2013 Reading Challenge

So I read a lot of books this year.

Before the end of 2012 I hadn't really read for about two years. I'd always read really regularly as a child but I fell out of routine with it and started reading 10 books a year, max. I read Looking for Alaska at the end of November last year and I started reading regularly again which was really nice and comforting in an odd way. My new years resolution for 2013 (and the only one I've ever kept) was to read 52 books in the course of a year, one book a week.

I read 108 books.

So, I made a list on numbers (because that's what mega-dorks do) ranking every single book I read this year. And I'm sharing this with you.
Oh and if you want to read reviews I wrote they're linked apart from the top 10.

108 The Red Headed League by Arthur Conan Doyle
107 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F Scott Fitzgerald (I didn't like Gatsby why did I optionally decide to read more Fitzgerald?)
106 You & I by Padgett Powell (never optionally read a book of pure dialogue)
105 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (controversial)
104 Divergent by Veronica Roth (controversial)
103 Composition No. 1 by Marc Saporta (proof that artsy books are not always good books) 102 Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
101 The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss


100 Revenge Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger  (worst ARC ever)
99 The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus 
98 A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle (proof that the BBC drama is sometimes better than the book)
97 The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan
96 The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
95 We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo  (controversial as this has since won 50 billion awards)
94 The Official Highway Code by Department for Transport (dork)
93 Ten Billion by Stephen Emmott
92 Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
91 The Hanging Garden by Patrick White


90 The Road by Cormac McCarthy
89 Slam by Nick Hornby
88 The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (controversial)
87 The Periodic Table by Primo Levi
86 Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman
85 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
84 Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
83 Strong Woman: Ambition, Grit and a Great Pair of Heels by Karren Brady
82 Bar Balto by Faïza Guène
81 Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce


80 The Geek's Guide to Dating by Eric Smith
79 The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar
78 Lolito by Ben Brooks
77 The Extincts by Veronica Cossanteli (I know, I know but I got an ARC)
76 The Drugs Don't Work - A Global Threat by Sally C. Davies (a book on GCSE level Biology)
75 Maybe Tonight? by Bridie Clark
74 Player One by Douglas Coupland
73 The Last Letter from your Lover by Jojo Moyes
72 The End Games by T. Michael Martin
71 Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff


70 1984 by George Orwell (controversial)
69 Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
68 Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher
67 Miss Penegrine's Home for Perculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
66 The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
65 I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
64 North of Beautiful by Justina Chen
63 The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
62 Zombicorns (Zombicorns, #1) by John Green
61 The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World by Susan Veness (dork)


60 Harry Potter: The Prequel by J.K. Rowling
59 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
58 Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
57 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
56 Wide Awake by David Levithan
55 Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
54 The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines
53 A Working Theory of Love by Scott Hutchins
52 An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin (I loved the bits on art)
51 Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde


(nb. this is 4 stars upwards at this point so I really enjoyed everything from here)

50 The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
49 Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
48 Loteria by Mario Alberto
47 Bakuman, Volume 2: Chocolate and Akamaru by Tsugumi Ohba
46 The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson
45 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
44 A is for Angelica by Iain Broome
43 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
42 Across the Universe by Beth Revis
41 More Than This by Patrick Ness


40 Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
39 Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
38 The Hive by Gill Hornby
37 The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
36 The Dinner by Herman Koch
35 The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
34 How The Light Gets In by M.J. Hyland
33 Cinder by Marissa Meyer
32 About a Girl by Lindsey Kelk (ARC)
31 The Program (The Program, #1) by Suzanne Young


30 Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
29 Beastly by Alex Flynn
28 The Name of the Star (Shades of London, #1) by Maureen Johnson (don't read at night if you like sleep)
27 Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (more of a Fangirl girl)
(nb. this is five stars upwards so these are all highly highly recommended)
26 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
25 The Red House by Mark Haddon
24 Bakuman, Volume 1: Dreams and Reality by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata  
23 Wish You Were Dead (Thrillogy, #1) by Todd Strasser
22 Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
21 Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler  (buy it just for the illustrations)


