June Favourites - 2019

It's been a long time coming, but it is finally here - my June Favourites Video. As you can probably tell from the recent content I have been posting on my blog, I have been trying to look for ways to make posts seem more interesting. That lead me to making my June Favourites into a video as opposed to the usual lists that I make.

Here are my previous Favourites posts in case you have missed anything:

• January Favourites - Click Here
• February Favourites - Click Here
• March Favourites - Click Here
• April Favourites - Click Here
• May Favourites - Click Here

Apologies for the delay with this one, it was mainly due to trying to screen capture footage from the Sims 4. The Game and the screen capture software did not like each other which is why for half of the Sims things I mention it is my game play and the other half it is the reveal trailers for each pack I speak about. I am looking into sorting this as I would like to add Sims videos to the content that I am already producing!

I neglect to mention in this video that I also bought the Sims 4 Parenthood and the Sims 4 Bowling Night Stuff, so I am posting my thoughts of these stuff packs below.

Sims 4 Parent Hood

Parent hood is a really cool expansion pack. I like the little school projects that have been added to the game in particular, since they add that little bit of realism to the game. It takes me back to my days at school, where I would bring home a school projects and would ask my mum to help me with it!

I also love the spontaneous parent moments that come up in the game that shape the sim that your child will grow up to be, I think that is another really cool mechanic that has been added to the game. It's nice that its not something that pops up all the time, and when it does (in my experience at least) it has been a different scenario each time, which is a real improvement on the mechanic they have in place for the careers in the base game (it is similar in concept, but a lot of the time when you are in a certain career, the same issue pops up, meaning that once you know the "correct" answer you can click it every time, taking away from the thought process of deciding what is the right thing for your Sim to do!)

In my experience, this is one of the better Sims 4 Game Packs as I feel like it adds a lot more to your sims being parents as well as giving children more of a purpose in the game. I also like that the parenting moments sort of distinguish teen sims more from Young Adult Sims - in the base game they sort of felt like Young Adult sims that you had to send to school rather than get a career.

Sims 4 Bowling Night Stuff

Bowling has always been one of my favourite things to do, I really love going on a family trip to the bowling alley for a couple of games, so this pack has slowly become one of my favourites. 

I love the accessories that you can add to the bowling alley in build and buy mode and I really love the animations when you go to play bowling and the interactions that your sims have with each other whilst in this environment. 

This is definitely one of the stuff packs that I think is really worth your money, I was really surprised when I realised that this was actually a stuff pack and not a Game pack because it felt like there was so much content added to it. If this pack was not purchased as part of a bundle, I would consider buying it separately since it is definitely worth it, so in a bundle combined with parent hood makes it an absolute steal!

I really hope that you have enjoyed my June favourites and please do let me know if you would like me to make more favourites videos! I can confirm that my July Favourites would be a traditional post like the earlier ones purely because I am going away on holiday, so I don't really have much time to get that filmed and edited for you guys to watch, but maybe we could do this for my August Favourites. Who knows what will happen!

References:

• Sims 4 Strangerville Trailer - Click Here
• Sims 4 Luxury Party Stuff Trailer - Click Here
• Sims 4 Spa Day Trailer Trailer - Click Here

Music:

• Bensound: Buddy - Click Here
• Don't Leave me here alone - Click Here

June Favourites - Update

Hello everyone! So you are probably wondering where the June Favourites post is since July is nearly over and there has still be no sign of it! Well, I have decided to try and experiment with my content a big, and have created a June Favourites Video. I am still learning how to use the editing software, not to mention I am doing all of my editing on my laptop which is competing with snails for who is the slowest at the moment. Unfortunately it has taken a little longer than expected to get this video to you guys, but fear not! I am hoping that I will be able to upload this video for your enjoyment on Monday. Again, apologies for the delay, but I am working on it!

New Look!

Hello Everyone! So at the weekend I have worked on giving my blog a bit of a makeover, and I absolutely love how it looks right now!

The purpose of this post it to make you all aware that the formatting of some of the previous posts has changed slightly due to the new blog theme, and I have been unable to change a lot of them without having to delete and rewrite the whole post (which is something that I don't really have the time or effort to do right now!)

Many apologies for any inconveniences this causes, but I do hope that you enjoy this new theme and I look forward to chatting to you all again! I am looking into sorting these issues out, so although there will be no immediate changes, I will gradually try to get everything looking normal asap!

My Hogwarts House has Changed?!?!?!

