15 songs y'all should listen to by The Smiths

The Smiths defined an era in the 80s, they created a musical safe haven for the awkward, the shy, and the socially aware. Iconic guitar riffs, basslines, racing drums, combined with poetic, melancholic, sarcastic lyrics - The Smiths are one of a kind.

The Smiths are one of my favourite bands - it was inevitable, I grew up with parents who are dedicated members of the Moz army. One of my friends when discussing me recently said I "don't go more than 5 seconds without thinking about Morrissey". This post has been in my drafts for a while because it's been ridiculously hard to decide what songs by The Smiths I would recommend to a newbie, but a lot of people have told me over the past year that they want to get into The Smiths and don't know where to begin, so consider this your starter pack..

DISCLAIMER: The song meanings I am talking about are my interpretations, if you interpret them differently obviously that's fine - Morrissey was often very ambiguous in his lyrics!

I say y'all over text to sound cool and casual, but IRL I'm not much of a y'all person - sorry to destroy your perceptions of me.

THIS CHARMING MAN {HATFUL OF HOLLOW - 1984}
This song has so much going for it, right from the iconic introductory riff. This song is about a whole range of things. The most obvious theme being making a sexual debut (to use Laci Green's term) with an older man, but I think there's a lot more meaning to this song besides from sex. I think this song is also about wanting to start living and stop overthinking everything - like the line"why ponder life's complexities when the leather runs smooth on the passenger's seat?" sums up the song for me, and it's about the protagonist trying to enjoy life and live in the moment rather than over thinking.

THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT {THE QUEEN IS DEAD - 1986}
This is one of the first songs by The Smiths I ever heard (I think the first that I actually paid attention to was The Queen is Dead which I'm gonna talk about down below) and it was actually played at my parents' wedding - I obviously wasn't there to witness that but my Mum was about 6 months pregnant with me so y'know I was listening to The Smiths before I was born, so it's got that emotional significance for me. I wholeheartedly think this is one of the greatest love songs of all time (right up there with Something by The Beatles or The Luckiest by Ben Folds). I just think the lyrics are bloody brilliant - "if a double decker bus crashes into us, to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die, and if a ten tonne truck kills the both of us, to die by your side, well the pleasure, the privilege is mine". I think the song's just about that honeymoon phase in love (I'm making it sound like I've experienced it but nah #foreveralone) and not wanting to be separated from your significant other because like all the feels.

HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISERABLE NOW {HATFUL OF HOLLOW - 1984}
This song also has a pretty iconic intro, I think the combination of chords Johnny Marr uses are just so satisfying to listen to and I quite like the bassline too (although, the best bassline in any song by The Smiths is hands down Barbarism Begins at Home - it's so good that there's a performance where Johnny Marr stops playing guitar to listen to it and dance with Morrissey). It's a sarcastic song about depression and not finding joy in anything anymore except for 'in the haze of a drunken hour' and the protagonist doesn't leave the house and questions their friendships and relationships with people. What I love about The Smiths and Morrissey's solo work, is that the songs tackle serious issues regarding mental health but in a relatable way with a catchy melody which I think is rare to find in music. Usually songs that are about depression are . . . depressing (great use of vocabulary, Bess) but The Smiths make songs about depression relatable to those suffering with it but the song's not slow or dull or boring like other songs on the issue, they're still enjoyable songs which I think is quite a rare thing to find.

THE QUEEN IS DEAD (TAKE ME BACK TO DEAR OLD BLIGHTY) {THE QUEEN IS DEAD - 1986}
Now this was the song that got me into The Smiths. To be honest, this entire album was the start of the obsession with The Smiths. I first heard this song on my Dad's Jubilee playlist, we're not a pro-royal family at all and we went away for the jubilee weekend a few years ago so Dad made a playlist to listen to on the car journey, and this was on there (along with God Save the Queen by the Sex Pistols, obviously). This song is just epic. I hate that word because I think it got thrown around a lot to describe anything in 2012 but that's the only word I can think of to accurately describe this song. This song is essentially an anti-monarch anthem. It illustrates how the Queen symbolised national unity during World War I (that's why there's a war song in the introduction) and how the Queen is seen as a Mother in the UK, but how the whole system is archaic because the Royals are out of touch and don't care about the things that don't affect them. Simply put, this song is Morrissey calling for a revolution. I repeat, this song is epic.

