Book shelf tour.

A.K.A book hoarders anonymous.

Everyone loves a bookshelf tour right? Well I know I do so here are *most* of my book shelves for you to have a nose through...

I typically don't tend to keep books once I've read them unless they are a 4 star read or higher. This is one of my read shelves featuring some of my favourite authors including George Orwell, Sarah Lotz, Ruth Ware, Gillian Flynn (hiding behind the print) and some of my favourite books including To Kill a Mockingbird, London Fields, The Humans, and The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things (to name a few). 

This is my second read shelf and includes a few more favourite authors (Miranda July, Cat Clarke, Caitlin Moran, Sue Wallman) and some other great books I've read lately (and reviewed). I also have a few of my favourite poetry books in the middle including Sylvia Plath, Carol Ann Duffy and Rupi Kaur . This is also home to most of my pint size heroes and kawaii cubes!

This shelf is my main comic book trades shelf and mostly consists of my DC collection and smaller Marvel collection. I mainly collect Catwoman but also love Batgirl, Batman and Birds of Prey. When it comes to Marvel my favourite is Hawkeye. As well as that I have some other stuff on the end including Lumberjanes, Jonesy, Bitch Planet and Jem and the Holograms which are all great. 

The shelf below that which I didn't get a good picture of is one of my tbr shelves and mainly consists of YA with few sci-fi bits too. 

This is my other trades shelf and is mainly my Daniel Clowes stuff and series that I love. So we have iZombie, Saga, Rat Queens, Alex and Ada, The Wicked + the Devine, Tank Girl, Buffy etc...! This shelf is also home to most of my Hawkeye/Black Widow Funko stuff.

 Next we move over to one of my tbr shelves. Yes I know. There are too many books that I *need* to get and must own and it gets a bit out of hand! The top shelf is my non fiction tbr. There is quite a selection of stuff there- everything from Maya Angelou to Karl Pilkington. Aziz Ansari to North Korea. Louis Theroux to Patti Smith. I have quite a few books on feminism on this shelf as well as music and memoirs.

The shelf below that is my literary and general fiction tbr. The pile at the front is some of the books I'm collecting to do with cults and is annoyingly blocking most of the shelf. I've got the likes of Zadie Smith, Patrick Ness, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, Shirley Jackson, Susan Hill and quite a bit of Japanese fiction here.

This is my thriller tbr shelf. If you read my blog often then you will probably know I am partial to a good thriller so can never resist picking them up. This shelf is two deep so I have plenty to be getting on with here. Some of the authors you can't see include Erin Kelly, Debbie Howells, Lucie Whitehouse, Louise Doughty, Tammy Cohen- all of whom I enjoy so have been picking up their back catalogue to read. 

Below that are books I have been sent for review or books I'm currently reading. The boxes contain a lot of my coffee table books, more poetry and my collection of Doctor Who novels amongst other stuff. 

This shelf here is random pop culture related non fiction (I love books about films- particular Tarantino and music)  Also on this shelf are some of the graphic novels I've read and some of my DK book collection. 

This final picture is from my Psychology book shelf. It mainly contains my uni textbooks and work but also has other books I've picked up and you can't see most of them because I didn't move the print d'oh! If you are interested in clinical psychology I highly recommend anything by Kay Redfield Jamison and if you are a psych student you need to get the Oxford Dictionary of Psychology because it is invaluable. 

So that's a look at my bookshelves. Hope you enjoyed!

Things you worry about when you have mental illness.

1. Do people believe me?

2. Am i mad?

3. Will it ever get better?

4. Are my meds worth the side effects?

5. Do my meds make me a different person?

6. Should I tell people?

7. Why can't I be normal?

8. Do people think I'm just being lazy? (am I?!)

9. Why don't people understand?

10. Will I ever be taken seriously?

Whenever I am having a bad time with my mental illness I still say I am ill (tonsillitis, and infection, a stomach bug, sickness) if I call in to work or cancel plans. I am too scared to be honest because if you say you are physically ill people accept it, no questions asked. If I were to be honest would people believe me? I am scared they'll think I'm lying or making excuses. 

Such a big part of why having a mental illness is hard is the constant worrying of what others will think. I don't usually care about things like that but when I am anxious or depressed it won't leave my mind. My mental illness is a disorder I will have for life. Sometimes it will be fine, other times it will be hard. There will be bad weeks, even bad months. People can be great at first, understanding and supportive but even the most patient people get tired of it. I can tell. people don't want to hear about it. They don't want the truth. So instead I lie and say I am ill (the non mental kind.)

