Featured blog posts
I’ll see you at the bookshop!
15 Uplifting Roald Dahl Quotes
What’s your favourite Roald Dahl book? Growing up I always loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, while others have a soft spot for The Witches or James and the Giant Peach. Regardless of whichever was your favourite, Dahl was brilliant at writing magical, uplifting quotes that have and continue to inspire millions of children around the world. Here are 15 of my favourites!
Sleeping in a Treehouse! | A Stay at Wootton Park
Nestled high in the treetops of the Warwickshire countryside, just down the road from Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon, are Wootton Park’s gorgeous TreePods. Glamping pods on stilts, with bubbling hot tubs and amazing views, we stayed in one of the two, Heavens Above, for just one night.
Inside Edinburgh Castle
During my last trip to Edinburgh I FINALLY got to visit the castle! Many of you will know that I love a good castle visit, so it was lovely to spend a few hours wandering around this one, which is located right in the centre of Edinburgh.
The best thing about my visit was that I got to learn about some Scottish history. As I wandered around there were lots of plaques and signs to read, and the castle is also home to the Scottish War Museum which is definitely worth a look around.
Michael Morpurgo Book Recommendations
One of Britain’s most beloved children’s authors, Michael Morpurgo has been a staple in school libraries for decades. He’s written around 130 books, with the first being published in 1974, and held the title of Children’s Laureate from 2003 to 2005. One thing that many people don’t know is that Michael discovered his love for writing later in life, initially joining the army and training at the prestigious Sandhurst College, before settling into teaching.
Where to Spend Your National Book Tokens
I do love a National Book Token. They remind me of my school days, when I would receive a paper token on World Book Day to spend on a free book. Nowadays I love that purchasing a book token allows the recipient to spend it in heaps of independent bookshops all over the UK (as well as Waterstones, of course).
How to sell on WeBuyBooks.com
Have you ever wondered how to make money from your unwanted books?
Perhaps you thought about setting up an Amazon shop, or selling your old books on Depop? There are lots of different options out there, but today I want to tell you about WeBuyBooks – which is the service that I use and can highly recommend.
Inside Topping & Company Booksellers, Edinburgh
Welcome to one of my all time favourite bookshops. Topping & Company are a small UK based bookshop chain that started in Ely, Cambridgeshire back in 2002, and has slowly spread across the country and all the way up to Scotland. Edinburgh is the youngest of their four branches, having only opened in late 2019, and it’s also their largest.
10 Places to Go in Ocean Village, Southampton
There are loads of things to see and do in Southampton, and today I want to tell you all about Ocean Village. A hidden gem positioned slightly south of the city centre, and based beside a beautiful marina, Ocean Village has a variety of fabulous amenities. Here’s my guide featuring 10 of the best locations to visit when you’re in Ocean Village.
11 Places to Visit in Emsworth
Emsworth is a lovely little market town perched on the coast of West Sussex, in between the cities of Chichester and Portsmouth. There’s loads to see and it’s the perfect place to spend a Saturday afternoon wandering around the independent shops and cafes.
Once a humble Saxon village, Emsworth later grew into a port, which it still functions as today (but for leisure instead of flour transportation). Here are 11 places that you should stop by during a visit to historic Emsworth.
Southampton’s Secret Beach: Weston Shore
The city of Southampton is well known as one of the UK’s major ports – a place to catch a cruise or peruse the yachts in the marina. But did you know that it actually has a secret beach that only the locals know about?
Situated on the east side of the city, Weston Shore is the single remaining beach in Southampton. It’s shingle rather than sand, but that doesn’t take away from just how lovely it is.
A Visit to Hitchin Lavender
If you’re looking for a beautiful yet affordable location to shoot some photos in this summer, then you’ve come to the right place.
Hitchin Lavender is a working farm based in Hertfordshire, just a short drive away from the town of Hitchin. The flowers bloom from mid-June to late-July, depending on the species, and they have two main varieties (angustifolia and lavendin for the botanists out there), but have more than 60 proudly blooming in their display area.
