Category: lifestyle

YALC 2018 Part Two – The Book Haul!

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Well, I promised you a book haul, I just didn’t think it would be this big. I managed to pick up 20 books at YALC. Yep, Two-Zero. I’d saved some money so that I could go and not feel any guilt about buying a stack of books and I sure as hell did. I mean almost all of the books were discounted, so why wouldn’t I make the most of it!

As many of my regular readers know I loved Sarah J Maas’s ACOTAR series, so I decided to pick up the start of another of her series’ Throne of Glass, there are assassins and I’m told it’s loosely based on Cinderella. Sounds good to me. Next up was a hardcover copy of This Is Where It Ends, a novel about a school shooting by Marieke Nijkamp which I’ve wanted to read forever. Next is Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt which I’m currently reading and it’s already breaking my heart.

 

Who Runs the World by Virginia Bergin is about a distant future where a virus almost completely wiped out men. I’m not 100% sure but I’m going to give this a go. I then picked up Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee by Mary G Thompson two girls are kidnapped, one returns. Sounds chilling. I finally got hold of Trans Mission by Alex Bertie which I’ve heard really great things about, this is Alex looking back at his F to M transition. Suicide Club by Rachel Heng has been all over booktube recently. Set when humans have the secret to becoming immortal, but only if you deserve it, what could go wrong? I also picked up the A Court of Thorns and Roses colouring book, because I have no chill.

I picked up Royals by Rachel Hawkins as it just seems fun, a girl thrust into the spotlight because her sister is getting married to a Prince? Not my normal read but why not give it a chance! What Happened That Night by Sandra Block is a novel I was given for free. It’s about a woman who was assaulted at a party, years later a video of her assualt surfaces, but what will she do? Only one word needed to be said to be aboue The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton was witches. I also picked up the latest novel by Holly Bourne Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes? This is the only novel I bought full price, but it is Holly Bourne.

The first stand I went to was to HarperCollins to get a copy of Vox by Christina Dalcher. This has some The Handmaids Tale vibes, where women are only allowed to speak 100 words a day. I’m both terrified and excited. Leila Sales’s novel If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say is a tale of saying the wrong thing on the internet and the consequences it can have. It helps that the cover is gorgeous. I found Night of The Party by Tracey Mathias and this one is a little too close to home, I have high expectations. It’s political and it looks like it might be pretty dark. Get excited. I don’t even know how to explain Never World Wake by Merisha Pessl. There’s a shocking death, past friends and a mysterious man. I’m hoping it’s good.

Now, Look Closer by Stewart Lewis doesn’t come out until February 2019. Yep, and I got this beauty for FREE. I think this one is going to make me cry as Tegan comes to terms with her father’s death and tries to help others. Next up, My (Secret) YouTube Life. This novel looks really interesting, the first like on the blurb is ‘What if your favourite Youtuber’s life was a lie?’ So here for it. I know, I know how could I have not read THUG yet? This is my change with a beautiful new cover to get into what people are calling Angie Thomas’ masterpiece. And FINALLY, congrats if you made it this far, Moonrise by Sarah Crossan. A novel written in verse about a family dealing with the impending execution of a man who claims he is innocent. I’ve already read it and it was incredible.

So, what do you like the look of, what should I read next? Let me know in the comments below!

YALC 2018 – Part One

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It finally happened! I finally went to YALC after watching from afar for a few years. My bestie Abbie and I got a train and bus to Olympia. I had a small suitcase to transport the books I knew I’d end up buying, a rucksack and snacks. The game was on.

If you haven’t heard of YALC, it is the Young Adult Literature Convention it’s hosted in London. Basically, it is a book nerd’s dream there are panels, there are signings of your favourite YA authors, bookish merch, discounted books, competitions, advance copies. The best thing? Everyone was SO NICE! There was so much excitement you have not just one but two blog posts to look forward to.

Let’s get cracking.

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Tote Bags, T-Shirts and MORE!

I came home with two tote bags and a new T-Shirt, why? Because I bought books. These actually came in handy throughout the day to throw swag in, there was so much swag.

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Samplers

I brought home 20 samplers of up and coming YA releases. I’m really looking forward to skipping through these and getting excited for what’s coming up. I’m particularly excited to get a peak of Feminists Don’t Wear Pink (And Other Lies) and Oh My Gods. We shall see!

