Bonjour,

A few weeks ago I started making a series of polaroid sets on Polyvore, each featuring one of my favourite music artists. I posted a few here, but since then I've published a lot more and made them into a collection, which I thought I'd share the best of here on my blog too.

The process is a simple one: I simply find a photo of the intended artist, choose a polaroid frame from the ones I have saved along with a background, and then proceed to embellish with fillers which suit the theme of the set. I had a lot of fun making these, as it was nice to let the creative juices flow and not always stick to my usual 'template'.

I thought I'd start off with my pencil case and its contents. The case itself is from Asda and cost about £3, I love it because it's simple but timeless, and perhaps more importantly it's sturdy, stays upright and doesn't spill pens everywhere like some others I've had. Inside I keep a ruler, a couple of pencils, a compass (actually my mum's from when she was at school, I find it works better than any modern plastic ones), a four-colour Bic, a highlighter, a couple of pens, a black double-ended felt tip for doodling, Tippex, scissors, a rubber and a pencil sharpener. I also have a flat hole punch (at the back), which is a super cool gadget that comes in handy when we get sheets handed out and I want to file mine away quickly. I always carry a lipbalm too - this one is the watermelon one from H&M.

Next up is a very technical piece of kit: this is my TI-nspire with its case. It's basically a really fancy calculator which does graphs and spreadsheets and all sorts of complicated things I never use it for. We had to buy them a few years ago, and we actually use them in the calculator part of our Maths exams, and in things like Chemistry, Physics and Geography. It weighs a ton and takes hours (sometimes days) to charge up, so it's not exactly an easy calculator to use, but we have to have them and cart them around all the time.

The folder on the left I carry literally everywhere with me at school. Rather than taking a whole folder home just for the sake of one piece of paper I need for homework, I put the sheet I need in here, along with anything other odd bits of paper. It's also got spare sheets of lined, squared and plain paper, just in case. The other thing is a set of lined double sheets we need for French tests - typically very specific and difficult to find.

These Atoma notebooks are the kind everyone uses at my school, and they actually originate in Belgium, which is fitting. They're great because you can take sheets out and put them back in in different places, but they're also usually really expensive, depending where you buy them - these particular ones cost €6.99 each in AVA! I'm going to use these for History, Biology and Maths.

I also tend to use these thin folder to put handouts in for certain subjects, namely Maths, Geography and Biology. I put dividers in nearly every folder, as they're so useful for keeping things organised.

These days I use folders more than I used to. I'll keep one of these at home to decant Maths handouts into when we've finished that topic, and the others will be used for French, Dutch and Philosophy.

These white folders (also from AVA) are my absolute favourites, because they have a clear plastic pocket at the front which means I can easily personalise them with a cover, which can then be swapped over if needed. The English one is recycled from last year, but I did the App English (basically the advanced course option I take alongside the main course) cover the other day. I just took a sheet of coloured paper for the background, stencilled the letters onto white card with a black pen and mounted that on a border. Here's a close up of each:

This is a little notebook I use to write down what work I have to do that day when I get in from school. I also have an agenda which I carry around with me at school and write down my homework in, but I use the notebook to write down ongoing things as well, such as studying for tests and other pieces of long term work I should be doing too. I start a new page each day, and write down every last thing I have to do, which often means rewriting stuff for a few days. It might seem a little over the top, but this way I never miss anything and I never have the awful feeling of walking into a class and realising I've totally forgotten about the day's homework. The other agenda I use I get given by my school in the first few days, so I can't show it here.

This is the bag I use for school. I know it's technically a handbag, but very few people use actual rucksacks at my school, especially in the upper years of secondary. It's obviously too small to put any books in, so I carry those instead. It contains my pencil case, agenda, purse, a bottle of water, fancy calculator, keys, USB stick, and usually a comb, compact mirror and extra lipbalm.

First up is Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane. The theme for our English course this year and last year is 'family and community ties', and this fits inside that box nicely. It's set in Northern Ireland during the 1940s and 50s, and chronicles the childhood of a young boy growing up in post-war Derry, including the tensions in a city divided by religious and political conflict. Interwoven into the story is a family secret which is darker and more complex than the boy could ever have guessed, and the story of how he gradually uncovers it and deals with the realisation. It is structured into three parts, each with two chapters, and each chapter is divided into titled sub sections such as 'Grandfather' and 'American Cities'.

I had high hopes for this from all the glowing reviews on the back cover, describing it as "the work of a master story-teller" and "almost impossible to put down", but somehow it never clicked with me. This may have been because I started it, read a chapter and then went on a five day residential course where I didn't read any of it, so when I got back I was totally lost and decided to start again from the beginning. Despite this slightly shaky start, there were moments where I was hooked on the poetic prose and in particular a section of a chapter describing a Maths lesson in 195,  in which the witty and inventive dialogue glued me to the page. Sadly however, that proved to be the highlight of the book for me, and the rest was decidedly depressing and difficult to follow. I'm also not too knowledgeable when it comes to the history of Northern Ireland, and I think a sounder background of that would have helped considerably with my understanding of the political side of the novel, which the story is very much structured around.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

If I thought Reading in the Dark had glowing reviews, that was nothing compared to A Thousand Splendid Suns. It's described as "a triumph", "vivid and compelling", "a beautifully crafted and disturbing story", and "a harrowing yet ultimately uplifting tale of physical and psychological violence", and I can safely say it deserves all that praise and more.

