The other day, I was thinking about what makes me happy. And I was thinking that when I look around, I want everything I see to make me happy. This includes my bookshelf (I don't actually have a bookshelf, however I would like one), so when I look at this metaphorical book shelf, I want it to make me happy.
Now I'm not saying that all the books I have are about sunshine and rainbows, but more that the stories make me happy, or the memories that are attached to them are happy. Like, for example, when I read it on the beach and I still have sand in the pages, or when I stayed up most of the night because I just couldn't bear to put it down.
I love to read, and I always have. It makes me so sad that now I'm a little older and much busier with school and homework that I can't read as much as I did in primary school, when I used to burn through six books a day.
I do have a kindle, but I really love the feeling of a real book. I love how it's heavy in your hand and has that new book smell, and I'm very weird.
I also love movies, and watching them is one of my favourite things to do, and I think that I'd probably keep some of those of my metaphorical bookshelf as well. So I ordered a couple of my favourite classics along with the books.
Oh isn't Amazon a wonderful thing?
Books first. Fair warning, most of these are quite lovey dovey because I'm into all that.
To be completely honest, I don't really know how I can talk about these, because I haven't read them myself yet, so I can't really be giving an honest review.
The first one I picked up was I'll Give You The Sun. Now if I'm being entirely truthful, which I always try to be on this blog, I chose this book mainly because of the title. It sounds like a really happy book, and the cover is yellow (my favourite colour)... I don't know, I just felt a sort of pull towards it! From the blurb, I have deduced (with my very powerful powers of deduction) that it is about twins who are driven apart, and then fall in love. (See, I'm really good at this).
The second one that I ordered, called Extraordinary Means, was actually not one that had originally considered. However, with all of the other books that I was looking at, it kept coming up as a recommendation, or something I might like, and so I thought I should give in to amazon (because they've never been wrong in the past) and give it a go. I'm quite intrigued by this, because it doesn't seem a particularly happy story, but I'm really looking forward to reading it.
The next one that I decided to buy was We Were Liars. To me, this seems like the type of book I most commonly read, one which is mainly about love and relationships, where you don't really have a clue what's going on until the end, and even then you're not totally certain. I live in a bubble of confusedness a lot of the time, so I feel like books where you're are meant to be confused are perfect for me!
I then decided to get Everything Everything. Just flicking through the pages, it looks like it is written with a mixture of actual writing and emails and letters and things like that, which I am really intrigued by, because I love books like that. My mum, she has a book called More Than Love Letters, which she and I have both read about a million times, and the entire story is told through letters. I am really looking forward to reading this one and giving you a bit more information!
The last one that I bought, and possibly the one that I am most excited about is We All Looked Up. It's about the end of the world and how when it comes down to it, we have to forget everything that we label ourselves and everyone else with, and just live life. That is my assumption of course, because I haven't read it. But despite being a different type of book for me, I am really looking forward to reading it.
Now we can move onto the movies, which I should be better at giving reviews of, because I have seen them all. However, let us not get our hopes up too much.
The first one is 17 Again, starring Zac Efron. Need I say more? The actual story is a bit weird, because this guy falls off a bridge into some kind of portal, and turns 17 again (hence the title) and he has to go to school and become friends with his children and try and make things better with his wife... it's pretty complicated, but you'll understand if you watch it. I just love this movie, I think it's really cute and just a nice feel good rom com.
The next one is The Parent Trap, which is for me such a childhood throwback. Every time I went for a sleepover with my best friend in primary school, we would always end up watching this because I just love it so much. It is about these twins who've never met and don't even know that the other one exists, and then meet at summer camp where they decide to switch places so that they can have a chance of getting to know the parent they've never known. To be honest, I don't think I'm really going to watch it that much, but I'm going back to the whole metaphorical bookshelf thing, and I know that if I see this, it will make me happy.
The next film is The Devil Wears Prada, which I think is just such an amazing movie. Meryl Streep is absolutely INCREDIBLE in it, just like she is in everything. I feel like this is such a staple in so many homes, and if you haven't seen it, I would really recommend you do. Its about a woman who has absolutely no interest in fashion somehow getting a job at this huge fashion magazine. It may not sound like something you're interested in, but believe me, it is soooo good!
I then decided to purchase Confessions Of A Shopaholic, which is just a really enjoyable and nice (I need to get better adjectives) little movie about a woman who can't stop shopping and adores everything fashion related, and gets a job working for a money magazine, where she advises people on how to handle their debt, which she is up to her eyeballs in.
And last but not least, I got Titanic. Titanic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio (
and slowly melt) and Kate Winslet is something that I think everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. I was very proud because I didn't cry the first time I watched it, but then I realised that that might not be a good thing. Do I have a heart made of stone??? I don't think I really need to tell you the story, but I will anyway. Jack is a poor man who wins his ticket onto the ship, Titanic. Rose is a well respected woman engaged to a man she doesn't really love. They fall in love, but sadly the ship hits an iceberg and sinks, meaning that there love was ill-fated the whole time. No spoilers, obviously.
So there we have it, my book and DVD haul! If you actually made it this far, I congratulate you, because I rambled A LOT as I tend to do... *guilty face*
Any book or film recommendations for me?
See you soon!