theblindscribe

April TBR 2021

March 31, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Wednesday bookish people! It’s already April and the spring flowers are starting to bloom. I read a very good amount of books in March, twelve I think, and I’m hoping April will be just as successful. I’ve already read one of the books off my April TBR yesterday and I enjoyed it. Once again I’ve given myself a huge TBR, because of course. Outside of my TBR I have some books to read for some exciting book tours that I can’t say anything about just yet…

Onto my TBR!

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles – I’ve realised pretty recently that anything to do with circus elements and I’m already excited for the story so this could end up being a new favourite!
The Cousins by Karen M McManus – I read this yesterday evening because I was drawn in by the blurb and I really enjoyed it, I ended up giving it four stars and if you’re interested in reading my thoughts on it I’ll be putting a book review up very soon.
The Strange Case of the Alchemists Daughter by Theodora Goss – I saw Meg With Books on YouTube talk about this series and I thought the premise sounded so interesting, I can’t wait to start reading this series!
Furyborn by Claire LeGrand – I’m not sure on this book, it’s a chunky book.. anyone else find big books intimidating?
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – after reading A Court of Thorns and Roses earlier this year I’m so looking forward to reading the next book in the series – I need more Rhysand!
Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin – Oh I’ve been looking forward to this one! I’ve heard such good things about it and also from what I’ve heard the dialogue between Lou and Reid sound very cheeky, which I know I’ll love, and it’s enemies to lovers (one of my favourite tropes).
Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan – I must admit I don’t know much about this book, at all. I don’t know the plot or the character names… this is going to be an interesting read..
Blood Heir by Amilie Wen Zhao – Again I don’t know much about this book but I got it in one of my previous Illumicrate boxes and the cover caught my interest.
Save the Date by Morgan Matson – after how much I liked Fangirl I’ve decided that I obviously need to give contemporary books more of a chance so hopefully I’ll enjoy it.
The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller – this book caught my attention because of the first line and I think the protagonist is going to be unusual and probably morally grey. I love morally grey characters.
Master of One by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett – I’m thinking this could be a five stars for me because Fae, and it gives me big Six of Crows vibes…
All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace – Pirates. That’s all I’m going to say about this one.
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – I love a good mystery book and I’ve heard really good things about this one.

That’s it for my April TBR, let me know if you’ve read any of these and what you thought of them! At the end of April I will post a wrap up and we will see how well I did or not.

Monthly Wrap Ups

March Wrap-Up

March 31, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Wednesday bookish people! It is the last day of March and today I’m bringing you my March wrap up! This was such a good reading month for me. February put me in a big reading slump and for the first half of March I was still feeling it a bit but I did manage to read some books and then there was the Becca and the Books 48 hour Bookopoly reading challenge where I read eight books in one weekend!

Also this month I had more appointments, I got a new teacher for my dramatic writing University module and he’s not much better than the previous one, I completed my first case study for my new job and I’ve started my second one so that’s going well and I still haven’t heard back about my PhD application so that’s a bit worrying but hopefully I’ll hear soon.

It was my birthday in March! I’m now 22 and I keep forgetting and telling people I’m 21… I got a couple of books as presents so I’m happy with that, my sister got me an art set and my boyfriend got me an Alice in Wonderland teapot which I love! I didn’t do any reading on my actual birthday but I’ve read one or two books since – I actually skipped ahead and read one of the books of my April tbr already…

Anyway, I didn’t finish my March tbr but it has been my best reading month so far this year so I’m still pretty happy with how I did. This was my tbr:

What A Way To Go by Julia Forster – I did read
Uprooted by Niami Novik – I did not read
The Ravens by Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige – I did read
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman – I did read
Rules for Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson – I did read
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater – I did read
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow – I did not read
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty – I did not read
Map of Days by Ransom Riggs – I did not read
Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo – I did read
The Library of the Unwritten by A J Hackwith – I did not read
Ever Cursed by Corey Ann Haydu – I did read
Chain of gold by Cassandra Clare – I did not read
A Curse So Dark and Lonely – I did read

What I read: so from my TBR I managed to read eight books which is much better than February but I also read four books that were not from my March TBR which were: The Cousins by Karen M McManus, The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I have put up the book reviews for all the books I read this month except for the Cousins and Lives of Saints so check those out if you’re interested in what I thought of them.

