I usually hate resolutions but...

I have made some resolutions. These are things I've been thinking about doing for a while and things I had started incorporating into my life towards the end of 2015, but I haven't really voiced them and I feel like if I do I'll be more likely to stick to them.

I know this photo is blurry but it's kinda cute and candid if you feel me, plus it was taken on New Years Eve so I feel it's appropriate for a New Years Resolutions post..

MAKE THE CONTENT I WANT TO MAKE - I said in my last post that I created a new channel on YouTube so I could start fresh and make the sort of content I really enjoy, but I want to apply that to my blog as well. I've become really b(l)ogged down with the sort of content I do and I feel like my content has become quite contrived, so for this reason, taking effect immediately, I'm stopping any 'series' I have on my blog until I feel like I want to do them again because it's making me feel forced to post content that I don't care about, which in turn is making me care less about my blog. So, I'm just gonna post when and what I feel like posting.

READ MORE BOOKS - If you remember, in this post I said I wanted to read 50 books in 2015 and follow a very challenging regime, which killed my love of reading. I'm serious, like I've been a bookworm since I learned to read but this year I just didn't feel like reading according to this schedule, so I'm setting my reading challenge to 15 books and I'm going to read the books I like.

GET BACK INTO MUSIC - This is quite specific in terms of singing. I have kept up with playing guitar and ukulele since being at University, and the times I've visited home I've had a whack at the piano, but in terms of singing I've completely let go. I had vocal lessons for 4 years, and I feel like since then my voice and slowly deteriorated and I've only realised how dramatically it has recently (my range has decreased significantly) so I'm going to try and work on it everyday to try and get it back to where it was. I used to be able to hit an A5 and I was really proud of that but I can't really do it anymore which is sucky. Plus, I want to do music on my new YouTube channel (which will be properly up in February) so I feel like I should do some sort of preparation for that..

GET A JOB - This isn't a goal I'm expecting to fulfil until the summer, but I have never had a proper job. I've had about 4 days of work experience before, but other than that, zilch. I would really like to get a job for the summer so I can stay down in Brighton for a bit and get a bit of job experience, failing getting a job in Brighton, I might try and get one in London and stay there for the summer. Part of the reason I want to get a job, of course, is so I can sing 'I was looking for a job and then I found a job, and heaven knows I'm miserable now' and have it be somewhat relatable.

Have you set yourself any resolutions?

Recent reads #1

I usually just do single book reviews on this blog but recently I've been loving mini reviews, and there are a lot of books I read that don't get reviewed so from now I'm going to start doing mini reviews instead. I may still do single book reviews if I have a lot to say on a book but for now at least it is bye bye single book reviews, and hello compilation of mini reviews.

Now that that's out of the way...

ELEANOR AND PARK - RAINBOW ROWELL

★★★★★

Eleanor and Park is the story of a couple of high school losers. Eleanor is the new girl in town with a dysfunctional home life to say the last and she doesn't really have any friends, until she meets Park. Park is a bit of a loser but he does have some friends unlike Eleanor. They sit with each other on the bus and Park lends her comics, and makes her mix tapes, and eventually they become friends, and then they start dating. This is the story of their relationship and how it works despite outside problems.

I got this book for my birthday (I did a post on the things I got here) but I didn't get round to reading it for quite a while clearly. As you can see by the 5 star rating, I loved it (it was good enough to get into my Winter Favourites having only read it a day so y'know). I read about half the book in a day, it was so so easy to read. I mean it's a 'coming-of-age' book so it's hardly going to be complex but I just loved so much about it. I loved the characters, I actually developed a bit of a crush on Park which a bit awkward given that he's a high school student and I'm 18 but hey. It's set in the 80s so they talk about The Smiths and Joy Division a fair bit, and The Beatles even got a few mentions so it's hard to go wrong. The book dealt with big themes like racism, gender roles, body image, and abusive family relationships, and whilst you have to get over the set up that Park and Eleanor basically become really close without really talking to each other, it's so so good and the ending had me so on edge.

YOU NEVER GIVE ME YOUR MONEY: THE BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF THE BEATLES - PETER DOGGETT

★★★★

This book is the story of The Beatles focusing more on the business side of things, and all the fights that tore them apart as a group. It's tells the tale of how they built up their financial empire at the same time with personal and business rivalry. It  gives you a look into the arguments between the Lennon and McCartney families, the inner conflicts of George Harrison, and Ringo Starr's alcoholism. It documents the changing relationships between the four as they try to dissociate themselves from The Beatles and it shows the transformation of Apple Corps 'from a bastion of 1960s counter-culture into a corporate behemoth'

I got this book for Christmas (I did a post on the things I got here) and I got round to reading it finally because my Dad's been wanting to borrow it off me but he wanted me to read it first and develop my thoughts on it, so that's what I did. This is more about the business side of The Beatles so you definitely have to be an invested fan to read it, but if you are an invested fan (like myself) you will enjoy this because all the facts are there basically and it will just build onto your knowledge. I found it dragged on a bit towards the end and I was glad to finish it, but it did greatly add onto my Beatles knowledge so I'm definitely more prepared for a potential Mastermind session.

