My summer reading list

                                  

The other day I was scrolling through twitter and discovered this gem, the Chapter 5 Summer Reading Challenge, since one of my goals for this year was to read more books I thought this was the PERFECT way to orgnaise mysellf and get set for lazying in the summer sun. So here's what I'll be reading and reviewing on here this summer:

The one you've been meaning to read: The Casual Vacancy - J.K.Rowling 

I've had this one sitting on my kindle unread for a very long time, I was and still am a huge fan of the Harry Potter books and have been dying to find out if Rowling's later attempt at writing for a different audience can live up to the hype 

The Door-stop: Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

So I started this before but never got round to finish it unfortunately as it didn't actually count toward my A Level coursework, but now I'm free of all essays I'll actually be able to finish it. I wouldn't actually classify it as a doorstop but it's definitely the biggest on the list. 

The one you'll need the tissues for: Me Before You - Jojo Moyes

I am a sucker for a good bit of chick-lit and without a doubt I always cry, I just can't help it.  

The Dystopia:  So far I don't have one disappointingly but if someone has a suggestion for this please let me know! 

The one that's hot off the press:  Her - Harriet Lane

Probably the most recently published book on my Amazon wishlist, I just finished reading Alys Always after getting it from the library and I need to read more by Lane

The one that your friends have been nagging you to read: Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales - Angela Carter 

I'm a big fan of fairy tales, but these give you a different perspective on old tales, my friend Brooke has been telling me for ages that I have to read Carter 

The one you judged by its cover: The Runaway Princess- Hester Browne

Its floral and pretty. My weaknesses. Hopefully the book is as good as the cover. 

The start of an epic series: A Game of Thrones - George. R. R.. Martin

Like most people I'm a big fan of the TV show but disappointingly have never read the books, but I'm determined to read them before season 5 starts next year.. I hope

The sequel: The Revenge of Seven - Pittacus Lore 

Book number five in the I am Number Four books is released late this summer and for at least books 3 and 4 I've pre-ordered them for my Dad's birthday as he was the one who got me into them, I only managed to discover them through the film, but the books are a lot better.

The next big thing: One Million Lovely Letters - Jodi Ann Bickley

More people need to know about this book, it just sounds amazing, look up the story behind the book at www.onemillionlovelyletters.com

The Classic: Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

I confess, as an English Graduate I have somehow never read this book, however about 2 months ago I bought a beautiful copy from an Oxfam bookstore so I've been waiting a while to ease myself into reading any more classic books 

The Hidden Gem: Lolito - Ben Brooks 

Inspired by Lolita which I also loved I want to read this book which brings it into the modern world.

ACTUAL Festival Essentials

This year somehow marks my fourth year of going to music festivals, the girl who hated mud and dirt somehow now survives possibly some of the muddiest and dirtiest weeks.

Last year and this year I've been fortunate enough to work at Glastonbury and what I've noticed especially with the bigger festivals such as this is that they become very fashion centred with most clothes shops creating an unrealistic fashion section, sorry to say it but maxi skirts and sandals may look great but they are not festival attire unless you want to say goodbye to them very quickly. 

So here are my actual festival essentials, although theres nothing wrong with a good flowercrown and looking good:

One: Wet-Wipes/Baby Wipes Of course showers are available on most festival sites, but usually there's very few and no one wants to stand in line whilst bands are playing, not to mention the numerous other things you can get up to at festivals. Wet wipes are your most convenient way to stay clean from the comfort of your tent - even though this is gross. 

Two: Dry Shampoo: This stuff is a god send when you haven't showered for days and your hair needs some extra volume. The key is getting one thats pretty good, most people go for batiste because they make a lot of different scents and they make a rather handy travel size, but personally I can't get on with it as I find it to come out quite strong and having white roots is also a bad look (*this is just my opinion and I haven't used it for a long time so it could be a lot better). My personal recommendation its boots own brand one if you can get hold of it.

