Day 2 - Your Dream Book

So, this is not about a book I dreamed about but rather elements of different books to make my perfect book. 

The Cover: Red, all red. No title, blurb or author (ultimately they are unimportant and distracting elements of a book). The books difference makes it both inconspicuous and mysterious. 

Genre: Dystopian with elements of political satire 

Protagonist: Strong female who is not seduced by her many male suitors 

The chapters would not be numbered but would be quotes that summed up the contents. The content would be a mix of poems, prose and pictures (all the best books should have pictures)

Ok, so this book does not actually exist (maybe I should write it) but these books come pretty close...

Trust Salinger to do it right!

Kafka's The Trail, political satire at its best, my favourite quote 'It's only because of their stupidity that they're able to be so sure of themselves.'

Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll 

A strong female character with great illustrations; an all round interesting read!

What would your dream book be? 

Lots of Love 

Elouise 

xxx

Day 1 - The first book you read that made you love reading

This is such a difficult question, I have no idea why I put it first. There are some many books that shaped my childhood but the first book I really remember reading is...

I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith 

I remember getting this book out of the school library even though I was too young to read it. I had to return the book before I finished it and I was so upset that my parents brought me the audio book for my birthday. I don't know why I picked this one out of all the books on the shelf, maybe it was the idea of the castle and I thought it would be princesses. It is actually so much more. The story began my questioning of love; sometimes the person who you love does not always love you back but it is not the end of the world. It illustrates the freedom you can gain from accepting and rejecting love but also shows independent women making their own decisions.

 I loved the idea of a bohemian life, living in a run down castle that was falling apart and just writing about you life; Smith makes the mundane exceptional. It is also the story of sisters and their relationship. Even though they are different, they find common ground and I found this relationship really easy to relate to that of me and my sister. The ending makes the book, it shows that even if life does not turn out how you expect, it can still be a happy ending; you do not need a husband to be happy, independent women are freed through their words. This is actually the book that inspired my writing and gave me the confidence to show people that my life was worth writing about. Reading back on my diaries, they are not exactly riveting but I have this book to thank for where I am today, studying Literature at university. I do not think my life would be the same without inspirational women writers speaking to me from a young age. 

What is the book that inspired you to read or have you not found it yet? 

Check back tomorrow for day 2 and have a great day today.

Lots of Love

Elouise

xxx

“I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June.” ― L.M. Montgomery

Over the next month I will be completing a 30 day book challenge that I have created myself. Check back for the next month to see a new post everyday. 

Here it is;

1. The first book you read that made you love reading 

2. Your dream book 

3. Favourite quote 

4. A novel that makes you happy

5. A novel that makes you cry

6. A novel that makes you laugh 

7. The best book you have read this year 

8. A book that reminds you of childhood

9. Best beginning 

10. Most inspirational story 

11. The book that reminds you of home 

12. Favorite book that is the same age as you

13. A novel that is overrated 

14. Best film from novel translation

15. Book that you have most related to 

16. The best book you read in school 

17. Favourite writing style 

18. Best ending 

19. A book that you have been meaning to read for ages  

20. A novel that surprised you 

21. Best Female Character

22. Best Male Character 

23. Favourite Series

24. A book that you thought you would

      hate but ended up loving 

25. Best Female Author 

26. Best Male Author 

27. Best romance 

28. Favourite genre 

29. A book that would add to the school reading list 

30. If you were stuck on a desert 

      island and you could only have 

      one book, which one would it be?

I am looking forward to the next month and I hope you are too, see you tomorrow.

Lots of Love

Elouise

xxx

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek - Barack Obama

So... this is my final project! I developed a front cover, contents page and feature article and it was concerning Barack Obama's abolition of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' rule in the American Army. It was a huge ruling for Gay Rights, but now when Barack Obama's presidency is remembered, he is more likely to be remembered for his healthcare reforms than any of his other policies. I still really like this project as I was able to write about something I cared about and I feel it is still relevant today. If I was going to write the article today, it would be entitled 'lest we forget' and would talk about how (and if) attitudes and treatment has changed. It is a really fascinating topic and I would definitely suggest researching it if it is something you would be interested in. Actually... I feel the idea of an article brewing! 

The Front Cover

The Contents Page

Double page spread 

Feature Article 

I hope you enjoyed my project and look forward to my next entry, it is going to be a book review with a twist. 

Lots of Love 

Elouise 

xxx

You're not going to do good work if you're not choosing something because it inspires you. Maggie Gyllenhaal

As a project in college, I created a numerous mock Big Issue front covers and a double page spread for my project. I felt passionately about what I was writing about and I feel this was reflected in my work. Although, now looking back I cringe slightly at what I wrote, I am still really proud of the completed project and wanted to share it with you... enjoy!

These were the three mock front covers I created. I picked issues that I felt would be relevant to the Big Issue audience (although looking back, some of the ideas seem a bit stereotypical) 

Which one do you think is best and should have picked for my final project?

Look back tomorrow and I will reveal which one I picked for my final project and choose to develop. 

Note: these were created in 2011 so some of the issues are a bit outdated. 

Lots of Love 

Elouise 

xxx

“Girls you've gotta know when it's time to turn the page.” ― Tori Amos, Tori Amos: From the Choirgirl Hotel

Over the past few years, I have dabbled in creating my own mock articles which I have really enjoyed. Recently, I applied for and became Culture Editor of our university magazine Quench, so I will be writing and editing a lot more frequently from the start of the next academic year. I am really excited for this great opportunity and you can look forward to reading some more editorial articles as well as my usual book reviews. Below are examples of my previous work that I wanted you to see because I am really proud of them.

This is the covering letter for when I applied for the role of Culture Editor, the background is Monet's painting Water Lilies and the picture shows my favourite occupation, reading! I laid it out like a magazine article with a pull quote detailing what I most wanted to change about the magazine. I found this project interesting because it allowed me to turn a usually dry piece of writing about me to a piece showing what I could do and who I felt I was creatively. 

This is a double page spread I created but never finished. I couldn't quite work out how to fit in a title. It was an idea I had for the culture section where I picked the best live performance to listen to, the best play to watch and a good place to eat. I really liked the idea, but when creating the double page spread, the pages felt a bit disjointed and would have worked better as two separate articles. I still love the pages individually  and the idea behind them. I learned a lot from this piece; even the best piece of writing can be undermined by bad design. 

I hope you like my examples of design, there are more to follow in the coming days, so keep you eyes peeled. 

Lots of Love, 

Elouise 

xxx

p.s. Here is a link to the Quench website, http://cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk/quench/