Valentine’s Day: My Favourite Couples
Alan Rickman and Kate Winslet
It’s Valentine’s Day. I can’t help but get caught up in all the romance of this day. I know a lot of people don’t consider it an important day but I can’t help myself. I am soppy. Always have been. Hey, I like Disney. It would be hard not to be a little sucked in by all the happy.
I love romantic stories. The stories where there are two people who are meant to be together. I love that moment when they get out of their own way and get their happy ever after. I am such a sucker for the rom coms and books about love.
The boy gets the girl and the girl gets her man.
No matter how many times I watch it, I l adore the end of Valentine’s Day where Calvin ends up with Kara, Reed gets with Julia. Kate manages to get home to see her little boy. The end of Love Actually just makes me happy full stop. The end of Enchanted when Giselle and Robert get their happily ever after. I just love it.
So, this got me thinking about my favourite couples. Who are they I hear you cry.
Elinor and Edward Ferrars and Marianne and Colonel Brandon – Sense and Sensibility.
These two couples are just fantastic. No one can do romance like Jane Austen. I know my favourite should be Darcy and Lizzie (they are amazing) but there is something about the couples in this novel/film that make me smile.
Elinor is the sensible one. She’s the sister that remains level-headed and serious. Edward I feel has more of a playful streak. They complement one another.
Marianne of course needed a little bit more time to fall in love with Colonel Brandon (OK, so Alan Rickman had a big hand in this character being one of my favourites. I mean come on, that voice. I still get sad when I remember that he’s gone.)
Marianne gets there in the end. He is stable, loyal and kind and he loves her. Yes, Willoughby seems more fun at first glance but you want the guy who’s going to ride through a rain storm to find you.
Rosie and Alex from Where Rainbows End are amongst one of my favourite couples of all time. I have mentioned this novel a few times on this blog. I don’t think I will ever stop loving it. It would be in my list for books on a desert island for sure.
I fell in love with their story pretty much from the moment I picked up this novel.
The Rosie and Alex in the film are great but I much prefer the Rosie and Alex from the page.
The novel spans from when they were children until they are in their fifties whereas the film only covers to thirties (I appreciate you can only get so much into a film.)
You get such a wide understanding of these characters from the book. I got to know them and care about them. They were like a set of friends that I wanted to match make and shout at for not getting on with it.
Rosie and Alex should be together if only they could be honest with one another. These characters are proof that it’s never too late to pursue love and right wrongs.
by 
My Favourites: What I Was Loving in January
I thought it was about time I did another favourites post. I do love reading these kinds of posts. There were plenty of things I loved in January, including stationery, a TV show and some music. I wanted to share them with you today. (Side note; I have not been paid to mention these products. I brought them with my own money. It’s simply that I’ve loved them.)
My first favourite is actually three items (slightly cheating but what can you do?)
I have become seriously obsessed (and yes, completely obsessed) with Kikki K. I am new to their products but I really can’t stop myself visiting the website. So many pretty things. I am certainly a Kikki K convert. What’s that? Oh, it’s my bank balance crying in fear.
The three products I have been particularly loving are:
This notebook from their sweet collection. I am a sucker for a notebook and this one is one of my absolute favourites.
It is hardback so fairly durable. The cover is so pretty and the illustrations carry on through the whole book.
The only thing I have been finding is that it is a little heavy. A small price to pay though for such a beautiful notebook. I am in love.
The second favourite is my diary. I was using the diary from the Busy B collection but then I discovered this. It is soooooo cute. It has a week to view, it has little pockets to put things like stickers in (it comes with a sheet too) plus it has sections for books I’d like to read, movies, websites and expenses which were all things that helped sell it to me. It’s very colourful. It never fails to cheer me up whenever i see it.
by My Favourite Book Covers – Part Two
I don’t think I will ever end my love affair with beautiful book covers. They are the thing that will attract me to a book. If it’s a pretty cover, I will sometimes stop reading and just look at it for a while (anyone else do that? Just me… ok.)
I have been thinking again about my favourite book covers. I did a post about this back in 2015 (want to see them, click here,) and I thought it was about time I thought about five more favourites.
It was hard picking just five. I think I have managed to narrow it down.
My first favourite is the 10th Anniversary edition of Looking For Alaska by John Green (HarperCollins Children’s Books, January 2015.) The original cover (which is black with a white daisy) is lovely but this cover is so beautiful.
Gold, the cover is gold. I brought a copy of this edition just because I loved the cover. I already had a paperback copy.
Miles’s life is one big non event until he meets Alaska Young. Alaska draws Miles into her reckless world and steels his heart in the process. His life will never be the same again.
My next favourite is Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven (Penguin, October 2016.) This cover is simple but yet so pretty. Sometimes less is more and this was one of my favourites from last year.
