Quirky Reads: The Joy of No

It might be February already but I said I wanted to read more books this year than I did last year so here is my musings on the first book I've finished reading this year! 

Quick Review

Genre(s): Self Help/Motivation 

Who Wrote It: Summerdale Publishers

Did I Dig It?: Heck yeah!

2 Second Summary: Some sound advice on saying no.

Quirky Queen Rating: 👑👑👑👑👑 

5 out of 5 Crowns from me on this occasion.
Every once in a while I need a reminder that saying no is not only acceptable, but necessary. 

I also read it while my neighbour was having carpets fitted and it distracted me from the loud hammering!

Extended Musings

I think I've mentioned before that I struggle when it comes to saying no.  I'm aware of the word's existence and can use it, I just don't like doing it. 

While reading through some of the advice in this book, I found myself nodding along at alot of the section titles because I struggle saying no in those situations. 

My biggest problem is I get 'decliner's remorse' I'm not sure if that's even a thing or if I've just stolen someone else's term but I'm gonna roll with it! Every time I say no or consider saying no, the pangs of guilt are never far away, I worry people won't like me, I worry I'll be letting them down, I worry that if something goes wrong or they have a miserable time - it will be my fault.  In reality, I really need to get over myself.  Someone might be mildly put out that I said no, but they'll move on pretty quickly and find someone else to go see that film I won't enjoy or help them do that thing I'd be terrible at helping with. They might not even give it a second thought. 

Politeness, Firmness and Honesty were recurring words I found throughout this book. I reckon these are positive intentions to have in mind when it comes to saying no.
Be polite about it, be honest about it but also be firm with it.

I'm a terrible one for getting myself stuck in a Vicky Pollard trap of 'No but yes but no but yes' - I start with the intention of saying no but I dance around in a circle not wanting to be unkind and end up either committed to something I don't want to do or committed to something else as a result. As long as I'm not being rude, saying no really shouldn't be the big deal I turn it into.

I'm going to try and keep this book in my mind in situations where I feel myself about to execute a yes when I want to say no. I'll also try and change my view on no being a completely negative thing. 

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Quirky Faves: Autumn 2018

The first time I typed the title of this blog I typed Summer 2017, I'm off to a great start!

I love Autumn. Nature starts charging it's batteries and takes a bit of time out to rejuvinate before bursting to life again in Spring.
That's a really healthy reminder sometimes, to take some time to recharge and not to burn out.

I'm probably rubbish as favourites posts, I think I've made two lacklustre attempts but I thought I'd give it another go, maybe seasonally. Which would work well, as I'm also terrible at having an upload schedule.

Here's some of my quirky faves this Autumn.
I'm not sponsored by any companies, authors or locations I have mentioned below.

Books

  

Yes, I am a 29 year old woman and yes there are two unicorn books in this section. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I dig unicorns.

This Summer/Autumn some of my favourite reads have been

Be More Unicorn: How to Find Your Inner Sparkle by Joanna Gray
When The Curtain Falls by Carrie Hope Fletcher 
The Little Book of Unicorns: Unicornucopia by Caitlin Doyle

You can find all of my Quirky Reads posts here

Monki Midi Skirts

I've built up a steady collection of these since I first discovered Monki last autumn.
I fall in love each time a new quirky pattern is released - I don't buy every one I see but I've been reaching into my wardrobe for these again and again. 

Shoes

Another Monki purchase, I don't normally wear mustard but when I saw these I knew they belonged on my feet.
I don't wear alot of corduroy either but I love these.
They are super comfy and they fit like they were designed for my feet.
Great for walking through crunchy leaves! Not so much on a rainy day but there are other shoes for those days! 

Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Pumpkin Spice Lattes! I don't actually like coffee and I have a dairy intolerance but thankfully this can be customised!
I discovered I enjoy lattes when I can't taste the coffee so I've been having them with soya or coconut milk and the occasional shot of caramel or vanilla.  I discovered a few weeks ago that Pumpkin Spice Latte's are amazing! Another reason for Autumn to be my favourite season!

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Quirky Reads: Be More Unicorn - How To Find Your Inner Sparkle.

Having recently been made redundant and finding myself back in the routine of job searching, I've experienced a dip in my internal and external sparkle.