PANIC {LOUDER THAN BOMBS - 1987}
This song was written around the time of the Chernobyl disaster because apparently Radio 1 DJ Steve Wright reported the Chernobyl disaster and then went right into playing Wham! which is obviously quite inappropriate, and the song doesn't have anything to do with people's lives. Marr said in a 1987 interview with NME: "'Panic' came about at the time of Chernobyl . . . The story about this shocking disaster comes to an end and then, immediately, we're off into Wham!'s 'I'm Your Man'. I remember actually saying 'what the fuck has this got to do with peoples' lives?' We hear about Chernobyl, then, seconds later, we're expected to be jumping around to 'I'm Your Man'." To me, this song is about not relating to mainstream music (because I'm such a hipster) because the songs that are constantly played in the UK top 40 or in the clubs don't say anything to me about my life. This song got me through High School when all my friends were listening to One Direction and I was the weird kid listening to the Pope of mope.

I WANT THE ONE I CAN'T HAVE {MEAT IS MURDER - 1985}
This song on a basic level is about wanting to be with someone but you can't for whatever reason. Morrissey often made his lyrics character ambiguous so they can be interpreted in so many different ways, for example a lot of people think specifically this is about a gay person being in love with someone who's not come out as gay. Simply put, it's about being driven insane because you can't be with the one that you want.

THE HEADMASTER RITUAL {MEAT IS MURDER - 1985}
There was a time when this was my favourite song by The Smiths, and it's definitely one that I rarely skip when it comes up on my shuffle. As with all of the songs by The Smiths, I love the guitar part - I think Johnny Marr is the best guitarist in the world, I love the combination of chords in this song with the riff, it's pretty darn splendid. This song, to me, is about school in the 60s/70s where school really was quite brutal regarding the whole physical abuse thing, but I also think there's a bit of a fish out of water story going on in the song like I imagine all the kids in their uniforms accepting the education system the way it is and one kid seeing the clear flaws with it and wanting to break away ("I want to go home, I don't want to stay"). I used to listen to this song first thing when I was leaving school on a Friday afternoon, it's just really satisfying to go home for the weekend and listen to a song which basically shuns school. Also, Morrissey's yodelling is on point.

I KNOW IT'S OVER {THE QUEEN IS DEAD - 1986}
I never used to be a massive fan of this song, in fact alongside Some Girls are Bigger Than Others it was one I always skipped when listening to The Queen is Dead album but I decided to give it a proper listen when my Mum said she preferred this song to This Charming Man - I still think that was quite a sweeping statement and not one I agree with, but it is now one of my faves. This song is the classic tale of unrequited love, in this case with someone who had never really experienced love and is now in a state of sadness and despair to the point where they feel dead ('Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head') and they're trying to go about their lives as usual ('It's so easy to laugh, it's so easy to cry, it takes guts to be gentle and kind').

HOW SOON IS NOW {HATFUL OF HOLLOW - 1984}

Using two guitars, multiple reverb amplifiers, tremolo, syncopation, and a glass slider, Johnny Marr successfully created one of the most iconic song introductions of all time in this song. This song is about being shy ('I am the son and the heir of a shyness that is criminally vulgar') and feeling unloveable ('I am human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does'), so much so that you're giving up hope that you'll ever find anyone. This song to me is biographical and one that I think most self-conscious, shy people will be able to relate to - this one is for us, guys.

SHEILA TAKE A BOW {LOUDER THAN BOMBS - 1987}
This song is one for those feeling the bitter winds of teenage angst and an anthem for non-conforming. 'How can someone so young sing words so sad?' suggests that the protagonist isn't satisfied with their average life and they want to break free, they want to grow up and find someone who loves them rather than being in education and trapped by their suburban family life.

WILLIAM, IT WAS REALLY NOTHING {HATFUL OF HOLLOW - 1984}
This song is about being pressured into marriage, the protagonist is trying to convince their friend not to get married for the sake of it because we only have one life, so why rush into marriage? I also think it's about feeling trapped in "a humdrum town" and wanting to escape and live life beyond the expectations and norms of your hometown.

HAND IN GLOVE {HATFUL OF HOLLOW - 1984}
This song is about being in love and having this common egocentric view that your love is the best one out there. It's quite melodramatic and almost teenage-like especially with lines like "no I really don't know and I really don't care". It's also got a bit of a harmonica solo at the beginning at the end of the song and I always appreciate a bit of harmonica (I'm into 50s rock'n'roll, how could I not be?) as well as a nice riff throughout the song.

NOWHERE FAST {MEAT IS MURDER - 1985}
This song is an attack on consumerism and how we have new products thrown in our faces constantly, and this is all but bread and circuses to distract us from inequality. The rise of consumerism has resulted in the average Joe's morale being weakened, to the point where the protagonist doesn't care whether they live or die ("when I'm lying in my bed, I think about life and I think about death, and neither one particularly appeals to me").

