Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts

Small, happy and currently!


So let's catch up! I love reading these 'currently' posts and I realised I haven't done one of my own in a while, so here we are :) 


Reading: Anna and the French kiss (again!) I just needed some cutesy fluff, we all do sometimes!


Watching: Bake Off like the rest of our great nation obvs and The Office from our friends across the pond! It's so so funny, Steve Carell is a genius.


Wanting: time to slow down but equally to speed up (because hello Christmas!)


Feeling: at peace and calm the majority of the time. It's great. I definitely need to thank my yoga obsession for at least part of this feeling.


Enjoying: new episodes of Nashville, Scandal and Grey's Anatomy. Olivia Pope is back bitches!


Coveting: lots of books (as per usual).


Deciding: to get my Christmas shopping done very soon! Yes, I'm going to be that person. I'm going to try ha!


Needing: a bit of Disney to help me through those long markings sessions!


Visiting: Knutsford, Tatton Park, lots of lovely places in Cheshire.


Cooking: up an Autumnal storm! Whole roasted cauliflower, leek and butterbean casserole, it goes on!


What have you been up to lately? Read any good books? 

Happy Sunday :) 

Sophia x

Small, happy and what I've been reading. #1



I always seem to spend summer the same way, no matter where I am, I am usually lost in a book.  I love reading, but with working/studying life I always seem to end up just slouching in front of the tv or reading blogs.  I'm not saying this is right and when I come back from holiday I always feel refreshed and good for not being so techno addicted, so the following usually happens...I come back with great intentions and lots of books on the to read list.

However, September, always a busy time, comes around, I get behind on my books and yet can't resist buying more and starting them too!  However, through my work as a supply primary teacher while settling into being a Cheshire dweller and looking for a permanent post I have actually had time to read. 

So here's what I've been reading and pretty much loving recently:

 
A Tale For The Time Being - Ruth Ozeki

'Hi! My name is Nao, and I am a time being. Do you know what a time being is? Well, if you give me a moment, I will tell you.'

Ruth discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the shore of her beach home. Within it lies a diary that expresses the hopes and dreams of a young girl. She suspects it might have arrived on a drift of debris from the 2011 tsunami. With every turn of the page, she is sucked deeper into an enchanting mystery.

This book fascinated me and intrigued me on so many levels.  I am extremely interested in Asian culture (in case the books in the list didn't make that clear enough!) and it was fascinating learning about Nao's life as a teenager and also her great grandmother's life as a nun.  Moreover, Nao's use of Japanese words and the little footnote translations pleased the ever yearning for knowledge teacher in me!

I would urge anyone to read this, both narrators Ruth and Nao are brilliant and so well developed and you become completely enthralled in finding out what's going to happen at the end of Nao's entries. I won't say anymore on that...


Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

It's 1999 and for the staff of one newspaper office, the internet is still a novelty. By day, two young women, Beth and Jennifer, spend their hours emailing each other, discussing in hilarious detail every aspect of their lives, from love troubles to family dramas. And by night, Lincoln, a shy, lonely IT guy spends his hours reading every exchange.


At first their emails offer a welcome diversion, but as Lincoln unwittingly becomes drawn into their lives, the more he reads, the more he finds himself falling for one of them.

Most people have heard of Rainbow Rowell as she seems to be having a bit of a moment right now.  I've seen her books Fangirl and Eleanor and Park everywhere and after looking her up I was surprised to see that she's actually written other books too, including Attachments, for a more adult audience.

The premise is pretty unique and interested me straight away being set just before Y2K and in a time where the internet was still this new and exciting concept.  It was funny reading about the girls getting used to emailing and the company panicking about what was going to happen come the new year.  The characters were all funny and likeable and it was pretty much a sweet love story and an easy read.  I feel tempted to pick up more of her books now.




Crazy, Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn't know is that Nick's family home happens to look like a palace, that she'll ride in more private planes than cars and that she is about to encounter the strangest, craziest group of people in existence. Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Asian jet set; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money - and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.

This book was a guilty pleasure read, no doubts about it.  I read a lot of classics and other challenging reads so I feel like I am entitled to read some juicy, salacious scandal when I feel like it!  To be fair, I'm hoping to travel to Singapore in the near future so I also feel like this was for research purposes.  Although, there's no way I'd be able to afford to go anywhere they went, except the airport!

I did enjoy this book, it was full of scandal, controlling families, rich people with as many problems as credit cards and I loved it.  The wealth in that part of the world is astounding and getting a peek in to how the other half live was so interesting.  The mix of the old fashioned cultural values which prevail alongside the new money and expensive luxury lifestyles is very typical of that part of the world and was something I was really intrigued to read about.  The main character of Rachel who is more 'like us' helped the reader see the world through her eyes and made me think about how I would feel if that world was suddenly thrust upon me.  The answer?  Not good!  Be grateful for what you have, that kind of money brings nothing but pain.  Deep thoughts coming from perhaps a not so deep, but incredibly fun, book!

What have you been reading?  I love adding to my to read list, constantly!

Sophia

Small, happy and currently... #1



It's Friday, how fantastic!

It's also my sister's birthday today so that has given me an extra wave of excitement, what can I say, I just love birthdays!  So here's a round up of things I've been reading, loving, thinking about currently.


Reading: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.  I love a good period drama and this book has been on my to read list for a while.  It follows the Hale family, in particular the daughter, strong willed Margaret (think Elizabeth Bennett and you're not far off!) as they up sticks and move from their comfortable Southern life to a working class industrial town up North.  See where the title comes in?  Anyway, Margaret has her own ideas about the people who live in Milton town and in particular John Thornton, the factory boss who has hired her father to work as a tutor.  Sparks are going to fly and I'm very excited to see where this one goes.  Also, there's a BBC adaption on Netflix and I've promised myself I won't watch it until I finish!


Eating: some amazing food (if I do say so myself). I've been cooking up a bit of a comfort food storm (healthy though as always) these have included a red lentil dahl, some delicious stir fries and some immense stuffed squash.  I am literally in food heaven right not and I am really appreciating the looser working schedule as it is allowing me to (attempt to) morph into the domestic goddess I have always yearned to be!

Dreaming: about New York.  I had a dream I was back there the other day and it has made me miss the place so much. I never thought you could miss somewhere in such a strong, heart wrenching way but I guess NYC can do that to you.  I can't wait to go back someday but until then I just feel grateful that I have had the chance to go and will keep myself satisfied with looking back at memories and photos.


 Looking forward to: going to Chester tomorrow.  This is another place that very quickly stole my heart.  My sister goes there for university and it's just so beyond pretty that it still makes me just stop and stare (much to the annoyance of the locals I am sure).  The consistency of the beautiful Tudor architecture really makes me feel like I'm in another time.  There's so many lovely shops, restaurants and quirky small streets and I know I have so much more to discover here which is very exciting!


Thinking: about Halloween costumes!  It's my best friend's birthday on Halloween and I need to think of a good costume.  We usually steer away from the typical ghosts, zombies and other such like scary fare.  Although, I have been known to dress up as a cat on several other occasions with other friends (it's just so easy!)  But anyway, my lovely friend is very unique and as such, all our costumes should be too.  I'm thinking either Mary Poppins, Britney in her Baby one more time video or Wednesday Adams.  If you're wondering about how on Earth the first two ideas came into being I have two words for you - Lauren Conrad.


What about you?  What are your current obsessions?  What are you reading/watching?  Do you have any unusual and different Halloween costume ideas?  Let me know!

Sophia x
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