My thoughts on The Witcher series

 Warning- SPOILERS!

5 things I LOVED about The Witcher Series:

1.      What I nicknamed as ‘The Fellowship,’- Geralt, Dandelion, Cahir, Milva and Regis. It gave me total Lord of the Rings vibes and I loved the dynamics within the group. I loved how it was such an odd assortment but they did seem to genuinely care/ look out for one another. Sweet!

2.      How Geralt became buddies with a Vampire. And how Regis was more human than most people.

3.      I like Yennifer in the books much more than the Yennifer in Series 1 of The Witcher. I felt like series 2 was making her a little bit more like the Yennifer I imagined in the books- but then it went AWOL with that whole ‘losing her magic’ and then ‘abducting Ciri’ nonsense- ew.

4.      The short stories in the first book and how they felt a little familiar- like the fairy tales I know- but not quite the same so there was that allure of them being unsettling and unusual.

5.      I love learning about the new monsters- this is what sets The Witcher apart from a lot of fantasy novels where the creatures just feel recycled. The monsters in The Witcher are unique, often complex and sometimes misunderstood.

5 things I did not love so much…

1.      I found the majority of ‘the fellowship’ being wiped out in quick succession of one another absolutely devastating. I kept thinking that it was all a dream/ joke or that there would be some sort of catch and at least one or two of them would return victorious. I had grown very attached to them over the last few books.

2.      On a similar note, the death which broke my heart the most was Cahir’s. He had become one of my firm favourites. I loved how he had turned things around and won Geralt’s trust. I found him courageous, honourable, determined and I felt quite protective of him in all honesty. Because it is heavily implied that Cahir is killed but you don’t actually *see* him killed in the novel, I kept hoping that somehow, somehow he had made it. I had imagined that he would help to save Ciri, she would forgive him and they would fall in love. I would have totally shipped them as a couple (although I am not sure what the age difference is!). Sadly, all of these imaginings are nothing more than a plot idea for a fanfic. RIP Cahir.

3.      On the whole, I think Andrzej Sapkowski does a relatively good job with his portrayal of the female characters. They are strong and are reasonably complex and developed. However, there were points where I felt myself grimacing, especially with the constant references to plunging necklines and the moments where the sexualisation of characters definitely did not feel relevant to the storyline. This leads me on to my next dislike…

4.      The sex scene in the library between Geralt and Fringilla. I didn’t find the word play with all the book titles amusing and it may have been a translation issue but the constant “Fringilla screamed/ was screaming,” over the slightest thing was so off-putting.

5.      I might be in the minority with this one, but I didn’t really like the whole bringing elements of the Witcher world into our universe with the arrival into Wales and The Lady of the Lake, etc. I like seeing the world of The Witcher as something entirely different and separate from our reality and didn’t feel I needed things to crossover. It also felt a little tagged on the end in the final book- as though it was only there to bring the series to a close (which I won’t go into detail about as wouldn’t want to spoil the absolute ending for anyone who hasn’t got there yet).

This was the first series I had read in a long time and I am sad that there isn’t more to read. I enjoy the TV series and love Henry Cavill’s portrayal of Geralt. However, I am disappointed that I am not getting to see the beloved books being transformed on screen seeing as the creators of the Witcher TV series have gone on such a massive tangent/ made up things entirely despite having a perfectly good book series to follow. As long as I get to see my fellowship together at some point, I will be happy 😊

Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.

May break reading

 I haven’t done anything to do with books or writing for such a long time! The last time I posted anything was in August 2021. I blame an academic year which included the return of GCSEs- it is just as time consuming as I remember it to be and so, so exhausting, leaving very little time and energy for writing and reading things that aren’t student essays.

Last week was the first time I was able to immerse myself in some really decent bookish time. I went to Rhodes for a week and spending my days next to the pool or on the beach meant I was able to read 5 books in relatively quick succession of one another. So, I decided I would write a little review of my holiday reading. I have tried to avoid any spoilers below but apologies if anything slips the net!

Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

First of all, on absolute shallow level, the front cover of this book is so aesthetically pleasing. I had taken a lot of orange bikinis and clothing with me- and had painted my nails orange- and was vainly pleased with how well the book matched my holiday outfits. But, as we all know, books aren’t to be judged by their cover.

Naturally this book came with high expectations. I really enjoyed Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day. I enjoyed Klara and the Sun, but unfortunately, it didn’t feel like it was quite on the same level as the aforementioned books. The story was engaging and I felt like it was a while since I had read anything a bit more Sci-Fi and was enjoying that aspect, but it felt like it was missing something. What it was missing, I couldn’t tell you. That being said, I did still feel somewhat attached to Klara by the end of the novel and did feel a twinge of sadness at the end. 

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

I won’t go into too much detail as wouldn’t want to spoil the plot but I really enjoyed this book. Even though it didn’t feel like much happened, I really liked the development of the characters and the generational element to the story. I liked how it included a range of issues in quite a subtle way and how a lot of things are not actually resolved in the text making it feel more realistic and believable. 

