But if the books I have read have helped to form me, then probably nobody else who ever lived has read exactly the same books, all the same books and exactly the same books as me. So just as my genes and the soul within me make me uniquely me, so I am the unique sum of the books I have read. I am my literary DNA.

I love Jasper Fforde, he‘s got to be one of the funniest authors I‘ve read. He‘s one of those authors that make you wonder how on earth they come up with their ideas. Early Riser met all my expectations, 5⭐️ highly recommended.

Interesting read. I particularly enjoyed the chapters about women I didn‘t know much about like Anna Politkovskaya. It‘s one of those books that adds to your TBR pile as there are several women in here who I‘d like to learn more about 😄 3.5 ⭐️

I loved this book. It‘s been described as a love letter to libraries, but it also covers true crime and history. As a librarian it was also part horror learning about the LA public library fire. 5 ⭐️

Loved this! The characters are great. Mrs Bird an agony aunt who refuses to answer letters that deal with any sort of ‘unpleasantness‘ such as marital relations, pre-marital relations, physical relations...you get the idea. Emmy who works for her begins to answer these letters, which naturally has consequences. Set in WWII, it‘s both funny and sad. Highly recommended 5⭐️

This was a very Alan Hollinghurst book :) Beautiful prose and interesting characters. In my opinion, not as good as The Line of Beauty or The Strangers Child, but I think fans of Hollinghurst will enjoy it all the same. 4.5 ⭐️

This was a fun read based on the game and movie of the same name. Read it if you‘re a fan of either. I enjoyed the interpretation of the different characters, especially Mr Green as a ‘pharma bro‘. I also enjoyed how the Butler kept breaking the fourth wall, although I can see how some might find that aspect annoying. 4.5 ⭐️

I didn‘t enjoy this book, mainly because it was trying to do too many things & not succeeding at any of them. It was part ‘coming of age, who am I out of my famous father‘s shadow?‘; part historical fiction but only skimming the surface of important events that happened in 80s NY; & it contained WAY too much name-dropping. It might have been better if it just focussed on the protagonist‘s relationship with John Lennon, but it didn‘t. 1⭐️ only.

I can‘t recommend this book enough. It‘s one of those stories that will stick with me for a long time. Great characters, interesting story that taught me a lot, and I cried loads at the end. My ideal book really!

I really enjoyed this retelling of the Greek Myths by Stephen Fry. His humorous asides and footnotes make this a fun read 😄

A collection of stories about parenting. Some are hilarious and made me laugh out loud, some made me cry. I found most of the stories relatable. But most importantly the stories are honest reflections on parenting and don‘t make you feel like you should be doing things differently. Will be giving this as a Christmas present this year for sure!

Yay! Bookmarks have arrived from @Tianarose Thanks so much 😊 I love the petty colours 🌈 @Clwojick #summerbookmarkswap

Bookmarks are finally on their way! If you look closely you can see the tape at the top of the envelope, that‘s because I had to remove a bookmark from each envelope because they were magnetic! Stupid NZ post rules! So, sorry you are both getting one less bookmark than I intended 😠 @Tianarose @Dulcinella @Clwojick #SummerBookmarkSwap #EvenThoughItsReallyWinter

1. The ones that fit in my bookshelves are alphabetical, the rest are stacked all over the place in an order that only makes sense to me
2. Hard question...I‘m going to go with ‘The Handmaids Tale‘ but anything by Atwood works for me
3. For sure. My son does it to and that makes me happy!
4. Yes, but only if I see them second hand
@Erofan @nu-bibliophile #OnlyReadersUnderstand

I really enjoyed this graphic novel adaptation of Anne of Green Gables. I thought the illustrations really capture the mood of the book - so beautiful. Sure, it doesn‘t have the detail of the novel but the author and illustrator clearly love the original book and have done a great job of paying homage to it.

I‘m excited to start this. Conditions are perfect for a great nights reading, it‘s pouring with rain outside and I‘m snug in my pyjamas feeling very cosy 🌧😊

This is a companion book to The Goodnight Book for Rebel Girls books, except the focus is on NZ women. I got it to read with my 5 year old son. I thought I might be pushing my luck, but we both loved it! The book provides opportunities for interesting discussion, one profile is of the 1st girl to go to high school in Auckland, & it talks about how people used to think too much education was bad for girls, much to my son‘s surprise! Two thumbs up!

I finished this book a few days ago and have been thinking about it since. It deals with a part of New Zealand‘s history that I had no idea about. Makereti has a clever way of showing the complexities some people deal with when they are of mixed cultures; in this case Maori/Maoriori/Pakeha. I highly recommend this book, esp. if you‘re a kiwi! Even if you‘re not from NZ this book is beautifully written and evokes a real sense of the NZ landscape.

This book took awhile for me to get into. However I will say that I can see why Peter Jackson is making it into a movie, and I‘m quite looking forward to seeing it. The ending was great, and I will read the others in the series...eventually :)

I enjoyed this book, but I‘d be hesitant to recommend it to people. I think you have to be in the right frame of mind to read it. 90% of the characters are unlikable and there are plenty of horrible deaths (including the strangest suicide scene I‘ve ever read). So it‘s not a book to bring a smile to your face! But I enjoyed the way the accordion joined these stories together and I feel that overall it‘s a clever piece of writing.

I came to this book after listening to A.J.‘s podcast ‘Twice Removed‘. I found the book to be very humorous and I loved all his personal stories and anecdotes. There‘s some interesting ideas and it‘s made me curious to explore some of the world family trees that are on the web.

I‘ve been reading the series with my 5 year old son and we love all the books. But I have to say that book 11 was fantastic, great character development with Snotlout. Without giving anything away, this book had me in tears as I was reading. A great opportunity to teach my son about the emotions that a good book can provoke in people!
Bring on book 12!