What Sophie Said

It’s been a while, but this title can mean only one thing: it’s book time again. Here’s the latest wonderfully random selection I’ve been getting through… The Snow Child, Eowyn Ivey In 1920s Alaska , Jack and Mabel are looking for a new start, but still haunted by the baby they lost ten years before. When a little girl appears on their land, they begin to question who she is, and whether they have room in their hearts to form new relationships. This is a beautiful novel that reads like a fairytale. The concept of grief was explored in a very sensitive fashion, and I enjoyed being left with such an ambiguous ending. I Am Pilgrim, Terry Hayes This is an epic. There’s a murder in a Manhattan hotel. There’s a beheading in Saudi Arabia . And the list goes on, with one figure seeming to link them all. Pilgrim is an intriguing character – you know both so much and so little about him. It’s a complex novel, with a lot of threads, and therefore takes so...

Today is Father’s Day, and I’m lucky enough to have a dad who I’m incredibly close to and has taught me an awful lot over the past 22 years! Here’s a round-up of the top five: 1. Friends are important. My dad is probably one of the most sociable people I’ve ever come across, and it’s definitely from him that I’ve learned to give everyone time, and really get to know them. He has so many close friends, some from school, from university, from various jobs, from playing sports… He’s always busy, always socialising, and having such a wide group of friends allows him to enjoy all the different things he loves, with great groups of people. 2. Listening has its place. Fitting in neatly with the friendship theme, my dad often finds himself in a bit of an ‘agony uncle’ position. There’s something about his open nature that lets people know they can trust him, and over the years friends have spoken to him for hours on end about all sorts of things, be it their health, family lives...

I was in the strangest of moods last night. I had excess energy in my body that I could almost feel waiting in my limbs. Like a physical presence, making me feel like I needed to do something big to get it out. I felt on high alert, or on edge, or like I was waiting for something, when nothing was about to come. It’s a feeling I’ve not felt in a pretty long time, months and months in fact. And I wanted to write it down as a reminder of progression, of moving forward, and of changing. Because that feeling was a part of me almost 24 hours a day about 2 years ago. I’ve mentioned my anxiety on here before, but only a mention, as I didn’t (and still don’t) feel in a position where I’m ready to talk about the whole thing. I’m still here only talking about moments. But let me return to last night. It was a mixed-up bundle of feelings. I’m in a state of limbo. There is so much uncertainty, but it is leading to so much excitement. I’m looking for a job. I’m looking ...

‘You’re so brave’ 'Now's the time to do it!' ‘That’s so exciting’ ‘Do you know what you’re going to do?’ These four phrases have been repeated at me on a loop for the past few weeks.  I guess you could say I’ve made a couple of ‘BIG DECISIONS’. I’ve left my job, and I’m moving to London.  I don’t know where I’ll live yet. And I don’t have a job yet. Those things are TBC. They’re works in progress. Determining their answers is the purpose of the next couple of weeks. I’ve never really put myself in a position before where I don’t know precisely what is coming next. I take a lot of comfort from having plans, from having dates in the diary and concrete goals I know I can achieve. I didn’t take a gap year. I’ve not been travelling. I feel like I’ve always followed a very safe route, and done what I expected myself to do. But recently I’ve realised those goals were goals I created a few years ago, and actually those goals have changed.  M...

I’ve always been afraid of change. Maybe fear isn’t the right way to describe it, but I’ve been resistant to change. Reluctant to upset the balance of things. Nervous to veer away from what’s comfortable, what’s familiar, what’s secure. But things have been changing. They’ve been changing pretty rapidly and I think I’m learning to go along with it. In the space of a few months, I’ve started a new job and moved house – just a couple of tiny changes there! And I’ve been allowing myself to be a bit picky, and choose to spend time with and talk to the people who matter most. And do the things I really enjoy, not just the things expected of me, because they’re ‘what I’ve always done’. Will I ever be the most impulsive person in the world, or not be a stickler for planning, or throw all caution to the wind and be completely reckless? No. But what I will do is say ‘yes’. Yes to exploring. Yes to adventuring. Yes to wondering, and to wandering. ...

I’m fully back into the routine of racing through books, so here’s the latest reading round-up… Enigma, Robert Harris March 1943. Bletchley Park. Codebreaker Tom Jericho is dealing with the fact that the Germans have suddenly changed their coding, when his girlfriend Clair disappears. This was a good thriller, and well-researched when it came to interesting details about coding and the pattern of the war. Although a brilliant novel, for me it didn’t match up to Harris’ other novels, simply because I didn’t feel particularly strongly towards the characters. Goldfinch, Donna Tartt Thirteen year-old Theo survives a catastrophe and is taken in by wealthy friends. Throughout the course of the novel, he clings to a small painting that reminds him of his mother, and draws him into the criminal underworld. I was really looking forward to this one, after it received so much acclaim when it was first released. Yes, it was well-written, and yes the story w...

Those that know me know that 2014 was a year of huge changes for me. A lot can change in a year, and last year, for me, that was more true than ever. And so, as is the trend at this time of year, I've been reflecting back on what 2014 has taught me, as I get ready to try and make 2015 even better. Here are my 14 biggest lessons learned in 2014: 1. You can do a lot more than you thought you were capable of if you set your mind to it 2. You can be brave 3. Friends will continue to surprise you, both in good ways and in bad 4. You can move from a point where anxiety was stopping you doing everything, to a point where it's a part of your personality you're learning, slowly, to control 5. You really do feel better where you're putting good food into your body. So get on with it 6. Ditto exercise. Get a wriggle on 7. Continue talking to anyone and everyone. Everybody in this world has something to teach you 8. Sometimes taking the scariest steps can pay y...