Thursday Thoughts - TV Series

So its October and for me that means the return of  two of my favourite TV series.

1: The Walking Dead Season 6. I've been with this show since its first ever episode and I've been a dedicated fan since and maybe this year I can attend Walker Stalker Con in London and possibly meet come of the cast.

2: American Horror Story: Hotel. Lady Gaga makes her appearance in the franchise and I'm looking forward to it. I managed to watch Murder House, Asylum, Coven and Freak Show within two months and I fell in love with it.

So those are my two favourite returning shows that I watch but I also know Supernatural is returning for its tenth season (October 7th) and that hopefully its going to be amazing.

I did recently begin to think about two other TV series that I had finished watching but had then been cancelled and they were Forever and The Following. I did become addicted to The Following and Kevin Bacon because I mean... I don't even know I just did. it was such a great franchise and I hope one day it can return alongside Forever. I loved how cute Forever actually was like all of the characters actually had emotions towards each other.

Recently a series started that is called Zoo. It is basically about animals that begin to fight back against the humans and its been really creative and great that I have to watch it.

Unfortunately unlike The Walking Dead, Fear The Walking Dead hasn't been on my TV a lot. This isn't because its bad because after the one episode I did watch it was great. its just that my TV wouldn't record them because it was on BT Freeview and we had sky so it wouldn't work. I'm really looking forward to finding another way to watch it.

ALSO Fear The Walking Dead is The Walking Dead spinoff and I also believe there will be a spinoff from Fear The Walking Dead called Flight 462. This will be an online web series like The Walking dead had a mini online series a while back on AMC that I couldn't access (yay for the UK) but I hope it will be good.

I also want Gotham to return, I just loved how it showed us Gotham and its way of working before Batman became Batman and shows you what he endures as a kid.

So what TV series' do you watch? Any of your favourites been cancelled? if so what were they called?

Top Ten Tuesday - Duo's I'd like to see/read

So this week was really hard for me considering I cant remember half of the books I've ever read, I mean all I can remember are those I've read this year and distinct authors from my childhood, I gave this list my best shot anyway.


1. J.K.Rowling and Dame Jacqueline Wilson

2. J.K.Rowling and John Green

3. John Green and Darren Shan

4. Darren Shan and John Becker

5. James Leck and John Becker

6. Roald Dalh and J.R.R. Tolkien

7. Holly Smale and Carrie Hope Fletcher

8. Veronica Roth and Suzanne Collins

The list above only contains 8 duos but I couldn't think of many more. The duos I've listed, to me would suit each other either because they have similar writing styles or I believe their ways of writing would boost the other in their writing or that it would just entertain me to think of them working side by side. I thought of writing my reasons for each of them but I would at least be repeating myself 5 times so I thought it quite pointless but if you have read any books by the authors above (i believe most of you have read books by most of them) you can tell what I mean with my reasons of similar writing styles etc.


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke And The Bookish.

Geek Girl Picture Perfect - Holly Smale

 

Title: Geek Girl Picture Perfect
Author: Holly Smale
Publication Date: 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Available Editions: Kindle Edition, Paperback, Hardcover, Audio Book.

Synopsis:

“My name is Harriet Manners, and I’ll always be a geek.”
It’s the hilarious third book in the bestselling award-winning GEEK GIRL series!
Harriet Manners knows more facts than most.
She knows that New York is the most populous city in the United States.
She knows that its official motto is ‘Ever Upward’.
She knows that one in thirty-eight people living in the US lives there.
But she knows nothing whatsoever about modelling in the Big Apple and how her family will cope with life stateside. Or ‘becoming a brand’ as the models in New York say. And even more importantly, what to do when the big romantic gestures aren’t coming your way from your boyfriend…
Does geek girl go too far this time?
The laugh out loud follow-up to award-winning debut GEEK GIRL and MODEL MISFIT will have you in stitches!

Review:
So were here again. Another Geek Girl book and another fabulous read at that. This series has given me so many moments of pure feeling I'm beginning to think I was numb before I read these books. Geek Girl Picture Perfect is the 3rd instalment of the Geek Girl series by the wonderful Holly Smale. I love how the books really connect to each other and to the readers, to me I'm pretty hooked on them, like without them I cant function. Luckily though I get by.

