Showing posts with label Funny. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Funny. Show all posts
So obviously now that we've had like two and a half days of really nice weather, it's officially summer in England and we must now adopt the traditions of impractical footwear named after the sound they make, incessant barbecues regardless of the weather and, of course, 'summer reads'. which are apparently different to 'reads' at any other time of the year because they tend to describe in more detail how sexy the ill-advised romantic interests are.
Me being a dick aside, I do actually love me a little bit of the light fluffy summer reading that comes out this time of year, and I'd heard that this was an example of how 'summer reads' could have some substance to them. Plus Paperback Castles really liked it and I worship the ground she walks on, so I decided to pick it up.
My favourite thing about this book is it's protagonist. A lot of 'romcom' books have main characters with all the charisma of potted plants, who just watch the events of the book unfold and cry at the appropriate moments. Delia is awesome. Very likable but far from perfect, she is complex and interesting and grows throughout the plot. She also wears adorable clothes and exercises a level of authority over her own story which I loved. Although she finds herself in situations completely out of her depth and as a result makes very naive decisions, she is mature and smart, and doesn't flap around waiting to be saved.
My least favourite thing however, was the love interest. UGH. Identifiable straight away as the handsome douchebag with a secret heart of gold, he came into the plot, make Delia's life very difficult for about 400 pages, then suddenly did a full U-turn with a pretty feeble explanation to wave away his previous shitty behaviour. It's not really spoilers to talk about him this way, you can tell who he is and that he and Delia are going to get together by the end pretty much straight away, and the fact that I hated him from the start and could see where it was going all the way up to the end really got on my tits.
There are a few other flaws, a frankly ridiculous sleazy pantomime baddy as the antagonist, and a few other pretty caricature characters, but that aside the story is really entertaining. I especially love a section in which two women meet, one of whom was being cheated on by her boyfriend with the other, and after some awkwardness they are able to have a frank conversation without any animosity.
The writing was pretty sound. Nothing that's going to be quoted in years to come but the writing was smooth and nice and never jarring or clunky, which I appreciate from a genre of book that doesn't necessarily need to be well written to do well. There are moments that are pretty funny and the tone is witty and sassy, but I have to admit I didn't find it as pant-wettingly laugh-out-loud as some other reviewers I've found. Nevertheless I was entertained the whole way through.
There are also a few pages written in comic strip form, as Delia dabbles in writing her own graphic novel, and I really really loved these, but they're few and far between and I would have loved to have seen more of that.
Overall I would say this book is worth a go. Definitely something nice and chill to read on holiday or bring on a long journey. I gave it a solid three stars and am planning to read McFarlane's next book 'Who's That Girl' when it comes out in paperback towards the end of this year.
Let me know if you've read this, and what your thoughts were.
Thanks for reading!
Isabelle
xox
Part spoof, part pep talk, part genuine reflection on the every day ways we waste our time, energy and money on things that just don't matter. I absolutely loved this book, and have every intention of reading it again in the next few days just to really let things sink in.
The basic premise of Sarah Knight's book is that in our everyday lives so much time, energy and money gets wasted on things that just don't matter to us, because we feel some sort of obligation, or because we're so worried about what people think of us. Knight argues that we only have limited resources of said time, energy and money to give and she calls these 'fucks'. When we use up all our fucks on things we don't truly care about we're left without enough time/energy/money to actually use living a life that makes us happy. Much of the book is spent helping you figure out where you are giving these fucks, and which ones matter and which you can let go. The rest involves navigating the tricky worlds of family ties, friendships and work obligations, and working to set your boundaries, using honestly, politeness and a sprinkle of sass to remove the unnecessary fucks from your life, leaving you plenty to be used on things you actually give a shit about.
Sarah Knight writes the whole book in a very pally, dont-give-a-fuck-big-sister way. The book is liberally sprinkled with swear words so if that bothers you, either get over yourself or give it a miss. Knight does a great job of avoiding the preachy rhetoric that a lot of self help books have. It's your mate giving you a pep talk, not a guru helping you improve your pathetic existence.