THE GREAT GATSBY - F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

★★★★★

The Great Gatsby is the story of a guy called Nick Carraway who has just moved to West Egg of Long Island to seek his fortune as a bond salesman. In East Egg lives Nick's cousin Daisy who's married to his college friend Tom. Nick travels there shortly after moving and he becomes acquainted with their friend Jordan Baker. Daisy, Tom and Jordan are all a lot more privileged than Nick is. When Nick returns home, he sees his neighbour Gatsby staring out at the water with his hand out. Nick later gets invited to one of Gatsby's famous parties, and he becomes friends with the mysterious Gatsby, and the story follows the tale of their friendship and essentially the mystery of Gatsby.

I actually started reading this book a few years ago but I didn't finish it, I remember it was during my GCSEs so I didn't finish it possibly due to stress, lack of time, an increase in the existential crisis, whatever reason, I didn't finish it. Since then I've seen the Leonardo DiCaprio film a few times as well as watching a television adaptation, so I knew the story and I gave it another go as it's pretty short and I feel a bit silly not having read it given how much I love reading and books and classic literature and all that jazz. I really liked this book, it's written in such a beautiful way and I think the social commentary on the seedy underbelly of Capitalism and class distinction was very interesting to read as this is a subject I already am quite interested in (the revolution is coming guys). It's really easy to get into and whilst it's beautifully written, it's not so complex that you can't understand what's going on.

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S - TRUMAN CAPOTE

★★★

This story follows the tale of an unnamed narrator who meets a girl called Holly Golighty, she calls the narrator Fred after her older brother but that isn't actually his name. They're both tenants in apartments in Manhattan's Upper East Side. Holly is essentially a gold digger, she's unemployed and she spends her time with wealthy, elderly men in the hope that one of them will marry her. She likes to shock people by saying bizarre things, and as she slowly reveals herself to the narrator, he becomes interesting in her curious lifestyle.

In all honesty, this story didn't really thrill me. I liked the characterisation of Holly in the sense that she was so annoying and outrageous (and a little bit racist) that it was interesting to read about her, and the actual story was fairly interesting, but I didn't find it exciting to read, the writing style didn't enthral me and I'm not sure if I would read it again. I didn't enjoy the short stories that came with it either. I'm quite upset that I didn't really enjoy it that much because my parents quite like it, I'm hoping that I'll enjoy the film more when I watch it. I know it's very different from the book but I'm thinking I may prefer that (plus you can't go wrong with Audrey Hepburn)

HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY - DOUGLAS ADAMS

★★★★★

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy follows the story of a man called Arthur Dent who's taken off the Earth by his friend Ford Prefect. What Arthur didn't know is that he's actually a researcher for the revised edition of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and he's been posing as an out-of-work actor for 15 years. Together, they travel through space following the guidance of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and they meet a bunch of other travellers on their journey, including a couple of people he knew back on Earth and Marvin the paranoid android who's chronically depressed.

I've wanted to read this for a while because it's one of my Dad's favourite books (I'm pretty certain it was his first fandom ever with the radio show too and all that jazz) and I remember liking the film. I found the book took a few chapters to get going but once it got going, I couldn't put it down - I literally read about 90% of the book in a day. It's light sci-fi but if you're not into sci-fi I reckon you'll still find this pretty accessible, although I'm a big lover of sci-fi so I could be a little bit biased. I thought it was very humorous as well, and I loved Marvin just as much as I did in the film. He really reminded me of Morrissey and of myself which I loved. I definitely want to go on and read the sequels.

What books have you read recently?

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Book review - About a Boy by Nick Hornby

It's been about a month since my last book review (given that I'm supposed to be reading fifty books this year for my Goodreads challenge, this doesn't bode well for me) but I have another Nick Hornby book that I have really really liked, and that one is About a Boy.

I had seen the film for About a Boy years ago and I remembered loving it, I'm actually rewatching it as I'm writing this and drooling over Hugh Grant. I don't know what it is about Hugh Grant but he just has me feeling a certain kinda way.. but foetus Nicholas Hoult is in it too so I loved the film, it was funny and Badly Drawn Boy did the soundtrack so that's a good start. After reading High Fidelity, I had to read more Hornby so I decided to read this as I had seen the film and already knew I would love it.

Synopsis:

The book focuses on two people: Will and Marcus. Will is in his mid 30s, he doesn't want kids, he's a pretty cool dude, but in attempt to pick up women he joins S.P.A.T (Single Parents Alone Together) and he pretends that he has a kid. It's through S.P.A.T that his story crosses over with Marcus, who is in year 7 and he's a bit of a loser. His parents are divorced, and his Mum is suffering from depression and tries to kill herself near the beginning of the book, so his home life isn't great. After a while, Marcus decides to visit Will at his house various times in an attempt to get him to go out with his Mum but after a while he gives up on this plan, and Will becomes his friend who teaches him to be cool. The book follows their friendship and focuses on the effects of depression on other people, and growing up.

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was very straightforward to read but not simplistic. Although, I didn't find it laugh-out-loud funny like High Fidelity and it was less of a conversational style but it still did have that aspect. I liked how the story focused on how depression can affect the people around you and how it looks to a naive child. I liked the surreality of the book because the initial concept doesn't seem all that realistic but once you've accepted that, it's really enjoyable. 