20 Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
19 Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle
18 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
17 Abstract and Brief Chronicles of the Time by Rosianna Halse Rojas  (gorgeous)
16 The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith  (much better than the casual vacancy)
15 The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
14 Every Seventh Wave by Daniel Glattauer
13 The Circle by Dave Eggers
12 The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus, #4) by Rick Riordan
11 Brooklyn Girls by Gemma Burgess  (best ARC ever)


TOP 10 HERE WE COME

10 Every Day by David Levithan
9 Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer
8 The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall (only non-fiction I enjoyed this year) 
7 Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz  (oh so gorgeous)
6 Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
5 Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2) by Sarah J. Maas

4 Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1) by Sarah J. Maas (Team Chaol)
3 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
2 Ready Player One by Earnest Cline
1 The Wave by Todd Strasser 


To buy books from the book depository click here

It's Kind of a Funny Story

There are these books, right.
They're normally published by American Publishers and they're the American editions and they've been shipped over on a big plane across the Atlantic Ocean in its entirety.
You know these books?
These books are the weighty ones.
British books are so light.
You read a penguin classic, you know the white and grey and black ones with the white spines and the monochromatic pictures, and it'll be so light.
I like weighty books because they feel like proper books. They are not woosy books. They are strong books. Books that send you promises that they will be important to you.
I'm reading It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. I can feel this deep feeling that this book will mean something to me. That it will be another Looking For Alaska. I read it and I understand even though I've never been through anything in the book.
This book is a weighty book.

2013

So I wrote a blog post about resolutions and sticking to them and my 2014 resolutions but I didn't feel that 2013 got a proper send off. 

Also I found my 2013 resolutions which was both hilarious and embarrassing. 

1. Read a book a week
I read 108 books in 2013 which is a massive 56 books more than I'd planned. I was so so so pleased with this because I've missed reading and my writing and analysis has become so much better as a result and I think that this lead to my really good English GCSE results.

2. Move School
I did this and I'm quite proud of myself for this. I'm so happy I got in and I like to think I'm doing well now.

3. Raise £1000 
Did not happen. Way to ambitious. 

4. Be in Paris for New Years 2013-14
Didn't happen. I wanted to go to Disney for New Years (Paris, of course, because I'm not mega-super-rich) but in the end I went in the summer to Orlando and it was wonderful. I love WDW so much.

5. Get more Youtube Subscribers.
I gained like 80 in 2013 which YEY success but I'm now not dependant on my Youtube channel and I mainly post DYL only now. Maybe I'll do some stuff in 2014 I don't know. I hit 100 subscribers.

6. Revise 20 minutes a day
Did not happen. I revised a lot but not consistently.

7. Document my year
Major success. I started DYL and I have a blog now. ALL THE DOCUMENTING.

Other things I did in 2013

• I performed in front of 250 people with my band which was absolutely amazing and I met some really amazing people there.

• I started this blog and I now have had over 4000 views which feels amazing. I've got so much better at writing since I got it and graphic design and just being totally comfortable with myself.
• I started Document Your Life.
• I met John and Hank Green and John told me and Chitra we dressed well.
• I got to a really good standard at skiing, up to the point where I was almost at french black runs.
• I moved house and my bedroom is so gorgeous.
• I saw Imagine Dragons twice.
• I bought a really nice camera which I earned myself (not a single penny was from my parents).
• I saw Watsky with Maiya and Dylan Saunders was in the band.
• I got three work experience placements in the hardest field (medicine) without any contacts. I literally cold-called 30 different practices.
• I got all excellents on my Work Experience feedback.
• I went on a London Bookshop Tour with my mum in the summer and discovered lovely shops.
• I got ARCs from publishers and Waterstones to review.
• I became a Book Depository Affiliate.
• I went to Cornbury and saw Keane.
• I went to Oxfest.
• I went on an Oxford Bookshop Tour with my friend Sophie.
• I visited New York and Orlando.
• I became much braver with roller coasters.
• I started pin trading and overcame my shyness with shop assistants.
• I got fantastic GCSE's.
• I got 100 subscribers.
• I moved school to a college in my local city.
• I saw my friend Julia from America.
• I finally met Neelam who is the sweetest.
• I met Sanne from Youtube which was awesome.
• I met Maureen Johnson, David Levithan and Sarah J Maas.
• I passed my theory test first time with a really high score on hazard perception.
• I made lots of new friends.
• I carved my first pumpkin.
• I performed as a chorus member in the school musical.
• I read 108 books.
• I have been completely meat free which feels fantastic. 
• I went to London at least once a month.
• I've become comfortable with myself.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

