I really liked the idea of the Coca Cola Collection OPI did last year. There were a few polishes I liked the look of (ideally I would have loved the mini set) but for some reason this one really stuck in my head. You’re So Vain-illa was the Vanilla Coke polish and it’s a creamy nude colour. It sounds boring and really it isn’t usually the type of polish that would get stuck in my head but it did. I eventually cracked and bought it after Christmas. Here it is!
After my obsession last year with white polishes, I really like this. I find that it’s the perfect mix of a nude and a white polish (I know it is a nude polish but when I think of a nude polish it’s something a bit darker along the lines of Nails Inc Porchester Square). Speaking of white polishes, seeing as I LOVED putting multi coloured glitter over white last year I couldn’t resist adding Essene Circus Confetti on top of this.
I think this is ideal if you want to make the colours of the glitter pop but think white is a bit too stark. I can’t wait to try other looks out with this polish, I’ve already a Valentine’s idea in mind!
Doing a Reading Resolution post is one of my favourite things at the beginning of the year. I love to read but I think doing this post helps keep things interesting and also to try new things and to get out of my comfort zone. I don’t think I have that many this year but hopefully I can be motivated to get things done!
1. Read To Kill a Mockingbird
This one has ended up on my 2013 and 2014 list and I STILL haven’t read it! I got an ebook copy last year when it was launched in ebook edition as Amazon was giving it away for free so I should have no excuse really. If I don’t have this read by at least October, will someone just beat me up with a copy of it while dressed as Gregory Peck? Thanks.
2. Reduce the amount of books I own to read
Like I said in my 2014 Reading Review, I think I only read 6 physical books of my own last year, having read a lot of ebooks and books from the library. I definitely bought more than 6 books last year too, so I really want to treat my own books as a library and get through what I own. Besides, I need to make room for new books too!
3. Read more diversely
This was also another resolution from last year but one I really sucked at. I’m going to make a list of books, I know there’s loads in my Goodreads. Maybe I’ll try only to use the library to get books from authors of colour and from different countries? Also, I want this to be genre wise too, I like the idea of trying genres I’m not overly keen on. I tried it last year and read some graphic novels which I liked.
4. Give this reading challenge a go
Sharon from Behind Green Eyestagged me on Facebook and I decided to give this a go. I’ll probably double or triple up on some challenges, which is fine, as it’s just a bit of fun. Play along too!
5. Read a Russian author
I don’t know why, but reading a Russian author intimidates me a bit. Probably because in my head they’re all massive books like War and Peace! I’ve never read a Russian author before (not that I can think of anyway) so any suggestions are welcome!
6. Try more audiobooks
I listened to three audiobooks last year and would love to up that number a bit, maybe to 6. I do listen to a lot of podcasts as it is but I do enjoy audiobooks when I listen to them and I can get them for free from library too which is a bonus.
7. Do a themed reading month
I really enjoyed the Irish authors theme I did last month so I want to try it again. Beth from Plastic Rosaries posted a few challenges so I might join her one month for one of them! There’s also the Fem-tellectual themed months too.
So less goals than last year (which was 8) and 2013 (12) but I feel happy with this and hopefully will succeed. With 2 goals being just to read one book it shouldn’t be too hard! Have you got any resolutions when it comes to reading? It might be something small like read a book or something big like read 100 books, just let me know below I’d love to hear!
I thought it would be fun to have a look at my reading stats, the amount of books I’ve read over the year, breakdown of male to female authors, physical, ebook and audio book break down and things related to genres. As well as that, I’ll also have a look over my 2014 Reading Resolutions and see how well I did.
Fiction to Non-Fiction Breakdown
So I read nearly double the amount of fiction books, which surprised me really as I thought I read maybe 60:40 fiction to non-fiction. Not that I’m not pleased with this, I am. I think I find non-fiction books more time consuming, mainly because I want to absorb the information properly so I read a bit more slowly to make sure I take it all in.
Physical Book vs E-Books vs Audio Books
So physical books are just ahead! Even if you counted the ebooks and audio books together, I still read more physical books. Again, I’m surprised at the amount of ebooks, I thought it would be a little less. But once again, I’m not displeased with this, in fact the number might be higher once 2015 is up now that I have a Kindle. As for audio books, I do feel like this could improve a small bit. I tend to listen to podcasts a lot more when I’m walking to and from work, though in the past I have read audiobooks this way and have enjoyed it.
