Guiltless Pleasures (Reading Wrap-Up – Jan. ’16)

Books Maybe it’s cliché to say this, at this point, but how the hell is it January 2016?! Life, and time, and everything else, is crazy, but more of that in my next post – I’m here to talk about reading!

My Goodreads Goal for this year is a total of 45 books, and I’m currently 5 books into it (11% – 2 books ahead of schedule).

Of those five books, one was poetry (Give Me a Quiet Corner by Patience Strong), two were complied of short snippets of dialogue (Weird Things People Say in Bookshops, and More Weird Things People Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell), one was a novel-length fanfic, and one was Snow Dog by Malorie Blackman – a children’s book. Yes, a children’s book. Not Young Adult, I’m talking something for young, young kids.

I read children’s books, and I’m not ashamed of that fact, but why did I pick one for such a super-young readership? Well, the truth is, I didn’t actually realize it was intended for five year olds. Let me take you back to my childhood, for a minute:

As a child, of maybe of about ten, I read Santa Paws by Nicholas Edwards and I loved it. At the time, it was age appropriate, and to this day I get a deep sense of nostalgia just thinking about it.

Now, Malorie Blackman is my favorite author. As such, I’d been looking through her back catalogue, and I just so happened to come across Snow Dog, listed beside a cover that didn’t look too dissimilar from my beloved Santa Paws book (pictured below).

Based off that cover, I assumed it was going to have similar content inside (hey, isn’t there a popular saying about that?), but… well, I was wrong. Having ordered the book from my local library, who had listed it with the cover in question, I was surprised to pick up a shockingly thin, illustrated book with the cover pictured on the right (also below). Had I seen that cover online, I probably wouldn’t have requested it, but y’know what? I read it, and enjoyed it, so it’s all good.

Santa Paws Book Cover Snow Dog Book Cover 1 Snow Dog Book Cover 2

So, yes, I’m currently ahead of my reading schedule, and yes, that’s mostly because I’ve been reading ‘quick reads’, but they still count and, I’ll say it again: I’m not ashamed.

Moving on!

For Christmas, my partner got me a Kindle, and we also decided to adopt the Icelandic custom of Jolabokaflod (the book flood), in which you give the gift of literature to each other on Christmas Eve and then spend the rest of that day reading.

For the occasion, I received The Jane Austin Bookclub by Karen Joy Fowler, and Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult. While, in turn, I got my partner Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

I didn’t really get into The Jane Austin Bookclub, so I’ve set it aside for now, and I haven’t yet began Sing You Home, but my parter loved Illuminae so much that he finished it within a couple of days and now I’m halfway through it, too.

Also currently reading an eBook on how to get the most of my Kindle Fire, and listening to The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer on audiobook.

Comment Question of the Day: What books have you read that some people might try to shame you for? Tell me below (please?).


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Launch of The Love Poems

The Love Poems CoverMy newest book – The Love Poems – is now available to buy in paperback and PDF formats, with the ebook (Kindle and ePub) coming out next week.

Currently, the paperback is up for sale via Lulu.com, but over the next few weeks it will be appearing on Amazon and Barnes and Noble’s website, too.

In the meantime, I’m having an event in which you’ll be able to buy signed paperbacks from me in person.

The book launch is on the 6th of February, at The Blackberry Path Art Studios in Bangor, Northern Ireland – more info. here.


Bonus content: video of me reading four poems from the book.

New Year, New Writing Services

Ellie Rose Writing Services Business CardI don’t usually set myself a new year’s resolution, per se. What I usually do is set myself a series of projects throughout the year, with the main project for said year launching in January.

Last year, it was the launch of this website and blog, and this year? I’ve decided on a fresh focus for my business.

So, this website is going to remain about my poetry, reading, writing, and general life; whereas my client work has now got it’s own separate homepage, under the new name of Ellie Rose Writing Services.

You can see that new website here: www.ellierosewritingservices.co.uk