Blogtober - Day 13

What if...? It’s a question I think of probably more than the average person. What if I’d done this instead of that...what if I’d not done this at all? I probably spend too much time dwelling on it which makes me a little sad at times.

I went to university in London before very reluctantly moving back home. It’s been 4 years since I graduated now (where on earth did that time go?!) and I still spend too many hours of my day to day life dwelling on the thoughts of what if I was still living in London. Truthfully, I’m not as happy as when I was in London. I know my circumstances have changed a lot which may influence that too, I’m now working 9 hours a day compared to 2 hours a day of lectures. However, things like the spontaneous trips to the theatre, the going to concerts in a weekday, the meeting up with friends for dinner - it’s all gone since I moved back home. London just has more of a spontaneous vibe. If you’re living within the M25 border, you’re pretty set for getting into central London at whatever time of day on public transport. Whereas now I’m back at home (and I don’t drive...) my whole life has to revolve around running plans around my parents which is insane now I’m in my mid twenties. This is even before having to work out the logistics of actually getting anywhere! I live quite rurally, so for example to go somewhere mid week I’d have to book time off work or book a hotel and set off for work early the next morning, top all that with an extremely infrequent bus service and it’s all just a logistical nightmare. It’s just a whole other world to London living.

I talked to a friend about this not so long ago. About what if things were different and we had both moved in together in London? How different both of our lives would’ve been or are we both just stuck in the London bubble? Would we have been as happy there working full time jobs or would the lack of money, small flat, packed commutes all just drive us out of London? It’s all in the past now and realistically neither of us will probably end up moving back but it does make you wonder what would have happened if things had been different.

Perhaps I do spend too long dwelling London. Part of me thinks I should just bite the bullet and move back yet another part of me thinks I could be so happy around where I live if I just accepted things more and stopped dwelling on the past. The same principle applies for say a new job. I spend too much time constantly thinking about the what ifs. I’m not happy in my job so I should just apply for another - simple? Oh no it’s not. I sit thinking what if I don’t like it as much, what if I move to (insert location here) and I hate the area, what if the people are horrible, what if I can’t do the job, what if, what if, what if! It’s ridiculous. I spend so much time pondering all the what ifs that I never bother getting my backside into gear, stop worrying about the what ifs and just get on with things and worry about the outcomes later. At least that way I wouldn’t be thinking what if as I’d have tried to do whatever it may be.

Once again it’s another waffled blogtober post. This is something that’s been on my mind a lot lately so I thought I’d try write some of my thoughts down. Hopefully I’m not the only one who has constant what if thoughts! 

Blogtober - Day 12

The last few days I’ve been doing very little but watch television - all my favourite shows are back which means I’ve temporarily put the rest of my life on hold and turned into a stereotypical couch potato!

I’m not even joking. Tuesday I watched The Great British Bake Off and Celebrity Hunted, Wednesday was The Apprentice and new Once Upon A Time and right now I’m watching the new series of Riverdale. Ok so perhaps watching one or two episodes a night doesn’t warrant calling myself a couch potato...this is no where near as extreme as when I marathoned 2 entire series of Once Upon A Time over a bank holiday weekend.

I find when you work a lot of hours, watching a couple of episodes in an evening seems to be all you have time to do before bed. Then it just seems like all you’ve done in a day is, wake up, go to work, work, go home, watch tv, bed. I just feel like I’m wasting my day somewhat when I watch television in an evening. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the shows that I’m watching otherwise I wouldn’t bother. Just a little part of me feels like I’m not using my time productively? I’m that annoying person who wants to always be on the go doing something, reading something, travelling somewhere...just general doing stuffness. I’m even always on the go on holidays, much to people’s annoyance who I go on holiday with. So for me spending my evenings just sat watching television seems kind of a waste. 

That aside though can I just take a second to appreciate how good all these programs are?! Basically these are all the shows I watch and now they’re all on at the same time. If you have chance you have to watch Once Upon A Time, Riverdale, The Apprentice, Hunted and The Great British Bake Off (even if just for Noel Fielding!). I love these programs, it’s just a tiny bit inconvenient they’re all on television at the same time! 

Thankfully, I have a jam packed (Busted!!) weekend planned so hopefully I’ll feel as though I’ve been a tiny bit more productive and my blogs will have more point than my random late night waffle.

Don’t Tell The Groom - Anna Bell

I’ve had this review saved as a daft for a couple of years and I have absolutely no idea why I never posted it. As it’s 9:30pm and I’ve completely forgot about today’s Blogtober I figured I would post this!

Review - 

I'll be the first to admit that the two reasons that I chose to read this book is because it has a stunning cover and because I love the television show Don't Tell The Bride. Don't Tell The Groom is somewhat loosely based on the television show.

