A Random 3am Catch-Up...

Hello!

First off, I'm getting kind of bored of that greeting... Anyone else feel the same way? Nope? Okay then. Just me.

Second of all, my foot really, really, really hurts. I tripped the other day and whatever I did it's now a not-so-beautiful array of colours - insert mental image of my pouting face and my poorly foot.

So... I haven't really decided what this blog post is about, I just really felt the need to write on this little space at 2:42am because why not?

I'm currently listening to my brothers 'Chilled Playlist' on Spotify and I'm strangely loving all of the oldies and slightly cheesy songs that are coming up; it's making me feel really home-y. It's just not having the chilled-sleep-inducing effect I was originally hoping for, instead it's making me ever so slightly nostalgic.

What else? As I mentioned, I've really hurt my foot - like a lot. I would love to tell you what I've done to it exactly but I actually have no clue. Zero. I tripped. And now it just really, freakin' hurts! (A cover of Hey Ya has just come on to my playlist (by some dude called Obadiah Parker) and it's strangely awesome...) I do have this brilliant pair of boots that I bought a couple of weeks ago from Topshop and thank god I did because they have been so good whilst I've had a sore foot - they're ankle boots but my foot hurts less when I'm wearing them; I'm sure my mum mentioned something about them being more supportive, or something like that. I can't remember entirely but they're really comfy and she told me to wear them - always take Mama's advice!

I've started dressing like an actual girl as of late too. As in, skirts and dresses and tights (which are the most awkward things to where ever. Seriously. Someone needs to make those things easier and comfier), it's quite the change for me but, not going to lie, I'm kind of liking it.

I've rekindled my love for fajitas since coming to uni. Random fact for you there.

I've also found that any and all writing inspiration seems to come to me at stupid 'o' clock in the morning, e.g. now.

I have read some incredible books lately! I definitely need to dedicate a few blog posts to them because they're the bomb.com... does anyone even say that anymore? It just came to me... 

Oooh! Another unfortunate incident of 'Katie's life' - I lost my railcard two weeks ago on my way back to my hometown after visiting my friend in Lancaster. I rang every company and station possible trying to find it and no one had it, so if the person who saw it and didn't hand it in is reading this 'You're a mean person." Yep. That's what I have to say to you. I was more unimpressed at the idea of having to pay £80 for a ticket home without my railcard. Luckily, my mum is quite the bargain hunter and found one for £25 but I didn't get into Nottingham till something like midnight. There's more though - I don't do anything by halves! I got back to uni and my key wouldn't unlock my door. So it had let me into the building, into my flat, but it wouldn't let me into my room. I was stood there like a numpty for ten minutes trying to make it work. It didn't. Of course. I had to ring security, who made me go to them so they could reset my key fob which, once I'd walked all the way back to my flat, also didn't work. I sounded like a right idiot when I had to ring security again and they had to come up and try and fix the door and let me in, with my suitcase, laptop bag, normal bag, everything at about half one in the morning. I was not impressed. They couldn't even fix it in the end, they just had to let me in and leave it at that. Like I said, I don't have the best luck in the world. 

I went to see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 yesterday (or the day before if we're going to go on technicalities of time and all that). It was extraordinary, obviously! I might do a blog post about that at some point too - it depends how much I decide I could write about without giving anything away.

I doubt there's much else you really want to know. Then again, I doubt you even wanted to know that, but hey! You got it! 

Feel free to have a good laugh at my constant bad luck - it amuses my family (and friends - definitely friends) no end! 

Hope everything's running as smoothly in everyone else's world as it is mine...

Katie x

A Mid Week Pick-Me-Up #8

Hello!

This week's quote is dedicated to my best friend; she's on holiday at the moment but I'm seriously missing her and I thought this quote described our friendship perfectly!

"The best friendships usually steal up on you, you don't remember their start point." - You Had Me At Hello (Mhairi McFarlane)

This is one of the truest quotes about friendship that I've ever heard... or read, actually (it's from a really great book, you should give it a read). I know that I certainly don't remember when my best friend and I became the best of friends. I do remember when we first met because it was over a skipping rope and she likes to constantly remind me of that story, but that's definitely not where we became friends!

I don't think I remember the start point to any of my best friendships, maybe it's just because the best ones have been around for that long I can't remember far enough back, or it's because the friendships happened that quickly that I just don't know how to pinpoint the start point.

I've definitely had my fair share of "bad" friendships because, as my best friend likes to constantly remind me, I'm a softy and let people off with things because its easier than arguing with them - I really don't get on well with confrontation, I'm too quiet and shy for all that!

I don't know what I'd do without my closest friend some days; she's always there for me and I think she knows more about me than I do! We both go to different universities too, which can take its toll on some friendships (I know it has on other friendships of mine), but we still text all the time, and skype; we even started sending each other actual written letters, I loved that, it was super cute - not enough people hand-write letters anymore! 

No matter how far away from each other we are, we still tell each other everything and any problems we have we always tell the other first. I know that if I'm feeling a bit down or something really bad has happened, she is going to be the one person who can pull me out of that and pick me up. 

Soooo, my best friend is this weeks mid week pick-me-up because she's always there to pick me up and I'll always be there to pick her up. Awww, all the feels and the mushiness (sorry!).

Katie x

THE Bucket List

Hello!

I have a list of things I want to do before I... pass over to the other side? Is that the nicest way of saying it? I'm not sure. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is I have a bit of bucket list. Things that I want to do before I die. It's not something I've ever properly written down or anything; they're just things that, somewhere along my way in life, I've thought "I have to do that someday!"

I've decided that it's maybe time I actually wrote them down, though... Or some of them, at least. This way, not only can I never forget if my clumsiness leaves me with amnesia, but there will be people to remind me that I made this list and never to give up on it. Here are a few of them.

1.

Publish a novel!

This one is something I have always wanted to do. As in, my whole life. Ever since I was just little. I've always wanted to have my own writing published. Therefore, it's a goal that I really, really, really, really, really want to achieve before I die! Like, seriously. Publish a novel. I have to do that.

And there's my bucket list over! Thanks for reading! Jokes. Don't stop reading yet! I was joking! Promise. I have just a few more.

2.

This is going to sound like such a silly one but, I want to get a tattoo.

I know what you're probably all thinking, if I want a tattoo, I'm old enough, I should just go get one. It's not that easy though. No one in my family has a tattoo. Nor are they very open to them. Even my brother, who was always the rebel child when he was younger, never came home with a tattoo. It's something that I really want to do but I feel like I would feel a lot better and a lot more confident about it if I had my family's approval. So I guess this one's more of a "get my family's approval for a tattoo" goal, than actually getting the tattoo.

3.

Own my own house/apartment.

This is such a stereotypical one, I know, but it's something I really want some day. I would just love to have a place that I could call mine and could decorate however I want... In fact it's the decorating and buying little, unique things for it that really gets me about this one. I love going into shops and looking at all the cute home decor and picking which bits I would have if I was furnishing and embellishing my own wee abode! So if someone would like to give me a limitless amount of money for when I decide to tick this one off my list, that would be great! No? Oh. Okay then...

4.

Travel.

Obviously I travel, I did a post (HERE) about going on holiday to Turkey with my mama last month and I loved every minute of it, but I want to travel more. I'm sure that sounds really greedy but the majority of my life we have gone to Turkey because my step-dad's family live there, and I always want to go some place different. I would love to go to Australia (bucket-list typical, I realise) or, more than anything, I want to go to New York. A lot of my friends have been there or are going there and they're very fond of telling me what an amazing place it is. So, I want to visit the Big Apple, Concrete Jungle, The City That Never Sleeps, New York - I want to go there soooo bad.

5.

Family.

I want my own family, like most people, but this one is more about the incredible family that I already have. They're always there for me and support me in everything I need and do, so I want to be able to give back to them. All sentimental and soppy of me, I know, but I really do want to be able to do for them what they've done for me one day. Okay, mushiness over.

So there are five things I want to make sure I try my hardest to do before I die. I'll probably have forgotten half of them before tomorrow but then they'll come back to me eventually, they always do. Or, now I can just look here and remember them - perfect!

