Hello all!
I feel like it’s about time I did another one of these random life update posts. A few weeks ago I packed up all my stuff AGAIN and headed back to the student world for my final year of university. Can you say scary? The fact that this is my final year is really messing with my head. What I do in the next 9 months will count towards two thirds of my degree. It’s where the real work starts. EEEP. Right now everything feels a little bizarre because it’s like the calm before the storm, I know all of these deadlines are looming but the impact is yet to hit. At the moment it seems like I’m having too much fun! I know it can’t last and the stress factor will soon kick in but for now all is good in Becky world. I’m feeling oddly hopeful about my final year. Even though it will probably be mind numbing and intense I’m ready to face the challenge (no doubt this entire train of thought will reverse within a month, you wait and see :P). I’ve even gotten into the spirit of things with my new bag:
What’s great about this year is everything feels more familiar. I’m living in the same house as I did previously and this is also the first time I’ve returned and known some of the people I’m living with which is such a relief! There’s one girl in the house who is new (currently she’s still an alien life form I must get to know better) but she seems really nice. We’ve already had a few house cocktail and movie nights with takeout which has been fun, and this week some of us went shopping on a hunt to find onesies and the perfect fantasy-esk cloak! Because seriously, all the cool people in the fantasy world have epic, velvet, shimmery cloaks. 😉 I also went to go and see The Riot Club with a friend at the cinema last week (a film about some privileged Oxford students getting super drunk and committing a crime, it was gritty and somewhat sickening but interesting). We then stopped off at Little Italy restaurant on the way back where I ordered spaghetti (to add to all the other additional pasta I’ve been consuming excessively since I’ve been back because yay student food). I’m also hoping to go and see The Maze Runner and Love, Rosie some time this month. Has anyone else seen/or is planning to see these? 🙂
In fact, I have yet to write a single essay since I’ve been back, which is probably why things have been going so well. There’s been no crippling stress or starting at a word document trying to will words to magically appear on the screen. My dissertation also feels semi under control. However, I think when November hits I will be drowning under a pile of deadlines, so as per usual expect less blogging activity here as university gets into full swing!
On top of this I’ve also treated myself to a couple of new books lately. Why? I can’t even justify it. I JUST WANTED THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE PRETTY AND SHINY AND THEY WERE CALLING TO ME. Never mind all the other unread books I own, these ones needed me. THEY WERE LONELY WAITING AROUND IN THEIR WAREHOUSES AND I WAS ONLY TRYING TO HELP.
My first purchase was The Maze Runner Trilogy + it’s prequel The Kill Order for £7 from The Works. After reading the first book which my friend let me borrow, I was desperate to know what happened next in Thomas’s adventures. I decided that acquiring all the books was essential if I could get them for a decent price, so when I found them all for under £10 I couldn’t resist and ordered them immediately! I’ve already read The Scorch Trials so hopefully there will be a review of that up sometime soon but I’m still really behind on reviews. 🙂
Next up we have Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares which was a pure impulse buy. While I remember being curious about the novel when it first came out my main reason for buying it was because I spotted it for £1.99 on The Works while I was browsing. A bargain like that cannot be resisted! I’ve never read anything by David Levithan or Rachel Cohn so I’m not sure what to expect, but the story sounds like a really cute romance of the treasure hunt variety!
The Last Unicorn was my next purchase, but this one was a careful decision with much deliberation behind it! Some of you may remember my post from a while back where I ranted on about how much I desperately wanted this book because I loved the animated film version of it when I was younger. I’ve been trying to get hold of it for years but the trouble was (being a pernickety bookworm) I wanted a specific cover which was very difficult to get hold of! Well, I finally managed to buy the cover I wanted through The Book Depository, WOHOO! *Dorky dances round and round in a circle*. I can’t wait to read it! 😀 It’s got so many quotes on it by famous fantasy writers so hopefully that’s a good sign. Now I just have to try to separate the film from the book in my head!