Harriet is 15 years old and a Model, she's excited to end one chapter of her life and open the door to an amazing future. She's close to beginning sixth form and to turning 16, and she truly cannot wait. Her future depends on her grades from her exams but there is never any doubt if you know how intelligent she really is. Suddenly her plans are all ruined, leaving her feeling well... Un Harriet like.
Nick is still the Australian curly haired god that I can imagine him being, he's so caring it hurts me, like it gets me right in the feels. It was great to see more of Fleur, for some reason I just really enjoyed having her around. Cal seemed to not click with me, like his character was great but I had a bad vibe as soon as he came into the story so I was always weary of him.

I have to admit I got through the book within a day and I enjoyed every moment. Its really great to be witnessing Harriet growing up and experiencing different things and going on journeys in life that most of us have been on.

I cant make this review too long without adding in any spoilers and well, I like to keep things spoiler free but this book is definitely getting a 5 out of 5 from me, it was thoroughly enjoyable and I recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet but had started the Geek Girl Series.

Thursday Thoughts - Pets

When it comes to having pets there are pros and cons. Maybe the lists for both could go on forever but pets no matter which type they are they're company for when you feel lonely, they can brighten your day and sometimes show affection to you. but besides these things they teach you how to be responsible and independent  and provide entertainment as each pet animal has their own little personality to get to know.
Having a pet allows you to feel a sense of achievement when you see that they are healthy and content and after everything you end up, unknowingly to you, you gain more knowledge about the animal and you can help others who you know who have the same pet and need a help in hand with taking care of them.

To every good thing there are somewhat bad things. Some pets need a lot of attention and training which requires patience and time, and vets bills can be very expensive but vets are crucial to help maintain the health of the pet. Unfortunately some pets can smell and so your house may have an odour, but do not worry, everyone knows you cannot keep a pet smell free.

Recently one of my fish that I have had for many years begun to show signs that she was dying but I did a 25% water changed and cleaned the filter and she improved but like me you can gain very attached to your pet and so when they die you become very distressed. I started out with 4 fish and when two died on separate occasions I was very distressed, lets not even talk about a rabbit I had to give away and she later died of old age and I cried for a long time.
Keeping slightly sad, depending on the pet, they may not live very long but each pet tends to have different life spans. If you want the best for your pets or just in general, they can be expensive to take care of but surely its all worth it in the end. Although I've seen this to be very rare, its worth knowing, when certain pets grow old or have something to protect some may turn and become aggressive

Top Ten Tuesday - Bookish Thinks I Want To Quit

Binge/Reckless Buying - Usually I'm really good at choosing which books to buy, but because my sixth form is located in a town with 3 stores that mainly sell books it becomes very hard to avoid them even more so when there is a sale sign in the window or I have a gift card. Even though I tend to have several un read books on my shelves ill just keep buying more. I once bought 4 books because they were 50p or less, I bought them because they were a bargain.

Putting reading before work - I'm only doing 3 days a week at sixth form studying media and I use Thursdays and Fridays to stay up to date on my work and expand and push myself with the work I do on those two days but at times I tend to begin reading a book as I take a break from my work and then end up spending more time reading the book rather than doing the sixth form work I first set out to do.

Binge/No Break Reading - Sometimes I find myself so deep into a book it becomes very hard for me to put it down. This usually leads to 4 hour reading sessions, stiff neck resulting in pain and very dry eyes and heavy eyelids with a very dry mouth leading to an unquenchable thirst. It mostly happens at 1am. If I'm lucky enough sometime sit happens during the day.

Getting Mad At Previous Book Owners - There comes a time or two where I cant afford to buy the books out of the shop brand new, so I buy them online second hand and for a cheaper price. The description says its in near perfect condition and so when it arrives I'm usually really happy but sometimes I receive the book/s and there will be a tear in the dust cover or one or more of the pages or small dog ears that drive me crazy. I go mad, I don't write a bad review I just internally curse at them for it. No biggy.

Unintentionally Annoying Authors - Once I've read a book an I tweet about it, tagging the author, I tend to go a little over board and send several tweets tagging the author and saying things about the book. I don't do it to annoy the author or to get their attention its just me tagging the author as I tweet to my followers about the story I've just experienced. It unintentional and possibly annoying. Sorry to any author I've annoyed.

I could only think of 5 bookish things I'd like to quit. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke And The Bookish

The Before Now And After Then - Peter Monn

Title: The Before Now And After Then                                                                     

Author: Peter Monn
Publication Date: July 29th 2014
Publisher:Pen Name Publishing
Available Editions: EBook, Paperback

Netgalley Synopsis:

Danny Goldstein has always lived in the shadow of his identical, twin brother Sam. But when a hurricane of events forces him into the spotlight, he starts to realize that the only thing he’s truly afraid of is himself. With the help of his costume changing friend Cher, a famous gay uncle with a mysterious past of his own, two aging punk rocker parents and Rusty, the boy who will become his something to live for, Danny begins to realize that the music of the heart is truly the soundtrack for living.

