SUPER AFFORDABLE BOOK HAUL

It has been a while since I've done a book haul, mainly because it has been a while since I have bought loads in one go but that didn't last long as I now back with a collective book haul. All together, I reckon all of these books cost me about £15 which is incredible as I have eight here to talk about. The majoirty I bought from The Works, which by now, I think you'll all know I flippin love that shop and two were bought from a charity shop. 

As for the ones I got from The Works, I first got two classics. I really want to make a big effort to read more classics as I just think that they are so important to read and develop your own thoughts on. Each of these were Wordsworth classic additions and each cost £2 which is amazing when you consider the size of them. The first one I got was Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky which I didn't realise when I bought it, but it links perfectly to my history alevel. This is such a well known classic, from what I know it generates a lot of questions about morals and what is right verus what is wrong, so I think that this book is really going to impact me. 

The other class I picked up was Bleak House by Charles Dickens which I know pretty much nothing about, a part from the fact that it revolves around a court case. It brings up questions about legal reform and the judicial system at the time it was written, so I can see this being a very powerful and eye-opening story. It is around 750 pages though and so I might need to dedicate a whole year to reading just this book. 

The next three books I picked up from The Works were all because of the amazing 3 for £5 offer they had going on at the time I made this order. I have just double checked and the offer is still on so if you like the look of any of these books or you want to have a look at what else falls into this offer, then do check out the website for yourself. With this offer, I really tried to pick out some books that generally intrigue me by the summary given on the website. The first one I picked up was How Hard Can Love Be? by Holly Borne. I have read one other Holly Borne book in the past and it was an okay read for me, but I know that she is a well loved author in the YA contemporary scene and so I wanted to give another one of her books a go. I love books like this, super quick, super cute and lots of cheesy romance. Not that it is realistic or particularly hard hitting, but I do think a lot of these books are very relatable and just entertaining to read, they are definitely some of my favourites. I don't think that this book is going to be any different and hopefully I'm going to really like it. 

Next up, I got Hold Back the Stars by Katie Khan which really intriguied me with the summary. It is basically a typical boy meets girl situation but they only have an hour and a half left to save themselves. I love reads like this as they can be so fast paced but also so heart wrenching and I'm honestly ready for it. Also this addition is so cute and small, so I think that it would make the perfect holiday read. 

Finally in this offer, I got Desperate Girls by Laura Griffin which is a thriller. This is something totally unlike me but I'm hoping I really like it and discover a new favourite genre. From what I know, it is about a defense attorney and a murderer on the loose seeking revenge. I am definitely super intersted in reading this, so hopefully, I'll get to it very soon. 

The last book I picked up from The Works is a super contriversial one and one that I am going to be super judge for buying and that is After by Anna Todd. There has been a lot said about this book this year due to the film adaptation coming out but I'm just curious and I want to see what it is like for myself. This story was once a Harry Style's fanfiction and from what I know, it has some really bad tropes in it, which a lot of people really seem to hate. I don't really know what I'm going to think of this, but sometimes you just want a trashy, ridiculous romance so you never know, I might like this. I've also seen the trailer for the film adaptation and I must say, I'm intriuged and I really want to see it, but I'm going to read the book first. This also cost me £3 so I couldn't really say no when it is something I am super curious about. 

The final two books I recently bought were from a local charity shops which had by one for £1 and get one free, so after a little browse I picked up two books I am super excited to read. The first one being The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood which has been getting so much hype around it over the past year or so and I know that it also has a TV show so I am now giving into the hype and I plan on reading it very soon. I know that this is a sci-fi and that's about it, but a few of my friends have read it and they really loved it so hopefully, I'll like it too.

After I picked up this book, I wasn't really keen on anything else but then I saw Othello by Shakespeare Made Easy which is a publisher that translates Shakespeare's plays into modern English. I have seen some of their books around for a while and I have always been very curious to see what one was like so when this was basically free, I couldn't say no. I do have a complete works of Shakespeare book that I love but I'm hoping that this is going to really help my understanding of his writing. I don't know much about Othello but I know it is one of his well known and most popular plays so hopefully it's good. It is going to be really interesting to see what this is like to read, so I'm probably going to write a post on it once I've gotten around to reading it. 

Let me know whether you have read any of these books and if so, your thoughts on them!