Be More Unicorn: How To Find Your Inner Sparkle by Joanna Gray was just what I needed to remind myself that the best way to find magic is to believe in myself and create it.

When my mother handed me the book, she knew it didn't need a hard sell. I dig unicorns. Maybe it's because I'm Scottish and the unicorn is our national animal?

Some parts of the book were a useful reminder embrace opportunities to be magical, fabulous and playful but other parts taught me the importance of digging a bit deeper into who I am both on the inside and the outside to become more graceful, enigmatic, fierce and fulfilled.

I'm a firm believer in following the advice of my Unicorn Decision Making Pen which quite often encourages me to Chase a Rainbow but often I fail to spot the rainbow or even look for it because I think I know better.

In the spirit of Being More Unicorn, I'm going to chase more rainbows when they present themselves.  In the meantime, I may embrace the magic around me by taking in a sunset or two, gazing at some stars or taking a walk in the rain - if this uncharacteristically tropical weather ever breaks.

Be More Unicorn: How to Find Your Inner Sparkle is a short but gorgeous read offering a healthy dose of escapism and encouragement with all the glitter and enthusiasm you need to sparkle and shine. 

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Quirky Reads: You Do You by Sarah Knight.

Shortly before Christmas, James started asking me about books

 'We've never really had the book chat, have we?'

'No, I guess we haven't'

I mean we've had the Harry Potter chat - FYI, I'm a Ravenclaw,  Neville Longbottom is my hero and Bellatrix Lestrange is my mortal enemy.

What he was referring to is that while we each know the other has a love of reading, we've never really delved into a chat about authors and genres, although in hindsight this seems remiss of me.
I bore other people, sometimes actual strangers, with my book chat daily. 

He's lost me in bookstores for a good ten minutes because

something has caught my eye and I've swooped towards it for a closer inspection. 

When he picked 'You Do You' as one of my gifts, he did so partly because it's something I say quite often, but also because Sarah Knight featured pretty high on my list of favourite authors.

For someone who called their blog The Quirky Queen, has blue ombre hair and wears neon pink fluffy flamingo slippers, I'd love to say that being unaffected by what Judgey McJudgerson has to say is something I do with ease - unfortunately it isn't.

I feel sometimes like Sarah's voice is a more 'walk the walk' version of the voice in my head.

I'm perfectly happy to identify when it's appropriate to be a bit difficult, like when mine or others mental well being, happiness or safety is in jeopardy but with the possible exception of safety, I'm not always so good at taking what's into my head and bringing it out into the universe.

I can care far too much about what others think, whether it's the girl serving me at a restaurant blatantly making fun of me - for the record, I rock a matilda-esque hair bow - or a pass remarkable moron passing comment on how many slices of cheeseless pizza I've consumed (it was four and it was my first pizza in nearly two years, leave me be).

 Something I really loved about reading this book was the section on mental redecorating, taking what you consider to be a weakness and turning or repainting it into a strength.

It's something I'm going to adopt from now on.

I won't go into much more detail about the book as I wouldn't like to take away from anything that others could take from reading it themselves but I would thoroughly recommend it.

My insecurities won't disappear overnight,
I won't wake up tomorrow and become an asshat that doesn't filter her thoughts before speech or action in the spirit of 'being me' (hopefully)
 but I will certainly question which portions of what others think and expect of me I allow to influence me and will absolutely challenge myself before becoming someone else's Judgey McJudgerson. 

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Friday Firsts: Introductions and Avocados.

I’m a big fan of alliteration, you may have gathered this about me already if you’ve read some of my other blog posts.

So I decided that on Friday’s I’m going to start posting about activities or things I’m experiencing for the first time - Friday Firsts I think I shall call it.

Anytime I try or go somewhere new I can channel it into something creative to share with others.

I’d like to be optimistic and say I’ll do one every week but I’ll play it by ear! 

This weeks Friday First involves cooking - I know, shock horror.  It also involves avocados. Just because avocados! 

I'm becoming a bit obsessed with avocados, I have socks, a lunch box, earrings.....I digress.  

Behold - avocado potato salad! 

I can’t take credit for the recipe, I found it on Pinterest and comes from a site called Beckys Best Bites. I'd strongly recommend having a look, there are some great recipes on there.

