It really has been a while since I’ve written a proper post on here. So I thought today I’d share with you one of the things which has been taking up my spare time since I last posted! 🙂

Remember a while ago I said my brother was moving out so I was taking over his room?! Yes it’s finally happened! It all took a long time between him moving out and me “officially” moving in to my new room but I really love my new room and it is definitely more of an “adult” room for me now!

Please do excuse the fact that it is a bit messy! I’m still playing around where I want bits and bobs! 

So there we have it! My new room! Of course my books have pride of place again! But I also now have a special storage/display area for my Cath Kidston Disney mugs!

 

The Reader Problems Tag

Hello?! Did you forget about me? Yeah…. sorry 😦 I never forgot about this place, but work has been so busy the last few months I’ve barely had time to stop. 😦

Anyway, I thought it was about time I showed my face again so today I’m back with a little book-related post. I saw Pamela from Starring Pamela do this tag the other day and couldn’t resist!

You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How do you decide what to read next?

No idea! Well, if I’m reading a book and there is a sequel to it already out I’ll generally pick up the sequel next so the story is fresh in my mind. Sometimes I stand staring at my bookcase though trying to pick one and eventually one takes my fancy. At the moment though I’m actually reading two books!

You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you put it down or are you committed?

I usually try to power through but sometimes I just can’t help and want to put it down (like Wicked). Although the book I’m reading at the moment I’m not really enjoying so I’m basically skimming it to see whether it improves.

The end of the year is coming and you’re behind on your reading challenge. Do you try to catch up? And if so, how?

You want the honest answer? I read kids books! Before I’ve read the likes of Beatrix Potter, Jacqueline Wilson or Roald Dahl to try to catch up!

The covers of a series you love do not match, how do you cope?

It really upsets me! I would honestly buy the books of all the same cover so they look pretty on my bookcase. I’m the same with paperbacks and hardbacks. I’m in the process of trying to change a few of my hardback books into paperbacks (if I see them cheaply in charity shops) so they all sit nicely together on my bookcase!

Everyone and their mother loves a book that you do not. Who do you bond with over your shared feelings?

Usually there’s some reviews out there like on Amazon or Goodreads that feel the same!

You’re reading a book in public and you’re about to start crying. How do you deal?

I don’t think this would ever happen! I think the only ever book that made me a bit teary was The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, but even then it wasn’t properly crying or anything.

The sequel to a book you loved just came out but you’ve forgotten a lot of what happens. Are you going to reread it?

Weirdly I’m like this with my latest book I’ve started reading. I love the “I Heart” series by Lindsey Kelk and the last book in the series “I Heart Hawaii” has just come out. I started reading it and totally forgot that the main character had had a baby! I’m usually too impatient to re-read unless I have time before the new book comes out then I may re-read the last one.

You do not want anyone to borrow your books, how do you politely say no when someone asks?

Haha! I’m quite protective over my books, I don’t even like sending them to a charity shop when I know I’m not going to read them anymore! I do trust most of my friends though so I know I’d get them back! 

You have picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over this reading slump?

I’m not sure this has ever happened to me but I suppose just keep looking for a book that will hold my interest!

There are so many books coming out that you are dying to read. How many do you end up buying?

I’m terrible with books! I LOVE having books on my bookcase. I’m trying to get a little better, but generally there may only be 4 or 5 new ones a year I’ll buy. All generally from my favourite authors who release a new one every year.

After you purchase all of these books that you’re dying to read, how long do they sit on your shelf before you read them?

It depends on the book! Usually they’ll get read pretty quickly and make their way up my TBR list to the top!

---

And that’s the Reader Problems Tag! I’m not tagging anyone specifically but if you want to do this tag, feel free to do so! 🙂

I hope you enjoyed today’s post! I’m hoping to be back soon with some new posts! 🙂

 

The Penguin Lessons

I’m back with my latest read! Book number 7 of 2019 was “The Penguin Lessons” by Tom Michell. I first became aware of this book around a year ago now when one of my friends was reading it. She was loving it and really recommended it. It then sat on my Amazon wishlist for a while until during the summer another friend was reading it and told me how great it was. I couldn’t resist it any longer and decided to pick it up!

‘I was hoping against hope that the penguin would survive because as of that instant he had a name, and with his name came the beginning of a bond which would last a life-time’

Tom Michell is in his roaring twenties: single, free-spirited and seeking adventure. He has a plane ticket to South America, a teaching position in a prestigious Argentine boarding school, and endless summer holidays. He even has a motorbike, Che Guevara style. What he doesn’t need is a pet. What he really doesn’t need is a pet penguin.

