'The Beginning and The End of Everything.': May 2014

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Bank Holiday.

Apologies for the lack of posts recently but I've had a pretty hectic weekend! I went bowling, played mini golf and got a bit merry on Bank Holiday Sunday!

I am currently finishing up my review of 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' which I will post in the next couple of days, but in the meantime here are a few places I visited over the Bank Holiday weekend.

'Shortly before his sixteenth birthday, Kevin Khatchadourian kills seven of his fellow high-school students, a cafeteria worker and a teacher. He is visited in prison by his mother, Eva, who narrates in a series of letters to her estranged husband, Franklin, the story of Kevin's upbringing. For this powerful, shocking novel, Lionel Shriver was awarded the Orange Prize for Fiction.'

I have been meaning to read this book for a while, since sixth form to be exact, which was about four years ago. I was given the book as a goodbye-your-going-to-uni present from my A-level teachers at the time, who gave everyone in the class a different book to keep. One of my English Literature teachers said that this was one of her favourite books and that I would enjoy it because I was very into psychology at the time.

The book has also been made into a film and stars Ezra Miller (who plays Patrick in 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower') as the main character Kevin Khatchadourian. I am rather intrigued to see Miller play a different role as I have only seen him in 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower.'

I really can't wait to read this book as I have always been interested in criminal psychology and have recently watched a documentary on the Columbine high-school massacre which took place in Columbine, Colorado in 1999. Although the book deals with a rather sensitive issue, by offering the narrative from Eva's point of view Shriver can allow us to attempt to understand Kevin's childhood and question whether his psychopathic actions were rooted in childhood (nurture) or in his very being (nature).

My review of 'Morvern Callar', by Alan Warner.

'Morvern Callar', by Alan Warner, initially intrigued me in many ways; not only is the main character 'immoral', but she acts in a way which is not expected. However, I really found this book difficult to read and by that I mean Morvern's narrative is rather monotonous. Although I have explained further on in my review why I believe he chose to write the book the way he did, overall, it just wasn't for me.

Nevertheless, I did rather enjoy the slang in the book, as I am from the North-East I recognised some of the language as we too use similar words to Morvern; 'tatties' is Scottish slang for 'potatoes' and 'mortal' is slang for being extremely drunk.

The beginning of 'Morvern Callar', really enticed me to read on, but after the first page I didn't particularly enjoy the book; I don't know whether or not it was because of the immoral, unchanging tone of the narrator, as I mentioned before or because I didn't enjoy the storyline itself. However, there are some interesting elements within the novel, which I have explored in my review of 'Morvern Callar.'

Paris.

Throwback Thursday:

My boyfriend booked return flights for us both for a weekend away for my 22nd birthday, which is on the 16th of February. He told me we were going to London, so as we arrived at Newcastle airport I did not question this one bit. When he had returned with our boarding passes tucked into our passports, he nudged me and asked me to open my passport. At this point I was confused; I didn’t know why he was asking me to look at my boarding pass when I knew where we was going, or so I thought. Once I opened it and realised that we were not travelling to Heathrow Airport, London, we were actually travelling to Charles De Galle airport, in Paris!
I couldn’t believe it, I cried whilst I stood in shock in the middle of Newcastle International whilst strangers were staring at me, probably wondering what was wrong with me, but I didn’t care, I was going to Paris!
I couldn’t believe how romantic and thoughtful my birthday surprise was and couldn’t stop questioning how I didn’t know, when everyone else, including my family knew the whole time!
We flew to Paris on the 14th of February and landed back on the 17th of February, it was the best Valentines Day and birthday present anyone could ever wish for!

My review of 'The Company of Wolves' and 'Wolf-Alice'.

The final instalment of my reviews are 'The Company of Wolves' and 'Wolf-Alice' from Angela Carter's 'The Bloody Chamber' and other stories.

