All I Want for Christmas Book Tag|CarenzaOnBooks

As it is the Friday before Christmas and this will be my last blog post before Christmas, I figured it was the perfect time for a Christmas book tag and I found this on Stephanie's Book Reviews Blog, click here to read her answers to this tag.

1) What Fictional Character do you want Santa to Leave under your Christmas Tree?

I am torn between Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, my two favourite characters in the Harry Potter series. I have to admit that I am leaning more towards Lupin as I feel you could have a better Christmas with Lupin as he is the more sensible of the two. 

2) What Character do you want to Kiss under the Mistletoe? 

Having recently reread Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, I have fallen in love with Scorpius. It wouldn't be a romantic kiss though. I would love to have him as a brother as he is very nerdy and shy like me.  

3) You Write your Christmas List for Santa, What are the Top Five Books on it?

I'm assuming these are books that aren't out or that I don't own, so:

1. Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare
2. A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab 
3. Harry Potter Boxset with cool spine art
4. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
5. Dan And Phil Go Outside

4) It's Secret Santa at Hogwarts, What do you Most want to receive?

I would love to receive the Marauders Map as I've always loved the idea of having a map of Hogwarts. I also love the design of it from the movie as it looks really vintage.

5) You get to spend the day with the characters and movie adaptation actors from one fandom, what do you pick? 

Obviously, the Harry Potter fandom! I love that fandom to death!

6) What Fictional Animal do you want to replace Rudolph with and be able to meet on your roof?

I would love to replace Rudolph with either a Niffler or a Hippogriff, I love both of them equally.

7) You Invite 10 fictional characters to your New Years Eve Party, who do you pick?

1. Hermione Granger
2. Scorpius Malfoy
3. Remus Lupin
4. Rubeus Hagrid
5. Harry Potter
6. Jem Carstairs
7. Julian Blackthorn
8. Kit Herondale
9. Tessa Gray
10. Jane Eyre

8) What Character would make a good Santa?

I think Hagrid would make a great Santa as he has a really caring personality and he looks like he would be a good Santa.

So that concludes my All I Want for Christmas Book Tag! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas (if you celebrate it) and I will see you on the other side of Christmas!

Carenza x

Harry Potter Gift Guide- Christmas 2017| CarenzaOnBooks

As it is the big day exactly one week today, I thought that it would be a good time to post my Harry Potter Gift Guide. As a huge Potterhead myself, I know this is something I would definitely check out.  I've tried to think of some things that are outside the box as well as some well-loved items.

Books

I think it's a fairly obvious one to start with, but there are some beautiful editions of the Harry Potter books to buy the Potterhead in your life. Here's a list of my favourites:

• Illustrated Editions
• US Paperback with amazing Spine Art
• Anniversary House editions
• Juniper Books- You can get a boxset or just dust jackets in all the houses.

Christmas Decorations

My Christmas Tree with my Ravenclaw Ornament

The Harry Potter Studio Tour (London) has some amazing Christmas pieces on their website at the moment. They have Christmas stockings for each of the houses, Hogwarts themed one linked here. They also have house specific ornaments for trees, on my last visit to the Studio, I bought the Ravenclaw one for my tree as I have a tradition of buying ornaments. Here is the link to the website. 

Homeware

If you are anything like me, then you will love decorating your house with Harry Potter themed items. I have quite a few and I love adding to my collection. A great place to get stuff from that isn't inexpensive is Primark. While they don't have a website you can order from (correct me if I'm wrong), there are quite a few stores dotted around. I will say that most of the items are Gryffindor or Slytherin themed, so bear that in mind. If you are based in the states and have a bit more to spend, then I know that Teen Pottery Barn has an amazing collection. You can literally buy the Mirror of Errised. 

Anything from Etsy

Etsy is a phenomenal website as you can literally get anything from it. There are a lot of unique and inexpensive items on it. Here are just a few of my favourites:

• Harry Potter Characters as Cats on a mug- Click Here.   
• Vintage Style posters- Click Here.
• Framed Film Cell Display Board- Click Here. 
• Animal Pun Coasters- Ravenclaw Linked Here.

DIY Gifts

In all truthfulness, the best gifts are homemade. I'm sure there are tons of DIY Harry Potter gifts out there, all you need to do is google it and you'll find the perfect gift for the Potterhead in your life.

I will probably do an updated version of this next Christmas as I had a really cool idea, that unfortunately, I didn't have time for this year. I hope this helps you get the Potterhead in your life the perfect gift.  

Carenza x

Feminism in Literature by Carenza Bramwell| CarenzaOnBooks

Recently in my Creative Writing class, we were asked to write a piece of non-fiction about an issue we were passionate about from a unique perspective. Something I am very passionate about is feminism and something else I am very passionate about is reading, so I combined the two into the piece you are about to read. 

