Album Review: Goodnight Rhonda Lee

Recently, in my quest to overcome the terrible scourge to listening enjoyment that is Spotify Free's obnoxious pre-song advertisements, I tentatively explored the fairly monopolised world of music streaming services.

Some Spotify-competitive services that I had tried in the past I discovered had removed the mobile listening portion of their enterprise, presumably muscled out by the likes of Spotify and Apple Music. However, one that I hadn't tried before but had seen advertised on TV was Deezer. Despite the fact that this TV advert plays into everything that I most dislike about modern television advertising, (see: random, inane) I decided that I would download their app and give it a go. Upon signing in, I was presented with fifteen days worth of 'premium' listening, ad free, extras all included, no credit card details required. Awesome, thanks!

It dawned on me at this moment that I held great power within my hands; a great and terrible power that would allow me to listen to any album by any licensed artist without having to listen to some catastrophically loud advert blasting out at me before each song. Of course, in that moment I also realised that I couldn't think of a single album to listen to. Go figure.

After a bit of browsing, Goodnight Rhonda Lee by Nicole Atkins came up as a suggestion on the Deezer app, and so, I gave it a try. Fantastic suggestion, Deezer; pat on the back.

Now, I'm no music reviewer. These are untrained and unprofessional thoughts of my own. I just thought it would be a fun piece to write, since I enjoyed the album so much. Oh, and I should also probably say that, living under a rock as I do, I have no idea whether Nicole Atkins is or was a household name. If she is, have a good laugh at my expense. If not, you heard it here first: check her out! She's good!

[From Nicole Atkin's Website]

Goodnight Rhonda Lee is Atkin's new album and it includes eleven songs of feel-good easy listening. I personally felt that the album swayed between a few different potential genres; where one song might be classified as pop, one takes more from RnB, whilst others have that country lilt and pine about them that evokes the image of a plaid-clad, jilted young woman sitting in some Southern bar, waiting for a friendly face.

A Little Crazy certainly fits into this country mythology. The simple strummed guitar is overlayed by Atkin's apologetic yet longing dialogue with her lost love to create a very strong opening track. Another thing to note is that A Little Crazy (along with the titular Goodnight Rhonda Lee, in particular) seems to subscribe to a bygone era of old-time country LPs. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about the first track of the album reminds me strongly of Roy Orbison's Crying, except I think that Only Fools and Horses would have a harder time parodying Atkin's tune.

Darkness Falls so Quiet smacks more of funky RnB and sets up an upbeat soul feel that continues through Listen Up, in which Atkin's passionate storytelling is complemented with a trio of Mo-town backing singers.

Track four, Goodnight Rhonda Lee, gave me such a country vibe that it forced me to look up Nicole Atkin's background part way through writing this sentence. Turns out that she is currently based in Nashville, and I must say that this doesn't surprise me at all. I admit that it is not very often that I explore new music or even old music in new genres, so to say that I am familiar with very much of the country genre would be a bold-faced lie. I do, however, still appreciate Goodnight Rhonda Lee for it's musicality and would offer that I know enough to suggest it does what it does tastefully; the sway fits just so, and the whole thing doesn't feel overdone. I did say that it gave me a 'country vibe' but that is not because it has corny lyrics and a one-riff-fits-all guitar backing; far from it. It simply holds an air of the South and as with classics such as More Than Just This Song, by Brad Paisley, it will have you humming along.

A more rock-orientated country emerges in If I Could, to create a quite pleasing Elvis-song vibe. Not Elvis? Umm. Rockabilly? My lack of knowledge shows me up here. I need to listen to more country, I guess. Moving on.

Colors [sic!] is, for me, the most disappointing track on the album. Though it starts out promisingly with blues hints and a taken-to-the-bottle story, its chorus doesn't hit the right notes with me; in fact, I became a little irritated by Atkin's repetition of 'colors' [sic!!] which, to my mind, simply interrupted an otherwise tuneful and reflective piano and violin combo. Still, can't win 'em all.

Brokedown Luck returns to funk in full force, with a catchy drum beat kicking into a rhythmic and groovy play between drawling verse and energetic chorus. This one reminded me most of Paolo Nutini's most recent forays into soul in Caustic Love, which also included soul-funk screams, snare and the occasional trumpet send off. In my opinion, a good pickup for Atkins after the downturn that was Colors [sic!!!]

