Summer Reading Reviews

Away with the Fairies is back blog readers! Thank you to everyone who followed my summer adventures by reading my joint blog Suitcase Dates. We had a lot of fun writing it, even if it was difficult to blog on our phones with limited internet service! There were 850 views in the short amount of time the blog has been around which is amazing so thank you all again :)

During the summer I like to get a lot of reading done. I'm one of those girls who would take less bikinis in order to cram another chunky novel into my suitcase. Luckily the days of squashing my paperbacks between my goggles and sandals are over since I got a kindle a couple of years ago. It has definitely been one of my best purchases so far as it makes reading so accessible - even when risking it in the pool on holiday. I thought I'd do a bit of a run down of my holiday reads for any other book geeks out there...

The Fault in our Stars
£1.99 kindle price
£7.99 RRP

Who on the planet hasn't read this book? John Green is currently the 'it' guy for teen fiction. You just have to step foot in Waterstones to see huge displays dedicated to his books. If I am to be totally honest, it was okay. After all the hype surrounding the book after the film release, I was expecting my socks to be blown off. I know that this is an incredibly popular book and others have described it as life-changing and thought provoking but I just found it a bit dull. I wasn't excited by it or emotionally connected with the characters and I found it very put-down-able. The romance between Hazel and Augustus was cute but I wasn't particularly enthralled by their struggles and triumphs throughout. I didn't dislike the book, John Green writes very well,  however it just wasn't for me. I've not read many books about cancer, the only other one being 'My Sister's Keeper' - which did actually bring me to tears.

The Signature of All Things
£3.32 kindle price
£18.99 RRP

Had I known that this was written by the same person who bought us 'Eat, Pray, Love', I probably wouldn't have even considered it. I watched 'Eat, Pray, Love' a couple of years ago and found it really boring. I don't know if the book is better than the film because for once I haven't read it!

When I was scouring Amazon for my summer reads this book caught my eye, even though it's not the kind of book I'd usually read. The story follows Henry Whittaker who comes from humble beginnings in London, stealing plants from Kew Gardens. He soon finds himself travelling accross the globe, from Tahiti to Peru, as a deckhand for Captain James Cook. Henry becomes a botanist, making his own fortune by selling medicinal plants.

Henry's daughter Alma becomes the protagonist in the second part of the book as she follows her father's footsteps as a keen botanist. She earns her own reputation as a lady of science amongst well known names such as Charles Darwin. Inbetween her scientific successes, Alma is also a victim of unrequited love. Throughout the book it is evident that Alma is the brains rather than the beauty however she craves both love and knowledge in her life. She does fall in love with Ambrose Pike, a gifted botanical illustrator, who brings a divine, spiritual element into Alma's life, although the romance is short-lived.

The Signature of All Things is a very ambitious book about love, adventure and discovery. I did really enjoy reading the story and it certainly wasn't what I expected! Gilbert covers many themes in her novel, such as natural selection, education, love, marriage, sexual identity, feminism, the abolition of slavery and early exploration.

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Elephant Moon
99p kindle price
£8.99 RRP

This book is based on the true story of the elephant-men during World War 2 who rescued refugees. The topic of this book is interesting as it is set in Burma during WW2 where tensions were high between the Burmese and the British colonials. With the threat of the Japanese Imperial Army edging closer each day, the situation in Burma becomes more and more unstable. The protagonist is British schoolteacher, Grace Collins. With help from an Indian Jemadar and the elephant-men, she attempts to get her students, 62 Anglo-Burmese orphans, to safety in India.

With such a promising setting and exciting story-line, I did expect a bit more from this book. The characters were underdeveloped and at times I really didn't care about some of them. Out of all the drama and misfortune that befalls the group, the only moment that really pulled on my heartstrings was when Mother elephant loses her baby. I think that says a lot really.

Eragon: Book One

£3.99 kindle price
£7.99 RRP

By far my FAVOURITE of all the books I have read this summer. There are dragons, elves, dwarves, urgals, shades, sorcerers and even werecats! I think this is supposed to be a children's book but the vocabulary is definitely more sophisticated and I like it! HOURS have been happily spent reading this book, I even ignored Ryan in the car a few times to sneak in just one more chapter. The story is about fifteen year old Eragon who lives and works on a farm with his uncle and cousin. They don't have money and life is pretty grim until Eragon finds an unusual blue stone in the Spine (a scary forest by the mountains). When the stone turns out to be a dragon hatchling that has chosen Eragon to be their rider, his life changes forever. The story is an ongoing adventure through the dangerous lands of the Empire with many twists, turns and battles wherever he goes. I'm now on the second book of the series and I'm still as hooked as ever!

It turns out that people on Good Reads don't like this book at all, claiming Paolini stole ideas from Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and every other story on the planet....but when did I ever like what everyone else does ;)  Eragon does have some points unoriginality but I feel that gives it more familiarity for the reader and I have definitely been absorbed into Paolini's world.

Suitcase Dates

Keep up to date with my Summer adventures through my shared travel blog Suitcase Dates :)

beginnings and endings

"In life, there are no true beginnings or endings. Events flow into each other, and the more you try to isolate them in a container, the more they spill over the side."

Gavin Extence -The Universe Versus Alex Woods

Tuesday 22nd July 2014 was a very important day. It was was a day for goodbyes, thank yous, congratulations and celebrations. It was the day I finally completed my year as a newly qualified teacher and I felt awesome!! The time had also come to say goodbye to my first teaching job, my first classroom, my first colleagues and the first class that were all my responsibility. My facebook feed was full of university friends that were congratulating themselves on completing a tough year and perhaps shedding a tear or two. 

