Two full years for Three Minutes and Forty Five Seconsd...Thank you so much

On the 4th January 2015, I finally went live with Three Minutes and Forty Five Seconds. At the time I was still at University in Newcastle studying to be a primary school teacher. I found the majority of my time completing my teacher training spent locked up in my room, planning lessons, researching theories of child development and binge watching a lot on Game of Thrones, the first time round.

Since then I have gained my qualification and have returned to my hometown. I have worked in a number of different schools with a number of different children from different backgrounds. I have met a variety of new friends, gained and lost partners, having recently gained the best one of all...and have just recently gained a new car! I have bought new bookshelves and filled them with more wonderful and beautiful books and I have learnt more about myself than ever before.

I have found that I don't need others to praise and compliment me in order to make myself feel good. I can do that myself. I found that through books and this blog I had something to focus on. I had my great kids in the classroom and I had my books to come home to. The world in which I can get lost in whenever I chose. Following a particularly tough breakup, I was contacted by Kelsey McBride, who was able to put me in touch with Iain Reading. It was Iain's books which got me back into reading properly. They were young adult fiction which had a sense of adventure and excitement throughout them. I have been in touch with Iain on a number of occasions and have received a number of books from him, all of which are due for review and I will be posting about them. 

Due to this contact with Kelsey and Iain, I was asked to review other books, a selection of Kitty Hawk books, The Dragon of the Month Club also by Iain Reading, Sapient by Jerry Kaczmarowski, Dark Sun, Bright Moon by Oliver Sparrow and I can only look forward to what will come next. I can't thank Kelsey and all of the authors enough for giving me this opportunity to read and review their books. You all thanked me for writing the reviews but I thank you for giving me this chance to read such great books. I recently nominated Sapient as one of the best books I have read in a competition to win a years supply of hardbacks. If you haven't read it, please please do so.

By Iain Reading                                By Oliver Sparrow

 By Jerry Kaczmarowski

I have come across Goodreads in the two years of working with Three Minutes and Forty Five Seconds. I find this a very convenient way to keep a list of all of the books which I own and what I will be reviewing next. Please check out my Goodreads page and please add me as a friend, I would love to hear from you.

I was recently fortunate enough to be in touch with an author who I share an interest in a book club with. I reviewed Alluvia by J H Lewis. What a novel and unique story this was. I enjoyed it so much I bought it as a Christmas gift for a good friend. I hope I will have the chance to review more books by this author in the future. I was also able to review a book a friend of mine wrote, Spellbound by Laurie Elisabeth Ashcroft. Both of these reviews can be found on this blog. Go ahead and read them. If you chose to buy any of the books I have reviewed then please let the author know that you saw my review.

A new bookshop has opened in my home town. Although it is not an independent bookstore it is still great to finally see a shop in the high street again. I remember as a child spending many hours in the bookshop and library with my grandparents. They would take me to the bookshop as a treat to buy a new book. I was signed up as a library member at a very young age and fortunate enough to take home a number of books on a regular basis. Imagine Matilda in the scene from the class Roald Dahl book where she is sitting in the library surrounded by books. That was me!

This blog has brought a great selection of opportunities and chances for me. It has made interesting conversation at job interviews and when working with children. There has been a number of children, adults, teachers, headteachers, neighbours, family members, friends who all ask what the blog is about. My answer simply is a love for reading and my way to share my view on books. I am constantly being told by my mum to stop buying books, that there isn't enough space on my shelves anymore for books. So what do I do? I move the books I have read into the loft and spread out the remaining books I own.

I have been fortunate enough to go and revisit Seven Stories and share my time there with you all. Such an enchanting and welcoming place. I absolutely love it there! Not only do I get to return to Newcastle where I have spent a number of years getting to know the area and the people but I am lucky enough to have the National Children's Book Museum less than an hour away from my house.

I have also found a love for audiobooks in this time. I was always aware of audiobooks but always thought they would be expensive and I wouldn't have the time to finish the book before it was due for return. It appears I have found the time whilst travelling to and from work in the car, or on a long journey. They have been very relaxing and therapeutic and I have loved every minute of listening to them. I have also been part of the Great Book Exchange. This was something I shared on Facebook. A number of people were very negative about this and although I had a great number of people say they were interested in the opportunity to swap and receive a number of books I received four in total. All I had to do was send a singular book and wait to see what arrived in the post. Four lovely people sent me their favourite book and this will be something which I will be discussing shortly in a future post.

I was gifted with gorgeous Clothbound books which I received at Christmas from my amazing other half. He used my Goodreads site to find what I had already read and owned to find something which he knew would mean a lot to me. He found the most beautiful copies of The Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass and The Lady In White. I honestly think they are the prettiest books I own. I am so excited to share these with you and will be posting about these very shortly. I think I may buy all my classic books in this beautiful Clothbound way from now on.

I still find myself reading in the most unusual and bizarre places. The usual places are in bed or on a commute, but I have found myself reading in Spain, in Switzerland, at the gym, whilst I find myself becoming a Fifa 17 widow, now a Battlefield 1 widow (so glad I bought him that for Christmas). I have found though that everyone accepts you when you are sat reading. No one thinks of it as odd or strange. I will continue to read and will continue to bring the reviews and insights into my life. I really do hope you have enjoyed reading my blog as much as I have enjoyed posting it. I just hope the next two years are just as exciting!

So much has happened and changed over the past two years and I cannot believe how fast the time has gone! I was a 23-year-old teaching student, stressed to hell who just wanted to find a way to vent her frustrations when I first started this and I am now a 25-year-old fully qualified teacher with the world ahead of her. 

I cannot thank you all enough, please please continue to read absolutely everything and anything, especially my blog. I hope my reviews will encourage you to find your next read...Steph xx