August wrap up

I can't believe how fast this years going. This will be my third wrap up on my blog which means three months of blogging so go me! I honestly didn't know if I'd be able to keep it up for even three months since I tend to go through so many phases with hobbies. I think this ones around to stay though.

What I read in August:

• Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, obviously.
• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J, Mass
• Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
• The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
• A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Mass
• The Heir by Kiera Cass
• The Bane Chronicles
• Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children

So, I read a lot more books this month than last month. I actually got out of a slump this month that lasted most the year and I feel so good. I thought I just wasn't enjoying books the same way I used to but I think it was Me Before You that really got me out of my slump. I couldn't put it down. It was a really great reading month for me. I'm pretty sure almost all my books were a 4 or 5 star from me so that's awesome.

September is going to be a month of rereads for me so that should be interesting. I have a hefty list of books I'm hoping to get to but we'll see how it goes. I saw the idea on twitter, who said it, I wouldn't remember but I thought a month of rereads would be awesome. Especially since I read so many good books before I started blogging or even just reviewing on goodreads so it'll be great to write some reviews of them. I'm really excited to head back into some preloved stories.

August has been a pretty busy month, I've been busy with exam study and band rehearsals. It feels like that's what I spend most of my waking moments doing and September will probably be very similar. I think it's been a great month for the blog though, I'm honestly so glad with how it's going. I din't think I'd even get this far for several more months. I think August has been a fantastically positive month for me.

August Photo Gallery

Lets Discuss

How was your August? What did you read? What are you planning for September?

A letter to Min

Dear Min,

You are such an unusual girl who doesn't find herself wanting to conform to societies standards. As a teenage girl, I'm wondering, how? People make fun of you, Min. They say stupid crap. How does that not affect you? Or does it? You didn't even conform to your friends standards when you began dating Ed, they told you he was a stupid basketballer, that you weren't that girl. I guess you weren't, Min.

My heart aches for you, how did it feel when you realised all the signs? Did you feel like an idiot? I would have. God, I would have. How long did it take you to realise all the things you missed? Did you remember all at once or do things still come back to you now? I am sincerely sorry he did that to you, Min. You were a good girlfriend and let me tell you, you did nothing wrong. He was the one who did something wrong. You just got caught in all his mess.

Let me be completely honest with you, Min. I know he told you he loved you, I know it seemed like he did. I think he thought he loved you but I don't think he did. I don't thik he well and truly did. I think he still thinks of you some times because you were different but Min, don't you ever go back to him. Don't you dare. I know you have friends who will tell you that and I know you'll still have that pain in your heart that reminds you not to do it. Just because Ed claimed to love you doesn't mean he'll be the only one to ever love you. Keep being you, Min and there'll be a line up of people wanting to love you.

I want you to know that you did the right thing by getting rid of the things that remained of your love because it wasn't worth keeping, Min. It wasn't true, it wasn't a love worth keeping. Remember it though, Min, remember what he did because it might keep you safe. Remember how you loved him and he tore your heart out. Remember all the things he took from you but don't keep holding on, you'll only hurt yourself.

I admire your strength, Min. I want you to know that. I want you to know that you are worthy of love, let Ed know that he didn't break you. That now you are stronger than ever. Show him what he threw away. Keep doing your thing, Min. I'm rooting for you.

Sincerely,
Brooklyn xoxo

A Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin

4 stars

“... a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”

I'm giving this damn book 4 stars because I really liked and I think if I really liked a book I should be able to rate it accordingly without feeling the need to justify myself. I liked this book and I know people are going to disagree, people have disagreed and they probably have justified critical reasons behind them which if I read this reasons I would probably find I could agree with some of them.
I wasn't sure about this one to begin with, I definitely thought it would be one of those cases where the tv show/movie is better but I wouldn't be able to tell you which one I think is better. I think they need each other. The tv series has made it so much easier to understand the book because now I already know things heading in and it feels like less of a head ache to try and learn all these new things. The book though has also made the tv series a lot easier to understand, I know understand some of the motives behind things that aren't really explained. I actually recognise some characters and plot lines that I didn't before.

