A little bit about the page…

Hi there!

My name is Meg and I’m an English graduate from Coventry University, specialising in literature. The main reason that I have created this blog is to share my love of reading and to give you an insight into some of my favourite (and not so favourite) books. I will cover numerous genres, although my favourites genre to read for pleasure would be crime fiction!

As well as writing book reviews I will also be writing about my other interests (I’m very new to this so I haven’t quite decided what to write about yet!) and things that inspire me. I’ll be sharing some of my favourite recipes that I hope you will try at home!

I hope that you enjoy reading my blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it, please contact me regarding any requests or suggestions on book titles to review.

Happy reading!

Meg x

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Review on ‘The Humans’ by Matt Haig

I’m a big fan of Matt Haig’s work and stumbled across this book by accident when a neighbour was having a clear out of his books. Having read and loved ‘The Midnight Library’, I couldn’t wait to read this one!

On first impressions, I found this book to be really amusing. The main plot being the research of humans by an alien life form, in this sense, the humans become the ‘alien’. I don’t tend to read funny books, the only exception being Richard Osman’s novels, so this was a nice change for me. It’s certainly an easy book to read, which is something I tend to look for in any texts I read now as I have quite a busy life which means that more complicated novels can take me a lot longer to read now than they have done before.

Similarly to ‘The Midnight Library’, although less obviously, this book also has a lovely way of making a reader view life differently, with a more positive outlook. The aliens list of 97 lessons he has learnt on earth particularly made me smile. By making humans the research subject, Haig is able to cleverly allow the reader to appreciate the more mundane things that life has to offer, such as music, history and mathematics, that are often taken for granted and lost in the chaos of everyday life.

If I had to recommend either ‘The Humans’ or ‘The Midnight Library’ I would probably recommend the latter just because of how powerful and impactful it was when I first read it. That isn’t to say that this isn’t an excellent book to read and I’ll definitely be on the look out for more of Matt Haig’s works in the future.

Recipe for Caribbean inspired chicken curry

Ingredients

• 8 chicken thighs (or breasts, whichever you prefer)
• 2 limes
• 300ml chicken stock
• Fresh or dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 large potato
• 100g of diced pineapple
• 1tsp rum
• 2 spring onions
• Parsley
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 15g of fresh ginger
• 2 chillies (add more if you prefer hotter food)
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1tsp all spice

Method

• Put the chicken (thighs whole or diced pieces of breast) into a bowl and add the juice of one lime and 100ml of water. Leave for a few minutes.
• Chop (and peel the onion, garlic and ginger) the onion, garlic, ginger, chillies into small pieces.
• Add the onion, garlic, ginger, chillies in a food processor with the curry powder, all spice and a tbsp of water and blitz until smooth.
• Heat a tbsp of oil in casserole dish (that is safe for use on the hob) on a medium heat. Add the paste and cook out for a few minutes, whilst constantly stirring.
• Add the chicken to the dish and season with salt and pepper.
• Stir, add the chicken stock, thyme and bay leaves and bring to the boil.
• Turn down the heat to a gentle simmer and cover, leaving to cook for around 45 minutes.
• Peel and chop both types of potatoes into chunks and add to the dish with the pineapple, cover and cook for a further 30 minutes.
• Add the juice of the second lime, the teaspoon of rum and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes so that the sauce can reduce.
• Chop the spring onion.
• To serve, sprinkle the spring onions and parsley over the top of the curry!

Review on ‘The Midnight Library’ by Matt Haig

I’ve just finished this book and it was honestly so beautiful. The way that Matt Haig writes this makes it so relatable, I think to most readers! It’s an easy read and I just couldn’t put it down. There are so many powerful quotes and messages scattered throughout this book, so much so that I think anyone struggling right now should give it a read.

There are fantastical elements to this book (unless you believe in things such as near death experiences), which aren’t normally my go to, but the way that the author uses them to discuss the ‘meaning of life’ is so clever and thoughtful. Nora Seed, the main character, is introduced as a ‘messy’ person who has completely given up with all aspects of life and who views herself as a failure. She takes the decision to end her life, and is transported to the ‘Midnight Library’.

In The Midnight Library, a space between life and death, Nora is forced to confront all of her regrets, which form one large and heavy book. She is able to alter the decisions that she regrets, which, in turn, alter the life she lives. Each life that she is transported to is hers, if she had made different decisions in her actual life. Some of the lives she experiences are good, some bad and many a bit of both. In each life she is able to learn and appreciate decisions that she has made, which really make you consider your own life.

