I met you in a music room.
I kissed you under a tree.
You went red.
You waited for me.
We made music, that the world should have heard.
We grew together to be what we wanted to be.
Now it’s been 8 years and I couldn’t wish for more,
Than my best friend at my side, forever half of a ‘we’.
I’m writing this post tucked up in Ali’s grandparent’s living room in Durham. We try and make the trip as often as we can, hopefully yearly and I absolutely LOVE it up here. Despite the fact I’m always cold there’s so much about being in the North that I love, here are just 7 things. 
The Angel of the North
Isn’t she beautiful? An iconic part of the North and strong as hell, just like the people who surround her.
The People
Miller’s are good people. I love spending time with Ali’s family and everyone up here is lovely. It also makes me happy as I have family that came from Newcastle so a little bit of me is from here too.
The Buildings
I love taking walks around Durham and Newcastle because the buildings are absolutely beautiful, look at this street. There’s also castles and loads of different bridges around too so you can really admire the changing times.
Ali’s Gran’s cooking
Ali’s gran makes excellent cakes, this weekend we’ve been treated to chocolate cake with jam and cream. I’ve been taking notice so hopefully I’ll be a cak baking expert soon.
Newcastle
There’s something about this city that is magical. We took a long walk yesterday (despite my back protesting most of the way) and there’s so much to see and so many cute shops, the castle, museums and restaurants.
History
There is so much history up here, this is a super old picture (back when I was still at school!) of Ali and I at Hadrian’s Wall, a big set of Roman ruins. There’s also Beamish museum which is a live action museum, train museums. Basically if you like history there’s a lot to do up here.
Being called Pet
This is, and always will be, one of my favourite parts of coming up north. I love being called pet by Ali’s gran, it makes me feel all cute and adorable.
Have you been up North or do you live up here? What are your favourite parts?
This week the world has marveled at the Rio Olympics, where incredibly talented olympians compete to be the best in the world at their sport. After blood, sweat and tears winning bronze, silver, or the all important gold should earn the utmost respect, but alas there has been rampant sexism in the way in which the games have been reported, in respect to both female and male athletes. For an event that is viewed by the entire world, it’s alarming at the extent of the sexism we have been seeing.
Here are just some of the issues in reporting we’ve seen.
I couldn’t write Feminist Friday’s without talking about such a major event and the issues surrounding it. The Olympics are celebrated throughout the world and yet, in mainstream media, women are still classified as being inferior to men. On the flip side the fact that women’s magazines are merely focusing on the size of a man’s bulge is not ok. Why are we focusing on these petty and superficial things instead of people’s talent? While some may think there’s aren’t big issues, it’s the way we consume media that makes them a big deal. Little girls will aspire to be like these olympians, do we want them to think that no matter how talented, they will always be compared to a man? Do we want little boys to be self conscious about how their bodies look and nothing else (because we know women are faced with this on a larger scale)? Let’s actually focus on the talent and the sport and not let these terrible and often talentless commentators and journalists take away from their glory with pathetic comments.
On A Level results day the doorbell rings, it’s not the postman with your results but your ex-girlfriend with a baby. She pops out to get supplies and calls to say the child’s yours, and she’s not coming back.
Dante is thrown into a life he didn’t chose (ok I know some of you will say he had sex he did chose it but by not knowing that Emma even existed means he didn’t), as struggles to work out what to do and how he can be a father he’s faced with more than just the sleepless nights and trying to work out why his daughter is crying instead of the Freshers nights at uni he planned. One of the many things that stand out about this novel is that it is entirely believable. This could happen in real life and I feel really sorry for the guys who aren’t told until the child is born (unless of course there is an abusive nature to the relationship). Dante handles the sudden shock as many young men would do I think, disbelief, a little bit of denial, struggling and then trying to make a tough decision.
“How could ten forgettable minutes of not much turn both our lives inside out and upside down like this?”
