Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

10 BOOKS I LOVE



In my latest video, I share with you my favourite books spanning from about age 6 to the present day. Arguably it's the stories I loved as a child which will prove to be the most influential in my life, so I think there's merit in sharing beloved children's fiction. If you're a writer, filmmaker or storyteller lacking inspiration, I urge you to return to the tales from your childhood. They might just reignite your spark.

Watch above or click HERE.

-LEXI

SUMMER READING


As a post exam treat, I took the liberty of doing a therapeutic binge order on Amazon of books. I always read a lot in the Summer. New-found spare time and the constant commutes out and about means it just makes sense to read more. I just finished 1984, which was incredible and I've got a review of the play coming soon. I bought an eclectic mix with everything from classics to YA novels, a book on feminism and even a collectors item from my favourite TV show, Fringe. I will make sure to document my progress over the Summer and let you know my opinions on each!

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:

Death and The Penguin by Andrev Kurkov
I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
The Opposite Of Loneliness by Marina Keegan
Touching the Void by Joe Simpson
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder
Entwined by Heather Dixon
Fringe 'September's Notebook' 
Fringe 'The Zodiac Paradox' by Christa Faust
Why We Took The Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf

My to-read list is ever-growing, so please do share your recommendations in the comments!

-Lexi xo

Do kids read books anymore?

Yes, that is a question I've asked myself many times this week. Reading is one of my favourite pastimes. It can transport you into new worlds and introduce you to colourful characters who might just change the way you think. Reading books is one of life's finest pleasures, and I don't understand why it seems to be dying.



I am surrounded by fellow teenagers five days a week. I hear their conversations, and I observe my generation in their natural habitat on a daily basis. This past week, I was shocked to hear that a large number of my peers don't read novels on a regular basis. So I investigated further, and asked some more of my friends. A large number said that they hadn't read a book that wasn't a school assignment since they were in primary school. Some even said they'd never read a book cover to cover unless it was for school. After hearing this, I expressed my concern to my friends in a calm and mature manner, with the exception of Finlay and Alfie, which went as depicted below (sorry). 

(via)

I go to a school which is known for achieving good results, so that's why I was so surprised to hear that a lot of these bright kids don't read books. I'm not gender stereotyping here, but purely based on the results I received in my informal survey, it was more the boys than the girls who claimed they didn't like books. We live in a digital age. Video games, tv shows and movies are available to us at the click of a button thanks to the internet, so sitting down and taking the time to read a novel is becoming an outdated concept to us. I'm guilty of it too. I live and work on the blogosphere, so I know what it's like to get immersed in the digital world. In fact it was one of my New Years Resolutions to make more time for reading, because I felt I didn't do it enough. But with so many amazing books out there, it's such a shame that teenagers don't seem to enjoy reading. Even taking out ten minutes of your daily video games/TV time/sleep/etc to read a few pages will benefit you, and bring you great joy.



Whether you've never really got into reading or you're in a bit of a rut, below are some of my favourite books from over the past few years that you might want to look at. These vary from childhood favourites to crappy (yet brilliant) teen fiction and an increasing amount of more thought--provoking novels. I have a never-ending list of books I want to read too, so hopefully I can expand my list of favourites soon. I'm trying to think of a way to encourage my peers to read, but currently I'm struggling. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

A Gathering Light - Jennifer Donnelly
The Curious incident of the dog in the nighttime - Mark Haddon
Divergent trilogy - Veronica Roth
The Fault In Our Stars - John Green
Severed heads, Broken hearts - Robyn Schneider
The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides
Once - Morris Gleitzman
The Silver Brumby - Elyne Mitchell
Why We Broke Up - Daniel Handler

The printed word is one of life's greatest gifts and we can't let it die out. Just read. Please. You'll thank yourself later.

-Lexi xo

Birthday wishlist

Hello lovelies! My Birthday is coming up (March 5th to be precise) and I thought I would do a wishlist of the moment with a few things I'm loving.



For those of you who don't know (I think in this case that's few) I am obsessed with teddies. When I spotted this vintage sweatshirt on Asos it was love at first sight.



These shoes are so adorable. I basically live in different pairs of black ankle boots so I'm dying for some variety. I've seen a few of my favourite bloggers with similar ones and they always look so simple, fresh and cute. I can see these paired with some tie dye frilly socks.

Image 4 of River Island Maxi Skirt With Aztec Belt


I feel like this is such a wardrobe staple but I have barely endeavored into Maxi territory. You can layer it for Winter and it would also be fab in Summer on the beach. Also it's on sale for £10! Going to order this soon!





Desperate for a vinyl skirt at the moment, extra brownie points if it's a pastel one. I love the contrasting texture it can add to an outfit.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Franny and Zooey and Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Both of these books have been highly recommended to me. The first by Tavi in her talk at the Opera house and the second by many of my friends. I have so many books I want to read and this is only the start of the list. 

Those are a few things I'm saving for/loving at the moment. Let me know if you find something you think I will like and tweet me HERE because I have been using my twitter a lot lately! 

-Lexi xo



Christmas shopping

Yesterday I went out and did the last of my Christmas shopping. I took my camera with me and took some photos although they aren't incredibly festive. But I did scavenge through some cool vintage stores and old book stores so here are some photos of my day.


Taking a mirror selfie in a vintage store.



Is it weird that I really want this type writer?






Have you done all of your Christmas shopping yet?

