January Playlist | What I've Been Listening To

Hozier, Hozier, Hozier... Can we just have a moment of appreciation for these lyrics?

Take Me to Church | Hozier

My church offers no absolutes, 

she tells me, "worship in the bedroom."

The only heaven I'll be sent to 

is when I'm alone with you.

Work Song | Hozier

There's nothing sweeter than my baby,

I never want once from the cherry tree.

Cause my baby's sweet as can be,

She gives me toothaches just from kissing me.

Cherry Wine | Hozier

Her fight and fury is fiery

Oh but she loves, like sleep to the freezing.

Sweet and right and merciful,

I'm all but washed, in the tide of her breathing

From Eden | Hozier

Honey, you're familiar, like my mirror years ago

Idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on it's sword

Innocence died screaming, honey, ask me I should know

I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door

The Winemaker's Love Song | Tyler Lyle

If you're reborn in a new life 

And some gives you red wine, 

Does it taste familiar 

But you don't know how to say why? 

I've also been listening to the soundtrack from 'The Theory of Everything' recently. It's just so beautiful and so calm and relaxing as just background noise while I'm working. I think my favourite tracks are 'The Theory of Everything', 'The Whirling Ways of Stars That Pass', 'Forces of Attraction' and 'Cambridge, 1963'.

A few other tunes I've been enjoying from this month:

She Lit a Fire | Lord Huron

Paper Window Dreams | Jeff Pianki

About the Clouds of Pompeii| Bear's Den

Growing Up | Run River North

Bowsprit | Balmorhea

Gone Gone Gone | Phillip Phillips

The gal in the photo above is Britt who's a very good friend of mine and also one of my very favourite people. She has a great blog you can read here!

January 2015 from bethafarr on 8tracks Radio.

My Bedside Book List | National Readathon Day with Casper

I've got yet another book-related post today, I feel like I've been doing a lot of these recently but this time I feel it's more than appropriate coming up to the first ever National Readathon Day in the US which is this Saturday, the 24th January. So I suppose this is post is particularly for the benefit of any American readers but I'm very happy to use any excuse to spend the day reading!

In case you aren't sure, National Readathon Day is a movement started up by Penguin Random House, Goodreads, Mashable and the National Book Foundation in a bid to tackle low literacy rates in the US and encourage a love for reading across the country- a very worthy cause in my opinion! To take part, you can join the National Readathon Day FirstGiving page where you can ask friends or family to donate. Then, on Saturday your goal is to read for four whole hours from 12pm to 4pm in whatever time zone you happen to be in. If you're in the US or Canada, there are also a number of different venues across North America holding Readathon events too. If you want a little bit more info on the ins and outs of Saturday's Readathon, there's a much more comprehensive guide on the Penguin Random House website. 

To celebrate National Readathon Day, Casper, a New York-based memory foam mattress company are asking readers to share some of the books that are on their nightstands which I thought was a fab idea! They offer free shipping and a 100 night trial period of American-made mattresses and like me, their two favourite things are a comfy bed and a good book!
Anyway, without further ado, the books that are currently on my nightstand:

1//A Possible Life by Sebastian Faulks

This is a book my friend, Hilary lent to me a couple of weeks ago which is currently at the top of my night-time reading list. It's actually a series of five short stories which basically all explore different people's lives and their search for meaning and connection. I've just finished the first story in the series and absolutely loved it so I'm really looking forward to reading the rest! 

2//The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I just started this last night and I am absolutely addicted. I think I came across it on Goodreads new releases shortly before it came out, which was only this past week, so I've had my eye on it for a little while. I've heard critics describe it as "the new 'Gone Girl'" and even though I still haven't read 'Gone Girl', I can imagine this book being just as good, if not better, if what I've heard is anything to go by. The story basically begins with a woman who gets the same commuter train to work every morning, one which stops at a signal each day allowing her to watch a young couple going about their daily business in their house backing onto the tracks. Over time she invents a whole life for this couple in her mind, imagining in elaborate detail, every aspect of their lives, until one day she witnesses one shocking event that changes everything. 

3//The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

I think I started this book around New Year and at the start I really liked it, I thought it was really engaging. Basically it's about a man, Harry August, whose mind, after every time he dies, returns back to the start of his life and he continues to live it over and over again. Soon he finds that there are others of his kind who exist within a secret organisation called the Cronus Club. However, I'm about halfway through now and the plot, for me, is beginning to get a little tedious. Nothing much has happened at all over the last several chapters which is quite frustrating as well but I'm just going to keep reading and see what I think of it by the end.

4//Emma by Jane Austen 

Ok, so I've been reading 'Emma' for an embarrassing length of time. I don't even know why, because it's not that I'm not enjoying it. I suppose it's one of those books that gets set aside any time I pick up a serious page-turner. I am really loving this book so far though, I think Emma is a great character. She sort of epitomises "everywoman" in a way and there have been lots of times when I've actually laughed out loud at this book. I'm really looking forward to reading some more of Austen after I eventually finish this.

What books are on your bedside table at the moment?

A January Instagram Diary | 10% off Waterstones online

1. Cocktail night with my bestie/former housemate, Sam.// 2. That time it snowed for about 30 seconds in Lancaster// 3. My wise words of the week// 4. Cos it's cool to be cosy// 5. Apparently 12th January was National Kiss a Ginger Day. Isn't that fun.// 6. Fab book of short stories I'm currently making my way through.// 7. Cake for breakfast!// 8. I have really hot friends.// 9. From when Buddha used to always get stuck down the back of my bed in my old uni room.

I've been back at uni now for a couple of weeks and so far it's been pretty chilled. My uni hours per week have basically halved this term so now after finishing off the coursework I had due, I've had a lot of free time on my hands which is great, though I'm not sure I've been putting it to much good use so far. I've really just been sleeping a lot and eating and drinking my weight's worth in tea and cake from a coffee shop near my house, and of course, getting in some very long-awaited catchups with friends. 

My main priority for this term will be trying to find a placement for my year abroad in Spain which is a little bit stressful but exciting at the same time. I'm hoping to find an advertising internship somewhere, hopefully in the south of Spain around Seville- but beggars can't be choosers! It'll be nice to spend a bit of time in the sun next year. 

For all my fellow book lovers out there: MyVoucherCodes.co.uk are currently offering 10% off orders over £25 online at Waterstones! As far as I know you can use this code as many times as you like between now and the offer's expiration on 31st January 2015. So, if you're planning any serious book shopping in the next 11 days or so you can get a bit of a discount here.