In my opinion the first sentence of a book can really affect the rest of the reading experience. It sets the tone and mood of the book and can affect your decision whether to continue reading - there's a lot of pressure on that first sentence. This blogpost is celebrating some of my favourites, those sentences that really hook you in and make you want to keep reading.

No matter how many books I have, I always want more. Some of my not-so-bookish friends have asked me why I want more books when I've already got so many that I haven't read yet (my physical TBR is at 117 books at this point, but that's a whole other post), and my answer is that collecting books makes me genuinely happy and I know that I'll get to them all someday.

I've been keeping lists of books I want for quite a long time now. I would take note of books I was interested in all the time and these lists used to be scattered through notebooks, on random pieces of paper and on my phone. It all got a bit hectic and I wanted a better way to keep track - and make the lists easily shop-able *guilty grin* - so I decided to keep an online wishlist. I originally had my wishlist on Amazon but then they changed their free shipping policy to over £10 only, stopping me from just buying one book at a time, so I moved on to Wordery.

I stumbled upon Wordery by accident when using a price comparison site and couldn't believe that I hadn't heard of it before. Most of their books are cheaper than Amazon (some by a large margin) and on top of that they offer free worldwide delivery, with no catches! This is by no means a sponsored post I just wanted to talk about how obsessed I am with this website. I've since created a wishlist with them and the wonderful thing is that they will email you when the prices of your wishlist items drop.

I thought that today I would share some of the books that I'm currently lusting over but haven't been able to justify buying yet. I have shared my Wordery wishlist with my mum and boyfriend though, so hopefully I might get some for my birthday next month! There's actually currently 34 items on my wishlist so I'll just talk about the ones I'm absolutely desperate for!


Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
I read the first two books in the Grisha trilogy earlier this year but I STILL haven't finished the series and it's driving me mad. I just never got around to buying Ruin and Rising. And that means that I can't really get Six of Crows yet because I want to have finished the original Grisha trilogy before reading it, and I'm absolutely dying to read it! I'm really really hoping I get these two for my birthday and if not I'm going to order them straight away because I NEED THEM.

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
I've been wanting to read Robin Hobb ever since I first heard Sam from Novels and Nonsense mention her in a video absolutely ages ago. Since then one of my best friends has read this series and really enjoyed it so that makes me want it even more! In her wonderful author exploration video on Robin Hobb, Sam recommends that you start with Assassin's Apprentice and continue on from there. I'm dying to get into more adult fantasy so I really want to check this one out!


Vintage Classics Bronte series
I think my lust for these just explains itself, I mean just look at those covers! I'm currently collecting the Vintage Classics Austen series, which is equally beautiful, and now Vintage are releasing a Bronte series on November 5th! I can't wait to get my hands on these beauties as I love collecting gorgeous books and I haven't actually read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall yet so I'm looking forward to that.


You by Caroline Kepnes
So many people have been talking about You on blogs and booktube and I really want to get my hands on this creepy thriller. It's written in the second person which is something I've never experienced whilst reading and I think will make it extremely creepy. I'm really intrigued by this one!

Saga: Volume One by Brian K. Vaughn
This graphic novel series gets so much hype and I've heard that it's deservedly so. From little snippets I've seen the art looks beautiful and the space-opera narrative sounds really interesting.

Monsters by Emerald Fennell
This recent release from one of my favourite publishers Hot Key Books is an adult novel which as far as I know is about two children who are a little too intrigued by a recent murder. I love books that are scary or have disturbing elements so I'm really interested in this. It's had excellent marketing from Hot Key and has received some really great reviews. The narrative sounds like nothing I've read so this is definitely one of the most anticipated books that I can't afford right now. Hopefully soon!

So those are some of the books I want most at the moment! As I said earlier these aren't the only items on my wishlist and you can check out the rest here, it might give you some ideas for your own wishlist or present ideas for someone else!

Along with posting every day on here for blogtober, I'm also posting every single day this month on my Instagram account. I really enjoy putting together and editing photos for Instagram so I thought I'd share some of my recent photos with you and some tips on getting the most out of your book photography! This post is pretty rambly and I'm definitely no photography expert, it's just something I really enjoy doing, so I hope you find it a little helpful or at least enjoy the photos!