Mark and Penny have been in a relationship together for a very long time and have been saving for their wedding day long before Mark had even asked Penny to be his wife. The idea was that when it was time to get married they'd be able to have the wedding of Penny's dreams - complete with a Vera Wang wedding dress and Jimmy Choo shoes. In an attempt to boost the wedding fund more, Penny plays online bingo. Once Mark pops the question it is quickly discovered that Penny has gambled away £10,000 worth of the wedding fund leaving just £5000 worth of money to plan Penny's dream wedding that would rival Kim Kardashian's. In an attempt to keep her gambling hidden away Penny adopts a Don't Tell The Groom style strategy and plans the entire wedding herself cheaply so her accountant fiancé doesn't find out about her gambling. 

I absolutely love the idea behind this book. I find the storyline a great idea and I wished I’d thought of writing this book myself! 

I find it very difficult to relate to Penny in this book which is my only real problem with it. Despite this I did find it enjoyable to read and it made me chuckle at some of Penny's slightly desperate attempts at trying to plan her wedding cheap. Penny even goes to the extent of taking a flower arranging course to arrange her own flowers for the wedding in order to save money! I finished this book very quickly so if you're looking for a book that's a reasonably quick read I would recommend it. 

Synopsis -

Penny has big dreams for her wedding day. She wants an unforgettable celebration, perfect down to the last detail, and has been saving for ages to make her dream a reality. When Mark finally pops the question, it's the best moment of her life. Until Penny checks her wedding fund and is horrified to discover that something has gone terribly wrong. There's far less money there than she'd thought, and it's all her fault. She can't tell Mark the truth about what she's done . . . her only choice is to get married on a drastically smaller budget. 

Working under the pretence of surprising Mark with her plans on their big day, operation 'Don't Tell the Groom' rolls into action, with surprising, hilarious and moving results. Will Penny be able to keep her secret long enough to say 'I do'?

Blogtober - Day 10

I was having a discussion with someone earlier about music guilty pleasures. I’d never really thought about having a guilty pleasure as let’s be honest my music taste is pretty dire anyway so nothing ever comes as a surprise to anyone that I like them. I’ll openingly admit to loving Hannah Montana day, Miley Cyrus or first album Justin Bieber - you know peoples stereotypical guilty pleasure artists.

I mean, really is anything wrong with having a ‘guilty pleasure’. If you like it then what does it matter? My favourite bands are Busted and McFly but it takes me forever to admit to people just how much of a fan I actually am. I find myself slowly slipping in bits here and there until they eventually find out how much I love them. Does this make them a guilty pleasure even if they’re my favourite band? I think in this case I’m just more not wanting to admit to people straight off how much of a fan girl I actually am. Believe me when you go straight to screaming in front of people when Busted tweet you for example, they look at you if you’ve flown straight out of crazy land. 

It’s strange as I was only talking about guilty pleasures today and I was adamant that I didn’t have any as such. However, when I came home and checked my emails, I had one saying that a certain artist was going on tour and I instantly got excited. I am very much obsessed with this persons solo music right now but it is certainly an artist I couldn’t admit to liking to a lot of people / definitely (sadly....) could not go to a tour! This person is completely and utterly aimed at a teenage audience and it 100% wasn’t at all cool to like the music when they were in a band! I’m not ashamed to mention who it is as like I say I love their solo music but for the purpose of a guilty pleasure blog it’s going to remain anonymous! It doesn’t take much guessing who it is though I don’t think!

Why isn’t it acceptable to like some artists though? Is it when they have a following that isn’t age appropriate for yourself or is it just because the music is shameful to like if that’s even possible? Who knows? One things for sure, if you like the music then why be ashamed? Embrace the guilty pleasure! Heck, I might even embrace mine and buy a tour ticket tomorrow....

Girl Online Going Solo - Zoe Sugg

Girl Online Going Solo is book number three in the Girl Online series by YouTuber, Zoe Sugg aka Zoella. This book starts the new year with Penny being alone. Noah has gone and no one, not even Penny or his family knows where. So when Penny gets an invitation from old school friend, Megan, to go visit her at her new school she jumps at the opportunity. Seems like a good opportunity for her to make new friends but can Penny really ever move on from Noah?

I’ve never been the biggest fan of this series of books yet I still keep on reading the sequels. I think that I just like the idea of them more than the actual book. I picked this book up to take as holiday reading and to be honest it was pretty good for that. It’s a light hearted quick read which is exactly what I want from a book I take on holiday with me. However, once again I sadly just didn’t enjoy it.

I just can’t gel with the characters. Penny however, does make some character progression in this book which actually is great. It’s wonderful to see her finally standing on her own two feet and getting on with things without depending on Noah. She has truly developed as a character and I loved the fact she’s started getting on with her life. I also really liked how much she helped out other characters in the novel too. Yet despite this I still just can’t get enough of an attachment to her to care about her story. Noah, however is a horrible character. I liked him in book one, despised him in book two and in this book he just seemed neither here nor there. I get that he had to stay out of Penny’s way in order for her to develop but he just didn’t feature enough in this book.