'The Company of Wolves' subverts the original tale of 'Red Riding Hood' into a new story by not only empowering the female heroine but also allowing her to realize the 'beast' within herself.
'Wolf-Alice', borrows elements from 'Red Riding Hood', 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There', by introducing the heroine as a feral child who was raised by wolves. She is a young girl who has little/no understanding of the civilized world and is adopted by a Duke, just as she comes into womanhood.
'The Company of Wolves' is one of my favourite short stories in Angela Carter's collection as I love the duality of human and animal and the fact that the female chooses her own destiny at the end of the story.

'It is off-season in a remote Highland sea-port: twenty-one-year-old Morvern Callar, a low-paid employee in the local supermarket, wakes one morning to find her strange boyfriend dead on their kitchen floor. Morvern's laconic reaction is both intriguing and immoral. What she does next is even more appalling...'

'Morvern Callar', by Alan Warner immediately intrigued me; not only is her boyfriend found dead, which is rather mysterious and ominous but according to the blurb she seems 'laconic' and 'immoral', which are two words you wouldn't associate with the grief you would expect the character to feel. I also believe there is a film based on the book which came out in 2002, which I am also interested to watch and possibly review.
Overall I am rather fascinated to read this novel as I love books which allow the main character(s) to act in an unexpected way or an opposite way to what you would expect them to.

My review of 'The Lady of The House of Love' and 'The Werewolf', by Angela Carter.

The fourth instalment of my reviews are 'The Lady of The House of Love' and 'The Werewolf', from Angela Carter's, 'The Bloody Chamber' and other stories.
'The Lady of the House of Love' depicts a supernatural being who is consumed by her need to feed on human blood, along with the necessity to shuffle her Tarot cards to reveal her future and 'The Werewolf' is based on the story of 'Red Riding Hood', but subverts the original tale so that the heroine in the story overcomes evil.

This is a question I've been meaning to answer for some time now and is one which I think is relevant to anyone who has a blog or wishes to create one.
I am new to the world of blogging having only blogged for the last month or so, but I feel that it relates to all of us in the blogging community.
The reason why I blog is to analyse literature, practice my essay writing, generate debate, spark interest, invite new ideas and recommendations and to free my mind of whatever is going on in my head at the time.
Some people think having a blog is 'pointless' and 'obnoxious', but I think it is one of the best things I have ever done; not only is it a useful tool for my English Literature degree but it introduces me to so many different blogs which I never even knew were out there. I've learnt new techniques through the designing my website and discovered how to track statistics. I've also viewed some great blogs which are completely different from my own, such as blogs which include recipes, fashion, business and music.
There are thousands of blogs out there and if you are wondering whether you should start a blog or not, I wouldstrongly urge you to say yes! It is a great way to widen your knowledge and possibly attract exciting job opportunities.

If you have a blog, or are thinking of creating one, what do you want your blog to say to your readers?

'Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength.'

As a sufferer of anxiety, worrying is a daily part of my life, however, sometimes I need to be reminded that my mental health does not define me.

'Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength', is a very significant quote; worrying about irrational fears and events which haven't or may never happen does not lead to a healthy state of mind. The strength that we have within ourselves only declines when we allow ourselves to become overwhelmed with worry.

Last weekend I had a huge wake up call which allowed me reflect on my negative actions towards others. Although it is very important for your family, friends and partners to accept you as you are, there are also ways that you can improve too.

I currently need to work on myself and focus on remaining calm, so I recently purchased some self-help books on anxiety in order to relax. It is essential to focus on yourself once in a while, so you shouldn't feel guilty about doing it, it just means you can clear your head and focus on what truly matters in your life.

Click here if you would like to read my blog post on panic attacks, anxiety and depression.
The books I purchased were 'Overcoming Anxiety', by Helen Kennerly, 'The Worry Cure: Stop worrying and start living',by Robert L. Leahy and 'Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway', by Susan Jeffers. I bought my copies from Ebay, but you can also purchase these books on Amazon as well.

My review of 'The Erl-King' and 'The Snow Child', by Angela Carter.

