Hello Cozy Family!!

I'm officially 'I-don't-even-know-how-long' into my training to run a 10k but it's going super well!!

What am I listening to?

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid on audiobook.

I'm loving it!!! This book will 10000% be taking over one of the top spots on my top 10 ranking when I've finished it. Just wow!! I have about 45 mins to go and I don't think I'm ready, but I also cannot wait to be emotionally destroyed or incredibly happy depending on the ending. I have been so motivated to go out each day just because I want to keep listening to the audiobook and put a rule in place that I can only listen to it whilst training. That rule is definitely working so far!!

Or, I should say, it was working... ahaha. At the start, I was going out and training more often because I just NEEDED to keep listening, but now I'm at the end, I've been procrastinating training because I don't want the audiobook to end. So it was working super well!! Until it wasn't.... oops I guess.

But I am still training and will (sadly) finish the audiobook on my next training session.

Physical update:

At the start of my training, I started to get shin splints. Not ideal at all. Especially as, when I spoke to my brother who runs a lot and has for years, he told me that I should stop running for a couple of weeks once shin splints start, otherwise if it gets worse it could have me out for months. He was speaking from experience and I remember him going through it before. So yeah, not ideal.

But I knew I couldn't just stop running or training for a few weeks, seeing as though I only had about 12-13 weeks total from the time I started training to the 10k race on 6th September. So, being the nerd I am, I did what I do best: I researched.

I found that compression socks can make a lot of difference with shin splints, especially the early onset of them, and so I immediately ordered some. And let me tell you... they are amazing!!!! I use them every time I go running now and almost immediately upon wearing them the first time, I went from shin splint pain to no pain at all! Just incredible! So I have been able to continue training and have done super well over the last week.

I have gone further and done more than I thought I could! I am so proud of myself!

Weather struggles update:

Because the UK is known for having overcast weather, rainy days, and only the occasional day that we see the sun, I really didn't even consider that the weather would have any impact on my training. Other than the occasional rainy day preventing me from going out on my runs.

Well.... that has not been the case!

We have been in a heatwave. Like one of the worst heatwaves the UK has ever experienced, with record highs in heat and humidity!! And just as one heatwave ended, another started!! We have barely had a couple of days of low humidity and basically no days of rain. And it's been WEEKS!!

I started getting up at 5am to go for my runs so I could avoid as much of the heat as possible. One day I was so tired from work the day before, I went for a run at 8am instead of 5am, and wow I barely survived! Those 3 hours difference in the morning made all the difference with heat.

I did invest in a runners vest jacket thing that holds water in essentially the breast pockets (honestly not sure what these jacket things are called lol, sorry). It has been a life saver! Taking water filled with electrolytes with me on my runs has made all the difference in this crazy weather!

Wrap up:

So, it's been a wild few weeks with horrid weather and narrowly avoiding shin splints, but despite it all I am loving training. Loving it so much more than I expected to. The Atmosphere audiobook is definitely partially to blame for how much I'm enjoying my training sessions! I have a list of audiobooks lined up to choose from after I finish Atmosphere, but I have no clue what I'll choose yet. I'm going to put up a poll this weekend so you all can help me decide.

Thank you for spending time with me today, Cozy Family!

Until next time,

Charlotte xxx

Hello Cozy Family!!

Back in 2023, I posted what turned out to be a rather controversial list of books that I thought should be studied on the school curriculum to help inspire and create readers from an earlier age. Here’s my updated list of recommendations. 

I will post a deep dive into each age group and the books I’ve chosen in separate posts (to come soon). I have used the English (UK) classification of school groups, as that is what I am familiar with, and then added the age ranges in brackets so everyone, wherever you may be based in the world, will be able to understand and apply to your own school age group classification systems. 

So without further ado, here is a list of what I think should be on schools' English Literature curriculums:

Primary School (8 - 10 years old)

• Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

• A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll

• Best Friends Forever by Lisa Williamson

I would also recommend a graphic novel at this age too, though I am still searching for what I think my ultimate recommendation for one would be. So stay tuned for that update, hopefully soon. Please share any recs you may have!!