There were also two five star reads this month! Those were Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell which I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as I did and A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer. They were my favourite reads this month.

Most disappointing reads: It’s actually been a really great month, there’s only one book I didn’t enjoy which was What A Way to go by Julia Forster. It just wasn’t for me.

Current reads: well I read the Cousins off my April tbr last night so today I’ll be choosing a new book off my April tbr to start reading and I’m very excited about it.

That’s it for my March wrap up I hope you enjoyed it!

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh Book Review

March 29, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! This is the final book review for books I read during the Becca and the Books (YouTube) 48 hour Bookopoly reading challenge. The prompt for this one was POC rep and I was very excited to finally get around to reading the Wrath and the Dawn. I’d previously read The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh and enjoyed it so I was anticipating good things.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each of these. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Plot:

The overall premise of this book is one that really intrigued me however it’s execution didn’t live up to my expectations. Personally I felt that most of the big events of this book were not explored to their full potential. I enjoyed the beginning half of the book the most because the pace was slower and it helped to ramp up the tension.

Characters:

I did particularly enjoy the relationship between the two main characters Khalid and Sharzhad. Their storyline was one that I felt partially invested in. Most of the other characters in the book I felt were introduced just enough in this one so that they could have a place in the second book. That is how I felt throughout, that this book was mostly just a set up for the second book The Rose and the Dagger.

Writing and Dialogue:

Again, a three star rating because the writing was okay, it wasn’t bad or difficult to read and the dialogue was a useful plot device but there did feel to be something missing, just to take the dialogue up a notch.

Overall:

Overall I gave this a three star, I might pick up the second book some time in the future but I also might not. I don’t have anything else to say about this book.

Blurb/Synopsis:

One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph’s reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she’d imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It’s an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid’s life as retribution for the many lives he’s stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

That’s it for this book review, I hope you enjoyed it!

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman Book Review

March 29, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! This was the sixth book I read for the Becca and the Books 48 hour Bookopoly challenge. The prompt for this one was first in a series. I’d gotten the whole of the Invisible Library series so far given to me for Christmas last year so I was very excited to finally get to start this series.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

Plot:

The plot of this book is intricate and well put together. It has one of my favourite things to be in books currently – books about books, or in this case books about spy librarians. I loved the mixture of a spy with a library worker. The plot was interesting and kept me hooked throughout, my only issue was that the whole book was fast paced, there were no moments to breathe and so I felt that the book could have benefitted from a few moments that were less tense so that I could just focus on the characters and their relationships in those moments. It set the world up very well for the rest of the books in the series.

Characters:

I adored the characters in this book, mainly Irene and Kai. This book gave me the feelings of a cosy crime novel even though it’s an adult fantasy book, just because of the characters and the villians in the story. I personally felt there was an inkling of a romance between Irene and Kai that could be developed over the rest of the series but there wasn’t much at all of it in this first book. I am really looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series and seeing what adventures they go on next.

Writing and Dialogue:

The writing style was smooth although in some places quite technical and the dialogue was useful for showing both the personality of Irene and Kai and for showing their relationship. There’s not much else for me to say here.

Overall:

Overall I gave this book three stars. I loved the book but I think the series is going to get better the further into it I get.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Irene must be at the top of her game or she’ll be off the case – permanently…

Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant Kai, she’s posted to an alternative London. Their mission – to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it’s already been stolen. London’s underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book.

Adding to the jeopardy, this world is chaos-infested – the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic. Irene’s new assistant is also hiding secrets of his own.

Soon, she’s up to her eyebrows in a heady mix of danger, clues and secret societies. Yet failure is not an option – the nature of reality itself is at stake.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you enjoyed reading it!