Ingredients:I didn't stick rigidly to the recipe as I had no Dill or Cilantro but the premise is simple, 2lbs of potatoes, 1 avocado, 1 lime (juice and zest) and seasoning of your choice.

Method:Boil your potatoes then freeze them for 30 minutes, mix together the avocado, lime and seasoning and when your potatoes have cooled down sufficiently mix them together! 

It serves six so it would be a great side dish at a meal or a light bite lunch!

I've mentioned on my blog before that I have a dairy intolerance and its annoying when food in shops that look like it should be totally friendly for me actually have milk somewhere in the ingredients list.

When I spotted this recipe, I was so excited that it was something I could eat and prepare with minimal effort - as lets face it, my skills in the kitchen leave a lot to be desired!
I may document some of my kitchen disasters on here as I attempt to navigate the seemingly grown up skill of feeding myself.
Highlights include evaporated soup and exploding porridge.  

I've previously spoken about wanting to push myself outside of my comfort zone and trying new foods although it doesn't seem like much can be a big thing for me. 

Next Weeks First  - Clubersise! 

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A (Sort Of) Introduction.

I did say in my last blog post that there would be no 

'New Year, New Me' but I have given my blog a new name so I didn't really stick to that...

You'll have gathered if you've read my blog that I like to embrace the quirky things in life, the musings and content will still come from the mind of Rachie, my name just won't be in big letters at the top. 

I mentioned in my last post I'd like to use my blog to embrace all things quirky in my life whether that's sharing my musings, talking about my adventures or sharing things I've found.
I've never really had a theme for any of my personal blogs before and I'm not certain that quirky is really a theme, but it will be the thread that stitches everything together... I hope. 

It's a Rachie Thing was an outlet that helped me to process my thoughts, continue to develop content when I had no other outlet for my creativity and develop my own voice.
I've brought over all of my existing content, even the posts I think are a bit rubbish because they are part of me.

Now that the reintroduction is out of the way, I'll make sure the next thing I post is far more interesting. 

Today's Shoes

Technically, this is not a picture of shoes.
It's my flamingo slippers from Asos!
I also took this picture two days ago but I'm wearing them again at the moment so it totally counts!
Life is far too short to not own fluffy flamingo slippers, right?

Also

Thank you to Aloha Lola Cards for designing my header image, she took a thought in my head and turned it into a reality.

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Quirky Reads - Essentialism:The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

I’m on annual leave today, I’m not actually away on holiday anywhere, just taking a few days to chill and relax.  My original plan was to make use of Netflix, binge watch something, do some online shopping seeing as it’s pay day………today had other plans for me.   The internet was down, the television was down and my xbox game collection consists of games that are far more appealing to my 12-year-old nephew than myself – so I decided to read one of the mountain of books lying on my bedroom floor.

In a moment of amusement given my lack of technological stimulation, I picked up Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown.

This book was recommended to me by my colleague Chelsea, she had read one of my blogs last year about my inability to say no to things I don’t want to do (you can read that here if you wish) and recommended to me that I read this book.

I’d be lying if I said that I’ll go through the rest of my life suddenly starting to throw out no’s all over the place in my pursuit of becoming an essentialist, for a start that’s not the purpose of the book, but I recognised a few of my traits in the pages of this book.

I absolutely try to take on everything and do it all, I definitely try to take on other people’s problems or try to please them and I certainly look for the quick fix.

I do need to start looking at all of the things I take on and start thinking about what is actually necessary, what can I make the best job of, what is actually becoming a hindrance to my productivity as a person and a worker.

I need to start identifying the right things to say no to and why it is the right decision to say no.  

I need to recognise when my answer is no and stop saying yes.

Rather than allowing myself to become unproductive because my brain is too scattered between too many different things or because I can’t find the time or the space, I can start looking for what my obstacles actually are rather than just allowing them to put up a great big road block.

Finding some time to switch off from certain things like social media and needless noise is something I could be doing.I can’t remember who said it but I do remember hearing someone say

‘If you are connected everywhere, you are present nowhere’

It struck a chord with me and every once in a while it pops back into my head. I don’t think I’d manage to block everything out every day but I could make small steps by finding time once a week or a few times a month.

I deliberately avoid going into too much detail on my book musings because I don’t want to take away from someone what they could take from the books I've read.  