Set against Argentina’s turbulent years following the collapse of the corrupt Perónist regime, this is the heart-warming story of Juan Salvador the penguin, rescued by Tom from an oil slick in Uruguay just days before a new term. When the bird refuses to leave Tom’s side, the young teacher has no choice but to smuggle it across the border, through customs, and back to school. Whether it’s as the rugby team’s mascot, the housekeeper’s confidant, the host at Tom’s parties or the most flamboyant swimming coach in world history, Juan Salvador transforms the lives of all he meets – in particular one homesick school boy. And as for Tom, he discovers in Juan Salvador a compadre like no other…

I absolutely ADORED this book. I read it in around 3 days. OK, it’s not that long a book but it is a great read. It’s also absolutely incredible to think that this was a real story. That Tom Michell rescued a penguin and cared for him alongside many of the people he met during his time in Argentina.

It was also amazing how a penguin could have such an effect on so many people. I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m totally captivated by penguins too, but this was different… a complete change in someone.

I don’t really know what else to say about this book apart from it is a great east and heartwarming read which I think anyone who loves animals (and penguins) should pick up!

The Cuckoo’s Calling

It’s time to share my latest read, “The Cuckoo’s Calling” by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling). I’m not going to lie, I was really really unsure about this book. It was February’s book club book and it isn’t my usual kind of genre to read. That said though I do enjoy crime shows like Silent Witness. Anyway, I picked this book up second hand as I wasn’t sure whether I was going to like it. But I absolutely LOVED it! I could hardly put the book down, especially toward the end.

In “The Cuckoo’s Calling” we join Cormoran Strike and his new assistant Robin as they attempt to solve the mystery of a young girl’s death.

When a troubled model falls to her death from a snow-covered Mayfair balcony, it is assumed that she has committed suicide. However, her brother has his doubts, and calls in private investigator Cormoran Strike to look into the case.

Strike is a war veteran – wounded both physically and psychologically – and his life is in disarray. The case gives him a financial lifeline, but it comes at a personal cost: the more he delves into the young model’s complex world, the darker things get – and the closer he gets to terrible danger . . .

I absolutely loved “The Cuckoo’s Calling”. Although at times it did feel a bit long and there were various points/chapters which seemed a bit irrelevant. But in the end it was an enjoyable read. I also absolutely loved how Cormoran Strike isn’t your usual detective. JK Rowling does a great thing using a physically wounded war veteran as her main character in the story. I also really loved the character Robin. She was relatable and just as confused by Strike as everyone else to begin with, but over time she became a reliable assistant.

My one biggest peve of the book was the ending. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who is yet to read it but the ending was a bit abrupt and I felt like Strike came to conclusions about the ending without the story showing how he came to these conclusions. But still in the end it was a totally shocking ending which I didn’t see coming!

All in all I absolutely loved “The Cuckoo’s Calling” and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone (I even offered it to my dad). I really can’t wait to read the rest of the series now!

Have you read “The Cuckoo’s Calling”? If so, what did you think? If not, would you like to read it? 🙂

A Day in London

I live incredibly close to London. Only 25 mins away on the train so I don’t really go to London at all… apart from to work!

However last week my fellow blogger An Historian About Town came over from Canada to visit the UK and after 4 years we finally met! An Historian About Town was actually key to the beginnings of my blog! She was the first ever person to stumble upon my, what was then brand new, little blog and since then she’s helped me with its growth and allowed me to bounce many ideas off her!

So, back to our day out! AnHistorianAboutTown was desperate to visit The Queen’s House in Greenwich and she was desperate to visit Cath Kidston with me! So after meeting at London Bridge we headed out to Greenwich for a wander!

I’ve never actually been out to Greenwich before and immediately we were both amazed by how peaceful it was out here. An Historian About Town even asked me if it was “still London”!

We wandered around The Queen’s House and admired some of the paintings, particularly the Armada Portrait! But neither of us particularly liked the mask that was opposite it!

The stairways and halls were pretty impressive too! We both loved the Tulip Stairs.

After finishing at The Queen’s House we decided to have a little walk around Greenwich Park and up to the Observatory. Unfortunately we didn’t go in to the Observatory but one day I will! The views from the top of the hill were pretty impressive and I pointed out a few landmarks!

From Greenwich Park we headed back toward the DLR and stopped off to see The Cutty Sark on the way. I’m not very good with my early history and had to keep telling An Historian About Town that I didn’t know! I’m a rubbish tour guide!

Then the shopping started! I was incredibly well behaved and didn’t spend much money but An Historian About Town may have spent a bit! 😉 Our first stop was the new outlet centre that’s opening in the O2. Of course we visited Cath Kidston and I absolutely loved watching AnHistorianAboutTown getting so excited about all of the shop! 😀

Afterwards we headed to Oxford St and did some shopping there! I was quite surprised though actually how pleasant it was walking along Oxford and Regent Street on a Tuesday afternoon! Not too busy!

All in all, I had a wonderful day out with AnHistorianAboutTown! And got serious polar bear envy when she was talking about Winnipeg Zoo! She even bought me my own Starbucks Winnipeg mug after I was admiring how beautiful hers was! It’s now on my shelf with all my display mugs! Thank you for a great day, and maybe see you again next week AnHistorianAboutTown!

 

A Weekend in Liverpool!

If you follow me in Instagram, you may have seen that I was in Liverpool last weekend! I was lucky enough to attend the Liverpool Vs Bournemouth football match at Anfield and me and mum decided to make a little trip of it… As per usual it involved shopping!

So in this post I thought I’d share with you what I bought last weekend as well as a couple of photos from Anfield.

On Saturday morning me and mum spent some time at Cheshire Oaks outlet centre. Although it is a long way from us here, I think Cheshire Oaks has to be one of my favourite outlets. It’s massive but also contains a good variety of both high end brands and your more classic high street brands.

After a couple of hours at Cheshire Oaks we headed over to Anfield for the football. I never used to be a fan of football but now I quite enjoy sitting down to watch a match (especially if it’s Liverpool). The match was great and was a really vital one for Liverpool to win! There was a great atmosphere in Anfield and thankfully Liverpool won! 🙂

So moving on to what I bought over the weekend. I bought a couple of bits from Cheshire Oaks outlet and also from the Cath Kidston St. Neots Factory shop on the way home.

So first up is my Liverpool FC hoodie. It was such a lovely jumper and I couldn’t resist it! It is a grey colour and has little pink details and it’s kind of glittery too and I love it! We picked this up in the Liverpool store before the match.

I also picked up a couple of bits from the Superdry store at Cheshire Oaks. The T-Shirt was £9.99 and the hoodie only £18. I loved them both from the second I tried them on and at that price I couldn’t say no!

From Cath Kidston at St Neots I picked up the little washbag and Tinkerbell pyjamas. As I start back at work again this week on overnights I wanted a little washbag basically just for toothbrush, toothpaste and deodorant. As I have to carry this all up to London with me I wanted as small as possible so this was perfect. The Tinkerbell pyjamas I couldn’t resist. They cost me £30 and I love them! 

Next up I want to talk about these shoes! I’ve never had a pair of Toms shoes before but I saw these in Cheshire Oaks and loved them. I have a few dresses which I’d love to wear with leggings but my issue is that I don’t really have any shoes to go with them. I picked these up as I think they’ll go nicely with some! One day too I think I’ll get a navy pair but I honestly couldn’t resist these!

My last 2 purchases again came from Cath Kidston in St Neots. OK, so I really didn’t need any more pyjamas but I saw the Snow White ones too and I couldn’t say no! They cost me £33 and were too cute!

And finally I bought the Tinkerbell dress. It was the bargain price of £15 and fitted lovely when I tried it on. It is also super soft and comfy!

So all in all I had a lovely weekend away and bought a few bits and pieces! Have you ever got some good bargains from outlet stores? 

7 Books I Love (Day 7)

So last week on Twitter, AnHistorianAboutTown nominated me to post 7 photos of 7 books I love with no explanations or reviews. So rather than directly posting to Twitter, I thought where better to post in that on my blog 🙂

Also I’m supposed to nominate someone every day, but rather than directly nominating I’m nominating anyone who fancies the challenge! 🙂

Day 7…

7 Books I Love (Day 6)

So last week on Twitter, AnHistorianAboutTown nominated me to post 7 photos of 7 books I love with no explanations or reviews. So rather than directly posting to Twitter, I thought where better to post in that on my blog 🙂

Also I’m supposed to nominate someone every day, but rather than directly nominating I’m nominating anyone who fancies the challenge! 🙂

Day 6…

7 Books I Love (Day 5)

So last week on Twitter, AnHistorianAboutTown nominated me to post 7 photos of 7 books I love with no explanations or reviews. So rather than directly posting to Twitter, I thought where better to post in that on my blog 🙂

Also I’m supposed to nominate someone every day, but rather than directly nominating I’m nominating anyone who fancies the challenge! 🙂

Day 5…

7 Books I Love (Day 4)

So last week on Twitter, AnHistorianAboutTown nominated me to post 7 photos of 7 books I love with no explanations or reviews. So rather than directly posting to Twitter, I thought where better to post in that on my blog 🙂

Also I’m supposed to nominate someone every day, but rather than directly nominating I’m nominating anyone who fancies the challenge! 🙂

Day 4…