Male vs Female Authors
This one I’m not surprised by really. Not that I consciously try to read more female authors but seven out of 10 of my top 10 books of the year were female authors.
Non-Fiction Breakdown
So this is my breakdown of the non-fiction books I read. I classified science and history as any books that have some form of history behind them (like Just My Type), anything based on science and anything that fell under psychology and the likes. For memoir and biographies I included classic biographies such as Mary Berry’s Recipe For Life, memoirs such as Tao of Martha by Jen Lancaster, Marjane Satrapi’s three graphic stories and stunt journalism tales like Move Along Please by Mark Mason and A Slice of Britain by Caroline Taggart. For the last category, I put in the two Magpie series books I read, Because I Said So! and As Right as Rain. I’m sure there are books that could cross over categories but that’s the way I did them! I should really do a fiction breakdown but I’m a bit lazy to wade through everything and try classify them!
-If my calculations are correct, I only read 6 books of mine this year. Which is dreadful as I definitely acquired more than 6 this year! That’s not even taking into account the books I got for Christmas either. Or the ebooks!
Oh, I had such hopes and saved so many books on Goodreads. But I did NOT succeed in this, not even a tiny bit.
3. Try more genres I’m not so keen on
I think I did ok with this. I tried more audio books (which I suppose is more a medium than genre), I read some graphic novels and tried some more thrillers. As for non-fiction, I tried some books from more of an art section, but failed with the sports and politics.
4. Appreciate Irish Authors
YES! One I did complete. I dedicated the entire month of March to reading only Irish authors and only authors I hadn’t read before. It was great really and I continued to read some more Irish authors, though not as consciously as I did in March.
5. Read a book randomly picked from 1001 Books to Read Before You Die
Completely slipped my mind really
6. Judge a book by it’s cover and read it
Yes and no. I was really drawn to the cover of The Art of Baking, that’s what caught my interest at first. And I bought Alphabetical by Michael Rosen as I loved the cover but I have yet to read it.
7. Read To Kill a Mockingbird
No, yet again a big fat no.
8. Do BookTubeathon and complete challenges
I read partake but didn’t finish it, I had just started work and it was too much for me at the time. Didn’t do the Christmas one either even though that would have suited really.
Not a massive success but honestly while I like to set these challenges and try and achieve them, I don’t get upset if I don’t, because at the end of the day I’m still reading and enjoying it and that’s the main thing. I will be doing a new Resolutions post in the next few days though!
I did a post like this last year, where I have my top five favourite fiction books, non-fiction books, songs and TV shows. I’ve decided to do the same again this year. Fiction Books Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
I’ve already raved about this book here, but it’s definitely a must read. Beautifully written post-apocalyptic novel with an interesting plot, an air of eerieness and a hint of ‘this could happen’ness. Just go read the longer review to get a much better sense of this book.
Mr Mercedes by Stephen King
Mr Mercedes is the first in a new series by Stephen King. It features a retired detective, who lives a dull boring life and toys with the idea of ending it all. Until one day he receives a message from the ‘one who got away’, Mr Mercedes, the one case he didn’t crack and that haunts him. What follows is a cat and mouse game to find Mr Mercedes, though who is hunting who? Thoroughly enjoyed this, getting back into mystery and crime novels that I loved oh so much growing up (hell yeah Enid Blyton). Looking forward to the next novel! Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
I read all of Rowell’s books this year, bar her new one Landline, but this was the first I read and my favourite. While I did enjoy the other two, I think this one pipped it. Probably because I read it first and probably because I really liked the nerdy element to it. Plus Eleanor and Park made me bawl like a baby and I’m still a bit raw thinking about it! Fangirl follows Cath and her twin sister Wren, who both go off to college. But while Cath wants to live with her sister and continue with their online fanfiction writing, Wren wants more independence and to make new friends. I thought it was a sweet YA novel.
The Likeness by Tana French
The second book in French’s Dublin Murder Squad series and this one follows Cassie, who gets sucked back into the undercover world when a girl who looks just like her winds up dead. Even more spooky than that is the fact that her ID is Cassie’s old undercover alias, Lexie. Cassie’s old boss Frank decides to the best way to find this mystery girl’s killer is to pretend that she was injured, not killed and put Cassie back in the house to suss out what happened. Can Cassie pull this off, especially without becoming emotionally involved? I loved this, Tana French is slowly becoming a favourite and I’ve only read two books so far!