I’ve tried to do the same with this one and purely focused on what I am taking from it.

I’d highly recommend it to anyone, I didn’t realise before I read it how much my compulsive need to please others is preventing me from achieving the best results I could be achieving.
That won’t change overnight, but it will light a fire under my butt to become more of an essentialist.

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Quirky Reads: The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k by Sarah Knight

I started off this summer with the best of intentions, I had a two week holiday booked, I had four books packed and a schedule of when I was planning to blog about them.......

Trouble is, when I got to my holiday, I was a bit too busy being on holiday and I read a grand total of one book.

Fast forward a few months and I've read another! Check me out.

This is a book my mum passed to me because she thought it would amuse me, which it did.
It has also helped me to try and readjust the way I think and what I value as important. 

Without going into too much detail, it helps you to make a decision about the things that do and don't matter in the grand scheme of your life, the things that are important enough to consume your worries and the things that aren't.....in essence, identifying the things you should and perhaps shouldn't give a f*** about.

It's not an instruction manual, its the family member or best friend you turn to when you need someone to tell you that it's okay not to do something you really don't want to, even though you are worried about what others may think of you or tell you its okay to put your own comfort and happiness before others.

Some practical advice for cracking down on the jungle of chaos we create inside our own heads as we swing from branch to branch trying to be all things to all people whether we really want to or not.

There is even a handy section on how to navigate the very very fine line between actively not giving two hoots about things that don't matter and being an asshat. 

I'd like to say that I officially have everything figured out in my head and from this moment on will be able to meander my way through life giving zero tosses I don't have to give - I probably won't, I'm not wired that way, but what I can do is have a bit more perspective about how my decisions affect myself and others in the bigger picture and maybe, just maybe, give a few less unnecessary f***s. 

A recommended read for anyone with a brain as cluttered as my own and a similar compulsive need to please people :-) 

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Quirky Reads: When Mr Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan

I randomly picked up 'When Mr Dog Bites' in a library I had nipped into to use the loo.

I'd already picked up a few books (recipe books, I'm an appalling cook so goodness knows where I thought I was going to get with those and When Mr Dog Bites.....the recipe books are back in the library and I've yet to open them) and figured a new fiction book was in order, I'd given books a bit of a rest for a few months and decided I wanted to lose myself in someone else's story.

For the past few weeks, that person's story has been Dylan Mint.
It's the kind of story I'd normally finish in one or two sittings but because I started reading it on holiday, I got a little preoccupied with sight seeing.

I instantly warmed to Dylan Mint, he's Scottish, he's funny and he's brave.  These are all traits I like in a protagonist.

Although its a primary focus in the story, I often forgot about Dylan's tourettes unless he happened to have an outburst, which in a way made me feel like he was someone I knew. It was just a part of him I knew was there and wasn't especially watching out for.

I won't go into too much detail on the narrative as I wouldn't like to spoil the story for anyone who might want to read it.
One thing that struck me however, was that just how easy it is to let one assumption take over how you think.
Dylan overheard his mother and a doctor having a conversation which lead him to believe that his days were numbered.  This assumption took over his thought process and at times his actions.
I can be like that sometimes.  I get an idea in my head and it influences me in other ways, sometimes its healthy, sometimes it isn't.

A key theme in When Mr Dog Bites is friendship,  Dylan's fierce loyalty and warmness towards his best friend Amir is a central part of the story.  They look out for each other, they protect each other, they want the other to be happy and they communicate that warmness through a very relatable and warm laddish banter.


The author has a few other books and after reading 'When Mr Dog Bites' I'd defitiely be keen to give them a go. 

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My Favourite Things: February

I'm not sure how interesting my post about my favourite things in January actually was for anyone who read it, 

but I enjoyed writing it so I decided to do it again this month....or again this month lol. 

It was kind of cathartic, not only to focus on some positive thought but also to reflect on how fortunate I am in times when I feel a bit sorry for myself - I have a lifestyle that allows me to have favourite possessions - I don't take that for granted.

I've linked to them where I can in case anyone is interested.

Clothes 

February was the month of skirts - I've acquired two this month! 

And they both have pockets!!! I love pockets!!! Pockets!!!

