2022 in Books

Wasn’t quite the reading year I had in mind…here it is, summarised. Bearing in mind I had a goal of 45 books and finished the year on 27 I’m not too displeased. I intend to do significantly better in 2023 though. January Dune by Frank Herbert. I had been intending to read this for ages before I finally got round to it. It’s a fascinating book but my gosh it took me ages to read. I feel like…

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End of an Era

The past few years have seen a lot of endings. I’ve rounded up each year by thinking that’ll be it, that the next year will bring new things but really life hasn’t worked out that way. This time, it feels different. As the clock strikes midnight on the 31st December 2022, a little website known as Bookstacked will close. Bookstacked has been with me since 2014…it holds my entire young-adulthood…

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My Inauthentic Self

I wrote recently about there being no such thing as finding yourself — that “you” was never missing. I firmly stand by that…so why am I currently feeling so lost? I’ve come to the conclusion that I haven’t lost myself, so much have become a version of me that is inauthentic. I know what I like, who I am and who I want to become. Yet recently I don’t think I have been living that. I think I have…

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There's No Such Thing as Finding Yourself

There’s No Such Thing as Finding Yourself

A lot of us go on this journey of self-discovery. Some people take gap yahs, some dye their hair, some try a completely new hobby, all in the name of finding themselves. What I’m coming to realise, though, is that there really is no such thing. I’ve been through it all. I’ve had the emo phase (trust me), I’ve dyed my hair, gotten tattoos and piercings. I’ve moved to different cities, lived on my…

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Why I Love ‘The Bold Type’

Why I Love ‘The Bold Type’

Many of you may have seen The Bold Type on Netflix. The first four seasons were recently added to Netflix in the UK and it’s safe to say I sped through the series. I’m talking can’t-think-about-anything-else level speed watching. Of course, I haven’t seen the final season yet (Netflix please give me this) but I’m already certain this is my new favourite TV show. Here’s why. It’s bold. Obviously.…

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‘The Final Empire’ by Brandon Sanderson | Book Review

‘The Final Empire’ by Brandon Sanderson | Book Review

Brandon Sanderson is an author I have always heard about but never read. His books have been recommended to me a few times, so when I had a bit of money I thought it was about time I finally pick one up. The Final Empire is the first in Sanderson’s Mistborn series. I chose this series for no other reason than it interested me the most, and I think it was definitely the right choice. Despite the…

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A Universe of Feeling

A Universe of Feeling

“of course I feel too much, I’m a universe of exploding stars”Sara Ajna I am a slave to my emotions. I say this in the most melodramatic way possible, naturally. I am a small person with feelings so huge they could create their own universe, and I struggle with it constantly. I have never been known to feel things by half. I’m not sad, I’m devastated. I’m not excited, I’m ecstatic, like a kid…

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'Ariadne' by Jennifer Saint | Book Review

‘Ariadne’ by Jennifer Saint | Book Review

I am a lover of Greek myth and feminist retellings, so naturally I was swept up in the wave of excitement for Jennifer Saint’s tale of Ariadne. In a classic move by yours truly however, I only got round to reading it this summer. For those who don’t know, the story of Ariadne is usually a footnote in the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. I could tell you to research it for yourself…but I’m…

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Not a Maternal Bone in My Body

I have never felt maternal, but I have only recently been able to accept that I don't want children.

“It’ll be different when it’s your own children.” I have heard that sentence, and many others like it, far too much recently. This is not a unique experience, and my feelings towards children are definitely not genre-defying. But I suspect they are in the minority. I have vivid memories of an evolutionary psychology lesson in my all-girls high school where our teacher played a video of a baby…

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Autumn Fever

Autumn is back and with it, the return of my creativity and myself.

I come alive in the autumn. That much should be obvious through the fact I’ve started writing again and am desperate to get posting on bookstagram again. It’s the time of year when I feel the most me, and as a result creativity and inspiration comes flooding in. I’ve always claimed autumn as my favourite season. Sure, I love every season — and that much is true, up to a point. When the dreary…

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The Age of Lost Friendship

Another life lesson from my twenties. Thank god for General Fiasco.

When I was a teenager, I fell in love with a band called General Fiasco. Back then their song ‘The Age that you Start Losing Friends’ was just a catchy tune, but along came my twenties and I realised they had been preparing me for a period of my life that no one else had. Losing friends is a common, yet severely ignored topic. Our heads are filled with “How to Get Over a Breakup” articles and TV…

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so you don't view anything until my birthday -- to check up? for some weird sense of power of knowing what I'm doing for it, to then not say anything? i hate the way it feel knowing you still watch what I do from afar yet don't actually like me

2021 in Books

2021 is finally over, so I had a look back on all the books I read over the year.

Hello and happy new year! Day one of the new year seemed like an appropriate time to wrap up my reading in 2021. Honestly, it felt pretty slow going, and it has been for a number of reasons. But I still managed to rack up a grand total of 34 books in 2021, and I am so proud of myself for that! Stats Highest rated: Concrete Rose and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Lowest rated: The Secrets of…

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'Folk' by Zoe Gilbert | Book Review

Another review! 3/5 stars to 'Folk' by Zoe Gilbert.

Yet another book I’ve had on my TBR pile for almost a year, Folk gave me what I wanted and yet didn’t quite capture me all at the same time. Folk by Zoe Gilbert Generally speaking, short stories and I don’t mix. I really struggle to feel the overall theme, especially in instances where the characters aren’t connected. But in Folk, Zoe Gilbert writes about a village by the sea, and each story…

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I am filled with a longing deep in my chest for something I can't quite place. A home. A love. A sense of living the life I can only dream of

By @forestbound: @instagram