So it’s February!  And, as is usually the case at this time of year, it would seem that approximately half of the blogging world is involved in some kind of project, whether it’s outfit posting, writing about the little things in life, or simply taking a photo every day and sharing it.

In line with my abstention from making New Year’s resolutions, I have decided not to hop onto any monthly challenge bandwagons in 2012 (I am, however, reading everyone’s updates!).  Instead, I will attempt to proceed just as normal: read more books, have more adventures, live as fully as I can (the latter is meant both in a big picture – travel, career, love, philosophy – and small picture – “OMG just bloody well IRON your favourite pencil skirt so you might actually be able to wear it!” – kind of way).  I will make pancakes on the 21st though, that much I can guarantee you…

I’m also attempting this year (and every year since I came across Eckhart Tolle for that matter) to focus on what’s happening now and what I can do about it, rather than on what might happen in the future and what I might or might not be able to do about it then.  And on that note, while I will wholeheartedly embrace Spring when it arrives, I’m not going to wish my February away, or hide from the fact that it’s still Winter, still cold outside and still dark far more than it really needs to be.  Imperfect as it may be, the reality is that life is happening now.  In February.  In the cold, in the wind, and in the dark.  This month I’m going to put an extra base layer on, get out there and do stuff.

Image above from here.

I was pondering updating my What I’m Reading page earlier, and in doing so got to reminiscing about all the many books that have come into and gone out of my life over the past year or so.  I love to keep a note of the books I’ve read, mainly because I seem to use them as a means of mapping out my life.  Last year, for example, I remember finishing New Europe by Michael Palin on one of the windiest days we had, when going outside wasn’t even an option.  I also vividly remember reading Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert on the grass in front of the leaning tower of Pisa in May, when the sun was so hot I couldn’t possibly have walked anywhere other than the nearest gelato kiosk.  Books are to me what I guess diaries are to people who use them properly: a record of one’s life, and a reminder of the little things that have happened that we might otherwise simply forget in our haste to keep moving forward.

With all the free time I had last Summer and all the many bus journeys I seem to have taken since starting my new job, I seem to have managed to read an impressive pile of books over the course of the past 12 months.  So in case you find yourself looking for a little literary inspiration this January, here are some recommendations based on what I’ve read and enjoyed recently.

If you want to read a classic but you dislike ‘the classics’, read Jane Eyre.  The writing is digestible, the characters aren’t annoying and although it’s a love story at heart it’s not sickly sweet and schmaltzy.  I read this during the first couple of weeks at my new job last September.  It was welcome respite at the end of busy days full of new faces and things.

If you want to laugh really hard until you think you might pee a little, read either Bossypants by Tina Fey, or Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby.  Either one will produce the desired effect.

If you want to be gripped, read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  I blame this book (and its two sequels) for many a groggy-headed morning in October and November.  I literally couldn’t put it down.  Not even for sleep, or to finish making a cup of tea.

If you want to learn things you’ll remember and that will make you sound knowledgeable, read A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich.  This is definitely in my top 3 reads from last year.  It’s full of interesting stuff, but it’s also written in such a way that reading it doesn’t feel like learning.  In fact, reading it feels like drinking hot chocolate in front of a roaring log fire while it snows outside.  It’s perfect.

If you want to escape, read His Dark Materials trilogy.  There are enough ideas in these three books to keep you thinking for months, and enough magic to rival the whole Harry Potter back-catalogue.

If you want to cry (sometimes I genuinely do want this from a book), read Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.  This quickly became one of my favourite books of all time, and I read the whole thing in one evening.  It’s brilliant, and heart-breaking, and all kinds of life-affirming all at once.  I can’t recommend it highly enough.

If you just want to be entertained, read Boiling a Frog by Christopher Brookmyre.  This didn’t change the way I see the world, and it didn’t cause me profound, deep thoughts or the loss of any sleep.  But it was funny, it was intriguing and it really did entertain me.  And sometimes, when it comes to a book, that’s really all you need, isn’t it?

What have you read recently that’s worth recommending?

Image above from here.

This weekend I’m visiting friends, so I expect to be working on more tea, more laughter, more dreaming and more fun.  Not so much on the more sleep, but there’s always next week!  Happy Fridays everyone.

Image above from here.

The battle may not be visible.  But you can be assured it is happening.

Happy Friday, friends.

Image above from here.

Friday

Arrive home from work to find that Footloose is showing on TV.  Drink wine, eat pasta, awaken dormant crush on Kevin Bacon (it’s the dancing) and bop around the living room to this.

Saturday

Wake up at 10.30am to the sound of…nothing!  Crochet while listening to Harry Potter as read by Stephen Fry (my first audio book – so far, I like).  Eat porridge, drink coffee.  Spend upwards of an hour getting ready.  Wear red lipstick.  Go charity shopping.  Find tan satchel, rose-printed plates and a grow-your-own lavender bush(!).  Celebrate spectacular finds with Caffe Nero caramel latte and two hours of writing.  Go to boyfriend’s flat.  Eat steak, chips and peas and sticky toffee pudding.  Watch this.  Doze off in front of the TV.

Sunday

Wake up early(ish).  Drink coffee and read blogs.  Dress for the outdoors.  Climb 1500 feet of hill and eat sandwiches at the top in the wind and the rain.  Skip down the hill.  Get very muddy.  Arrive home, crank up the heating, change into pyjamas.  Drink two pots of tea, eat lots of sweet things and potter around on the internet.  Cook (then eat three plates of) risotto with bacon and butternut squash.  Tidy flat, do laundry, find a place for yesterday’s acquisitions.  Sink into bed at 10.00pm tired but rested.

What constitutes a perfect weekend in your world?

Image above from here.