Katie x

The Book that Turned Me into an Emotional Wreck

Hello!

Almost exactly a year ago, I read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It was possibly one of the most emotive books I have ever read and it took me quite a while to recover from it! However, I wrote a review as soon as I'd read it, mainly to try and keep it fresh in my mind as I had to make notes on it for my uni course. I've been looking through my laptop files and found it and I thought I should share it with you, because it really is a truly amazing book.

(Obviously, if I wrote this review at this time last year, it was done before I went to university. Sooooo, just pretend we're in 2013, rather than 2014 and I haven't started my first year of uni yet!)

I am an English Literature and Creative Writing student and, therefore, I have to read a lot and write a lot - both of which thrill me. However, before I go to university and my lectures start, there are a couple of books I need to have read and made notes on. One of which is The Kite Runner.

I have just finished it and, I can honestly say, I have never cried so much at one book in my entire life. In fact I think there are only a handful of times that I have cried at anything this much in my entire life.

It is one of the most harrowing and heart-breaking books I have ever read, without doubt, and I read tons. I've read things like Private Peaceful, which left me speechless and in tears. I even read The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, for my A-Levels last year, and if anyone has ever read this, they will know what I mean when I say it is the most depressing book in the world. The Kite Runner is an extremely close second to both of these, if it's not worse.

I think the difference is that, in The Road, there were only two main characters and that was it, everything that happened was simultaneous, they were living in an apocalyptic world for goodness sake, of course it wasn't going to be all rainbows and sunshine! But, in The Kite Runner it starts off making you think it's going to be exactly rainbows and sunshine and then things happen that make you feel like your chest is being torn open and someone is slowly squeezing the blood vessels around your heart, one by one, so you die in a horrifically slow, and painful, way... Wow, that was dramatic - maybe that should be in The Road. 

Just as you think something good is happening in The Kite Runner you learn different; it changes at a blink of the eye. I feel like all I've done since I hit the seventy-ish page mark is cry, and cry, and cry. And cry some more. And then a bit more. And, yeah, you get the gist. I don't want to give anything away but the point of view is that of a little boy and it's like you're growing up with him and his family. However, you go from liking him, to despising him with so much hatred in your body that you don't know what to do with yourself, to thinking he's okay, to disliking him again, to feeling sorry for him and forgiving him, to being happy for him, to thinking he's an idiot and an asshole (pardon, my language - this book has done bad things to my mental state) to then liking, maybe even loving him again, to blaming him and I'm currently in between blaming him and possibly, maybe, liking him a little bit again. Maybe edging more towards the liking bit actually, after reading the last words:

""For you, a thousand times over," I heard myself say."

Anyone who has already read this book will understand just how cry-worthy this sentence is, of both happiness and sadness - I can't decide which emotion wins over.

The fact that this book has made me feel so many different feelings in the space of a day and a bit just shows how well written the book is. I may not like the book enough to read it again but that's because it's turning me into an emotional wreck, not because it's not expertly written. In fact, to invoke this kind of reaction in a person it has to be well written and has to make you love and hate parts of it strongly enough that it takes over your emotions. Or at least that's what I think. I know that I will never forget this book as long as I live, it has had that much of an effect on me.

For any literature student, you will realise how weird this is because it's kind of a law in novels that you should feel the most proximity with the character whom's point of view it is from, but that isn't necessarily the case in this book. All of my feelings, closeness, everything, lie with the character Hassan in this book. Completely and utterly. I would rather watch every other person in the world (of the book, obviously) suffer than watch anything happen to him. 

The things that happen in this book are scarily close to things that happen in real life and are happening all around us; I think that's part of the reason it provokes such a big reaction from me. The things that some of the characters suffer in this book happen to people in everyday life in certain countries. 

I'n sorry if this was a boring, rambly review about something you really don't give a damn about but I needed to get that out of my system. Also, if you do like to read, then you should read The Kite Runner, you just need to either have a heart of stone or a super-size box of tissues. Oh, and don't read it in public places - I made that mistake and got some funny looks at the tears streaming down my face. My remedy is to have a nice book, that I know is very happy, waiting on the sidelines for the minute I finish this one! Or if you're more of a movie person, I suggest something like Mary Poppins or Cinderella ready to watch afterwards.

