The Harry Potter Tag

Tag time! It's Monday and we get married on Thursday...whaaatt?! Unrelated but needed to be mentioned haha. Anyway, as of now we have every other Monday scheduled to be tag post days and as you might of realized we are in the 8 out of 10 humans who like Harry Potter. Ta-da! Harry Potter Tag.

1. What is your favourite book?

Mrs: I used to always say Prisoner of Azkaban, but it seems the obvious choice and I haven't re-read them for a couple years. So I dunno.

Mr: I've never actually read them all. Its currently one of the many series I'm reading!

2. What is your favourite film?

Mrs: Maybe the Deathly Hallows? I like them as they become darker.

Mr: Mr: Ermmm I would have to say the Goblet of Fire, I like how they portray the tri-wizard competition and the quidditch world cup.

3. What is your least favourite book?

Mrs: Again, I haven't read them for a couple years so I can't pin point anything specific that would make me be able to definitely rank the books.

Mr: Please refer to answer of question 1!

4. What is your least favourite film?

Mrs: ...Goblet of Fire? "DID YA PUT YA NAME IN DA GOBLEDDAH FIYAH"

Mr: Deathly Hallows Part 1. The start of the film is great, with the wedding and death eater attack, but it soon seems to become a movie to stretch the story out to an extra movie while they hunt for the horcruxes.

5. Parts of the books/ films that make you cry.

Mrs: How long do we have? Animal/creature deaths obviously, heart-warming moments like things with Hagrid, Dumbledore's death, lots more.

Mr: I don't cry at books or movies, but I don't like when Dobbie dies. Also when Dumbledore dies.

6. Who is your favourite character?

Mrs: I love most of the creatures/animals, Luna (Like most people), Molly Weasley.

Mr: I think I would have to say Snape. I would love a potions lesson with him and I feel he's underrated as a wizard, he is far better/stronger/smarter than people give him credit for.

7. Who is your least favourite character?

Mrs: Although he's the title character Harry isn't my fave, though obviously I dislike Umbridge and Lockhart but Cedric is my most disliked I think.

Mr: Professor Umbridge! I mean come on who doesn't want to punch her.

8. What is your favourite line?

Mrs: ''We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are.''

Mr: I don't think I can answer before I finish reading the series.

9. What would your Patronus be?

Mrs: It's apparently a Dapple Gray Mare according to Pottermore.

Mr: I think it would be a cat, I assume that's no surprise? You have seen Eos and Aurora in our pictures!

10. If you could have the Resurrection Stone, Invisibility Cloak or Elder Wand, which would it be?

Mrs: Anyone who doesn't chose the cloak obviously didn't read The Tale of the Three Brothers.

Mr: Invisibility cloak obviously, come on you have seen the movies/maybe read Tales of Beedle the Bard.

11. Which house would you be in?

Mrs: 'Would'? I am a Hufflepuff. (See my tattoo above...)

Mr: Hufflepuff of course!!!

12. If you could meet any member of the cast, who would it be?

Mrs: The animal actors.

Mr: Any of the animal actors!! But if that answer doesn't count then I guess Hagrid (in character).

13. If you were on the quidditch team, which position would you play?

Mrs: I wouldn't be. I'd be in the library or the woods avoiding all the noise and commotion.

Mr: Ermm I don't do sports really, I guess beater? You get a bat!

14. Were you happy with the ending?

Mrs: At first no, just like most people. But like everything that comes to an end you have to trust the author because it's their world really and that's how they wanted to end it. I was fitting I think. Though don't ask me about Cursed Child.

Mr: Yes I think so. Like I say I haven't read all the books so I didn't have any expectations or clue how the story went.

15. How much does Harry Potter mean to you?

Mrs: There is something Potter in pretty much every room of our house, I have a Hufflepuff tattoo and constantly refer back to the books for quotes etc. I'm not going to be one of those people who say 'It saved my life!' and all that jazz but the world definitely gave me somewhere to escape in some extremely dark times when I was in school.

Mr: Harry Potter means lot to me, it's a great story and the whole wizarding world/universe is huge which gives it even more depth. I love finding out back stories and things about the wizarding world not related to the movies.

As I edited this post together it was funny to see how similar some of our answers were! (Mr Hallow completed his answers on his commute.)  If you enjoyed this keep an eye out next month for a Harry Potter/Wizarding World book collection post...!!


