nuggets of niamh

Um, did I blink and miss November? Or maybe I took a nap one day and woke up a whole month later? Seriously, where did this month (and the rest of this year!) go?! The first two weeks of November were super busy for me: I was in charge of planning and organising a two-night camp for the Girl Guide unit that I run. This was the first time I've ever done anything like this and it was all just a little bit stressful. And A LOT of work! But, thankfully, everything went really well (minus a small hiccup involving a possum and a fuse box) and it ended up being a great weekend! Although, I was completely exhausted by the end of it! The last two weeks have been a little more relaxing. In the lead up to the holiday season, I've been catching up with friends and also starting to prepare a few things for Christmas. It's never too early to start brainstorming gift ideas, after all! But I've also been allowing plenty of time for myself – keeping up with my reading, obviou...

Let's face it, book friendships are often better than book romances. I'll choose a story with a well-developed, beautiful friendship over one with a sappy, romance-heavy plot any day. Plus, non-romance books aren't plagued by annoying, overused tropes like the brooding-bad-boy-with-a-dark-secret or insta-love. I mean, who ever heard of insta-friendship?! Platonic relationships are as diverse as the fish in the ocean: every friendship, every family is unique. So there's really no limit to the kinds of platonic relationships you can encounter in novels. Some of my favourites make me so happy (or sad), even now just thinking about them! Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl , with a new topic to respond to every week. 

Thanksgiving is not a holiday that is traditionally celebrated in Australia*. However, as the year draws to an end, it doesn't hurt to reflect on the things one is thankful for. *Except for in the territory of Norfolk Island, where it is celebrated on the last Wednesday of November.  I wouldn't be who I am today without the books I've read throughout my lifetime. They have been my constant friends and companions, and have helped me through more than one rough time in my life. Naturally, I am immensely grateful to the authors for creating and bringing those stories to life because, without them, the books simply wouldn't exist. But I also have to thank my parents: for reading countless stories to me throughout my childhood, and thus fostering in me a love of reading that has persisted to this day.  It is impossible to pinpoint a single moment or name an individual book that inspired my love of reading – it's been an ongoing love affair virtually ever sinc...

Over the past year or two, I've acquired quite a few new release and backlist YA fantasies. Many are the first in a series and because I'm partway through so many other fantasy series, I've been hesitant to pick them up. However, Penguin Teen recently announced an exciting new event: the Fall Into Fantasy Readathon !  The goal of this readathon is to read at least four fantasy books off your TBR, so it's the perfect incentive for me to finally  pick up some of those fantasies that have been languishing on my shelves. #FallIntoFantasy will take place from November 18th – 25th and its hosts are Hailey @ Hailey in Bookland , Cece @ ProblemsofaBookNerd , Naya @ NayaReadsandSmiles , Emma @ EmmmaBooks , and  Monica @ SheMightBeMonica .

As a devoted enthusiast of all things books, I LOVE bookish items! They're the perfect things to indulge my love of my favourite characters, ships, and series. And they're also a great way to support our fellow bookworms who have turned their love of books into a business. I've been subscribed to The YA Chronicles , an Australian book subscription service, for two years now and every month I look forward to unboxing the creative, and often exclusive, bookish goodies contained within. In this way, I've been introduced to many incredibly talented artists and designers, some of whom I'm delighted to feature in this post! So read on to discover the top ten bookish items that I would sell a kidney to own. (And likely would have to because postage to Australia is so damn expensive.) Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl  with a new topic to respond to every week.

It Ends With You by S. K. Wright Published: 6th September 2018 by Hachette Australia Format: Paperback Pages: 256 ISBN: 9780349003177 RRP: $19.99 ★ ★  ½ 'If I'd told the truth, it would have been fiction' Everyone loves Eva. Beautiful, bright, fun, generous - she's perfect. So when her dead body is found in a ditch in the local woods the only thing anyone wants to know is: Who could have done this? It has to be Luke, her boyfriend. He has the motive, the means, the opportunity and he's no stranger to the police. Even though the picture is incomplete, the pieces fit. But as time passes, stories change. Told from six narrative strands, this cleverly woven and utterly compulsive novel challenges preconceptions; makes you second, third and fourth guess yourself; and holds an uncomfortable mirror up to the way societies and systems treat those they perceive to be on the outside.

We live in a world where hundreds of thousands of new books are published every year. Many won't interest me and most won't even cross my radar, but when I do hear about an upcoming or recent release that sounds intriguing, it gets added to my " Want to Read " shelf. When I read the book, it is removed. It's as simple as that. However, for every book that I do read, there's always another one or two or three or more to take its place. In this way, my digital TBR pile is constantly (and often exponentially) growing. Indeed, it will be physically impossible for me to read them all in my lifetime. And that's not even considering all the books that were released in decades past.  In the book blogging community, we often focus on new releases so intensely that we neglect any books not published within the current year. But not today. Today is all about those backlist books. The ones we said we'd read when they were first released but never got ...

Another month has passed us by and suddenly it's November and there are only 53 days until Christmas. (But who's counting.) I swear it was only June last week? WHERE HAS THE YEAR GONE??? Regardless of how it happened, October is over. That means it's time to discuss the month that was! Inspired by Cait @ Paper Fury , I've decided to write this wrap-up as an #amcurrently post so that I can gush about all the things I've been loving during the month, not just books! So, without further ado, let's get into it!