Books I’m Taking to University & An Announcement!

Hi all!

So, as you can tell from the title of this post, I’m off to university soon! As in, tomorrow. (AAAAHHH!) I thought I would share with you the books I’m taking with me as well as my reasons for  choosing these over the rest of my bookshelves. This was such a difficult decision; I wanted to only bring 10, but that turned into 12. Also, because I have not been organised at all, there aren’t any photos in this post as they’re all packed up!

*On a kind of important note – As I imagine university is going to be a hectic time, I’m honestly not sure how much I’ll be able to post on either here or my Instagram. I would still love to stay in this community and keep my blog going, and I do have a few posts waiting to be published. However, after that my posting may be sporadic (well, more so than usual!), so I hope you guys understand. *

The Diviners & Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray – If you didn’t know, this is one of my all-time favourite series (I even wrote a post about why I love it so much here), and the third book, Before the Devil Breaks You, comes out in early October so I had to bring these along! Part of me was hesitant because I doubt I’ll be rereading them and they’re heavy books, but I decided that they were worth it to keep BTDBY company.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee – This is another all-time favourite of mine! I read it this summer and I’ve never been more cheered up by a book before, so I think it will be a good one to read if I’m feeling a bit blue or homesick. My review for this will be up as soon as I can!

The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare – I have already read this series, but I’ve been wanting to reread it for at least a year now. I figured that if I bring them to uni with me then I’ll have no excuse to not reread them! It was Autumn when I first read Clockwork Angel, so it’d be cool to reread it at the same time.

A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab – I read the first book in this series ages ago, and I loved it! The world was fascinating and I loved Kell and Rhy – and then for some unknown read, I never read A Gathering of Shadows. At university I hope to fix that! (Maybe…)

Dracula by Bram Stoker – This is hopefully going to be my Halloween read for this year! After reading a biography of Byron, Mary Shelley, and the night she came up with the idea of Frankenstein, I really want to read a Gothic story. However, as I don’t own Frankenstein, I figured Dracula was the next best thing! It’s also been a while since I’ve read a classic, so I’m excited to pick this up soon.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys – I’ve read quite a few emotional Second World War novels this year – The Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse becoming a new favourite – so I’m looking forward to reading this before the end of the year, especially as everyone says it’s incredibly moving.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Courtiers by Lucy Worsley – These are my academic-y books. I’m doing a history degree, but one of the modules focuses on the history behind famous plays, so I will once again be studying Hamlet. Hopefully I like it more than when I studied it for A Levels, as by the end of exams I felt I could quote Hamlet in my sleep! Courtiers is about 18th Century court life and doesn’t really have anything to do with my course, but Lucy Worsley is my favourite historian and I felt weird not bringing any non-fiction to uni with me.

That’s all the books that are coming with me! Have you read any on my list? Are you going to university this year? If anyone has any tips or tricks for university I’d definitely welcome them!

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

#AmCurrently – Welcome Back to Me!

Once upon a time there was a little blog called Bowlerhatgirl Books. Unfortunately, the owner of said blog got caught up in life and exams.

And the little blog disappeared. For four months.

So it is definitely been a long time since I’ve updated this blog – or any of my bookish social media to be honest. In the UK May and June are the big exam months of the year, so instead of reading, writing, and blogging, I had to revise, cry about revision, and revise which was infinitely less fun.

But now I’m back! And I figured an #AmCurrently tag would tell you guys what I’ve been up to these past few months, which I’m sure you’re all dying to know! (Or, you know, mildly interested).

#AmCurrently – Reading:

I just finished The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and it was THE BEST THING. I could babble about it all day (and I soon will, as a book review is coming your way!) but basically everyone should read it right now. I’m considering rereading it when it comes out in hardcover next month!

Aside from that, I’m a quarter of the way through rereading The Diviners by Libba Bray – if you’d like to know why this is my one of my favourite series ever you can check out my post here (also the third book is coming out in October!!!! I’m not excited you are). I’ve also started The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons, and although it’s very light and innocent now, I know that it’s going to be devastatingly emotional once I properly get into it.

#AmCurrently – Listening to:

My playlist for June has been amazing because two of my favourite artists released new music! I’ve been alternating between From the Outside by Hey Violet (Current favourites are Where Have You Been (All My Night) and Like Lovers Do) and hopeless fountain kingdom by Halsey (Alone and Walls Could Talk are so good!). It’s such a relief now that I can listen to these songs and actually enjoy them, whereas before I was listening to them whilst trying to absorb 3 textbooks, 5 novels and another language (A Levels are the actual best, guys. The. Best.) I’ve also been loving Papercut by Zedd and Troye Sivan, it’s long but gold.