I Love Living Here (Even When I Don't), Sleepwalking and A Night of Serious Drinking mark three tracks of what I would call 'background listening'. Whilst Sleepwalking and A Night of Serious Drinking are still fairly interesting songs, the three together feel more like ambiance music than something I would chose to focus my attention on. Yet, this mellower feel makes for an even stronger punch from the out-and-out dream haze that is the final track, A Dream Without Pain.

Albeit completely different stylistically, A Dream Without Pain reminds me of some Beatles classics such as Being For the Benefit of Mr Kite and Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds; this is because of the dream-like, hazy feeling of Atkin's lullaby, which though sleepy also feels a little sinister, if that's the right word for it. Perhaps it's more of a scotch-induced fugue-state than a blankets and pillows sort of drifting, but the chorus is captivating and when twinned with a guitar riff solo straight out of the Carpenter's Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft, it serves as a great send off to a great album.

Though I wasn't familiar with Nicole Atkin's work before now, I will no doubt be checking out her other albums (of which Google tells me there are four). All in all, this was a very pleasant journey, and given the catchiness of tracks such as A Little Crazy, Goodnight Rhonda Lee and A Dream Without Pain, it is one that I will no doubt be embarking on again and again.

At least until my Deezer trial runs out.

M

Nicole Atkin's Website, where redirects to iTunes, Google Play etc can be found, should you wish to purchase her album: http://www.nicoleatkins.com/

Top Websites for Learning on the Go

In the modern setting, it can be very difficult to find time to sit down and learn something new. Whether this is because you're already spending six hours a day at school and find you can't bear to look a textbook in the eyes after the torture of it all, or because you have work commitments and responsibilities (shudder) it certainly isn't easy.

However, thanks to the growth of the internet, there are innumerable websites designed to make the learning process easier, more convenient, and generally more intuitive. Below are some of the websites that I have had the pleasure to use over the course of my education, and would highly recommend, along with some that have piqued my interest that I'll be keeping an eye on. Maybe you'd like to try some of them too!



FOR STUDENTS


Sparknotes

 If you are an English lit student, you've most certainly used Sparknotes in the past in order to look up book summaries for works you are studying. If you are a parent of teens, then it is highly likely your child has leaned on this website throughout their secondary school education, whether they've mentioned it or not. This recommendation is less so about the content of the site itself, but rather a suggestion as to how it might be used optimally. Although incredibly useful for cramming information on a text, Sparknotes SHOULD NOT be used in place of reading said text. Instead, my recommendation is that this website be used to get a general feel for a book by reading the detailed summaries available on the website-split up by chapters, characters, or themes etc- to then advance later with your own reading. When used in this way, it is a must for the English student who needs to get their head around some reading quickly, and it has helped me no end over the past seven years.

StudyBlue

Are you the type of person who finds they simply cannot learn something just by reading it? Information just seems to fly over your head? Then it might be that the 'visual' style of learning isn't for you. Instead, creating flashcards might be a better way of helping your brain to process information by writing and reviewing information in your own words, increasing the amount you can store in both your short term, and long term memory, through the kinesthetic learning style. However, it is not always practical to carry around decks full of paper cards, and this is where StudyBlue comes in handy. StudyBlue is a website that allows you to create fully functional, digital flashcards that you can type up and access either from your PC or using the StudyBlue app, meaning you can create and test yourself on the go. Very handy indeed. This website was particularly useful for memorising dates of events for my GCSE and A-level History course, and with it, I achieved A* grades at both levels. Give it a go, and see whether it helps you to learn and memorise things more easily!

YouTube

No, I'm not joking. Yes, YouTube can most certainly be a distraction when you're trying to revise, but if used wisely, and not simply as an excuse to procrastinate, it can be very handy for listening to information you might find difficult to digest by reading. When revising for my Classical Studies exams, I watched all of the videos possible on Tom McKenzie's Classics channel, and it provided insights from Professor level studies that I was able to apply in fluent terms to my own essays. YouTube was also a great help to me when I was too tired to be reading or writing- both of which are very important practicing tools, and not to be neglected- but wanted to still get a little bit more revision done. Don't waste your time with nonsense videos, or parodies, or pastiche, or your favourite YouTube stars, or whatever. There is so much information uploaded in video format to YouTube each day, and it would be a shame if it went to waste.

