Act Your Age, Not Your Shoe Size!

Age is just a number.

This is one of the most common sayings of all time, and today's Daily Prompt asks what I believe when it comes to age. For the full details, click here.
I am twenty-two. When I think about that, nothing really comes to mind. You're supposed to become an adult at twenty-one but according to my family I'll never be one. Until I have children of my own I will always be the baby of the family. Older people look back in fondness at certain years but there isn't one year that sticks out for me. I didn't really enjoying being a teenager, and turning twenty-one wasn't particularly exciting. I've always felt older than I am. As the only child I grew up quickly to involved in conversations and I've always been given my fair share of responsibility. By the time I was a teenager I acted like an adult, now that I'm in my early twenties I feel like I'm nearer thirty.
During secondary school I was always the 'mum' of the group. I was responsible, careful, kept an eye on my friends. I didn't get drunk, I never wanted to, I always felt like I should look out for them.
Now I'm older and my main friendship group is mums in their thirties I'm the baby of the group. But I feel like they accept me for being a bit more mature, for not acting like twenty-two years. As one of them said 'she is wide beyond her ears', don't you love auto-correct!
But I still have friends my age, that I get on perfectly well with. Having said that, my two closest friends are quite grown up. One has a full time job, rising career, independent with a brain for business. The other just graduated from university in London and plans to start working there in September. Neither of them go out clubbing every weekend and come home plastered.
I also have friends younger than me, in their late teenage years. I love spending time with them, they keep me up to date (because I'm so hip and cool!) and we have a great time together, even if they don't always get cultural references.
My oldest friend is in their eighties. And by friend I don't mean acquaintance, I mean someone that I genuinely care about and talk to about my problems and vice versa. So in terms of friends, age is meaningless. My eighty year old friend might not get my Harry Potter joke, but my repertoire stretches far and wide I'm sure I can find something that we have in common.
As for dating, I was once told by a colleague that a member of her family had been disowned because she chose to date someone nine years older than her. Frankly, I was appalled! (About the disowning, not the age gap.) I find myself attracted to people almost double my age, and I believe I have the maturity to be in a relationship with someone of that age. I've also considered dating younger (as long as it's legal!) because it really doesn't matter as long as you have a connection. If it was me in her situation my partner would be thirty-one. That seems like the perfect age to me, mature enough to deal with responsibilities and not be down the pub every night, but still young enough to start a family with.
As for my age it's still something I'm not sure about. I don't look my age, and when people discover that I'm 'only twenty-two', they say I'm a baby. Whenever I worry about what I'm going to do with my life they say 'don't worry, you have plenty of time', even though it really doesn't feel that way. I've worked out that by the time I'm a qualified teacher I will be twenty-six. When I say it like that it doesn't seem old, but four years ago I was eighteen, and that seems like a lifetime ago. So I'm attempting to ignore my age, and not compare myself to what other twenty-two year-olds have achieved. But I still celebrate as much as I can with my loved ones every April. 

Book Review: The Gates by John Connolly

The Gates by John Connolly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I picked up this book I didn't realise it was aimed at children/young adults. The blurb had me hooked. Meet Samuel Johnson and his dog Boswell. Nothing much happens in Samuel's life, that is until his neighbour Mrs Abernathy opens the gates to hell.
A lot of other reviews compared author John Connolly to Douglas Adams but I found myself comparing him to Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. The comedy and wit injected into the plot reminded me very much of Good Omens.
Samuel Johnson is a lovely central character. Being an eleven year old boy I didn't really identify with him that much but I imagine a young boy would like him. John Connolly also deals with modern day family problems, such as Sam's Dad leaving and how that affects his life.
The demons that feature in the novel aren't your normal demons. In fact, they're funny and not altogether very bright.
The action is described very well and humour is injected at every point, making it an enjoyable read.
I've read some of John Connolly work in the past and didn't enjoy it very much. But this I thoroughly enjoyed and will be recommending it to a ten year old who I'm sure will enjoy it just as much as I did.

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In The Summertime, When The Weather Is Fine...

