OCTOBER – BOOKS, FILMS AND PLACES

BOOKS

ARIEL – SYLVIA PLATH

I have a terrible habit of reading collections of poetry cover to cover in one go, which I’m fairly sure isn’t the way poetry should be read. Maybe I would have enjoyed this more if I would have gone poem by poem, but I didn’t, and I didn’t enjoy it all that much. My favourite poems were ‘Tulips’, ‘The Rival’ and ‘The Munich Mannequins’. The collection does however come across as brave, as Plath writes explicitly about death and suicide. Many write about death, but few go through with it like Plath did. I’d love to read more work by her, but this collection of poems didn’t do it for me. I feel like words either strike and captivate you, or they don’t, and these words really didn’t.

                                                 

WHY I’M NO LONGER TALKING TO WHITE PEOPLE ABOUT RACE – RENI EDDO-LODGE

Considering myself an intersectional feminist and always being fascinated with black history I’d be taught in school, I thought a lot of this book would be obvious to me, however it made me reconsider a lot of things that I understood as normalities of society. Whilst this was a read that I wouldn’t say was pleasurable, due to the hard hitting nature of it, it was educational in the best way possible. Whilst I’m still not sure exactly how to talk about race, this booked definitely helped my understanding. This book is so worth reading, for knowledge which is so vital in the society we are living in.

                                                       

THE NIGHT IS DARKENING ROUND ME – EMILY BRONTE

Another collection of poetry! This is actually one I’d read before, enjoying the way love, nature and death become so simple within poetry. I actually refer to this collection in my personal statement, and so thought I should probably read it, to rediscover some of my favourite poems. I’m almost always critical of poetry, but this collection I really do love, as the language is so beautiful and the poems are so rhythmic. My favourite poem is ‘Remembrance’, as I feel the relationship between nature and death is explored seamlessly, and the poem is truly captivating.

                                                       

ANIMAL FARM – GEORGE ORWELL

I’d say this is a disappointment in a book. It’s obviously so hyped up but it just didn’t do it for me! I felt that the historical references were too obvious and forced, and didn’t really intellectually satisfy me. The only good thing about this book was that its short so I managed to finish it in a day – I wouldn’t have wanted to spend any longer reading it.

                                                           

LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER – D.H. LAWRENCE

ICONIC! We stan. I loved every single page – although I did sometimes cringe at the very raunchy bits. This book was obviously so ground-breaking and controversial at the time, and is now just a fucking good book. I loved the characters, especially Lady Chatterley herself, and I love that the book isn’t afraid of detail. So good.

                                                         

FILMS

THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS

I was confused about this film, because it really felt like a film for young kids, but it had a 12A rating. Aside from the confusion, this was a cute film that I’d watch when hungover or chilling out. The kids were adorable, and Cate Blanchett is an icon.

                                                         

A STAR IS BORN

I’m going to be real, this was the best film I’ve seen in 2018, and possibly my favourite film of all time. I love Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga – although I didn’t before I watched the film to be honest. The characters are so believable, that you do get so caught up in it all. I never cry at films, but this one had my tensing my jaw and taking deep breaths. I cannot recommend this film enough. I truly loved the music, characters and plot.

                                                              

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

I actually liked this film a lot less than I expected! The trailers were like goosebump level good, and I’m not saying the film wasn’t good, but it wasn’t really what I expected. I really really really enjoyed the musical parts, both the ones onstage and in the recording studio, but the other bits I weren’t so fond of. I was surprised at how negatively Freddie Mercury was portrayed in his relationships, both romantic and with his bandmates. I do however feel that the acting was fucking amazing, so that with the music made the film enjoyable.

                                                   

HALLOWEEN

This is another film that wasn’t really was I expected! It was scary, but more in an emotionally disturbing way than a jumpy or psychological way. I enjoyed the pace and anticipation, but at times I felt that the plot was a bit like “here’s some people, now they’re dead, here’s some more people, now they’re dead, and so on, and so on”, so the novelty of it wore off a bit and you learnt to not get emotionally attached to anyone. The methods of killing were however really gruesome, which I actually quite liked because I like gore. I wouldn’t watch it again, but it did get me in the Halloween mood!

