Book Review: The Book Thief

A new book review has been a long time coming for this blog, but having a book-a-week to read for my course has made reading for pleasure a little difficult. I've wanted to read The Book Thief for quite a while now after a few people have recommended it, so I was very happy to get myself a copy and actually have time to read it! I spent the beginnings of my Christmas holidays completely glued to this novel, but when I got a bit bogged down with assignments and revision I found myself reading about a chapter a week. But yesterday I finished exams and assignments so have been reading almost constantly since then, which is why I've managed to get through the second half of the book so quickly!

The Book Thief is a novel narrated by death that follows the life of Liesel Meminger (or, the book thief) following her little brother's death at the beginning of WWII in Germany. For a novel narrated by death, it is surprisingly heart-warming and the characters are beautifully formed- my particular favourites were Hans Hubermann (Liesel's caring foster father) and Max (the jew hiding in their basement who writes picture books). The character of the book thief herself is lovely too, making the conclusion to the novel pretty heartbreaking- but obviously I don't want to give anything away. My favourite part of the novel was the little inserts such as 'Here is a small fact: You are going to die' and 'A strange word: Kommunist' that break up the main body of text through and bring Death and reader close together. I also loved that all of the chapters were named- there's something about named chapters that always makes me happy. All I can say is that I definitely recommend The Book Thief and I'm very glad I found the time to read it! Apologies for the shoddy review, though, it's been a while. Next up is Kasuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day (which I bought today and am very excited about!).

Thoughts on...saying goodbye to 2013

Thought I'd do a fairly typical post about the good stuff that happened to me in 2013. If you follow my Tumblr it's already on there, so apologies!

As a whole, 2013 has been pretty great- even given the amount that has changed. It started horribly but has ended brilliantly, and I can't help but compare how much happier I am now than I was this time last year. (not really hard, eh- considering I entered 2013 crying and having to be looked after by my ace friends)

Education-wise this was a bloody great year, I worked hard for my exams and it all paid off, meaning I was able to go to Southampton to study English which I really wanted to do. I'm so glad I went there because I have met some of the best people and have been lucky enough to leave with people I am now very close too! The course itself has been manageable for the most part and I'm really looking forward to having more choice next year. I also passed my driving test in March which was kind of cool (except for those that have been driven by me!).

Obviously universities/other plans meant leaving the girls and everyone here would be hard but we had the best summer to make up for it. Our little jaunt to Sheringham was absolutely lovely, and Reading with Darcy and Holly was amazing as expected- among all the other little trips to the pub and what not that made the summer so great. I also got into a new relationship with Dan (3 weeks before buggering off to Southampton, great timing hey?) and he is just bloody great and makes me very happy. 

Goals for 2014:

• read more
• go 'gallivanting' again- preferably somewhere outside of England!
• get a 2:1 (or above, if possible) in my first year of university
• see more live music
• buy lots more vinyl
• dye my hair pretty colours
• save up some money for going away and other nice things
• maybe (probably not) be a little bit more healthy!
• write on this blog more often
• write more letters to people (i.e. Granny and Chloe)

So, that's it really. Happy New Year everyone!

Los Campesinos! at Heaven, Under the Arches (London)

Yesterday, Dan and I went off to London to see one of my favourite bands (for the fourth time!), supported by Joanna Gruesome who were also ace. This time I'm pretty sure we were that crazy drunk couple singing and dancing to every song, and I really couldn't care less because I had the best time ever. Great company and great music go very, very well together (and being a bit drunk made it even better).

For once I put all of my things in the cloakroom so I didn't manage to take any pictures, but I'm actually pretty glad about that because it meant I didn't have to worry about anything and I could just enjoy all of it. I've had to look up the set list because everything was a bit of a crazy blur of dancing and singing, but it was as follows:

1. As Lucerne/The Low
2. By Your Hand
3. Romance is Boring
4. What Death Leaves Behind
5. Death to Los Campesinos!
6. A Heat Rash in the Shape of the Show Me State; or, Letters from Me to Charlotte
7. For Flotsam
8. Hello Sadness
9. Glue Me
10. We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
11. Cemetery Gaits
12. Songs About Your Girlfriend
13. Let it Spill
14. Avocado, Baby
15. You! Me! Dancing!
16. The Sea is a Good Place to Think about the Future
17. Heart Swells/Pacific Daylight Time (Encore)
18. Straight in at 101 (Encore)
19. Baby I Got the Death Rattle (Encore)

Every song is a favourite, really, but my highlights were definitely Romance is Boring, Glue Me and, as always, The Sea.

