A Medical Affair by Anne McCarthy Strauss

I got asked to review this book and agreed despite it being not my usual genre or type of book I go for, and I enjoyed it!!! I'll definitely be trying new things in the future, without hesitation.  

at first this book interested me, as I, like many others, wasn't aware of the forbidden relationship between a doctor and a patient that so frequently occurs. I was very interested in the character of Jeff but found that Heather's character lacked depth and detail especially as she was the protagonist, as the reader I didn't connect with her emotionally and found it hard to relate to her situation. 

I also found that the book mentioned Heather's molestation as a child somewhat shallowly and didn't go into depth with it, leading to the subject appearing somewhat insensitive. 

another thing about the book that perplexed me was that Heather spoke of avoiding 'making Jeff aware that the tape existed'. Without giving away too much, I was confused as surely, Jeff having made the tape, would be aware that it existed? 

overall this book was interesting and intriguing but I found the most eyecatching part was the legal fight between Jeff and Heather towards the end. 

 

I would recommend this book to round adults and anyone interested in victim rights or legal battles in general.

~happy reading~ 

bookish nails

today's post is a little different: 

newspaper nail art. this idea is a different spin on simple nails but also fits with my book/writing themed life!! follow the steps for bookish nails:-)

step 1.

clear your nails of of any left over varnish and paint a pale colour on your clean nails. I chose cavier but any white, light grey or pale pink will work just as well. 

step 2.

paint your nails with a few coats and then add a clear coat to help the colour stay. make sure they're completely dry so as not to leave imprints when you press the newspaper clippings on later. 

step 3. 

next cut out ten bits of newspaper and cut them to slightly bigger than your nails. 

step 4. 

dip the newspaper clippings in water and let the excess drip of briefly then press firmly onto the nails. avoid moving the newspaper at all when pressing onto the nail so the ink doesn't smudge. 

step 5. 

leave the cutout on the nail for about one minute before removing the newspaper taking care not to smudge the ink. 

step 6. 

now remove the newspaper cutting slowly and apply a clear top coat. this is essential to stop the ink from smudging. 

step 7. 

and voilà!!!!! 

newspaper nails, easy and quick!! 

poem tuesday

if those I loved were lost 

by emily dickinson

if those I loved were lost 

the criers voice would tell me -

if those I loved were found 

the bells of Ghent would ring -

did those I love repose 

the daisy would impel me. 

phillip - when bewildered

bore his riddle in!

to read:

my to-read list:

• small island 

• jasmine nights 

• a medical affair

• my dear I wanted to tell you

• sargasso sea 

• dear nobody

• refugee boy

unbelievably excited to read all these and so many more!! I'll be doing reviews on a medical affair, my dear I wanted to tell you and small island before christmas!! watch this space:-)

paul mccartney

   

- even sir paul reads

a paris wife by paula mclain review

the novel 'the paris wife' is written from the view of the protagonist, Ernest Hemingway's first wife Hadley. I was hooked right from the start of this book with the honest description and compelling detail of setting and dialogue. Hadley falls in love with the mysterious Ernest Hemingway and wallows in the midst of a lot of famous people. The book is set during the 1920's, when infidelity wasn't uncommon, but athletically built but somewhat slow Hadley doesn't catch on with her husbands antics, as they live in the golden jazz age in paris. their marriage begins to spiral into turnmoil after Hadley's clumsiness leads to her losing a valise of Ernest Hemingway's early work on a train. 

the one fault in this novel is McLain portrays Hadley as a slight bore with little substance, where as in Hemingway's 'a moveable feast' she's shown to be more lively and naturally intriguing, but of course that's her personality from Hemingway's point of view and could have been masked by his love. the readers draw their own conclusions of Hadley's character but McLain relies on clumsily written foreshadowing to convey her desires. 

the paris wife is a heartbreaking novel which relies on historic research and details to keep the reader interested throughout despite it's intriguing beginning. I would totally recommend it to anyone who likes Hemingway's later work and especially his novel 'the sun also rises'. 

fantasy bedroom

this would be my perfect bedroom oh pleeeeeease 

fanfic

so recently I've discovered an amazing new phenomenon - which isn't really that new but I'm new here, give me a break? - called fanfic which is short for fan fiction. fan fiction is generally a short story using the characters and scenarios of a previously written and published story to create a different or similar story line. 

anyway, in sharing this with you guys because I've recently come across a piece of fanfic that I've fallen in love with. I keep reading it again and again and again and again it's official - I'm hooked. I came across this piece on twitter as it was written by someone I follow. this piece of fanfic is based on the harry potter books and is a story about lily and james potter whilst they are at school. 

I'll put the link below but you guys must must must MUST check it out, it's brilliant!!!!!! 

http://themaraudersmagic.tumblr.com/post/62634798255/jily-fanfic 

characters I'd invite to my literary dinner party

1. top of my list would be one f my favourite characters of all time as any of you who have even scanned my blog before know; mr jay gatsby. I'd love to have a conversation about him and hear all about his life in west egg and before and his view on daisy and just everything about him. 

2. augustus waters, because he is a hero and such a strong young man who's gone through so much it would be one of the greatest pleasures to talk to him and to serve him some of my famous stir fry. 

3. hadley (from the paris wife) as she was the first wife of one of the most well known writers of all time. I know she's a real person but she is also in a fictional book so it counts as a character alright?

4. katniss everdeen from the hunger games as she's, again, such an inspiration and a strong independent woman

5. alaska young from looking for alaska as she's so complex and deep but also because I think she's quite like myself: bad mood swings and retires to books in her spare time in order to escape the weekday warriors 

6. finally the one the only....hermione granger!!! my idol, my inspiration, my everything, I love her and I owe her so much with all she's done for me over the years, keeping me sane, hermione granger will sit at the head of my dinner party table

this post was inspired by www.themilelongbookshelf.com book blog, I saw her literary tea party guests and it got me think..who would mine be? if you want to check out her blog, it's brilliant, full of reviews and interviews and recommendations:-)