Books – Lost in the Story

5 Tips for the Dyslexic Reader

Published on December 4, 2022December 5, 2022 by Arabella1 Comment

If you’re not familiar with dyslexia it can be simplified down to difficulties with reading and spelling, although this is reducing a very complex learning difficulty into a few words and by no means does the challenges it creates justice.

Rather surprisingly, about half the people on my degree were dyslexic, myself included. For context I did my undergraduate degree in creative and professional writing, so not the place you’d expect to find a bunch of dyslexic people.

As expected, a degree program with writing in the title also came with a lot of reading, something I know that many of us struggled with, but we made it though and even after we graduated many of us remain to be avid readers.

After many conversations with my peers about it, there are a few tips that have helped us that I can pass on in the hope of helping someone else with dyslexia with their reading journey.

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Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass – Review

Published on May 12, 2021May 3, 2021 by ArabellaLeave a comment

Celebrity’s books and poetry collections haven’t been something I’ve bothered with in the past. I tend to have more of a cynical approach to them because more often than not they only get a book deal because of their popularity and can’t write. Unless the book is written by a ghost writer, the books tend to be a disappointment. It’s harsh but I see them as money grabs. However, I am always open to be proved wrong in my assumptions so when I found out that singer Lana Del Rey had released a poetry collection my interest was spiked.

In my teenage years Lana Del Rey’s songs were a stable in my playlist, she just had a way with words that I loved so much. That’s the reason I picked up her poetry collection and not some other celebrities’ book – she could write good lyrics and there is a cross over between lyric writing and poetry.

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My reading bucket list for the New Year

Published on December 23, 2020December 23, 2020 by Arabella3 Comments

This year has been a bit of a mess for those of us who set yearly goals. When we were writing out new years resolutions none of us could have predicted what was to come. I don’t know about you, but I’ve completed less than half my goals because many of them, like doing a 10K charity run, simply couldn’t happen due to safety concerns.

This got me thinking when it came to plan my goals for 2021 and what type of goals would be even feasible with the current state of the world. Then there was the question of are goals even the right thing to me making for the new year, can my mental heath handle that added pressure? After a bit of thinking and talking to those who know me the best, I’ve decided to set as little goals as possible and instead create bucket lists of things I’d like to do next year. Sure, there will be some goals being made, I’ll still have financial ones, business ones and even an updated Goodreads challenge, but there won’t be many. Life is too unpredictable right now for big set targets.

The idea is that bucket lists take off some pressure that a goal would do but still gives me some form of direction for the year. They also feel far more exciting and intimate than a big end of year goal. I’ll also get more satisfaction by crossing off many small activities over the year, I think that will help keep me motivated.

So, in the name of all thing bookish I’m going to share with you my reading bucket lists for 2021. I’ll still be doing the Goodreads challenge throughout the year, but I haven’t decided if I want to aim for 25 or 30 books this year, I struggled enough with 20 this year.

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How about both? Reading with a Kindle – one year on

Published on December 16, 2020 by ArabellaLeave a comment

In nine days Christmas will be upon us once more, where has this year gone? I don’t know about you, but I’m seriously disorganised this year, there’s still presents to buy, things to wrap and people to see through windows and at safe distances. Things are going to be different, but that’s OK.

Upon thinking of last Christmas and how things have changed, I inevitably ended up thinking about some lovely gifts people got me last year and how I need to make a point of thanking them once more for some of the things I’ve used daily. One such item was my Kindle Paperwhite.

I’ve talked about my beloved Kindle a few times on here, and it’s a frequent face on my bookstagram, it’s no secret that I adore using it. One of the most notable posts I did fangirling about it was one called five things using a Kindle taught me about reading. I wrote it within the first few months of using my Kindle as my primary media for reading and went over some of the things that surprised me when I swapped over to using it.

Seeing as it’s coming to the end of the year, I thought it’d be a good time to give you a year update on my Kindle and any my views have been shaped over the year. I wasn’t sure if a Kindle would ever be a good fit for me and I know I’m not the only one who’s had that concern after all, they’re not exactly on the cheap side of things. I’m hoping this might help out a few of you who may be waiting till the January sales to pick one up for yourself but are still a little hesitant.

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