November Favourites

Heyo!

I did so much in November and looking back on it all I do not know how I had the time to do so! I went home twice and saw my doggo and family on both occasions. I went to four different gigs, I had more unexpected nights out and planned cosy night in. I did things that I didn't want to do, but that needed to be done, and I managed to work on me a lot and figure out who I am, and I'm back to my old self and feeling better than ever! As I've already said October was very draining and challenging, but the people in my life really came through for me and I owe them all BIG TIME because they made sure I was alright, kept me busy and included me even when they didn't have to. By hanging out with all these amazing, talented and brilliant beans it reminded me how great I am, and how I can be better at being by myself and also at just being a good person.

People/pals

So, my first favourites are without a doubt the brilliant people I have, and I could go ahead and list them all but that would turn very cheesy very quickly! So to everyone I went to a gig with, to everyone I went to coffee shops and pubs with, to everyone who came over and have cups of coffee and tea and cheesecake with me, to those who let me come over and cry and laugh and drink all your oat milk, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You were all so brilliant and once again I don't know what I did to end up with such a great bunch of people in my life but you guys are incredible, and if you need me do not hesitate to call day or night. I'm very lucky to have the people I do, and I know they'll always be there for me and that makes me feel so incredibly loved. I know I've said this many times but if you're reading this and you've really been there for me then thank you, and yes I will stop saying it now because you all know how amazing you are! Also a big shoutout to Bronte for literally letting me overshare the majority of my life to her, from emotions to burps you always listen and send me motivation in gif format in ways only a true pal can, you're a top banana and I'm very lucky that you tolerate me.

Crisis coffee session have been a staple this month whether in the comfort of my own home or out, so thank you coffee crisis pals for always being there!

Now, on to the normal structure of the favourites post we've (sort of?) grown accustomed to.

Music

Tennis - We Can Die Happy

Image credit: https://genius.com/albums/Tennis/We-can-die-happy

I've loved this band since I first discovered them way back when I was 14. They're really good for most moods, and they can either cheer you up and make you want to dance or just be the music you need to study to (with designated dance breaks of course!) This is their new EP following on from their fourth studio album release earlier this year in March, and it's a delight to my chilly ears indeed! The husband-wife duo have produced a truly brilliant follow-up tot he album in such a short period of time, and it's become a go-to EP for short walks, essay planning and dance sessions alike. Alaina Moore's voice is truly exceptional, and paired with Patrick Riley's musical and production abilities across the board it makes for a fundamentally flawless listen. I can't recommend this band/duo enough, and I am so happy that I still love them after all this time even though they've changed over the years. This EP was also very great to dance and sing along to when things got tough with deadlines and mental health stuff, so please go check them out, especially No Exit (the opening track) as it's an a very chilled track that makes you want to bop along!

Live music

Royal Blood cure most problems

I know I have already done a post about post-gig depression and why I love live music, but I felt I should mention it again here too and elaborate on he music I saw and how it made me feel. I went to four gigs in November (it should have been five but due to a change in circumstance I didn't go to one of them) and they were all very different and yet all amazing. I saw Wolf Alice with James, The Kooks with Gemma and Pebbles and Ella (a new friend!) and her parents (they are the coolest parents I have ever met!), I saw The Killers with Lydia and to finish it off I saw Royal Blood with my boy Matthew. Laura wrote a great gig review for Wolf Alice so go ahead and check that out, and Matt did a very good gig review of Royal Blood again check this out too! I wanted to do gig review for them, and I did draft out three of the four, but due to life stuff and uni work I haven't really had time to edit and finish them. Please let me know if you want me to publish them even though they'd be almost three weeks late - they're not too awful! Going to these gigs really helped me as I was going through some stuff in my life, and they reminded me of what makes me happy and what  really want to be doing, which is dancing around my room to music and living life to the fullest whatever that might entail. Not in a cheesey 'go travel and find yourself on a gap yah' kind of way, but like living life to the fullest could be that, or it could be that you got out of bed and made pancakes just for you and then did all your work and celebrated with some fancy orange juice and Netflix. I've been really embracing how live music, and music in general, makes me feel because I really like how happy and relaxed I feel when it's just me and my music.