I found some parts very funny, like Marcus was convinced that Kurt Cobain was actually Kirk O'Bane and that he was a footballer. I actually really loved the strong theme of Nirvana in this book, being a Nirvana fan myself, and the book covers Kurt's suicide attempt and then his death, and from researching the book it turns out the title 'About a Boy' is a reference to the song 'About a Girl'. I knew the song but I didn't really link them together, but Nirvana play a strong part in the book and they're referenced to quite a lot.

Overall rating:

I gave this book a 4/5 on Goodreads, I did really like it but it didn't captivate me quite as much as High Fidelity did and I think I was comparing it to that a lot just because they're both written by Nick Hornby. Although I did like this and it focused on more serious issues which I found interesting, the humour is a lot more subtle than High Fidelity so it did have funny moments but it wasn't laugh-out-loud funny.

Have you read or seen About a Boy?

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Book review - High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

I'm going to be frank. I love reading the book before the film generally, but it's very rarely that I do it because it's usually a film that brings the book to my attention - I am so sorry. That's how I came across this book, I really like the film, and I chose to read the book because I needed to read a funny book as part of my 2015 reading challenge so I googled 'funny books' to get some ideas and saw this there, so I thought I'd give it a go because I remembered finding the movie pretty funny. Furthermore, I felt as Valentine's Day was coming up (and this review is going up on Valentine's Day), a book about a bad breakup and the story of other breakups was just relevant.

Synopsis:

Do you know your desert-island, all-time, top five most memorable split-ups? Rob does. He keeps a list, in fact. But Laura isn't on it - even though she's just become his latest ex. He's got his life back, you see. He can do what he wants when he wants: like listen to whatever music he likes, look up the girls that are on his list, and generally behave as if Laura never mattered. But Rob finds he can't move on. He's stuck in a really deep groove - and it's called Laura. Soon, he's asking himself some big questions: about love, about life - and about why we choose to share ours with the people we do.

My thoughts:

I just want to say that this book is quite possibly my favourite book of all time, which is a sweeping statement, but that's how much I enjoyed it. I found myself constantly laughing, and I loved all of the references to music - I'm pretty certain I'm Rob, purely because he loves The Beatles (seriously like he's on my level of Beatlemaniac) and he quite likes The Smiths amongst other cool artists and groups, but he's a massive twonk - you can quite understand why Laura splits up with him, but you also sort of like him too, or at least I did but that's probably because I relate to him. Rob cares more about music than he does maintaining relationships whether they be with friends, family, or people of the romantic persuasion. I think my favourite character was Barry (who's played by Jack Black in the film and he does a brilliant job), Barry is sassy as heck and he's even less likeable than Rob but I think that's why I like him, I found myself laughing whenever Barry was mentioned. 

The storyline wasn't an epic story, it's not life changing in that sense, but it's so funny and if you're into music (y'know music history, pop music on the whole) this book will definitely be an enjoyable read. I really love Nick Hornby's writing style, it's conversational and straightforward but not in any means simplistic, just not overly complicated making it suitable for practically anyone.

I feel that because one of the recurring jokes in the book is the lists of 5, I should do a list of 5 best things about the book:
1. Barry (just Barry, no explanation needed)
2. The music references - especially the ones made to The Beatles
3. Rob's annoying behaviour (he's a loner who can't bear to be alone, it's pretty funny)
4. Hornby's comfortable writing style (I'm sorry if that's a strange way to put it, but it just is comfortable and conversational)
5. The recurring lists of 5 in the book

Overall rating:

I gave this book 5/5 stars on Goodreads, I really really enjoyed it and I'm rewatching the film as I'm writing this very review, and finding it even funnier than I did the first time now that I've read the book. As I said, I've discovered I love Hornby's writing style so I think I'm actually going to read another Hornby book very soon!

Have you read or seen High Fidelity?

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Book review - Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

One of my all-time favourite films (you can verify this by looking at my profile on Letterboxd) is Howl's Moving Castle, I like the storyline, the characters, and oh my gosh do not get me started on the music. However, I only found out it was adapted from a book about a year ago - judge me, seriously. I remember seeing a review of it pop up on my Blogger dashboard and immediately thinking 'I need to get my hands on this book'. It took a while but my parents gifted me the set for my birthday and I decided to start reading them in 2015 as I have to read 50 books this year for my reading challenge and I needed to save up books (no one said my logic was sound) so it took me a while to get started on this, but I can already tell you - this is gonna be a positive review.

Synopsis:

In the land of Ingary, where seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, Sophie Hatter attracts the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste, who puts a curse on her. Determined to make the best of things, Sophie travels to the one place where she might get help - the moving castle which hovers on the nearby hills.

But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the hearts of young girls...

