reading – Z. Elizabeth

Guys who read books are hot.

Posted on April 5, 2013April 5, 2013 by Z. Elizabeth

So I follow this blog called ‘Thought Catalog’ on wordpress. Some articles I enjoy, others…well not so much.

But strolling down on my Facebook page (Yes, I follow them on FB too), I came across an article they linked up from their site called ‘Reading Is Sexy‘ which is about women who love men who read.

To me, I find it highly attractive if I spot of guy on the bus, on the train (Which is basically my second home) or just anywhere where I can see a book or a kindle in their hands, them engrossed in what they are reading. Reading is something I have loved to do since I was younger, and I am still completely hooked on reading; hence why I set up this blog.

Reading is important to me and going into publishing is something I want to pursue as a career, so if my partner loves reading as much as me, then it would definitely be a match made in heaven.

I agree with this part of the article: If I find a guy who doesn’t particularly likes reading, then it’s going to be hard. I like to talk about books, I spend a lot of time curled up in bed, kindle in hand, tissues at my side, completely engrossed in my books, getting attached to the plot and characters. I feel their emotions; I cry, I laugh, I smile and I’d love to share that with my other half. (I’m single atm.)

Sure we’d read different books, but it would be great to talk to one another about our books. About the plot, the characters, what we think is going to happen. We can journey through the books together.

Guys who read books are sexy. They are hot. And I would love to find one who shares my passion among other things too.

So what about you fellow readers, are you attracted to guys who read or are you not too bothered, rather having the time alone to get read your book? Let me know.

New Books #2

Posted on March 17, 2013March 16, 2013 by Z. Elizabeth

I literally scroll and click through Amazon a few times a day, looking for deals and new books and great books for myself and for you lovely readers of my blog.

A couple of you have mentioned how I am a bad influence due to my picks because it makes you want to spend money. I’d apologize, but I know you’ll end up loving these books too 😉

So here are a few books I have found and bought, that sounds like they are a great read!

After Math by Denise Grover Swank
250 pages

Amazon UK – £2.75
Amazon US – $4.10

Synopsis

Scarlett Goodwin’s world is divided into Before and After.

Before she agreed to tutor Tucker price, college junior Scarlett was introvert, struggling with her social anxiety and determined to not end up living in a trailer park like her mother and her younger sister. A mathematics major, she goes to her classes, to her job in the tutoring lab, and then hides in the apartment she shares with her friend, Caroline.

After junior Tucker Price, Southern University’s star soccer player enters the equation, her carefully plotted life is thrown off its axis. Tucker’s failing his required College Algebra class. With his eligibility is at risk, the university chancellor dangles an expensive piece of computer software for the math department if Scarlett agrees to privately tutor him.Tucker’s bad boy, womanizer reputation makes Scarlett wary of any contact, let alone spending several hours a week in close proximity.

But from her first encounter, she realizes Tucker isn’t the person everyone else sees. He carries a mountain of secrets which she suspects hold the reason to his self-destructive behavior. But the deeper she delves into the cause of his pain, the deeper she gets sucked into his chaos. Will Scarlett find the happiness she’s looking for, or will she be caught in Tucker’s aftermath?

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On an Edge of Glass – Autumn Doughton
296 pages

Amazon UK -£1.36
Amazon US – $2.03

Synopsis

You can’t plan for everything…
That’s what Ellie Glass realizes after she has a chance encounter with a young musician. Long-haired, a bit scruffy, and undeniably sexy, he’s the exact opposite of her “type,” but now Ellie can’t stop thinking about him. When fate intervenes and the two are thrown together, Ellie gets more than she bargained for. Pretty soon she finds herself feeling and doing things that she never thought were possible.
This is the captivating story of an undeniable attraction, the choices that we make, and ultimately, the unexpected power of love.

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The Stillness of You (#1) – Julie Bale
250 pages

Amazon UK – £2.05
Amazon US– $3.06

Synopsis

Bad girl,Georgia King, is trying to survive after spiraling into a darkness that nearly took her life. With her college dreams on hold she’s trying to get healthy–trying to still the craziness inside her. She has no room for someone like Ben Lancaster and if he was smart he’d stay away. Because everyone knows Georgia is bad news–she ruins people–and if Ben isn’t careful, he’ll be next in line.

