Kindle vs Books: The Great Debate

About two years ago, I wrote a post on e-readers vs physical books. I looked at the pros and cons of both but didn't actually own an e-reader myself (we have a family one, but I wasn't allowed to buy things on it at the time!). I received a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas 2015, and safe to say, I'm very happy with it. Although I haven't used it much since receiving it (I'm trying to half my physical TBR), it really is so handy. 

So what do I think of e-readers now that I have one myself? 
Well, I've found mine to be extremely handy. They're small, compact, can fit hundreds of books on them (although my Kindle library is at roughly 10-15 so far) and with mine, I can read well into the night with it. One thing I really like is how much shelf space I save as although I love having my pretty books on my shelves, I recently ran out of space and my books started stacking up on the floor until I thankfully bought a new shelf, but that's almost full and although I do have extra space on my old shelves, I know I'll fill that up in no time, so therefore, my Kindle is ideal.

What I've found out when I read my Kindle books, is that I read them at a much faster rate than physical books. I'm not entirely sure why, I wonder if it's because I can see how long it would take me to read a book at the bottom and that spurs me on, but I've definitely found that I read books a lot quicker on my Kindle!

Having a Kindle, for me, is a perfect solution to my almost overflowing shelves. I'm actually planning to take it to America with me in the Summer as 1) many books for the flight and 2) more luggage space to bring those nice US edition books back with me! I best get looking for some extra shelf space in my room!


Do I prefer to read one over the other?
Not at all. I love physical books in my hand more than my Kindle, but I love how my Kindle tells me exactly how long it would take me to complete a book, which a physical book can't do. There are pro's and con's to each of them, but ultimately as long as I'm reading something, I don't mind the format. Although, I do love the pretty covers on physical books!


Would I recommend getting an e-reader?
I most definitely would. Although I don't use mine a massive amount as I'm trying to whittle down my physical TBR, an e-reader is just so convenient and takes up so much less bag and shelf space. Like I said, there are pro's and con's to each, but I feel like a Kindle is definitely worth the investment. I know that just because I have a Kindle, it doesn't mean I will stop buying physical books. In fact, I buy a lot of my books from Amazon anyway, and a lot of them are from Independent Sellers on there, and if a physical book is cheaper from an independent seller in comparison to Kindle, then you can betcha I'll be buying the physical copy!


So there you have it, that's my opinion on the great e-reader vs physical books debate now that I finally have my own!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme featured over at The Broke and the Bookish.

This weeks Top Ten Tuesday is Ten Books I'd Give to Readers Who Have Never Read X. I'm making this really easy for myself, but I'm going with Contemporary YA, because that's what I read the most of. I nearly went with Fantasy, but oh god, I don't have nearly enough experience in that genre of books and would feel like my recommendations are so..crap.

In no particular order…

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. What can I say about this absolutely wonderfully amazing book? I would honestly recommend this to everyone no matter what. It's just a completely charming book, and I honestly enjoyed it so much. 



Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson. I can't even describe my love for Since You've Been Gone. Quite possibly one of the most perfect books for Summer!

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. Am I cheating by having two of her books on this list? I just can't express how much I love Stephanie's writing and books - just awesome.


The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. This story is a bit different from the above stories, but it's beautiful. Really beautiful.


To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. Ah, Jenny Han. This book was very enjoyable and just overall great. Jenny's writing style is great and I felt so engaged with this book. Definitely a must-read recommendation!





Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. The writing in this book was just impeccable. I love Rainbow's ability to make you feel so many different ways in one book. I cried.

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord. I just recently finished this one but dear lord above, this book was just fantastic. I really enjoyed it - never had I read a book with so much sass in it. 


If I Stay by Gayle Forman.  If I Stay is a wonderful book on so many levels. Although short, I still enjoyed it and would throughly recommend it.


Far From You by Tess Sharpe. I found that Far From You was exciting and fast paced - a change from the love stories as it's a murder mystery! Still, this book has a big feature of friendships - I love that!


We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. We Were Liars was an interesting read for me. It was quite mysterious and in a way, dark. I would definitely recommend this. Plus this is another that makes for a short read!






Do you own any of the books above? Are there any books that you would recommend I check out? 