My thoughts:

I have to say that when going into this, I really assumed it was going to be a disappointment in comparison to the film because it's so bizarre that I had no idea how it could be put into words, but Diana Wynne Jones some how did it. It was pretty close to the film and in fact I think it has made the film experience better for me because there were some parts in the film that weren't explained too well, this is why you should always read the book first. I absolutely loved Calcifer just as much as I did in the film, and I adore Sophie as a character as well (I did a quiz to see what Ghibli character I am, and apparently I'm her so maybe that's why). I thought the storyline wasn't an epic thing that had me hanging on the edge for more (although I found it hard to put this book down), although it was really enjoyable and easy to get sucked into the world of magic (seriously I think I should just leave school and go to Hogwarts or just become a wizard or something, it's clearly destiny). I also loved the chapter names because they were written like Friends episode titles, for example Chapter One - In which Sophie talks to hats. If you changed 'in which' to 'the one where' you'd automatically have a story about magic set in a coffee shop with a bunch of 20-somethings. I also really liked the illustrations, although I still prefer the Ghibli interpretations of the characters' appearances.

Overall rating:

I gave this book a 4/5 on Goodreads, I did really enjoy it. It was well written, intriguing, and had some really great characters - I always found myself chuckling and smirking when I was reading this which probably made me look even more peculiar than I already am (I'm pretty certain people on the bus thought I was rather strange). I am really looking forward to reading the sequels!!

Have you read or seen Howl's Moving Castle?

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Book review - How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran

I am a complete and utter failure.

Well maybe not a complete failure, but I haven't done a book review on here since October so in the book review department, so I'm not doing too well. However, for my 2015 reading challenge on Goodreads I am aiming to read 50 books so hopefully you'll see a lot more book reviews on here over the next year. 

I've wanted to read How to Build a Girl for ages because the author, Caitlin Moran, is an open, opinionated feminist and when I read the synopsis of this book on Amazon, I just knew that it was something I had to read. Luckily, I received it for my birthday but I've only just gotten round to reading it.

Synopsis:

It's 1990. Johanna Morrigan, 14, has shamed herself so badly on local TV that she decides that there's no point in being Johanna anymore and reinvents herself as Dolly Wilde - fast-talking, hard-drinking Gothic hero and full-time Lady Sex Adventurer! She will save her poverty stricken Bohemian family by becoming a writer - like Jo in Little Women, or the Brontes - but without the dying young bit. Imagine The Bell Jar written by Rizzo from Grease, with a soundtrack by My Bloody Valentine and Happy Mondays. As beautiful as it is funny, How To Build a Girl is a brilliant coming-of-age novel in DMs and ripped tights, that captures perfectly the terror and joy of trying to discover exactly who it is you are going to be.

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book at the beginning when Johanna was a fourteen year old living in post-Thatcher Wolverhampton in a council house, what I loved about the post-Thatcher aspect of the book was that all the characters in it are clear lefties so it was nice to read about characters who hated Margaret Thatcher as much as I do (clearly hate is the pathway to love). Johanna starts off as a somewhat irritating character in that she wants to be someone who she's not, so she's a bit like a pretentious hipster, however I don't think that all characters should be likable in a book and to dislike a book on the basis that the main character isn't likeable is silly, not all people are likable, why should all book characters be? 

I enjoyed all of the musical references in the book, The Beatles and The Smiths came up quite a fair bit, I know it may seem sad but when they're mentioned in books or TV shows my heart does a little flip so y'know it was nice to have that in this book.

I feel like the beginning and the end of the book are very different, and I preferred the first half because in the second half there was so much talk of sex and I'm not a prude y'know I'm all about the frick frack but preferably not in vivid detail and when I'm reading it in school and have invasive friends looking over my shoulders, I think I'm just a bit awkward, like Miranda, when it comes to reading about sex in books.

Overall rating:

I gave this a 4/5 on Goodreads, I did feel there was a bit too much of the sexy times for my liking but  I quite liked the way the book ended, and I can imagine a really good film being adapted from this too which is hard to do with some books.

Have you read How to Build a Girl?

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A year's worth of book reviews & the 2015 reading challenge

This year has gone ridiculously quickly, does anyone else start to majorly think about the inevitability death at the end of the year.. or month.. or week.. or day? Just me? 

At the beginning of 2014, I decided to set myself a goal of reading 15 books on Goodreads which doesn't sound like very much at all but remember I am in sixth form which basically means there is no time between sleeping and working, the existential crisis also takes up a fair bit of my time too. So I thought I would do very short reviews of all the books I've read this year, I will link to full reviews where I can and give a quick rating.

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K Rowling (5/5)

I should start off by saying I was re-reading these books, I am a massive Potterhead so obviously I've already read the books. After visiting the Harry Potter Studios in December 2013 (followed by a 20 hour Harry Potter movie marathon - go hard or go home guys) I was feeling emotionally distraught about Harry Potter, so I thought re-reading the books to kick off the year would kick off some of the intense feels I had been feeling (it didn't) but I think it's quite obvious I love this book. It's well written, in fact I read this within 24 hours I loved it so much. 

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K Rowling (5/5)

If you don't like Harry Potter, just scroll down until you reach book 8. I also gave this a 5/5 rating, I know most people think the Chamber of Secrets is the worst book but I don't at all. I love the concept and I also liked Harry going to stay with the Weasleys for the first time, again it was very well written and just enjoyable. If you don't like the books in the Harry Potter series, I hope you enjoy your life without a soul.

