These are a few of my favourite things #13

 

Books:

A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement 

and a Vision for the Future by David Attenborough

I really enjoyed this book. It had a nice balance of the nitty-gritty and a vision for a more hopeful future on planet earth. As an autobiography I found his experiences really interesting. In his words for the future there were some significant concepts I hadn’t heard a lot about such as demographic transition, marine protected areas, ocean forestry as well as some other terms.

I would say this book is a starting point and it’s good to read up on climate change from all angles. The book was very accessible which is great because I think people will be more likely to read it. David Attenborough’s narration was a treat and listened along to it while reading the book. I found it easy to digest.

Create Your Own Calm by Becky Goddard-Hill

This is a children’s self-help book, giving tips and advice to manage stress or down thoughts. I felt this would be a manageable read for seven years or above. Reading it as an adult, I still gained some insights. Words such as cognitive distortions, emotional ‘anchors’ and feeling ‘hangry’.

I consider children’s self-help books to be still quite niche. I can’t remember coming across a book like this before. I would imagine it triggers some interesting talking points. The writing was straightforward and kind. I also liked the way it was set out.

Gizzi's Season's Eatings: Feasts & Celebrations from 

Halloween to Happy New Year by Gizzi Erskine

This is a recipe book for the A/W months and the gear up to Christmas. It’s beautifully presented, including lots of aesthetically pleasing photos. I did gain some inspiration but I don’t think I’m the target audience. I can see the appeal, although I think my Christmas would look very different to the authors. It would make an appealing coffee table book.

My favourite recipes included curried eggs, clementine and ginger trifle, and the French dip Christmas left over sandwich. I liked the advice sections covering things like how to set a table, how to organize a fireworks night and when to prepare food for the festive season. I would recommend this book to 20-30 year olds who adore going all out with Christmas, or anyone with an eye for food photography.

A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

This book asks some really big questions about us, the cosmos, and life itself. It’s a science book that is accessible for children or adults. Some of the remarkable things I learnt include how space curves in a way which allows it to have no actual edge or boundary, but at the same time allows it to be finite.

Mind-bendingly, according to some scientists we may be only one of millions of advanced civilizations. I enjoyed revising my knowledge of atoms and some of Einstein’s famous ideas. I couldn’t recommend this book enough as it certainly piqued my interest. It’s one of those topics that fascinates me.

The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber

The premise of this was really fun. Cassie wants to find a perfect match for the holidays. She hires Simon, professional matchmaker to find her ideal partner. The Christmas tasks that she had to do made the book for me, for example being a charity bell ringer, being Santa’s elf, and hosting a Christmas meal. 

The side-characters are well written and the humour was lovely throughout. I read the book in two days; I glided through it. If you are after something Christmassy, I would recommend this. The story was perfectly festive and cheesy, pure escapism.

TV:

An Audience with Adele on ITV

There’s been a big buzz around Adele lately. I’d been mostly watching video clips on YouTube and listening to her new album on Spotify but my Dad mentioned a TV programme called An Audience with Adele and I thought I would give it a go.

Adele performs songs from her new album, along with some old favourites. In the audience, there were a mixture of celebrities and fans. The music paused occasionally for the audience to ask questions, and for Adele to chat. My favourite songs are hold on and easy on me, and they were performed beautifully live.

Podcast:

Living Smart Podcast

I’d been trying to find some engaging environmental podcasts to listen to and stumbled across this one. It’s based in Australia covering topics such as getting creative with rubbish, solar panels, circular economies, sustainable neighbourhoods, and much more. Most of the podcasts are around 20 minutes long, so pretty bitesize. It’s run by an Australian city council, and I’ve been enjoying making my way through the episodes.

Beauty:

The Body Shop Black Musk Fragrance Mist

I asked my local body shop representative for a Christmassy fragrance recommendation and she mentioned this one. The scent is perfect for winter, the mist lasts a long time after spraying and I would recommend it to others. This product is vegan, has the cruelty-free leaping bunny logo, has 95% ingredients of natural origin and the packaging is recyclable. 

Top notes: Pear, pink pepper and bergamot.

Mid notes: Liquorice root 

Base notes: Black vanilla and black musk. 

Do you have any christmassy book recs for me?