GetRevising

GetRevising is another website that helped me to not only pass my History GCSE's and A Levels, but also to get a top grade. GetRevising is aptly named, as it is a great place to refresh your memory on a topic covered in school (search for the topic using the search bar, it will probably be there, there's a large community!) or to start early, and use the notes, quizzes and forums available on the website to supplement your learning as you go along with your course at school. I used this website for my Kaiser to Fuhrer module, and because of it I have the terrible Turnip Winter of 1916 implanted firmly in my brain (look it up). In all seriousness,  this website is great for concise snippets of information, dates, key terms, diagrams and other items to make your revising that little bit easier, in almost every subject you might need, due to the community based nature of the site. (I've also just discovered whilst writing the last sentence that the website caters for university students. Guess I might be revisiting it myself sometime soon!) 


FOR THE EVERYDAY LEARNER

Duolingo

I am sorry to say that although I know what a fantastic resource the Duolingo app is, I have a bit of an on-and-off relationship with it. I must stress, that is my own fault. Duolingo is a top class language learning, linguistic loving lark. It takes the process of learning phrases and grammar for pretty much any modern language you can think of - I have dabbled in German, Spanish, French and Italian over the years- and makes it into a very simple daily exercise. You can do as much, or as little as you would like each day, practicing your memory and application of phrases such as 'mi hermano bebo mucho' ('my brother drinks a lot', unless I have made some terrible error) and increasing the difficulty as your knowledge and success rates improve. Duo, the site's friendly owl mascot is on hand to teach you in a cheerful and pretty relaxed manner. You are rewarded for your discerning between a cow and a tin of soup, but failure will not be over-zealously punished, which is also a great feature I feel. The main incentive to keep going, besides the fact that you are trying to learn a new language (an admirable task) is that you receive a 'learning streak' which adds up for every day that you use Duolingo. Let me tell you, it is painful losing a streak after going for more than a month. It will happen, and that day will haunt you for some time to come. Unfortunately, I found that I had other commitments that often meant Duo slipped my mind, and when I began to miss more days than I had totting up, I packed it in completely. Maybe when I get around to a more balanced schedule, I will pick it up again; maybe I'll even try a completely new language. That's the beauty of Duolingo.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a website designed to help with learning subjects such as Maths, Sciences, Computing, Arts and Humanities and Economics. Whilst my experience with the website is limited- it has been revamped since the last time I used it- I am aware that it receives fairly frequent updates; I get the odd email every now and then alerting me to new additions and changes. When the user logs in (creating an account is free) they will see a large selection of topics, which when clicked on will expand to even greater subdivisions of learning, meaning you can focus on as little or as much of those 'Differential Equations' or 'Art History' as you like. Whilst I signed up for Khan Academy a long time ago, and still receive their emails, I finished my exams before I had started using it fully. I think that I will take another look at it now that it has been updated so much. I love the idea that you don't even have to be studying that subject in order to expand your knowledge; that's the beauty of free learning resources from websites such as these.

TED Talks

TED Talks are world-renowned for their inspirational, educational, and motivational messages in their videos. You can find a video on pretty much any topic under the sun, presented by professionals in their fields. A lot of the videos focus on science and business, however, topics listed on the website include technology, entertainment, design, business, science, and global issues. You will find that the videos you watch tend to include multi-discipline theory, by the nature of academic study. They are consistently fascinating videos. Furthermore, the 'TEDx' programme caters for an even wider variety of speakers; most anyone can give a presentation (vetted for quality, of course) at TEDx events, and so, as the website states, 'speakers cover topics from sanitation to technological wizardry to deep policy issues to, well, designing boots for beetles'.

WHERE TO FIND BOOKS

Project Gutenberg

I have already extolled the virtues of the Project Gutenberg Library in a past blog post, but humour me once more. Project Gutenberg is an online collection of e-books that are no longer in copyright and thus are completely free to download and read. The amount of books in this library is pretty incredible, and they span the whole spectrum of fiction and non-fiction. If you are looking to learn more about the 'Classics', you can't really do much better than reading the canon for yourself. You will find Austen, Dickens, Brontë, Keates, Shelley, Byron, Coleridge, Euripides, Catullus, etc., all of which can be enjoyed on a digital device. If you pair this service with, oh, I don't know, a Kindle (shameless plug), you can take the reading anywhere, just as you would with a paperback book.

