Lifestyle - A Moan About Reality

Hellooooooooo! Sorry to have been A.W.O.L. for so long. I have been rather obsessively reading a series of books and then I read my book for the month in an hour or so, so I've sort of started on next month's book! 

I say almost, because technically its not the book on the list but as the one that is happens to be the 2nd of 3, I thought I could start on book 1 now :-) 

I have been feeling a little out of love with blogging as well. Too many other things going on that I'm not too happy with for whatever reason is leaving me uninspired. I did get a bit of a boost on Sunday though as I got to be internationally famous for an evening! 

This is because my interview was up on the Bonjour, Blogger! site. I really enjoy the interview posts and love to read about different bloggers out there. It certainly made me feel a bit more happy than I had been so far that evening. Madam is still being a handful...

And that's another thing that has been winding me up. Now, I'm certainly not averse to social media and use it all the time. And yea, I edit the things I put out there. But why is the internet full of pictures of kids destroying stuff, crying at nothing and generally being horrid when *no-one* seems to mention that side of it!

These things are collected in one place and only if you know where to look will you find them. They're not all over Facebook or Twitter (at least, not that I've seen). It leaves me feeling like my child is in some way abnormal for acting the way she does. And she's just not. My 5yr old certainly is angrier than a lot of others, but the rest of the stuff is perfectly normal 5yr old behaviour, isn't it? 

If I talk to the other parents in the playground they all roll their eyes and mention the time when their little darling did x or y or even both! I sometimes wonder why this side of parenting seems to be so taboo. My struggles with madam's temper would be more manageable if I didn't feel quite so alone dealing with it.

And if you search online for help there are hundreds of other parents asking the same questions. So, I shouldn't feel so isolated, but when you've had a whole day ruined by one, almighty, tantrum and you've been told just how much you're hated by the one person you're devoted to it does niggle. Because those are the moments when I rant on Twitter and I get to see someone else's perfect day with their child!  

So, come on parents, help me out! Surely there are bad moments in your days too? It can't just be me, can it? 

Love, Pearl.

Reading Challenge - May Update

It's the end of the month already! How did that happen? Today I am mainly just overexcited because I have new glasses... Its been four years since the last new pair so it was about time for a change. I have also got new sunglasses as the restrictions have changed and I could use my NHS voucher. Free second pair offers are the best...

OK, so, books. I have been reading more slowly this month, just the one book at a time. But I seem to have read pretty much the same as other months. I think because I read at work on my break and at lunch. 

My book from The List this month was The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I did like it and I can see what all the fuss was about but I was slightly disappointed. It just felt like it could have been more. The story takes place over the course of many years and there are also several other players that we read about along the way. The main plot is a competition between two Illusionists and there protégés.

The two young students are bound together in youth and then separately taught all their master believes they need. They are then set against each other in a competition to the death. Though the students are unaware that this is the ultimate end to their game, initially. 

Events are played out through the Night Circus, both creating new tents and illusions to outperform the other. Whilst one knows who his competitor is, the other does not. Eventually the participants fall in love and they try and effect an escape from their destined end. They recruit someone else to take over their enchantments and but for one final act almost completely succeed. They are trapped within the Circus, but free to be together. 

As I said, good story. But there were so many side plots and interruptions that it was all just a bit flabby. I would have loved a tighter, punchier tale. I liked it, but not enough that I think I will be reading it again. 

The full list of books I read this month is:

1. Sanctum by Sarah Fine - 30/4/14 ~ 2/5/14

2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - 2/5/14 ~ 8/5/14

3. Fractured by Sarah Fine - 8/5/14 ~ 11/5/14

4. Grounded by G.P. Ching - 12/5/14 ~ 14/5/14

5. Elephant Moon by John Sweeny - 16/5/14 ~ 20/5/14

6. Insurgent by Veronica Roth - 20/5/14 ~ 22/5/14

7. Allegiant by Veronica Roth - 22/5/14 ~ 24/5/14

8. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - 28/5/14 ~ 29/5/14.

#108463358 / gettyimages.com

That last book I hadn't planned on reading, but with the passing of Maya Angelou I really wanted to reread it. I also didn't read any Heyer this month as I just didn't fancy it. In fact for the first time all the books I read, barring that last one, were eBooks. 

