Me Monday – Always in the Write

Dilemma of the ‘Did Not Finish’ | Book Blogger Problems!

So lately I’ve not been having the best luck with books. Over the last few weeks I have picked up two books that I’ve not been able to get into, which poses somewhat of a problem for me. The first book was an ARC, requested via NetGalley. I haven’t reviewed this for one simple reason – I haven’t finished it.

The plot sounded brilliant, right up my street – a museum setting, a powerful female protagonist, a mystery to be solved. On trying to read the book, however, I just couldn’t get into it. The writing was difficult to engage with and the characters just turned out to be annoying. I put it down and instead picked up Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad; at 110 pages long I figured I could finish it in a few days and try again with the other book. Here I am two weeks later still struggling with it. (I must admit that I did put it down to read How to Stop Time before publication day.) It’s an important classic and shows imperialist British views wonderfully, but Christ is the protagonist boring. He drones on and on and on about nothing, with some racism thrown in for good measure, in long rambling paragraphs leading nowhere. Now I’m a lover and writer of literary realism, so long rambling paragraphs leading nowhere are kind of my thing, but must be engaging. I find myself opening the book and being unsure if I’m on the right page because it feels like I’ve read it all already.

As a reviewer, I feel like I have a duty to finish these books even though I’m not enjoying them. I can’t only post good reviews to have a well-rounded blog. As a writer, I feel as though it is insulting to accept an ARC from a writer who has clearly worked so hard on their book only to not even finish it, even if my review wouldn’t be great. As a person who unfortunately doesn’t get paid to read books all day (the dream!), though, I don’t feel like have enough time to put energy into books I’m not getting on with. So the question is:

Do I stay or do I go now?

What do you think – do I have a duty as a reviewer to stick it out and finish these books, or should I just move on to the next one on the pile? Help!

See you soon,

Last Post: Review (not) Wednesday | ARC Review – How to Stop Time

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Always in the Write | Why I Chose My Blog Name

I’ve had a lot of compliments on my blog name, and being honest I’m actually quite proud of it – I think it might be the highest quality thing to come out of the cloud of dissertation preparation that was November 2015! At the time I was thinking about what the hell I was going to do come graduation (tip: don’t take 8 months to figure this out and still not come up with anything!!), and decided that a blog would at the very least keep me writing, even if I wasn’t in a relevant job. A stroke of genius while trying to think of decent literary puns led to me saving Always in the Write on WordPress. I left it to be picked up when I had more time. I didn’t have more time until May, but I did pick it up – which if I’m being honest was a bit of a miracle. Looking back I probably should’ve planned ahead and written at least some ideas down in the months between coming up with the name and actually going live, but I’m not that clever. At least I went and did it, and I haven’t given up yet.

Here we are, still. I’m not in a relevant job yet, but the blog still motivates me to write. I’m invested in this now – this isn’t just a way to hone skills or something that looks good on a CV, this is something I truly care about and want to do well.

That’s great Ro, but why did you choose the damn name?

On to the name itself, there are several reasons I chose it –

As I said before, I love a good pun.
I AM always in the right. Ask anyone.
I wanted this to be about my writing. I didn’t want to lose my love of writing (and reading) and I thought that if I had it in my blog name I’d be more inclined to, y’know, write. I committed to going into a writing job after initially planning on going in to teaching – keeping writing as a focus in my life and blog is a way to ensure I don’t lose focus or touch with my goals.
Hello, it’s genius. I’m a genius. Perfect match.
As cheesy as it sounds, it felt right. I’m a big believer in my own intuition and I had a good feeling about this name – perhaps like wands the blog name chooses the blogger…or I’m just a genius (see point 4)

I really like my blog name. I think it’s cute, clever and sums up what I want the blog to reflect – good quality, interesting writing and lots of books! I did think of it while the goal was to have a more creative writing focused blog, but I still think it fits me and my written voice well.

That’s my opinion, what’s yours? How did you choose your blog name and what do you think of it now?

See you soon,

Last Post: Review Wednesday | Purple Hibiscus

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Charlie Sunny — I’ve been binging It’s Always Sunny again.

Always in the Write | I’m Back, Baby!

Hello, hello, hello!

