Christmas Gift Ideas

I am really getting in the festive mood this year, and with less than 20 days until Christmas, I thought I would share some gift ideas for anyone struggling for inspiration. One of my favourite things about Christmas is gift shopping, and while I usually would head out to a shopping centre for that one of a kind Christmas vibe, I will be doing all of my gift shopping online this year. Yes, I will miss all the beautiful displays at Liberty’s, Selfridges and Harrods, the carol singers on the streets, random acts of Christmas kindness and the struggle of shuffling in and out of your coat every time you enter or leave a store. But for me staying COVID free and spending time with my family is far more important than the annual Christmas Shop experience. So without further ado, I present 8 gift ideas to get you inspired and ready to shop!

1. Untold Day and Night by Bae Suah | 2. Kate Spade Nicola Micro Crossbody Bag | 3. Chanel N°5 Perfume | 4. Anthropologie Bistro Tiled Margot Monogram Mug | 5. Avène Refreshing Eye Contour Care Cream | 6. BY WISHTREND Green Tea and Enzyme Powder Cleanser | 7. Kate Spade Star Studs & Pendant Boxed Set | 8. Normal People by Sally Rooney

The above links are affiliate links so I do make a small commision if you make a purchase through them.

Other gift ideas:

A Mubi subscription for an Art House Cinema lover, Spotify Premium for a music nut, Wine for a budding sommelier or help save an endangered species with WWF.

November Books

It would appear that I have lost my reading mojo, gone are the months of reading five or more books. But I feel like it is important to realise that reading 1 or 2 books (or even none) in a month isn’t so bad. It would appear that I just simply wasn’t in the right mood to juggle several books this month. And spending more time with a book allows you to absorb it and deconstruct it’s affect on you better anyway.

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

Essential reading. The Fire Next Time is a book containing two letters written 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Baldwin explores racism in America, and how very little has been achieved in the way of equality within the 100 years since. This needs to be read by anyone who is looking to understand (not that it’s hard to understand basic human rights) the Black Lives Matter movement because it’s 157 years since 1863 (the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation) and it’s also quite hard to see that much progress has been made since Baldwin’s time!

Get your copy:

Waterstones

Abebooks

or check in with your local library via the Libby App

At Least We Can Apologize (사과는 잘해요) by Lee Ki-ho

At Least We Can Apologize follows two characters as they re-adjust to life after being released from a strange mental hospital. As they have minimal skills and are in dire need of money they wander around their town gathering clients to apologize on behalf of. This book is a satirical look at the expectations and pressures of Korean society and post-modern commodification culture. And while I understand what Lee was doing with this novel I just can’t say I liked the execution of it very much.

Me throughout the book.

Get your copy:

Waterstones

Abebooks

or check in with your local library via the Libby App

*Please note that some links are affiliate links and if you do decide to make a purchase through them I earn a small commission.

More Bookish Content.

Book Club: Announcement + The Prose Edda

I am starting a new Book Club. It’s all about global literature.

It will allow me to curate the reading list around one of my biggest passions in reading, World Literature. I love exploring different cultures through their literature, and it again fits in with the ethos of this Book Club, epic stories and ‘seeing’ all the world has to offer through books.

Just check back here at the end of each month to discuss the book and find out what we’ll be reading the following month.

The first read of the Book Club will be none other than The Prose Edda by Icelandic historian, poet, and politician Snorri Sturluson (there is debate around whether he wrote the whole thing it or just compiled it and wrote the last section). It is the most comprehensive collection of Norse Mythology that has survived to this day.

Where to get your copy from:

Free copy from Project Gutenberg

Second hand from AbeBooks

New from Waterstones

Our journey so far:

October Books

October seemed like such a fast month, it was as if I blinked on the 1st and suddenly when I opened my eyes again it was the 31st. I also hit a bit of a reading slump this month as I only managed to finish 2 books.

Exciting Times by Noaise Dolan

Touted as the next Sally Rooney, Noaise Dolan’s debut novel Exciting Times has been sitting on my TBR list for quite some time. I finally got round to reading it and found that while it was a little like Rooney’s work it was also very different in many ways. While I enjoyed the book and its presentation of modern relationships and sexuality, I did think that it could have perhaps been a little more concise.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I really enjoyed this book, and I was actually quite surprised at how readable Brave New World is considering that it was written in 1931. The concept of control through pleasure and complete balance in society is utterly compelling and quite scary and I really enjoyed Huxley’s witty jabs at consumerism and modern life which eerily seems more and more accurate nowadays! My one criticism about the book would be the idea of the “Savage Reservation”, this hasn’t aged very well at all and could be seen as highly offensive to Native Americans. While I am aware that the Savage Reservation represents an antithesis to the highly controlled World State and is most likely used as a satirical device Huxley nevertheless descends into damaging stereotypes of Native American culture.

Autumn Tag

As I love this season so much I thought I would do this Autumn Tag created by Jennily.

1. Hot Chocolate – what is your comfort book?

Um, I’m not too sure about this as most of the books I read aren’t exactly comforting! An obvious choice would be Harry Potter but I can’t really choose those books as I’m still making my way through the series for the first time. But I guess maybe something like Pride and Prejudice, who doesn’t love a good romance and a happy ending?

2. Pumpkin Carving – what is your favourite creative outlet?

I love writing and taking photos. I also kind of love and hate painting, it’s a strained relationship mainly because my skill is completely lacking. I’m like the artist in Disney’s Hercules

3. Falling Leaves – changes that appear bad but you secretly love?

I love the transience of life, so I am always welcoming changes and new beginnings. But perhaps the most recent change was moving to the countryside. I thought I was going to be bored and stuck in the middle of nowhere. I kinda am but because of COVID, I have come to appreciate how lucky I am with all this open space around me and how safe it is here!

4. Pumpkin Spiced Latte – something you love that others tend to judge

Art house films, most people I know think they are boring and super pretentious. And don’t get me started on non-English art house films. I just don’t get peoples aversion to subtitles!

 5. Bonfire Night – what makes you explode with joy?

Travelling, I feel so utterly and completely euphoric when I visit a new place or new country. There is just something so beautiful about it. I can’t wait to be able to start doing this again! Other things include watching an amazing film, reading a brilliant book or visiting galleries and museums.

6. Fright Night – favourite scary book or film

I’ve never read a horror book and I’m not a massive horror film fan. But, I have been trying to get into them recently and I must say that I have rather enjoyed Peter Strickland’s Berberian Sound Studio and In Fabric. But maybe the best horror film I’ve seen is Midsommar (what a ride!).

7. Halloween candy – favourite thing to eat

At the moment it’s all about Apples! Apple cake, apple pie, apple crumble, cinnamon apple porridge.

8. Scarves – your autumn ‘must-have’ accessory

Knitted Jumpers, tights, boots, blazers, scarves. And maybe a few great books, right now I’m looking forward to reading Under the Jaguar Sun a short story collection by Italo Calvino, The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson and some Dostoevsky by way of Crime and Punishment. Oh, and of course all the books in my Autumn Reading List too.

9. Fire – a book or film that burns your soul

Could it be anything other than Portrait of a Lady on Fire? And maybe In the Mood for Love. I’m clearly into unfulfilled love affairs. What on earth does that say about me. In terms of books maybe Angela Carter’s writing, she is a magician with words and I love how flowery her prose is.

10. Toffee apples – a book or film that seems one thing but really has a different inside

Korean movies in general. Um, maybe 2001: A Space Odyssey, it could be seen as just a science fiction film but really it’s an epic story of human ambition. Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, it’s a clever and funny character study of a sex addict, but most people think it’s just gratuitous.

I tag everyone!