currently reading:

currently reading The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld and really enjoying it. Will definitely be doing a review when I'm finished. 

'GOVE TO GO' says over 100,000

 

The mere mention of Michael Gove’s name causes grovels and groans across the country not only from teachers and professors but parents and school governors too. Last year the award winning author Graham Joyce launched a petition calling on David Cameron to remove Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, from office. Since then Gove has been the mastermind behind many badly informed legislations, especially the most recent and arguably the most controversial eradicating of many classic works of literature from the GCSE English Literature syllabus.

 

 

Over 100,000 people have signed Joyce’s petition following the news that Gove plans to remove authors such as Harper Lee and John Steinbeck from the GCSE English Literature syllabus. This number alone shows how well-loved and enjoyable their works of literature are and doesn’t even begin to scrape the surface of their importance. Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men can be both simple and of the greatest intensity making it accessible to a wide range, if not all students and addresses issues such as sexism, feminism and cultural differences that are relevant in today’s society. Young people would benefit from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird to a similar extent as it references many of the same topics and teaches of tolerance and having the courage of your convictions.

I personally believe that it would be a huge loss to the GCSE syllabus if these classic works of literature are removed as I largely enjoyed studying works of both authors during my English Literature qualification. I feel that I would’ve passed over these important books if they were not given to us at school, even having a mother as devoted to reading as I have, I feel I wouldn’t have come across these works and would’ve largely missed out on their teachings.

If you feel you want to sign Graham Joyce’s petition I’ve left a link to the website below:

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/remove-michael-gove-from-office

 

 

 

 

 

tale of a hopelessly bored teenage girl

My mum is a regular reader of the times newspaper and therefore the times magazine always gets handed to me on saturday evenings after she’s flicked through it between her daily mothering escapades. As a teenage girl who’s grown up in the same small village backing on to a small farm backing onto Heathrow Airport her whole life, it’s fair to say I’m interested in what else is out there and of what I know of the world there’s a lot on my ‘to improve’ list. I would say I’m curious and opinionated and therefore devour any kind of writing I can: I’ve read all the books on my shelf front to back at least twice and I’m always scavenging for more to read. I’m also a strong feminist, and I like to think I’m as much of an activist as a fifteen year old girl can be (regularly calling out my peers for being sexist or degrading and growing my armpit hair ‘because I f***ing can and that’s awesome!’) . So imagine my delight in picking up the times magazine and seeing one of my main feminist idols Caitlin Moran with bleached hair and red lips standing in a familiar ‘I don’t give a f***’ pose.  I wouldn’t be lying if I said I did a double take. Can it be? Caitlin-turned-Courtney? Christmas had come in June for this teenager!

I grab the magazine and bound up stairs clutching it tightly to my chest and throw myself down on my bed. I take in the cover and just admire the art that is Caitlin-turned-Courtney’s eyeliner. My life goals are to achieve such eyeliner. Glancing at the two articles of hers and a picture I have of Caitlin on my wall next to my bed I hastily flick through the first pages of the times magazine, past something about being too old to wear white (what?) and a man I vagely recognise lounging on a hideous sofa before I’m struck breathless again. Slash? This really is Christmas! I know, what does a 15 year old girl in 2014 know about Slash, guitar God? Well my mother raised me what an 80s girl would term as ‘properly’, so me and my brothers are devoted Guns n Roses fans. My eyes devour the images of Caitlin Moran in various costumes as I sit cross-legged in my bedroom that’s decorated with pink carpets (I’ll never forgive 6 year old me for that decision) and purple walls expertly covered in The Rolling Stones posters, cinema tickets, articles and polarioids, wearing my hockey trackies, a vest top with a picture of Johnny Depp in 1989 on it, my hair in two French plaits and a half eaten apple in my hand.

And then the page is turned.

And I read and read and read, soaking up every single word written from Moran’s hand; learning of her heroes, her life and how she came to be. As I read her final sentence ‘culture is the mothers voice you chose’ my mind is racing at a million miles per hour but is stationary at the same time.  I was revolutionised. It all made sense and fell into place in my head. Fair to say my life has been changed forever and I sure as hell am going to start living like it.