Look at me, actually publishing things – how swish! I’m so glad to be back, I’ve truly missed posting and sharing my thoughts with you guys. I’m back and ready to share what I’ve been working on over the past few weeks with you. I didn’t get as much done as I’d hoped, I’ll admit, but taking the pressure of having to post off has helped a lot. I’ve had the time to re-evaluate what I’m doing, work out what isn’t working and how to fix it.

Good for you Ro, but why should we care?

Well, I’ll hopefully be posting more regularly and with higher quality content. I’ve been thinking about how to achieve this, knowing how damn lazy I am and what little time I have. I’m struggling to find a perfect solution, but I think cutting down how often I post, just for now, is a good idea. I rarely managed to post on ‘Fandom Friday’ anyway. So here’s what’s going to happen:

I’m keeping Review Wednesday as is. It’s the one day I manage to keep up with, and doing a weekly review is good for me.
I’m not posting on Monday and Friday any more. Instead, I’m doing Saturdays, at least right now. Maybe I’ll go back to Monday-Wednesday-Friday again soon but for now I need to know my limits and work around my schedule better.

What will the result be?

Well, I’m hoping to produce better quality, longer posts that are closer to what I want to be putting out into the world. I have some strong opinions (I am a strong woman, after all – comes with the territory) and there are things I’m always saying ‘I could write an essay on this’; so why don’t I? I want to have less posts that I see as ‘filler’ compared to what I want to put out. Look forward to seeing more creative pieces, more think pieces, and of course more reviews.

Okay, what else?

I want to be around more. I feel like I’ve been a terrible Teacup lately, abandoning my beloved chat just as Mama Teacup has FINALLY come back to blogging (catch Breanna over at Too Cute For Life). I want to engage with the blogging community more, especially my favourite bloggers, & I hope that in getting more organised I’ll have more time to get on to twitter chats, meetings etc. and read more blogs. Once I have a better schedule properly in place I might put one night aside a week specifically to get reading & commenting on more blogs. You can’t expect people to like you if you don’t give anything back, right?

One last little thing. I think I’m gonna be more relaxed about taking breaks – taking two weeks to plan and knock a few posts out has been really good for me & hopefully the blog. I’m not going to be scared any more about stopping if I need to – in blogging what I’ve learnt is that quantity is good but quality is better.

Anyway, that’s the plan. I’m getting my butt into gear and working it out – I hope you’re as excited about it as I am.

See you soon.

Last Post: Always in the Write | Seven Month Itch?

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Always in the Write | Seven Month Itch?

One of the big pieces of advice bloggers give about blogging is to plan. Create posts in advance if possible, write down ideas, take photos, etc. They especially say this if, like many of us, you work full time. Going into this job I figured I wouldn’t need to worry, so naturally things are going, for wont of a better phrase, tits-up. This probably seems weird considering my last post was introducing a new blog series, but it’s time for a break.

I think I’m in a bit of a rut – a seven-month itch, if you will. I’m finding it difficult to motivate myself because I know I’m not happy with what I’m producing and it’s just creating a vicious cycle. I’m not in love with what I write, and that’s reflecting in the quality and quantity of my posts. I have good ideas, but I don’t have the time to work on them. I end up either posting something nowhere near as good as I know it could’ve been, or not posting it at all and having to move on to something else that won’t take as much time.

I’ve been trying to get the review for this beautiful book done for so long now.

I will not quit. I’m not a quitter – the sheer amount of sugar I eat proves that – and I don’t want to start now. I’ve been putting off admitting it, but the fact is I need to stop posting – just for a little while. It’s very late, but here’s the plan;
I’m taking two more weeks, maximum, of no posting. It’ll give me time to write and actually finalise a fair few posts. I’ll be able to break out of the pattern of trying to write and edit an entire post in an evening, while hopefully actually getting more written. This isn’t a break, it’s a crash course in reorganising and getting my shit together.

You won’t be getting rid of me that easily, though. I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to hear I’ll still be on social media and in a fortnight it’ll be business as usual.

As always,
See you soon.

Last Post: Me Monday | A New Post Series!

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Spot The Difference – Why There’s No Review Today

So unfortunately there will be no review this week (booo – look out for my review of A Monster Calls next week though!). This is because I have some very exciting news instead!

We’ve had an upgrade!!

Okay, so you’ve probably already seen the new domain/the inevitable mountain of tweets I’ll make on the subject, but I upgraded the blog! I was super excited to be able to put money into this once I got a job and today was the day I decided to do that. I won’t be posting a review today for that reason – the blog will be a little temperamental for the next few days (according to WordPress, anyway) and I want to spend what little free time I have at the moment exploring the new features, tweaking the colour scheme to properly match my logo palette etc. Also I spent my blogging time today trying to get past a really hard level on Best Fiends.

