jack95

Marcus Stewart?

Radiohead! They're so boring. I was trying to think of something more insightful to say but I couldn't. I blame it on how boring they are.

Arsenal, or Man City if I'm not allowed them.

Thanks!

I'm fairly sure I've already had Everton, but if not, I'll take them. Otherwise, Blackburn. Or Sunderland if I've had Blackburn!

They do it just for the Gull (of) It.

Everton

Tough week. Charlton Athletic

Peterborough. If I've already had them, I'll take Hull. And if I've already had Hull, I'll go with Swansea! And if I've already had Swansea I'll accept that this isn't my week.

Yeah, I'm really enjoying it, it's a good university especially when you consider the grade requirements are relatively low (I got onto English Literature with an A in English and a C in everything else.) And, albeit maybe it's just because I come from a fairly quiet city originally, I think it's a great place to live as well, there's loads to see and do. I'd recommend it.

This is good to hear! I'd now describe myself as 'buzzing.' And to answer Cymru's question, I am indeed studying at Portsmouth!

I'm seeing Frightened Rabbit in Southampton this Sunday! And I had to share my excitement. I'm also kiiiind of tempted by Billy Bragg next month. Does anyone have any opinions as to whether he's particularly good live? I like him a lot and it would be very fun to see him but with Christmas coming it would really be pushing my budget. Plus it would mean going to Southampton twice in a matter of weeks and nobody wants to do that. (I have no idea about Southampton, it might be a wonderful place, but as I've just moved to Portsmouth I figured I better talk about how dreadful it is as often as possible.)

Burnley. Pretty sure I haven't had them, if I have then I'll take Bolton instead.

I started studying English Literature at university this year, which has given me the opportunity to read some interesting books. Here are my thoughts on a few of them! ROOM by EMMA DONOGHUE- This won the Man Booker Prize a few years ago I think. It's about a child who lives in a single room with his Mum, having been locked away by a kidnapper. It's OK. The whole thing is narrated by the five year old which is a nice idea which doesn't wear thin as quickly as I'd expect, but still gets kind of tedious towards the end. The story is fairly bleak but there's a fair few spots of humour mostly revolving around the child's inability to understand things. Some of these are quite funny, others aren't. The plot has a nice pace, allows for some moments of genuine tension, and there's a fun twist in the middle that takes the story in a different and welcome direction, keeping things fresh. It's a much better read than I thought it would be but the concept isn't really my thing. 3 out of 5! VARIOUS THINGS by NIKOLAI GOGOL- This is a collection of six short stories and a play. When I heard we were studying 19th century Russian literature I braced myself for the worst but these were a lot of fun, and something I thing I'd have enjoyed even more if I'd been able to read it for leisure. The tales range from sarcastic accounts of the mundane lives of the rich, to some super surreal stories involving a man missing out on promotion at work to his own nose, or another fellow who loses his mind and starts to believe he's the King of Spain. The writing style is such that I think I'd find it hard to digest a full novel, but in small doses I thought these were great. Four out of five! REGENERATION by PAT BARKER- Another unexpected success! A book about the emotional traumas of British soldiers in the midst of World War 1 didn't seem like my cup of tea at all, but I thought Pat Barker did a fantastic job with this. The writing style was clear, there were a range of likeable characters, and the book never came close to falling into reverential hero worship like I feared it would. It was such a fascinating read, and one that you have a nice mull over. Minus a bit for the fact that once I finished the book I realised nothing had actually happened in it really, but still, four out of five! I've also started to read 'The Falling Man' by Don DeLillo and 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy, neither of which I'm hugely enjoying. Falling Man is OK, I guess, but I think the Road is going to become pretty tedious pretty quickly, especially when McCarthy does things like describe the darkness as "autistic."