Feminism in Literature

I spend half my life curled up reading. I come from a family of readers, so you could say that reading is in my blood. As much as I love reading, over the years it has dawned on me that many writers that claim to be "feminists" don't quite match the job description. Novels that are described as "feminist literature" also don't meet the challenge.

A novel I had considered to be a huge push for feminist literature was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. While I adore this novel, having first encountered it at a similar age to Jane at the start of the novel, I fail to see how it can be classed as a feminist novel. Jane, a fiercely independent young woman, finds happiness in the womanizing Mr Rochester. Everyone knows the famous quote that encapsulates the feminist qualities in this novel. For those who don't, here it is, "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will". And yet, if you look at the very end of the novel, Jane has married the man who wronged her. She marries a man who tells her that he loves her and yet is already married. To me, that seems like a stupid decision, but clearly, to the Victorian audience it was meant to be read by, it was a hugely feminist idea.

It's only looking back as an older reader that I have been able to spot this. Ten-year-old me viewed it as nothing but a cute romance, set in the Yorkshire Moors. To me now, Jane Eyre is not a romance. It's an example of Victorian tradition that says, plain and clear, women can't be happy without a man. Full stop. You think this is an outdated view and yet in modern literature, many plot lines focus around romance. I can't remember the last book I read that didn't have a romance in it. Even in popular modern books, romance appears to be at the centre of it. Take Harry Potter for instance. As a professed hard-core fan, I will never stop loving these books, and yet I have spotted that they are flawed. Many of the problems the protagonists face in the last three books are caused by issues to do with romance. Even JK Rowling falls down the trap of everyone having a happy end and getting married.

I don't deny that romance shouldn't be a key part of literature. I've been known to indulge myself in a cute romance story. But romance is killing our strong, independent female characters. They don't need a man to support them when they are perfectly capable of supporting themselves.

How to Have the Perfect Reading Day| CarenzaOnBooks

Over the weekend, the UK turned into a winter wonderland as snow covered most, if not all, of the surrounding areas. As much as I love snow and going outside to build snowmen and snowwomen, to me it screamed perfect reading day. This is something I definitely want to do in the future, and recently I discovered a really cool Icelandic tradition which inspired me to write this post.

Taken from Google images

As much as I would love to participate in this, it's actually my dad's birthday on Christmas Eve, so I think I may not be able to participate in it just yet. But, here are some of my tips on how to have a perfect reading day!

Plan Your Reads Ahead

As bookworms, it feels as though our never-ending TBR will one day crush us, whether this physically happens to us is another thing. So plan your reads ahead. My book of choice was The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien as I feel as though it's time I read these books. You may want to tackle a big book like The Lord of the Rings or you may want to tackle a few smaller books. Just make sure come your reading day, you have all the books you want to read. You can also use this as an excuse to buy some new books......

Pick Your Reading Room

I spend half my time in my bedroom anyway as its where I do all my work, so to me, my natural habitat became the perfect spot for a reading day. Make sure it is tidy in advance as there is nothing worse than not being able to find your bed amongst the piles of clothes that need putting away and books you have littered around your room. I tided my room and made sure there was room for me and my books. For me, my bed is my favourite place to read as it's very cosy and in my room, I have two large windows, meaning there is lots of natural lighting. I have fairy lights adorning every surface for when it gets dark as well.

Turn Off All Electrical Devices 

In a day and age where everything seems to be online, it can be hard from switching off for a while. Unless you want to listen to music, try turning off your mobile device for a couple of hours. I have fallen back into the nasty habit of watching YouTube before I go to bed and losing precious hours I could spend reading. I can only speak for iPhone users (as I have an iPhone myself), but try switching your phone on night mode while you read.

Remember to Eat and Drink

I know it seems stupid to say this but, eating and drinking is very important. I have been known to get so absorbed in what I am doing (whether this is college work or reading) and forget about the lovely hot drink I made myself, which has now gone cold. I don't feel as though I need to lecture you on the importance of staying hydrated but remember to have a drink every now and then. If you are looking for a recommendation of what to drink, then I would highly recommend Whittards Mulled Wine Instant Tea. As a non-tea drinker, this is the perfect winter warmer. 

Have Little Breaks

As I've already admitted, I sometimes forget how to function like a human when I get absorbed in what I'm doing. I know that we love to read and reading days are lovely, but remember that it's important to stretch your legs. Even if this is just a five minute (or less) walk to the kitchen, it's good to get up every now and then. If you have a furry friend, why not play with it or take it on a walk? If it's snowing, pester your family to come outside and build a snowman. Seriously, even if it is only a ten-minute snowman, you're still getting outside.

Have Fun

At the end of the day, the most important thing about your reading day is to have fun. I know what it's like to get to a place where you feel like you can't have fun because there is so much to do. But at the end of the day, you need to have these little breaks and moments of fun to have something to look back on. And think about how your TBR might not crush you if you get some books read off it.

So that concludes my post on how to have a perfect reading day. Let me know if you do this as I would love to see what you guys do!
Carenza x