If you know someone with a mental illness a little bit of support goes a long way. Don't question or doubt them when they tell you they are struggling. Just listen, or let them know you are there for them. When times are hard we have so many doubts and fears going round our heads that it's nice to know that someone believes us. 

(Sad Ghost Club)

Veronica Dearly V Gd Fun Club September unboxing...

Here's an unboxing of what I got in my September V Gd Fun Club box!

I haven't made one of these since I was in school, what a perfect piece of nostalgia!

Birthday books.

I was really lucky to get a load of books for my Birthday last month. You can never go wrong with a book!

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan is about the life of an immigrant girl and her mother who move to England and is written in prose style like her book One which I read earlier this year and loved. I got three short story collections; Children of the New World (which I've heard described as similar to Black Mirror), The Book of Tokyo- a City in Short Fiction (pretty self explanatory) and Record of a Night Too Brief which are four stories written by Japanese writer Hiromi Kawakami that sound quite dark and weird.

Tampa is a book that had quite a lot of buzz  few years ago for it's controversial protagonist: a successful married women who is a sociopath obsessed with fourteen year old boys. The Princess Saves Herself in This One is a collection of poetry I've been wanting to read for a while. Attack of the 50ft. Woman is a look at gender equality and how it could be a great thing for everyone if actually achieved. 

I got three thrillers; Dear Amy, Lying in Wait, and Watch Me which will be perfect for the colder and darker Autumn nights. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking sounded really interesting and is a look at how being an introvert can be a great thing. Finally Tigermilk a novel set in Berlin about a gang of teenagers leaving their childhood behind.

Here's some book cover porn! Some beautiful covers here.

 Last but not least the comic trades I got. I am gradually getting there with my Batgirl collection!

August/September reading round up part.1

The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee Johnson
' In an idyllic community of wealthy California families, new teacher Molly Nicoll becomes intrigued by the hidden lives of her privileged students. Unknown to Molly, a middle school tragedy in which they were all complicit continues to reverberate for her kids: Nick, the brilliant scam artist; Emma, the gifted dancer and party girl; Dave, the B student who strives to meet his parents' expectations; Calista, the hippie outcast who hides her intelligence for reasons of her own. Theirs is a world in which every action may become public: postable, shareable, indelible. With the rare talent that transforms teenage dramas into compelling and urgent fiction, Lindsey Lee Johnson makes vivid a modern adolescence lived in the gleam of the virtual, but rich with the sorrow, passion, and beauty of life in any time, and at any age.'

See my full review here  4/5

The Child by Fiona Barton (Listened to on audiobook)
'As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it’s a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but at a loss for answers, she can only pose a question: Who is the Building Site Baby?
As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier: A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found. Her heartbroken parents were left devastated by the loss.
But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn—house by house—into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. And she soon finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women—and torn between what she can and cannot tell…'

I listened to Barton's first book The Widow on audiobook and loved it. Unfortunately this was a real disappointment. I guessed where it was going early on and just found it a little boring to be honest. I did however love the narration of two of the narrators in particular: Clare Corbett and Finty Williams who did a great job of bringing their characters to life. 2/5

The Honeymoon by Tina Seskis

'For as long as she can remember, Jemma has been planning the perfect honeymoon. A fortnight's retreat to a five-star resort in the Maldives, complete with luxury villas, personal butlers and absolute privacy. It should be paradise, but it's turned into a nightmare.

Because the man Jemma married a week ago has just disappeared from the island without a trace. And now her perfect new life is vanishing just as quickly before her eyes. After everything they've been through together, how can this be happening? Is there anyone on the island who Jemma can trust? And above all - where has her husband gone?'

I got bored with this about a hundred pages in as it was going nowhere so skim read the rest of it. I wish I hadn't of bothered as the ending was one of the most ridiculous I've read. It was like Seskis made it up on the spot- it was laughably silly. 1/5

This is the Noise That Keeps Me Awake by Garbage
' Garbage are known around the world for songs that mix pop sweetness with the dour thunder of industrial music and the rhythm punch of hip-hop. Now, for the first time, the four band members tell the story of that music in their own words. Packed with rare photos and personal snapshots, this book examines how Garbage make their music, and how they’ve kept it together (or not) for more than twenty years.'