The third instalment of my reviews are 'The Erl-King' and 'The Snow Child',from Angela Carter's 'The Bloody Chamber' and other stories.
'The Erl-King' is a dark, mystical being who lives in the woods surrounded by animals, death, decay and nature, whereas 'The Snow Child' is the creation of the Counts sexual fantasises, who represents the unmaintainable male image of female beauty.
'The Snow Child' is one of my favourite short stories in Angela Carter's collection as it uses the fairytale of 'Snow White' to confront the unrealistic and unachievable male ideal which women in society today seem to strive for.

My second instalment of reviews are 'The Tiger's Bride' and'Puss-in-Boot's', from Angela Carter's 'The Bloody Chamber'and other stories.

'The Tiger's Bride' explores the objectification of women and the transgression from human to beast and 'Puss-in-Boots'revolves around a cat whose flamboyant actions and involvement in mischievous plans play out throughout the story.

Angela Carter's 'The Bloody Chamber' and other stories subverts traditional fairy tale themes to liberate her female protagonists from the restrictive gender roles they are confined to. She provides the heroines with a voice by exploring the dichotomy between human and beast so that the character can realise their own potential or destiny, even if they did not already know it at the beginning of the story.

My particular favourite short stories from Carter's collection are 'The Bloody Chamber', 'The Snow Child', 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon' and 'The Company of Wolves'. 'The Bloody Chamber', is a truly shocking story which chilled me to the core, 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon', highlights the beast within us all, 'The Snow Child',emphasizes the Count's masculine control over female identity and'The Company of Wolves', changes your perception of the main antagonists, despite their initial negative description by the narrator. However, all of the stories within the collection are noteworthy, and are well worth a read!

I am going to write a review on all of the stories in 'The Bloody Chamber', but to avoid monotonous and tedious scrolling through ten essays, I have decided to write two reviews at a time, this review includes 'The Bloody Chamber' and 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon'.

Last month I posted a review on Soap & Glory's skincare range for oily/combination skin, which you can read here. Since I am a newly invigorated customer I thought that I would try out some more products from their line and I went for their SUGAR CRUSH™ range, which includes a body wash, body scrub and body buttercream.
I had heard great reviews about these products so I wanted to try them out for myself to see if they really did what they claimed to.

'Do More of What Makes You Happy.'

Although you should really 'do more of what makes you happy'everyday, I feel at this point in my life, this quote has the most significance.
After I had completed my A-levels way back in 2009, I enrolled at College to complete a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design. The course lasted a year and was an incredible learning curve for me; I learnt how to present my work in a professional way and have it critiqued by my tutors and fellow classmates which prepared me for the structure of the Fine Art course at University.
I would highly recommended completing this type of course before you begin a Fine Art course at University as it was a very valuable stepping stone towards my future course.

After reading and reviewing 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower', by Stephen Chbosky, I decided to watch the film to see if it would meet my high expectations. I often feel rather sceptical when books I enjoy are made into films as I feel they don't always provide the same experience as the novel does, but I decided to bite the bullet and watch the film anyway.

'Based on the novel written by Stephen Chbosky, this is about 15-year old Charlie (Logan Lerman), an endearing and naive outsider, coping with his first love (Emma Watson), the suicide of his best friend, and his own mental illness while struggling to find a group of people with whom he belongs. The introvert freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors, Sam and Patrick, who welcome him into the real world.'

'A funny and touching coming-of-age story based on the beloved best-selling novel by Stephen Chbosky, 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' is a modern classic that captures the dizzying highs and crushing lows of growing up. Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller, 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' is a moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope- and the unforgettable friends that help us through life.'

'The Twits', by Roald Dahl.

My favourite literary character.

Although I do have a variety of favourite Literary characters, I only wanted to choose one for this particular post as it would most likely go on for too long.

This character is the embodiment of the Byronic hero; A variation on the classic romantic hero, who exhibits an array of dark and sinister traits.

