Monthly Playlist: August

Hello again guys; I’m sorry that I’ve been terrible at uploading blog posts this month but ultimately I wanted to have a bit of time out and basically look after myself a bit. I’ve had a batch of flu that stretched out into a cold for three weeks, which was horrible. However, as always I’ve been listening to my iPod to and from work, but I’ll admit that this months collection of songs is a little more strange (even for me) than usual, oops. As anyone who is familiar with my blog will know, I love listening to a range of artists, genres and songs at any time so my playlists can be fairly random but that’s how I like it. At the moment I’m loving Spanish & Latino songs as well as English songs as a little bit of culture never hurts anyone, haha. I’m hoping that next month will be better and so I’ll be posting more like usual, fingers crossed. In the meantime, I’ll be listening to these songs to get to work and back everyday! What songs are you loving at the moment? Let me know in the comments!

1. Crying for No Reason - Katy B

2. Suerte (Whenever, Wherever) - Shakira

3. Nota de Amor - Wisin & Carlos Vives (feat. Daddy Yankee)

4. One Kiss - Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa

5. Never Be the Same - Camila Cabello

6. Amor, Amor, Amor - Jennifer Lopez (feat. Wisin)

7. Only You - Cheat Codes & Little Mix

8. Rumba y Candela - Daddy Yankee

9. Mi Mala - Muy y Ricky & Karol G

10. Me Enamoré - Shakira

11. She Loves Control - Camila Cabello

12. If You’re Over Me - Years & Years

13. Like I Did - Leadley

14. Chantaje - Shakira

15. Love Lies - Khalid & Normani

Book Review: The Miniaturist

After reading The Muse by Jessie Burton, I knew that I wanted to read her debut. I wasn’t disappointed, I love the whimsical, yet factual way that she writes. The Miniaturist takes inspiration from one of the many doll’s houses on display in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Owned by Petronella Oortman, it then corresponds well with the main character of the novel. Nella arrives at her new home, her marital home with only herself and her pet bird, expecting to be greeted by her new husband before seeing only two servants and her new sister-in-law. She’s only just eighteen, but as a reader you have to remind yourself that this is a fairly ordinary situation for a seventeenth century young girl to put in. Her father has died and left her family very poor so as the eldest child, Nella has been expected to marry well to save her siblings. However, her new life seems to be a house full of secrets and not a single person welcomes her, especially not her new husband Johannes. Nella describes how her mother has given her an expectation of what married life will be like, but hers seems to be not at all what she expects, spending every night and many of her days alone and wondering why her husband is rarely at the house.

However, Nella is arguable lucky because she has married into the rich Brandt merchant family so her social standing is relatively high for such a young girl, although that it partly due to the fact that Johannes is at least twenty years older than she is. Johannes commissions a Cabinet (a doll’s house) which is a miniature model of her marital house as a wedding gift and she is given money from Marin, her sister-in-law to furnish the cabinet with which is where the Miniaturist becomes a player in the novel. Nella writes and commissions the Miniaturist for a few items, which she receives; however in the coming months she begins receiving items that she didn’t ask for. Cornelia, the maid and Marin believe the superstitions that miniatures bring bad luck, but Nella believes that they are leading the way, that there is something she must discover from the cryptic clues that she is being given. For such a young girl, Nella has a remarkable amount of strength. She is determined to be a good wife, regardless of what that means or how difficult it is; in time, her household do come to respect her and the decisions that she makes on behalf of them at various points in the novel.

There are many key players in this novel including Nella, Johannes, Cornelia, Marin and finally Otto, the manservant of the house, alongside the Meermans and the Miniaturist. Otto is the one charcter who stands of physically as he is African; there are many descriptions of him being treated differently and Nella is astounded to see him upon her arrival at her marital home. Through the range of characters as readers we witness a variety themes being explored, such as homophobia, sexuality, feminism, racism and sin. Early on, Nella realised that her dreams of having children are unlikely to ever happen and so some of the twists later on in the novel are completely unexpected. The house of secrets slowly unfolds and we are able to witness a range of unexpected events; somehow, over time, Nella does eventually become the official mistress of the house and often takes charge, which showed to the reader just how much she matured as the novel progressed. In fact, it was interested to see how much her character developed from a innocent child to a strong woman in the space of a few hundred pages. Whereas Johannes and Marin seemed to trust Nella more as time went on, almost encouraging her to think and work for herself, to protect their household. 

Overall, I really loved this book; Jessie Burton is a fantastic storyteller and honestly, I was surprised that this is a debut novel as it’s more or less flawlessly devised. However, one issue that I had with this novel is that the ends were not fully tied; too much was left to the readers imagination and on the one hand, that’s enjoyable as it does make you think, but on the other hand it’s also incredibly frustrating as I (and I’m sure many others) wanted full closure after so many tragic events. This novel drew me in very quickly as I loved the writing style and the plot line in general. There were a few discrepancies, however; for example I was fairly confused by where the Miniaturist came into the story, it felt like her character wasn’t really explored or developed enough and so neither was the suggested idea of superstition and witchcraft surrounding her craftsmanship which was a disappointment for me as I found the cabinet to be a key player in the overall plot for the majority of the novel. I suppose, in fairness that this discrepancy also fits with the lack of tying ends; perhaps I was expecting far too much as I enjoyed this novel so much. Even with the few disappointments, it was written beautifully enough that I can happily excuse Burton and encourage anyone reading this review to read this novel as it is a delight. I love the idea that everyone has secrets hidden in plain view.

