Exam Season Favourites

Greetings humans!

Wow, exams are fun. I couldn't have survived mine without...

BIC Velocity Ballpoint Pens

Exams are all about writing quickly and vaguely legibly. I've previously taken exams in cheaper biros with poor ink flow and little grip, and that was a hoot. However, with these pens I could focus on what I was writing as opposed to what I was writing it with.

Macbeth, Wuthering Heights and Doctor Faustus

Yes, I'm one of those students - these are my set texts for English Literature A-Level. I seriously enjoyed studying them, my love of literature was rekindled and I can now shout "CATHY!" in a very poor Yorkshire accent. That's a life skill, right?

Big Skies - Nick Santino

This album is a new release by the former lead singer of A Rocket to the Moon, Nick Santino. I love how fresh and different the record is, with personal favourites being "Can't Say I Miss You", "Jackson Browne" and "Keep on Going". As a bonus, it's under £6 on iTunes - bargain! Go take a listen - I promise you won't be disappointed (well, you might be, if this isn't the kind of music you're into) (which is fine, but, yeah) (I really hope you're not disappointed).

February Favourites

Greetings humans!

I can't believe another month has passed already -  we're 1/6th of the way through 2014 and in less than four more of those little chunks of my life I'll hopefully have moved away to start uni (yes, I know I go on about this a lot but it's UNIVERSITY I mean I swear I should still be studying for my GCSEs my life is going by TOO QUICKLY etc etc etc).

Large, Lined Post-it Notes

One of the most dangerous things about stationery stores is that they usually pop up near where I meet up with my friends. One of the other dangerous things about stationery stores is that they sometimes have three-for-two offers on post-it notes, and I have no willpower. Even though they were an impulse buy, these sticky notes have been so useful for General Life Things. Aside from to-do lists and other such items, I've found them handy for planning areas of essays which I find particularly tough, or for making revision plans. I've not used Post-It brand sticky notes for a while and I'd forgotten how good they were! 

The 'Inspector Barnaby' Series by Caroline Graham

These are books I've been wanting to read for a long time; in case you haven't guessed from their titles (which to be fair, you probably haven't), these are the novels that the television programme Midsomer Murders is based on. I accidentally began reading them in the wrong order, and one of the books is not available on Kindle, but despite this I'm thoroughly enjoying them. It's probably also worth mentioning that I'm currently working my way through all of the Poirot books, too. (Yes, I'm one of those people)

Word Games - Lisbee Stainton

Since coming out on the 4th November last year, Word Games has been pretty much on repeat on my iPod. I first discovered Lisbee's music in 2010, and she continues to be one of my favourite artists. The best way to describe her music is probably something like 'folk-pop', with the former certainly coming across very strongly on this album. This is unsurprising considering Seth Lakeman has both co-writing and vocal credits, and this record is definitely her best yet. I've just listed all of my favourite songs and realised I'd listed the entire track list... *dances*

So, they're my favourite things from this past month. I hope you enjoyed!

January Favourites

Greetings humans!

I seriously can't believe how quickly this month has passed - it's a times like this I wish that I had a different mindset to "well that's one less month until the exams, Hannah, HOW MUCH REVISION ARE YOU DOING? IS IT ENOUGH? I DON'T THINK IT'S ENOUGH!".

Anyhow, I thought this year I'd do a little write up of some of my favourite things, stationery related and otherwise, at the end of every month. I've split it up into three categories: stationery, books and music.

Lamy Safari Fountain Pen

This has been the first time for about five years that I've used a fountain pen regularly for schoolwork and essay-writing. The pen has stood the test of being thrown about (when in my pencil case), dropped onto the floor and my anger when I struggle to pierce a new ink cartridge. It writes well considering the fine nib and the ink flow is superb.

Feminist Theology by Natalie K. Watson

You may or may not be aware by now that I'm planning on studying Theology at uni. I received this book for Christmas from my long-suffering parents (honestly, I can go on about this stuff a lot), and since it's quite short I thought I'd get on with reading it before the end of the January. This introductory text opened my eyes to quite a few issues that I hadn't considered before, such as whether Jesus being male has an impact on salvation for women, and how one of the standards for women being presented in the Bible (the Virgin Mary) is one impossible to achieve. I don't really have opinions on these issues yet (I'm only seventeen, the only thing it's safe to say is that I know next to nothing at all about All The Things), but I'm certainly looking forward to applying some of the issues raised to my consequent theological studies. 

Cavalier Youth - You Me At Six

This month, You Me At Six released their long-awaited fourth album, with their last released in 2011. I've been a fan of them since I was thirteen, and I eagerly anticipated this album since I wasn't...really...a...fan...of...the...last *hides from rocks being thrown by fangirls*, and I wasn't disappointed. It's a well-crafted album which is a clear development from everything they've done before, and it makes fabulous revision music.