Before I started this blog (over a year ago, wow), I was taking part in blogging of a different kind. I was running a Studyblr, that is, a study blog based on Tumblr. I did this all through college and the first year of my degree and it really was a great way to stay productive! The Studyblr community was the most positive and supportive places on the internet which I have ever experienced, full of people lifting each other up, encouraging one another and sharing their advice. It has been a while since I was a part of that community of people but I want to dive back into it and to show you what you're missing if you're a student who has never heard of it before. I also want to share the other online study communities which I have either found or have been a part of in the hopes that you can find as much joy in this internet space as I have.

Tumblr

Let's start with Studyblr! This is a popular tag on Tumblr and the easiest way to find Studyblr content on the platform. You will immediately stumble upon images of workspaces accompanied by captions logging a day's productivity. I found that a lot of these images gave me ideas for how to lay out my notes, showed me the techniques that other people use to revise, and generally reminded me to set my desk out and get to work! There are also lots of useful how-to guides on topics such as planning, bullet journaling, note-taking, and balancing studies. I could scroll through this tag for hours and hours, although that would defeat the purpose of the tag really!


100 Days of Productivity

One popular challenge that Studyblrs take part in is the 100 Days of Productivity challenge. This is where you take at least one productive action per day and log it on your blog, often as a photo post. I found taking part in this really useful as it held me accountable! I felt that I needed something to post every day, no matter how big or small, and encouraged me to do my best to be productive every single day. It's also really encouraging to see the blogs you follow managing to crush the challenge!

Masterposts

Masterposts are my favourite thing ever! They are a collection of posts or links made into a themed list which you can use to get all the information, advice or templates you could ever need. My favourites are always masterposts which show you all the free printables you can get to plan your study sessions! I love a good printable! Here are a few examples of masterposts:

• Study Music Masterpost by uk-studying
• Important TED Talks by marias-studyblr
• Fundamental Apps by suitestudy
• Study Advice Masterpost by studywithmariana

Friendliness and a full inbox

When I was running my Studyblr account, my inbox was always full of questions, encouragement and generally people open to chat about what we both study. I never experienced a negative message or comment in all the time I was posting! It was refreshing, to say the least! I even got talking to a few people who were deciding which universities to apply for and they were asking me about the university I attend, and it felt good to answer their questions and help them to make their minds up since I remember being in their place and how stressful it was!

Things I picked up from Studyblr

I picked up a lot of tips and tricks from using Studyblr. I refined my notetaking techniques and now I keep everything on Google Drive so that I have my notes to hand anywhere I go. I began using the Pomodoro technique to study and found lots of apps which aid me in my revision sessions. It also got me in the habit of enjoying everyday photography, which definitely transferred to blogging and my social media. I got into bullet journalling, which really helped me to organise my life in the hectic transfer from college to university. Now, I make a to-do list for absolutely every task I approach and it ensures that I never forget to do something.

Tags to use

• Studyblr
• Studyspo
• Bujo - bullet journalling
• Study motivation
• Studying
• Study notes
• 100 days of productivity / 100DOP

(Side note - while writing this I realised that I miss Studyblr so much and should probably set up a new Studyblr, so here it is: jessistrying.tumblr.com)

Instagram

The Instagram study community can be found through the Studygram tag. It is similar to the community on Tumblr as they tend to post images of workspaces in order to log study sessions. There are lots and lots of images of notes with beautiful calligraphy titles. This community is just as positive and encouraging as Studyblr! During my time running a Studygram, I would message with people all over the world talking about how and what we study, as well as just how we were that day! It feels so open and inviting!


Videos

One thing that you can see a lot of on Studygram is timelapses of people studying or note taking. I find these videos strangely relaxing, as well as motivating. I love seeing the notes fill the page and it makes me want to push on and make my own notes. In fact, one trick I used to use to study was taking timelapses so that I couldn't touch my phone as it was recording. I would be left with a time lapse of my study session to look back on and I would get much more done since I couldn't touch my phone!

Tags to use

• Studygram
• Studygramcommunity
• Studycommunity
• Studymotivation
• Studywithme
• Notetaking
• Studytime
• Studying

YouTube

I am less well-versed on the YouTube study community, but I have been looking into it for this post and there is definitely one there! I know of a lot of Studyblrs who have moved across to the platform in order to create more content, and there seems to be a thriving group of 'Studytubers' who are sharing their tips and tricks on YouTube. From bullet journalling videos to university experience videos and study advice videos, there is definitely a lot to explore on this platform!

Study With Me videos

These are the greatest to put on in the background when you are taking notes from a textbook. They are long videos of people studying in real-time, often using the Pomodoro technique and showing when they take their breaks. It's a nice way to time your Pomodoro sessions and it's encouraging to look up from your work and see someone working hard. Not as effective as revising in the university library and looking around at other people stressing as much as you, but it's a good alternative for when you can't make it to the library or just want to revise at your own desk!

Study music

Less of a community, more of a great tool. Study music, especially lo-fi study music, has become somewhat famous on YouTube with thousands tuning into music live streams at any one time. Lofi hip hop radio by Chillhop is such good background noise for your study sessions as it just fades into the background while still sounding great.