I’ve said in previous reviews of this series that I think it’s great that a person with such influence over a young audience writes about anxiety etc and this book is no exception. A character in this novel has severe stage fright and of course Penny suffers from anxiety. The inclusion of this is such a brilliant thing as I feel many people suffer with mental issues and if it helps even one person feel a little better about what they’re going through then I can’t really knock these books. 

I should just realise now that these books just aren’t for me.  If you loved the previous Girl Online novels however you’ll still love Girl Online Going Solo. It provides the same elements as in previous books that lovers of the others will absolutely enjoy.

Synopsis –

As Penny starts the school year she's ready to face the world - alone. Noah has gone off the radar after ending his world tour early and no one, including Penny, knows where he is. So when she accepts Megan's invitation to visit her performing arts school it seems like an opportunity to make some new friends.

Helping everyone else seems to be the right remedy - Elliot needs her friendship more than ever, and she meets Posey, who she can really help with her stage fright. But is charming Scottish boy Callum the right kind of distraction? And can Penny truly move on when Noah's shadow seems to haunt her round every corner?

Book three in the number-one bestselling Girl Online series.

Blogtober - Day 8

I’m sure I’ve mentioned my Kindle alot on this blog because now a days that is where I do 99% of my reading. I still absolutely love physical books though so today’s post is going to be my thoughts on kindle vs physical book.

It took me a long time to convert to a kindle – and I mean a long time! I was very anti kindle. I was that person who couldn’t understand why anyone would ever read a book on a kindle verses buying a real book. It just didn’t make sense to me why you would sacrifice the great things about a physical book in exchange for reading it on a screen. Yet a few years later I have turned into the person who is 100% a kindle addict. I have a kindle paperwhite and honestly its one of the best things I own. It’s worth mentioning here that I’ve never tried any other of the e-readers that are available but I’m sure they’re all as good as the kindle!

For me practicality of a kindle just wins a physical book for me. It just got to the stage where I couldn’t fit any more books in my house anymore. I had books under my bed, in my wardrobe; in storage boxes...you name the place it had books it in. I’m pretty sure I could’ve given Waterstones a run for its money with the amount I had. Sadly I had a real big clear out and donated most of my books to my local community library which is being run by a family friend whose trying to keep it open so as much as I hated parting with a lot of my books at least it’s good to know others will be getting enjoyment from them. I don’t have this problem with a kindle, I can download as many books as I like and wherever I take my kindle all the books that are on it are just sat on it too which is frankly just the most amazing thing.  

Another reason that I love my kindle is the price of books. I read insanely quickly and I sadly I don’t earn enough money to cover new books at the speed that I read. Amazon’s Kindle store has a ton of free books and most that aren’t only cost a couple of pounds anyway which is amazing for someone like me.

I used to always travel with a book. Every time I went on a train I had a paperback thrown into my bag. Then I used to get annoyed that said book used to get quite battered from me quickly putting it back in my bag when I realised I’d reached my stop or when the train pulled into the platform. My kindle is the perfect travelling companion in this respect. It  also saves me a lot of weight in my suitcase when I’m going abroad! 

All this being said, I still absolutely love physical books. Nothing beats the smell of a brand new book and actually turning real pages. A physical book you can flip through, look at the covers and they look a million times nicer on a bookshelf! If I had the money and space, my house would pretty much look like a bookshop. However, I don’t so for me my kindle is just the best thing I own and now I sadly would chose to download a book on their rather than pick up a physical book.

Blogtober - Day 7

Its Bookshop Day today so it only seems appropriate that todays Blogtober post is book themed. I know its past shop opening times today but it is Bookshop Day so perhaps tomorrow is the perfect excuse to go out and buy that new book you've been wanting to purchase.

As if I don't do a lot of reading on a normal week, when I'm on holiday I become obsessed. It's got that out of hand on my most recent holidays that I've finished reading a book before I've ever boarded the airplane - its definitely a time I spend catching up on my to read list.

Whilst on holiday last week I became in a bit of a book rut. I always download new books onto my kindle / buy a couple of physical books to take with me. For this holiday I wanted one of those novels that just made my heart tingly because of the absolute romantic adorableness of the book. Unbelievably after spending an extensive time (I'm not even kidding, I was there for hours...) browsing in Waterstones and even asking the sales assistant for a super cheesy romantic novel recommendation I couldn’t find anything that fit that description that I’d not already read. So I found myself browsing through my kindle and rereading books that I'd read within the past couple of years that I absolutely loved but just haven’t really had the time to read again for a long time. I’d forgotten how much I adore the two books I’m going to tell you about so I absolutely loved rereading them!

Not In The Script - Amy Finnegan

Click here for my original review of this book. 

 

Boy Band - Jacqueline E Smith

Click here for my original review of this book.  

For me these 2 books are some of the best romantic / young adult novels that I've ever read. Even though I'd read them both before and knew exactly what happened in the books they both gave me that same tingly feeling from cute romance over load. Plus I've read a lot of books in this genre and both contain characters that I still wish were real! These are definitely some of my favourite books so if you're looking for this kind of genre of book you have to buy these two!