I love the characters, they're all so different with different motives and different morals. My favourite would have to be Arya, she is so determined and independent which is why this book has earned a spot in my kick ass females shelf. I feel connected to them and I actually want to know what happens to these characters which is my main motivation for continuing the series.
I also just think this is a fun to read because of all the fan theories. My mum (whose on the third book but up to date with the show) discuss it all the time, this is a really good book for discussion. There are so many little plot lines and characters that it could probably hold a conversation for a very long time.

It has quite a few heavy themes with deaths and killing and a bit of gore that I often have to skip through but if you don't mind that then it's great. Surprisingly enough I manage pretty well with it despite fainting last year while learning about first aid. It also involves incest but it doesn't bother me since it is set quite a few years back when incest was used to keep the bloodlines pure and it's part of the story building.

In the end, you have to be into this sort of stuff. If you don't like fantasy then chances are this won't be the book for you but if you do then I say give it a shot. I know I say this a lot but books are so much to do with personal preference and I don't entirely believe in good books and bad books. I believe in books that I liked and books that I didn't. I liked Game of Thrones and I am very ready to read A Clash of Kings.

About me!

I haven't mentioned a lot about myself yet so what better time than now. I think knowing more about the person behind the blog allows you to connect more with the blog. So, it's currently Saturday morning and I'm still in bed and I'm going to write this post.

So to start off, I am 15 turning 16 in November. My interests are reading, of course, blogging, of course, music and baking. I play the trumpet and I am slowly and painfully trying to learn the guitar but it definitely is a process. It doesn't come anywhere near as naturally to me as the trumpet does. I've played on and off since I was 8 but when I was about 11 I picked it up and never put it down again. It takes up a lot of my time but it's absolutely worth it.

I love to bake, I think I love the satisfaction of actually making something and then being able to eat it and enjoy it. I'm thinking of combining baking and reading one day and making some bookish bakes posts maybe. I usually bake every weekend, it just breaks it up for me. Last weekend I went to a family gathering so I made scones and brownies which were very nice. I'm not sure yet what I'll bake this weekend but we have some bananas to use up so I might make banana muffins.

I've always been a reader, in the sense that if you put a book down in front of me, I wouldn't turn up my nose but I really discovered my passion for it when I read The Hunger Games. I remember, I was looking up books online to put on my Christmas list and I didn't have any books down so I thought I'd find some. I found the Hunger Games which I'd heard of but hadn't bothered to look into it. I put it down anyway and so Christmas day came and I think my Nan and Pop gave me my Hunger Games books, all three. I started reading them on Boxing Day and once I picked the first one up, I couldn't stop until I finished them all. Since then, I've loved reading and pretty much all I ask for Christmas is books and money for books.

I only started blogging in June but I love it already, I love writing and I'm not very good at narratives so this is the best way for me to write. I love writing about books since it's something I tend to know a lot about and it's something I could probably write about forever. My biggest problem though, is unfinished posts. I've always had a problem with starting things but not finishing. I have countless drafts of half done blog posts, they're usually ideas that I didn't know how to execute fully. I'm trying to get better at it though. I've started going back to old posts if I have a spare minute before I go to bed. It's actually calming to know I've finished and scheduled another post before bed. Just one more thing I don't have to worry about.

So, I hope you enjoyed a few things about me! If you'd like, you can tell me a few things about you. I'd love to know!

Reasons why rereading is AWESOME

1.You get to revisit somewhere you know and love. What's better than the security of knowing you will like a book? You have that when you reread. I find comfort in knowing what's going to happen and knowing that my favourite characters are going to be safe and sound (or not).

2.You have to opportunity to think more about the book without focusing so much on a new story. You might realise things that you didn't otherwise because now you already know what's happening because you don't have to use all the focus that comes with reading a new book.

3.You remember things you forgot. I've read and reread the Harry Potter books a ridiculous amount of times and yet there's still little details that catch me because I'd simply forgotten and it's always really interesting things that you can't believe you forgot.