Harry Potter Haul #2

Hey guys, this is a fairly recent selection of some Harry Potter related items that I’ve purchased recently; I went to Primark in the hopes of finding a cauldron mug that I’d set my heart on but sadly it was nowhere to be seen. On the plus side, I found a lovely Gryffindor cushion that was an absolute bargain for £4, as well as three pairs of Harry Potter socks for £4 too. The socks caught my eye as I wanted some that didn’t have the houses on, it’s nice to mix it up a bit. I’ve always loved the view of the castle an the lightning bolt is an absolute classic so I knew I had to buy them. The Primark Harry Potter range is actually really lovely quality for such a pocket friendly price too. I bought some Fantastic Beasts items too; two books from eBay, the first is a making of  movie book which I snapped up for about £3 and the second is the screenplay book, also from eBay for roughly £4. I was really happy for the value for money from these books, especially as the screenplay cover design is so beautiful. The Oblivate Notebook was bought for me by my boyfriend for £7.99 from Waterstones and it’s so cute and also has a lovely cover design.

I’ve been purchasing a lot of Harry Potter books lately, I like the idea of collecting unusual or rare editions, but I’ve been mostly buying second hand via eBay or amazon for excellent prices. The Expecto Patronum Notebook is something that I had my eyes on for a while but I’d been persuading myself that it was an unnecessary purchase but for £13 I ended up giving in due to free delivery... I have no regrets as it’s a Moleskine notebook so the quality of the paper and the cover is incredible and definitely worth every penny. Plus, the Prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite book so it’s a great way to pay homage to that. My next purchase was the Slytherin cover edition of the 20th Anniversary Philosopher’s Stone. I managed to find it for £8 on eBay and that was fantastic as it’s a first edition. I’m a Gryffindor, but I’m planning to collect all four of the house cover in hardback and I know I’m getting the Gryffindor one as a present, so I decided to buy the Slytherin one first. I like how each edition has information about the house and some beautiful illustrations at the beginning of the book and at the start of each chapter. Ravenclaw is definitely next on the list.

Finally, I have two other editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone; a paperback and a hardback. I bought them both from eBay and they’re technically both first editions. The paperback is a Bloomsbury printed edition; technically a first edition but it’s a late print (around 30+) but it is a 1997 original, with Dumbledore on the back. This edition is exactly like the version I read as a child, before I lent it out and never got it back. For £5 it was a bargain considering it’s age and the condition is great, it looks unread. The hardback version is a little more unusual. It’s a first edition and first printing, but it was printed by Ted Smart for the Book People in 1998 and it is essentially a copy of the original 1997 Bloomsbury first edition. For example, the Dumbledore on the back is a young wizard, not the elderly wizard that we all know and love. I bought this for an absolute steal of £3 from eBay, which is insane considering the rarity of this book; I doubt there were many made of this. Let me know in the comments what you think of my purchases and I’ll see you guys very soon! :)

Gryffindor Pillow - Set of 3 Harry Potter Socks 

Inside the Magic: The Making of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them - Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them: The Original Screenplay - Insights Obliviate A5 Journal 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 20th Anniversary Slytherin Hardback Edition - Moleskine Expecto Patronum Limited Edition Notebook - Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Ted Smart 1st Edition

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 20th Anniversary Slytherin Hardback Edition - Moleskine Expecto Patronum Limited Edition Notebook - Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Ted Smart 1st Edition - Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 1997 Bloomsbury Publishing Paperback

25 Goals for 25 Years of Age

 

Hey again! I actually did a post similar to this before I turned 21, although that was something that I posted as a one off almost; it was before I really started blogging as a serious hobby. However I did enjoy writing it and I feel like blogging is a fantastic way of documenting the high (and low) points of your life. 25 feels like such an important number; it's the kind of age that when you're a child you think you'll be 25, married with kids and a house etc etc. Basically when you're small you believe that 25 is seriously old and your life will be all sorted! In reality, none of these things will be happening for me, but that doesn't mean that I don't have a huge list of things that I'd like to achieve before that age! So here is 25 things that I'd like to achieve before 25! (Or least within my 25th year of life!) That said, I don't have long to plan as I'm already 24, but a girl can dream, right?

1. Get a piercing. (What and where, I have no idea).

2. Visit at least three more countries in Europe that I've always wanted to explore and make the most of every minute. In January I'm visiting Copenhagen in Denmark and Oslo in Norway, so that's a start, but I'd like to see more of the world over the next year if possible.

3. Stop talking about getting more fit or losing weight and actually start making the change to see it through. Join the gym and actually go on a regular basis.

4. Rediscover my love for photography and take the time to document my life and what I see; buy a camera and create the kinds of images that I love, rather than just using my phone.

5. Learn (or at least try to learn) another language.

6. See the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Play.

7. Learn the names and locations of all of the countries of the world.

8. Visit the Harry Potter Studio Tour and relive my childhood dream of attending Hogwarts!

9. Have a romantic dinner on a rooftop, or high up where you can see the world from above, somewhere like the Shard, whether that's with a friend or with family, I want to feel on top of the world for a while.