Book Reviews

The Ravens by Kass Morgan and Danielle Paige Book Review

March 29, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday Bookish people! It’s time for another book review. This time it’s the fifth book I read in the Becca and the Books (YouTube) Bookopolathon 48 hour challenge. The prompt was a chance card where I took the remaining books on my March TBR and used a random number generator to see which one I should read. I was very happy to end up with The Ravens, I got this book in one of my Illumicrate monthly boxes and it has beautiful sprayed pink edges. My expectations were high for this book and it didn’t quite get there, if you know that feeling when a book just doesn’t quite have what it should to make it great.

In this book review I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each of these. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy reading my book review.

plot:

The plot of this book was interesting, living in the UK I didn’t know much about sororities and American teenage culture so that part was a bit of a mystery to me although I did feel like it’s a very stereotypical portrayal particularly the character Scarlett Winters. The plot had a couple of twists that I didn’t see coming but at the same time were quite predictable and if I hadn’t already read four books in the 24 hours before they might not have been as good a twist as I thought they were. I felt the plot had a good order for the events that happened and each scene linked together well.

Characters:

I enjoyed the character of Vivi Deveroux the most. She had a personality that was nice and fresh compared to the others in the book. The other characters I felt were very predictable and stereotypical rather than their own personalities. I liked them, I liked the twist of who the villian is and I did sort of like the love interest. But I think there could have been more character development and that would have made the book better.

Writing and Dialogue:

Again, I don’t have much to say either way on these. The dialogue was good and it was needed to help with the tone of the novel. The writing style was good, It didn’t obviously stand out that two people had written it so their styles must have blended together well.

Overall:

I gave this book three stars overall because I did enjoy it and I probably will plan on reading the second book in the series which is meant to be coming out this year. However, I wouldn’t say I loved this book and it won’t be in any of my favourite’s lists.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Kappa Rho Nu isn’t your average sorority. Their parties are notorious. Their fundraisers are known for being Westerly College’s most elaborate affairs. But beneath the veil of Greek life and prestige, the sisters of Kappu Rho Nu share a secret: they’re a coven of witches. For Vivi Deveraux, being one of Kappa Rho Nu’s Ravens means getting a chance to redefine herself. For Scarlett Winters, a bonafide Raven and daughter of a legacy Raven, pledge this year means living up to her mother’s impossible expectations of becoming Kappa Rho Nu’s next president. Scarlett knows she’d be the perfect candidate — that is, if she didn’t have one human-sized skeleton in her closet…. When Vivi and Scarlett are paired as big and little for initiation, they find themselves sinking into the sinister world of blood oaths and betrayals.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you enjoyed it!

Book Reviews

What A Way To Go by Julia Forster Book Review

March 29, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday bookish people! This was another of the books I read for the Becca and the Books (YouTube) 48 Hour Bookopolathon challenge. The prompt was to read a book outside your comfort zone. This book has been on my shelf literally forever and I kept not picking it up because of it being so far out of my comfort zone. I usually read fantasy as my main genre and this book I’d class more as literary fiction. I will say now if you don’t like low rated book reviews this is not the book review for you. I am glad I read it but I did not actually enjoy this book.

Plot:

This book didn’t feel like it had a plot. Definitely not one that was at all clear to me while reading it. It’s set in the 80’s I believe and so a lot of the nostalgia was completely lost on me, I didn’t understand it and that might be one of the reasons I didn’t enjoy it as much. I don’t really have anything else to say here, the plot wasn’t really a plot.

Character:

This book is written from a child’s point of view, I’m not completely sure how old she is, it’s unique and a great way to use metaphors and give the whole story a sense of innocence. However, I didn’t feel anything for the character, I felt disconnected and I felt that the character herself was disconnected from the story and so the experience of reading her character was difficult. No other characters are really explored in any depth and I found them all easily forgettable.

Dialogue and Writing:

I didn’t enjoy either of these features of the novel. The dialogue felt cold and overthought and the writing style was clunky and jarring, It wasn’t an enjoyable experience reading it.

Overall:

I gave this book a generous two stars and I don’t have much else to say about that. I probably will unhaul this book eventually.

That’s it for this book review, unfortunately it wasn’t a very positive one to write but I will always be honest in my review of books.