Another day of writer's block and another daily prompt brought to you buy The Daily Post. Click here for the details of today's prompt.
Music plays such an important part of my life. I rarely listen to silence, I like something in the background, whether it's Mumford and Sons, classic rock, 70's disco or swing. I've even taken to listening to classical music recently when I'm working so not to get distracted and start singing along.
There are certain songs that remind me of different people and different events. Barry White instantly reminds me of my Dad. The first time I heard him sing in the car it was to one of his songs. Equally, anything cheesy and disco brings back recollections of dodgy Dad dancing at a family event.
The whole Grease soundtrack reminds me of my childhood, re-enacting the scenes and the songs with friends was one of my favourite past times. Westlife's Flying Without Wings also brings back fond memories of performing with my fellow ten-year-olds.
My Mum introduced me to Bruce Springsteen, eighties rock and The Eagles. Many a time we've sat playing cards head banging and singing along to Whitesnake and REO Speedwagon.
In my later teenage years I have distinct memories of my whole year group singing along to Don't Stop Believin', which thanks to Glee has been one of the biggest hits of my generation. On the last day of term Use Somebody was also belted out by 200 eighteen-year-olds. However, the fact that I just had to look up the name of the song, shows what a lasting impact it made.
As for the song of this summer that I'll remember when I'm forty-two, well really I'm stumped. Pharell Williams' catchy pop tune Happy seems to be constantly playing in every advert, used for every sport celebration and on the radio every five times. It's got to the stage where I'm actually getting sick of it. The only other 'recent' song is Let It Go from Disney's Frozen. That seems to be following me around despite the film being released before Christmas.
If you look through my Spotify playlist everything on there will have been released years ago, or it'll be from a musical, or it'll have no words at all, or it'll be an acoustic version of a well known song.
If I had to narrow it down to just one song I would plump for The Coffee Song by Not Completely Blonde, a local band that made my perfect summer's day. A couple of weeks back I took my choir kids on a backstage tour of The Theatre Severn. The day was rounded off by the lovely members of Not Completely Blonde doing an acoustic set for us and a party. The day that initially I hadn't been looking forward to was just brilliant, I couldn't have asked for anything better. And now, as I'm typing this, the chorus of The Coffee Song is working it's way into my brain. Enjoy!

Book Review: The Altar of Bones by Philip Carter

Altar of Bones. Philip Carter by Philip Carter
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Lately I've been tearing through books like they're going out of fashion. This book was promised to be an adventure thriller, full of Russian spies, conspiracies and family history.
There are several prologues setting up the story, which I won't dwell on too much. They're interesting and insightful and they tie nicely into the story later on down the line. The two stories we should focus on are those of Ry O'Malley and Zoe Dmitroff who are brought together unwittingly in search of the altar of bones.
Zoe is a strong, likeable heroine, unless it comes to confined spaces and Ry is charismatic and handsome exactly what you'd expect from an action thriller like this one. Although it annoyed me that he was called Ry and not referred to by his full name.
Another reviewer said that this reads like a film script and I have to agree. There is cliché after cliché, and so many gun fights I found myself skimming the action to get onto the next part of the actual plot.
I enjoyed the historical references and the section that involved Ry's step-dad and Marilyn Monroe. In fact, that could have been a story all of it's own. This book was hefty and I think that was an issue, cut out some car chases and make this book two, or even book three. There was so much scope and it had been crammed all into one novel.
I gave this book two stars, because although I enjoyed it and found myself addicted to turning it's pages, I also was glad when it was over. I found it quite predictive and like many thriller books I've read before.
The only thing that wound me up, was that while Zoe was on the run, the first (and possibly last) chance she got to eat and she ordered a salad. That's an insane woman, right there.

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Full Disclosure

I feel that my creative writing has come to a stand still lately so I thought I'd have a go at a Daily Prompt. See here for the full details of today's.

So someone gives you a device which allows you to hear other people's thoughts. You can hear everything they are thinking, good and bad. The catch? It can never be turned off.

A few years back I would said 'hell yeah, hand me that chip!' I would have enjoyed listening in, discovering secrets, being my general nosey self. I love people watching, I love observing their body language, seeing people interact. Getting inside their brain would have been the icing on the cake! 

However, now, I'm more aware of privacy, more aware of not wanting to share every bit of information with the outside world. With the increase of social media, it seems like everybody posts pictures of every meal they eat, every time their mood shifts they change their status on Facebook, they have a new idea and Twitter is updated. In this day and age, is a mind reading chip even required when our lives are plastered all over the internet for everyone to see?