Grace xx

WHERE I'M AT RIGHT NOW

Okay, so I feel like I am constantly doing these post where I try and justify why I've not blogged for a few weeks, but that's what I'm doing again today. I also wanted to touch on my own mental health right now and where it is at. This post isn't for attention or sympathy, it isn't for anyone to pity me, I just want people to understand where I've been and how I'm doing. 

I've approximately got three weeks left of year 12 and then that is me done for the academic year. My life seems to mainly revolve around school at the moment, not because I want it to, necesarily, but because I'm not really up to much outside of it. This honestly makes me quite nervous for summer, because although I have got school work to do over the six weeks, I don't want it to be the only thing that I end up doing. Between end of year exams and chats about university, it is safe to say that I don't feel prepared for the intensity of year 13 come September. I don't want to promise anything, but I have got a few blog post ideas revolving around university and my plans for after sixth form, so I'm just going to leave that there. 

Like I said, I don't seem to do anything outside of sixth form and I'm now trying really hard to change that. Over the past few weeks, it has definitely started to hit me that I feel very unaccomplished and disappointed in myself in terms of everything outside of education. I feel like I have distanced myself from people I care about, I feel like I am not growing as a person and I feel like I haven't made many memories this year. Although it is never too late to change that, I'm struggling to solve these problems as I have built some really bad habits in the meantime such as cancelling last minute, overthinking every possible scenario and being very closed off to everyone basically. If anyone understands what I mean, I would love any advice you've got to offer as I really think that this is going to worsen my mental state if I don't do anything about that. 

Leading on from that, the way I'm isolating myself right now is really not good for me mentally, but because of these habits, I'm struggling to improve the way I feel. The best way I can explain it without getting super triggering or emotional is just feeling super isolated, lonely and more than anything, not human. It sounds ridiculous to some, but sometimes I literally don't feel real, I catch myself not feeling anything or wanting to do anything. This is what's affecting me the most right now. Like everything else, some days are better than others and that's what I'm holding onto right now. 

I feel like there are going to be some people who are reading this, who are close to me in my personal life and are wondering where this has all came from. For as long as I can remember, I have never been able to open up or talk about how I'm really feeling which is perhaps the worst of all of my bad habits and to be honest, I don't even know where to begin in fixing it. I've been close to 'breaking down my walls' but everytime I seem to do so something happens where I put them up quicker than I took them down. This has generally made it really easy for me to hide how I'm really feeling, I find it really easy to just smile and fake it in front of people so that when people ask me how I'm doing I just nod and say 'great'. However, I don't want to be like that, but like I said, I have no idea where to start in changing that. For me, the easiest way to talk about what I'm feeling is through this blog. It allows me to articulate my thoughts and feelings as well as putting something out there that maybe I'm not really doing as great as what I appear to be. I also want to clarify, that when I post these chatty things about how I'm feeling, it's not aimed at anyone in particular, it isn't for attention and it isn't for sympathy. For me, it's just what makes me feel better. 

I don't want this post to all be super sad for me to write, or for you to read so I'm going to share a few things that I hope to do over the next few months. My main aim is to document this on my blog as I really think that this is perhaps one of the best opportunities I've got to improve and reach out. 

In an ideal world, I would like to get a job but right now, I have applied for hundreds and have got nothing so I'm just going to give it time and keep trying, so that hopefully something will come my way very soon. Sort of linked to that, I'm hopefully going to start volunteering over the summer with a charity that I am so super excited about because I love the work they do. If all goes well, then you will definitely be hearing about it within the next few weeks. 

In a few weeks now, I am also turning seventeen which is super exicting as that means I will be learning to drive. Although I'm nervous, I am so excited try something new, something unlike anything I've done before, and hopefully, if and when I pass, I will have more exciting plans and opportunities. 

Spending time with close friends and family is definitely my main aim of the summer. I guess I kind of want to make up for lost time and make some amazing memories but I also want to be super spontaneous and just have a really memorable summer. I've definitely got a few ideas in mind and hopefully they'll all go to plan. 

If you've got this far then I am super impressed and also grateful. Thank you for sticking around and finger crossed, things are looking up from here.

Grace xx

HOW I PLAN MY REVISION

For some of you, this post may have been useful months ago, but still, I hope you may be able to take something away from it. In about 3 weeks I will be sitting my end of year exams which, although not the most important, go towards determining my target grades for the end of year 13, and so I have been doing a lot in preparation for them. I am definitely a firm believer that planning your revision is crucial when beginning to revise and although everyone does it in their own unique way, I wanted to share how I plan my revision in preparation for exam season.

