Hi everyone! So it's officially one week to go until the HSC starts...which is both nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time, because once my three weeks of exams are over that's it! I can see my TBR pile getting smaller a lot quicker once that happens.

*Reading Right Now*

This is good, but quite strange as well. Patrick Ness's novels always seem to have that uniqueness to them though so I'm interested to see what direction it takes.

*Previous Posts*

• Review: Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray
• {Blog Tour} Atmospheric by Carole Wilkinson: Review & Guest Post

*Recommendation of the Week*



A lighthearted, quick read which really makes me want to go to Sweden! 

*From The Interwebs*

• Aentee @ Read At Midnight discussed  4 Common Book Blogger Insecurities (And Why They Don’t Matter!)
• Aimee @ Deadly Darlings developed the book community survival guide
• Cait @ Paper Fury talked about hating a book vs. being 'meh' about it
• Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales talked about 7 times Harry Potter taught her how to live
• Emily @ Loony Literate reviewed Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

*Haul*

Thanks HarperVoyager for the review copy!

Alice In Wonderland with a new quirky twist - I'm excited for this one :)

*Giveaway Reminder*

Just a quick reminder that my giveaway for 2 sets of the entire 'Tribe' trilogy by Australian author Ambelin Kwaymullina is still going! Closes 9th October and is open to Australian residents only. 

Click the image to go to the entry page!

*I'm going on hiatus*

Because of my finals coming up I'll be taking a mini-hiatus from now until 29th October. There may be some posts up here and there which I've scheduled, but other than that I'll be focused on my studies and ready to come back with a whole new wealth of posts later this month! 

{Blog Tour} Atmospheric by Carole Wilkinson: Review & Guest Post

Atmospheric: The Burning Story of Climate Change by Carole Wilkinson
Released: 1st October 2015
Published by: Black Dog Books
Genre: YA Environmental Non-Fiction
Source: Publisher
Pages: 251
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Goodreads | Bookworld | Booktopia

Talking about the weather used to be small talk, now it's the hottest topic on Earth. For billions of years our atmosphere has supported life on Earth, from primitive algae to the human race. But something is happening. Slowly but surely, what we are doing to our atmosphere is changing Earth's climate.

Atmospheric cuts through the many voices raised around climate change to tell the story of our atmosphere, what is putting our climate at risk and what we can do about it. This could be the most important book you read in your life.

Thank you to Walker Books Australia for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Atmospheric is an insightful piece of multimodal non-fiction which really makes you think twice about the environment around us and how we care for it. This is a book which is both easy to read and yet deeply informative about not only the history and science of our atmosphere, but the far reaching effects of climate change and how it may impact on us further in the future. 

With a mixture of personal anecdotes, tables, diagrams, photographs, spotlight biographies and references to contemporary environmental issues, Atmospheric may sound like your average textbook. But it certainly is not. No, this is not a book you're going to get bored of reading facts and a whole bunch of information overload. Instead it's cleverly set out to both pack a punch and explain how the earth and its climate has has changed from millions of years ago to now, in a simplistic way which anyone could understand. This is something which would definitely be relatable to teens and adults alike, as there are sections from young adults' perspective alongside the facts. 

The many headings throughout and short sections give a useful snapshot into the world both past and present, with references to scientists like James Hansen to your normal student Vincent Dwyer. It's this range of diverse perspectives and historical accounts which provide a dynamic depiction of how the issue of climate change has been perceived through the years, Plus, even if you get a little stuck on some of the more technical scientific terms, there's a handy glossary at the back to revamp your vocabulary.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I can definitely say I learnt a lot of new things from reading this book, and am now more aware of how what I do impacts on the environment. We can all take something from Atmospheric, especially in today's situation where climate change and global warming don't just exist as the features of a dystopian novel - they are making an impact right now.

*Guest Post by Carole Wilkinson*

The S-word. What does sustainability have to do with you?

                                                        

Sustainability is a word that we hear all the time, and yet it’s hard to find a clear definition.

This is what I’ve come up with:

Sustainability is living in a way that doesn’t damage the planet and its atmosphere, now or in the future.

If you think sustainability has nothing to do with you because you’re too young, too poor or it’s someone else’s problem, think again.

You may not be in a position to put solar panels on your roof or change your light globes to LEDs, but you can definitely do something.

The truth is, we can all live in a sustainable way. 

And the bonus? It will save you or your family money.

Here are my top five tips for making your life sustainable.

1.       Turn things off

91% of electricity in Australia is made by burning coal and gas, producing millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Turn off lights when you leave a room. Don’t leave appliances on stand-by 24/7. One of my pet hates? Leaving the TV on when no one’s watching it.

2.      Don’t use the clothes dryer

It is a criminal waste of electricity to throw things into the dryer when the sun is shining outside. The ultraviolet in sunlight also kills bacteria that make your clothes and sheets smelly even after you’ve washed them.

Don’t have space for a clothesline? Dry things inside. A spare room or a bedroom during the day is a great place for a clothes drying rack.

3.      Buy less stuff

All manufacturing uses up energy (electricity, gas) and produces greenhouse gases. Recycling is great, but it’s better if we buy less stuff in the first place. Check out secondhand shops and garage sales for clothes etc. Repair and mend things, don’t just throw them out. Don’t buy anything that is disposable after one use, or things with three layers of packaging.