Ben Lancaster is a young, hot shot hockey player on his way to the top. Newly signed to the Philadelphia Flyers, he’s living the dream. The girls. The money. The fame. He thought he had everything he wanted until he met Georgia. Suddenly he wants more–he wants her. He’ll do whatever it takes to get her and Ben Lancaster always gets what he wants.

But the girl who’s different from anyone he’s ever known is hiding secrets. And as the dog days of summer pass, only time will tell if Georgia’s secrets can be healed. Or if her bruised soul is strong enough to resist Ben Lancaster…

“Ben Lancaster had just tattooed himself onto my soul and the thing about tattoos? They’re painful to remove.”–Georgia King
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It Was You – Anna Cruise
344 pages

Amazon UK – £2.03
Amazon US – $3.03

Synopsis

Abby Sellers knows what she wants.

Enduring eighteen years in the shadow of her identical twin sister, Annika, she wants a fresh start. A chance to create her own life, separate from her conniving, deceptive twin.

Surprising both her family and friends, Abby ditches her plans for college and enrolls at a new school instead. There, she encounters West Montgomery, a sexy fellow student who immediately disarms her with his good looks and charm. West takes a liking to Abby and she suddenly finds herself walking a thin line, fabricating a fictional life created not by lies but by omission. She soon discovers West has secrets of his own, secrets that he’s not altogether interested in sharing.

Out from under the shadow of her twin, Abby’s life—and her relationship with West—blossoms. When Abby leaves town one weekend, something unthinkable happens and her relationship with West is shattered. Reeling from the discovery, Abby fears all of her plans have backfired and she’s created a mess for both of them, a mess that no one can clean up.

But West isn’t willing to let her go that easily. When he forces her to confront secrets they’ve both been hiding, Abby must decide more than if she’s willing to forgive and forget. She must also decide just what kind of life she wants…and who she wants to live it with.

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Falling For Hadie (#2) – Komal Kant (‘Impossible’ is book one)
350 pages

Amazon UK – £1.36
Amazon US – $2.03

Synopsis

Running away from his old life in New York City, Lincoln Bracks ends up in the small town of Statlen, Iowa. He isn’t interested in making friends or getting to know anyone. He just wants to keep his head down and disappear amongst the crowd. That was the plan anyway, until he meets Hadie Swinton.

Nursing a broken heart and the realization that the boy she’s loved her entire life isn’t Prince Charming, Hadie is set against ever falling for the same type of guy again. But when new boy, Lincoln, arrives in town, she discovers that this is easier said than done.

Hadie assumes that Lincoln is a typical arrogant jock—he is good-looking, confident and charming—but when he doesn’t do anything she expects him to, she is intrigued by him against her better judgment. There is definitely more to Lincoln then just a pretty face, but Lincoln is hiding something that he doesn’t want anybody to discover because when they do, they will never look at him the same again.

Falling in love was the last thing Lincoln wanted to do, so how will he convince himself to fall out of it?

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday: The Wedding Night.

Posted on March 13, 2013March 12, 2013 by Z. Elizabeth

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine. It’s a weekly event that allows all us book bloggers and lovers to talk about what upcoming book we’re most looking forward to reading

My book this week is:-

Sophie Kinsella – The Wedding Night.
Release date: April 23rd 2013

Synopsis

Lottie just knows that her boyfriend is going to propose during lunch at one of London’s fanciest restaurants. But when his big question involves a trip abroad, not a trip down the aisle, she’s completely crushed. So when Ben, an old flame, calls her out of the blue and reminds Lottie of their pact to get married if they were both still single at thirty, she jumps at the chance. No formal dates—just a quick march to the altar and a honeymoon on Ikonos, the sun-drenched Greek island where they first met years ago.

Their family and friends are horrified. Fliss, Lottie’s older sister, knows that Lottie can be impulsive—but surely this is her worst decision yet. And Ben’s colleague Lorcan fears that this hasty marriage will ruin his friend’s career. To keep Lottie and Ben from making a terrible mistake, Fliss concocts an elaborate scheme to sabotage their wedding night. As she and Lorcan jet off to Ikonos in pursuit, Lottie and Ben are in for a honeymoon to remember, for better . . . or worse.