It really is one of the best books I've ever read though. It just hurts you a little bit inside; it gives you a completely different perspective on the world though and you can't help but love certain characters.

Katie x

An Ode to a Book

Hello!

I'm sure a lot of you know, and can even just see by looking at this blog, that I love to read.

Well, I read a lot of books whilst I was on holiday but right now I'm on an unfortunate book ban seen as I have a lot to read for my uni course - it sucks. Shakespeare, I hate you... No offence.

However, when I implemented the book ban on myself, I said I wasn't to buy anymore books, nothing was said about re-reading...

So, to get around my self-imposed book ban, I decided to re-read some of my favourite books and it has made me realise how much I truly love one book in particular.

Samantha Young is the author who has provided us with the beautifully wonderful book that is On Dublin Street. So you can consider this blog post either a mini-review or my declaration of my undying love for this book. It's up to you. Although it's probably more the latter.

The story follows Jocelyn (a.k.a. Joss), a girl who has just graduated from university in Edinburgh and is looking for a new apartment to live in. However, she's originally from Virginia but when her parents died in a tragic car crash and she was left an orphan she made the decision to leave after high school and head to the University of Edinburgh.

She falls in love with a luxury flat as well as it's one existing occupant, Ellie Carmichael, unknowingly at that point that she has also met and lusted after Ellie's brother, Braden, too. 

Braden has a well-known reputation of being a womaniser as well as a wealthy businessman in Scotland but this doesn't stop the undeniable chemistry that Joss and Braden share from making an impact on their relationship, but both of them are unwilling to commit to anything serious.

Although we get to know most things about Joss's past from the beginning, she keeps her pain from her friends, and now Ellie and Braden too, something Ellie especially doesn't understand due to her open, chatterbox nature but it's easy to see that Joss's character is used to fending for herself, not being open. 

So there are the basics! I could recite ever moment of this book, easily, but I don't want to ruin it for you, so it's just a quick synopsis type thing!

It's no surprise that I'm in love with Braden. Obviously. I'd worry if I wasn't. He comes across as the sultry, sexy businessman with an epic sense of humour but his character develops into a lot more than that as his friendship with Joss unfolds. We find out about his past, his family and why he values his relationship with his sister so much. To a certain extent, I have to admit, the business side of him strikes me as very Christian Grey-esque but better... A lot better. And a lot sexier. Braden's one of those dream characters who you literally end up dreaming about. Fifty Shades was not a book I massively enjoyed though, and I certainly didn't dream about Christian, so don't let that one similarity put you off!

Joss's character is what draws me to love this book so much. The suffering she had to endure at such a young age made her shut people out because she thought that if she loved and cared for people it not only made her weak but it would lead to them getting hurt. As the story develops, we see her character slowly grow in strength and become more confident with her feelings and her insecurities.

A part of this is definitely because of her new flatmate, Ellie. Ellie is one of those characters who you can't help but fall in love with and just want to swaddle in cuddles; she's so sweet and kind that it makes you want to be like her, even if she is a fictional character! She's so open that living with someone as closed as Joss is difficult for her at first but their friendship blossoms and, as it does, so does Joss's confidence to trust people and open up more - it brings a tear to my eye!

One of my favourite quotes is from Ellie's character and seen as it's one of the few that can't be classed as a spoiler, I'm going to share it with you:

""Did you just call me a numpty?"

"Yup. A delusional one."

"What, may I ask, is a numpty?"

"A person demonstrating a lack of knowledge of a situation; a silly person; an idiot; a dumbass. A delusional numpty: Joss Butler's stupid, idiotic, blind misconception of the true nature of her relationship with my brother, Braden Carmichael.""

I don't know why I love that quote so much, I just do. Maybe it's the humour in the idea that, in Scotland/England/UK in general, a numpty is a concept most people know. The best English teacher I ever had had an extreme love for the word, too, so maybe that's why! It's at this point that you remember Joss hasn't loved in Scotland all of her life - it's like a little reminder.