💀 Mr & Mrs Hallow 💀

Book Collection Tour: Part 1

As the title of the post suggests, this is the first of a few peeks into our book collection. Starting off with our cabinet in the living room, you'll see we are in full Halloween mode (and have been since October 1st to be honest) and I wasn't going to be taking the decs down just for a blog post, so excuse and look beyond. So you can tell how it usually looks, the only actual 'Halloween' additions are the obvious pumpkins, cobwebs and the black light wreath. Come take a closer look....

It would make sense to begin at the beginning so top shelf first, eh? The 'Disney' shelf. Here there are, at time of writing, a total of 34 titles including Twisted Tales, Books of the Movies and some of my favourite possesions - the Tales from the Haunted Mansion series which are just beautiful.
Unlike the vast percentage of our overall collection, almost all of these books have been bought brand new, even preordered, meaning they probably cost us more money than all the books on another of our bookcases.

Working our way down to the middle shelf, the home to our 'prettiest' books. I don't care what anyone says, we all judge books by the cover in some way, shape or form and Mr H and I are happily very guilty of this. We love old books, hardback books without their slipcovers, glided pages and embossed spines...you get the gist. This section changes often as we collect more and more beautiful books but at this time it's home to 20.

The final shelf is pretty self explanatory it would seem! A few, well only 10, of my Harry Potter books. If you saw this post [click here] you'll know that Mr H is a keen Tolkien collector, my things are Disney and Potter! In an upcoming post I will share my full Harry Potter book collection so far, though you'll see here I have the Hufflepuff Editions that are availible, Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts screen plays and the illustrated editions also accompanied by a couple cute bits.

We really love our cabinet and hope you've enjoyed having a look at what we have on it. There is a tiny bit more room amongst the 64 books here but of course we enjoy having it more as a diplay unit with ornamental object too.
That's it! We do have another 3 or so bookcase tour posts to share with you over the coming months which we're looking forward to putting together!
Feel free to let us know your thoughts and about how you store or display your books in the comments below.


💀 Mr & Mrs Hallow 💀

October Book Un-Haul

An un-haul? We're getting rid of books? Nooooo!!!
Usually we wouldn't bat an eye lid at packing a bag and shipping it off down to the charity shop but seeing as this seems to actually be a thing now, we thought why not show you what books we're getting rid of and why. Until we decided to do this post I didn't think we actually had that many in the 'donate' pile'...we have a couple though...and some of them may seem a little weird...

Lauren Luke by Lauren Luke [Paperback – 1 Oct 2009]

This is a make up instruction book from a YouTuber. Totally, 100% not me at all. However, I got this when it came out purely because Lauren is from Newcastle and I had to support a local gal. It's going because I just don't use it and haven't really. I have always done my make up however I want without any tutorial etc so don't need it really I suppose.

Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo by Andy Greenwald [Paperback – 15 Nov 2003]

Maybe partial read, but for sure nothing I've ever read in it's entirety. I bought it when I was an early teen and into certain bands, which apparently lead me to this and the following book. Funnily, I'm pretty sure that these two books were some of my first ever Amazon purchases. They no longer have a place in our primarily fiction collection. 

Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide to Emo Culture by Trevor Kelley [Paperback – 24 Apr 2007]

Similar sitch to the book above honestly, however when I bought it I didn't fully expect it to be what it is. Not a fan and not needed by us!

Mome 20 : Fall 2010 by Eric Reynolds [Paperback – 24 Nov 2010]

Mr H got this because he liked the look of it and it was different from other comic book style things he'd read before, but after he'd had a flick through decided it wasn't for him.

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin [x2]

The thing when you have two readers coming together and combining your collections is you're going to have duplicates. We both have copies of this book in different covers and we're actually getting rid of both so that we can replace them with the cover that matches the rest of the collection we have. 

The Rescuers Down Under, Disney's Wonderful World of Reading [Hardback 1993]

It seems to be quite easy to buy repeats of books when you collect larger series' and don't have a photographic memory. I try to keep an up to date photo on my phone of specific collections to stop this happening but my bad!

Grimm's Fairy Tales (Children's Classics series) by The Brothers Grimm [Paperback – 31 Jan 1996]

As above...

The Railway Children (Puffin Classics) by E. Nesbit [Paperback – 26 May 1994]

As above again!

The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey Into the Dark Side of the Brain by James Fallon [Paperback – 20 Nov 2014]

Only purchased last year, this seems such a waste of money now. I bought it new while considering going back to school for psychology  and haven't even opened it up. Now it feels far too serious for me in my recent frame of mind.

Walt Disney: Dreams Really Do Come True! by Jason Liller [Paperback – 1 Mar 2013]

Urgh, this one I'm so annoyed about. When I ordered it from Amazon I was expecting a proper book...Not this.