4.It's interesting to see how your thoughts on it vary from the first time you read. You might see things in a different light now or you might disagree with things. If you're a blogger this could be exceptionally fun because why not make a post about the changes in thoughts or the new thoughts you've had on a book. It's even fun as a non blogger. I recently reread a book I loved when I was about 12, thinking I'd still love it and I thought it was utter crap but it was so cool because I used to love it with all my heart.

5.Reviewing. This one particularly to myself because I only recently began reviewing so now I have so many unreviewed books that I know need to review. I could have so many more reviews just by rereading books and reviewing them. It get's me so excited just to think of all the reviews and organised thoughts.

6.It's just genuinely nice to revisit things. This kind of falls into my first reason but I want to reinforce it. It's kind of like visiting an old friend. You get to remember the characters and all the fun things they did (and the not so fun). It's just a genuinely nice experience.

You've probably noticed that I really love rereading. It's just so nice and refreshing. I don't think books are meant to be read once and then cast aside. Why not love them over and over and over again. Share them with friends, let them experience, let them love. I simply love visiting all the characters who hold a place in my heart.

Bookish confessions

As an avid reader, I have some reading habits that could be considered taboo in the reading community. Does this make me a bad person? Possibly. I know we all do the things we swear we don't though. So, I decided to share mine. Maybe this will swear you off my blog forever from the pure horror of some of my habits but please let me know in the comments if you do any of them or if you don't what are your reading bad habits?

Spine Cracking

Cue the cringing of literally everyone. This is definitely the worst. Everyone always talks about how hard they try to keep their books pure and beautiful but I want my books to look worn and loved. I just love it, it is such a nice feeling to like back on books that are a bit battered and say 'wow, looks like I really loved that'. I love my books and I care for them, I promise but I love a cracked spine. Of course, if I were borrowing a book I would never be so savage and I would never expect for someone else to crack the spine of my book. I would expect someone who was borrowing one of my books to treat it like a baby, would you crack the spine of someone else's baby? (Or your own, you pyschos)

Procrastinating Reading

I am such a sucker for this one. I always tell myself I will dedicate my day to reading or I will read this many pages. I literally did it today, I needed to read as much as A Clash of Kings as possible so I can put it on hold tomorrow for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child but I read maybe 80 pages and ditched for blogging. I mean, I did really need to do some blog work but I wasn't supposed to spend my whole day on it. I've done so much coding and post writing. I could've been so much further along. Although maybe all this work on my blog today wil save me from taking up precious reading time next time. The thing is, sometimes I don't even have other things to do though. I just scroll through Instagram all day instead of reading. It's not that I don't love the book or that I don't love reading but I just am a huge procastinater. Give me some homework though and I'll get that reading done.

Spoiling

I hate myself for this one but I can't stop. Literally every time I read a book I skip to the last page because I want to know if all is okay but it always ends up spoiling something. I even google things and end up spoiling myself. I have no self control or patience. I always reveal the spoiler parts in reviews because it's too damn tempting. Why do I keep doing it when I keep getting so hurt? I have no idea. I really hope I'm not alone on this one.

The One by Kiera Cass

2 stars

“Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.

Ugh, I thought it would only be right to review this since I reviewed The Selection and The Elite. I am also needed to really exhaust my bookshelf for content for my blog. So here it is.

Basically, I suggest you read my reviews of The Selection and The Elite because a lot of my thoughts from those reviews still stand.

I feel like the plot was absolutely exhausted, I don’t think it was necessary to have three books, two yeah okay but not three. You could tell because the plot was everywhere, everything was pretty random and didn’t contribute a huge role towards the end and I’m sort of confused about it. I expected everything to be tied together and for things to be more final but nothing really happened. The series didn’t really end with a bang for me, I mean it did end with something but for some reason it didn’t just leave me feeling like it was finished. I felt like there should have been more, it kind of just fizzled out. It felt like there should’ve been more but there wasn’t.

Also, I wanted to mention this in my last review but decided to leave it out for this one. America makes a ridiculous amount of mistakes. Not just ‘oh whoops, my shoes on the wrong foot, silly me’ no, it’s more like ‘maybe I should embarrass the king on live tv while the whole country watches, good idea’. How can someone make this many dumb mistakes, does this girl have no awareness of consequences? And every single time she’s like crap, I screwed up again why does this always happen to me. Maybe you should think at least one step into the future, maybe? America literally doesn’t think anything through. I’ve definitely made my fair share of mistakes but certainly not on the scale she has. Would she not learn? Like ‘oh maybe I should think my next public appearance through a bit more and not do something like that’ ugh ugh ugh. She’s so frustrating and she just got more frustrating as the series went on.

