Book Blogs or Book YouTubers Didn’t Influence Me Into Reading

The thing with this post is that anything that I’ve found on my own without influence from anyone online is that I enjoy it a whole lot more than when someone suggests it.  

I’m not saying that all books I’ve read that book youtubers have suggested is bad, I’ve found some good books in amongst the awful.

For instance. I adore The Great Gatsby but it’s not on the list because in someway it was influenced by a booktuber.  She raved about another book, and it was on a special deal and I picked up two other books including The Great Gatsby 

So for me I either will at some point pick up a book that someone online as recommended but it will be years down the line and it will more than likely be from a thrift store 

• Anything by Dorothy Koomson 
• Matched Trilogy
• The Devil Wears Prada
• Safe Haven
• The Help
• One Day
• To Kill A Mockingbird 
• Any of my books by Jacqueline Wilson
• Harry Potter Series

Manhunt: How I Brought Serial Killer Levi Bellfield To Justice

Book: Manhunt: How I Brought Serial Killer Levi Bellfield To Justice

Author: Colin Sutton 

Pages: 313

Publish Date: April 10th 2019

Start Reading Date: July 1st 2020

End Reading Date: July 6th 2020

My Goodreads Rating: 5*

First Thoughts

I’ve always been a fan of true crime and police dramas and tv shows. I remember as a kid at about 11/12 years old and watching Crimewatch and The Bill.

Fun fact about me, for a good 7+ years from like age 9-16 I wanted to be a police officer. But then I realized that probably wouldn’t be the best job for me. 

I remember seeing the news about Milly Dowler as a kid, because she was about a year older then me. I also remember seeing the Murders of Kate and Amelie on tv all the time. I have a clear image of reading about Amelie’s case while in France one year. 

I don’t know why but it this case is one that has always stuck with me. 

Even though I know the outcome of the trial, I had this overwhelming feeling that Levi would get off. I don’t know why, and I know he didn’t. 

While Reading

I like how in the book Colin has used the different text style for the reports 

I really feel for the victims of Levi and their families because he’s such a monster. I even feel for his own kids and ex girlfriends. 

Conclusion 

I think Colin is a hero. He saved so many young women’s lives just by being a cop. He saved those who Levi would’ve gone on to abuse or murder. There really should be more people like him in the police.  

With Levi I always wonder how much more he would’ve done if he hadn’t been caught. Because I find him terrifying. He was involved in so many different and illegal things it was only a matter of time in my opinion that he was caught for something.  

It was a really hard book to do a review on because it’s a true account of what happened from Colin’s point of view. 

Through out the book it shows just how much hard work police have to do. I know with all that’s happening right now how hard it is to truly trust police officers but there is something about Colin that you can tell he was dedicated to getting justice for all those involved. 

Books From My Favorite Genre

I don’t know what my favourite genre is, but these are a few of my favourite books in the same kind of genre.  

- My Best Friends Girl
- The Ice Cream Girls 
- The Brighton Mermaid 
- Marshmallows For Breakfast 
- Goodnight, Beautiful 
- One Day
- Safe Haven 
- The Lucky One
- The Devil Wears Prada
- The Help


These books are all pretty much chick flick kind of books, all with different twists, I love all of them for different reasons. From it being my favourite author who can’t do no wrong in my eyes, to just a good old fashion love story or making you think about how people are treated and should be treated. 

Goodbye Books

I did a post like this last year where I got rid of a lot of books, I filled up two big reusable bags and I think I got rid of over 30 books. A few weeks ago I reorganized my bookshelf’s and decided to get rid of more books. This time I am close to 30 books.  

My shelf’s are jam packed with books, and because of that there were books that didn’t have a spot and it looked untidy. So every book came of the book shelf’s and if I knew right away I wasn’t keeping the book it went on the floor. Other took a while longer to decide but finally I did it. 

There are multiple reasons why these books are being let go of. 
* No Interest 
* Outgrown
* Won’t ever pick up
* Read and won’t read again


- Beneath The Glitter 
I hated this book. It was way to cheesey and such a rip off of a movie with the Duff Sisters.  

- Love Anthony
I really wanted to love the book, but I would never get any further than the first chapter and then my brain would shut down and want another book.

- The Next Best Thing
I would constantly skip over reading this book. Every time I would look at the book a little bit of me sank because the cover is so damaged. I thought when I picked it up it wouldn’t matter, it was a free book after all, but it did matter.

- The Kite Runner

It’s the same with as the previous book. I would skip over it and the cover is so damaged that it annoyed me

- My Life In Black and White
I liked this book a lot, but I am not going to read it again. I’ve read it as much as I wanted to, and now it can go for someone else to enjoy.

- Friend Me
I can’t even remember the last time I read it but I have no interest in reading it again.

- Elixir
When it comes to remembering when I got books I am on that, but there are a few books I have no idea where I got them from. And Elixir is one of them. I am not a Hillary Duff fan, I like some movies she is in but not enough to read a book that her name is on.

