Secondhand book haul from the absolute gem Barter Books in Alnwick!

Finally repaying my mum for all the costumes she created for me growing up... 1x Professor Sprout costume for her primary school dressing up day tomorrow!

So excited to start this after falling in love with the recent TV adaptation!

Book post is the best post, especially when you forgot you pre ordered it six months ago!

The sheer simplicity of Le Guin's writing makes this a beautiful tale to read. Her subtle world building makes each instalment even more engrossing and magical than the last as the reader becomes part of the legend of Earthsea.

As fantasy is by far my favourite genre it was basically impossible to pick just one character, but I have chosen a figure who will meet almost every one of them at least once. Terry Pratchett's Death never fails to make me laugh, think and even cry (also featuring Binky, Death of Rats and a cat) #octphotochallenge

The voice in 'Storm' perfectly encompasses the love I have for science and its ability to adapt and develop as we observe and encounter new experiences, although I will always have a small bit of Storm's unshakeable belief in magic... #octphotochallenge

A meeting between Manchee and Crookshanks... #octphotochallenge

"Only one thing in the world can resist an evil-hearted man. And that is another man. In our shame is our glory. Only our spirit, which is capable of evil, is capable of overcoming it."
The Farthest Shore

I think pretty much every character in this play could be classed as an anti-hero of some form or another, but the conflict between madness, a desire for power and innate fatherly love makes Lear himself stand out for me. A lot of people seem to feel that studying the script itself destroys Shakespeare, but reading this for A Level English Lit really brought it alive for me #octphotochallenge

Jane Marple will always be my favourite classic character, especially as it starts to get colder throughout Autumn and the seemingly incongruous juxtaposition of the "cosy murder" is reflected in reading indoors in the warmth whilst it is dark and unwelcoming outside #octphotochallenge

My literary companion, Lyra Belacqua, is someone I met around the age of eight, and would always weave into my imaginary games. Ten years later, she still fascinates and inspires me #octphotochallenge

I completely forgot it was October yesterday so I am a day behind on the #octphotochallenge but here are my four favourite characters from the Harry Potter world, drawn/painted as I imagine them. It was impossible to choose between those from the main generation, so I have picked my favourite alternative generation, the Four Founders

"In the boat moved by magic over the great deep, the girl lay looking up into the dark. All her life she had looked into the dark; but this was a vaster darkness, this night on the ocean. There was no end to it. There was no roof. It went on out beyond the stars. No earthly Powers moved it. It had been before light, and would be after. It had been before life, and would be after. It went on beyond evil."

"Lately he was starting to think that they were surrounded by things that had been made for some reason, but had missed their purpose as time overtook them"

Ever since I was about eight years old, the beautifully eerie atmosphere of this twisted tale has equally enchanted and terrified me. The plot blends religion, fantasy and history through the the eyes of a child in a way that raises different questions at every stage of life in which you revisit it, and I know it is a book I will keep with me always

"This is the place of shades, of sleep and of slumbering night"
Book 6 "The Underworld"

I fell in love with this book and I can't give a definite reason why. Most books I enjoy can't be described as 'literary' so I don't claim to know how writing works, but I could still tell this wasn't brilliantly written. Maybe it's because I could get stupidly excited when I understood some of the physics or related to Thaniel's musical struggle. I think it was more that I began reading it as one thing and saw it transform seamlessly into another