The Two Pound Tram by William Newton [Paperback – 1 Nov 2004]

The story behind this one is a little funny. We had a pile of books in a little indie book store that we handed over to pay for. When we got home this was also in our bag so we assume it was on the bottom of one of the numerous piles stacked around the register and we either inadvertently paid for another book or accidently stole it. Oops.

Tattoo by Earl Thompson [Paperback – 12 Aug 1977]

Mr H literally only bought this because of the title, due to his interest in Tattoos. Titles are deceiving...

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown [Paperback 01 Apr 2003]

I've had this for at least 14 years, tried to read it a few times back then and have just lost interest in trying. 

The One and Only Ivan by K. A. Applegate [2 February 2012]

Hands up, yes, I wanted this because I loved the cover but then the wrong cover came, I actually read the blurb and now I don't want it.

Getting rid of these few books will make much needed room on our shelves for a little while. A very little while. As you'll see Eos and Aurora were interested to get in on the action too so I had to include them here, especially when Aurora posed so nicely!
Do you get rid of any of your books? What do you do with them? Ours will be going to the charity shop for Farplace Animal Rescue. Pop by their website here.

💀 Mr & Mrs Hallow 💀

Barter Books - Alnwick, Northumberland

Welcome to a new mini series here on the Pages of the Hallows blog!

If you've read more that what, two, of our posts, it'll be common knowledge to you that we primarily buy books pre-loved at charity shops. Budget book buyers for sure. However, we do also love a good second hand book store...ones with a bit of history or uniqueness to them to be specific. We decided that it'd be cool to show you around a few stores, museums and other book/writer related places we either frequent or visit for the first time.

To kick it off, Barter Books in Alnwick, Northumberland (North East England for any international pals).

I'll be pretty surprised if any UK book enthusiasts haven't heard of Barter Books if I'm honest. One of the largest second hand book stores in the UK, Barter Books is pretty famous! It's situated in the old Alnwick railway station which was designed by William Bell and opened in 1887 closing in 1968. It's history as a station is interesting on it's own, but we're here to talk books! 

Barter Books opened it's doors in 1991 and is named thusly as it was initially meant for customers to shop via the trade/barter system.

Above you'll see images taken from the outside, car park and front entrance. As you go in the front door you'll find a cosy and deceiving little room with lantern like lightshades, a real log fire and sofas to sit and enjoy your new purchase on or chat to other visitors. This room used to be the station parcel's room! To your right as you come through the door is the original barred window through which passengers would purchase tickets and now looks onto the children's book room - the original entrance.

Walking through the next doorway to the middle room the vastness of this store starts to become apparent, still concealing it's main event just yet, with higher ceilings, light spilling through the roof and a mini maze of book shelves topped by the super cool working model railway. The till is situated here and the room leads onto the café (old waiting room), children's room and the biggest room which began life as the outgoing platform.
The middle room is also home to a 38 x 16 foot mural showing off some famous writers. It was painted by Peter Dodd a local artist and took him two years to paint.

Saying 'there is so much to look at!' when you're in a book store is kind of a 'Duh!' statement, but seriously, after visiting Barter Books at least half a dozen times I still spot new things - like the water fountain in the images below. Yes, it works!
Something else that's interesting to know is to do with the well known 'Keep Calm and Carry On' posters. Used during the war to raise spirits it wasn't until an original 1939 copy was found in a box at the book store that the iconic phenomena took off. Take a look at this video to learn more.

Lastly I'll quickly mention the mural in this final image. It was commissioned in 2005 as a reminder to all who visit that the railway system, that has spanned the world, came to being right here in the North East. It features coats of arms representing the North Eastern Railway company, the London and North Eastern Railway company and British Railways, as well as the names of all the men and women who were known to have worked at the station through it's working duration with the Stationmasters being highlighted in red. As someone who has a huge interest in trains, particular the history of the railway, I find this really lovely.

These are just a few images we captured on our last visit here in early October and can never convey the sheer impact and ambiance the building has. Visit Barter Books' website here to learn more and be sure to pop in for an (impossible) quick visit if you're up in our neck of the woods!

Thanks for reading! Let us know what you think of this series idea and tell us about interesting stores near you in the comments below.


💀 Mr & Mrs Hallow 💀

20 Questions Book Tag

As this is a new blog we thought we would take the opportunity to stick in a tag post. They are fun, quick and share more information about our reading styles in an easy going format. Plus that way we don't use the all of our good content at once! This first tag we decided to do is 20 question book tag we found randomly on YouTube and we would love to hear what you think or leave a link to your similar posts in the comments.

