Friday 16 August 2013

Proofreading, Anyone?

Heyy everyone, long time no speak!

As you can probably tell, despite what my last post said, due to circumstances outside my control I've not been able to continue with this blog anymore. I still do the reading, just not the reviewing!

However, I still receive loads of views and e-mails from writers, and I'd like to help you all in a different way. Proofreading!

I have spotted typos in countless newspapers, magazines, websites, self-published books and even books which have been professionally published. It looks unprofessional and doesn't give a good impression, so I'd like to help save you all from the same fate!

I can provide you with a freelance proofreading service, for just £10-£15 per 1000 words depending on the level of service you want, which is a whole lot cheaper than you'll find on many freelance proofreading websites! I am reliable, accurate, and can guarantee a fast turnaround time.

If any writers out there are interested, just e-mail exon63photography@hotmail.co.uk, with a bit of information about the work you need done.

I hope I can help!

Friday 18 November 2011

Between The Lines Is Back!

TA-DA! I'm back!

After much anticipation (and three exams, two assignments, a week of staying with a friend, a week of said friend staying with me, a two week holiday to Florida, and almost a week to recover from it all....) I am pleased to announce that Between The Lines Book Reviews is back on! I have missed doing the blog very much but unfortunately due to all the aforementioned commitments I just couldn't find the time to fit it in. Things seem to be quietening down a bit now, so I should hopefully be able to pick up where I left off. With a bit of luck I'll be able to carry on right through Christmas and New Year as well! Famous last words.....

Admittedly, I haven't had the time to do much reading over the last few weeks. Well, I was hoping to do loads when I was away, but my Kindle (which was the only reading material I took with me) decided it'd be a great idea to break on about the fourth day of my holiday. Cool. It was a fault with the Kindle itself, so I managed to get a replacement under the warranty, which arrived yesterday morning, so I have reloaded all my books and plan to get stuck back into them over the weekend! There are some fantastic-looking titles on there so look out for the reviews over the coming weeks.

However, those are not the only things to look forward to. I've got loads of interesting and exciting book-related things planned for the coming weeks and months so sit back and enjoy the ride :)

Have a great weekend everyone, whatever you're reading! :) x

Saturday 24 September 2011

30 Week Book Challenge #2 - Your Least Favourite Book


I know this is slightly later than promised, but this week it's the turn of my least favourite book. I only very rarely put down a book halfway through reading it if I'm not enjoying it - I can't allow myself to do that as I feel I will never know what exciting thing might have been just over the next page...kind of an OCD thing, don't ask! So I've pushed myself to struggle through some really awful books during my time, but far and beyond all the others, the book I enjoyed the least has to be 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J. D. Salinger.

I know, I'm sure many of you are falling off your chairs at this as I know it's very popular and is even considered a 'classic' by some. If you are one of those people, I'm awfully sorry for not sharing your love. But seriously? I just didn't see the point. It was the most ridiculous, pointless book I ever read. In my opinion, it didn't have any plot to speak of, I didn't get along with any of the characters, and it was far too short.

My dislike of this book may have something to do with the fact that I read it as an early-teen, and so didn't appreciate it or its metaphors or social commentary or whatever it is that makes this book so popular. Whatever it was, I consider reading it as a waste of my time, hence why I won't ever be reading it again!

Friday 23 September 2011

Book Beginnings On Friday

I know I've been rubbish this week, and I'm sorry. Does the fact that I have a French oral exam tomorrow count as an excuse? :) No? Oh well, worth a try...

However, I have still found time to fit in a Book Beginnings post. This is part of a weekly meme hosted at A Few More Pages. To participate, share the opening of whatever you're reading, along with your thoughts on just that beginning.

This week has seen me finally get round to starting 'Crazy in Paradise' by Deborah Brown. She sent it to me a few weeks ago, and I'm ashamed that it's taken me so long to get to! This is the author's short description of the book:

Madison Westin, the main character, inherits her aunt’s beachfront motel in the Florida Keys, or so she thinks. Tarpon Cove is not your typical sleepy beach town: Seduction, drunks, ex-cons and fugitives are not the usual fare for someone looking to start a new chapter in their life. Wrestling control of the property from both the lawyer and the conniving motel manager will be no easy feat. But Madison likes living on the edge so she feels right at home. Bullets fly, a dead body turns up, a kidnapping and blackmail. Madison really has to learn not to leave home without her Glock or it could get her killed.

I've been quite looking forward to reading it, as it sounds both fun and exciting. Anyway, here's the opening:

"There should be a law a person can't die in South Florida during the summer. The death of a loved one was hard enough without the added humiliation of sweat."

I like the wit in this! I imagine that if I lost one of my nearest and dearest, being a bit hot and sweaty would be the least of my concerns! If I were to look at just the first sentence, I would suggest it seems intriguing and a bit mysterious, with the hot, sticky summer weather making a great setting for a book of this type. However, when you include the second sentence as well, it really lightens the tone and - as inappropriate as it may sound - makes the event more fun. So far the rest of the book continues in this sort of style, and I'm really enjoying reading it!