Three: Cereal Bars: Of course if you've bought a ticket you're more than likely to be buying all of your meals for the day from one of the millions of food stalls across the festival, but its always handy to have a snack. Cereal bars are a great source of energy at a time when you're not eating 'normally' personally I love the Mcvities biscuit-y range, the chocolate on them is a great pick me up. 

Four: Wellies: If you're going to an English festival especially think it through carefully your in a field for four days plus, in the British summertime rain is almost inevitable and you want to avoid being caked in mud like your would be if you've taken those oh so trendy sandals as recommended by fashion companies. You don't need an expensive pair, just a pair that won't leak

-Extra tip take a pair of converses or similar trainer type shoes which will fit in your backpack snuggly so if it is sunny and dry you can avoid the smashing welly tanlines I end up with every year. There's nothing like having to fake tan half of your legs when your off on a night out.

Five: The emergency poncho: These can be easily purchased in Poundland in a pack of three or anywhere once festival season starts. As with wellies, the British summer and rain go together brilliantly often sporadically. This can easily slide into a small bag or even your pocket so isn't inconvenient to take around with you all day. BE PREPARE FOR ALL WEATHER. Sunshine all weekend can happen but is more often a fantasy. 

This isn't to say if you have a fold away rain mac don't take it do, but the emergency poncho is a much more convenient option

Six: Tissues: Preferably individual packets so you can carry one around all day, if you find a festival toilet that has toilet paper then mega points to you this is rare you seem to have achieved some kind of miracle

Seven: A torch: Without it finding your things in the night will take quite a while, and so will finding your way to the toilet without tripping over everyone's guy ropes... just turn it off before you get there Never look down a festival toilet

Eight: Jumpers: Because its summer you may think you don't really need them Wrong! Even if you're lucky enough to have sunshine you will need the at night, luckily we have sunshine now until around 10pm but once it gets dark it gets a lot colder and when you're trying to sleep you'll realise how much you need layers and appreciate them

Nine: A Tent: DUH but as much as you may fantasize about sleeping under the stars even though its summer the nighttime is cold and where else do you intend on sleeping?

Ten: Most importantly your Ticket: If you're like me you will check at least 3 times before leaving the door, once you get in the car/on the train and another few times before you get there. Obviously no ticket, no entry.

The key is to take as little with you as possible, especially if you're unlucky enough to be going via public transport, but even if your taking the car you still have to get it across the campsite. The same goes for a day to day basis, I always hate that person in the crowd with a massive backpack on (Seriously what do you have with you?!) and generally hate being worn out because I'm carrying too much stuff unnecessarily. 

Obviously there's a more I haven't mentioned such as camping chairs, air beds, disposable bbq's etc. but these are quite bulky and you can buy a lot these on site 

Most importantly if you're headed to a festival HAVE FUN

The Fault in Our Stars Movie

So I am very slow on posting this since I saw The Fault in Our Stars movie over two weeks ago but heres my verdict on something I had been waiting for what felt like a very long time after being hooked to John Green's video updates for months on end eagerly anticipating the UK release. 

Usually I am not a huge fan of book adaptations, they tend to miss out a lot or not recreate the world or characters in a way which I imagained, although I am one reader out of thousands so I appreciate its impossible to please everyone, but TFIOS did not disappoint me. There were minor details of the book that weren't there  that I thought could've been but that could just be me being picky. 

If you haven't read the book yet, then one why not? and two please read it before you see the movie. Here's my very quick plot overview without giving away too much. The story is told by Hazel Grace Lancaster, different from your stereotypical romance heroine, she has cancer, its terminal and she has accepted the fact that she is going to die sooner rather than later. Without sounding too cliche her life changes when she meets the charmingly beautiful Augustus Waters at the cancer support group her mum makes her attend, proving herself wrong that something good could come out of it. Hazel at first is determined not to get too attached, but she cannot resist spending more time with Augustus Waters as much as he cannot resist spending more time with her. 

This is not simply another love story, it's a story about life and death and all the in-betweens told in a brilliant way that does not deal with cancer in a tragic way. 

