These are a few of my favourite things… (at the moment anyway!)

Reading and my Kindle. I bought this as a little pick me up and treat for myself just before Christmas – I’d wanted one for ages, but told myself that I didn’t need it/it was a waste of money/there’s nothing quite as great as a “real” book, but really I knew I was just kidding myself. I impulse purchased a new style Kindle and I loves it!

Its great for travel (better still if you can get yourself one of those lights to attach to the device as it isn’t backlit…), and in general the books tend to be a little bit cheaper than the paper versions. The only thing I wouldn’t really recommend using a Kindle for really is reference books, recipe books and the like, because you need to be able to flick through those types of books, which is difficult on a Kindle.

And is it just as good as a “real” book? Well, yes, and no… Yes, because it’s not as heavy, and you can basically carry the equivalent of three bookshelves or more about with you without any backstrain… but, there is definitely something to be said about picking up a lovely copy of your favourite book and you can’t beat the whole charity shop second hand book vibe either. Personally I’m loving mine, and I’d highly recommend if you like to read a lot, want to reclaim some bookshelves or travel a lot. (Disclaimer – I did buy two books in a charity shop today and I’m thoroughly looking forward to reading them).

Oh, and impulse buyers might want to think twice before buying one too – they make fast purchases far too easy if you have poor self restraint!

NARS blushers (and eye shadows, and lipsticks…), specifically cactus flower, which is the most delicious raspberry pink-red cream blush with a subtle shimmer. I’ve been ill recently with a typical winter bug, which drained the life out of my complexion, and with a runny nose and watering eyes. I had a word with the wisdom of twitter and was told in no uncertain terms that bright blusher was the way forward. Oh twitter, you are wise!

Forgive the terrible blurred picture - this is the only one of the millions I took that in any way shows the colour properly...

To the makeup drawers I hastened and rediscovered this beauty, which had lain unloved for far far far too long. I now cannot get enough of this lovely colour, which can be applied subtly or built up for drama.

Basically, even if all I can be bothered is to slap on a bit of foundation, mascara and lipbalm, this blush brings me to life, and stops me looking like an extra from The Walking Dead… The swatch above shows the real dimension and sheen in this blusher – I love it!

And speaking of TV programmes, yay for the return of Being Human on BBC3 (Boo for the departure of so many core characters though) and also for season 4 of True Blood…

Oh, and a special mention this month goes to a gem of a magazine called “Oh Comely” – Strange name, fab mag. I discovered this through Alex’s Blog – If you aren’t already following her then I highly recommend it!

Anyway, this magazine is published six times per year I believe, and is available in WHSmiths. It costs £4 but I’d personally much rather buy one of these than something like Elle, which just seem to be made up half of ads, and half of “how to make your man happy” articles (Clue – If it’s so difficult to “make him happy” then , maybe you just aren’t right for each other… also, er, hi, relationships are a two way thing!)

Love the fact that the cover girl is refreshingly “normal” and non-photoshopped looking, and also love the different content…

What can’t you get enough of right now?

I was really excited to finally get my mits on this book recently – I picked it up on offer in Tesco’s. The RRP is £7.99 but it’s available currently for around half price on Amazon, and is also available on kindle for you lucky ones out there who have one…

The premise of the book – revisiting the same day every year from the perspectives of the two protagonists “Dexter” and “Emma”, over twenty years tracking the development and course of their friendship with each other – was one which I found really appealing, and I’ve heard a lot of people sing its praises. I was also interested in reading something by David Nicholls after the success of his previous novels, most notably “Starter for Ten”.

The Blurb on the Back of the Book;

“15th July 1988. Emma and Dexter meet on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows?”

My Thoughts;

I expected to completely love this book, and that might be because I had heard so many raves about it… Instead I actually found the book difficult to get into for the very first few chapters, and then found myself getting increasingly frustrated with certain aspects of the characters in the middle, but did warm to them… eventually!

The book opens with Emma and Dexter as students, on the verge of leaving uni, and seemingly on the verge of a one night stand, which doesn’t quite materialise… as the years progress the pair become friends and we see them both travel through their careers and personal life, littered with times spent together.

At the beginning of the book, both characters have aspects I can identify with. Emma is a bit of an  idealist  who is not scared to express her views. Dexter seems less naive, but also comes across as a typical arrogant graduate who feels like he has the world at his feet. As the story progresses, both characters remain very “human”, ie they each have their flaws and make mistakes along the way but evolve into decent people. In a way though. this aspect of the book, although very important (I don’t want to read about perfect people – what’s the point?) was also one of the things I found irritating at times. The character of Dexter especially made me fume sometimes… To the extent I ended up not reading it for a few days, and everytime I thought about picking the book up again, I felt irritated by the thought of having to read about him! On the other hand though I also felt annoyed with Emma for wanting to continue to be friends with him at times…

On reflection though I’m prepared to acknowledge that such reactions can only be provoked by good writing, because as irritated as I was by the characters at times, I still felt compelled to get to the end and find out what happened  to them both…

The ending of the book is very… bittersweet. There is a point in the book where everything changes, and when I reached that point (without giving too much away), the writing struck me as devastating in its simplicity. I also felt like I finally understood why everyone else had raved about the book finally, which was something of a relief, because up until that point I felt like I was missing something.