Lower Secondary School (11 - 13 years old)

• Narnia (The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe) by C S Lewis

• The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien

• A Good Girls Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson

• A Language of Dragons by S F Williamson

Upper Secondary School (14 - 15 years old) 

• The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

• Herc by Phoenica Rogerson

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

A-Level / College (16 - 18 years old)

• Morgan Is My Name by Sophie Keetch

• The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

• The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow

• Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Until next time,

Charlotte xx

Hey Cozy Family!

Did you know that I also run an online book club via Discord?!

We read a series together (book 1 = month 1, book 2 = month 2, etc) and then break up the series with a standalone before jumping back into another series together. We generally stick to duologies or trilogies, otherwise it takes too long and is a bigger commitment for everyone to take on as a club, especially if someone wasn't a fan of the 1st book.

I've just put up a poll to choose what our next standalone book will be in August! If you want to join and vote, please click on the 'chat' button next to the Discord symbol at the top of my Bindery page. We use a separate app, literally called Bookclub App, to organise polls for book selections and meeting dates. The link for the app (which is completely free) is in the Discord server. Please do give me a shout if you can't locate it (though it should hopefully be very easy to find) and I can always send it to you directly.

For the August standalone, we are looking at summery vibes for our fantasy book. So there is a few pirates and mermaids and general ocean themed fantasy standalones on the list this time.

Please do come join us and vote for which book you might like to read in August!!

Until next time,

Charlotte x

Hello Cozy Family!

It's been a long time since I thought about creating an official top 10 ranking, so I figured I would give it a shot. It was much harder than I expected!! And I'm currently reading a book that I know will be high in my top 10 after finishing, but the idea of removing any of the mentioned books below from the ranking physically hurts aha.

I might have to start doing re-rankings every other month if my reading keeps being as top tier as it has been so far this year! A brilliant struggle to have!

What would be in your top 10 list? Please do share all the incredible books that could very well uproot all of our rankings!

Without further ado, here is my (current) official top 10 books:

1. For Whom the Belle Tolls

2. A Court of Silver Flames

3. Judgement Road

4. House of Earth and Blood

5. Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands

6. Project Hail Mary

7. On the Same Page

8. Heir of Fire

9. The Phoenix Keeper

10. The Unmaking of June Farrow

Honourable mentions (because I couldn't just list 10 when these were so close to making the cut):

• The Atlas Six

• Broken Bonds

• A Discovery of Witches

• Heroes of Olympus

• Uprooted

• Wisteria

The book I'm currently reading that I KNOW will disrupt my current top 10 is Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid! Just wow! But as I haven't finished it yet, it feels wrong to add it to my official ranking just yet.

The same goes for The Women by Kristin Hannah, which I always tell everyone is one of my favourite books of all time, and yet I haven't technically finished it... It was destroying me too much and I had to pause due to personal circumstances at the time. That was 2 years ago lol. I do plan to finish it, and I know it will then rule over my top 10 list, but until I'm ready to be emotionally destroyed by the ending, I'm putting it off. I want to finish it this year though, so it should be in my ranking by the end of 2026, fingers crossed!

I'm volunteering to help organise and run a Youth Group (11-18 years old) in my local village this summer! I will be in charge of everything book related and I cannot wait!

Any ideas for further things I could do, or things I should change up to make eve better, please do share all your thoughts!!

My current ideas and plans are below:

• Prompt jar to pick from every time you finish a book to help decide your next read in a more fun and engaging way

• Scrapbook for reviews. There will be review cards you can fill out and then stick in, or you can get artsy and design your own review page directly in the scrapbook

• A box full of books to choose from (for free!!), collected from charity shops and local donations. Add books in and take them out as you like

• Flyers with library app details so you can download ebooks and audiobooks with more ease and accessibility

• Headphones provided, but must be packed up at the end of the night so as not to wonder off. Immersive read your audiobook and physical book, listen to the audiobook whilst doing a creative activity, or listen to music whilst you scrapbook

• Notebooks and pens for creative writing, with a jar of creative writing prompts to inspire you. Plus take your notebook home at the end of the night!

• Colouring books and puzzle books will be available to use whilst listening to audiobooks or music, or just chatting with your friends

• A box of scrapbooking supplies will be provided, including: card (white and coloured), coloured pencils and pens, stencils, washy tapes, and stickers

I'm so excited to get started and kick off the Youth Group in the summer!!