My 'Books To Read Over Summer' List - Part 1

I've had to split this post into two parts as I have quite a few books on my 'to read' pile next to my bed. It's getting ridiculous actually, I have put myself on a book-buying ban as otherwise I'll never get through them all - my friends keep saying to me 'why don't you read the books you have first' - makes sense I suppose. I highly doubt I'll read all the books I want to over summer as it is!

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson

This is the book I'm reading at the minute. I haven't seen the film, and all I knew about it was that it's  semi-autobiographical and contains a lot of drugs. It's boggling my mind , very good though.

Game of Thrones

 - George R. R. Martin

There has been loads of hype surround this series, and after watching the first television series (need to catch up with the second) I definitely want to give it a go. I read a couple of chapters a few months ago but haven't picked it up again since.

The Hobbit

- J R. R. Tolkein

This i s technically a re-read. I haven't read The Hobbit since I was about ten years old, and with the film coming out in the latter part of the year I definitely want to rediscover the story. I also want to try and read the Lord of the Rings trilogy as I haven't yet (shocking I know). I adore the films so I can only imagine that the books will be amazing. 

Love in the Time of Cholera

- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

This is one of those books that I picked up, read most of it, and then put it back down without finishing it. It is a love story set, where a man tries to reconnect with his first love, about 50 years after they first met, after her husband dies. From what I remember it is beautifully written. I'm excited to read it, and hopefully finish it.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

 - Oscar Wilde

I feel almost ashamed to admit that I have never read any Oscar Wilde. I have attempted to read Dorian Gray many times when I was younger but never managed more than about ten pages. I think it is definitely time to try again, now I have time to kill.

The Virgin Suicides

- Jeffrey Eugenides

Yet another 'I've seen the film so I want to read the book' scenario. I got this in HMV alongside Fear and Loathing (2 for £10). I bought it partially for the cover, but  after reading  The Marriage Plot (review) I definitely want to read more Eugenides.

Blindness
- Jose Saramago
This is a novel I bought after Meg showed it in a haul video on Youtube. It is about a town where blindness isn't a disease per se, but spreads as an epidemic. After doing a module on disability and representation last year in Uni, I think it will be an interesting read and offer a different perspective.


1984
- George Orwell
This is another first time read. This particular edition has the creepiest cover, it freaks me out slightly. I want to read it to review for Aesthetic Magazine. I'm pretty excited to read it, all I really know about it is that it brought about the idea of a 'Big Brother' society. Definitely interesting and intriguing.


Daddy Long Legs
 - Jean Webster
I know very little about this book. I think I saw it in a Youtube book review/haul video of some sort. It sounds to me like an Annie-type situation - a girl is given a benefactor who pays for her schooling upon the condition that she writes to him. Sounds like a sweet, quick and easy read, but who knows!


Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
- Jonathan Safran Foer
I think you'll have had to have been living under a rock to not have heard about this book recently. I think it has been made/is being made into a film, so before I see that I want to read the book. Saying that, I don't know too much about the plot other than it is written post 9/11 from the view point of a young boy who has lost his father. I'm almost putting off reading this one as I know it's going to cut me up into bits and I'll be a crying mess for weeks.


Moby Dick
 - Herman Melville
I have a love/hate relationship with this novel. I chose to write an essay on it (and got pretty good marks!) but I never actually got more than halfway through. Writing on books makes me fall out of love with them slightly, so I'm going to attempt to read it at my own pace this time, instead of cramming it into my brain. It's very long and quite dense so this one may take a long time. 


That turned out to be slightly longer than intended! I am going to write reviews on each of these once I have finished them.
Have you read any of these? Which would you recommend?


Part Two will be coming soon!