Searches to use

• Studytube
• Study with me
• Study tips
• Study music
• Study inspiration

Pinterest

Simply by typing the word 'study' into the Pinterest search bar, you can find lots and lots of helpful posts! As with other platforms, there is a clear theme of note images, calligraphy titles and workspaces, but there is also a treasure trove of advice posts, printables and checklists! The content on Pinterest is less based on a consistent image theme (for most) and more about infographics, advice sharing and offering free printables and tools. I feel like Pinterest is more about practical advice than it is about inspiration.

Searches to use

• Study
• Study tips
• Study notes
• Note taking
• Study habits

What is ghosting?

Ghosting is a term used commonly when you are ignored blatantly through social media by somebody you have previously had a meaningful connection with. If somebody has been ignoring your messages despite being online, that's ghosting. If somebody has suddenly blocked/unfriended/unfollowed you on social media, that's ghosting. This can hurt a lot when it's done by somebody you were previously close to or were seeing romantically.

Dictionary definition: "...the practice of ending a personal relationship with someone by suddenly and without explanation withdrawing from all communication."

Urban Dictionary definition: "When a person cuts off all communication with their friends or the person they're dating, with zero warning or notice beforehand. You'll mostly see them avoiding friend's phone calls, social media, and avoiding them in public."

No closure

Psychology Today: ""closure is knowing the reason a romantic relationship was terminated and no longer feeling emotional attachment or pain, thereby allowing for the establishment of new and healthy relationships."

Perhaps the worst thing about ghosting is the lack of closure that it generates for a lost connection. You are being ignored and cut off but often you will have no idea why. When we are trying to move on from a lost connection, often the starting point which we need is closure. We need to know why things didn't work out so that we can accept and move on. When someone is ghosting their former partner, they know the reasons why it's not working out in their eyes, and they are using ghosting as a way to move on from the relationship (albeit a shitty way). However, when you are being ghosted despite believing that everything was going great, it is jarring and you are thrust from knowing where you stand in a secure romantic attachment to being completely cut off from the person you were sure you were close to.

Was it something I said?

When we don't have closure as to why a connection failed, often we can look inwards to find the reason why. If you were not aware that things weren't working out, the chances are that you completely and utterly admired the 'ghoster' previous to the ghosting, and you will find it hard to find them at fault for why things didn't work out. All these unanswered questions can lead to self-blaming.

Did I do something wrong?
Did I make them feel like it wasn't working out?
Did I say something to hurt them?
Was I not good enough?

When you have no idea why things didn't work out, it's easier than ever to blame yourself and see the breakup as 'just another personal failure'. If the 'ghoster' had just opened up and explained the reasons why things were not working out, then you wouldn't have to jump to blaming yourself and you could move on knowing why.

Am I annoying/pestering you?

How do you react to being ghosted? Do you also step back and accept that things obviously weren't working out? Or do you do one of the following?

Try to pull closer to the 'ghoster' and compensate for the lack of interaction by messaging/texting more.
Ask 'why', repeatedly.
Ask if all your extra unreplied to messages are annoying.
Apologise profusely about all those messages and chalk it up to having a bad day/PMSing.
All of the above? (Same!)

It's a vicious cycle. It's a combination of being ignored and blaming yourself. You can feel like you are driving them away further by annoying them and bombarding them with messages. Then you blame yourself by feeling like you are annoying them while they ignore the messages more and more and more.

What can we 'ghostees' do differently?

Honestly? Let's call them out on their bullshit. It's okay to still care about them (since the whole no closure thing) but 'ghosters' should know how much their actions hurt and how they are preventing their 'ghostees' from moving on. Too long I have looked back and regretted not telling the people who have ghosted me how much they have hurt me and how much they have knocked my trust in relationships. I am always scared that as soon as I get close to someone, they will suddenly act as though I do not exist. So, I have vowed to call 'ghosters' out on their shit so that they think twice before doing it again to somebody else.

In summary, ghosting is terrible and we shouldn't put up with it as 'just a part of dating life'! Also, we should make a conscious attempt to never ghost any of our partners (it works both ways) and always ensure that we communicate about our issues and about what is not working well in our relationships. We need more openness and to be able to raise issues and concerns without it becoming an argument! Communication is key!

I am trying to get healthier and, unlike my previous health kicks, I am doing this gradually and taking smaller and more sustainable steps towards this. I used to go from never working out to attempting to work out every day and by the end of the month I would have fallen off track and given up. Instead of this, I am not trying to work out loads every week, completely change my diet and drop loads of weight immediately. Instead, I am making baby steps and combatting my unhealthy habits one by one.

Food

I am not eating less, I am just substituting certain foods. I have already cut down on most dairy and I am already a vegetarian so I will be carrying on with this. I am going to try to home cook meals more as I tend to be lazy after uni and pick up a meal deal or just eat out! I also want to incorporate more protein into my diet because I haven't really paid attention to my protein intake since going veggie (years ago) and I really should start! I am not going to stop myself from eating unhealthy foods altogether, but I'm going to try to have more balance because I tend to eat a lot of unhealthy foods and don't really pay attention to what I am eating. I am also the biggest stress/boredom eater ever and I'm trying to be more mindful of when I'm about to binge so that I can stop myself or find a healthy alternative.