Also, for some unknown reason I can’t stop thinking about bloody Maxon and America. Why can’t I go to sleep without thinking about them? I don’t bloody know. I’ll be in the middle of maths class and then I’ll remember that one thing Maxon said to America that was sweet. Has Kiera Cass brainwashed me? I don’t know and I hope I can move on soon. I also read this series incredibly quick and I don’t know how, I haven’t read like that in ages. It definitely got me out of a reading slump. Mostly, I’m just very confused about why these books have me feeling this way but I’m kind of happy they have since I haven’t felt this much about a book in a while.

All in all, the series was okay. I can’t say much more than that, it definitely made me feel all sorts of things which I guess is pretty good but it just was so frustrating. Maybe had America had more common sense, I’d have been less confused about my feelings on the series but I just don’t know about it. I definitely will give The Heir a try because I know the bachelor thing is right up my alley and maybe the characters will be more bearable, hopefully.

My journey with books

Obviously there is a reason why I'm here trying to write a successful book blog and it's because I love books. I love them so damn much and I think they're the one thing holding me together at this point. We all have a journey with books though, I'm sure a lot of you didn't always love reading and I'm sure an equal amount always did but I thought it would be cool for you to have an insight into my reading journey.

I guess I always have been a reader. My mum read books to me all the time and when I got old enough I started reading small novels on my own. I was about 9 when I really started to get into novel reading and out of picture books. I started on those Rainbow Magic books, if you're a girl in Australia you'll know what I'm on about. There were so many of them and I would read them in a solid day which was something I was immensely proud of. They began as the rainbow fairies and then there were all sorts of fairies. It was amazing, probably the best thing my 9 year old self had ever encountered. I remember my parents being in awe of the fact I just sat on the couch and read these books all day. I remember loving the fairies and I loved imagining them in their pretty fairy clothes and doing their pretty fairy things. The rainbow fairies were my favourites and I would always draw them.

After these, I encountered Go Girls which you will also be well acquainted with is you were a girl growing up in Australia. I still have a few of these laying around, I used to have the biggest collection but I think my parents store them in our shed now, I hope. They were so relatable and fun. I would manage to read these in a day too. I was so obsessed that I even got the Go Girl diary set, I thought I was going to be one of these girls one day. I wrote about my crush and my friends and all that jazz, just like them. Gahh! Just thinking about them gives me so much damn nostalgia. I was introduced to them by my aunty who happens to be a primary school teacher, she told me all the girls in her class loved them so I wanted to be like them. The one on the right was the first one I ever read, I remember it so well. They were written by a selection of about three or maybe more different authors.

Next, I loved these books about magic kittens or puppies that these kids would just stumble upon. They were always in my school library. I remember I loved them because I love kittens and puppies. It took me so long to find these again, I couldn't remember for the life of me what they were called. They're called Magic Kitten or Magic Puppy. Easy enough. The one thing I didn't like was that they all had such weird names like this one kittens name was Prince Flame. I can barely remember anything about them other than the fact that I'm pretty sure the kitten or puppy in question wasn't really a kitten or puppy they were like huge big beasts and they spoke. I assume they solved a lot of things. I also remember that they left after they completed whatever mission I presume they were on. Anyway, my point it that they were pivotal in my becoming as a reader.