Book Reviews

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer Book Review

March 29, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Monday Bookish People! Here is the book review for the second book that I read for the Becca and the Books 48 hour Bookopolathon challenge. The second prompt was a fantasy book and I chose A Curse so Dark and Lonely because, it was on my March TBR, and also I have the full trilogy on my shelf and I hadn’t yet read it. It was about time I finally read it, so many people have recommended it to me.

I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each one. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy reading my book review.

Plot:

This book is advertised as a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and it is one of the best retellings that I have read. I think the plot of this book is well constructed and builds the tension brilliantly. It starts with an event that is a catalyst for the rest of the novel and it is paced well so the novel has both exciting events and tension but also leaves enough room for character development. This book has a great plot for this book and it also sets up an over arching plot for the rest of the series which has made me very excited to read the rest of this series – soon!

Characters:

I loved the characters in this book. The main protagonist is Harper and her personality is headstrong and fierce while being very caring. From the first page I had to know what would happen with her character, I was rooting for her. The two main male characters the first book follows is Prince Rhen and his loyal Guardsman Grey. Both of these are well developed interesting characters who I am very excited about seeing where their stories go. I felt that the ending of this book was slightly rushed with certain parts of it but still had a satisfying ending.

Dialogue and Writing:

The writing style in this book is a comfortable and easy read, it matches the genre of fantasy well. As for the dialogue I felt this novel had good dialogue between the characters that really cemented their relationships and helped create the mood for the novel overall.

Overall:

Overall I gave this book five stars because I really enjoyed it and instantly wished I could pick up the second one and read it immediately, unfortunately I couldn’t but that’s what I wanted to do. It was well written, well balanced between plot and character and a brilliantly clever retelling.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Fall in love, break the curse.

Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s pulled into a magical world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? As she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

That’s it for this book review. I hope you enjoyed it! If you’ve read this book, what did you think of it? Do you enjoy retellings?

Book Reviews, Uncategorized

Ever Cursed by Corey Ann Haydu Book review

March 29, 2021 theblindscribe

It’s Monday again bookish people! That means it’s time for another book review. Today I’m going to be uploading the book reviews for all the books I read last weekend for the Becca and the Books (YouTube) 48 hour Bookopolathon. Starting with my first read which was for the prompt of dark cover and that was Ever Cursed by Corey Ann Haydu. As usual I will give star ratings for four categories and I will write a little about each of these. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. I hope you enjoy my book review.

A friend of mine gifted me this book (and many others) and the blurb interested me a lot, especially because it’s a very short book for a fantasy so I was excited to get to read it. It didn’t quite live up to my expectations of it, I enjoyed it but I thought it could have been better.

Plot:

I felt the plot of Ever Cursed had the potential to be a great fast paced fantasy novel that would have flowed smoothly and captured my attention. In my opinion the plot did not reach it’s full potential in this way. It had wonderful elements such as the witch giving a curse (and a very unique type of curse that I hadn’t seen in a book before) and the quest for the cure. These elements ultimately made the story enjoyable for me but they felt like they were missing something. I’ll talk a bit more about this when talking about characters but I was underwhelmed by the plot of this novel.

Characters:

Again, I felt that the characters in this book had the potential to be great but I wasn’t invested in them in the way I had hoped I would be. The book is told in the switching POVs of Jane, one of the cursed princesses, and the witch that cursed them. I find this an interesting dynamic, getting to see both points of view but neither of the characters make me root for them, I didn’t feel the need to see what happened at the end to either of the characters. Also in this book there is the tiniest inkling of a romance but it’s such a small part of the plot it doesn’t seem connected to the story and personally I think the book would have been better without it.

Dialogue and Writing:

This is one section I really enjoyed in this novel. If you’ve read any of my previous book reviews you will know how much weight I put on the dialogue in a book. It can really make or break my enjoyment of a book. I enjoyed the conversations between the princesses in this book, it was the only time I felt the other princesses became proper characters rather than 2D people. The dialogue also gave most of the information, it was a telling not showing situation in this book which isn’t something I usually like. The writing style itself I thought was good, it was easy to follow and didn’t feel clunky.

Overall:

Overall I can only give this book three stars. I enjoyed it but not as much as I thought I would and I didn’t think there was enough urgency or character development given to the book.