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

I found myself quite torn with this book- both in the way it made me feel and my enjoyment of it. I imagine this is deliberate, but I found it really difficult to know who I felt most sympathy for with the storyline underpinning the plot (the trial determining the custody of the baby). Linda’s story and her struggle with becoming a mother was heart-breaking, but equally, I felt desperately sad for Bebe. There was also the added complication of Mirabelle/ May potentially being disconnected from her heritage and culture which really unsettled me. I think Celeste Ng introduced and explored this topic within the novel really well, however, I wasn’t as captivated by the Richardson and Warren families. I found them all unlikeable (which may also be deliberate) but it was to the point where I felt like I couldn’t engage with them or the sections about them. I preferred Klara and The Sun and The Vanishing Half to this novel, but I think I will still give the TV series a watch. I could see how it lends itself to a series and could almost picture an onscreen adaptation as I was reading. 

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

I knew the least about this book before I started reading. It was also my least favourite. The writing style was good. It was detailed, immersive and engaging at points. The description of Cape Cod was excellent; I could really imagine being there- but the place seemed sort of thrown into the story and seemed somewhat irrelevant. Alongside, the affair (which isn’t really a spoiler as it is mentioned in the blurb and is described on the very first page). Most of the novel was actually about sexual assault- and there was a lot of it- without any kind of warning. I had no idea that book was about this on picking it up and there isn’t any clue in the blurb or anywhere on the book before I started reading. I think it needs a warning because the description of the various forms of assault in the novel are either dropped in very casually or are vividly described in detail to the point where it actually felt quite sickening and I kept having to put the book down to have a little break from it. I read somewhere on the book that it is compared to the Where the Crawdads Sing- I would not agree with this at all and it is certainly not on the same level as Delia Owens’ book. Not even a little bit. 

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

Despite exploring deeply unsettling topics and highly emotional and harrowing events, I felt like Christy Lefteri dealt with this in a much more sensitive and respectful way than The Paper Palace. I liked how the book balanced Nuri and Afra’s experiences and the aftermath of their horrific journey as they seek asylum in the UK with the journey itself. This added a lot of depth and reminds readers that it isn’t just over once refugees arrive in England. I feel this novel gave me a lot to think about and really made me empathise with a range of characters alongside the protagonists.

Overall, I would rate the books in the following order (1 being the book I enjoyed the most to 5 being the least).

1. The Vanishing Half

2. The Beekeeper of Aleppo

3. Klara and the Sun

4. Little Fires Everywhere

5. The Paper Palace

Have you read any of these books? Tell me what you think by commenting below. 

Summer- Expectation Vs Reality

 Expectation:

1.       I will have so much time to write. I could get a whole novel finished if I wanted to. This is now an uninterrupted opportunity to really perfect my craft.

2.       I will be able to write in a range of wonderfully sunny locations- my garden, outside cafes, opposite lakes in country parks. I can pop a dress and sunglasses on, pack a little lunch and off I go.

3.       I will have so much time to plot, plan and seek out sources of inspiration that there is no possible way I will get writer’s block.

4.       I will be ever so motivated. Every day. I might even get up early and do that 5am writers club thing I have seen on Twitter.

Reality:

1.       Before I know it, it is the final week of my holiday and I have done a grand total of zero things writing related. The time has flown by and has been made up of weddings, trips away and life admin. Before I knew it, writing time was swiftly replaced by optician appointments and going to the bank. Who knew adulting left so little time for imagination and creativity?

2.       Summer for me, is always a time of wishful thinking. I always envision endless sunny days for the full four weeks, but we all know the Great British Summertime just ain’t that! Rain, rain, more rain…drizzle… clouds, wind, perhaps the odd thunderstorm. And when we did get four or five days of successive sun, it was so precious that I prioritised socialising over writing, and when I did think about writing, I decided I was “too hot” and opted for reading a book instead- that one was totally my fault.
Also, the ‘popping a dress on’ thing is 100% not reality. By the time I have shaved, painted my toenails and done all those arduous and ultimately pointless things I feel I ‘have’ to do as a ‘female preparing to step into summertime’ the clouds are back and it has started lightly raining again.

3.       It is true, I visited some wonderfully inspirational places this summer which should have given me an endless range of creative ideas. However, instead of using them to plot something useable, I decided to live in the moment as it is so rare in the working year (and after all the lockdowns) that I get this opportunity. I wanted to visit some beautiful places in the UK and spend time with appreciating them with my husband, not scribbling down notes in my notebook. As this was the case, I will just have to bank some of the ideas inspired by these places for late use….

4.       Summertime and free time does not increase motivation. I was SO tired once I finished work that I just wanted to sleep for the first week. There was no way I was getting up for a 5am writers club. I wanted to lay in and indulge in all my lazy glory of not having anything to do. And I definitely took that too far, because 3 weeks later I am now wallowing in my laziness and wondering where all that productive time has gone!

It’s okay though- there’s always next summer!

Writing Round Two

So… I haven’t written anything on this blog for an incredibly long time…

And the truth is, I haven’t written ANYTHING for an incredibly long time. The last time I put pen to paper was in March and it is so hard to get back into a rhythm/pattern/habit after such a long break.