Finally we have We Were Liars. This book has been receiving a lot of praise lately for it’s unusual writing style and tricksy plot, and as far as I can gather it’s about a group of privileged teens and their rich families and all the secrets hiding behind their facade. I had actually planned on skipping this one because the marketing campaign for it seemed so full on that I wondered if they were overcompensating, but one of my uni friends recommended it to me as a must-read, and we usually have very similar taste in books!
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So that’s a wrap. 🙂 Thanks for listening to my babble. What have you guys been up to lately? Read any particularly awesome books?
Image Sources:
My own, please do not reuse.
Blogs-Of-A-Bookaholic 
Flipping heck, this post has left me feeling breathless.
The only really interesting I’ve been up to is taking up track cycling at the London Olympic velodrome. I’m still trying to pass what is essentially a four-stage driving test but it’s as knackering as it is nifty.
That’s quite the selection of books you managed to obtain there – is this all being paid for by student loans…?
I showed the pics of your bag to my granddad by the way. He said that you would have looked very stylish at his boarding school, and is wondering if you’d like to meet up for a slice of cake and a cup of tea.
And for some reason your carpet looks completely different in every picture.
Yes, four carpets? Mad redecorating touch!
Ohh yeah, totally! I contracted out some carpet fitters to change it in each shot. I asked them for some funky pink and crazy patterns but they were all out, so I had to do with 50 shades of blue. 😉
Haha!
I think the track cycling at the velodrome is really interesting! It’s such an unusual thing to do and I think it’s great that you decided to give it a go. I look forward to hearing how you get on with it. Never like the sound of the word ‘test’ though, keep that meanie work away from me, LOL.
Yep, all different genres too now that I think about it. 🙂 Hahaa, maybeeeee…. possibly…. probably. Shhh, don’t tell.
I love that satchels have come back into fashion because I’ve always loved them, and now I don’t have to feel like I’m super out of touch for having one, teehee! But ohh yeah I’m down with the granddad crowd, and the tea drinking crowd. 😛
LOL. Really? I swear to you it is the same carpet (apart from the We Were Liars shot).
I’m sure you’ll ace your final year. You’ve got this far, so you’ve got past the worst of it!
Hmm, an alien house-mate…there’s an idea…
>>…starting at a word document trying to will words to magically appear on the screen… LOL, welcome to the world of a writer!
That’s an epic book haul for not-much-dosh. You’re having more fun with the Maze Runner series than I did, but what a dull world it would be if we all liked the same books. 🙂
I’ll have to look up the We Were Liars book, I haven’t seen much about that one.
Thanks for the confidence vote, Tony. 🙂 Here’s hoping!
LOL. I can hear the cogs in your writer brain turning. Now that’s a story I’d like read! Ahh yes, writing is forever frustrating no matter what form – fiction, academic, you name it.
Yes, Becky is a fan of the bargains! Hmm, well the jury is still out on that one. I loved but had quite a few problems with the first book, wasn’t such a fan of the second (review still pending), so the third book needs to pull out something spectacular. The film looks great though. 🙂
Sounds like you’ve been enjoying yourself! I haven’t been doing anything as fun! It’s good to know that you feel better about your dissertation. I know you were a bit nervous about it last time we spoke 🙂 I feel like all I do at the moment is dissertation stuff or meet with my dissertation supervisor! Haha.
I have. 🙂 Thank you, I am feeling better generally about my dissertation, at least I’ve picked an actual topic to focus on now which is always a good start! It’s still going to be lots of work but it doesn’t seem so impossible now.
Yes, agreed! So many supervisor meeting, LOL.
