Top Ten Tuesday: Beach Reads Week 31/5/16

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over there at The Broke and the Bookish. I'd love to share my lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

It's the beach reads time of year again-AMAZING! Now to be a beach read needs to reflect where you're reading it and it needs to keep you occupied whilst you loose yourself in the glorious sunshine, but above all else, it needs to be funny! So my list is going to be reflective of this...

1. Anything by Paige Toon-pure escapism!

2. Anything by Jane Costello-so so funny! 

3. Anything by Lindsey Kelk-see above! 

4. Anything by Marian Keyes-hilarious!

5. The Libby Lomax Series by Lucy Holliday

6. Anything by Sophie Kinsella, take the whole collection on your Kindle if you can! 

7. Anything by Alexandra Brown (I read the whole Carringtons series whilst on a sunlounger in Italy!)

8. Anything by Tracy Bloom-hilarious! 

9. The Island Escape by Kerry Fisher

10. Anything by Lucy Robinson-in fact just read her whole back catalogue right now if you haven't already!

Review: Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran

When Caitlin Moran sat down to choose her favourite pieces for her new book she realised that they all seemed to join up. Turns out, it’s the same old problems and the same old ass-hats.

Then she thought of the word ‘Moranifesto’, and she knew what she had to do…

This is Caitlin’s engaging and amusing rallying call for our times. Combining the best of her recent columns with lots of new writing unique to this book, Caitlin deals with topics as pressing and diverse as 1980s swearing, benefits, boarding schools, and why the internet is like a drunken toddler.

And whilst never afraid to address the big issues of the day – such as Benedict Cumberbatch and duffel coats – Caitlin also makes a passionate effort to understand our 21st century society and presents us with her ‘Moranifesto’ for making the world a better place.

The polite revolution starts here! Please.


Review: if you've been following the blog for a while, you'll know that I'm a massive fan of Caitlin Moran and her work. Now I wasn't so sure what Moranifesto was going to be like when I heard that this was her next project but her books are an auto-buy for me and so of course i had to get it! The book is split into topics and there are previously published columns on these topics as well as some articles she has written specifically for this book. This is a really good format I feel as it means you can pick this book up and put it down again after just reading an article or two. I ended up listening to this book on audiobook so I didn't really read it that way but it would be amazing if you are reading this on a commute because each section is short and so allows you to read in between legs of your journey.

Caitlin Moran's voice is as strong as ever in this latest book. She covers topics such as high heels and relationships, right down to rape and politics. If you've ever read anything by Moran before you'll know she tells it like it is and so if you're easily offended by straight talking, you should approach this one with caution. You know what each section or article is going to be about, however, before you read it and so if any of these are triggers, you can simply breeze last them. Equally, if you really don't fancy the section on women's clothing, you can skip it and come back to it later,

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was Caitlin's introduction before each section and each article. She had some witty comments of an anecdote that out each article into context and so you felt really like she was talking to you and only you the entire time, like the whole book was taking place through your conversation (I would LOVE to have a conversation with this lady I can tell you!) this and the structure meant that it was a fairly quick read. I felt educated on some of the areas I knew less about and learned some interesting statistics that I think had been kept hidden from me for quite a while. The section on sex workers was a particular eye opener. I would really recommend the audiobook of this one, although if you are planning on reading this over your morning/evening commute then perhaps a physical copy might be better suited. I enjoyed this book and it will sit happily with the rest of my Caitlin Moran collection and be bought for many friends as her previous books have been.

Review: The Summer Escape by Lilly Graham

Amongst the beautiful olive groves and sea-front tavernas, summer has arrived on the sun-drenched island of Crete. 

After losing the love of her life, Ria’s life has been on hold. So when her boss becomes completely unbearable she makes the snap decision to run away to the Greek island of Crete, armed only with her passport. 

When Ria finds herself working for eccentric novelist Caroline, she meets handsome vineyard owner Tom. He’s charming, mysterious and Ria starts to wonder if it’s not just the beautiful Greek island that she’s falling for. 

But as Ria gets to know Tom better, she uncovers a tangled web of secrets. What is he hiding? Ria has some secrets of her own. Can she open up to Tom and learn to live again? 

This summer, escape to the sun with this charming and emotional story about starting over and grabbing happiness with both hands. 

Review: Lily Graham is a new author to me, but I was keen to read this novel having had a look at the synopsis. The cover is also something to attract readers, with its lovely summery, Mediterranean feel. I wasn't drawn into the story immediately, but from chapter 2, when the actions of the heroine suddenly became a little bizarre, I was hooked and devoured the rest of the book as fast as I could. 

The main character is Ria (short for Ariadne, the name due to her father's being Greek). She is somewhat disillusioned with her job as an obituary writer for a newspaper, a job made all the more unsuitable for the young woman because of a tragedy in her recent past and also due to the attitude of her fellow workers and her boss towards her seemingly excellent writing, which they really don't appreciate.  Her life takes a turn when she does something completely out of character, gets on a plane and lands up on the beautiful Greek island of Crete. She is very lucky in the people she meets up with there who bring her out of the depression she has been suffering from  for so long. In addition to Ria, there are some other really strong and interesting characters in the story, including the local English newspaper editor, Nigel, a retired travel writer, Caroline, Tom and Tony, brothers connected with the wine business, and Iliana, Tony's wife. Ria ends up helping Caroline to write her memoirs, which lead to some amusing revelations. Caroline and Ria develop a lovely relationship; she's a much better boss than the one Ria left behind.

I really liked the fact that this is not a simple love story. There is some sleuthing entwined with a growing romance for Ria. There is a mystery to be solved, and she is not going to be happy until all the facts are revealed. I also liked most of the characters  Ria meets during her investigations, except of course for the wicked ones that we are not supposed to like at all! Although I was always fairly sure who she was going to fall for, I was not clear until the very end how the mystery would pan out. It was enjoyable watching the growing relationships between Ria and the rest of the characters and also the way in which the clues to the mystery were pieced together.

Lily Graham's writing really brings Crete to life on the pages of this book. You can almost smell the souvlaki and feel the sand between your toes and the sun on the back of your neck.  I'm not so sure about the Greek coffee though!  If you're looking for a summer escape for yourself, pop this one into your bag or suitcase.  I'm sure, like me, you will be transported off to the Greek islands and become immersed in the mystery Ria has found. 

Blog Tour: Summer at Rose Island by Holly Martin

Its my stop on the blog tour today! I have a review for you and if you keep scrolling down there is some author info and of course those all-important buy links! But firstly here's what it's all about:

Fall in love with the gorgeous seaside town of White Cliff Bay this summer and enjoy long sunny days, beautiful beaches and… a little romance. 

Darcy Davenport is ready for a fresh start. Determined to leave a string of disastrous jobs and relationships behind her, she can’t wait to explore White Cliff Bay and meet the locals. 

When Darcy swims in the crystal clear waters of the bay, she discovers the charming Rose Island Lighthouse. But it’s not just the beautiful building that she finds so intriguing… 

Riley Eddison doesn’t want change. Desperate to escape the memories of his past, he lives a life of solitude in the lighthouse. Yet he can’t help but notice the gorgeous woman who swims out to his island one day. 

Darcy is drawn to the mysterious and sexy Riley, but when it seems the town is trying to demolish his home, she soon finds herself having to pick sides. 

She’s fallen in love with White Cliff Bay. But is that all Darcy’s fallen for? 

Pull up a deck chair, sink back with a bowl of strawberry ice cream and pick up the summer read you won’t be able to put down.

Review: This book was a bit of a slow starter for me but once it got going I was loving the romantic tension and the air of mystery surrounding Darcy, Riley and  White Cliff Bay. I think that the reason this book took a while to get going for me was because I haven't read the previous 2 books in the series. I know they are awesome but I had to get to know the characters as I got into this book and I think that if I already knew the characters, things would have fallen into place a lot quicker. So my first piece of advice surrounding this book is that I would read this as the third in a series, enjoy the first two White Cliff Bay books before sinking into this one. 

I quite like that fact that Holly martin writes about the characters we have already met in books one and two with familiarity, she doesn't spend long introducing them into the story. At the same time, we don't get to learn a lot about Darcy or Riley straight away. We know a lot about Darcy's family and some of the reasons that she has arrived at White Cliff bay but it is really quite interesting having to get to know these two characters as they get to know each other. We also discover that there is so much more to them than meets the eyes. 

