What's on My Bookshelf?

Hi All!

DAY OFF COLLEGE! YEY! 

Today college is closed for a staff training day! Exciting times to say the least, and I am SO glad for it, I started my German course last night and to say it was a disappointment would be an understatement. Any who, the extra day off has given me some time to get down to writing some upcoming content which is a great relief and finally I've had the time to write about something I've been really looking forward to... What's on my bookshelf! I really hope you guys enjoy this post because I've loved writing it. Before I start I need to say that I have about 8 bookshelves worth of books but I obviously only have 1 bookshelf so unfortunately some books are being left out for now. Okay, so that's my bookcase to the left, it's the Gersby bookshelf from IKEA, only £17. It has 5 shelves and because I'm really quite OCD I've organised each section by book.

So for the first section, the top and most important section I have some of my fandom related books, here I keep some of my favourites. As you can see I have organised them by size so I start with the biggest which is The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle which I got in 2013. I've read the whole book around 3 times and I love it. Next I start with the Harry Potter series going from 7-1, because of size. Obviously Harry Potter would be there somewhere, he's the boy who lived for heaven's sake! Next to all the Harry Potters I have The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy... such as nerd I know. I love that series because I tend to use reading as a means of escape if I'm stressed or something and the whole fantasy genre really just takes me away. Right, that's it for the books on the top shelf because I like to keep the Harry Potter and LOTR DVDs up there with the books too, so I won't lost them mainly. 

The second shelf is home to some of my favourite books and authors. This shelf I like to call my snuggle shelf, and I call it a snuggle shelf because I will always go there when I'm having a snuggly night in or I'm in a snuggly mood. On here I have books by Dawn French (a fabulous writer and a great actress!) I love her books because she writes with a funny but oddball view of the world and I always giggle when I'm reading them. I also have books by Danielle Steel and Pamela Evans, two of my absolute favourite writers both of these write really heartwarming and generally "happy ending" type books, the kind of books that would be chick flicks if they were movies. I love a good chick flick but there's nothing better than a god book like a chick flick. Here I also have books such as P.S. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern and a few others by her, I adore her writing and my favourite of hers is definitely 'The Time of My Life'. I have 'Becoming a Midwife in the 21st Century on here too, mainly because I'm really interested in Midwifery and it's definitely a career option to consider. Finally, I have Lost Christmas by David Logan here which is a book I've read every single year for the past 3 years every Christmas. I adore it and I'm so glad it was bought for me as a present because its bloody wonderful. I highly recommend it to those of you who haven't read it. 

Now, although I said my bookshelf has 5 shelves I only use 3 because the last two are really too unstable for the weight of books so usually I'll put the odd DVD on there until it's fixed and I can put books there. So, this is the final section and it's my horror/classics section. I'm a bit of a horror nut too when it comes to books, I despise horror movies unless they're horror comedy types, but I love getting scared by a good book, as you can probably tell from the picture I am a sucker for a good Stephen King book, my all time favourite being 'Salem's Lot' (I had nightmares for a good while after reading that). Other books of King's I have include Misery, The Shining, Carrie and a collection of his short stories. I also have The Mall and The Ward by S.L. Grey, these are probably the most effed up books I've ever read but if you're looking for psychological type thriller/horror books definitely go for those because they are brilliant books. Here I have classic books too such as To Kill a Mockingbird, a favourite book of mine on one story that I really will treasure for the rest of my life; Frankenstein, complete world of Charles Dickens, Jayne Ayre and Dr, Jeckyl and Mr Hyde are also on my classic/horror section. I love a good classic. You can clearly see I have a few other books on there that I've just laid on top of others, I had no room left. These include The Fault in Our Stars, An Abundance of Katherines (hehe my name) both by John Green and I also have 'How to Be a Woman' by Catlin Moran, if it was appropriate I would push this book in everyone's face if you haven't read it because it's such a blunt and sarcastically funny view on the difficulties women (and sometimes in the book, men) face throughout their lives, I'd recommend this book to any body interested in Feminism because it's awesome. 
Well, there you have it, thats everything I've got on my bookshelf at the moment, hopefully I'll be able to do another similar post once I get the room decorated and I get myself few more bookshelves. I hope you all enjoyed that and let me know some of your favourite books in the comments!


Love Katherine. X

The Harry Potter Tag!

Hi All!

Again I'm pushed for time when posting this week and I usually find that tags are the quickest posts for me to do in this situation so I'm doing the Harry Potter Tag today. For those of you who've read my post "My Experience at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour" you'll know how much I love Harry Potter and how influential and supportive these books have been to me, I found this tag floating around and I can't remember where and it seemed like a fab post idea. So, let's get right down to it!

Favourite Movie?

My favourite movie is definitely Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the whole movie is a mess of emotions and I love it when Fred and George prematurely age, I find it hilarious. 

Favourite Book?

My favourite book has got to be Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It might be cliché but I love the first book because you get to experience everything along with Harry for the first time... even if you read it 100 times over!

Parts of the movie/books that made you cry?

Two words that apply to both books and movies... Dobby's death.

If you could hook up with any HP character, who would it be?

Definitely Fred or Georgr Weasley, I love a guy who can have a laugh. I also like men with ambition so definitely one of those two. Plus I'd want a Weasley jumper.

Favourite Character?

I've never thought about this for a long time before but this question made me think and I'd probably have to say Hermione Granger and I think that's because I relate so much to her. I've ran myself into the ground because of school work and I also have a thing for redheads, also I adore how passionate and driven Hermione is about so many things. I always thought her of a love/hate her kinda character.