Blurb/Synopsis:

Damsel meets A Heart in a Body in the World in this incisive and lyrical feminist fairy tale about a princess determined to save her sisters from a curse, even if it means allying herself with the very witch who cast it.

The Princesses of Ever are beloved by the kingdom and their father, the King. They are cherished, admired.

Cursed.

Jane, Alice, Nora, Grace, and Eden carry the burden of being punished for a crime they did not commit, or even know about. They are each cursed to be Without one essential thing—the ability to eat, sleep, love, remember, or hope. And their mother, the Queen, is imprisoned, frozen in time in an unbreakable glass box.

But when Eden’s curse sets in on her thirteenth birthday, the princesses are given the opportunity to break the curse, preventing it from becoming a True Spell and dooming the princesses for life. To do this, they must confront the one who cast the spell—Reagan, a young witch who might not be the villain they thought—as well as the wickedness plaguing their own kingdom…and family.

Told through the eyes of Reagan and Jane—the witch and the bewitched—this insightful twist of a fairy tale explores power in a patriarchal kingdom not unlike our own.

That’s it for this book review, I hope you all enjoyed it! If you’ve read this book what did you think of it?

Book Tags

The Bookshelf Tag

March 26, 2021 theblindscribe

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope everyone has nice days planned for themselves, I have some work to do for a University assignment and a transcript to write but I might be able to squeeze some reading in later. It’s been almost a week since I’ve had chance to read anything and I’m feeling the effects.

Today’s post is the Bookshelf Tag! I had a really good time answering the questions in this tag, it made me look at my bookshelf for a looong time.

Describe your bookshelf and where you got it from?
well, my room is small, like really really small. There’s enough room for my chest of drawers, my bed and a tiny walking space. That’s it. Literally my wardrobe is in the hallway so there’s no room for a bookshelf in my room. My Dad built shelves all around the walls of my room so that’s where my books are – and of course in my new book cart I got yesterday for my birthday!
How do you organise your books?
Okay, here’s something about me – I love organising, anything lists, books, documents, EVERYTHING so I change how I organise my books all the time. Currently they are split into two halves – books I’ve read in alphabetical order then moves into books I haven’t read in alphabetical order. I don’t know how long it will stay like this…
What’s the longest book on your shelf?
With 984 pages it has to be Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas which I actually have two copies of

4. What’s the shortest book on your shelf?
It’s actually a book that I’m borrowing from my partner, and I have had it for many months, called The Oubliette (I think? I might even have the title wrong! oh dear…) it has under 300 pages.

5. Is there a book that you received as a birthday gift?
Well, yesterday being my birthday (I now have to remember I’m 22) so I got a few books there: I hope you’re listening by Tom Ryan, Cosy Crime Short Stories, Detective Short Stories, the Caraval Collectors Edition, the Throne Of Glass Collectors Edition, Paris by Starlight and All the Tides of Fate by Adalyn Grace. I’m very excited for all of them.

6. Is there a book from a friend on your shelf?
My friend got me Paris by Starlight for me for my birthday so I guess that counts, otherwise I actually don’t think there is. There’s lots of books that were recommended to me by my friends but none they actually got me.

7. The most expensive book on your shelf?
I have a beautiful version of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo with gold page edges and it’s so nice I don’t let anyone touch it. I’m not sure exactly how much it cost but I think it was about £50…

8. The last book you read on your shelf?
Ooh this was What A Way To Go by Julia Forster and I must say I did not enjoy this book very much at all.

9. Do you have a complete series?
Yes, many, but the one in particular that is coming to mind is the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri maniscalco. I LOVE this series, I’m pretty sure it’s always going to be one of my favourite series’ and also one of my top OTPs.

10. What’s the newest addition to your shelf?
The Caraval Collectors Edition. It took me ages to put it on my shelf because I didn’t want to let go of it, I love it so much. It has a chapter in Julian’s POV and it’s all I’ve ever wanted.

11. The oldest book on your shelf?
That would be Robinson Crusoe but the less said about that the better.

12. What’s a book you’d hate to let out of your sight?
All of them. If you take my books then you’re honestly risking your life.