Set in Afghanistan, the story begins in 1964 and ends in 2003, spanning some of the country's most turbulent years. In Part One, the main character is Mariam, the daughter of a rich man from Herat, the third largest city in Afghanistan, and his ex-housekeeper, both of whom now live in a tiny house on the outskirts of the city. Mariam idolises her father, and waits eagerly for his weekly visits, but as she gets older her curiosity about the city and the rest of her father's legitimate family grows, and eventually she makes the trip into Herat. From there the truth about her father's love for her is revealed, and after her mother's death she finds herself married off to a man 30 years older than her and sent hundreds of miles away to live with him. In Part Two another character is introduced, Laila, and her chapters alternate with Mariam's until they finally meet when Laila's family is killed in a bomb explosion. From then on a friendship grows between them, and thrives throughout the Taliban's regime despite the daily struggle against starvation, brutality and fear.

I didn't expect to enjoy this book, far less get emotionally attached to any characters. This is largely because I read Khaled Hosseini's first novel The Kite Runner a few years ago and absolutely hated it, to the point where I didn't even finish it, and expected more of the same from this. But while books should never be judged by their covers, it's equally risky to judge them by their predecessors, as I found myself both furiously turning the pages of A Thousand Splendid Suns, and feeling utterly overwhelmed by the time I reached the final page. It's hard to do this novel justice with words, as there is little anyone can say to impart the enormity of the suffering Afghan women endured throughout these years, which is crystallised so realistically in Mariam and Laila. Any potential readers should be warned that there are more than a few scenes of violence, domestic or otherwise, including bombings and beatings, but equally there are beautiful moments of love and hope, all culminating in an immensely powerful story.

Het Achterhuis (The Annex) is a book I'll actually be reading in Dutch this year, but anyone reading this will probably know it better as The Diary of a Young Girl. I won't be giving a plot summary or anything for this book, because if you don't know the story I don't know where you've been since the English translation version appeared in 1952.

I read the English version years ago, and have done again many times since, and it was with much excitement that I realised I'd be reading Anne Frank's diary in the original untranslated Dutch. So I thought I'd give it a go and at least get an idea for the level of difficulty I'll have to cope with, as although I've been learning Dutch for 5 years Anne uses colloquialisms and obviously her diary deals with a lot of complicated topics. The verdict? It's tough going, and although I usually get the gist of what she's saying, it helps immensely to know the story well in the first place - a few times I've actually had to get the English version out and skim over an entry after reading the Dutch, just to make sure I got it all. All this means it's taking me a while to read, and I doubt very much that I'll get all the way to the end before I admit defeat for the time being, although obviously I'll have to read it at some point. I would plough on, except I have the rest of my English books to get through this summer and not all that much time to do it in.

But more interestingly, I was fascinated to identify the differences between the two texts, which are easy enough to spot when they're both open side by side. Whole sentences are left out of the English version, and little details like names of streets are changed: for instance, Anne tells us that Betty Bloemendaal "lives on an obscure street in West Amsterdam, and none of us knows where it is", while in the Dutch version the street is given as "Jan Klansenstraat". Admittedly it's not a hugely significant difference, but that's just one I happened to notice in the first few entries, and who knows what other variations there are in the rest of the book.

That's all for now,

x

Bonjour, 

This is the second part in my series of posts about the clothing website Dolls Kill. In the first post, I featured my favourite tops, bottoms and jackets from the site, and today I'm going to be sharing the shoes I would absolutely love to own. I love how quirky and unique they all are - let me know if you would wear/buy any of these!

Iron Fist Bun N Roses Oxford - $50

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I love anything with a collar, and I thought this would be lovely tucked into a high waisted skirt in the winter.

Just a simple yet versatile tank top, I love the nautical print.

This dress looks much nicer on than in the photo, it's knee length and quite tight and clingy. I adore the crazy graffiti print! I think it lends itself to being dressed up with a pair of black heels and a black bag, but it could look equally nice with say black jelly shoes.

Jacket - Matalan, £10

I've never been a great one for wearing jackets, as I tend to go from cardigans to thick winter coats, usually in the space of a week - but I decided this one was just too gorgeous (and affordable) to pass up. It was reduced from £24 to an absolute bargain of £10. I love the zip and pocket detailing, and I hope I'll get a decent amount of wear out of this.

These shorts have so much material in them they actually feel and look like a skirt. I think they'll be perfect for the beach and just general hot weather as they're so floaty and breezy.

