Discussion: What do people read on holiday?

Hi loves!

So, I’ve been surrounded by this gorgeous view for a month now and I’m honestly so grateful for that. It’s beautiful, idyllic and a paradise. Yet, I have more pressing matters at the forefront of my mind… books. Whenever I see a book leave a beach bag, I’m looking to see a) what it is and b) if they are enjoying it. I have that genuine fear of missing out on a good read.

This has led me to think about why people read the type of books they do on holiday. How do they make their choices? What leads them to pick those specific titles?

Well, this has been going round in my head for a few days now and has now turned into a little sun lounger activity of mine… First of all, it’s really pleasing to see just how many people, on the loungers have been adorned with towels, start reading. There’s books everywhere! Always a paperback, never a hardback and only one Kindle. I can totally relate to this; I only packed paperbacks, had my Kindle in hand luggage but didn’t actually use it. In fact, it’s still in flight mode. Hmmm.

The hotel had a bookcase in reception which was very pleasing! I had a little look here and it followed the same pattern: paperbacks, no hardbacks at all. However, there were some larger paperbacks. These were all Grisham. I saw a lot of Grisham on the loungers along with James Patterson. These were the top two authors by a long way. (Embarrassingly, I didn’t read any of Grisham or Patterson!)

In terms of books that I saw multiple people read, this was terribly interesting! They were Tyson’s Fury’s Between the Mask and Ant Middleton’s First Man In. Non-fiction! I didn’t expect to see that… In fact, the Tyson Fury book was my mum’s and she felt chuffed that others had taken it from the hotel bookshelf.

Repeat ‘take outs’ gave me another train of thought. I read (and thoroughly adored) The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller. When I saw that someone else had picked this off the shelf, I felt exactly like my mum did, like I made a good choice. It made me feel validated and like my recommendations could be trusted. Isn’t that silly? I feel silly writing it…

Overwhelmingly, the main genre I saw was crime and thriller. I totally understand that! It’s my favourite after all. But for summer? Where were all the romance novels? The chic lit?

I read one, Lizzie & Dante by Mary Bly which was stunningly beautiful and had me sobbing on my lounger. But this was the only one I saw. Where are the other people sobbing at a good love story? I did spot that this book was moving further back on the hotel bookcase too. But why is that? I always thought summer was about the soppy love novels that were only bearable because of that very reason – the fact that it is summer. There’s something about the smell of suncream that makes me think this… When you know, you know…

Also, there was a distinct lack of female authors too. I helpfully added to that with my own pile. Writers like Liza Jewell, Jenny Han, Jane Corey and Michele Campbell vacationed with me and are all there waiting to be discovered by the next reader.

So, why do we read the things we do on holiday? What is a typical ‘beach read’ and are they changing? What have you spotted? For me, it was all my paperbacks that didn’t fit on the bookcase. How do you pick yours though?

Until next time, when I’m back in the UK!

Big Love xxx

Summer 2022 – Cyprus

Hello Loves!

Isn’t summer a wonderful time of year? The days are lighter for longer, people are happier, you can eat outside and you get to feel the warmth of the sunshine on your skin. For me, it’s a time when I can really focus on reading and getting down my to be read list!

Whilst I’m away, I’ve only got my phone to blog on but I wanted to share with you a few photos from a costal walk I took in Protaras, Cyprus. I hope you enjoy them. 🌞 I’ll try and get some reviews up but bare with me!

The last two are my favourite because it made me think of my lovely blogging friends – we may be in different places but really we’re never truly far apart. ♥️

Until next time loves! Keep cool in the heat.

Big Love xxx

Reading Round-Up: July

Hello Loves!

I hope you’re all well. You may have guessed from my previous post that I’m on holiday now (finally) and I’m getting back into the swing of reading and resting!

Today I want to share with you my reading round up for July. July is my favourite month – my birthday, summer and the days are just a bit lighter and longer. It also means school is finishing. I have to say, I’ve found this July really difficult. I’ve barely read (only since I’ve been on holiday) and work was really a case of surviving and getting the job done. I’m on the road to recovery now but it’s been tough. I’ve had lots of doubts along the way but I’m pleased I’ve managed to read the books I did.