This little beauty came from Cath Kidston,
I really like Cath Kidston stuff but some of it can be a little out of my price range so I my purchases there are generally now and again - this was an early birthday present from Mum. The print reminded me of London - I've been a few times with my friend but I've never actually been to the Palace so I've never seen a Palace Guard up close but I figured this was the next best thing! 

This skirt is a Hell Bunny skirt and I absolutely adore it, I have another two skirts this length, one is pink with black polkadots and the other is black with zombie pin-up girls.  It does all the right things to make me feel comfortable and pretty and has a 50s vibe to the cut that goes well with my shape. 

The circus themed print is really fun and colourful!
My phone camera hasn't done it justice at all but its beautiful.

Feeeeet!

Yes - these are socks, I like socks. Socks and me go way back.
However, socks can be a massive annoyance to me, once you wash them they go a bit stiff and dry and start to lose a little of their comfort with each wear.  I bought these a few days ago in Accessorize when the socks I had on were catching on my shoes and causing my shoes to dig into my heels - ain't nobody got time for that!  When I bought these they instantly felt like my feet had met their sock soul mate. Yes, that's a weird sentence - do I care? Nope. 

Books

The Ladybird Book of The Hipster by J.A HAZELEY and J.P MORRIS - this book is part of a recently released series of Ladybird books aimed at grownups. 

 As a kid I was read a lot of ladybird books that I really enjoyed.  This series pokes fun at some topical things in the modern day but in keeping with the style of writing in the ladybird books I read as a child.  I found it really funny and would definitely read some of the others in the series. 

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Quirky Reads: Dream a Little Dream by Giovanna Fletcher

Rachie's Musings on: Dream a Little Dream by Giovanna Fletcher

It has come to my attention recently that my mother reads my blog which has paid off because after mentioning in a previous post I'd quite like to read Giovanna Fletcher's new book Dream a Little Dream....she bought it for me......thanks Mum! :-)

This is my second Giovanna Fletcher book, the first one I read was Billy and Me and it very quickly became one of my favourite books.

I mentioned that I could relate to the main character Sophie in Billy and Me and I found myself also relating to the main character Sarah in Dream a Little Dream. 

Sarah is 29 and a bit dissatisfied with life, she's become bored of a job she hoped would be a stepping stone after graduation and aspires to have the career she always dreamed of. I can sort of relate to that.  The world isn't always as shiny and exciting as we hoped it would be after university/college/school.
For every graduate who secures their dream job, there are just as many, if not more, who have to settle for what they can get rather than what they dreamed of. 

There are similarities between my friends and Sarah's group of friends, so much so that I could imagine some of my friends saying their dialogue!
She also loves a Katsu Curry - my kinda woman!

As the title suggests, Sarah has some seriously interesting dreams which become very interesting when the subject of her dreams - Brett, a friend of a friend she met about 10 years earlier - gets a job in the same office she works in. 

I really enjoyed Dream a Little Dream, there were one or two saucy bits I wasn't expecting and took me by surprise! It took me three evenings to read, only stopping when my brain informed me it was time to go to sleep.

Having watched some of Giovanna's videos on youtube, I sort of pictured her in my mind as Sarah, which may or may not be a good thing, but I don't think it does any harm.

Similarly with Billy and Me, I felt like I wasn't reading a story.

Giovanna has this amazing ability to make me feel like I'm part of the world her stories are set in and I'm deep in conversation with her characters for a few hours.

Something that I took from Dream a Little Dream was that while dreams are great, it's important not to use them as a place to set the bar.
Sometimes great things come along and while they may not be exactly what you dreamed of or were hoping for, they can be really awesome and in some circumstances they can be even better than you imagined!

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Quirky Reads: The Tiny Wife by Andrew Kauffman

Rachie's Musings on: The Tiny Wife by Andrew Kauffman


The Tiny Wife was a fairly short read but it’s packed full of awesomeness.

At the beginning of the story a thief comes into a bank.
Instead of taking money from everyone, he instead takes whatever item in the possession of those in the bank that holds the most sentimental value to them.

The story takes some strange twists and turns as a result, but the most notable consequence of the robbery is that the narrator’s wife, who was in the bank that day, begins to shrink a little more each day and begins to lose sense of herself and who she is as she finds navigating her way through the every day tasks and experiences.
Her shrinking also has an effect on her relationship with her husband who does his best to try and help with her situation and keep her spirits raised.