My 2014 Resolutions
1. I want to do well academically.
2. I want to get interviews for medicine.
3. I want to start writing a novel.
4. I want to get well enough to go to South Africa with Biology. 
5. I want to write more.
6. I want to write more reviews.
7. I want to blog more consistently. 
8. I want to do more for my future.
9. I want to take more photos. 
10. I want to keep my room tidy.
11. I want to be more productive. 
12. I want to stop being terrified of growing up.

Books I read in 2013

January
1. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan (★★★★☆)

2. Strong Woman: Ambition, Grit and a Great Pair of Heels by Karren Brady (★★★☆☆) 

3. Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce (★★★☆☆)

4. The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss (★☆☆☆☆)

5. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides (★★★★☆)

February
REREAD - The Fault in our Stars by John Green (★★★★★)

6. North of Beautiful by Justina Chen (★★★☆☆)

7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (★★★★☆)

8. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (★★★★☆)

9. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (★★★☆☆)

March
10. A is for Angelica by Iain Broome (★★★★☆)

11. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (★★★★☆)

12. A Working Theory of Love by Scott Hutchins (★★★☆☆)

13. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (★★★★☆)

April
14. Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher (★★★☆☆)

15. Across the Universe by Beth Revis (★★★★☆)

16. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde ( ★★☆☆☆)

17. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (★★★☆☆)

18. The Road by Cormac McCarthy (★★☆☆☆)

19. Every Day by David Levithan (★★★★★)

20. Divergent by Veronica Roth (★☆☆☆☆)

21. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (★★★★★)

22. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (★★★☆☆)

May
23. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (★★☆☆☆)
24. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (★★☆☆☆)
25. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (★★★☆☆)
26. The Red House by Mark Haddon (★★★★★)
27. About a Girl by Lindsey Kelk (★★★★☆)
28. The Hive by Gill Hornby (★★★★☆)
29. Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer (★★★★★)
30. Ready Player One by Earnest Cline (★★★★★)

June
31. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (★★☆☆☆)
32. Wide Awake by David Levithan (★★★☆☆)
33. The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines (★★★☆☆)
34. The Extincts by Veronica Cossanteli (★★★☆☆)
35. Slam by Nick Hornby (★★☆☆☆)
REREAD - Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (★★★★★)
36. The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan (★★★☆☆)
37. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (★★★★★)
38. Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (★★★☆☆)
39. Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson (★★★☆☆)
40. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (★★★☆☆)
41. You & I by Padgett Powell (★☆☆☆☆)
42. Harry Potter: The Prequel by J.K. Rowling (★★★☆☆)
43. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (★☆☆☆☆)
44. We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo (★★☆☆☆)

July
45. Brooklyn Girls by Gemma Burgess (★★★★★)
46. How The Light Gets In by M.J. Hyland (★★★★☆)
47. The Dinner by Herman Koch (★★★★☆)
48. Composition No. 1 by Marc Saporta (★☆☆☆☆)
49. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (★★★☆☆)
50. The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus (★☆☆☆☆)
51. Zombicorns (Zombicorns, #1) by John Green (★★★☆☆)
52. Player One by Douglas Coupland (★★★☆☆)
53.The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (★★★★☆)
54. The Periodic Table by Primo Levi (★★☆☆☆)

