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Virginia Woolf

Book Haul

September Book Haul

I have a problem: I can’t stop buying books. My tastes have changed dramatically over the last few months so I’ve been discovering lots of new books and therefore can’t resist buying them all. I suppose there are worse problems to have!

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As soon as I saw the new re-issues of Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie‘s books, I had already mentally bought them. I’ve wanted to read her books for a long time, but have only so far gotten to We Should All be Feminists – which I think is essential reading for everyone! 4th Estate have brought out these new gorgeous editions of Purple HibiscusHalf of a Yellow SunThe Thing Around Your Neck and Americanah, which I think will really encourage me to read her books soon.

I’ve also been collecting the Penguin English Library series recently so I picked out a few more to add to my ever-growing pile. I bought The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne because I’ve been studying Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy recently and The Scarlet Letter, although American, has similar themes of sin and the idea of purity. So I thought it would be some good extended reading!

I then added Silas Marner to my collection of George Eliot novels; I started reading Middlemarch a few months ago and am liking it (although I’m struggling to find the time to read it amongst all of my other books – it’s massive!), so I thought I’d try some more George Eliot soon. I don’t know much about it but I do love the purple hue of the spine.

Two Charles Dickens novels then – A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations. I read A Christmas Carol at school a few years ago but can’t remember much of it other than the basic storyline so I’d like to revisit it before Christmas this year. I watched the BBC miniseries of Great Expectations a few years ago and really enjoyed it, but it’s never felt right to read it until now. So I’m expecting good things!

And then because I consider Thomas Hardy among my favourite authors, I bought The Mayor of Casterbridge and Two on a Tower. I am incredibly excited to read these because I’m in love with Hardy’s Wessex and could read his books all day, every day. I LOVE them!!

There is then The Woman in White and The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, which I didn’t know too much about beforehand but have been recommended to me by lots of people in the last few weeks. They’re mystery novels and Wilkie Collins was one of the authors who inspired Agatha Christie, so I’m sure they’ll be brilliant, even if they are slightly different to what I’d usually read.

Finally for my Penguin English Library pile, I bought Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray. I have no idea when I’m going to get round to reading this huge book, but it was loved by Charlotte Brontë, which is why I want to read it. My Brontë obsession is getting out of hand!

The final three books are all by Vita Sackville West – The Edwardians, Pepita and All Passion Spent. Vintage have reissued these editions recently, and I knew I had to buy them. It’s my aim to read as many Bloomsbury and Virginia Woolf-related books as I can, and Vita Sackville-West was a friend of Virginia Woolf and partly inspired her book, Orlando!

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From Hachette, I was sent Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, the sequel to Six of Crows. I’m looking forward to reading them back to back, even if I didn’t love Leigh Bardugo’s other book, Shadow and Bone.

Also part of my quest to read Bloomsbury-related books, I bought The Waste Land and other poems by T.S. Eliot. The Waste Land was first published by The Hogarth Press, Virginia and Leonard Woolf’s publishing company and I also love poetry, so I can’ wait to read this. It’s a staple part of the poetry canon, in my opinion, so I’m hoping to read it ASAP.

I had recently read a little bit on John Keats’s life, so I thought I’d check out some of his poetry. He died tragically young and his life is very interesting to read about. I don’t know a lot about his poetry, so I’m looking forward to exploring it soon!

Anne of Green Gables is a children’s classic – but I’ve never read it, and I’m sure I’m missing out! I love the Vintage Children’s Classics editions and they even have fun little activities in the back. I can’t wait to start this series!

I first heard about Grief is the Thing with Feathers last year, when I did work experience in a bookshop. I’d been intrigued ever since, so finally bought a copy now that the paperback has been released and people are talking about it lots again. I did buy the hardback though!

Finally, because of my obsession with Virginia Woolf, I found this copy of The Charleston Bulletin Supplements which was written by Virginia’s nephews and which she contributed to too. I’d never heard of this before so it was a lovely surprise to find!

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Isabel Greenberg is one of my favourite graphic novelists so when I first heard about her new one, The One Hundred Nights of Hero, I was incredibly excited. Her artwork is amazing and couples with her ability to weave incredible, fairytale-like stories which makes for a magical reading experience. I’m going to curl up with it one weekend and devour the amazing stories within!

Another graphic novelist I like is Nina Cosford, who has previously published little graphic novels on the lives of Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf, and her latest book is My Name is Girl which looks like it’s going to offer a funny insight into the mind of being a woman. I’m looking forward to it lots!

