July 2016 Books

I haven't read as much this month, but what I have read I have mostly enjoyed.

We Were Liars - E.Lockhart
28th June - 4th July

I don't really know why, but I didn't think I would enjoy this book. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised by how much I engaged with it. It definitely got better as it went along as the story became clearer. I loved the relationship between the four main characters, they all worked really well together even though they were all extremely different. Also I have to say that the end completely threw me, I definitely was not expecting the twist.

Did I Tell You I Love You - Estelle Maskame
28th June - 6th July

I find this while searching for new teen fiction books on the kindle app. It tells the story of Eden who goes to stay with her dad and his new family for the summer. The story takes a twist when she finds herself falling for Tyler, her stepbrother. It is slightly weird at times, but I quite enjoyed reading it. I liked how the reader slowly given small pieces of information which helps to understand the complex character, especially Eden and Tyler.

Did I Mention I Need You - Estelle Maskame
7th July - 10th July

I quickly brought the second in the series as I was intrigued to see what happens next. Eden goes to visit Tyler for the summer in New York and the story takes a twist when Eden realises her feelings have not changed. I can't decide whether I like this one better than the first one, but I definitely found it easier to read and I finished it quicker.

My Life Next Door - Huntley Fitzpatrick
18th July - 23rd July

I really enjoyed this book. It was quite nice because I literally knew nothing about it so I went into it with no preconceptions about what it was about. It tells the story of Jase and Samantha who are next door neighbours and how their relationship develops one summer. I really liked the characters, particularly Clay and how manipulative he is and what impact this has on the overall story.

Quiet Power - Susan Cain
Throughout June & July

I have been reading this book on and off throughout June and July when I am between fiction books. It is all about how being an introvert does not have to be seen as a bad thing. I haven't read all of it, I just read the chapters that I felt were relevant to me. A lot of things she said I really agreed. Particularly the reasons why people are quiet and the fact that it is not always that they are just naturally shy people.

Did I Mention I Miss You - Estelle Maskame
24th July - 25th July

This is the final book in the trilogy and it lived up to my expectations. The quality of writing was definitely on par with the other books in the series. Also I found that I read this a lot quicker than the first, but maybe that was just because I was eager to read the ending to the series. I also really like that each book in the series takes part in a different place so that the setting does not become boring. Therefore it stops the writing from feeling too repetitive.

What I Thought Was True - Huntley Fitzpatrick
26th July - 29th July

After reading his first book earlier on in the month I decided to try this one. I have to say I definitely preferred My Life Next Door as I just found this book very slow to get into. I felt as though there was not as definitive a plot and that she left all of the action to the last forty pages. However I enjoyed that  it was set in the same setting as My Life Next Door and the use of subplots.

Thanks For Stopping By! :)

Photography Workshop

A couple of weeks ago I went with my mum to a photography workshop to Bakewell in Derbyshire. I thought I would share with you what the day entailed and whether it was beneficial. The day before I found myself feeling quite apprehensive as to whether I would enjoy it. However I was pleasantly surprised by how it went.

The Morning

In the morning we met up with everyone and went through a lot of theory. The leader spent about two hours going through some of the things we needed to know in order to take better photos. She talked through things like aperture, depth of field and OIS.

Also it involved taking lots of pictures of the pens, water bottles and the back of people's heads (pretty much anything!).

Afternoon

After we had some lunch we set off into Bakewell to use some of the skills we had learned about in the morning. It was split into three sections:

First of all we took a lot of pictures of plants. This helped to get the aperture right depending on what you were taking. This was by far my favourite of the three, mainly because I sort of knew what I was doing. My first few photos weren't amazing, but after I got the hang of it they got better.

Panning was the second thing we did. Having a bridge camera I kind of expected to be pretty awful at this and to be honest I was! Seriously the number of photos I had to delete of cars going round a roundabout!

The final stop we made was do some motion shots. I definitely was better at taking pictures of water than the ducks!

Overall it was a lot of fun, I really felt that I learnt a lot and I am really glad that I went.

Pretzels!

When the Tanya Bakes cookbook came through my door last week I was really excited to see what amazing recipes it contained. I have to say it did not disappoint, it is full of simple easy to follow recipes that are just normal! The number of times I look through cookbooks and find I would literally only want to use one or two recipe is really annoying. But I think I will definitely be using most of these recipe and I can't wait to go through them!

I thought I would start with a recipe from bread section (mainly because I opened the kitchen cupboard and realised I only had bread flour, oops!). I decided to start with pretzels as they are something I have never baked before.



Ingredients:

















500g strong white bread flour
1x 7g sachet fast-action yeast
50g caster sugar
1 tsp salt
300ml warm milk
80g melted butter
20g bicarbonate of soda
1 egg, beaten

To decorate:

1 tbsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp golden caster sugar (i didn't have golden so just used normal)

Step 1

Put flour, yeast, sugar and salt into a large bowl or mixer.

Step 2

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk and melted butter and slowly pour into the dry ingredients.

Step 3

Before kneading

After kneading

Bring together to form a dough. Kneed for ten minutes then place into a greased bowl and cover with cling film. Place in a warm place for an hour, until the dough has doubled in size.