LibriVox

Now this is an interesting one. I can't say that I have much experience with LibriVox. I've known about it for a while, but never have I gotten around to using it. Essentially, it's Project Gutenberg for audiobooks. Expanded by the work of volunteers (you are yourself free to contribute recordings of you reading the books), you can find free audiobooks to download here. I will definitely be giving this one a try; I assume copyright limitations still apply, so you won't find any of the marvelous Stephen Fry 'Harry Potter' audiobook series on there, but I'm sure that there is plenty to put on a music player, and to listen to in the car.

GOOGLE SEARCH TRICKS

Site: Edu

Ok, so these last ones are not websites, but instead are Google Search tricks to help you find the best results for learning and researching resources. I find that these simple addition to my searches are invaluable at Uni, and would have been of great help to me whilst I was doing my A-Levels also.

If you have something scholarly you wish to search out, and want specifically scholarly results- from educational sources-  make sure to put the phrase 'site:edu' at the start of your search. For example:

' site:edu Louis Althusser ideology and language'

Doing this filters your Google search to only show results from websites with the '.edu' domain, limiting your search to higher education institutions, research centres and school websites. It is to be hoped that resources on these sites will be of a higher calibre than those which fill the generic google search. It's not always the case, but this is a handy trick for finding essay writing material because quite often you will be directed towards peer-reviewed journals, university required reading and other verifiable materials.

Filetype:PDF

This trick can be combined with the site:edu one above in order to find copies of hard to get academic works, which are available online in PDF form, often on a university website. By adding 'filetype:pdf' to the end of your search term, you are telling Google that you want it to find you a PDF document. So, say I wanted to find a copy of... the Annals of Xanten, I could search for:

'annals of xanten filetype:pdf'. 

If I wanted to make sure that the search was drawing on academic sources, then I would write:

'site:edu annals of xanten filetype:pdf'

I should state that you should only download PDF copies of works that are no longer in copyright (which exists for seventy years after the death of the author), or works that the work holder has specific rights to disclose. You know the game by now.

----

Well, that about wraps up my list for the time being. I might come back and add to it from time to time, or I might simply post updates in new blog posts, as and when I come across them. I hope that you might find at least some of these websites interesting and useful, and if you have any other suggestions for learning tools, be sure to pass them on!

---

Websites in this post:

SparkNotes: http://www.sparknotes.com/
StudyBlue: https://www.studyblue.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com
GetRevising: https://getrevising.co.uk/
Duolingo: https://www.duolingo.com/
Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/welcome
TED Talks: https://www.ted.com/talks
TEDx: https://www.ted.com/about/programs-initiatives/tedx-program
Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/
LibriVox: https://librivox.org/

Radio!

I feel like I've been doing pretty well recently in my attempts to find suitable work experience for the future. I posted a blog update a little while ago relating how I had acquired an editorial position at a Lancaster based literary journal called Flash, and to add to that now, I can happily say that I will soon be venturing into the realms of radio!

I was sitting in the café of the Dukes Theatre in Lancaster, whilst John Gilmore of BBC Radio Lancashire was presenting his show there (which I believe he does every first Friday of the Month). We had a little chat after he had wrapped everything up, and we parted as the best of friends. Well, acquaintances. People who talked in a café once?

My dear reader, I'm afraid I've sold you a red herring. Whilst this did happen, and I've got some works details from John Gilmore, for when I decide to do some work experience at the Lancs station, I'm actually going to be contributing to Bailrigg FM, Lancaster University's radio station.

Now, I won't try and pretend that this is a massive step forwards; the radio, like the literary journal is a strongly Lancaster Uni based enterprise, rather than a BBC initiative or even an independent Lancashire radio station. But hey, I still had to get accepted into the team, and that feels like a small achievement.

As for what I will be doing with the radio team, my options are fairly open. The radio hosts a variety of programmes, ranging from political and cultural journalism, to dramatic pieces and desert island disk style music shows. I'm favouring the latter half of that spectrum; my taste in music is very varied, so I might be able to contribute to the music scene in a broad fashion, even if not in a very in-depth one.

