Review: Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss

 

Eats, Shoots & Leaves is a book by Lynne Truss, first published in 2003 by Profile Books Ltd.

We are all taught about punctuation, and how to use it correctly, from a young age. However, we see ignorance and indifference everywhere. Who would think there was any form of punctuation in words such as antiques? Obviously the people who wrote "ANTIQUE,S" on the A120 near Colchester. This book is for sticklers and lovers of punctuation: we are not alone. 

The above is a basic overview of the book, but what really made me want to read it is the joke on the back cover. Thus, I will include it now. 

A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder. 

"I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation. 

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

Underneath that, these words are written: So, punctuation really does matter, even if it is only occasionally a matter of life and death.

♥

As I was preparing for this book, I wrote an article for The Daily Telegraph, hoping to elicit a few punctuation horror stories, and it was like detonating a dam. Hundreds of emails and letters arrived, all of them testifying to the astonishing power of recall we sticklers have when things have annoyed us.

("It was in 1987, I'll never forget, and it said "CREAM TEA'S".)

♥

I was very lucky to pick up this book from a charity box in a beach cafe a couple of weeks ago, and I am very glad I did. 

Although I have discovered I may not be advanced enough in the literay area to understand everything this book talks about; I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

This genre is not normally the type I would choose to read, but the joke on the back really grasped my attention. I love a good laugh, and this book sounded like it would be just that. And I was right, I had a lot of little giggles while reading this (one of them being when I read the CREAM TEA'S joke above).

If you're also a stickler, and are annoyed when you see 'Two Weeks Notice', without an apostrophe, on an advertisements; you really should read this book.

-Beth

Happy Reading!♥

Review: My Heart And Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

'I'm getting higher and higher and I feel the swing set creak.

"Be careful," He says.

"Why?" I'm not thinking about being careful. I'm thinking

about one last push, of letting go, of flying, and of falling.

"You aren't allowed to die without me," He whispers.

In one months time, physics nerd Aysel and

popular, handsome Roman are planning to commit

suicide - together. Never mind them being practically 

strangers, they've been drawn together on Smooth 

Passages to be 'suicide partners'.

And yet with their deadline getting closer,

something starts to grow between them -

something Aysel never thought she would feel.

Is there something to live for after all?

Or are they both in so deep they can't turn back?

   I don't quite know how to describe this book to you. It was powerful, it was beautiful. It broke past the walls of where most books have to stop, otherwise it gets to be too much.

But this book was perfect - I haven't read a book I've loved this much for a very long time. Where I desperately want to beg the author to carry on writing, to tell me how the characters lives carry out: What happens after the last page. 

   I can't tell you how much I cherish this book. It was just wonderful (although that single word does not at all even begin to explain how amazing, extraordinary and, again, beautiful this book was).

I more than loved this book, more than adored it. I just can't quite explain to you how I feel about this book.

   You really just need to read it to understand.

Thanks!

- Emma

Happy Reading!❤

Why we think books are good!

The dictionary definition of a book:

book

/bʊk/

noun

noun: book; plural noun: books; noun: the book

A written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn 

together along one side and bound in covers.

 Although this accurately describes the object of a book, we think this better explains the wonders that are hidden between the pages of a paperback:

Books are full of many things. 

Yes, one of them is words. But lurking behind these are an abundance of unseen treasures, one's that although may not appear immediately, do eventually reveal themselves if you are willing enough to find them.

They teach us many things about life, and send us on a journey of self discovery.

I (Beth) was trying to find my all-time favorite book the other day (you bibliophiles will know what a hard task this is), and I finally decided on; Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, Paper Towns by John Green and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell; when I realized something: good books do not necessarily have a solid happy ending, but when they are full of hope, it eliminates the need for one.

Thus meaning good books give us hope, happiness and optimism. In other cases they will help us, or rather, let us explore deeper and more intimate feelings, such as loneliness, desperation and hopelessness.

Books will never discard of you, you are their eternal companions and friends. They never leave you or dislike you, they simply just be.

   With the serious part out of the way, we would like to show you why we believe you benefit from books. Reading daily can help you in many ways. For instance, did you know this includes:

1. Mental Stimulation

2. Vocabulary Expansion 

3. Stress Reduction

4. Stronger Thinking Skills

5. Better Writing Skills 

6. Free or cheap entertainment (this is where the library comes in)

7. Knowledge

8. Improved Focus and Concentration 

9. Memory Improvement

10. Tranquility and Relaxation

Without books, we wouldn't have these famous and very enjoyable movies;

-The Harry Potter Series
-The Divergent Trilogy
-The Hunger Games Series
-The Twilight Saga
-The Fault in Our Stars
-The Perks of Being a Wallflower
-The Hobbit Trilogy
-The Lord of The Rings Trilogy

(Also, without books, we would not have the shelfie: a much better alternate version of the selfie!)

