Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1)

By Robin Hobb

Narrated by Paul Boehmer

Image From Goodreads

[In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named
for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a
walking enigma. Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son
of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world,
friendless and lonely.

Only his magical link with animals - the old art known as the
Wit - gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used
too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.
So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he
must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry,
scribbing, courtly manners, and how to kill a man secretly, as he
trains to become a royal assassin.]

I am so in love with my new place, it's the best and so beautiful and different and not London. In heaven.

Adjusting to a new routine is taking a little bit of time to get used to but one I'm sure I will pick up soon enough.

I'm yet to find a new place to run and I want to start writing my posts ahead of time so I can have them scheduled instead of doing them last minute each time. But, baby steps.

Need to finish unpacking yet...

Moving swiftly on.

I have heard SO many good things about Robin Hobb's books but the lengths of them always put me off starting as they were all just so so so long.

You know a good way to combat lengthy books? Don't look at the size of them. 

Audiobooks are perfect for this. I know 28 odd hours sounds long but it's way less intimidating than say 800 pages. It seems more manageable which is why I've decided to listen to all of Robin Hobb's books on audiobook. It will save me lugging around a large book and I will feel more like I am getting through it, which is always good.

I loveeeeee heavy fantasy books (not heavy physically), just all that intense description and packed in scenes where nothing actually happens but it's in another world and just what the characters eat is fascinating.

Medieval-fantasy is also good. Love a bit of old-fashioned swordplay.

This was similar to The Kingkiller Chronicle books (which are fab by the way) in that not a lot actually happens but it keeps you hooked anyway in the everyday events that the protagonist has to go through.

Fitz was a very loveable character, especially as we got to start with him as a six year old and end with him as possibly being in his early/mid teens? Still not sure how old he is currently but, still, we get to grow up with him making us just that little bit biased when anything happens to him.

The rest of the characters were well-rounded and interesting. There were a few I wasn't sure if I liked or not, and some I definitely disliked but they were all used very well for their parts.

Burrich was one of those I wasn't sure I liked all the way through. He was caring and almost fatherly towards Fitz but then he could also be quite cruel and harsh given how old Fitz was.

Galen and Regal I loathed. They were equally horrible, especially to poor Fitz, but their cunning plans are what pulls the story to its tense climax.

The plot was very good. I loved the slow pace of the beginning, introducing the characters and the surrounding world. Things did move pretty slowly for a long while, but like I said earlier, this was fine with me as it was all interesting. One by one hurdles were thrown Fitz's way; some minor ones to begin with but growing more and more intense as the story progressed.

The magical element was very intriguing. There appears to be two different types and one that's looked down upon. I'm still trying to work out what the difference is between the two but I'm sure that'll become clear in the following books.

The climax was fantastic. I was shocked by some of it which is always a good thing as it's not predictable! I honestly can't wait to continue reading Hobb's books to see how it all unfolds!



📖

The Revenant

By Michael Punke

[Hugh Glass isn't afraid to die. He's done it once already.

When expert tracker Glass is viciously mauled by a bear, death
seems inevitable. The two men ordered to remain with him flee,
stripping him of his rifle and hatchet and leaving him to die alone.
But soon a grim, horribly scarred figure is seen wandering, asking
after two men, one with a gun that seems to good for him...]

I'd heard good things about the film for The Revenant and although I haven't yet seen it, I thought the book would be along the same lines.

To be honest, I found it kind of boring. There were bits that were gripping and tense, but considering it's based on a true story I knew Glass had to survive all of these horrific things that happened to him so he could have told them.

I did find it interesting finding out about life in the wilderness, surviving off of the bare minimum, but I got all of the groups of people confused constantly, not knowing who was fighting on what side.

The detail of the bear attack was gruesome and definitely not one to read whilst on your lunch break as I did. But I don't understand why everyone made such a big deal about it? Maybe it's just the way it was portrayed in the film.

Hm, I don't know. I didn't see the point in Glass's search for revenge really, especially after he'd been through so much. I get that you'd want revenge if two people left you to die, but if you were pretty much on the brink of death and they were risking their lives for your failing one, is there really any point in going after them? Can you blame them?

The ending was also rather flat. Just not my cup of tea.



☽

The Night Eternal (The Strain Trilogy, #3)

By Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Narrated by Daniel Oreskes

Image From Goodreads

[The nail-biting vampire thriller from the world famous-director of Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy.

The night belongs to them, and it will be a night eternal... After the blasts, it was all over.