Inside the Original Blackwell’s Bookshop, Oxford
Blackwell’s is one of Britain’s oldest bookshop chains. Situated in the heart of a historic student city, the original shop is based on Broad Street, Oxford, where it originally opened its doors in 1879. But it isn’t just the shop’s history that makes it worth a visit. The Broad Street shop holds the world record for the largest single room in the world selling books - you’d have no idea from the outside!
A Bookshop Guide to Cecil Court, London
Tucked away just beside London’s well known Leicester Square, Cecil Court is a magical little street lined with gorgeous victorian style bookshops. This street is said to have inspired Diagon Alley from Harry Potter and you can definitely see why – it’s a location that any book lover needs to visit in London. Keep on reading to discover the eclectic range of bookshops that line the glorious Cecil Court. You won’t be disappointed!
Tripp Suitcase Review: The Holiday 6 Case
I remember the first time that I saw a piece of Tripp luggage on Instagram. It was a banana yellow ‘Holiday 6’ case, with a hard shell and four wheels. It looked so freaking stylish! And once I’d invested in one myself I felt like I was part of a secret club - I saw them everywhere. In the airport, on the train, and even just being wheeled around London.
My Top Blogging Tips | A Guest Post by Kate from Reading Through Infinity
Running a blog can be such a fun and fulfilling hobby. Creating content about things you love and finding a community of like-minded people is incredibly exciting. That’s why so many of us do it. For the love, fun, and passion of talking about things we’re invested in.
How to Request Proofs and Review Copies From Book Publishers
Book blogging, Instagramming or YouTubing can be hard work. Building an audience and posting consistently takes a lot of time and effort and, even though we love it, sometimes it’s nice to get a little something back in return. In this post I’m going to explain how you can start requesting books from publishers right now, with the audience that you already have - it’s a lot easier than you might think.
20 of the Best Jacqueline Wilson Characters
I can’t think of a more iconic children’s author than Jacqueline Wilson. A previous children’s laureate with more than 100 books to her name, JW’s titles have been read and enjoyed by multiple generations of kids.
But out of all of those books, which are the characters that stand out the most? I’ve had a look through Jackie’s back catalogue and picked out 20 of her absolute finest - let me know if you agree!
I Was Bullied.
In honour of Anti Bullying Awareness Week, today I want to talk about what happened to me while I was in school, and the profound affect that it had on my life.
I know that I’m far from alone in the fact that I was bullied. SO many children and teenagers are bullied at school, and the long lasting effects of that are very real. The shame is something that’s difficult to shake off, and even now I still feel embarrassed to admit that I had a horrible time at school.
An Interview with Lauren James, Author of The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker
The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker is one of my most highly anticipated reads of the year. Not only is it written by the wonderful UKYA writer Lauren James, but it’s also her first fantasy book and features a gang of magical, 18-year-old ghosts.
A huge thanks to all of you who submitted your burning questions for Lauren to answer over on my Instagram - read on to hear all the juicy details about her new book. Enjoy!
An Interview with Heartstopper Creator Alice Oseman
Alice Oseman is one of my favourite authors. For those of you who are new to her work, Alice is a brilliant UKYA writer, with four published novels to her name and one fantastic webcomic, Heartstopper. Naturally, I’ve been super excited to read her brand new book, Loveless, and jumped at the chance to find out more about her latest cast of characters.
I took to Instagram and asked you guys to submit some questions for Alice all about Loveless; thanks so much to everyone who submitted a question, there were loads of great ones and I selected the best to feature as part of this interview.
Welcome to the Viking Skaga - one of Viking Cruises’ noble river ships. She takes her name from an ancient Norse myth, where the Valkyrie Skaga rode into battle and escorted the dead to Valhalla, before preparing them to fight in the epic battle of Ragnarok.
A relatively new ship, the Viking Skaga only entered the fleet in 2020. At just 410 feet and carrying 168 guests and 48 crew, she was built specifically to sail down the Seine in France, although the specific itinerary will vary depending on the time of year. I was fortunate enough to join the ship for her week long Christmas on the Seine cruise, which starts and ends in Paris, calling at Vernon, Caudebec-en-Caux, Rouen, Honflour (via an excursion) and Les Andelys along the way.