There are a lot of novels out there that portray the struggles that young mothers face after the birth of a baby, although Blackman highlights this when Melanie says she can’t cope, she has done a fantastic job in showing the struggles of a young father – something society seems to forget. From sexist remarks when he doesn’t know the answer to something ‘Maybe her Mum could come in and register her’, to the social worker who has concerns about the father raising a child alone and generally not knowing what to do on a natural level that women have from carrying a child for nine months. With help from his own Dad and brother (after his Mum had passed away when he was younger) he slowly begins to work out what’s best for him and Emma.
The use of subplot was used spectacularly as well, never one to hide from tough things to deal with Dante’s younger brother Adam has his own worries. Although Adam is comfortable with his sexuality, other around him (including his father and older brother) aren’t as comfortable. One night things change dramatically leaving everyone on edge and Adam’s future hanging in the balance.
I’m giving Boys Don’t Cry five stars *****. I loved this novel, it had a really unique perspective and challenged a lot of perceptions of young Dads. Once again Blackman has shown us the world through a view we might not necessarily consider, if I had my way schools would have to teach this in a combined English/Health class and hopefully we would also have a less judgemental society because of it. I’d love to read a sequel to this and I’m full to the brim with questions…so you can tell it’s a great novel!
Now, don’t try and tell me you’re not addicted to your phone. I think almost all of us (especially bloggers) are tapped into our phones for more time than we’d like to admit, I know I am. I ALWAYS get family and friends teasing me that I use my phone for oxygen. So what are 10 free apps I use every day ? I thought I’d share them with you!
99% of people I know are on Facebook, constantly talking, sharing, commenting. I like having Facebook on my phone partly because I’m nosy and because it’s a way of keeping in contact without giving out your number.
All hail Instagram. Now, I’m not a wizz with a stunningly beautiful page but I love seeing the world through other people’s lenses. There are some seriously talented people on Instagram and their photos are breathtaking so that’s always a way to spend 10 minutes of your lunch break.
Follow @chloemetz_ for my pictures
I don’t really use this for talking but I usually get sent a lot of pictures and videos of the cat and dog from my Mum. Yes, daily photos and videos.
It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with Twitter, mainly because I get to connect with thousands of people that I otherwise wouldn’t. I’ve gotten to speak with some of my favourite authors thanks to Twitter.
Follow me on @chloemetzger on Twitter!
Canva
I’ll let you into a little secret, this is the favourite tool for thousands of bloggers. Canva lets you edit pictures using shapes, text, transparency.Sometimes I’ll do it through their website (www.canva.com) just to see how it’s going to fit. It makes it easy to make headers, images and inspirational posts.
Comic Geeks
This is just for fellow comic lovers. The app lets me know what’s coming out this week. I can search by lots of different filters and add in what I want to look out for and it will let me know as well as emailing me every wednesday.
Fitbit
I’ve been big on fitness in my spine recovery which meant I picked up a fitbit. It works with my fitbit to track exercise, sleep patterns and food and it’s SO much easier to use rather than the website dashboard.
Layout
This is an app for creating collages of photos which you can then post onto Instagram and Facebook, or just save to your phone. I mostly use this for pet collages or to show all the photos I’ve taken on a day out.
Google Authenticator
Now I’m working in Cyber Security I’m super aware of being secure online. This helps me set up two step authentication, meaning to log in I need a password and then a code too. I’m online so much this was vital to keeping my information safe online.
BBC News
I like knowing about any breaking news and what’s going on in the world, I always make sure my news app is active.
What are some of your favourite apps or some that I should try? Let me know in the comments below!
It’s that time of the month again! Yes it’s Illumicrate unboxing and review! As always if you don’t want to see/read about the contents of this box LOOK AWAY NOW! If not, I’m so excited to share what I think is possibly the best book box I’ve received so far and with that, on with the review.
*
*
*
*
*
*
The Graces by Laure Eve with letter
I’d never heard of this book prior to getting my sub box but it looks incredible. There’s talk of witches, power and wealth. The letter from author Laure is also a lovely touch to the box, it also came with a signed sticker to place inside the book. I can’t wait to tuck into this!