I feel so Far From You

Title: Far From You 

Author: Tess Sharpe
Pages: 352

Publisher: Indigo

Source: Bought

Rating: 4/5

Good Reads // Amazon

Summary (from Good Reads): 
Nine months. Two weeks. Six days. 

That's how long recovering addict Sophie's been drug-free. Four months ago her best friend, Mina, died in what everyone believes was a drug deal gone wrong - a deal they think Sophie set up. Only Sophie knows the truth. She and Mina shared a secret, but there was no drug deal. Mina was deliberately murdered. 

 Forced into rehab for an addiction she'd already beaten, Sophie's finally out and on the trail of the killer - but can she track them down before they come for her?

So it seems that I took an unintentional week off last week. I've just been so busy - last week I had a lot going on, what with coming home from my holiday Sunday afternoon, going back to work Monday, having my birthday meal Tuesday (it was my birthday on the 19th!), Bingo on Thursday, my parents going on holiday Friday as well as going to the movies that evening, and then Saturday and Sunday I spent both days at my boyfriends house! Busy week, but I'm hoping to get back into blogging mode now!

I started Far From You on the plane to Zante, but as we were so tired (5:40am flight, but hadn't slept properly since Friday night), I almost fell asleep..oops! I started to read it again on the flight back, but again, I felt so drained from the holiday, I didn't read too much. However, once home and topped up on sleep, I really got into this one. 

I'd heard a lot of great things about this book, and I think it lived up to the hype. I actually really enjoyed this, it was fast paced and full of mystery. I liked the time hopping. At first, I was a bit worried that it wouldn't work, but it really did! I also liked the feature of Mina in the book. Although she wasn't actually there, she was present in almost every page and in Sophie's every thought which leads me onto…

The relationships in the book! First of all, although I did like Sophie and liked seeing how close her and Mina were, the more I read, the more I noticed how Sophie was almost obsessed with her which, in a way, got on my nerves a little because I really don't care much for obsessive relationships! However, speaking of relationships, I enjoyed seeing how Sophie's relationships developed with the other characters, such as Rachel and Kyle, but also with her parents!

I thought that the story line for this book was really great. The killer was completely unexpected. There were a few times when I thought I might know who it is, but no! I was completely surprised. As well as this, I also really enjoyed the incorporation of other mini stories that were in the book. This really added layers to the story.

All in all, I did enjoy this book and would most definitely recommend it. It was interesting and once I had recovered from my holiday, I really got into it and flew through it! It really captured and held my attention for the duration of the book. I don't really read many murder mysteries, despite finding them interesting, but this really fit the bill, what with it being a YA contemporary murder mystery! Again, I would totally recommend this to pretty much everyone looking for something new to read!


Have you read Far From You? If so, what did you think? If not, are you hoping to read it soon? Is it sat on your TBR list, or are you currently reading it now? Let me know what you thought of Far From You!

The View: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Author: Stephanie Perkins
Pages: 338

Publisher: Usbourne

Source: Bought

Rating: Amazing

Good Reads // Amazon

Summary (from Good Reads): 
Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

It's been no secret that I absolutely loved Anna and the French Kiss, so it was kind of a given that I had to read Lola and the Boy Next Door. I have to admit, I wasn't as into it as Anna, but that doesn't mean to say that I didn't still enjoy it.

Stephanie Perkins has such a great writing ability, and she really knows how teenagers speak, and think, which is great. I feel that this really enables me to connect to the characters and story as a whole, which I love being able to do with books as then I feel truly invested in the book. Perkins writing is also special to me as I feel like I'm reading the story of a real life person, instead of a fictional character. Perkins just makes everything sound so real.

The story itself was pretty good. The first few chapters, I was itching to know why Lola had such a strong disliking for the Bell twins, but that was revealed pretty quickly, which is good as it really helped the story progress into better things! I liked the feature of Lola having two dads, as I think this really added to the story, especially since having two dads or two mums is not uncommon! I also liked following Lola's story and her relationships with people such as her boyfriend, Cricket, her best friend, her mother and her dads. 