In July then, I’ve read 6 books – all of which have been after the start of the summer holiday. Don’t get me wrong, I am pleased with 6. But, it’s only now really that I recognise how much I was struggling before. Never mind! My life for the next month is the sea, sunshine, books and beach donuts! Let’s check out the shelves!

It almost seems silly picking a top three. I’ve blogged already about The Lamplighters – I still adore this by the way – and Shape of a Boy. In the interest of being fair, I’ll put the other four books in order of how much I enjoyed reading them and the narratives produced.

1. The Other Passenger – Louise Candlish. I’m a huge fan of Louise Candlish. She really is the queen of plot twists and this one really kept me hanging until the very end. Perfect for the summer!
2. Dial A For Aunties – Jesse Sutanto. This was really funny and I did also love the cover. A touch far fetched by the end (a murder, a freezer and a family trying to hide it) but enjoyable nonetheless.
3. Counterfeit – Kirsten Chen. This was another good read really with an interesting plot. I picked it because it’s to do with real and fake handbags and the people who get mixed up in that. Really different to what I’ve read before.
4. The Pact – Amy Heydenrych. Just because I’ve put this one 4th, it doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. I really really did and I had to finish it – it was so compelling. But I did manage to work out the ending in terms of who killed Nicole. Regardless, it was a thriller of a book.

So there we have it! Another 6 books read and more on the horizon. I do like to mix it up with the thrillers and the more chic lit bits. A variety is always better. Plus I do end up getting paranoid if I read too many thriller books!

Here’s hoping for a better reading month in August! But for now, it’s beach donut time!

Until my next post, take care all! Big Love! Xxx

Book Bingo Reading Challenge 2022! The Lamplighters – Emma Stonex

Hello Loves!

I hope you’re well and enjoying July. Now the summer holidays are here I’m getting my reading game back on and the plan is to clear some of my reading piles! No more book buying until the pile is significantly lower! (Here’s hoping anyway!)

Today I want to share with you the amazing choice I had for my Book Bingo Reading Challenge. For July I decided on picking: Read a best seller. Now, I’m not very good with books that are really hyped up because I always feel the pressure to like it too. However, I can totally see why my choice for is a best seller – it’s absolutely incredible. I’m talking about the debut novel The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex. I hope you love this as much as I did!

What’s it all about?

Well, it’s really tricky to review this book without spoiling anything but I’ll give it my best shot! The first thing to know is that the novel alternates between then and now. We start in December 1972 when three men, Bill, Arthur and Vince, have disappeared from a tower lighthouse off the English coast. What makes this more mysterious is the state in which the place is discovered by the relief team; the door barred from the inside, dishes set out at the kitchen table and both clocks stopped at a quarter to nine. Everything was polished and cleaned to perfect – no evidence of a struggle of any kind.

Twenty years have passed and the Maiden Rock Mystery is still a mystery and still remains unsolved. This naturally leads to plenty of speculation and theories developing – ranging from the sublime, grim and ridiculous. What really happened though?

“This isn’t a thriller, this is my life.”

Some of these theories follow the ideas that one man killed the others, then killed himself. The Trident company seem to be pushing this theory quite strongly. Maybe all three were suicidal? Perhaps a monster approached and attacked them. Maybe they were all swept out to see. Some even swore that they have seen a trio of white birds hovering over the lighthouse, believing this to be the men with some supernatural powers.

“I’ve heard it all, over the years. Arthur was abducted by aliens. He was murdered by pirates. He was blackmailed by smugglers. He killed the others, or they killed him, and then each other and then themselves—over a woman or a debt, or a washed-up treasure chest. They were haunted by ghosts or kidnapped by the government. Threatened by spies or gobbled by sea serpents. They went lunatic, one or all of them. They had secret lives no one knew about…”

As time moves back into the now, an author long inspired and naturally curious about the incident begins to interview the women of the lighthouse keepers. After all, these are the ones left behind. Helen, Jenny and Michelle all differ remarkably meaning it’s really easy to follow their narratives. It’s these interviews where we learn the narratives of the men, the secrets the women have too and the personal tragedies that this event caused.