Now boy-does Holly Martin know how to write a love scene. I was feeling seriously hot under the collar every time Darcy and Riley looked at each other. Despite the fact that this was definitely a slow burner and nothing physical was ever explicit, it was seriously steamy. She must put as much passion into writing about their smouldering looks and soft kisses on the cheek as she does writing her descriptions of the waves, the sea and the atmosphere in the bay itself. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book. Overall I think this was a good summer read. For me, it suffered slightly because I hadn't read the previous two novels but if you've read those then I'm sure this one will grab you straight away! I suggest you go and binge read all three and then get back to me to discuss!

Links

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29155233-summer-at-rose-island?from_search=true&search_version=service

Amazon.co.uk - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BTEBK9A/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_uk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738

Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BTEBK9A?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01BTEBK9A&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2

About The Author

Holly has been writing for six years. She was shortlisted for the New Talent Award at the Festival of Romance. Her short story won the Sunlounger competition and was published in the Sunlounger anthology. She won the Carina Valentine's competition at the Festival of Romance 2013 with her novel The Guestbook. She was shortlisted for Best Romantic Read, Best eBook and Innovation in Romantic Fiction at the Festival of Romance 2014. Holly lives in Bedfordshire.

Links

Website - https://hollymartinwriter.wordpress.com

Twitter - https://twitter.com/hollymartin00

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/holly.martin.167189?fref=ts

GoodReads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7336832.Holly_Martin

Amazon Page - http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00DTUNB5E/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1?ie=UTF8&text=Holly+Martin&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Holly+Martin&sort=relevancerank

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I Feel Differently About After Time HasPassed 24/5/16

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over there at The Broke and the Bookish. I'd love to share my lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

An interesting one this week, you guys know I'm not much of a re-reader but I do like sequels and series of books and sometimes by the time you get a couple of books into a series you can feel differently about the first book in that series. So here goes. (There aren't that many that I feel strongly about so it's just going to be a top 5 this week I'm afraid)

1. Forever by Judy Blume. Now this was one of those books that got me back into reading after a couple of years of only reading books school made me read. I discovered Judy Blume and then I discovers this one, I think it was the first book I pushed on someone actually (and her mother came round and told my mother what I had done and how awful it was) but then I re-read it and...not so sure anymore. It won't change the fact that it was a bookish turning point for me though! 

2. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. Now I really enjoyed this book when I listened to it on audiobook after it first came out. Then I read the sequel and I have subsequently seen the film. The sequel and the film add a layer of deeper understanding for me and hearing Jojo Moyes talk about it before the screening of the film only added to this and I feel differently about it now...

3. Fifty Shade of Grey. Now this might seem like an obvious one but bare with me... This was another book that got me back into reading after a little slump. I had just started a new job and I picked this up because it was the weekly offer in WhSmith. I then pre-ordered the next 2 when they came out and read those. I enjoyed each one, they were quick reads and I enjoyed the development of the story. When I went back to read Grey when it came out though, I realised I enjoyed a whole different style of writing now and didn't feel the same way about EL James as I used to. 

4. The Hunger Games. I really thought I wasn't going to like this trilogy, I'm not a fan of dystopian, I lie to read about characters like me set today in a recognisable world, I tried other fantasy type books and didn't win but wow, hunger games! I see it now, they changed my view and I stormed thorough the trilogy! 

5 Fairytale of New York by Miranda Dickinson. This was my favourite Miranda Dickinson novel for a very long time, that is until the sort of sequel to this came out and knocked it off the top spot, thus chNging my feelings about it. I'll Take Manhattan is amazing and I love it and I read it all in one go-YEY! 

So there you have it, five books I feel differently about for 5 different reasons-YEY! What's on your list?.

Guest Review: The Plumberry School of Comfort Food. Part One. FoodGlorious Food by Cathy Bramley

This is Part One in a brand-new serial from bestselling author Cathy Bramley.

Verity Bloom hasn't been interested in cooking anything more complicated than the perfect fish finger sandwich, ever since she lost her best friend and baking companion two years ago.

But an opportunity to help a friend is about to land her right back in the heart of the kitchen! The Plumberry School of Comfort Food is due to open in a few weeks’ time and has rather gone off the boil. It needs the kind of great ideas that only Verity could cook up . . .

But as Verity tries to balance stirring up publicity, keeping their top chef sweet and soothing her aching heart, will her move to Plumberry prove to be a sheer delight . . . or a recipe for disaster?

The Plumberry School of Comfort Food is an irresistibly charming novel told in four parts – following the adventures of Verity Bloom in love, friendship and cooking. This is the first part.