I had been doing relatively well before now. I had some ‘dry spells’ of writing where I had only managed to write for a couple of hours at the weekend (if that) but, overall, I was trying my best to make time for something that I know I ultimately really want to do.

Then, all of a sudden, it all went wrong and downhill from there!

I started writing in February, just before the first lockdown. Writing in the first lockdown was really easy. I mean, what else did I have to do? And because I had gotten into some really good habits and had really gotten into the flow of writing, it was possible to maintain it once I returned to work. And even though… lockdown number 3, was it?...I have lost count… was much more intense with juggling the home-learning and being in school with key worker children, I could still somehow make the time.

We properly returned to school at the end of March. We started the rigorous, stressful and massively time-consuming year 11 assessment and grading process at the end of March and things have just not let up from there. Time started to slip away, and the little I had of it at the weekends felt better spent by catching up on missed time with friends and family. Work is draining. Socialising is draining. Being an adult is just generally draining. And, sadly, it has drained any ounce of energy away from my writing.

But as the summer holidays approach, I am going to try and change my mindset. I stopped writing as a teenager and always mourned the loss of it until I picked up that pen again at 28 years old. I am not going to let that happen again!

Honourable Mention

I am a complete newbie to the short story competition game and decided to give it a try a few months ago. I had written 13 short stories in 2020 and thought it would be a nice opportunity to potentially celebrate and share what I had created. Also, with querying my novel this year, having a few competitions under my belt would be a nice addition to my cover letter.

I did a bit of research and entered a few competitions tentatively and somewhat nervously, and then radio silence as I waited (and tried not to check the website too obsessively).

I was so delighted when I saw the title of my story as a finalist on one of the websites. A website which promotes reading for teenagers (exactly the audience I would love to write for). I was one of 7 chosen out of a thousand. It is the first real (non-family/ friend) acknowledgement I have had that my writing might actually be okay, and it felt really good. And even though I didn’t end up getting 1st, 2nd or 3^rd place, seeing an ‘honourable mention’ under the winners’ names still made me happy. It felt like a first step. That maybe there is a potential with entering short story competitions. And I look forward to trying again in their Summer 2021 competition.

I have also recently had an email in my inbox about another competition I entered which will announce the winners in April- fingers crossed!

Libraries are special places...

As with all the places I can no longer go/ things I can no longer do during lockdown, I have been thinking about libraries a lot lately. I have been thinking about how special they are and how they certainly need to be embraced and saved once this pandemic is over.

Libraries and reading made up such a huge part of my childhood and even though the library in my hometown in no way looked like my vision of a library or like the library in the image, it was still an amazing place to be and a place I think fondly of when I reminisce.

In my head, libraries are places of adventure, wonder and mystery. They look like the library in Beauty and the Beast or the Page Master and have a friendly librarian (like the one from Matilda) who looks down at you, spectacles perched on her nose, from her large desk and although seems intimidating with all her shushing and library rules, she eventually becomes the guide to your developing book tastes and introduces to you to all sorts of incredible tales and genres.

One of my most favourite things as a child was that on a Saturday, after my mum had finished her weekly shop and if I had behaved myself, she would then take me up to the library in the town centre and I was allowed to pick whatever books I wanted and was even trusted with getting the maximum books out that I could- as I had proven that I could read them all in time without any late fees! I would spend what felt like hours perusing the children’s books, eagerly searching for the next book in a series or searching for anything that might catch my eye. I can still remember looking forward to this time so very much and how excited I would feel with a carrier bag full of books banging against my legs as we made our way back to the car.

I even worked in a library for a little while when I was young adult, and I used to love it when children would come up with their little reading passports to stamp with the teddy bear stamp.

Libraries are important places and mean so much to so many people, and I hope my children (if and when I have children in the future) are able to create some amazing library memories themselves.

Do you have any library memories? I would love to hear them- please comment below.

March Break

 I have two weeks off in March. Two glorious weeks with so much time for writing.

I am already part way through the final week.

So far, I have:

·         Cleaned the house.

·         Cleaned the doors and skirting boards.

·         Deep cleaned the kitchen.

·         Dyed my hair.

·         Gone on 5 long walks in the countryside (saw a deer on one of the walks! 😊)

·         Tidied the garden.

·         Watched a season of Mad Men.

·         Read A Little Life (700+ pages).

·         Listened to an audiobook.

·         Exercised (only once).

·         Played Sims 3 for a full day 😐

·         Baked cookies.

·         Watched a bunch of Youtube videos about travelling to Japan and then made a vision board about travelling to Japan.

·         Cross stitched something for my Nanna’s birthday.

And I have hardly written anything! I tried to imagine that these activities were either being done for inspiration purposes or to give me some breathings thinking space for my writing, but in truth they are total and utter procrastination- I know I am going to totally regret this once the week is up! 

How do you motivate yourself to write? Are you guilty of procrastination? What do your go-to procrastination activities tend to be? Please comment below.