Reasons To Stay Alive - Matt Haig

I have to say that I think this is the most beautiful I have ever read and I'm going to be honest, I wouldn't have even picked it up if it wasn't in the book offer.... (I know bad of me...).

I have friends who have suffered from depression and anxiety and I think to a certain extent we all do. There have been times where I freak out over silly little details or things that happen I shouldn't or get really down about things and thats ok. This book opened my eyes to how bad it can get for some people and thats its ok to talk about it, its probably the best thing you can do.

1 in 4 people in the UK will experience some form of mental health over the next year (Mind, UK) with the most common being a mix of both anxiety and depression. That is ALOT of people who potentially aren't talking about it, don't know they have it or suffering alone. If you are one of those people, please read this book and realise you're not alone.

Matt Haig is a British journalist and novelist. He suffered a breakdown in his early twenties and turned to writing to help save himself. His book, Reasons To Stay Alive is about how he came through crisis, triumphed over an illness and learned how to live again.

Its everything you could want a book to be; eyeopening, charming, moving, joyous, funny... I could go on. I feel like Haig doesn't cover up any of his past, it is all out in the beaming light for everyone to read, and potentially judge. But my absolute favourite thing about it? Its honest. From the very beginning it is clear that his mental health has stopped him from doing things but he is clear on this and shows how you can live your life how you want to live it. It covers some really dark issues and times in his life but you also share the most joyous moments in his life, almost his light at the end of a tunnel.

I have banged on about this book so much and I have a waiting list of people wanting to borrow it. And to think I only picked this up because of the awesome reviews on the front cover... Its changed the way I think about mental health and has made me understand how to help my loved ones who are going through it. If you are going through this, please talk to someone or if you think you know someone going through it give them a hug and tell them to read this book. Its a life changer.

"But, in the end one needs more courage to live than to kill himself"
- Albert Camus, A Happy Death  

Book Review: Not That Kind Of Girl

I haven't raved about a book as much as I have about this one for a VERY long time. I have basically started a library and have five people FIVE in line to read my copy because I've been going on that much about it. Its just fantastic. I just want to shout from the rooftops...

LENA DUNHAM IS A BLOODY GENUIS.

I think she is actually my new girl crush (lets all take a moment to appreciate how good she looks - attitude). For those of you who don't know who she is, she is most famous for HBO's TV show 'Girls'. Please just watch it, its hilarious and very relatable as a twenty something.

Her book was released in 2014 (I think, don't quote me!) so I have no idea why its taken me so long to read it. Not That Kind Of Girl is a book in which a young women 'tells you what she has learnt'. Oh its just so brilliant.

She just says it like it is. She doesn't coat it with sprinkles and glitter (even though some of the subjects she talks about could do with it...) which is admirable. Reading the book is just like having a gossip session with your best mate, I'm having a little giggle about it as I'm writing this post. There is no censoring happening in the book, its all vaginas, drugs and dildos...  and oh the failed sexual experiences and dickhead boyfriends. There are many situations in this book you'll read and exclaim ITS NOT JUST ME! Its actually a little like failed boyfriend therapy. I don't even want to talk about what happens in the book as it will just completely ruin it but there are four sections Body, Behaviour, Work and Big Picture. It just describes everything you are currently going through if you've graduated university and muddling your way through life.

"I never crawled, just rolled, an early sign that I was going to be resistant to most exercise and any sexual position that didn't allow me to relax my back."

This is, and will be for a long time, my favourite book quote ever. Please buy the book and be the weirdo laughing your way to work on the bus.

Book Review: Gone Girl

People had been telling me for a while to start reading Gone Girl. It was fairly recently turned into a film but I hate seeing a film before I have read the book. So my next book to read was evidently Gone Girl. 

One of my friends from work decided she wanted to read it too so we made a little book club within work (even though we got lots of banter for being ‘geeks’…). It was actually quite hard to read a book at the same time as someone else, so we ended up setting a set amount of chapters a week. 

The book is about a women, Amy, that goes missing and it focuses around her and her husband, Nick. Without giving too much away Nick is the prime suspect for her murder as everything leads back to him, but not is all as it seems…

To begin with, the book was quite hard to get into. It really did drag and I ended up hating the Amy character at the beginning. She was quite full of herself and came across as very pompous (I know its only a book…). The book is written in a diary format and this alternates between the two characters, Amy and Nick. I don’t usually enjoy this form of writing but this was done very effectively in this book. It gave you a real insight into the characters and their relationship with each other.

All of a sudden the book suddenly takes off and becomes a real page turner.. I literally could not put it down. As soon as you thought you knew what was happening, another curve ball was thrown in. It took me a while to read the first half, but after it started getting better I was devouring the chapters, I haven’t done that with a book in a very long time. 

The ending was a bit disappointing, but I don’t think it was a poor ending. I think it was because there was so much action throughout the book the ending didn’t do it justice. I felt like it didn’t really answer all the questions I wanted to know as a reader – it was a bit anti climatic…

All in all, it was a really enjoyable book and I would give it a strong 3/5 stars