#SecretBookBlogger Packages # 1

As some of you may be aware, last month Beth, Lynsey and I came together and formed the idea for the #SecretBookBloggers Pen Pal exchange! We asked book bloggers from around the UK to come together and sign up if they were interested. On the 1st the month, names were drawn from a hat to decide who would be mailing who as their pen friend for the month of May. I got the lovely Lynsey over at @lynseybfarmer as my sending to Pen Pal so I constructed her up this package as featured below.

I'm not going to spoil what's hidden under the brown paper  incase Lynsey hasn't received it yet, but I will give you a few clues.

* A secondhand book chosen from my bookshelves based on Lynsey's genre preference.

*An item for emergencies when books just aren't enough to de-stress you.

*A handwritten letter answering her questions, sealed with my wax seal of course.

*A piece of book/fandom merchandise. (This can be passed on if needed.)

* A bookmark signed by me with a challenge attached. This challenge invites Lynsey to sign it herself and then pass it on with the instructions to the next blogger she sends too. This will go on and on until the bookmark makes it back to me, and hopefully it will be covered with friends signatures!

The focus of this Pen Pal project is not on expense, hence why a lot of what I sent I already owned and I thought Lynsey would appreciate. Hopefully she does!

Now onto the exciting part because the person who received me to send to was the wonderful Sara from @sarasbookblog on Twitter. I had no idea what I was going to be receiving but it arrived this morning and it's absolutely perfect!

So first of all I received this lovely penguin classic postcard! I was going to send my own out to Lynsey but I couldn't find them, they'll be in a box somewhere...

On the back of the postcard is lovely handwritten note where Sara introduces herself, tells me about when she created her blog and why as well as her favourite genres which happen to be 'crime/psychological thriller & fiction' Sara also highlights how she's noticed my love of YA fiction and goes on to ask two questions which I will answer in a bit. However I have to point out that Sara also sent me a pack of four magnetic bookmarks. I literally had a secret squeal when I saw these because I've been after magnetic bookmarks for so long but could never quite choose which ones I fancied. Sara picked for me and I love them - I'm even using one right now as I hold my place in Rogue by Julie Kagawa so that I can type up this post! So rest assured Sara they will be well used! 

Now onto the questions that Sara has asked!

1. Do I enjoy genres other than YA?

I do yes! I am a huge fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy novels. If my bookshelf isn't overflowing with YA then those are two of the other genres you will find on my shelf! I'm not going to include Contemporary because I'm pretty sure a lot of the Contemporary I own are all classified under YA!

2. Do you reckon you could pick your favourite book of all time?

Oh come on! That is so difficult!! Okay, okay I can do this... or at least I can try. I'm afraid I'm going to have to go quite cliche with my answer Sara but I'm going to have to go Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by the literary queen, J.K.Rowling. I hate to be so obvious but Harry Potter was such a large influence on my life, the first book especially. When I was younger books allowed me to escape to wherever my mind could take me, and with J.K. Rowling introducing a wizarding school and the main protagonist being a boy wizard - well that felt totally relatable and from then I was hooked. To this day I live in a Harry Potter bedroom (but that's only because I haven't gotten round to decorating yet, but shh!)

So that is it! That's everything I received from Sara and I just want to express my immense gratitude towards her because she didn't have to send what she did, but I love them so much! I might make this a regular segment on my blog - each month showing you what I sent and what I received (that is if I take part every single month!) Until next time, take care!