In My Own Words…
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You might think that common nouns, like buildings, bridges, boats, things that are largely universal in their uses, would be consistent in terms of how they are perceived. It’s not even something you really think about, ‘how you perceive a bridge’, you just do, it just exists. And yet, as it turns out, your subconscious perception of these types of nouns can change depending on the language you speak, and the assigned gender of the noun.
If you’re anything like me, you catch yourself using phrases like this much too often. It’s always tagged onto the end of a text, or an email, normally one requesting a small favour or task from the recipient. Other times it’s softening words like ‘maybe’ and ‘I think’, even when you know, because you wouldn’t want to come across as a know-it-all.
I only read two books in September, one at the very beginning of the month, and the second right at the end. I realise, however, that if I’m going to hit my goal of 52, I need to get back into the habit of reading daily! But here are the two books I read this month…
August has well and truly slipped away, I'm actually incredibly surprised about how much I read this month even though I say this every single month. August has gone incredibly quickly but I'm also incredibly proud of everything that achieved, not just what I've read, but how I’ve adapted to the situations that I put myself in, and I do think life will be better for it. Because of these changes, I've had maybe a little bit more time to read, so you will notice as you go through this list that I have definitely reread some favourites to get me back into the swing of things. But here we go, this is what I read in August.
This book was an absolutely heartbreaking and yet incredibly easy to read emotive tale about four siblings, the children of a Rock Star, living in Malibu and coming together to overcome such an odd combination or privilege and struggle.
Despite being quite unwell for July and it being one of the most chaotic months of my life, I'm incredibly surprised at how much I managed to read. But here they are, I actually loved every book I read this month, so they’re all here with links if you fancy picking one up yourself.
I always seem to read more in the months where I’m busiest. Maybe it’s because I have to make the time for it. Maybe it’s because my brain is already in a state where it’s ready to take things in. Maybe it’s because I’m procrastinating, who can say really?
Anyway, without further ado, here is what I read in June…
Normally when I’m planning a book club, I will Google the name of the book followed by “book club questions”, but for The Split by Laura Kay, this returned no useful results. Therefore, I’ve decided to publicly share the questions I’ve made for this book.
As you all probably know by now, I am a huge fan of Matt Haig’s writing. Whilst in his fiction, he builds fantastical worlds you can't help but dive into, his non-fiction books, to me, have always been so comforting. This, is no exception.
May started off great, with me reading two books in the first week. But then I sort of slumped, so I decided to reread a favourite. As always, here’s to hoping I read more next month!
Beth O’Leary’s books to me, are the perfect form of escapism. A light romance, with more complex characters, that allow you forget about life and just emerse yourself in another life for a short while. Here are five books you’ll enjoy, if that’s your vibe.
I really enjoyed this book, it was light and easy with the classic romance you'd love to read by the pool somewhere sunny. The characters are well built, and the structure of the book allows you to really understand the decisions they make and why - excellent character development.
In April, I read very little. I’ve felt quite overwhelmed, not only by life, but by the ever increasing stack of books I have to read and the rate at which it is growing. I’m obviously very grateful to be in this position, but I think I do need to accept that I do not have time to read them all. That being said, here are the two books I did mange to read this month.
This book has been waiting on my shelf to be read for so long. I’d been a fan of Emily Dean’s podcast, Walking the Dog, in which she walks dogs with famous faces, for some time, so when I saw this in Waterstones, I had to pick it up.
Should I read the Bridgerton books or watch the Netflix series first? How many books are there? What order do I read the books in?
All questions that shall be answered in this guide…
This was one of those months where I read quite a lot in the first week, mainly the Bridgerton prequels, and then so very little for the rest of the month. But, here we are…
With companies bringing out “eco” or “conscious” ranges, all they’re doing is...
Admitting the rest of their products aren’t sustainably made.
Just trying to ease the emotional burden of their clients.
Pulling a PR stunt.
I started the month by reading almost an entire series in a week, but then my pace slowed down due to life just getting busy. But here is it! What I read in February.
I read more this month than I usually do, maybe it’s the fresh start, maybe it’s the global pandemic restricting me to my house. Who’s to say?
With the fourth series of In Our Own Words launching in just a few weeks, I thought I’d share what my top podcasts are and why I love them.
This book is a wonderfully poetic yet tragic love story. At first, I found the fact that it was written in the second person quite jarring, but once you lean into it, the words take you away.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a fantastic story about a girl who has lived for hundreds of years, but nobody can remember her. She can’t leave a footprint on the ground, but she can influence art and leave her mark that way. Then, Addie walks into a second-hand bookshop in New York, and meets someone who remembers her.
This book was such a heart-warming story of friendship after loss, unrequited love, jealousy and family. This book also has so much LGBT+ representation but what I really loved about is it didn’t make a song and dance about it. This is just the story about relationships, queer or otherwise.
This year, I’ve decided to launch a book club! As you probably know from my Instagram, I love talking about books! And I know so many of you do too, so that is why I’ve decided to just do it! Let’s start a book club!
New Year’s resolutions, I have such a love-hate relationship with them. I hate the idea that everyone has to change to become better, but I also love having a focus, a goal, and something to aim towards. 92% of New Year’s resolutions fail to be achieved, so I like to set mine attainable but also things that I know I’ll work hard to stick to and achieve.
So, with that being said, what are my goals this year?
I don’t think I’m alone in saying 2020 was a messed up year. But that’s too big a topic, to begin with, so let’s talk about how it affected my reading. For the last 2 years, I had set my reading goal at 50 books a year, comfortably hit about 40 by the beginning of December, then had a mad rush to complete the list by New Year’s Eve, which somehow I managed. However, to avoid that mad rush in 2020, I lowered my goal to 30. But then, due to lockdown, I achieved that by about June. So I reluctantly set the goal back up to 50… So here are all the books I read in 2020 (spoiler: it’s more than 50).
These are the albums I’ve had on repeat all year (just ask my fiance!). Not all of them necessarily came out this year, but they’re the ones that pulled me through this madness…
After my latest single ‘dungarees’ came out, me and my friend Amelia Mandeville, author of Every Colour of You and The Missing Pieces of Me, chatted for a bonus episode of my podcast all about writing, In Our Own Words.
I’m so so excited to announce that my new presets are now on sale! I’ve spent so long working on these and perfecting them so they work with many different photos, and I’m so pleased with how they’ve turned out.