Now we move onto the slightly older child. Around 11 and 12 when my reading got slightly more sophisticated. By sophisticated I mean, I was obsessed with Jacqueline Wilson. Fun fact, I knew a girl who shared the name. I still have her books cluttered around my house. This was a huge point for me as a reader. I read her books religiously. I cried at Vicky Angel. I laughed at Tracy Beaker. They were usually very dark, like Vicky Angel and the Cat Mummy and Love Lessons and My Sister Jodie. I liked it though, I liked the more serious adult themes. I liked the scandal of a girl trying to get with her teacher and I was interested in the more morbid reads. The Cat Mummy will stick with me for a long time, I remember reading it when my cat was very old, she was about 20. I think it was a couple weeks before she died actually and my whole family were on edge because we were just waiting for it to happen. The girl in Cat Mummy found her cat who passed of old age and who the family believed to be missing, curled up in her cupboard passed which I can't imagine how horrible. So the girl who was obviously not coping and who was also learning about mummies at the time, made a mummy out of her cat. I cried so much throughout this because I hate the idea of losing pets, it is so painful to me. I've lost three cats and two dogs and they all brought unimaginable grief. So that's probably one of the first reads that really stuck with me. They're the most monumental books for me because I really got connected with it all, I joined forums and used the site all the time.

After this stage and when I was becoming a teenager, I stopped reading a lot. Everyone at big and scary high school made fun of reading and I was desperate to fit in. I read a couple of books I loved which were Heidi and Pride and Prejudice. I loved Heidi which I picked out hastily from the library to read in English so when I finished that my English teacher recommended me Pride and Prejudice and I developed an interest in Classics which I didn't actually act upon until I was about 14. I still wasn't very much into reading like I had been, I was more interested in my new friends and the new boys. That Christmas I was making a list and I couldn't think what to ask for seeing as my whole list was already CDs so I was looking up good books and I found the Hunger Games so without really checking it out I chucked them on my list thinking I probably wasn't going to read them or like them. Never the less, my Nan and Pop gifted me the whole series on Christmas Day and I wasn't thrilled but still on Boxing Day, with nothing to do, I started to read. I loved it from the first page, I could not put it down, the next three days I spent in the armchair reading until I'd finished. I was so engrossed in it. Since then I've been hooked. My Christmas lists are now just a collection of books. My Nan and Pop have no idea what they started, or maybe they do since they keep giving me books. And, now I'm here a few years on. I've read so, so many books and I keep reading more. I'm writing a blog and I'm more involved with the reading world than I've ever been and honestly I couldn't be happier.

I'd love to hear about your reading journeys and I hope you enjoyed reading about mine!

A letter to Vivi

Dear Vivi,

First of all, I hope you're looking after yourself. I would hate for you to go back down that dark hole again. I hope that you are back to being that bright and optimistic girl we first met. You are a ray of sunshine and I hope you're yet again bringing light into peoples lives.

You really taught me what bipolar disorder is and it isn't romantic or quirky. Its devastatingly destructive, it's not just minor fluctuating moods. I appreciate you for that, although it broke my heart. I appreciate the new understanding and in a way I'm grateful for your downfall otherwise I would've still been so ignorant.

I wonder if you're still in contact with Jonah and his family, I hope they're still going just as well as they were when we last saw them. Do you miss them often? Do they the memories of your incident? Are you glad you left to go back to your normal life? Or do you regret? I wonder if they miss you, I bet they do.

Was it easy to slot back into your normal life? Did everyone accept you back into their lives? I hope they did, I hope you told them that you're bipolar. If you did, I hope they understood and didn't hold it against you for too long if not at all. I assume there were a few people who were complete dickheads about it and still are either because they don't understand or don't want to but there'll always be those people. I hope you don't let them bother you, they can only bother you if you let them.

I really wish you all the best, Vivi. You're story taught me a lot and is one of my favourites. I want you to remember to look after yourself, take the medication that has been prescribed to you. Don't just think you don't need it, Doctors know more than you, Vivi. I want you to enjoy your life without your bipolar disorder getting in the way, you deserve that. Remember that the things that you've done were beyond your control and now you can only learn from them, use them as a reminder to do as your doctors tell you to prevent you from getting bad again. Have a happy life, Vivi!

Sincerely,
Brooklyn

The Elite by Kiera Cass

2 stars

“It wasn’t like I made his world better. It was like I was his world. It wasn’t some explosion; it wasn’t fireworks. It was a fire, burning slowly from the inside out.”