Read my (kind of) review here. I loved it! 5/5

Raven by Marv Wolfman
'Raven needs a break from her Teen Titans team. She decides to move to San Francisco to stay with her estranged aunt and face her most perilous challenge yet: high school!
As Raven discovers more about her human side, one of her classmates goes missing under mysterious circumstances, and she must face an evil like none she's known before!
In a tale set between Teen Titans 24 & Teen Titans: Rebirth, get to know Raven like you've never seen her before: attempting to be a normal teenager.'

Honestly I haven't read any Teen Titans comics but I like the character Raven and this looked interesting so thought I'd give it a go. I'm glad I did, I really enjoyed it. The artwork was beautiful and the story was a touching one of a girl that doesn't fit in trying to find her place in life (and being a badass in the process).

4/5

Mean Girls Club by Ryan Heshka

'This bold and beautiful comic is full of sassy club-singing sisters who you don't wanna mess with . . .

Introducing: Pinky, Sweets, Blackie, McQualude, and Wanda. Together they form the Mean Girls Club, a menacing powerhouse of ruthless rebels.

Ryan Heshka creates a subversive comic that re-interprets images of the stereotypical 50's female and gives new and defiant voice to these ladies of leisure.'

Firstly this book was visually beautiful- the colour palette was pink and black and the artwork was 50's pin up style with a goth edge. This was a short story about a gang of unruly women hell bent on causing destruction and turned the whole '50's housewives' on it's head. The only thing that could have made me love it more is if it was written by a woman. 4/5 

Pretty Deadly Vol.1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick
'KELLY SUE DeCONNICK (Avengers Assemble, Captain Marvel) and EMMA RÍOS (Dr. Strange, Osborn) present the collected opening arc of their surprise-hit series that marries the magical realism of Sandman with the western brutality of Preacher. Death's daughter rides the wind on a horse made of smoke and her face bears the skull marks of her father. Her origin story is a tale of retribution as beautifully lush as it is unflinchingly savage.'

I really wanted to like this as I usually love DeConnick's stuff but I really could not get into this. I found the story too confusing and to be honest had no idea what the hell was going on! 1/5

The All Fall Down by Tammy Cohen
'She knows there’s a killer on the loose.
But no-one believes her.
Will she be next?

Hannah had a normal life – a loving husband, a good job. Until she did something shocking. Now she’s in a psychiatric clinic. It should be a safe place. But patients keep dying.

The doctors say it’s suicide. Hannah knows they’re lying. Can she make anyone believe her before the killer strikes again?'

When I pick up a Tammy Cohen book I always know I am going to get an easy to read, decently written (and slightly over the top) thriller. Her books are always a solid three stars for me and this was an enjoyable thriller. I also have to mention that this was set in a psychiatric clinic and she handled the topic of mental health pretty well which was a relief! 3/5

Emily The Strange Vol.1 by Rob Reger'Emily the Strange is not your ordinary thirteen-year-old girl - she's got a razor-sharp wit as dark as her jet-black hair, a posse of moody black cats and famous friends in very odd places! She's got a broodingly unique way of experiencing the world, and you're invited along for the ride. Legions of fans worldwide have joined forces to make Emily a pop-culture phenomenon.'

When I was a teenage goth I used to love Emily the Strange. Unfortunately reading this was as excruciating as reading my teenage journals. It was trying way too hard to be edgy. The artwork was great though. 1/5

A trip to Exmoor pt.2

 The nearest town to where we stayed was Minehead. They only had two arcades there but they were good ones. Playing this reminded me of Call of Duty zombies 80's (by far the best one) I am much better at this game in cod than in real life!

 The arcades had Tokidoki plushies goddammit! The amount of money I wasted trying to get a donutella. Fortunately you could get the toys with tickets and my sister was a master at a certain game and saved up the tickets so I could get one.

 I can relate to this frog...

 My Dad was obsessed with this 'pop the balloon' game and succeeded a couple of times. Of course he was just doing it to "get tickets for the kids". The arcades were actually really generous with tickets and the 2p sliding games were full of tokens that were worth 50 tickets each. I became a master at winning them and the kids ended up with tons of loot they picked with their tickets.

 We drove to Woolacombe for the day. This is a really nice beach for going in the sea and building sandcastles as the sand is nice and smooth. My Dad buried my sister causing much amusement.  