In other news...

As I say, I know I've been slack this week, and next week will probably be the same, but hopefully I'll have this week's 30 Week Challenge post up this afternoon. As for reviews, I have a few piling up, so with a bit of luck I'll find the time to put the next one up this weekend. If I don't quite manage it, please bear with me!

Friday 16 September 2011

Book Beginnings On Friday

Book Beginnings On Friday is a weekly meme hosted at A Few More Pages. To participate, all you have to do is share the opening of whatever you've been reading and your opinion of said beginning. Then just link it back and take a look at what everyone else is reading!

Recently my mum and I went on a bit of a book buying spree, and one of the titles we bought was 'Afterwards' by Rosamund Lupton, which I opened up and started reading last night. Here's the opening, which I have taken from the prologue:

"I couldn't move, not even a little finger or a flicker of an eye. I couldn't open my mouth to scream."

Wow. This grabbed my attention straight away! Why can't this person move anything? They can't be tied up or trapped because surely they would still be able to move their eye... And what is happening to them that's so scary they want to scream? Frightening stuff! I'm immediately keen to find out what has happened to this person and why... I have read on a bit further into the book but I don't want to give anything away!

I'm not exactly sure of the genre of this book - I think it's sort of like a mystery, but a very emotional one. Lupton has also written another book called 'Sister' prior to this, which I believe is a mystery although I haven't read it, so I assume that this is along the same sort of lines. Please do correct me if you've read 'Sister' and I've missed the mark completely. 'Afterwards' is written in an unusual style but you'll either have to wait for my review on it or read it yourself to see what I mean! All in all so far it looks like a good'un.

Have a good weekend folks x

Monday 12 September 2011

30 Week Book Challenge #1 - Your Favourite Book

So here we are! The start of a 30 Week Book Challenge (meant to be 30 Day, but I decided I couldn't keep up with that) where each week I will share with you one of my picks on a given topic. Before I start, I'd better to say I nicked this challenge from here - that post, as well as all the participating posts after it, are written by the lovely Nadine Rose Larter, author of Coffee At Little Angels.

Anyway, first up is my favourite book. This is so much harder to choose than I expected! I enjoy so many books, and often I form some sort of emotional or meaningful attachment to them, that it's hard to choose one over the other. Nevertheless, after much deliberation, I have opted for a book which I haven't read in years, but which I plan to pick up again soon: 'The Clan of the Cave Bear' by Jean M. Auel.

No surprises - it's set at the time of the cavemen, when there were two tribes, one distinguished by their darker features, the other is known for the people's light colouring. The paler clan is more physically and psychologically advanced than the other, and one might say more 'clever'. One little girl from the lighter clan is orphaned, and taken in by the rival, darker clan, and throughout her life she both confuses and stuns her guardians with her bright mind.

Not my usual sort of book, I know, but somehow it has just always captured my interest. The era of the cavemen is one we know very little about, so perhaps it is this insight into their lives which intrigues me. Perhaps it was the allure of an exceptionally bright young girl being far more advanced than anyone she knows. Perhaps it's just the descriptive writing style or the plot. I'm not really sure why I like this book so much, but I just do!

It is the first of a series, but it is the only title I have read. From what I understand, the rest of the series goes a bit downhill, so I have no intention of reading anything else from it. I don't want to ruin the magic!

I originally saw and enjoyed the film version of this when I was tiny - I was probably only about 6 or 7 at the time - well before I ever knew it was a book. Some years later I saw the book for sale and couldn't resist buying it, which is a decision I'm really pleased I made! I must have been pre- or early-teen when I first read it, so it took me quite a while to get through (it's 587 pages) and some of it went over my head, but I really enjoyed it.

As I say, it's been years since I last read it, but recently I've put it back in my TBR pile, as I'd love to re-read it again and see if I still enjoy it much as I always did!

Friday 9 September 2011

Book Beginnings On Friday

To tie in with the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks this Sunday, I will share the opening of 'That Day In September' by Artie Van Why, which I read this week.

Book Beginnings On Friday is a weekly meme hosted over at A Few More Pages. To participate, just share the opening of whatever you've been reading during the week, and if you wish, give your opinion of the opening. Then link back and see what everyone else is reading!

'That Day In September' is a personal memoir from a man who was working in New York at the time of the terrorist attacks. He witnessed everything first-hand and is now still struggling to come to terms with what he saw, right to this day. Here is the opening from his very emotional story:

"I want it to go away. I don't want it to have happened."

This is part of what the author has called a 'reflection', which makes up the first chapter, and it is all written in this style. Straight away you can just sense the emotion and anguish that the author must be feeling, and it sets the tone for what's to come. I can but imagine what it must have been like to be there, but this opening had me gripped straight away to read about a man's real-life experience, to give me more of an insight than the television pictures could ever give me.

If you're interested in reading more of my opinion on this book, you can read my full review which I posted this morning.