The prospect that has piqued my interest the most was the offer I received to produce short episodes of radio drama. I say 'produce'- the role would entail more of an all-round involvement with the process; the programme requires researchers, writers, producers, actors, post-editors and publicity reps. I have the option to take up as many of those jobs as I see fit, so I can envisage myself finding an old short story, converting it into script form, and perhaps even taking one of the voice parts myself.

More than this, there is the possibility to write an entirely new piece of work, to be broadcast for the first time. This would require significantly more planning and writing, but the results would surely be even more rewarding. The thrill of having a work performed for the first time has been described as 'exhilarating' by many a stage and screen writer, and whilst I recognise playing something on the student radio can hardly compare, it would be great preparation and experience for the 'real deal' in the future.

I will have to fit my work at the radio around my other University study requirements, so can't give a definite start and end date. I'll begin looking at things in the new term; I have already roped in some friends to help with productions.

So, another string to the bow, hopefully. I guess the next thing to do is start a film or theatre company. Any takers?

M

In Defense of the Destruction of Print? Why You Should Buy a Kindle

Some of you may know that I recently followed through on a many month long plan, and purchased an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite E-reader, ahead of my returning to University. I had a few reservations about the purchase when sizing up the device, but I also had a fair few hopes, and as I grew in surety of my purchase, a fair few plans for the Kindle also.


What is a Kindle?

Kindle (v):
The act of setting something on fire.
Synonyms: ignite, alight, Kobo eReader, torch

I am, of course, being fas.. fash.. faceesh.. facetious! When I refer to my Kindle, I am talking about the aforementioned Kindle Paperwhite, but the device does share similar properties, I find, with a piece of kindling you might find in another setting. The Kindle is incredibly light, weighing less than a regular paperback book, yet still holds enough weight to feel secure in my hands. The fact that it can store many hundreds of books in its digital memory, that the screen can be read in any level of brightness or dimness, and that its battery can last many weeks on a single charge has without a doubt rekindled my love of reading.

'But, Matt!' you cry, 'my ordinary paperback is as light as most paperbacks, can be read in brilliant sunshine, or in darkness with a torch, and its battery life is infinite. How can you possibly say that yet another piece of technological carry luggage is better!'.

My friend, you just presented a competent and convincing argument for continuing support of the print industry. Most of those who dissent against the buying of e-readers and ebooks (please don't ask me to explain why one is hyphenated and the other is not) will cite these points and demand that a prospective buyer will not contribute to the ever declining readership of the modern society. I understand where they are coming from. I agree that it will be a very sorry day indeed when the last book is taken off the shelf, to be replaced by holo-texts or whatever we have reached by that time, as a valuable piece of communicative history will have been lost. I personally hope that I will never see it happen. 

The printing of books began in earnest in 1455 with the Gutenberg Bible, following the earliest metal-type printed work which was a Korean Buddhist textbook, emerging in 1377. From the time of Moses, notably, and before, systems of language and written text are evident, and thus it is a terrible idea that such industry could be destroyed, even if under the wheels of modernisation and 're-imagined mechanisation'.

However- and this is a rather large however- there are reasons why the Kindle Paperwhite and its creed are beneficial to folks such as me.

I am a student, and therefore streamlining my work process (and costs) is a very sensible move. My kindle can receive and display documents and PDFs of my choosing, sent by email, such as my student handbook, timetable, seminar notes, presentation script etc etc. This is incredibly useful for me in particular, as I am an off campus student, driving in to Uni with only my bag for the day. By uploading my documents to Kindle, I can reduce the amount of paper I need to remember to pack, and also save space in my bag for the items I do need, like seminar work, handouts, notebooks and often-times, my packed lunch. 

Furthermore, American college students in particular will be aware of the exorbitant fees that your college/university will ask you to pay, not only for tuition, but for the books they say are 'absolutely essential to the course, and you mustn't set foot within our establishment without a copy (preferably bought from our bookshop)'. These books are ALWAYS ridiculously over-priced, over-published with only minor changes being made between each reprint, and are likely to be only used a couple of times over the course of the year. The same is true to a lesser degree when considering the purchase of fictional literary texts. For my course, I was asked to purchase a large and expensive anthology of Romantic literature, which I am going to fork out for, along with numerous other classic works, which I am decidedly not. Though I support the preservation of such great works in paper format, and will still buy hard copies if I particularly enjoy that volume, the combination of the Project Gutenberg library and my Kindle has, and will save me a lot of money as well as space in my bag. According to British copyright law, following a period of seventy years after the death of an author, their works become public domain and therefore are free to download and keep. Given that the Romantic period was some one-hundred-and-fifty to two-hundred years ago, works of that age are available for free on Project Gutenberg.