Sorry this is kind of a rubbish update but these are exciting times for Always in the Write so watch out! Now to go and update all of my social media accounts – oy vey.

See you soon,

Last Post: Me Monday | Creative Piece: Commuter Conundrum

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chris pratt celebrate.gif — Me right now. [x]

Me Monday | Creative Piece: Commuter Conundrum

So I got this idea on the train (unsurprisingly) this morning. I haven’t done more than a cursory initial edit so apologies for any spelling mistakes/grammatical errors! The image of the two doing puzzles has been bubbling away in my head all day, and while I did consider lengthening it and giving them a proper story I quite like the snapshot as is right now. It’s been a while since I’ve posted something creative, so I hope you enjoy!

Tim looked up as someone sat down heavily opposite him. A young woman was going through her bag, a dark green headscarf wrapped neatly around her hair. She must’ve only been in her 20s, he thought, and reddened as he considered how he may appear to her. An older, white male with the Daily Mail in front of him – he was surprised that she’d even considered sitting there; he certainly wouldn’t have.
‘Rough day?’ He said with a smile, noticing the stressed look on her face.
‘You could say that.’ She smiled back meekly. She looked down at her hands, and by extension his newspaper, on the table.
‘I don’t read this drivel, for the record. Unfortunately it seems to have the best crossword; I suppose there’s no need for fact checking there.’
Some fellow commuters turned to stare at them as she laughed.
‘I’m a Sudoku fan myself.’
‘That’s on the opposite page, if you’d like to take a look? I’m awful with numbers, could never get my head around them.’
‘I’d love to, if you don’t mind.’
‘Of course not, it’d only on the fire with the rest of it otherwise.’ He tore the page, handing her half of the newspaper to lean on.
‘Thank you. I’m Aliya, by the way.’
‘Tim.’

See you soon,

Last Post – Review Wednesday | Book Review – The Night Circus

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Me Monday | Rapid Fire Book Tag!

First things first. I’m baaack..

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve properly posted (reviews excluded) – things are crazy and I work full time with a long commute (I’ve never sounded so grown up, it’s very scary!) so I don’t have much time or energy, but this is changing! I have to wait around for an hour or so after work every day for my dad, so I’m taking to bringing my iPad with me to get some writing done. Hoping this gets my arse into gear and gets some more posts out!

Today’s post is one I’ve been meaning to do for a while. I was tagged in the Rapid Fire book tag by the wonderful Sophie at Blame Chocolate! I should say that this seems like an awfully long tag for one that’s supposed to be rapid fire, but some of the questions are really piqued my interest and it’s a little more in depth than the last reading tag I did (see here)! So, without further ado, let’s get stuck in! (My new job isn’t as a cheesy tv presenter, I promise!)
eBook or Physical Copy?

Either – both have their merits for me. I find it easier to shop physical books, and since I’ve taken to only buying books from charity shops it’s also often cheaper. Saying that, ebooks allow me to read almost anywhere – reading Alora’s Tear on my kindle allowed me to read it in the car to/from work even though it was still dark out (my dad drives, I don’t read at the wheel!). I recently went through a period where I struggled sleeping and it was useful to be able to pick up my book without turning the light on. The Kindle has revolutionised reading under the covers – kids these days will never understand the struggle of reading with nothing but a crappy 90s McDonalds toy for light!

Paper or hardback?

Again, either. I read paperbacks more but there’s nothing like a fancy hardback edition of your favourites. One of my prized books is a gorgeous Art Deco style hardback copy of Grimms Fairy Tales (the originals, none of this censored bullshit) one of my best uni friends gave to me. Saying that, you can’t very well fit a 600 page hardback into a clutch – paperbacks are much more conducive to bringing a book everywhere you go!

Online or in store book shopping?

As I’ve mentioned above, I only seem to buy books from charity shops now – they’re much cheaper, and there’s a huge variety even at a glance – no having to decide which section to start with! So in that respect I’d have to say in store, but as a student I definitely felt the benefits of shopping online – if you want/have to buy 25 odd books at a time you may need a wheelbarrow if you go to a physical shop!

Trilogies or series?