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A mix of stuff

Postcards for new releases, stickers, a ton of bookmarks, pencils. Basically, if you like this kind of stuff then YALC is a dream. I want to make a really cute display of stuff like this but where I’m going to put it I don’t know.

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A Court of Thorns and Roses Bookmarks 

C’mon was I really going to walk away from these beauties? Not a chance.

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All the badges 

I became a bit of a talking point when I walked up to stands because I started decorating my dungarees with badges. The more I got, the more stall holders gave them to me, took pictures and just generally chatted to me. I also got two beautiful shiny pins, one for buying a novel and another for posting a picture on Instagram. My favourite one has to be the #TeamBoobs one from CoppaFeel .

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The Curses Sampler – SIGNED 

I got to meet Laure Eve. I fangirled, really hard because I loved her first novel, and first in the series, The Graces so much. I really hope I didn’t scare her… I was really excited.

 

So that’s the swag, but what about the books? You’ll have to pop back tomorrow because I may have had 20 books when I got home…maybe. Oops!

July Favourites!

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July hasn’t been an easy month! I recovered from my cyst, found myself redundant and well, I think that’s enough to knock anyone BUT there are still things to smile about and here are some of my favourites.

 

Books 

This month has been a small reading month, but varied. I’ve picked up poetry, a graphic novel, non-fiction and one fiction novel. Of course, you’ll get my full wrap up soon!

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Getting Better  

You probably saw that I was in hospital in June with a suspected burst ovarian cyst, I got these beautiful flowers from my Grandparents while I was recovering.

Night Out 

I got to spend a great (sober) night out for one of my besties birthdays! It isn’t often I go on a night out so this one was definitely needed, even if I was back home in bed by 11.30!

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Becoming a published poet! 

I am a published poet! I still can’t quite believe it but I hope it’s the first of many.

 

Pop Vinyls!

Three new Pops came this month, two I’d pre-ordered from Australia the Basilisk and Tom Riddle and Amy Pond, my favourite Doctor Who character. I don’t buy these as much anymore, even though I love them, so when I do I get really excited!

 

Lottie and Ed July 2018

House Sitting! 

I spent 10 nights house sitting for my parents with these little monsters. I might not have slept but they were great for cuddles when I lost my job.

 

YALC! 

I finally got to go to YALC (Young Adult Literature Convention) this year! It was so incredible, I’m writing not one but TWO blogs for you guys this week. Keep your eyes peeled!

I’m Starting Again.

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Things have been, interesting lately and because of circumstances out of my control, I’m starting again, again. Earlier in the month, I lost my job, which wasn’t the plan. Due to contract changes I was no longer needed and to say it was a shock is an understatement. I was gutted to leave a job that I really enjoyed and people I loved only a few months after getting promoted. So, now, I have a month to find another job and I didn’t expect to be here.

I’ve had a few jobs since leaving uni, contract roles and one that just didn’t work out so it’s not that I haven’t been here before, I have. Despite everything, I’ve actually been feeling pretty positive most of the time, reaching out to contacts on Linkedin, attending interviews etc. At the time of writing I’ve had 2 interviews and have a few more booked in, that’s in a week since being told I no longer had a job. So, it’s looking good. It’s also been the boost I needed to get serious about my own projects and freelancing. My website is in the process of being set up and I’ll enjoy working on that while I’m searching for a full-time job.

I didn’t intend to be starting again, but I’m not seeing it as a bad thing. I learned a lot when I was in my last job, I worked out what I really loved to do and while it was shorter than planned, it was good while it lasted. So, now I have to figure out what’s next but, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, I think everything happens for a reason. What exactly that reason is I don’t quite know, but I’m sure it will become apparent.

So, what have I been doing while I’ve been off? House-sitting for my parents, trying to read because my reading this month was abysmal, applying for job, interviewing and just having some time for myself. I was due to take some time off anyway and I guess I got it, haha. Either way, I’m hoping this will be good for me and I can start a new job re-energised and ready to go. Keep your fingers crossed!

I’m a Published Poet!

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Well, well, well, look at what arrived this week! After letting you all know that I am going to be a published poet, the published book is finally here and I’m a little in awe. I am in a real tangible book. My name, my work. I’ll be in a little piece of the literary world forever. This is a real dream for me. A true dream.

Thank you to everyone who’s supported me and I hope this is the first of many publications and I’ll take you all on the ride with me.

