Every Bookworms Dilemma: When Shelf Space Runs Out.

Ok so here’s a random and vaguely related anecdote: There is currently a lot of DIY going on in my house, which means there are toolboxes and various pieces of equipment in my room. A couple of days ago my mum was helping me carry some stuff up there and I carefully reached over a mass of tools to turn on a plug, at which point I told her “You know we should move these because one day I’m going to actually step on that sword” She looked at me puzzled and said “sword?” At which point I replied “yes” She laughed “I think you mean SAW?”
*Facepalm*
I’ve been spending way too much time in the literary world lately, either that or art work’s fried my brain. Anhoooows thought you might find that vaguely amusing.
*Hears crickets*
Now on with the post!

My book buying habit has reached an almighty high. I have never owned so many. You could say I’m a bit of book hoarder. Around a month ago I went up to my room with a fresh batch of brand new beautiful shiny books to place proudly on my shelves, only to realize that I had no space left. This isn’t the first time that this has happened either, except this time, it was on a somewhat larger scale. Luckily salvation was just around the corner in the form of a very thoughtful friend who donated to me one of her old bookshelves. So the problem is fixed – temporarily.

BUT I’ve already filled that bookshelf up, I’m now precariously squishing another layer onto it.

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson Review 4/5

Overall Impression: A tale of one girls struggle to come to terms with death, to find herself, and to feel happy in her own skin. All told through the medium of a love story.

The reason I decided to buy this book was because it was the only one I had ever come across on Amazon with all five start ratings. Immediately I was curious. I actually ended up buying it for a friend, because it sounded like her kind of book. She soon informed me that it was amazing and that I should read it. So, around three years after the initial command, I’ve finally gotten around to it!

Whats wrong with me?
What kind of girl wants to kiss every boy at a funeral, wants to maul a guy in a tree after making out with her (dead) sister’s boyfriend the previous night?
Speaking of which, what kind of girl makes out with her sister’s boyfriend at all?

Lennie Walker – Sisterless, lasagna maker, Heathcliff – obsessed and hopelessly in love…

The Sky is Everywhere – it’s a clichéd storyline we’ve all probably encountered at some point over the years. It goes something like this: Girl looses sister. Girl is sad. Girl makes herself feel better by chasing after boys. Girl gets torn between Boy 1 who understands her grief (dead sisters boyfriend) and Boy 2 who makes her feel better.
If that sounds vaguely familiar then you’re probably wondering, why should I bother to read this book? What will I get out of it? Well, for all it’s clichéd plotlines, it’s a quirky novel with enthusiastic writing which makes it an overall very entertaining read.

Giveaway Results for Shades of Grey

Exactly two weeks ago I opened a free book giveaway, with ten copies of Shades of Grey by Michael Cargill up for grabs. Well, I’ve used a random name generator to select the lucky ten, and the votes are in.

Q and A session anyone?

So, ages and ages ago now I was tagged by Nisha, and even longer ago than that I was tagged by Novel Journeys to answer some really random questions. I hope this post isn’t dreadfully boring and hopefully you will learn some random and interesting facts about me. Enjoy

Shades of Grey by Michael Cargill Review 3/5

Overall Impression: From government organizations, to battles in WW2, and evil teddies. This book is surely an entertaining mixture.

I received a request to review this book by the author Michael Cargill, it is a collection of three short stories; Shades of Grey, There and Back Again, and Down the Rabbit Hole.

John is not a very nice man. He works for the government. So who has tied him to a chair and what do they want? James is a British soldier during WWII. Tom is a young boy with a terrible secret.
Three stories. Three very different people. All of them battling to survive.

Shades of Grey
This story focuses on John, a man that works for the government. One day he finds himself tied to a chair in an interrogation room. He doesn’t know why he’s there or what they want, but he does know one thing; he’s not talking. As his interrogators try to coax information out of him he fades in and out of consciousness and reminisces on his life. Will he find a way to escape? Does he even want to?

I really enjoyed this story because I felt it was very original, I have never read anything with a setup quite like it.

Author Interview and Free Book Giveaway!

Hello all! Sorry for the lack of posting lately. I’ve been busy, busy, busy. But I’m making up for it now by bringing you Blogs-Of-A-Bookaholic’s first EVER author interview and book giveaway! This is groundbreaking news people! It almost makes me….dare I say …a more professional blogger? Mwuhuhu.
Michael Cargill is a fellow WordPress user, and aspiring author. He is here to share a little bit about himself, and promote his new book Shades of Grey! He is also offering a grand total of TEN copies of his book to give away, so please make him feel welcome.
Let the questions begin!

What made you decide to take the leap and self publish?
I used to send stupid emails to people at work and some of those people said I should write a book. In the end I decided to publish some of the stuff that was in the emails and Diary of a Dork was born. It took me a while to pluck up the courage to do it but after that I realized how easy it was to do. Diary of a Dork isn’t actually a story or anything, it’s just off-beat humor that is very different to my other books. Some of the characters in it live on in spirit on my blog though…

Who is your favorite author?
My favourite author is definitely Stephen King.  

Bookish Updates: Goodreads, Flying Books and more!

Bloggers of the world beware, I just created a Goodreads account. Who knows what could happen now that I’ve been unleashed on these poor people?
Hopefully I’ll manage to find some new bookish friends, but at the very least I’ll be able to keep track of my reading progress.
I’d been dithering over whether to get a Goodreads account for some time, and when I saw that my good blogging friend Summer had created one, I was even more tempted, but I just wasn’t too sure what it’s purpose was. However blogger Michael finally convinced me, and so I’ve set one up! You can find my account here. If you have Goodreads, feel free to add me, or leave a link to your own page on the comments section. And if you haven’t got Goodreads? Feel free to join me on my journey through the unknown! I’ve been on the site for four days now, and I think I’m starting to get a feel for it, but for those of you that have been on the site for a long time…..any tips?

Secondly