it by alexa chung;

i have always loved alexa chung, her oversized androgynous style, her ability to pair minimalistic makeup, messy hair and a red lip to look absolutely flawless. her specialty to look like she rolled out of bed looking flawless (despite everybody knowing that it takes a godawful long time to look like that) - and  because of my admiration for her i-don't-care-what-you-think-style, i have been so excited to get my hands on this book.

i thought the hardcover was exquisitely beautiful, but i was waiting for a day when i had enough money left over in a week to get it. but then when the paperback came out it, too, blew me away. it's got a classic penguin looking cover, in dusty pink with a beautiful self-portrait tacked all over the front. it's amazing. i don't know why i'm in love with the simplicity of this cover, but i am. i'm sure you'll be sick of hearing me say the word beautiful in this review, but it truly is beautiful. 

this book reads like a blog, like a tumblr, like a photolog of beautiful images of beautiful people with beautiful style - and if you're looking for something to inspire you, then you're looking for it. 

there's a mixture of people that inspire alexa's look, and a little life advise - it's really just a dabbling into the inner workings of an amazing woman, written from a perspective that sounds like friends having a catch up. 

it's got quick snippets of her karaoke queen life, it's got reflections on sitting in the front row of a fashion show, and it's got advice on how to deal with broken hearts. it's even got some motherly advice, which i'm sure even the most secure and ready lady needs in the real world. 

it's a really quick read - i got through it in under an hour, and that was with a whole lot of longing staring at the beautiful photos, and pondering every life choice i've ever made. if anything, i wish it had a little more writing - there were times where i wanted to know more of a story, when i wanted to know more about why she loved something the way she did, and it was just not all there.

all in all, this book was beautiful. i loved alexa's voice, i loved that it read like a diary that she was willing to share, i loved the tiny anecdotes and i really loved the great photographs. whether you're a fashion-addict, an avid photographer, or just somebody looking for a little inspiration, i'm sure you'll find it in it.

★★★★

four stars, and a rekindled style icon. 

xo

jess

how to build a girl by caitlin moran;

"It's 1990. Johanna Morrigan, fourteen, has shamed herself so badly on local TV that she decides that there's no point in being Johanna anymore and reinvents herself as Dolly Wilde—fast-talking, hard-drinking gothic hero and full-time Lady Sex Adventurer. She will save her poverty-stricken Bohemian family by becoming a writer—like Jo in Little Women, or the Brontës—but without the dying-young bit."

-

how to build a girl stirred something in me that i already thought was stirred enough, my desire to prove myself as an individual, independent, and self-reliable female. there isn’t a lot of “contemporary” literature i find myself drawn to, and yet this one had me - hook, line and sinker. 

i've been trying to broaden my horizons in terms of literature, and i'd heard so many a good thing about caitlin moran, her unique voices, and stories of inspiration to all women, that i couldn't leave this sitting on the shelf.

how to build a girl tells the story of johanna, a girl struggling to find her place in the world - depressed, unhappy, and somewhat of an obsessive masturbator. it deals with the trouble she had facing herself and her issues. but ultimately the real test begins when johanna is driven by her passion for music, to fall into the music industry, and prove to herself, and her modern dysfunctional family that she can turn herself into something other than that fat, broke girl. 

johanna re-creates herself as dolly wilde, and learns everything you need to know about how to build a girl. There is sex and drugs and rock and roll, and i’m sure anything else you could be looking for. moran's voice is strong and catching and unique in such a brutally honest way, that once i'd picked this book up, i couldn't put it down. 

but by far my favorite aspect of this book was the meaning that held true to me, johanna's story really proved to me that anything built, can always be re-built. because when dolly wilde becomes all but a little too much, there is a whole section dedicated to how to rip it up and start again.

i have always had this notion that people were just made, that we had no say, no real control over the directions that our life took – we were merely hands-free victims swerving all over the road of life, in a slightly shabby looking automobile. but hey, if this fictional girl can overcome everything she overcame in order to build herself, why can’t i?

i do realise it’s not as simple as that. but this book was really eye-opening to me. i was feeling trapped in this image, and this persona i’d crafted for myself, unable to change my direction, in fear of being persecuted for being fake, for being falsehearted and a complete lie to the girl i once was. but hey, now i know all the ingredients to build a girl, and i'm pretty sure one of the ingredients is me.

i loved this book, i really did, it was captivating, cringeworthy, and honest. i appreciated the british swears, the family dynamics, the hyper-realistic characters, and the black top-hat, and i would recommend this book to anybody looking to broaden their horizons, and take a leap of faith into something that i know will rock your world.

★★★★★

5 stars, and a good chunk of my heart.

xo

jess.

i guess this is about me;

hey, whassup.

you can call me jess, if you want - i mean, i won't force you to, you can call me anything you like but i will probably only really respond to jess.

as you can tell by the title of this blog, it's all about the things that i read, and stuff. books, and whatnot.

my friends are sick of me waffling on about books they have no interest in, so now i'm putting it all here for you to read until you, too, are sick of my waffle.

(that's my cat his name is boar, or more affectionately, boar-bee)

i'm sure if you're here you are after some juicy gossip about my life, so let me lay it down for you.

i'm twenty-two,

i'm from australia!

i have a bachelors degree in english and creative writing,

i have a mad obsession with cats, books, caffeine and wolverine,

i really don't like capital letters, or brussel sprouts.

is that enough? let me know if i've forgotten anything!

xo

jess.