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K Rowling (5/5)

Basically all of the Harry Potter books have a high rating from me, they are my favourite book series and Harry Potter is a prominent part of my life. A lot of people say this is one of their least favourite books in the series but for me it's possibly my favourite, Voldemort isn't really in it and my favourite character Sirius Black is introduced (although the ending for Sirius and Harry breaks my heart), and Remus Lupin is introduced too! What's not to love about that? It's a very calm book in the sense that Voldemort's not after Harry, I liked how you got to see a lot more of the general wizarding lifestyle in this book like Hogsmeade and life in general around the castle.

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K Rowling (5/5)

This is the Harry Potter book where things get serious and the whole series gets a lot more intense from this point, but I still loved it. The whole book is quite the mystery as you're pondering the question 'who put Harry's name in the goblet of fire?' for the entire thing, but it is just a downright amazing book. I'm assuming if you're intending to read this book, you've read the first three so there's not much I need to say, you know how Harry Potter goes.

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K Rowling (5/5)

Funnily enough, the first time I read this book it was my least favourite Harry Potter book. It is a hefty read and I think the length automatically gave me a bad impression, however upon re-reading it I think it may be my favourite book. I love the introduction of Luna Lovegood as a character, I love the development of Neville Longbottom's character, I love the introduction of Professor Umbridge as a character like don't get me wrong she's a terrible sadist but a great villain! (I hate certain parts of the book which I won't say because I don't want to spoil it but if you know you know). It's actually as easy to read as the other books, it's just longer.

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K Rowling (5/5)

Part of me loves this book just because it's so heavily focused on Draco and I imagine Tom Felton when reading it (I know it's bad to imagine the actors as the characters in the book but hey I like imagining Tom Felton). This book gave so much depth to Draco Malfoy, and it was quite intense and dark and just so interesting to read. 

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K Rowling (5/5)

If I had to describe this book in 3 words, these are the words I would choose: ALL THE FEELS. This book had me tearing up and crying upon re-reading it, I remember the first time the ending just had me speechless, I was so numb from emotion I couldn't cry, but I remember being really sad for about a week after reading this, it was pretty bad. I think this book ends the series really well, and quite realistically. It shows the true side of war that it's not just villains who die, but the heroes die as well (no more spoilers from there okay) which I think is good even though it means having to say goodbye to some of your favourite characters. I like the epilogue too, it makes you feel like Harry going to be fine without you being emotionally invested in him (yes I do really believe I know the characters, no you don't have the right to judge me)

8. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath (4/5) Review here

I should explain that the review I've linked you to is a review I did on my old blog, don't bother following it as it is closed but I thought I'd link you to a full review I did over there. I did quite enjoy this book, it was a very quick read and I like the feminist themes in it, considering when it was written the feminism is quite strong (hell to the yeah). I'm very interested in psychology (I actually mentioned reading this book in my personal statement for University) so I found this book really interesting as it talks about depression and electro-convulsive therapy, it can at points be triggering so sometimes I had to stop reading it for a while but if you're not easily triggered that shouldn't be an issue. Sylvia Plath had an interesting but short and tragic life which I was actually not too informed about until after researching it post-reading this book.

9. Autobiography - Morrissey (3/5) Review here

The review I did on this book was actually the first post I did on this blog funnily enough. It's a shame I didn't much like the book. The very beginning of it was quite interesting as it was about Morrissey growing up in Manchester and the formation of The Smiths (if you didn't know, The Smiths are one of my favourite bands right up there with The Beatles and Morrissey is pretty cool too), however there is a lot of detail on the various court cases Morrissey was involved with and it becomes quite difficult to read as it's vague, there aren't many specific events for him to talk about. The thing that annoyed me the most is that there are no chapters! It was bad enough that for the first 20 pages there are no paragraphs, and he splits up words and sentences over pages nearly all the time, but no chapters made it really hard to know where to stop reading and where to pick up. It's a shame, I really really wanted to like it but I found it hard to read and didn't enjoy it too much after the first half. I've heard this is being adapted into a biopic which I'll still watch, hopefully they'll be able to turn this book into something good.

10. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green (4/5) Review here

I don't want to burst anyone's bubble but this book was ridiculously overrated. Don't get me wrong, I loved the writing style of John Green and I liked how the story wasn't just a sob story like most stories about cancer (although I could be generalising, books about cancer generally aren't my thing) but it was quite light-hearted given the topic. Although, I knew how it was going to end (thanks for that one Tumblr), however even if Tumblr hadn't spoiled it for me, I would've guessed it was going to happen anyway because you're given plenty of warning for what's going to happen. I did enjoy it, but I think it was overrated and rather cheesy, but John Green has a lovely writing style.

11. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D Salinger (4/5) Review here

The reason I wanted to read this book is because John Lennon's murderer apparently was influenced by this book to kill John, I knew nothing would ever justify the murder but I was interested to see whether there was any sort of explanation within this book. I can see how a paranoid schizophrenic may be triggered by this book as most of the book is just Holden Caulfield complaining about how phoney people are. The book is very symbolic, and I did like it after I got over Holden's constant whinging. Once I discovered that Holden isn't meant to be a likeable character, I enjoyed the book a lot more. It's very well written and whilst there isn't a dramatic, intense storyline, you do get quite drawn in. It's a marmite book in that you either rate it a lot or don't think much of it, for example my Mum really didn't like it but me and my Dad quite liked it.