10. Do an ancestry DNA test and find out my family history, as I know that there is definitely some Welsh, Irish and German but I want to know for sure.

11. Learn to relax and stop constantly overthinking; let go of the past and move on. Cut out all of the anxious thoughts and feelings and just live in the moment.

12. Get a second tattoo. (Where, or what I'm not 100% sure, oops).

13. Start a scrapbook and document all of the good times and memories I've had so far in my life. I have countless photographs printed out everywhere that I want to collate them all somewhere and so scrapbooking looks like a good hobby to start up.

14. Buy a ticket to somewhere, anywhere on a whim and see where life decides to take me for a day (or more, depending on my mood). Over the last year I've definitely become more relaxed and I'm trying to be open to spontaneity.

15. See a fortuneteller; ever since I was a child I've been interested in the spiritual world and I've love to see what a professional could tell me about my past, my present and my future.

16. Start saving. It's taken a while to get to the point where I can even contemplate the idea of saving money as I've had some financial issues over the past couple of years that were genuinely not my fault. Now I'm sorting my life out, I want to start properly having a savings plan and think about about the future.

17. Spend more time having fun and less time stressing out; I want to make an effort to see my friends more regularly, especially those who I've definitely neglected recently. I have a good bunch of friends and I need to remember to take some time out and spend time with them as memories don't get made otherwise! I want to spend a lot of time with my best friend as she's been so consistently supportive of me over the last few years.

18. Read at least 50 books that I've never read before; that's not a difficult task, but I really want to keep up with reading as a hobby and blogging has definitely helped that. I've found reading to be a fantastic way of relaxing.

19. Get back into dancing; from 4 years old until I was 17 I used to go to dancing lessons, my absolute favourite was ballet and I really want to get back into it. I used to dream about being a professional (was never going to happen, ahaha) but I’d love to rekindle my love of dance, especially ballet. I definitely want to look into some adult lessons.

20. I’d love to see the Northern Lights; simply because the world is a beautiful place and I don’t need an excuse to find a way to enjoy the natural sights of the world so hopefully over the next year I’m going to see a lot of the sights!

21. Go to a Christmas market; I’ve been to many different markets but I really want to go to a traditional Christmas market and get super festive with trees, decorations, food and drink. I’m not obsessed with Christmas, but after being ill this year I want to enjoy having time off and spending time with family and friends. Plus, there’s something magical about Christmas time.

22. Go on a boat tour, whether that’s in London, or England, the UK or abroad; I love seeing how cities look from the water and it’s the best way to take landscape photographs without crowds of people everywhere. I like the idea of having afternoon tea or a dinner on a boat, watching the world go by in good company.

23. I’ve been thinking about starting a YouTube channel for a while now and that is definitely something that I’d like to have at least tried to do in the next year. I have a feeling that I’ll still prefer blogging as writing comes more naturally to me than speaking does, but I want to push myself and really try and give it a proper chance.

24. I want to rediscover my creativity; I always used to draw constantly in a sketchbook and I haven’t finished a sketchbook since I finished university two years ago. So, in the next year I would like to see myself finishing a sketchbook and reminding myself just why I loved being creative. My favourite thing used to be filling up a sketchbook and I really want to start doing that again.

25. Go to a concert of a band that I really like, regardless of the ticket price.

Book Review: The Essex Serpent

I'm the worlds worst for choosing books based on a beautiful cover and this one is definitely no exception to that rule. Sarah Perry has crafted an intriguing novel, set in Victorian London and coastal Essex. Upon starting the novel I wasn't really sure what to expect; starting with the background of a widow who arrives in Essex with her sensitive and slightly eccentric child Francis and his Nanny Martha. As a reader you assume that Cora's reasons for moving to Essex are to grieve her husband, however fairly early on in the novel it becomes clear that this is not the case at all. From a modern day perspective, it was obvious that her husband was undeniably rich, judging by the way the family can just relocate without having to find any work but it was also made clear that her husband was abusive but mentally and physically. Cora is an unusual character, she goes against the grain of the average Victorian female as she refuses to conform to the idealisations of her gender, wearing no make up and regularly dressing in men's clothing.

Cora's natural instinct for curiosity is aroused through a London acquaintance making her aware of some bizarre happenings further into Essex, correlating with the title of the novel. The Essex Serpent comes across as a bit of a joke, a superstition of the villagers and something that seemingly drives the vicar into massive bouts of anger, which he eventually does take out on a statue. Cora definitely becomes free after her husband dies, I suppose in terms of Victorian England she's very different to other women, which presumably is why so many of the males in the book find themselves enamoured with her. One of the men who were desperate for her affections was a Doctor, the one who cared for her sick husband before his death. He is described as very intelligent, but facially ugly and unfortunately doesn't hold much to Cora other than companionship. He's incredibly jealous of the life she makes for herself in Essex. Much of the content of the book is voiced through hearsay and the characters thinking and believing things that from a modern day perspective, clearly couldn't be true, or at least are an exaggeration. 

