Hi Reader! Well somehow, just like that, it’s March!
Compared to the never-ending month of January, February seemed to flash by in no time. I’m throughly enjoying the lighter mornings, the daffodils, the new lambs and witnessing more wildlife on my walks. Just this week I went for a walk to the top of the nearby hill and within just a few moments I saw a pheasant, a rabbit and a newly formed bird’s nest! I love nature and spring is my favourite time to watch both the animal world and the natural world, bloom, after so many months of darkness and stillness.
February was a super busy month for me and I finished two books this month! I went to see bands I enjoyed from being a teenager, Bowling for Soup and Less than Jake, and I was introduced to a new band I really enjoyed called The Vandoliers (check them out!). I also took part in a book read along, a podcast and I picked new books from my TBR Jar!
I’m using a TBR Jar this year to reduce my physical to be read. I’ve got lots of books i’ve had in many cases, years, that ive either not got round to reading or to be honest, I feel intimated by! So I’ve been drawing from a jar (coded by genre) to make myself read the books on my shelf and so far it’s been a fantastic decision. I’ve discovered absolutely fantastic books that were just sat collecting dust on my shelf!
The book I’m sharing today is a book I received as a Christmas gift that I picked out from my TBR Jar.
GOOD MATERIAL BY DOLLY ALDERTON
“Every relationship has one beginning. This one has two endings.”
“Andy loves Jen. Jen loved Andy. And he can’t work out why she stopped.
Now he is. . . 1. Without a home 2. Waiting for his stand-up career to take off 3. Wondering why everyone else around him seems to have grown up while he wasn’t looking
Set adrift on the sea of heartbreak at a time when everything he thought he knew about women, and flat-sharing, and his friendships has transformed beyond recognition, Andy clings to the idea of solving the puzzle of their broken relationship. Because if he can find the answer to that, then maybe Jen can find her way back to him.
Andy still has a lot to learn, not least his ex-girlfriend’s side of the story.”
About the Author:
Dolly Alderton is the best selling author of Ghosts and Everything I know about Love, an agony aunt since 2015 and this novel was an instant Sunday Times Bestseller! So, given the hype around the author and this novel by the time I’ve come to read it, I wasn’t too sure what I’d feel about the content within. Would I become a new Dolly Alderton fan or would I be scratching my head wondering what all the fuss was about?
‘CAN’T PUT IT DOWN’ RATING: 5/5
Well, it may have been my first Dolly Alderton novel, but it shan’t be my last!
I absolutely love books about failed relationships that contain self deprecating humour. If you’ve read through my back catalogue of reviews, think ‘Adults’ by Emma Jane Unsworth, ‘Weirdo’ by Sara Pascoe, ‘Really good actually’ by Monica Heisey, etc.
All contain characters going through really tough times, reflecting on their day to day moments in their mundane boring lives as they try to overcome their failed relationships and everything else they see as failures about themselves. They’re not ‘pretty enough’, not ‘successful enough’, not ‘good enough at relationships’, generally they dont feel ‘enough’ and the book takes them through a period of self discovery and self love.
What we often find in these books however is a woman’s perspective of self loathing, only to reawaken as a beautiful self loving butterfly and the realisation that her ex was a bit shit anyway.
What’s different and actually so refreshingabout this book is that the main perspective is from Andy. He is heartbroken, starting from scratch, and absolutely obsessed with his ex. He feels like if he can just work out why his ex Jen stopped loving him, maybe he can win her back.
In this book you’ll find so many relatable moments of a sore break up that those who’ve been through it once, twice or more will relate to, and hopefully can now have a bit of a giggle over.
There’s also some really touching friendship and family moments too that make this book about quite a difficult time in someone’s life, with home life, friendships, relationships and career, actually quite heart warming and relatable.
I also really love the way the book comes full circle at the end. It teaches us that despite what we may think about the person we’ve broken up with and how they’re ‘moving on so fast’, it’s never easy for anyone and that we (as the dumped or the dumpee) do an awful lot of assuming.
There’s also so much reflection on expectations and pressures on women. The book is so skilfully written to make us feel bad for Andy and slightly annoyed at Jen, but we don’t hate her. Hearing from her perspective later on in the book makes everything make sense and we can completely understand both characters motivations and what they were right and wrong about.
In summary: Fantastic read. 💜 Ghosts is now firmly added to my TBR!
WASHED DOWN WITH
I attended a wellness away day in January, held by the lovely gang at @yorkshirewellnessevents . It was a day filled with yoga, great food, great people, self care, self love and learning. One thing I sampled whilst there was coffee by London Nootropics. My favourite of the three coffees I tried was the one I’m sharing with you today, ‘Zen’.
I’m a big fan of CBD and Ashwagandha. I drink CBD drinks and I take a supplement containing Ashwagandha daily. CBD creates calm and Ashwagandha promotes cognitive function and helps manage stress.
This ‘Zen’ coffee is an instant coffee so no equipment required and I found that it mixed really smoothly and had a strong flavour (which I like). I drank this before a yoga session and I thoroughly felt relaxed. 5mg isn’t a strong amount of CBD but combined with the Ashwagandha I do feel I felt some benefits.
This coffee does have a high price point (£15 for 12 sachets + delivery costs under £30), so at £1.25 a coffee its certainly cheaper than your high street chain but expensive for a brew at home coffee. I would however say I would use these at a time that I really needed to chill and if the price point doesn’t put you off, treat yourself! You can browse them here.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and found a new book and/or drink to treat yourself too!
Have you read any Dolly Alderton books? If so which one was your favourite? Have you tried any nootropics that you found helpful for you? Share them in the comments below!
Papyrus and Peppermint 