How many books are too many for a series?

Mr: The more the merrier!

Mrs: I think you have to cut it off at 10 max, though it also depends on the lengths of the books too. For the record, the best series' have 7...

How do you feel about cliff-hangers?

Mr: I like them. It makes me excited for the next book.

Mrs: Annoyed.

Hardcover or Paperback?

Mr: Hardback.

Mrs: Hardback for the collection, paperback to actually read.

Favourite book?

Mr: The Lord of the Rings.

Mrs: That is impossible to answer. I really love The Horse and his boy from the Chronicles of Narnia, The Invention of Hugo Cabaret and The Complete Sherlock Holmes collection to name a few.

Least favourite book?

Mr: That's a hard question...probably The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Mrs: According to my Goodreads some of my lowest rated reads are Phantastes by George MacDonald, Great Expectations and The Beast Within by Serena Valentino.

Love triangles: yes or no?

Mr: No.

Mrs: I don't really read things with love/relationships/soppy stuff anyway.

The most recent book you couldn't finish?

Mr: Probably The Silmarillion, even though I have read it in the past, I couldn't get through it last time.

Mrs: Fun fact, I don't DNF anything! I force myself to read things even if I hate them, just like with movies. I have really struggled to get through Wyrd Sisters by Terry Prachett though! The no chapter, run on layout made it really difficult for me.

A book you're currently reading?

Mr: The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss.

Mrs: A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle.

Last book you recommended to someone?

Mr: The Wheel of Time.

Mrs: I'm forever recommending all of the Narnia and Oz series to people who have only read 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' and 'The Wizard of Oz' but other than those The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.

Oldest book you've read, by publication date?

Mr: Probably The Hobbit, I think.

Mrs: Either something by Edgar Allen Poe or the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales both or which will be late 1820s early 1830s...I think!

Newest book you've read by publication date?

Mr: The 15:17 to Paris by Alek Skarlatos published 23th August 2016.

Mrs: Memento Mori (Tales from the Haunted Mansion #4) by Amicus Arcane published 16th July 2019.

Favourite author?

Mr: J. R. R. Tolkien

Mrs: Probably Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, yay!

Buying books or borrowing books?

Mr: Buying.

Mrs: Buying. Especially preloved books.

A book you dislike that everyone seems to love?

Mr: Hunger Games/Divergent.

Mrs: Most Shakespeare, Dickens and some other classics. I think they're overrated and people only like them because of the names and fame tied to them. I don't mind Macbeth but other than that...meh.

Bookmarks or dogears?

Mr: Bookmarks.

Mrs: Bookmarks!! Do not fold pages or break spines please!

A book you can always re-read?

Mr: The Hobbit.

Mrs: Cliche, Harry Potter. I've read the series at least 5 times fully, maybe up to 10. It's helped me get out of reading slumps when I've had readers block and all.

Can you read while listening to music?

Mr: No, I like to read in the quiet.

Mrs: I can't do anything while reading except reading.

One POV or multiple?

Mr: Either - I enjoy both!

Mrs: As long as there aren't a silly amount and they are separated well, I have no preference really.

Do you read a book in one sitting or over multiple days?

Mr: Multiple days.

Mrs: Hahaha next joke! In one sitting?! I think the last time I did that was when the Deathly Hallows came out. I was 16.

An author, book or series you have pre-judged/have no interest in?

Mr: Well I would have said Stephen King...but as you can see from Our October TBR post I'm going to read The Gun Slinger so that may change my opinion I guess!

Mrs: Without even reading it I know I dislike the typical Twilight, Hunger Games, Vampire Diaries stuff. I can't even get past the blurbs. I'm not interested in the plots and as petty as it sounds I don't like the covers either.

💀 Mr & Mrs Hallow 💀

JRR Tolkien Collection

As you may have noticed by now I (Mr Hallow) am a huge Tolkien fan. I was always a massive fan of the Lord of the Rings movies, and eventually a few years ago decided to read the books. This sparked my passion for reading. Now any time I see a book written by or about anything Tolkien related I have to buy it, this being said we only really buy books from charity shops/second hand book stores hence us not owning some on the beautiful books we see in Waterstones ect.
We thought we would use this post to show you the few books we have managed to collect up to this point in time.