Of course there are the general struggles on the way but it's the twist about three-quarters of the way through that you don't expect that makes it so different. Most books have some kind of 'shocking' (supposedly) twist near the end that's supposed to make you think it's not going to work out anymore but in On Dublin Street it really is an unexpected but expected one at the same time... if that makes sense. If you're observant enough, you'll spot the signs leading up to it but it has effects that you didn't realise it would and, if you're anything like me, it will have you rocking on the edge of your bed...

It's so well written, the characters are so lovable and, for anybody who lives near Scotland or even just in the UK maybe, the setting in this book will seem so familiar to you, it will feel like you're there. 

I only live about two hours away from Edinburgh and there is not a single detail in this book that isn't true when she's talking about the streets of Edinburgh and the castle and all of the lovely fine points about the place - it makes me want to go back there so bad! I've seen quite a lot of reviews where people have complained that the book could probably be set anywhere, Young just says it's Edinburgh, but anyone who knows Edinburgh will know there is only one place this book could have been set and it's already there.

For those of us who fall in love with books and characters so easily, Samantha Young has kindly provided us with a series which follow different characters from the book whilst still letting you know how your favourites from the previous book are getting on! It's perfect!

This is in my top five favourite books... maybe even my top three, actually! I feel this book deserves all the love and more. A million out of five stars, easily (yes, that is possible)!

If you're looking for a book to read then this is definitely it... unless you're not into the kind of YA fiction genre, although I still think you should give it a go because I think there's something for everyone in this book.

Happy reading!

Katie x

A Mid Week Pick-Me-Up #4

Hello!

Today's little quote kind of links in with yesterday's post (HERE) but I love it because it's from one of my favourite books.

"Be brave." - Divergent (Veronica Roth)

Anybody who's read the book review I did HERE, on Divergent, will know just how much I love this book trilogy and this is definitely one of the quotes that stood out to me the most from it.

It's so simple. Just two words. "Be brave". I think it's perfect though. Those two words can mean a lot. It's so easy to be scared but it's not as easy to be brave; it only takes one scared person to make a brave person (oh, the irony).

Being brave can be as simple as saying yes or no to something you weren't sure of, or something you've never felt brave enough to do.

Be brave.

Katie x

Have you read the previous Mid Week Pick-Me-Up's?

A Mid Week Pick-Me-Up

A Mid Week Pick-Me-Up #2

A Mid Week Pick-Me-Up #3

Holiday TBR List!

Hello!

One of the best things about going on holiday is that you can sit and read and not think about having to do anything else... Aside from the obvious things the body needs to survive... Books are definitely included in that survival.

In fact, chances are, by the time you read this I will already be on holiday, probably sitting by the pool right now, paddling my feet! Eeeek! I'm so excited!

I read a lot when I'm on holiday, so here are a list of books that I'm planning on reading in the lovely sunshine - my TBR list!

Fangirl (Rainbow Rowell)

You're the One That I Want (Giovanna Fletcher)

Billy and Me (Giovanna Fletcher)

On Dublin Street (Samantha Young)

Flat-Out Love (Jessica Park)

On the Island (Tracey Garvis Graves)

Attachements (Rainbow Rowell)

The Edge of Never (J. A. Redmerski)

Breathe (Abbi Glines)

So you know what I'm going to be doing on my hols!

Luckily I have a Kindle  now, life was always so much more difficult before their invention - I could never manage to fit the abundance of books that I wanted to take in my case! The amount of telling-off's I got from my mum for taking something of hers out without her knowledge so that I could fit an extra book in!

Nearly all, if not all, of them will get read too - I read more when I'm on the plane than I do when I sit by a pool I think, because I can't sleep on planes, or even relax properly, I hate being stuck in such a confined space so to take my mind off it, I just read... In fact, forget the plane thing, I just read all the time!

Katie x

5 Things That Make Me Happy

Hello!