Now let's talk about Cricket..what can I say? Another great boy that Perkins has made us all swoon over! Stephanie Perkins has a seriously good ability to create and build on characters. I just don't know how she does it, but Cricket was honestly so sweet and a quirky character that it was fun to meet. I enjoyed the scenes that Cricket was in, and I feel that he really added something to the book. Plus I loved the connection between him and Lola - their difficult friendship was interesting to see, as at times, it seemed to be a bit come and go!

There were parts of the book that made me cringe a little, but then there were other parts that were so nice that I loved. I liked all the characters within the book, apart from Max. He was just such a douche bag, even from the very start, and I just wanted to slap him in the face. I also wanted to slap Lola a few times, because she just seemed so whiny at small points in the book.

Oh, and can we also mention the inclusion of Anna and St. Clair?! Oh my gosh, how perfect? I was so happy to see that Perkins had connected the two books together the way she did! Great job, Stephanie!

As I said at the start, I didn't like this book as much as Anna. With Anna and the French Kiss, I was constantly trying to sneak in time to read it, and although I did still do this with Lola, I don't feel like I was as attached to it in comparison to how much I was with Anna.

Lola and the Boy Next Door was an enjoyable read for me, and I enjoyed being able to experience Stephanie Perkins writing once again. I couldn't wait for Isla and the Happily Ever After before I read this, but now I'm looking forward to it even more!

Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme featured over at The Broke and the Bookish.

There are so many books that I'm looking forward to that I hope to read this summer, despite that fact that I should be doing work for my AAT studies, plus I'm going on holiday and starting a new job! I'm really hoping I can read all, if not, most of these over the summer, however I am on a book ban at the moment...

Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR List

1. To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han - After hearing so many great things about Jenny Han, and in particular, To All The Boys, I immediately went to go and snatch it up. It's now patiently waiting on my bookshelf waiting for me to devour it and I can't wait!
2. What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick - I've heard some great things about Fitzpatrick's writing, so it's only natural that I had to add at least one book to my TBR list for summer. Besides, look at the gorgeous purples in the cover!
3. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins - It's no secret that I loved Anna and the French Kiss, so I really can't wait to see what Perkin's has next for us! I am actually currently reading Lola and the Boy Next Door but still can't wait for this to come out so that I can get my hands on it!
4. Trouble by Non Pratt - This is one that isn't necessarily a summer book, but it seems like a great contemporary and I can't wait to get into it, plus I've seen good reviews for it, which means that I'm really looking forward to it!
5. Wish you Were Italian by Kristin Rae - I saw that quite a few people were raving about this, so after hearing the story was set in Italy, it went immediately to my TBR list. I love Italy, so real can't wait for this to transport me back there, even if it's only for a short time!
6. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas - So with BEA just passing, and seeing all the excitement that was surrounding Heir of Fire, I figured I should probably see what all of the fuss is about! I'm hoping to purchase this soon so I can finally see what I've been missing!
7. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell - I loved Eleanor and Park, and have heard some really great things about more of Rowell's books. As I already have this one sitting on my shelves, it seems only fair that it's added to my TBR list. Plus, the cover is a gorgeous mint green which totally reminds me of summer!
8. Everything Leads To You by Nina LaCour - I read the first chapter as a 'sneak peek' last month and it captured my attention, so I'm hoping to carry on and read it all over summer! All I need now is to actually grab a copy..
9. Open Road Summer by Emery Lord - Um, this is a total no brainer! The story line sounds great and it's set in Summer! Plus, I've seen so many good reviews for this book that I really want to read it this Summer!
10. The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson - I've heard/seen a lot of praise for Jandy Nelson, and actually saw this in my local Waterstones and had my eye on it before I even knew how many bloggers loved her work, so I've added this to my TBR. It just seems like it has to be done!
11. Pointe by Brandy Colbert - Now I know that this is a Summer TBR list, but I'm putting this on here as my Summer to Autumn transition book. As the summer winds down, I want to read something that is a little grittier, which this book seems to be, but it also seems like an enjoyable read. I think it'd be perfect for end of season Summer!

What books are on your Summer TBR list this year? Have you had chance to read any of the above? What did you think?

