Sunday 30 June 2013

New Discovery

Morning everyone, hope you've had a good weekend and are enjoying the nicer weather we've been having lately! I'm spending the next few days South of London so I had to spend a long time on a train coming down on the train. I only had a couple of books lying about and more importantly, I am not a massive fan of reading on trains. I'd heard a lot about Audible online and from various YouTubers and decided to give it a shot.

For those of you who have never heard of Audible, it is a company owned by Amazon and basically allows you to pay for and download audio books to listen too. You can get a 30 day free trial to start off with and your first download is free. So I downloaded 'Delirium' by Lauren Oliver and started listening on the train. Audible is brilliant, I have found over the past few years that I have less and less time to actually sit down and read books so having the ability to listen to books without stopping is really useful. For 'Delirium' at least, the girl reading is clear and you can adjust the reading speed. So I'm converted, it's great and I definitely will continue after the 30 day free trial! 

Delirium is brilliant so far, Lauren Oliver's books are already pretty famous and I wanted to read them for a while, I haven't even got half way through yet but I love the writing style. However until I've finished I can't do a proper review so I'll do one next week once I'm finished. 

To get Audible, just type it into Google and go via that, it's incredibly simple- especially if you already have an amazon account. As another little tip, as well as your original free download- loads of YouTubers (who are being paid to do this) have included links to a free download- MeghanRosette is one I know for certain but if you type 'audible' into YouTube you can probably find some. 

I hope you guys have a good week and I'll update with another lifestyle post on Wednesday(ish.) Until then, have a good week! 

((Disclaimer: As much as I wish I was being paid for this post- I am not, I just want to spread the word to you guys!!)) 



Thursday 27 June 2013

Favourite Songs; June 2013

Hey guys! Today was in fact my last day of term so I’m officially on holiday, we have 7 weeks off this summer and I really really want to make the most of them. I’ve decided to pursue this blog as a slightly more serious venture and so I’m going to be introducing a few new features over the course of the next couple of months. The first is going to be a monthly playlist of my favourite songs, I’m going to aim to get 15 a month but it may be more or less! Each song is linked to a suitable YouTube video for it so you guys can go and listen to any of these that you’ve not heard! 



1.       She’s Electric/Oasis
2.       Ultraviolet/The Stiff Dylans
3.       Flaws/Bastille (the Abbey Road version because it's perfect!)
4.       All I Want/Kodaline
5.       You Make My Dreams Come True/Hall and Oates
6.       Squealing Pigs/Admiral Fallow
7.       Lighthouse/Mallory Knox
8.       Hold On/Don Broco
9.       Nothing Left to Say/Imagine Dragons
10.   Everybody Talks/Neon Trees
11.   If I Had a Gun/Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
12.   Put Your Records On/Corrine Bailey Rae
13.   Do I Wanna Know/Arctic Monkeys
14.   Perfect World/Kodaline

15.   What You’re Thinking/Passenger ft Josh Pyke 

Kodaline also get a special mention for being my favourite band this month, 'All I Want' has been a really fitting song for me this month so naturally it's been on repeat a lot. 'Do I Wanna Know' is brilliant too, the Arctic Monkeys have cemented their place in the 'favourite bands' list. There's an idea for a post one day. Hope you guys like this new feature and if you have any ideas for other weekly/monthly posts then drop me a tweet, ask or comment! 

Twitter: @icantfindrachel
Tumblr: www.angels-choking-on-their-halos.tumblr.com
Instagram: rachel_smith_


Sunday 23 June 2013

The Knife of Never Letting Go

Evening everyone! How fast has this weekend gone? I am actually staying at family's this weekend so if there is any editing or layout issues with this post then I will fix them as soon as I can get on a laptop! As promised, I am going back to basics this week and doing a plain old book review. I tend to go through phases of reading, I either read a book in a day or it takes me 3 months to finish it. I've been going through a slow period lately and one book which has really taken me a while has been 'The Knife of Never Letting Go,' the first book in the 'Chaos Walking'. Now, this has nothing to do with the book, as I really enjoyed it, it's just how I work. 



The plot of TKONLG is basically ''Todd Hewitt is the only boy left in Prentisstown, a small settlement on 'New World' where all boys become men at the age of 13. He is told that all women and half the men have been killed by a ‘germ’ released by the native species on his planet known as the Spackle. As a side effect of this germ, the remaining men in Prentisstown can hear each other's thoughts, described as ‘Noise’. Todd, however, is soon forced to escape after discovering an area where there is no noise.  two men immediately force him to leave Prentisstown. While Todd is escaping, they are attacked by the town preecher, Aaron, Todd and Manchee manage to escape him, Todd comes across the spot of silence and meets the girl who is causing the silence. He slowly discovers that her name is Viola and they begin traveling together.'' (That was summarised from Wikipedia because I'm lazy.) 