I think a lot of people feel like something like this encourages an attitude that is mean and apathetic. It couldn't be further from the truth. Sarah actively encourages you to conserve your 'fucks' without being an asshole and has a lot of tips on getting out of seemingly obligatory fuck-giving without hurting feelings in the process. There is also a lot of emphasis on the transferring of fucks from stuff that's making you annoyed or angsty to things that give you joy. The money you save not going to that second cousin's wedding in Vietnam? That can go into the fund for the kid's trip to Disneyland! Time saved no longer going to the gym means time used going to a book group instead, and energy saved trying to keep that toxic friendship going can now be spent doing good for that charity you feel strongly about. The book is ultimately is about putting your life in perspective, and realising that there might be some fucks you HAVE to give no mater how much you don't want to, but there are plenty that you can work out of your life to make room for things that make you happy.
There is a lot in this book that is hyperbolic and facetious and silly, and I did feel that maybe that was paper wasted on spoofing rather than actually being helpful, but the moments of humour do make the book more engaging and enjoyable so I should probably just shut up.
I would definitely recommend this little delight, it's not going to change your life, but it might make you see just how much of it you're wasting on bollocks you don't care about and how you can change that and live a life that is more free, more healthy and more satisfying.
A little something different today. I saw Loreal's top ten Disney crushes from her childhood and could instantly relate. Fictional crushes are something you think are ridiculous... until they happen to you. This is just a funny and slightly embarrassing little trip down memory lane, recounting five of the top fictional gentlemen that have occupied my daydreams throughout my childhood... bleeding into my teens... and present day.... shh. So hopefully you enjoy and can let me know some of your childhood fictional crushes.
01. Prince Philip - Probably my very first childhood crush. Sleeping Beauty was my favourite film as a child, my Dad still knows all the words to 'Once Upon a Dream' because of how often he watched it with me. A lot of people aren't fans because of what a wet heroine Aurora was, (she did spend half the movie asleep.) But what I loved about it what the Gothic art style, the bad ass villain Maleficent and the dashing hero. All he had to do to win my heart was defy his father, fight his way through a cursed castle and defeat an evil magic dragon. Even at five years old I knew my standards.
02. Batman - No live action, Nolan-verse batman for me. My love affair with the masked vigilante started when I used to sneak down at about four in the morning to watch Justice League on Toonami when I was about ten-eleven. There was something about his stoic, brooding, bad ass nature that I just adored. Batman will always be my favourite male superhero and I always love the various reincarnations that people create.
03. Roronora Zoro - I'm well aware that most people reading this will have no idea who the hell this is, but know that if you do recognise this guy, I unconditionally love you. This guy is from an anime called One Piece. It's still going strong in Japan, but an English version was aired in about 2005 and I watched it devotedly until it stopped being shown. Zoro is the first mate in the pirate crew that makes up the main cast of characters. Like Batman he's the bad, brooding type and is a master swordsman.
04. Maximus Decimus Meridius - I think it reflects my growing maturity levels that at some point I moved from animated men to live action ones. I first saw Gladiator in about 2008 and it was the first really epic adult movie I had seen. I became instantly infatuated with the idea of a snarling, brooding Roman General turned Gladiator and began an unwavering crush on Russell Crowe that survives to this day. So far it seems that my 'type' is a solemn bad-boy type with a heart of gold... in a costume. Some form of fancy weaponry wouldn't go amiss either. Make of that what you will.
05. Jon Snow - Having said that here's my last and most recent fictional crush. Jon Snow from Game of Thrones is such a cutie pie. To be fair he is rather dark and brooding, wears a fancy costume and has a sword so he ticks all my boxes, but he's actually really quite sweet and innocent, particularly in the first three books in which he's completely naive to the political scheming of the rest of the characters and incredibly innocent when it comes to women and war. Though to be completely honest the real deal clincher for me is just how incredibly gorgeous Kit Harington who plays him in the HBO series. Just... NOM.
So that's my own slightly cringey list of fictional crushes I've had over the years, which I've realised I've put pretty much in perfect chronological order so that's nice! Let me know what your most intense (or most embarrassing) fictional crushes have been, the more hilarious the better, and we can all have a good laugh at how sad we are.
Thanks for reading!
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