The Art of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughan
This is like The Great British Bake Off in a novel. Eaden’s Supermarket is trying to find a new Mrs. Eaden (the original being the wife of the founder and a big role model, the Nigella of the 60s) and decides to host a competition. The story revolves around the contestants, their complicated lives and the reasons why they bake. It could be easy to dismiss this as a chick lit read but the characters and stories are complex. The story also slowly revolves are Kathleen (Mrs. Eaden) from the 60s and the woman behind the perfect front
Non-Fiction Books Just My Type by Simon Garfield
I must have raved about this book so much through out the year. I personally found it fascinating. Each chapter has a different story revolving around fonts, from the controversy of Comic Sans, the history of some fonts, how a French Anti-Piracy campaign ended up using a pirated font, can you spend a day without using Helvetica and the big uproar of when Ikea changed their font. The chapters are short, so you don’t feel bogged down in details or get bored. Looking forward to reading more Garfield this year.
One Summer by Bill Bryson
This is another book that I brought up in conversation to others several times over the year. It revolves around the summer of 1927 in America. It’s a big heft of a book but I loved how the characters all ended up being connected like a big spider web. There was some bits and pieces where I found the stats heavy (specifically baseball stats!) but I really loved the concept of the book.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
Caitlin Doughty and her Ask a Mortician series has been mentioned on here a few times. I love reading topics on death (I’m not morbid!) and I loved Doughty’s memoir, starting from when she first found work in a crematory, her experiences and how she came to set up The Order of the Good Death. It made me laugh in places and I cried once. Doughty’s character that I’ve often seen in the videos definitely comes through and just makes the book special.
Perseoplis by Marjane Satrapi
A graphic drawing memoir told in stories of snippets of Satrapi’s childhood growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. There is some historical background too, to the build up the Revoltion, which I found interesting as I really had never heard of any of it prior to this. I loved the interaction of Satrapi and her family and the little bits of wisdom that comes out in their interactions. I also loved seeing Satrapi grow up and become a bit of a rebel. There’s a second part to this story in another book, where she moves to Europe in her late teens, but that book made me cry so much and broke my heart. Still a beautiful story though.
Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe
Another book I’ve raved about quite a bit this year! There will be a lot who probably won’t enjoy this, as it’s letters Stibbe sent back to her sister when she moved to London to become a nanny and just tells the day to day tales of her life. But I found it hilarious at times, because the children and their mother are so funny. It was also sweet and was just so comforting. I listened to it, which I think really added to it as I loved Stibbe’s narration. And come on, how amazing is that book cover?!
Top 5 TV Shows 1. Numb3rs
Watched this on Netflix, it follows Don, the FBI agent who gets his mathematican brother Charlie to use maths to help solve cases. Sounds a bit nerdy but if you’re a fan of CSI and the likes, you’ll probably enjoy this.
2. Game of Thrones
Everyone and their mothers are watching Game of Thrones. Worst thing about it is when it finished and you suffer from major withdrawals!
3. Orange is the New Black
Talk about withdrawals, I watched this in the first weekend it was released and then was left waiting another 51 weeks the new series! But it was SO worth it.
4. House of Cards
Politics has never been so interesting!
5. Rupaul’s Drag Race
Watched all the series on Netflix and am so excited for the new season to come out this month! Start your engine Films 1. Guardians of the Galaxy
I was late to the show when seeing this but glad I did catch it in the cinema. Laughed out loud several times and the soundtrack is amazing.
2. Lego Movie
Saw this twice in the cinema! Very sweet and funny.
3. Frozen
Ya, I know, I’m dreadful, it took me until December to watch this. I did enjoy this story but nothing tops The Little Mermaid!
4. X-Men Days of Future Past
Another comic book film, another cinema trip! It was super fun, I do enjoy the X-Men series.
5. The Muppets
I need to watch more Muppet movies as they make me smile and are always feel good. And the songs were very catchy in this film.
Top 5 Songs HappyPharrell Williams
Who didn’t love this song?! I still do enjoy it, I stopped listening to it for a bit to avoid getting fed up of it. Saying that, I also really liked Marilyn Monroe by Pharrell too, it grew on me. Shake It OffTaylor Swift
This song! Instant mood booster. Had me bopping and singing around work.