12. My Mad Fat Teenage Diary - Rae Earl (4/5) Review here

I absolutely loved the TV adaptation of this, the book is different in that it's set in the 80s rather than the 90s (which I preferred because she mentioned Morrissey on practically every page) and that all the characters have nicknames like Haddock and Battered Sausage. If you like the TV series, you may enjoy this because there's a lot of similarities but it's less structured than the TV show as that has an ongoing storyline and this book is just literally diary entries. Nonetheless, I liked it and the Morrissey references made me very very happy.

13. Spain for the Sovereigns - Jean Plaidy (1/5)

I hate historical fiction with a passion. I had to read this and the next book I'm going to mention for my History A level to aid with my coursework. This was the most difficult book to read, it got better towards the end but I just really didn't like it at all. If you're interested in the Golden Age of Spain perhaps you'll like it but I wasn't, and it wasn't written in a way that drew me in.

14. The Last Queen - C.W Gortner (3/5)

Again, I really don't like historical fiction, but this one was much better than the other one I had to read. I may as well point out that this is very graphic, if you don't like reading about the sexy times then edge away from this. I still wouldn't re-read this and most of the book is a solid 2/5 for me but by the end I couldn't put it down, it gets very intense and interesting by the end, it made the Golden Age of Spain a bit more interesting for me.

15. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (5/5) Review here

If you're interested in Philosophy or literature in general, give this a go. This book is about a dystopian future where fire fighters burn books and the protagonist is one of these fire fighters, but then he meets a 17 year old called Clarisse who makes him question his entire life. I read this book really quickly, it's not so simplistic that you feel patronised but it is simple enough to read without having to concentrate majorly hard. I really want to see the film of this as well, I would definitely recommend this. I think the Philosophical aspects of this really appealed to me as Philosophy is one of my favourite subjects in school (and this was actually recommended by my super cool Philosophy teacher)

16. The Talented Mr. Ripley - Patricia Highsmith (4/5)

I did intend to do a full review of this but I didn't get round to it and now I feel like I can't talk about it in enough detail for a full review, but I had seen the film of this and loved it. This was another book I mentioned on my personal statement because it's linked to mental illness and crime, the book feels like two different books because something happens halfway through that changes the way the book is done. The protagonist is a man who is good at impersonation and he's essentially a psychopath, I found this book very interesting but it felt like such a different book by the end so I preferred the first half to the second half.

17. The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K Rowling (4/5)
This isn't so much a novel but a collection of short stories, which I did enjoy, they were well written and a must-read for anyone who is into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (you may or may not have guessed by now that I love Harry Potter), plus the illustrations inside, although few, are really nice. My favourite story was The Tale of the Three Brothers, which is the most famous one of them all as it's a strong theme throughout Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I just thought it was the wrong with the strongest underlying message. The only issue I had with this book is that I felt a little odd reading it on the bus as not everyone would've realised it was Harry Potter related, they would've just seen an 18 year old reading a kid's book, so bear that in mind.

My 2014 reading challenge wasn't particularly challenging, so I decided to amp it up a bit - you feel me?

This challenge is over 50 books essentially, so I've amped up my challenge a fair bit.

Wish me luck on my challenge, add me on Goodreads to see the journey and stay tuned for many many more reviews on this blog!

What was your favourite book this year?

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What I got for Christmas 2014

I received some really lovely bits for Christmas so I thought I would show you as that's what all the blogger/vlogger folks seem to be doing, plus they've been some of my favourite posts/videos for a long time!!

What did you do for Christmas?

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Book review - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Hello there readers, I am back with another book review. I know it's been a while but if you have me as a friend on Goodreads you may or may not have seen that I was reading a couple of historical fictions. Now I have nothing against people who enjoy historical fiction, some of my best friends like historical fiction, but I can't stand it so trekking through these books for History was a long, treacherous journey that I wish not to repeat. Once I finished those books though, I moved onto the one I am reviewing - Fahrenheit 451. This book is considered a classic by most literature nerds (of which I am one), so I knew that one day I would have to read it, but what really gave me the motivation to read it now was my Philosophy teacher who I have mentioned in countless posts now but he recommends books and films and whatnot and he recommended the film of this, and I like to try and read the book before reading the film generally so I decided to read it. Plus my parents have recommended it several times before, so the time was right.

I'd also like to point out that with this book, I completed my 2014 reading challenge which was to read 15 books, this may not sound like a lot but I really became unmotivated with reading last year so I'm quite proud of myself for doing it and completing it more than 2 months ahead!

Borrowing my parents books always means receiving a very old, battered book which for aesthetic reasons is  quite nice but makes it quite hard to scan into goodreads.. mostly because you need a barcode and there are no barcodes on the old books.

Synopsis:

Guy Montag is a fireman in a dystopian future where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy books along with the houses in which they are hidden, because they are the most illegal commodity.