Right, so to dive right in. I liked The Selection, please hear me out, it fulfilled my greatest guilty pleasure which is a book edition of The Bachelor. To be completely honest even though the quality of this book was not that great it still kind of is my guilty little pleasure and I probably will go back.

I wanted a bit more war with the rebels. I was really hoping for a bit more to do with the rebels, I thought that would be really redeeming but nope, that didn’t happen. I’m so interested in the rebels and their motives and plans and everything about them. I want to know more and I want more to happen there.

*Minor spoilers*

America and Maxon frustrate the hell out of me. I’m going to try to remain calm while I rant but I can’t promise anything. So, one minute America loves Maxon, oh but then she sees Aspen and oh my, she doesn’t want to let him go. No, you can only have one, surely you can’t really love the either of them if it’s so hard for you to choose for god’s sake. Maybe I’m being ignorant but it really annoys me. And then there’s bloody Maxon who can’t decide what he bloody wants, one minute he’s 100% ready to settle down with America and then he’s spending all this time with Kriss. Just pick a bloody girl, you selfish prick. Ugh, when I read about love I want it to be the ‘you’re the only one for me’ kind of thing not ‘I’m keeping Kriss just in case you screw up’ or ‘I claim I want to be with you but then I see my ex and make out with him’. No no no no no. I’ve gone completely against my no spoiler rule but to be honest I really don’t care. It really frustrates me, their love doesn’t feel real to me and when I read about two people ‘in love’ I want to feel their love radiating from the pages.

I don’t have much else to say now that I’ve gotten my rant out so I think I might end it there. I liked The Selection, wasn’t a fan of this. I wanted to enjoy it but it just didn’t meet my expectations and hopes for it. It just did not ‘wow’ me and it didn’t even ‘oh cool’ me, it just sort of ‘alright, onto the next one I guess’ed me.

Book Haul

The past few weeks, I have been quite spoilt and have acquired quite a few books that I've been wanting to read so I thought I'd share my haul. My intent isn't to show off, it is purely to share what I'm excited about and what you should be expecting me to read sometime soon.

The first one was Me Before You by Jojo Moyes which I've been wanting to read for ages but was struggling to find and I got it in the movie cover which I was thrilled about because I adore Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin. I can't wait to read it, I think it'll probably be the next one on my list. I haven't read a good sob worthy book in a while and from what I've heard, it will absolutely sob worthy.

Second I got the hardcover of A Court of Thorns and Roses which I was so excited about, I'd been on the look out for that too after A Court of Mist and Fury was released. When I saw it in hard cover I just couldn't resist especially since hard covers are a rare find for me. I'm currently reading it now and I am loving it so I'm happy with that one. And of course to go along I bought the paperback A Court of Mist and Fury since I wasn't sure how long I'd last afterwards.


Then I got Harry Potter and the Cursed Child which I was ecstatic about. I read it within a day of getting it and I was beyond happy to be back in the wizarding world. I was so so pleased with it and don't have a single regret. It's probably the one I was most happy about getting out of them all. I will never get over Harry Potter and anything Harry Potter related will please me immensely.

I got The Book Thief which I'd been trying to hunt down for SO long. I got the dvd as a gift but people have raved about it so much and I can see myself absolutely loving it that I didn't want to watch the movie first and potentially ruin the reading experience. So, I've been resisting the urge to watch for a very long time and I finally bought it so I'll be reading that very soon. You wouldn't understand how relieved I am to finally have it. It's like a weigth lifted, I feel like literally everyones read it and now I can finally have my turn.

I, then, got The Heir which I've been casually on the look out for since I bought The Crown on impulse after reading the first three in the series, I then realised there was a book before it. The cover is beautiful, my favourite of all of them. I can't wait to read since they're so damn  fluffy and I can't stop loving on them even though my brain tells me not to. That one will probably wait a while since I haven't a strong desire at the moment but I still am pretty excited for it. I might save it for a reading slump.

Finally, I got the Bane Chronicles which is very exciting since I love Magnus and I've heard it's quite entertaining. I've been interested in this one for a while but not too much. When I saw it though, I thought I may as well get it since I already know I'll probably really enjoy it. I'm not in any hurry to read it so I might save that one too. I look forward to it though.