I want to say a massive WELL DONE to each and every one of you! It has been one of the most difficult years of my life and I am so proud of all that I have achieved and the emotional mountains I have had to climb and conquer! 

I must admit that I am ready to move on now, I didn't shed a single tear when I left school on Tuesday evening and I still haven't! You might think of me as heartless but I see that journeys come to an end but the memories last a life time. Having a case of itchy feet, I don't tend to stay in one place for long - I recently had to sit in the co-op bank and explain why I have had six addresses over the last four years!

New adventures and exciting journeys are what I am looking forward to now. Finishing my NQT year only means it is time for celebrations, a month of travel and to continue with my TEFL course. I will of course look back with fond memories of the past year, but my heart is focused on enjoying the present and feeling excited for future escapades.

Bon Voyage

It is ALMOST the summer holidays. I can feel the end but I'm just not quite there yet. Of course I'm not totally jealous of my friends who have broken up for the Summer already ;) We are finally winding down at work ready for the Summer with performances, barbeques and picnics on the field but going in for two days this week seems like a really silly idea. My mind is now on a one track mission for some serious relaxation and fun this Summer!! I've already started to switch off at the weekends and have been spending less time working since I finished my reports. Last weekend I was in Yarm visiting Sam and had my first ever horse riding lesson! There are children in my class that could have done a much better job but it was exciting to try something new.

This weekend was spent lazing around, finishing a few jobs, eating yummy food and finally doing some Summer shopping. I visited Boots and stocked up on goodies with Summery scents such as Batiste Oriental Dry Shampoo and Organix Coconut Milk Shampoo. York was full of shops that were having sales so I spent three hours ambling round the cobbled streets and visiting some of my favourite places. I picked up some beautiful silver earrings from Accessorize with 50% off. The peach coloured dress below I found on the sale rail in Dorothy Perkins for £17 and the monochrome dress was a charity shop bargin at just £5!

As well as spending my hard-earned wages on cute girly things, I have been saving up for my Summer plans. Luckily Ryan is organised and has planned a road trip for us through France and Spain for a few weeks. We are taking my car and all Ryan's camping gear and stopping with friends and family along the way. I am finally visiting my cousin and her baby in the South of France which is very exciting! After France we are hopefully stopping off in Barcelona where we had our first holiday together and then spending a week gatecrashing at a villa in Spain that my family have booked.

The whole point of our little road trip is to explore and discover areas that we might want to live in. Ryan has always wanted to live in France and I'm up for a change with my itchy feet (six addresses in the past 4 years!). We took a trip to the Vangarde Shopping Centre in York today as I haven't been before and we soon ended up in the home section of John Lewis. I fell in love with their whole Mexican collection! I am obssessed with having my own place one day so I can decorate it... just take a look at my homey Pinterest board. I know I'm crazy :)

Ryan wants to start a new blog together that have pictures and details of our travels as we go. Hopefully by my next post I will know more about our plans!

à bientôt!

Busy Living.

You may have assumed that either nothing interesting has been happening in my life to blog about or that I am so busy doing interesting things that I haven't had time to blog. I shall let you make what you will of my absence in the blogosphere lately!

I do miss my University days when I would have whole weekends to spend at my leisure; blogging, volunteering, shopping or drinking a caramel latte with friends. My time seems to disappear so quickly nowadays that I hadn't realised my blog had slipped away for two whole months! I'm making a pact with myself to blog more often but only when there is something I want to write about rather than forcing a weekly post. So... I hear you asking. What exactlly have I been up to?

Tour De France Fever

It's all been very exciting living in Yorkshire this year as we are hosting the Grand Départ of the Tour de France. There has been bunting flying around for months and yellow bikes cropping up all over the place! I have been doing some Tour de France activities with my class at school but on the weekends too! A few weeks ago I helped paint a mural on York's route 66 cycle track with Edible York and yesterday I enjoyed myself at a street party where we enjoyed a yellow jersey lemon cake! 

Vegetable Education

Ryan is always trying to teach me more about growing and living a more sustainable lifestyle. He recently got a job with the permaculture association in Leeds which is right up his street. I've been helping out at YUMI community garden and went on an interesting workshop about medicinal herbs too.

 

Arty-farty Stuff

After re-discovering my creative passion, during our stay in the yurt back in February, I have been saying YES to all things arty. I've already mentioned the mural painting but it was good fun. I used to ride my bike past there each week while I was at University and I was glad to see it spruced up a bit and spreading a positive message - painting with a purpose! Yesterday Ryan asked me to add illustrations to some permaculture posters. He is away at an event in London and apparently my design has gone down really well so far :)

Life Decisions

Not many people know that I have been having a really difficult year in my career. I have a job and I love being in the classroom but there are a lot of things that would be unprofessional to discuss on my blog! I'm taking up supply teaching as of September to allow more freedom in my life alongside completing my TEFL qualification! Ryan has been harping on about moving to France ever since we met and I agree that it would be a great move. It's still a plan in progress but that doesn't stop me looking at cute French houses on Pinterest!

Usual Ryan Adventures

Most weekends we have something or other planned, even if I have been busy writing reports lately! A few of our recent visits have been to Nunnington Hall and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Both well worth a visit!

 On the 5th June we had been together for one whole year. It seems like so much longer than that, but here's to another year of many more life changes and adventures!