Exercise

I already walk everywhere since I don't drive. But, I want to do more. I walk out of necessity to university and back every day but I want to do more walking outside of this. I have started to walk to my local parks, and then having a jog around the parks before walking home. This gives me more time outdoors and more me-time. I also joined a gym for the first time in my life and I am loving it! I go whenever I can (so not a massive amount at the moment) and I love how my body feels after a workout!

Sleep

I'm not exactly going to bed early yet, but I'm going to bed earlier that I was. Ish. Okay, I'm working on it! When I don't have friends over, I aim to go to bed before midnight and I actually have a bedtime routine set. I light a bit of lavender incense, I remove my makeup and do my whole skincare routine, then I pop on some relaxing music that reminds me of my hometown and I pretty much drift off to sleep straight away since my days have been busy and I am always tired!

Brain

This one's a bit more difficult than the others but I'm trying my best to improve my mood. By that, I mean to keep it regulated and try to cope with uni better. Firstly, I'm trying to get more consistent with taking my medication for low mood and anxiety. You would think that after a year I would be better at this but you would be wrong! I am keeping track with a lil tickbox at the end of my daily bullet journal page and I've set about 12 reminders on my phone telling me to take my meds, so that should work. I'm also staying single for a while, which should drastically improve my mental health after the past few months! Finally, I'm spending more time with the people closest to me here in Manchester, which has improved my mood so much since I was beginning to feel isolated and lonely!

What small changes are you making to benefit your wellbeing? x

Photo by Renáta-Adrienn on Unsplash

Don't get me wrong, blogging schedules are great if you can definitely stick to one. I have tried many times to keep to a blogging schedule because I know how great and useful they can be. However, life always comes along and suddenly I've missed three posting days and I'm feeling pretty guilty and useless. Part of my issue is the fact that my attention span and motivation levels rise and fall uncontrollably all the time and, while sometimes I am able to get lots of writing done alongside my degree and work, sometimes I have a massive lack of concentration and attention, and I have to channel whatever I can into university. I originally wanted to write this post to justify myself and to explain why occasionally I can go long periods without posting. However, I now have another reason for writing this. I know quite a few people who have felt like they're failing as bloggers because they fail to keep to their schedule. They beat themselves up over it and feel like they're letting their readers down. I wanted to write this because I want to remind them that they shouldn't be beating themselves up over something they can rarely control. If you need a break, you need a break and the chances are that your readers understand this!

Things come up

For many of us, blogging is not a full-time occupation. We work, we study, and we're trying to balance a million different things at once. Often, we have to prioritise work or studies (or just life in general) over our writing, and it sucks but it happens! Not every week is the same and some weeks it's easier to keep a posting schedule than others. I have just happened to find it difficult for many weeks, maybe months. The constant pressure and stress I am putting myself under to constantly think up new content started to sap the enjoyment out of writing for me. I don't write well under pressure and I need time to generate my ideas. I am in my final year of university and I have a lot going on at the moment. I am trying to piece together my dissertation, hand in assignments on time, prepare for exams, volunteer, and apply for graduate schemes and jobs. It's a lot and I am very tired a lot of the time, so I decided to take as much pressure off myself as I possibly can. If I know that I find it very hard to stick to a schedule, the best I can do is post as often as I can and make sure that my content is up to scratch! It makes writing more special and come more naturally this way!

Sometimes you'll reach a block and that's okay

Sometimes ideas just don't come, and that can be frustrating. It's especially frustrating when you're trying to keep to a blogging schedule. Writer's block is one of the banes of my life and it's so hard to get out of sometimes! What won't get you out of your writer's block is forcing yourself to write. What you need to do is to take some time to gather inspiration and do some good brainstorming from this... amongst other things. It's not the end of the world to miss a posting day, honestly! It is better to take the time to write something truly good than to force yourself to write something you don't particularly enjoy writing. It reflects in your work and can seem off kilter or different to the posts you have written in the right frame of mind.

Quality over quantity

When I was keeping a schedule, I was posting three times a week. It worked for a while but as I started to get busier in my degree I began to notice that I was making lower quality posts just so I would keep my schedule going. Now when I post, I know I am putting out carefully put together content which I have put a lot of work into. My posts are longer and better researched. I feel prouder about the posts I am putting out. I would rather post one great post than three rushed ones.

Would I ever go back to keeping a blogging schedule?

I'm not ruling it out. Blogging schedules are not bad, it's just not sustainable for me right now. Maybe when I have more time to dedicate to writing, or if I get to a point in my mental state where I can keep motivated and focused, I will keep a more consistent schedule. The point of this post wasn't to tell you that I think schedules are a bad idea. Quite the opposite: I would love to be able to keep a good schedule! However, what we need to understand is that they are not always sustainable or healthy to keep!