Montag never questions this lifestyle, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television "family." But then he meets an eccentric seventeen year old, Clarisse, who asks him thought provoking questions and tells him stories of the past - back in the day when firemen used to put out fires rather than start them. Clarisse causes him to question his entire lifestyle, and the story continues on from there.

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book. It was so easy to get into, and it wasn't written in a complicated way at all. My only criticisms are that it was split into three parts rather than chapters so it made it a little harder to decide when to stop reading, but it's a very short book regardless so I didn't have too much trouble with that. I was so gripped in the third part, so much so that I couldn't put it down which was nice because I haven't read a book like that in a long time. I also enjoyed the philosophical themes in it - this could be because I am a generic pretentious Philosophy student, I like reading and watching things that make me think. I really want to watch the film now!!

Overall rating:

I gave this a 5/5 on Goodreads - yep that's right, you read that correctly. I hardly ever rate books a 5/5 (with the exception of Harry Potter) but I can't point out any faults with this book really.

Have you read Fahrenheit 451?

Book review - My Mad Fat Diary by Rae Earl

Hello there readers, hope you're all well. It's been a while since I've done a book review, honestly because my reading patterns have been a bit all over the place since I finished school. Usually I read my book on the bus to and from school, and before I go to bed but I'm not going to school and I've been going to bed at late hours. Anyway, I finally finished My Mad Fat Diary which I borrowed from my friend. I wanted to read this book because I was obsessed with the series, I think it's a series that grips you in so quickly and series 2 had me constantly on edge, I would talk about it nearly everyday to my friends just because it made me so nervous. Then my friend bought the books and said I'd like them so I gave them a go, and I can quickly say this is a positive review!

Synopsis:

It's 1989, and Rae is a fat, boy-mad 17-year old girl, living in Stamford, Lincolnshire with her Mum and their deaf white cat in a council house with a mint off-green bath suite and a larder Rae can't keep away from. 

My thoughts:

I think this book was written in a way that draws you in but it also feels like you're talking to a friend, so you have a personal connection to Rae. Many of the characters in Rae's life are given nicknames such as 'Battered Sausage' and 'Haddock' so in that respect it's very similar to the 'Angus, thongs and perfect snogging' series but it's not quite to the same length as that because I found I got confused with some of the words in 'Angus, thongs and perfect snogging' but in this the nicknames were kept to a minimum. 

The storyline doesn't really have much of an ending because it is like a diary, plus there's a sequel so it is like life in that it doesn't have a cheesy ending but it just stops with a conclusion and summary. I found that okay to deal with as it was very similar to reading a regular girl's diary which wouldn't have a happy ending where everything ends perfectly.

I absolutely adored all of the music references in this book, there was a reference to Morrissey or the Smiths every few pages which was awesome considering how much I love Morrissey so I smiled like a loon every time he was mentioned. 

I felt like I had a connection to Rae on a personal level having had experience with mental illness and food issues, so what I would say is that if you're easily triggered don't read this. I didn't find it majorly triggering but there were some parts where I had to put the book down and take a breather because I needed to just stop, but it also provides an insight of what it's like to be mentally ill if you haven't had that experience which I feel is important to raise awareness about mental illness.

Overall rating:

I think I'd give this a high 4/5. I had read some really bad reviews of it and my friend said she enjoyed it but it wasn't amazing so I went into it with pretty low expectations, I was quite impressed though because I found myself smiling quite a lot whilst I was reading it.

If you liked the show, definitely give it a read because it's so similar but in some ways it's different because the characters in the show are based on a combination of characters in the book, and some bits are changed or dramatized, but the basic atmosphere is there. Alternatively, if you didn't watch the show but quite like reading books that are set in the 80s give this a read because the show was changed to the 90s but I quite liked the book being set in the 80s (possibly more than the show being set in the 90s), Rae's life is strongly influenced by music so if you're like me and music history interests you then give it a go.

Did you watch 'My Mad Fat Diary'?

Have you read the book or are you planning to?

Book review - Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger

Hello there readers, by the title of this post you will have guessed that I am reviewing yet another book. I'm sorry for all of the book reviews and not much else at the moment, but I have a video filmed (and a blog post to go along with it), and two other posts planned which are not book related. Furthermore, I've been reading a lot more since exams finished and all that jazz. Anyway, today I am going to review a book that is considered a classic and by the title of this post you know that the book I am talking about is 'Catcher in the Rye' by J.D Salinger. I've wanted to read this book for a very long time because, if you didn't know I'm a massive beatlemanic, the person who killed John Lennon (Mark Chapman) claims that it was this book that made him kill John Lennon or it was a contributing factor, so I've always wanted to read this book to see whether his claim has any justification whatsoever and let me just say now it doesn't, nothing could justify the murder of John but even if something could - I don't think this could.

Does anyone else love the look of battered old books? This copy is so old it doesn't even have a barcode on it! Courtesy of my Dad (I think), just so you know my parents are massive book hoarders so lots of the books in my household are old and battered and very nice looking (to me)

Synopsis:

Holden Caulfield is a seventeen- year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Navigating his way through the challenges of growing up, Holden dissects the 'phony' aspects of society, and the 'phonies' themselves: the headmaster whose affability depends on the wealth of the parents, his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection.