August
55. Revenge Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger (★☆☆☆☆)
56. Ten Billion by Stephen Emmott (★★☆☆☆)
57. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (★★★★☆)
58. Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman (★★☆☆☆)
59. Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore (★☆☆☆☆)
60. A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle (★★☆☆☆)
61. The End Games by T. Michael Martin (★★★☆☆)
62. Miss Penegrine's Home for Perculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (★★★☆☆)
63. Maybe Tonight? by Bridie Clark (★★★☆☆)
64. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell (★★★★☆)
65. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin (★★★☆☆)
66. The Last Letter from your Lover by Jojo Moyes (★★★☆☆)
67. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides (★★★★★)
68. The Wave by Todd Strasser (★★★★★)
69. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (★★★★★)
70. The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World by Susan Veness (★★★☆☆)
71. The Name of the Star (Shades of London, #1) by Maureen Johnson (★★★★☆)

September
72. The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar (★★★☆☆)
73. Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff (★★★☆☆)
74. The Drugs Don't Work - A Global Threat by Sally C. Davies (★★★☆☆)

October
75. The Hanging Garden by Patrick White (★★☆☆☆)
76. Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan (★★★★☆)
77. The Official Highway Code by Department for Transport (★★☆☆☆)
78. The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson (★★★★☆)
79. Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1) by Sarah J. Maas (★★★★★)
80. The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus, #4) by Rick Riordan  (★★★★★)
81. Bar Balto by Faïza Guène  (★★★☆☆)
82. Every Seventh Wave by Daniel Glattauer (★★★★★)

November
83. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2) by Sarah J. Maas (★★★★★)
84. The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan (★★☆☆☆)
85. More Than This by Patrick Ness (★★★★☆)
86. The Circle by Dave Eggers (★★★★★)
87. 1984 by George Orwell (★★★☆☆)
88. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (★☆☆☆☆)
89. Lolito by Ben Brooks (★★★☆☆)
90. Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers (★★☆☆☆)

December
91. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (★★★★☆)
92. The Red Headed League by Arthur Conan Doyle (★☆☆☆☆)
93. Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle (★★★★★)
94. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (★★★★★)
95. Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson (★★★★☆)
96. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (★★★★★)
97. Abstract and Brief Chronicles of the Time by Rosianna Halse Rojas (★★★★★)
98. Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King (★★★★★)
99. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (★★★★★)
100. The Program (The Program, #1) by Suzanne Young (★★★★☆)
101. Loteria by Mario Alberto (★★★★☆)
102. Beastly by Alex Flinn (★★★★☆)
103. Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer (★★★★☆)
104. Bakuman, Volume 1: Dreams and Reality by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (★★★★★)
105. Wish You Were Dead (Thrillogy, #1) by Todd Strasser (★★★★★)
106. The Geek's Guide to Dating by Eric Smith (★★★☆☆)
107. The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall (★★★★★)
108. Bakuman, Volume 2: Chocolate and Akamaru by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (★★★★☆)

New year, new me.

At the start of the year I made a series of resolutions like read 52 books this year (success, read 107) and get 10 a*s (not success).

Everyone believes that with the new year brings around the opportunity to be a new person. I don't agree with changing yourself over a period of 24 hours because I don't believe it works; we slip back into old habits. When I stopped eating meat it was a process that took about a year. I just started cutting back gradually on meat until I stopped all together. People who I've known who stopped immediately now eat meat again.

I've changed a lot in this past year, more than ever. I am more confident, happier and I'd like to believe that I am stronger, braver, overall (if I dare say it) more gryffindor. I think we can make resolutions to make little decisions that over time changes us.

This year has been amazing. Last January I performed with my band in front of 250 people. I finally reached a pretty decent level of skiing. I moved house. I earned enough money for a new camera. I went from a C to an A in ad maths in a week. I managed to organise 3 weeks of work experience in the hardest field with no contacts through cold calling. I finally got diagnosed with a syndrome that helps me understand everything about my body and I've finally got help. I got really good gcses. I moved school. I passed my theory test. I performed in the school musical. I made a load of new friends. I started a blog. I'm doing well at school. I started reading again. And I am grateful for every little thing that's made me so happy this past year.

What do I want for 2014?