What is Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is, according to their Wikipedia entry: 

'a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". It was founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital library.'

Used in tandem with an e-reader, tablet, computer or even some mobile phones, one can have access to over 53,000 ebooks. You won't find any brand new bestsellers in the Gutenberg library, but for someone with tastes like myself, all the old classics (literally- they have Homer, Euripides and Flavius Josephus in there!) are available. 

A lot of these out of copyright books are also available to download straight from the Amazon store, which is even quicker, and sometimes contains neat extra features such as the 'X-Ray' mentioned below. If Amazon doesn't have an old text you're looking for, though, you can bet that Gutenberg will. Here is a link:

https://www.gutenberg.org/

What about new books?

If so inclined, I can still buy new releases from the Amazon Kindle store, and they will download automatically to my Kindle for me to read. It really is as simple as that. There are some funny issues with buying ebooks from other suppliers, as they are not readily transferable across different types of e-reader, unfortunately. Then again, most people don't generally buy a car, and then hope they can stick bicycle wheels on it.

But, just think of the children!!

Ok, so it is a sad fact of life that many children today are being introduced to the world of literacy, not by looking at a whiteboard and set of early reader books, but instead by spending hours glued to a tablet or computer screen. Sic transit gloria mundi. A Kindle e-reader is not a tablet, and kids will not be wasting away their precious childhoods by doing exactly what adults do: playing mobile games. 

The words on the screen are formed in e-ink, and change only when you turn the page. The Kindle is made entirely for presenting beautiful words, and it does a fantastic job of it. Yes, children should have the enjoyment of actual paper books. Who didn't love holding a Fantastic Five paperback in hand, or literally poring over a Harry Potter novel? But, if the Cult of Technology really has taken over the world, as it seems it has, is it not a good idea to at least provide an environment with the appearance of technology, and the benefit of learning transferred through paper? The Kindle has a 'Kindle for Children' setting, where parents can choose exactly what their child can read, for how long, and with various additional features to supplement their learning such as in-line word definitions, highlighting, and note taking. Which leads me into my next point, how the Kindle is good for bigger kids.

Writing in the margins, digital style.

Have you ever come across a second hand book, which some inconsiderate person has doodled all over, or scrawled notes in, where you hoped you would be able to make notes yourself? I have. With my Kindle, I can highlight words, make notes on the text using the on-screen keyboard, and send portions via social media. The best part is, all of these notes, highlights etc are erasable. I find this useful for studying both in a University context, and for making notes in my Bible (another fantastic addition to my digital library, which I can carry anywhere).

For those who need reassurance, or are studying particularly difficult texts, by holding your finger on a word to highlight it, you can also see a dictionary definition of a word, translate it from a foreign language (whilst connected to the internet), and using the Kindle's unique 'X-Ray' feature (available for books downloaded from the Amazon store), see where that word/ name occurs throughout the rest of your text. This really is invaluable to me, as the novels I'm reading love their flowery, ever-flowing, obtuse language. The X-Ray feature is great for, say, Jane Austen novels when you have a hundred different Mr and Mrs's and you're starting to lose track of who is who.

So everyone should buy a Kindle then, that is what you are saying?

In essence, yes. I don't know that they are to everyone's tastes, but I bet a lot of people have not even considered getting one. I find it to be an incredible tool, as well as a pleasure to read with, and it has certainly rekindled (!) my desire to read as I used to. I have gone from maybe ten texts in a year, to almost that many in a month, aside from my own personal documents which I can reference on a nice, portable screen. The ability to read books downloaded from Project Gutenberg is also fantastic, and I look forward to buying some new releases sometime soon also. I am determined that I will not abandon the fantastic physical libraries and bookshop atmospheres that I love so much, and I certainly will not support their systematic dismantling; however, I also cannot recommend the Amazon Kindle more highly.