Everyone thinks they know Libby – the girl once dubbed ‘America’s Fattest Teen.’ No one has looked past the weight to see who she really is.
She’s been trying to deal with the grief of loosing her mother.
Now she is ready for school. For new friends. For a new life.
My third favourite is The Little Teashop of Lost and Found by Trisha Ashley (which is due to be released by Bantam Press in March.)
This cover is absolutely stunning and I can’t wait to be able to add it to my book shelf. I absolutely adore it. The illustrations are just lovely and has such wonderful detail.
Alice was discovered on the Yorkshire Moors above Haworth as a baby.
Adopted but then later rejected by a horrible step-mother, Alice struggles to find a place where she belongs. Only baking brings her a sense of comfort.
When Alice does return to Haworth, she returns to baking. She makes friends but there are a couple of last twist and turns in her story.
by My December Favourites
Penguin Clothbound Classics
I know we are nearly halfway through January but I wanted to share some of my December favourites before we got too far into this month. I have not done a favourites post in a while so I thought I was a little overdue. Plus, I love reading these sorts of posts so I want to share some of my favourites from last month.
My first favourite from last month was this stunning version of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol and other Christmas writings from the Penguin Clothbound Classics. I do have a paperback version of this book but there was something that drew me to this copy. The cover is so beautiful. It looks very nice on the bookshelf. I couldn’t resist treating myself to a copy prior to Christmas.
I adore A Christmas Carol and this puts me in such a Christmas like mood whenever I look at it. I can’t wait to read it at the end of the year.
My next favourite is a DVD of possibly my favourite Disney movie as well as one of my favourite films of all time. It’s the big sleeve edition of Beauty and The Beast. This is something else I may have treated myself to just before Christmas. It was one of those impulse buys. I knew that if I didn’t buy it, I would never see it again.
I, like many other fans of Beauty and The Beast were slightly disappointed that we were not going to be getting the 25th Anniversary special edition here in the UK. I believe this version to be the next best thing (I am so looking forward to seeing the live action version in March.)
This version includes the blue ray as well as the DVD version and there are four beautiful postcards of some of the characters in the movie. I love this and don’t regret buying it for an instant.
by My Favourite Christmas Books and Film Traditions
Penguin Classics, New Ed. Edition. Oct 2003
Happy Christmas Eve all. This has to be my favourite day of the year. Christmas day is great but the anticipation of Christmas almost being here is so magical and wonderful. Everyone has their traditions at Christmas whether it be seeing family, going for a Christmas day walk or snuggling down with a Christmas themed book or a movie. I wanted to share some of my Christmas story and movie traditions. There are certain ones that I try to watch and read every year. Some of these traditions I have had since I was a kid and some are fairly recent. I can never wait until 1st December to be able to begin them.
My first Christmas story/film tradition is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I have been watching various adaptations of this all my life (I actually really love the version with Kate Winslet. Does anyone else?) This is the film I will usually put on when wrapping presents. The latest version I love is the Jim Carrey version although the scene where the candle changes faces quite frankly is creepy.
It wasn’t until last year though that I read the book these wonderful adaptations are based on. I don’t know why it took me so long. It’s full of great moments and in places, very funny dialogue. I love how faithful some of these film adaptations have been to the book. Reading this story though gave me a whole new appreciation for it. I will be trying to read it every year now instead of just watching it.
Snowman Enterprises, CH4 Television corp. TVC London. 1982
Hardcover Edition, Harper Collins, 2008
My next tradition is also a film adapted from a book and that is The Snowman. I mean, it’s a classic. I have been watching this animation since I was small and Christmas is not Christmas without it. This twenty minute film is so magical. I wanted to be able to build a snowman and go off to the north pole but I can’t remember the last time we had snow. I still hold out hope even though I am now in my thirties that we will get a white Christmas. It’s always good to hope right?
The Snowman is so wonderfully animated and even though it doesn’t have the happiest of endings, I can’t help smiling when I hear those first few beats of Walking in The Air and they begin to fly toward the North Pole. I notice something new every time I watch it. The Snowman is so timeless and will be part of my Christmas for years to come.
Speaking of which, The Gift by Cecelia Ahern is one of those Christmas stories that will have you reaching for the tissues as it will make you cry. It did me. Lou doesn’t have enough hours in the day. The advancement of his career comes at the sacrifice of spending time with his family. His life is turned upside down when he meets Gabe. Something happens where Lou can be in two places at once but can he discover what is important before it is too late?
This book has stuck with me for so long. Even years after first reading it I still think about it and this is a book I always try and read this time of year. It has such a lovely and important message especially for Christmas. If you’ve not added this to your Christmas reading list, I urge you to. It’s wonderful.
by Book Club