                                                           

PLACES

THE PLAYHOUSE THEATRE, LONDON

At the beginning of the month I saw ‘The Jungle’, an immersive play based around immigration. I kind of feel like this was one of the best plays I’ve seen in my life, and not just because Ian McKellen (Dumbledore) was on the same row as us. This was done the way immersive plays should be done. Some moments were hilarious and some moments truly broke your heart. I really cannot believe how fucking amazing the writing, the actors and especially the set was. There was not a second of boredom or disappointment. My heart goes out to this play.

                                                      

GOOGLE DIGITAL ACADEMY, LONDON

I had the amazing opportunity to talk about mental health at the Google Digital Academy, with my fellow wellbeing ambassadors. As well as playing table tennis and getting a little too excited about the buffet, we were able to start really important conversations. I spoke about my experience with an eating disorder, and there were tears in the room. I’m so grateful that my words and experiences can really mean something to other people, and hopefully help create great change.

SHEFFIELD

I went to look at the University of Sheffield as part of my scary endeavours into the future. I didn’t have expectations too high – and I was so pleasantly surprised. The university is so nice, and has such a lovely feel to it. The English talk was in a Church building, which was absolutely gorgeous. The city is also so lovely, and I had a great time.

BRIGHTON

On Halloween, I went to Brighton with my lovely work friends. We sat by the sea, had pizza at purezza, wandered through the lanes and got donuts. I love Brighton and I love my cute friends.

       

Overall, October was pretty amazing. I hope everyone else had a good October, and especially a good Halloween!

Hannah x
   
           

September - Books, Films and Places

SEPTEMBER – BOOKS, FILMS AND PLACES

I feel that the older I get, the more sentimental I become. I now keep a memory jar filled with old concert and train tickets. I save ALL my Instagram stories month by month so I can watch back over them. I love keeping memories (especially as my own memory is so shit) and I love writing, so I thought it would be nice to look over my past month. I know this year is going to go extremely quickly and so I don’t want to forget any of it! Without further ado, here is my September books, films and places…

BOOKS:

ANNA KARENINA – LEO TOLSTOY

I’m actually being a bit of a liar by saying I read this in September, as I actually started it waayyy back in July, but I FINALLY finished it in September! This 800 page whopper was not an easy one to get through, but I am so glad I did! If you know me, you’ll know that I love nothing more in a novel than a strong female protagonist, and Anna was everything I could have wanted and more. She could command a room, get away with so much shit and make everyone fall in love with her – basically how I’m trying to be. This is definitely a book I’d like to read again at some point in my life, so it can grow with me. Maybe I’ll read it in 5 years and absolutely hate Anna, but for the meantime, this book is deeply ingrained in my heart.

HUNGER – ROXANE GAY

After taking around 2 months to read Anna Karenina, I feel I redeemed myself by reading this book in a day! I smashed through it on my way to and from Birmingham earlier this month, so if you don’t get car sick, car journeys are a really good time to read! This book detailed sexual assault and weight issues in a way I didn’t think was possible. Having suffered an eating disorder, this book was extremely real to me. Despite dealing with such challenging topics, it was so easy to read. It felt like a conversation with a friend, and opened my eyes to weight issues other than my own that people are forced to deal with on a daily basis. If you’ve had to deal with sexual assault or weight issues in your life, or you’re just open minded and looking to understand other people’s struggles, I’d strongly recommend this book.

THE FEMALE EUNUCH – GERMAINE GREER

This was one of the only books I’ve read in my life that has genuinely shocked me, and so I can only imagine how it must have gone off when it was first published in 1970. Parts are very explicit, and even pornographic, so I was always very conscious of anyone looking over my shoulder while I was reading it on public transport. Whilst I definitely do not agree with a lot of what Greer argues, it helped me to understand my own feminist beliefs a little bit more, and appreciate how far feminism has come. Unfortunately, I didn’t love this book.

CARRIE - STEPHEN KING
I’ve actually read this book before and studied it in quite deep detail as I’m writing about it for my English coursework. The first time I read it I thought it was fucking fabulous, and it really excited me, although I did expect it to be a little more gory and have a slightly more complex plot – I think I liked it so much because it was a very easy read though. This time, it excited me far less, and I think that’s because the shock factor wasn’t there, and I’d researched all of it in such detail that I didn’t feel there were many stones left unturned. It is a very easy read, and you can get through it in a couple hours, so it definitely wasn’t a waste of time going over it once more.