I know what you mean. That’s why I chose the 5,000 word essay not the 10,000! 🙂 good luck with it! 🙂
Nice one! Mine’s 5,000 too, it seems so much more do-able and a little less scary. 🙂
Congrats on making it to your final year! I’m sure you’ll do well. =D
Your bag is absolutely gorgeous I’m a little envious actually. xD And that is one fantastic book haul! I’ve been wanting to read the Maze Runner especially after I saw the trailer of the movie, but when I went book shopping all I could find was the movie tie-in cover. To make things worse the other three books had those normal covers you got, but only the first had a different one! That was an immediate deal breaker for me. 😦
I got a bunch of books recently, and have been actually getting quite a bit of reading done, but I haven’t yet found one that completely wow’d me – The Universe Versus Alex Woods came close though. I know you’ve got a copy yourself so I would definitely recommend it. 😉
Thank you, Zen. 🙂
Glad you like the bag! I was chuffed when I found it, it was only £6 as well, can you believe it?
Ohh no, I hate it when you can only find the movie tie in covers! They’re a crime against fiction, I really dislike them. And it’s even worse when it means your set won’t match! I feel your pain. 😦
Oooh, good for you that’s always great to hear. My reading has already slowed since returning to uni, it’s always the way. So happy to hear you enjoyed Alex Woods, I kept a somewhat internet stalkerish eye on your book progress with it on Goodreads and now I can’t wait to read it. 😉
I’m currently in my final year of high school, so I guess I can sort of relate to how you’re feeling. It’s really strange knowing that this a year of so many “lasts”. But it’s also really exciting, so it’s sort of bitter sweet. I hope everything goes well for you, and I love your new bag! 🙂
Yes! It is very similar to that sort of feeling. 🙂 You feel like you want to make the most of everything and take in and appreciate as much as you can, while also trying not to mess up your grades, LOL.
Thank you, Holly!
It’s your final year! That’s awesome, congratulations! Enjoy it as much as possible, even with the pressures- it’s a weird and exciting time.
I know what you mean about knowing you shouldn’t get more books while you have unread ones and yet- and yet they’re there and they’re just begging to be read and it can be really hard to ignore. I’ve tried to shame myself by stacking all the ones that I haven’t read yet at the foot of my bed to remind myself that I don’t technically need to get something new. I don’t think it’s going to work for much longer, but it has worked for about two weeks, which is frankly longer than I expected it to work.
Why hello, Maggie, it’s good to hear from you!
It is indeed and I will do my best. It is a very weird time, knowing that you’re going to be moving on to an entirely new ‘grown up’ stage of life soonish.
Hahaa, you know me, I’m always buying books I don’t need. 🙂 I think stacking all your unread book at the end of your bed is a brilliant idea. Unfortunately, if I did that it would take up half my floor, I’m not sure it would even be possible! I am highly impressed by your show of willpower though! I’m impressed that you’ve lasted this long.
How is everything in Maggie world?
It is a weird feeling, but now that I’m in that grown-up stage, it feels absolutely worth it. Granted, it was a strange feeling of being stuck between two worlds for a while, but it balanced out in the end.
It has been really helpful, that’s for sure. If only because it reminds me that there are some really cool things there that I should get to soon 🙂 And it does serve as a good image to pull up when those paperbacks just look so very pretty in the bookstore… Where it has not served as a useful tool at all is in the Kindle department- I was given a Fire as a graduation present and it’s much harder to say no when the Kindle versions of things are so delightfully cheap.
Everything is okay, but busy. I have an actual adult job now and am starting to put more and more focus on my fiction writing, but I’m looking to get something back up on my blog soon about books that have stayed with me (technically a Facebook tagging thing, but it would still fit the blog, I think). It’s good to hear things are going well for you!
Ahh, that’s good. I hope I feel the same way. Currently I have no idea what I will be doing with my life post uni which is kind of scary, but I’m hoping whatever comes next will work out and be an interesting new stage in my life. Normally I’m a super duper plan everything miles in advance kind of person, so it will be weird and terrifying not to have a specific goal to work towards. :S Stuck between two worlds is a perfect way to describe it!
So true! When you have so many book you almost forget about how excited you were to get them in the first place. It’s great that seeing them at the end of the bed is reminding you of all the adventures you’ve got to look forward to. 🙂 Ahh yes, the kindle. It’s so temping to stock it up with awesome deals and then all of a sudden you find yourself stuck under a mountain! It’s probably a good thing I don’t own one, LOL.