How do you balance your blogging life and other commitments? x

Photo by Danielle Cerullo on Unsplash

I never thought I would love fitness this much, but here we are! I joined the gym a month ago and I am honestly so proud of myself for pushing myself to go. I have been wanting to join a gym for a couple years now but the idea of working out in front of other people terrified me. I have experienced a lot of anxiety surrounding the way I view my body and my fitness, and I have felt a lot of shame. However, I knew that could only be beaten if I just joined and started working out and working though the fears!

Pushing myself to join

It's kind of like the 'fuck it' philosophy. I had been thinking about joining the gym for forever, but it took one 'fuck it' moment for me to ask a friend where they go and then sign up for my induction. I think that's the best way to do things. There wasn't a massive lead up on the day of me waking up and saying "I'm going to join the gym today", I just did it without thinking too much about it. It worked, I booked my induction for the next morning and told myself that I had to get up and do it.

I was super nervous going into my induction. I had spent too long thinking about going to the gym and then overthinking about all the things that could go wrong. What if people see how unfit I am? What if I fall on the treadmill? What if I break a machine? What if someone finds it funny how little I can lift? But I went to my induction, at 8:30 on a Saturday morning, because I had it booked in so I had to go! The trainer was lovely and informative and I was actually the only one who had turned up to the induction so I got to have a go on almost everything with the guidance of the trainer. By the end of the induction, I felt so much more confident about my choice to join the gym! I felt like I knew the basics and I knew how to use most of the machines with proper form. That was all it took for me to feel fine about going to the gym and working out around others.

Why am I going to the gym?

I've been fine with my appearance lately, and I have worked on my confidence a great deal, so why have I finally decided to join the gym? Surprisingly, it isn't because I want to lose weight and slim down. I just want to feel healthier and stronger! I start every workout with a session of cardio because I have been so sluggish and I have felt so fed up about feeling tired and out of energy all the time. It feels good to get the blood pumping and work up a bit of a sweat! I then move on to weight machines, my favourite part of the gym! I have already seen such a difference in my ability to lift and I am always building up the weight and trying to lift heavier!

How I feel after a month

I am already stronger and fitter! I still hate cardio (like, a lot) but I have surprised myself with how I still push myself to do it! I can be very inconsistent and unmotivated with these things so I'm pretty proud of myself for keeping it up! I have begun to vary my weight workouts a lot more and I have been trying different machines and weight levels. I can see muscle tone in my legs that wasn't there before and my arms are looking a lot more firm and fit!

How I want to progress

Cardio is something I really want to focus on going forward. I want to learn to love cardio, or just to like it even a little. I think I'm going to mix it up rather than getting on the treadmill and then switching to stair-master. I may incorporate rowing machines or even bikes into the mix and see if I find that more enjoyable! I do want to have a session with a personal trainer to check my form and see if I can do anything differently, and I would also like to maybe try out a few classes. Since weight machines are something I enjoy, I may move on to free weights. That part of the gym isn't somewhere I have explored much (since it's always packed and everyone seems to know what they are doing), but I do think it is something I would enjoy!

Do you have any recommendations of apps or workouts which could help me to enjoy cardio? I am all ears! x

Note Taking

I always start my studying by making my notes and printing them out. I go through lecture slides to see if I left anything out on my notes and then I lay them out for ease of reading and print them out. I make all my notes on Google Drive so that I can pull them up on my laptop, phone or on a uni computer so I can refer back to them whenever I am studying. I like to print my notes since it makes them really easy to annotate while I am studying, and it's just so easy to work from a paper copy when I am also using them to plan essays or make revision materials. Nice notes are a great bit of groundwork for your studying!

Flashcards

Flashcards, both physical and digital, are excellent study resources! I tend to mix it up and make both paper flashcards and digital flashcards on Quizlet so that I always have as many revision resource options as possible. Creating flashcards means that you always have bitesize notes to hand when you quickly need to refresh your memory on a concept or topic. As a psychology student, I have always found flashcards incredibly helpful when learning different theories or studies. Quizlet makes it fun and easy to test yourself on your flashcards and the app means that you can take this method of studying anywhere! I always use the app on the bus or when I'm waiting for a shift to start, just while I have a free few minutes to kill.


Video Content & Podcasts

I am super lucky due to the fact that all my classes are podcasted, meaning I can revisit everything that my lecturers have said so that I don't miss out on any snippets of information! I go through lecture podcasts with my printed notes to hand, so that I can add anything the lecturer has said but hasn't put up on the slides. I also play the podcasts in the background whilst I'm doing chores and not studying so that I'm constantly reviewing information. I play these podcasts at 1.5x speed so that I can review each of them at least a couple of times before the exams.

Other video content may be available to accompany your classes. Crash Course pretty much got me through my A-Levels, especially my biology modules which were incredibly information heavy! I have also had course textbooks with accompanying videos on YouTube, like THIS cognitive neuroscience textbook. If you are having a hard time grasping a particular concept or topic, search for it on YouTube and see how someone else explains it! Sometimes, you just need a different explanation of a concept in order to understand it!

