Top 5 books on my TBR list

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Emma @ The Stacked Shelf

Yesterday was Super Thursday, when the book world traditionally launches all of the heavyweight titles that it expects to top the Christmas bestseller lists. To mark the day, I thought I’d put together a list of the top five books currently on my ‘to-be-read’ list. I’m always looking for more ideas, so if you’ve read anything good recently – let me know!

Written in the Blood – Stephen Lloyd Jones
I’ve been lucky enough to have been sent a review copy of the follow up to ‘The String Diaries’, which I really enjoyed, and it’s sitting currently top of the to-be-read pile to be started this weekend!

City of Mirrors – Justin Cronin
The final iinstallmentin Justin Cronin’s epic fantasy trilogy, which started with ‘The Passage’, comes out on 22 October 2014. I loved the first two and I’m literally counting down the days until this is published!

The Good Children – Roopa Farooki
Following four brothers and sisters all the way from 1940’s Punjab through to present day, this is billed as unique family saga offering some great insights into the idea of family, tradition, immigration and prejudices. I’ve seen some great reviews of this and can’t wait to read it.

Almost English – Charlotte Medelson
I really wanted to read this when it came out last year and was longlisted for the Man Booker prize. I came across a copy at the second hand bookshop the other day and snapped it up.

Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel
This is on my TBR list just in the hope that I’ll finally get around to reading it! It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for far too long. I’ve started it before, but abandoned it for no good reason a few chapters in. After all the hype, I feel like it has to be worth the effort of persevering.

Whether you like true crime, romance or fantasy, this year’s Quick Read’s collection has something for everyone…

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Emma @ The Stacked Shelf

Today might be Valentines Day, but the 14^th February also marks another very special occasion – the launch of the Quick Reads 2013 collection.

Formed in 2006, Quick Reads is a fantastic charity that aims to encourage adults across the UK to pick up a book and discover the joys of reading. Every year, it enlists some of the biggest and brightest names in literature to write a series of short books designed to deliver an entertaining and engaging story in no more than 128 pages.

With some pretty compelling research that suggests that some 12 million adults in the UK find reading difficult and may never as picked up a book, the project is a great way of building confidence in those who may not have been readers in the past – whether that’s because they find books intimidating, because they think reading is boring or simply because they just don’t think that they want to.

It’s a brilliant and unique project, and this year, Quick Reads is pulling out all the stops to build awareness and encourage people to take part. Available from most major retailers and libraries, the books are not just intended for the general public, they have proved to be a vital educational tool for environments such as further education colleges, prisons, family centres, care homes and workplace learning centres. Plus, there’s also the knock-on effect on the next generation, as adults who discover reading through the Quick Reads charity are much more likely to encourage their children to read.

When it comes to the books themselves, there’s something for everyone. I’m particularly looking forward to ‘A Dreadful Murder’ by Minette Walters. Based on a true story, the book reconstructs the events of a mysterious murder on the grounds of a large country estate in a bid to uncover the culprit. It sounds to me like it might have echoes of Kate Summerscale’s The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

But if crime’s not your thing, there’s plenty more on offer in the form of a new Doctor Who story from Mike Tucker as well as a feel good romantic adventure in ‘Love is Blind’ by Kathy Lette.

Former SAS operative and soldier Andy McNab has also contributed to the collection with a brand new book reflecting on his time in the forces. Recruited following a stint in a juvenile detention facility at the age of sixteen, but with a reading age of just eleven, ‘Today Everything Changes’ tells of how his own experience of the Army education system changed his life forever.

I’ll post again with details of the individual books as soon as I’ve had a chance to read and review, but for now, this is just a short shout out to encourage everyone to spread the word!

More information on Quick Reads as well as all of this year’s books and authors can be found at http://www.quickreads.org.uk/

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2013

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Emma @ The Stacked Shelf

This year, I’m planning on joining in with Book Chick City’s mammoth reading task – more details can be found here – to read 100 books in 2013. That’s on average over 8 books a month, which if I was on holiday by a pool all year I’d have no problem with. However, fitting this round work and other time commitments might make for more of a challenge! Still, I’m going to give it my best shot.

Hot on my wish list at the moment are The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Elijah’s Mermaid by Essie Fox, The Nightmare by Lars Keplar and A Small Circus by Hans Fallada. I’ll probably try and slot some classics in there along the way as well. Anna Karenina has been on my list for a while as has War and Peace, but given the time frame allowed that might have to wait a while yet!

If you’d like to join in, click on the link above. The rules are simple. Any 100 books from 1st January 2013 – 31st December 2013. I’ll be sure to post regular updates of my progress!

Hello world!

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Emma @ The Stacked Shelf

As this is my very first blog post, I thought I’d take the time to introduce myself, my life and my thoughts on blogging. I’m 24 and graduated from the University of Manchester with a 2:1 in History in 2010. Since then, I’ve been working in PR at a full service marketing communications agency based in the centre of Manchester. I’m originally from Southampton, so Manchester was a big move for me and ever since I graduated, I’ve been saying that my goal is to move back down south again and to (hopefully) work in London. My current job is great and I’ve learnt a hell of a lot and taken on a fair bit of responsibility, but I work mainly in the business to business arena and although I do spend most of my days writing, much of this is usually about the next big thing in DIY tools or plastic packaging. So I’ve decided that when the big move finally occurs I’m going to try and move into a career that I’m more passionate about.

For me, that’s what this blog is all about. My life outside of work is books, reading, writing, finding new places to go and new places to see. Hopefully, this blog will express some of those views and will help inspire others through its reviews.

I’m a book fanatic and so there’s naturally going to be a big focus on literature and the such like, but I hope that keeping a blog will also encourage me to try and experience some of the weird and wonderful things that Manchester, London and everywhere else in the UK have to offer – at the very least it’ll make for an interesting post! I’m also by my own admission a bit of a serial fadder when it comes to sports and hobbies. I’ve tried my hand at lot of things, from military fitness classes to Bikram Yoga to ballet, and I’m sure I won’t stop at that. But I’ll keep updating as I go along and hopefully soon I’ll find something that sticks!