book: room by emma donoghue

Room is a book recommended to me by a friend back in January but I didn't get round to reading it until May. I regret waiting so long to pick this up because it really was a good read!

Image Credit: Amazon

The blurb on Amazon reads as follows:

"Jack is five. He lives with his Ma. They live in a single, locked room. They don't have the key. 

 Jack and Ma are prisoners."

Based on the blurb, it's pretty obvious this is a hostage situation so I was intrigued to find out how the story would pan out. It is written from the point of view of Jack and it was fascinating to read from the point of view of someone who has grown up with a completely warped view of the world and how this impacted his development. Having spent many hours learning the various developmental milestones for kids while on paediatrics, I found myself thinking back to them to see which ones he'd most miss out on. Conclusion: social and emotional development (but I am no expert).

As the story unfolds, you get an idea of the mental strain put on Ma as she tries to stay strong for Jack but also think about their future. It is extremely well written and I couldn't put the book down. It's not for the faint-hearted but is a good thriller if you're a fan of books by Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl, Dark Places, Sharp Objects) and Stephen King (The Shining).

Overall, a solid 8/10.

my week #225

I spent this week forgetting about medicine and it was great. After a long, hard academic year, it was actually quite nice to forget about exams, stress and hectic nature of medicine. Instead, I caught up with friends and there was a lot of laughter involved during it all.

On Tuesday, I saw Finding Dory and I'd highly recommend it. Even though my friend and I were probably one of the few without kids at the cinema, it was a great film filled with laughter and also a few life lessons applicable to most, if not all, of us.

On Friday, I tried out Homeslice in Covent Garden for the first time (a friend recommended it back in February) and it was amazing. Not gluten free so don't tell my doctor but it was worth it. The flavours were on point, the thin crust was crunchy and the service was decent. The only thing was the music was a bit too loud for us to hear each other but considering we had to wait forty minutes for a table, we used that time to catch up instead.

How has your week been?

my whittard of chelsea obsession

This year, I've really embraced having a hot drink before bed and what better drink than hot chocolate? I thought I'd treat myself to some Whittard's Salted Caramel hot chocolate and it has done a good job of knocking me out at night! Within this order, I decided to throw in some Dreamtime tea and a caddy of White Chocolate flavoured white tea. Whittard is a bit too expensive for my student budget though so this is was a one-time treat but I can definitely see myself setting aside a 'tea fund' in my future salary*!

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate
Creamy, thick and tasty - the perfect blend for a bedtime drink. I can definitely make out the caramel flavour but the saltiness is really subtle.

Dreamtime Tea
The tin says there are 'flavours of honey, apricot and vanilla' to this tea and I can agree with the first two but the vanilla note must be extremely subtle or my palate is probably just not that refined :) Nevertheless, it tastes sweet but not to a sickly extent (provided you only add two teaspoons instead of the recommended three) and coupled with a bit of meditation before bed, it is a great recipe for sweet dreams. At least, it was for me :)

White Chocolate Flavoured White Tea
This is my first foray into loose leaf tea and I wasn't disappointed. I'm not a big drinker of milky tea and tend to gravitate more towards green tea but on this occasion, pushed the boat out to a white tea. It smells amazing and it doesn't taste too bad either. I'm not sure I'm convinced enough to replenish this tea once finished but isn't the caddy just adorable?!

*by future, I mean in thirty years' time as a junior doctor doesn't earn much here in the UK. Before you all think I'll be raking it in...

my first Lamy Al-Star (in blue green)

I'm a big Lamy fan and have been lusting after a Lamy Al-Star in blue green for ages. When I finally got my hands on one, it didn't disappoint... Until now. More on that later.

Initial Thoughts

Lovely colour, especially when combined with the aluminium barrel. It is fairly lightweight though obviously heavier than a Safari. It was definitely love at first sight.

Design

The Lamy Al Star is pretty much the same design as a Safari but just made of aluminium instead of plastic. As a fan of the Safari, this Al-Star was bound to appeal to me too :)

I won't be commenting on the nib or ink flow as it's pretty much the same as the Safaris in my collection :)

However, having now had it for a fair few months' and with it mostly on my desk, a few scratches have already appeared on the lid and on the barrel. I knew this would probably happen, what with it being made of aluminium but I didn't expect it to happen so soon and so under the radar too. The pen is stored on the top drawer of an acrylic set of drawers with other pens in parallel.

Overall, I'm still glad I've scratched (pun intended) that Al-Star itch but I don't think this'll be a pen I'll be purchasing again in a hurry :)