13. Most beat up book?
I’m actually not sure, there’s an awful crack down the spine (and in my heart!) of my copy of The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.

14. Most pristine book?
All the ones I haven’t read yet, and there are many many books I haven’t read yet on my shelves…

15. A book that doesn’t belong to you?
A Deal With the Elf King by Elise Kova, it’s actually my mum’s but she keeps it on my shelf.

16. A book that is your favourite colour?
Well, my favourite colour is forest green so.. ooh the Strange Case of the Alchemists Daughter by Theodora Goss is really close to my favourite colour!

17. A book that’s been on your shelf the longest and you still haven’t read it?
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. I even did a module about Austen on my University course and still didn’t read it.

18. Any signed books?
I have many signed books. Where I live it’s very difficult to just go and get books signed so whenever a book I want has a signed edition to buy I’ll always choose the signed one if I can.

That’s it for today’s tag! I hope you all enjoyed it! My next post is going to be some book reviews so come back for them if you’re interested.

Where'd I Leave It Wednesday

The Stick in the Stall

March 24, 2021 theblindscribe

Hello bookish people! Happy ‘where’d I leave it Wednesday’ I hope everyone is having a good day. My day consists of doing a load of work for one of the assessments on my Masters course and not being allowed to go into the kitchen all day. This isn’t just a weird thing with my family that on certain days we aren’t allowed in the kitchen – it’s my birthday tomorrow and always the day before my Mum and my Sister make me a birthday cake so I’m banned from going anywhere that I could get a sneak peek of it.

So for today’s post I’m going to be telling you about the time that I left my cane in a public bathroom stall.. the first time.

It was a Monday, yes I remember the day this was a very embarrassing moment, and it was in between my two University classes. Sometimes I get free time between my classes but it isn’t enough time to get on a bus and go home because by the time I got there I’d have to get on another bus to come back. So I would go into the shopping centre and just walk around (and buy books in Waterstones but we will just ignore that because I literally have no self control) and obviously at some point I would end up having to use the bathroom.

It was all fine until I exited the stall, another woman was waiting – fine, she rushed in before I’d properly been able to move out of her way – a bit rude but fine, I washed my hands and left the bathroom. It is really weird that I can’t safely walk around very well without my cane but it takes me a very long time to realise I don’t have my cane. Oh goodness I’ve just had a thought, I probably still hold my arm out and move it side to side in front of me as if I’m carrying my cane even at times that I’ve left it somewhere… okay, that’s very likely. And very embarrassing.

Going back to the embarrassing moment I was originally talking about – I left the bathroom and got a few steps before I remembered that I’d left my cane in the stall, I lean it in the corner where the door hinges are because my cane laid down on the floor tends to stick out under the stall door and people have fallen over it before.. so I had to go back for it. It is very awkward having to suddenly turn around and walk back into a bathroom you have just left, and it’s even more awkward when you have to bypass all the available, open, people free stalls, and knock on the shut door of the only stall that is currently occupied.

The woman who rushed past me earlier was still in there and we had a very short conversation. I knocked, she said hello, I said I’m sorry but I think I left my white cane in this stall and I need it back as soon as possible. She, thankfully, said okay and started trying to get my cane to fit under the door. The gap under the door is not big enough for my cane, that is currently unfolded and over a metre long of thick white fibreglass. There’s probably a permanent dent on the bottom of that door now… anyway, she couldn’t get it under the door that way so I had to tell her through the door that she needed to collapse the cane first.

Explaining to a stranger, who is currently still using the toilet, that they need to fold your cane into three parts, tie the string around it and over the top and then slide it across the floor to me is very difficult. The cane itself is really stiff to make the parts fold up and it meant that some interesting noises were exiting the stall while she did what I said. I have talked to friends through bathroom stalls before, and my family, but this was my first time talking to a stranger through a bathroom stall. Since then this has happened multiple times but let’s just pretend that it hasn’t. So she folded it up and slid it out to me and I practically ran from that bathroom. I later saw her again but we both made sure that we avoided eye contact.

And that’s my story for today! I hope you all enjoyed it! Has anything embarrassing or anything like this ever happened to anyone else before?