Tag: community

Paris = amazing pastries + books!

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Hello 😊

I recently had a lovely mini break in Paris which was amazing – full of gorgeous architecture, yummy pastries and patisseries and divine food.

But one of the most exciting parts of the trip for me was going to Shakespeare and Company. Urgh. It was so beautiful and stacked floor to ceiling with books😍

Shakespeare and Company bookshop – Paris (taken from Google images)

Anyone who loves books, will love this bookshop! It has such a rich and diverse history having had some of the greatest literary minds wander the shelves, from James Joyce to Ernest Hemmingway to Ezra Pound, becoming a cultural hubbub of inspiration and passion. Fun fact! The shop actually houses aspiring writers and artists in exchange for helping out around the store, and the shop’s motto is actually “be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be Angels in disguise.”

I made sure to treat myself to a book (obv) which you can get stamped whilst you’re there, and a lovely tote bag. Who doesn’t love a good tote? I aptly picked Murder on the Eiffel Tower by Claude Izner purely because I was in Paris and thought why not pick a book based here? Also, I don’t read enough murder mysteries and thought it’d be a nice switch up from my usual reads.

Murder mysteries are always so conflicting for me as a reader. I’ve never been completely shocked or thrown off the scent – I’ve read some really bad mystery books (both in terms of plot and writing style) which could be why that genre is not my go to. Does anyone have any good recommendations?

If you’re thinking of paying a trip while you’re there, be prepared for a wait. It can get very busy and they only allow a certain number of people in at a time. But once you’re in you’re in to spend as long as you like perusing the shelve and all the hidden nooks and crannies. There’s an upstairs as well so make sure you don’t miss that! Its right in front of the Notre Dame so you’ll be able to admire the beauty of the cathedral. Also, its not too far of a walk from the Jardine de Luxemburg if you fancy a stroll around the gardens.

I’d highly recommend Paris and I can’t wait to head back some day.

xo

International Women’s Day 2018!

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Hi!

Happy International Women’s Day to all! ❤

Today is a day for all women to come together and celebrate the strides we’ve made, but to also look at how far we still need to go. It’s also a day for some men to moan about “why isn’t there a International Men’s Day?” (November 19th btw). What makes this IWD so special is that 2018 marks 100 years since some women (and all men) were able to vote in the UK (#100yearsofsuffrage whoop!)

To commemorate IWD and 100 years of suffrage, I really wanted to talk about a woman who I only recently found out about, but have been obsessively researching and reading about.

I was listening to the Suffragette Centenary Special with Guardian Live – part 1, which you can listen to on any podcast app (I use CastBox) or you can also listen on YouTube, when a member of the panel, Anita Anand, mentioned Princess Sophia Duleep Singh. To be honest every time I hear an ethnic sounding name I instantly sit up straighter and commit the name to my memory so I can go on a Wikipedia binge. It’s still so rare to hear them that I’ve almost trained my brain to seek them out.

Princess Sophia Duleep Singh was a fascinating woman. She was the daughter of the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire (who gifted the Kohinoor diamond to Queen Victoria), the god daughter of Queen Victoria, became involved in, and an active member, of the Suffrage movement, then became President of the Suffragette Fellowship Commitee after Emmeline Pankhurts death in 1928, and rubbed King George V and Winston Churchill up the wrong way with her activism and refusal to pay taxes.

There’s a story that Anita told on the panel about Princess Sophia and it’s stuck with me and really just embodies what International Women’s Day is all about, and what we should strive for. During the Black Friday incident of 1910 many women were severely assaulted physically and sexually by police after marching on the House of Commons to protest the stopping of extending the right to vote. Now, Sophia was one of the women who led the march, alongside Emmeline Pankhurst and Louisa Garrett Anderson and was severely manhandled by police, but what really got her blood boiling was she she saw a fellow suffragette be thrown repeatedly on the floor by a policeman and she demanded recompense. She put herself between the two of them, pushing him off the woman, and then followed after him. After getting his police number she wrote numerous complaints to the police force about the way the women were treated. Her complaints were so numerous and vast, and she so famous, that they made their way from police to the government, all the way to the Home Secretary at that time – Winston Churchill – who scored the words “send her no more replies” deep at the end of her last complaint.

God, I love that so much. She never backed down from a fight and dedicated her life to attaining what was right and true for all women. She didn’t have to. As a woman of status and wealth and who had the favour of Queen Victoria, she could have led a simple and easy life. But she saw that her privilege and her status could be put to better use. To make a real difference and change in this world regardless of how much money she did or didn’t have. She fought for every woman and not just herself.

We as women should work together, building each other up rather than tearing each other apart. Division will not make us stronger, and if we are divided what will we accomplish? I feel so blessed, proud and insanely lucky to have so many strong, independent, fierce, beautiful women in my life who will always have my back. Who will forever see the best in me and raise me up when I am at my lowest. And to the random women who’ve helped me when I’ve fallen (I’m very clumsy!), those who’ve helped console me after public racial discrimination and abuse, the women who’ve complimented me on the streets, and the women who’ve liked, read and shared my blogs in the past, it means so much. Because this is what IWD is – coming together, working together, fighting for each other whoever we are and where ever we may be in the world to achieve equality.

You can get Anita Anand’s book about Princess Sophia here Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary, and I would highly recommend it.

xo

Introduction to me?

