Katey Lovell

The end (of 2018) is nigh and my promises to blog more regularly didn't come to fruition, yet again.  There was always an excuse not to blog - lack of time, lack of energy, would anyone be bothered about what I had to say anyway? - but with just a few days of the year left it feels like a good time to reflect on the year. It has, like many years, been one of ups and downs.  Let's get the misery out of the way first.  Emotionally, I've struggled.  Anxiety is a bitch, and my self-esteem has been at rock bottom.  I've put on weight, and although I'm trying my hardest to become more body confident (or at least body accepting) it isn't always easy fighting the thoughts that have, over a life time, become ingrained.  What I do know is I don't want to waste any more years 'dieting' and social media accounts such as Bodiposipanda and SoBadAss have been an enormous help in reminding me that bodies of all shapes are beautiful and that not everyone's func

This blog post is a response to Mark Beaumont's NME article entitled ' Mark, My Words : want to save guitar music? Kick out boyband indie . Oh, Where Do We Begin? Today I read an article published on the blog section of the NME website.  It was popping up all over my Twitter timeline because not only had it been tweeted by the main NME account but people I follow were sharing and responding the article, mostly speaking far more sense than Beaumont does in his post.  Looking beyond the clickbait title (what even is 'boyband indie'?), I was both amazed and amused by Mark Beaumont's comment that 'Bastille are the endgame of a 30-year plot to tame, contain, castrate and commodify alternative guitar music.' That statement alone is kind of hilarious, if you think about it.  Do Dan Smith, Kyle Simmons, Chris 'Woody' Wood and Will Farquarson really hold that much power over the music industry as a whole?  Does any band?  Did The Beatles kill skiff

Oh, time - you got away from me again.  Spring arrived later than ever; winter seemingly endless with freezing temperatures and April snowfall.  Hibernation appealed as I recognised the tell-tale signs of anxiety making an unwanted comeback, but I forced myself to push on.  I came close to my breaking point and I've taken some time away from writing to ease the load, but it's really, really hard to switch off from the alternate realities in my head.  When my head's in a bad place I find it hard to focus.  As a reader that's as much of a sucker-punch as the other symptoms of my anxiety.  That said, I have managed to read a few cracking books.  I Was Born for This  by Alice Oseman was just fabulous.  It had boy bands, mental health representation and an LGBT+ lead character, which along with a fast-paced storyline made for a great read.  I also fell head-over-heels in love with Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman, which I became aware of when the book was

Regular readers of this blog may recall my excitement for Charlie Barnes' latest album Oceanography .  Having seen Charlie perform acoustically before, as well as with his band The Society Pages, I was excited to hear he was returning to Sheffield to play at West Street Live. Following sets by Sheffield groups Hush and K A R A, Charlie and his band took to the stage with the insanely catchy 'All I Have' which features some deliciously-jangly guitar riffs, before launching into the anthemic 'Bruising'.  Anyone who's ever tried to make a living through creative endeavours will relate to these tracks about self-doubt, imposter syndrome and the need for a thick skin and perseverance, as shown in the lyric, 'Every time I've half a mind to throw the towel in, I fight it'.      Next up was 'Maria', a track which showcases songwriter Barnes' ability to meld a haunting verse with a pop-influenced chorus, not to mention a Queen-influenced

I've been reading... Body Positive Power -  Megan Jayne Crabbe All Night Long  (Sweet Valley High) Dangerous Love (Sweet Valley High) Lullaby - Leila Slimani Everything I Know About Love - Dolly Alderton Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli The Cows - Dawn O' Porter I'm still way behind on my blogging for the #SVHReadalong, but I will catch up soon - promise!  But what about the other titles I read in February?    Megan Jayne Crabbe, aka Bodyposipanda, is well-known on social media for leading the march on body positivity.  As someone who recently lost a lot of weight but still had gripes with how I looked, I hoped this book would help me accept my body .  Whilst it hasn't solved all my anxieties, Body Postive Power  reminded me of all the wonderous ways my body works and how society pushes only certain, often unachievable, body types as the 'ideal'.  Thanks to my sister-in-law who bought me this for Christmas!   Lullaby