The book is narrated by Todd which is interesting because the author, Patrick Ness, writes in the same way Todd would speak (like Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye.) This makes for a lot of subtlety funny moments as Todd attempts to keep up with what is happening to him. The plot moves relatively quickly and Todd and Viola's relation is especially well developed. My only problem with the book is that the end is really unsatisfactory, it's left on a cliffhanger. Now, I did standard grade English last year, which is like GCSE level and one of the rules my English teacher swore by was 'don't end books on a cliffhanger.' THIS SHOULD BE HEEDED BY ALL WRITERS. If you are writing a series and you have to leave book one on a cliffhanger in order to make me purchase book two then you're not writing a good enough book one. I was willing and prepared to buy book two before the ending but the cliffhanger has wound me up. It's a personal pet hate of mine as I don't like feeling as though I'm being forced to read the next book in a series. 

Overall though, Ness's writing is wonderful and the book itself has more than warranted the various accolades it has received over the years, the cliffhanger doesn't detract from that or from the overall plot, and I will definitely be buying book two now. So well done Mr Ness, your marketing worked. 

Overall :3.5 /5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 3/5 

I have a post queued for Wednesday so that will be uploaded regardless of whether I'm around or not. I am in London from this Friday for a week so I will have to type up another couple of post for next weekend and the week after and queue them too. Until then, have an amazing week! 


Thursday 20 June 2013

The Social Network

Hello everyone! I hope you're having a good day, well.. I hope you had a good day, since it's pretty late here now. Yay for too much homework and lazy bloggers eh? I do have to apologise for the lack of a book post this weekend, however I am away quite a lot over the next two/three weeks so I'll be on trains which SHOULD mean I get a lot of writing done. In a perfect world I'd love to have a few extra posts ready to stick up whenever I'm too busy to write something new. Perhaps the summer will give me a chance to do that.

As I love to be consistent, this is a pitifully short post today too however I am trying to publicize this blog as much as possible as despite getting a few views a day I feel like I'm not really expanding my audience. So I thought I'd show you guys a few of my other social networking sites that I use! 

Twitter 

My twitter is well used and loved, I've been ranting and raving on this thing for the best part of 2 years and it shows in the number of tweets. I use it daily and I am always reachable on it so PLEASE do tweet me, even just tweet  a ':)' to let me know you've read this post! I'll link it right here! Also, anyone who follows will get followed back, I know it doesn't look like I follow back all the time but I've started doing so over the past few months. 


Tumblr 

Tumblr appears to be the '3rd floor corridor on the right hand side' of the internet. For those non-Potter fans I basically mean it seems to be an area where loads of people don't go because it's deemed dangerous or 'full of porn' or whatever. It's not, it's lovely and allows you to meet and greet loads and loads of people as well as blog about whatever you want without having to worry about deadlines or 'set post dates' or the number of page views you have! I'll link mine here

Look how pretty it is though? It's more Narnia than Azkaban!
Instagram

Instagram should be fairly self explanatory, I take pictures and upload them in the blind hope than some people will 'like' them.. and they do! (Occasionally.) I do love it though and it's great for anyone with an iPhone because you can feel like an experienced pro-photographer just by angling your phone above your half melted ice-cream and sticking on a 'filter' to make it look pretty. Technology eh? My username is @rachel_smith_

'Photography for Dummies' There's an app for that! 

I feel like this was overdue slightly as it's nice to see the face behind the blogger, you'll notice I've used the same picture in practically every social networking site, but then again, don't we all? A selfie is a selfie. Pretty pretty please with bells on top do give me a follow on Tumblr, Twitter or Instagram and if you tell me that this is the particular corner of the internet you found me from then I will give you a shoutout/promo/follow/batch of cookies. 

Have a wonderful week, we're almost at the weekend! 





Wednesday 12 June 2013

What time is it? Summertime!

Aloha everyone! Hope your day has been wonderful, I'm absolutely exhausted- my poor brain is definitely not used to being back at school yet. I am going to have to try to stay awake while writing this! Despite the recent rubbishy weather, summer is JUST around the corner, in fact it is basically upon us already! So to celebrate I've decided to compile a *little* list of some of the things that I think are going to make my summer that little bit better, whether the weather is more Clapton than California or not!