The Need for the Folly

The word folly has several different meanings, each of them suggestive of a daydreaming and escapist approach to life. This is necessary for everyone, every now and then, and the pursuit of same is certainly made possible through writing.

One might describe a person's beliefs or statement as 'folly',  meaning it is absurd, illogical, or insensible. At least one of those words, maybe more, can be used to describe my writing upon occasion. It is not always to be taken seriously, and it is certainly meant in good humour, with the eliciting of thought and the drawing forth of smiles in mind. Whilst it is true that I intend to further my writing on this blog as a matter of gaining experience, and putting on paper some words that I can call my own, I understand that my style will have to develop in order to cater for a reading audience. I can't always be dead-pan serious when this endangers my prospects of anyone ever reading the posts ever again.

Wimpole's Folly, Cambridgeshire

Hopefully I won't be doing myself too much of a disservice when I explain that the other meaning of the word 'folly' is a typically English idea for a small building that-- well-- essentially serves no traditional purpose that buildings usually serve. In romantic literature, the folly was a place of seclusion, rather than one of habitation; a place for thinking and solitude rather than comfort and reclining. It hosted the turning over of ideas and book pages. One of these grand little buildings  could be visited when in need of a place to elucidate, to ponder, and, given their commonly being located in areas of outstanding natural beauty, to be used as a suitable spot for 'gandering'.

And what else should a blog be used for, but to ponder, oft times in solitude, and to elucidate and express ideas, sharing them with anyone else who cares to read? As for outstanding beauty, I'll try to fit in some pretty pictures every now and then.

So, a silly name for a blog, yes, perhaps. An apt one? Certainly. 


M.

New Editorial Job!

A little while ago, I started seeing emails from the English/History departments at Uni, who were sending out notification of upcoming positions in their respective fields. A couple of these positions caught my eye, and knowing that I needed- and still need- to build up experience in the writing sphere, I made applications for a few of these spots.

I later withdrew from one application, sensing that I wasn't the type of person they were looking for (there had not been a man on the team as far back as records went), and unfortunately just missed the position in a second case. However, my last application, for an Editor position at the Lancaster Flash literary journal was met with great praise, supposedly being of a 'fantastic standard', due to its 'attention to detail', 'genuine enthusiasm', 'good critique' and 'pertinent discussion', among other niceties. 

Apologies for bragging- but I mean- it's just nice to savour the moment sometimes, you know?

Anyhow, this is certainly a very good step in the direction I wish to pursue in the future; an 'Editor' role will look great on my CV, and the position will allow for me to work with the other members of the board to shape literary discussion in and around my university. I will be working closely with authors submitting their writing to the journal, and will also have the opportunity to submit literature and critical commentary of my own.

Will I be paid for this work? Your guess is as good as mine. In this case, however, I'm not all that worried, as I think the experience and kudos I'll be able to garner from such a role will be far more valuable to me. Anything on top of this will be a bonus!

I will take up the role at the start of the next academic term, unless anything changes, so have over the summer to prepare and re-draft my own pieces as I see fit, as well as taking a lovely holiday break, for part of which I'll be dorm leader at Coniston Summer Camp (experience of a different kind!).

I really do see this as a step forwards. Getting into editing publications could lead me down the book route (nudge nudge Penguin), the magazine route (nudge nudge Focus Magazine), or the audio-visual route (nudge nudge BBC).

I'll be sure to let you know of advancements in the future!

P.S., if you find any mistakes in the body of this text, please contact the Editor.

WHSmith Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Book Deal

A very quick blog update to say that I have indeed gone ahead and pre-purchased the new Harry Potter script book that is going to be released at the end of July.

First of all, I thought it would be a nice treat, after another session of exams (which are next week, by the way- eek!), and also, I have come across a great deal that is being offered by WHSmith at the moment.

To pre-order the book, you just need to put a deposit of three pounds down at your local till, and once the book is released, you pay the last seven pounds when you get your copy. No fuss, small deposit and good total price; what's not to like!

So, if you fancy getting the book yourself, that is how I would recommend to do it, as I have seen the book for sale on Amazon for ten pounds, purely for a digital copy, whereas 'Smiths are selling the hardback 'rehearsal edition', which will go well with the other collectors edition Harry Potter books that I am sure you possess. No? Shame.