I've got next months book lined up and am currently reading one that will have to roll over. I've not read much of it but am really getting into it. 

And that's about it for this month. As ever it remains to say that my reading challenge was inspired by essbeevee and her books are amazing posts. 

What have you been reading? 

Love, Pearl. 

Reading Challenge - April Update

I apologise for this being a couple of days late, but I have been doing exciting work type activities and have had no time or internet access! I did attempt to blog from my phone, but it just wasn't happening for me!

I have really enjoyed this months reading, mainly because I've been working my way through the end of a series I started last year and seriously enjoyed. I read the final three books and am now slightly bereft there are no more to get through. 

I do think its better for a series of books to end before it becomes tedious though. But, if you like YA fiction, I thoroughly recommend the Soulkeepers series by G.P. Ching which is pretty reasonably priced on Kindle. 

My Reading Challenge book for this month was Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I adored this. I read it in pretty much one sitting. I loved all the characters and how they were all given their own voice within the story and it is genuinely one of the first books I ended by crying great big, fat tears of happiness. It is so lovely and so heartwarming. I recommend everyone to read this at least once in their life. 

But be warned, it is hard to read in places. August, the main character, faces some pretty huge hurdles in his life. I cried big, sad tears at certain points, too. I also laughed out loud and got incredibly emotionally involved with so much of it. Brilliant book, brilliant. 

The full list of books I read this month is:

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio ~ 31/3/14 - 1/4/14
2. Divergent by Veronica Roth ~ 6/4/14 - 7/4/14
3. Soul Catcher by G.P. Ching ~ 18/4/14 - 19/4/14
4. Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman ~ 19/4/14 - 21/4/14
5. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells ~ 19/3/14 - 21/4/14
6. Lost Eden by G.P. Ching ~ 21/4/14 - 23/4/14
7. The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer ~ 19/3/14 - 25/4/14
8. Coraline by Neil Gaiman ~ 25/4/14 - 28/4/14
9. The Last Soulkeeper by G.P. Ching ~ 28/4/14 - 29/4/14

This month's Heyer was leftover from March and was called The Quiet Gentleman. I think this was the sweetest I've read so far and I also enjoyed the attempted murder plot. I am completely glad I decided to read these Heyer books alongside the challenge as it has been a lot of fun so far. I have borrowed this months Heyer from mother and am looking forward to getting started on it.

I have so many things to share with you all, but you'll have to wait a little longer! 

This challenge was inspired by the Books are Amazing posts on the fab essbeevee's blog :)

Love, Pearl.

Reading Challenge - March Update

Hi! I have had a much better reading month than February and am feeling back on track with the old challenge. I've even gone through the barrier on the challenge I had set myself on GoodReads! I pledged 24 books this year and have already finished 25. I wonder if I can increase it...

This months book from The List was Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. I've read a few of her books before and always enjoyed them but was slightly disappointed with this one. It started well enough, and I liked the flashback style of storytelling, but I was left thinking it could have been more than it was.

The story centres around Snowman, the lone survivor of a viral epidemic which wiped out humankind. He is living with a group of genetically engineered "Crakers" who he is sort of responsible for. 

The story sees Snowman set out to collect more supplies and along the way he tells you, via flashback, how the world became the way it is now and his role in it. I honestly found the flashbacks to be more interesting than the actual present story! And also the ending was a bit odd. It just felt as though it had more to be said but didn't have the space. 

Snowman spends all of the book collecting his supplies and explaining the back story and then when he gets back to the Crakers the story sort of ends. This is because the book is part of a trilogy (which I didn't at first realise) but I think books should be able to be read independently to their series and still feel complete. 

It didn't even feel like a cliffhanger, which I could accept.

Do I recommend it? Yes, I guess I do. I sort of want to read the next parts to see how the story progresses. But I think you probably need to already like Margaret Atwood or post-apocolyptic style novels in the first place. 