1. Shiny shoes

Whether you are sitting on the beach in sunny Ibiza or trecking the high street in Glasgow, nice shoes, and particuarly nice sandals, are acceptable just as long as the rain isn't chucking it down! I've seen a million and one nice pairs myself, but these are my favourite!

Faux Patent Leather Sandals £18.90
These little beauties are from Forever 21 and they also come in a rather pretty pink and a more grown up beige, but I personally like the blue and will be picking up a pair before I go on holiday! Plus there's a new Forever 21 store in Glasgow (EEEEK!) so there really is NO excuse to not pick them up!
2. Marvellous Music

There is nothing better than walking (or, let's face it, lying down) in the sun with your headphones in and your music blaring! I tend to have a crazy mix of music going on my iPod but I've heard a lot of brilliant new stuff coming out over the past few months and these are a few of my favourites!

Kodaline, Mallory Knox, Imagine Dragons, Don Broco
Basically 'All I Want' by Kodaline is easily up there in my top 10 favourite songs ever, and it's only a few months old. The lyrics are beautiful and it is almost matched by the rest of Kodaline's songs, particuarly High Hopes. I can't wait for their new album which is released in FIVE days! Mallory Knox are a really really new favourite but their album Signals is great, Lighthouse is great for belting out while you're getting ready! Imagine Dragons, I can't even pick a favourite but Nothing Left to Say, Demons and Radioactive are all excellent but the whole of their 'Night Visions' album is fab. Don Broco were introduced to me by a good friend and I can't thank him enough, they've been on repeat lately as they help me get up in the morning and are great for dancing about too. Not good if you're a HORRENDOUS head banger/dancer like me!

3. Holidays!

I'm jetting off to Spain in the autumn for a fortnight and I absolutely can not wait!


Cannot wait until I'm lying on those sun loungers tanning, we only get abroad once a year but we make the most of it and I'm so lucky to be staying in such a beautiful villa!


4. TV Shows

Now, maybe I'm just extremely lazy, or perhaps we all do this, but I don't live in LA so even in the height of summer it can be pretty damn miserable, so I do spend many evenings catching up on the millions of TV shows which I seem to have got emotionally invested in over the past few years!

Just a few of my MANY favourite shows
I'm not going into detail about these but as well as the pictured shows, I love Doctor Who, The Big Bang Theory, Two Broke Girls and Criminal Minds (can we just talk about Spencer Reid?) and many many many more! Perfect for cozying up on a cool summer night!


5. A little bit of pampering

Everyone wants to look good in summer, and as it is no longer acceptable to drown yourself in layers and cozy jumpers I (sadly) have to start making a little bit more of an effort with my appearance! Whip out your fake tan ladies, our milky pins need to be a little more bronzed!

Chanel makeup!


Just some beautiful (and expensive) summery products, I could list many as I'm a little bit of a makeup geek and I'm obsessed with the millions of beauty gurus on Youtube, seriously, give me a haul video and I'm happy for a good 20 minutes! I actually enjoy a little bit of pampering and let's face it, whether you're trying to impress someone, or attempting to live up to the ridiculously high standards set by society, there is no better feeling than freshly shaved legs against clean bedding!

Phew! Hopefully this will have excited you for the upcoming summer, I'm definitely a winter girl but there's a lot to enjoy in the summer, whether we get the weather or not. Here's to a 3 month heatwave! (A girl can dream, right?)

((Please do excuse the cheesey HSM title, I came up with it after having written this post and it's only because I couldn't get the lyrics out of my head the whole time))

See you this weekend!




Sunday 9 June 2013

Most Anticipated Book to Movie Adaptations 2013/2014

Afternoon everybody, is it just me or has this been the quickest week ever? I go back to school after exam leave tomorrow which I'm looking forward too, plus- it's almost summer which is never a bad thing! This weeks post has stemmed from an over-excited evening I spent with a friend investigating all the book to movie adaptations that we were excited for, so here's my top five book to movie adaptations (that make me want to scream with excited-ness) in 2013/2014. 



1. City of Bones (August 2013) 

City of Bones is the first book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, originally meant to be a trilogy, the book have been extended to a series of 6 with the sixth book due to be released early 2014. 


The movie stars Jamie Cambell Bower as main man (and love interest) Jace Wayland, and Lily Collins as Clary Fray, the main character. I'm not going to go into great detail about the plot as I have another post on City of Bones which I'll link here however the book details Clary, an ordinary human, discovering she is able to see the Shadowhunters, demons and other other-worldly creatures. She then confronts Jace, a Shadowhunter, and becomes embroiled in their world. 
Jamie and Lily as Jace and Clary
Many of you will recognise the actor, Robert Sheehan, who played Nathan in Misfits, he stars as Simon, Clary's best friend who gets dragged into the Shadowhunter world with her. The movie also stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kevin Zegers and Aiden Turner. City of Bones looks set to become one of the biggest block-busters of the year and follow in the footsteps of the Harry Potter, Twilight and Hunger Games books. So if you want to be ahead of the curve I strongly recommend reading the books now! 




