Want something fun and frivolous?! Look
no further you little consumerist bookworm, you!! Look at these beautiful
tote/book bags that are currently available at Waterstones!! They’re £7-£10 each but if you want people that
pass you in the street and know your reading preferences then look no further!!
I’ve so far collected 2,3 and 5 and
they’re amazing for the overspill of stuff I have to lug to Uni each and every
day. However, my desire for more is growing and the Wuthering Heights one is
just a little bit too hard to resist. I also love the ‘future writer’ bag which
for *ahem* a future, feature journalist, may hopefully act as inspiration!!
Have you managed to get a hold of
them yet? Or have you seen them in store and, as me, been driven mad with lust!
I have this boyfriend and sometimes if I kiss him real good and pat his head real nice he’ll do nice things such as go book
shopping with me and sometimes independent second hand book searching for me if
I’m particularly poor (what can I say, he’s a keeper).
But this isn’t an “I’ve got a
boyfriend” boast post… oh no, it’s a “look at the beautiful books I’ve just acquired”
boast post. So the other day I went to an old stately home, Attingham Park which
is quite possibly a Jane Austin/ Downton Abbey fandom
paradise with lovely lovely old people willing to help and give talks and wish
you a Merry Christmas at every turn. Also, because it was Christmas, there was
ceiling high Christmas Trees in every room and frost covered grounds which were
rampant with deer, which, if you use your imagination could totally be
reindeer.
And to top it off the stables had been converted into a second hand
book shop
Therefore, books were purchased and
go as follows:
Stephen King – Carrie
I’ve wanted to read King for a
while but had no idea where to start, so many google searches such as “which
King book to read first” or “which King book voted best” were made but many of
the posts suggested “the Dark Tower” series as the best of King. This might be
the case but I doubt it’s a first time, light reading recommendation. So when I
saw Carrie I thought that might be the a good place to find my footing. I’m a
whole 26 pages in at the moment (I know, impressive *hair swish*) and have only
good things to say. Do I really have time to become obsessed by another author?
No, but I don’t think that’ll stop me.
Angela Carter – Angela Carter’s
Book of Fairy Tales
I’ve read Carter before and I LOVE
the way she takes well known stories, adds a few ‘f’ words, a feminist aganda
and somehow manages to change your entire perceptive of the tale and
storytelling. She’s magical and one of the most talented writers of the 20th
century and I devour everything she put her clever little biro to. So when I saw
this I nearly hit the floor and cried. Fairy Tales. Hard Back. Gorgeous Illustrations.
A beloved author. Sale in Waterstones. The stars aligned and this angelic
beauty became mine. The book is constructed of short folktales that take no
longer than 15 minutes to read one which makes the reading light and extremely
thought provoking. The tales have individual motives of intent on the reader;
you’re meant to learn something. The select few I’ve read are also EXTREMELY
dark (perhaps worrying if this was picked up as a last minute Christmas present
for a niece/nephew and wasn’t properly examined) so aren’t for the light and
frothy teen book reader out there.
J.R.R. Tolkien – The Silmarillion
I fucking love Lord of the Ring. I
love it. I love the maps, I love the adventure, I love the race of beings and I
love the mythology. I drink it up like nerd nectar.
Shortly after watching this
youtube video I became obsessed with trekking through the various lotr wiki
pages to learn as much about the mythology and first age of middle earth and
all the rest of it I could find. I have basically no idea what The Silmarillion
is really about, from the blurb it sounds more like a narrative story more than
an explanation of mythology but hey ho I’m up for anything. I’ve also been told
that it is extremely complicated so have decided I’ll read it when I can
dedicate an entire week to it. If this means I don’t get to read it till the
summer so be it. 6 months is a mere blink in the life of an elf. I’m patient. I
can wait*.
So I constantly have a list of books that are in the pipeline of my future reading adventures, books that if only I had the time and money for, or perhaps will ask for for an upcoming gift giving opportunity... perhaps, oh I don't know, CHRISTMAS!! Yes it's that time of year again and these are the books I've read to see me through those dark, lonely, nights waiting for Santa Claus to get up off his keister and pay his favourite girl a visit (me, I'm his favourite). READ 1) THE HOBBIT "Oh my gawddd!! Like she's totally just jumped on the bangwagon. She's only reading it cause the film is out. She's not a real fannn!!1!!111"
Stop that. It's annoying. If a film makes you want to read a book that's not a bad thing everyone. Calm down. But in my case I am the biggest, oh my gawd Legolas and Aragorn should kiss, how could Sam marry that hobbit hussy over Frodo, fan you'll find outside the asylum. And when Christmas rolls around I can't think of a nicer, sweeter, 'read in front of the fire' story to read, and such, has become a bit of a seasonal tradition for me. A story about friendship and adventure, 12 dwarves trying desperately to regain their home, one hobbit trying to get back to his hobbit hole home (whats more Christmasy than home and home comforts huh?). With an almost childlike approach to the narration, Tolkien's Hobbit, is a much softer, less mythologically intense, than the older brother's in the LOTR trilogy, makes the reading pure pleasure. Plus I'm a hell of a lucky girl who has an Alan Lee illustration edition.
"DAUUUMMM BRO!! Look at that Shire!!"
Quote- Barack Obama
2) SENSE AND SENSEIBILITY I don't know about you, but at this time of the year where you're desperately trying to jam in family obligations and and an immense amount of food, you want a book that's easy. Where not an awful lot happens. The plot and narrative are simple and enjoyable to follow. In my opinion Mrs Jane Austin is the supreme of this particular genre of '... meh, that was nice'. Pride and Prejudice is probably the best example for this idea of literacy comfort, I mean what really happens? A mother wants to marry her daughters off, a woman disagrees with a man, they fall in love after-all, even though we all know they would in the first place. Sense and Senseibility follows this same premise, daughters need to be married off. The only question is which of the eligible young men in the neighborhood should they choose? It's heartwarming and truly lovely to have a plot so familiar and comforting. What have you been reading over Christmas? Anything you feel is your go-to Christmas story?
*jingle jingle* ... Hey what was that?! SANTA?!?!!! Oh wait it was my laptops low battery notification, never mind :( that's perhaps a hint that it's time to say goodnight and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas
