Happy Things.

Hi friends! I realise that this year has been fairly quiet on the bloggy front, and especially when it comes to reviews.


I've been working full-time since one of my colleagues retired, which has given me a much more regular weekly routine, although my working week is a day behind everyone else's. I don't want to go into much detail, but the last few weeks have been pretty stressful, and I've been trying to make some changes to my life to keep it from getting on top of me. For one thing, I'm drastically reducing my caffeine intake. I can't function without my morning cup of coffee, but for the rest of the day, I've been switching it for peppermint tea, to try to keep the anxiety fireworks in my brain to a minimum. I think it's helping a lot - but how I miss my coffee!

At the beginning of this year I signed up to Ali Edwards' One Little Word project, the idea being that each month you take part in a different challenge to make you take to heart the word you've decided represents something you want to concentrate on in your life. My word was "peace," but I have to confess I haven't done any of the challenges since the beginning of the summer. And yet I still feel that it's been ticking over in the back of my mind, helping me make decisions, and surprising me sometimes with wider definitions that contribute towards a peaceful mind and lifestyle.

One project that has continued and been very beneficial has been my Good Days journal. I think we can all agree that 2016 has been an exceptionally awful year all round, yet even so, I've managed to fill an entire notebook with good memories, a record of all the things I've done, achieved and enjoyed this year, so when New Year's Eve comes around, I'll have proof that I haven't wasted the year. I've loved doing this, and plan to make this an annual project.

I've also made a Happy Box for the really bad days. I wrapped a shoe box in bright paper and filled it with things to help to cheer me up when I really need it. There are cards from friends, humorous and uplifting little books, emergency chocolate and tea, Anne of Green Gables on DVD, a cross-stitch set, a little notebook of Things That Make Me Happy, and there's a little scrapbook of miscellanous encouraging things. Fortunately, I haven't needed it very often.

I turn 31 tomorrow. I was absolutely dreading my thirtieth birthday, mostly because back when I left university, I told myself, "Life is scary and uncertain now, but by the time you're 30 you'll be settled. And then 30 approached, life was still scary and uncertain, and I couldn't see the other side. And nothing's changed, but I'm feeling positive about 31. I'm on the verge of making some big decisions - and guess what! It's still scary and uncertain. I suspect that is the condition we call "life."

Sunday Summary (16/8/15)

Five things that made me happy this week (with special thanks to Ellie the Lit Nerd.)

1. Having a week off work. It's been fairly crummy weather, although there were a couple of gorgeous sunny days, and last Sunday I went to Ventnor beach with my family, swam in the sea twice, and then had hot chocolate from my favourite beachside cafe, Lady Scarlet's. They also do lovely ice cream and sundaes gluten-free cakes, and if you have coffee, they give you milk in one of those old-fashioned 1/3rd pint glass bottles.

2. Writing. Despite not working, I seem to find my natural writing time is late into the night. I find it's easier to get into a routine when I have several days off at a time, rather than just one day, and I've finished one chapter of my work in progress this week, and am aiming to get another one done before I go back to work on Wednesday.

3. There were, however, a couple of days when I didn't manage to get any writing done at all, and on Friday, I switched on my laptop to find it wouldn't boot up past the "welcome" page, before turning to black. I've had that computer a long time, and had a lot of work done to it, so I decided it was tuime to treat myself to a new laptop. I bought a very petite, blue one - it looks a bit like a "my first laptop" toy. I do intend to get my old one fixed, if I can, though.

4. Last week was also Cowes Week, the big sailing regatta, when lots of posh and boat-obsessed people come to the Isle of Wight. We're not so interested in the boats, but there was lots of street food, and a falconry display in Northwood Park, where we watched a bird called Swoop doing some very impressive flying and diving - to the song "Danger Zone" from Top Gun! And on Friday it was the annual fireworks event, which is a bigger deal on the Island than November 5th! The weather was a bit drizzly, but it was better than last year, and my friends and I congregated on Cowes Green for the evening to watch the fireworks.

5. One of my family friends, Lois, threw an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party yesterday afternoon, and my mum, dad and I were among several of the guests who went in costume (I was the Mad Hatter.) Lois has recently retired from working as a librarian, and threw the party in celebration of the novel's 150th anniversary.

Bout of Books: 

I've also decided to sign up once more for the Bout of Books readathon, which begins tomorrow, although I'll have to share my reading time with my writing. Still, I'd like to get my current book finished (A Man Called Ove) and read three more from my to-read shelf. These may or may not include The Rook by Daniel O'Malley, Goodnight Beautiful by Dorothy Koomson, Doris Lessing's The Golden Notebook, and/or Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 17th and runs through Sunday, August 23rd in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 14 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. 

- From the Bout of Books team

Will you be taking part? If so, what books are on your pile - or do you prefer to just read whatever takes your fancy at the time?

 

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend - Katarina Bivald

I went back to Surbiton last weekend, and while I was waiting to meet a friend, I had a look in the Regency Bookshop. I am ashamed to admit that, although I lived ten or fifteen minutes' walk away for two years, I rarely shopped there as a student. I don't know if it intimidated me a bit, or if it was simply that I overlooked it in favour of the 3 for 2 or Buy One Get One Half Price offers in the chain stores. I have since become more picky in what I buy, which has helped me to realise the value of books, that a good book in a good bookshop is worth paying the full retail price for. While I was in there this time, my eye was caught by a bright, cheerful hardback, which I had never heard of before, but before I'd finished reading the cover blurb I had decided instantly to buy it; The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend was the perfect book to buy to make amends for my former neglect of the Regency Bookshop; a book-lover's dream.

Sara Lindqvist is a shy young Swedish woman, for whom life is something to read about in the pages of her beloved books. She has few close relationships, but has started up a pen-friendship with Amy, an elderly woman from Broken Wheel, Iowa. When Sara plucks up the courage to fly out to visit Amy, she is greeted by the sad news that Amy has died. Broken Wheel is a tiny town - a village, really - in the middle of nowhere, and it is little more than a ghost town now. But its people are kind, in their way, and they take Sara to their heart. And Sara decides that the thing she can do for them is to open a bookshop in town. Books make everything better, right? The people of Broken Wheel are not really a literary sort, but they support her in her venture, and in her cosy little shop, she pairs customers up with a carefully-chosen book. But Sara is only in America on a tourist's visa, and shouldn't really be working at all. As her time begins to run out, both she and her new friends realise that they don't want her to leave. So they come up with a plan...

There is something really special about a book about books. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is like settling down in a personalised, cosy bookshop with a comfy chair, all the time you need, and good friends to rave to about your latest read. It is, as you might expect, full of references to familiar stories and authors, and not just the classics to make you feel smart for recognising the reference. This is just as much a love letter to Sophie Kinsella, Terry Pratchett and Bridget Jones's Diary as it is to Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice. (And Anne gets a mention too, so even if I hadn't been won over before - I was - I would recognise this book as being a Kindred Spirit.)

As a small town, we get to know a few characters really well. There is George, a recovering alcoholic and a divorcee who just longs to see his daughter again. Grace, the latest in a long line of tough, strong, contrary women called Grace (though that isn't her real name at all.) Andy and Carl, who own the bar, the vicar, William, who is called to be all things to all people, and Caroline, the stern, disapproving church member who carries the same sorrows and fears as everyone else, hidden behind her stuffy exterior. And Tom; Amy's nephew, who everyone thinks would be such a perfect match for Sara, even if he doesn't seem to like her at all. It is a real joy to meet these characters, watch as their lives unfold, and see them won over to the pleasure of reading. Sara's venture really seems to breathe new life into this tired old community, which is falling to pieces, but is not ready to give up just yet.

Unfortunately, the story gets a bit weaker towards the end, with the introduction of a romance plot, which felt more like infatuation than a real relationship, and I felt that the ending was too neatly tied up, and somewhat implausible. Also, I couldn't help noticing a few basic proof-reading errors, most notably the spelling of George's daughter's name, which was sometimes Sophie and sometimes Sophy, many times both spellings on the same page! But none of this detracts from the fact that The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a really happy, feel-good book, with lovable characters and a setting so vivid I just need to close my eyes and imagine myself there.

Things that made me happy this week

Hello and happy Sunday! This week I've decided to borrow Ellie Lit Nerd's blogging idea. I'll start by being honest and say that I've been struggling a bit this week. Not entirely unhappy, but work has been getting me down, bringing a return of anxiety and that sinking feeling when I wake up which I'd been glad to leave behind after high school. But I've still been able to focus on the little things that bring me joy, and that's what I'm going to write about today.

1. Uncovering my first "novels" stashed away in a box. When I was ten years old I wrote a book heavily influenced by ripped off from Enid Blyton's Malory Towers series, about a girl called Alice Thomas who goes away to boarding school. This was written in pencil in a Lion King notebook, and followed up by two or three sequels, before I abandoned the series for good. I plan to type the stories up before the pencil fades away completely.
2. Late starts, early finishes. True, a six-hour working day doesn't feel that much shorter than an eight-hour one, so despite working more days than usual, I won't get paid any more, but it's been very pleasant being able to sleep in until 8AM (much more civilised than 7) and read a few chapters over a leisurely breakfast. 
3. Summer is here at last! And thanks to the aforementioned shorter days, I'm not missing all the sun from being at work; I've been able to sit outside in the garden with a book in the evenings. Time for beach trips and barbecues, I think.
4. Chatting about books. Customers, don't expect to be able to sneak a Neil Gaiman book past me without me pouncing on you and fangirling wildly. It won't happen! And on Friday I didn't have time to eat all of my lunch as my favourite colleague Simon was in the staffroom reading The Silkworm, and we ended up having a long conversation about J. K. Rowling, Game of Thrones, Terry Pratchett and adaptations of all of the above. 
5. The MixRadio app on my phone. You select a couple of musicians, and it plays a load of suggestions based on your choices. My playlist came up with quite a variety; lots of Bob Dylan, Amanda Palmer, David Bowie, Evanescence (which brought back a lot of memories from my angsty high school days) as well as songs from Spamalot and Rocky Horror and much more. And all from just a couple of suggestions.

What has made you happy this week?