the turn of the screw – queerying literature

Okay, it’s time to wrap up the end of April. It absolutely flew by, and as hard as I tried to keep up with the blog I just had far too much on to cope with. I think I’ve come to terms with not being able to keep up with weekly wrap ups and from now on I’m going to do a monthly wrap with maybe a small ‘what’s happening irl’ post a week.

I’ve hardly cooked anything this month, but I have tried a ton of new things! My body has been a little more open to moving out of my usual food routine, so I’ve been making the most of it.

As I spent a lot of the month away, I also got to eat a lot of good bread. Why does everywhere else in Europe have superior skills in bread-making?

VeganLove – It was so good that we visited twice, I almost went back a third time, and honestly it was a mistake that I didn’t. I ended up getting ill from the place I chose to go to.

Pizza Me – Cheap and cheerful. We also went here twice, it’s pizza by the slice and the vegan one was divine. I added a little extra chilli oil. There’s no vegan cheese, however, I’m not really a fan of most vegan cheeses so for me, that was a bonus!

Magnums – I had never been more grateful to see a magnum than on Margaret Island.

The Stable – We went here on a whim as I’d heard that they had a vegan pizza. They actually had four to choose from and offered to veganise any of their other options. I can’t remember the name of the pizza I went for, but it was superb. The base was light and crispy and tasted fantastic. The only thing I’d have liked was to have been able to add additional toppings; for me no pizza is complete without a healthy serving of jalapenos. I’m definitely going to go back for a date night with Matt.

Vegan Chocolate Cake – Imagine, a store-bought vegan cake. I want to consume like ten of these.

Swedish Glace Vanilla Sticks – These were kind of disappointing after the magnums. They’re super small and the chocolate would be better suited to a choc ice. They’re definitely not worth £3.50 for 5. Just get the tub and add your own chocolate.

Okay, so I finished April in the midst of a couple of books, but with no real interest in reading them. So, I’m going to fill you in on what I’m reading at the moment.

I started reading Chronicles the day I bought it from the British Heart Foundation because I was so damn excited about it! Anyone who knows me by now understands that if I’m going to buy a book it has to earn its place on the shelf before I’ll read it. This is kinda so I don’t feel guilty about the purchase and also because I love how my shelves look and watching them change. It’s like an extra art piece.

Moving on though, my real enthusiasm stemmed from being tired of reading contemporary books. I feel like I’m getting NetGalley burnout even though I’ve only read two books so far. I just needed to dip my toes back into the Middle Ages.

Anyway, the book is about the chroniclers of England which is a topic I’ve been meaning to delve into for a while. Some chroniclers have acquired an almost mystical presence in fiction and non-fiction alike. So, I wanted the hard facts. Given-Wilson tends to state that something is a ‘fact’ at least once per paragraph, sometimes twice or thrice. It’s super interesting though and I’ve got a word document with all of my favourite quotes as I can’t quite bring myself to use a highlighter in it.

I also started reading Cellini’s Autobiography because I didn’t want to get Chronicles wet in the bath.

Images soured from Goodreads

Last month I set myself the task of finishing The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs before I went to Paris, but I just couldn’t find the energy for it. In the end, I returned it. I can always go back to it if the mood takes me.

I also decided to remove Alan Turning from my shelf. I couldn’t see myself enjoying the rest of it. The last time I tried to pick it up I was skim reading and skipping pages, and it wasn’t enjoyable. So, I’m saying goodbye to it for now. Again, it’s always going to be stocked in a library should I have a sudden desire to read it.

Once I’ve finished Chronicles I’m going to effectively put my own books on hold until I’ve read through all my NetGalley titles with a release date of May or June. That should then bring me to a nice point where I can spend June downsizing my own shelves.

Images soured from Goodreads

I didn’t get through as many books as I wanted to this month, but I have done a ton more than I usually would. May is fairly quiet until the last weekend when I’ve got Slam Dunk and three gigs, so hopefully I can pick up some momentum.

It’s been quite a mixed month in terms of reading quality, there’s been some reads that I hated (Arkham Asylum), unexpected loves (The Turn of the Screw) and absolute favourites (Mary Queen of Scots).

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Images soured from Wikipedia

Avengers Endgame – Fuck this movie. I’m still not ready to talk about all the issues I have with it and we’re now almost halfway through May.

Someone Great – I needed something light to watch when my dog woke me up at 6am wanting to hang out. I really enjoyed it, and it was nice to see a focus on the lives of all three women and their friendship. Erin and Leah’s relationship was also brought to the forefront rather than being a small subplot.

I definitely watched more than this, but they were pretty much all re-watches. I saw The Winter Solider seven times in April. I think I might have a problem.

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Catch up with reviews: I managed to publish a few, but I still have a stack of notes to work through for others. I also have 10 more NetGalley books to read and review. Intense.
Read and return library books: I read 3 out of 4 and returned them all!
Reset my routine: Kind of. I wake up between 6:00 and 6:30 now, but I’m not exactly productive. I think over this month I’m going to try and make it 6:00 every day and try to either read or go swimming.

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Reduce my NetGalley stack – I’d kind of like to clear it by the end of June,and in future instead of sending out a ton of requests I’ll be more selective. I had no idea that I’d be approved for almost all the books I requested.

Sort out my planner – I keep almost double booking myself so I should probably actually start using the planner I bought. I spent a ton of money getting a really nice one from paperchase and for the most part, it just sits under my bed.

Make some decisions – I need to figure out what sort of content I want on here. I quite like reviewing books, but I want to talk about them more and actually discuss their content. In reviews I feel like I’m limited to saying the bare minimum in fear of spoiling the read for someone else.