Oooooh, an actual adult job. EXCITING! I bet it’s nice to have someone paying you for once, rather than you having to pay your university/collage to learn and stress out over essays. I hope you’re finding it enjoyable. It’s awesome that you’re finding the time to write again, I shall look forward to a possible blog reappearance some time in the future. 😉
I love your Maze Runner books, the covers are GORGEOUS (are those the normal UK covers? They’re so much prettier than the American ones!) Enjoy your last year at university, it goes by SO fast!
Thank you! I love the spines but I’m not so keen on the actual front covers which is a shame, they’re basically the exact same image on every book in different colour which seems a little lazy. Can you believe that I actually prefer the American ones? Wanna swap? LOL. So funny how covers differ by country.
Thank you. 🙂 I can believe that!
Books call to me too, Becky, and it would be very rude and hurtful to ignore them, so you did the right thing :). And I loveeeeeeee your new book bag!! It’s gorgeous! As for your final year of uni, the fact that you worry about it means you are going to be fabulous. I have the utmost confidence in you because it’s obvious how extremely smart you are. You will blow them away :).
Hehee, the books cannot be resisted! And I completely agree, ignoring the books would be blasphemous. 😛 Thank you! It makes me feel like the ULTIMATE BOOKWORM.
Hmmm, that’s probably quite accurate actually. Your confidence means a lot book buddy, thanks! I don’t know about extremely smart though. 😉
You’re very welcome – that’s what friends are for :).
That is a lovely leather bag, Becky. Make the most of your final year at uni. I loved college and I remember everyone telling me at the time, “enjoy it because they’re the best years of your life”. That’s very true so have a ball.
Thanks, Emma. 🙂 It’s going so quickly already, I can’t believe I’ve been back a month, and by Christmas I will be half way though! Crazy times. That’s good advice. 🙂
So many things to comment about! First and foremost: YAY for being seniors!!!! Isn’t it the most glorious feeling??
Also yay for books. Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares is a fantastic read. 😀 The Last Unicorn was literally just suggested to me last week, so it’s also on my to-read list.
Best of luck with school! 🙂 I can’t wait to read your review of the books.
You’re in your final year too? Awesome! It is a crazy feeling and it’s also very surreal.
Glad to hear you’re giving Dash & Lily and thumbs up, I know very little about it so it’s good to come across someone who’s enjoyed it. 🙂 No way, that’s so funny. I’m really hoping The Last Unicorn lives up to my exceptions because I’ve wanted to read it for ages. If you struggle to find the time to read the book, it’s definitely worth checking out the film, it’s fantastic!
Thank you, back at cha!
Excellent book haul. Looking forward to your reviews once they appear. Best of luck, have a fabulous time in school and I am sure you will look amazing with your new student bag. 🙂
Thank you. 🙂 Hopefully I will get round to reading them in the next decade, LOL. Thanks, will definitely be needing that luck! The bag is holding up well so far so fingers crossed. 🙂
Yes yes, final year of Uni is stressful and horror-inducing, but stay positive and keep on top of everything and you’ll be fine. Remember; it won’t last forever! But I’m thrilled to read that you’re feeling good in your Uni house and getting along with people. Yay for being social 😉
Secondly, totally love the bag and totally love the new book purchases. I’m poor so I’ve been avoiding bookshops and websites and it’s SO HORRIBLY HARD. I’m cracking.
It sure is! I’m trying to get a good start so that I can keep the workload under control but I can already feel it slipping and things are starting to build up. It doesn’t seem to matter how good my intentions are, LOL. Yes, yay for being social. Who knew us introverts were capable of such things. 😉 How is your new course going so far?
Hehe, thanks. 🙂 Ah, I understand. At least as bookworms we have pretty big tbr piles so you won’t run out of material for a while! There’s always new shiny books that grab the attention though…