It depends on the story. I think 3 is a nice round number, but some stories need longer or don’t need that long. I don’t really think about it if I’m honest, but I can see why some people might not want more than 3 books – it’s a lot of energy to put into just one story, and getting into a series with over 3 is daunting (I’m looking at you, ASOIAF).

Heroes or Villains?

Is it a cop out to say I like books that blur the lines? I like a sympathetic villain and an unsympathetic hero sometimes. Again it does depend on the story, but I do love an underdog so I think I do prefer villains a lot, maybe because I have a tendency to want to know the other side – it’s a writer thing!

A Book You Want Everyone To Read?

JUST ONE? There are so many, but of the ones I’ve recently read I’d have to say Reasons to Stay Alive. It’s so perfect and has really left a mark on me.

Recommend an underrated author.

Again, so many! The first one that came into my head was Shannon Hale. She writes beautiful YA fantasy novels, such as The Goose Girl, Enna Burning and Book of a Thousand Days. She writes powerful women who have stayed in my heart, but I feel like she is written off (get it) and her works could be presumed to be substanceless princess novels – when this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Last book you finished?

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (concept by Siobhan Dowd). I intend to review this next week, but to summarise – I loved it. It was emotional and clever, funny in parts and heartbreaking in others.

Weirdest thing you’ve used as a bookmark?

Literally everything. Sweet wrappers, train tickets, hair clips, rubber bands. You name it, I’ve probably tried to use it as a bookmark. Hint: cats don’t appreciate their paws being used as bookmarks.

Used books: yes or no?

Nah mate. Just kidding. I love used books – all of the books I’ve bought since graduating are used, obviously excluding ebooks. Most books in charity shops (yes I will keep going on about this) are near perfect quality anyway – and if they’re not then they’ve been well loved; nothing wrong with that!

Top 3 favourite genres

Literary realism, magical realism, fantasy.

Borrow or buy?

Now before I answer this I should say that I love libraries and the idea of libraries…but I prefer to own books. I’m happy to lend them out and I do borrow them but when a book really touches me I like to own it. I can’t really explain why though! I think I’m just possessive. And a hoarder.

Character or plot?

Well I mean, you need both for a good story. I like character based stories more than big plots I think, but I’ve loved both.

Long or short books?

Again, either, and again it depends on the story! Some long books drag and some short books aren’t long enough. Lately I’ve preferred short books, as I can get through them quicker and this is better for reviewing purposes, but as I’m currently ahead of my review reading I might go for a longer one soon.

Name the first 3 books you think of.

Harry Potter, Going Postal, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

Books that make you laugh or books that make you cry?

Both. If you can do both in your writing, you’ll win me over.

Our world or fictional worlds?

Again, I like both! 2 of my favourite genres are realism though, so I suppose it’ll have to be our world. Definitely fictionalised though, please keep me as far away from the real world as possible!

Audiobooks: Yes or No?

Not for me, but I definitely see the merits of them. I did like the radio dramatised version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but that doesn’t really count. I just get bored hearing someone else read it, and I find that they don’t go fast enough!

Do you ever judge a book by its cover?

Not judge per se, but I definitely tend to pick up books with interesting/pretty covers.

Book to movie or book to TV?

Another one that depends on a lot! Sometimes films do adaptation really well, sometimes TV does. I do think the TV format generally works best, as there’s more time to play with, but then film franchises can often have a bigger budget, which can be more beneficial.

A movie or TV show you preferred to its book?

Okay this is going to sound silly, but Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging. I loved the books, but there’s just something about the film.

Series or standalones?

I don’t know! Again, it depends. At the moment I prefer standalones, again for reviewing purposes they’re better and as I don’t have as much time to read it’s nice to not feel like I’m stuck in the same story for an age.

I can’t think who to tag right now and I’m absolutely exhausted so if you haven’t done it and would like to, then TAG! You’re it.

See you soon,

Last Post: Review Wednesday | Book Review – Alora’s Tear Volume 1: Fragments (Blog Tour)

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Me Monday | Life Update!

A few days ago marked the 6 month anniversary of this blog! I realise that I’ve missed several Mondays’ worth of posts lately, and haven’t really given any personal updates on the blog itself, so hopefully today will make up for it a little.

What’s New?

I am considering upgrading the blog soon – I’d love my own domain and I feel that it would be more professional and motivate me to produce better content. I’m biding my time until I get a new job though!

