Beat the Backlist and My 2018 in Books

I've just discovered a great new challenge, Beat the Backlist. This challenge aims to help you clear all the older books on your TBR rather then just jumping into every tempting new book or ARC that comes along.  Beat the Backlist is hosted by NovelKnight who seems to have the best reading challenges! There's also regular or Epic Reading Bingo to play alongside, as well as a Hogwarts mini challenge if you're up for it.

I'm excited to see what I can do on this challenge, as my huge TBR shelves and kindle are a constant source of stress to me though I still can't stop buying new books or requesting advance copies of all the gorgeous looking new releases. This will be a good incentive to read some of my own books before getting more. I've decided to set myself a target of 25% of my reading this year, which is 50 out of the 200 books I have on my Goodreads challenge.

Speaking of which, here are some stats from My Year in Books (image and stats taken from Goodreads)

I managed to smash my target of 150 books, getting through 187, 50 more than the previous year (could have been a couple more if I was allowed to add my half books that I was left with at the end of the year!)

This covered 55,614 pages! (I can't even imagine what this looks like in actual physical pages)

My longest book was a re-read of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (this was actually on audio, I absolutely LOVE Stephen Fry!)

My average rating was 3.8 (this sounds about right. There were quite a few that I really loved but I'm not too good and DNF'ing so I forced myself through a few that were not so great too)

Thrill Seekers - Edwina Shaw

When Brian's Dad dies it sends both him and his brother off on wildly different paths. Brian has always been a thrill seeker but now he takes the drugs and drinking even further with his friends. On the other hand, his brother Douggie starts hearing voices and paranoia sets in. The group think nothing of experimenting with whatever they get their hands on, and trying out any adventure they can think of. They seem to go through their lives in a haze of drink and drugs.

Through the different points of view, you can see just how differently the characters see themselves and others. I liked reading the different characters, though I am not quite sure why some of them were included, particularly Beck.

I was surprised at how emotional I felt reading some parts of the book. It's not all wild rides as it may seem at first, there are genuine relationships and friendships. As the story progresses, the characters grow and mature, friendships change and family bonds get as complicated as they can. 

This book definitely calls for something strong and with all the risks the boys take, The Long Shot is a fitting drink. Shake the following with ice: 1 & 1/2 shots of tequila, 1/2 shot curacao orange liqueur, 3/4 shot lemon juice, a dash of sugar syrup and a dash of Angostura bitters. Pour into an ice filled glass and top with soda. Enjoy with a slice of panettone as it's Christmas!

I hope you've enjoyed my reviews and trying out the cocktails this year. Let me know how you've got on in the comments below. Happy Christmas everyone!!!

Mystery Blogger Award

Thanks to Amy (find her at Amy's Bookish Life) for tagging me in the Mystery Blogger Award. I've never done one of  these before so here goes!

What is the Mystery Blogger Award?

“The ‘Mystery Blogger Award’ is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging; and they do it with so much love and passion.”

– Okoto Enigma (the creator of the award)

Rules

* Put the award logo/image on your blog.

* List the rules.

* Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.

* Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.

* Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.

* You have to nominate 10 – 20 people.

* Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.

* Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify).

* Share a link to your best post(s).

3 Facts About Me

1. Summer is my favourite season, I'd live on the beach if I could.

2. I love anything to do with Space.

3. I wish I was more creative.

My Best Posts

Flawed by Cecelia Ahern

To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

The Nowhere Emporium by Ross MacKenzie

Answering Amy's Questions

1. What got you into reading?

I don't really remember, I've always been a big reader since I was young.

2. Which book do you wish you had written?

Maybe something with Greek mythology, like the Percy Jackson series.

3. What Hogwarts House are you in?

Officially Gryffindor but I definitely feel I'm half Ravenclaw too.

4. If you could have dinner with any author dead or alive, who would it be?

Cecelia Ahern, I recently met her and she was lovely not at all intimidating like I imagine I'd feel with some super-famous authors.

5. Tell me your best joke!

Two cows in a field, one says "Moo", the other says, "I was going to say that!"

My Questions

1. What book do you recommend to everyone?

2. What is your favourite childhood book?

3. Which book destination would you like to visit?

4. What's your favourite bookish accessory?

5. What is your favourite cocktail?

I'm Tagging

Sophia at Impulsive Reader

Rain at BookDragonism

Christina at Chrikarublog

Cat at This Is One For The Books

Asha at A Cat, A Book, And A Cup Of Tea

Bex at My Shelf & Myself

Sarah at The YA Book Traveller

Jess at Jess Hearts books

Emily at A Short Book Lover

Rae at Thrifty Bibliophile

The Nowhere Emporium - Ross MacKenzie

Don't you just love finding an unexpected gem at the library? This book is so magical and intriguing that you'll find yourself wishing you could visit, even the cover cleverly invites you into the emporium.

While hiding from bullies, Daniel finds himself in a wondrous shop full of exciting and mysterious things. The owner is surprised to find him in the closed shop, but allows Daniel to wait till he feels safe to leave. The owner is even more astounded to find Daniel back the next day, as this is a magical shop and no one ever remembers it once leaving! 

Lucien Silver introduces Daniel to the mystical Nowhere Emporium. Full of magical staircases and mysterious rooms, there's a garden where every petal and leaf is aflame, a fountain of imagination and a library of souls. Then there's the mysterious Ellie, Mr Silver's daughter, who can't leave the emporium and can only be seen by Emporium workers. Mr Silver sees some potential in Daniel and offers to make him an apprentice, teaching him how to make Wonders of his own. 

The shop sounds a little sinister at first 'to enter you must pay a price' and you're not quite sure whether you can trust Lucien Silver. Customers are drawn to the shop, but then forget all about it once they leave. This all adds to the mystery and keeps you guessing. I loved the immersive magic of the book and will definitely be looking for more from this author.

The Nowhere cocktail I created is fairly light on alcohol but strong on flavours. I've used some of the smells that drift form the shop as it opens to customers, see if you spot them all when reading the book. I added shimmer to mimic the sparkling bricks of the hallways and a few Popballs at the bottom of the cocktail will be hidden at first but then surprise the drinker, like the wonders in the Emporium.

Put the following ingredients into a shaker with ice - 1 shot malibu, 1/4 shot blue curacao, 1/2 shot cranberry juice, 1/4 shot lemon juice, a few drops of chocolate bitters and a drop of liquid smoke. Shake them up and pour into a martini glass. Stir in a little blue shimmer and then drop in a few Popballs.

We Were Liars - E. Lockhart

This book was recommended to me by my lovely friend Helen so I just had to read it as soon as I could get myself a copy.

A life of endless summers where the rest of the year hardly seems to exist. Cadence and the rest of the Sinclairs spend every summer at her grandfather's private island near Martha's Vineyard. Blonde, rich and privileged, the family have every luxury and convenience at their fingertips.

All this changes after the accident. Now Cady has almost constant headaches and she cannot remember what happened to her that summer. Her mother doesn't want to let her go back to the island and she spends the next summer touring Europe with her father. Cady feels isolated from her cousins and suspects that something traumatic must have happened to her, especially when none of them bother to reply to her emails.  The year after, when she eventually persuades her mother to let her go back for part of the summer, she finds a very different island. Her grandfather has rebuilt his house as an austere Japanese villa and her cousins have moved into the empty house of one of her aunts.

What actually happened to Cadence? Her cousins won't tell her anything as they and the rest of the family have been told not to discuss it with her so she can remember by herself. All we know are the few vague details she is told about how she was found and she is sure that she must have some kind of head injury that the doctors haven't discovered.

The twist is quite clever and even after I finished, I tried to go back and find the clues but they were very well disguised. I don't know if anyone would guess what happened, if you've read it and figured it out, please let me know!

Cady, her cousins Johnny and Mirren, and their friend Gat, are known to the rest of the family as the Liars. I didn't feel like this was adequately explained and found myself wondering throughout the book. Particularly as it is in the title. There was a brief mention that they weren't called the Liars before Gat started coming to visit so I kept expecting to find that he had done something to earn their name. The version I read actually does explain it in the extras, which is useful.

Though every evening Cady's family gather for cocktail hour before dinner, I found this book was the hardest to match with a cocktail. Eventually I settled on an adaptation of the Pink Faced Liar. In a shaker with ice, mix a shot each of gin and vodka, half a shot of lemon juice and a couple of dashes of grenadine. Pour into a tall glass with ice and top with tonic, then give it a stir before serving.