I'm going to base this post about something that I'm really passionate about - books. I absolutely love reading and books and always have. When I look back at my childhood, I always remember having a little shelf next to my bunkbed with a pile of books and a torch on it. My Mum would come in at 10pm on a school night telling me to stop hiding under the covers with a book and get some sleep. She tells me stories about how the health visitor was amazed when she came to see me as a baby and I was sat inspecting a book, gently turning each page. There are so many different worlds out there to escape to and I desire to stumble into every one of them - the impossible task!

As a primary teacher, this is something that I try to instil in my students and I love seeing them get excited over a story - at the moment we are reading The Midnight Gang by David Walliams and everytime the chapter comes to an end they go "NOOOO!!!" As much as I love my job, I still would love to work in a library or a bookshop - there is something so relaxing about being surrounded by books and I love to visit them and browse from biographies and non-fiction to stories. But enough about how great books are! Here are my top-tips for book lovers.

1. I have a Kindle Paperwhite full to the brim with books and I'm constantly adding more, which can also be said about my bookshelves. If I read a book that I enjoy on my Kindle, I have to have the paperback on my shelf so I can look back at it and remember the stories that I have been inspired by. It's sometimes really nice to reread the stories, a bit like a comfort blanket.

2. Don't just stick to fiction! I have been really guilty of this in the past. There are so many fascinating and inspiring real-life stories out there and it's really cool to learn about something new with non-fictional books. I love nature books and the kids at school do too, especially when I can tell them a cool fact about our topic. I've also got really into poetry at the moment - it's so beautiful, can take you some place new and think of things from a new perspective.

3. eBay and Amazon is your best friend. I'm sure you already know this but save the second hand books!! I also love searching charity shops for hidden gems and libraries usually have a 'for sale' section where you can occasionally find a great book for about 30p - especially children's books.

4. Goodreads. I think I visit this website more than social media. I love setting myself reading challenges, see what other people are reading and finding my new favourite book. It gives you so many lists of good books and recommendations based on what you've read! I'm also kind obsessed with updating where I am with the books I'm reading. It makes reading more of a productive activity, like 'hey, I've read 4 books already this year, I'm so intelligent'.

5. Book blogs. I love following book blogs and seeing such pretty pictures of books - even if it makes me regret having un-pretty eBooks on my Kindle. Damn yooou!

6. My New Years Resolution - don't finish a book you aren't enjoying. Pass it on to someone else or a charity shop. Life is too short to force yourself to read something that your heart isn't into and there are so many books out there for you to read and love. Also, you'll probably be put off reading for a while and it's so hard to get out of that rut.

Happy reading!

Why do I seem to return to blogging every January? I read last year's post and it seemed a million years ago. It's been a really busy year - I got my first teaching job and time has flew since I started in June - I can't believe I've been here 7 months already. I'm finding it so rewarding, although tiring, and there is so much less paperwork than uni. The only downside is that I am contracted a year, so here I am scouring job sites again!

Looking back, last year I was full of hopes and goals, however finding a job wasn't as easy as I hoped. I attended endless visits to schools to hear nothing back. I applied to around 20 jobs and only heard back from two. I went to two tiring all-day interviews with a smile plastered on my face through endless tasks for one of them to rip me to bits in the actual one-on-one interview stage. It was an X-Factor style audition where you waited nervously to see if you had got through to the next stage - only a day for the strong-hearted. Part of me is dreading going through it all again, but I know I have more experience and confidence behind me this time.

But after the excitement from last year's first job and graduation, I'm not really sure what this year will hold. There's been a lot of personal things that has happened in the last year that means my family isn't around to be there anymore. It's something that really hit me at New Years Eve where I realised that the most important people in my life were now gone. It's still something that leaves me curious as to why things happened but grateful for the ones I still have.

So here's to 2017. Let's hope its a good one :)
(with maybe a blog or two... you never know)