5 Reasons Why You Should Absolutely Bookstagram!

Hi all!

I started off on bookstagram before I created my blog, and it has a special place in my heart. If you didn't know what bookstagram is, it's the book community on instagram that all post under the hashtag #bookstagram, and I thought I would try and convince you why you should definitely start a bookstagram account!

1. The community is one of the nicest you'll find on the internet (in my experiences anyway). Everyone is supportive and nice, and there are people who have made lifelong friendships through bookstagram! And if you ever lack inspiration, there are amazing photo challenges you can take a part in that bookstagrammers create every month! (Because they're incredibly creative and nice like that).

2. You can discover new hobbies! There are so many talented people on bookstagram that make me want to try drawing, calligraphy, and so many other new things.

3. You can connect with authors and publishers. I can't tell you how rewarding it is when an author likes or comments on your photos. The other day I posted a photo saying how much I liked Radio Girls, and the author saw it and commented, and I was really happy; not only are my photos gaining recognition, but the author has received a compliment too!

4. You can discover your new favourite book! I have lost count of the amount of times I've read a book because I've seen it on bookstagram, and while there are a few that were flops most of them have been great. Some popular series on bookstagram include the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer (my review for Cinder, the first book in the series, can be found here) and the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas (my review for the fourth book, Queen of Shadows, can be found here!).

5. You get to talk about books! No one minds if you ramble about your favourite series, no one minds if you squeal about a plot twist, and no one minds if you yell at them to beg them to read your favourite book EVER (and no one minds that actually you have ninety favourite books because they're in the same boat!). My friends read, but not as much as me, so bookstagram has given me an outlet to discuss my love of books with people who understand.

My bookstagram account is @Bowlerhatgirl1 if you want to follow me (shameless self-promotion there!).

Have I convinced you to join bookstagram? Or if you already have a bookstagram account, what's you're favourite thing about it?
Thanks for reading (:

The Hamilton Book Tag!

Hi all:

I am finally doing the Hamilton Book tag, which combines two of my very favourite things - books and Hamilton! These questions were created by maureenkeavy on Youtube, and I've picked which ones I want to do instead of doing all of them so this post isn't humongous!


1. The Room Where It Happens: Book world you would put yourself in
I would say the Shadowhunting world, as it's my favourite book world, but a) scary monsters, b) wars, and c) I would not last more than five seconds as a Shadowhunter! A world I would love to live in would be the circus in The Night Circus, because that would be so mesmerising and beautiful. I want to be a Reveur!

2. The Schuyler Sisters: Underrated Female Character
I feel like Vivian from the Vivian Apple series doesn't get enough credit! I remember reading the two books and thinking how strong she and her best friend Harp were while dealing with the end of the world, and no one has read them! I really recommend them, especially as there's only two in the series.

3. My Shot: A character that goes after what they want and doesn't let anything stop them
For this I'm going to choose Gansey(<3) from the Raven Cycle. He always keeps his goal of finding Glendower in sight, even through everything he, Blue, Adam and Ronan experience.

4. The Reynolds Pamphlet - A book with a twist that you didn’t see coming
*SPOILERS FOR TMI*
I did not see the end of City of Fallen Angels, which was one of my favourite cliffhangers of all time! The entire series was filled with twists and turns that I didn't predict at all (admittedly I'm not great at spotting plot twists, but they were still unexpected!).

5. Non-stop: A series you marathoned
I've just finished reading all of The Raven Cycle, and I'm so glad I reread the first three books before continuing with The Raven King because it meant that I actually knew what had happened before! Generally, I don't marathon series for some reason, possibly because I forget what events happened in which book.

6. Satisfied: Favorite book with multiple POVs

I adore The Lunar Chronicles, and this series has a lot of points of view by the end of it. Reading all of the points of views in Winter was so much fun, and I love all of the characters we get to see, as well as how different each character was.

7. Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story: A book/series you feel like will be remembered throughout history
I feel like I'm cheating with this one as I haven't actually read these yet, but I'm going for the obvious answer of the Harry Potter series. It has had such an impact on so many people across the world, and I can't think of any other book that has had the same effect. I really should start reading them soon..!

8. Right Hand Man - Favorite BROTP   
I'm currently listening to Lair of Dreams, and I love Henry (Well, I just love Henry to be honest!) and Ling's friendship, as well as Henry and Theta's. Ling and Henry just contrast against each other so well.

9. What’d I Miss: A book or series you were late to reading
  
SO MANY. The Mortal Instruments, Throne of Glass, Illuminae, The Young Elites...I'm slowly catching up though, guys!

They were my answers to the Hamilton Book tag! I love watching these tag videos on booktube, and I can't wait to (hopefully) see it when it comes to London!

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!