August Favourites

I decided to try a new thing today - I've done it once or twice before, but never continuously. I thought starting a monthly favourites would force me to blog at least once a month, and also (hopefully) force me into a blogging routine. So, here are my August favourites. (I know it's a bit late, but better late than never)

FILMS/TV

Stranger Things // I've just finished this Netflix original series and oh boy! I'm not great with scary things, but the jump scares and general creepiness is worth it for the characters, the storyline, and the incredible acting. I would definitely recommend to any fans of sci-fi or supernatural plots.

plot: On November 6 1983 in the town of Hawkins, Indiana, 12 year old Will Byers vanishes mysteriously. Will's frantic mother, Joyce, searches for him while Police Chief Jim Hopper launches his own investigation. Will's friends Dustin, Mike, and Lucas discover a psychokinetic girl who claims to know Will's location. As they uncover the truth, a sinister government agency tries to cover it up, while a more insidious force lurks below the surface. (cool, right?)

Gilmore Girls // I know this is a very old and loved show, but I've only recently started it with my mum. It's just been added to Netflix, so that's my excuse! It's such a lovely, happy show, and I love binge-watching it with my mum.

plot: The show follows single mother Lorelai and her daughter, Rory, who live in Stars Hollow and deal with the stresses of work, school, relationships, and life.

I haven't really watched any great films recently, so hopefully I'll have more in this section for my September Favourites.

BOOKS

The Shatter Me Trilogy // I read Shatter Me a couple of years ago, but had to put the sequel, Unravel Me, down when I was revising for mocks and I never went back to it. But this summer, I made it my aim to read this trilogy (and a few other books, obviously!) and I finished it when in France. It was so. good. Juliette's character development is absolutely incredible, and Tahereh Mafi's writing is stunning. The first book, Shatter Me, was annoying and average at best, but once Juliette began to realise that the world was so much worse than her romantic drama, it swiftly became a phenomenal story about accepting yourself as a monster, rather than denying it. Just... breathtaking. Definitely, 100% recommend to anyone that likes YA, dystopian, superhero-esque plots, and a lot of romance.

plot: Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17 year old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anyone, and the clouds are the wrong colour.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now, so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war - and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Animal Farm // George Orwell is an utter genius and this book must be read by everyone that has ever and will ever exist. That's all I have to say.

plot: The animals of the Manor Farm lived badly because their farmer Mr Jones, a mean and always drunk man, exploited them. One day Old Major, the old pig who is the animals' leader, calls a meeting with all of the animals, and tells them about a dream he had had the previous night about a farm run by the animals, for the animals.


MUSIC

Good Grief / Fake It / Send Them Off! - Bastille // I adore Bastille, and always have, and their three new singles are absolutely incredible. I'm listening to them on repeat as I write this. They're songs that you can't help singing along and doing a weird little dance to. Also, Dan Smith is a gift to this world. They're on Spotify, which is what I use for my music - unlimited free music? What is not to love? - but I'm sure you could find them on iTunes or Youtube.

Someone That Loves You / Treat You Right - HONNE // HONNE is a very recent discovery for me - their album Warm on a Cold Night is absolutely amazing, but Someone That Loves You and Treat You Right are my favourite songs from it, and maybe just favourite songs of mine, full stop. They're an incredible band, and I'm lucky enough to be going to see them in October. Definitely give them a listen, and start with these songs!

MISCELLANEOUS

My Macbook // My brother just bought a new Macbook, so I automatically got his old one - and I am loving it. It's so fast, I can message people without having to get up, walk upstairs, and grab my phone. I can write to do lists and have it pop up on my phone, I can access my camera roll on my laptop, and all of my important dates are synced up. It is so wonderful, and I am so glad I have it ready for the beginning of Sixth Form - I will need a good laptop for A Levels!

Paper Comets // I've already written a post on Paper Comets - find that post here and the actual zine here or here - but I had to include it in my favourites, because it has been a favourite of mine. I was absent from the blogging community for so long, so to be asked to take part in something as wonderful as this made me feel part of the family again - not forgotten, not left behind, still relevant and still loved. I've chatted with so many amazing bloggers - some already friends of mine, some new to me but close friends now. This experience has been the best thing about August, and I can't thank these wonderful girls enough. All of their blog links are in my previous post, so please check them out.

I really hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know if a monthly favourites post is something you'd like to see!

exciting news!

A short post today to make a very exciting announcement!

I, along with some other bloggers (I will put all of their links down below because they are all fantastic), am part of a new online magazine called Paper Comets, and it is launching tomorrow!

(this is the cover - isn't it beautiful?!)

Paper Comets is a part of the Freckled Minds family (the website for it is here) and was organised by the incredible Morning from Ups and Downs (link here). It's a collection of written pieces, - short stories and poems - pieces of art, photography, and a lot of creative chaos.

