Goodreads Goals

Truth be told, I suck at goals. Especially my Goodreads, I have been using the app to track the books I have been reading for a couple of years now. I have yet to reach any of my goals. I always start the year with good intentions to read more but one way or another life gets in the way or something. I guess maybe I set my goals too high but I decided to scrap the reading goals for 2021. I managed 22 books this year and even though it doesn’t sound like a lot I am chuffed with myself!

One thing I am very proud of this year is discovering a love for Graphic Novels, something I never thought I’d see myself getting into. I  have read some amazing pieces one being the first two volumes of The Wicked & The Divine. The artwork is incredible and the storyline is so good! I really loved the characters, if you wish to read more about this amazing series I have done a book review on the first two volumes!  Just give the title a search in the top right corner of the page! I am waiting for the stores reopen properly before I search for a local comic book store in my city- rather than fund big businesses like Amazon. This year was definitely one of discovery. The first graphic novel I read this year was Faithless, very sexy but waiting for the next part of the collection which has not been announced yet.

I feel after this weird year I don’t want any pressure, I should just want to read and not feel like I have to.  Even though the Good Read’s reading challenge is supposed to be for fun I found myself rushing novels. I don’t want that anymore. I do want to read more, of course, I do. I want 2021 to be the year of content I care about, in all aspects of my life. I do want to try and not buy as many new books in the next year, my To-be-read pile is huge and my bookcase is full. I want to reread some of my favourite classics like Dickens' Great Expectations, Shelley's Frankenstein and whatever I find on my shelves. I want to be more creative over here on my blog too. Do you ever finish a book but you’re not quite over it yet? I want to explore that, maybe write an extra chapter or something. I know this sounds a little like fan fiction but I just want to share more creative writing with you guys. I will still write book reviews, I very much enjoy writing those and taking cute bookstagram photos to go with them.

This blog post is not disregarding Good Reads, I think it’s brilliant that I can see what I have been reading. Scrolling through the books I have read this year, I can say the book I loved the most, that I very much didn’t expect to, was Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking. I never really showed much interest in this actress previously but I was and still am fascinated by her story. This also started my love of audiobooks (see more about this in my previous blog post) which has helped me discover stories I wouldn’t usually even look at on a bookshelf!   Having talked about the books I love the most it’s only right I talk about one story I didn’t enjoy as much.

The graphic novel version of Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.   If you know me, you’ll know I love the series. I have not enjoyed a series this much in a while. The graphic novel is very different, which as a lover of books I know adaptations change things and alterations are made, but the graphic novel disappointed me a little. I guess it just wasn’t what I was expecting. With the Netflix show coming to an end soon (sadly) I am feeling more inclined to purchase the rest of the volumes so I can keep it alive and maybe see a different ending. I hope the next volumes change my mind. 

I am looking forward to the books I could read in 2021. Let’s make this the year of reading books we actually want to read! What book is at the top of your to-be-read list?

Goodreads Goals

Wednesday, 30 December 2020

New Notebooks

Hello!

During this lockdown of ours, I have been finding a little hard to write. The world is all uneasy so I have been feeling very uneasy. To help spark my motivation I decided to feed my ever-growing addiction: notebooks. I do have quite a few already but they're all back in Brighton and just need something new and to have with me whilst I am home. I have been having a neb at Go Stationery for a while now and I decided to use my 15% off code to treat myself (if you want to treat yourself too GOGLAM230) and I found some stunning notebooks. I ordered three in total, two for me and one stunning Peacock notebook for my sister. In my delivery I also received a stunning planner, I don't really make much use of planner's so I gifted it to my sister for her business.

The Nikki Strange collection is my favourite, I bought from the element collection as well as astrology. I do plan on buying the rest of the element collection in the future, I just wanted to test it out and the quality of these notebooks are stunning.  As you can see to the right. The element of fire notebook is so bright, I figure the start of the collection had to be my own sign. I will be buying the rest because I am obsessed!

I plan on using the fire element notebook for thoughts, I am often swamped with feelings and thoughts. I get quite anxious at times, especially at times like these, and writing in the past has helped me so much. I really want to get back to writing every day, get everything out of my head and heart. It used to help me feel so relaxed especially on days where I feel super overwhelmed.