I find it fascinating how the reader experiences juxtaposing feelings of repulsion and desire; Feeling utterly disgusted and frightened at the characters sinister actions whilst at the same time being able to empathise with them to some extent.

For me, the Byronic Hero underpins the 'rebel' within society, who appears to have the 'manners of a gentlemen' but in fact has a sinister vein of darkness running through their being which is scratching the surface, waiting to be unleashed.

'The Bloody Chamber', by Angela Carter.

'From familiar fairy tales and legends - Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss-in-Boots, Beauty and the Beast, vampires, werewolves - Angela Carter has created an absorbing collection of dark, sensual, fantastic stories.'

I have been meaning to read all of the stories in 'The Bloody Chamber', by Angela Carter for a while now, but I have only just begun to read them. I have previously read one piece of short fiction from her collection in 'The Bloody Chamber' and other stories which is 'The Snow Child'.

I have always been fascinated by fairy tales or folk tales, which were read to me as a child, however, these short stories have a dark and sinister twist to them.

I am looking forward to see what 'The Blood Chamber' and other stories has to offer me and I will write a review on all the stories listed in the next coming weeks.

Dealing with panic attacks, anxiety and depression.

"I am more than my mental health."

This is not something I have ever really talked about before, and it is not something I feel 100% comfortable writing about, but I think it is an important subject which needs to be addressed. Not only to help people understand what panic attacks, anxiety and depression actually are but also how you can help yourself or if you are a friend, partner or relative of anyone suffering from this.

Panic attacks, anxiety and depression affect one out of four of us, myself being one. Mental illness affects one in four of us and something which I believe people need to really try to understand before judging someone. It isn't someone being 'over the top', 'attention seeking' or 'difficult', it is something you can't control. Imagine it like this; if you feel tired, your automatic instinct is shut your eyes and to go to sleep. Now imagine it like this, you are completely exhausted and need to go to sleep: your eyelids shutting are the panic attacks, anxiety and depression taking control and your ability to keep them open and to stay awake is your fight against them. This is basically impossible; they are inevitability going to close at one point or another.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower', is a novel that was recommended to me by my younger sister, one which I wouldn't usually choose to read, but I am soglad that I did.
The narrative is written through a series of letters by the main character Charlie, a high school freshman, to a correspondent only known as 'friend'.
Not only does Chbosky combine the turbulent emotions which encapsulate adolescence, but he also brings lighter moments and humour into play; Although I found the vein of darkness running through the book rather clear from the start, the language Chbosky uses is rather humorous.
It is a 'coming-of-age' story, which portrays the roller-coaster of teenage life; Making new friends, going to parties, falling in love, abuse, romance, sex, drugs, alcohol, abortion and the struggle to try and find your own identity, to name a few.
I believe anyone who reads this book will relate in some way to the issues raised; It is well worth a read!

"In the experience of art, time seems not to exist."
-S Rushdie.

So... I've fractured my finger.

Firstly, I would like to apologise for my atrocious my nail varnish, however, due to the splint or 'finger blanket' as I call it, surrounding it, I am unable to paint my nail properly.

I had neglected my injury for about a month and realised that it was still swollen and out of place so I went back to the doctor who advised me to get an X-ray.

When they had taken an X-ray of my right ring finger, they concluded that there was in fact a small fracture at the bottom of my distal phalanx.

Today, I went back to the hospital for a second time, so the doctor could evaluate my injury and advise me on what to do next. He informed me that my ligament had been twisted, which fractured the side of the bone.

“So often, we define ourselves by the pain in our lives. It is our way of attracting the attention of the universe. “Look at me. Look at what the world has done.” But seldom do we take the time to realize that we are in control of that pain, as much as we are in control of surviving it. They are one and the same.”
— Ronald Andrés Moore

Soap & Glory skincare range for oily/combination skin.

