From the ashes...

Hello everyone. It's been a while.

I've been meaning to resurrect this blog for ages, but it's taken me until now to actually sit down and write a blog post.

I'm still working at Souvenir Press - I'm on a 1 year contract and am making the most of my time there. I'm getting more involved with publicity work at the company, which is pretty cool, and so far the whole thing has been a really valuable experience. I'm due to finish in August, so I guess we'll see what happens.

I moved in with my boyfriend... and then we moved house. This is the second flat we've lived in, and we went from a furnished place to an unfurnished one, so we bought all our own furniture etc and the end result is a place that feels like our home. As a special treat for you, I'm going to post some photos. Of my bookshelves. Because they make me happy, and I'm sure you'll like them.

You'll notice two teddy bears and an easter egg on these shelves... There's a little bit of newly-found bookshelf space, and we needed some storage. The teddy bears are my boyfriend's from when he was little, but his parents are moving house right now so they've come back with us.

 All books here. As a rule, my favourite books go on the top two shelves. The third shelf here is poetry and books I don't really want - all of the orange Penguins here were given to me, and none of them really appeal, so they'll probably be read once and then taken to the charity shop (unless, of course, they end up being amazing).

And this is where living together means our bookshelves have combined. All of the computer/business books aren't mine. Or the DVDs. Lucky he doesn't have many books, really!

So, welcome back. Over the next few days I'm going to post a book review of my favourite book I've read each month so far this year, just as a way of catching up with myself, really. See you tomorrow (or... sometime in the next few days) for January's favourite!

About Me

Hello there!

I'm new to this blogging lark, but for a while I've been wanting to set one up for book reviews and personal reflections. So here we are.

I'm a final-year university student trying to get into the publishing industry. I've previously had work experience at two literary agencies and one well-known academic publisher, and I've loved every minute of it. I'm looking forward to the placements I've got lined up for this summer, and to hopefully finding a permanent position in the business sooner rather than later.

I like most types of literature, with a special love for Young Adult fiction despite a general opinion at university that you should grow out of "that sort of stuff". But to be honest, I read most things. Except, perhaps, horror or really psychological fiction, because that gives me nightmares and leaves me unable to sleep for days. Which is pretty sad, but it can't be helped!

Other than my book-loving ways, I'm pretty normal. I have a love for original flavour hula hoops, and could quite happily eat my own body weight in cake. I drink a lot of tea. I'm learning to cook, but not very quickly, or very well. I run an online magazine which has been going for over three years now, which I am really proud of.

Look me up on Twitter, if you like: @ek_smith and @SparkbrightMag