This is part one of a serialised story from the talented Cathy Bramley. There are three more parts to follow. I found that this instalment grabbed me from page one and had me turning the pages eager to find out what would happen next. I was particularly excited to learn that the inspiration behind the story is a lady who owns a cookery school and runs one of my favourite restaurants in the Lake District.

The heroine of the tale is Verity Bloom (great name) who has been double crossed by her boyfriend and, as a consequence, has lost her job in marketing. As one door closes, another one opens as they say, and Gloria, the mother of a dear friend, asks Verity to help out with the opening of her new cookery school. Gloria's daughter, Mimi, died tragically two years before, leaving husband, Gabe, and young son, Noah, look after themselves, although Verity and Gloria help out where they can. We see Verity begin to rediscover her interest in cooking, which she lost when Mimi died, and become increasingly involved in the cookery school. Other characters she meets include Michelin star chef Tom and Gloria's friend Mags, not forgetting two cute-sounding dachshunds.

I really like all of the characters in the story so far, with the exception of Verity's nasty boyfriend (now thankfully ex). The setting for the cookery school, an old mill just outside the Yorkshire village of Plumberry, sounds quite idyllic. As usual, everything is brought to life by Cathy's writing and the story flows nicely. Of course, being part of bigger story, it left me desperate to find the next part as it ended on quite a cliffhanger.  A nice touch is that Cathy has added a few recipes at the end of the story. Definitely not one to read if you're already hungry!

Cover reveal: The Bookshop on Rosemary Lane by Ellen Berry

The Bookshop on Rosemary Lane

Ellen Berry

Ebook and Paperback: 14^th July 2016

In the beginning…

Kitty Cartwright has always solved her problems in the kitchen. Her cookbooks are her life, and there isn’t an issue that ‘Cooking with Aspic’ can’t fix. Her only wish is that she had a book entitled ‘Rustling Up Dinner When Your Husband Has Left You’.

Forty years later…

On Rosemary Lane, Della Cartwright plans to open a very special little bookshop. Not knowing what to do with the hundreds of cookbooks her mother left her, she now wants to share their recipes with the world – and no amount of aspic will stand in her way.

But with her family convinced it’s a hare-brained scheme, Della starts to wonder if she’s made a terrible decision. One thing’s for sure: she’s about to find out…

Lose yourself in Della’s world of food, family and friends. The perfect read for fans of Trisha Ashley and Carole Matthews.

Are you ready for the cover? 

This glorious book is full of food, lively characters and, well, books, and we’ve already snapped up two more books in the series coming out each summer until 2018 (keep an eye on Twitter on Monday afternoon for more on those…).

Weekend Reads

So its been a while since I told you what I was planning on reading this weekend. Last weekend I was doing Bout of Books so you know exactly what I was reading.

This weekend I'm planning on finishing off Summer as Rose Island by Holly Martin, ready for my stop on the blog tour next week!

I'm also listening to According to Yes by Dawn French. I'm not planning on driving anywhere this weekend but I am planning on doing some tidying and there's not better accompanyment to tidying than an audiobook!



The novel Novel from Paige Toon, The One We Fell in Love With, was released this week and I am desperate to read that so if I happen to finish my other book, I'll definitely be moving onto this!



What are you planning on reading this weekend?

Review: Summer Nights at The Moonlight Hotel by Jane Costello

'LEARN TO SALSA DANCE,' the card in the shop window read. 'Experience the red-hot vibes of Latin America right here in the Lake District. Beginners and singles welcome.'

Lauren Scott lives in 'The most romantic place in Britain', but her love life is about as successful as her mountain climbing skills. The man she's obsessed over for two years has proposed to someone else - and her only solution is to save up for six months to go travelling, so she never has to set eyes on him again.

But when her friends sign her up for a dance class - in the same historic hotel where her beloved dad worked and her most precious childhood memories were formed - Lauren makes a horrifying discovery. It's been sold to a faceless budget chain, which has depressing plans in store. Worse, the entrepreneur behind it all turns out to be among a group of guys her friend Cate roped in to join the very same salsa class they've signed up for.... 