There are a lot of things that make me happy but here are just five - my indecisiveness made it extremely difficult to narrow it down to just five, but I've done it, finally!

1.

Books!

How can books not make you happy?! You get to imagine this whole new place and get overly-attached to characters and ahhh! I just LOVE books.

2.

The Little Ones

The little babies in my family never fail to make me smile. I told you all about taking the Daisy out the other day in THIS post and it was the happiest day I've had in ages because I can't not be happy when I see that cheeky little smile on her face (super mushy, I know!).

3.

Sunshine
I know a lot of people say sunshine makes them happy but when you live somewhere where sun is practically non-existent you crave every minute of sun you can get and you always appreciate it! So sun makes me extremely happy!

4.

Pajama Days

I know a lot of people say you should get up, get dressed and ready for the day every day but that just doesn't float my boat! I love the days when I have nothing planned and I can stay in my pj's and sit in bed with some tasty snacks and a book. Lazy days are perfect.

5.

Writing

When I can write for pleasure. Not to meet a deadline or because somebody wants me to - because I want to. That's when it makes me the happiest little bee around!

As you can see, it doesn't take much to keep me happy!

Katie x

Review: The Divergent Trilogy

Hello!

If the fact that I'm studying a whole lot of English at university doesn't tell you that I love to read, then here's me telling you: I love to read.

This means that I have a massive bundle of books that I'm dying to tell people about and I can't wait to share them with you!

The first book review is going to the amazing trilogy that is Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant, by Veronica Roth. 

Get ready to fall in love, and I don't just mean with Four.

Chances are, you will have at least heard of Divergent, if not the rest of the series, because it was recently in cinemas worldwide and, from what I've heard, the movie was a massive hit. Theo James was exactly how I imagined Four, so ten million points to the casting peoples for getting him.

For those of you who haven't heard of the series, or don't know what it's about, first of all, where have you been?! Secondly, it's a story set in a dystopian world where there are five factions: 

Abnegation (the selfless), 

Dauntless (the brave),

Candor (the honest), 

Amity (the peaceful), 

and Erudite (the intelligent). 

Every year, a choosing ceremony takes place where all sixteen year-old's must choose which faction they want to be a part of. However, before this, they have undergone an aptitude test that tells them which faction they are best-suited to.

It tells the story of how Tris, the main character, leaves Abnegation and joins Dauntless, leaving her family behind. Here she meets Four, her instructor during the difficult initiation process and they instantly have a connection. However, when she learns something dangerous about herself, something she has been told to keep hidden, she realises that something bigger is happening within the factions and that she might be able to do something about it.

I don't think I can even explain to you how much I absolutely adore Divergent. It's amazing. It's written beautifully for a start but it's just so easy to get into, it flows so well, and you quickly become attached to characters (although you'll later learn your lesson for doing that). I love the dystopian, futuristic world too, it's so different from anything you would think of in life yet it completely absorbs you into their way of thinking.

I also love the strength that Tris's character has, she's self-reliant and doesn't need anyone else to fight her battles for her but I think it's great that Veronica Roth made her character so selfless and brave, too.

I don't think I need to say much about Four. If you read the book, you will know exactly how much I love him and why, because you will too. He comes across as a really masculine and mysterious character however, as the book, and the whole series, goes on, you slowly start to find out who he is and how much depth there is to his character, you start to see the softness inside him that just makes my heart melt. As a little side-note, I believe there are more short stories, being released on Kindle, from Four's point of view, for us Four addicts - Eeeek! 

I think the subtlety of the relationship between Tris and Four was done perfectly. It wasn't the main focus of the book and it didn't take away from, or take over, the story line. The gradual build-up to their relationship worked perfectly as a break from the action going on throughout the book.

I don't really want to say much about the second and third books because I feel you wouldn't necessarily understand what I was talking about if you hadn't read the first but they were both amazing too (obviously). 

I whizzed through the series in just one weekend, and they're not particularly short books either, but I just couldn't put them down. So make sure you have nothing planned when you start reading these because you won't want to stop!

Five out of five stars from me, I love these books soooo much! 

Go read them, I promise you won't regret it!

Katie x