Christmas Book Haul!!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas and got all the books you may have asked for. Today I am going to be doing my first proper book haul but since I am still in hospital I do not have proper pictures of the books I got so you will just have to bare with me on that one...ok on with the book haul.

The following books I got for Christmas off Santa:



I also received these books from family members:

Those were all the books I received off of others this year..and to any normal person that would seem like a lot of books but me at about midnight on Christmas Day obviously didn't think so as I went on amazon and proceeded to buy myself...11 books (6 of them were kindle editions though!)...what the heck it's Christmas! why not buy more books!

The following books I bought for my kindle:



(you can tell I pick the books that I want to read that have the girliest covers to go on my kindle so I don't have to have such girly covers on my bookshelf...)

These books I bought in physical form for myself on Amazon:



Now that I have it all typed out my book buying problem seems scary to me...17 books..that's a lot of books. To be fair the way I work when it comes to buying books is instead of buying 2 or 3 books every month for the entire year, I stockpile on books when it comes to my birthday and Christmas so I just get loads of books at those two times of the year and it does me till my next birthday or Christmas.

what did you get for Christmas? Did you get any books? if so comment below what books YOU got. That's all for now- Sarah

MERRY CHRISTMAS + Healthy Recipe: Microwave Baked Apples

Merry Christmas everyone! It's Christmas Day (just in case you didn't know), this post has obviously been written in advance because right now I am probably enjoying the full festivities of Christmas Day, today's post isn't book related, but trust me you will forgive me once you try this recipe out for yourself! I decided I would upload this recipe on my blog as I believe it is quite a festive recipe for Christmas!

DISCLAIMER: This recipe is the easiest recipe known to man as I am the worst cook/baker in the universe, so if I can do this so can you!

Now time to learn how to make this apple pie, cinnamon, festive bowl of goodness...in under 5 minutes.

Healthy Microwaved Baked Apples:

What you will need: Serves 1

- 1 Apple ( I used Granny Smith)

- 1 tsp of ground cinnamon (or to taste)

- 1 tbsp of water

Optional: you can also add 1-2 tsp of sugar but I have decided to keep mine as healthy as possible :)

Method:

1. Peel, core and slice the apple into thin slices like you are going to make an apple pie.

2. Place in a microwave safe bowl and add the cinnamon and water.

3. Microwave for 1-2 minutes or until the apple is soft (or to your preference)

* I did this on two separate occasions and microwaved them for two separate times, both turned out delicious!

4. Add an extra dash of cinnamon is desired and enjoy quick while its still hot!

Note: You can literally customize this however you want, tell me what you added to yours down below!

And it's as simple as that..told you it was easy and delicious!

Comment down below if you try this out I would love to here how yours turned out and if you added anything!

Merry Christmas...hope you enjoy this festive treat over the holidays!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree This Year

Who is excited for Christmas! I know I am!

I love Christmas it is my favourite holiday of the year, I love the spirit of Christmas everyone is so happy, putting up the Christmas tree, warm fires in the evening times...Christmas pajamas!!! I can't wait, only a few more days to go now....

Today I am doing another Top Ten Tuesday, as most of you know this is a meme that was created by the people over at The Broke and the Bookish and you can check out their blog here for more information about upcoming Top Ten Tuesdays! 

And without further adieu....

Top 10 Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree This Year

1. Throne of Glass Series by Sarah.J.Maas - (Already cheating on number 1) I know this isn't a book because it is a series, but this series is top priority this Christmas as everyone has been telling me its a must read!

2. The Assassin's Blade by Sarah.J.Maas- this one is pretty self-explanatory considering what number one was this was kind of a must from what I hear.

3. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline- because this has literally been on my wishlist since last year and still have not bought it yet.

4. Winger (Winger #1) by Andrew Smith- because I seem to see this book in the background of lots of Youtube videos and have heard some pretty good reviews about it.

5. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell- because I think everyone who enjoyed 'Fangirl' by Rainbow Rowell will agree that this book is a must read...I want to know more about Simon and Baz...

6. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff- because everyone is raving about this book at the minute and it looks AWESOME!!

7. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han- don't really have a reason sometimes if I see a book come up in multiple haul videos it makes me want to get it even before I read the blurb...opps..

8. Anna and the French Kiss Series by Stephanie Perkins- because this is another one that has been on my wishlist for forever...

9. Rebel Belle (Rebel Belle #1) by Rachel Hawkins- it has many good reviews, that's all I really know about it.

10. (Another cheat as it's not one book)  Various Youtuber Books:
- Girl Online: On Tour by Zoe Sugg
- Hello Life! by Marcus Butler
- Username: Evie by Joe Sugg
- Binge by Tyler Oakley

because I love Youtube and love youtubers!!!

So there you go those are the top 10 ( or slightly more than 10) books on my Christmas wishlist this year....I hope Santa thought I was good this year...

But on a serious note remember Christmas is not all about the presents but also of being with family and enjoying each others company. I hope you all have a great Christmas and maybe receive a book or two! Merry Christmas!

Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Title: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Publication: April 7th 2015 by Penguin

Genre: Young adult fiction, Contemporary

Pages: 303

Format: Paperback

Source: Purchased

Buy: Amazon UK / The Book Depository

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised. With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

Review:

 This is yet another book that has been sitting on my shelf since the summer and have finally pulled it out of my TBR jar, this was a quick read for me and I really enjoyed it.

*DISCLAIMER* Don't read this book when you are hungry or are a recovering Oreo addict, you will suffer terribly....

I loved this book from start to finish. Where to start...I loved the overall plot of this story, Simon has been emailing another boy from his school anonymously, Martin one of Simon's classmates finds out that Simon is gay and has been emailing this other boy and he uses this to blackmail Simon. Throughout the book we see Simon dealing with this and trying to keep his sexual identity hidden from other students while trying to figure out the identity of  'Blue' the guy he has been emailing. I just found the whole idea of this story to be very good at it kept my attention the whole way throughout the book.

I love the idea of the hidden identity of Blue.To be honest I could not guess that Blue was who it turned out to be, I was totally surprised which I really like because I hate when an ending is easily revealed from the start of the book because then there is no excitement or curiosity.

I liked the various friendships in this book between Simon and his other friends. The chapters in this book are split between real life and emails between Simon and Blue so I found you were never getting bored of either one and always craving the next email segment, I think this is one of the reasons I flew through this book!

I have not read too may books that deal with the LGBT community but I think books like this being there for teens to read is very good as in this generation it is something we hear a lot of and have come to accept the LGBT community more and more.

I really recommend this book for everyone as I think it is a book everyone would enjoy as it was realistic but funny read that contained a lot of Oreo references... that's all for now bye :)

Rating:

What's Happening?!?

Hey guys this is just a bit of an update post to let you know what's going to be happening with my blog over the next few months. I know I said in an update post a few days ago that I will be leaving for a while which is true. I am actually in hospital at the minute but I do have access to a computer even if it may be limited so I can still upload just maybe not as regularly or as scheduled as I would have hoped for. It may seem like over the next few weeks my posts are quite normal going up at the same times and stuff but that is because I have a few posts written ahead of time.Unfortunately not having as free access to a computer as I used to have it will eventually catch up with me so you will have to bear with me on that I am very sorry but I will never stop book blogging completely even if it comes to only posting reviews once a month, but i love this community and could never let it go completely. Thanks for understanding - Sarah

The Harry Potter Tag

Hey everyone today I decided to do something Harry Potter themed as my post about the Harry Potter themed perler beads has really got me in a Harry Potter mood...

I will be doing a tag called The Harry Potter Tag which I saw on a blog called 'Into The Bookcase' you can find there post here , I was not tagged myself but just thought it would be a fun thing to do..if you are reading this post and want to do it yourself I tag YOU!

Questions:

1. What is your favourite book?

I would have to say it's got to be 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' because its just such an amazing finish to an amazing series. but the first book 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' comes a close second because it is the book that got me addicted to the wizarding world obviously!