Nuclear Winter has settled upon the earth. Except for one hour of sunlight a day, the whole world is plunged into darkness. It is a near-perfect environment for vampires. They have won. It is their time. Almost every single man, woman and child has been enslaved in vast camps across the globe. Like animals, they are farmed, harvested for the sick pleasure of the Master Race.

Almost, but not all. Somewhere out there, hiding for their lives, is a desperate network of free humans, continue the seemingly hopeless resistance. Everyday people, with no other options - among them Dr Ephraim Goodweather, his son Zack, the veteran exterminator Vassily, and former gangbanger Gus.

To be free, they need a miracle, they need divine intervention. But salvation can be a twisted game - one in which they may be played like pawns in a battle of Good and Evil. And at what cost?]

I really wanted this to be good, but after the demise of two crucial characters and another minor character at the end of the previous one, this final instalment just didn't really do it for me.

I get that a story needs to tie up all loose ends but it wasn't as dramatic as it could have been, even though barely any of the main characters actually did seem to survive.

The Master didn't seem as threatening in this one because of his association with Zach. In fact, the vampires didn't seem very threatening at all, not even in the camps where they enslaved the humans to be their food supply.

I felt like more time could have been spent in the camps to increase this threat. They broke Nora out way too quickly for my liking.

I also didn't really like the narrator as much. For some reason it was only in this one that I picked up on the fact that I didn't like the way he did the different voices, even though he narrated the second one too.

Dutch never did make an appearance and there was an odd romance at the end that I don't know how I feel about. Gus was too full on and irritating as time went on as well.

I like the TV show so much. I'm incredibly disappointed that the books didn't entirely live up to it. I hope the final season is better - there are huge differences with a couple of characters included where they haven't been in the books. 

I do feel though - even with the series - that the threat has lessened. I feel like I've said it before but it's the outbreak of a virus that is the most fun and tense to read as people are dying all over the place whereas when the virus has fully taken over and only a handful of people survive, it's not all that surprising if they die or live because you've kind of grown numb to it all from the beginning.

Eh, I would only recommend the first book in this series alone I think.

☽

Two Thousand And Seventeen

Happy New Year!

As always, my intention to blog got sidetracked this Christmas period...

I managed the few odd days but I didn't post everything I wanted to, leaving me with things overhanging into the New Year.

I've literally just been texting my friend about setting goals for the year.

We've both already set our Goodreads one (mine's set for 50 books this year) and I've also just set my running one - 180 miles. That's more than double what I did this year but I'm feeling optimistic.

All that's left really are the standard New Year resolutions.

Now, I haven't thoroughly thought these through but I may come back and add to them if I can think of any more!

Here they are:

✽ To be kinder. I'm not sure why exactly, but I don't feel like I've been a very nice person of late so this year I'd like to stop, take a moment, and think before I open my mouth.

✽To move out of this house. It's been mentioned numerous times on my behalf but I'm determined that that was the last New Years in this house.

✽To visit at least three countries whether that be alone or with someone. I want to break out of my comfort zone and start exploring. Maybe my love for photography will also come back if I don't have any teacher-set boundaries.

✽To spend a bit more time offline. Now that I'm working in an office, I realise I spend the majority of my time looking at a screen of some sort and quite frankly I'm worried I'm wasting my life watching TV or scrolling aimlessly through blogs. It's time to log off a bit more.

✽I hate myself for this one but I would like to eat less sugar. I have a real sweet tooth but I'm worried with the amount I consume. It may not be pretty for my moods for the first little while but I noticed a big difference in my energy levels when I started to eat more fruit and veg and maybe my skin will clear up with less sugar in my diet!

✽To get out more. To Adeel's annoyance I've suddenly always got ants in my pants in the fact that I always want to get out at a weekend and actually do something. I'm tired of sitting in all the time, watching TV. I want to go out for breakfast, I want to go to the top of the Shard (I work right next to it for God's sake!), I want to go on spontaneous road trips whether that be a half hour drive away or an eight hour drive away, I even want to go out in the evenings to a bar maybe or whatever people my age tend to do - I may not like it but at least I can say I've tried it again. This also includes more date-like activities. We did a little better this year but a lot of stuff kept getting in the way. I want time for us to be together.

✽To finish my darn book! I have got to stop writing this as a goal and actually do it. I'm quite close to be fair but I still think it needs a lot of work and I'm terrified of actually handing it over to a publishing company which is probably why I keep putting off finishing it...