  If you're looking for a problematic, fat-shaming Sweet Valley book, look no further.    Power Play follows Robin Wilson on her quest to become a member of exclusive sorority Pi Beta Alpha.  Elizabeth nominates Robin as a potential candidate, but Jessica finds it laughable that someone who is (shock horror) overweight could even contemplate being accepted into such an exclusive group and sets her humiliating initiation challenges whilst leading her on by taking advantage of her good-nature.  However, nothing can stop Robin - she's on a mission, and when Liz helps her complete the most difficult task of all - getting Bruce Patman to take her to the dance - Robin is eligible to be put forward for voting.  The anonymous voting takes place and Robin is blackballed!  The rejection causes Robin to withdraw from school life and, as a result of excessive exercising and minimal eating, lose a lot of weight in a short period of time.   I remember reading this book when I w

Oh, this book promises so much and delivers so little, and the John Barrowman/Timothy Dalton interpretation of Bruce in the cover art is possibly the highlight of this whole volume.  Admittedly, the Jessica/Bruce storyline is interesting to start with (and I remember thinking the bikini scene was red-hot when I first read these books in the 90s), but as an adult Jessica's compliance to Bruce's manipulation makes for uncomfortable reading. The B plot follows Jessica encouraging Robin Wilson (who we are repeatedly told is fat) to steal a test paper and post it in Emily's locker so that Emily, distracted by a music mogul in red leather trousers who's going to turn The Droids into the biggest band ever, can pass the test.  This is important because Jessica plans to cheat off her, but the plan backfires when Mr Russo changes the test at the last minute.  The fat-shaming makes this a difficult read for me personally and although I enjoyed the scene when Bruce ends up

I've been reading... Double Love (Sweet Valley High) Secrets (Sweet Valley High) Playing with Fire (Sweet Valley High) Power Play (Sweet Valley High) Emma Ever After - Brigid Coady One Day in December - Josie Silver Christmas in St Ives - Miranda Dickinson Some Kind of Wonderful - Giovanna Fletcher I'll be blogging about Playing with Fire and Power Play soon for the #SVHReadalong, but I've also really enjoyed the women's fiction I've read this month.  Emma Ever After is a contemporary retelling of Jane Austen's Emma set against the backdrop of the music industry.  It's sassy and witty and a must for anyone interested in the part the media plays in celebrity and stardom. One Day in December isn't due out until later in the year, but I was fortunate to receive an early copy.  It's already drawn comparisons to David Nicholls' One Day and Richard Curtis' rom-com films, and I can see why; and don't let th

I was really excited to get stuck into the second Sweet Valley High book, Secrets, because it's one of the books that springs to mind when I think of the series.  The cover is one of my personal favourites, showing Jessica gossiping on a bubble-gum pink telephone as Elizabeth watches on aghast, even though this doesn't represent the story inside at all. *Spoilers ahead* Secrets follows on immediately after Double Love , with the main plotline focussing on Elizabeth's best friend Enid's dark, rebellious past.  Enid, who is in a relationship with possessive Ronnie Edwards, has been secretly writing to her old friend George Warren, a former joy-riding drug-using delinquent (there's talk of them using bennies.  In my youthful innocence I never used to know what they were referring to - it's actually benzadrine, a pharmaceutical that contains amphetamine).  When Enid shares this with Elizabeth, and accidentally leaves a letter in her friend's bedroom, it i

The time has come - 2018 is the year I'm rereading the Sweet Valley High books! This series of books is hugely important to me.  Although I was a voracious reader prior to discovering Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield (with mainly Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl satiating my appetite), once I started the Sweet Valley books I was a goner.  I don't even remember how I first came across them, because I thought it was through my slightly-older cousin, but she says she got into them through me.  One thing I am sure of is that I was reading both the Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High books by the time I was eleven and was still reading them when I was fifteen.  Mostly I bought second hand copies from charity shops and car boot sales, but any money I had for birthdays or Christmases went on these books.  I also spent a lot of my summer holidays hiding in a corner of Monmouth's WHSmiths craftily reading any instalment I'd missed out on. The books were addictive, and comb