2. Divergent (March 2014)

Divergent is the first book in a trilogy by Veronica Roth, with the third and final book due for release in October 2013. 



The movie stars Shailene Woodley, who I tip to become a huge actress over the next few years, as she is also starring as Hazel Grace in the upcoming Fault in Our Stars film and as Mary Jane in 'The Amazing Spider Man 2', as Beatrice Prior and Theo James as her love interest Four. 
Shailene Woodley

The movie also features a few big name actors and actresses as Kate Winslet plays the evil Jeanine Matthews and Ansel Elgort, who is also in The Fault in our Stars as Hazels love, Augustus Waters, plays Beatrice's brother Caleb. Like City of Bones, the Divergent series will be attracting massive attention as it nears release and will definitely be one of the biggest films of 2014. The book is amazing too, so give it a read. 


3. The Book Thief (January 2014) 



The Book Thief is adapted from a book of the same name by Marcus Zusak, released in 2006. Narrated by death, the book is set in Nazi Germany. 



The movie doesn't star many well known names, particularly as the main character is a young girl called Liesel, who is played by Sophie Nelisse. However Geoffrey Rush has been cast, although his role is yet to be announced. 
Sophie Nelisse
Despite the relatively close release date, there is very little information about the movie. However the book is unbelievable and well worth a read! 

4. Catching Fire (November 2013) 

Catching Fire is, as many of you will know, the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. 


The book follows Katniss and Peeta's post Hunger Games lives, which take a serious turn for the worse as Katniss is used as the figurehead of an anti-capitol movement. 

The Cast!
Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson return as Katniss and Peeta as does Liam Hemsworth as Gale. The Hunger Games was extremely successful and I have no doubt that Catching Fire will be the same and I will definitely be in the cinema to see it!

5. The Fault in our Stars (sometime 2014) 

The Fault in our Stars is adapted from a book of the same name by John Green. 


The book revolves around Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters, two cancer sufferers, over the course of their relationship. The book topped the New York bestsellers list for ages and is absolutely brilliant as well as being heartbreaking. 
Ansel Elgort
As mentioned earlier, Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort have been cast as the two star-crossed lovers. These two are the only announced actors so far and the film looks to be a late 2014 released which should give you plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the story. 

So there we have it, my top five book to movie adaptations for 2013 and 2014, it's safe to say I will be spending a lot of money at the cinema over the next year. Hope you all have an amazing week and I'll post something soon! 

Rachel x

Friday 7 June 2013

Improve Your Room!

Afternoon everyone! It's been brilliant weather this week where I live and I've managed to char-grill myself to the colour of your average lobster. Excellent. As I've been on study leave I've been spending some time trying to improve my room before summer. However, money doesn't grow on trees, particularly when you're younger and unemployed, so my lifestyle post for this week is an attempt to help you guys, and me, to improve your room for less than £20. Here are my tips!

1. Mirrors 
Mirror: Argos, £19.99
Mirrors both make your room look bigger, and help to brighten them by reflecting light. They come in a million and one different shapes and sizes and can be used both for practical purposes as well as for decoration. 

2. Pictures 

Frame: Dunelm Mill; £5.59
One of my New Years resolutions this year was to take more pictures and because of that I had piles of photos sitting in my cupboards and drawers gathering dust. To fix this, I decided to create a photo wall by pinning my pictures to my wall. Picture frames and hangers can also be used to display your photos and give your room a personal touch without costing a lot. 

3. Fairy Lights 


Fairy Lights: Amazon, £8.99
While fairy lights are not exactly the best light source for a room, they add a delicate and elegant touch to any room for a small price. I own a set that are battery operated and can be hung, pinned, or draped anyway in my room. The lights can be found in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes to suit any room! 

4. Matching furniture 

Dulux Gloss Paint: B&Q, £16.98
This may seem like an expensive option, but most furniture items are able to be easily painted to match them to the rest of your room, this gives your room an cleaner and more put together look. Paint sample sizes are available for a low cost if you are just painting small items too. 