2. What is your favourite film?

My favourite film was has to be 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II'.
I think this is kind of the same reason as my first answer, it was just such a good ending....like ok despite the obvious...lots of people die...but it was soooooo gooooddddd!!!! Like I seriously can't believe I only discovered I loved Harry Potter at the beginning of 2015!! How did I go so long without reading this series...shame on me.

3. What is your least favourite book?

To be honest my least favourite was probably 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', I don't really have a clear explanation as to why I just found it to be very long and its the book when things start to get complicated so there is a lot of information being thrown at you...and also Umbridge..nobody can like Umbridge. After reading this book I literally hated Umbridge more than Voldemort at times.

4. What is your least favourite film?

My least favourite of the films would be 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'...no other reason then I hate Lockhart..he was just so annoying. ( I have weird opinions I know)

5. Parts of the books/films that made you cry?

You see, I am not usually the kind of person to cry while reading books or watching films but Dobby.... Dobby is my one of my favourite characters, YOU CAN'T JUST KILL DOBBY!!!
Also when I watched the part of the movie when Dumbledore dies I may have shed a tear or two, but it was mainly Dobby. DOBBY IS A FREE ELF!!!!!

 6. If you could hook up with any character, who would it be?

..........no comment ;)

7. Who is your favourite character?

I have many favourite characters, Professor McGonagall, Harry, Dumbledore, Ron...Hermione (ok you get the point), but if I had to choose one it would be Dobby which I no is kind of stupid because he is not really a main character, but I just love Dobby!

8. Who is your least favourite character?

In short, Dolores Umbridge.
She is just plain evil.
I also found that I did not like Sirius Black in the film very much either, I don't know why.
( This answer excludes the obvious answer of Voldemort)

9. What is your least favourite line?

I think I have said it before in a previous post, but I am not one for remembering many quotes from books...I think I am going to cheat on this one and say "All was well". The only reason this is my answer is because it mean't that the series was over and I simply did not want it to end.

10. What would your Patronus be?

I had no clue on this one so I took a quiz online...

My Patronus is a Rabbit

Your patronus takes the form of a Rabbit. A rabbit is known for being somewhat shy. Similarly, you tend to be quiet around others, especially new people. However, you are very bright and alert. You are good at reading people and know who to trust. You are also nurturing and kind. You may have trouble conjuring your patronus because your mind tends to race in the heat of a battle.

11. If you could have the Resurrection stone, Invisibility cloak or the elder wand, which would it be?

This one is easy, I would chose the Invisibility cloak..think how useful being invisible would be..there is endless possibilities...

12. Which house would you be in?

I have taken the test on Pottermore probably a grand total of 15 times because I found at first I was not being totally truthful with my answers leaning towards the ones that I thought were associated with certain houses, but it ends up that after getting each house once I ended up getting Gryffindor the most out of all the houses, so I think I would be in Gryffindor.

13. If you could meet any member of the cast, who would it be?

I would say this is a close tie between Emma Watson and Rupert Grint..if I had to pick one I would say Rupert Grint as he seems like a really nice person and after hearing some of the things he bought out of his money ( an Ice-cream truck, a pig and a hoverboard) I have a feeling he would have a lot of funny stories to tell and be a lot of fun to hang out with.

14. If you were on the Quidditch team, which position would you play?

I think I would be the Seeker because I am pretty good at catching and things like that, and also I don't think I would be a good keeper or beater. My second option would probably be a chaser.

15. Were you happy with the ending?

I wasn't happy it had to end, but I was content with the ending if you know what I mean. I loved the watching the end scene in the movie when they are sending there own kids off to Hogwarts, I thought it was a really nice way to end it.

16. How much does Harry Potter mean to me?

Harry Potter means more to me then I ever realized, as I said before I only discovered my love for everything Harry Potter at the start of 2015. Of course I had heard about Harry Potter before then (Who hasn't) but I never thought it would be my cup of tea..wizards,magic..it just seemed very far-fetched and not something I would enjoy. Thanks to one of my closest friends for finally forcing me to read the books, then watch the movies..and well as they say the rest is history. I am now a Potterhead and am proudly sport my Gryffindor scarf all winter long :)

I hope you liked this tag, If you do this tag yourself tell me in the comments below :)