As you'll notice in the photos above I've been going with a bit of an autumnal vibe for quite a few of my photos because I've been so inspired by the amazing colours this time of year brings and looking at these photos makes me feel warm and cosy even as it's getting chillier outside. A lot of Instagram accounts have an overall 'theme' which is reflected in all of their photographs, giving their feed a clean, cohesive look; whether it be bright and colourful or muted and cool toned. I think these accounts look amazing but I personally would find a specific 'theme' a bit too limiting. However I am quite consistent in the style of my photographs; most of my photos are colourful, highly saturated flatlays with a bright white-ish background. I'm not saying that this is the best style it's just something I personally really like the look of and find fun to play around with.

I busted my phone camera a while ago, and although it has been repaired the quality is just nothing like it was, so I take pretty much all of my Instagram photos with my Canon EOS 600D. You definitely don't need a fancy DSLR to take good photographs but it's just what I enjoy using and I personally don't find it too much hassle. I tend to dedicate some time to take a lot of my blog and Instagram photos in bulk because it's easier to transfer and edit them in bulk and I just find that once I get started the creativity just comes out and I want to keep going.

I really love using props in photographs because I think they can really boost an image and add a lot to the composition. I pay quite a lot of attention to the colour when it comes to adding props as I take quite a lot of photos against a light background and I like the colours of the photo to be cohesive and also stand out. I always start with the book, which is often the main object of the photograph. I then grab props from anywhere that comes to mind and keep arranging them in different ways and taking lots of shots so that I have a few to choose from when it comes to editing. It's kind of hard to explain this process but it's something I find really fun and have just learnt to improve as I go along.





I then transfer the images over to my laptop and edit them using Picmonkey, which is free and has everything I personally need and a whole lot more. I don't do a whole lot in terms of editing, I mainly just resize the image, up the brightness, highlight, saturation and temperature a little and they're ready to transfer over to my phone and post on Instagram!

This might sound like a lot of work just for Instagram and I'm definitely not saying you have to do all this, I just really enjoy the whole creative process and sharing the images I've created. My account is by no means the most perfect or the most popular but I honestly don't care about that, I care about creating something that I'm proud of.

There really is no right or wrong when it comes to Instagram. Although you might feel intimidated by beautiful accounts with masses of followers (I'm not referring to myself by the way haha, as if) you've got to remember that perfection and likes are not the goal here. It's about expressing your creativity through photography and creating an image that you enjoy.

I hope that you've enjoyed these little ramblings about Instagram and if you'd like to follow me on there then you can find me @sarahschapter. 

Do you have Instagram? If so please comment with your username, I'd love to check out some new accounts!

I've had a super busy weekend so I'm currently feeling a little less than brilliant, so tonight's post is just a quick fun tag. I'm not actually sure where this tag originated but I spotted it on Katy's Daily Life.  

01. What is a nickname only your family call you?

02. What is a weird habit you have?
I'm not sure why but I have to wear pyjamas so that the waistband is really high up, I mean REALLY high up, like above my belly button. I usually get them in a big size and I'm pretty short so that might be why but it's just how I'm most comfortable.

03. Do you have any weird phobias?
I'm completely freaked out by sweetcorn. Even typing the word makes me feel sick *gags*.

04. What song do you secretly love to blast & sing along to when you're alone?
I'm currently loving Ru Paul's 'Glamazon' and Hailee Steinfeld's 'Love Myself'. Full blast, singing my heart out and complete with dance moves. I know how to work it.

05. What is one of your biggest pet peeves?
When people walk really REALLY slowly in front of me, or just stop randomly right in front of me, or when people are really loud, or when my mum calls me downstairs because she can't figure out basic things like how to press play on the dvd player because the button doesn't explicitly say 'play', I MEAN HONESTLY. Basically when anyone in my vicinity does anything. Nah I'm joking...but seriously.06. What is one of your nervous habits?
I have a bit of an anxious tic of clenching my hands repeatedly, my mum always notices it and has to grab my hands to get me to stop. It's pretty strange.

07. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
I always sleep on the left but when I'm on my own I kind of move all over in the night. I'm definitely a restless sleeper. I once headbutted my boyfriend in my sleep and made his nose bleed...whoops.

08. What was your first stuffed animal & it's name?

09. What drink do you always get at Costa?

10. What beauty rule do you preach but never actually practice?
I definitely don't wash my brushes as often as I should...grim.

11. Which way do you face in the shower?
Inwards mostly, I know that's weird but I sticking my face through like it's a waterfall.

12. Do you have any weird body skills?

13. What is your favourite comfort food that is bad for you but you love to eat it anyway?
Chocolate. The answer is always chocolate.

14. What is a phrase you always say?

I've been watching way too much  Ru Paul's Drag Race lately, because I'm starting to think I can pull off saying things like 'don't come for me', 'no T no shade' and 'werrrk' in normal conversation, and I definitely can't. I just need to stop.