Another aspect of the plot that worked really well was that of Martha and Charles; essentially the rich benefactor that bought his way into caring for the poor families across the streets of London. Charles quite clearly has feelings for Martha and ultimately although she is aware of this and doesn't reciprocate, she enjoys his company purely for the 'greater good', which she believes would eventually help bridge the huge gap between the rich and the poor that was the everyday strife of growing up in Victorian London. There are many themes set about in this novel, including science, superstition, mental illness, sexuality, sexual desire and unrequited love. None of the characters have many redeeming features to them and rarely have a happy ending; the affair between Cora and the Vicar whilst his mentally ill wife is aware is fairly scandalous, regardless of the era, but it was an excellent plot twist.

Overall, this novel was very hard going; in linguistic style it reminded me a lot of Dickens, although I would also argue that it was not only structured better, but delivered better. Although there were many characters spread out amongst the pages, as a reader you were introduced to each one and they were laid out in depth which made them feel far more real than simply letters on a page. Perry writes beautifully, that was clear very early on in the novel and the many themes running through the chapters seamlessly through the extensive characterisation and interweaving love triangles. When I started this book, I really wasn't impressed; it was difficult and definitely the kind of novel that you have to give a lot of time and energy to it before it begins to shape. However, once I read roughly 200 or so pages, I found myself more into it than I had previously realised. I would recommend this novel, but only if you're willing put the time and effort into appreciating it, it's not one for everyone.

Book Review: The Hypnotist's Love Story

 

The reason behind this book being on my (rather large) reading list was because I had enjoyed reading Big Little Lies so much, which is also written by Liane Moriarty. The title is actually a little misleading; Ellen is actually a professional hypnotherapist who helps her clients lose weight, quit smoking and face their fears, amongst some other things. As a reader we're told fairly early on that she's single, aged thirty five, with a rather unsuccessful dating history; but she's ready to settle down, provided that she can find the right man. Naturally, this is when she meets Patrick; a widow with an eight year old son and hiding a secret. At first glance, Patrick appears to be the perfect man but a little distracted. I suppose you could argue that this is because he's a busy man, working full time and balancing raising a child as a single parent, but in all honestly the book only become interesting for me when Saskia is introduced. It was interesting to see a female stalker at work, as well as seeing the narrative voices switch between the perspectives of both Ellen and Saskia. Although technically there are three 'main' characters, as a reader we only ever see Patrick through the eyes of the two women as he never takes over the narrative at any point.

There are parts of this book that feel fairly unbelievable; for example Ellen is not disturbed by the thought that her boyfriend, Patrick has a stalker, she's intrigued. However, Ellen also doesn't realise that Saskia is just as interested in Ellen; to the extent that she even poses as a client, using a false name to have the oppportunity to get to know Ellen and snoop around her house, as all Ellen works through her home. As a woman myself, I honestly found it all a bit bizarre; the fact that Ellen was actually fine with her new boyfriend having a stalker, that she was interested even, seems impossible to me. The worst part is that with time, you begin to feel sorry for Saskia, sympathise with her almost; she met the right man at the wrong time and she's been punishing him and herself, ever since. However, on the other hand, it is difficult to fathom why she would go to the lengths she does, to stalk Patrick; or even why she stalks him at all, other than the fact she's struggling to move on with her own life. The one thing I really loved about this book is that Saskia was included as a narrative voice; it made her character seem real, less one dimensional. 

The introduction of Saskia was really well done and was a great plot twist, although the apart from that, at times the book could be a little slow. It didn't grip me as much as I wanted it to; I just couldn't understand why Saskia couldn't let go of this man as on the surface she was an ordinary woman. She was successful at work and had her own house, and comfortably so. Obviously there are many layers to a stalker, one of these was that she met him as her mother died so I feel like she replaced her grief with love for Patrick. But even so, I feel like the introduction of Ellen, particularly when she becomes pregnant, clearly affected Saskia; but even more bizarrely, in another world you could imagine the two women being friends as they are fairly similar. The character that I throughly disliked was actually Patrick; in my opinion he was thoughtless and selfish. Using Saskia as a replacement wife and mother when his wife and Jack's mother died and then leaving her when his grieving period was over. I also got the impression that he constantly compares both Ellen and Saskia to his wife, Colleen. Which isn't nice, particularly when you consider that Ellen is pregnant and both him and his son then moved into her home.

Overall, I did find this novel fairly slow paced. However, I didn't dislike it as there were some fantastic parts. Saskia cooking and cleaning in Ellen's house, snooping in her bathroom and seeing what tampons she uses (amongst other things) were both creepy and did turn up the stalking a notch; a the book went on there were times when Saskia definitely became more dangerous, to both herself and those around her. It was a relief to see the stalking reach the point where the law needed to intervene; however I wasn't keen on Ellen's interest in Saskia. It wasn't healthy to be so fascinated by the fact that an ex-girlfriend is stalking your now boyfriend. It was great to see all parties, particularly Saskia, regain a social life and move on from an incident, but on the whole I felt the plot was a bit lacking. All in all, as a reader I was intrigued to see how Ellen shaped a relationship with Jack and her own father, both of which were skimmed over quite a lot. On a positive note, I really liked Ellen's 'three mothers'; the dynamic between them was great and I wanted to see a lot more of them than I did, but they were a fabulous addition to the character sphere. Despite this being a rather critical review, I did enjoy reading this book I would recommend it as the writing is great, but I would say that you need to be prepared to fully commit; it's quite a long book, slow in places but a good read that's worth seeing through to the end as it's worth it.