I want to do well academically.
I want to get interviews for medicine.
I want to start writing a novel.
I want to get well enough to go to South Africa with Biology.
I want to write more.
I want to write more reviews.
I want to blog more consistently.
I want to do more for my future.
I want to take more photos.
I want to keep my room tidy.
I want to be productive.
I want to stop being terrified of growing up.

I'm going to be 18 and that's mental.
The only difference between me now and me on September 27th is that people have to buy me more expensive presents and I'll actually be allowed to buy sparklers from Sainsburys.

If 2014 is as great as post gcse 2013 has been I am looking forward to it.

Happy new years

Sophie xxx

Review: Beastly by Alex Flinn

I haven't done a book review since, what? march?, but I decided I wanted to do more book reviews and the like because reading is such a major part of my life and not writing about it doesn't really make sense.

I really wanted to read a fairytale retelling, preferably YA because I having such a YA phase at the moment, but had no idea where to start. The main recommendation on goodreads is Ella Enchanted but my sister told me it wasn't good and also I've heard it's more middle school than YA and this is far more complicated than I wanted it to be. I just wanted to read a modern fairytale retelling.

I decided to read Beastly by Alex Flynn which I knew had been made into an Vanessa Hudgens movie three years ago (which wasn't the thing that made me buy the book funnily enough).

Beastly is a YA modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in NYC about Kyle, a wealthy, spoilt, attractive guy who meets a witch in his English class. She curses him and turns him into a "beast," to quote Twisted, "a wolf-bear-thing" and he must make a girl fall in love with him, he must love her in return and they must kiss in two years in order to break the spell.

I really really liked this and it grew on me especially with the introduction of Kyle's blind tutor, Will, the rose garden and the overall mushy-ness of the later chapters. It was warm and fuzzy and I really liked that. The plot twists were well thought out and not obvious when often YA novels lack a good plot twist.

Beauty and the Beast has never been my all-time-favourite fairytale though Disney's Belle has always been the princess I am most like and as a result I feel very protective over the story. The story was very cleverly woven around the original tale. I also really liked the references to books. I loved the symbolism of the roses all the way through out the book and the relationship between good deeds and roses.

There were some niggles I had with the book though, the web chats between different fairytale creatures were a bit annoying and diverged from the plot more than I wanted it to. Also there was very little subtlety with the character development which is a shame because the character development was the main part of the plot and if the little comments could have been left out it would have felt like the author (or her publishing team) was not treating me like an idiot.

I would read this book even if you have seen the movie because I've read the movie plot synopsis (thanks, Wikipedia) and it's not as good as the book. I would also recommend just buying this because the cover is gorgeous.

I would highly recommend this as an introduction to modern day retellings but I would encourage you to know the original story, not just the Disney one (I'm sorry, Disney, I really really love you).

I gave this book four stars as it was really, really good but just not fantastic-excuse-me-the-world-needs-to-read-this-book-no-matter-what.


Film trailer

Late night ramblings

It's 11.30pm and the rain is hitting the roof of my room and it's really loud. That's not a bad thing. I love the sound of rain. It makes me feel safe and protected. Listening to the rain in the almost-dark makes me feel serene.

I help the boys read at the junior part of my school. I think they're 9ish. We were reading a bit of Michael Morpurgo and he came across the word serene and asked me what it meant. I knew what it meant but couldn't explain it. Well done Sophie.

I am planning to do a massive book blog post at the end of this year as I'm really proud of how much I've read. I literally was reading a book and week at the start of the year and now look at me, 100 books later. I'm bracing myself as it's going to be a lot of photography but I'm looking forward to it.

I want to write more as part of my new years resolution.

Holy moly this year I'm turning 18. 18. I'm not mature enough to be an adult. Why are you letting me vote? Why are you letting me buy sparklers (confession: more excited about sparklers than alcohol)?

Oh, it must be nice to be normal.

Free Rice

It is currently the Project for Awesome, the annual internet charity event run by the Vlogbrothers (John and Hank Green).  It is the true measure of how wonderful the internet truly is, not all this doom and gloom and trolls that everyone thinks about.