I'm not going to lie; Every Christmas and/or birthday I receive Soap & Glory gift sets, usually containing a shower gel and the range of body mists and I barely use them as I'm not really into 'bath stuff'. However, this recently changed when I decided one day to use the shower gel I had sitting in my shower for the last month; this product was the'CLEAN ON ME™' shower gel. I was considering using a body scrub which I hadn't used for a few weeks and decided why not, I may as well try whatever is scattered around my shower and I'm glad I did. The shower gel smelt crisp, clean and fresh, alongside the 'typical' soap & glory smell but to be honest the scent didn't wow me, what I did notice was how smooth my skin felt after using it, the tag line 'Soft, smooth, sexy skin whenever you want it. Contains natural mandarin peel extract and a bonus built-in body lotion. Scented with our Original Pink™ fragrance' certainly lived up to its name. My arms, legs, hands and feet felt so smooth and I really felt rejuvenated after my shower.

This led me on to their website, as I was interested to see what their skin care range could offer me. I have oily/combination skin and find it extremely difficult to find skin care products which can both keep my skin matte, especially in the t-zone area but also moisturise my face as well, without it looking greasy. I stumbled upon their 'Acne treatment' and 'Oily skin' range, like so many of us, I haven't always had the best skin and although my skin is a million times better than what it used to be, I still have breakouts from time to time. I immediately noticed the change in packaging, before even reading what the products were and noticed mixed reviews. Most of the customers who had left reviews on the products were appalled at the change in packaging and the new higher price, for a smaller item. I can see their point; If you have been, unlike me, a Soap and Glory addict for a number of years then I can see their disappointment and anger towards the new price if you are accustomed to paying a certain amount for a larger product.

My top 20 favourite childhood books.

Reading has always been an essential part of my life and as a child I loved nothing more than going to the library with my sisters and taking out new books. I remember how annoyed I was when the librarian informed me that I was only allowed to take out a few books at a time as I wanted to read them all!
Here are a few which I absolutely loved, and if you have children, I would highly recommended that they should read all of these books at some point in their lives!

A few weeks back I watched Undercover Doctor: Cure me, I'm Gay on Channel 4. Dr Christian Jessen, one of the presenters of the show Embarrassing Bodies, goes undercover to try out and test various methods and techniques to 'cure' his Homosexuality.
The documentary begins with Jessen explaining that he was approached by a male patient , who wanted to change his sexuality from Homosexual to Heterosexual, or in his words 'Made Straight'. He wanted to scientifically test 'How Gay you actually are', by undergoing tests at Cornell University in New York. During the tests he was shown videos of naked men and women whilst the scientists measured his bodily reactions, change in pupils and penis arousal gauge to test his sexual arousal. Jessen would then be retaking the tests after he had undergone the different types of therapies, to see if they actually worked.

Image courtesy of: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/228698487301188976/

'In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars'.

When my mother heard that I had been accepted into University this year, she decided to buy me a small present. She knows that 'The Great Gatsby', by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is my one of my favourite novels, so she gave me one of the best gifts I have ever received.
'The Great Gatsby' postcard set is a small collection of cards with a printed quote on each piece of paper. The quotes are some of my favourite from the literary masterpiece; 'In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars', 'that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool' and of course 'So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past'.

'The Perks of Being a Wallflower', by Stephen Chbosky.

'Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.'

'The Perks of Being a Wallflower', by Stephen Chbosky was recommended to me by my younger sister who is a massive fan of the book and urged me to read it. She went on to say that she loves the author's style of writing and that "I won't believe the twist at the end!". Naturally, I was instantly intrigued by this reaction, as my sister is not one to mince her words and is very straight to the point. I shall let you know how I get on in the coming weeks..

Image courtesy of: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Perks-Being-Wallflower-Stephen-Chbosky/dp/184739407

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Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Thursday, 15 May 2014

Throwback Thursday:

Tuesday, 13 May 2014

'The Bloody Chamber', by Angela Carter.

'The Perks of Being a Wallflower', by Stephen Chbosky.