Best Reads Of 2012

So my last post of 2012 is all about the best books I've read this year, the ones I've given 5 stars on Goodreads and still think about now or recommend daily to other people!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Chronicles

Buffy: Making Of A Slayer - Nancy Holder

Wonder - R. J. Palacio

God Save The Queen - Kate Locke

Anna Dressed In Blood - Kendare Blake

Girl Of Nightmares - Kendare Blake

World Of Poo - Sir Terry Pratchett

The Storyteller - Antonia Michaelis

The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen - Alan Garner

Runelight - Joanne Harris

Lover Reborn - J. R. Ward

A Touch Of Power - Maria V Snyder

A Discovery Of Witches - Deborah Harkness

Monsters Of Men (Chaos Walking #3) - Patrick Ness

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury

Lots of fantasy, both Adult & YA, non-fiction and a couple of fantasy classics read this year all thoroughly enjoyed. Losing my mother at the end of October was hard but reading has kept me sane. Here's hoping next year is better all round, in books and life!

See you in 2013!

Top Music Of 2012...

Or, what I've been listening to this year when I've been reading!

10. Gossamer - Passion Pit

9. Some Nights - fun.

8. Halcyon - Ellie Goulding

7. Temper Trap - Temper Trap

6. Lumineers - The Lumineers

5. My Head Is An Animal - Of Monsters And Men

4. Give Into The Wild - Maccabees

3. Loveblood - King Charles

2. Tales From The Barrel House - Seth Lakeman

1. Babel - Mumford & Sons

So, there you go! According to iTunes these are the new albums of 2012 I listened to most over the last 12 months whilst reading, quite an eclectic mix there... Links will take you to some of my favorite tracks on the albums!

Best Movies Of 2012

I went to see 16 movies this year (or 20 if you include the day I spent watching the entire Twilight Saga in one go!) so thought I'd do a Top 7 of my favorites.

In reverse order -

7. The Woman In Black, one of my favorite spooky reads - by Susan Hill - and not only have I seen the film, I've seen the stage adaptation too.

6. Anna Karenina, one of the first Russian classics I read but not my first Tolstoy, I loved this for the costume and the stage design.

5. Prometheus, not a book but easily included in my favorite movie list this year!

4. Breaking Dawn Part II, by Stephenie Meyer, this comes in at number 4 only because it's the last in the Saga. Not my favorite Twilight movie but worthy of being included.

3. The Hunger Games, the first movie from the brilliant books by Suzanne Collins and I'm now impatiently waiting for the next movie!

1. The Dark Knight Rises, in joint first with -

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Not sure who I love more, J R R Tolkien or Christopher Nolan but this was the end of a trilogy and the beginning of one. I've seen both movies twice, I thought Batman & Bane were amazing on the big screen and absolutely adore Peter Jackson's Dwarves - those who know me know I've been an admirer of Richard Armitage (Thorin) since time began, I love that he's finally getting big screen recognition. Honorable mentions must also go to Great Expectations (more great costumes and Helena Bonham Carter, my favorite actress) and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel which was one of the last movies my mum & I went to see together. Here's hoping there are lots more great movies in 2013!

Coming later this week - my top 7 music albums and a complete list of my favorite books this year.

Best Of 2012 Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the Best Of 2012 Giveaway Hop, hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer! The prize for this giveaway is a choice of ONE of my favorite reads from this year -

Wonder - R J Palacio

God Save The Queen - Kate Locke

A Discovery Of Witches - Deborah Harkness

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury

A Touch Of Power - Maria V. Snyder

Anna Dressed In Blood - Kendare Blake

Girl Of Nightmares - Kendare Blake

Something for everyone there - adult, classic and YA! If you really don't want to read any of those amazing titles then you can choose ONE Paperback release from this year instead! All you have to is follow me on GFC and then follow the instructions below! The prize will be sent via the Book Depository so please check your country is on their list.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the list below for lots of other blogs to check out, thanks for entering and good luck!

Mid-Winters Eve Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the Mid-Winters Eve Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer and Oasis For YA! Up for grabs is a book of your choice - up to the value of £10/$15 - from the Book Depository as long as they deliver to your country - find the list here. The hop runs from December 21 through til midnight on December 27. All you have to do is follow the instructions in Rafflecopter below and you could be the lucky winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the list below for lots of other blogs to check out, thanks for entering, Happy Holidays - again! - and good luck!

Winner!

The winner is Jacklin who has been contacted, congratulations!

Thanks to everyone for entering!

Book Lover's Holiday Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the Book LOver's Holiday Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer and Chapter By Chapter! This is the best time of year for giving books and anyone who knows me normally gets a book of some sort, my poor little niece and nephew get huge piles of books and my sister always gets a gift certificate for the local bookshop! All you lucky people get to get in on the act too so up for grabs is a book of your choice from the Book Depository as long as they deliver to your country - find the list here. The hop runs from today until midnight on December 10 so please be aware that the Book Depository does take a while to ship books out, especially outside of the UK, and therefore no guarantee can be made that you'll get your book by Christmas!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the list below for lots more chances to win, thanks for entering, happy Holidays and good luck!

Thank you!

Just a quick post to say thank you to everyone who has called, emailed or sent a text message to see how I'm doing! We're all still in shock  but hopefully things will start getting easier soon, starting with Christmas and making sure we celebrate the way my mother would us want us to.