5. Candles

Yankee Large Jar Candles: yankeecandles.co.uk £19.99
Candles add a more grown up look to any room, even when they are not being burned. Most candles are now beautifully packaged and you can pick up intricate and beautiful candle holders and stands for only a few pounds in many hardware and design shops. Obviously, if you're young, you should ask your parents permission before burning candles in your room! 

Other ways to improve your room can be found in shops like Dunelm Mill, B&M and hardware shops like Homebase and B&Q. Even the high street shops like Primark now stock home-ware like pillows, decals, wall hangings, pictures and candles. Simple changes like displaying jewellery and matching product bottles can help make your room look the way you want it too. 


I'll update again this weekend with a book review, I'm currently re-reading '13 Reasons Why..' so I may do that, but I'm also considering doing a 'Book to Movie adaptations that I can't wait to see!' post as many of many favourite novels are being made into films over the next year or so. Have an amazing day! 

Rachel x

Sunday 2 June 2013

My 'to read' pile!

Hello everyone! Hope you've enjoyed your weekend and that the idea of going back to school or work tomorrow doesn't make you want to bang your head against a wall. Like the majority of people these days, I feel like my priorities have been thrown majorly off balance by the internet. More often than now, I can be located in my bedroom, sitting on my bed with my laptop, tweeting, blogging, tumblr-ing, listening to music, watching TV, or whatever else. This has meant that I spend less time reading, which has led to the creation of my 'to read' pile. Basically, this is a list I have (both in my planner and in my phone) of books that I HAVE to read. So I thought today, as a short post as it's getting late and I'm lazy, I will list a few of the books I have on my list just now. Obviously I can't do much more than give the name and author, but I'll include the blurb or plot synopsis to give you guys an idea!

1. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness 



"Todd Hewitt is the youngest in the all male town Prentisstown and only one month away from the birthday that will make him a man. In Prentisstown everyone – men, animals and even the Spackle (the planet’s indigenous creatures) hear each other Noise (thoughts) all the time and no one has any secrets.

However Todd and his dog, Manchee discover someone who should not exist – a girl called Viola – except that the planet’s women were all supposedly killed by the Spackle. And Viola has no Noise. As the certainties in Todd’s life are challenged, he finds that some in Prentisstown would do anything to prevent Viola’s existence from becoming known. Viola, Todd and Manchee are forced to flee for their lives and their journey in search of sanctuary will force them to learn to trust each other, even as it will force Todd to face truths that he’d rather not know."


2. Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Read 'Divergent' first!)



"One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so."


3. The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald 



"The parties at Gatsby's Long Island mansion were legendarily, glamorous affairs.

Yet amid the throng of guests, starlets and champagne waiters, their host would appear oddly aloof. For there was only one person Jay Gatsby sought to impress. She was Daisy Buchanan: married, elegant, seducing men with a silken charisma and 'a voice... full of money.'

As Gatsby pursues shady deals and his doomed obsession with Daisy, F. Scott Fitzgerald distills the essence of the Jazz age, and probes to the empty heart of the American Dream." 

4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee



''Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'
A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story, an anti-racist novel, a historical drama of the Great Depression and a sublime example of the Southern writing tradition."

5. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce



"When Harold Fry leaves home one morning to post a letter, with his wife hoovering upstairs, he has no idea that he is about to walk from one end of the country to the other.
He has no hiking boots or map, let alone a compass, waterproof or mobile phone.
All he knows is that he must keep walking.
To save someone else's life."

6. A Voice in the Distance by Tabitha Suzuma  



"In his final year at the Royal College of Music, star pianist Flynn Laukonen has the world at his feet. He has moved in with his girlfriend Jennah and is already getting concert bookings for what promises to be a glittering career. Yet he knows he is skating on thin ice - only two small pills a day keep him from plunging back into the whirlpool of manic depression that once threatened to destroy him. Unexpectedly his friends seem to be getting annoyed with him for no apparent reason, he needs less and less sleep, he is filled with unbridled energy. Events begin to spiral out of control and Flynn suddenly finds himself in hospital, heavily sedated, carnage left behind him. The medication isn't working any more, the dose needs to be increased, and depression strikes again, this time with horrific consequences. His freedom is snatched away and the medicine's side-effects threaten to jeopardize his chances in one of the biggest piano competitions of his life. It seems like he has to make a choice between the medication and his career. But in all this he has forgotten the one person he would give his life for, and Flynn suddenly finds himself facing the biggest sacrifice of all."


Well that was a little longer than I thought but I hope you guys were able to draw some inspiration from the books I want to read! Perhaps I'll get round to reading them all soon, I do own three of them so it really is pure laziness.. oops! 

Rachel. X
 
Images by Freepik