What would you Patronus be?

A tiny little scottie dog. My nana adores scottie dogs and so do I and i'd love to have a weeny little dog protecting me from Dementors. 

If you could have the ressuraction stone, invisibility cloak or elder wand, which would you choose?

Easy, invisibility cloak. Predominately I want the cloak so I can put it over myself when I'm driving and really freak people out. I'd use it to sneak into libraries too and just sit there all day reading. 

What house would you be in?

On Pottermore I was given the household of Slytherin however, I personally think I'd suit Hufflepuff mainly because I'm so helpful, although I can be quite sly and cunning so maybe Slytherin would suit too. I'd like to be in Ravenclaw but I'm not clever enough ha.

If you could meet any member of the cast, who would it be?

I think Emma Watson is such an amazing role model and all round fabulous person so I would absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE IT if I could meet Emma Watson!

Have you played any of the video games?

I have played the first and second Play Station one games and I think they're so good! If I had a playstation one now I would definitely be playing it today. 

If you were on the Quidditch team, what position would you play?

Keeper because I'm fab when I'm in goal or in any sport where you need to stop the other team scoring. Definitely not seeker, my attention span and eyesight work against me when it comes to that. 

Were you happy with the ending?

Yes absolutely. I was so happy when I realised all was going to end in a very happy place, I couldn't imagine Harry Potter with a different ending. 

How much does Harry Potter mean to you?

This series means the world to me as I use this series as an escape, somewhere I can go to relax, have a break and experience magic and wonder all in my bedroom. I love Harry Potter so much!

Love Katherine. X

My Experience at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour!

Hi All!

I have mentioned in a previous post, regarding my love of Christmas I believe, that I consider myself a fan of a number of things; the television shows and books that I read and watch tend to be the only things that keep me sane what with the copious amounts of work I get from Sixth Form and living with a rather strange but very loveable family as mine is. I tend to gravitate towards fictional shows and books such as Lord of the Rings, Doctor Who, Sherlock, The Walking Dead Harry Potter. I absolutely adore the Harry Potter books and movies which have provided me with years of entertainment, no matter how many times I re-read/watched them all; I am ashamed to admit that I watched the movies first because I thought the books would be... wait for it... BORING! Now I've never claimed that I knew what I was talking about all of the time because in this case I certainly didn't, I read the books for the first time early 2012 and, as previously mentioned, fell in love with the characters and their fascinating stories and world. After finishing the first book I was definitely hooked and I've been a massive fan ever since. I had always wanted to go to and see where the films had been made and I am lucky enough to live quite close to Durham Cathedral and when the second movie 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' was being made I visited the Cathedral the same day that Daniel Radcliffe was on the scene. Alas, I didn't get close enough to see the boy who, at that point, I had decided was destined to be my husband who didn't know it yet; however I was lucky enough to see that the "blood" writing was still on the walls, you know that part "The chamber of secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir beware"? Yeah I was over the moon at that. It was in late May 2012 after I'd finished my last GCSE exam that my Mam said she was taking me for a surprise and to pack an overnight bag. I later learned that I was on my way to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour... WHERE HARRY POTTER WAS FILMED!! Oh my days! I was so excited I practically burst my own eardrums from screaming!

When we arrived after getting lost and driving around aimlessly for hours on end I could not be contained, I practically dragged my parents into the main building. Immediately I was surrounded by my favourite childhood characters such as young Ron Weasley, young Harry and Hermione and some not to loved characters *cough* Voldemort *cough*. After getting our tickets stamped and sent on our way we were led into a big movie theatre where we watched the cast welcome us all to what had been their world for 10 years; when we exited the theatre I was awestruck as I wandered into the great hall, sat on the tabled where the cast had sat as their wizarding alter egos for many, many years... I loved it!

We gradually made our way around the titanic excuse for a building being able to see things I never dreamed I would see such as the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore's office, Hagrid's hut, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and so much more. It's hard to pinpoint the highlight of the tour when just being there made it one of the best days of my life, I did thoroughly enjoy going into the creature creation section where they held all of the creatures such as a Basilisk skeleton, Aragog the giant Acromantula (which for someone who suffers severe arachnophobia was terrifying!), Inferi and lots of others. Halfway through I got a tap on the shoulder off of my Dad pointing to a bedraggled little house elf saying to me "Look Kate it's Dobby!" I was so disappointed that he had gotten Dobby and Kreacher (and Hagrid and Gwarp) so terribly confused... I thought I had trained him well in Harry Potter trivia. Me any my Mam had a giggle at his cluelessness of characters that took a more back-seated role. Out of the whole day the highlight of the tour came right at the end for me when we walked, with hundreds of other Harry Potter fans who had come along to experience the magic and wonder of the tour, into a dark, almost black room. We then saw the ceiling light up with hundreds of tiny blue and golden lights which illuminated the most magnificent sight I've ever seen in my, albeit short, life... The Hogwarts Castle (as pictured above). It was a phenomenal sight which was greeted to over one hundred fans giving a rousingly enthusiastic round of applause, the placed I had so longed to be in from being a young child I had finally arrived at. It truly was a dream come true and it remains to this day, and I am sure it will in the future, one of the best best experiences of my life and I am so very thankful that I got the opportunity to experience it with many other Potterheads from around the world.

Love Katherine. X