I'm very excited about my books and as I said, I've been very spoilt. There will most definitely be a lot of posts about them all once I read them so you can look forward to that. Have you bought a book you're really excited about recently?

My ideal book to movie adaption: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

So, welcome to what I guess you could call a new series on my blog. It doesn't have a very catchy name at the moment but I might think of something better somewhere down the track or if anyone has a suggestion I'd be glad to consider it so leave it in the comments. Anyway it's pretty self explanatory, I will be giving you guys a look into my ideal movie adaption of some of my favourite books. Today I thought I would show you Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell because I've been feeling very inspired by it lately.

Firstly, as Levi I picture Jake Ryan from Sixteen Candles, we've all seen that right? Whose real name of course, is Michael Schoeffling. In Sixteen Candles he had this really rugged sort of look plus he wore a lot of things I picture Levi wearing. Ugh, tell me he is not gorgeous. Of course, he isn't the perfect Levi but who can be, let's be real. Jake Ryan would for sure be my Levi in the Fangirl movie.









Cath and Wren would definitely be Shailene Woodley, being twins I thought it would be only fitting that they were both Shailene, at, of course, different hair stages. I obviously don't picture them looking that much a like, of course they'd have subtle differences but it's they closest we can get. I'm really happy with my choice here especially since I didn't already have someone in mind for Cath and Wren.

For Reagan I imagine someone like Lisa Origliasso from The Veronicas. She has a very Reagan vibe I think. I'm not so sure about the hair but the face is definitely Reagan, I imagine she'd have lots of sharp edges. Put her in an edgy Reagan-esque outfit and she'd be good to go. Although Lisa Origliasso is an Australian so maybe she'd have to ditch the accent as well.

Everything else regarding the school and what not would probably just be very typical of any American college movie, plain but still not too plain. I kind of imagine the same school for every book set in an American college so that's not very interesting. I do always imagine Levis house very remincisent of the Weasleys burrow but less homely and a little bit more frat boy.

The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff

This isn't review because I'm not sure how to go about writing a review for a book like this. This is just a gathering of the thoughts I had upon reading The Danish Girl, which to be honest is a lot like the reviews I already do write but I'm not comfortable with calling it a formal review. I don't want to write a review of this because it's a touchy subject that everyone had their own opinion of and I know a review is supposed to be an opinion. These are my opinions and thoughts but I can't give this book a review because it's going to be so different for everyone. This book is an experience in itself and you can't review an experience. I did think that it deserved it's very own blog post though.

I found this so interesting to read, I never really had that deep of an understanding of transgender or intersex or the gender fluid. I just really feel solid in my body and my sex. It was something I knew happened and I knew there was nothing wrong with it but I hadn't thought much further than that. Now though, I feel that I have a deeper understand after being put in the shoes of Lili/Einar and Greta. I obviously don't believe that is how it is for everyone because everyone is on different paths and different journeys in self discovery but I had never actually thought of it like two different people. I had always thought of it like one person who knew they were in the wrong body which I assume is the case for some but it was enlightening to learn that it isn't the case for all.

I loved Greta and her part in the book is so important. Not only should we be stepping into Einar and Lili's shoes but Greta's as the woman who loves them both so dearly because it isn't just Einar and Lili, it's Greta as well. It's never something I'd ever cared to think about but now my heart aches so dearly for her, what do you do when the man you fell in love with is becoming a completely different person? I have no idea what I'd do. I know for a fact that I would never be able to handle it with such grace as Greta did. I'd probably be angry, actually scratch that, I would be angry. I'd be devastated, it sounds horribly selfish and horribly unfair but it's the way it is. Towards the end I think Greta had trouble letting go of the people she loved so so much who had now become only one which was completely understandable. I think Greta handled it so beautifully and I think she deserves a big hug.

It was so cool that is was based of real people too, I really recommend you go check out the real Lili Elbe and her story because it is different than the book and more tragic. Although I do like that the ending is slightly different because the book left me with an impression of hope for Greta and Lili to move on while still, of course, remembering Einar. Also hope that they can now go on and live their lives and everything's going to be okay. Hope again for those also struggling with their gender identity.