15. Time to sleep, what are you wearing?
The comfiest baggiest pyjamas I can find, because I'm just SO glamorous. I'm particularly in love with my new super soft Primark pyjamas.

Apologies for the lack of bookish posts lately but things will be back to normal as of tomorrow! Expect some discussion posts on some things I've wanted to talk about for a while and my plans for Dewey's 24 hour readathon!

I was inspired to write this post after seeing Beth of The Quiet People's post last month, it's such a fun idea, so I thought I'd update you with what's going on in my life right now...

Reading: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling and A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

Watching: My boyfriend and I are still obsessed with Ru Paul's Drag Race and I've recently got him into Downton Abbey, which is the perfect show for this time of year.

Planning: As I'm doing blogtober, I'm constantly thinking about and planning blogposts which is great as I feel constantly inspired and productive. It's also my birthday next month and one of my best friend's birthdays this month so we're planning a big reunion birthday party at the end of the month which I'm so excited for!

Making: I've been seriously inspired by the bake-off and although my little fairy cakes have nothing on the showstoppers, they're still delicious!

Stocking up on: everything autumn/winter. Even though I did a big clothes clearout and essentially put myself on a clothes-buying ban, I haven't been sticking to it at all and have been loving stocking up on scarves and boots. Can't stop, won't stop.

Wishing for: The new Harry Potter Illustrated. I'm dying to get my hands on it but I think I'm hopefully getting it for my birthday next month!

Enjoying: indulging in all the wonderful autumn clichés; lighting candles, putting on my fairy lights and curling up under my new snuggly primark blanket.

Trying: to get into a more regular sleeping pattern and start waking up a bit earlier to get the most out of the day. I'm not sure if it's my chronic fatigue or my medication but I seem to need so much sleep lately, ten hours at the very least, which isn't very practical.

Eating: I had an avocado and bacon beef burger from Proper Burger Co. in Newark today and it was pretty amazing.

Goal Setting: I really want to start snacking less and generally eating better. I have an okay diet but it could be a lot better and will hopefully help me to feel a lot better too.

Learning: that blogging every day is hard! But totally worth it. I'm feeling so creative and productive and have noticed that there's a few more of you around since I've been posting more, hello new friends! Leave me a comment below, I'd love to check out your blogs :)

What's been going on with you lately?

My auto-buy authors are authors whose writing I love so much that I will probably buy anything they release, no matter what. This is just a quick post, so I'll get right to it:

John Green
John Green is my original auto-buy author (apart from Jacqueline Wilson back in the day), I watched him on YouTube back in 2011 and through that discovered his novels. I raced through all of them and I actually have a few signed copies, signed by both John and Hank, because I met them in Glasgow in 2013 so that's exciting! John Green was my favourite author for a long time and although I have moved on a bit since then and slightly prefer other books, I will still buy anything he writes. To paraphrase Hazel Grace Lancaster: frankly, I'd read his grocery lists.

Rainbow Rowell
I discovered Rainbow Rowell by accident when I was buying my mum a birthday present in WH Smith last year and books were buy two get one free. So I decided to buy two for my mum and one for me, I spotted Fangirl on the shelf and thought it looked interesting so picked it up. I read it later that year and absolutely fell in love with it. I've since read most of her other books (I'm hopefully getting Carry On for my birthday!) and I will faithfully read anything and everything she puts out into the world.

Patrick Ness
I've mentioned before that The Knife of Never Letting Go was required reading for my children's literature module at university, and I'm so so glad because it introduced me to his amazing writing. His books have such brilliant concepts and his writing is unlike anything I've read in YA. I love every single one of his YA books, and I'm hoping to read his adult books soon.

Leigh Bardugo
This is a strange one because I haven't actually finished the Grisha trilogy yet, I'm waiting to hopefully get Ruin and Rising for my birthday or Christmas, but I still know that I want to buy anything that Leigh Bardugo writes. The world that she has created in the Grisha series is so well-crafted and beautiful, I could read about it forever. I'm absolutely DYING to read Six of Crows, but again I'm going to have to wait.

Bill Bryson
When thinking about my auto-buy authors, Bill Bryson didn't occur to me straight away but when I was looking at my bookshelves I realised I own quite a lot of his books, and the rest are on my wishlist. He's probably my favourite non-fiction writer because his writing is so easy to read and hilarious and he can make any topic extremely interesting. I like that he has written about such a wide range of topics and it's safe to say I'll be buying anything he release in the future.

Who are your auto-buy authors?

01. I love Space!