Goodbye July! You were not very summery.
Fave 5 from the blog
- Overview of my Japan trip with helpful information
- All the souvenir stamps I collected in Japan
- Sewing a bunny cross stitch pincushion
- What I bought at Design Festa 43
- Recent zine purchases reviewed
New stuff in my shops
- Free Summer Ice Cream Treats Printable Garland
- Wooden pendant necklaces
- Slightly flawed seconds in the Summer Sale
- Personalised cards at Thortful (with 50% off your first card!)
Reading
My library got in a ton of new ebooks so I went a bit mad. Now with Goodreads ratings – I’m Marceline on there too.
Perfidia by James Ellroy ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I read all his books as a student until they kept getting longer and longer and verging into self-parody. This is a prequel to the LA Quartet with lots of familiar characters set around the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was a fun (violent, awful) read but also full of spoilers for the future books so I don’t really know why it exists.
The Beach by Alex Garland ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I saw a few references to this recently and realised I’d never read it (mostly out of snobbery). I totally get why everyone was obsessed with it – it’s gripping and very vivid. The ending was less exciting than I was expecting though.
Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This started really fun with great modern parallels and then it all went a bit too madcap.
The Stylist by Rosie Nixon ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Basically The Devil Wears Prada but with stylists. Better written than most but also suffers from pushing things into cartoonish.
Yes Please by Amy Poehler ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I suppose there must be people who don’t like Amy Poehler but it seems impossible. This is so warm and funny and encouraging.
The Bassoon King by Rainn Wilson ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Unlike this. The chapters on The Office and his other TV work were really great and he’s had a very interesting life but too much Serious Acting talk and religion. I skimmed a lot.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I felt like I already knew everything about this book but it’s both more and less crazy than I imagined. She is extremely bossy and obsessed with tidying, and no-one needs to chat to their possessions this much, but there’s a lot of good advice in here, especially about things you feel guilty about throwing out. It’s a very similar process to how I decluttered before moving house and how I keep things tidy but I’m inspired to do more.
li.st highlights
- The beautiful manhole cover designs of Japan
- What I’ve been up to, in photos
- Mugs I own and their roles in life
- Adventures in hand sewing
- Types of tea and coffee in my kitchen 🍵☕️
- Things I’m into this month – July 2016
On My Wish List
Pusheen Constellation Tee | Nintendo Villains Vans
Bananya Plush Coin Case | Fuji Stickers
I would own the top two already but Hey Chickadee’s shipping would put me in customs duty hell and I forgot to try on the Vans last time I was in Glasgow!