4.      Food waste

Up to half of what we put in our rubbish bins is food waste. Not only is it a waste of resources and your money, when it goes to the rubbish dump, it decomposes in a way that produces methane (a greenhouse gas with 28 times the global warming ability of carbon dioxide.) 

Compost your food waste or make a worm farm. Don’t buy large amounts of fruit and veg so that it goes limp and rotten before you use it. If you make too much spaghetti sauce don’t leave it at the back of the fridge until it goes mouldy. Freeze it for another day.

5.      Use the car less

Every time you get in the car, you’re producing greenhouse gases and dangerous pollutants. Think about each trip you make. Could you cycle, walk, or use public transport instead? You’ll be healthier too.

You might think that the reduction in greenhouse gases from one person doing these things is too small to worry about. It isn’t. When we all do it together it has an impact.

PS And don’t buy bottled water! Not only is it 2000 times more expensive than tap water, it results in millions of plastic bottles ending up in landfill.

Review: Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray
Series: The Diviners #2
Released: 26th August 2015
Published by: Allen and Unwin
Genre: YA Paranorma/ Historical
Source: Publisher
Pages: 613
My Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Goodreads | Book Depository | QBD

The longing of dreams draws the dead, and this city holds many dreams. After a supernatural showdown with a serial killer, Evie O’Neill has outed herself as a Diviner. With her uncanny ability to read people’s secrets, she’s become a media darling, earning the title “America’s Sweetheart Seer.”

Everyone’s in love with the city’s newest It Girl…everyone except the other Diviners. Piano-playing Henry DuBois and Chinatown resident Ling Chan are two Diviners struggling to keep their powers a secret—for they can walk in dreams. And while Evie is living the high life, victims of a mysterious sleeping sickness are turning up across New York City. As Henry searches for a lost love and Ling strives to succeed in a world that shuns her, a malevolent force infects their dreams. And at the edges of it all lurks a man in a stovepipe hat who has plans that extend farther than anyone can guess…

As the sickness spreads, can the Diviners descend into the dreamworld to save the city? In this heart-stopping sequel to The Diviners, Printz Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Libba Bray takes readers deeper into the mystical underbelly of New York City.

Thank you to Allen and Unwin for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

If ever there was a series which luminously envisages 1920's New York in all its wanton glory, this is it. Lair of Dreams is a satisfying sequel to its amazing predecessor, and though it doesn't quite live up to the truly horrifying supernatural twist of The Diviners, it was definitely a creepy tale. This is a story which follows the characters we have come to know and love, along with some new additions - in their personal struggles with newfound fame, romantic escapades and most importantly stopping a deadly spirit from killing the people of the city while they sleep. 

Another day closes. The sun sinks low on the horizon. It slips below the Hudson, smearing the West Side of Manhattan in a slick of gold. Night arrives for its watchful shift. The neon city bursts its daytime seams, and the great carnival of dreams begins again. 

Dreams are so often imbued with a wistful golden hue, but in the dark lair of the supernatural - a nightmare is just as likely. You wouldn't be able to tell on the surface though, as Libba Bray's meandering prose reads beautifully. All that you would expect to see from a book set in this era is there - from the speakeasies for the new generation of hedonistic youth to the bootlegged liquor which sustained them. Beneath the glitz however lies the undercurrent of racism and prejudice which was prevalent at the time, as the 'Chinese Sleeping Sickness' works its way across the population and innocent immigrants are blamed. The author has truly captured the multifaceted nature of the time, and I love reading books set in the 1920's because there was so much going on, and it's the perfect setting in this case for Evie and her comrades to step into the limelight.

Evie came into her own once again in this story, but this time with fame attached. As the 'Sweetheart Seer' she seemingly has everything a girl could want - primetime on the radiowaves and everyone knowing her name. But at what cost? With a romantic facade thrown into the mix, more Diviners coming onto the scene and Mabel, Jericho, Theta and Sam getting caught up in the drama - there is both personal and paranormal trouble on the horizon. With a subtle alternating focus on what each of the characters were doing, as well as a new spotlight on Diviners Henry and Ling - everybody has their time to shine and their own journeys converge brilliantly at the climactic end of the spectrum when the spirit world collides with the real one.

It was as if all time and space were unfolding at once around them, a river without end. The borders of their lives vanished; they flowed through time, and it through them, till they didn't know if these things they saw had already been or would come to pass.

It's fascinating that there were those little reference to psychoanalysis from Freud and Jung included, and how the unconscious mind can work. Not only that, but there is definitely room for more in hopefully a third book as there are loose ends to tie up and a renewed sense of wariness at the end of this one. What this book does so well is create a sense of mystery which leaves you wanting more. It isn't necessarily screaming out to you when there are so many other elements at play, but wow I would love to see more from this world and how hopefully all the Diviners we've met so far in the series have their roles.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While this is a mammoth of a book, there is never a dull moment. Libba Bray has impressed me with this sequel, which will be sure to captivate readers once more with a thrilling mystery and vividly depicted historical setting. If you've read The Diviners then you have to read this, and if you haven't yet then what are you waiting for!?