The Great Gatsby Obsession

I am not at all the sort of person who buys multiples of books, nor do I reread. I tend to give the book one read through and then it gets a place on my book shelf. Even many of my favourite books have only been read once. But for some reason The Great Gatsby was different. Not only have I read it countless times but I also can't resist picking up another copy when I see a different cover. I know that it is a very obvious book to like, but I genuinely enjoy it so much! 

As you can see, I am building up quite a collection! 

This was my first copy of The Great Gatsby which I bought when I studied it for A-Level

I love these Penguin covers- I would love to build up a collection of these! 

I found this in Selfridges- It was amongst other books with covers in a similar style

Another brilliant cover and it's in hardback! 

A beautiful cover, the metallic curves catch the light too! 

One of the less abstract covers but equally as beautiful

This for me is the original Gatsby cover and I love it! I have seen many poster versions of it and it may soon find it's way into my room! 

So that is my collection so far and I can't see myself stopping anytime soon! 

Eilidh 

Where She Went- Gayle Forman

The problem with hype is that it can really ruin a book. I read If I Stay in the run up to the release of the film. There was talk of it everywhere and I went into reading it with absolutely humongous expectations. The book unsurprisingly fell short- through no fault of its own but rather because I was expecting the world and it gave me a continent. As I said in my review, it wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, it's just I found it a bit predictable, the book tried to make you think you didn't know how it would end but I could have told you the ending after the first couple of pages. The follow up- Where She Went- is arguably just as predictable, the one difference being that it wasn't really trying to be hugely dramatic or unpredictable and therefore I didn't expect to be surprised. 

The book begins three years on from its predecessor, this time it is narrated by Adam and it follows a similar structure, alternating between past and present. I enjoyed this structure as it allowed the story to skip three years but I still felt as though I was up to date with what had gone on. Adam is at a low point, his carer as a musician means that he has hit the big time, but problems with band mates and the inability to live a 'normal' life when faced with fans and insensitive journalists means that he isn't coping. He is a shell of a human and ready to quit the band- only made worse by the fact that he is doing it without Mia, the love of his life. Enter Mia. It has been three years without a word and suddenly he is faced with her, the book follows their journey through nighttime New York as Adam learns of why she left him and whether they can make another go of it. 

The sequel to If I Stay is told through Adam, I much preferred his narrative and I really did feel a strong emotional connection with the poor boy who three years on from being left by Mia is not in a good state. I felt that the first book lacked character development and the sequel really allowed me to learn about the characters. I believed their emotions more and I was more invested in their story because of it. As with the first book I did shed a tear. It wasn't so blatently sad but just upsetting to see Adam at only 21 struggling through life.

All in all it was a much better book and I can see why it has really grabbed the book reading community. It is a quick and easy read which will send you on an emotional roller-coaster! 

Eilidh  

The Secret Garden

Well when it comes to childhood favourites, The Secret Garden features in the top 10. It is a brilliant book that I must have read over and over again. I have a well worn copy sitting on my book shelf and it is one of the few that survived the book cull that took place when my mum insisted that it was time to pass on my books to younger cousins. 

For those of you who have never read The Secret Garden- firstly, where have you been! Secondly, here is a very short summary...

The book is about a girl called Mary who is sent from India to live in England with her uncle following the death of her parents. Mary slowly befriends the gardener and some of the other servants and she also discovers a secret garden. Along the way she loses some of her spoilt and bad natured tenancies. She then learns of a boy, her cousin Colin, who is hidden away in the house- ill and unable to walk. They form an unlikely friendship and Mary lets Colin in on the secret of the garden, with the hope that its magic will help him. 

The other day I popped into the Waterstones with the intention of not spending a penny- my bank balance can't handle it at the mo! But I made a beeline for the reduced section and my eyes fell upon this. It is a beautiful cloth covered hardback version of The Secret Garden to celebrate it's 100th anniversary. It also has lovely illustrations and I couldn't believe it when I saw it was reduced from £25 to £5. The book has no damage- I can only assume that it was a display copy! 

This was one of those purchases that left me on a high for the rest of the day and I know that it will remain in my book collection for a long time- I definitely won't be passing it on any time soon!

Have you found any bargains recently? Does The Secret Garden feature in your childhood favourites?

Eilidh

Paris

As of a month ago Paris did not feature on my list of top 5 cities to visit. Not that I didn't appreciate the beauty of the city, but rather that as a Classics student, Italy had always held a solid first place in my heart with Greece coming a close second- Rome, Florence and Athens were the cities I dreamt of visiting. But, when my friends decided to go to Paris I was happy to be going away with them, any city would have done. But I well and truly fell in love with Paris, I would go as far as to say that out of all the cities I have visited, it is my favourite.

(view down the Champs-Elysees from the top of the Arc de Triomphe)

(The Eiffel Tower at night)

(at the top of the Eiffel Tower, embracing the wind)

(view from the Eiffel Tower)

All is all I had a brilliant time, we did all the incredibly touristy things, we went up the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower. Spent a couple of hours in the Louvre and then battled through the masses to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa. We went to the Sacre Coeur, went on a boat tour down the river Seine and did a night bus tour around Paris. Whilst I enjoyed every moment, I can understand why there is a reputation for Parisians leaving the city in the summer, the tourists really took over the city, all traveling in huge groups and I finally saw the infamous selfie stick being used. Ideally I would go back to the city at another time of the year and see it in a different light.

Have you ever been to Paris? What is your favourite city?