What are you doing

What are you doing?!

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Over the last week or so you might have seen the question: what are you doing? The whole thing kicked off after Forbes named Kylie Jenner the next self-made billionaire which was controversial at best. Then the New York Daily News but you this tweet.

What are you doing? Kylie Jenner

Yep, anyone else feel a little gut punch when they first read that? I did. Even if you don’t think about the enormous privilege that Kylie has there’s something not quite right with this. I take my hat off to her for making a business and being successful from that but it was just damn ridiculous to ask what we were doing with our lives. It adds to this idea that we should all be at the same level, that there is an ultimate goal and if you’re not there, then you’re a failure.

I used to have a plan for my life. I was going to graduate with a 1st, I was going to get married in my early 20s, have 2 children by the time I was 30 and a career I enjoyed. I had everything mapped out until I didn’t. Hell, as I write this I’ve got no idea what I’m doing. I’m not married, I don’t feel ready to have a baby any time soon, I don’t have the best selling novel or a big job. Does that mean I’m a failure? To people who changed their minds or had a life change, are they failures? In short, no.

In the age of social media, it’s easy to forget that we’re seeing people’s highlight reels. We might see these super successful 20-year-olds or our friends with a ‘perfect’ life. We don’t see the sacrifice, the late nights, the tears. We don’t see the days where you look and feel like shit, where you want to pack it all in. I know for a fact these successful, beautiful or brilliant people have days like that. They are human, as are we.

There is so much pressure on us to look perfect, to follow a certain path. What struck me about it is the stress I personally feel about timelines. I can bet most of you reading have felt this too! Each of us are doing something with our lives. For some of us, that means getting out of bed in the morning, for others it might be being creative, raising kids or working a job. We’re all living our lives in different ways and that’s what important.

I’d love to hear what you are up to, however big or small. Live your life, and screw what anyone else thinks.

 

 

 

I'm a Gryffindor

I’m a Gryffindor

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Gryffindor Pride Harry Potter

If you follow me on any social media or have been following this blog for any period of time you’ll know I’m a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I fell in love with the books, the movies and the whole Potter world. I can’t tell you why I fell so much in love with it, but I did and I never miss an opportunity to see or do something Potter related or celebrate the fandom. Oh and owning a lot of merch (see my most recent haul here).

Since I first read the books I have always felt like a Gryffindor, mainly, when I was younger because I saw so much of myself in Hermione. I finally found a girl in a book just like me. She loved studying and learning, was a bit of a know it all but loyal to her friends. As I got older I realised that I still strongly associated with Gryffindor, also with the slightly stubborn tendencies they are known to have…

In the above picture, my friends described me as looking like Gryffindor threw up on me. My two friends went it Ravenclaw aesthetic (hint of blue, well put together) and a lot of black and green for Slytherin…and then there was me. There was a Potter t-shirt under the Gryffindor jumper, obviously my scarf, red hair and even red and white Potter trainers. Even in the way we dressed we represented our houses when visiting the British Library exhibition.

Here’s what the Sorting Hat says about being a Gryffindor

“You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart“

 

Now, I know that there is a whole crowd of people screaming, it’s not real BUT there’s a beautiful sense of comradery in the fandom. This is something I grew up with and something I cherish. It may seem silly to some but I love the world of Potter, I love the fact that I relate so much to a book!

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What is your Hogwarts house? I’d love to know! Let me know in the comments below!

 

 

I Read HOW MANY Books?

I’ve Read HOW MANY Books So Far?!

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Do any of you guys remember me writing about cutting down my reading goals, trying not to worry about them and focus on other things? Well, I don’t know if it was the lack of pressure or just some good books but I’ve managed to read a total of 70 books in the first half of the year! I wanted to share with you some of the excellent reads and I’m showing no signs of slowing down!