My full list of books read in March was:

1. Sew Step by Step by Alison Smith (8/3/14 - 8/3/14)
2. Stitch Step by Step by Maggi Gordon (8/3/14 - 8/3/14)
3. Bonjour, Blogger! by Hayley Constantine (10/3/14 - 11/3/14)
4. 12 Years A Slave by Solomon Northup (7/2/14 - 13/3/14) 
5. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (14/3/14 - 17/3/14)
6. Knit Step by Step by Vikki Haffenden (17/3/14 - 17/3/14)
7. Crochet Step by Step by Sally Harding (17/3/14 -17/3/14)
8. Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood (1/3/14 - 18/3/14)
9. The Fault in our Stars by John Green (17/3/14 - 19/3/14)
10. Only One Way Out by Oliver Clarke (19/3/14 - 19/3/14)
11. Jack Pepper by Sarah Lean (19/3/14 - 23/3/14)

That last one was a book I read to madam at bedtime, but as I'd never read it before I counted it!

I have not managed to get through a Heyer book in this month, it's in progress at the moment. I'm about a third of the way through A Quiet Gentleman and enjoying it so far. I'm also still reading The Time Machine so those will both have to go onto next months list!

This might be a good thing as I have BIRTHDAY to look forward to and will hopefully be having a busy social life! I do have my book lined up and ready to start tomorrow... I'm really looking forward to this one, it has to be said :)

I have made a page dedicated to this challenge, so if you don't know what it's about or just want to catch up, it's at the top waiting for you to check it out! I also added in a new photo of me doing a reading! Hope you like it! 

This challenge was inspired by the Books Are Amazing posts on essbeevee.co.uk :)

Have you got any recommendations for me?

Love, Pearl.

Books - A Full Set of Happiness

So, you remember how I said I got some new books the other day and I said how I had my eye on two more that would complete the set? Well, my friend Tabatha tweeted me the other morning to tell me she'd ordered the books I was after from The Works. Then she sent me this:

@p_gen_says Ordered them from The Works website. Knit was £4.99 and crochet was £5.99 but then got 20% off with code SPRING20 xx

— Louise Z (@tabatha_tweedie) March 14, 2014

I mean! How could I resist, so I didn't! And they arrived yesterday (prompt service, The Works, well done!). And I unwrapped them in all their polka dotted loveliness and, obviously, took a photo! (Bloggers are weird creatures).

Knit and Crochet Step by Step

I then spent a happy afternoon reading them and learning an awful lot more than I thought I would! Who knew there were *quite* so many cast-on techniques for knitting! And I discovered that the stitch pattern I used for my hat and scarf set is called Tiara stitch! 

The books are just as good as I was hoping and there are a few projects in each that I want to have a go at. And then I put them all on my bookshelf with my other craft books :) I am such a dweeb I rearranged them a couple of times to get the colours the way I wanted them! 

Pretty books all in a row!

The only downside to all of this (other than my bank balance) was actually The Works website! I have to say that although I put one book in my basket with no difficulties the second increased in price when added. I had to take it out and put it in a couple of times. And do a different search to get the price it was actually displayed at! (No, I did not feel like paying £5 more than the advertised price!)

And when I checked out I couldn't use the reward card that I had just carefully registered! It wasn't even an option. Why give them out in store, make you register them online and then not let you collect points online! Stupid. 

Don't get me wrong, my addiction to The Works is still in place and I will definitely be shopping online with them again. Just, could someone clear up the glitches on the site, please!

Have you got any new books recently?

Love, Pearl.

Craft - It's All Just Sew Dolly Clackett

My plans for doing different types of posts on different days was obviously foolish! My inability to plan what will bubble to the surface should have been more obvious to me from long experience... So, today I am back on the craft/creative bent again. I have got another Pearl's Pantry post in mind and shall be putting that up as soon as I remember to buy the ingredients and do the tutorial!

Today, I mainly wanted to tell you about a couple of books I bought at the weekend whilst buying yet another (bigger) pair of school shoes for madam. She's on her 3rd size since September, when will her feet slow down? 13.5 is nearly as big as quite a few of my friends and their teeny feet!

Anyway, books... I have a bit of a thing for DK books as they are genuinely some of the best reference books I've come across and are always well laid out and easy to read. I've been lusting after some of their Step by Step series for ages and have been putting off buying because, well, I'm skint.  

The ones I'm interested in are the Knit, Crochet, Sew and Stitch books. And it's those last two I managed to get. They were on sale at The Works for £2.99 each so I snapped them up despite my mum rolling her eyes next to me and complaining I didn't need any more books and where was I going to put them? 

One day I will post pictures of all the book piles/bookshelves stuffed full that my mum owns and let you work out why I found that statement hypocritical. 