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Hello everyone! Hope you’re all well😊

I was recently told by a friend of mine that my blogs aren’t personable enough. So while I develop my writing style, I thought why not do a #meetthebookstgrammer blog with some added q’s ( I probably should’ve started with this one tbh).

So here goes!

  • Where are you from?

Manchester, England.

  • When did you start blogging?

March 2017.

  • Would you rather be an author or publisher?

Publisher. But I’d love to have the confidence to dabble in serious writing.

  • Do you prefer standalone books or series?

Series usually, but there are great standalones that I adore. Can I say both???

  • Authors who inspire you?

Urgh. So many. But J.K Rowling and Jane Austen always aaaand Toni Morrison and Khaled Hosseni.

  • Where in the world do you want to travel to the most?

New York. But I want to see the World tbh, just need the time and the money.

  • Favourite book to film adaptation?

Not a film, but Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. The show sticks closely to the novels and the writing/plots that makes them great, but they also change things up still keeping in line with the characters and stories. I just feel like books to film adaptations are pretty much always a let down because there’s so much to cram into a short space of time.

**EDIT**

Gone Girl! Man that was a great book to film adaptation. They did slightly downplay the psychotic nature of the main female protagonist I felt, but kudos on capturing the destructive nature of the book on screen.

  • Least favourite book to movie adaptation?

Ooh there’s a few🙃. Eragon. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The Hobbit. The Golden Compass (Northern Lights). I could name so many more.

As much as I adore the books, the HP films were a little let down compared to the amazing writing of Rowling. Although I have to say Prisoner of Azkaban (for me) is the best HP book to film adaptation. It stuck to the magic of Rowling’s writing and really brought to life the story. Alfonso why you no do all 8🙁

Having said that about the series as a whole, they can stand alone from the books which I do think is a great thing. They allow more people to come into the Potterverse even if they’re not the biggest readers.

  • Cats or dogs?

Cats, but I do love dogs too.

  • If you were stuck on a desert island, which 3 books would you take with you?

Urm…err…hmm…well maybe…ahh…the…gah…help!

  • Favourite quote?

Most of you probably have the same problem as I do, in that I can’t pick just one! But one that’s stuck with me over the years is:

“Though she be but little, she is fierce” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare.

Good ol’ Wills!

So that’s me pretty much! I’d love to see your answers to these questions or just the general #meetthebookstagrammer q’s😊

xo

All kinds of cliches

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Hello☺

So nearly 2 months on from this blog post, have I managed to change things? Well…yes and no. So far I have:

  1. Utilised my time more effectively in the mornings on my commute into work by reading more🎉
  2. Taken a notebook around with me everywhere as well so that I can jot down all my ideas and thoughts. I’m actually loving this one! Just writing down my ramblings on paper made me realise how much I miss the simple act of putting pen to paper.

Aaaaand that’s pretty much it🙈 Although 2/5 from my list isn’t too bad I guess. I’m still a little annoyed that I haven’t been able to implement the others, or even get a start on them. Work has been super hectic this month and I’m really hoping after this week everything dies down a heck of a lot so I can invest more time into my writing and reading even more.

I did come across the below quote by Stephen King recently that really made me snap back into focus and realise what it is I’m passionate about. Writing has always been something I’ve never been 100% comfortable with. I mean don’t get me wrong, I can write a damn good essay, but that’s pretty much it. Facts, opinions and a strong solid subject. But writing for myself has always alluded me because I think I’m just not good enough. That my writing won’t be as inviting or intriguing as some of the amazing work I’ve read by my favourite authors, or my peers. But it’s this kind of thinking that’s held me back, and probably holds a lot of people back. Doing something (whatever it may be) for the sake of others, whomever they may be, won’t allow you to reach your full potential. Do whatever makes you happy for you. After all, you’re going to be the one investing your time and emotion, no-one else. It needs to make you happy.

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” ― Stephen King

As a lover and student of literature, I know it’s been buried deep within me to write a novel or something one day, even if it’s just for myself and no-one else. I would love to devote more time to it if I can. Hopefully this blog will inspire me to keep on going.

xo

Manchester <3 

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Hello everyone, slightly different theme for today’s blog.

Today’s a pretty sombre day for me as a Mancunian. Last night some absolute tool thought to senselessly attack an arena full of children, young people and their parents/guardians.

22 innocent people died and it makes me sick to my core. I just can’t comprehend how someone walks into a place and decides to cause so much suffering, whether on a whim or with a calculated plan. Neither one is justified no matter what. When I woke this morning and heard the news of the devastating attacks I felt almost violated in a way. Manchester is my home. I was born and raised here. How dare somebody come into my city and attack my fellow Mancunians?! I won’t stand for this, and I never will no matter where injustice might lie. But this was personal because it a struck so close home. I may not have known those targeted personally, but I feel connected to them.

But then today Manchester did what it does best. As a city, as a community, as loving and peaceful city folk we drove out in our thousands to commemorate those who’d had their lives taken from them. We came out in our thousands to say not today! You won’t break us today nor will you ever! We will never succumb to hatred or fear. My hometown shone it’s brightest over the last 24 hours and it makes me proud as hell to call myself a Mancunian.

“The thing about Manchester is that it all comes from here❤” – Noel Gallagher

xo