Happy Things #28

1. My boyfriend has this amazing habit of gifting me with flowers on a regular basis; this flowers pictured above were given to me on our one year anniversary. Two weeks later an they're still going strong, I love it whenever I see flowers around the house as they make me think of him so that always makes me happy at the end of a stressful day.

2. Over the past few months I've learnt that not every day will be the best day of your life and that it's ok to not always feel your best. Blogging has definitely become a huge part of my life, not only because I enjoy it, but also because I feel like the blogging community is super supportive and I love being involved in twitter chats and other social media as it's a great way to get to know other bloggers with similar interests.

3. Last week I got my nose pierced with a friend after wanting it for literally years; I've always loved piercings and I've definitely caught the bug again. It was more painful than I expected and in all honestly it's pretty sore... But even so, I love it and I wouldn't be surprised if I end up goin back for more piercings in the next few months.

4. I'm super excited for you guys to see the blog posts that I have planned for this month; I'm just feeling so inspired and creative at the moment and I really want to improve my content. I'm definitely my own worst critic, but that's ok. I've got so many posts in the pipeline, so stay tuned as I'll be posting regularly this month to make up for the shambles that was the end of June as I was so ill. 

5. I feel really positive about this week and that feels absolutely amazing. Fingers crossed it'll end up being a great week!

Book Review: The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

 

First of all, I decided to give this novel a read due to all of the hype that surrounded it a couple of years back and the fact is, it's a short read at under 300 pages so it's perfect for breaks at work. The main character and narrative voice, Charlie, is a fifteen year old boy who seems both immature and naive for his age, although that being said, he does suffer quite extensively from mental health, which could be related to his naivety. Seemingly friendless, the narrative voice is given through a series of letters to a stranger. The start of the novel discusses starting High School and naturally, the fears that come with starting over at a new stage in life. Further on, we see Charlie start to socialise with a group of older friends and you get to watch his personality develop; although it seems possible that Charlie has some kind of personality disorder or autism. (As I'm not a medical professional this possibility is purely guesswork). I wasn't keen on the letter style of writing, I found the dates and end of the letters somewhat irritating; the text didn't flow well in this style. Chbosky covers a variety of Young Adult topics in this novel such as mental health, suicide/death, sexuality, sexual abuse/rape,  substance abuse, domestic violence and social anxiety but unfortunately none of these issues are dealt with in any depth.

As a reader, I do enjoy seeing the world from another's perspective and Charlie's mind is unquestionably interesting; intelligent but socially awkward, I can see why this novel was so hyped a few years ago as it describes feelings and the consequences of drugs such as LSD and marijuana, as well as discovering sexuality, having sex and going on dates, alongside homosexuality. Witnessing Charlie forge relationships felt quite intrusive at times; he seemed to struggle a lot with different kinds of relationships, which as a reader suddenly becomes understandable at a point in the book. The title of the novel relates to a situation where Charlie is declared a 'wallflower' by his friend; he seems to settle into that ideal pretty easily, content to be forever on the outskirts of a group. However, I didn't really feel like his naivety was altogether true; Charlie was perceptive, he took part in the usual teenage rebellions of taking drugs and having sex so it was hard for me to believe that he wasn't aware of masterbation or dreaming about sex prior to engaging in any sexual activity. That said, he did hang around with an older group of friends, but at 15 years old it's slightly unbelieveable considering he comes from a non religious family that seem to be open about sex.

The one relationship that I really liked was between Charlie and his English teacher; Bill seemed to not only give Charlie a great deal of time and attention, but he also seemed to see something in Charlie that no one else did, particularly Charlie himself. It's clear throughout the novel that Charlie is a rapidly advanced reader, often spending time reading and Bill often gives Charlie some great advice. He becomes a real support to Charlie and is the most positive model (in my opinion) amongst the range of characters that are brought to the fore in various parts of the book. That said, all of the characters introduced feel realistic, they're described in such a way that they will likely remind you of someone that you know, or used to know. None of the relationships are really described in masses of detail, although for a novel of less than 300 pages it's hardly surprising that there are some details lacking; parts of this novel seem quite lacklustre and vague, but this could be down to Charlie's narrative voice being somewhat hazy during his drug and/or alcohol binges. At times it feels like the writing style doesn't match the personality and hyper intelligence that is expected of Charlie, given the impression that the reader is given through Bill assigning him extra reading and essays (as he essentially a high achieving student, particularly in English).