 

What a tale, eh? A hopelessly bored teenage girl radically moved by a magazine article with next to no significance in the greater scheme of things. But its more than that to this hopelessly bored teenage girl, it’s clarity and it’s meaning and it’s a promise. Thank you Caitlin you’ve made sure that this is not the last the world will hear from this teenage girl.

would strongly recommend everyone pick up and read this article - truly revolutionary.  

exciting new releases

My summer starts in under three weeks and I can't wait to read read read, 24/7. I've got a stack of classics already on the agenda but here are a few up-coming releases I cat wait to stick my teeth into. 

Emma Healey's Elizabeth is Missing

Emma Healey is a 28 year old author who grew up in London. Before becoming an author she worked in libraries,bookshops and galleries. Elizabeth is Missing is her first novel. 

 Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey was featured in Marie Claire's '9 New Books You Should Definitely Consider Reading This  Spring' and was described as 'springs hottest release', not to mention Healey featuring in the London Evening Standards 'Londoners to watch in 2014' article back in January. 

Elizabeth is Missing is about Maud who despite an array of notes can hardly remember everyday things - her memory isn't what it used to be. Maud's best friend Elizabeth has gone missing and Maud can't recall where she would be. 

This debut mystery novel narrated by an 80-something year old woman who's losing her memory created a buzz of excitement at the London book fair in 2013 and I'm more than buzzing to read it when it's released on June 5th. 

Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes

Stephen King is a contemporary American author who has sold more than 350 millions copies of his horror, fantasy and science fiction novels. 

Mr. Mercedes is a suspense thriller featuring a retired homicide detective who receives a letter from a man claiming to be the perpetrator of a case that still leaves detective Hodges restless at night.

Release date: June 3rd.  

I'm looking forward to reading this as Stephen King's novels have always been well acclaimed. 

Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See

A young girl called Marie-Laure goes blind at a young age. When she turns twelve the Nazis occupy Paris so Marie-Laure and her father flee to stay with a reclusive great-uncle who lives in Saint-Malo, by the sea. 

In a mining town in Germany, Werner is an orphan who has a special gift for fixing radios. This same talent wins him a place in the Hitler Youth tracking the resistance. Werner travels into Saint-Malo where his and Marie-Laure's lives cross paths. 

This book has actually already been realeased but I haven't had the chance to read it yet, I am very very very excited to get my hands on it as All the Light We Cannot See sounds like it's right up my street. In fact it sounds so far up my street it might just be on my front doorstep knocking away!

I'll be doing reviews on all these books later on in the summer once I've read them all, so watch this space !!!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a book narrated by Death and set in 1939 Nazi Germany. It follows Liesel Meminger's life as she learns to read with the help of her foster father and finds a love for books. 

'A beautifully balanced piece of storytelling, this is a novel of breathtaking scope, masterfully told' GUARDIAN

'A moving work which will make many eyes brim' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

'Briliant and hugely ambitious' NEW YORK TIMES

The characters within The Book Thief were as real to me as night and day and I related to them more than anyone I've ever met. Max Vandenburg's eternal gratefulness and peace presents him as a victim turned hero who helped Liesel to get through the daily struggles many German people were facing at the time. 

The character of Rudy was so naïve and innocent it reminded me of my younger brother and his freedom was refreshing to read about. 

The book's structure kept me guessing but also revealed enough to me that I never got bored. I would read this book into the late hours of the night and as I felt the end coming, a huge sense of melancholy that is familiar when you come to the end of a brilliant book overwhelmed me. 

If you've read my blog or my twitter before you'd know that I just love love love historical books and The Book Thief pressed all my buttons!! An impressively written book that I would strongly recommend to anyone even slightly interested in World War Two. 

Overall this book made me laugh and cry and kept me turning the pages right until the final page. The Book Thief is an exceptional piece of literature that I'm sure is well on it's way to being a classic. 

~happy reading~

harry potter fanfic

someone I follow on twitter writes the most amazing fanfic, I've posted about her talent before but her writing is so brilliant I'd post about it 100 times a day if I could!!!

here's a link to her fanfic:

http://wattpad.com/34395061?utm_source=web:reading&utm_medium=twitter

and if any of you guys want to follow her on twitter: @potterspatronum 

~happy reading~ 

re-reading

there are some books that I could read over and over, and the great gatsby is one of them. I'm reading this brilliant novel again and I find something new to love about it each time!!! 

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!