A Season of Inspiration, Reading and New Goals

Hey friends ♡

I hope you're all well settled into the cosy autumn season. It felt as if the weather changed instantly as soon as September arrived. I've redecorated my room, changing the setup and colours from summer pinks and blues to beige, green, and rustic orange to match the season. At the start of each new season, I find it's a good time to set new intentions and goals. This month, after reconnecting with some old friends and spending time with people who uplift me, I've felt a shift in perspective. I'm feeling motivated and have been focusing more on things that genuinely make me happy rather than forcing myself to do things that don't.  

This is what my month looked like:

I spent time sketching in my Talens sketchbook and visited the Poetry Pharmacy on Oxford Street, which is a must-visit. I also made lots of visits to bookshops, exploring different book cover designs and trying to understand what makes a good book cover for both children's and adult books. I attended a design event called Picture This, which focused on engaging a digital audience - it was very insightful. This month, I've also been immersing myself even more in reading. I love the feeling of delving into a world that no one else is in but you.

Earlier this month, I had the best time at 66 Books, it’s a massive warehouse with over 15,000 titles, all selling at 70% off the recommended retail price! It was a bit overwhelming because there were so many books and we only had an hour to explore. The books weren't sorted by genre or author, so it was a bit tricky to find what I was looking for. I didn't have a specific book in mind, but I was on the hunt for some graphic novels. Luckily, just before our time was running out, I stumbled upon a few cool graphic novels!

Let me tell you about one of the three books I bought. "Pumpkin Heads" by Rainbow Rowell was an absolute delight. The charming illustrations and the way the title was displayed on the cover immediately grabbed my attention. It's a feel-good story with a cosy autumn vibe, all about friendship, living in the moment, and being brave. It was such an easy, enjoyable read, and I adored the characters and how they embraced one another for who they were. The book's Halloween and autumn setting made it the perfect read for this time of the year.

I’m currently still reading “Witch for Hire” by Ted Naifeh, I know the main premise is about bullying, but I’m just getting into it so I’ll share my review with you very soon.

I like to switch up my reading genres, and one book I just had to read was Jacqueline Wilson's adult book "Think Again". I've been a huge fan of her books since I was a kid, and getting back into reading made me want to check it out. It was an easy read, and the storyline was easy to follow. It's a follow-up from the Girls series characters Ellie, Magda, and Nadine, showing what their lives are like now.

The book brought warmth and humour, but I felt it lacked depth. There wasn't much character development aside from Ellie, but I loved that she is an illustrator and suffers from creative block, which was quite relatable. Although the storyline felt a bit repetitive at times, I'd still recommend this book, it's a light and predictable read that doesn't require much thought.

The latest book I wanted to touch upon in this blog is “I Who Have Never Known Men” by Jacqueline Harpman… Oh, where do I start with this one? So, this book in a nutshell is about thirty-nine women and one young girl - the narrator, who are imprisoned in a cage. The women remember life before the cage with families, friends, and jobs, but the young girl remembers only her current existence. They are watched over and fed by male guards who tell them nothing. It seems they are doomed to live and die in this cage… until one day a combination of chance and ingenuity provides an opportunity for freedom. 

The book mainly focuses on time and survival. It’s the relentless pursuit of answers, of meaning, in a world that ultimately makes no sense. I couldn’t put this book down. It was dark and horrifying, and I had so many visuals in my head that I couldn’t stop thinking about it for a few days. It was honestly such a frustrating read as well! 

I love this quote from “Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love” by Huma Qureshi, I’ve been listening to the audiobook.

“I accept time has passed and we have changed and there is an emptiness now in which we have nothing left to say because it has all been said already, because there are no words left between us any more.”

It’s so poetic and I love literature with meaning and depth about growth and evolving as a person. It’s a collection of stories, about the inability to communicate honestly with the most important people in your life. It’s pretty good so far!

I’ve found that getting into a book gets me off my screens and allows me to be creatively imaginative and think about things from a different perspective. I'd love to know your thoughts if you’ve read any of the books I spoke about in my blog. If you’d like to know more about my next reads, feel free to follow me on Goodreads!

Thank you for being here! Till next month,

Love, Janki x