BIGMOUTH STRIKES AGAIN {THE QUEEN IS DEAD - 1986}
This song is about speaking out of place or saying too much, it seems like it's autobiographical seeming as Morrissey has a tendency to say very bold statements and annoy a lot of people. The constant references to Joan of Arc make this evident because she was burned at the stake for saying what she believed, and Morrissey is jokingly comparing himself to her.

PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES {THE SMITHS - 1984}
It's the music over the lyrics that makes this song for me. I love the syncopation and the bassline in this. I believe the song is about someone pressuring the protagonist into sexual relations and not wanting to reciprocate which may be autobiographical as Morrissey identified as asexual at this time.



What's your favourite song by The Smiths/Morrissey?

The June mix-tape

I know I have a varied music taste as it is and I usually have a strange mix in these monthly music posts, but I really do feel like this month's post has one of the strangest mixes yet. I've been listening to loads of music over the past month while I've had exams and been revising (I discovered after trying to revise in silence for the majority of exam period that I can't revise in silence).

1. Fade Away - Susanne Sundfor
I discovered Susanne Sundfor on Instagram via one of Maddie's posts, this was the song she recommended and I immediately loved it, and proceeded to listen to everything else she's ever done on Spotify. She reminds me a lot of Kate Bush or Tori Amos, and the album Ten Love Songs is really amazing - it's quite atmospheric and the whole album flows so well, it really feels like it's telling a story in the same way a film does with its music. Love love love.

2. Staircase at the University - Morrissey
If you're new here, hello my name is Bess and I like Morrissey a lot. I had heard this song before and the whole World Peace is None Of Your Business album but I didn't really give it a proper listen when it first came out, in fact I only gave it a proper listen (y'know the whole ignore everyone for about an hour and listen to the album start to finish kinda deal) a few months ago when I needed something to listen to in my free periods at school, and it was then that I realised the album was actually amazing, it just took some dedicated listening time (also, a lot of the songs are growers). I only just got round to ripping the album to my computer as when I got my new phone I decided I needed a lot more music, and I've been listening to this a lot just because of how #relatable it is. One of the quotes is "if you don't get 3 As, her sweet Daddy said 'you're no child of mine and as far as I'm concerned you're dead". Okay, perhaps it's not that #relatable to my life but it definitely made me laugh because of the amount of people I know who are in that situation (when I say laugh, I wasn't laughing at them I'm not a sadist)

3. Panic Station - Muse
I've been having a massive Muse moment this month, it started with their newest album, then moved to their oldest albums, and then it got the point where I was just putting all of their songs on shuffle and ignoring everyone for the day whilst I cracked down on revision. I actually didn't know The 2nd Law album all that well so I didn't really know this song. What I love about this song really is the instrumentation, I just love a good brass in a song (seriously, a bit of brass can quite easily turn me on to a song) and you've got a bit of a guitar solo in there too, just seriously top notch.

4. You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man) - Loretta Lynn
This is definitely the oddest song of the bunch in here, but I've fallen in love with Loretta Lynn. Not literally, although I do love her as a person too - she was presenting feminist ideals in the 60s and 70s which wasn't done so much in mainstream media, in fact she had a song called The Pill which was literally about contraceptives, how many artists would do that? I started liking Loretta Lynn after watching the Coal Miner's Daughter in about February (great film) but I decided to give her a bit of a listen on Spotify and I have been obsessed. There's something about country music that I really love, and Loretta has a gorgeous voice and catchy songs. This is probably the one I like the most but I also like I'm A Honky Tonk Girl, You're Looking At Country, and Wine, Women and Song.

5. Androgynous - The Replacements
This is a song that I added onto my Spotify a while ago but I don't remember why or when or how or anything (I have a tendency of doing that, if I listen to a song once and like it I add it to my Spotify so I don't lose it but then I'm always confused when it comes up on shuffle because I don't remember how it got there). This came up on my shuffle and I've been listening to this a lot, it's really chilled and simple with just a sort of honky tonk kind of piano and a little bit of percussion, plus the song is about gender and sexuality which isn't necessarily something you hear about a lot in mainstream music . I also love this cover that Miley Cyrus, Joan Jett and Laura Jane Grace did!

Special mention to Beyonce, I've been listening to her a crazy amount recently (you could say I've been crazy in love with Beyonce, okay that was terrible but seriously she's great).

What music have you been listening to recently?

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Ten things and ten blogs #4

one.