Eilidh

If I Stay- Gayle Forman

I picked this up at Naples airport on my way back from Italy. I was limited to the small selection of English books they had and this one called out to me- mainly because it has obviously been made into a film and I love to compare book to film adaptations! It is hard to write about this book without including spoilers so I have split the review into two parts. The first half is spoiler free but don't read the second half if you have yet to read the book! 

Mia is a 17 year old with everything to live for- a brilliant family, a boyfriend who shares her love for music and an amazing best friend. But then she is involved in an accident and suddenly she's not sure what she has left to live for. The book follows Mia as she attempts to decide whether or not she should stay.

The book has a good if not a bit predictable story line, to me it was nothing exceptional but neither was it awful. I loved the music references and I really felt asthough the characters had a genuine love for music. I thought all of the characters were good but none of them were developed as much as I would have liked, most likely because the book was quite short. 

It's not so much that I didn't like the book, I just didn't think it was amazing. I wouldn't actively recommend it to anyone but nor would I discourage someone from reading it. It was a quick and easy read and from reading other reviews I know it is a well loved book. 

CONTAINS SPOILERS

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CONTAINS SPOILERS 

Can you control your death? This question seems to dominate the book. Mia is a teen with her life ahead of her, one quarter of a happy family, girl friend to punk rocker Adam and best friend to budding photographer Kim. Everything is just as it should be, with prospects of Julliard on the horizon, her future is bright. Cue car crash. Mum dead, dad dead, brother dead. Just like that. A bit predictable, but heartbreaking none the less. The accident was a bit too expected for my liking, what else is going to happen when a family decide to go for a drive just after snow has settled. I always look for the shock factor and sadly this book did not have it. The disappointing start aside, I actually quite enjoyed the book, the rest of the book followed Mia as she had an out of body experience, allowing her to view herself in intensive care, watch her friends and family suffer and give the reader an insight into her life. I liked the narrative voice and I warmed to Mia as well as the other characters that featured in the story. I did however feel that the characters fell short in a number of ways, I couldn't quite picture Mia in my head and I didn't feel asthough I had enough time to get to know Adam, Kim and Mia's family either. Maybe a 100 or so extra pages would have done the job. Despite all of this, it still managed to tug at my heart strings and there were many points where I couldn't contain the tears. It was good enough to prompt me to order the sequel but I wouldn't reread it and nor will I be shouting from the rooftops about it. 

Eilidh 

Naples, Pompeii and Herculaneum

So the weekend has arrived and that means FREE TIME! For 48 hours I won't be inhaling bone dust and trying and failing to distinguish between toe and finger bones! It's fair to say I am exhausted, a mixture of earlier than usual starts and hot weather has really tired me out! 

So on Saturday we made our way to Naples, the founding place of the Pizza. I played the role of tourist and made my way through plenty of pizza. All in all it was a brilliant day! 

We had a look at a couple of churches and then went to the Archaeological museum which holds artefacts like the Alexander mosaic from the House of the Faun in Pompeii. 

On Sunday we travelled over to Herculaneum which was so well preserved by the eruption of 79AD. We saw things like original sliding wooden doors which was absolutely amazing! I visited Herculaneum in February but it was brilliant to get a second look.

We then went onto Pompeii, by then I was melting under the sun but we carried on regardless! 

Outside of Amphitheatre 

Inside of Amphitheatre

Stairs in a house (proof of a second floor!)

 Palaestra 

Large theatre 

Failed attempt at a panorama of the large theatre 

If you look closely you can see a bit of gladiatorial graffiti! 

View down one of the streets 

Piece of original lead piping 

The House of the Faun 

That was just a select few of the photos I took, I may do a longer and more detailed post when I get home to my laptop and good wifi! 

I have one more week in Italy and then I am heading back to England for a week of camping and then a couple of days in Paris! I hope you are having a brilliant summer! 

Eilidh 

Looking for Alaska: John Green

Well I am sure that you will have heard of John Green, its hard to escape him when The Fault in our Stars seems to be dominating both the book and film world. I fell head over heels in love with TFIOS, I love a book that can make you cry and with this offering I shed bucketfuls! I was a bit sceptical starting Looking For Alaska because I just couldn't imagine how it could live up to my high expectations. Sadly it didn't, it's not that it wasn't good, I really did enjoy it, I just felt that there were moments where it didn't quite reach my high expectations for a John Green book. I felt that characters were alright but not amazing and for me the story line just fell a bit flat.

The book follows the life of Miles aka Pudge who dreams of living the adventurous life of a boarding school pupil. He befriends Chip (The Colonel) and Alaska and they embark on a life of pulling pranks, smoking cigarettes *insert John Green metaphor*, and drinking cheap alcohol whilst trying to avoid the wrath of their headmaster. I really enjoyed the first half of the book as Pudge found his feet and finally found the friends he had dreamt of. I found that as teens the characters were realistic and I found them fascinating and annoying in equal measure. Where I found it fell short of my expectation was the second half of the book, for me it didn't quite hit the mark and when I finished it I felt as though I had been robbed of a good ending. I would just like to add here that I know so many people who preferred Looking For Alaska to TFIOS and this is just my own opinion and I am sure that many people will read it and find it to be absolute John Green perfection.

What I find amazing about John Green is that he writes teen fiction so well that I almost forget that he is a middle aged man with two kids and a wife. To me John Green is the perfect example that you don't have to be a teen to be able to write or appreciate young adult fiction. Looking for Alaska was beautifully written, the compulsory John Green metaphors and good humour dominated the book, making serious situations understandable and relatable.

I can't criticize the writing style as John Green got that absolutely right, for me the story line just wasn't strong enough.

Let me know in a comment what you thought of Looking For Alaska if you have read it!

Eilidh