Buying notebooks is my attempt to trying and get my writing flow back, I just want to create and be imaginative but I’ve been everything but. I can’t wait to finish my degree too, then I’m free to write for myself again. Maybe 2020 will be the Summer of writing. 

The little moon and stars book I’ll keep for a rainy day, a spark will come and I know what to write inside. Maybe use it for a new book idea or a new poetry book!  

Have you been making any creative purchases lately?

New Notebooks

Friday, 8 May 2020

44

Hello!

It has been a little while since my last post, I want to talk about reading and the books I want to read this year. I have been using Good Reads for a couple of years now to track the books I have been reading. To be honest, I have never completed my Good Reads goal, and that I find quite disappointed in myself. I asked my sibling to pick a number and she picked 44, that will be my reading goal for the year.

I know it is a high number but I have some really good books lined up to read, between Christmas and now I have accumulated 13 new books. Alongside reading more I want to make my Instagram more bookish, and just more. I have been neglecting the blog and my YouTube channel so I am trying to be more active. I love blogging and reading, I just haven't been able to find the time.

My current plan is to read before sleeping at night, but also listening to audiobooks when I am doing things so like bathing or cleaning. This way it means I can read two books at once but also get things done. This year I want to be posting more book reviews over here, I love reading and I love talking about books. It is an opportunity to share the books I have been reading and spark discussions. I love finishing a book and getting the chance to chat about it.  I think this year I will be keeping my blog purely bookish and writing-related. This means the blog can be more niche and I can control it better but also reach a more targeted audience. I feel like this space has been a bit messy and I feel like I can write better if I know what I am writing, if that makes sense? I will be posting monthly updates on how my reading goal is but also a rating of all the books I have read that month. I am aiming to post at least 1 review a week but we will see how that goes. The first book of the year I am reading is Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's. The audiobook I am currently listening to is Oscar's Wilde's A Woman of No Importance. 

This was just a little blog update, first one of 2020 and I hope you all had a lovely festive period! What book are you starting off the year with?

44

Sunday, 12 January 2020

The end of a Decade

Before we hit into the '20s (the decade I have been excited for) I want to reflect on the decade we are leaving behind. The most important decade of my life so much has happened I have gone from child all way through my teens and to adulthood. I have met so many amazing people in this decade, people I know who will be my life long best friends, new family members - two nieces and a nephew as well as two step-nephews and a step-niece. My best friend Kara was born in 2014 and we have been inseparable since. I can proudly say I have friends in each direction o

f the UK and even some abroad.

This decade has not been easy, I have faced grief like I have never felt before. I have loved and lost, but I am recovering. I started high school and finished high school. Did the sixth form thing, for three years instead of two. I flew the nest and moved from Newcastle to Brighton. I came out to my family and friends and learned that whatever or whoever you like does not define you. I learned to value home and family more, and I learned to stand on my own two feet.  I have shed many (and I mean many) tears but I have also laughed so much. Some of my best memories have been during this decade, I travelled to Holland, Spain and Egypt. I visited places not so far from home: Edinburgh, Brighton, London, Manchester, Devon and Cornwall. 

I have learned more about myself, I've watched myself change and become someone a younger me would look up to. I have found the love of writing during this decade, I created this blog. I made a Sims Gaming YouTube. I have found love in fictional worlds. I have learned that life is a journey and that sometimes it takes people a little longer to get where they are going. Life is not a race, it is about focusing on yourself and watching where you're going, and everyone else around you you should be supportive of their journey.

I would do my usual thing and make resolutions for the following year but this time I don't want to do that. I want to make promises to myself. Promises to love myself, in whatever stage my body is at. I promise to my kinder to myself. I promise to have more fun, more risks and things to look forward to. If this decade has taught me anything it is that my mental health is just as important as my physical health, I promise to take care of my thoughts and to know when enough is enough. This decade I have met my limits and that wasn't always fun. But this decade I promise to take care, even if it is in the smallest of things.

I hope you reading this, you have an amazing 2020. Party like Gatsby or chill alone in your own swamp like Shrek. Do what is good for you. Happy New Year. 

The end of a Decade

Tuesday, 31 December 2019