October Wrap-up

Happy Halloween! Today I bring you something that isn't really related to Halloween but we'll live. It is time to tell you about all the books I read in October, I probably won't go into too much detail as I'm planning to write up a few reviews of these:

• The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet, Rachel Kiley & Kate Rorick- I have been waiting for this for ages, I loved the Lizzie Bennet Diaries (check it out on youtube if you don't know what it is) to bits so any continuation is brilliant. This follows Lydia right after the videos ended and it is a tough read, I got very, very emotional but I loved it! 
• Jane Eyre (play), devised by the company- The National Theatre are doing Jane Eyre at the mo and after seeing it with school I got the script and tore it apart (figuratively of course) I scribbled all over it which is something I love to do sometimes. 
• Persuasion, Jane Austen- I finally got my hands on this and it didn't quite beat Pride and Prejudice but it was flippin' close. I adore the witty mocking of society but also the romance between Anne and Wentworth. Jane Austen was a wonder at writing.

Currently Reading:

• Dracula, Bram Stoker- I thought I should read something gothic this month and so fair I'm really enjoying it.
• Carry On, Rainbow Rowell- I've waited for this book for ages too as Rainbow Rowell is one of my favourite authors and it is good but I'm yet to be entirely grip which makes me extremely sad but there is still plenty of pages for that to change.
• Grimm Tales, Philip Pullman- I adore the simplicity and charm of fairy tales so I am slowly making my way through this collection.

I hardly read anything from my TBR but I read more that last month which is great, I've also been doing a ton for school also!

Speak soon, 

Jade xx

13 Halloween Reads!

Hellooooo! It is a week till Halloween so I am here today with 13 halloween reads. They may not be scary but they have a spooky vibe to them I'm not to give much away about these as it may ruin them and some of them I haven't read too :)

• Dracula, Bram Stoker. Introducing Count Dracula!

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving. The headless horseman.

• The Women in Black, Susan Hill. An old creepy house all alone on the marshes, isolated by the tide.

• The Women in White, Wilkie Collins. Ghost!

• Edgar Allan Poe, many poems and short stories with dark undertones. The word atmospheric comes to mind with him.

• Inferno, Dante. 14th Century journey into hell.

• Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson.

• Unrest, Michele Harrison. Haunted houses, mystery and bodies taken over by spirits. (this 1 creeped me out!)

• Frankenstein, Mary Shelley. Its alive!

• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs. Time travel and monsters.

• Hollow City, Ransom Riggs. More time travel and monsters. (sequel to the above)

• The Miniaturist, Jessie Burton. Amsterdam, 1686. A dolls house that's seems linked to the  household in mysterious ways.

So why not give 1 or 2 of these a go? Let me know what you think if you do!

Speak soon,

Jade xx

Why I Love Classics!

Hello lovelies! I've got something a little different today but it is something I really wanted to say. Since last year I have been taking Classical Civilisation at a-level. When I started to think about where I was going to go and what I was going to take at the end of my GCSE (I had to move as my school didn't have a 6th form) I saw classical civilisation as one of the offered subjects at my prefered school to move to, so I went to the introduction of it on the open evening was interested so put it down. Then when I started in September I completely fell in love!

Classics is the study of the ancient world in Year 12 for me I'm studying the Greece side via Homer's Odyssey and Greek Tragedy but the course is so varied that it depends where you are. It is a mash up of history and english as you are learning about the culture and myth through the analysis of the texts.

I'm basically writing this post because with me I just discovered it by chance and I know that not many schools offer this subject but if yours does then I strongly urge you to check it out especially if you like english and history. It is such an interesting subject with so much to it and I am so glad that I am taking it and planning to maybe continue it on at university.

If you have the chance to study classics then please give it a go because it seems everyone that do falls in love with it yet it is such an unknown subject!
Speak soon,
Jade xx

Finding Time to Read.

Hello lovelies! Today I wanted to talk to you about finding time to read. If you look at my August wrap-up and my September wrap-up you will see a pretty big difference in the number of things read; purely down to school starting. Nowadays I find that from 8:30-5:30 or later I don't stop and then I just crash, go on the internet and sleep. If I pick up a book I will enjoy it and be captivated but it is getting myself to pick up a book! It's very frustrating because I love reading and want to read but right now it isn't happening and I had the same problem last year.

I've decided to combat this and if you have any ways that you deal with this I would love to know but some of the things I'm going to try are:

1. Carrying a book with me everywhere- I used to this and I stopped especially for school which means at work when I could read I can't because I don't have a book. (sidenote, I go straight from school to work)
2. Challenging myself to read everyday in October even if it is just 2 pages!
3. Making sure I'm picking books that I really, really want to read, otherwise I won't be motivated.
4. Listening to audiobooks when I'm walking places and doing jobs round the house as this is a really easy way to get through a book!

Hopefully this month I can get back into reading because I miss it plus as an literature student I really should reading a ton!
Speak soon,
Jade xx

October TBR

The month of Halloween is here and I thought I would base my TBR on that theme this month, be festive and all that. So I've picked a little selection of books that I think fit and are a little spooky or gothic to choses from for October.

• The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
• Inferno by Dante
• Dracula By Bram Stoker
• Edgar Allan Poe
• War of the Worlds by H.G.Wells
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 

September Wrap-up

Hello! So September flew by and I only got a little reading done but I'm not surprised because school was a bit of a shock to the system!

• The World's Wife, Carol Ann Duffy. This is a collection of poetry based around famous men's wives and their point of views on it. There are women from myths and legends like Penelope and Mrs Sisyphus and then real people like Mrs Darwin and Myra Hindley who is painted as the Devil's wife. It's witty and brilliant! 4.5 stars.
• The Night is Darkening Round Me, Emily Bronte. This is yet again more poetry, I don't know why but in the past month I've really enjoyed read and picking apart poetry whereas in the past it has been my least favourite part of studying english. I love Emily Bronte's poetry; obviously I like some better than others but that is how it works. Pretty much all her poems are occupied with death but the writing was beautiful.
• I wanted to briefly talk of all the books I've started to read at school because both English lit. and Classical Civilisation are full of reading! In english I'm currently studying Mean Time by Carol Ann Duffy and Room With a View by E.M.Forster. Then I am re-reading The Odyssey by Homer and Aeschylus' Agamemnon in Classics. It feels so good to be back in school and pulling these texts apart after 6 months away!
• I'm also currently reading and loving Persuasion by Jane Austen! 

Let me know what you read in September!

Speak soon,

Jade xx

T5W: Banned Books

Hey, it is Wednesday again and today's top 5 theme is Banned Books. Looking at the list I've only actually read 4 and 2 of them I didn't even like that much but I'll share them with you anyway :)

1. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. I studied this at GCSE and I loathe it! I was so sick of it by the exam; it is the only book that I say I truly hate. But I read The Pearl by Steinbeck and that wasn't as bad so I may read more of his work in the future.
2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger. This is the other one I didn't like but I don't feel as strongly about it as Mice and Men. This is a book I can appreciate when it comes to symbolism and meaning and what not but I didn't enjoy it and I'm sorry to the people who love him but I couldn't stand Holden.
3. 1984, George Orwell. Now this book I do like even if it is a little scary. This was one of those books that made me look at the world and how it all works and I think that is important.
4. The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald. I read this for the first time last year in summer in preparation for studying it at school. I remember enjoying it but also sensing there was a lot more to the book that I was missing and it was such a pleasure to pick it apart and analysis it at school.

Sorry I can't give you 5 this week, I'll have to read more banned books!

Speak soon,

Jade xx