5 YA Tropes that Make Me Feel Old (PLEASE BRING AID AND COOKIES)

So you guys know that I LOVE YA. I live and breathe those hormone filled, perfectly tormented souls who feel everything three times as hard as the rest of the world, and I know I always will.

But the thing is, as a YA reader, I have always been a teenager reading about teenagers.

Now, I’m 24 years of age and I have to face the facts that I am DOING THE ADULTING THING. WHICH IS WEIRD. I still consider myself a ‘young adult’, as I kind of feel this bracket continues to about the age of 25, (wait a minute, that’s only a year away, gulp) but I’ve certainly grown older and wiser, my views have expanded, and my book tastes have evolved.

I feel so incredibly lucky to be living in a time where I have access to talented YA authors whose stories have mass appeal. YA is not just for teenagers folks, it’s for everyone, and I will defend that to the depts of Mordor.

But now that I’m older, I do sometimes come across tropes/storylines, or certain scenes in YA books that make me feel, well, kinda old.*

Thoughts on Returning to Blogging and My (Hopefully) Epic Comeback!

Hello bloggers! Welcome! Pull up a chair. Can I get you a drink? It’s been so long since we had a proper catch up, after all.

You may be wondering why after a hiatus of almost a year, a couple of book reviews suddenly popped into your inbox within the last month with no warning or explanation. I imagine you must have a lot of questions. I always told myself I would never be one of those bloggers who disappeared without a word, but the truth is I never made a conscious decision to take a break. So, where did I go and why? Let everything be revealedddd!!

Discussion: On Choosing Not to Read a Sequel

As a bookworm, I have always been intent on finishing series, in fact, it’s basically a compulsion. I have finished reading series when I’m not that bothered about the characters or how their stories turn out, I’ve finished series that have awful writing, and I’ve even finished series where I’ve absolutely hated everything to do with it by the end. Why do I torture myself like this? I feel the need to see things through to the end. I also don’t like to quit and finishing books gives me a sense of closure. And until now (despite having had previous resolutions to give up series I’m not enjoying) I haven’t come across anything that has contradicted this.

However, recently I’ve come across two books that were incredibly enjoyable, heartfelt and lots of fun where I’ve questioned if I should read the sequel.

Spoilers, Spoilers Everywhere! Free Speech vs Fangirl Angst.

The internet is a wonderful thing, but it’s also hazardous. As you navigate your way around several social networks in a day you are faced with what seems like infinite information, and within it, lurking around corners you’d least expect, are book spoilers.

There have been several times over the past few years where I have been utterly spoiled beyond the realms of forgiveness, and have been left in seething rages unquenched by even chocolate or cute kitten pictures.

The Books That Have Shaped Me Into The Reader I Am Today.

Every so often in life you come across one of those special books, a book that has a revolutionary effect leaving you permanently marked for the better. One that resonates with you, forces you to challenge your own thinking or opens up a new world you were unaware existed. I am sure every reader has come across at least one of these books, whether it was the first they ever picked up, or a story that was there for them exactly when they needed it. As an enthusiastic bookworm and student, I like to think every book I pick up has influenced me in some way, however, there are certainly some that have had a bigger effect than others!

I was super excited when I saw 

The Psychology of Book Abandonment

There is only one thing book readers like myself enjoy as much as reading…and that’s reading statistics about reading! *Looks incredibly nerdy*.
I was participating in my regular skim of the Huffington Post books section when I came across an article on ‘The Psychology of Abandonment’. As a reader and aspiring psychologist I couldn’t let that title go. I clicked and discovered a beautiful infographic created by Goodreads (click here to view it and the article) that was a culmination of statistics attempting to explain when readers decide to give up on a book.

The findings show the top five novels Goodreads users have labeled as unfinished:
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling, Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and Wicked by Gregory Maguire. (Not necessarily in that order.)

The first thing I noticed was that they were all incredibly well known or popular titles. It’s always interesting to see that just because something is a bestseller doesn’t mean everybody likes it! In fact, I think that is half the problem. 

The Mysteries of a Second Hand Book.

Do you ever walk into a second hand book shop and discover a novel with limp brown stained pages, squished into awkward angles due to damp; maybe from a spilled cup of coffee or an over enthusiastic splash from the pool, and wonder curiously where it has come from?
I do, sometimes.

A few months ago I was wandering around my favourite second hand book shop with a friend and came across 

Books I Just HAD to Buy… but are Still Sitting on my Unread Shelf

I saw this title bobbing around the blogosphere a couple of weeks ago, I think it might have been for a meme but I don’t seem to be able to find it now. Either way, I thought it sounded like a lot of fun! After all, how many books have you just HAD to rush out and buy on a whim because you read a great review of it, or it was new from your favourite author or had taken the world by storm? Before you know it you get distracted by something shiny, and suddenly it’s months later and the book is still sitting on your shelf. I am definitely guilty of this, so I felt the need to participate and make my own post! 🙂

So without further ado here are ten books I absolutely had to buy that are still unread:

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – I decided to buy this after reading so many great reviews. Everyone was calling it a captivating, magical story about a mysterious circus that appeared at nightfall and disappeared at dawn. At first I wasn’t sure about it, I had never really been interested in circuses. But reviews from spellbound readers continued and the cover was so beautiful (Especially in hardback!) that I came to the conclusion I absolutely, positively had to buy it!
The main reason I haven’t read it yet is that I am saving it for the right moment….if that makes any kind of sense. I don’t know, I feel like I will really enjoy it but I want to wait for a day where I can appreciate it. Plus, after all the hype I’m a little scared I might not like it. :S

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time Book 1) – I got this book in 2011 for Christmas because it was on my wishlist. It’s the first in the popular Wheel of Time series known by pretty much every bookworm dedicated to the fantasy genre. I was on a fantasy kick when I first heard about it and so I automatically wanted to read it! It was a couple of months later that I started questioning whether it had been a good idea. 