I reached 200 followers on this blog which I find a bit crazy given that it feels like just yesterday when I was at 100, just want to say a super quick thank you to everyone following my blog (okay, cringey bit over now)
...
I wrote this at the beginning of the two week period this post covers, and now I've gone past 250, man that's cray.

two.
My brother informed me that according to this article Ed Miliband is the most lustworthy Prime Minister Candidate.. yes seriously. Don't get me wrong, I've decided on voting labour and I've known basically since I knew what voting was that I would vote labour, and, rather controversially, I think Ed Miliband is going to be a good Prime Minister, but I'm not sure lustworthy is the word I would use to describe him, and I can assure you that lust is not the reason I'm voting labour..

three.
So I found this video recipe for Nutella Cupcakes and I really really want to make them but I don't know when I'll have time to so I shall leave the recipe here for you to watch in case you want to make them - they look so cute!!!

four.
#BLACKOUT is one of the greatest internet movements I've seen in such a long time. I'm just immensely happy at how the black people of the web who may not have had the confidence to upload selfies in the past now have that and they're all so darn beautiful goddamn it, I know not everyone who's uploaded a selfie had low self-esteem of whatever but it just makes me so happy to go onto Tumblr and see beautiful black people everywhere. I'm also glad to say that no one I follow has participated in #WHITEOUT which is just a stupid cover-up for everyday racism, like literally people posting on that tag are white supremacists so if you see anyone posting on that hashtag even if they intend it to be a 'joke' - their 'joke' is enforcing racist ideals and attempting to eliminate the black community feeling good about themselves for once after years and years of internalised racism and white supremacy.

five.
I've sort of fallen in love with Hole. I've always been a Nirvana fan over Hole because I had listened to a few Hole songs and just didn't get into them, but for some reason I decided to give Hole another listen and I just think most of their discography is brilliant.

six.
I'm really annoyed because I filmed my Winter favourites video and it was about 30 minutes long, and I was out of focus the whole time. Looks like when you watch it, it'll be a re-filmed edition but dang it I'm just annoyed because it was such a good take!!

seven.
Jess did an interview with me for her blog, if you want to read it you can here!

eight.
I discovered that Morrissey covering Satellite of Love by Lou Reed is a thing, like as if that song needed something else to make it better!

nine.
I started reading Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell and I read well over half the book in the space of a day.. Using your deductive reasoning, guess how much I love it.

ten.
I made Mum a Victoria sponge cake for Mother's day which I haven't tasted yet but I enjoyed making it, I've been watching Great British Bake Off and I've been wanting to bake ever since it started up so it was nice to be able to do some baking.

blogs.
FashStyleLiv
Fashion and Beauty Tribes
Filthy Paws & Silky Drawers
The Elle Next Door
Lemon Freckles
Let's Talk Beauty
Style of Colours
Bean's Beauty Blog
Hummingbird and the Rose
Pretty Chit Chat

What's the best thing that happened to you over the past two weeks?

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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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18 things I learned by 18

1. Always bring your iPhone charger with you, where ever you're going. You never want to be in a situation where your battery is too low to listen to You're Gonna Lose That Girl or Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now for the thousandth time. 

2. Never leave the house without a book. A bus journey without reading material is a bus journey not worth taking.

3. Don't forget that your journal is there for when you're feeling the bitter winds of teenage angst.

4. Saying 'I'm not a feminist, I believe in equality' is the most stupid thing a person can say. Embrace your feminism, educate the ignorant and don't stop complaining until things change.

5. Your parents were right about Morrissey and The Smiths. The years of denying yourself the pleasure of The Headmaster Ritual, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, and How Soon Is Now? are years you will never get back, so face facts and accept that when it comes to music your parents know what they're talking about - it will save you a lot of time.

6. Don't be ashamed of still not being over High School Musical, anyone who doesn't like it is a dirty, rotten liar and they need to get their head in the game. Also don't be ashamed of the fact that you still watch Disney channel and get excited when they show Hannah Montana.

7. Foundation and concealer do not make you look cakey and orange if applied in the right shade and with the right amount, you can cover up those dark circles that you hate oh so much.

8. Biology A Level was never going to be your thing, you knew that from the first week of sixth form and just because you got a B at GCSE in a ridiculously hard Biology curriculum (Cambridge iGCSE is no joke people) it doesn't mean you're going to become an expert in phospholipid membranes and tertiary structures, so don't stress yourself out about it too much.

9. Try not to let your anxiety control you, say yes to more opportunities, but don't feel bad and beat yourself up if you're not up to meeting up with friends once in a while, it's all about baby steps.

10. Doctor Who is worth the hype. Give it another go, start from Christopher Eccleston - enjoy.

11. Don't upload photos of yourself on Facebook at least until age 15/16, seriously anything before then is not a pretty sight and by the time you discover this there will be hundreds to go through and make private or delete - save yourself this time.

