Life Update 2 (Accompanied by another apology!)

So...how long is it since I've posted? The start of January?
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I am truly sorry! I just had no motivation to blog, and life has been very busy at the moment. I will try and update more regularly (which, to be honest, won't be that hard for me!).

Reading:


- I haven't been able to read a lot, unfortunately. In January I only read Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten, which I gave 3.5 stars, and The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson, which I gave 4 stars. So far in February, I've read The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman which I loved and gave 4.5 stars, and I'm halfway through Passenger by Alexandra Bracken and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith and enjoying both! I also think Passenger is the most photogenic book ever, and have taken many, many photos of it...it's just so pretty!


 Writing:

- At the start of the year, I had a burst of inspiration. A whole 5 book series came to me, and I felt so writerly and on top of things...and now that has gone! I have about 8 not-even-half-created ideas that are literally one sentence long, and I can't for the life of me flesh them out. The 5 book series is my main priority, and I have a few more ideas for it - I managed to plot out the first book - but I don't have the energy or time to sit down and properly plot everything out.
-  My other story, that I call Frank & Lucy because I hate creating proper titles and they are the main characters, is going well, if a little slowly. I've decided to share a little snippet of it here! This is from one of the most recent parts I've written:

The inn was more welcoming at night, she thought, and a lot more active. They were seated around one of the copper tables near the stairs leading to the rooms, with a lantern hanging above Lucy’s head. She was facing the rest of the inn and could see that the clientele of the pub was...eclectic. There were some sole drunkards propping up the bar, a rowdy party of men occupying half of the room gambling, and several women who appeared to have...questionable motives for being here. The smell of cigar smoke clung to every fibre of the room, and, coupled with the hazy cloud above everyone’s heads, it made it feel like if one were to stay still for long enough, they would become one of the many stories swirling in between the ash in the air.

Lucy set down her glass just as the waitress arrived with two steaming plates.

“Yer meals,” she mumbled, plonking the food down onto the table before leaving.

Frank raised his eyebrows. “She’s charming.”

Lucy nodded, picking up her fork and prodding the indeterminate meat. “As charming as this food, by the looks of things.”

TV Shows:

- I have finished Teen Wolf season two, which left me in an emotional fangirly mess! I seriously love Jackson and Stiles.
- I'm watching Shadowhunters, and, while I was nervous at first, I think it's really improving! I loved last week's episode, and I'm really looking forward to the new episode tomorrow.
- Pretty Little Liars has got me hooked, again! I thought I wouldn't enjoy it as much as the other seasons, but I do, and I actually really ship spaleb even though I loved spoby in series 5!
- This isn't TV-related, but I'm listening to the soundtrack to Hamilton and it's so bizarre and funny, I really like it!


So hopefully this has made up for the lack of posts, again! How was everyone's reading month in January? Does anyone have any TV shows I must start watching?
Thanks for reading(:

Bowlerhatgirl Recommends...Contemporary Books!

Hi!
I thought I would do another recommendations post, this time recommending my favourite contemporary books! These will be split into two categories: mysteries and summery reads.

Mystery/ Thriller Contemporaries:

1. Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas - I loved this book so much that I think it's one of my favourite books of 2014! Anna and her group of friends go on holiday to Aruba, but the trip takes a sinister turn when Elise, Anna's best friend, is murdered. Soon, Anna is trying to clear her name, and we discover what really happened to Elise. This was incredible. It has one of the most shocking endings I've ever read, and I think anyone who likes mysteries will love Dangerous Girls.

2. The Burn for Burn trilogy by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian - I recently just finished this series, and I'm annoyed at myself for not reading them sooner! On the surface, Burn for Burn is about three girls - Kat, Lillia, and Mary - getting revenge on people who have done them wrong. But once you read Fire With Fire (for those of you who have, my review is here), it sets off in another completely different (but equally amazing) direction. The ending to Fire With Fire was as much of a shock as Dangerous Girls, and the plot remained fast-paced and unpredictable right up until the last page of Ashes To Ashes.

3. The Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard - I have finished EVERY BOOK in this series. ALL SIXTEEN, AS WELL AS THE TWO EXTRAS. There are a lot of books in the PLL series, which often puts a lot of people off, but they are easy to read and I love them. Also, there are points where you can stop reading (after book eight or book twelve, I think) and the story will feel relatively wrapped up. The books are very different to the TV show, though, so if you want to read the books and have watched the show, make sure you know this beforehand. If you still really don't want to read eight books, Sara Shepard has another series out called The Lying Game series (Which I have not read every book in, yet), and a duology consisting of The Perfectionists and The Good Girls. All of these are full of twists and turns and mystery and characters doing bad things and trying to cover them up!

Summery reads:

1. The Anna Lola Isla series by Stephanie Perkins - full of gorgeous boys, funny lines, and OTPs, any of these books are perfect for the Summer. Anna & the French Kiss is set in Paris, Lola and the Boy Next Door is set in San Francisco, and Isla and the Happily Ever After is set in New York, Paris and Barcelona, so if you want to travel the world while staying at home, you can! Each is adorable, and they're all linked together in a lovely way.

2. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson - Emily is shy, and her best friend Sloane isn't. One day, Sloane disappears, leaving Emily a list of things to do. She hopes it will lead to her best friend, but it might take Emily further out of her comfort zone than she would have liked. I love how there are playlists and extras in this book, like in Amy & Roger's Epic Detour - which I would also recommend for summer - and it's just so wonderfully suited to summer!

3. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson - this is quite similar to Since You've Been Gone, as both of the protagonists have tasks to do set by people they're close to, but 13 LBE takes us around Europe as Ginny follows her aunt's seemingly crazy instructions, all packaged in blue envelopes. Over the summer, Ginny meets friends, sees the world, and also meets a great boy, which I think is what everyone wants out of a summer! Like Stephanie Perkins' books, it allows you to travel to fantastic places like Rome, Scotland, and Amsterdam, and I love how Maureen Johnson writes, so I loved this book.

4. The Threads trilogy by Sophia Bennett - If you love fashion, Threads is probably your kind of book. It centres around Nonie, daughter of a famous model, and her friends Edie - who wants to save the world - and Jenny - who's going to be an actress - as they befriend a girl called Crow, who has the makings of an incredible fashion designer. The books cover a wide range of issues apart from fashion, like body image, poverty, and deciding what to do with your future, and they have a special place in my heart for being one of the first series to really stay with me (and one of the books managed to find a place in my bath as well, so is now twice the size of the others).

All of these books are wonderful contemporaries! I also have lots of contemporary books on my TBR list, so I may do another recommendation post later on in the year. Have you read any of these? What did you think? What are some of your favourite contemporary novels? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading(:

Book Courtship Tag

This tag has been floating around the booktube community for a few months, and as I don't have a booktube account - yet! - I thought I'd do it on here! I'm afraid I don't know who created this tag, so credit goes to whoever did.


1. Initial attraction - A book that you bought because of the cover.
While a lot of my books could be classed as cover buys, this has to go to The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal. I actually have no idea what this book is about, but I bought it for two reasons: the cover and the fact that it's set in Scandinavia (because how many books have you heard about that are set in Scandinavia?). (Side note: I've just looked at the reviews on Goodread and am now less excited to read it...)


2. First Impressions - A book that you bought because of the summary.
That would be Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige. I went to see Wicked a few years ago and kind of became a little obsessed with all things Oz, so when I read that Amy gets transported to Oz and everything is messed up, I had to buy it! I have to say it was a bit of a jolt going from Fiyero to the Scarecrow in Dorothy Must Die, though.


3. Sweet Talk - A book with great writing.
I want to say The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, but that is being used for another question, so I'll pick In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters. It's moving, spooky, creepy and amazing, and the lead character, Mary Shelley (yes, that is her name) is great.


4. First Date - A first book of a series which made you want to pick up the rest of the series.
Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian. That cliffhanger made it impossible to not pick up the rest...although I haven't technically done that yet...soon!


5. Late Night Phone Calls - A book that kept you up all night.
Probably the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard. I used to get one every Christmas, and whenever I woke up (generally five in the morning...I get excited over Christmas, ok?) I would read it instead of going back to sleep.


6. Always on my mind - A book you could not stop thinking about.
The Ruby Red trilogy by Kerstin Gier. Just the whole idea of time travel and the chronograph was so interesting that I constantly thought about it for ages after I finished Emerald Green a few months ago...and still do now, really!


7. Getting physical - A book which you love the way it feels.
This is another book by Cat Winters: The Cure for Dreaming! The hardcover has little circles on the jacket and it feels so cool.


8. Meeting the parents - A book which you would recommend to friends and family.
This will obviously be a big surprise, but...The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern! This is one of my favourite books ever, and whenever I hear that someone might be reading it I have to control my inner fangirl. The writing is wonderful and dream-like, and it's just so good! (See my full review for more adjectives).


9. Thinking about the future - A book or series you know you will re-read many times in the future.
The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare. I plan on reading The Mortal Instruments again this Summer, and I know that I'll keep re-reading them; the plot is exciting and the characters are fab (especially Izzy...and Simon...and Alec...oh, and not forgetting a certain gorgeous Herondale in Victorian times).


10. Share the love - Who do you tag?
You, if you want to do it!


Thanks for reading(:

How to Rearrange your Bookcase (Bowlerhatgirl Style)

Today, instead of revising, I decided to rearrange my bookcase (because I am a very dedicated student...*panics*.) Anyway, this is the very bad step-by-step guide that came from an afternoon of moving books!

Note: This is just what I ended up doing, not how to arrange bookshelves well!

Step 1: Find some background entertainment-in my case, it was season 1 of Once Upon a Time, which is so good right now!
Step 2: Remove all trinkets/non-books from your bookcase and put them in a safe place. I put everything on top of my wobbly TBR pile(s), clearly a good idea.
Step 3: Take off all books stacked in front or on top of books off your shelves and put them out of your way (it is possible I stacked mine right in my way...I didn't think it through, and I kept bumping into a pile and almost knocking it over ).
Step 4: Take off the remaining books and stack them somewhere.
*Optional Step 5*: Build a mini book fort and have a slight panic at how many books you have to fit in one bookcase. Below should be a picture of my own book fort, which I was very proud of.
Step 6: Start putting books back on your shelves, arranging them by genre, title, colour or however you choose to arrange books(Although I could never arrange my shelves by colour;all of the series wouldn't be together which would drive me mad).
*Optional Step 7*: Get distracted by background entertainment (Henry :O).
Step 8: Abandon your system when you realise it won't work and start stacking as many books in as you can.
Step 9: Panic once more as you look at the last few books that won't fit on your shelves. Why are there always some that don't fit in, even though they all went in before?!
Step 10:  Fit in the remaining books and add the trinkets back on.
Step 11: Stand back and admire your wonderfully organised bookcase!