NeverNight – Jay Kristoff
I actually squealed when I found this in the box. I’d actually pre ordered this online but luckily my box got here before. I’m SO excited to read this assassin based novel and love a good bookmark and something to stick up. *squeal*
Gilmore Girls Exclusive Bag
Now, I’ve never seen Gilmore Girls (although I might give it a go seeing as there is so much hype) but found out that this means ‘ready for anything’, I love that quote. So it’s a win, win. 
The Trio Coasters by Taratjah Art – Exclusive
I was nervous when it was announced there would be an item related to The Cursed Child (see my review here) but this catered to both the original films and the current play. I do think it’s odd that the Hermione’s don’t match but I supposed one is to match Emma and one Noma. Either way they were a nice addition to the box and thoughtful of different interpretations of Hermione.
Drink Me Strawberry Tea from Post Tea (also an exclusive)
An Alice in Wonderland themed treat, I’ve never tried a Strawberry tea before but I’m excited to try this.
Small Prints
Now, I’m not sure what these are from and the box doesn’t tell me either, they are beautiful designs though and I’d like to know more.
Bookmark Discount Code
I love a good bookmark and the promise of an unusual bookmark is always a bonus, I’ll be heading over to check them out soon!
Witch Tattoos
This ties in with The Graces (I think) as a fun addition. I doubt I’ll wear them but I will head over and take the quiz!
Colouring Quotes – Ashley Poston
Some fun colouring from Ashley Poston, we also received a discount for her latest book. These are fun but without reading the books I have no idea of their significance, either way colouring is colouring!
Unboxed print and discount code
The latest novella from Non Pratt (who I once met and is really nice) with a discount code as it is out this month! The novella promises to be about ‘a brilliantly diverse case of characters…return to their old school and discover that no one can ever truly go back’. I may have to pick this one up.
And that’s all of it! It was such a lot of content that I almost couldn’t fit it all in one picture! Again I can 100% recommend illuminate, it’s definitely my favourite book sub so far!
Hello, hello, hello! I absolutely love tags and want to expand the bookishness of this site, so what better than a bookish tag! I found this over on My Little Book Blog so definitely go and check her out! Now, on with the questions.
1. What was the last book you read?
Baby Doll by Hollie Overton
2. Was it a good one?
So good, incredible for a debut novel.
3. What made it good?
It went deeper than most and made the characters real. It was also interesting to see the captors perspective after their victim escaped.
4. Would you recommend it to other people?
Yes! I text my friend almost immediately after finishing saying she needed to read it.
5. How often do you read?
Every day if I can.
6. Do you like to read?
Nothing better than a good book.
7.What was the last bad book you read?
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – a play in book form.
8. What made you dislike it?
The plot was ridiculous and took away so much from the original series.
9. Do you wish to be a writer?
Yes I’d absolutely love to, working on it!
10. Has any book ever influenced you greatly?
There are so many and each for a different stage of my life.
11. Do you read fan fiction?
I’ve read a few Harry Potter ones but I’ve never really been into it.
12. Do you write fan fiction?
No, personally I don’t see the point, why not create something original.
13. What’s your favorite book?
How do I choose? Probably 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult I could read that over and over.
14. What’s your least favorite book?
I’m really not sure. Wasn’t a fan of Gone Girl, the twist just pissed me off.
15. Do you prefer physical books or ready on a device (like a kindle)?
Kindle’s are great to travel and get discounted reads but there’s nothing like a good book.
16. When did you learn to read?
When I was really small, I think I could read by the time I was 5.
17. What is your favorite book you had to read in school?
To Kill a Mockingbird, still my favourite classic.
18. What is your favorite book series?
Harry Potter OR The Normal trilogy by Holly Bourne
19. Who is your favorite author?
I don’t have a favourite! I have favourites like J.K Rowling, Jodi Picoult, John Green, Caitlin Moran.
