Monday 27 May 2013

Books vs. Kindles


I always found this such a funny argument that comes up all the time. I own both and don't see why people have to have either one or the other! They're both great and I wouldn't want to have to choose between them!

Books
I love the smell and feel of books. There's just something about opening a new book and getting that fresh page smell. The sound of pages turning is also great. I could spend hours in bookshops and I actually ended up using up nearly the whole hour I had in between the train I missed and the next one just browsing the local Waterstones the other day.
The smell of old books is also amazing. I don't even know what it is but the browning pages and musty smell is so nice.
The downside to books is that they are so expensive! However, trawling through sale shelves and secondhand bookshops always produces some hidden gems! Some of my favourite books were found in an amazing secondhand bookshop in Northumberland!

Kindles
The most obvious difference: Kindles are one size and can store thousands of books without changing shape which makes them so much easier to carry around and fit into bags.
The books are cheaper on the kindle and the one I have doesn't have a lighted screen so it's literally an electronic book which is really nice! It's also a really handy feature that you can download a sample of any book then once you've read it, you can buy the book fully!
I also think they're really handy because it is connected to your amazon account and 3G so if you want to buy a book, you can search for it on the kindle shop and download it there and then, then read it straight away without having to go to a shop and buy it, or ordering it and having to wait for days on end for a book you want to read then.
The downsides are that it isn't the real book so you don't get the feel or smell of pages. I also find the more recent versions of kindles that are trying to be cheaper iPads because that isn't what kindles are for! They were designed to be a device that you could store and read books from, not play games! I think the lighting is a good idea but the rest of it is pointless. It defeats the whole point of it being a reading device!

I love them both and they're both good, just at different times and in different situations! I tend to carry them both around in my bag because I tend to have multiple books on the go, normally one actual book and at least one book on my kindle! I don't have a preference particularly but I like having my favourite books in book form; it's just nice to be able to have them there physically.
Tell me your thoughts!
Jess xx

Thursday 23 May 2013

Lazy Day

I found out today is that you can now pin some things straight from another website if you want to! It's actually the most handy little thing EVER. I didn't know you could do this until yesterday because I basically spend my life on my phone and don't use a proper computer very often. It's actually such an awesome feature and it increases my love for Pinterest just a little bit more.
I've been needing a lazy day pretty much since I started revision. Lazy days are the best because it means you can do what you like and just relax. My stress levels have been way over normal or healthy lately so I'm quite glad that I finally get to have a (in my opinion!) well-deserved break. I've spent the day in bed with the laptop browsing Tumblr, Twitter and many other amazing websites. I've read a bit, tidied my room a bit (well overdue), showered and I only really got up (if you can call it that) at 12! It's been so nice to just have a me day. It's also been nice to not have to concentrate on anything in particular and just getting to do what I like, when I like. I've changed my mind about what I want to write for this blog post about 3 times today. I've written half a post, run out of steam and just started again which is actually really nice because I don't have anyone telling me what to write or that I need to write about one thing or another. I can write about what I like and if I change my mind then it doesn't matter! When I tell some people that I write a blog as a break from essay writing and college, they don't understand because surely writing a blog post is just even more writing, right? I find that just writing whatever is in my mind at the time is actually such a relief from writing essays that have structure and go towards a grade. Essays have specific subjects and a question to answer while the only thing a blog post has to do is fit with the title. Even then that's not really a given!
I've run out to say for this post so I'll post again soon!
Jess xx

Wednesday 22 May 2013

I'M BACK!

It's been an entire month since I blogged last time but happily I only have one exam left right at the beginning of June so I can start blogging properly again hopefully! I've missed it so much, my life has been overrun by work, I've had literally no social life up until now! I finished my last exam this side of half term today so I decided to hop on a train after college and travel to Reading where I bought some new nail polish! I bought three bottles of Essie nail polish and let me tell you, it was SO worth it. I bought Tart Deco, Tea and Crumpets and Turquoise et Caicos. They're all such gorgeous colour that are so perfect for summer, whenever it turns up... either way, I love them to pieces. Im currently wearing Tart Deco and it's just amazing! It's a light solid peach colour and I love it! It was so quick to dry and it was really easy to apply with a really small amount of it going on the edge of my fingers which I'm really happy about! I'll definitely be buying more, totally worth the extra few pounds and the colours are amazing!

From Instagram - Tart Deco, Tea & Crumpets (left on right pic) and Turquoise & Caicos (middle on right pic).
How cute are they?!

I also treated myself to a Krispy Kreme doughnut to have on the train home today which was awesome, I had one that had what looks like little pieces of oreo cookie on the top and it's so nice! I've also been meaning to start The Paris Wife for over 6 months now but I've been so busy with college work that I haven't had time! I'm glad to be able to finally have time to be able to read a book that isn't related to college or Ancient Romans/Greeks though! It's a nice change! I've missed reading and I've ended up having to use every spare moment, be that a train journey or 5 minutes before bed, to do a little reading of something completely different from my courses. Over the last month or two, I've been reading The Great Gatsby off my kindle app on my phone and to be honest, I didn't really think it was that great. It might have been because I was having to read it in so many little dispersed bursts that the plot line was lost on me, but I don't really understand why it gets such high praise. It didn't really seem to go anywhere for me and the so-called big secret and mystery of Mr. Gatsby and who he is was quite dull frankly. Maybe I need to re-read it all in one go so it flows better or maybe it just isn't a book that I enjoy. There are plenty of other books out there though so I can live with not liking one!

Yummy doughnut and The Paris Wife; excited to get into it!
Apart from today, nothing interesting has happened in my life in the last month! My exams have been pretty good and I've also had minimal breakdowns which is always a bonus so all in all, it's been an alright month!! I can't wait for exams to be over though so I can get back to doing things I enjoy like blogging!
Talk soon! I have lots of ideas for posts!
Jess xx