But as you can tell I paid no heed and merely joined the queue and happily paid out for my new prized possessions. I sat and read through both of them on Saturday evening - my rock and roll lifestyle showing there... For those who have never read or heard of these books, Sew is about dressmaking and mending and Stitch is about embroidery and decorative stitching. 

There is another, bigger, version of the Sew Step-by-Step which is called Dressmaking Step-by-Step and includes some projects to have a go at, but it's way out of my budget, sadly. Even in The Works! 

I am particularly interested in learning as much as I can about dressmaking because I still feel very nervous about taking the plunge on my own to make an actual garment. I really want to take part in the Sew Dolly Clackett challenge and have to just give it a go and get on with it... But, but, but... ugh. I know Roisin herself would be telling me to just have a go and do the best I can.. It's about the taking part, after all!

The idea is to make a Dolly Clackett inspired dress, like these, modelled by the lovely Dolly Clackett (Roisin) herself...

Blanche dress - Christine Haynes Emery dress

Madarch dress - By  Hand London Elisalex bodice, Simplicity 2444 skirt.

I used two examples as I couldn't pick just one! And I adore that mushroom print! And if you click on the photo it'll link to the post about the dress (I'm starting to get technical with this blogging malarky...) 

So, I have to find a (simple) dress pattern that will actually fit my plus-sized and gorgeous self and then some impressively wonderful printed fabric to use. The print is the defining thing about Roisin and her dresses. And quite frankly being big and beautiful lends itself to some funky prints. Ditsy prints look stupid on me... 

Um, yeah, so this post started out about books and ended up about sewing love, wasn't sure how to categorize that, went with craft! (Is there a category that I could invent for mindless rambling from one topic to the next?). Anyway, that's enough from me. I'll update you on my #BLCreativePrompts next post...

Love, Pearl.

Reading Challenge - February Update

This month I have read a lot less than I did in January, but I have still managed to squeeze in a reasonable amount of books. Mostly, I have been crocheting this month and wrote about that in my last post and I have multiple other crochet projects on the go as well.

I started a cushion cover last night, after having crocheted a large granny to make the basis of the blanket the Guides are doing as part of their latest challenge. The large granny I designed to look like our company necker, which did make it a rather boring/tedious make as it's pretty much all burgundy...

It's already got a couple of friends, but eventually will be part of a cushion cover. Really love the colours together!

Anyway, back to the books. This month's book from The List was The Shipping News by Annie Proulx.

Now, this is a bit of a slow burn of a book. I ended up really quite enjoying it, but it does have one of those annoyingly long preambles before the good stuff starts happening. The main character is a bit of a wimp of a guy as well. One of those anti-hero types. The action takes place in a remote part of Newfoundland and mainly centres around a tiny community newspaper being run on local issues. 

The shipping news is the section of the paper our hero writes and it leads him to many different stories about the local fishing heritage, the boats and the culture of a place that is slowly changing and modernising. It also features a lot of people eating cod cheeks. Ick.

It kind of is a bit like a written soap opera as it is about the daily life that surrounds you. The things that make up the everyday can be the things that are the most interesting. The story, obviously, is driven by the series of events that happen around our central figure. He seems to be one of those people always in the wrong (or right, in terms of the story) place at the wrong time. 

He becomes involved in a murder mystery, he is part of an ancient dispute with members of his own clan, he falls in love. It's all told gently and over a period of time. And I quite liked the way it flowed. I can also see why you might completely hate this book. The main character is not really that likeable, it is set out right on the first page.

I'm not sure that I have become a devotee of the book, or even that desperately keen to read other books by the same author, but I liked it. It was worth the time.

I have also read a Georgette Heyer for my sort of subsidiary challenge and really enjoyed the one my mum picked out for me! She does know my taste so well. I think I even preferred this to last months. I found it really quite funny and it had a mystery running through it which is always right up my street. Really recommend that one if you haven't read it. 

I have a much shorter list of books read this month, but here it is in full:

1. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx - 31/1/14 ~ 11/2/14
2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - 28/1/14 ~ 6/2/14
3. The Colour War by Jodi Picoult - 7/2/14~7/2/14 (really short book!)
4. The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer - 12/2/14 ~ 26/2/14

And that was it! Though I have been reading 12 Years a Slave for what seems like forever too... That'll show up on next months list. I have chosen next months book and am looking forward to starting it as I've read and enjoyed the author before. I have next months Heyer picked out too...