And the final book on my pile is this gorgeous collection of three Brontë novels, published by Barnes and Noble. It was gifted to me by my lovely friend Lauren and I did feel rather emotional when she gave it to me – it’s one of the best gifts EVER. I’m incredibly in love with it and would take it everywhere with me if I didn’t think it would get damaged if I did. THANK YOU, Lauren!


Those were the books that fell in to my hands in September! I’m estimating that October will be a far less busy month in terms of book buying because I don’t think I have any more room for more books!

What books did you get in September? Are there any on my list that you think I should read immediately?

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Writing

Writing Validation & “Not Being Good Enough”

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I’ve reached to a stand-still whilst working on my manuscript at the moment. I didn’t realise fully, until now, how solitary writing can be, how it’s just me typing away at my laptop – I’m the only one writing the words, developing them in my brain to put onto paper. These collected thoughts add up to create a greater picture – a story – that I hope one day people will read, but for now it’s just me. For the first draft, it is my thoughts alone that craft the world.

In the digital age we are in, it’s easier to rope other people in that can make us feel like this solitary environment isn’t so lonely after all. We can tweet about our word counts (usually when they’re high, but sometimes when they’re low), we can call on people for motivation. I don’t like to think I need the validation, to rely on other people to make me feel good about my writing even if they’re not actually reading the words I’ve written, but lately I’ve been forgetting the enjoyment of writing and doing it to one-up myself and then tweeting about it to prove my point.

I love social media but I’ve realised that the numbers game (the striving for more followers, a bigger reach, etc.) has walked over to my writing and taken over big time. Instead of writing a scene because I want to, because I’ll enjoy getting it written, I’ve been thinking about it in terms of numbers – how many words will this add today, how fast can I write it? It’s blurring the lines between writing because I’m passionate about it and writing because I feel like I have to do it. 

I’ve also currently been finding company in other books. I can simultaneously avoid working on my novel and try to glean writing advice from within the pages of timeless classics, but I have discovered that this has the potential to be harmful to my productivity and self-esteem. You see, I’ve come to realise that I can read as much Virginia Woolf as I want but I’ll never write like Virginia Woolf because I am not Virginia Woolf. I find her stream of consciousness so beautiful and lyrical but comparing my writing to her writing in the process will not help anyone – if I tried to replicate it, it would be just that: a replica of Virginia Woolf’s writing.

I sometimes wonder if I didn’t occupy this corner of the Internet, if I didn’t keep up with this blog and involve myself in the writing community, if I would still write. It’s the demon lurking in the depths of my head – “You wouldn’t be doing this if you didn’t know other writers.”

So I try to remind myself now – I have always loved writing. I take comfort in leaking words out through my typing fingers and making sense of them once they’re in front of me. Writing to me is like breathing; I can’t live without writing, just like I can’t live without breathing.

Here is my advice to myself: Write because you love it, because if you don’t you’ll go insane with the words building up in your head. Write for YOU – anyone else is a bonus.

Sunday Diary

EXAMS, EXAMS, EXAMS! | Sunday Diary

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Hello, lovely readers!

It seems like a long time since I sat down and wrote a blog post; things have been quite manic around here! I thought I’d catch you up on all that I’ve been up to in this post and hopefully fill you in.

What I’ve Been Up To

It’s exam season at the moment, so of course my brain is floating around in a world of revision and my hands are aching from writing constantly for hours. At the time of writing this, I have 13 exams left to go and have done 7 – I feel like I’m actually making a dent in them now! I can’t wait to finish, but I only have a month left now. I’m sure it will go quickly! Good luck to everyone else doing exams at the moment!

I also had my last day at school on Thursday. It’s crazy to think it’s all coming to an end, but it’s nice to be on study leave now and have more time to revise (and read. Did you think I wouldn’t take advantage of the extra reading time?)

One of my favourite things at the moment is ICE CREAM. I cannot get enough of it! How can you resist when it looks like this anyway..?

What I’ve Been Reading

Mainly, lots of revision guides. Being so all over the place with exams has meant that I’ve hit a tiny reading slump and am reading about fifty books at once, which is never helpful. However, there are a few books I’ve been enjoying:

  • Girl Up by Laura Bates, which is a great feminist read for teens. I’ll be doing a full review once I’ve finished it because I’ve loved it so much. Highly recommended from me!
  • Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – I’ve been meaning to read it for YEARS but picked it up on a whim last night and I am hooked. I’ll hopefully finish this over the summer!
  • Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf – I have no idea when I’ll finish this, even though it’s very good and I’m liking it, but it’s not one of my priorities at the moment. It’s the kind of book that takes ages to read just one page and that isn’t helping with my reading slump at the moment!

How has your week been? Are you reading anything good at the moment? Let me know by leaving some love in the comments!