So, you may or may not know this, but I’m planning on moving down to London properly as soon as possible. I’ll be sleeping on my sister’s couch, until we can bring down my mum’s spare fold up bed (it’s actually quite comfortable) to stick between the couch and the TV. That’s going to happen between now and September, but until then I’m just sleeping on the couch and trying not to get in the way.
The problem is: something happens when I’m here that means I end up just not doing anything I want to do. I get into long conversations about trivial things with my sister or her boyfriend, watch hours of Pocoyo with my niece while she crawls all over me, or… as I have managed to do this time… start off a Marvel Cinematic Universe watching spree. Don’t judge me, judge my sister: she hasn’t seen any of them since Iron Man back in 2008. I’m educating her so that I can take her to see Guardians of the Galaxy. Mainly because it was so good and I want to go back and watch it again.
So basically, I’ve just not blogged at all. I’ve barely even read. I ended up buying all of the Guardians of the Galaxy comics from the 2008-2010 series and got through quite a lot of them. So Solitaire has been on hold. I’ve also been a bit ill and just haven’t been willing to pick up a book. When I was younger I used to relish my sick days because I could lie on the couch, eat soup, and read all day. Not any more. It’s sleep-catch-up-with-Marvel-interludes-time.
Nonetheless, I’ve still been keeping up with #bookadayuk on Twitter to keep my mind on books somewhat.
Day 2 – Best pairing of words & pictures
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll with illustrations from Sir. John Tenniel. My great-grandma gave me her copy of the complete illustrated collection of Carroll’s work, we used to read it together, and after she passed I read it with my dad. I’m definitely going to get one of these illustrations tattooed on me one day.
Day 3 – Favourite collection of short stories
Adam Marek’s amazing Instruction Manual for Swallowing, published by Comma Press.
Day 4 – Best graphic novel
This is the hardest one to choose because there are so many. (Also I’m not a fan of the term graphic novel but let’s not get into that one right now). I went with Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home. I can read it over and over again, it’s wonderful and lovely, and so, so, smart. I gave my sister a copy for Christmas, I’m pretty sure she hasn’t read it yet. *sigh*
Day 5 – Classic hero/ine or anti-hero/ine
I went for the anti-heroine Raoul Duke from Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a novel I read while at university. Not much to be said other than Hunter S. Thompson is amazing. And he died on my thirteenth birthday. OoeoeoOoeoeE.
Day 6 – Best for a bedtime story
Anything by Beatrix Potter, I can’t wait to introduce my niece to Peter Rabbit! And then later, the world of Harry Potter. Exciting.
So… I’ve also bought a couple of new t-shirts:
And somehow I’ve managed to win two book competitions in the last two days. So thanks to Bloomsbury’s YA Facebook page Hooked on Books, and the Books Are My Bag Twitter, I’ve got a bunch of books on the way to me. Which means there will be reviews of them as soon as I get time! Bloomsbury are sending me Mark Walden’s Earth Fall, Sarah Crossan’s Apple and Rain, and Simone Elkeles’ Better Than Perfect! And Books Are My Bag are sending me Kate DiCamillo’s Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, which I am really looking forward to. They’re also sending me one of their bags, which is great because my local indie store had run out. I love totes and book, so it makes perfect sense I should have one, finally!
So yeah, that’s my little update on what’s been going on. I’ll be uploading reviews of Fangirl, Solitaire, and Begin Again as soon as I can.
Also, I’ve set up an account on Bloglovin. Getting the hang of this ol’ blogging thing I think!
The Literature Life 