Review: Such a compelling read, right from the word go. The book was particularly exciting for me because it is set in the lake district and a lot of it takes place in Ambleside, a town I have been visiting since before I was born! The descriptions of the countryside, the atmosphere and the general feel of the lake district were all spot on and i was really able to picture where the characters were at each and every point. The language Jane Costello uses is lovely, including some seriously imaginative similes, and she has obviously researched this are well (i'm sure she had fun doing so too!).

I really warmed to the characters straight away too, particularly Lauren. She is a primary school teacher and so I suppose this helps me have something in common with her, but she also has aspirations and dreams whilst at the same time having some fairly conservative views on how things should be done. I love her passion, he sense of right and wrong and the way she looks out for her friends. Her friends are fabulous characters in themselves. Emily and Cate were also very likable and Joe and Will play excellent men to ogle and drool over throughout the book! Lauren's family and the dance 'crew' also play some lovely roles in this novel-lots of comedy moments there!

The story line itself is full of more twists and turns than the waltzers! Lauren and her friends are really put through the ringer in this novel, just when you think nothing else can happen, it does! And some of the things that occur are seriously out of this world! I was entertained through the entirety of this novel, laughing out loud on an aeroplane and gasping to myself in my back garden. This books has it all, friendship, drama, romance and teachers! Pus it's all set in the beautiful backdrop of the wonderful lake district! I love Jane Costello but even if you haven't read anything by this fabulously funny author before, you're sure to enjoy this one!

Guest review: Snowflakes on Silver Cove by Holly Martin

Libby Joseph is famous for her romantic Christmas stories. Every December, readers devour her books of falling in love against the magical backdrop of the Christmas season. If only Libby believed in the magic herself…

Struggling to finish her current novel, Libby turns to her best friend and neighbour George Donaldson to cheer her up. But George also needs a bit of support himself. Nervous about getting back into the dating saddle after splitting from his wife, he and Libby strike a deal. She will teach George how to win over the ladies, and Libby will in turn be inspired to inject her novel with a good dose of romance.

As Libby and George explore the beautiful White Cliff Bay on a series of romantic Christmas-themed dates, Libby finds herself having more fun than she’s had in ages and…discovers feelings that she never knew she had for George.

But is it too late? Will George win someone else’s heart or can Libby act like the heroine in one of her stories and reach for her own love under the mistletoe this Christmas? 

This is book 2 in the White Cliff Bay series by Holly Martin, following on from Christmas at Lilac Cottage. Like the first in the series, the action takes place around Christmas time, but as I'm a sucker for anything Christmassy I don't mind reading something festive at any time of year. White Cliff Bay caught my imagination in the first book, so I was looking forward to returning. 

This tale basically follows the relationships of two couples - the main characters Libby and George, and also Seb and Amy. Libby is a relative newcomer to White Cliff Bay and lives next door to George. She is not planning to stay for long, but is enjoying her time there. The others are all long-time residents of the town. There are of course lots of other players in the story, some of whom I remembered from the previous book. 

Holly Martin has once again written an appealing story which grabs the attention from page one and holds it right to the last page. There was some wonderful humour in this story that had me laughing out loud several times. George's antics as he tries to sort out his love life are at times priceless. He is also mad about Christmas and I loved that he filled his flat and his life with Christmas decorations and customs. Author Libby could be almost equally as zany as him. Seb and Amy's relationship was far more serious and they had to deal with many obstacles that were threatening to come between them. However, some of Amy's costumes she was asked to wear for promotions run by the charity she helped out led to a great deal of mirth as well.

Once agin, this story had me wishing I could go and visit the lovely seaside town of White Cliff Bay and the beach at Silver Cove. The setting and the inhabitants were brought to life so skilfully by Holly. I am really looking forward to the next in the series.

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I Picked Up On A Whim 17/5/16

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over there at The Broke and the Bookish. I'd love to share my lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Sometimes impulse guys can go wrong but sometimes they can just be so right. Some of these I bought on impulse and some I got from the library. 

1. Notes from a Big Country, Bill Bryson. This turned into a total love affair with this author after getting this from the library. 

2. The Baby Group by Rowan Coleman. Part of a 3 for £10 in Asda one late night and I never looked back...

3. I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk. This was free in a magazine so totally unexpected but totally brilliant! 

4. Watermelon by Marian Keyes, another one that was part of a multi buy before a long train journey in WhSmith!

5. I hadn't read anything by Danny Wallace before, I'd seen Yes Man the movie but Who is Tom Ditto had me in stitches when I listened to it last year! 

