Those Who do not Read are Lost

Hello Lovelies!

Today's blog post is a short compilation of lists of my favourite books in various categories. I love to read, I find it enlightening, relaxing and entertaining. I have learnt so much from the characters and stories of the books I've read, not to mention improving my vocabulary and English skills tenfold. I truly believe that those who do not read and missing out on so much in life and if you claim you do not enjoy reading, then you simply haven't found the right material!

In these lists, I've tried to avoid listing entire series and so for circumstances where I love the entire series, I've listed only my favourite book out of the set. They are also in no particular order. So without further ado, here are my favourite books!

Fiction: I found it incredibly hard to create this list because I've read so many fiction books of all different genres so I tried to think of which ones influenced me the most, excited me the most and that I simply could not put down as opposed to those which I enjoyed but was hardly phased by.
1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden (shout out for being Australian!)
4. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
5. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Special mention to Richelle Mead and her wonderful series, Vampire Academy and to Louise Rennison for making me laugh with the adventures of Georgia Nicolson.

Children's: Children's tales are oddly rewarding to read. They often tell the most powerful messages in the simplest and clearest ways.
1. Once by Morris Gleitzman
2. The Red Tree by Shaun Tan
3. The Violin Man by Colin Thompson (thank you Mr Thompson for so kindly replying to my email of questions regarding the story whilst I was studying it for school. It was greatly appreciated)
4. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
5. Belonging by Jeannie Baker
Special mention to Dr Suess and Roald Dahl for the pleasure their stories gave me throughout my childhood. Are You My Mother and The BFG always made me smile when I was down.

Non-Fiction: I don't read too many non-fiction books unless they are required textbooks for my studies. This section is mainly comprised of biographies or autobiographies which have had a profound affect on my view on the world. However there are two books, at the end of the list, which are pure non-fiction thus explaining the heading of this section. You will notice they are mainly sport novel, reflecting my interest.
1. Open by Andre Agassi
2. Mickey O by Michael O'Loughlin
3. The Blind Side by Michael Lewis
4. The Rise of the Swans by Martin Blake
5. Who Moved my Cheese? by Spencer Johnson.
Special mention to Andrew Johns and his book, The Two of Me, which I am in the process of reading now and very much enjoying, and to Mark Gasnier for his autobiography, Gaz. Also a little note on Who Moved my Cheese: this is a non-sport book about managing change and uses a cute little tale of two mice and two little men to do so. It's adorable with a powerful message.

Classics: Classics is the last category. I find it difficult to read classics because the old English language makes them harder to understand and so I cannot read them when I'm tired or not fully concentrating. But there have been some which have been amazing.
1. As You Like It by William Shakespeare
2. Little Women by Louise May Alcott
3. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
4. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Special mention to JD Salinger for the odd yet interesting tale of Catcher in the Rye, and to L.Frank Baum for the excellent tale of The Wizard of Oz.

I hope you take the time to read these stories one day, if you have not read them already that is. If you would like to know more about any story, comment below or ask me on twitter!

Happy reading lovelies,

The Power of Sport

Hello Lovelies! Hope you've all been well. As you may be aware, I am quite the sports fanatic. Whilst I'm only dedicated and loyal to a few specific sports, teams and players, I find myself willing and able to watch any sport in front of me, engage in discussion about it and learn all I can. Sport is the best entertainment I could ever ask for.

This winter (in Australia anyway), we've been blessed with an abundance of sport all at once. The French Open blurred into the Australia v France Rugby Series which blurred into the Fifa World Cup which blurred into Wimbledon which will blur into the Tour de France  which will blur into the Rugby Four Nations and Bledisloe Cup, all while our regular AFL and NRL seasons run in the background as well as the pinnacle of league, State of Origin (and a beautiful series win by New South Wales!!!!). And hasn't it been magical!

I've never realized the power of sport until our country was hit with it on such a mass level. Obviously personally it always meant something to me and I found such joy in supporting a team. The adrenaline rush of a close win, the excitement of extreme skill, the pain of a loss... it all comes together to make sport an emotional rollercoaster that I want to ride time and time again. It makes me so glad that Australia got the opportunity to feel this with me over the past few weeks and the few weeks ahead of us. To see a nation stand united, to see a nation stand proud of our representatives, to see a nation smile simultaneously as magic  (I'm looking at you Tim Cahill!) happened before us gives me hope that the world is not as sour as we all think it is. It felt so refreshing to turn on the news program and hear about success, triumph and pride rather than another murder trial, rape charges, lying politician, car crash or drug overdose. I understand those things are newsworthy and it is important that society is aware of it, but in my opinion, it's turned us all bitter towards the communities we live in. Sport has had the power to reverse that and for the first time in a long time, I walked past my local park and saw children running to join in a game of soccer rather than being told to walk away because of the danger of strangers or other children. Sport has returned a light-hearted, jovial atmosphere to our nation, and whilst it may only be temporary, it is definitely good while it lasts.

I think that the idols sport presents us with gives children role models to look up to and while there are those bad eggs, yes Todd Carney that is you, the elite group that remind the rest of the world what Australians are truly made of provide foundations for children to build on in their own lives. They are admirable and inspirational and portray the dedication, persistence and burning desire to succeed and improve that all Australians should emulate in their own lives.

Sport is powerful and when it comes all at once the change in society is clear. It may not be your primary interest but everyone gets behind the Aussies when it matters. We are united. We are proud. And above all we are smiling and things are peaceful.

Think about the power of sport through your own rose coloured glasses and tell me what you think of it in the comments below! Would love to hear perhaps a less biased view on the matter (I love sport so obviously I think it is powerful and special and important!)

Happy reading lovelies,