 On one of the days we went to Barstaple where they had lots of nice independent shops, bakeries and TWO pick'n'mix shops. These shops also had tons of US candy, and old fashioned sweets. Needless to say I was excited and went way overboard. Some of the sweets took me way back to my childhood- bubblegum golf balls, chocolate footballs, chocolate ice creams!!

 Whilst we were there a nearby village were having a village fete. It very much reminded me of Hot Fuzz (and I was expecting Adam Buxton to get killed by a falling church tower at any moment) but it was a lot of fun. Everyone was really friendly and there were lots of old fashioned games to have a go on. The kids both won golden horse shoes after winning a game of chucking horse shoes on a peg(?!)  

 When you are a big kid who has to take pictures of anything with their name on...

 These were the amazing views we were surrounded by where we stayed. Everywhere was full of wild heather.

 A chocolate shop in Barstaple had these beautiful hand made chocolates.

 We also spent the day in Ilfracombe and saw Damien Hirst's bronze statue Verity which is huge and stands at the end of the harbour. The other side of her (which was impossible to photograph) has her skin peeled back to the anatomy inside. She is supposed to represent truth and justice and stands on top of a pile of law books. 

Finally a picture of the harbour. 

A trip to Exmoor Pt.1

 A few weeks back my family rented a cottage is Exmoor for the week for a family holiday. I've never been to Exmoor before (or indeed anywhere that has so much green!) It was a beautiful place and was lovely to spend time with my family.

This is a beach in Minehead which was about half an hour away from where we stayed. There were some arcades here and some beach shops as well. The beach was fairly quiet so it was good for walking on as the tide was quite far back so it was a nice long walk.

Some of the famous Exmoor ponies. We saw loads of them free roaming around as well as lots of other animals wandering around the national park. This beautiful mother and foal where around the corner from where we were staying and were not fazed by us at all.

Just a crab hanging out on the beach

More ponies

I love that fluffy haired cow!

This was a very friendly sheep who liked being petted and given attention. She was at a nearby cafe in a small village where they did really nice ice cream.

This was the cottage we stayed in. It was on a farm in the middle of nowhere. There was no phone signal (which is a bad sign if like me you read a lot of thrillers!) It was really nice and quiet (although strange for us townies...) 

This is the view from our cottage. Just across where the fence was are horses. We stayed during the meteor shower and came out to watch. It was the most perfect view, we could see the full nights sky and saw lots of shooting stars. Where I live even on a clear night you can't see any stars. It was the most fun night as were were stargazing, laughing at silly stuff and a bat nearly flew into me and gave me a near heart attack! 

Sad Ghost Club.

A few months back Sad Ghost Club had an offer where they were giving away their new sticker packs with every order. I have been a fan of their mini comics for a while so decided to go for it.

Sad Ghost Club is a club for 'anyone who’s ever felt sad or lost. It’s the club for those who don’t feel like they’re part of any other club. Raising positive mental health awareness through comics and community. Sad ghosts forever.'

Their beautiful artwork and merchandise features relateable quotes and scenarios centred around loneliness and depression. They have everything from zines, and artwork to pins, clothing and patches. They also constantly feature and support new artists.

I picked a badge pack as they are very cute and will go nicely with my pin and badge collection. 

I also bought this beautiful postcard pack of four prints. The quality on these is perfect and I've framed a couple and passed one on. 

And here are the stickers in the pack. I love them and have already used most of them to decorate my magazine files on my Uni book shelf. I also got a Sad Ghost Club logo sticker in my package too.

I would highly recommend checking out Sad Ghost Club I will definitely be buying from them again.

Another year older, another year wiser...

I'm currently playing catch up at the moment with about a million posts sitting in drafts unfinished because the last few weeks I have been feeling very meh. So I am attempting to get as many of them finished and posted now! Dispite my Birthday being nearly a month ago(!) I wanted to do a post as I always usually do (I like to look back on them...)

My Birthday was pretty quiet this year. My Mum made a chocolate cake with a unicorn Pusheen on top. I went out for a meal with my family and then had an early night as I was at work mega early the next day. Rock'n'roll to the core.

I was lucky to get some lovely presents including these very nice shoes

I am currently obsessed with the McVities cappuccino thins so my sister bought me a ton of them! I also got lots of nice pyjamas too.

And of course Funko! As well as these my sister pre ordered the SDCC Gwenpool Rock Candy which has now arrived and is very very cool :) 

So here's to another year...