6. The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler. This was not an impulse purchase that paid off unfortunately! 

7. The Mummfesto by Linda Green. Another multibuy thing, loved the sound of the blurb and this book put me through all the feels, I feel like I've not shouted about this author enough recently! 

8. The Meryl Streep Movie Club by Mia March. I loved this audiobook so so much I just might have to listen to it again and I had heard nothing about it before using an audible credit on it! 

9. Ralph's Party by Lisa Jewell. This was another one that came to me in a magazine. I won't embarrass either of us by telling you how old I was when I first read this. One of the things I remember most about this was having to share very last word with my best freind at the time because I was convinced the characters were her boyfriend and his flatmate-oh how we over analysed! 

10. Holly Would Dream by Karen Quinn. I think this was another classic multibuy book. I never reviewed a lot of the books on here because they were pre-blogging days but I wish I had reviwed this one because I remember loving it so much! 

Bout of Books Wrap Up

So this bout of books came at a particularly tricky time because it was SATs week at school and so I was seriously busy all day and seriously shattered at night time! However, I had the weekend to do some reading and even spent some time on public transport so the kindle came out and I was able to catch up a little bit then...

To begin with, I listened to All of Thirty Nothing by Lisa Jewell on audiobook which totals 436 pages. Look out for my review of this one soon, this has been on my TBR for ages and I really enjoyed it! 

I also listened to 70% of Our Song by Dani Atkins to totalling 358 pages. I was hoping to get this one finished last night but unfortunately I ended up with some work things to do last minute and had a couple of phone calls too so I went to be with it unfinished, I'll fix that today though! 

I also read 30% of Summer at Rose Island by Holly Martin totalling just under 100 pages. I had been hoping to read all of this one by the publication day on Friday but I was wasn't to be. I did have a comical moment on the tube with this though when I was into a really juicy moment, only realising at the last minute that the doors were about to close on my stop. Someone held the door for me thankfully, they were obviously someone who has been in that position themselves! 

And finally I read the last 100 pages of Summer Nights at The Moonlight Hotel by Jane Costello. I was so pleased to finish this one because I'd been dying to get a chunk of time to read those final pages since I started it on a plane back in April. I didn't want to dip in an out and so the readathon afforded me the time to sit down and blast through those final moments. Gosh what a lot of twists and turns-watch out for my review of this one! 

So in Total I read 994 pages. This is a lot lower than my usual readathon numbers, however this is a lot higher than my total of pages I have been reading per week in the last couple of months. I'm now counting down the weeks (10) until I can dedicate my summer to reading some books and listening to some audiobooks! 

I can't wait for the next readathon as it has been ages since I made reading a priority in my life! 

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Websites I Love That Aren't About Books 10/5/16

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over there at The Broke and the Bookish. I'd love to share my lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Now I'm not sure that I'm allowed to put book shopping websites on here or not so I'd best steer clear. There might be a few school ones in here but hey...

1. Buzz Feed. I love their quizzes and their take on new articles. I visit via the app. 

2. Twinkl. This site is so great for classroom resources and has some great assessments and games to use in the class too. 

3. Quidco. I love getting cash back when I'm doing my online shopping and you would be surprised by how many of the websites you use are actually on there, a definite fabourite of mine. 

4. Avios. Even when I don't have anywhere specific to go I love looking on here to see where my points COULD take me! 

This is the part where I look at all my open tabs on my iPad and realise they're all book related in some way...

5. Groupon I don't buy a whole lot of groupons it has to be said but the ones I've had have been really good. I'm on the lookout for a deal on a spa hotel right now so I visit via the app daily. 

6. IMDB I love looking up information on here when I get the chance to watch a film or watch TV. 

7. YouTube. I have branched out from just watching/subscribing to book tubers and now I watch people who vlog. Recently I've been watching a awful lot of people who have made vlogs or travel diaries of their time in Las Vegas for when we get married there in November, 

8. Twitter/Facebook obvious choices! 

9. Etsy. I'm not going all out on the wedding, but I have been looking at a couple of 'finishing touches' on ther and it can be quite addictive. 

10. Google. I know this is a bit of a cop out but when you're trying to sort out moving to another country and a wedding and other people travelling to visit you in that other country and still plan lessons and search out good places to go on school trips and sort out renewal of insurance and council tax and utilities and also look for new jobs and new places to live and new things to buy, Google has been my friend!