Now for the movie:

The best thing about the movie for me was that it made me laugh, now this may sound stupid but looking back on the book I remember the tragedy and the hours I spent weeping when I was reading it, and even though I obviously cried during the movie (if you didn't what are you some kind of robot?) I found myself laughing just as much. Just the way in which Hazel sometimes phrases things, the little jokes which hadn't stayed with me like some of the more memorable quotes. 

Many things were just how I imagined: 

One: Hazel's Mum, played by Laura Dern was pretty much exactly the way I imagined her in the book, from the way she spoke and fussed over Hazel even to her expressions. Although I wasn't disappointed by any of the character portrayls this was one in particular I loved.

Two: The Literal heart of Jesus and Patrick (Mike Birbiglia) Everything about this was in my eyes perfect, from the giant Jesus rug, to the cheesey songs and the circle of kids who all seemed like they were forced to be there in the church basement. I LOVED it. 

Three: Peter Van Houten's House, filled with the bags and bags of unopened fanmail as soon as Hazel and Grace stepped through the door, to the bitter man who had no desire to drink nothing but scotch no matter what time of day it was everything I imagined in the book

Four: Hazel and Gus ( Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort) They brought the main characters to life brilliantly and their on screen chemistry was just perfect. Most importantly Ansel Elgort did Gus' smile perfectly I could gush for ages about how much I love the pair of them but it would probably be embarrassing. 

Some things that bugged me: 

As I mentioned these were very minor things which don't impact the story too much, but as a big fan of the book missed them.

One: They're not supposed to go to the basement. In the movie when Hazel goes to Augutus' house for the first time they go straight down to his room, in the book they don't. This however is important in my perspective as this meant they'd didn't watch V for Vendetta and Gus never told Hazel that she looked like Natalie Portman - proving how beautiful she is. 

Two: Hazel's dad didn't cry as much - Okay maybe I'm just picking this out as its very noticeable in the book as he cries at almost every occasion.

Three: Where was Kaitlyn? Hazel's only friend from before her cancer was just removed, which I felt made her seem like a loner forced to socialise by her mum, but it gave more time to Hazel and Gus

Four: Most importantly the film never tells us the fate of the Hamster or the Dutch Tulip Man or Anna's Mum. These questions are answered in the book which I guess encourages you to read it but these are the reasons they even go to Amsterdamn in the first place and why Peter Van Houten visits Hazel after everything. 

As a book lover I am often sceptical of movie adaptations, but the Fault in our Stars did not disappoint me, despite a few minor details which obviously did not ruin the movie. As a lover of the book I would not say that I loved this movie if I really didn't, everything about it just worked really really well and I can't wait til I can buy the DVD and watch it over and over again.

What I do to stay healthy

Since leaving uni its easy to say that my diet hasn't been the best and I haven't exercised as much as I did when I was there as I no longer have access to a gym which has two free hours a day, only five minutes away from my door.

But after a few weeks of bad habits from trying to regain comfort of being back at home I'm trying to get back into good ones by changing things I can control myself as I don't have control over all of my meals or time anymore. So here's how I've been keeping healthy at uni during the year and some more things which I've started doing now.

Drinking more water: Drinking water does wonders for both your skin and body and I can definitely see the signs or I don't feel myself if I haven't been drinking enough. This is something I have been doing since the beginning of the year as too often I was getting headaches simply because I was dehydrated, now I make sure I always have a water bottle with me and refill it often. To prevent it getting from this stage, not only do I make sure to have my waterbottle with me when possible I have an app on my phone called Drinking Water on the android store, I know theres also more different ones on here and the App Store but I really like this one. You can set yourself a daily target of how many cups to drink (I usually count one bottle as 4 cups) and then add more if you reach this target. It gives you control over the reminders which will give prompts at regular intervals to enter how much you've drunk and tell you how much of your target you've achieved. 

My skin definitely looks healthier from doing this and I also find myself snacking a lot less as instead of heading to the cupboard I more often reach for my waterbottle. 