FILMS:

LOVE SIMON

I’d seen this film before, but it has got to be one of my favourites. I love the music, I love Simon (pun not intended) and I love the humour. Sure, its not a cinematic masterpiece, but its cute as hell and just makes you feel good. Definitely a film I could watch 100 times over.

                                      

MAMMA MIA 2

This is a film I have watched 100 times over. That may be an exaggeration, but I did watch it 5 times at the cinema (Cineworld unlimited is the ONE). I’m still not sick of it though, and I’d go so far as to say I like it more than the first film. The songs are EVERYTHING, Lily James is EVERYTHING and Cher really had us all shook. Although I’m pretty sure I know the entire script now, I will never tire of it.

                                                     

THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST

If I said I didn’t just want to watch this film because Chloe Moretz was in it, I’d be lying. Whilst this wasn’t the best film I’ve ever seen, it definitely wasn’t the worst. I liked some of the characters and I liked the message of the film. The ending was the biggest let down of the 21^st century, but I’d still probably watch this film again.

                                       

THE NUN

Was it scary? No. Was it good? Kinda. Was it interesting and watchable? I’d say so! I definitely feel like more could have been done with it, but considering how shit horror films can be, it wasn’t too bad. Wouldn’t be in a rush to watch it again.

                                      

A SIMPLE FAVOUR

Blake Lively could stab me and I’d say thank you. Remember what I said earlier about loving a strong female protagonist? Blake Lively gave this. Whilst the plot was a little ??? at times, I did enjoy this film. It was kind of similar to Gone Girl, which made me wish I was just watching Gone Girl instead, but it was still good. Blake Lively and Henry Golding have got to be two of the most attractive people on planet earth.

                                                         

THE MEG

Well I’m scared of the ocean now. Whilst this film wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea, I still enjoyed it. I was particularly excited to see Ruby Rose in this as I have a MASSIVE crush on her but she was kinda meh. Li Bingbing and Jessica McNamee were fabulous however. I probably wouldn’t watch this film again. Maybe I’ll go swimming with sharks one day though.

                                   

PLACES

LONDON – THE GLOBE THEATRE

My lovely friend Oonagh and I went to the Globe one Friday evening to watch the Taming of the Shrew. I’ve been to the Globe before and I love it, but I didn’t know what to expect from The Taming of the Shrew. Turns out it was brilliant and HILARIOUS – which I definitely didn’t expect. The acting was fabulous and it’s just a great play, and I had a wonderful evening.

MANCHESTER

I embarked on this lovely trip at the beginning of the month with my parents for the day, Tino and Eva (thanks guys). I actually went up to do a speaking competition, which was some scary shit. Despite the fact that I didn’t win, it was a really wonderful experience, and Hannah 3 years ago wouldn’t have believed you if you told her she’d be out doing shit like that. The only bits of Manchester I got to see were the train station and conference centre, but the people were really lovely and I think that says a lot about a city.

                            

BIRMINGHAM

The general life plan is that a year from now I’m going to end up at university, and so off me and my Dad popped to the University of Birmingham. It has an amazing campus and English course, and they have a Starbucks on campus which is just across from the library, so I can definitely see myself feeling at home there.

BRIGHTON

Again, I dragged my Dad along to look at the University of Sussex. I’ve always loved Brighton and so was very excited at the prospect of going to university just outside of that wonderful city. The campus was very small and cosy compared to Birmingham, and so it felt really different, but still felt like it could be a home to me one day. After looking round the campus and eating cake with my wonderful friend Amber (hello if you find your way to this post), Dad and I went into Brighton. We wandered round the lanes and ate vegan ice cream by the beach. The highlight however was DEFINTELY the fucking ridiculously amazing pizza at Purezza. This is seriously the best vegan food I’ve EVER had and I’m VERY happy that they also have a location in London, which I hope to visit ASAP. I had a great time in Brighton, and I’m currently salivating thinking about that goddamn beautiful pizza.

So that’s pretty much my September! I am hoping to write one of these little summaries every month, as it’s always nice to get nostalgic, even if it is about stuff that only happened a few weeks ago. I hope every one else had a lovely September, and like me you’re getting reading for AUTUMN!!!! Lots of love x