Mind Maps

A lot of my studying involves finding different ways to go back through my notes and review all the information I need to know. Cutting down the info into bitesize chunks for flashcards and (especially) mind maps pushes me to select the most important information from my notes, making sure I consolidate this info further while also reviewing my notes as a whole. Mindmaps are a good visual resource and I keep mine in their own separate notebooks per module, so I always have them to hand. When working through practice questions, pulling up a mind map means that you are being prompted only by keywords and headings rather than all the information you need to answer the questions, meaning that you need to push yourself harder to remember! They're really useful tools for your revision kit!


Past Paper Questions

I used to shy away from past papers and revision quizzes because they would make me lose confidence in what I had learned. I mean, how can I possibly take practice exams if I don't feel like I've revised enough for the actual exams? However, over time I realised that while past papers would make me feel unprepared for the exams, this was a good thing because it would light a fire in my belly and push me to work even harder. Plus, occasionally in exams, a question comes up which I have already worked on in a practice paper and I end up breezing through it since I remember how I answered and marked it in the past paper.

How do you study for your exams? I am always looking to try new revision methods! x

You can check out the rest of my student life posts HERE! You can check out my studyblr HERE! x

Yes, as in Bridget Jones, iconic character and spinster! My mum calls me Bridget for a large number of reasons, mostly funny ones. Do I like this nickname? Yes, because no matter how awkward or hopeless Bridget Jones can be, she is always endearing and likeable.

My love life

From funny messaging experiences on Tinder to lost romances, my love life has pretty much been all over the place in the past year. This time last year, I had been single pretty much forever and I used to complain about this to my mum almost constantly. "You're such a Bridget, Jess." However, in the past year I have had one relationship and a long string of dating experiences. Some wonderful and some not so much. I have experienced being stood up, being ghosted, and falling for someone who didn't feel the same about me. Pretty up and down if you ask me. It's all a part of life, though!

That one scene where Bridget decides to give up dating and focus on her career

You know the one. Where she throws away her books with titles such as 'What Men Want' and packs her shelf with personal development books. She decides to get fit and get the job she really wants. I read a lot of personal development books and I get into fitness kicks three or four times a year. Also, when she decides to take shots of vodka and listen to Chaka Khan instead of getting upset about a gross cheating guy (eff you Daniel Cleaver), I felt that in my soul.

In love with Colin Firth

I mean, he's just perfect, isn't he? I have a real Mr Darcy complex, I swear!

Awkward and unintentionally funny

Bridget always seems to get herself into the most awkward situations. Those who cringe easily can find the films pretty hard to watch, and would probably find it hard to witness my day-to-day life, to be honest. I embarrass myself pretty much on the daily. Always got funny stories for my pals though! For example, my friend was staying in my room once and as I was falling asleep, I loudly muttered: "I just f*cking love mozzarella". I tend to do that a lot though, talk while I'm half asleep. Once I half woke up crying and saying "please don't send me back to McDonald's". I also fall up the stairs a lot, always have and probably always will. As a child, I constantly had scrapes on my nose from falling up the stairs.


'Bridgets'

Shapewear. I both love it and hate it. My mum and I call shapewear pants 'Bridgets' or 'Bridget Joneses'. If I have a big event or wedding coming up, catch me in the lingerie section of Primark picking some Bridget Joneses!

Well, it is one of my fave films!

Bridget Jones's Diary literally never fails to cheer me up. If I'm ill, I'm putting it on. Going through a breakup? Get it on! Wine drunk? Bridget Jones is being put on! It's just such a fun film and I could watch it a thousand times and still laugh! I can quote it word for word too so if there's ever a Bridget pub quiz, catch me there winning!


While Bridget isn't the nickname my mum calls me most (honeybee is the most frequent and most adorable one), it's one that has stuck for a long time! My mum is honestly my favourite person on this earth and I'm so glad that we have such a laugh together! Bridget Jones is just one film we like to quote and reference in our conversations, but it is definitely the most relatable one!

Which film characters do you relate to the most?x

What's the best way to get into the spooky spirit of the best month of the year? How about some spooky reads? I love a good scary/dark book and I have accumulated some favourites over the years! I figured I would share these with you, along with the blurb, a quick review and my favourite quote from each book!

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

Newly married, newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge. With her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie only has her husband's awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks, For inside her new home lies a mysterious wooden figure - a Silent Companion - that bears an unsettling resemblance to Elsie herself...

I hadn't read a full novel for quite a while when I picked this up, and I didn't put it down until the early hours when I had finished it. It's super atmospheric and gothic, and definitely a concept different to any other spooky novel I've read before. Wooden figures? How could they possibly be scary? It's definitely not your typical ghost story! You need to read this, it's superb! Its ending was insanely clever too and definitely shocked me!

Fave quote: "We are afraid of the things inside us - be they memories, sickness or sinful urges."