- The Glass Wives
I am in to minds about The Glass Wives. It was an ok book but I’m glad I read it. I don’t need it in my life anymore and it’s one I would never pick up again. It was pretty cheap when I brought it. So letting it go was easy.

- The Time Travelers Wife
I remember either picking it up or my mum did, and I thought it seemed like a good book, but it’s really not a book that I could ever get into. So I decided I would let someone else enjoy it.

- The Year I Turned Sixteen
This is one where it was four books in one, or parts of four books in one. The sheer size of the Book always intimidated me that I just never picked it up.

- Six Months Later
I remember getting this book, it was on a sale table. When I read the back of the book it seemed like a quick and simple read. But it was far from that. It seemed super unrealistic in the first chapter, and I didn’t finish it. I just couldn’t.

- Life of Pi
I picked up the book because I loved the movie. I tried to read the book on many occasions but didn’t like it.

- Living The Good Life
I had no intention of ever reading the book. It was given to me as a part of the join up thing at the gym.

- Thirteen Reasons Why
I didn’t like the book. It’s one of those books that cover a hard topic, you read it and then when you re read it, it’s not as good as you remember.

- The Lo Down
I have no idea why I have the book. I love The Hills and I really liked Lo Bosworth, but I don’t know why I picked the book up. I never wanted to read it

- Eat, Pray, Love
I can say that I’ve read it. And hated it. I felt as if the author was a bit flaky and when I began to like her it would end up me hating her again

- The Wisdom of Big Bird
I was never a fan of Sesame Street so i have no idea why I ever got the book. Or why I held on to it for so long.

- If I Stay
I had two copies of the book, and have for years, I had brought a copy, but for some reason the book store wasn’t doing the second book as a stand alone but as a duology in a box. So I ended up with two copies of the same book



Letting go of books isn’t as hard for me now as it used to be. It’s more of a sense of relief knowing that getting rid of books means someone else can enjoy them more and I can get books that I wanted at a later date.

Books I Couldn’t Put Down

Today’s post is all about books I couldn’t put down 

When I was looking at my books there were very few that actually fit. Yeah sure seven might seem a lot but considering how many books I have it’s really not that many.  

I decided not to put the Harry Potter series in this because for me that’s a given. 

The Ice Cream Girls
I love Dorothy Koomsons books. She just knows how to pull at your heartstrings and this book is no different. 100% a book that I think people should read. I liked the twist and turns in the book, I didn’t have one particular girl I thought did it, as every time I was convinced one did it something happened and I changed my mind. 

The first time I read The Ice Cream Girls I finished it in three days which for me is unheard of finishing a book in less than a week.  

The Brighton Mermaid 
 It was like The Ice Cream Girls I read it in less than a week. Normally when books go between different characters or different time periods I get confused. But with The Brighton Mermaid I didn’t. I didn’t want it to end. 

My Best Friends Girl 
My Best Friends Girl is one of those books that I keep thinking about and literally want to keep reading over and over again. It’s another book that I didn’t want to put down. 

Looking For Alaska 
- John Green 
Looking For Alaska was the first John Green book that I really enjoyed that didn’t have the hype around it like TFIOS. 

Hate List
- Jennifer Brown
I was really drawn to Hate List by Jennifer Brown before I brought the book. And when I finally did I just couldn’t put it down. I have no idea why. It’s a very underrated book. 

Safe Haven
- Nicholas Sparks 
Safe Haven is one of my favourite books by Nicholas Sparks and I have a lot of books by him. I don’t actually remember ever picking up the book, it’s on that was apart of a 3 for $10, and I have no idea what other books I got in that set, but when I read it (I read it after seeing the movie) I loved it. I didn’t see any of the actors in the movie in the book which I like. I was worried when it came to the Book that I would see the actors etc but I’m glad that I didn’t. 

The Lucky One
- Nicholas Sparks 
Again with The Lucky One I was worried about seeing the actors. But again I didn’t. I think with The Lucky One the only actor I really knew in the movie was Zac Enron. Anyways. When I was on a bit of a Nicholas Sparks books and read The Lucky One I was hocked right away.  

February Wrap Up

January was a really good reading month so this month I wasn’t and haven’t put to much pressure on myself. In my TBR post I said I wanted to read Crossed and at least start Reached. I’ve read Crossed. Haven’t even started Reached. I need a break from that series. So I read a full series. A completely different series. LA Candy. It’s only three books but such a quick three books. 



LA Candy by Lauren Conrad was the first book I read in February. It took me to 10 books completed out of my 24, which is 42% and 8 books ahead of schedule. 

Crossed by Ally Conde. It still kept me at 8 books ahead of schedule. I have read 11 books out of my 24 book challenge. I have completed 46% if my challenge. 

Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad. 12 out of my 24 books read. 9 books ahead of schedule. And 50% of my challenge done. 

Sugar and Spice by Lauren Conrad. 13 out of 24 books read. 54% of my challenge complete. 

I’ve started Eat, Pray, Love. 

Compared to this time last year I am so much further ahead but I have read books that are shorter or I’ve read before   

Mini Book Haul

I love shopping at thrift stores. Ok actually let me re fraze that. I like thrift store shopping for books and nick knacks rather than clothes. It something about wearing other people’s clothes that I don’t like about thrift stores. 

I use two thrift stores for cheep books. Teen Challenge which is closer and cheaper. And Goodwill which is further away and a little more expensive but has more options and organized better. 


Last week I went to Teen Challenge with my dad. He had to pick something up but it had gone by the time he’d got there. While he was looking around I looked at books. I was tempted to pick up the Pretty Little Liars books they had. And there was a lot of them. But instead picked up two different books. 

The first is Eat Love Pray. I remember about 6/7 years ago I picked a copy up. It was the movie cover version of the book. Since then I have moved three times and couldn’t tell you where it is now. So for $1.50 I picked up another copy and this time it is the original cover

I also picked up Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Wiesburger. I have only ever tread The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren and even though I have another book by her I couldn’t pass up $2.50 for a hard back book. The reason I like picking up Lauren Wiesburger’s books is because the covers always appeal to me.  

I should have really blogged about my mini book haul before now. But I had put the books in the car and completely forgot to pick them up when my dad dropped me off home. 

Books I can’t Believe I’ve Read

Welcome to a Top 10 inspired post for today. On books that I can’t believe I’ve read. 

- To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before 
It wasn’t the best book. I am someone who doesn’t like all the chapters to be short. One or two here and there is fine. But every chapter is just way to much. 

- Beneath The Glitter ✨ 
When I read BTG I didn’t see aspects of Elle and Blair like it was aimed at but the movie Material Girls with the Duff sisters. 


- The Last Song 
I was adamant that I’d never read this book that because Miley Cyrus was on the front it would be awful. It isn’t Nicholas Sparks best work but I read it. 

- New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn
I liked Twilight but felt that the rest of the series was dull, boring and not that great. 

- Thirteen Reasons Why
When I first read the book a few years ago I really liked it. When I re read it last year I was so disappointed with it. I saw half of one episode of the Netflix show and thought they had cast it really badly 


- Fan Girl
I didn’t hate Fan Girl but I didn’t love it either. I wasn’t a massive fan of Cath’s but I got over it as the book went on. 

Lauren

xoxo

Books I Want To Read in 2018

Last year I did a post on books I wanted to read throughout the year. And thought I’d do it again this year. 





- The Next Best Thing

I have no shame when it comes to the fact I’m scared to read this book and I have no idea why. It’s got really mixed Rating on goodreads.  

- The Kite Runner

Again I am scared to read this book. It has good ratings on good reads and I’ve not seen anyone do any reviews on it on YouTube but I have no idea what to expect. It seems ok and I will get to it. 

- PS I Love You

I’ve read PS I Love You before but it’s been a while that I can’t remember to much about it. 






- Life of Pi

I’ve seen the movie first which is a big no no sometimes because it means I’m gonna see the movie in the book but still this year I want to actually read the book. 

 The Choice 

I had a bit of a Nicholas Sparks moment last year, and read two books but never got around to reading The Choice and I really want to. 

- Last Night At Chateau Marmont

I am giving the book until September. If I haven’t read it by then it’s going to be donated. 

- All Fall Down

When I have finished this book I think I am going to donated it. I am giving myself until the end of September to read and then it’s gone. 


- The Coldest Girl In Coldstown 
I have tried and failed to read it over the last year but this year I wanna read it. 

- Everyone Worth Knowing 
If I don’t read it by the end of the summer I want to get rid of the book because it’s been sitting on my shelf for years. 

- Will Grayson, Will Grayson
I want to read this book so bad. Just to get it out the way as it’s the only John Green book I haven’t read



- Great Expectations, Jane Eyre and Sense and Sensibility 
I want to actually read this books. I started two of three but never read the other. I never completed the two I started. 

Major Book Hangovers

Welcome to my Major Book Hangover  post. (Though real life hangovers are not that great. Unless you’re experiencing something like the movie hangover where the pictures at the end are just brilliant). This will Be on books that have left both good and bad hangover 

- My Best Friends Girl 

My Best Friends Girl was the first Dorothy Koomson book that I ever read and it’s one that made me laugh and cry and everything in between 

- The Ice Cream Girls 

I had such a book hangover because of The Ice Cream Girls that I read it twice in one year. It’s a book that kept me interested and wondering who actually did the crime.

- Hate List

With this book I felt as if I wanted was to jump into the pages and just hug everyone. 

- The Devil Wears Prada

I’m not a massive fashion person by any stretch of the imagination but The Devil Wears Prada 





- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I don’t know if many other people feel the same way but when I finished the book it was of my childhood was over.  

- To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before 

Let’s put it this way. You’ve been had way to much alcohol, you’ve been mixing your drinks all night at the next morning your so hungover the smell of bacon and eggs just turns your stomach. That’s what I felt with this book. I wanted so much more from the book. I think Jenny Han had a great opportunity to use the fact that the girls were of a different culture yet she stereotyped them beyond believe.