May Recap

Via Smashing Magazine

May was a great month for me. I've really started on work on this blog, and reading a whole lot more. I also feel like I've connected more to the blogging community since joining at the end of April/beginning of May. I was nominated for the Liebster Award and I even joined NetGalley, and was approved by a publisher within the first week or so of having it! So without further ado, let's take a look at May..

Books I Read:

The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight 

Anna and the French Kiss
Monument 14
Eleanor and Park
Don't Even Think About ItThe Fault In Our Stars
We Were Liars (review up tomorrow!)

Books I Bought This Month:

Anna and the French Kiss

Monument 14

Lola and the Boy Next Door

Sky On Fire

Fangirl

Since You've Been Gone

We Were Liars

Trouble

To All The Boys I've Loved Before

TBR for June:
Since You've Been Gone
To All The Boys I've Loved Before
Lola and the Boy Next Door
Trouble
Fangirl
Under the Never Sky

Goals for June:

• One of my goals for June is to make my reviews much more professional and fluent, yet keep a talkative style to them. I feel like my reviews are so unprofessional at the moment, which I know is down to experience, but I am so not used to reviewing books right now. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy talking about books, but actually reviewing makes me slightly nervous as all the words leave my brain!
• Try to read way more books. If you've seen my 'Books I've Read' tab, you'll see that I've read less than 20 books so far this year! Kind of bad for a book blogger, but I've been so busy with college work, which kind of obviously takes a priority!
• This is a a bit more long term goal than one I can complete in a month, but I want to get more involved and connected with other bloggers and their blogs, so I'm going to try and comment a lot more on others posts!
• Another one of my long terms goals is trying to increase the speed in which I read books. I know this comes with time, but with my hopes of reading a lot more this month, I'm hoping that I'll see an improvement in how fast I read my books. 

So what've I got lined up for June?

I've got 3 exams in June before college is out for summer, so I'll be (trying) to concentrate on revising and learning the content for those. It's also my boyfriend's birthday and our 2 years in the middle of the month, so that means a night out and a day out for both of those! I'll also be fitting in lots of reading, especially since the World Cup starts next week, and my boyfriend is a total football nerd, so that means I'll be put to the side for the next month, which is good as it means I have more time to read!

So that's all from me for my May Recap! How has your May been? If you went to BEA, I am so insanely jealous! What have you got lined up for June? What books are on your June TBR?

Top Ten Books For Your Beach Bag This Summer

  Top Ten Tuesday is a meme featured over at The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Books That Should Be In Your Beach Bag

1. Since You've Been Gone - I haven't read this yet, but I have heard so many good things about it!
2. Eleanor & Park - I'm reading this one at the moment (I'll probably have finished it by the time you read this) and so far, I'm really, really enjoying it. - Finished this the other day and yep, this one needs to be in your bag this summer!
3. Don't Even Think About It - I finished reading this one the other week, and would totally recommend it, particularly as a light read
4. The Fault in Our Stars - Pretty much bound to make you cry by the time you've finished but least you'll have those sunglasses on to cover your puffy eyes, right?
5. Anna and the French Kiss - Kind of an all year round book, but really enjoyable, and would be great to read on a relaxing day at the beach
6. We Were Liars - Just finished this one, and totally recommend that you put it in your beach bag. There was particularly a lot of hype round this book I noticed when it was opening week (duh, what do you expect?!)
7. To All The Boys I've Loved Before - Ahhh, so many people have been talking about how good this is. Mine's still in the post, but I can't wait for it to arrive!
8. Everything Leads To You - …another one I haven't read, apart from the first chapter as a sample, but from that sample, it sounded like a good story, so I think this is one to add to the beach bag!
9. The Hunger Games - A dystopian for when you're not feeling like contemporary or a bit of chick-lit romancey stuff.
10. Harry Potter - I'm a Harry Potter nut so I would totally recommend it. Plus, you can use it as a shade for your face in the sun because they're so thick - nothing is getting through that!

So there you have it! I was sooo struggling by number 8, plus I know, I know, I've included books on here that I haven't even read yet, so how can I comment, but hey! I was combining what I want in my beach bag with what I think you should have in yours!

What's in your beach bag this summer? What do you recommend I put in mine?