I said I wasn’t going to do NaNoWriMo… then got an idea. Review Wednesdays may be few and far between this month as I’m taking more time to write than read. I may share snippets if I feel like it but so far I’m very, very far behind so there’s not much to share!

Health wise I know my last update (The Truth) was well, not good to say the least. I was getting some Cognitive Behavioural Therapy sorted but, perhaps ironically, by the time the letter came through at the start of September I wasn’t actually well enough to make the phone call to book my first appointment, so I missed my chance there. I’m doing okay without, though – I’ve never had therapy before and although I’m sure I would benefit from it I am able to cope without. At the moment things are ok, and looking up all the time, so I think I’m fine without for now. Onwards and upwards!

Other than the above, my life is pretty dull at the moment really! There are a few blog opportunities coming up though, and I am looking forward to Christmas and my birthday (cough 54 days cough).

To Be Read

I have an ever-growing to-be-read pile at the moment! It feels like I finish one book and buy at least two more! Here are some of the physical ones I have:

-A Monster Calls – it feels like I bought this an age ago, and still haven’t read it! I’ll get to it eventually!

– Daughters of the Witching Hill – I bought this just before Halloween but didn’t get the chance to read it then.

-Suite Francaise – “If in doubt, read historical fiction” is slowly becoming my life motto. This has a really interesting back story so will hopefully be a good read!

-Humans – I know, I know, another Matt Haig. This came into the charity shop where I work and I had to pick it up. I am intentionally putting it at the bottom of the pile to mix my reading up, so it’ll be a while before I get to it!

-Reckless – I got this around the same time I got A Monster Calls, but I don’t really know what to do with it. I realised when I got it home that it’s actually an uncorrected proof, and much shorter than the published copy. I think I’ll probably get a copy of the published edition and possibly read both to compare, but I just don’t have the time or drive at the moment to read the same book twice!

So that’s me, pretty much. What’s going on with your life? Are you on top of your TBR? Give me an update of your own!

See you soon,

Last Post: Fandom Friday | The Stages of NaNoWriMo

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Me Monday | The Liebster Award

So I was recently nominated by the wonderful Lauren ‘Lizabeth to do the Liebster Award Tag! After my accidental week long break I thought this would be a nice way to get back into the swing of things, so here we go.

The Rules:

Thank whoever nominated you.
Post 11 facts about yourself (optional)
Answer the 11 questions you have been given
Nominate at least 5, but no more than 11 other bloggers
Create 11 other questions for your nominees

I’m not going to post 11 facts about myself as I’d be here all day trying to come up with something interesting, so here goes the questions:

If you could be any character from a movie, who would you be and why?

Oh man, this is a hard one! My aunt was ill around this time last year and told my mum that Wednesday Addams was like me, so I think I’ll have to say her!

What is your favourite celebration? (Eg Christmas/Easter/Halloween..)

I love Christmas but Halloween has to be my favourite! The best films, fancy dress, and ALL the sugar – what’s not to love?

If you could create your own chocolate bar, what would be in it and what would it be called?

But I like all chocolate! I do particularly love caramel, toffee etc though so I’d have to have something with those sorts of flavours- no idea on the name though!

What is your favourite animal and why?

My favourite specific animal is my Labrador Ruby. I love all animals but especially dogs, bats (I’ve rescued two!) and horses.

What is your go to item in your wardrobe – no matter what the occasion?

I’d have to say my leather jacket – it’s really warm and has big pockets haha! It’s the jacket I always have ready to pick up and go.

Favourite restaurant?

I don’t eat out enough to have a favourite restaurant!

If you could invite three famous figures (living or not) to a meal, who would you have and why?

Oh god, this is so difficult. I have a huge list of people I look up to and would love to speak to!

Where would you like to live if money was no object?

I feel like my brain makes this far more difficult than it needs to be too! I’ve always said I’d love a cosy family home in Wales or something but in recent years cities and more modern designs are growing on me. Generally I’d like somewhere with a nice community and good wifi, I don’t really care where!

Who is your favourite TV presenter?

Mel & Sue. Undoubtedly. I also have a soft spot for Claudia Winkleman, but M&S reign supreme.

When you were younger, what did you want to do when you grew up?

I wanted to be a vet, unsurprisingly!

What movie always cheers you up or makes you feel better?

Do I have to pick just one?! It depends on why I’m upset but current favourites are basically any and all Halloween films!