12. You don't need to buy every Beatles band shirt you find, if you have nearly twenty, you have a problem and an empty purse.

13. As much as you want to date Tom Felton/Draco Malfoy (in the movies of course because Draco in the books is an arse wipe) you are not a Slytherin, as you find out at age 17, you are a gryffindor (and it's great - go go gryffindor!)

14. Answer your phone. Seriously. People know you're scared of picking up the phone, and they're generally sympathetic, which is why if they're calling you it is important - so pick up your damn phone once in a while.

15. Reading reader insert fanfictions probably isn't the best use of your time, but if it helps you forget about the inevitability of you being forever alone, go right ahead and do it.

16. That existential crisis you've been having since you were 12? Yeah, that's not going anywhere any time soon. Just try not to bum everyone else out by talking about the inevitability of death and the insignificance of humankind because it's not the greatest conversation starter.

17. One Direction are not that bad. Perhaps pop music is all manufactured and a disgrace to the greats like The Beatles, The Smiths, Ben Folds Five, Arctic Monkeys (and so on) but they are catchy and can be quite fun. However, you can maintain that pretentious façade and claim you only listen to 'I want' because it's written by Tom Fletcher and because it sounds exactly like a McFly song if it makes you feel better.

18. You don't need to have your entire life plan figured out by age 18. Very few people do, enjoy the next few years and get some life experience (preferably experience that doesn't require a wifi connection, yes Tumblr I'm looking at you)

What wisdom can you pass on from your life experience?

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Book review - Autobiography by Morrissey

Hello there readers, although I'm sure there aren't many of you as this is my first post on my new blog. As you can see by the title of this post I am starting off with a book review of a book that caused quite a hoo-ha a while back because it was made a penguin classic, but enough on that. I am a massive Morrisey/The Smiths fan so when Morrissey came out with his autobiography I knew I had to read it (after my Dad read it of course being the ultimate fangirl). Anyway, keep reading if you want to hear my thoughts on this book and if you're interested in what I read and my 2014 book challenge then please feel free to add me as a friend on goodreads :)

Look at Morrissey's little face aw - the book is a bit battered whoops

Synopsis: 

Steven Patrick Morrissey was born in Manchester on May 22nd 1959. Singer-songwriter and co-founder of the Smiths (1982 - 1987). Morrissey has been a solo artist for twenty-six years, during which time he had three number 1 albums in England in three different decades.

Achieving eleven Top 10 albums (plus nine with the Smiths), his songs have been recorded by David Bowie, Nancy Sinatra, Marianne Faithfull, Chrissie Hynde, Thelma Houston, My Chemical Romance and Christy Moore, amongst others.

An animal protectionist, in 2006 Morrissey was voted the second greatest living British icon by viewers of the BBC, losing out to Sir David Attenborough. In 2007 Morrissey was voted the greatest norhtern male, past or present, in a nationwide newspaper poll. In 2012, Morrissey was awarded the Keys to the City of Tel-Aviv.

It has been said 'Most pop stars have to be dead before they reach the iconic status that Morrissey has reached in his lifetime.'

My thoughts:

I think this book is beautifully written in some parts, the description Morrissey gives is astounding, it literally sounds like song lyrics. I do recommend this book for a super fan of Morrissey or the Smiths but I would say that unless you are a fan and a big fan at that, you will find this book to be rather tedious. I'll be honest, I was let down by this book. Parts of it were very interesting for me, like how he met Johnny Marr and how he felt about growing up in Manchester, his musical influences and I enjoyed the mentions of David Bowie too. However, I found parts quite dull to read and truthfully when I finished it, I was relieved that I could move onto something else because I found the last section to be a bit difficult to get through. Again, if you're a super fan do give it a go because then you can say you've read it and it gives you an insight into Morrissey's life.

The thing that annoyed me the most about this book was the total lack of structure. Firstly, there are no chapters whatsoever so it makes it difficult to know when to stop reading and put the book down. Secondly, sentences and sometimes even words are divided over pages making it even harder to know when to put the book down. On the other hand, most of the events in the book do flow into each other so I suppose it would be difficult to divide it into sections but it still really frustrated me.

Overall rating:

I would give this a 3/5, I feel terrible about that rating because I love Morrissey so much but this book was just frustrating for me to read because of the lack of structure and the detail in events that I wouldn't have thought to be necessary to mention, but if you are a fanatic do give it a go.

Have any of you read Morrissey's autobiography or planning to read it?
Do you like Morrissey or The Smiths?