#AmCurrently – Watching:

In between making my way through all of RuPaul’s Drag Race, I finally finished watching Girlboss! I actually loved it, there was something almost empowering to see Sophia being unapologetically aggressive and confident.

As well as that, I’ve just finished watching the third season of Skam and am procrastinating the fourth because I CANNOT ACCEPT IT IS OVER. NOPE NOPE NOPE. I’ve even started learning Norwegian on Duolingo because I’m desperate to visit Scandinavia after watching the show, that’s how much I love it!

Anyway, I hope that filled you guys in on what I’ve been up to in these past few months. I’m sorry for being gone for so long, but I have a lot more blog ideas now.

What have you been reading recently? Are there any books or albums I’ve missed in my hiatus? What’s your favourite song at the moment?

Thanks for reading 🙂

2016 Favourites & The Dashing and Smashing Character Awards!

Hi all!

It’s that time of year again when we look back and decide what the best books of 2016 are. This year hasn’t been the best in terms of reading for me because other commitments have meant that I couldn’t read as much as I wanted to.

However, I may not have read much, but what I did read was super! According to my Goodreads, my average rating was 4.2 stars out of 5, so choosing a single favourite book is basically impossible (also I’m just very indecisive, but shh we’ll blame it on Goodreads!).

These won’t be in any order, but enjoy my favourites of 2016!

• Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare – This is the first book in The Dark Artifices series,
  and Cassie didn’t disappoint with another Shadowhunters novel! I love this world so much, and the development of the characters and the world was so strong that I couldn’t help but adore this book. I’m so excited to read Lord of Shadows.

• Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo – THESE BOOKS. I’m sure you’ve seen t
  hem all over bookstagram and booktube, but the praise is well-deserved. Having met Leigh Bardugo I love these books even more because the author is so sweet and funny.

• Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray – I know I said I wasn’t going to have a definite favourite, but if I did, it would be this one. I have SO MUCH LOVE fo
  r The Diviners, the first book in this series, and the sequel was even better! Libba Bray creates the most wonderful world of 1920s New York, and I can gush about this series so much that I wrote a blog post on it, which you can find here.
• Carry On by Rainbow Rowell – I am so glad that I went to the Worlds Collide tour (my recap of the event is here if you’re interested) because it motivated me to read Rainbow Rowell’s books, and they definitely lived up to the hype! I love Fangirl, but I decided that Carry On was my favourite because I loved the setting of Watford and Simon and Baz.

• Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton – I picked this book up in the middle of a reading slump, wanting something quick and easy to read. Instead I got evil ballerinas and a competitive dance academy, and it was brilliant. The atmosphere at the school is so tense, and you can feel the stress and the mistrust between all the dancers as you read the book. As soon as I had finished it I wanted the sequel, and I’m still thinking about it a week later.

As well as my favourite books of 2016, I thought I would do a few questions from the Dashing and Smashing Character Awards! This fun tag was created by the lovely Cait @ Paper Fury, and I thought it would be a great way to wrap up my 2016 reading experience.

1. Fiercest fighter – I think this has to go to Manon from the Throne of Glass series (I refuse to put Aelin because I’m realising that I don’t like her very much!). Manon is fierce and ruthless in battle, but she’s also fiercely loyal and caring and I like that about her.
2. Best sidekick – Iko from The Lunar Chronicles gets an honourable mention in this category, but I think I’ll have to say George from Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, who helped Simon settle in and lightened the mood of the short stories.
3. One You’re Surprised You Loved – I picked up Radio Girls by Sarah-Jane Stratford on a whim at the airport, but I am glad I did! It was just the right mix of historical fact and fiction, revealing the busy world of the BBC in the 1920s that I didn’t know existed, and I warmed to the main character, Maisie, especially as we saw her journey from a shy woman to one in control of her life.
4. The best ship of all – This is so hard to decide! Emma and Julian? Simon and Baz? Helen and Lord Carlston? I think they’re close seconds, but I have to give this title to BLUE AND GANSEY from The Raven Boys series. They are just…perfect. And I would really like someone to give me a Gansey please.

That wraps up my 2016 reading year! How was your year? What was your favourite book you read? Let me know in the comments!

I hope you have a wonderful 2017!

Thanks for reading (: