Nollaig

Pfft. Haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate...

I took massive issue with the former bit and thought it was a total cop out. Agree r.e. the latter bit

How could you not know that?!

Sunny with low-lying deep blue clouds.The sky dumped a short-lived bucket of rain a while ago, so I think the sun is being pretty deceptive.

Taylor Swift - Shake It Off - on repeat.

LOL at you guys. I'm about halfway through Longbourn, and while it's very subdued it's beautifully written and an absolute pleasure to read. It is however making me read far too slowly so I've broken out my tablet again with The Name Of The Star by Maureen Johnson - my first by her!

Sorry about your bookcase Hopefully it will turn out to still be useable. It's a gorgeous bookcase!

I got rained on.

Humans! Great show.

Nothing. On. This. Earth. All the TFIOSes at the event came pre-signed by both John and Hank, with hanklerfish, but I asked John to add 'DFTBA' and got him to sign his and Hank's page from the Men of Youtube calendar, and I asked Hank to draw me a hanklerfish for a tattoo - he proceeded to draw a bunch of Hanklerfish all over my TFIOS. That was not my intention, I thought he'd draw one small one and that was it So just for the uniqueness of all that writing, it's very precious to me I'm hoping whenever John's new books comes out he'll come back to Ireland on tour so I can get my Paper Towns signed. I didn't have a hardcopy of it yet when I met him in 2013.

So glad you enjoyed that book, it's an unusual one and very dark and heartwrenching in places.

I don't have many signed books either, off-hand I think the only other one I have signed is The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, which John signed and his brother Hank drew hanklerfish all over. I could be doing another author a massive disservice by forgetting that I have their book signed, but I think its only this Irish one and TFIOS. So far!

I hope he's there again next year!

Wow. And he just did that in one go while talking to ye? That's amazing. He's so talented.

Oh that's okay so! You'll have to show me that one too, I'd love to see it So so so so cool. Hey if you say I can enter I won't complain! (Plus, part of the UK is on my landmass so if it can go there safely I'm sure it can go a bit south! ) His illustrations are my favourite in the entire book world because of their intricacy and detail. My introduction to his work was my discovery of Beyond The Deepwoods in a charity shop. The artwork drew my eye and to this day it's the most beautifully illustrated book I own, despite being a scrappy little second-hand copy. I just think his drawings are so full of heart and clear passion for his trade.

#74 - Are You Watching Me? - Sinead Crowley Synopsis: Liz Cafferky is on the up. Rescued from her dark past by the owner of a drop-in centre for older men, Liz soon finds herself as the charity's face - and the unwilling darling of the Dublin media. Amidst her claustrophobic fame, Liz barely notices a letter from a new fan. But then one of the centre's clients is brutally murdered, and Elizabeth receives another, more sinister note. Running from her own ghosts, Liz is too scared to go to the police. And with no leads, there is little Sergeant Claire Boyle can do to protect her. *** Review: Having read and loved Sinead's first novel - Can Anybody Help Me? - I was really excited to get my hands on not just a copy of this, but a SIGNED copy, which I won! Yay! I loved the concept and plot of her first novel, despite thinking the writing could use a little work in places (and the editing definitely could). I'm delighted to say that I thought the writing in this novel was a definite improvement over her first novel - the beginning was maybe a tad cheesy, but once it got going, it really found its feet. Naturally I'm biased, but I love reading Irish books. That is, books by Irish authors, set in Ireland, with a distinctly Irish tone. Some authors overdo this and make their books a bit of a caricature of the country, but Sinead does justice to our fair little island in her depiction of it. The places and atmosphere are described fantastically. As with the first novel, I didn't find myself particularly taken with Claire Boyle - my interest was in the incidental characters of the plot. While admittedly they mostly felt a tad flat, it was still really fun to read Liz's character (she reminded me somewhat of Rachel from The Girl On The Train), and there were a couple of characters who really rang true (I love Flynn!). The plot itself was a little underwhelming. For a thriller, it was decidedly unthrilling (though that is NOT to say bad - just gently-paced and not hugely exciting). Compared with the level of suspence and anticipation I felt throughout her entire first novel, I felt this story was a slight step backwards. I also felt the subplot of Claire's domestic qualms with her husband under the pressure of adapting to having a baby was a little disjointed from the rest of the novel - Claire's pregnancy fit in well with the first book as it was about a mammies' forum. All that said, and for all my nitpicking, it is a solidly enjoyable read, and I have no doubt that as soon as Claire Boyle returns in Sinead's third novel, I'll be scrabbling for a copy as early as possible. A light, easy novel that mightn't contain the most satisfying story in the world, but which is certainly a pleasure to read. Rating: 4/5

Oh my god. You are mad for giving this away. Absolutely mad. I can't believe Chris Riddell was there doing drawings!! I hope all you UK people realise how lucky you are to potentially win a original custom Chris Riddell drawing.

I actually haven't, though I've heard the name thrown around a LOT. I might nab a copy for my tablet and read it I'm almost 100 pages into Longbourn and really enjoying it. I'm seeing some amusing parallels between Lizzy and Sarah! As per always, it's taking me a lot longer to read this as it's historical fiction and requires much more attention, so I'm thinking I might read something a bit more modern alongside it. Also, it's my third tree-book in a row - I seem to be moving back in the direction of tree books a little bit Which is good, since I keep buying them

Yes, Burial Rites is great, and actually a good example of the kind of thing I'm looking for. Loads of suggestions, thanks everyone! It'll take me a while to look through them all

Yup, it's an absolutely fab book!

Oh absolutely, it's got Nat Wolff! I need no other reason!

Bright and sunny, and if yesterday is anything to go by, much much too warm!

Thanks! Entered, although with 14k other people after P&P, I don't see myself nabbing that one

Hahaha those are hilarious!