20. What is your favorite genre?
Probably YA, followed by autobiography/biography.
21. Who is your favorite character in a book series?
Hermione Granger.
22. Has a book ever transported you somewhere else?
Often, Game of Thrones is doing that right now.
23.Which book do you wish had a sequel?
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
24. Which book do you wish DIDNT have a sequel?
The Hunger Games – could have been done in one long book and not had THAT ending.
25. How long does it take you to read a book?
Really depends how busy I am and how much I’m enjoying the book. If I’m left alone I can easily do a book a day unless it’s something like GoT, then not so much.
26. Do you like when books become movies?
Definitely depends on how it’s handled, I always get a little nervous though.
27. Which book was ruined by its movie adaptation?
Twilight.
28. Which movie has done a book justice?
The Colour Purple, that was a brilliant movie to match a brilliant book.
29. Do you read newspapers?
If there’s one laying around but normally I read the BBC and the Guardian on my phone
30: Do you read magazines?
Not really, I read The Vagenda and it completely made me rethink what I consumed.
31. Do you prefer newspapers or magazines?
Newspapers but ones that have opinion pieces too, like The Guardian
32. Do you read while in bed?
Of course, who doesn’t?
33. Do you read while on the toilet?
Yes, it used to drive my parents mad :’)
34. Do you read while in the car?
Yep, have done since I was a kid.
35. Do you read while in the bath?
No. I’m not keen on having baths often and even then I’m too worried I’ll drop it in the bath…I’m super clumsy.
36. Are you a fast reader?
Yes.
37. Are you a slow reader?
Nope.
38. Where is your favorite place to read?
Curled up with lots of cushions and a fluffy blanket.
39. Is it hard for you to concentrate while you read?
If I’m into the book and not in a slump I will fall into a book and not resurface for hours.
40.Do you need a room to be silent while you read?
It helps but I don’t need it to be.
41. Who gave you your love for reading?
No one, I just kind of started and didn’t stop.
42. What book is next on your list to read?
Haven’t set a final choice yet, I’ll see how I feel once I’ve finished this one
43. When did you start to read chapter books?
Pretty young with as many Jaqueline Wilson books as I could get my hands on.
44. Who is your favorite children’s book author?
Jacqueline Wilson.
45. Which author would you most want to interview?
Jodi Picoult.
46. Which author do you think you’d be friends with?
Holly Bourne
47.What book have you reread the most?
Probably the Harry Potter series. When I was younger I read it every summer.
48. Which books do you consider “classics”?
The Colour Purple, To Kill a Mockingbird. I’m not keen on a lot of canon stuff.
49. Which books do you think should be taught in every school?
A big mixture! I think that there should be books on wider issues and not just ‘classics’. There are some great novels on mental health for example that young people could relate to instead of being forced to read Dickens or Austen again and again.
50. Which books should be banned from all schools?
I don’t think any book should be banned, they should just be age appropriate.
If any of you guys would like to do this take don’t forget to let me know!
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking this week about what is expected of 20 somethings. People have a lot of opinions about your twenties, what you should be doing, what you shouldn’t be doing, how you should feel, how you shouldn’t feel. It’s both exhausting and annoying. While some people are truly trying to help and pass on wisdom after the mistakes they made, it is SO hard not to roll my eyes most of the time. Anyway, I’m hoping that I’m not the only one who gets these!
You should travel, all the time, everywhere!
Now, don’t get me wrong I enjoy visiting other places, seeing other cultures and their history BUT I’m not someone who’s into travelling. The thought of just having a backpack and all that jazz doesn’t appeal to me, it never has. I have a list of places I want to go but you won’t see me heading off for weeks or months at a time to share a room and a shower.
You should get experience, lots of experience!
I’m lucky enough that I’ve had some great opportunities, but very early on I learnt that coming from money can really help get your career kick started. There are so many industries where you are expected to get experience by working for free or on minimum wage. I know for a fact most 20 somethings really do want to get experience but simply cannot afford it without support.
