September

Let's not gloss over it.. September was pretty shit.

It's been a bit of a long hard slog - one of those months where everything that could go wrong did, from the tyre on my car exploding to the supermarket entrance falling down when I went to shop. On top of that, I've been inexplicably tired for the last seven weeks, ready for bed by 4pm, struggling to remember or concentrate and generally feeling not-quite-myself. And then, to top it all off, our beautiful dog of 14 years - my roommate; my friend since I was 11 - had a very unexpected heart attack and had to be put to sleep. I am heartbroken. It's something akin to losing a close friend and being forbidden from talking about it because anyone who hasn't had a pet cannot understand, but we're all devastated. 

But enough complaining. There were blessings this month too. People actually showed up to my new venture at work; we had our first ever beach baptisms at church; I had a lovely three day interlude in Edinburgh with friends, including a long-awaited Laura Marling gig; and my work contract got extended for a further twelve months starting in December. Yay! 

 In terms of distraction, this month..

I read:

'My Fat, Mad Teenage Diary' by Rae Earl

I very much enjoyed the TV series based on this book and thought it was about time I give it a read. The real story is actually quite different to the TV one and didn't have quite the same emotional intensity for me, but Rae makes for an endearing, entertaining narrator and I found myself really willing her on in her battle against her demons.

'The Bling Ring' by Nancy Jo Sales

The true story of a group of mostly-privileged Californian teenagers who broke into the homes of numerous celebrities over the course of a year, stealing almost $3million worth of property. This is the story as pieced together by a journalist who spent time with many of the teens, their families and some of the police involved in the case. I find the story intriguing, but the writing didn't do it for me and the book unfortunately felt like a bit of a slog. I'm curious, however, to see the Sofia Coppola movie on the same case.

'Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found' by Cheryl Strayed

I have a bit of an obsession, at the moment, with autobiographical stories of people taking on the wilderness and discovering themselves. This book fits that category well. The story of how Cheryl Strayed, an inexperienced hiker, walked 1100 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail, it is beautiful and moving and made me want to look out my hiking shoes. Definitely the star read this month.

And I watched: 

'Educating Yorkshire' on Channel 4, which is both touching and hilarious and has given me a renewed sense of awe at the work our school's teachers do every single day.

'The Great British Bake Off' on BBC2 ..Because cake.

And, movie wise, there was 'It's Kind of A Funny Story' and 'The Angels' Share' which were both brilliant; and 'Identity Thief' and 'Due Date' which were both pretty funny, but nothing to write home about.

***

Sorry, September, but I'm pretty glad to see the back of you. Here's to a far better October!

Hope September was better for the rest of you..