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

Rosemary Woodhouse and her struggling actor husband Guy move into the Bramford, an old New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and only elderly residents. Neighbours Roman and Minnie Castavet soon come nosing around to welcome them and, despite Rosemary's reservations about their eccentricity and the weird noises she keeps hearing, her husband starts spending time with them. Shortly after Guy lands a plum Broadway role, Rosemary becomes pregnant and the Castavets start taking a special interest in her welfare. As the sickened Rosemary becomes increasingly isolated, she begins to suspect that the Castavet's circle is not what it seems.

This was a fairly quick read and, since I once again couldn't put the book down, I finished it in just under a day. It's a classic and this is definitely for a reason! It's purely chilling and a horrifying concept! The skilled writing places you straight into Rosemary's shoes and you really feel all the confusion, frustration and horror with her.

Fave quote: “Like so many unhappinesses, this one had begun with silence in the place of honest open talk.” 

The Woman In Black by Susan Hill

Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the sole inhabitant of Eel Marsh House. The house stands at the end of a causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but it is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black – and her terrible purpose.

If you think that you don't need to read this because you have seen the brilliant film, you still do! The book differs from the film in many aspects and is definitely worth a read! It is chilling, atmospheric and such a quick read! The setting itself, in a house blocked off from the rest of the world tidally, is isolating and a perfect place for such a chilling ghost story to take place.

Fave quote: "But what was 'real'? At that moment I began to doubt my own reality.” 

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

A very young woman's first job: governess for two weirdly beautiful, strangely distant, oddly silent children, Miles and Flora, at a forlorn estate...An estate haunted by a beckoning evil. Half-seen figures who glare from dark towers and dusty windows- silent, foul phantoms who, day by day, night by night, come closer, ever closer. With growing horror, the helpless governess realizes the fiendish creatures want the children, seeking to corrupt their bodies, possess their minds, own their souls... But worse-much worse- the governess discovers that Miles and Flora have no terror of the lurking evil. For they want the walking dead as badly as the dead want them.

This is a book which has stuck with me from my high school English class days. I found it to be the most gripping book we had the opportunity to study and I adored working through the chapters. I have since reread it and found it just as intriguing and dark as the first time I read it years ago! While it is certainly not my favourite on this list, it is a good short story to get you into the mood for Halloween!

Fave quote: “Of course I was under the spell, and the wonderful part is that, even at the time, I perfectly knew I was.” 

Night Shift by Stephen King

From the depths of darkness, where hideous rats defend their empire, to dizzying heights, where a beautiful girl hangs by a hair above a hellish fate, this chilling collection of twenty short stories will plunge readers into the subterranean labyrinth of the most spine-tingling, eerie imagination of our time.

Of course, I'm mentioning Stephen King in this list! How could I not? This is the best horror story anthology I have ever read and perhaps my favourite book on this list. The first time I read it, back when I was a high school teen, I had to put the book down and switch on something a bit more uplifting. It freaked me out, the way Stephen King has a tendency to do. This collection of short stories is not one to read after dark, but is definitely worth a read when you feel up to it!

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

An intriguing combination of fantasy thriller and moral allegory, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde depicts the gripping struggle of two opposing personalities — one essentially good, the other evil — for the soul of one man. Its tingling suspense and intelligent and sensitive portrayal of man's dual nature reveals Stevenson as a writer of great skill and originality, whose power to terrify and move us remains, over a century later, undiminished.

Here's another one I read in high school! We were able to pick our own books to read in our library sessions (my favourite part of the week) and this was my first choice! I can't say much about this other than that it is so well crafted that the fact that we pretty much all know the shocking twist of the story does not make it any less enjoyable to read!

Fave quote: “If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers also.”

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

A second family has been massacred by the terrifying serial killer the press has christened "The Tooth Fairy." Special Agent Jack Crawford turns to the one man who can help restart a failed investigation: Will Graham. Graham is the greatest profiler the FBI ever had, but the physical and mental scars of capturing Hannibal Lecter have caused Graham to go into early retirement. Now, Graham must turn to Lecter for help.

Hannibal Lecter is one of literature and films' most iconic villains for a reason! This book introduced Lecter to the world and is a must-read for fans of TV's Hannibal or the film The Silence of the Lambs! Or, better yet, if you're not familiar with the character then give this a read and get introduced to one of the evilest characters ever dreamt up!

Fave quote: "He viewed his own mentality as grotesque but useful, like a chair made of antlers. There was nothing he could do about it.” 

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Obsessed with discovering the cause of generation and life and bestowing animation upon lifeless matter, Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but; upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creature's hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once-innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.

Mary Shelley was eighteen when she started writing Frankenstein. EIGHTEEN! People either love this book or hate it, and I love it. We all know of Frankenstein's monster, and the definitive novel about the creature is so disturbing and dark that it singlehandedly warrants the fame of the iconic creature. Not for the faint-hearted, but definitely one to read!

Fave quote: “I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.” 

What is your favourite spooky read?x

Photo by Melanie Pongratz on Unsplash

It's been a hot minute since I last spoke about music on this blog so I figured I would share some of my favourite playlists at the moment! These are the songs which I've had on loop for the past few weeks and which I tend to listen to at this time of year. I hope that you can pick out some new faves and I would love it if you shared what music you have been listening to lately! I am always on the lookout for a new favourite song!

