May Goals

It feels pretty good that May has come around. I'm very much an autumn/winter gal, but this year it feels like winter has just gone on and on. I'm ready for some sun and at least enough warmth to put my winter coat away. Even though I'm writing this on a particularly grey and dull day, I'm optimistic that the sun is getting ready to come and say 'hey'.

I'm not often one for monthly goal-making, but now I'm making more of an effort to be out in the world again I thought it would be the perfect motivational tool. Are you a goal-maker?

So without further ado, here are my goals for this month:

1// Write a 'Things That Made Me Happy This Week' every Sunday I started creating these posts to remind myself of all the little things that make me happy. It's such a good way to take stock of those moments I might otherwise have let pass me by.

2// Work on not feeling guilty if I take a rest day I'm terrible for feeling guilty. Even if I schedule a rest day into my plan for the week, that day will come around and I'll feel awful for being 'lazy'. I need to remember that my body needs a break.

3// Read what I want, when I want In April I had a couple of reading deadlines for Centenary News and, as much as I enjoyed the reading, it sometimes takes the fun out when you know you have to finish a book. This month I'm going to delve into my TBR and read whatever takes my fancy.

4// Reach out to a friend I've not seen a while It's been a little while since I've seen a couple of my friends and I'd like to rectify that this month and have some giggles and girl time.

5// Try something new I'm not sure what this will be yet or even whether I'm thinking of something big or small. It may just be trying a new recipe, a different restaurant or a book I wouldn't usually go for. I'm not sure, but I'll keep you updated.

6// Document more I used to take hundreds of pictures and write in a journal regularly, but this has slipped recently. I keep looking back at photos and being shocked to find there are so few there, even when I know I've been out and about doing things. I have a terrible memory so I'm determined to document more. I've finally bought the camera I'd been saving up for so I'm going to make sure I take that with me everywhere.

7// Be more mindful Mindfulness is something that I've been vaguely aware of for a long time. My Mum gave me a book on the subject for Christmas and I think it's time to dive right in and see how it might improve how I live my life.

8// Cook more Cooking makes me happy and I don't do it nearly enough. It's time to dust off those recipe books.

Do you have any goals for May?

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Things That Made Me Happy This Week #17

1// Early morning runs Now that I'm working shifts I'm trying to squeeze in workouts wherever I can, even if it means 5.30am. I've done a couple of early morning runs this week and I've decided dawn is my favourite time to go. It's quiet (well, as quiet as London can be), there's a refreshing chill in the air, and everything just looks beautiful. Plus, the energising properties of an early run cannot be beaten.

2// Alice Hoffman As I mentioned on Friday, this week I've been reading a book by one of my favourite authors. It has been so good to sink into Hoffman's prose and lose myself in her particular brand of magical-realism.

3// Trying new recipes On Tuesday I tried out a new recipe for Moroccan chickpeas with roasted tomato and aubergine. It was SO YUMMY. I always forget that cooking can be the perfect mood-booster at the end of a long day.

4// Book post At the end of last week I placed an order on The Works for a diary (shift work makes a diary a necessity so I'm realising), and as I browsed the website I came across a book I'd been meaning to read for absolutely ages: 'Dorothea's War'. It's a nurse's diary from the First World War and obviously right up my street. It was super cheap so I couldn't resist (any old excuse) and it made me very happy when it came through my postbox. 

5// Doing nothing I've not done anything this week. No theatre visits, no gigs, no meals out, absolutely zilch. As much as I love being busy and experiencing what London has on offer, sometimes it's nice to have a week enjoying your own company.

What has made you happy this week?

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April in Books

Forever England: The Life of Rupert Brooke by Mike Read

The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife and the Missing Corpse by Piu Marie Eatwell

Dead Wake by Erik Larson

The Biter Bit and Other Stories by Wilkie Collins

A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie

In April I feel like I finally got back up to my normal level of reading. After a slump that seems to have lasted most of the year so far, it feels pretty amazing to see six books read in a month. I almost snuck a seventh in there too, but I technically finished it in May and I'm a sucker for technicalities. I think the sun has been a big help and I know I'm not the only one making the most of these warm afternoons we've been having. I'm just hoping we'll get more of them - gimme those rays!