A month in advanced

Since these aren't external exams, I decided to start revision a lot later, but for some of you, this step might be three or two months in advance instead. At this point, I will sit down one evening and make a full list of everything that I want to before the exams. Personally, I make an A4 Word document and I split it into my subjects but also my different papers/ topics. The things I include will range from past paper questions to finishing notes to making flashcards, it is anything and everything that I would ideally like to do before the exam. 

Also on this list will be other things that I want to get done at this time, maybe I want to read a book or write a blog post or attend an event. This sort of helps me to ensure that I can gain a balance over the exam season. 

Some may want to this next bit differently but I will then put in italics all of the 'extra stuff' that I would ideally like to do or the more last-minute revision like learning flashcards or going over previous tests. This then helps me to distinguish what's a priority and what's just extra revision. For example, finishing my revision notes won't be in italics but doing extra reading will be in italics as that is something extra that may benefit my revision. The stuff not in italics will be what I want to get done three to two weeks in advanced and the things in italics will be things I want to do a week before the exam if you'd rather think of it that way. 

Following on from this, I will then plan briefly what I would like to do on a day to day basis up until about a week before exams start. Like I said before, this may not work for everyone, but for me, it allows a brief outline of when things need to be done by. I tend to plan this with my weekly notepad where I will write in each day what I want to get done. Realistically, I know that I won't stick to a lot of what's on that notepad, but, it offers me a really great outline. Also in this weekly plan, I will add in any events I have going on just to make sure that I can work around those plans. For example, if I'm going out with friends one day, I know I won't get as much work done, so I will add something quick to do or something on the more relaxing side to also complete that day. 

Three to two weeks in advanced

I am currently in this stage of my revision, and I mainly aim to get all of my revision content done as well as starting to do some practice of my subjects. My main guidelines over this time are the weekly plans I previously made but also, each day I will make a to-do list. This may seem excessive for some, but it works for me, so I stick with it. On my to-do list will be anything from going to gym to making revision notes to reading a book to doing a practice paper. It just gives me a current, realistic list that I can check off as I go throughout the day and obviously what was on that weekly plan will be the main priority of that day, but it also lets me add in what I'm in the mood to do. 

Leading on from what I've just said, I always try and do what I'm in the mood for. Especially at this time, when you've got a bit of everything to do, I just find that by doing what you're in the mood to do, you're going to be more productive and more enthusiastic, but know when to draw a line. You don't want to be spending loads of time on your art coursework when you know you still haven't finished making your history revision so make sure there's a balance but also listen to yourself. 

Throughout this time, I will also be returning to that big to-do list that I made and slowly but surely, ticking off everything that I manage to complete. 

A week in advanced

I always like to plan this bit closer to the time as when it comes to this stage, I will go back to that big to-do list, see what hasn't been done and then use that to plan the week. Obviously, the things that haven't already been completed, that are not in italics will be the priority but hopefully, the majority of it will be completed at this point. I will then look at what's in the italics and fit that in, however, if it isn't essential and I haven't already done it, I won't schedule it in. This is just because, at this stage, I prioritise what's essential to do before the exam. 

The main aim for me over this week will be to learn all of the content, it will be to make essay plans, to do practice papers etc. This just ensures that I have enough time to go over everything but to also ask for help if I need it. 

Although some may not agree, I will also try and prioritise my work over this time. At this stage, my exams and revision will only be lasting for another two or three weeks and they will become my priority. That doesn't mean I cut myself off from the outside world, but it just means that my to-do lists may be more ambitious and I won't be making tonnes of plans. 

The night before the exam

I am a big advocate for just relaxing the night before an exam, but obviously, that isn't always most practical, especially if your exams are really close together. Usually the day before an exam, I will make a to-do list first thing in the morning and I will write down all of the content that I want to recap that day. It may be looking back at previous essays or recapping a weaker topic or just seeing my teacher about a question I didn't understand, but this is the time where I solidify all of that information I have spent the last week learning.

For me, nothing is more stressful than learning content the night before the exam and so instead, I try to refresh the information rather than trying to teach something to myself. 

I also tend to stop revising early the night before an exam also, just so that I can get a good amount of sleep but to also wind down a little bit. For me, watching a film or reading is how I tend to relax the night before my exam, just to act as a quick distraction before everything becomes too real that morning. 

Hopefully, you all took something from this post! Good luck if you have exams coming up!