Thanks for reading x


(p.s. I noticed yesterday that I reached 40 followers on GFC, thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoy my little space of the internet! Much love xxx)

Weekly Summary #15

Freckling up, Oakwell walks, Yummy ice cream

Finished this (review here), blogging, night in

New dress from River Island for a friend's birthday (linky), Lobster ravioli (gross), Oakwell Hall at sunset

1. This week has been making the most of the sunshine, hence not too many blog posts. It's been seriously hot around here, about as hot as I can cope with! I'm not made for warm weather at all! It's been lovely to be able to go out without tights on though!
2. I've bagged myself even more work experience too! It's ridiculous how much I'm doing, but I just want to do the best I can. I'll be working at Manchester University Press in November for three days in three different departments which will definitely help me to decide which route I want to go down regarding my career. I have been thinking about doing a Masters, but I'm not sure. I'll have to research more. If you've done/are doing one let me know what you think!
3. It's my Dad's birthday today, he's 64, an oldie, but a goodie. We got him some Pete Posthelwaite books and some whisky, seeing as we had no idea what to get him. We went out for a meal tonight, and I had that lobster ravioli. It was disgusting.
4. After the meal tonight, a friend from work texted out of the blue and a few of us met up at Oakwell Hall where we played a game of touch rounders girls vs. boys which just ended up with us all chasing each other and rolling around on the floor.
5. This coming week is going to be yet another busy one. I plan on getting a 'To Read Booklist' post up this week, but I'm hopefully meeting a friend on Tuesday, who I haven't seen in forever, working all week, and then getting my tattoo started on Friday (!!!!) so we'll see. Overall this week has been good.

Have you enjoyed the sunshine? It's apparently supposed to rain in the latter end of the week so I'm going to be outside in the sunshine as much as possible!

Thanks for reading x

In the Heat of Summer Sunshine

I think everybody in the UK is amazed by the gorgeous weather we've been having! It's definitely been a welcome change from the grey and drizzle of the past few weeks. I had planned to do a couple of OOTDs and a book post or two this week, but the weather put a hold on that, so I'll just give you a little update as to what I've been up to instead.

The past couple of days I have literally spent as much time outdoors as possible! Tuesday Colette came home so we took the dogs for a walk (the first four photos - apologies for my messy room/instagram snaps). I had work experience that morning too, which went well, I just feel that I'm not getting the experience I wanted, I want to be included in editing and learning how to edit, instead I am being given short pieces to write. I guess you have to learn to write in order to be able to edit though.

Yesterday I sacked off work experience after waking up feeling ill, so I had a lie in and took the dogs out again. We live about 10 minutes walk away from Oakwell Hall which is a lovely little country park, and is always filled with young children whenever the sun shows its face.

Today I had a driving lesson which went well. I just need to book my theory test and pass that now. I went for a walk and bought some ice creams; Colette and Abbey picked me up and we went to Oakwell and sunbathed. I say sunbathed, I was covered in Factor 30 (I usually wear 50, so I have burnt a bit, boo). All my freckles are coming out to play again. I know some people hate their freckles, I love mine, and my pale skin. That ice cream was delicious too. We then drove around and visited a few shops. 

I've been listening to a lot of Say Anything and Kids in Glass Houses to get in a lovely, summery mood!

I'm going to try and get a book post up tomorrow, and take advantage of having Colette around and take some outfit pictures today, seeing as my Asos order arrived today!

How have you been spending the sunny days?
My evening includes reading, eating a prawn sandwich and then tackling my mess of a room :(
I hope you're week has been good so far, it's back to normality  and work for me tomorrow.


Thanks for reading x


p.s. sorry about the cheesy Corrs reference in the title!

Weekly Summary #13

Visited the nephews, Arthur, favourite poem from my A-Level anthology,

Tattoo appointments booked! reading material, interesting article in Grazia (see previous post)

Lunch, outfit featuring short shorts, an article I wrote for the paper!

New watch, me and Scrawny bunny, Scrawns who is being given away today :'(

Chocolate fudge cake and prawns at the pub, new book .