The Dead Duke was definitely my book of the month and a review will be following shortly. It's non-fiction and brings to life the Druce-Portland case of the late 1800s. Anyone sat near me on the tube whilst I was reading this was probably most perturbed by the girl sat chuckling away to herself. I've certainly been on a non-fiction mission this month and The Dead Duke is probably the reason for that. If you're after a book that'll restore your faith in non-fiction (as I was), then look no further.

Dead Wake left me sobbing and shaking my fists, Forever England was a disappointment, and A God in Every Stone only grabbed me after I'd already read about two-thirds and it didn't quite live up to expectations. I'm not sure I need to comment on the Wilkie short story collection as think you'll all know my feelings for Wilkie by now (yes, I loved the stories).

As far as my slump goes I think it's onwards and upwards now. I'm slowly slipping into a routine with work and my new hour long commute is certainly very conducive to reading (even when there is an armpit in my face). I'm looking forward to seeing what books May brings.

What did you read in April? What was your book of the month?

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This Week in Books and Browsing

This week I've returned to one of my favourite contemporary authors, Alice Hoffman. After three non-fiction reads in a row I was ready for something a little less intellectually draining and this recent buy was at the top of my list. Have you ever had that feeling that you're reading a particular book at exactly the right point in time? That's how I feel about The Museum of Extraordinary Things. Aside from a rather disturbing scene I read yesterday (disturbing yet so beautifully written), this novel has been significantly brightening up my commute. Alice Hoffman's backlist is huge and I'm still catching up with her old novels as she releases new ones, but she never disappoints so I'll keep trawling charity shops until I've read them all.

Lately I've been spending much less time browsing the internet, but now that my training is over and I'm installed in an office once again, I'm pretty sure I'll be back on my favourite sites - Bustle and The Guardian. I've had a little time this week and a couple of articles stuck in my mind, so grab a cuppa and have a read!

I had a mini confidence boost whilst reading Oliver Burkeman's 'You're the only person who will notice if you're dining along. So enjoy it' on The Guardian. Interestingly Burkeman says that he's happy to go to the cinema alone, but not to the theatre or a concert. For me it's the opposite. I often go to the theatre alone and feel pretty comfortable doing so, whilst the thought of going to the cinema solo really freaks me out. Really though I just need to remember those people are more interested in themselves than they are in me. What do you think about going to restaurants/cinemas/theatres alone? Would you/do you do it?

Also on The Guardian I had a little giggle at this 'Fit-Shaming' article written in retaliation to the Protein World ads on the tube network.

I'm getting very excited to read Kate Atkinson's follow-up to Life After Life, A God in Ruins, and this review by Tessa Hadley certainly has not dampened that excitement. 

If you're loving Daredevil on Netflix as much as I am, then Bustle recommends 9 books to read if you loved it and have already finished it.

And finally, Flavorwire published a great piece about Shakespeare's heroines with excerpts taken from a book I really must read: Women of Will by Tina Packer. If you like Shakespeare and women then definitely give this one a look.

What are you currently reading? What are your go-to sites for bookish goodness?

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Things That Made Me Happy This Week #16

1// Non-Fiction As I write this I'm about three-quarters of the way through my third non-fiction read in a row. It's an odd time for a flurry of non-fiction reading considering how much information I'm having to take in daily at work, but I'm going to make the most of it whilst I can. If you've got any recommendations then please make sure to throw them my way!

2// The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife and the Missing Corpse by Piu Marie Eatwell This book has kept me on my toes this week. It's the most entertaining non-fiction book I've read in a while and probably my favourite book from this month so I'll definitely be reviewing it soon.

3// Reading in the sun As soon as the sun arrives I try to spend as much time in the fresh (ish) air as possible. This week I've spent a couple of late afternoons reading on our balcony and it has been lovely. Chilly, but lovely.

4// Flow charts I've been creating some information packs at work for the tumour groups that I specialise in and that has involved creating some completely stunning flow charts. If you've never considered flow charts to be beautiful things then you really need to see mine. They are works of art and so very calming to create.

5// A chilled Friday evening in the pub After a failed run on Friday afternoon I decided the only thing for it was an evening spent chillaxing in the pub. Cider + good company = fun times.

What has made you happy this week?

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Hello, world!

So I guess it's been a while, huh? If you're still there then thank you for sticking around during my prolonged absence! Way back when I started my new job (a whole six weeks ago now, *lifts jaw of the floor*), I knew that I was going to take a wee break just to settle in and find my feet, but I didn't anticipate that finding my feet would take such a long time.