Books

I did lots of reading this month, a mix of both uni reading and personal reading and it was actually really good! A habit that I have developed over November and am hoping to carry through into the new year is to start every day by reading. It doesn't have to be a book, on mornings when I oversleep I check the news on my phone and read what's happening. But because I only technically have uni two days a week, the other five I do manage to read for at least half an hour when I first wake up, so there's rather a few books crossed off of my TBR list now! So, here's some of my favourite books that I read in November:

We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver

Image credit: http://www.dailycal.org/2012/03/07/lynne-ramsays-new-horror-film-highlights-the-dark-sides-of-motherhood/

This is a book I feel more people should read, because the film does not do it justice at all! I loved the film, and studying it as a film student I found it to be incredibly interesting and the way it was filmed and its approach to be very good. however, the deviation away from Shriver's actual narrative and her structure is something that I now see has limited the film. The book is all about Kevin's mother Eva and her explaining to us, through various letters to no-one, all about her son Kevin and where she feels things may have gone wrong. She is a very unreliable narrator, and I do not actually find her that interesting other than her relentless attempts to deny her role in the series of events that lead to her son killing seven people in his high school and injuring many more. The topic is something, especially in America, that is deemed controversial and has divided opinions on whether or not it should have been discussed in this way, but I feel it needed to be done and Shriver has really considered both the subject matter and the characters when carefully constructing this book. Do not try and sympathise/love a character, they are all equally flawed and rather annoying and in the end I didn't actually like anyone which is rare for me.

The Reader - Bernard Schlink

Image credit: https://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=342596

This was another read for my degree, and was one that divided my opinion as well as the opinions of my seminar group (but then again, there's always someone in that group that loves to argue for the sake of it and it makes me roll my eyes every time!) This is a story about a boy who dated a much older woman when he was still a schoolboy, the novel goes over their relationship and then skips ahead to her trial many years later. It is revealed in the second half of the novel that she left the town to go and work at Auschwitz, and this really makes us, as well as Michael question Hanna as a person and also everything he felt for her. It was a very interesting read, and made us consider what people would have done in these situations, and divides opinion to this day. The film was made into a film as well, and it is a pretty good watch if you don't really want to read the book but want to know more about this. It was one of the shortest and yet most compelling reads I have had on my course.

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë

Image Credit: Cinema Blend

A book which was once a chore to try and plough through has actually become one of my favourites, and one I have re-read twice since studying it to remind myself that not all older literature is awful. I usually don't go for 'the classics' due to their lack of good female characters that aren't subservient to men, and even a lack of female named characters in these works altogether. Jane Eyre is different, because Brontë has created a girl that all of us can relate to in some aspect, and makes us bond with as the novel progresses, and we feel at least somewhat content for when it reaches the end. I cannot say I love the ending, as I feel Jane deserves more than to marry a man who locked his previous wife in the attic. I feel Jane should have put her middle finger up to the patriarchy and done something else, but if she's happy then I'm okay. This book is one that has stayed with me since I first read it for fun years ago, and peaked my interest when I studied it and I now really enjoy reading or discussing, it is one of the few works by the Bronte sisters that I don't hate so that's something at least. Before anyone says anything, I know I do English Literature for my degree, but some of the books they wrote aren't that good and they're really not my cup of tea!

Experiences

TEDxBristol

I was lucky enough to be able to help out with TEDxBristol through my university, and I was responsible for the Twitter engagement. This involved sending out tweets throughout the event so people who were not there could see what was happening, and to let people who were there know what was going on both in and around the talks. It opened my eyes to a whole new sector of publishing that I didn't really know existed, and showed me I would actually be pretty good at running social media accounts, so if anyone needs someone I could be the droid you're looking for! (I had to get a Star Wars pun in here somewhere, I'm way too excited to see the newest one this week!) It was a great experience and one I would not have had without the help and support of my university, and it also helped me solidify some new friendships (Yes Beth and Hannah, this does mean you brilliant beans!) I'm so glad I did this and pushed myself out of my comfort zone and I look forward to doing another industry project for Publishing after the holidays next semester.

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There were a couple more bits I loved, but if I'm being honest it was mainly foods and like food is great but nobody wants me to talk about vegan food with good houmous-to-pitta-and-veg ratios, do they? November was strange but it was the month where I got my shit back together and things got a lot better for me. My pals, my music and good food got me through a pretty strange month.

Now to enjoy Christmas for a bit and try to forget some of the less awesome stuff that happened this year and focus on all the good and happy things. I will try and pop another post up before Christmas but if I do not then eat all the mince pies and festive snacks. Or if you don't do the holidays for whatever reason look after yourself and take it easy this next week or so if you can, you deserve it!

B x