The Pen and Inkpot

  Not very long ago, I found myself in search of a good book to read so I went to the library and picked up a few to last me for a while. One of the books I borrowed was called If You Were Me amd it didn't really last me for very long at all. It is a gripping book filled with mystery and uncertainty with deeper meaning such as, equality, stereotypes and loyalty. If you Were Me will have you hanging on the edge of your seat until the very end.   The story swaps between two points of view. The first being of a girl named Aliya. She lives in Afghanistan with her Mother and siblings, managing the family whlie dealing with the loss of her father to terrorists. When her brother, Behrouz, is wanted dead by a terrorist group, they must escape to a different country. This new country is England.  The second point of view comes from a boy named Dan. Comparing him to Aliya is like chalk and cheese. He lives in England with his parents. He helps his dad with his plumbing bu...

Girl Online is a fictional book for teens and young adults. It is written by beauty blogger and youtuber Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella). It is quite romantic and a very girly story but quite enjoyable for me all the same. I think it is very different to my other reads that I've shared with you because it is way less action packed and not a fantasy book. It is realistic and based on the life of a girl suffering from anxiety attacks.   Penny Porter is a normal school girl who loves photography and has a blog. Hiding behind the name "Girl Online" for her anonymous blog, Penny pours her heart out to her caring readers and encourages them to sort out their own problems. Everything is fine in Penny's life. Until Meagan turns from Penny's best friend to a stuck up teenager. Getting the main role in the school drama play, Penny seems to sink away from her old friend. Things don't stop there though. Although Penny is the photographer for the play, she is asked to take a pho...

We all have bookmarks, they are just never there when you need them. So I thought that I'd just make a really nice one and use it in whatever book I'm reading. These gorgeous corner bookmarks are so easy and cute, you'll want to show all of your friends! Here is my way of making easy corner bookmarks with a little twist.                             Firstly, you will need: An orange piece of square paper, preferably 15cm by 15cm (6 inches by 6 inches) A small piece of plain white paper A black marker That's it! To start, crease your piece of paper corner to corner then fold it over the opposite way Fold one layer of the top of the triangle down to the end of the middle crease Now fold each end into the middle.Crease Fold the sides down over the triangle so that the outside edges meet the middle crease Fold the two ends upwards starting at the horizontal crease to make two even triangl...

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children written by Ransom Riggs was such an intriguing read and I really recommend it to lovers of horror, fantasy and YA (Young Adult Fiction). It has a creative plot and includes modified vintage photos that bring the story to life. Although some say that the pictures seem too worked in to the story, I just found them amusing. It is clear that some of these photos are what gave Ransom Riggs the sparks for the story and that's what I love about it. Also , the movie for this book is coming out on September 29 in Australia and the trailer is very intriguing. It looks interesting, though quite dark at times as the book demonstrates. I am hoping to see it and I will let you know what I think of it.    The story begins with Jacob, a boy who thinks he is living an ordinary, boring life. Only once he steps into his Grandfather's shoes does he realise that maybe he's not as normal as he thinks he is. He follows the clues left by his Gran...

This year I am participating in a challenge called Liptember. Liptember is a fundraiser and campaign raising awareness for women's mental health. To participate, you must wear lipstick in bright colours for every day of September. There are particular lipsticks you can buy for Liptember that are bright and colourful. You can purchase them from stores such as My Beauty Spot (in store) and all of the money goes towards Lifeline, a phone line for mental health. On the Liptember website (https://www.liptember.com.au) you can register and donate to the cause. You can register by yourself or get together with a few friends and go into it together and register as a team. If you register, you can raise money for mental health and Liptember and see who is at the top of the leaderboard by the end of September. Also, you don't have to register (like I am) and just wear the lipsticks for raising awareness instead.   Although, raising awareness for lifeline and women's mental health...

The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling is probably one of the most addictive series of books ever. The themes and ideas in them stay in your mind and let your imagination run wild. Full of fantasy and magic, it pulls the strings and twists the plot so much you just don't know where it'll end up next. One moment you believe a character is good, but then you realise that they are actually bad, but in they end they were actually doing good all along! I am addicted and so disappointed the seventh book has left me begging for more!   Harry Potter believes that he is an ordinary child in an ordinary home, with ordinary guardians and an ordinary cousin. But only once he begins receiving letters that his Aunt and Uncle have forbidden him to open, do things change. The truth is that Harry is no ordinary boy. He is actually a wizard and has been accepted to come to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There, he meets the most loyal friends and together, throughout the boo...

I am a hungry bookworm who is constantly hunting for new, delicious books to devour. Up until quite recently, I've had trouble finding the right books and good opinions on them. Since I discovered "Goodreads", an app and a website ,( https://www.goodreads.com) most of those problems have been solved.  "Goodreads" is an online site with thousands of reviews, ratings and recommendations on books. Any books can be searched and marked as "read", "to read" or "currently reading". If a book is marked as "currently reading" there is a option of entering the page number that you're on and the percentage of progress through the book will be shown. With each book comes its blurb, information on the author, a rating out of five stars based on heaps of personal ratings, and finally, many comments and reviews from other readers.  One of my favourite things about "Goodreads" is the fact that there are so many revi...