✽To stop hoarding. I have so much stuff that I have absolutely no room in this one bedroom I rent. Unless I absolutely love a book or a piece of clothing or an object, I want to give it away. Others are in need of things and I feel awful for having all this stuff that probably goes to waste. I have already started to give my old clothes away but I want to continue.

✽Improve. I've decided this is going to be my word of the year. I constantly want to be improving in myself, my work, my art, my experiences, my relationships, my goals.

Wishing you all the best for the year to come.



∞

The Goodreads Book Tag

I have so many reviews to do that I might just erratically post them up until the New Year. I apologise in advance if I bombard you with them all!

Although there will be other more lifestyle-y posts or tags in between.

Today was actually my last day at work for the year (am working from home next week) and I'm so looking forward to this Christmas break. 

Hopefully I'll have some time to write all these posts up. And also to finish writing up the rest of my blasted novel! Whoops.

Anyways, I got this tag from Lindsay's blog, link here. Check hers out too!

Question 1:
What is the last book you marked as read?

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I recently chose to re-read the entire series as I'd been dying to do so for ages and I thought Christmas was the perfect time of year! I'm currently most of the way through the second one, loving life.

Question 2:
What are you currently reading?

I'm always reading three books at once. I often get asked how on earth I keep up with them all but it's really rather easy. I listen to my audiobook whilst I'm getting ready for work, I read another one during my lunch break and then the final one before bed. They are all quite different as well which helps! Anyway, they are currently: The Fall (The Strain Trilogy, #2) - audiobook, The Secret History - lunch break - and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - bedtime.

Question 3:
What was the last book you marked as to-read?

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I'm getting on really well with one of my colleagues at work and I asked her what her favourite book was (or one of them) and she said this one so I thought I'd add it to my list.

Question 4:
Do you use the star rating system?

I do for reviews on Goodreads, not on here though. I think it'll be interesting to see if I'll change my mind in the future about ratings/reviews I've given.

Question 5:
What book do you plan on reading next?

Well, that all depends on which one I finish first. If I finish the Harry Potter one then obviously Prisoner of Azkaban is next. Whereas if I finish the audiobook first then I'll have to wait until I get my next credit, but it'll either be the final part of The Strain trilogy or another Brandon Sanderson one. If I finish The Secret History though I'm tempted to pick up my copy of Frankenstein or maybe delve into a big fantasy series of Robin Hobb's.

Question 6:
Are you doing the 2016 reading challenge?

Yeees. I've mentioned before that I originally set it at 30 before upping it twice, once to 35 and then the final time to 40 as I kept getting nearer and nearer to my goal with a tonne of time left. I'm three books away from completing it whilst currently reading three books so I think I'll manage :)

Ooh, these are quite cool to do. I may see if I can find a few more tags and complete them. It's weird, I used to write out those questionnaire type things in the notes section on Facebook, and some of them were long.

Ahaha, how embarrassing those answers were...



☆

Favourite Books I've Read This Year

The weather may be warming up unfortunately, but Christmas is well and truly on it's way.

Today at work we had Christmas Carols over at Southwark Cathedral for an hour at lunch.

I didn't go last year being new to the company and all, but this year I decided to go along.

The service had a good handful of hymns sung by our colleagues, a couple of local primary schools and the whole audience joined in too.

It was beautiful.

There was one girl in particular who I recognised from work who did a solo at the beginning and she was amazing.

There's just something about a choir singing hymns that can always give me goosebumps.

I also baked my first Yule Log to take into work (my colleague baked mince pies) and we've been stuffing our faces for the past two days (picture is at the end!).

As this goes live I should be at our Christmas Party (yes, it's on a Wednesday, one of the reasons I didn't go last year!) and Thursday we'll be having a free Christmas lunch in the canteen.

And then I only have Monday left at work and I'm on my Christmas holidays!

Well, sort of. I'm working from home between Christmas and New Year, but that's fine by me.

I CAN'T WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS.

Anyway, as I've been reading a lot this year, I thought I'd do a little round up of my favourite first-time reads.

Initially, my goal was 30 books in a year but around August maybe(?) I upped it to 35 and then 40 because I kept getting nearer to my goal and still having a month or two left of the year.

It's now still on 40 and I'm currently 3 books away from completing it (am also currently reading three books so it's just a case of finishing them before December 31st!)

1. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton - February 
Oh. my. God. I just loved this. I'm a hugeeeee fan of the films anyway and I only found out they were books last year so my dad bought me them for last Christmas. I devoured them and loved every minute of them. Although, like the films, the first one was better. If you're into dinosaurs, science-y lingo and action-packed adventure, you'll love this.

2. The Maze Runner by James Dashner - March
My friend bought me these for Christmas also I think (or a belated birthday present, I can't quite remember). I don't know if I watched the first one before I read them but I literally read all three in about a week. Twists, easy-to-read YA that you just can't put down. Follow Thomas as he is thrown into a world he doesn't know anything about and has to figure out how to survive the everchanging maze.

3. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson - May
This was my first audiobook and I adored it way more than I thought I would. My friend (same one as above!) recommended it as an easy fantasy to get stuck into and boy was she right. Full of Gods, Princesses and an almost Greek-like empire, this story takes you on a rollercoaster of events which has you guessing at every turn. Not all the characters are what they seem or who they say they are.

4. The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin - July
I sped through the first two in the series sometime last year and eagerly awaited this final instalment's release earlier this year. A fitting ending for an epic trilogy of vampires, love, friendship, loss and power in a dystopian world. I loved every single character, even the antagonists as they provided so much to this story. Cronin nails backstory, timejumps and has an incredible eye for detail I am well and truly inspired by.

5. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - July
This one I picked up at work having always been intrigued by war stories (not realising it was true at the time). It was horrific and heartbreaking, but also so honest and heartwarming at the same time. It's such a fantastic story that it's amazing to think it's all true. To think somebody actually lived this life detailed on 500 pages is unbelievable.

6. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - August
This is another audiobook, a long one at that, but one worth every page. Rothfuss is another writer I envy and aspire to be like. His ability to turn the mundane events into interesting encounters blew me away. A world full of magic, aspiration, friendship, growth with an undertone of darkness, The Name of the Wind will take you on an adventure like no other. The characters are phenomenal and so likeable. Kvothe is someone you will want to follow through the university on through his daily dealings in the Inn he now owns.

7. The Infernal Devices: Book 3, Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare - November
I know I wrote the reviews pretty recently, but I'll say it again - this prequel series is way better than The Mortal Instruments. It was refreshing to see a love triangle that didn't make me want to kill all three of the characters. Tessa was a strong, independent character who happened to fall in love with Jem - a kindhearted, broken boy - and Will - a fiery, sarcastic boy - but refused to hurt either of them intentionally or choose between them. This love story entwined with clockwork creatures, magic, fate and family is one brilliant finale for the series, one that left me for days after feeling lost and wanting to dive back into the Shadowhunter world.

I hope this recap has inspired you to pick up a novel or two! Goodreads has a cute little feature at the moment of a look back on the current year and I have read approximately 16,895 pages - insane!

Let's hope for a bigger and better goal next year.

My to be read pile still isn't getting any smaller...

The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo

I have had the best four day weekend ever. Seriously, I can't wait to tell you all about it.

Celebrating four years with the love of my life was just the thing I needed, we both needed.

Look out for that post on Sunday!

Image From Goodreads

[The Emmy Award-winning comedian, actress, writer, and star of Inside Amy Schumer and the acclaimed film Trainwreck has taken the entertainment world by storm with her winning blend of smart, satirical humour. Now, Amy Schumer has written a refreshingly candid and uproariously funny collection of (extremely) personal and observational essays. In The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo, Amy mines her past for stories about her teenage years, her family, relationships, and sex and shares the experiences that have shaped who she is - a woman with the courage to bare her soul to stand up for what she believes in, all while making us laugh. Ranging from the raucous to the romantic, the heartfelt to the harrowing, this highly entertaining and universally appealing collection is the literary equivalent of a night out with your best friends - an unforgettable and fun adventure that you wish could last forever. Whether she's experiencing lust-at-first-sight while in the airport security line, sharing her own views on love and marriage, admitting to being an introvert, or discovering her cross-fit instructor's secret bad habit, Amy Schumer proves to be a bighearted, brave, and thoughtful storyteller that will leave you nodding your heard in recognition, laughing out loud, and sobbing uncontrollably - but only because it's over.]

I was recommended The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo by a colleague at work as we published it not so long ago.

I thought I would give it a shot as I'm trying to broaden my reading genres and autobiographies can be pretty fascinating.

I will say this, though, before I begin: I'm not a fan of Amy Schumer.

I've only seen snippets of her stand up in adverts and talk shows so I guess I can't judge her completely, but still.

However, although I didn't find this book funny (bar a few bits - I only physically laughed out loud once), getting to know her as a person through her life events was beyond compelling.