   We understand if you don't love books. Actually, that is a lie, we do not understand: we sympathise. But we do understand that everyone is different and loves different types of books.

   For instance, if we tried to start a book club in a group, it would probably be over after one series. That series, being of course, The Hunger Games. Our reason for thinking this being because of the books and movies sheer popularity.

   If you were to try and find another book in a different genre, you're not as likely to find people as willing to try it. This could very simply be the fact it's a YA Novel for a range of ages and genders, which in itself is popular. I would like to see you try to find another book series that most people would enjoy.

We have two final tips for you all,

Never, EVER, under any circumstances, trick yourself into thinking you don't have enough time to read. A life without reading is something you cannot even kid yourself into thinking is good. Seriously.

Okay, this is the final and probably most important thing:

YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Trust me, if you are a bibliophile, you are one of many. If you think you had a unique talent for book sniffing, think again. You may be unique to some, but definitely not to all.

-Emma and Beth

Happy Reading!♥

What book got you to start reading?

   I was working on the third edition of The Fangirl Guide when an idea suddenly came to me. One that I couldn't ignore and just had to immediately drop everything I was doing to do it. (It definitely wasn't because I was stuck on what to say for the other post...) 

   As I said, I'm currently writing the third Fangirl Guide post at the moment, but due to the sheer length it is going to be, I have had to stop and try to rethink how to approach it. Which I'm struggling with. But hey, I'll figure it out (eventually)! And so whilst in the midst of lots of words that weren't quite connecting like how I was hoping, the idea for this post (which is a considerable amount shorter than the other I was working on) suddenly sprung itself upon me! 

I would like to talk about the book that made me start reading.

    Please don't misinterpret what I'm getting at here though. When I say, 'the book that made me start reading', I do not mean I didn't read before hand. I did. But I didn't have such a love for books then as I do now, and I didn't read nearly as much. Not by a long shot. 

   And I'd like to share with you what really got me into books. 

And the book that started all of this madness is:

(This is where the drum roll would begin...)

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.

   Yes, you can blame Cassie Clare for getting me into reading. 

   As soon as I started reading this book, I couldn't stop. I think it was possibly the first time for me that a book had actually got me entranced by it; I actually really didn't want to put this book down for anything. (I think I drove my family insane with The Mortal Instruments, which is the fantastic series this book belongs to, because I just couldn't shut up about it.) 

I don't think I can explain to you the love I hold for this book, for this series, because I simply just can't find the words. I. Love. It. Not two ways about it. 

   I actually read this book so many times I could nearly remember the first couple of chapters off by heart. (I can't anymore, which really upsets me, but ah well!) That's how much I loved this book. 

   This book will always hold a special place in my heart, for obvious reasons. I honestly love the series to bits, and I'm sure those of you who have read it will agree it's absolutely amazing.

   What's the book that got you into reading? Or were you always addicted to books? Comment down below, I'm really interested to know! 

Thanks!

- Emma

Happy Reading!❤

Review: My Now or Never Diary by Liz Rettig

My Now or Never Diary by Kelly Ann is a book by Liz Rettig, first published in 2006 by Corgi Books.

Kelly Ann has been with Chris for a while and he wants to go further. Even though she would once have loved to, now is definitely not the time.

After months of liking - even loving - Chris, she found out he had not just cheated on her, but made another girl pregnant!

How is Kelly Ann going to survive now?

♥

Apparently while exams are nerve-racking for us pupils they are a total bore for invigilators, who make up stupid games to amuse themselves. One is called Chicken: two invigilators walk towards each other down the same aisle and the first one to step aside is 'chicken' and loses. This has occasionally led to head-on collisions, with both invigilators utterly determined to win: things turned ugly when two really dogged players had to be taken to Accident & Emergency suffering from concussion after a long Geography Advanced Higher exam. 

 ♥

When I started to read this book, I have to say, I really didn't like it. I wasn't keen on the fact that this book truthfully constantly seemed to talk about sex. Also, it is written in diary form, and sentences start with 'Told Chris' instead of 'I told Chris'. 

However, after I realized that this book isn't the next Fifty Shades, and I got used to the writing, I actually got to really like this book. It's not my favorite or anything, but actually I quite enjoyed reading it!

-Beth

Happy Reading!♥