So I was originally sorted into Gryffindor when I first took the Hogwarts house test on Pottermore when it first became a website.Now, almost ten years after originally taking the Hogwarts test, I have decided to re-take the test since I am curious to see if anything has changed over the past couple of years. Also, I don't really feel as though I identify with the Gryffindor house anymore, and I feel as though I should be in a different house. Watch this video to see what the results are:

Mid-Year Book Freak Out 2019

So it is currently July as I am writing this, meaning that we are into the seventh month of 2019! It is crazy how fast this year has gone already, and I have read some amazing books this year! Unfortunately, due to the high demands of my University course, I have not managed to read many books in the first half of 2019, which is why I have made the decision to also include plays/scripts I have read in this tag since they are still technically books. I have previously done this post before last year, I am updating everything for the books that I have read this year, so if you would be interested in reading last years edition of the mid-year book freak out click here. Without further ado, here is the mid-year book freak out 2019!

1) Best book read in 2019 so far?

The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this books, it was one of the firsts books I read this year. It was a very interesting retelling of the little mermaid story, and related back to its origins rather than the sugar coated Disney movie (with I still have much love for!) It was a feminist retelling of the story, which was refreshing to read about, and I loved how much the female characters stood up for themselves and fought back in this story. That being said, there were many darker elements to the story, and some parts were quite brutal. It may not be a book for the faint of heart, but this should be on everyone's must read list, particularly for people with a love of fairy tales and fantasy. Also, the cover is so pretty, could you really leave this book on the shelf?

2) Best sequel read in 2019 so far?

Changed for Good: A Feminist History of the Broadway Musical by Stacy Wolf

This book is not really a sequel, it is more a companion to the book "A Problem Like Maria: Gender and Sexuality in the American Musical". Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and finding out new things about the industry that I would like to enter. Learning about the history and the struggles women have faced in the Musical Theatre industry has been fascinating, and although it seems like we have come a long way, its eerie to see that in reality, we have not made much progress at all.

3) New Release you haven't read yet but want to?

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertti

Although this may technically be a new release for 2018, I am including it on this list as I have owned this book since it first came out but I have not had chance to pick it up just yet. I really enjoyed reading the first book in this series - Simon versus the Homosapien Agenda - and am really excited to see what will happen to these characters next. I am particularly excited for the fact that seemingly the narrative is told from the point of view of an LGBT female character - mainly because I rarely have come across non-straight women in YA fiction (or any other type of fiction might I add! If there are any books with gay women in please throw suggestions my way, I would love to read abut women who are like me!) I really need to find time to read this book this year hopefully, as the first book was very good and I have a lot of high hopes for this book!

4) Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of 2019?

Of Ice and Shadows by Audrey Coulthurst

Leading on from above, I am really looking forward to reading the second book in the Of Fire and Stars Series as it is one of the rare book series with two lesbian protagonists. Both characters were very fleshed out and felt like four dimensional characters, and both were very likable. To top it of, this is a fantasy series, which is just the cherry on top of a Christmas cake as I love fantasy series and to read about these bad-ass gay women was awesome! I am really looking forward to the follow up to this story.

5) Biggest Disappointment of 2019?

On the Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher

I really hate to put this book in this answer on the mid year book freak out, but out of all the books I have read so far this year, it has been the one that has stuck with me the least. I really enjoyed this book and the concept behind it was very interesting, but it was not as fascinating as other books I have read this year have been. I feel like I haven't done a great job of selling this book to you, but I did write a review of it on Good Reads that you can check out!

6) Biggest Surprise of 2019?

Playing a Part by Daria Wilke

I feel like this is a story that focuses more on the characters than story itself. I really enjoyed reading it, it was a little short and I do think there may have been a couple of errors in translation as some of the phrases sounded very strange, but it was a lovely read! I also find it fascinating that a Russian Author wrote a story with an LGBT Protagonist, especially with all the LGBT rights issues going on over there, so it was a very bold move to make.

7) Favourite New Author

Louise O'Neil

I really enjoyed reading The Surface Breaks written by Louise O'Neil as mentioned above, and there was something about her writing style that I really loved. I will definitely be looking out for more books written by Louise O'Neil in the future.

8) Newest Favourite Character

Yeva from Hunted

 Yeva used to go hunting with her father in the wood as a child, but then when she grows up, she stops since it is something that a young lady shouldn't do. When their father is forced to sell his home and move to his hunting cottage with his three children, Yeva begins hunting again. Her father goes missing and Yeva goes into the forest to see what has happened to him, which is where she encountered the Beast.