I have taken care to only show parts of my life and my world that I want others to see. I'm quite proud of my photography skills so images appear quite frequently. I'm quite happy to post my opinions on books, TV programmes and movies and I like to promote local events that I'm involved in. But my relationship status is hidden. I don't post very frequently at all about what I'm doing. I like to keep an air of mystery.

I also think being able to hear the thoughts of others would be claustrophobic. Imagine going out to a public event, somewhere where there is a lot of people. You would literally be bombarded. 

Also, I think friendships and relationships are protected by not knowing every thought and niggle. I love my friends and family to bits, they mean the world to me. But they are not perfect people, nobody is. Some days, I may be irritated by them, or not agree with something and I'm sure the same applies for them. But do I want to hear 'her bum looks big in that'? Or 'I wish she'd stop moaning'! No, definitely not. I have confidence issues as it is! 

So my mad scientist friend, you can keep your chip, I have learnt that the best thing to do is keep my nose out of other people's business!

Book Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Every now and then I browse through IMDB and look at the recently released trailers. Gone Girl was one of the first that popped up. Directed by David Fincher and staring Ben Affleck (who has spectacularly revived his career) I didn't hesitate to watch it. As soon as it was over I knew I HAD to read this book. A quick hunt through the Kindle Store and I purchased it for 99p.
When I saw the cover I realised I had picked it up in shops a few times, always intrigued but never going so far as to actually purchasing it.
As soon as I began reading I was hooked. The chapters alternate between Amy Elliot/Dunne's diary entries and narrative of Nick Dunne on the day that Amy disappears. The 'two sides to every story' idea intrigued me and I enjoyed reading each perspective. I've read books similar to this in that two or more narratives run alongside each other and normally I've preferred one over others but I looked forward to reading both of them.
Both Nick and Amy are immediately likeable, characters that you can relate to with flaws and feelings. They have believable family situations and the economy crash even plays a part in their story.
When Amy suddenly disappears, tonnes of questions are raised. The audience is kept in the dark for so long, but as a reader I couldn't wait to read the next chapter, find out what was going on, what had happened to Amy. Immediately, as her husband Nick is shrouded in suspicion and I found myself questioning his innocence as many of the characters do.
What elevates this novel from a run of the mill thriller to a full on character driven piece is Gillian Flynn. The touch of the treasure hunt, which Amy organises every anniversary, puts everything in a spin spreading clues far and wide, and is just a touch of genius.
As a single person I think I may take this book differently to someone who's married. Essentially this book is about marriage, and it analyses Nick and Amy's relationship at every turn.
It's so hard to review this book without giving anything away. I want to recommend it to everybody, so they have that same feeling of angst and excitement as the plot unravels and every piece is put into place. This book not only entertained me, it made me think, it made me look at people differently, and myself too. The only reason I gave it four stars is that it ended too quickly. I would have liked a prologue, or something that rounded the novel out, I found it too abrupt.
I would love to read more Gillian Flynn in the future and look forward to the film adaptation in October.

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Book Review: Miracle Cure by Harlan Coben

Miracle Cure by Harlan Coben
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I needed to read a book that I knew I would rip through in next to know time. My go to author for a quick read is Harlan Coben. I picked Miracle Cure as a book I known I hadn't read and settled down to be swept off into a world of mystery, suspense and conspiracy.
This novel features bright, beautiful Sara Lowell, an up and coming news reporter who is married to Michael Silverman a brilliant basketball player. As always with Coben's characters, if they're not childhood sweethearts they're almost perfect. They can't just be a regular journalist and basketball player they have to be the best, and they've all overcome adversity in some way to become these amazing people. Maybe the author wants us to aspire to be like them but I just feel that they're so unrealistic you can't relate to them. Although Michael Silverman's fame is key to the plot.
The story centres around an AIDS clinic working towards a cure for the virus. When several of it's patients suddenly get murdered after being cured, the police are brought into investigate.
Obviously this is a very simple and brief synopsis. There are several twists and turns, lots of intriguing characters and the fact that I read this book in 24 hours is testament to how easy it is to read and how much 'pull' it has to keep the reader invested page after page.
Coben doesn't dumb down his audience either. The science is explained well and thoroughly, but you only know what you need to know, he doesn't overload you with scientific material.
Overall, a great read, but I worked out who the culprit was before the end of the book, and I like to be surprised. However, this has given me a hunger to read and write, which was just what the doctor ordered.

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