Bang BangJessie J Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj
This song just had ‘me’ written all over it, it was the beat that got me into it in the first place. Nice to have 3 big female singers on one track without any mention of bitchiness or competition.
FancyIggy Azalea and Charlie XCX
Another one that got stuck in my head! And I listened to it so much I know all the words now.
All About That BassMeghan Trainor
This year seemed to have a lot of ass related songs (J.Lo and Iggy had one, as did Nicki Minaj), the girl who’s bringing booty back was my favourite.
Last wrap up of 2014! I had a nice December, busy at times but not manic, which was nice. Here’s some of the things I got up to and enjoyed
Socializing- December is always a busy month for people! This month I went with my boyfriend, cousin, her boyfriend and their friends to Morley Cheeks to their all you can eat wings and ribs night, met up with people back home at Christmas in various different places but the biggest was a large group of us having dinner at an Indian restaurant, my usual knit club meet ups, New Year’s Eve with some wonderful new friends in Manchester and a trip to London, where I went to The Ice Kingdom at Winter Wonderland.
Crafting- A lot of Christmas presents! I made a Christmas stocking for my new cousin, a shawl for my mother, a scarf for my boyfriend’s mother, a doughnut pin cushion for a friend and made a bunch of printed bags for people (but didn’t take pictures of those). My Dad also made my knitted birds into a mobile for my new cousin.
Receiving- Some wonderful gifts! I got a camera from my parents, which will hopefully help improve the quality of some of my pictures. I got some great gifts from people, including books, a hand knitted hedgehog, a hand knitted snood, some Tube themed notepaper, a beautiful hand stitched flamingo ornament and loads of wool shop vouchers (most of which has already been spent!).
Wearing- My handmade flamingo Christmas jumper!!
Finding- Paddington Bears. For the release of the new film, there were 50 bear statues designed by different celebrities scattered around London. I only found 4 (I swear I circled Covent Garden 3 or 4 times trying to find the second one there with no luck!) but it was fun to spot them!
Listening- To Christmas music. My favourite song this year being Feliz Navidad!
And that’s it really. I’m really glad I started making these wrap up posts as I can easily look back through the months and see what I’ve done. It always gives me a chance to reflect on what I did for the month and sometimes when it feels like I’ve done nothing, it turns out I’ve done quite a bit. Hope 2014 was good for you and Happy New Year!
I was going to do a similar post to Louise’s, going through each month and picking out the things I’ve done. But seeing as I did a monthly recap, I thought doing a post like that would just be a recap of the recaps! I did however want to reflect on the year that was 2014.
It was, like many years, a year of highs and lows. But this time it was different due to living a different country. This is the first time since 1990 that I’ve spent an entire year not living in Ireland, having moved there in 1991. The move was scary but exciting, something that I wanted to definitely try but being a homebird just made it that slightly bit harder for me, as I would often ache to be home. Before getting a job, I found myself slipping into a lonely and dark place at times. I had no friends, my boyfriend was often at work until 10 in the evening,depending on his shift, I had no real reason to leave the house unless it was to go to the library, as I had no money or no one to spend time with. Luckily there was one person I knew when I moved here, a neighbour of my boyfriend’s from back home in Ireland. EG and her boyfriend met up with us and helped so much, so thank you thank you! In February I decided I needed to get out of the house more and so joined a local knitting group. These girls have been the best, I clicked instantly with them and they’ve become great friends. I look forward to knitting every time it’s on, it’s given me something to look forward to and has helped with my creativity too. So thank you Sarah, Amy and all the other girls (who I’m not naming on here by name, like most other people, purely because I don’t know if they’d like to be named, not because I don’t appreciate them!).
Like I said before, I’m a homebird and I have a big family I’m close to. I’m lucky to have some family members close to me here. My uncle and his wife don’t live far and have been very kind to me and my boyfriend, meeting up with us and offering their help. I have a brother in London, who I talk to on a nearly daily basis and have seen several times. I have various cousins in London who have let me stay with them, offered advice and just been there if needed. I now also have another cousin and her boyfriend who is living in Manchester, we’ve met twice since November and no doubt will meet many other times this year. It’s just really nice to have that extra person in my friend circle and someone from home too. And of course there’s been the family that have not been around me physically, my parents, siblings and other family members back home, who have been so so encouraging, supportive in many different ways and while it breaks my heart to leave whenever I visit, I just love going home to see them all. So to all my family (and I include my boyfriend’s family in this too), thank you so so much.