Overall, I would say don't give into the hype that this book had a couple of years back; the title is massively enticing, especially for someone like me who has a tendency to become a wallflower at times. However, I hated the writing style; I'm not a fan of letters, or diary excerpts as a narrative technique as honestly it irritates me. Although in this case, it's intended to add to Charlie's personality, I felt like we were glimpsing a very one sided, tactically placed narrative voice so that a lot of puzzle pieces are missing. The main issue that I had with his book is that I just couldn't gel with Charlie; possibly because I'm now in my twenties and teenage issues don't bother or affect me anymore, but I found his naivety annoying rather than endearing. I just wanted a little more oomph; for example a better explanation of his mental health problems and the various other topics that are touched upon but never fully explained. It was difficult to judge where the writer was going with this novel and it's definitely one that you either love or hate and I have to say I was disappointed to be closer to the hate catagory; there was so much untapped potential in this book that left me both curious and frustrated. Let me know in the comments if you have read this book; if you have, did you love it or hate it? Or if you are planning to read this book, I'd love to hear another opinion!

Book Review: The Girl On The Train

 

Initially I wanted to read this book out of curiosity; there was a ridiculous amount of hype surrounding it and it seemed to be top of the book charts for months. For a new author, Paula Hawkins reached the writers dream pretty quickly; sadly I found the writing style to be incredibly irritating. The use of three narrators worked well, I actually do like seeing a situation from different perspectives but I wasn't keen on the fact that every narrator was female and completely unreliable. As a reader we're introduced to Rachel, an alcoholic; Megan, a cheat and Anna, a liar. As a woman myself, I found myself hating that each of these women were solely dependant on the male characters, who were portrayed as strong and capable. The male and female dynamics really focussed on the males being the dominant and the females being submissive. Only one female seemed to have her head screwed on, which was Rachel's landlady and friend, Cathy; but even she was reliant on her boyfriend so there was no real strong female lead, which disappointed me from a female author. I feel like I was expecting more from the book, given all of the hype surrounding it. 

All of the characters were majorly unlikeable; probably the most bearable was Rachel as although her reasoning was a little off, she did at least try to do the right things, even if she went about it in the wrong way. However, I feel like her narrative was fairly unbelieveable; yes, I understand that using an unreliable narrator is a fantastic literary technique (when used correctly) but with Rachel it was a bit strange that at the start of the novel she apparently couldn't remember anything when she had been drinking to suddenly towards the end of the novel she could remember everything. Actually, Rachel's drinking is the key to most of the novel; whenever she drinks she's a different person. She's definitely braver when drunk, but ultimately her mental health isn't the best due to her alcoholism. For much of the novel I was frustrated due to her lack of realisation for what drinking cost her; a husband, a job. Alcohol makes her a liar too, pretending to her landlady that she goes to work everyday by getting the same two trains in and out of London that she did when she had a job and a routine.

From the train window she watches her ex-husband with his new wife and family, as well as a couple whose lives she imagines inside her head in their houses. On the surface, Rachel has massive mental health issues, spurred on from her drinking. When you realise that the house she watches was once he own home, you can understand why she feels so pained but strangely obsessed with peering in. She's clearly still grieving for her old life. There are several twists and turns in this novel, but overall it's very slow to gather any momentum. I was actually relieved when the novel started to fully shape, although it was fairly predictable throughout. It was fairly interesting to view the novel from Megan's perspective due to her involvement within the murder; a serial adulteress with no inhibitions about lying and cheating to her own husband so she's equally as unreliable as Rachel is to the reader. Even worse, Megan lives a few doors down from Anna, the third narrator. Married to Rachel's ex-husband, she is also a liar and a cheat as she made her way from mistress to wife and mother. Most of the novel focusses on the feud between Rachel and Anna over their shared love of Tom.

The three person narrative was carried out smoothly and worked well, but the three characters were so similar at times that they almost morphed into the same person, making it difficult to distinguish between them. At times the phrases and descriptions of the same event were almost identical; I found the characters irritating, making the book difficult to read. I feel like Hawkins used the idea of the broken woman to keep interest open in the novel; I enjoyed it more towards the end of the book, once it had picked up the pace a little and I was actually surprised in the end. I thought it was predictable but I was very wrong in terms of who actually committed the murder; early on, I assumed I knew the whole story straightaway and I was pleasantly surprised to have been wrong. If you plan to read this book, try and read it with an open mind, rather than following a 'whodunnit' set of theories. My main issue with the book is how women and men are represented, they're shallow and lacking any real substance. Likewise, alcoholism is a genuine issue mentioned regularly throughout the book, but it's also skimmed over in a sense; Rachel just suddenly ceases drinking, which in reality, seems completely unbelievable for someone so reliant on it. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it. It didn't live up to the hype or my expectations, which was a shame.

 

Happy Things #21

 

1. So I've made plans to see my best friend at the weekend, which is always a pleasure. It's lovely to have that person who you can rely on and can effortlessly cheer you up.

2. My reading list is literally growing every single day; it's keeping me busy and is a fantastic way of keeping my mind in a positive place. I'm learning that the more I use distractions, such as reading, my mind feels much more at ease with life. It's a good feeling.

3. This is a very strange contribution to this list of positivity, but I'm actually really happy with how my eyebrows are looking at the moment. After years of overplucking I think I've finally found the perfect medium between too thin and too bushy, which is exciting.

4. I've got a lot of blog posts planned and I'm excited to see them posted over the next week; blogging is such a good hobby and it's really changed my life over the past year. I'm getting more involved with the blogging community and I'm enjoying it so much.

5. The weather seems to indicate that summer is definitely on its way; the blue skies, the sun... I'm enjoying the nicer weather as my mood definitely improves when the weather is lovely.

