9 New Things in March

So its the 9th of March and  I'm going to post about 9 new things I've tried/discovered so far this month. So in no particular order....

1) Kendrick Lamar Released an album and it's great, because well, it's Kendrick.
I know everyone waxes lyrical about how great Kendrick is but it really is with reason, he seems to have solid release after solid release. I wasn't expecting him to release these songs as I'd previously read that the tracks on this album were written purely for him to perform as one offs and they wouldn't be appearing on an album. Then on Friday to my surprise 'Untitled Unmastered' was released.

2) I started watching a new series called Love on Netflix.
My home girl Hannah recommended this one and it's great, cheers if you're reading this Hannah! I'm 5 episodes in already, it just makes such easy viewing (EDIT: Since starting this post I have now finished season 1 and I loved all of it!). Often I pick things to watch that are pretty heavy going so this kind of programme makes a nice change. That doesn't mean to say its all fluff, its a light hearted comedic look at the love lives of two single people in their 30s - a guy and a girl so both gender perspectives are explored but it's done with witty cynicism and I've found it really relate-able so far.

3) Discovering the Booktuber community.
I'd always been aware that there was a fairly big community of people reviewing and discussing books on Youtube but I'd never really delved into it until this week. Well I was looking for something to motivate me to read a bunch of books that have been gathering dust on my shelves for months or even years in some cases and I think I've found just the thing. There are some really brilliant Youtuber's putting out interesting content about their favourite literature on Youtube and it's really inspired me not only to read again but also to widen my reading choices, I might write a separate post on this.

4) I started reading 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'
So following in from the Booktuber thing.. I started reading a new book. I'm part the way through lots of books at the moment so it probably would have been wiser to have continued with one of them but I really wanted to start this one. I was bought it last year and I knew I'd probably love it from the get go because a) its a Dystopian novel and b) it's the book that inspired the film Blade Runner, which is one of my favourite Sci-Fi films so expectations were high. So far so good, I'll keep you posted on this one.

5) I discovered a new restaurant for Thai food in Manchester and it was delicious.
So Thai is probably one of my favourite cuisines so I'm always up for trying new Thai places. Busaba is situated just outside the Printworks in Manchester, the décor inside was really nice my only bugbear is the fact that all the tables were reallyyyy close to one another and I've never been a fan of the communal eating thing, Wagamama style, I mean we weren't on the same table but we were close enough. The food was delicious and super reasonably priced- a starter and main for £13. I'll definitely be going back soon.

6) Wandered around South Manchester's very own 'secret garden'.
As far as I know I've never been to Walkden Gardens in Sale (South Manchester) despite it being within a few miles from where I live and I was pleasantly surprised. This place reminds me of a book from my childhood 'The Secret Garden', it's made up of lots of little sections and parts to discover. There's a Japanese section, a beautiful archway, a theatre lawn.. I loved wandering round it like a maze and I know come Spring I'll definitely be going back when all the flowers have bloomed.

7) I did some Vegan baking.
So for Mother's day I wanted to try my hand at baking something for my Mum and seen as I've given up dairy for the foreseeable future I turned to the world of Vegan food blogs/articles for inspiration and I found a delicious looking chocolate and pecan tart. I'm really happy with how it turned out and due to replacing ingredients like butter with creamy avocado mash it also makes it a slightly healthier version of a traditional dessert. I'm definitely going to look into more Vegan baking.

8) I tried to find dairy alternatives for things I love.
So I love chocolate milk/milkshake and I often get cravings for it when I'm out and I want to indulge in something on the go. I decided to buy the small carton packs of Alpro Chocolate Soya and meh it's not the same, it's not bad at all but it kind of tastes like when Nesquik mixes with milk, I know that's a very specific comparison but I used to love that stuff when I was in school. Not the indulgent chocolate taste I was looking for though, so if anyone knows a good dairy free chocolate milk Hollaaa, or any good dairy alternatives for that matter.

9) I rediscovered Shura's music.
So this isn't something new but it's a rediscovery and I thought worth mentioning. I used to listen to this girls music a year back when the song 2shy was released in the Spring and became the perfect addition to a chilled Summer playlist. If you've not listened to her music before I'll pop a couple of videos clips of her music below for you to check out, if you're into dreamy 80's inspired synth pop this may be someone to keep on your radar.

I Should Read More.

As the title suggests, I've come to the realisation over the last few days that I not only feel like I should but I actually really do want to make the effort to read more. I've discovered the world of Booktubers, which for those of you who are not familiar with the term is basically people who love books, talking about them on YouTube. Simple as that. I started watching one and then found myself binge watching a few and becoming transfixed with how eloquent and charming this collective of YouTubers are. From there I then began adding book after book to my Amazon wishlist and being reminded about fantastic books I also already own but haven't touched in years. The books on my book shelf have well and truly been gathering dust over the last decade and I'm ashamed to say I can probably count on one hand the amount of books I've read in the past couple of years. The thing is I have a habit of starting books reading a chapter and then forgetting about them, I've not shown any type of commitment to reading because in a way I began to view reading as a chore. I knew that once I loved a book and really got stuck into one, then I would remember what was so great about reading, but unfortunately I've gotten lazy and my attention span seems to be shrinking. I don't want to view reading like this though, I want to take great pleasure in picking a book up, I want to read a few chapters and not want to put it down and then be itching to get back to the book whenever I get a moment to. I want to feel enriched by a story in the same way that the wonderful Booktubers I've discovered are. I'm going to try and re-spark that love for literature and reading and so I've got a few books I've decided to start off my reading journey with in March. They are as follows and in no particular order...

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

I know this one will be tough going with the protagonist being a 37 year old man who becomes sexually obsessed with a 12 year old girl. Although this book obviously harbours a lot of controversy it is also considered to be one of the greatest literature triumphs of the 20th Century. I've heard it's beautifully written and I'm looking forward to finding out why it has garnered such high acclaim.

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli

I want to dip my toes into the world of science and this seems like a good place to start. I think I need to do a bit more reading before I can even think about tackling Stephen Hawking's infamous A Brief History of Time, a friend warned me it's super heavy going, so it's going on my list for the future for now. Carlo Rovelli's book was published last year and received a spectacular response from critics. So apparently by the time I've finished this I should have some understanding of  Einstein's theory of general relativity, quantum mechanics, black holes, the complex architecture of the universe, elementary particles, gravity, and the nature of the mind  (here's hoping!!) .

The Art of Asking: How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer

I'm not a Dresden Dolls fan per say (Amanda is the singer of said band and one half of the duo) so this one hasn't peeked my interest from a fan point of view. I saw a review of this one on a BookTuber's channel and it just sounds wonderful and exactly the kind of read I need. Caitlin Moran said of it 'Amanda Palmer joyfully shows a generation how to change their lives' which is a rather bold statement so I'm looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about with this one.

The Outsiders by S.E Hinton

As you might have gathered if you read my last post, I love a good coming of age tale and this one comes highly recommended on lots of book lists. Hinton wrote this when she was just 17 and it was first published in 1967, there appears to be an 80's adaptation of it but I've not seen it. The book follows a teen gang 'the Greasers' in rural Oklahoma and the consequences of a violent brawl with a rival local gang. 

I think 4 books will probably be enough for now, I tried to make them varied so that I don't lose interest in reading and keeping this up. Like I said earlier I don't want this to be a chore in anyway, it has to be something I want to do for enjoyment, so here's hoping I keep it up and get into the swing of picking up books again. Watch out for more book posts in this space, I'm really looking forward to getting round to some of the others I have on my list too!