January

February

  • Brave – Rose McGowen 5 Stars
  • A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J Maas 5 Stars 
  • Clean – Juno Dawson 1 Star
  • Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body – Roxanne Gay 3 Stars 
  • Time Bomb – Joelle Charbonneau 3 Stars
  • But You Did Not Come Back – Marceline Loridan-Ivens 5 Stars 
  • Why Have Kids? – Jessica Valenti 3 Stars
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin – Sarah J Maas 5 Stars
  • This is Really Happening – Erin Chack 3 Stars 
  • This is Going to Hurt – Adam Kay 5 Stars 

March

April

  • Red Clocks – Leni Zumas 4 Stars 
  • #MeToo: A Women’s Poetry Anthology – Edited by Deborah Alma 4 Stars 
  • The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One – Amanda Lovelace 4 Stars 
  • I am, I am, I am: Seventeen Brushes With Death – Maggie O’Farrell 4 Stars 
  • Saga Volume 1 – Brian K Vaughn 5 Stars 
  • Everywoman – Jess Phillips 5 Stars
  • How Do You Like Me Now – Holly Bourne 2 Stars 
  • Saga Volume 2 – Brian K Vaughn 5 Stars 

May 

June

  • Moxie – Jennifer Matheiu 4 Stars 
  • Maggy Garrison – Lewis Trondheim 2 Stars
  • Grabbing Pussy – Karen Finley 2 Stars 
  • Bookshop Girl – Chloe Coles 2 Stars
  • Open – Gemma Cairney 3 Stars
  • Glimmerglass Girl – Holly Wrath 2 Stars 
  • Tyler Johnson Was Here – Jay Coles 5 Stars
  • Love is Love – edited by Marc Andreyko 5 Stars
  • 30 Things Before 30 – Hope Alcocer 5 Stars
  • Eve of Man – Giovanna and Tom Fletcher 5 Stars 
  • Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Truman Capote 4 Stars
  • Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata 4 Stars
  • Everything All At Once – Steven Camden 4 Stars 
  • Surviving the Angel of Death – Eva Mozes Kor 5 Stars
  • Girl Made of Stars – Ashleigh Herring Blake 5 Stars

 

Why I Don't Want To Go Travelling

Why I Don’t Want To Go Travelling

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The summer is finally here and it’s time for people to be jetting off on their holidays or packing their bags to go travelling. Thousands of students will have finished their degrees and will be heading on adventures around the globe, I know a lot of my graduating class did. That, however, won’t be me. Not a chance.

The idea of travelling in the traditional sense has never appealed to me. Just the thought of backpacking across continents stresses me out, but that’s ok! I was told a lot when I was in uni to make the most of my youth, book trips here there and everywhere, work my way around a country. Trying to explain why I didn’t want too often made me feel uncultured but hear me out.

Saying I don’t want to go travelling doesn’t mean that I don’t want to see the world. I’ve been visiting amazing countries since I was 3 years old spending time in Greece, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, America, Cyprus and France just to name a few. I love seeing new cultures, the sights, the smells but I also like having a nice time. I’ll stay in hotels or apartments, I’ll visit for a week or two rather than a month or six because that’s what I personally enjoy.

There are still so many places I want to see and things I want to do but I’m happy doing that with a little luxury for shorter amounts of time! I’ve still been able to see amazing sites an have amazing experiences like walking up Vesuvius, seeing the Eifel tower or having breakfast at a small family run restaurant.

That’s just my feelings, how about you? Do you have the travel bug or do you prefer to visit with a little luxury behind you? I’d love to know in the comments below!

So, What Happened?

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While I may have been posting blogs, you might have noticed I disappeared from my Twitter a bit in the last few weeks. I wrote a post updating you all that I had Kidney Stones a day after that I was back in hospital, turns out it wasn’t Kidney Stones. After a few days in the hospital, it turns out my Ovaries had a tantrum, grew a cyst and it burst.

So, it turns out that Ovary owners can grow cysts, that’s pretty common. Most of the time they’ll deal with themselves, we don’t even know about them, happy days. Not if you’re me, apparently. If you’re unlucky, they can grow and either twist or burst, causing pain that I can’t describe. My boyfriend commented that I was making sounds like I was in labor…can confirm that’s not happening.

While in hospital I felt very appreciative of the NHS. I had to see professionals 4 times and then was admitted, had a range of tests, a bed and care plus aftercare. I didn’t pay a penny. Was I terrified when I arrived and was on nil by mouth as prep for potential surgery? Of course, I was but I think I would have been even more scared if I had to think of the costs.

I was pretty sick, it’s taken me a few weeks to get back to myself and be able to go out again. It also made me reevaluate a lot of things. How I’m looking after my self (spoiler, not well). I have a lot of things to work on but I’ve healed, I need another check up to work out what exactly happened but I’m hoping things will get better again.

So, that’s that! Now I’ll be back to normal.