as the people hunting her close in, Nic has to accept that her best and possibly only chance of staying alive is by keeping close to Finn and learning to trust the person she’s sworn to hate. Fleeing across a snowbound New England...

Unlike many keen readers and writers, I’m not a book hoarder. I don’t have stacks of musty paperbacks heaped in my hall and certainly haven’t got hundreds of boxes in the garage. In fact, I hate clutter and for me being a book lover means only keeping those books which are either really beautiful or very useful, and depending on the book, I keep it in a specific place in my home.   The first place you’d go to look for a book in my house is to the library. Oo-la-la, sounds posh, dunnit? Actually, this was a junk room that I decided to convert into a space for reading and listening to music and which houses a variety of books belonging to the whole family. You’ll see on these shelves classics from Middlemarch to yoga anatomy books. I shelve the poetry, plays and short stories together and will regularly clear these shelves to make space for newer, prettier books. I also have a small non-fiction section including many self-help books encouraging me to be an all round...

Yesterday I was delighted to host a stop on the Secrets, Schemes and Sewing Machines blog tour. As a thank you for doing that I received both Secret, Schemes and Sewing machines and the companion book Love, Lies and Lemon Pies to read. I adored both of the books. They reminded me of Sarra Manning's novel but aimed at a younger audience. Lottie, our narrator, captures the experience of a young teenage girl navigating the world of school cliques, difficult teachers and new romance, creating a world that young readers are sure to recognize. Since her dad died, life hasn't been the same for Lottie - it was easier to push her friends away than cope with their awkwardness. But when the school suggest she joins Bake Club to get her back on track, Lottie reluctantly agrees. But Lottie's uncertainty about Bake Club melts away as she rekindles her love of baking and gets caught up with Mac, the school rebel and another unwilling Bake Club member. Both Lottie and Mac h...

Getting To Know Fictional People For me, writing a book always starts with the characters. I need to know who the people in my story are, before I can begin to imagine what might happen to them. And it’s strange to think that these people who, by the time the book is published, feel so real and alive to me, all start as nothing but a scrap of an idea on a page. All characters are different, and they definitely all develop their own characteristics and personalities as I write them. Some wander into my brain almost fully formed, without me even having to think about making them up (Jasper, a secondary character in my two YA novels, Love, Lies & Lemon Pies and Secrets, Schemes & Sewing Machines, was the most complete character I’ve ever had just turn up and insist on being in a book!) whereas others take a lot more thinking about and planning. But either way I find it’s always useful to establish some basics before I start. A lot of character worksheets list...

And these are they. My final moments. They say a warrior must always be mindful of death, but I never imagined that it would find me like this . . . Japanese teenager, Sora, is diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Lonely and isolated, Sora turns to the ancient wisdom of the samurai for guidance and comfort. But he also finds hope in the present; through the internet he finds friends that see him, not just his illness. This is a story of friendship and acceptance, and testing strength in an uncertain future. This is a really beautiful book. I love the diversity of it in two ways. Firstly it gives the reader insight into the typical life of someone outside of the UK. The main character is Japanese and just seeing those little differences in his daily life is much needed to give insight into someone living in a completely different part of the world The main character is suffering from ALS which is getting progressively worse and seeing the impact that has on...

There is a C.S. Lewis quote − ‘You can never get a cup of tea large enough o r a book long enough to suit me ’ −   that sums up two of my f avourite things: books and tea. Ju st like this first picture of my bookcases at home does . I bought this tea set in Beijing last April, when I went there during my honeymoon. You'll also notice The Penguin History of Modern China on the shelf next to it. I haven't read this yet. I do like non-fiction and always think I should be reading more of it. Yet, I tend to find myself putting it down and reaching for a novel and thinking, ‘I'll read that another time when I can concentrate on it properly.’ This shelf is quite a good snapshot of my reading tastes − some classics ( 1984 and Paradise Lost ), some kids’ books ( The Double Life of Cassiel Roadnight and Boy Meets Boy ) as well as some modern adult fiction ( One Day , Pigeon English and Cat’s Eye ). Margaret Atwood is one of my favourite writers and Cat'...