Regular Light Exercise: I was one of those people in school who hated P.E. with a passion and I hated doing sports, but now I love exercise and was actually sad about not being able to go to the gym often, as my gym at home is a lot more expensive. Instead I've been trying different things and its just finding something you love and not pushing yourself too hard. 

-NHS Couch to 5K: This is something that was recommended by a friend of mine who did it after christimas and I love it even though I have been notoriously known to be an awful runner. If you don't know what it is it's a free series of podcasts available on the iTunes Store which get you able to run either 5k or for thirty minutes in nine weeks. You're supposed to complete each podcast three times before moving on to the next week as it gradually builds up to more running and less walking, the woman who voices it is really encouraging and I find keeps me going by giving me an indication of how much time is left and the music adjusts to whether you're running or walking and is great for those who aren't necessarily used to regular exercise. 

-Blogilates: This one is something that I've only tried very recently, if you're a youtube fanatic like me you may have heard of it, if you haven't its a pilates series on youtube. This is not something I have done before but Cassey who hosts it is really encouraging and talks the whole way through the videos giving you stories to keep you going and alternative ways to do the moves if you're a beginner, which I definitely need. 

-Using 'Exerise Apps': I've downloaded a few, one I'm using at the moment is 30 Days Ab which gives you a series of exercises to complete daily, with a few rest days too and gradually builds on the same exercises and you can tick them off as you do them. Like the water app I find this really great as its an achievement to reach each day.

-Walking or Bike Riding instead of taking the bus: getting outdoors is so good for you, especially when its sunny so why not enjoy the summer and get outside why you can. Go for a picnic or just take a book and sit in the sun, maybe instead of staying in your garden go to a local park instead. I've recently been walking to one I like which is roughly a 2 mile walk from my house, instead of getting the bus because it then feels a lot better to just sit a read my book after that and is much better then being cooped up indoors which I cannot stand. 

Making small swaps to your diet: Eating the right foods is a key to staying healthy and is really good for your skin, I find I often break out in spots when I've been eating foods which are high in sugar or if I've eaten a lot of dairy so I try to avoid eating these things in high amounts but not cut them out completely as they are things I enjoy. 

Recently instead of having a packet of crisps or cake with my lunch I've swapped that for fruit or cereal bars and I've been having a lot more different fruits not just apples like I would normally have, enjoying berries and cherries. Last week I also had a go at healthy baking and made some fruity cereal bar style snacks.

Also instead of having a sandwhich I have been enjoying pitta breads which are a lot lighter, and even here I've made a change and I've been eating the Food Doctor Pittas which are made of wholegrain and cereal, so are better for you and then having a vegetarian filling such as falafel, not just because its lighter but because I enjoy it too. 

Another alternative to this which is something I have done for a long time is having soup for lunch, this is something I more often do during the winter months but is a lighter but still filling option for lunch, personally I prefer to go for the fresh soups rather than the tinned ones because I find the flavours are a lot better and they tend to be more filling, in my opinion, I often get the Covent Garden Soup's which have a huge selection with a soup of the month so there's always something new to try.

Make sure you have breakfast: I used to be one of those people who hated breakfast, I never used to be able to eat when I got up, but I think this again is finding something you love because now breakfast is one of the first things I think about when I get up. I now enjoying relaxing eating it and enjoying a cup of tea to start my day. One thing I do love is Breakfast Biscuits, they're slow release energy so keep me going throughout the morning, easy to take on the go or nice to enjoy relaxing watching tv with a cup of tea as the don't feel like breakfast (my personal favourites are the Belivita Honey and Nut with chocolate chips YUM!)

Most importantly don't push yourself too hard. If you're thinking of dieting don't cut everything out at once do it gradually, substitute your snacks for better ones, snacking isn't a bad thing if you make the right choices. Its the same with exercise don't through yourself in at the deep end there's plenty to be found on the internet such as Blogilates and Couch to 5k to get you started.

If you have any suggestions for staying healthy then let me know in the comments :)

The Start of Something New, Where to go from here.