My Reading Challenge is inspired by essbeevee's books are amazing monthly feature. This months is all cook books! Heaven.

Reading Challenge – January Update

First things first, Happy Birthday to this blog! I can't believe it's been up and running for a year already and that I have managed to post over 200 times in the last year! I hope this will continue for a long time to come.

And now, on to what you really want to hear about, reading:

I have set about my challenge with the gusto of the newly converted. I have never forgotten the pleasure I have always found in reading but I have rediscovered the thrill of making time for it.

This has been in part helped by the fact my phone is basically nothing more than a fancy bit of plastic and components at the moment and I have been unable to use it for anything even vaguely diverting for most of this month just gone.

I have had my evenings given back to me in a way. I have, of course, still been watching DVDs like they’re going out of fashion, but I have always sort of used them as background noise. I have also spent some time actually watching some of those DVDs and getting much more out of them than I do when I am also plugged in to Twitter at the same time!

But what about the books, I hear you say. There have been more than I really thought even I would get through. I’m not a slow reader but I am only really reading in the evenings and at weekends. I have also slotted some in on my commute to the course the jobcentre have insisted I complete.

The first book from the list I created was I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith (who also wrote 101 Dalmatians, did ya know?). I enjoyed the book and found it absorbing with plenty to think about to keep me interested in what is, after all, a fairly standard love story.

The book is written from the point of view of Cassandra Mortmain and takes place over six months in which many changes happen to her family. Cassandra and her bored older sister Rose, younger brother Thomas, stepmother Topaz and her father – a once famous author now gone to ruin through a crippling case of writers block.

Everything changes when the Cottons arrive to take over the running of Scoatney Hall. The Cottons bring with them all sorts of glamour and an injection of company the family is not used to.

Most importantly the new owner of Scoatney Hall and his brother are young and handsome (this is the bit that I said was standard).

But the book is more than just a love story. The rehabilitation of the family from abject poverty to a new beginning is beautifully told and I read it long into the small hours to find out what would happen next.

The book is written in journal style which lends it a pleasing conversational style, allowing you in to Cassandra’s innermost thoughts. She is a spirited and amusing storyteller.

My main disappointment was in the ending of the book. I had successfully paired everyone off previous to the last couple of chapters but was left with an unfinished feeling about Cassandra’s own story.

I quite wish there was a sequel.

I have managed to read my first full Georgette Heyer novel as well. And did enjoy it greatly, my mum knows me well enough to have suggested the perfect book to get me going.

The full list of books I read in January looks like this:

1.  I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith – 31/12/13 ~ 4/1/14
2.  A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne-Jones – 4/1/14 ~ 5/1/14
3.  The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey – 5/1/14 ~ 8/1/14
4.  The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer – 5/1/14 ~ 12/1/14
5.  Stardust by Neil Gaiman – 8/1/14 ~ 11/1/14
6.  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – 11/1/14 ~ 27/1/14
7.  Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult – 13/1/14 ~ 16/1/14
8.  Is It Just Me? By Miranda Hart – 17/1/14 ~ 23/1/14
9.  Reckless by Cornelia Funke – 24/1/14 ~ 26/1/14
10.The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter – 27/1/14 ~ 31/1/14

(Just squeaked that last one in by finishing it off at lunchtime today!)

Pretty impressive, I thought. You know, for someone who probably read less than that many books in the whole of last year…

I have lined up my first book for next month and have to say thank you to my lovely friend L for posting me her copy. I have now also got hold of copies of two other books on my list and will have to decide which month I am going to assign them to.

I mentioned that in the last month I have been doing this course from the jobcentre, I have to say that it has proved much more helpful than I initially thought it was going to be and I have found that the days have passed incredibly quickly with something to occupy myself with.

I have also had mother in to help me get the house sorted out properly. We have junked so much stuff that I should be surprised there is anything left. But I am not as I knew I had an excess of everything, which was making staying on top of things just so hard.

But the house is properly tidy at the moment. And I am keeping on top of the cleaning. I have been making sure that madam has been eating breakfast and we have been slightly less rushed in the mornings. I feel a lot more in control than I have done for an incredibly long time.