Whilst I can't relate to shrinking, I can relate to allowing something I can't control get to me and start to influence how I feel, act and live my life.

The story, without getting too cheesy, reinforced to me that even when you are feeling at your lowest, other people can help you feel like your normal self again.

I'm looking forward to reading more Andrew Kaufman stories.

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Quirky Reads: Loser by Jerry Spinelli

Rachie's Musings on: Loser by Jerry Spinelli


Loser follows the story of Zinkoff, or Donald Zinkoff as he is known to his parents and teachers.

 The book follows Zinkoff through elementary/primary school and reminds us what it’s like to see the world through the eyes of a child.

Zinkoff loves school, for the most part he loves his teachers and he loves life.   You could easy assume that this book is designed for a young audience, it has a teen friendly cover and it follows the life of a school child, but it can also give us ‘adults’ a bit of a kick up the backside!!

Zinkoff has that same enthusiasm for life and fire in his belly that everyone is born with, where absolutely everything is a fun new discovery and it’s the most awesome thing ever.  
As we grow up, life beats that out of us a little bit, we lose the sparkle and we become grown ups.

While following Zinkoff through his story, I could almost see the sparkle starting to fade from him, although it never left him completely.  Zinkoff grew up like kids do, but while the other kids became ‘grown up kids’ and adapted to all the attitudes and etiquettes that come with getting a bit older and keeping up with everyone – Zinkoff stood out by holding on to the little eccentricities that make him Zinkoff.

I really enjoyed Loser, it’s not a long read, but it’s a damn good one and it’s encouraged me to try and make sure I keep the sparkle in my life :-)

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Quirky Reads: Change Your Mind – 57 Ways to Unlock Your Creative Self by Rod Judkins

Rachie's Musings on: Change Your Mind – 57 Ways to Unlock Your Creative Self by Rod Judkins


I was wandering through an art gallery gift shop with friends and whilst my friends were soaking in the artsy stuff for sale, I zoned in on this little beauty.

 I initially bought it thinking ‘Great, maybe I’ll get some tips on how to become a bit more creative, cause I really wasn’t born one of those gifted people who can just are creative’

The first page gave me a much needed kick up the bum and bluntly explained to me that some of the greatest creative minds are just ordinary people with ordinary lives who have used creativity to become a bit less ordinary.    The rest of the book dispenses techniques and advice, through habits we can teach ourselves in order to tap into this much feared thing called creativity.

I used to think creativity was something you either had or didn’t have, you were born to be creative or you weren’t,  you had a talent through which to express it or you didn’t.  Reading this book helped me to see that having that mind-set is exactly what stops me from being creative.

I now try to have the mind-set that if I think my ideas are going to be crap and unimaginative, they will be because I’ve conditioned myself to think in an unimaginative and crap way, but if I tell myself my ideas might be interesting, there is a chance they just might be.

Since reading the book, I’ve noticed a bit of a shift in the way I think, I don’t tell myself that my ideas are going to be crap any more, I try to tell myself that I’m going to come up with an idea that makes perfectly good sense to me and run with it, if it doesn’t work out, come up with another idea.

A nice read that really helped to alter the depreciating way that I think about myself and my abilities at times and make some positive changes.

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Book Musings: The Boy Who Kicked Pigs by Tom Baker

Rachie's Musings on: The Boy Who Kicked Pigs by Tom Baker

When I picked up The Boy Who Kicked Pigs in a bookshop, I didn’t particularly notice who the author was, I just liked the cover.  Apparently you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, in this instance, I’m glad that I did.

Upon proper inspection I realised it was written by a man named Tom Baker, who just so happened to play the fourth incarnation of The Doctor in my favourite TV programme Doctor Who, so needless to say I was very excited to get stuck in.

The Boy Who Kicked Pigs focuses on a young boy named Robert Caligari, he’s a strange boy and his sister Nerys really gets on his nerves.  As an act of revenge towards Nerys, he kicks her piggy bank and unintentionally discovers a brand new hobby of kicking anything pig related, piggy banks, bacon, you name it – he’ll kick it.

Without ruining the story for anyone who hasn’t read it, the rest of the book continues to follow Robert on his pig kicking discovery and the discovery of his ultimate hatred of the human race, it’s an amusing and witty read that is full of complete and utter nonsense.