-Lexi xo

September favourites

Hello all! September is over which means it's time for my belated favourites post. If you aren't familiar with these, I talk about trends I've been loving this past month, things I've bought, read, listened to, watched or worn. Apologies for the bad light in the picture but once again I am doing this late at night.


1. First is tartan. I bought this tartan skirt from Urban Outfitters this month and I have been going a bit tartan crazy. Whether it's a dress, skirt or bag, I've probably worn it and blogged about it. 

2. Scrunchies. Oh yes, they're back my friends. I have this jam packed draw full of hair accessories from the ages of 3-now and it is too cluttered for me to even think about. However, I had a rumage the other day and found several scrunchies, bows and headbands which I can't wait to wear again. It's also scrunchie-mania at school. Here are some treasures I found in my draw.


3. Photos! My Diana Mini photos actually. I mentioned in my last post that I was going to get them developed and they turned out really well. Some better than others but I am very pleased. The picture doesn't really show the prints but if you want, I could scan them and show them in another post.

4. Lurhmann's Romeo and Juliet. Ohmygod this movie is so wonderful. We are studying the play at school and before you moan about Shakespeare, let me finish. I have studied this play before and I didn't think much of it. But now I have the coolest teacher ever and I have totally fallen in love with the play. We are analysing the language so it makes sense, looking at different movie versions and comparing directing styles, and acting bits out too. After watching clips of this movie in classes before and now I decided it was time for me to buy my own copy. I love everything about this movie (especially Leo DiCaprio) and you must watch it. We also studied Mercutio's Queen Mab speech. For those of you not familiar with it, here is a brief summary. Mercutio goes on a small tangent about this wicked fairy Queen Mab who creates people's dreams. She rides around on a carriage made out of insect wings, a hollowed nut and spiders legs. It's kind of fantasy, creepy galore. One of my assignments was to make a collage about it and I love the way it turned out.



For those of you asking where my book of the month is, I did read a book. I just couldn't find it to include it into the picture. I read Looking for Alaska by John Green. I think it's my new favourite book and I preferred it to the Fault in Our stars. It's less about a complicated plot, more about a boy's thoughts and one significant thing that happens to him. John green just understands people. 

What have you all been up to?

-Lexi xo

August favourites

September is already here; I can't believe it. I spent the majority of August in France and I was sketching and reading lots. Here are the things I have been loving!


1. Like I said before, I have been sketching like crazy and I thought it would be nice to include some of my sketches at the end of this post so look at the end to  see them! When I travel I like to take a thin blue moleskin sketchbook shown above and it is so light and easy to take with you. The paper is quite thin so I wouldn't paint or use ink on it but it is great for pencil drawings!

2. My naked basics palette is amazing and if you are looking for an everyday item or something to start off with because you don't normally wear eyeshadow, buy this! I usually put venus in my inner corner, mix walk of shame and foxy for my lid and on some days I use naked 2 to fill in my eyebrows. 

3. Maybelline's dream pure BB cream for oily skin is so nice. I use it just under my eyes and on my nose, wherever I need light, matt coverage. It is 2% salicylic acid which if you don't know, helps with spots. 

4. I use my Real techniques expert face brush to apply the BB cream and it just gives it a very flawless finish. It is very easy to work with and is a fantastic brush.

5. This Kokeshi perfume was given to me by my friend Edie in France and it has a beautiful light and girly scent. It came with a mini one too so I take that with me in my bag or in my pocket for school - it's perfect! And the bottle of a Japanese doll is so cute.

6. Throughout August I have been wearing lots of rings and ear cuffs. Ear cuffs are the perfect way to add an edgy and bohemian vibe to an outfit and it's a bit like a clip on cartilage piercing, as weird as that sounds. It's the same thing about layering rings and mid-rings. These are some of my favourite rings and ear cuffs which I have been wearing recently.

(left to right) 3 earcuffs from River Island, face ring was a gift, rose gold mid-ring form Miss Selfridge, silver ring a gift.

7. Now we come to the first book I read which was the first 3 One Piece manga books in one. One Piece is probably the most popular anime ever and I can definitely see why. It follows the story of a boy called Luffy who wants to be a Pirate but as a child, he eats a fruit that means he is made of rubber and can't swim - both not pirate qualities. The fighting is so silly that it is fun to read.

8. The Fault in our stars by John Green was the next thing I read. This is a very popular book among teenagers and I would highly recommend it. It is a sad story but I beautiful one. It follows the path of two cancer patients who meet in a support group. One carries around an oxygen tank, the other has an amputated leg. They slowly fall in love and it is about their struggles together and what they go through. It is beautifully written. John Green is actually a YouTuber and you can find his very popular channel under the username of vlogbrothers. 

9. Severed heads, Broken hearts by Robyn Schneider (also goes under the book title The beggining of everything not sure why) was another great read. It is compared to John Green's novels like the Fault in our stars and they do have similar writing styles and plots. Robyn Schneider is a YouTuber too funnily enough and you can find her under the username robynisrarelyfunny. She explains all about her book there and what it is about but I will give you a brief summary, similar to the blurb. Ezra Faulkner goes from being the most popular boy in a school to being alone and with a group of misfits after he shatters his knee in a car accident.  There he meets a girl called Cassidy Thorpe. She is beautiful, effortless and interesting and together they sneak into universities, dance in a silent flash mobs and find secret treasure. 

Finally, as I promised are some of my sketches. Some are manga characters you might recognise, some I made up, some a just normal drawings.








-Lexi xo