 

Book Review: The Muse

 

I seem to be growing a longer book list by the day at the moment, so it was a genuine struggle to decide what to read. I was recommended to read The Muse by Jessie Burton by my mother, who is a Librarian. Some of my favourite ever books have been based on her recommendations so I trust her opinion, but unfortunately I have to admit that the synopsis on the rear of the book wasn't very enticing; after reading the novel I can honestly say that it doesn't do any justice to Burton's imaginative and vivid, poetically rhythmic writing at all. The novel pulled me in incredibly quickly, due to the beautiful writing style. Split between 1960s England and 1930s Spain, using a dual time frame can be a difficult thing to master, but Burton seems to project this style of writing with ease. The main character from 1960s London was incredibly likeable, with her lovely prose and endearing character. As a reader you really got a feel for the racial discrimination that was around at the time, it was nice to see it from a young professional Trinidadian immigrant female, rather than the stereotypical (white) British male. Odelle is a very intelligent character, it's enjoyable to see her manage to break down the class and race barriers that unfortunately existed at that time through her work as a typist for an art gallery. Her intellect also captures her boss, Quick who becomes rapidly fond of her and pushes her to follow her creative strengths.

The characters in the Spanish era were not so easily loveable, the main character Olive came across as a strong willed young girl but also unaware of her own privilege; being indifferent to an offer to study at a prestigious London Art School, instead desperately in love with a Spanish ruffian. She determinedly forces her friends to take credit for her work and deliberately spites her father as she believes he undervalues her as a female artist. Instead of seeing her creativity as her talent, she believes that being in love is the source of her creative achievements. Olive and her family present an interesting set of topics regarding the perception of women in both the creative arts and the world, alongside more niche questions such as why artists create and how inspiration feeds itself upon the artist. 1930s Spain is also on the brink of civil war, which from a readers perspective was an interesting take; there was a slight glorification of war seen through the characters eyes, they never seem to understand the extent of the danger until it is too late. Most of the action is provided in the chapters based in Spain; they're fairly complex and often confusing. Olive's friendships are definitely questionable, as are her relationships with her parents. 

Back in 1960s London, Odelle meets Lawrie at her friends wedding party; having recently inherited a painting after the death of his mother, he takes it to be valued by the Skelton Art Gallery, where Odelle works. Although there is much interest surrounding the painting, Quick is notably flustered and unlike herself upon seeing it. The painting is the key to the dual time frame; it's quite slow going to find out the true connection, but I found that there was more than enough action provided in each storyline to keep the interest in the overall plot well and truly alive. Teresa, a young but sensible person pulls Olive's talent for painting to the forefront of the village, which is mirrored by Quick pushing Odelle to be a published writer; using her influence to get the work published in a magazine. The dual time frame works incredibly well in this novel, because Burton connects the two well, using clues throughout, constantly keeping the reader wondering what the connection truly is and often providing red herrings which result in you being massively misled. All of the characters in both time frames have flaws, acknowledged in various ways. As a reader, the distinguished flaws ensure that the characters are seen as human even if unlikable.

Overall, this novel is one that can only be described as unfathomably well written. The romances found in both the 1930s and the 1960s came across as believable as well as strategic; the plots throughout the novel are not easy to understand and well established to keep the reader guessing by describing some rather catastrophic chains of events in both time frames. The dual time frame really worked for me, I thoroughly enjoyed the journeying back and forth through time and the small snippets of information feeding through at the novel went on. The novel definitely has a strange magnetic charm to it; a tale of love, loss, betrayal and art running through it. The characters are not the most memorable but it is a novel that ties up the loose ends nicely, without a big fuss. Using Odelle as the main narrative writer was very clever, because as a writer herself, a lot of the novel gained momentum through her and her inquisitive nature. This book is a definite recommend for me, as I found it to be both an enjoyable and interesting read, the historical touches were displayed in a creative way that kept me interested, plus the gorgeously written prose is a bonus, as is the beautiful cover art.

 

Happy Things #16

 

1. So, these posts are all about finding happiness in the smallest of places. This week I've woken up with a sore throat and a horrible cough. However, I'm grateful that I do have today off due to the bank holiday, which means it's recovery time. Hello, bed. I've missed you.

2. Over the past week or so, I've realised that however much I want to be thinner, prettier etc. these things will not directly contribute to my overall happiness; I'm finding happiness in doing things, planning things. Planning doesn't always see itself through, but setting goals isn't a bad thing.

3. Fingers crossed that this week will be the week that my gym membership finally goes through! I've recently found it that the membership I've applied for includes classes so I'm looking forward to trying out yoga or getting back into dancing. I loved dancing for around fourteen years so it would be lovely to rekindle that love for something.

4. I'm going to start painting my nails again, everything about my hands looks nicer with pretty nails. I don't have the biggest nail varnish collection, but it's cheaper than getting false nails. Plus, I like reading a book whilst my nails are dying so it's a good way to read more, too. My reading list is growing longer and longer by the day, oops.

5. I won all of £3 on a scratch card yesterday. As well as 6 chicken nuggets on McDonald's monopoly. Sometimes the smallest of wins makes you feel a little more positive in what can be a hard world.

