I'm just a girl, standing in front of my Twitter-buddies, asking if they have any work for me.
Really though, if anyone's in need for a freelance proofreader/copyeditor/copywriter, please get in touch via DM or email 🩷
It's my Godparents' 70th birthdays this year, so I've bought them each 8 books, starting the year they were born, and then one published every subsequent decade. 🎁🎁
It's been great fun sourcing these books, and I'm tempted to read them myself.
As a little festive treat, I'm offering 3 people a £10 Waterstones voucher just to say 🎄MERRY CHRISTMAS🎄
To enter:
🎅Follow Me
💗Like This Post
🔁Retweet This Post
Competition closes Thursday 14th December at midday (UK Only)
Ho Ho Ho
To mark my blog's 1st birthday this Saturday I'm doing my 1st
#BookGiveaway
To win a hardback of Ellery Lloyd's People Like Her, and a signed copy of Still Life by Sarah Winman, and some choccy, please follow, retweet, and comment an emoji by midday Sunday 20th Feb. (UK Only) 🥳
I'm calling this my must-make-room-for-more-books
#bookgiveaway
.
A new copy of The Cassandra Complex + a pack of M&S choccie doggies.
👥 Follow Me
👍 Like
🔄 Retweet
Closes Friday 9th June at midday (UK Only).
To celebrate the return of the rain, I'm doing a cheeky little
#GIVEAWAY
.
For a chance to win a signed copy of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, plus a bar of Galaxy Salted Caramel, follow me, retweet and comment
#tomorrow
.
Closes Sunday 21st August at midday (UK only) 🥳
2 months ago, I planned to take my own life due to worsening physical and mental health. I was just trying to get through each day. I felt I had no future.
But now: I've just celebrated my 30th 🥳 and I'm in my favourite place with my favourite people buying ALL the books 📚
🎁Time for a cheeky proof
#GIVEAWAY
🎁
📚Home by Cailean Steed
📚The Cloisters by Katy Hays
📚 Don't Swipe Right by L.M Chilton
1. Follow👭
2. Like❤️
3. Retweet🔄
Closes Thursday 30th March at midday (UK Only)
I accidentally bought 2 copies of this so I'm having a very super quick
#bookgiveaway
.
To win a copy of TWELVE MONTHS & A DAY, by Louisa Young:
👥 Follow Me
🩷 Like This Post
🔄 Retweet This Post
Closes Thursday 3rd August, at Midday (UK Only)
This time last year I had planned to take my own life.
3 months ago, I had planned to take my own life.
But today, I am 31🎈I'm here. I made it. I didn't think I would.
It's hard, but for now, I am here, and I have another year's worth of books to indulge in.📚
To celebrate nearly 4,000 followers (!!!) I'm doing the ultimate
#bookgiveaway
To win a hardback copy of SAD GIRL NOVEL, THE WHISPERS, & THE LIST + some sweeties:
👥Follow Me
✅Like This Post
🔄Retweet This Post
Closes Friday 18th August at Midday (UK only).
Good Luck 🤞
In honour of
#BookshopDay
(Oct 14th), the kind people at Zaffre have given me an extra copy of
#DaysattheMorisakiBookshop
to giveaway.
To enter:
👫Follow Me
🔄Retweet This Post
🩷Like This Post
Closes Thursday 12th October at midday (UK Only)
Just doing a cheeky quick little surprise
#bookgiveaway
Doubleday have sent me an extra proof of Kate Atkinson's upcoming short story collection to give to a lucky follower - out 24th August.
👭Follow Me
❤️Like
🔄Retweet
Closes Thursday 29th June at midday
UK Only 👍🏻
To mark paperback publication day this Thursday, I have 2 copies of Janice Hallett's The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels to giveaway.
To enter this
#bookgiveaway
:
👭Follow Me
☑️Like This Post
🔄Retweet This Post
Closes Thursday 14th September at Midday (UK Only) 🤞
Apparently a book collection of 1,000 books or more classifies as a library.
At last count, I have 870 physical books and about 150 Kindle books.
Which takes me to roughly 1,020 books.📚
Does this mean I qualify for a rolling ladder now? 🪜
I am being admitted into a neuro hospital tomorrow for a 4-week stay and am absolutely terrified!!😱
I will be taking many, many books with me, but apart from already scheduled tweets, I may be a little quiet on here for a bit. 📚
See you on the other side.👋
📚
#Giveaway
📚
To mark publication day, Sphere have given me a copy of Martin Griffin's THE SECOND STRANGER to gift to one of my followers.👬
Just follow me, like and retweet to enter.🥳
Closes Sunday 22nd January at midday (UK only) 👍
My BIG rehab challenge is to go somewhere busy and that scares me, in my wheelchair - so I've taken a train up to St Pancras to see the
@Hatchards
Christmas Tree.🎄
It's so beautiful but I think I've earned the right to buy myself at least a dozen new books for doing this.📚
So......this is 30 is it.👵🏻
Here's hoping it's a darn sight better than my 20s.🥳
Here's to a whole new decade of fabulous books and fabulous bookish people. 📚
I've always kept this blog anonymous but I thought it was time I introduced myself.
This is me - about 5 years ago (on the left 😊 with my dearly departed papa). I'm Victoria, 28, English. Chronically ill. Currently unemployed - writer/editor by trade. I love all books ♥️
Hi 🙋♀️
New Year can be a stressful time, and so I'm delighted to be offering copies of The Calm Workbook & Confidence in 40 Images by The School of Life to one lucky follower.
To enter:
👥Follow Me
🩷 Like This Post
🔄 Retweet This Post
Closes Friday 5th Jan @ midday (UK Only)
I may not have a boyfriend to spoil me on Valentine's Day, but I did win a chocolate bouquet from the local charity raffle, which definitely counts as a win. 🩷🩷🩷
I'm planning a spotlight 💡 series on independent bookstores across the UK and Ireland.🇬🇧🇮🇪
I have a spreadsheet going already, but if you've got any recommendations to add, please do let me know below ⬇️
It's
#FlashGIVEAWAY
Time 🥳
Just Follow, RT and Like for the chance to win (read once and in perfect condition) copies of A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney and Are You Really OK? by Roman Kemp, plus a bar of dark chocolate 🍫
Ends Tuesday 8th Oct at Midday (UK Only) 🤞
I am 1 follower away from 100 - I know this doesn't sound that impressive but I only set this account up on a whim to tie in with my relatively new blog, so it's lovely to see that 99 people think my ramblings are worth reading ❤️
#followers
#bookcommunity
#bookreview
Am I going crazy, or are the covers from Cecelia Ahern's "In a Thousand Different Ways", and Stephanie Butland's "The Woman in the Photograph" the same, just with her head turned to the left?
The same hair, same dress, same bedspread...
In honour of the sequel's publication next week, I'm giving away a copy of Jo Callaghan's debut, In The Blink of an Eye. To enter:
👥Follow Me
🩷Like This Post
🔄Retweet This Post
Closes Thursday 21st March at Midday (UK Only - no competition accounts)
Whenever I read a book that I really, really, really love, before I've even written my review, I message the author on Twitter.
Can I ask...authors, do you really like it when someone does this, or would you rather just wait for the review?
After an 18 month battle to get disability benefits, I was finally approved for them yesterday.🥳
And naturally, I celebrated by buying myself some new books.☺️
📚 Notes on an Execution
📚 Amazing Grace Adams
📚 The Drift
📚 The Witches of Vardo
My total 2023 book purchases was...421!
Sorry, what was that? How much did that cost?
Sorry I can't hear you. You're breaking up. Say it again. Nope, still nothing. Bye.
@CarrieALightley
I was in a lift in Marks and Spencer's and there was a child in a buggy, and he kept staring at me, before finally announcing "it's so unfair. That lady's got bigger wheels than me!" I couldn't help but laugh.
People keep telling me I have too many books, but then they gift me Amazon/Waterstones cards, from which I end up ordering another 20 (17 arrived, 3 more to come).
So, when you think about it, it's not really my fault.
Full list of books in comments ⬇️
It's been 6 years since my papa died aged just 57, when I was 24, and so I hope you'll forgive me for my wallowing today.😭
There's never a good time to lose someone, but at this time of year it is particularly horrible, and this year it has hit especially hard.
🩷🩷🩷
Thriller writers: tell me, please, how???
How do you write the twists? How do you keep the secrets secret? How do you find the red herrings? How do you work out the blind corners and dead ends? How do you keep this all in your head?
How do you do it??
In my defence, I was left alone with a bank card and WiFi 😊
📚Moon Tiger
📚The Witch Stone Ghosts
📚Keanu Reeves is Not In Love With You
📚A Boy Made of Blocks
📚Christ on a Bike
📚Children of Time
📚The Excitements
📚Faebound
📚The Principle of Moments
I saw people doing this 'favourite 6 books of 2023 so far' thing, so I thought I'd give it a go. But then I realised that 6 is just ridiculous.
So instead, I present to you, my *ahem* 16 favourite books of 2023 so far.
January has been a mixture of ARCs and getting through my backlog.
I managed 25 books: 10 ARC, 3 gifted, 12 owned. 16 fiction, 5 non-fiction, 3 child/YA, 1 cookery. 8 debuts. 1 tour. And an amazing 17 five-star reads!
As a woman in her early thirties, I admit I still absolutely LOVE a good kids book! And so I am going to use this thread to draw attention to 25 of my absolute favourite Kids/YA authors 💕
My "well done for braving the train in a wheelchair" purchases:
📚Death of a Bookseller
📚Stories For Winter
📚A Surprise For Christmas
📚Sunday Best
📚Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop
📚The Door-To-Door Bookstore
📚The Glutton
📚Politics on the Edge
📚The Bee Sting
TW: This morning I was thinking about whether my life was worth living or not.
So I picked up
@Bookish_Becky
One Moment, thinking I'd find the answer in there.
And I did. From the first word to the last.
It's not an exaggeration to say this book has saved my life today.
@LauraPAuthor
Thanks to my developing neurological condition, some days I can't even wash myself. So at nearly 30, my mum has to get me in and out the bath and physically help me wash and dress. There's no dignity left but I couldn't survive without her.
Got myself an 1853 (somewhat damaged) copy of Dickens' Bleak House...which I believe is actually the year it was first published.
💎 Did I just buy a gem for a tenner? 💎
So after almost a month in hospital, I am finally home. And it looks like Christmas in here with all this wonderful
#bookpost
!
Let me get my bearings and I'll reveal all...
I have absolutely no need for one of these, but I saw it in Mum's charity shop and it felt like something Agatha Christie would have had on her desk, and so I'm using it for inspiration.
Me: right, no more requesting ARCs on NetGalley until you've finished the ones you've got.
NetGalley: Have you seen...
Me: REQUEST!!
It's an illness! And one I don't want cured any time soon.
Being chronically ill, I can't get out to all the book fairs📚and festivals⛺and launches🏆and parties🥳and panels 💬.
So...how does everyone feel about bringing all the books to my (technically my mum's) actual living room? 🏡 I'll bring the gin 🍸
I mean...I did manage to go 3 days without buying any more books, so I rewarded myself...with books. 😊
📚My Sister, The Serial Killer
📚Ella Minnow Pea
📚What About You, Josh McBride
📚The Little Liar
📚She's a Killer
📚Cake: A Slice of British Life
📚The Notebook
📚The Blame
My early review of Family Business by
@jonnywaistcoat
is live.
It reads so well, so smoothly. It’s a first class piece of storytelling. It’s my first book by Jonathan Sims but it definitely won’t be my last.
@orionbooks
#gifted
#bookreview
#booktwt
To celebrate being alive and all the good in the world when the world's a bit scary, I'm doing a giveaway. 🥳
A read, but in fabulous condition, copy of American Dirt + 3 bookmarks.
Follow, Like and Comment to enter. Closes Tuesday 10/05 at 3pm. 🕒
UK only. 🇬🇧
#giveaway
I told myself, the reason I'm not getting much writing done is because I haven't got the right notebook.
So I bought these two.
But they're so pretty that I can't possibly write in them.
So we're back to square one.
...The only way is up.⬆️
And whilst it's going to be an incredibly difficult journey, I know I have my family, my friends, my bookish peeps, and a 1,000+ strong pile of books to help me through it.🧵4
Confessional thread over 👍
Last year I wrapped 12 of that year's best books, left a little clue, and gifted them to my aunt for her birthday.
This year, as a joint birthday/retirement gift I've done it again. Except this time there's 24!
Look in the comments to find out which books I've included 👇
Little confessional thread here:
On Tuesday, I made plans to take my life. After years of worsening physical health - seizures, paralysis, fatigue, pain, along with brain fog, forgetfulness, and confusion - my mental health had deteriorated very quickly...🧵1/4
Everyone needs to mark February 16th 2023 in their diary, as
@LibbyPageWrites
new book "The Vintage Shop of Second Chances" is released.
It is such a GORGEOUS book, I just want to keep reading it forever.
Thanks
@NetGalley
and
@orionbooks
for my advanced copy ☺️
Um....OMG!!😲
Thank you SO much
@ZaffreBooks
for my
#HarrogateAtHome
box!
Books, a notebook, bookmarks, badges, postcards, sweets!!
📚The Crash
@Peston
(Sep 2023)
📚The 12 Days of Murder
@AndreinaCordani
(Oct 2023)
📚Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney (Feb 2024)
Has there been a more universally loved book recently than this? And it's not even out yet!!
I'm about to get stuck in and I couldn't be more excited.😁
📚The List of Suspicious Things
@jennieg_author
out 15th February
@HutchHeinemann
Mum: I need an idea of Xmas presents.
Me: gives a list of books.
Mum: I need an idea of presents that aren't books.
Me: gives a list of bookish accessories.
Mum: I need an idea of stocking presents.
Me: gives a list of bookmarks.
I'm nothing if not consistent.
Right, who gave
@lisajewelluk
the right to be such a stunning author?! ❤️
Devoured this in one sitting and I can now see what all the hype is about.
I've got the sequel sitting on my shelf to read, and then I guess I'll just have to buy all her others. 📚
Can your 2nd book of the year be the 1st book on your "best books of 2024" list?📜
Asking for a friend.👭
That friend being
@jennieg_author
who has managed to create an absolute MASTERPIECE in her novel, The List of Suspicious Things. 🩷
Out 15th Feb
@HutchHeinemann
Look, I was left unsupervised okay!
📚 Reproduction
📚Wolf Road
📚Meet Me at the Surface
📚The Grief Doctor
📚Spoilt Creatures
📚The Storm We Made
📚Going Home
📚I Hope This Finds You Well
📚Someone in the Attic
I wish there was a better way to cheer myself up than spend £90 on books. But hey, I don't make the rules.
📚Revelations of Divine Love
📚Guarded By Dragons
📚The Girl of Ink and Stars
📚Never the Wind
📚A Certain Hunger
📚Are You Happy Now
📚Victory City
Delivery 1 of 2 ☺️
£93 lottery winnings (and a bit extra) well spent, me thinks 🤩
📚Cassandra in Reverse
📚Did I Ever Tell You
📚Finding Sophie
📚Floating Hotel
📚Saltblood
📚The Beacon Bike
📚You Never Know
📚The Fox Wife
📚Profile K
Believe me when I say
@Catrionaward
is the ONLY author that can get me reading horror.😱
I'm half way through Looking Glass Sound and it's beautifully creepy and scary and thrilling and horrible and enticing and breathtaking and exciting and just perfect.
Out 20th April.
Next time someone says "you must want something for your birthday other than book vouchers", I'm going to show them this photo.📚
Look at the happiness your present brought! 🎁
19 books that are very happy in their new home, with their very happy owner. 😊
If any authors - debut, experienced, indie, trad published - want to be part of my Q&A series in the New Year 🎊 do let me know in the comments or send me a DM - my inbox is always open📨
36 authors have already taken part: take a look at who below ⬇️
When I read The Last Thing To Burn, I thought it was brilliant. Then I read First Born and that was even more amazing.
I have devoured The Last Passenger today, and it is mind-bogglingly exceptional.
@willrdean
is the master of creepy, dark, claustrophobic thrillers.
All I'm saying is, if you buy it from a charity, then it doesn't count towards your book buying obsession. It's more of a public service!
25 books for just £19!
📚 A plethora of Charles Dickens novels + non-fiction about the great man himself 📚
Okay so the moral of the story is, don't go online book shopping when the depression monster is rearing its head🥺 11 books totalling £82 😬
I regret nothing!
Just finished reading
@richardosman
upcoming new book "The Man Who Died Twice". I'll post the full review soon, but I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed it. I didn't like the first book but this was 100% better, in my view. A perfect murder mystery.
@VikingBooksUK
Is it just me who has to have another book on the go when you're reading a scary one?
I'm currently reading a novel about a female serial killer. And I feel the perfect opposite to that is a nice story about a girl and a polar bear. ❣️
Forgetting to take my antidepressants all week and feeling incredibly low means my delivery of 17 books on Tuesday just wasn't enough, and I had to have more!
When I first started doing my "best book of the year" post, I found it easy to pick that one standout. But it's got harder and harder. We're only in May and I've already got 15 contenders!
See photos for current contenders (and Tina Turner) ⬇️
Will someone PLEASE take my bank card away from me! 💸
My willpower with books is non-existent.🤦♀️
📚Gratitude
📚Mr Bowling Buys a Newspaper
📚How To Be Sad
📚The Burning Girls
📚The Night She Disappeared
📚Novelist as a Vocation
📚The Modern Bestiary
📚You'll Never Walk Alone
It's my uncle's birthday soon, so I'm introducing him to the legend that is
@JaniceHallett
!
🥳The Appeal
🥳The Twyford Code
🥳The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
🥳The Christmas Appeal
I want to thank everyone who sent me comforting words yesterday. I may not actually know you all, but you're just the best people around.🥰
I was having a really bad day, but I'm feeling brighter today. I know it's still a long road, but at least I'm on it.☀️
Last Christmas was so stressful that I ended up having seizure after seizure after seizure.
But today, it's just been me and my mum, a tub of chocolates, and a bottle of wine. And so far...a big fat zero seizures.
@StiffShelley
My Nan used to have these sort of glass decorations, and I'd help her every year to put them up. When she died, we took them, and it makes me so happy when I unwrap them every Christmas. Some are 100+ years old. Beautiful.
It's been a very bad week this week for very dark thoughts, and it's still really difficult to find a reason to stay.
But for today, at least,
@EmilyHthinks
and Lionel Shriver are getting me through it.
🩷The Painter's Daughters (out now)
🩷Mania (out 11th April)