Grace xx

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO // Ep. 1

I really want to start sharing my current playlists on my blog as I feel like I am constantly changing and switching up what I listen to. My taste in music is always changing and developing so if you ever have a recommendation for me then please let me know. Hopefully, this might turn into a bit of a series type thing but right now I'm struggling with that sort of commitment, but we will see. But, today I just want to share with you my top ten songs that I am currently listening to and loving. 

Summer Days // Martin Garrix feat. Macklemore & Patrick Stump

My brother actually introduced me to this song, and it's a pretty new release, but it is incredible. I love Macklemore, I think he is incredible and has some great songs, which this one is no exception. For me, it is the perfect summer song, it's super upbeat and something that I love to listen to on full volume. Be warned, it is definitely super catchy but I think that I am going to be listening to this constantly over the summer months. 

Dear Society // Madison Beer

I have only recently discovered Madison Beer properly and I can't believe I didn't do it sooner. Currently, I am obsessed with her voice and her Instagram, because she is so beautiful, but her music is so cool. I think that her style is so unique and her voice is just amazing. This song, I'm pretty sure, is her newest release and I just think that it is super original and it's got a lot of depth to it when you listen to the lyrics. I also recommend watching the music video to this as I think that the concept and composition of it all represent the song so well and just adds to the impact of the lyrics. 

Fools // Madison Beer

Another Madison Beer song that I am obsessed with is Fools. This song is so freaking catchy and I just have the best time when I listen to it. I think that it is such bop and I just think that she is, in general, an incredible artist. 

Maybe // Lewis Capaldi

Lewis Capaldi's album came out a few weeks back and obsessed would be an understatement. I think that he is such an incredible artist and he has such an amazing voice. Currently, though, my favourite song of his is Maybe but I won't lie, it's constantly changing. I just love how the beginning is very slow but then the chorus, it all of a sudden has a huge amount of energy and the impact his voice has on the sound is just unreal. His whole album is a recommendation on my behalf, it is insane. 

If I Can't Have You // Shawn Mendes

When I first heard this song, no joke, I must have played it about twenty times in a row, I was hooked. I love Shawn Mendes, I don't know anyone who doesn't but this song might just be his biggest bop yet. There is just something about the lyrics and the sound that seem so authentic but also so current with the music industry right now. I also love the music video to this song, mainly just for how great he looks in it, but still, the song is unreal and I think everyone should listen to it. 

Start Over Again // New Hope Club

So I saw New Hope Club live about a month ago and I fell in love with them all over again. It had been a while since I'd heard any of their music but after the concert, I went home and downloaded it all. I definitely think that they are a new and upcoming band that is going to really thrive in this industry one day just because I think that their music is so great. Start Over Again is currently my favourite, but this is also changing constantly. It came out a while back but I just think that it is a super cute song. For me, it is the kind of song that I wish was written about me, super cheesy but kind of true. It is just super fun and catchy, and I think that their music definitely has that sort of vibe about it. 

I've Told You Now // Sam Smith

Oh I love Sam Smith, he just has so many amazing songs and I think that he is just so talented. He is one of those artists that I always go to listen to when I don't know who to listen to and right now, this song is my favourite. I just think that he has such a way with lyrics and he has that voice that you try and keep up with, but you just can't. 

Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High // Arctic Monkeys

I can't say that I've ever been a huge Arctic Monkeys but when I was looking for something new to listen to, I decided to give them a go. Some of their songs, I'm not overly keen on, but right now, I am loving this one. It is super catchy and I just think that it has a really got beat to it. 

Roll With It // Oasis

I've always grown up listening to old-style music, but for some reason, my mum has always been against Oasis, so I'd never really heard much of their music, but once again, I downloaded their Morning Glory album when I was feeling bored and fell in love with it. The entire album is incredible but I have two current favourite songs that I just think are unreal. Roll With It is a super catchy song, it's got great lyrics and just a great tone to it overall. One thing about Oasis's music is that it just makes me wish that I could play the guitar because the composition of the music and the sound of the guitars in each song are just so prominent to me. I also think that this song kind of has a good message to it, it is a song that I turn to when I am in need of a little motivation or inspiration. Also, it's a song that I recommend you listen to on full volume. 

Champagne Supernova // Oasis

This is their other song that I am currently loving and I actually think that the two contrast each other in some ways. This one is a little slower, a little more relaxing if you will, but I just think that the whole vibe of this song is super chill and it just makes me really happy for absolutely no reason. 

Let me know what you think of these songs and please comment below any song recommendations you have for me!

Grace xx