Showcase Sunday #25

Showcase Sunday is hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea.

It's been a few weeks since I did a Showcase Sunday, so here are a couple of things I've picked up recently, and a few reviews!

BUT FIRST: Yesterday some of my friends and I went to the Harry Potter Experience at Warner Brothers Studios outside London! It was a lot of fun, and there was so much to look at - a lot more than I was expecting. It was quite overwhelming at times, trying to take it all in - there were lots of little details and things you could quite easily miss (for instance, I loved that they had the house points counter in the Great Hall, but totally missed the Black family tapestry later on!).

I will try and write a full post on it sometime soon (and I am thinking about a HP re-read if anyone is interested in joining me over the summer), but I thought I'd post a couple of pictures here:

4 Privet Drive (ext.)

Diagon Alley

Hogwarts scale model

Highlights: Walking down Diagon Alley (a lot smaller than I expected!), seeing the complete model of Hogwarts, the exterior of 4 Privet Drive, walking across the Hogwarts bridge, and the Gryffindor common room / boys' dormitory sets - including the jumpers knitted by Mrs Weasley for Harry and Ron in the first film. :)

Anyway, on to the books...

Library

A couple of weeks ago I picked up The Dinner by Herman Koch, a Dutch novel that I reserved a while ago. I read this within a couple of days (short chapters = excellent for train commute!), and thought it was excellent. Highly recommended - review here! (This also counts for my 2013 Translation Challenge, run by Ellie, which I am having a lot of fun with.)

Netgalley

I received an eARC of Confessions of An Almost Girlfriend by Louise Rozett - thanks to MiraInk/Harlequin UK. I have started reading this on my Kindle to and from work, and am really enjoying it so far.

Recent reviews

The Hidden Child - Camilla Läckberg (7.5/10) - Swedish crime novel with some realistic domestic subplots.

Steal My Sunshine - Emily Gale (7/10) - New contemporary Australian YA with some interesting historical elements as part of the backstory.

It's Different for Girls - Jo Brand (5.5/10) - Funny novel about growing up as a teenage girl in 70s Hastings.

A Hat Full of Sky - Terry Pratchett (6/10) - The return of Tiffany Aching, as she learns how to be a witch (and why it's not quite as glamorous as she thought).

(After reading Steal My Sunshine, I wanted to find out more about the laundries that girls like Essie were sent to, so last night I ended up watching The Magdalene Sisters, a 2002 film made with Irish/Scottish backing and documenting what life in these laundries was like. Recommended.)