Speaking of those not physically near me, there’s my friend’s from back home who have just been so amazing. Especially KS, my closest friend, who has just been there whenever I need her. They say a great friendship is just being able to click back into place whenever you have not seen each other in a long time and that just happens with us all the time. It’s like I haven’t gone and I love how stepping into her family’s homes still feels like it has throughout the years, like stepping into the house of my second family. Thank you KS and family, for everything over the years. And to all my other school friends who have been there over the year. This year has been a special year to us, having lost a friend 10 years ago, but here we are, ten years later and still friends, despite now being scattered around the place. Having dinner together over Christmas was so much fun, I just loved how things were the same, all the laughter and memories we have together. Here’s to another 10 years!
And if I’m talking about friends not being physically around me, then I can’t forget my ‘internet friends’. To Sharon, Chloe and Roisin especially, thank you for being such great friends. Despite not having met you (yet!), I consider you some of my closest friends. Ye are so kind and encouraging and I love reading your posts and Tweets. Another set of internet friends are my LoSo ones, a group of ladies I’ve known from a forum for over ten years now. They remain some of the most interesting, funny, supportive and exceptionally kind people, who have listened to my thoughts and problems over the years and have encouraged me all the way. Thank you lovely LoSo ladies! Other new people this year include people who I met at the Pinterest event (Anyonita being my baking partner and fellow blogger from Manchester), the new bloggers I discovered from Rosalilum’sBEDM, the #bookbloggers and the bloggers I met at various other events, including Plastic Rosaries, Miss Pond, Prorebel, Lily Kitten, Susan Styles You, Painted Nails and Baking Scales, Of Beauty and Nothingness and many others. And of course, last but not least, Rebecca from The Lucky Rainbow! Talking about clicking instantly, the first time we met we stayed over 6 hours chatting to each other! It was so so exciting to find an Irish person in a similar position to me and I can’t wait to meet you more this year!
To my boyfriend, who I’ve been with for 9 years. This move has been tough at times on us, but we’ve stuck together and worked things out. He’s been a rock of support for me, in some many ways, and I don’t think I would have survived a move abroad if I hadn’t made it with him. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Finally to myself. Ok, so I’m not going to thank myself really, but there has been so much growth this year. Despite this being tough on me emotionally and mentally at times, I have also grown in confidence, learnt new things about myself and have started to be less harsh on myself. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, maybe it’s because I watched a lot of Rupaul’s Drag Race (thanks Amy!), but I’m beginning not to see myself as an enemy, but as a friend. Here’s hoping 2015 will be another interesting year!
Last month in 2014! And I definitely read a bit more this month than I did last month but still wasn’t a lot, mainly because I was crafting like mad. Though I definitely didn’t achieve my reading resolutions from the beginning of the year. I will do another post soon for my new reading resolutions and my plans for next year.
December Reads
The Great Christmas Knit Off by Alexandra Brown
This is the type of book I’ve really began to enjoy reading on the lead up to Christmas. A nice short, warm and fuzzy read to get me into the spirit of the season. This story follows Sybil, who ends up in the quaint town of Tindledale after a series of bad events in her life. She falls in love with the village, the locals and especially Hettie’s House of Haberdashery, even though it’s seen better days. The story revolves around a big knit along to try and save Hettie and her shop. It was a sweet quick read, perfect start to December. You can read a full review here if you’re interested.
The Likeness by Tana French
This is the second book in French’s Dublin Murder Squad series. I read the first one, In the Woods in March as part of my reading books from Irish authors challenge and I really enjoyed it (though I was left a bit longing with the ending). This book follows Cassie, who was also in In the Woods, but as with all the books in the series, you don’t have to read them in order as they won’t spoil anything (though I will be reading them in order!). After the events of In the Woods, Cassie has transferred to another department. Until one day she gets a call asking her to go out to Wicklow, where she’s met by Sam her boyfriend (who is still in the Murder Squad) and Frank, her old boss from Undercover. They show Cassie a recent murder victim, who turns out to not only be a dead ringer for Cassie but also has the same identity Cassie had when she was undercover. Frank comes up with the mad idea of putting Cassie into the house as Lexie to find out what really happened to her, as they have no leads or suspects. At first Cassie thinks the idea is crazy but ultimately decides to do it as the idea of going undercover and working on a murder investigation is just too appealing for her. Can Cassie pull this off without her new housemates becoming suspicious? Can she find out what this girl’s secrets are? Can Cassie keep herself from getting too emotionally involved? This book was wonderful, I loved it more than In the Woods, I felt a lot more satisfied with it. I love French’s writing style, how she writes mysteries but also how she writes characters. Looking forward to reading the rest in the series!
