And so she returned...

Hello fellow readers. It's been a while. Over two months now, in fact. I have dearly missed blogging and reading some of the lovely feedback I get from my readers. Fear not, I am still lurking in the community and I am still reading, perhaps less ferociously than before, but reading nonetheless. A family of 5, life sometimes gets in the way!

I would like to share with you some of what I have read over the last few months, which, as you will notice, is mostly non-fiction, a genre I haven't really blogged about much before. Sometimes I think non-fiction requires a certain frame of mind, or headspace. I have read lots of non-fiction over the years, particularly in the self-help and business sections and I very rarely encounter a book that I don't like.

I cannot tell you how I came to read this first novel. I am a massive fan of Queen and grew up in the late eighties and early nineties so Freddie Mercury & Co. featured heavily in my childhood. I read a news piece a while back about the upcoming biopic of Freddie's life and came across Somebody To Love by Mark Langthorne and Matt Richards. I jumped in, expecting a standard look at the life of a famous rock star in the 70s and 80s but instead, what I found was a pretty in-depth history lesson on the AIDS epidemic, and it's devastating effect on one of the World's biggest stars.

It truly fascinated me and led me into many, many documentaries, books and articles on HIV and AIDS. It was bordering on obsession at times, this thirst for knowledge and understanding of something that has always been present for me but never really comprehended. If you have any understanding of the Myers-Briggs personality types you probably wouldn't have a hard time figuring out that I am an INTJ and when we stumble upon a topic, we have to pursue it to it's end. It's a dogged and unrelenting trait that I often loathe because, in the moment, all else is forsaken and forgotten. When you are a parent of three children, their needs have to come first and so it is often frustrating for an INTJ to have to put certain pursuits on the back-burner whilst tending to responsibilities.

It is this dogged research that has kept me busy the past few weeks, and only now that I feel I have exhausted the topic can I move on with my newly acquired knowledge and opinions. So, I am back to the real world, back to some of my favourite fictional genres and back to writing some views and reviews on what Rachael is reading next.

Until next time...

Rachael xo

Some of what I've been reading and watching...

I'm still alive!

Wow, can't believe how long it has been since my last post! What a year it has been too. 2015 finished amazingly as always with a beautiful family Christmas and New Year. 2016 has been incredibly bittersweet so far with some amazing things and some not so good. My lovely Dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer, but thankfully he made a full recovery quite swiftly. I don't know what I would do without him.

The little ones are not so little anymore. The smallest started nursery and we had a visit to the 'big school' for the eldest. Cannot believe this time next year she will be in Year 7! We had a new addition to the family of the canine variety. A beautiful Cavalier King Charles Spaniel called Cooper! He keeps me busy and we are enjoying going out for walks and snuggling up on the sofa together.

I have had a difficult year personally, and was recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. It's a daily struggle with the energy required to raise 3 children and keep house, but I am so blessed to be able to do it and not worry about an employer. I have also really began to understand myself a lot better this year including doing lots of research on the Myers-Briggs Personality Types. I'm the rarest type which, coupled with the Fibromyalgia, means I can be pretty difficult to live with! I have a super supportive partner and I couldn't ask for more.

I have also read some incredible books this last year, some of which I will be posting reviews on. I set a huge goal of 100 books to read in 2016, which I think may have been a little overzealous considering I struggle to keep my eyes open now past 9pm!

I am hoping to start to blog very regularly, and widen the topics to include more about Fibromyalgia and the day to day life of a Fibro Mum.

Rachael x