Regular posting will resume shortly so bear with me just a bit longer. In the meantime there's a giveaway for you all to enter to win a book of your choice!

YA Mythology Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the YA Mythology Giveaway Hop hosted by For Those About To Read and I Am a Reader Not A Writer! The hop runs from October 26 through to November 4 2012. Mythology, legend and folklore are what got me into reading many years ago so I'm loving this giveaway! The legendary prize up for grabs is a YA book of your choice featuring myths, legends and/or retellings, up to the value of £10/$15, from the Book Depository as long as they deliver to your country - find the list of countries here. If you need suggestions for what sort of books you might like to read have a look at this list here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the list below for lots more chances to win, thanks for entering and good luck!

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Spooktacualr Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am a Reader Not A Writer and The Diary Of A Bookworm! The hop runs from October 24 through to October 31 2012. The spooktacular prize up for grabs is a book of your choice, up to the value of £10/$15, from the Book Depository as long as they deliver to your country - find the list of countries here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There are hundreds of blogs entered into this hop so check out the list below for lots more chances to win, thanks for entering and good luck!

Fall Into Fantasy Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the Fall Into Fantasy Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am a Reader Not A Writer and The Write Path! The hop runs from October 16 through to October 21 2012. Up for grabs is any fantasy novel, YA or Adult and up to the value of £10/$15, from the Book Depository as long as they deliver to your country - find the list of countries here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the list below for lots more chances to win, thanks for entering and good luck!

October New Release Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the October New Release Giveaway Hop hosted by Book Twirps and Refracted Light Reviews! The hop runs from October 15 through to October 31 2012. Up for grabs is any new paperback release this month from the Book Depository as long as they deliver to your country - find the list of countries here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out this link for lots more chances to win and good luck!

Happily Ever After Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Happily Ever After Giveaway hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer and Murphy's Library! The hop runs from October 9 through to midnight on October 14 2012. Up for grabs is any paperback featuring either a fairy tale in its original form or a fairy tale retelling (think Jackson Pearce, Shannon Hale, Juliet Marrillier and so on) from the Book Depository as long as they deliver to your country - find the list of countries here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the list below for lots more chances to win, thanks for entering and good luck!

Fangs Fur & Fey Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the fabulous Fangs, Fur & Fey Giveaway hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer and Reading Lark! The hop runs from October 2 through to midnight on October 8 2012. Up for grabs is any paperback, featuring those amongst us who have fangs or fur, or those that are Fey, from the Book Depository as long as they deliver to your country - find the list of countries here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the list below for lots more chances to win, thanks for entering and good luck!

Winners!

Winners of the Books To Movie Giveaway and the Under The Sea Giveaway will be contacted shortly, sorry for the slight delay!

Congratulations to the winners, Makaela & Roxana, who have both been contacted and thanks to everyone for entering!

In My Mailbox #12

IMM is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren and gives everyone an opportunity to showcase new books received during the week, whether they're bought, borrowed or the dreaded download!


This last week has been the week from hell, with the only high spot being my regular delivery of library books! Here's what I got...

Library books


Changeling - Philippa Gregory


Dark Parties - Sara Grant


Firelight - Sophie Jordan


Lovecraft Unbound - ed. Ellen Datlow


The Poison Garden - Sarah Singleton


Bracelet Of Bones - Kevin Crossley-Holland


The Map Of Time - Felix J Palma


Eon: Dragoneye - Alison Goodman


Traitor's Sword - Amanda Hemingway


Nylon Angel - Marianne de Pierres


Bought but not pictured

Magician - Raymond E Feist (my copy was lost in the Great Move Fiasco of 2009)

Book Of English Magic - Philip Carr-Gomm and Richard Heygate (research book)

What did you get this week?

In My Mailbox #11

IMM is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren and gives everyone an opportunity to showcase new books received during the week, whether they're bought, borrowed or the dreaded download!

Another quiet week but a good one! One of the three books I've been waiting for all year finally arrived and another new Terry Pratchett as well!

Water Witch by Carol Goodman aka Juliet Dark - I read Incubus (Demon Lover) earlier this year and liked it. Hoping this one will be just as good!

Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier - always cause for celebration when I get a new Juliet Marillier book, one of my top ten authors.

Dodger by Sir Terry Pratchett - I've heard very mixed reviews about this but I intend to enjoy his writing while I can!

What did you get this week?

September New Release Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the September New Release Giveaway Hop hosted by Book Twirps and Refracted Light Reviews! The hop runs from September 15 through to September 30 2012. Up for grabs is any new paperback release this month from the Book Depository as long as they deliver to your country - find the list of countries here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the list below for lots more chances to win and good luck!

Under The Sea Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the Under The Sea Giveawy Hop, hosted by The Musings Of ALYMBNENR and I Am A Reader Not A Writer and is all about books with water themes, whether fantastical or not!

The only book I've read recently that features anything watery is Aimee Friedman's Sea Change but one of my favorites of the last few years is Elementals - Water by Peter Dickinson and Robin Mckinley, a book of six short stories featuring watery themes!

The winner will get to choose a watery themed book of their choice from the Book Depository as long as they live in a country that BD delivers too.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the links below for all sorts of watery giveaways!