The overall message, I think, that Haig portrays is that life is messy and humans make bad choices. This being said, every single life is messy and every single person makes bad choices, whether this be a millionaire rockstar or a volunteer at a charity. If we take time to appreciate all of the good that we do, all that everyone around us loves and appreciates us for, then we’ll slowly realise the differences that we do make, big or small. Our decisions change the way our lives pan out, but they also change other people’s lives too, people we all care about. Everyone matters and as much as there are negatives in life, there are also so many positives!

This is such a lovely book and is one I’ll definitely re-read!

Happy reading!

Meg x

Recipe for risotto

Ingredients

• Risotto rice (arborio rice)
• Half a white onion
• 1 tbsp of butter
• One stock cube (whichever flavour you prefer, I normally use chicken)
• A cup of white wine
• Juice of one lemon
• Dried or fresh oregano
• Peas (optional)
• Trout (optional)
• Chilli (optional)
• Spring onion (optional)

Method

• Heat the butter in a pan and fry the onion and then add the risotto rice (the packet should give you measurements) for a couple of minutes. The rice shouldn’t change colour.
• Add a cup of wine and cook down until the liquid has been absorbed.
• Make up about 600ml of your chosen flavour of stock.
• Add a ladle of stock at a time to the risotto and cook down each time until the liquid has been absorbed, add the peas.
• If you’re making the chilli trout version you can begin to fry the trout in a pan in a bit of olive oil with the chilli and spring onion, do this for about 5 minutes and an extra five with a lid on so the steam cooks the fish thoroughly.
• When the risotto is cooked it should be soft but have a slight bite, it will take around 15 minutes.
• Stir in the oregano or your choice of herbs and squeeze some lemon!

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

I studied Hamlet at University but have always had a love for Shakespeare since being very young and taking trips to Stratford Upon Avon with my grandparents as a child. I think Shakespeare scares a lot of people as the language can be complicated so readers are easy to give up and read something a little more understandable.

I think that once you spend a little more time understanding and reading Shakespeare, it becomes so much more easy to understand and some of the stories and poetry involved in his work is really impressive and admirable. A lot of written versions of his plays actually have modern day translations of certain words that allow the reader to really grasp what they are reading, these are super helpful!

Hamlet is a play that focuses upon the title character after the murder of his father. The ghost of Hamlet’s father visits him and demands that he avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlets uncle. Hamlet goes (or pretends to go) mad and plots his revenge. Whilst this is occurring, a love interest interprets Hamlets behaviour as strange and the entire plot ends in death, remorse and tragedy. Shakespeare’s tragedy’s all include a really high level of drama which makes them really interesting and page turning! Shakespeare’s tragedy’s are always exiting and full of lots of different plots (see my dissertation post for a bit more information!).

If you don’t feel up to reading a Shakespearean play just yet, there are so many different movie adaptations that really capture the plays well! The ‘Hamlet’ movie staring Mel Gibson is a really good example of a movie that translates the play really well into film. Other movies that are adaptations of Shakespeare plays include Romeo and Juliet and 10 things I Hate about You (loosely based on The Taming of the Shrew).

I’m hoping to write a bit more about different Shakespeare plays to try to promote the work of the playwright as I think it’s super overlooked! A good starting point would definitely be his tragedy’s as they are full of twists, turns and suspense and have all the drama!

Happy reading!

Meg x

Review of ‘Shades of Secrets: Behind the Wall’ by Harris Kloe

This is a review that was requested by the author via my site, I’m always more than happy to read books from new and upcoming authors and offer any help I can in the form of feedback or reviews!

This is a short suspense story that is available on Amazon from the 6th of June 2021.

I did enjoy reading this, it was a really well written story that was full of suspense from the very start. I think it’s clever how the author managed to cram a full plot into such a short space. The ‘true crime’ feel of the text is something that I think a lot of people would enjoy! It definitely gave me ‘Cecil Hotel’ vibes!

The format of the story, it being so short, is something I haven’t really come across before. I think this type of text would be really useful for people who perhaps don’t have much time for reading, it only took me around 20 minutes to finish the book properly. This being said, and this is nothing against the story itself, I think I prefer the more classic novel layout with a longer and more complicated plot. However, I think that the author could easily translate this story (or one similar) into a novel so this is definitely something I’d be interested in reading in the future!

I’d like to say a huge thank you to the authors who have been kind enough to read my blog and contact me regarding reviews. I am very appreciative of the support and praise of my blog posts and hope that I can generate some form of readership from my reviews in return!

Happy reading!

Meg x

Review on ‘the Scarlet letter’ by Nathaniel Hawthorne

I read this novel a few years ago as a friend had recommended it and I loved it that much I decided to write my A Level English coursework around it. It’s a classic novel that is definitely a part of my ‘must read’ list! It’s a romance novel with an historical twist as it is set in Puritan times, exploring elements of religion and the impact of this on beliefs within societies.