Review:

So I was granted the right to read this book for review a long time ago, it was one of the first ever books I had the right to read for review and therefore a very special book to me. Even though I have shown the books cover at the top of this post, it has changed since I read it. It never felt like the right time to post a review up until now, where I'm much more open and willing to discuss things with my viewers/readers.

I wrote this review not long after I finished the book a long time ago so it is different to how I recently changed to doing my reviews but I just felt like keeping it the same as I had written it because it didn't feel right for me to change it for some reason.

Sam Goldstein is the more confident of the brothers; athletic, popular, and tremendously protective of his brother. Danny Goldstein is more than happy to live in his brothers shadow, sharing his friends and an unbreakable bond with his brother. Sam is always looking out for Danny, and plans a detailed scheme for Danny to finally come out to their parents.

In an instant, everything changes, Danny's life and world he has known and depended on is turned upside down. He finds himself in a new school, in a new house, and realizing that the reason he was always to happy to live in Sam's shadow is that he's not comfortable standing out or being noticed. He isn't sure who he is, and doesn't know if he's interested in finding out the answer. But what he does know is that he's tired of people telling him how he should feel, or what he should do, and he's tired of being sad and angry all the time.

When Danny finally meets Cher, a larger-than-life classmate who has always wanted a gay best friend, she starts to force him out of his shell, little by little, even if he's still not comfortable talking about himself or knowing how to be a good friend. And then he meets Rusty, a boy who appears fearless, who helps Danny discover who he is, and what his heart truly wants. All the while, Danny's journey is helped, and at times complicated, by his former punk rocker parents and his mother's lifelong best friend Alex, an author whose most famous book was a way for him to deal with the isolation he felt about being gay.

I have to admit the book completely blew me away, I wasn't worried about the book but I just kind of wasn't fully excited to read it but once I got into it I just couldn't stop. I connected with all of the characters, it was hard not to and  there were almost instantaneous bonds.

I have to give the book a 5 out of 5 it had me hooked and I found it very hard to let the book go, it was by far one of the best books I've read and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read and review it.

Thursday Thoughts - Combating Spots and Blemishes

Most people begin the battle against spots and blemishes at the start of puberty. Spots are mostly caused by two things;

•  A build up of dead skin cells
• Excess oil

Spots on our face, neck, chest and back are common, this is because in these places we have a lot of glands in these places that produce our skins natural moisturiser, sebum.

There are several 'kinds' of spots.

• Blackheads
• Whiteheads

Black heads often occur in larger pores where air can circulate and react with the oil and/or the dead skin causing the top to darken in colour, therefore becoming black. Whiteheads are in smaller pores compared to the Blackheads, therefore air cannot get in and react with the oil or dead skin cells so the top remains white.

Even though most spots don't progress to this stage I feel like I must share. If pores remain blocked the build up of oil allows usual non harmful bacteria to multiply. Then the high level of bacteria sets your bodies immune system into attack mode causing inflammation. Sometimes inflamed red spots require a stronger treatment.

To avoid the appearance of spots and/or blemishes, set yourself a daily skincare regime of Cleanser, toner and moisturiser. Use these products morning and evening and use gentle products that wont strip or irritate your skin.

It is important that when you're choosing your cleansers etc. that you opt for oil free water based products as those that are oily will only add oil to your pores, resulting in further break outs. It is also important not to use any skincare products that contain alcohol as alcohol based products tend to be very drying even for oily skin. Some people may require oil control cleanser which helps loosen the binding of cells so that they don't clump together and block pores.

Salicylic acid has important antibacterial properties, so it can help prevent spots developing. But please do not assume that you need products made for oily skin just because you get spots.
If you have worries about you skin and its break outs, talk to a skin specialist before you jump in and begin buying products designed specifically for acne when there is a possibility you are not experiencing acne. It might simply be that your skin is prone to blocked pores and acne range products may be too harsh, therefore making things worse.'

Some people avoid moisturisers thinking that it would trigger spots. Even oily skin needs hydrating more so if you're using oil control products. Do not avoid moisturisers because you have oily skin, just choose one is light. This helps with keeping your pores unblocked.