1. This week has been an exciting, but tiring and stressful one. The launch date for the magazine is creeping ever closer, and I haven't actually started writing anything yet (eek!) But I've had a good couple of ideas to get started with, so plenty of emails have been sent. I'm starting my first blog post on Monday! It's all really exciting.
2. Sticking with work experience stuff, I started working at romania-insider.com on Tuesday. I work Tuesday and Wednesdays 9-1 and help with content creation and editing. It's my first time having any experience in editing so I'm slightly out of my depth, but the editor-in-chief is lovely and helps me with any queries. It's a slightly bizarre experience as we communicate purely via email, as she is in Romania. It's great though. I'm really enjoying having the opportunity to write. 
3. I'll also be working on another magazine with Michelle in the coming months. She created a magazine (read it here) as part of a university project, and has decided to take it further. There was a post on the magazine's blog asking for people to collaborate. I will be writing about books (yay!), doing reviews around certain themes etc. I think the first theme may be 'Cult Classics', using Trainspotting and 1984 as examples. I need more books along this sort of theme to read, so if you have any suggestions please share! I'm really excited to be a part of Aesthetic, as I've read Michelle's blog for years and love it. The magazine is fantastic too.
4. I have my first driving lesson in almost a year on Monday afternoon. I have failed three tests. I love driving, but put me in the test situation and the nerves kill me. We'll see how it goes I guess.
5. I've started making plans for over Summer this week. I was talking with Abbey about visiting Scotland as I've never been and really want to visit Edinburgh Zoo and see the pandas (ARGH). She wants to revisit her Grandad's old house, which isn't far from Edinburgh so we're planning a trip there. I also want to visit Durham, Liverpool and Copenhagen. I think I've grown out of beach holidays, although I wouldn't say no to a week off in the sun relaxing, so I want to explore different places. I've also booked my tattoo sessions in, so my upper back will be lovely and decorated by the end of July. I have my first session in just over two weeks and still haven't found a way of telling my mum yet, oops.

How have your weeks been? I have some posts planned out for this week, any feedback on what you would like to see more of would be helpful! :)

Thanks for reading x

Weekly Summary #6

 

 

 

Accurate description of my mood, birthday card shopping - not sure about the 'polite'!,

Essay writing, Essay completion,

Sherlock themed posters at uni, Outfit for Rose's birthday night,

Rose's birthday cake,

Dog walking in the sunshine.

1. This week saw the last week of the Spring term at uni. I had one essay due in, alongside a dissertation meeting (which went well! I have a provisional title submitted!). I spent the majority of the week holed up in my room rewatching the films for the essay, note making, writing and editing. I have no teaching hours left of second year, which makes me sad; just four assignments due in after the Easter break.
2. Dad picked me up on Friday and I've spent the weekend seeing friends. Colette and I gave Rose her present, which she loved, and we all went out on Saturday night in Leeds, where we all ended up very drunk. I ended up falling over, with a shoe flying in one direction and me the other, resulting in a very sore body and a big graze on my right knee. Sexy.
3. I'm going to the first group meeting at the magazine tomorrow afternoon! I am equal parts terrified and excited. In a typical girly fashion, I have no idea what to wear. I want to look professional, but not like I've dressed up in my mum's clothes. I also start my work experience on Tuesday. I'm suddenly ridiculously busy this holiday, purely working, it's scary. It's going to be exhausting writing essays alongside it all.
4. It seems summer has finally reached Yorkshire! (jinxed it). Colette and I nursed our hangovers by walking the dogs this afternoon. It was so lovely and warm.
5. I'm attempting to re-read Wicked, as my previous attempts have failed, have any of you guys read it? Also, I'm going to read The Hunger Games, is it worth the hype?
6. I want to start blogging more, if I can, as I think I don't really post too much about my life etc on here. Hopefully, if I get some good ideas, this will change.

I'm finishing off the week by watching Green Mile curled up on the sofa. Tom Hanks is my favourite.

How were your weeks? Have you been enjoying the sunshine?

Thanks for reading x