In fact, I felt more saddened by what she's had to go through than anything else. Some of the things she's had to deal with can only be considered horrific. I don't know how one person can deal with so much. It's no wonder she turned to comedy.

I love the fact that she's had the courage to write about her life though, being honest and upfront about everything. She never painted herself in a light that made you think she was ever trying to make herself look better.

The way it was written was great. I enjoyed the separate chapters on different subject matters a lot.

And her brutal, blunt delivery for particular scenarios were what got me the most though and I definitely respect her more as a woman now, even if I still don't find her particularly funny as a comedian.

I don't really have much else to say on the matter, I think she's one of those people you either find funny or you don't.

And I don't.



✌︎

Dark Heavens: Book 1, White Tiger

By Kylie Chan.

Image from Goodreads

[A young woman accepts a position as nanny to the young daughter of a handsome, wealthy, and mysterious Chinese businessman only to discover her new employer is really a god and every foul demon in creation is out to destroy him!]

I love Chinese mythology and just learning about the Chinese culture in general was fascinating which is what led me to read this book, along with a recommendation from a colleague at work.

The plot, I enjoyed.

It was action-packed and full of humour, especially between Emma and Leo. But, I did feel that a couple of things happened too quickly, like some bits just came out of nowhere.

And then there's also the dialogue. In some places, it worked (like with the humour), but in other places it felt like a filler and there were a handful of things said that the characters were implying that weren't obvious and never got fully explained.

The characters were great. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of the different levels of Chinese Gods and their "true forms", at least the true forms as they were in this book (I don't know if that's how they're truly perceived). Simone was a cute asset and Mr Chen was a dutiful mysterious father.

I have to say though, the thing that let it down for me was, well, the protagonist, Emma, and the relationship between her and Mr Chen.

Every other sentence they'd repeat stuff like "I know this can never happen" or "we're complete fools for letting it go this far". Blah, blah, blah.

In fact, I'm pretty sure the second half of the book was just filled with these sayings and it got really frustrating.

I also noted that Chan likes to use a handful of specific descriptive words a bit too much, which also got annoying.

It turns out that this is actually part of a trilogy, but I don't even know if I want to read the rest of them if the writing was that repetitive. It wasn't all that enticing with the ending either so I may just leave it as it is.

✌︎

The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicles, #1)

By Patrick Rothfuss.

Narrated by Rupert Degas.

Image From Goodreads

[Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the 
magically gifted young man who grows to be the 
most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.

The intimate narrative of his childhood in a
troupe of travelling players, his years spent as a
near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his
daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a
legendary school of magic, and his life as a
fugitive after the murder of a king form a 
gripping coming-of-age story unrivalled in recent
literature.

A high-action story written with a poet's hand,
The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that
will transport readers into the body and mind of
a wizard.]

Oh my god, I am loving listening to audiobooks. Why did I not do this sooner?!

I can't believe distributing audiobooks is one of my main tasks at work and it took me a good six months before I even thought about, just maybe, listening to one myself. 

Duh, what an idiot.

The Name of the Wind is a brilliant, intriguing, fascinating read (or listen in my case).

So far, I can determine that it is about a young man's adventure through childhood alone - after an unfortunate, tragic event occurs to his family - and his ambition to get to the university, so that he can finally learn about (and I presume track down) the people that took his family away from him so soon.

It is longggggg (just over 28 hours worth), but it is so worth it. Every detail and minor action is thought of, it is so beautiful.

I did struggle initially to get to grips with it, but I think that's only because of it's quite complex story (to begin with) as you're thrown right into the middle of it and have to learn all these new characters and places and events and terminology that Rothfuss just made up.

I did enjoy Rupert Degas's reading though, he can do a multitude of voices very well and I can clearly tell all of the characters apart from this.

I also absolutely loved the characters. I got so drawn into their lives that - even though there wasn't a whole lot of action action - you're completely intrigued by all of the mundane events that goes on. 

You end up really really rooting for Kvothe as he always seems to get himself into some sticky situations. You also forget that the whole thing is pretty much him telling his story to a scribe, occasionally flitting back to the present day.

The friendships (and even the enemy-relationships) are beautifully done. There is humour and knowledge and disbelief all entwined. And even though Kvothe is meant to be in his mid-teens, I can't help but root for him to get the girl.

It does say in the blurb that he's a wizard and I would just like to clarify for anyone who wants to read this that he isn't a wizard in the sense like Harry Potter, but it is a story that includes an underlying magical theme. 