Overall, whilst this isn’t necessarily the best book I’ve ever read, its not the worst and I am glad I persevered with it and got through to the end, as I ultimately did enjoy the story. I’d recommend this for those who like their tales to have an non-typical ending, and who don’t mind their characters flawed. This book may make you think too, but in a less contrived way than some others I’ve read by the likes of Jodi Picoult. I’d say this book is likely too appeal to females rather than blokes, although there will obviously be exceptions to this…

Apparently this novel is being made into a film too, which is due to be released later this year – I’ll be very interested to see how faithful the film is to the book!

After a few days off work sick, and hoping I’d just get better, I finally realised I wasn’t so I bit the bullet and went to see the doctor… Now as a nurse myself (not a “real nurse” I’m a psychiatric nurse so I can’t tell you about your dodgy knee or your Mum’s sciatica), I hate going to the GP, especially for anything I suspect might be “viral”, ie, no point giving me antibiotics as it just clears up on its own etc. But after four days off, I wasn’t feeling better, in fact if anything I was feeling worse…

One GP appointment later I have been given a load of antibiotics for a chest infection and signed off from work for a few more day… So my day looks like it’s going to be spent on the couch under a duvet, with trash mags, a book (the rather excellend “One Day” by David Nicholls – which I’ll be reviewing), and my latest film from LoveFilm (The Killer Inside Me – I’m not in a RomCom mood right now… although I do want to see Bridesmaids!)

I also have these two monkeys to keep me company…

Renfield making herself comfortable on my lap...

Don’t be fooled by that innocent look on her face by the way. About twenty seconds after I took that snap she was cleaning her unmentionables with a very smug look on her face…

Coco-Pops hiding under the washing stand...

For some reason Coco wasn’t feeling very photogenic today. She loves sitting uder the washing waiting to pounce on Ren…

How’s your day looking?

Something a bit different here on MizzWorthy today, but I’ve recently realised that although I share my big passion for makeup and skincare, I don’t really share much else, which I’d quite like to! One of the things I have always loved to do is get engrossed in a good book. It’s a habit I grew out of for a while, but recently I have rediscovered the joys of getting drawn into a good tale.

My reading habits are very varied – I like a book that makes me think one minute and the next I want chick-lit, the literary equivalent of daytime TV (it fills the time, but you know you’re not exactly expanding your horizons!)… the next I love a classic.

This time around I picked up a little chick-lit… I view these kind of books as a kind of stress relief, and lets just say thats been necessary for me lately!

The Blurb on the Back Cover;

“Issy Randall can bake. No, more than that – Issy can create stunning, mouth-wateringly divine cakes. After a childhood spent in her beloved Grampa Joe’s bakery, she has undoubtedly inherited his talent.

When she’s made redundant from her safe but dull City job, Issy decides to seize the moment. Armed with recipes from Grampa and with her best friends and local bank manager fighting her corner, The Cupcake Cafe opens its doors. But Issy has absolutely no idea what she’s let herself in for. It will take all her courage – and confectionary – to avert disaster…”

Why I picked it up… Cakes, romance and friendship seemed like a nice little piece of mental chewing gum. I also love tales telling the tale of the underdog, and fulfilling dreams… It cost me £7.99 and I picked it up in WHSmith, but you can get it much cheaper on AMAZON…

The Plot… Basically it doesn’t get much more complex than the outline above in the blurb, but add one clearly unsuitable suitor to the mix, as well as an obviously “perfect” bloke for our cake baking heroine, and a couple of friends with their escapades and you’ve pretty much got the picture. There’s also the odd smattering of recipes scattered through the book, as well as little snippets of the local characters and customers at the eponymous Cupcake Cafe, which add interest.

What Did I Think? My expectations of this book weren’t massively high, and were proved correct overall. The plot of the book was fairly predictable, which I don’t usually mind in chick-lit (lets face it, you know you’ll get happy ending in these books when you buy them!).

Unfortunately in this case, unlike with most other chick-lit books, the female protagonist didn’t have enough depth, or emotional intelligence to hold my interest, and I found myself reading the book more to find out about the other characters involved in the plot, rather than Issy. At certain points I wanted to reach into the pages and shake her… the bad boyfriend for example, practically has “arrogant waste of human organs” stamped all over him from the line he is introduced to us, and despite the fact that he craps on Issy from a great height several times, she keeps going back for more. The reason for this doormattery is apparently the fact that at 32 Issy is worried that she will never fulfil her dreams of having a family.

Now, as a newly single lady of a similar age, I can sympathise with that notion, but really, no one is that stupid, desperate or blind to put up with the crap this guy pulls!

Obviously Issy see’s sense in time though, and ends up with the “perfect” bloke, as we all knew she would…

Overall, I’d have to say I’m not bowled over by this one – if you are going to buy it I’d definitely trawl online stores for offers rather than paying full price for it. Has the main character had more sense, or an iota of dignity I’d have probably got on better with it. Overall a nice way to spend a couple of hours, but nothing life changing here. Reading this hasn’t made me want to rush out and read more by this author.

Please let me know your thoughts on this book too if you’ve read it, as well as whether you are interested in posts like these – I’m planning more posts about baking,and possibly other crafts too… So I’d love to hear your thoughts!