Sick-Lit The New Trend? YA Books That May Harm Your Kids ‘Apparently’

Do you recognize any of the popular titles above?
I personally haven’t read all of them, but I have it on good authority that they are excellent books.
Well watch out, because this genre is now being labeled ‘sick-lit’.
This post is a reaction to this article which you many want to check out.

Sick-lit is being defined as novels that deal with complex issues relating to death and disease, so cancer, depression, eating disorders and many other important issues relevant to modern society that have formed some great contemporary books. Yet I can’t help but feel the term ‘sick-lit’ is trying to sound derogatory somehow, giving the genre a negative slant. I mean, it’s not exactly a tasteful sounding label is it?

Like every book that becomes uber popular, moral panic will ensue. Cue the release of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars capturing the hearts of teenagers everywhere and you’re bound to find a crowd of concerned onlookers close behind.

Where do you get your Writing Inspiration?

You can be the best writer on the face of the planet, but if you don’t have anything to write about you’re screwed.
Lets face it, a writers least favourite past time is having a face off with a blinking cursor, but often that’s exactly what we find ourselves doing. (Wait what…? Did I just call myself a writer? I guess I kind of did.. :S Hmm..lets go with extreme amateur writer, that seems a little more accurate.)
There is nothing I find more frustrating than sitting readily at a computer full of proactive excitement ready to write the best prose in history and then stopping short, because hey there’s just one problem. I have no story.

Perhaps I should backtrack a little. You see, what prompted this spur of the moment post is my Creative Writing class. For my first semester I had to write a 2,000 word short story. I was stuck. Desperately searching in to the depths of my brain I wondered where all my childhood imagination had run off to. I used to have endless ideas zooming around up there but after years and years of not writing anything fiction at all, I felt pretty rusty. 

What are you Reading this Summer?

Here in the UK, summer has begun.

For some of us this means a chance to relax and splurge on an expensive holiday, for others it provides some much needed hope when shuffling into work, but for students it means the long awaited summer holidays are finally here; a short break from ramming facts and figures into our heads. Of the overwhelming stress and the manic shots of adrenaline our bodies pump through our system to keep us revising until 2am in the morning. But most importantly for me, it means the opportunity to hopefully get a lot more reading done!

Every Bookworm’s 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.

Do you get bored of YA covers imitating Twilight?

Ok, I will fully admit, when I first read the Twilight books, I got a bit obsessed with them for a while. I was exactly the right age to read them at the time, and it was also one of the first YA (Young Adult) fantasy romance books I’d ever read. Me and my friends all read them and squealed at the ‘perfect’ Edward and daydreamed about one day meeting our own vampire boyfriend.
However, slowly the hype around the books grew due to them being turned into film adaptions. I went to see the films, and became less interested. I then reread the books, and became confused about why I actually liked them in the first place. And the more people talked about them, the less and less I liked them and the annoying ‘Twihard’ fans associated with them. Anyway, to avoid this turning into a Twilight rant about the annoying Bella, and Edwards canny resemblance to a stalker etc, etc I’ll get back on topic!

It seems like ever since the Twilight Saga became popular, tonnes and tonnes of YA books have been desperately trying to follow in it’s footsteps, and one of the ways in which they are attempting this seems to be their front covers/illustrations.

Take the Vampire Diaries series for example. These books have been around for quite a long time, yet after the popularity of Twilight were given completely new covers, and this is the result:

Have I bitten off more books than I can chew?

Do you have a material weakness? Is there a section in the shops that you just can’t  walk past without stopping? I personally have two. Even if I only have £10.00 left, I still feel myself quickly placing my hand in my pocket, digging around for the last of my money, and handing it over to the cashier. It’s as if I’ve gone into a greed driven trance, and my desire is so strong, that I can’t leave the shop until I own it.
I see it.
I.  Must.  Have.  It!

My first weakness is

What do you think of the representation of women in the vampire genre?

Hi everyone!

This is just a quick post to say that I haven’t put anything on here much partly because I have tonnes of work for school, but also because I am reading the book From Demons to Dracula by Matthew Berestford because I am doing a media project on “how the representation of women in the vampire genre changed in film and TV.”

I would be extremely grateful if you could give me some of your views on this, as it would be great to have a section where I get a variety of people’s views on this topic. How do you feel women are represented in Twilight? Vampire Diaries? Dracula? Interview with a Vampire? True Blood? Buffy the Vampire Slayer? and any other you can think of. It would be really helpful if I could get some comments from you! And if you could take the poll that would also be great!