Thoroughly modern millennial

Tag: 2016

  • Top 5 Friday | Female Fronted Podcasts

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    We seem to be in a renaissance period for podcasts (though I was admittedly ahead of the curve when I was a teenager listening to the likes of Pottercast and Mugglecast! *woah hipster alert!*). Partly thanks to the running success of Serial, podcasts seems like they’re more popular than ever. Podcasting like most forms of media still seem to be dominated by the male voices, but sometimes you just have to look under the radar and there’s a whole host of amazing women literally running their own shows. So here’s a rundown of female fronted podcasts you should really be listening to right now.

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  • Reading Goals For 2016

    A brand new year means brand new challenges. Though this year’s resolutions are centered around my one word goal, I’m still happy to throw in 5 books I vow to read in 2016 as well. After finishing curating this list I’ve only just now realised all of the authors I’ve picked are all female (YASSS!) and cover a nice range of non-fiction, essays and fictional YA from different genres (go me!).

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    *images via Goodreads

    Changing My Mind: Zadie Smith

    I developed a very serious love for essay writing, but I’ve never managed to actually sit and read one cover to cover – I tend to go via the contents and pick out ones that sound interesting to me. Zadie Smith is an awe inspiring woman, so I’m sure I’ll come out of this one with fully highlighted pages of great quotes.

    Remix: Non Pratt

    This is my ‘want to read cause it looks hella fun’ choice on the list. Non Pratt comes highly recommended by most book bloggers and I’ve heard nothing but good about Remix. I already follow Pratt on Twitter and lover her humour of there so am really looking forward to this one.

    How To Be A Heroine: Samantha Ellis

    Spoiler alert! I’m trying to write a novel with female leading protagonists. In my quest to learn how to write better this year I’m after some decent ‘writing’ critique books that won’t make me feel like I’m reading a journal for an Undergrad dissertation. ‘How to…’ looks ace, plus I’m a bit of geek for books about analyzing books, plus this one comes with a whiff of feminist critique too.

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    *images via Goodreads

    A Darker Shade of Magic: V.E. Schwab

    I read the extract for this a few months ago and ended up buying the book when it came out because I was itching to know more – it then sat on my TBR shelf for a long, long time…Oops! From what I’ve read so far Schwab is throwing out some steampunk-y/The Night Circus vibes with this. I’m dying to get back into good series now that so many of my favourites have finished up, so maybe ADSOM will be the one!

    Only Ever Yours: Louise O’Neil

    I feel like everyone and their mother is trying to recommend this book to me. Which can only mean one of two things 1. It’s going to mother-effin’-mindblowingly good, or 2. It’ll be a let down but I’ll still enjoy it somewhat. I’m hoping for the former. From everything I’ve heard about Only Ever Yours, O’Neil knuckles down to some seriously tough topics. Some reviewers are calling it an accessible Atwood for the YA crowd. I loved Handmaiden’s Tale, so we’ll see how this matches up.

    Additional Goals

    As well as these five books, I’m also going to aim to finish 25 books this year and read 5 graphic novels too. I have Saga and Ms. Marvel to catch up on and received Alias: Jessica Jones over Christmas so am really excited to get back into those.

    As always I’m also keeping on eye out on reading more diversely. I burned through books written by female authors last year, but want to challenge myself to read books written by people of colour and LGBTQ fiction as well. I also seriously need to get ruthless with what I enjoy and what I don’t – no more reading books I can’t be bothered to pick up after 100 pages!

    Linked with that I’m actually going to try and buy less books this year. Fear not, I’ve not gone completely mad but I want to get on with my Netgalley backlog and borrow more books from my local library too. In the effort to save a bit of money this year I want to buy more books second hand. Seeing as Oxford has some fantastic charity and second hand bookshops this should be easy!)

    Give me a shout out in the comments whether any of you have read any of the books I’ve picked out and whether you have any book goals for the year too.

    And whilst I’ve got your attention, why not pop over to Blogger’s Bookshelf and check out what all our team and readers are planning on reading this year too!

    Ria

  • 365 Days of Independence | 1 year living away from home

    365Life Lessons in independence:
    • It’s ok to be the ‘quiet one’ in the house.
    • Boys aren’t as gross as you think – either that or the ones I’ve ended up living with are an anomaly.
    • Cooking is hella therapeutic.
    • That being said there is no shame in ordering take out or getting a ready meal ’cause the thought of preparing food and w a i t i n g for it to cook sounds like torture.
    • Sometimes you just need to go ‘home’ to your family and just be looked after by your Mum.
    • Coming back home drunk means fellow means housemates are officially allowed to use this as collateral to take the piss for an additional week.
    • I have a magic touch when it comes to fixing most kitchen and bathroom appliance *flips hair*.
    • A treat constitutes buying the fancy tonic from M&S rather than Tesco’s own brand.
    • Passive aggressiveness with your housemates is inescapable, no matter how well you get on.
    • Letting agencies suck.
    • Council tax people on the other hand will not bite your head off when you’re confused.
    • Sometimes you need people to drag you out of your bedroom and actually be sociable.
    • Missing your alarm by one minute means missing your unofficial slot for the bathroom on the morning which causes a cataclysmic chain of events that will make your 10 minutes late for work.
    • Cleaning doesn’t even phase me anymore.
    • Being responsible for your own transport and not having a car ultimately means the phrase ‘sorry I’m running a little late’ will become commonplace.
    • Don’t try to buy a set of knives from Poundland and expect them to work (like my housemate) – that sounds more ominous than I planned it to.
    • I don’t think I’ll ever understand how I go through so many clothes in the space of one week.
    • Yes, you will go for drinks after work tonight…cause why the hell not.
    • Empty house sans housemates is the best. Sing-a-long dance parties to Taylor Swift and getting to take up the entire kitchen counter making dinner feels so luxurious.
    • The Great British Bake-Off bonds all like no other TV show.

    Just a few little things I’ve learnt since its officially been a year since I moved away from home for the first time and became an ‘independent woman’ (throw you hand up at meeee!…ahem). As you read this I’m actually moving onto yet another houseshare, which I have no doubt will throw up another set of learning curves (all girls as opposed to a mixed gender house…yikes!).

    So whilst I settle into this new place amuse me with your tales of woe/wonder over shared accommodation at Uni/out of Uni/with other halves. I could do with a giggle after moving boxes all day.

    Ria