#LushChristmas in Reading.

I was so excited to receive an invite to Lush Reading's 'Lush Christmas' event last Wednesday.




Showcasing a preview of a mixture of both Halloween and Christmas products, it was a kind of surreal evening sat around a table in Lush Reading's party room (which displays some perfect visual merchandising) smelling all the delights that Lush has to offer this season.

My Summer Reads

This summer was when I came out of my reading slump. At the beginning of the year I finally started reading books for pleasure again rather than because I had to, looking at Photography books is wonderful and researching subjects that interested me for my dissertation was fun too but since then, my main reading material has really been online.

Every time I used to read something would wind up distracting me, I'd end up watching TV or back on my computer, it's not something I'm proud of and I'm not saying reading books is better or worse than either of those things but given that it's actually something I like, it was a bit stupid that I'd denied myself something like that for so long.

A few of the blogs I regularly read, like Becky Bedbug and Vivatramp post book reviews quite often, and this kind of daunted me when it came to sharing this post with you. I wouldn't say I'm a slow reader but sometimes these girls are reading a whole book a week, A WHOLE BOOK, at a normal pace it takes me at least a month.

Maybe I've not quite found 'the one' since jumping back on the horse but here are the 4 reads I've managed to squeeze in since the end of June.


Ready Player One by Ernest Cline –

I put off finishing this book for such a long time but once it gets to the middle of part two, it gets really good and really intense. Ready Player One is set in a future where almost nothing takes place in the real world any more, people work, play and are even educated using a MMORPG called, Oasis. The creator of Oasis passes away and sets up challenges within the online world for users to complete in order to win his multimillion dollar fortune.

The comparison of how good someone's life can be online compared to how terrible everything can go in the real world was an aspect that I quite liked. There's lots of commentary on how far technology could go and how damaging it could be to have your life online but on top of that it was just a good teen novel with plenty of thrills.

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk –

This was my holiday-read and the first book I've managed to read in under a week in the longest time. If you've heard of or read it, you'll know why I got a few raised eyebrows when my friends read it over my shoulder. It's kind of messed up, I'm not sure what I was expecting as it was the first Palahniuk book but I wanted something gritty and it definitely delivered.

Exploring so many grotesque themes, it was a little more adult that I was expecting too and it does escalate very quickly but it's also full of dark humour and social commentary (which apparently, I like). Set along a main narrative with short stories in between, I did actually quite enjoy it but felt the ending let it down because it just seemed like such a shrug after all the intense situations that the characters had been through together and shared with each other.

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson –

This actually got Moon into reading more again and he banged on and on about it for the longest time before I finally caved. I can definitely see why he liked it and I actually found it really funny. It does get a bit preachy when it comes to the media showcasing 'the right kind of madness' and exploiting people on television but it's quite fun once you're around halfway through and going about trying to spot psychopaths in your day-to-day life.

I don't usually read non-fiction books for pleasure but this was really easy to get through - I even passed it on to a few people at work. I guess I really learnt that 'psychopath' is used so much in the wrong context in the everyday and you don't have to be a criminal to be one, which is the creepiest thing.

The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson –

I read quite a few reviews of this before picking it up and the cover intrigued me for ages. As a Swedish translation, it's a little dry in places but the story of adventure flows well.
I found there were a few historical references that I (shamefully) had to look up later but I really liked this fun story even if took me a little longer than I'd like to fully commit to it.

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I felt it was right that I share my little accomplishment with you and figured it would be a good way to motivate myself to get back to reading more again, there are some great books coming out in the next couple of months too.

:: Have you entered my giveaway to win tickets to the Royal Berkshire County Show on the 20th September? ::

Blind Bloggers :: Drinking in the Dark

This heatwave is really something, I'm actually feeling a little guilty for complaining about being so warm when I'd been grumbling so much about how miserable it was before. It got to the point last Saturday where I had to spend most of the day having a lie down, not the way to make the most of any time off.

You can imagine given this severe over-sensitivity to all things weather-related that an invitation to take part in Lola Lo Reading's cocktail-tasting event last Friday was a welcome one... and you'd be right.



[c/o Phil Maclean Photography]

I was a little nervous about going to my first ever 'blogging event', particularly when going solo - this was my own choice given that I know me and I'd just stick to who ever I brought (Moon) rather than mixing, but it wasn't that kind of event and as it was quite a small group, I didn't find it too hard to make a bit of small-talk in between tasting.

Not being any sort of clubber any more, other than last year's work Christmas party, I've not really sampled Reading's night life the whole time we've lived in the area, it is very different going to a nightclub before its usual opening hours though. We were instructed that we would be sampling a variety of cocktails from the menu and be quizzed on our bartending knowledge - did I mention that we'd be blindfolded too?



I suppose the idea was that being blindfolded meant our other senses might be heightened and we'd experience a new sensation of taste while sampling. I'm a little sad to say you've not backed a winning horse and I very much came last in the quiz. My palette skills goes as far as 'if it's tasty, I'll have some more, please'.

I was actually pretty happy with some of the answers I did guess correctly though, and while they can probably forget their Digga Digga Doo cocktail, a concoction of rum and chilli (actual chilli, seeds and all!), there were quite a few cocktails that I tasted that I did enjoy. They also used a few ingredients that I was happy to see, including my all-time favourite, Passoa, and Chambord, a blackcurrant liqueur I discovered after our friend, Long, bought it for us as a house-warming gift (because it looks like a holy hand grenade).




My favourites were probably the Pornstar Martini and the Flamingo, because, at least by my book, you can't really go wrong with anything sugary and fruity.



The Flamingo actually marks a new season for Lola Lo, as well as being a brand new cocktail in a specially commissioned flamingo mug, 10p of each sale will be going to The Flamingo Foundation, a charity that provide valuable educations, health and community projects in both the UK and worldwide.



These lampshades were dreamy ♥



Taking a couple of hours to sample some cocktails on a Friday evening was a nice way to round up the working week and even though I didn't win any prizes or get to take any of those neat cocktail vases mugs home, Lola Lo is definitely a place I'd consider for another evening of cocktails, this time full-size ones.

Beale.

We had all our friends from uni over for a Eurovision party last weekend and had pinned our hopes on a barbecue. With the weather being as miserable as it could possibly be, Moon made chilli instead - which then went on to be lunch and dinner for the next three days after everyone left, chilli lasagne though(!) It was such a lovely weekend and so great to catch up.

Not letting the weather 'dampen' our spirits, after a late lunch at Newbury's new sports bar (weird place, no windows, pretty good food), we popped over to Beale Park. I think the price always put me off a bit but it was actually okay considering all there was see there. I'm glad that the gamble paid off as it was certainly a good way to kill a couple of hours in between the downpours.





Who knew this was what mongeese looked like?


Set just off the M4 turn off for Theale, Beale Park is kind of in the middle of nowhere and houses a small but interesting collection of weird and wonderful creatures, from owls to raccoons and even has its own herd of fallow deer. I just really like places with plenty of animals to see I guess and am looking forward to going there again when it's nice weather - hoping that doesn't mean everyone else decides it's time to go there to!


















I'd definitely say our Eurovision party was a great success, i may not remember a lot of the contest part but the party might have been one of the best we've hosted in our little flat. Looking forward to Portugal with a few of this lovely lot in just a matter of weeks! ♥