I was browsing my subscriptions and came across NerdyandQuirky's video in which she discussed the website free rice. 

Free Rice is an online trivia multiple choice website where every answer you get 10 grains of rice will be donated to someone in a LEDC. The grains of rice are payed for by the adverts on the bottom of the game and very quickly you can pay for someones food who is less well off. Everybody wins. You become more educated (the Biology one is super hard and I do AS level Bio) and people all over the world are fed.

If you want to procrastinate why not go on free rice?

I have included the banner below and there is also a banner in my side bar of my blog. Both should take you to the website.

DFTBA

Teenage Vulnerability

I had a dream that all my teachers kept up with all my social media accounts.

According to dream dictionary dreaming of twitter means I want to be better connected. I don't really want the staff room to have daily discussions on my Frozen obsession in 140 characters or my preference for my apricot coloured cardie.

When we write to the internet, we do not write to the world, we write to ourselves. Of course you've heard this with the endless cyberbullying phse sessions and internet deportment lectures "do not put drunk pictures on your facebook" etc etc. But for the non-cyberbullyers among us who ignore those lectures and decide it would be a better use of our time to play with our nails it is still relevant,  but not in the way our school sees it.

We view our internet homes as private. Secluded. Not noticeable. We don't put drunk photos as our profile pictures or empathise with the "legalise cannabis party" on twitter. But we are personal. We let others in. I don't believe that my school year read this blog (if you do, hi. Yeah. This has suddenly got awkward.) and I am far less private on here than I am irl. But I like it here. I like my small amount of internet hits that are mainly from Russia.

And yes, I won't deny, I would be mortified if my teachers told me that they liked my blog post on "meeting people off the internet" and should I really be volunteering to teach the younger boys about internet safety?

It's because my blog is like my bedroom. It is the closest anyone will ever get to having a metaphysical version of my personality. That vulnerability that is specific to opening up to someone is very present on the internet.

I don't regret anything I've written on the Internet. I just am aware of how vulnerable I am on here. Not that I'll ever show it. I just like writing.

Rip Socially Awkward Sophie

If you visit my blog regularly (if so thank you) you'll notice a couple of teensy changes. One thing, I've changed the design. Also I changed the name and url of the blog.

Why?

I wanted a change, I guess. I like it more. It isn't as soft but I'm cool with that. I've also spent about half an hour trying to make it snow on the blog but no luck.

I've changed a lot in the last term. I went back to my old school on Thursday and I felt different. I am now described as "smiley" which has never been me and I feel more confident about my ability as a person. I sing on public transport, much to the annoyance of my fellow passengers of the 7.25am train. I walk differently (admittedly that might be to do with the intense physiotherapy I have but still). I feel infinitely happy most of the time and happiness is the most precious commodity. I'm so lucky with that.

I apologise for the lack of posts. School (can I call it college as it is a school but I'm in sixth form oh the conundrums of my life) has been mental, I got a week long migraine (which is pretty stressful), had three Biology practical exams, been in the school musical and had to keep up with AS levels. I've got mocks in January, help me, but I want to post more.

So I'm writing a list of things I want to do on the blog and hopefully I won't lose all my creativity with all maths and science a levels.

I want to write more about books, review books and talk about my hauls. I want to post pictures that I take and write about things I love and even just posts I'll post as revision but you can learn something too and I want to wrap up my reading year in style (who's looking forward to the masterpost?).

2014 is swiftly decending on us and that terrifies me because I'm going to be 18 and these AS levels will affect whether I get into medicine as this is my final shot (dear unis, if you're reading my blog, one) congratulations because it's pretty hard to find and two) I really really really want to be a doctor so please let me in, love Sophie). But 2014 should still be filled with things I love, London and reading and lie ins and walks and mince pie and brandy ice cream and greek food and Twisted and yes, I'll say it, school and my wonderful friends and Taylor Swift and nails inc.

This blog post is basically a stream of consciousness,  but I like to believe it is a well 

written stream of consciousness.

I've missed you blog.

See you asap.

Sophie xxx