Okay, now to come up with some questions myself – this should be horrendously difficult!

What music has stuck with you the most and (if it’s not too personal) why?
Do you have a favourite book or genre of books? If so, what is it?
What would you consider the coolest thing you’ve ever done?
What’s your favourite memory and why?
Favourite smell?
How do you get yourself motivated?
What’s the weirdest dream you’ve ever had?
What do you see as your greatest achievement?
What’s your biggest goal in life?
Do you consider yourself a perfectionist? Why/why not?
What’s your favourite past time (blogging doesn’t count!)?

I don’t know who hasn’t done this!! If you’ve already done it you don’t have to do it again or anything (you don’t even have to do it anyway, I know lots of people plan their posts way in advance!) but I’ll nominate:

Breanna (when her blog is up and running!)

Mchi at Mchiouji

Sophie at Blame It On Chocolate

Sarah at A Little Reader

Jennifer at Young & Twenty

And if there’s anyone in the blogosphere who hasn’t done it yet, consider yourself nominated! It’s so hard to come up with original questions so if I’ve nominated you & you don’t feel like doing it I won’t be offended!

See you soon,

These tags honestly make me feel so loved!

Me Monday | Very Superstitious…

Superstition has been around as long as humans have. Good luck charms, rituals to ward off bad energy and precautionary tales have become part of the human condition. Even those who may claim to not believe in anything of the sort may find themselves following a superstition, from avoiding ladders and cracks in the pavement to wearing certain things for certain events (anyone else have exam pants?). Even saying ‘bless you’ when someone sneezes stems from superstition – there are many variations of this all over the world, but all appear to originate from the belief that a sneeze opens the body up to evil spirits; blessing the person protects them from said evil.

We throw spilt salt over our shoulders, ‘touch wood’, dislike black cats (black animals continue to be the least likely to get adopted from shelters – because of a ridiculous and harmful belief stemming from associations with witches.)

But why, in a world that increasingly rejects the belief in anything other than the known world, do we still have superstition?

Personally, a lot of my beliefs are based on the idea that we simply don’t know what’s out there. We can’t prove that there is a god or higher being, but we can’t solidly disprove it either. There are plenty of things without scientific explanation, and plenty of reasons to believe that there could be something else. Luck and karma may seem farfetched, but energy is definitely something I can get behind; it is common sense that if you have a good attitude towards something that you’re more likely to be successful, right? So why is it so crazy to believe in letting good energy in and keeping bad energy out?

Is this the face of evil? I mean she is, but not because of her colour!

Of course, many superstitions do stem from basic common sense. Walking under a ladder is dangerous to both yourself and the person on the ladder, and walking on uneven paving can make you trip over. I also feel, however, that many superstitions that we still follow nowadays may simply be a case of not wanting to find out what happens if you don’t follow the superstition. People with good luck charms tend to get distressed and thrown off if they forget or lose them, in the same way that not following a routine may stress someone out. There is also a sense of fear; while you may not believe in whatever bad thing will supposedly happen if you don’t follow superstition correctly, there may still be enough fear there to do that thing. This article by The Atlantic discusses this phenomenon – while atheists should have no issue reading statements claiming God will damn them to Hell, it still makes them as uncomfortable as it does religious people. When asked what would happen if a witch offered to cast an evil spell on them, students said that they should accept the spell with no worries – and yet personally most wouldn’t risk it.

It doesn’t matter how logical we are, humans still have some kind of doubt about what exists and what doesn’t. Superstition and religion are thought by many to be irrational and illogical things to believe in. They’re often seen as old explanations for things, which are becoming more and more obsolete with the evolution of science. While this may well be the case, there is clearly something about superstition and supernatural belief that sticks with us – whether it’s force of habit and a matter of tradition or a sincere belief and fear of a judgemental universe with a distaste for umbrellas and love of rabbits’ feet.

Are you superstitious? If so, what superstitions do you adhere too & why? If not, do you believe in luck or karma?

Some more things I read while writing this that were really interesting:

13 Common (But Silly) Superstitions– Live Science

Why Do We Say ‘Bless You’ or ‘Gesundheit’ When People Sneeze? – Howstuffworks

Knock on Wood in Different Languages (or the equivalent sayings) – WordReference

See you soon,

Last Post: Fandom Friday | Welcome Home: Fandom that Sticks

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