The only down point is the enormous damp patch that has sprung up in madam’s room. The guttering has things growing in it and is leaking quite badly just by her window coupled with the fact the pointing around the same part of the window has crumbled. This is not good for her at all, the agency are now getting on top of it, but I really rather wish it was already done.

Oh, and I have got my new washing machine sorted! Things are really on the up around here… 

My reading challenge was inspired by essbeevee and her Books are Amazing posts (latest post on that link).

A busy old week so far

Well, hello! How are you? What have you been doing with yourselves? I have been all over the place in the last few days! I shall begin at the beginning and see where we go from there.

First of all, I finished the other mitten! Here it is, complete with fastening sewn in place. Cute, no?

As mentioned in my post from the other day we went to the panto on Monday. We set off fairly early on Monday morning so that we got a bit of shopping time in before having lunch. This was quite painful as madam and I have been enjoying our lie-ins whilst we've been on Christmas holidays. But we knew we would be getting back in to it with school starting on Tuesday anyway.

So, madam and I did a bit of shopping around York and got my mum a magazine with a free sewing pattern that I thought she would like. We also got madam some Frozen stickers to go in her new album. She has not stopped talking about Frozen since we went to see it with the Guides in the middle of December. And I still love that it contains a song that references fractals :)

We did end up in the Disney shop as well, somehow... I managed to drag madam away and we went and looked at pretty shoes in Schuh for a bit before heading over to the restaurant where we were meeting my parents and younger bro for lunch. 

Having lunched hugely on risotto and ice cream we headed to the York Theatre Royal for the panto to start at 2.30pm. Madam was so excited and I was a little worried she'd fidget. But I should have known better. She sat through the entire first half completely glued to what she was watching and with her mouth open like a fish! 

When the first half finished she looked devastated whilst I took her to the bathroom. I managed to find that this was because she thought the show was over! I promised her there was another half to come and reminded her that Grandpa had foolishly promised her an(other) ice cream! She perked up rather a lot at this prospect!

The second half brought more fish impressions and another sad face as the panto finally drew to a close. Her favourite thing had been the Gene Genie and the bit where they had gone into a filmed section and one of the characters had ended up upside down in a bin. She chattered about it non-stop on the bus back to the car-park but was so tired by then she just leant on my shoulder quietly on the drive home.

Tuesday was back to school day and I also had to go and sign on. I went round to the folks to get myself ready for the Jobcentre. It always makes me feel like I've done something wrong. I got to my appointment a few minutes early but then had to sit and wait, and wait, and wait! I was kept waiting for nearly 45mins which is not good when you're already feeling kind of anxious. 

I ended up having a half an hour or so consultation when it was finally my turn. I am looking to change my job search as I am not finding anything really to apply for. They offered to sign me up to a (and I hate this title) Fast Track 2 Work course. I, of course, said yes. I'm all for a course :) The drawback is that it is in Driffield and that I had to have a one-on-one interview before being accepted. Again, in Driffield. 

And that is what I did yesterday. I got my dad to give me a lift (aren't dad's great?) and went for a chat with the lady that will be running the course. She had also come in from Beverley to chat to me (ah, yes, bureaucracy is stupid). Anyway, we drew up a learning agreement and I told her, honestly, about the things I find hard about job searching (the forms, the phonecalls, the lack of self-worth!). She has promised she can help. Excellent. So I start this course next Tuesday (14th) and it runs until 4th Feb.

Today is the first day I have had to myself this week, I am quite enjoying being back at my fave cafe nursing one bottle of diet coke for as long as possible! They know me quite well, they don't mind!

And how is my reading going? Quite well actually. I have already read 3 books this year and am about a third of the way through an actual Georgette Heyer. I'm just starting another on my Kindle and will hopefully get that finished shortly. I think this is setting itself up to be a reading year. In the same way that last year was all about the crochet and the year before was knitting! 

I seem to only obsess over one thing at a time...     

Books on the brain

I have made a start on my reading challenge and have been thoroughly enjoying my first book. So much so that I am a good halfway through if not further already. I am now at that point where I want to just motor through and keep reading all the books on the list.

However, I think that I will stop myself as that would defeat the point. Instead I will read some of the many other books that people have recommended I try as well. I will then include an "other books I read this month" section. 