Everyone involved has spent so much time helping to put this together - I hand-lettered the logo, we all worked so incredibly hard on our pieces, so many of us sent in photos for the Freckled Minds Instagram (@freckled.minds), people have worked tirelessly to code and design the websites, and organising this whole thing has taken nearly the whole summer.

Huge, huge thanks are due to Morning for working so hard to make this possible - battling against varying time zones, the endless activities, responsibilities, school and work commitments that come with a group of bloggers bubbling with creativity, and the stress of organising so many people around a deadline.

I am so, so excited for this. School and exams and work have taken up so much of my time, and consequently, I haven't written - properly sat down and written - in too long. This was such a wonderful excuse, and such a wonderful push for my to open up a blank document and type away, to write and read and edit and rewrite and reread and edit some more. To write something and be proud of the outcome and the cause.

Morning will be posting Paper Comets on both the Freckled Minds blog and her own, so I'll leave the links down below and you just sit tight and stay tuned, because it's going to be amazing. I'm so glad to be a part of this.

Freckled Minds

Morning - Ups and Downs

Mackenzie - think. eat. write. read.

Rose - Self Known

Grace - Totally Graced

Hannah - Grace in Everything

Anna - Demigods and Unicorns

Ava - Quiet Land

Abbie - Abbiee

Rachel - Silver Mess

Autumn - Autumn's Readings & Writings

Sophia - The Teentrepreneur

UPDATE: It's here!!! Click the link to Morning's blog or to the Freckled Minds blog to see the first edition of Paper Comets. Eeep!

trying to be organised

I feel like I always write apology posts, but I am very sorry for not posting in so long. I sat down at my laptop and stared at a blank post on Blogger so many times over the summer, and each time I closed the window, shut my laptop, and grabbed my book or popped Netflix on on the telly.

I don't know what's happened to me - I had the desire to write, I had the time to write, I constantly have words spinning through my mind. But as soon as I put pen to paper - or, finger to keyboard in this scenario - I dried up. My tongue wrapped around itself in it's hurry to curl up and hide, the words in my brain screamed and died in my mouth, the ink on my hands disappeared back into my veins, and I was empty of words and thoughts and ideas.

And now that I'm forcing myself to write, to just write write write and ignore what I'm writing until the end when I go back and actually read the words, forcing myself to zone out and just type, oblivious of the thoughts I'm voicing... now that I'm doing that, time is up.

I had the whole summer to get back into the swing of writing, to post regularly, to chat with my dear blogging friends, to become a part of the community again, and I didn't.

And now there's a week left and then it's A Levels - aka, the year of The Hardest Work Ever In The History Of Time (an exaggeration, but it gets my point across) - and it will be so so so so much harder to fit blogging in to my schedule of work and extracurricular and my job. But but but

I will try!

I will try my hardest, and you'll have to just bare with me as I struggle through school and work and finding time to do the things I love. I'm in the mood for writing at this point in time, so I'm going to plan ahead and write a few posts now so that I can post them in the future when I'm too busy to write.

Apart from that attempt at organisation, I'm just going to try my best to post here regularly, and to become more involved in the blogging community.

I hope you've all had a wonderful summer! x

I'm Free

I have finally, finally, finally finished my GCSEs. I have finished the 6 week period of non-stop exams, and the countless months before-hand spent revising and neglecting the things I love most - reading, watching Netlfix, sleeping in, doing nothing. I have shoved aside the sleepy, zombie fog of exam-mode that had settled over my brain, the non-stop revision schedule, the fear of exams and the sleepless nights where anxiety woke me. The past papers are gone, the countless notes and flashcards recycled, the cramp in my right hand and the seemingly permanent ink splotch on my right index finger have vanished, and I am free.

The summer has begun, albeit a very rainy beginning, and there are lists and lists and lists of things I have wanted to do for months and now can. I can finally read without noting down quotes for themes, paint without an eye on my coursework deadline, sleep without setting an alarm for 7am, watch TV without making sure I'm not wasting revision time. I can be free, finally. The burden of exams has been lifted from my whole body and soul, and now all that's left is a lingering fear of results day. But that is months away, and for now, I can forget it.

Suddenly, I can go shopping with my best friend and not have to cancel because I'm stressing out about my history exam. I can read every book on my TBR list. I can blog every week, I can sit outside and feel the breeze on my face, I can cuddle my dog, I can lie on the floor for 20 minutes just staring at the clouds moving outside my window. I can stay up late watching Netflix, and glance outside at the stars just before I sleep. I can do whatever I want, and do so with the knowledge that I deserve it.

I have had no life for months, I have gone without for months, I have cried and stressed, I haven't slept, I have berated myself, I have forced myself to work more, to work harder, to work for longer.

And now, I can have my summer. My long, carefree summer.

(so that was basically a really long-winded way of saying I'm going to be posting more, more regularly now that my exams are done!)