• Favourites,  Lifestyle

    Having a blog break/Started a Substack

    Hello.

    It’s been a long time since I wrote a post on here and felt I owed you an update since 2021/22. I now no long work in my local library and looking actively for another volunteer position local.

    I have decided this will sadly be my last post on this blog for a while, however you will be able to keep reading my content already posted and archives.

    Also just incase you want to keep in touch via reading my work online, I have created recently an educational and writing based account.

    I didn’t come to this conclusion lightly but I decided a Stubstack account is capable, in the long run, of furthering my career and education.

    For those of you that are unaware of Substack , it is a website for people to join and read articles. Some free, some paid in a monthly subscription. My article to start up with will be free.

    For those who don’t know my future goals, I am interested to a studying for. BA or Bsc degree and a job as a paid fiction writer from home.

    I want to thank all my readers and people who have been reading my 5 year journey into blogging so far, and will be here when I come back!

  • Blogging

    My favourite blogs 2017

    This is a post dedicated to my favourite haunts on the internet that I view regularly.

    I will give you an idea of their content, where to find them and social media links. Some of these are quite new to the bookish community (like I am) but some have been around for years!

    So in no order (as they are all fab bloggers!) …here they are:

    Sarah in wonderland

    • Name: Sarah
    • Blog: www.sarahinwonderland.co.uk / www.fromsarahlex.co.uk
    • Twitter: @Wonderlandblogs / @fromsarahlex
    • Content: Disability, beauty, lifestyle.
    • Note: She has since rebranded to “From Sarah Lex”.

    Writing wolves


    No safer place


    The fiction life | Olivia


    So this concludes my list of bloggers I admire & been viewing their sites often.

    Is there any bloggers that I missed that I could add to my annual list in 2019? Am I on yours? Do you frequently view these blogs?

    Let me know in the comments!

  • Books

    Making lists & buying books..

    To Read or Not To Read; That is the question!

    Okay, so I started out this year with an aim of getting out more; meeting friends, etc. It’s now half way through the year and I want to spend more time alone. Sound crazy? Hear me out!


    I have finally compiled a reading list & it just keeps getting longer! It’s now nearly 300 books long. I started out as “I’ll add just one or two so I know what to read next”, Before I knew it, there were too many books on the list.


    To add to this I have accepted the “GoodReads 2017 Challenge” of reading 12 books in 2017. It started with 10 but I upped it to 12 and as of December I have completed reading over 15 books, my final target.

    I have also recently decided to create a list called “Lifetime Reads” as in I plan to read them. The list is full of Classics like “Alice in Wonderland”, “Great Expectations”, “The portrait of Dorian Gray” and “Lord of the Rings”. The total number of books is 20.

    The problem is once to start looking into reading, you end up spending hours staring at reviews and adding new books to be read.


    ANOTHER THOUGHT BELOW:

    Is it me or do you find since becoming a reader again; if you go to book sales you can’t help but pick up about 2-3 books. I work in a library and we have a running book sale & every time I go in there (twice a week) I end up looking for new books.

    They are all second hand, some rubbish quality but others obviously well loved & like new, plus the prices are so damn cheap -30p paperback & 50p hardback!

    What are YOUR opinions?

  • Books,  REVIEWS

    [REVIEW] Wicked – Gregory Maguire

    Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

    All about Politics, Witches and Wizards.

    I want to say I am reviewing this book after not reading in ages! Now that I think of it, I really should do a re-read at the end of the year when I get some time out of my busy reading schedule.

    This book is my all-time favourite book and it’s pretty good if I may say so myself. On my first read, I dived right into and it took me about 3 days to finish it. I really loved it.

    It is basically the backstory of who the “Wicked Witch of the West” in “The Wizard of Oz” is; where she came from, how she became “wicked” and why the wizard doesn’t like her.

    WARNING:

    I personally read the book before seeing the musical and felt it was an added bonus to the book & a FANTASTIC SHOW but do not be under the illusion that if you do decide to choose to approach Wicked the other way you will get the same experience ..you WON’T

    If you are looking to read this book (and the rest of the series) before watching the musical on Broadway/west-end I would wholly recommend this. However, I must caution anyone who has watched the Musical – This book is a long and sometimes quite a hard read. Although it is interesting it’s NOT like the musical suggests; fun and easy.

  • Books

    Christmas Reads? 2017

    As you are probably already aware, by the date this was posted, that Christmas isn’t far away. This is the closest I get to being festive online and I am getting excited to have lots of fun with family and friends!

    I am doing my top 3 reads that I think you could read this Christmas (2017). As always it is your choice on what you read but I think these are some brilliant suggestions to get you in the Christmas mood…

    1. Harry Potter – JK Rowling – Yes, there are scenes where the characters are around at Christmas but it is not a festive book as such but when I read the books they made me feel awesome & festive!
    2. Little Women – Louisa May Alcott – This is a book I am currently reading. It is a classic & once again after watching the old film I understand there are scenes of Christmas but not Christmasy.
    3. A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens – This is the classic tale of a business man in Victorian London who gets shown how to be festive. I’ve seen loads of film adaptations but never read the book.

    Are you planning on reading any Christmasy books this year? What are they & are they traditional tales or modern classics? Tell me in the comments below.

     

    MERRY CHRISTMAS, ONE & ALL

  • Books

    GoodReads Reading Challenge 2017.

    I am finally coming up to the end of my GoodReads Challenge in 2017.

    As you might have noticed I upped my amount of books to 15 as I went over 12 earlier in the year.

    This may seem quite small but it is because I am going from; A person who would not touch a book, in months, to; A girl who is now reading pretty much all my free time (when not sleeping, volunteering at a library – with free access to more books, learning a language or studying at home.)

    The reason I choose the GoodReads Challenge was that I needed the motivation to read again.

    I had the perfect opportunity to start from scratch and make a new blog . to try and encourage me to carry on going. I am now in about 4 groups on facebook dedicated to reading and blogging so I have the community around me now.

    How are you progressing with your Goodreads challenge? Are you happy reading? Do you feel more pressure to read within the book community because others are? Give me your thoughts and your responses to others!