My thoughts:

I didn't really have any expectations going into this book, except I knew my Mum didn't like it and my Dad did, and I know Mark Chapman used this book to justify murdering John Lennon. My thoughts on this are clear and simple. I love the writing style, it's so easy to read. I would compare it to the likes of the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, the only difference between the two books is that I didn't like the main character in this whereas in the Bell Jar I felt some sort of affinity to Esther. 

Okay so I said I don't like the main character. Holden doesn't really say anything nice about anybody, he doesn't really seem to care about anyone except a couple of relatives and a girl he knew from when he was younger. This put me off.. at first. Then I watched a video of John Green talking about the book, and he rightly pointed out that when we read a book we want to read about characters who we like or who we want to be which after watching I discovered that I think this is true for the most part. 

The actual story itself doesn't have any serious plot twists or drama in it, it simply follows the tale of Holden over a short period of time because he doesn't want his parents to know that he's been kicked out of yet another school, so he meets up with a few people from his past and essentially procrastinates going home. Nothing super dramatic happens to be honest, but the thing that makes this book interesting for me is the symbolism and basically getting inside the head of someone who has some issues to sort through (which is basically every character in a book ever)

The chapters are short (I found myself reading several in the space of one bus journey) and there aren't any words that I found hard to understand, so I would say pretty much anyone can read it however there are some sexual references (quite subtle in some parts but I looked up what some of his slang meant and I recommend you do the same if you don't understand what Holden means by 'chewing the fat' and so on..)

Overall rating:

Overall, I am going to give this book a 4/5. Yes, I didn't like Holden as a character. Yes, nothing very dramatic happens. What drew me into it and kept me reading it was the style of the book, it was like reading someone's personal journal, I found it so easy to visualise every scenario to the point that I could hear the voices of the characters in my head whilst reading it. What I am basically saying is, I would recommend it. If you look on goodreads you will see that the reviews are very mixed, some people say it's 1 star whilst others say it's 5. I think for a 5 star book, I need to be so gripped that I stop breathing and nearly die from oxygen starvation, but this isn't a terrible book so I think to rate it only 1 star is quite harsh. Seeming as the reviews are so mixed, I would say you have to read it to see - it's often compared to perks of being a wallflower (haven't read yet) and the bell jar for its writing style so if you like those books purely for the style go for it and I wish you well, if you refuse to read anything where the main character is anything other than what you want to see in a person then this may not be the book for you.

Have you read the Catcher in the Rye?

Book review - the Fault in our Stars by John Green

Hello there readers, I'm back with another book review. This is a book that is so famous on the webiverse, I can guarantee that you've seen pictures of this book repeatedly on tumblr and instagram - have you guessed it  yet? If you've not then I guess you've not read the title of the post, but yes it's the Fault in our Stars by John Green. I'm so late on the bandwagon, 2 years too late, but I knew I had to read it before the film. I want to watch the film either in the cinema or on DVD because Nat Wolff is in it and I've had a crush/obsession on Nat Wolff since the age of 9 when I watched him in the Naked Brothers Band film, tv shows and film sequels.. (I also bought his album 'Black Sheep' but that's irrelevant). Anyway, I'll stop rambling and get on with the review (you can also add me on goodreads here if you want to see what I'm reading as I'm doing a reading challenge)

Synopsis:

Despite the tumour-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

My thoughts:

I have to say what I loved the most about this book was the writing style, John Green has a really unique way of writing so it doesn't feel like a bunch of long words that people don't use in conversation has been thrown at you, it's simplistic enough that it sounds like you're actually being spoken to by Hazel. Don't get me wrong, I love books with long words it makes me feel much smarter but I think this was a nice easy read which is always good.

The storyline itself was quite cheesy, but I found myself attached to the characters. Something I like to call the Mean Girls Complex, where the story is pretty cheesy and could so easily be cringey if the characters and the comic relief weren't so good. I found Augustus to be quite cringey in the beginning but he was such a deep character and he did introduce some philosophical points in the book which I found interesting. Hazel was a bit dull personality wise but I think that was intentional as she's a cancer patient so she thinks cancer defines her, but she is obsessed with this author and his book - I won't mention any more on that though. I loved Isaac so much (was it the image of Nat Wolff in my head? Who knows..),  he provided some comic relief but he also had an interesting story and he plays a role in getting Augustus and Hazel to meet. 

The book is divided into short chapters (the odd one or two are longer though, and the odd few are very short) but it's very readable and easy to get into, I found myself doing quite a lot of binge reading with this book.

Overall rating:

I would give this a 4/5, I do think it is overrated but I did really enjoy it and I can definitely see myself reading it again. I didn't cry, but I think that's because I knew what was going to happen at the end (trying so hard not to spoil it although I really wonder who doesn't know what happens..). I would definitely recommend this, keep in mind that isn't directly about cancer - that's more of the side stories that comes into the main story if you get what I mean. It's a coming-of-age story but it's like a grown up love story because the characters are all cancerous and know they won't live very long so they take their first loves quite seriously.

Have you read the Fault in our Stars?

Have you read any other of John Green's books?