Amazon US – $20.56 for the ebook
Amazon UK – £13.67 for the ebook

I’ve mentioned in past posts that Sophie Kinsella is one my of favourite authors. I have every book of hers and they never fail to make me love them and her even more. So I am super excited for The Wedding Night to come out so I can grab my copy of it.

Notes

How I got into reading.

Posted on March 6, 2013March 6, 2013 by Z. Elizabeth

I think it all started in Primary school. We used to have one afternoon a week where the class would be split into 5 groups of 5/6 and we all had to decide on a book to read. Once decided, we would all go around in the circle and take turns reading it out loud. I remember wanting to pick a book about the Loch Ness Monster, but no one wanted to read it! I mean, who wouldn’t want to read it?!

I can’t remember what books we read, but I remember being excited when this day would come, and we got to read.

I also remember when our teacher would read Harry Potter at the end of every school day, before the bell would ring and I used to bring my copy in and follow the words she was reading to us all. I was captivated.

When I got to year 5/6, my friends were all starting to read Jacqueline Wilson and so not wanting to miss out, I made my mum buy me some of her books. She bought me Vicky Angel, Girls in Love , Bad Girls, and Lola Rose. Whereas I would borrow The Illustrated Mum, The Suitcase Kid, The Lottie Project, etc. We weren’t a rich family, so borrowing books was how I would get my reading fix.

After a few years, I was being nosy in my mum’s room and picked up a book called ‘A Walk To Remember‘ by Nicholas Sparks. My mum told me to read it and so I did. And I fell in love with it. It is seriously my all time favourite book (and the movie is a favourite too.) I’m not sure what it is about A Walk To Remember, but I know I was completely hooked by it. Sure it’s based in 1958, but there was just something so different to it that what I had previously been reading with Jacqueline Wilson. It was more grown up. It had true love and heartbreak and cancer as a storyline. It was about a good girl and a bad boy falling in love and it was about changing and bettering yourself. I do have to admit, when i was in year 8 – 13/14 years old, I just used to come home from school, put the movie on and say every line along with the actors. This went on for about 6 weeks. YES, that is how in love I am with this book/film. Although there is quite a few scenes in the book that are not in the movie, none of that matter. Th love they had in the book, was portrayed brilliantly on screen. I think that is what had be obsessed over A Walk To Remember, and still now, after so many years have passed.

Then Sophie Kinsella came along in year 9/10. My friend gave me “The Undomestic Goddess” to read, and I knew, after reading it, that Sophie Kinsella would become one of my favourite authors. After giving the book back, I asked my mum to buy me some Sophie books for Christmas (It was around Xmas when I borrowed it). I was not disappointing at all, and after receiving The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me? and Can You Keep A Secret? I went out and bought The Shopaholics books. Since then, I have also purchased her books under ‘Madeleine Wickham.’ and bought I’ve Got Your Number. Obsessed much? Yes I think so.

When I got to 6th form and started making money from my part-time job and EMA, whenever I would go shopping with my mum or with my friends, I would always buy books. In Asda and Tesco, there would always be deals in like “3 books for £7” and this would happen every week! Because I read really fast, I was spending all my money on books until my mum told me to go to the library because it was cheaper. I didn’t listen to her though, and kept buying more books each week. It was a godsend when one of my best friends got into reading books too, so the both of us would switch books with one another. It did save money for a while, but I would just be drawn to the book aisle and would end up buying more.

When my mum bought me a Kindle for Christmas 2 years ago, when I was in university, I loved it! Although I didn’t have much time to read, i still piled it full of books to read when I did have spare time. I thought it was the most amazing thing ever and I still do. I class it as my baby! Because of my kindle, I have discovered new authors, new books, and an even stronger love for books that, of course, I set up The Book Lovers. Having a Kindle and having Amazon recommend books to me, having 1-Click (Which is super bad for me as I spend all my money clicking on books), it’s given me a range of different books at my becking-call. Although I still do buy paperbacks of my favourite books I have read on my kindle, and my grandparents still buy me paperbacks for Christmas, I don’t think I could ever go back to paperback, if I’m being honest. With my kindle, all you have to do is click buy for the book and its an instant download. You don’t have to wait days for the paperback to arrive and Kindle copies are released way before paperbacks too.

If asked, I would definitely tell people to buy a kindle because now I have so many favourite authors and new books that I love that I just wouldn’t have known who they were if it were not for my kindle.

So, that’s my story, how did you get into reading?