Did you catch An Audience with Adele on TV too? :-) Xx

Recent Reads Reviewed #19

The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin - 5/5

The story of Sarah, the characters she meets while in Paris and the bookshop swap between her and Sophie really drew me in. There was a real emphasis on the beauty of literature and books throughout, and some really lovely poetic verses. I’ve never been to Paris but from the descriptions of the city in this, I felt like I was there for myself. A rollercoaster of tense, romantic and sugary sweet moments; I thoroughly enjoyed this addictive, escapist read.

Dressage (Usborne Riding School) by Gill Harvey - 5/5

I noticed this book on a shelf at the library and on the whim of enjoying horse riding in the past I decided to pick it up. I used to go horse riding a few years back, I did a bit of trekking on the local beach in a group as well as a few private lessons to improve my skills. I’ve not had dressage training but I was quite inquisitive to learn a bit about it.

This book was a perfect introduction and I surprised myself with how much I learnt. The book covers key terms, tricks and tips as well as diagrams and photos to explain. When I watch dressage on the TV, I feel like I would now have more insight into the sport. Overall it was a very interesting and inspiring read that I would recommend!

The Nine Lives of Christmas by Sheila Roberts - 5/5

The story focuses on Ambrose the cat, who is in danger of losing his ninth and final life, makes a deal with his creator. Ambrose meets his new owner Zach and encourages a romance with pet store assistant Merilee, as a couple they are lovely and together Ambrose hopes for a happy ninth life as a family.

The chapters from the cat’s point of view were really good fun, and it made me want a cat of my own. The concept of this book, and the way the author wrote about cats worked well. I couldn’t fault the story in any way, it was a lovely, warm hearted Christmas read.

The Oxford Treasury of Christmas Poems by Michael Harrison - 3/5

I was looking for some light reading to rediscover the true meaning of Christmas and I was successful with this collection of poems. Aimed at children but also appropriate for adults, they cover the religious side of Christmas with some traditional poems as well some more festive and seasonal.

The quality of poems varied a little, I think maybe some were written by children but I found many had a lovely sentiment to them. My favourites were the classics such as The Twelve Days of Christmas which brought back childhood memories of singing. I give this book 3/5 because while I enjoyed reading it, some poems were better than others.

An English Boy in New York by T.S. Easton - 5/5

This was one of my favourite and most memorable reads of 2018. It’s actually the second book in the series, and although I’ve not read the first book, it can be read as a standalone. We follow Ben who has been invited to New York for a knitting convention. He absolutely loves knitting, and is excited to take along his girlfriend for a trip of a lifetime. Unfortunately she pulls out, and he ends up taking his unreliable friend, Gex. I found this book highly inventive, original and laugh out loud funny. I intend to lend out the first book from the library, Boys Don’t Knit sometime soon.

Thrifty Ways For Modern Days by Martin Lewis - 5/5

This was a very insightful book full of tips to help readers become thriftier in every aspect of their lives. My favourite chapters include growing your own, clothing, gifts, and Christmas. I came away inspired to be inventive with living better for less. I might reread this one sometime soon, as I’ve been getting more into sustainability since I first read it.

There's Something About Christmas by Debbie Macomber - 4/5

Every year around December time, the past couple of years I’ve read a Debbie Macomber book. All her books are pure escapism and I have a soft spot for the Christmas themed ones. There are two stories in this collection, which were both enjoyable reads. In the first story we follow journalist, Emma who is assigned to interview the finalists in a Christmas cake contest. Along the way she meets pilot, Oliver who gives her a ride to her destination in a helicopter. The romance is fun and flirty, and I would recommend it. The second story was much shorter and was about a touching Christmas miracle which I found quite sweet.

Do you like Christmas fiction too?

Which of these reads interested you the most? :-) Xx

Christmas Themed Library Book Haul

Recently I requested some Christmas chick lit books from the library and thought it would be quite interesting to feature a haul on my blog. I’ve already read two from this haul, and enjoyed them both. Also there’s a few others which I loaned more recently since then. Reviews will be coming up, but meanwhile here’s a list of the books I picked up. Let me know if you’ve been reading any Christmas fiction over December, I would love to hear about it.

Books I acquired from the library:

Nine Lives of Christmas by Sheila Roberts (Read)

The Chocolate Lovers Christmas by Carole Matthews (Read)

It Must Have Been the Mistletoe by Judy Astley 

Angels in the Snow by Sarah Morgan

A Christmas Cracker by Trisha Ashley 

The Little Teashop of Lost and Found by Trisha Ashley 

Have you heard of any of these books or authors?

Do you have any Christmas literature recommendations? :-) Xx