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Station Eleven is set in a post-apocalyptic world after a flu has devastated the world and wiped out over 99% of the population. It follows Kristen and the Travelling Symphony, a group of musicians and actors who travel around putting on plays and concerts. Kristen is first introduced to us as an 8 year old on stage the night the epidemic broke out, when actor Arthur collapses on stage and EMT Jeevan tried to revive him. The book cuts back and forth between time, from well before the outbreak, to the night of the outbreak and immediately after to 15 years after the outbreak. It shows how the characters are all connected through the various different timelines and Mandel does a fantastic job of setting the scene for a post-apocolyptic world as well as the panic from the outbreak. Some of the descriptions are so eerie and creepy. This is definitely one of my favourite books from this year, I have a longer and better review post here.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
This is one of the books I had listed as 2014 Releases I was looking forward to. I love Doughty and her Ask a Morticianseries, I’ve often referenced it here on the blog. This book is a memoir of when Doughty first got a job in a crematory, full of stories of her time there and afterwards. While this book does go into detail about what happens when a body is cremated and other deathly things, it is not morbid or disgusting, as some might think it is. I personally think that people are a bit too scared of death and should be a bit more curious about. If death wasn’t such a taboo issue to talk about, then people wouldn’t be as scared as they are. I found this book satisified that death curious side of me as well as making me laugh out loud at times and cry during one story. Doughty is open about her own feelings and experiences, which I found to be brave and inspiring. Her Facebook is fascinating too, full of great links and comments from people, including this one about how a woman gifted this book to death phobic members of her family and brought them all together.
The Christmas Surprise by Jenny Colgan
Having just read the previous book Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweet Shop last month, I was really looking forward to jumping into the next book in the series. It follows straight after the previous book, with her relatives having just flown back to Australia. It then goes through the whole year with big events happening (won’t spoil anything!) and the book wraps up at the following Christmas. It has a lot of the same things you can expect from a Colgan book, I just wasn’t as mad about it as the others in the series. Some of it seemed a bit rushed, to get through the entire year and the life changing events and the ending of pretty predictable but I still liked reading it as it was Christmassy and got me in the mood. If you like other Colgan books, especially Rosie Hopkins ones, then you will probably enjoy this too.
#GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso
This has been a book I’ve wanted to read all read and finally got a chance when I got it as a present this Christmas. Sophia Amoruso is the founder and CEO of Nasty Gal, an online shopping site that has an edge. The book covers Amoruso’s life, from dropping out of high school, to becoming a hitchiker, dumpster diver and shoplifter to the humbling beginnings of Nasty Gal on eBay as a vintage shop. This book isn’t about how to set up a business but more a way to show how Amoruso set up a business in a non-conventional way (she didn’t borrow a dime to set up Nasty Gal) and how certain she believes certain aspects of her life and experiences helped her become a success. She has some great but simple tips, like how you should never say ‘that’s not my job’ if asked to do something at work. I did come away with a new found confidence in myself and my ability to be a great worker, something that has been chipped away over the years of being unemployed and being rejected. It reminded me of when I was 16, I was in my first job at a supermarket and hated it, because the atmosphere there was terrible. No one was allowed to talk and everyone was so serious, it was intimidating being there. A few months earlier I had done work experience as part of school at a pharmacy and one Sunday the boss came into the supermarket. I had the balls to go up and ask for a job and it worked. While today I know that approaching someone at my current place of work isn’t the best idea, just remembering this memory has inspired me to be a bit more bold, that if you don’t ask you won’t get. This was definitely an interesting read.
December Stats
Number of books read- 6
Ratio fiction to non-fiction- 4:2
Number of eBooks- 4 (all but #GIRLBOSS and The Likeness)
And that’s 2014 done! Hopefully I’ll have a reading recap post up soon, with a look at my resolutions, my stats and my 2015 reading resolutions. And I’ll have a top 5s post coming out soon with my favourite fiction and nonfiction books. Happy New Year everyone!