 

Happy Things #10

 

1. Last week I actually took the plunge and decided to sign up for a gym membership. I'm excited to start getting more healthy as I don't feel happy with myself right now. As Piotr said, I alone have the power to change that, so I need to focus. This week is going to be the start of said focus.

2. During this week I want to try and improve my eating habits. I've been eating whatever I like, whenever I like with minimal exercise now that I've changed my job. I'm going to try and eat more fruit and vegetables rather than some of the more unhealthy foods that I do prefer.

3. Piotr and I have the same day off this week, so I'm planning to treasure the time we get to spend together. I have no idea how we will spend the time, but I'd like to make it special, somehow.

4. During the past month I've been struggling to keep positive, I want to try and keep on top of this and push my mind to reignite the positive frame of mind I had during January. It's already March, which means I need to keep reminding myself that time doesn't stop for anyone, I need to keep positive to create a life I love.

5. I want to keep up my new love of blogging and enjoy getting more involved with the blogging community. I would absolutely love to meet, or at least talk to some bloggers with some similar interests to me; photography, reading and beauty.

 

A month in Instagram #8

During February I feel like I haven't actually been posting much to instagram. Well, actually that's a bit of an exaggeration as I have been posting but this month I feel as though I have been liking lots of posts and gaining heaps of inspiration towards where I would like to see my own photography reach. I'm always looking to improve and work on my creative side, photography has been a great way to distract myself and keep more positive. Throughout February I've seen my best friend a lot, which obviously meant it was high time for a treat day (that's said, it turned into more of a treat month... oops). Alongside that, I also spent some time with my boyfriend and just generally tried to keep happiness a high priority as I do struggle a little when the weather changes. 

 

  

Hopefully the month of March will provide more good memories and I'll spend more time actually connecting with people on instagram; I always seem to like photographs I see but I never really get involved in writing comments so I'm thinking I should try to. I like keeping instagram as a kind of visual diary, as well as a way of promoting what I do on my blog. It's also a fantastic platform to see what other bloggers are doing and see what kind of things people want to see from blogging. Right now I'm loving getting more involved with reviewing books and finding new hobbies. Until next month :)

 

Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars

 

This is one of those books that you start to read with an open mind; as in, it could be awful or it could be amazing. This is because The Fault In Our Stars directly links to what is usually a completely taboo subjects across all areas of life. However, like all taboo subjects, cancer (particularly in adolescence) is something that it is important to acknowledge as it is a real situation for many people; it doesn't not exist just by ignoring it as a problem. Although this is a fictional story, there are so many parts to it that really pull on your heartstrings - be prepared to be full of tears in some chapters. I suppose that is one of the reasons I really loved this novel; because not only did it successfully tackle a difficult subject matter, Green made it feel relatable, as though you knew the characters. As a reader, you are rapidly drawn into Hazel's world, her worries, her likes and dislikes. 

There are so many ways in which this book creates a strong sense of emotion within the reader, mostly because it's story is not pushed across as being all sweet or happy, there are many sad moments and it feels very honest. To view the world from a sixteen year old cancer sufferer is not only unusual, but also difficult at times; as it's almost as though you can forgot how hard it must be for her to watch those that surround her; those who cancer spreads, or worse, who die from the disease. I like how it becomes a love story, a true love story. One where two adolescents bond over similar experiences to the point where they fulfil their 'wish' of meeting Hazel's favourite author; an author who writes a novel about childhood cancer, a parallel to what Green himself is doing. During their trip to Amsterdam, Augustus is finally honest about various things to Hazel and for a few chapters the novel seems like a regular teenage love story. However, with cancer being the distructive disease that it is, fate changes rapidly and the tears begin to fall.

Considering this story centres around such a horrible disease, much of the book is fairly uplifting with bouts of humour, banter and sarcastic remarks flying between the main characters. Although alongside this, the book is also very sensitive and handles the topic well as it also details how cancer affects not only the sufferer but also their family and friends. Throughout the book the characters do their best to remain strong and brave in an attempt to hide the worst from their parents, Hazel in particular. They also acknowledge some of the side effects of cancer such as depression are not widely known about, especially when you consider how much they have to lose; their lives, their limbs, their friends and family. It's a lonely life, one that Green somehow transfers into words and definitely raises awareness of the struggles of both illness and impending adulthood. As ultimately due to their cancer situations, they have had to grow up faster, to the point that the characters come across as more adult than adolescent the majority of the time. 

The ending is incredibly tough and not one that as a reader, you expect or are prepared for. However, I thought it was a fantastic translation of the truth of cancer. It's a disease, one that isn't fair and doesn't let go of its prisoners easily. As a reader, you are provided with a rather blunt view of the disease, to the point that Hazel even declares 'Depression is a side effect of dying.' Which is why I loved this book so much; it truly resonates with the reader the issues that come with having to deal with not only death, but the ideal way to die. Considering that death is a huge topic throughout the book, it actually isn't acknowledged often as many of the characters have a fear of death, which is hardly surprising considering their situations. The overall story was thought provoking, extensive, at some moments sad and at other moments truly enjoyable which was due to the first person writing style, as a reader you really connect on a personal level with the characters. I would completely recommend this book, but I would also suggest reading it before seeing the film adaption.