You should/shouldn’t be thinking about getting married!
People are obsessed with when they think you should or shouldn’t get married. There’s a total divide on what people think in my life. A lot of people are like you guys have been together forever, when are you getting married? OR they will tell you under no circumstances should you do it in your twenties, I have to say though most people who say this are divorced.
Go out! Party and make the most of it!
I did a year of partying at uni, sometimes it was fun but it was never my thing. I’m quite happy to go to the pub every now and again or go out for some cocktails after payday but I’d rather save my money and do exciting things that won’t make me feel awful the next day!
Don’t forget to save!
Between all the travelling, partying and unpaid experience?
You’re in the best time of your life, remember that.
So far my 20s have been good, but they’ve also been pretty hard. I think people forget the confusion, the stress of trying to work out who you want to be and how to make that happen and all the expectations on you. Oh and not to mention the debt if you went to uni, so much debt.
What are/were you guys told throughout your 20s? Let me know in the comments below!
Hello, hello, hello!
I’m writing today about something quite important. Now I know there will be people who look at the title of this post and think ‘oh god’ but wait! Give me a few lines. For the past few years I’ve been on my own personal search, the stage of your life where you want to know what you believe in. I’ve read countless books, looked at the world around me, at myself to decide if I am a feminist, what the word means (I’ll talk more about that later on). I wanted to start a weekly segment where I talk about feminism. I want to talk with you all about important issues, feminists to look up to and about our society today. I want to take away the misinformation, at least on my little corner of the internet. Most of all I’ll share my opinion and not step on another woman because of how she chooses to live, because that’s what feminism is about.
For this first post I thought I’d write a little about my life and feminism. Now, since I was a little girl I’ve always been adamant that I could do whatever the boys did. I would play with the boys at school, more than once I was the leader of the army through the woods. I used to draw dolls, because I felt Barbie was lacking, they were called Jenny Anything and they had so many different careers and I was 7 or 8 when I was drawing them. As I got older I still called out sexism, questioned things that I didn’t feel were right. Did I get in arguments with people? Of course I did!
When I was around 17, however, I started to lose my voice a bit. I started at college in a class of almost all boys (I was one of three females, which went down to two in my final year), which I think did have an impact on my idea of feminism. All of my friends were guys, I didn’t feel oppressed and I didn’t see it around me. The feminists I saw around me shouted a lot and talked about what I thought were stupid things like banning a song, I wasn’t like that. So when a boy slapped my bum, it was seen by a staff member and I was asked if I wanted to report it (which I did) I was pressured by the males in my class not to say anything because it was banter, could I not take a joke? Now I think about it am mad, but I was 18 years old and most of the time the only girl in the class and not always that popular for being a ‘nerd’ and a ‘swot’.
So when I got to uni I wasn’t sure about the whole feminist thing. I hadn’t seen a good example of feminism and looking back now I was naive so naive. I wasn’t looking at the bigger picture and I thought these girls were just huge killjoys. Who cares if women want to topless model, do porn or anything like that? Even today I still believe women can do what they like with their bodies and I’ll go into that in a different post. I didn’t see anyone who I could relate to and it’s something Emma Watson has spoken about (the first person I felt like I did relate to). Even in a university discussion I stated I was an equalist because I was fed up of women who thought they were superior to men. I believed the lies, I was young and impressionable and I believed the negativity. In fact now I’m embarrassed, but I truly feel that you need to find your own feminism, it can’t be forced on someone.
It wasn’t until I signed up for a Women’s Writing class and started reading the books that were assigned I started to realise something, there were people in here I could relate to. I realised that things I’d thought were ‘fine’ or me ‘fussing’ weren’t ok. That I can be a feminist and that this angry, hairy, bra burning feminist was something that was mostly made up. Yes there are some people I don’t agree with, but the world would be so boring if everyone thought the same. I realised that I am a feminist and that I may not have always wanted to use the word I’ve always wanted equality for women, I’ve always been passionate about men and women living together and being able to not have social pressures.