You can never have too many flowery skirts in my opinion, and in actual fact I don't own that many so I just had to pick this one up. The price was also a pleasant surprise!

I actually picked up this bikini totally separately from the flipflops, and it was only when I got home that I realised they were supposed to match. I really love the high-waisted bottoms and the nautical details.

This was possibly my favourite purchase of all. Scrunchies always remind me of when I was little, and I'm so happy to see them in the shops again. These ones are pretty big, the perfect size for putting round a bun, and best of all in fabulous metallic colours! I thought £10 was slightly on the pricey side for three, but they were sold individually as well for £5 each, so in retrospect it wasn't too bad.

These shoes proved almost impossible to photograph, so I managed to find a picture online. These were reduced from £35 to £10.50, and I just love how quirky yet simple and comfortable they are.

Maybe this doesn't quite come under accessories, but I adore this folder so much I had to include it here. It's just from WH Smiths, but I seem to have such difficulty finding inexpensive, pretty folders over here in Belgium that I tend to stock up whenever I'm in the UK.

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I came across this series while browsing through Amazon, and I immediately fell in love with the concept: they're the first two in a series of murder mysteries set in rural 1950s England, and the heroine is 11-year-old Flavia de Luce. I also adore the quirky titles!

My Royal Story: Elizabeth by Kathryn Lasky

My Story: Highway Girl by Valerie Wilding

My Story: To Kill a Queen by Valerie Wilding

My Royal Story: Victoria by Anna Kirwan

My Story: Wartime Princess by Valerie Wilding

I read my first My Story book aged 9 when I borrowed one from the school library - it was Bloody Tower by Valerie Wilding, which is set in the 1550s and follows the plots and politics of the Tudor court unfolding through the eyes of a girl living in the Tower of London. I got a box set of 10 the next Christmas, and ever since they have remained firm favourites, thanks to the diary format and uncomplicated way they present historical concepts. They were my very first historical fiction books, and influenced a lot of my love for history today. I decided to get a few more to complete my collection, including To Kill a Queen, which is the sequel to Bloody Tower.

I loved Entangled by Cat Clarke, and Torn has been on my 'to buy' list for years. As you might imagine from the similarity of the covers, Hysteria is a similar kind of genre, and I hope I'll enjoy these a lot.

St Trinians

The St Trinians Collection

And finally some DVDs! Bit of a theme going on, but I was suddenly reminded of the St Trinians (2007) movie, which lead to my discovery of the original films, which date from the 1950s and 60s. I'm not an expert on 'vintage' British comedy but I love the few series I've seen, so I thought I'd push the boat out and get this box set.

And that concludes my book & DVD haul! Hope you enjoyed seeing what I got, I'll have my clothes & accessories haul up soon.

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The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams

I bought The Behaviour of Moths about four months ago at secondhand book sale at school, and promptly forgot about it until I was looking for something to take to read on my travels in the UK last time. To be entirely honest, I first picked it up because I felt the cover told a story which intrigued me, and now I can verify that it does indeed tell a story - of "madness, sibling rivalry and lepidoptera", to quote the Guardian's review. The red house is the crumbling family mansion which forms the setting for Ginny and Vivien Stone's childhood, and in Ginny's case, her lifelong home. The two white silhouettes in front of the house are the two sisters as young girls, a period which Ginny revisits often in her extensive trips down memory lane, and the two figures in the upstairs windows are both Ginny, who has rarely left the house in all her 70-something years, watching the outside world from her various vantage points. The scattering of moths at the bottom are also extremely significant; for generations lepidoptera (the study of moths and butterflies) has been the family expertise, and the novel is awash with information on how best to capture and experiment on the insects. The mark of Poppy Adams' skill as a novelist lies in turning such a topic, thoroughly boring to the vast majority of people, into something if not fascinating, at least of relative interest.

The story is told from Ginny's point of view, aged 72, first as she waits for Vivien to return after not having set foot in the house for 47 years, and then during the first few days of her sister's return. Her presence marks the resurfacing of childhood memories and some darker secrets for Ginny, whose flashbacks and memories of the the younger sister she once adored are interspersed with the reality of the sisters' reunion and Ginny's everyday difficulties due to old age in the present day. Although difficult to slot into a precise genre, the book had the air of a mystery/crime fiction to me, which was helped by Ginny's hazy memory and the persistent questions related to her past which she has never considered, but which spring up in the reader's mind the more we learn about her childhood.

To be honest, I found it difficult to get into this book at first. I read a chapter here and there while I was in the UK with little real enthusiasm for it. But there came a point in story when things started getting somewhat nebulous, which for me sparked a real interest and made me finish the whole thing in an afternoon. It's definitely not a YA novel, and I can imagine few teenagers would enjoy it as much as I did, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone who fancies something different, or has a particular interest in lepidoptera.

Rating: 9/10

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