Step 4

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius / 400 Fahrenheit / gas mark 6.

Step 5

Split the dough equally into 12 pieces. Roll out each into a long, thin sausage shape of about 40cm long.

Step 6

To shape, cross the ends of the dough twice, then bring the strands down and press into the dough.

Step 7

Boil a full kettle of water and then pour it into a large saucepan. Add the bicarbonate of soda and mix until dissolved. Dunk each pretzel into the water for ten seconds, then remove it with a slotted spoon and place each on a baking tray.

Step 8

Brush with beaten egg. Mix together the cinnamon and caster sugar and sprinkle on the pretzels. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden.

Thanks for Stopping By! :)

(Disclaimer: this is not my recipe, it is from Tanya Bakes).

Top 5 TV Series!

I have to say that when it came to choosing my top 5 TV series it was very tough. I love to binge watch a good series and often re-watch them many times. However, I finally managed to narrow it down. I have also just realised that they are all BBC series.  So in no particular order...

Downton Abbey

I love a good historical drama and Downton Abbey is definitely one of my favourites. It tells the story of an aristocratic family and their servants from 1912 to 1926. It covers a variety of issues and tells many people's stories. I have to say that I enjoyed the first two series the most, but I do enjoy the programme as a whole.

Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes

I had to put these together as the fit together with Ashes to Ashes being the spin off to Life on Mars. They are both equally as good. Life on Mars is about Sam Tyler, a police officer who goes into a coma after being hit by a car. He finds himself having to adjust to a 1970s world of policing. Ashes to Ashes is a similar story apart from it tells the story of Alex Drake who was shot in 2008 and is transported to 1980s London as she fights to survive the coma she is in. I don't really know why I love this series so much, but I think it reminds me of being younger. I started to watch this series when I was around 12 and it was the first TV series that I was obsessed with. I honestly have lost count of the number of times I have watched it.

Gavin & Stacey

This series is so light hearted and I love the comedy in it. It tells the story of Gavin, a boy from Essex, and Stacey, a girl from Barry in Wales. It is good series to laugh along to and it's a good series to distract you, so it's a good series for procrastinating!

The White Queen

I told you I liked a historical drama! The White Queen is all about the War of the Roses especially in Edward IV's reigns. It is all about Betrayal, court politics and rivalry. Having studied this at A-level it was good to understand it and see it in a dramatic form.

Outnumbered

Finally, Outnumbered is a comedy about a family from London and follows them as they grow up across the five series. I like the fact that it was semi-improvised as it seems that the scenes are forced. It makes it seem more real.

Thanks For Stopping By! :)

June 2016 Books

I have enjoyed reading throughout this month. I have read a lot of young adult fiction this month, which is a genre that I particularly enjoy.

Geek Girl: All That Glitters - Holly Smale
25th May - 1st June

This is probably my favourite book in the Geek Girl series so far. I like how it focuses more on the home side of Harriet's life. Also I loved the twist and found that it was completely unexpected. I also loved the introduction of new character which helped to inject something new into the series.

The Baby - Lisa Drakeford
2nd June - 2nd June

I have to say that this book is different to anything I have ever read before. It is such an easy read, being only 6 chapters long and just over 200 pages. Therefore it could probably be read in a single sitting. I found that I liked all the characters, especially Ben. But the twist towards the end was expected as I had already worked it out, so it wasn't much of a surprise.

Four - Veronica Roth
3rd June - 4th June

This was a lovely addition to the divergent series. It tells stories from Tobias's point of view and also gives some short stories about Tobias's life before meeting Tris at the start of the series. It's also great to see a more in-depth view of how the government corruption started and began to develop.

Geek Girl: Head Over Heels - Holly Smale
4th June - 7th June

I really enjoyed this and now can't wait for the sixth book. I liked how the plot developed and how Harriet seemed to at last knowing what she was doing. I also liked how Harriet's newer friends merged into her older friendship group.

Everything Everything - Nicola Yoon
17th June - 18th June

I loved this book. I managed to read this book in one sitting, which for me is practically a miracle! It was completely addictive; once I'd started it I had to finish it. It tells the story of Maddy, a girl who has not left her house in 17 years due to an illness and it shows how much her life changes from meeting Noah, a teen that moves in next door. I liked the use of other items to help with the telling of the story, e.g. messages, emails etc.

The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson
19th June - 20th June

The book centres around Lennie who is trying to come to terms with the death of her twin sister at the same time as falling in love with Joe. I really liked how each chapter begun with a poem that Lennie had written. I think that these offered a deeper insight into how she was feeling and what she was thinking. At times, however, I found some of the twists in the plot quiet predictable, but overall I did enjoy reading this book.

Beautiful Broken Things - Sara Barnard
21st June - 24th June

I really liked this book, because it centred around the topic of friendship. Often young adult fiction tends to focus a lot on relationships and romance so this was a nice breath of fresh air. Also it was set in Brighton which is a place i've always wanted to visit. I loved how it showed how complex female friendships can be and also how the introduction of another person can destabilise even the most solid of friendships.

Thanks for Stopping By! :)