Hydref

My main autumn playlist! This one is full of all those songs that make me feel good as the nights draw in early and the mornings are dark. I tend to sing along to these songs in the shower first thing in the morning and keep them playing as I get ready to start my day off.

• You're Right by Morning Bear
• Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac
• Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks
• Witchy Woman by Eagles
• House of the Rising Sun by Lauren O'Connell
• Spellbound by Siouxie and the Banshees
• Lavender Moon by Haroula Rose
• Born To Die by Lana Del Rey
• Ruins by First Aid Kit
• Kind of Woman by Stevie Nicks
• Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac
• Which Witch by Florence + The Machine
• Me And The Devil by Soap&Skin
• We're Alive! by Keith Johns
• 1000 by Brother
• Sisters of the Moon by Fleetwood Mac
• Dark Secret by Matthew Sweet
• People Are Strange by The Doors
• Lullaby by The Cure
• I See Fire by Ed Sheeran
• Cedar Lane by First Aid Kit
• Marz by John Grant

Orange Coloured Sky

I'm on an old-timey jazzy kick at the moment! It gives me calm and almost-Christmas vibes. Plus, all these songs are so fun to sing along to and I am sure I have been irritating my flatmate with my wailing along to this playlist! This is, in fact, probably the playlist I have been listening to the most this month!

• Orange Coloured Sky by Nat King Cole
• We'll Meet Again by The Ink Spots
• Someone To Watch Over Me by Ella Fitzgerald
• Dream A Little Dream of Me by Doris Day
• Way Back Home by Bob Crosby & The Bob Cats
• Maybe by The Ink Spots
• Blue Moon by Frank Sinatra
• Love Me As Though There Were No Tomorrow by Nat King Cole
• Come Fly With Me by Frank Sinatra
• A Kiss To Build A Dream On by Louis Armstrong
• Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall by Ella Fitzgerald & The Ink Spots
• La vie en rose by Louis Armstrong
• I've Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra
• Unforgettable by Nat King Cole
• Cheek To Cheek by Ella Fitzgerald
• Crazy He Calls Me by Billie Holiday
• Bidin' My Time by Julie London

Spook

This is the Halloween playlist I listen to every October! It's full of songs from films I watch every October and generally songs with a spooky theme! I dig this playlist out all year round but it just feels right listening to it in October!

• People Are Strange by The Doors
• Lullaby by The Cure
• Bang Bang - My Baby Shot Me Down by Nancy Sinatra
• Red Right Hand by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
• Cry Little Sister by G Tom Mac
• It Will Come Back by Hozier
• Sympathy For The Devil by The Rolling Stones
• Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival
• I Put A Spell On You by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
• The Boogie Monster by Gnarls Barkley
• (Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult
• Over At The Frankenstein Place from The Rocky Horror Picture Show
• Black Magic Woman by Fleetwood Mac
• Superstition by Stevie Wonder
• (Ghost) Riders In The Sky by Johnny Cash
• I Never Told You What I Do For A Living by My Chemical Romance
• Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne
• The Killing Moon by Echo & the Bunnymen
• Thriller by Michael Jackson
• This Is Halloween from The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) by Marilyn Manson

Autumn is well and truly underway and I am thriving! Not only have I been loving the chilly weather and reason to wrap up warm, but I have also been loving the changing leaves and early evenings! Autumn is truly the best season of the year! Since I'm loving writing these conversational posts lately, I figured I would chat about all the best things about autumn!

Atmosphere and colours

The LEAVES! As soon as the first leaf turns orange I feel so excited and anticipatory about the coming change of seasons! I grew up living near a patch of woods and those autumn walks were everything to me! I love the colours all around during autumn, and the fallen leaves making even the dingiest paths look lovely! The weather may be cold but the colours are warm and inviting! I feel like there is a buzz in the air in Autumn. It's no longer summer and everyone has gone back to their daily grind, not quite tired of it yet! This is especially evident on the campus of my university! Everybody is making the most of being back and settling into another academic year!

Clothes

Autumn is peak fashion time for me! I am at my most stylish and confident at this time of year! The jackets and scarves are layered without being overbearing, and I can hide my bad hair days with a beret or beanie. Life is good. I've been wearing all those autumnal warm colours and loving all the purchases I have made lately, especially from New Look! Photoshoots are also incredibly lovely in autumn since the backdrop of the leaves is always exceedingly beautiful!

 Makeup

The weather is finally chilly enough for me to not feel like I'm going to sweat off all my foundation by midday and I love it! I have never been a lover of wearing foundation. I feel like most foundations make my face even greasier than it always is, and I can just never find a shade that perfectly fits my pale face! However, this month I have started using the new Revolution Conceal and Define Foundation and it has really been a game changer for me! I wear makeup almost every day, I feel super confident and I actually enjoy getting ready in the mornings!