I am a feminist and I can’t wait to talk more with you.
Image from Popsugar
Last year it was announced that the Harry Potter story would continue in a new work, this time a play. Rowling was to work with a small team to carry on the story, this time focusing on the next generation of Potter’s, Granger-Weasley’s and Malfoy’s.
I wrote last week about how I was going to queue up at midnight to get my copy of The Cursed Child, along with Abbie and my Mum. I’ve been a Harry Potter fan since I was a little girl and I hoped, like all the other Potterheads out there that this was going to be something incredible, although I was disappointed it wasn’t going to be a novel. So I eagerly tucked in to what was billed the eighth story in the Harry Potter universe and read a little when I got home and the rest the morning after and, well, I kind of wish I hadn’t. While I was nervous about reading this and quite apprehensive, as many of the people I spoke to were, I didn’t think this was going to be the final product, especially after the incredible reviews the play has received. Please note this is ONLY MY OPINION I respect other’s opinions :).
The play starts where Deathly Hallows finishes, on Platform 9 and 3/4, where Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione are about to wave off their children. For Albus Potter and Rose Granger Weasley this is the first time they’ll take the trip to Hogwarts and start their magical education in a place we’ve all firmly kept in our hearts. While the first part of the play almost completely matches the novel, that is where I feel the similarities end. The first shock was Rose Granger-Weasley, while I think the aim was to create similarities between Rose and Hermione at the same age, she came across as a brat, not how I imagined her at all.
I can’t go into a lot of detail because of spoilers and the fact I would probably ramble on for hours. I think the main issue with it is that you can tell this wasn’t written by J.K Rowling, it may have been her idea but this does not read like her work at all. At best this reads like a fan fiction, and not necessarily a good one. In fact knowing that Rowling is supposed to have come up with this entire plot makes me very sad, the energy and passion isn’t there. It has so many classic fan fiction tropes that just made me mad. I wanted to shout at the book, what are you doing to the world we’ve all fallen in love with.
The hardest thing though was the trio themselves. It didn’t feel like I was reading about the character’s I’d grown up with. Harry said certain things that I felt Harry just wouldn’t say, Hermione had lost her spark of being able to take control of a situation and Ron was probably the hardest of all. When he was in the play, which wasn’t a lot, he just milled around and was used as minor comic relief but, as will Harry and Hermione, had lost what made Ron, Ron. I will say though that I absolutely loved Draco Malfoy in this, we really got to see him come into his own and develop as a character so gold stars for that. Ginny Weasley, however, is pushed to the side in this play as she was in the films, in fact I felt like all the women were pushed aside which was very disappointing.
When it comes to the new generation again it was a Malfoy that I liked, the character of Scorpio was probably my favourite and reminded me of someone from the original novels, although not his father. The relationship between Scorpio and Albus was sweet and there was an understanding between them. I wish I like the character of Albus as much but I didn’t, thankfully Scorpio will tell his friend when he is being ridiculous, because someone has to. There were rumors there would be a romance between the two and as great as that would have been, I can confirm it is not true.
There are some surprising characters that appear throughout the play and some…interesting concepts too. Other than that we are mostly following Albus, Scorpius and their parents over about three years.
I’m only giving this 2 stars (**), frankly I am heartbroken that this is now canon in the word of Harry Potter. While I’m sure this is a lot better in the medium is was written for, it doesn’t feel like Harry Potter to me. At most this is a basic plot relying heavily on fan fiction tropes and in some cases completely ignoring what happened in the previous seven books and the wizarding law within them. I have a ticket for the play next year and I’m kind of curios to see how it looks on stage (because, you know I already paid for it) but it’s safe to say this doesn’t work in the same way the books do. Do I think it should have been published and given the hype it did? Not at all. In my mind there are 7 Harry Potter books, that’s all the canon we need and want.
What did you guys think? Love it, hate it? Let me know in the comments below!
Chloe Metzger 