My Top Five Female Characters of All Time

As Rosianna's annual ladies survey has come out I will release my own Ladies post. There are loads of strong female characters in fiction and here are my top 5

#5 - Juliet Dove

Juliet Dove Queen of Love is about an incredibly shy girl who gets a curse which makes everyone fancy her and therefore pay attention to her. Mix it in with Greek Gods and mythology and suddenly this is one of my favourite books ever. Juliet (spoilers) overcomes her shyness at the end of the book and it's just SO MUCH PRIDE for a fellow introvert (spoilers over).

#4 - Petunia Dursley

Hear me out. Petunia Dursley always felt misunderstood to me. Sure, she spoils her son and was horrible to Harry but I feel like it was a product of her upbringing. Lily always got more attention and showered with gifts and I think she spoiled Dudley because she hated that about her childhood. Harry reminds her of the injustice. But in the fifth book (spoilers) when that letter comes she supports Harry despite the fact Vernon is a raging lunatic. She cares. I feel like she is incredibly strong after her sister got to do what Petunia had always wanted and could never do (spoilers over).

#3 - Hermione Granger

How generic. However, I love Hermione because I feel she was the first character I read which endorsed being a nerd. She loves reading and learning and is so brave. She's always independent and after all, she is the brightest young witch of her age. I do really relate to her and I feel like she was a gift to nerdkind.

#2 - Charlotte

Charlotte's Web is one of my favourite children's books. Mostly because of how much I love Charlotte.

Charlotte is strong and smart (are you getting how I like smart characters yet?) and incredibly loyal. Plus, any spider that makes me sob is obviously pretty important to me.

#1 - Annabeth

Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson series is my spirit sister. She's got blonde curly hair and values being clever over physical strength which will always go down well with me. She's also brave, sassy and really really clever (I would like to be that). The Percy Jackson series really shaped me as a person and Annabeth was a huge part of that so that's why she's got top spot.

People who didn't quite make it into the list: Alaska from Looking for Alaska, Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, Valentine from Enders Game, Athena and Artemis from the Percy Jackson series, Hazel Grace from TFIOS and Stargirl from Stargirl.

The Wave

Facinating, terrifying and utterly mesmerising. 

I was in a mood for an "academic" book so I found this in the "summer reading" part of Barnes and Noble. It's based on a true story from 1969 when a history teacher tried to show his pupils how Nazi Germany was enforced by creating his own regime. It captures what people will do for their beliefs and the terrifying force and magnitude that is the majority.

This book isn't a particularly well written book. This is its biggest flaw and to be honest, if this book was fantastically written it would be the best book of all time. Its writing style is similar to an average year 8 (7th grade) essay (well my average year 8 essay). It lacks flair and style. However, it still manages to capture the attention of the reader in a spell-binding plot. Oh Mr Strasser, how lucky you are by getting a fantastic storyline. 

I was totally gripped. It's a short book, so it's really fast moving. Also the plot is like a horror film. It grabs you by the lapels of your jacket and shows you the terrifying reality a teacher can have on his pupils. It also gives you an insight about what happened in Nazi Germany and how easily that can repeat itself. It is like a more relevant Miss Jean Brodie.

I would recommend this with every fibre of my being.

Buy it here.

I got a kindle.

Admittedly, I was anti-ebook after my bad experience with the kindle app. However, to save my back I got a kindle and it's fantastic.

It's easy to use and works out how long it will take you to finish a book.

How amazing is this case? I got it here.

The London Review Bookshop

The London Review Bookshop is situated in Holborn with about a two minute walk to Holborn tube station. It has a small cafe with really good treacle tart and it has two storeys of books covering the walls from head to toe. It has signed editions of new books that you've always wanted to try as well as really interesting books on display that aren't always sold in Waterstones. The fiction is superb, the signed editions are amazing and the sales assistants are friendly. I would really recommend this for anyone especially those with an interest in History and Politics as that section is huge.

Sophie's Stacking the Shelves on a Budget

 This haul is the haul that I have been able to save most money on so far.

1. The Runaway Princess by Hester Brown
     RRP: £10.75     BD: £9.27     I got it for: £0

I won this in an online competition.

2. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
     RRP: £16.99     BD: £12.75   I got it for: £8.49

 I went to The Last Bookshop and bought two books.

3. Player One by Douglas Coupland
     RRP: £7.99     BD: £7.26   I got it for: £2.00

4. New York at Night by Jason Hawkes and Christopher Gray
     RRP: £25.00     Amazon: £19.87   I got it for: £2.00

Overall I spent £12.49 on four books, which averages at £3.12 each. 

If I had bought these at RRP I would have spent £60.73 so I saved £48.24. This means I saved 79%.

If I had bought these online at the book depository and amazon I would have spend £49.15 so I saved £36.66. This means I saved 75%.

Oxford Bookshop Review - The Last Bookshop

 In the UK we have these things called "pound stores" where everything in the shop costs a pound. They sell food, drink and household items mainly such as Toblerone, Red Bull and dust pan and brushes. However, I went to Oxford and I found The Last Bookshop.

The Last Bookshop has just moved to opposite Argos outside the Clarendon Centre. You don't know the best part, every book is £2.

Many Bargain Bookshops (I'm not going to mention names but it rhymes with The Schmirks) sell books that are of a lower quality but the Last Bookshop sells proper fiction. If you want a good bookshop at good prices, this is the best bookshop ever.

Sophie's Upcoming Release of the Month

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

I am so excited for this book. We'll forgive her for having the name Moriarty (I had a Sherlock nightmare last night) and get excited for the book with a 4.05 star average on Goodreads (believe me, that's high). I think it's already out in the US but it comes out on the 30th July in the UK.

It's about a woman who finds a letter from her husband. The only thing is, she's supposed to open it when he's died. And he is still very much alive. Inside it contains a secret that could change her world and two other women's worlds forever.

Besides, the cover is beautiful, so that's one reason to buy this.

If you would like to support me by buying books from my book depository link I would love you forever. I'm also trying to organise a small giveaway, not sure how successful that'll be but if you are interested in quotemarks tweet me or comment.

To buy this book from me click here

The other cover is a lot cheaper so for that click here

To add to goodreads click here