I don't know how many of you know, but six weeks ago I started working for the NHS in a role created in partnership with Macmillan. It's brand new for the trust I work for, brand new for Macmillan, actually, entirely brand new - this has never been tried before. It's challenging, exciting, rewarding and, at the moment, pretty frustrating. Yep, three weeks of induction and training somehow turned into six weeks of induction and training. I'm learning a lot about a lot of things, but now I'm pretty ready to just get cracking and help some people. The start date is set for next Monday so we shall see.

That more or less sums up the reason for my complete radio silence over here and my quieter than usual presence on social media. I've also been pretty busy with life things and trying to put a good amount of time into the Centenary News books page - if you're interested in WW1 I have posted the odd review on there, plus lots of recommendations for WW1 related reads. Shameless plug over.

I can't be entirely sure that things will get back to normal here immediately, but I do know I have missed sharing this space with you guys and chatting everything happiness and books. Here's to hoping that you've missed it, too!

I think things are going to change a little for Lit Nerd. I've been thinking about tweaking my focus a tad so that The Happiness Project takes centre stage. I've been considering this change for a while, in part because I don't seem to read as much as I used to, but also because focusing on happiness does wonders for me and I really hope it can do the same for you. There will still be a focus on bookish goodness and the occasional review as books are obviously the number one thing on my happy list, but I'm going to have a fiddle with the format until I find something really worthy of lit nerdiness.

Basically I'm just going to try and pick up where I left off and see how it goes. There may be an element of winging it, but that can be good for the soul every now and then.

Anyway guys, over to you! How have you been? Read any good books lately? Any thoughts about what you'd like to see on Lit Nerd in the next few weeks and months?

P.S. Have I said I've missed you yet? Or that you're all kinda awesome and lovely?

Literary London: Blake

If you've been around these parts before then you may remember that one of my favourite London pastimes is, like my good friend Darles Chickens, walking. I can walk for hours, turning down new streets or familiar roads, crossing different bridges or poking my head into various nooks and crannies in my favourite city.

This past Saturday we spent a particularly blustery yet delightfully sunny day wandering around East London. As we made our way home we were forced to take a slight detour due to some roadworks that took up the entire pavement. We nipped behind a block of flats and walked towards a railway bridge we hoped would lead towards home. It did lead towards home, but it also lead to one of the most exciting discoveries I've made so far this year.

Railway bridges, tunnels and arches are not an uncommon sight around the area I live and I pretty much think that if you've seen one, you've seen them all. You could have knocked me down with a feather when I walked under this particular bridge and the late afternoon sun caught the edge of something coloured. I had definitely been walking along grumbling about how much I needed a wee and how sore my feet were and probably how hot/cold I was, but that moaning died on my lips when I looked up and saw a mosaic bearing the title page of William Blake's Songs of Innocence.

The mosaics line both sides of the tunnel (Centaur Street in Lambeth, for any London based Blake enthusiasts) and brought such life to an otherwise worn out road. Each mosaic was beautifully made and depicted scenes from his Songs and other works - some dark in subject matter, and some cheering. This last photo I think demonstrates quite how incongruous the mosaics look in their setting, but it is the perfect place for something based on Blake's poems ('London' springs to mind).

I've always had a love for mosaics so that plus Blake was a marriage made in Lit Nerd heaven. It was also rather lovely to stumble across this collection so soon after reading Tracy Chevalier's Burning Bright and having my love for William rekindled.

After a quick bit of research I found out that the project was organised by Southwark Mosaics, who had this to say on their website:

''William Blake lived for ten of his most productive years in North Lambeth at 13 Hercules Buildings. The old house has been knocked down, but there is a plaque where it once stood on Hercules Road. William Blake lived in Hercules Road, SE1 from 1790 – 1800 and this mosaic project pays homage to his genius and some of his greatest work. Southbank Mosaics artists worked with 300 volunteers over a period of 7 years to research, design, plan, make and install 70 mosaics based on the words and paintings of William Blake into the railway tunnels of Waterloo Station, turning them from dark unwelcoming places into street galleries bright with opulent and durable works of art.''

If there is one thing that I've learnt from this discovery it is the importance of keeping your eyes open. Keep them up, look all around you, look at the sky, look at the tops of buildings, look at lampposts, look at doorways, look in the crannies and open spaces - look everywhere and never stop seeing the little things.

I truly hope that London never loses its capacity to surprise me and that I'll never run out of things to discover here. I have a sneaking suspicion that that won't happen any time soon.