I loved how awesome Yeva came across in this story and how she seemed to be a no nonsense taking girl (if that makes any sense to you). I also loved how she fought back and did not give up when she was initially held in captivity in the early stages of the book. She was a brilliant character to me and one of the strongest in the books that I have read so far.

9) A Book that made you Cry

Bare: a Pop Opera

When auditioning for Bare: A Pop Opera, I had no idea what the story was about, I only researched the characters I auditioned. So when it came to actually reading the script the heartbreaking ending, I was not emotionally prepared. I will not ruin it for anyone who has no idea what I am talking about, but I will say that if you get a chance to go and see this show, please go and see it! It is a lovely, tragic story and the music really helps to carry the story along. Even better, if you get the opportunity to be in Bare, AUDITION FOR IT!

10) Favourite Review you have wrote this year

The Surface Breaks

I think the review for The Surface Breaks that I wrote is my personal favourite from this year. It was a review that didn't feel forced and that I really enjoyed writing. 

You can read the full review of this books here.

11) Most beautiful book you have bought this year

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge 

I am unsure if this means the most beautifully written book I have read this year or the book with the most beautiful cover that I have bought this year, but I have taken it as the latter. I have not had the chance to sit down and read The Lie Tree as of yet, however, the hardback copy that I bought in the middle of this year is very pretty, and it is easily the prettiest book I have bought this year so far.

12) What books do you need to read by the end of 2019?

There are probably too many books that I need to read to put all of them on my list, so I have just picked a select few to put on this list (that I will have to read now since I have written them down):

• The Game of Thrones Series by George R R Martin
• All That She Can See by Carrie Hope Fletcher 
• The Lunar Chronicles: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
• A Counjuring of Light by V.E Schwab
• Alex in Wonderland by Simon James Green
• Things a Bright Girl can Do by Sally Nicholls
• A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson 

You'll Never Make It...

People think it is incredibly cute to enroll their children into dance lessons. When their child comes up to them at the age of 4 saying that they want to be a ballerina, so they enroll them into ballet lessons. It will be a chance for them to met new friends, they will think, they will have a skill that will set them apart from others, they think. Yet, when their child is 13-14 years old saying they want to persue a career in the performing arts, it stops being cute. It starts becoming serious. How are they going to survive in an unstable career field? How will they buy a house? How will they live? 

This may be surprising, but they will already know how difficult the industry is, and making them feel down about themselves will do nothing for their confidence. They already know that only the extremely lucky people manage to get hired, yet they still want to put the work in and train their hardest, even just to try to achieve the career of their dreams. 

It is also likely that they are not even doing this for the fame either. They want to do this since it is something they love and a willing to work for, just as a child wanting to train to be a teacher, or a doctor. They may want to do theatre, but that doesn't mean they want to be in the West End or on Broadway. They may want to set up their own theatre company and tour shows locally in the area they live. They may want to do TV and Film, but that doesn't mean they want to be in Hollywood Blockbuster movies, they may want to be in indie films and independent wed series. 

When parents hear that their children want to pursue a career in the performing arts, they act asthough their child has failed them. All those years they wanted young Susan to become a Doctor, since that's what all the clever children do and it is a stable career field with good pay, and she turns around and says she wants to become a professional dancer.

Its terrible! THE SHAME!

People who haven't really considered the performing arts as a career field don't really understand how mentally exhausting all this negativity from family and friends can be, it is already difficult enough. You think you are an incredible singer, until someone comes along ho has been classically trained since they were 3 years old. You think you are an incredible dancer, until someone with amazing dancing skills comes along and does a triple pirouette without hesitation. You think you are pretty, until someone comes into the audition room looking like you, but slightly prettier. 

You are constantly up against competition, fighting for a chance to be able to audition for something you might not even end up being a part of, and the added voice from family and friends saying that acting is an incredibly unstable job opportunity really does not help. 

So yeah, pursuing a career in the performing arts, you may not make it, but it is definitely worth a try if its truly what you want to do with your life. No job field guarantees a stable job at the end of it. I worked in the financial services industry whilst taking a gap year between leaving college and going to university, and within 3 months of working their I was told that I would be getting made redundant. So why hold yourself back from what you truly want to do? No job is truly stable, the company you work for may go bust any day, or they might decide that they want to cut down on their staff and let you go. So if I'm going to have to make a career choice, I'm pursuing my dream. I might never make it, but at least I have tried, it would be better than turning back and doing a job I hated without even trying.