Category / Trips and Events

by Jessica Edwards

Book Fair / Book Haul

So on Saturday I went into the city with my boyfriend because apparently there was a book fair in one of the markets. We looked all over, for a good 20 minutes, and there was no books anywhere in sight! We eventually gave up and walked around until we found the Waterstones.

Oh. My. God. It was magical. Three stories of nothing but books. I had to stop myself from buying everything on my TBR, which has over 50 books on it. Okay, maybe not. I bought four, I originally picked up 5, but my boyfriend managed to persuade me to put down the copy of City of Bones I’d picked up because I wouldn’t read it, it’d just sit on my shelf, and he’s getting me the editions that have the spines that make a picture for my birthday, so I didn’t need it. I bought: Scythe by Neal Shusterman, A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwabb, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, and Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. I’m really happy with my choices, I’ve heard so many positive reviews about all of them, especially Scythe.

I think Scythe was the only book I was definitely going to buy if I saw it. And when I saw that The Hate U Give had stained edges, I had to get it – well, I was probably going to buy it anyway, I just love stained edges.

We also went into Forbidden Planet, a comic book shop, to look at comics (obviously) and see if they had any Pop figures I really wanted. I didn’t end up buying anything because the only thing I saw that I wanted was Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda but they didn’t have volume one, only two and three.

After we’d eaten and gotten Starbucks, we went home. I was watching TV with my dad later that day and I was telling him about the Monstress situation and he said the best thing to do to get comics or graphic novels is to go on eBay, so I did, because I really wanted Monstress. And I found volumes one and two were being sold for £5 for the two, with £2.90 shipping. I was so shocked, because the initial retail price is £10 each, so i bid, of course. After a small bid war in the final minutes I ended up playing £11.60 including shipping, which I’m really happy with, because I still saved £8.40, which is a lot when you’re a 16 year old student with no job.

I promised myself I was on a spending ban for the foreseeable future, because I spent a lot on Saturday. So skip to Monday, I’m volunteering at m library, and they’re throwing away old books that aren’t being read or are really old and battered. And the manager said to us that if there were any books that we wanted we could take, to save them from being ripped apart and thrown away.

I picked up 4 books from the discard shelves: The Devil’s Feather by Minette Walters, River of Shadows by Valerio Varesi, Missing by Catherine MacPhail, and Honour Thy Father by Lesley Glaister (which is for my mum). All of these books are so unlike anything I normally read, but they seem pretty good, and they didn’t cost me anything so if I don’t like them, I can give them to other people.

My dad also gave me his entire comic collection, which is well over 40, so my shelves are stacked.

Honestly, with all of the books I’ve acquired I shouldn’t need to spend anymore money, because I have so many to read, as well as all of the books in the library. And I’m hopefully getting a new floor to ceiling bookshelf so it won’t be such a tight squeeze of the shelves.

by Jessica Edwards

Volunteering at the Library

I’ve been volunteering at my local library since the end of June, so for just over a month, and it’s been a mixed bag so far.

At first, just before I set off walking down, I’d get so anxious and scared. I’d just want to crawl into a ball in my bed and hide from the world, because it was a new atmosphere with new people who I didn’t know. But after a couple of weeks of forcing myself out of the door, I started to enjoy it more. I’ve made so many new friends and I’ve helped out so many members of our community that I really feel like I am making a difference and it’s a really nice and refreshing feeling.

I’m also surrounded by books for three hours, two days a week, which is heaven for a bookworm like myself, but it’s a blessing as well as a curse:

I love having all of these books around me and giving others access to some of my favourite books or just encouraging them to pick up something to read. Putting books in the right places on the shelves is so calming and satisfying, and having whole series together is a thing of beauty. But as I look through the shelves during my shifts, I see more and more books that I want to read, which would be amazing if I didn’t already have a list as long as my arm! I have to resist the “compulsive buyer” within me (yes, I know, it’s a library and the books are free, but the principle of ‘oh my gosh yes I need this’ is still there, so it works).

Stepping away from the actual library for a second, volunteering has given me a new way of getting some exercise now I’m not walking to and from school and playing football anyway. It’s around 20 minutes from my house to the library, but the journey back home is all uphill. It’s a nightmare, but it’d definitely keeping me fit, I’ve even lost a couple of pounds.

Overall, I really enjoy volunteering, and everything it offers me, and I would recommend that anyone should go and help out at their local library. And I can always guarantee that they’ll be happy to take on any and all new recruits!