Like any book enthusiast I have my favourites, the paperback edition in the black covers are my favourite looks wise. I love the dark matt covers with the shiny black runes and symbolism, I'm still missing this edition of the hobbit to complete the set, however I will pick it up soon. My other favourite from the collection is the hardback trilogy book illustrated by Alan Lee not only do I love the brown fabric of the book and the way it looks on the shelf but the illustrations and maps in this book are great. keeping with Alan Lee the last book I want to mention is my copy of the children on húrin, although I haven't actually got around to reading this I love the illustrations and every time I look at them I get so excited to read this.

At the moment I would say my collection I fairly small, I don't currently own any rare or valuable editions but some day I plan to. The book I own the most edition of is the hobbit I have five different editions one of which being a pop out children's book. I also own three books by Tolkien which aren't part of "the lord of the rings" they are The Silmarillon, The Children of Húrin and The Lost Tales part 1, out of which I have only read the The Silmarillion. I currently have my eye on the leather bound/flexibound books by David Day but I cant decide which to get first! Although I think I'm drawn towards "The Hobbits of Tolkien". I hope this post isn't too boring - it is my first blog post I have written without the help of Mrs H! So please bare with my I will get better at this!! With that being said let me know how I've done and tag me in your Tolkien post and pictures ect!

💀 Mr Hallow 💀

October TBR Lists

To be read in October! As we mentioned in our previous posts, we're very passionate about buying books...however we suck at getting through many of them! In 2018 Mrs H read 28 books and did even better in 2017 with 43 reads, while Mr H read 10 in 2017 also dropping with a mere 4 in 2018.
So to combat this slump without challenging ourselves too much we've decided to do this - a 3 book TBR list each, with one being chosen by the other person and whatever does not get completed (over 150 pages left) must be carried over to the next again month as one of the 3. (If under 150 pages are left it should be completed the next month too, in addition to rather than in place of one of the other 3 TBR picks!). Following so far? Haha!

Here are our lists for October!

Mr Hallow

The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss

The Gunslinger - Stephen King

Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer  [Mrs H's Pick]

Mrs Hallow

Labyrinth - Kate Mosse [to complete 41% left]

A Wind in the Door - Madeleine L'Engle

The Twisted Tree - Rachel Burge [Mr H's pick]

October is a busy month for us in general with Mrs H's birthday and the usual, biggest day of the year, Halloween with all its extras. 2019 is an extra special Halloween though, the day we officially become Mr & Mrs! Let's see how much reading we manage to fit in around all that other excitement! We'll let you know in November if we finish completely, trail behind or even manage to sneak a forth read into the mix. Place your bets now!


💀 Mr & Mrs Hallow 💀

September Book Haul

As our introductory post touched upon, we kinda like buying and collecting books... But seeing as we're not exactly rolling in it, our shopping venues mostly consist of charity shops and the odd independent second hand book store.

This post was planned to have gone up sooner, however technical difficulties (really - the laptop gave up and we had to get a replacement) it's just being published now. Anyway, these are the few books we added to our shelves in September!

Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

Paperback Puffin Classics - 1994

Cancer Research charity shop

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan

Paperback Parragon Childrens Classic  – 1 Jan 1994

Farplace Animal Rescue charity shop

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Paperback Puffin Classics  – Abridged, 26 Jan 1995

Cancer Research charity shop 

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Paperback Kingfisher Classic – 18 Jul 2005

The Red Cross charity shop 

Viking Fire by Justin Hill

Paperback – 7 Sep 2017

Oxfam charity shop 

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Paperback Puffin Classics - 1995

Cancer Research charity shop 

The End Of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas

Paperback – 12 Jun 2008

Cancer Research charity shop 

Mr Sparks by Danny Weston

Paperback – 1 Oct 2015

Cancer Research charity shop

The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge

Paperback – 10 Jan 2019

Oxfam charity shop 

The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien

Paperback from Box Set  – 1997

British Heart Foundation charity shop

The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien

Paperback from Box Set  – 1997

British Heart Foundation charity shop

The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Hardcover The Great Writers Library  – 1 Jan 1987

Oxfam charity shop

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: by Jules Verne

Hardcover Regent Classics

British Heart Foundation charity shop

Out of the above, 3 are repeats in our collection. Mr H collects different editions and things relating to Lord of the Rings so get used to seeing similar things in other haul posts!
A couple are older, hardback 'pretty spine' books that we prefer the look of to modern binds...another probable running theme. Other than that's it's a bit of a mix which, over time, might give a better idea of our tastes and the multiple different types of things we collect just because of the 'series' or edition they are. Hopefully there'll be a little haul for October too, there'll be a compilation one in November if not because if we hadn't mentioned we get officially married this month!


💀 Mr & Mrs Hallow 💀