Books Glorious Books ♥

Hello chums! In case you didn't already know, it's World Book Day today! This has long been a favourite event of mine, ever since I first learned to read aged four, I always looked forward to World Book Day each year when the precious £1 book tokens were handed out to the class and we were all shepherded off to the school library to buy our books! I used to save up my pocket money specifically for World Book Day, often buying as many of the special release £1 books as I could afford!

Alas, I am far too old for freebie book tokens anymore (oh the sorrow...) but I still enjoy celebrating World Book Day in whatever small way I can. Regular followers might recall that for last year's World Book Day I spent the day dressed up as Mary Poppins, but this year I had appointments in town so I had to dress it down and wear normal clothes (boring!) but I did manage to flaunt my bookishness with my fab custom necklace and brooch from Sugar & Vice (more about that here).

Anyway, to celebrate my eternal love of all things book related, I thought I might take the opportunity to put together a fun little post featuring ten of my own personal literary heroes and heroines along with a bunch of neat stuff I found on Etsy relating to each author. If any of the items featured take your fancy, just click on the image to go and have a looksee at prices etc.

alrighty then, let's get started... 

William Shakespeare – English poet, playwright and actor – notable works: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, The Tempest, Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream - “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”

Brooch - FragileEliteDesign

Jane Austen – English novelist – notable works: Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility - “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

Bookmarks - CastleOnTheHill

Mary Shelley - English novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer notable works: Frankenstein, Mathilda, The Last Man, Valperga - “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” 

Scarf - ThornfieldHall

Edgar Allan Poe - American author, poet, editor, and literary critic – notable works: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Pit and the Pendulum - “I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.”

Poe sweatshirt - LittleLiterary

Oscar Wilde – Irish writer, poet, playwright and novelist – notable works: The Portrait of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband - “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.”

Oscar necklace - ShopSpaceTrash

Daphne Du Maurier – English novelist and playwright – notable works: Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, My Cousin Rachel, The Scapegoat - “But luxury has never appealed to me, I like simple things, books, being alone, or with somebody who understands.”

Framed book page print - BookishlyUK

Sylvia Plath – American poet, novelist and short story writer – notable works: Ariel, The Bell Jar, The Colossus And Other Poems - “If the moon smiled, she would resemble you. You leave the same impression, of something beautiful, but annihilating.”

Book Earrings - DesignsByAnnette

Douglas Adams – English writer, humorist, novelist and dramatist - notable works: The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency series -“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”

Dont Panic hand towels - Orientina

Neil Gaiman – English novelist, author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films - notable works: Sandman, American Gods, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, Neverwhere, Good Omens - “I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.”

Print - MaximusType

J. K. Rowling – English novelist - notable works: the entire Harry Potter series - “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” 

Marauders Map - Lilliannamarie

And There you go, just a bit of fun! It's always nice to discover lovely book themed art and accessories to add to your collection (or if you don't have a collection, perhaps it's time to START one).

Anyway my dears, Happy World Book Day to you! I hope you found time to enjoy your favourite book today or maybe you picked up something new, who knows. Either way may your days be filled with books, because everyone knows that books = happiness. 

Are any of the writer on this list amongst your favourite literary geniuses? 

Most of the writers on my list are classic authors, perhaps you prefer more modern literature, are there any books you're particularly excited about reading this year?

And on that note, i'll say goodbye for today, i'm going to make something for dinner and get back to the book i'm currently reading (The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon, in case you were wondering).

Farewell folks, see you again next time!

Merry Little Moomins ❤

Hello chums, back again. I was going to run a brand new post t'other day but I got shaken up by some not-so-good news (I lost my job, if you must know...) and it knocked me off kilter a smidge. But i'm here now so lets get on with it shall we!

Today i'll be wittering on about the eternally brilliant and (in my opinion) hilariously adorable creatures that are... Moomins!

Those of you that have followed the blog for a while might recall me having mentioned Moomins before (namely HERE) but today I need cheering up so I just felt like posting nice pictures of something I like.

And since i'm pretty sure you'll all stop following me if I just post a stream of photos of Benedict Cumberbatch or Tom Hiddleston (although I think we can all agree that they truly are quite lovely) I figured Moomins were less likely to drive you all away from here, also making me less likely to turn this blog into a Fangirl one (like I accidentally did to my Tumblr. You were warned, click at your peril).

Don't worry i'm not about to embark on a gargantuan explanation or a detailed history of Moomins, maybe some other time, today i'll just be posting nice pictures and rambling on a bit. That's all.

 
As i've also mentioned before, I have a terrible habit of ordering piles of junk (or treasure) on the interweb, well a recent purchase (was it a week ago, or two... or three! I forget) included some brilliant little goodies that came winging all the way to me from the HOME of the Moomins aka Finland...

That's right... I bought myself some little Moomins! Here they are all lined up on my desk ready to say hello to you.

And I also got some v pretty postcards and super cute badges to go with them. Because if there's one thing better than a Moomin... it's a Moomin reading a book! Yay MOOMINS!

The teeny tiny little Moomin figurines that I got from Finland are far too adorable! They all have movable arms and come with little accessories, just like the characters in the books and animations.

So now Moomintroll, Moominpappa, Moominmamma and Snorkmaiden all live on my desk. Oh I do hope they'll all be happy there, I don't know maybe they can go hang out with Loki or the Ghostbusters sometimes if they get bored!

I'm not too sure precisely what it is about Moomins but i've always liked them since I first saw them on the telly box. I remember avidly watching the (admittedly rather creepy and at times a bit spooky) cartoon when I was little, and Ialways enjoyed it even when the slightly scarier characters made an appearance on screen (i'm looking at you Groke, you creepy bugger).

Maybe it's because their Moominhouse is so sweet, or because Moominvalley looks like such a nice place to live and they always have such fun adventures with their friends! Whatever it is about them, they're kind of twee and I like them. 

There's something so charming about their simple design and cute little faces. They never seem to let the world get them down, even at times when things are going a bit wrong.

I think it helps that the books by Tove Jansson are so brilliant as well, there are a full set at the Library where I work (or where I used to work) and I have spent many a happy lunch hour flicking through them reading the stories and comic strips chuckling at stories about Sniff and Snufkin, Little My and the Moomins and of course the peculiar little Hattifatteners.

 

I think perhaps the appeal lies in the fact that Moomins live a simple but fulfilling life, finding enjoyment in even the most mundane tasks and pastimes.

 

But then I mean it must be impossible to be unhappy when you look like this, right?! 

 

Okay that's enough wittering for today. I seem to be all about the sudden stops lately, it's almost as if the tap in my mind just switches off and the flow of sentences and words immediately ceases.

I have a thrilling flotilla of post ideas meandering around inside my mind so hopefully i'll be able to type some of them out over the weekend or next week.

so until next time, that's all folks and thanks for visiting! 

don't forget to leave a comment if you feel like it, I always reply, it's not like I have anything else to do!

bye for now