Side note: It still feels weird not making any school related post for the past few months, but worry not, they’ll be back very soon! I have back to school hauls, first impressions, and much more coming in the last few months of the year. Exciting times coming SOON!

by Jessica Edwards

What I Did in the October Half Term Holiday

Monday 29th:

Today was a stay-at-home, get all our work done day for me and my dad. I did get a lot of work done, but not all of it, and I hadn’t even started on revision for PPEs in December. I don’t think my dad understands that I need to start preparing for these exams now, and I’m struggling to get all my homework done, let alone revise and have fun. Honestly, this week will be rubbish, and ultimately so will year 11. I just want to cry everyday, which SHOULD NOT be happening. School shouldn’t make you feel like this, they should help you thrive, but no, here I am being failed by the education system. I’m not the first, and I certainly won’t be the last.

Tuesday 30th:

My parents and I went to see Venom today and I absolutely loved it. I’ve been a Marvel fan for as long as I can remember, the comics, the films, the characters, everything hooks me about the Marvel Universe. And Venom was no exception. It had a gripping story line, out of this world graphics, and just the right amount of humour that the symbiote seemed frightening, but nice, if that makes sense. I’m so excited for Carnage, like I cannot contain it. Carnage is by far the most superior symbiote, and to me, the best character that Marvel has ever created. The Superior Carnage comic is so good! Honestly, I could rave about Carnage all day long, but I won’t because it’ll get extremely boring very fast.

Wednesday 31st:

Damn, Halloween is my favourite time of the year. I’m not sure what it is, but the last week of October just has a different buzz than the rest of the year, in my opinion. I didn’t even do anything today, I just love the day. I was having really bad period cramps and I was meant to visit my boyfriend, but him being the gem he is let me stay in my bed and came over to my house instead. It’s the little things, honestly, they mean so much to me. He bought me 4 bottles of Body Shop hand cream, which is my absolute favourite hand cream. The smells are so strong and beautiful, and just amazing in general. Apart from the cramps, today was really good.

Thursday 1st:

My dad and I went bowling today. We played five games, and I won three of them. We got the 11 o’clock train into the city, started playing about 12. It was actually really sad how fast it was, like we’d played all five games in less than an hour and a half. Luckily the bowling place had an arcade so we played in there for like an hour, it was so fun. They had a Jurassic Park game where you have to like kill the dinosaurs that’ve escaped and are attacking you and stuff like that. We literally spent like £5 on that game alone, because if one of us died, the other person carried on, so you’d put another pound in so you could play.

After all that, we did a bit of shopping, we went to the Forbidden Planet shop and I had to refrane from buying most of the things in that shop, I love it so much. We bought a keyring each and one for my mum, a Griffindor coaster and talking Groot notebook for my mum as well. The train home was so packed because it was a 17:20 train, so everyone was on their way home from work. I was stood with my face pressed against the train door. It was so uncomfortable and there was nothing to hold onto so I was falling all over the place. It was overall a good day, even though I started crying about school and college again at like 11 that night.

Friday 2nd:

Today was a pretty chill day, we got the train into town at around 2 because my dad booked to get his hair cut at 3, and a pub in the town was showing the WWE pay-per-view Crown Jewel live from 4. We left after about 45 minutes because the pub didn’t have the sound on and we had to ask if they could put it on, so we decided we might as well watch it at home. So we got home and had a change of plan, because I’m away this weekend, I need to get all of my work done before school, so that was the rest of my night sorted. I finished my graphics homework, but I couldn’t face my English homework. Language paper 2 doesn’t fill me with joy, let’s put it that way. Oh, and I had another cry, but not about school for once.

Saturday 3rd:

I played football this morning and we won 6-1 so stoked about that. I’m battered and bruised and exhausted but I’ll live with it, obviously. This afternoon, I went to my boyfriend’s house because his family were hosting a bonfire party that night. Before it started I did some of my English homework because we had some free time. I’m really bad at it so my boyfriend helped me with it. The party itself was loads of fun, and I’m staying over tonight.

Sunday 4th:

Not looking forward to school tomorrow, but is anyone? We went to a local abbey decorated with hand-knitted poppies. It was so beautiful. Because it’s the day of posting, there’s nothing else to say really, as it’s only been half a day. When I get home later I’ll most likely be trying, and failing, to do my English homework… Still. I need extra help or tutoring or something from my teacher but he won’t listen to me, so I’m just stuck here struggling, which is always fun.

The week as a whole has had a lot of ups and downs, but it was infinitely better than being at school. I may do another one of these, during the December half term, but if all I do is revision for the two weeks it’ll get insanely boring, extremely fast.