Running alongside this, back in 1972, the men share their own stories following the days before the incident took place. Like their wives, they too have their own stories to tell. The entrapment within the tower is a mere metaphor for the ensnaring of their past mistakes, their sins and regrets. Over time, resentment too increases. The demands of the job and the time away means that this is ever prevalent.

“When I’m ashore I have to pretend to be a man I’m not, part of something I’m not part of. It’s difficult to explain it to normal people. Lighthouse worlds are small. Slow. That’s what other people can’t do: they can’t do things slowly and with meaning…”

It’s here that I struggle because I want to tell you but what I want more is for you to read it and feel the magic yourself. This book made me feel exactly the same as Where the Crawdad’s Sing did and that was my favourite book of last year. It’s haunting, atmospheric, emotional and utterly thrilling. I couldn’t put it down and I doubt I’ll read another book like it this year.

Final Thoughts

I started to summarise this book above but I literally cannot stop gushing about it. In fact, I’ve left my copy for someone else to stumble across and read. It’s incredible and I don’t have the words to really show that.

See you next time my loves!

Big Love xxx

Book Bingo Reading Challenge 2022! The Summer I Turned Pretty – Jenny Han

Morning Fellow Book Lovers!

I hope you’re all well and enjoying the sunshine. It’s definitely getting me into the summer spirit and I wanted to use that for my reading challenge this month *ignores the fact that there’s four weeks of school left…* I decided to go with Read a book that’s full of sunshine for this month. Personally, to me there’s only ever going to be one winner: Jenny Han. I absolutely adored the Lara Jean series so I knew I would love the next trilogy she’s written. Of course, I’m talking about The Summer I Turned Pretty. I hope you love it as much as I did!

What’s it all about?

The protagonist of this novel is Isabel ‘Belly’ Conklin, her brother Steven and their best friends, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher. Belly’s mother and Jeremiah and Conrad’s mother, Susannah are best friends and every summer they head to the beach house. All of these summer breaks lead to one thing: love. Belly is just realising how beautiful she is and how she is changing into a young woman. She’s only ever had eyes for Conrad but feelings for Jeremiah occur meaning that we have a love triangle between the three of them.

‘It feels like nothing else exists outside of that world, this moment. There’s just us. Everything that happened this past summer, and every summer before it, has led up to this. To now.’

The mothers, Susannah and Laurel, are best friends. Yet, despite this novel being a coming of age story about Belly, there is an ever increasing sadness and feeling that something is wrong with Susannah. She seems to be asleep more, spending more time in her room and more sadness around her. She promised Belly the summer of her life, seeing how beautiful she was, yet the sadness around her and her mother is hard to go unnoticed. Susannah is the character who seems to have all the answers, who can see things differently. Everyone turns to her and adores her. Her boys are fiercely protective of her.

‘She and my mother hugged first, fierce and long. My mother looked so happy to see her that she was teary, and my mother was never teary.’

Daughter to Laurel, Belly hasn’t really known her own beauty until now. She’s fiercely headstrong and a talent in the pool. But the boys only see her as a little sister, much to her frustration. The older of the two brothers, Conrad is a deep and intense character. There are times when he is thoroughly frustrating because he’s so difficult to understand. However, the moment came when things felt a little different between Belly and him. She’s always been interested in Conrad but he’s so closed off and emotionless that she never really knew where she stood with him. Does he even notice her?

‘The air felt different all of a sudden. It felt charged, electric, like I had been zapped by a thunderbolt.’

What about Jeremiah? He’s presented as the golden boy of the family, the younger of the two brothers and the one who is arguably the most loyal to Belly. However, he does become frustrated about living in the background. He too develops feelings for Belly and she does likewise. What does this mean for the group? To make matters more confusing, one summer they share a kiss, Belly’s first. What does this mean for them? Wasn’t it Conrad who she hoped her first kiss would be with?

‘He took. a deep breath of air and puffed up his cheeks, and then he blew it out so hard the har on his forehead fluttered. I could feel my heart start to pound – something was going to happen. He was going to say something I didn’t want to hear. He was going to go and change everything.’