I have lined up my next two or three on my Kindle. And having put a Georgette Heyer book on the list I have drawn many suggestions as to other ones I might like to try, I think I might even manage a Heyer a month to go alongside the rest of my list! 

Of course, this is relying on me being able to read a Georgette Heyer book all the way through as I have always failed in this quest so far! Mother is lending me her favourite to get me going on this task... 

The manic reading has mainly been enabled by my phone being rubbish at the moment. I cannot access the internet when I'm not on wi-fi and I am therefore twitterless at home. It is diabolical! But it does show me how dependant I have become on twitter to dispel loneliness and keep me amused in the evening. 

I am mainly either playing endless games of Fruit Ninja or reading my Kindle with a DVD on in the background. Yes, I do need the DVD, otherwise I am in silence! I do listen to music on my laptop too, but I get bored with the stuff I have and with no internet can't access any other stuff. 

We're currently outfit planning for Monday as we're going en famille to the panto in York. We went last year and saw Robin Hood and his Merry Mam which was the first time we'd ever been to a panto with madam. She spent most of the first half an hour or so absolutley absorbed in the show but with her hands firmly clamped over her ears.

This year's panto is Aladdin and The Twankeys

However, near the end of the first half there was a scene in which one of the characters was made to have a bath, fully clothed and in very cold water. She was on her feet and yelling more! More! with everyone else and after that seemed to forget her worries about noise and just sat back and really enjoyed herself. 

Her favourite part was a dream sequence where the characters appeared in their normal clothes and sang a take on Gangnam Style called, you guessed it, Panto Style. Madam announced in a very loud voice that the dame was a man, at which point he turned to her and said "yes love, I am". Brilliant :)

She still breaks into Panto Style at random moments...

  

a book a month challenge

the perfect companions to a good read

I am almost certain that I have mentioned my love for the fashion blog essbeevee before, though possibly not in a fashion context as there is so much more to Sarah's site than that.

The thing I have been most obsessed with all year has been her book club posts. This is not a normal book club though as it isn't about everyone reading one book it's about one person sharing their favourites to give us all a little bit of inspiration.

As I said, I have been reading them all year and have decided to make myself a reading list based on the recommendations that have been shared. Some of the books mentioned are ones that I have already read and loved which was quite satisfying, but ruled them out of my list. 

I have decided to try and get back into reading regularly as it seems to be something that I have got out of recently and I have therefore charged myself merely to read one book a month as I should be able to manage that! I have tried to pick books I have either never heard of, but sound intriguing, or ones I have wanted to read for ages and not got round to. There are a couple from authors I have read before and one from an author a lot of people have told me to read but I've not ever quite got into despite having started a couple of her books. 

I should really have waited a couple of days before writing this post as this months Books Are Amazing post won't go up until the 31st. I have therefore used Sarah's own list of favourites to get my 12th book from. I have read all the posts from most recent backwards and selected one book from each persons list. Some months I have wanted to pick all the books. Every month I have had to make a hard choice between two I liked the look of... 

Madam with the books she won earlier this year from DK Books

I think I should also write a review after I have read each book so that you can 1: make sure I'm sticking to it and 2: hopefully find some recommendations of your own. I will also be taking any further recommendations you care to give me. I shall post the review at the end of each month to give myself chance to get it read. 

I am really rather excited at this idea :) If anyone would like to gift me any of these books I am also completely happy to accept them! (cheeky, I know). I do have a birthday coming up sort of soon so don't be surprised if I request a specific book from you!

The list is in order of how I took it from the blog starting with November's book and working back to last December. This is not necessarily the order in which they will be read. When I review them I will mention what month they're from with a link to the original post so that you can see the books I passed over for the one I eventually chose! (although, as I said, I wanted to mainly read most of them)

THE LIST
1 - The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
I have heard of this before, mainly as a film, but it sounded like something I would enjoy.

2 - I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith
I have picked this up and put it down again in so many bookshops so many times. This year, I will read it!

3 - Wonder by R.J. Palacio
This just sounded like a really good read, to be honest.

4 - Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
Another series of books I have wanted to read for ages and never gotten around to. I watched the BBC adaption of it and loved it.

5 - Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life (Volume 1) by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Seen the film, laughed all the way through it, seems like a good choice for a first graphic novel.

