THE SECRET HISTORY BY DONNA TARTT (REVIEW)

So just to start this post off guys… This is possibly one of the best books I’ve read for a LOOOONNNG time and I’m gonna be shouting about it from the rooftops for quite a while!

I’d seen Youtuber Books and Quills talk about this book and I thought why not buy it, it sounds kind of interesting and it was part of the Amazon 3 for £10 deal- even better! 

Starting the book I wasn’t completely grabbed by it, maybe because I wasn’t giving it my full attention or maybe because I’d just read 2 books really quickly and my brain was still lagging behind with the previous story… but yeah I wasn’t hooked. BUT me being me I couldn’t leave it unread so I stopped for a while and came back to it and that’s where the fun started. 

What I loved so much about it was the mystery, the simplicity, the presence of the forgotten past in the lives of these beautifully developed characters and by the end of the book I wanted to start reading Classical Greek literature as well as feeling like I’d made a bunch of new friends.  The depth that Tartt goes into with her characters is perfection and every event, sentence and word is hand-picked to be just right.  As well as this, it’s lyrical, visual and ultimately transports you to the story so you feel you’re experiencing it alongside the characters. 

Yes the story line is mysterious and has its ups and downs but don’t go into the book expecting anything big or flashy because you’ll be disappointed. It’s rooted in real life emotions and is very relatable to the lives of college (university) students, like myself. 

The several twists that Tarr threw my way kept me hooked and statements like ‘No way!’ or ‘I wouldn’t have thought that’ regularly escaped my lips. 

I’ll definitely be reading it again, once I’ve passed it around everyone I know.

Let me know what you’re favourite reads are and what you’d class as you’re favourite recent read?

Enjoy

WHEN LIFE GETS IN THE WAY

This year has been a crazy one and I’ve been quite possibly the worst blogger ever- I hold my hands up! Every time I sat down to write, life just got in the way! Assignment stress, getting used to living in a city (which is much harder than you think when you’re from the country!), learning to drive, changing jobs… amongst all the other ups and downs that have come my way. But non the less I am back…my brain’s been craving a creative output to get stuck into and writing just works for me. I'm letting the excuses slide and I'm trying hard to do what makes me happy, and give myself some "ME" time!

Keep your eyes peeled for some exciting posts coming up… My ideas have been endless because of my little break so writers block certainly won’t be an issue for a while! (unless I’ve just jinxed it!)

Be back soon

MARCH READING WRAP UP

This month was a gooden for books. My passion for reading same back in full swing, I treated myself to some new books and I loved every single one of them! There’s nothing better than snuggling down with a giant hoody on, a blanket, a cup of tea and a good book- and that’s exactly what I did for the majority of this month.  I convinced myself that “exercise for the brain” is more important than the physical stuff.

1.     The first book I read this month was Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively.  I really enjoyed this book for a number of reasons. One reason is that it was short (224 Pages) and it allowed me to dash through it with ease and move onto the next.  The language that Lively uses is both extremely realistic and in some ways blunt but we see hints of beautiful lyrical descriptions; those combined allow for a varied and interesting read.

2.       The next book I read was for my English Literature course but that doesn’t mean I enjoyed it any less.  This is even smaller than my first read and is more of a novella than anything and its Bonjour Tristesse- Francoise Sagan. This story is unique due to its simplicity. It’s set in one summer, largely in one location and it’s got a fairly simple storyline of love, jealousy, summer and death. Sagan is a beautiful writer and her approach to writing the short story is very refreshing with it focusing on people rather than an overly complex narrative. 

3.       Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel was the third book this month and it did not fail!. This new contemporary read was exactly as described. The mystery that follows the entire storyline had me gripped and I literally couldn’t put it down, I read it so quick. This paired with Mandel’s beautiful description of a post-apocalyptic world and an interesting compilation of chapters jumping from different characters in different points of their lives made for a fantastic read. 

4.       Perhaps my favourite of the month was Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist. Although I was a little bit behind when jumping on this bandwagon, I’m so glad I didn’t just let it pass me by. The storylines follows a young girl’s journey into marriage. Set in Amsterdam I felt I was transported to somewhere I didn’t know and enjoyed being surrounded by the beauties of the past. This story held so many twists and turns and Burton turns what could have been a bit boring and classical, completely on its head and it made me cry! 

5.       The gorgeous Penguin 80^th Anniversary classics were released recently and I couldn’t help but grab a few for myself. The first that I chose and read was The Fall of Icarus by Ovid. I enjoyed the story but the amount of names and places, and Gods confused me a bit. (okay a lot!) and I got a bit lost with what was going on. Never the less it was a cute edition, a nice little story and the books look gorgeous on my bookshelf. If you haven’t already got some of these- GO AND BUY THEM NOW!

Currently Reading: The Secret History- Donne Tarr- You’ll get to find out next month what I thought of this one! Hint: It’s BRILLIANT so far, so I’m expecting it’ll be a good one. 

I hope you read some amazing books this month… I know I certainly did and I can’t wait for what story’s I get to indulge in, next month. 

You can get all these books from amazon… They always have deals on paperbacks. (At the moment it's 3 for £10!!)

Here are the links to buy them!

1. Moon Tiger- Penelope Lively

2. Bonjour Tristesse- Francoise Sagan

3.Station Eleven- Emily St John Mandel

4. The Miniaturist- Jessie Burton

5.The Fall of Icarus- Ovid

6.The Secret History- Donne Tarr

 

"I'LL BE BACK"

Hi guys! 

So I’m just writing this quick post to let you all know that I haven’t ditched Pot of Floss and in the words of Terminator “I'll be back” ;my time has just been gobbled up by assignments , working amongst other things and it doesn’t help this came paired with a motivational slump (which makes everything take 10 X longer). I’ve got some crackin’ ideas in the pipeline and I’m raring to get back blogging so just bear with me.

Have a great week- and I’ll be back soon with some great content!

Thanks