For me, whether intentionally or not, it taught me a valuable lesson.  There will be times when you despair of the human race and times when you want to seek revenge, but what starts out as a way to make yourself feel better can lead to something more sinister and have a negative effect on the person you become.

To quote The Cookie Monster “Today, me will live in the moment, unless it is unpleasant, in which case, me will eat a cookie.”

If there is a moment or a person that I find to be unpleasant, instead of plotting imaginary acts of revenge or waiting for karma to bite them on the backside, I’m going to let things go and eat a cookie! It’s a far better use of my time :-)

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Quirky Reads: One Million Lovely Letters by Jodi Ann Bickley

Rachie's Musings on: One Million Lovely Letters by Jodi Ann Bickley


I ordered One Million Lovely Letters after hearing about it from various people.
It arrived on a Tuesday morning and by Thursday afternoon I had finished it, I literally only put it down when I had to. 

One Million Lovely letters tells the story of its author Jodi, I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read the book (you really should, it’s pretty awesome!).

In the book Jodi openly talks about the struggles she has had to overcome and how she has had to adapt in order to carry out some of the day to day tasks we often take for granted or don’t even think about while doing them. 

Jodi has channelled her experiences into a fantastic project called One Million Lovely Letters where she reaches out to others all across the world offering them kindness, understanding and support whatever their struggles may be.

Reading this book not only gave me a kick up the bum for feeling sorry for myself over nonsense but also reminded me that a little bit of kindness can go a long long way, all across the world in Jodi’s case!!

If you haven’t already come across it, you can read more about Jodi’s project One Million Lovely Letters here :-)http://onemillionlovelyletters.com/

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Quirky Reads: The Fault in Our Stars

Rachie's Musings on: The Fault in Our Stars

When The Fault In Our Stars was published in 2012, I was still at uni and in my ‘not reading books unless it is to quote and stick in an essay/dissertation’ phase so this little beauty passed me by.

As time went on I became aware of its existence because it was being turned into a movie.  Despite being aware of the ending in advance because….the internet exists, I decided I wanted to read the book before seeing the film just to see what all the fuss was about.

I read the book in three days, only putting it down to sleep because my eyes couldn’t stay open any more, I was gripped straight away.

On first impressions  you’d probably think it’s a teenage love story but The Fault In Our Stars is so much more than that. Not only is it laugh out loud funny, witty and heart-breaking all at once, but it’s also honest. Life isn’t always fair and it doesn’t always work out the way we hope it will and The Fault In Our Stars isn’t afraid to hit you right in the face with that.    

The Fault In Our Stars also reminds me that just because the odds are against you doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy  and cherish every second life gives you.

I’ve deliberately tried not to go into much detail on the story because a) the internet exists and I’d simply be reiterating what already exists and b) I’d be taking away the joy of reading the story for yourself from anyone who hasn’t read it.

Now that I’ve read the book, I finally got round to watching the film, not so I could compare the two but just to see it brought to life and the characters were just like I pictured them in my head, that almost never happens! :-)

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Quirky Reads: Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher

Rachie's Musings on: Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher


Billy and Me very quickly became one of my favourite books that I’ve read.

 It is, as you would expect from the title, a love story about how girl meets boy but to me it’s a lot more special than just that.

When I read Billy and Me, I felt as though Sophie, the ‘Me’ in Billy and Me, was speaking directly to me, I felt as though I wasn’t reading this story, I was sitting in a coffee shop somewhere, listening to my friend tell me all about this great guy she has met and all the adventures they have been on so far.

Sophie appealed to me because I could relate to her. She’s roughly my age or thereabouts, her mum works in a library (so does mine!) she’s unassuming, she dislikes rudeness and gossip, she was unsure of what she wanted to do with her life and found something she was good at by accident and most importantly, she works in a teashop and bakes cake every day – cake is my happy place!

I won’t delve too much into Billy or the story because that would spoil it for anyone that wants to read it themselves – if you are into this kind of genre, you absolutely should read it because its awesome!