6 - The Shell House by Linda Newbury
This is another that just sounded like something I would enjoy reading.

7 - The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
It said a grown-ups Harry Potter, sort of. I'm sold.

8 - Devils Cub by Georgette Heyer
Ah, Ms. Heyer, you have been recommended to me so many times by so many people. Perhaps this is the book to spark my own love...

9 - The Raw Shark Texts by Stephen Hall
This just sounded surreal. And I like that in a book.

10 - The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Based on a biblical character who had four mothers. I need to read this.

11 - Oryx And Crake by Margaret Atwood
I really enjoy Margaret Atwood's books, this is one I have so far not got round to. 

12 - The Book Of Lost Things by John Connolly
Again, grown-up fairy tale is enough to have me hooked!

I have made an Amazon wishlist with all the books on too! I might have to investigate the amazon marketplace for some of it's famous 1p bargains... 

a new chapter

I have started on a new story, my old one has come to a grinding halt and I can't think my way around it. This is what I have so far, let me know what you think:

It started on a Tuesday. At least, she thought it was a Tuesday. It was hard to tell from this point in time. Especially as time was refusing to run in a straight line any more.

She wasn't even sure how she had done it. She had woken up as normal, had a shower and got dressed. She'd mulled over the red dress or the blue playsuit (she'd gone for the dress as playsuits could be so annoying sometimes).

She'd had a quick breakfast, just a banana and a less than satisfying cup of coffee. And then she'd left the house and walked down the street the same as she always did. She had turned the corner onto the main road and been surprised to see the bus stop had disappeared. And not just been moved or something, but genuinely gone. With no marks on the pavement to even show where it had been yesterday, where she'd stood at the same spot and caught the bus to work.

She'd turned to go into the little corner shop that she sometimes went into when she ran out of bread or milk. The owner looked at her in a sleazy way so she only used it in emergencies. Except, it wasn't there either. In fact it was a different shop altogether. It was a full post office with a box built into the wall and everything.

Now this was a definite turn up for the books. As far as she could remember there was a big campaign to stop them closing post offices down. And they definitely weren't opening new ones. Moreover, this had the look of a well-established place. There were even cards in the window with adverts on. She took a step closer to read one which had caught her eye, it had a photo of a vintage Fiesta on it, but what had really caught her eye was the large writing underneath which said "Only 1 Year Old". And the price next to it was enough to make her laugh. 

She went inside and was immediately struck by what people were wearing. She found herself staring at a man with a moustache so like the comedy ones people sometimes wear out of a cracker, she almost laughed. She was going to talk to one of the cashiers when she started noticing the price labels on things. Most of them were in pence. And there were half pennies on some of them!

Now, she was definitely afraid. She was trying to rationalise it, but she couldn't. It appeared she'd gone round the corner from her house and walked straight into the seventies. Or maybe the eighties, she couldn't remember when half pennies had been withdrawn. 

And had she been born then? She was born in 1986, they must have been gone by then as she didn't remember them.

So, whenever she was it was definitely before she was born. And how was she to get home? Or even explain to her boss why she wasn't at work!

"Sorry I wasn't at work yesterday, but I seemed to have slipped through the space/time continuum and come out before I was born. Couldn't get a bus from there, it won't happen again."

She left the post office again and stood back outside where the bus stop should be. She looked and noticed all the cars on the road had really old number plates, the kind that started with all letters. She walked back around the corner in the hope that things would return to normal, but knew instantly that they hadn't when she saw a white man coming out of her neighbour Mr Singh's door. And as she watched him lock the door behind him she was pretty certain she wasn't just making a rather stupid error. 

She stopped in front of her house and saw that the front door was now a pale blue colour whereas she'd painted it a cheerful yellow. She didn't really know what to do with herself. She realised that all her money would be of the wrong size and design so she wouldn't be able to buy anything. She hoped that the banana would sustain her for however long this adventure lasted.

She walked down to the bottom of her street and saw there was a playpark on the scruffy patch of grass that she knew as a rather empty parade of shops. There were several mums sat on the benches watching their small children play. She smiled to herself as she remembered how much freedom she'd had as a child. Not stuck in the house with some form of electronic entertainment.

And then she saw the sign notifying the residents of brand new shops to be constructed. Work expected to start August 1982...