I was so sad for the gig to be over, especially as we had to be done by 10pm and the band had to go to work the next day. Work! It seemed so unfair that people who had the power to make people have the time of their lives have to go back to a day job the next day, but I'm so glad I got to be there at the end of the tour (despite the fact that we couldn't be joined by Kate whom I miss very much). Everyone should go to see them and buy their wonderful merchandise that was featured here! Walking around the prettily lit London with Dan afterwards was also the most lovely way to finish off the evening, and props to the couple we found on the Christmas tree instalment at Embankment who helped us to light up the tree.

Los Campesinos!- No Blues Appreciation

After a really ace weekend at home it was lovely to return to Southampton and pick up my LC! bundle! Because of the mishap with printing, it's been a longer wait than we would have hoped- but it was so worth the wait. Coloured vinyl is always a lovely surprise, and the pink of No Blues is great. Wonderful artwork as ever, and I really like the print it came with! The album itself is amazing, and may be edging its way into my number 1 spot for LC! albums, but my heart is still clinging to WAB, WAD at the moment. And after spending the majority of today listening to it I'm even more excited for their gig next Monday! Bit of a brief little post but I've got to head off to work very soon, so just enjoy the pretty pictures rather than my rubbish description.

Frightened Rabbit at The Union, Southampton

Having bought my ticket back in September some time after seeing Frightened Rabbit's ace Reading Festival set, and totally forgetting about it, I had a nice surprise this week when I remembered I was seeing them at The Union yesterday. I managed to miss the first act, Paul Thomas Saunders, due to buses and what not, but arrived in time to see Lanterns on the Lake. I'd forgotten how much I loved live music and it was brilliant to see a band I didn't know and really enjoy them! My favourite song of theirs was Kingdom, and I was oh so close to buying their album from the merch stand but dragged myself away. 

After a short interlude Frightened Rabbit opened their set with Holy, which is one of my favourite songs of theirs. In honesty, I don't know the band all that well so it was nice to hear something I knew from the start! Despite my lack of knowledge of much of the band's stuff prior to Pedestrian Verse (yes, I was one of 'those' mentioned by Scott who only really know Woodpile) I really enjoyed the whole set- even if I did spend most of it wishing I'd listened to them more because they were so bloody good. As always at a gig, you get the people who are 'too cool' to let loose and bop around, kind of skulk around the outskirts (this was me, though less 'cool' more just solitary), the very keen people who like to jump around a little too much, and the fairly drunk middle-aged people dancing around wildly and having an amazing time. I was really jealous of a couple in front of me who were belting out every single song, dancing a lot, and loving every second of it. And props to the nice guys who complimented my crazy trousers.

Being a little person my pictures at gigs always suck, but the lights were really pretty so I took some anyway...

This gig has made me even more excited for seeing Los Campesinos! in just under a month's time with Kate and Daniel. Expect a review of that too!

Quote of the Day

"Realise you can be happy at this moment for no reason. Otherwise, you eternally depend on your conditions for happiness. Unconscious of this moment, you remain a victim of circumstances"

-Arthur D. Saftlass 

Update: University, life, and what not

It's safe to say I have been THE worst blogger ever recently. Even my Mum has told me I need to post more. So I thought the best way would be to do a little update on recent goings on! A list is probably easiest- I really haven't done anything all that interesting.

• Daniel came to stay for a few days which was amazing
• I got a job! (at a pub in town)
• I completed my first Film assignment ON TIME
• I went home for the first time which was ever so lovely
• I have been writing to Chlo and Granny which I am enjoying a lot
• I have a tattoo booked for next Wednesday! (a wishbone at the top of my stomach)
• I have not had ANY time to read anything outside of my course books (other than a collection of Kurt Vonnegut's stories recently)
• I have been going out a lot
• At halloween I dressed up as Mia Wallace but didn't have a five dollar shake
• Aaaand up to most recently, today I went to a vintage fair in town!

Apologies for a slightly rubbishy update, but I am supposed to be editing my abysmal essay so should probably get to it rather than writing this and eating scones. I'm going to see Frightened Rabbit in a week so I will no doubt blog about that, but until then...goodbye! (and I will try to think of more interesting things to post I promise!)

my face today