Also in the mix is Cam. Another summer Belly meets Cam and he tells her how beautiful she is. They have a summer relationship, hanging out together, having fun together and sleeping in his hoodie. Does this work out? After all, he is the only one to notice all the amazing things about Belly and to tell her all of them too. Just the fact he notices her, really makes a difference to the group.

‘Things had been weird with me and Conrad and me and Jeremiah – an impossible thought crept its way into my head. Was it possible they didn’t want me with Cam? Because they, like, had feelings for me? Could that even be? I doubted it. I was like a little sister to them. Only I wasn’t’

So who gets the girl in the end? That’s for you to read and find out!

Final Thoughts

I loved this novel so much. It made me remember back to when I was younger and summer seemed to give you all the opportunities you could ever want. There’s a reason why YA is a booming genre and that’s because it’s honest and real. Jenny Han is an exceptional writer – I love her books and this one doesn’t disappoint. I cannot wait to get my hands on the other two books in this trilogy because I have to see what happens to the trio. This book gave me all I wanted and needed and more regarding summer vibes. I absolutely loved it.

It’s back to exam marking for me and admiring the summer weather from inside. I hope you all enjoy it! Until next time.

Big Love xxx

Newcastle Adventure

Hello Everyone!

July seems to have become the month where I go off exploring. School hasn’t quite finished but this weekend has certainly made me feel like I am on holiday!

This weekend I spent time in Newcastle and the surrounding areas. It’s only my second time in Newcastle and I absolutely love it! There’s some really beautiful buildings here. I liked this guy most!

The first stop was Souter Lighthouse, standing midway between the Tyne and the Wear. This lighthouse opened in 1871 and stands proud today. It remains an iconic beacon. It’s the first lighthouse in the world that was designed and built to be powered by electricity.

Due to it being such a clear day, the views span for about 35 miles. Amazing!! You may remember from my previous post that being near the sea is one of my favourite things. This was just beautiful. Again, I felt like I was abroad. We need to cherish our British seasides really. They are just as good as any other.

After exploring the lighthouse and mooching about the coast, I then started to head towards Seaton Delaval Hall. This grand hall sits perfectly within Georgian society. However, it was more of a party house.

The Delavals had a flamboyant lifestyle and were full of life. They were known as the most notorious Georgian partygoers and pranksters. Everyone wanted to be invited to their balls and parties. It was hot topic at the time!

However, today this house requires your imagination as it was ravaged by fire two hundred years ago. It still wears it’s scars today. I don’t think this detracts from its beauty though. I think it adds to it because it survived.

The day of adventure didn’t end there! After having ice cream and lazing in deckchairs soaking up the sun, the last stop was to see The Angel of the North.

Created by Anthony Gormley in 1998, it stands 66ft tall looking over Gateshead. The wingspan is 177ft across, opening its arms across the city. Gormley wanted to create a sense of an open embrace.

I’m really thrilled I’ve seen her. Photos really don’t do it justice; you need to see her and experience her for yourself.

What an incredible weekend. I can’t believe I saw so many beautiful things in one day. We have some amazing places in this world but it’s what it makes us feel that’s just as special. This has given me the motivation to see out the last of this term. I can do it! If you ever have a sense of doubt, look out at this stunning view and give yourself five minutes. That’s my plan anyway!

Hope you’re all still enjoying this beautiful weather!

Big love all xx

Birthday Weekend – Flamborough Adventure

Hello Sunshiners!

July is upon us and it’s Britain is beautifully basking in the heatwave so far. Yesterday was my birthday and to celebrate my family and I are spending the weekend together.

Today we went to Flamborough because we fancied being by the sea. Flamborough is situated 4 miles from Bridlington. It’s a really beautiful little place; a hidden treasure. The little beach cove meant that we had found a lovely spot to spend the day.

I love being on a beach, the sand between your toes, the constant sound of the waves makes my mind completely empty. I’m completely at peace. I find it so therapeutic and calming. Today did not disappoint. In fact, I’m writing this on my way home, I’m that excited.

My birthday has been pretty awesome and I wanted to share it with you lovely people too. Have you any seaside stories? Regardless, I hope you’re enjoying the sunshine and taking some time for yourselves. You deserve it!!

Enjoy July everyone!

Big love xxx