The main character, Hester Prynne is introduced through her punishment of public humiliation after an act of adultery that has resulted in the birth of a child by an unknown father. This, obviously, severely angers those in the town in which she lived, especially other women who appear to be jealous of how Hester remains calm and dignified throughout her punishment.

Hesters husbands, returning from overseas, becomes enraged at this discovery and vows to seek revenge against the man who has fathered the child. Hester keeps her secret and refuses to tell anyone who the father is. The novel follows her and her daughter’s lives as they become outcasts of the town and are branded as troublesome women. As the story progresses, it follows the theme of guilt and consciousness as the father of the child reveals himself.

The way in which Hawthorne explores how the actions of men and women have had effects upon both, more negatively upon women within society is really interesting when the context of the book is taken into consideration. Hester is the one that is shunned and she remains dignified throughout whereas her husband, Chillingworth, is the one who acts base and ungentlemanly.

An old fashioned Eastenders type story, this novel is full of drama and twists and turns but still has all the aspects of a classic piece of literature. I’d really recommend reading this, it’s an amazing piece of literature that is thought provoking and is full of symbolism.

Happy reading!

Meg x

Trip to Rome (2017)

Rome has got to be one of the best cities that I’ve visited and I’d love to go back there one day! We went in the September and it was really warm and sunny, we did tonnes of sight seeing and walking but still didn’t manage to see everything to city has to offer!

My second favourite subject at school, behind English, was History, so all of course, I was completely in my element as Rome is a city that is rich with History. We visited many of the main sites including; the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, The Vatican, the Capuchin Crypt, the Piazza Navona, Pantheon, the Torre Argentina cat Sanctuary, and the Forum. It’s such a beautiful city and it’s really amazing how old some of the buildings are, especially once you do a little bit of research about their significance!

Of course, everyone loves Italian food and the pasta and pizza over there was absolutely beautiful! I also tried some Italian Gelato and it was the best ice cream I’ve ever had (I’d go back just for more gelato!). I’ve always enjoyed cooking Italian food and chose Italy as the country to base my technical exam on in GCSE food technology, so trying real Italian food was something I’ve always wanted to do and it definitely didn’t disappoint!

I’m definitely planning on going back here…here’s some photos of the trip!

Recipe for Singapore noodles

Ingredients (feeds two)

• Two nests of dried noodles
• Vegetable oil
• One onion
• One pepper
• Two spring onions
• One small carrot
• Two cloves of garlic
• One tbsp of curry powder
• two eggs
• A splash of light soy sauce
• Sugar

Method

• Cook the noodles according to the packet (usually by boiling) and leave to one side.
• Chop all of the vegetables into strips, ready for frying.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onions until soft.
• Add the pepper, spring onions, garlic, and curry powder and fry. If you feel like it’s too dry and sticking to the pan, add a splash of water.
• Push the vegetables to one side and add the eggs, mixing on the clear side of the pan until scrambled.
• Mix the egg into the vegetables
• Add the soy sauce and sugar to the mix, followed by the cooked noodles and stir fry until all mixed together.
• You can add a little more water if you need a bit more sauce.
• You can add chilli to this if you’d like it spicier or even bulk it up with shredded chicken or strips of stir fry steak!
• Serve and enjoy.

Review of ‘Cold Wallet’ by Rosy Fenwicke

This is a direct submission via my Reedsy Discovery reviewer page. I love reading books from new and upcoming authors, being able to offer a little bit of support and feedback to authors is something that I’m always really pleased to do! I’ve discovered so many amazing books that I probably wouldn’t have come across before I began reviewing!

This book follows the story of the recently widowed Jess, who is attempting to grasp the new role that she has been given as owner of her deceased husbands company. With very little knowledge surrounding the area of cryptocurrency, Jess is forced to seek the help of Henry, her husbands best friend. Henry is publicly distrusting of Jess and is a ruthless and misogynistic figure, who Jess herself dislikes. After secrets about her past get released to the press and Jess begins to become disturbed by Henry’s behaviour, she realised that her only means of saving her life and reputation may exist in the ‘Cold Wallet’, an encrypted file that she can’t access or even knows the passwords for.

The way in which the author portrays the ruthless, masculine dominated world of cryptocurrency is fascinating and is one of the ways in which the author allows her reader to really root for the female protagonist. The realistic nature of the plot, both in terms of the modern world in which it is set and the types of characters that are portrayed, is something that I really enjoyed. I picked up on several feminist readings, which I always admire in literature. There are many ways in which the author forces the reader to decipher Henry’s motives, moving back and forth between different possible outcomes. 

I enjoyed reading this book, it was action packed from the start and I really connected with the main character. I’d recommended this book to anyone who is interested in business and the area of cryptocurrency, any feminist readers and, of course, lovers of the thriller genre.