One thing that sucks about being an introvert is that I don't particularly enjoy nights out. One of the times this sucks most is Halloween, because I love celebrating Halloween but it always seems like most of the events around the celebration are nights out. I'm a massive lover of a good night in, all cosy and comfy. Just being at a crowded club or party makes me very anxious and it prevents me from properly enjoying my time. Here are a few ideas for a fun night in, either alone or with friends, to celebrate Halloween in all its glory!

Cosy Film Night

I've already made a post about this, which you can read HERE, but I'll recap it now. Cosy film nights are amazing and a great way to wind down after a long day. Put on your comfiest clothes, get a hot drink, maybe order some food and pick a film! The aforementioned blog post has loads of spooky film recommendations for your cosy film night. I'm planning on watching A Nightmare on Elm Street and all the Scream movies in the leadup to Halloween whenever I have the time.

Spooky Board Games

Film nights are pretty standard so why not mix things up a bit? If you have a handful of friends who aren't planning a big night out for Halloween, you could always get together for a bit of tabletop gaming! HERE is a list of some spooky board game suggestions I found on tabletopgaming.com (I especially want to try Eldritch Horror and Mysterium. If storytelling is more your game, Hollow Woods is a great storytelling card game which I picked up from Waterstones a few months ago. Each card has an image that connects to all the other cards to form a long woodland path, and you have to make up a story as you move from card to card.


Dress Up With Pets

If you have a pet, I envy you! My lovely dog lady Tilly is back home in Wales with my family and I miss her so much all the time. One great way to spend Halloween is to dress your pet up in a Halloween costume and have a good old photo shoot with them. You'll be awwing and laughing the whole evening away and it's a great way to spend some quality time with your best pal! For bonus fun, dress up in a matching costume and join in on the photoshoot fun!

Group Costume With Theme-Fitting Film

If you have a group of like-minded friends who you want to spend the evening in with for a movie night, how about setting up a costume theme with an accompanying theme. It adds an extra level of fun to the whole film night idea! For example, you could all get glammed up in some Rocky Horror Picture Show outfits and have a singalong, or dress up as your fave movie vampire and have a good vampire film marathon!

Baking/Cooking Night

Arguably the most chilled out night in you could have, either alone or with friends, is a good baking or cooking session! You could pick a recipe from my veggie autumn cooking post HERE and have a good hearty meal, or you could check out THESE Halloween themed bakes for a fun themed baking night! The best part, you get to eat the treats you make!

A Good Old Magical Bath

Honestly, this may be the idea I'm most drawn to since I've been so tired and achey lately! Baths are always magical but a Halloween bath? Even better! Get out the candles, throw in a themed bath bomb, set up a movie and just sink into the warm waters! You will feel so good afterwards! I've picked up Lord of Misrule from Lush and I'm so excited to use it in the coming days! I love their seasonal bath bombs and their Halloween collection is fabulous!

How will you be spending your Halloween?x

All around the year, there is so much to get up to in Manchester. In October, there are so many events you can attend and plenty of activities to keep you occupied throughout the month! I have summed up all the best things to do in Manchester over October, focusing on that autumn feel, and I hope that you can get some plans out of this post. Just researching for this post has filled my calendar with lots of things I want to attend and take part in!

Events

Grimmfest - 4th to 7th @ ODEON Manchester Great Northern

• Yes, the festivities for Halloween start TODAY! Grimmfest is a festival of horror, sci-fi, extreme fantasy and cult film, and this year is its 10th anniversary! They feature a massive variety of film screenings and invite many of the creators to speak. They also have a series of short films with a focus on female creators. If you're a movie buff and a horror fan, I would definitely check this out!

Activities

Making the most of October in Manchester is easy and there are so many things you can do! How about browsing the great selection of plants at Flourish and taking home a few (or a few dozen)! There's something so lovely about shopping at their outdoor shop just off Market Street in the chilly weather.

If you're looking for some great seasonal decorations, have a look around the shops in the Northern Quarter or have a look in Home Sense in the Arndale. I have gone a bit over the top with these lately but they're all so lovely and you can never have too many Halloween decorations! I got my new fave mug at Home Sense and now I want dozens more!


Sheltering from the chilly weather may lead you into some lovely spots in Manchester. Check out some cafes and food spots around the city which you haven't been in before. You never know, you may find a new favourite hangout spot! For me, I popped into Chapter One Books and now I can't get enough of their coffee, cakes and brownies!

For other ideas of how to spend your October, check out my other Blogtober posts!

• A Veggie in Autumn - lots of recipes and suggestions for food this month!
• A Cosy Film Night - lots of film suggestions and cosy suggestions for the cold nights in!

Surrounding Manchester

One thing I didn't realise until this year is that there are places around Greater Manchester where you can pick your own pumpkins! Wouldn't this be the perfect idea for a day out with friends and family, or even a cute autumnal date? You can check out an article by Manchester Evening News HERE with all the spots you can go to!

Long walks don't stop once Summer is over! Why not wrap up warm and check out some of the best walking spots around? I love a good chilly walk followed by a filling and warming dinner back at home!

Do you have any suggestions which I have missed out? What will you be doing this month?x