As I said before, definitely check out the real story of Lili Elbe, I think it's important to understand. And for an even deeper understanding, read the book. It's the first fiction book I've read on the topic and now I think I'll be on the hunt for more like it. Anyway, let me know your thoughts in the comments.

The power of words

I love words. They can be so powerful. They can mean so much. They can be anything you make them. If you give them to power to, they can utterly destroy you. Is that not the most terrifying but amazing thing ever? I think words are beautiful.

Without words, how would you tell that person how much you love them? Without words, how would you tell stories so intricate that you stay up all night think about it? Without words, how would you describe how amazing it feels to receive a compliment about something you're insecure about?

We give words the power to do what they do. Someone telling me they love me could be nothing if I didn't feel anything but it could be everything if I feel something. I'm sure we've all gone home and have just felt so down about the words of another but words are what you make them. If I wanted to hurt someone, I could make my words hurtful and they could let them hurt. Although, I don't personally think we always have complete control over what words affect us and what don't. There have been a lot of words said to me that I wish hadn't affected me but they did and I can't control that.

Writing a book is such a powerful way to get something across because you are in control of these words and what they mean, you can't always be in complete control over how someone else will take these words but isn't that kind of incredible? You could say something and it could mean one thing to you but a complete other thing to me. Just like books, one book could mean something completely different to what it meant to me. Maybe a book meant nothing to me but everything to you. That is how powerful words are.
Spread words, use them as much as you can. Learn new words to describe all the different things in your life. Make new words to describe all the little things in your life. Use as many words as you can to describe the colour pink. Let yourself use as many words as you like, let yourself read as many words as you like. Use words to your advantage and love them, love words. But be careful with them because they could change you. They can hurt you. You can hurt others with them. Please love words but be careful with them. They are very delicate.

I feel like I am just completely high on life when I write these posts. I feel so passionately about things and words are just so much for me. I just am in love with words. This post is just rambling but I think words are an important thing to discuss because they are so much, so much. I won't say sorry about this unstructured walls down, kind of post because if I'm sorry for, why would I post it? I'm not sorry about it because I kind of love it.

July wrap up

It feels like not that long ago I was writing my June wrap up and now here I am again, writing my July wrap up. I can already feel my year picking up speed as we draw closer to the end. So many things happening and so many things yet to be organised which means less time for personal reading but you lose some, you get some.

This month I read:

• A Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin
• The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff
• Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

So, it hasn't been a huge reading month for me but the three books I did read were big winners in my mind. And, come on, A Game of Thrones is a huge book and I've been reading A Clash of Kings which is even bigger. The series might set me back on my books read this year but god, if we counted the pages rather than the books I'm sure I'd be going strong. They might be slowing me down but I'm loving them which is what really counts. The Danish Girl was an amazing read and was incredibly interesting, I would absolutely recommend. Although, I have to say Glass Sword left me feeling pleasantly surprised yet somewhat disappointed at the same time which was very confusing. I can't stop thinking about if I actually liked it or not which is very similar to how I felt with Red Queen. No doubt I will read the next book though, I have to stick it out to the end!

Watch out for reviews, I have them for all three very soon. Coming to a Sunday near you as soon as possible.

I haven't really done a lot in July except going back to school from our two week break and having a lot of rehearsals. It hasn't been all that interesting but it doesn't need to be, the next few months will be interesting enough for me. I could almost call this the call before the storm. I hope you've read some books that you've loved and I hope you've done some things you've loved. Hopefully July was good to you. I'd love to hear if you did anything interesting in July or what books you read.

I am so excited for August as I have finally acquired some of the books I've been dying to read. I hope I love them just as much as I'm hoping I will. I'd love to know what you plan on reading in August so do tell me in the comments. My first August read will be the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play book which I absolutely can not wait for, I'm sure I won't be able to shut up about it for quite some time afterwards.

I still cannot believe have fast this year is going, only four more months to go. I can't wait to see what exciting things August holds for me. I hope August treats you all well. I hope you all achieve something you'd hoped to achieve. I hope that you read some really amazing books (if you do, I'd love to know which ones). So, have a fantastic August everyone!