Outlander Season 3 Episode 1 Review ‘The Battle Joined’

And we’re back. I can’t believe how long-ago Season 2 feels, and I didn’t even realise how much I missed Outlander until I heard the theme song and once again, I was hooked.

The premiere was quite simple really, and instead of the ‘changing history’ plot that dominated last season, this episode was raw, emotional and dealt with how Jamie and Claire have to now survive without each other in their respective centuries.

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Autumn in Literature

While I wrote this post it was a Saturday afternoon and I was listening to the sound of rain and thunder while wearing a cosy jumper sipping a cup of tea. I even lit a scented candle, (something I’ve been doing a lot this week) and it felt like the best time to write a blog post explaining why I love this season, especially reading about it in literature.

I love Autumn. It’s a season that has truly grown on me in the past couple of years and studying English Literature has definitely played a large part in changing my opinion. It’s hard not to appreciate the beauty and the colours that mark this time of the year, especially after studying Keats or reading any book that takes place during these months.  This isn’t going to be an especially detailed post, but just me sharing my favourite lines and passages from novels and poems that encapsulate this season for me. (I’ve also included photos I’ve taken from this time of year)

Game of Thrones Season 7 Best and Worst Moments

Best Moments

Battle scenes

‘The Spoils of War’

As exhilarating as last season’s ‘Battle of the Bastards’ was to watch, examining the episode afterwards weakened it in my eyes, as it was pretty obvious who was going to win, and having clear cut heroes and villains lost a lot of the tension that made episodes such as ‘Blackwater’ so great. ‘The Spoils of War’ however was a strong highlight of the season due to the mixture of main characters that were on both sides of the battlefield, which made it difficult to know who to root for.

August Reading Roundup/Review

I’ve read less than I would have liked this month, but I’ve managed to read three books I have wanted to read for a while, so I still consider it a successful month. Next month I start my third year of university, so I’m hoping to get through my ever-growing to read pile before uni reading takes up all my time.

Favourite Bookshops in London

Since I’ve managed to visit some pretty great bookshops lately, I thought I would make a post detailing some of my favourite places in London to visit and buy books, if you have any thoughts or other recommendations of bookshops to visit, please let me know in the comments!

Visit to Petworth House

This was my second visit to Petworth House, and I still didn’t get around to seeing everything I wanted, which is a testament to the grand scale of the grounds that surround the house.

As I’m already acting like a middle-aged woman rather than a student, I got a national trust membership this year. Despite protesting whenever I was dragged to these places as a child, as I’ve grown older and more interested in literature and history, National Trust places have become suited to my interests, and become beautiful places to go and visit and appreciate.

I’m trying to make sure I actually make use of it, and so when my parents suggested visiting Petworth yesterday, I was more than happy to go.

Books That Deserve Television Adaptations

ITV’s announcement last week that a new adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is in development only left me with one thought: Why?

I don’t doubt the ability of the producers (who worked on Poldark and Victoria) to make a compelling adaptation, but it just feels incredibly unnecessary. This will be the novel’s sixth time being adapted for television, not including the various other formats the novel has taken in film, theatre etc. There’s not a lot that can be improved on, with all versions offering something different, and having strengths and weaknesses in their approach to the text. It feels like a desperate move to secure good ratings, and it got me thinking about all the other books that deserve adaptations, old and new.

Visit to Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium

 

Thought I would try to write something a little different today, I know I don’t normally write about the places I visit but the post about my trip to the Bronte Parsonage was fun to write, so I thought I could try to do it again today.

Anyone that has met me probably knows how much I love cats, and that my future undoubtedly lies being a crazy cat lady. My mum loves cats just as much as I do, and so when we heard there was a Cat Cafe in London, we knew we had to visit at some point. Since it was my birthday last week, we decided to go yesterday as a belated birthday treat, and oh my god it certainly did not disappoint.

July Reading Roundup/Review

I’ve managed to get a decent amount of reading done this month, and write more on this blog which I’m very pleasantly surprised about. I will hopefully keep this up in August, so let me know if there’s anything you would like to see me discuss, whether it’s books/tv/history.

Monthly Reading Roundup