Basically, whatever you think you know of magical literature, put it aside and be prepared to get something fresh and fantastic. 

I can't believe this was all just one day of him telling his story with the promise overall of three days (obviously within this one day he has told the majority of his childhood and teenage years).

I am definitely hooked on wanting to know what happens next, following his story as he grows into his adult years can only get more interesting I believe! 

(I am currently about 15 hours into the sequel which is an astonishing 43 hours long!!)

Absolutely brilliant.

Elantris

This is a few days late. It's been a mega hectic kinda week so I apologise for the tardiness.

Audio book numero trois: Elantris

By Brandon Sanderson,

Narrated by Jack Garrett

Image from Goodreads

[Elantris was built on magic and it thrived. But
then the magic began to fade and Elantris
began to rot. Now its shattered citizens face
domination by a powerful Imperium. Can a
young Princess unite the people of Elantris, and
lead a rebellion against the imperial zealots?]

I love Brandon Sanderson's novels.

I love the way he writes. 

He always uses so much detail and colour and vibrancy. 

It creates such a clear picture in my mind that it's like watching a film come to life.

I love getting to know his characters as well. 

Raoden and Sarene, in particular, were very good protagonists, but even Hrathen in the end was another I came to enjoy reading about.

They were all portrayed so realistically - character trait-wise, not magical element-wise - that you couldn't not love them, despite their faults. 

Even the minor characters were well-developed and interesting.

The plot was flawless. 

The way Sanderson flicks between different points of view is great, it really gives a full view of the story and the twist at the end was brilliant. 

I really didn't see it coming.

There's a beautiful mix of magic, love, friendship, religion and action in this epic first novel of Sanderson's.

It really is a great read - or listen - and I'm thoroughly looking forward to listening to more of his novels in the future!




✌

What I'm Loving Right Now

As I'm writing this, I'm sat here with a mountain of scrunched up tissues, sniffling away with a red-raw nose. You gotta love having the flu, right?

So I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for a little pick-me-up in the form of What I'm Loving Right Now.

1) Converse - my sister bought me this glowing pair for Christmas (they're almost as white as my pale, pale legs... I joke, sort of...). Because they're white I've been putting off wearing them for fear of getting them dirty. I know they're going to get dirty eventually but with it still being winter with rain and squelchy mud everywhere I'd rather not take the chance. But I did wear them for the first time a few days ago, and I love them.

2) Pretty Little Liars - my new obsession. I've been meaning to start something new for ages and just couldn't decide, so settled for One Tree Hill, again. PLL was recommended to me ages ago by a close friend and I'm happy to say I have finally started it! Well, when I say started I mean I'm already 17 episodes in. In four days... Whoops. To be fair, I have been pretty much bed-bound since Saturday. Thank God for Netflix, ey?

3) Goodreads Challenge - after setting myself the challenge to read 30 books this year, I've definitely been pushing myself to read a bit more in my spare time. Yanno, when I get a spare second from trying to figure out who A is (God damn Pretty Little Liars). It's going well though with me just finishing my third book so far. Currently reading The Lost World, review on Jurassic Park to come soon!

4) March - with the arrival of a new month, many good things are on the horizon. I turn 22 in 2 weeks, Adeel turns 22 a few more weeks after me, we have a few days out and weekends away planned and Spring is on its way with lighter evenings and more sunshine! The sunsets from the office are absolutely stunning at the moment. I have to refrain from taking a snap every time.

5) Work - who would have thought I'd be one of those people to enjoy a nine-to-five office job? But I do, I really really do. It's probably because of what I do though. I can't see myself being so in love with any other office job if it wasn't for the fact that it's in publishing.

6) Donating to charity/having a clear out - although I've read that you're supposed to go through with a clear out all in one go; I've found myself doing it slowly, parting with my items a few at a time to ease the adjustment. The fact that I'm donating them to charity feels pretty great too. I realise I moan about not having enough clothes a lot, when I should be thankful that I have those clothes at all. I'm also thinking about donating my textbooks from Uni, I just don't know who/where would take them.

7) Creativity - now that Celebrity Big Brother isn't occupying all of my evenings, I vowed to myself that I would do something I love instead. Whether that be scrapbooks, writing, editing, reading, colouring, or just taking a quiet moment to reflect or chat with my boyfriend on the phone - anything to spur on my creativity again.

P.S. Check this beauty of a view out from the office!

☽