A really funny and cute read that left me feeling warm and fuzzy – and hungry for cake.
I think I’ll hunt down some more Giovanna reads, she just released a book called Dream a Little Dream so I think I may make that my next :-)

I originally wrote this post on an older blog I had, before editing it slightly and posting it here, I'm going to start moving all of my old book reviews and maybe scheduling them for like once a week across the summer or something like that so I can have everything in one place :-)

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Quirky Reads: All I Know Now, Wonderings And Reflections on Growing Up Gracefully.

Rachie's Musings on: All I Know Now, Wonderings And Reflections on Growing Up Gracefully. 

Before I start with my thoughts and musings, I'm gonna put it out there - I quite like Carrie Hope Fletcher!
Well, I don't know Carrie, but I like the bits of her personality I've seen in her YouTube videos and in her writing. 

Carrie and I share a few similarities, we both have naturally curly hair that is prone to doing it's own thing, we both like musicals, we both like to read and we both have a massive place in our hearts for all things Disney. Unfortunately I am neither a West End actress or a published author so that's possibly where our similarities end :-) 

If you aren't familiar with Carrie, she's pretty cool! Primarily an actress, currently appearing as Eponine in London's West End production of Les Miserables, Carrie is also a singer, a writer, a YouTuber and honorary big sister to her 500,000 plus subscribers
'The Hopefuls' 

Carrie, albeit unintentionally, has become a role model/big sister to so many young people who look to her for advice and help. This is a responsibility she takes very seriously - so much so that she wrote a book offering advice and insight (and some hilarious personal stories & tongue in cheek musings) from her teenage years and some of the life lessons she has learned along the way. 

At 26, I have a few years on Carrie (four to be precise) and I probably have more than a few years on the vast majority of her primarily teenage audience, so I was initially concerned that I sat outside the targeted demographic for the book. 
I needn't have worried.

I don't want to go into too much detail and spoil something for anyone who hasn't read it yet but to give an idea -
Carrie's book 'All I Know Now, Wonderings and Reflections on Growing Up Gracefully' covers many topics and issues such as bullying, body image, consent, how to apologise, hindsight, relationships - to name but a few and there's even a section on navigating the scary world of the internet!

Yes, there are some topics that are especially apt for teenagers but adults can learn many lessons from All I Know Now as well. 
Bullies, insecurities, making mistakes and relationship worries don't disappear into the distance when you stop being a teenager. They can linger on for many years to come and in some cases, forever.
I know a fair few adults, myself included, who could do with mastering the art of apologising :-) 

I found myself nodding along in agreement with Carrie throughout the book when I read things that I too have come to realise over the years and had a few moments when I came across something that never occurred to me before!  Carrie doesn't claim to be a professional in any area of her advice - in fact, there is an entire section of the book that signposts to organisations and helplines in various parts of the world. 

What Carrie has created in All I Know Now is not only a fantastic  manual for navigating your way through the teenage years,  but also a friendly and reassuring voice when you need reminding that it's okay to be human and more importantly - you. 

Whether you are 13 or 30 or 102, I'd recommend having a read, not just for advice but as a reminder that there is always someone you can turn to.

Thumbs up from Rachie! :-) 

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Quirky Reads: Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.

As a kid, I was fairly confident, possibly even too confident at times, I was scared of insects, dogs and lifts/elevators but not much else. 

As I got a bit older, that confidence sort of dissolved like Alex Mack into a puddle of goop, and I found myself a much shyer Rachie.

A few months ago, I met with a lovely lady called Hilary who was helping me by offering me advice & tips for interviews and she quickly picked up on the fact that one of my biggest problems was confidence.

Along with lots of interview specific advice, she also advised that I do one scary thing everyday and read a book called

'Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway' by Susan Jeffers.

I quickly acquired a copy and began reading it in the hopes that I would gain something from it - and I certainly did.

Without reiterating the whole book and spoiling it for anyone who hasn't read it yet and might want to - I learned that I'm most afraid of What Ifs!

What if I can't do this? What if they don't like me?

What if I'm awful at this?

What if something goes horribly wrong?

Shortly thereafter, I learned that the best thing I can do to try and squash that fear is to answer all of my What Ifs with

'I'll handle it!'

I'm not suggesting I'll be going skydiving or walking a tightrope anytime soon but I am more open to tackling the unknown and I'm gradually learning to stop saying 'I don't think I can do this' and go with 'I'll give it a try' instead.



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