Recently my undergraduate studies at university came to an end. After endless days a the library, months of reading and numerous cups of tea suddenly everything was over. In a way its all pretty overwhelming, the feelings are strange and numerous. Firstly its a relief not to have to be up at a certain time, getting up at seven in order to be able to just get a seat at the library is not my idea of fun.

As fun as it is to finish a tv series in two days, or spend the whole day reading a book this is only a momentary break in life. It IS important to have those breaks though, sure I may look back on these few weeks thinking wow I did pretty much nothing but after the most important year of my education so far its important to wind down and just pretend that for a while I don't have any responsibilities and think about that when I reach the 'real world'.
As I was reminded by my university careers adviser this is a 'very special time in my life' - extremely corny and yet extremely true at the same time

The only things I can think about now is doing things I love that I've put off for so long and most of all having fun.  So here are some goals I've set for 2014 at the beginning of the year, hopefully now I can achieve them:

-Learn to drive: most people tend to learn straight away but I didn't, at the time I didn't have the money to and I didn't need to. Living in London meant until I was 18 I had a free bus pass and although its extremely tedious why waste money on petrol and parking when I could get the bus for free, now I have to pay its a totally different story and I'm fully entitled to complain about how much it sucks.

-Take more photos: So what with mobile phones and constantly seeing people taking pictures on them this may seem a bit weird. During my A Levels I studied for photography and it was something I really loved, it became a hobby as well as something I had to do, but somewhere in the past few years I've lost that again and seeing as I have a really good camera it seems a shame its just sitting and gathering dust rather than capturing the beauty of the world around me.

-Draw more: I've never been a great artist and still life or the more technical sides of art are not a skill of mine, I'm more into drawing cartoons but again this is something that in the past few years I haven't indulged in as much as I'd liked to.

-Read for pleasure more often: Doing a degree in English ironically limited my time for reading, having a schedule which meant reading one or two books/plays per week meant rushing through books and studying them picking out metaphors or constantly thinking why something has been done, rather than appreciating a book. I don't think in my life I've considered studying anything other than English, but reading a book for pleasure and studying a book are worlds apart. With summer hear and the sun shining its the perfect way to blissfully spend the days

-Be more confident: This is less creative and different from my other goals for the year and probably isn't something that can be done quickly. When I was young I was extremely shy and its something I've overcome gradually across my years, especially since coming to uni. However even at uni I've sometimes I've held myself back not wanting to do things on my own and often sticking within my bubble. Now is finally my chance to escape that and the fact I HAVE to do them on my own.

-Wear less black: This may seem a bit of an odd one but as part of being more confident, especially body confident, I'm trying to push myself to wear different things that are out of my comfort zone. Black is a staple in my wardrobe, as are florals but it felt as if I was getting to the point where I was looking to buy new clothes and stopping myself constantly because it looked like something I already own.
This is something I have actually managed to achieve and definitely want to continue.

-Travel somewhere I haven't been to before: Definitely not very hard, I'm a very inexperienced traveller, our family holidays were always in England, which was never a problem I always had fun and loved where ever I went. It did mean however I didn't get onto a plan until I was seventeen on a school trip to Athens and have only been abroad one time since. Now I'd love to go again, part of me is afraid to do it alone, but another part of me knows I should take this leap now even if I only go for a few days.

-Start blogging/youtube: To say I spend  A LOT of time on the internet is not an understatement, especially on Youtube, and this platform has lead me to reading a lot more blogs and thinking finally I should do this myself. It may be while before I start on vlogging too as I'm not too confident in front of a camera, but I guess this is something to get used to.

-Get an internship/job: Last but not least the most serious. This is something I have definitely been putting off for a long time. Before this year I was always set on teaching, and it was weird to realise I was setting my sights on the wrong goal but also I definitely need a break from education. At the moment I'm looking into publishing because since I've been young books have been my one passion.

So that's a pretty long post but hopefully a pretty good introduction to me and an indication of the kind of things I'll be doing on here