Farewell 2015...

You know, every year I seem to write in these posts that things got worse when I thought they couldn't. Guess what? Yeah, same goes.

Quite frankly, I'm a mess and there's no way of fixing me. Thanks to my anxiety, my world has continued to shrink all year until I'm capable of doing very little beyond sitting in this chair. That makes a celebration of 2015 a little redundant and it certainly doesn't bode well for 2016.

So, yes, I finally completed my PhD in 2015 but so what? It's not like I can do anything with it. I can't apply for the jobs I want or volunteer for teaching experience so, essentially, I've wasted my time.

People in my life like to point to the PhD as a sign of success in the same way they talk about the short stories victories I've had this year and the fact that I twice stood for local election. What they don't seem to understand is that it's all pretty irrelevant when you can't build on it. After all, the intention wasn't to get a new certificate to brighten up these four walls.

And what about the writing? Well, back in July I wrote this: But so I can write - so what? That makes no difference to anything, it changes nothing. The things I can't do are weighing down the scales on the other side and I'm not making enough headway with my writing to keep me afloat. So...what? Well, I don't know. It still stands. Writing is one of the only things I've got left but I can barely bring myself to focus any more. The sad thing is, there are all these stories I've written or partly written and I'm the only one who can work out how they should ultimately look but I can't do it. I've been writing primarily for myself for a while now but maybe there just comes a point where happy endings don't come easy. And my characters... Well, they deserve happy endings.

Ultimately, I don't think this is my fault. I tried this year and I pushed myself hard. People who suggest otherwise don't know a thing about it. The things I can't do are the things other people do without thinking and it isn't just vague anxiety stopping me - it's acute and it's debilitating. Faced with that, what do you do?

There won't be a traditional companion piece looking forward to 2016 because I can't write one. However, I do have some positive memories of 2015 before things got quite this bad. Viva day was enjoyable, as were London and York, plus all the afternoons spent with my nieces watching Disney films on repeat. Election night was great and I met some wonderful people this year, both politically and otherwise. Thanks to them, primarily for putting up with a hell of a lot of rubbish when other people wouldn't have bothered. Have a little Carol Burnett from me...

Farewell 2014...

Well, if I thought 2013 was bad... Seriously, there has to be a point where things do actually hit rock bottom and I start climbing towards that pinprick of sky discernible miles above. A good post about the crumminess of this year was written in September called 'Taking Stock' and, I have to say, things haven't exactly improved. The only thing that's improved is my ability to roll with the punches a little more. So, on a personal level, 2014 stank but what about those goals I set myself? First are links to a few successes before we get into more failure.

Short Story Publication - 'To Catch a Fly'

Short Story Publication - 'Aldgate Echoes'

A Wakefield View of Westminster - Available Now

1. 2014 is, barring catastrophe, thesis submission year. It's been a long time coming and, I have to admit, the light at the end of the tunnel is frightening. Completion will bring its own set of problems but if I look towards them I'll panic and flee. So, let's just focus on finishing writing, submitting, the viva and... Actually, let's just think about the writing aspect. Everything else is too scary.
Does submitting two weeks into 2015 count as 'catastrophe'? That's the plan anyway and my only excuse is that, the number of times I've despaired of the thesis in the last year, it's a miracle it's getting submitted at all. And that light at the end of the tunnel? Even more petrifying now. 

2. Some more conferences would be a nice idea - either just attending or giving papers, ideally the latter.
I gave papers at three conferences this year, taking me to Oxford, Nottingham and London. A review of those can be found here but, on a personal level, I'm particularly proud of making it through the Nottingham one due to some incredibly difficult anxiety issues on the day. Taking good from bad, that was a triumph for me this year. 

3. I want to work on at least three academic articles/papers this year. Since I have four ideas already, that shouldn't be too difficult...right? We're going with optimism here.
Erm, misplaced optimism. Although the paper I gave at the VPFA in July is still ripe for expanding into a full essay and that will probably be my first academic task once I've submitted my thesis.

4. On the writing side, I don't want to promise too much. 2014 is the year of the thesis, remember. However, if I don't write then I go a bit batty so there will be work. What work? Well, I have eight novel drafts to play with. I want to do full-scale edits on, say, three of them (and I know which three, which is always good). I've already started putting the polished two out into the world. We'll see where that goes this year. A NaNoWriMo draft is on the cards too, along with finishing 'Kathy' (the novel I failed to complete this year) and maybe another draft about something close to my heart. I'm almost certain no one else could write this idea with the truthfulness required. The question is, do I have the courage? We'll see.
Novel-wise, I've added a NaNoWriMo draft to my bank, although I didn't manage to finish 'Kathy'. I've completed two second drafts and I'm partway through a third. The two novels that are in the best condition, having been through five or six drafts each, were refined in 2014 and I'm ready to submit them. I think. Not great but not bad considering.

5. I'm taking part in two reading challenges this year: the Chunkster Challenge and the TBR Challenge. I've picked out the books so just need to read them now. Easy...
I failed at both of these, as I summarised yesterday.

6. I want to continue going to the gym 2-3 times a week, at least until my membership runs out in August.
Until my membership expired, I managed this one. 

7. I've asked for driving lessons as a birthday present in July. Whether this comes off is still undecided but I do need to learn and this year might be the year. Keep off Yorkshire roads in August.
Given my mental state around my birthday, it's probably lucky this one didn't come off.

8. I've been saying for four years I want to learn a little Italian. I don't really know why but it's a deep-seated thing I do intend to do at some point.
Ha. Nope.

2014 Reading Challenges Round Up

In 2014 I attempted two reading challenges - and I failed them both! However, it's been that kind of year all round so I'm trying to look on the positive side of things and say that at least I read the books from the challenges that I did.

Chunkster Challenge

My aim for this was to read five books of more than 550 pages and, in the event, I only managed three. However, that's still a lot of pages and I thoroughly enjoyed two of those three books. 

1. Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
2. Kate: The Woman Who Was Katharine Hepburn by William J. Mann
3. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

TBR Challenge

Again, I failed miserably at this, only managing five out of my list of twelve books. On the plus side, two of those five made it onto my 'favourite books of 2014' list so I'm certainly glad this challenge encouraged me to get round to them. 

1. Die a Dry Death by Greta van der Rol
2. The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell
3. Room by Emma Donoghue
4. London Lore by Steve Roud
5. Quicksand/Passing by Nella Larsen

Collected Book Reviews 2014

For reference, here's a complete list of the books I reviewed in 2014. It's been a pitiful year all told - must do better. So many books I want to read before I die so I'd better get a shifty on.

New Grub Street by George Gissing

Quicksand/Passing by Nella Larsen

Yorkshire Villains: Rogues, Rascals and Reprobates by Margaret Drinkall

Starlight by Stella Gibbons

Intersection by Nancy Ann Healy

Kate: The Woman Who Was Katharine Hepburn by William J. Mann

The Disgrace of Kitty Grey by Mary Hooper

The Orphan Choir by Sophie Hannah

The Emancipated by George Gissing

Die a Dry Death by Greta van der Rol

The Mystery of the Boule Cabinet by Burton E. Stevenson

The Aspern Papers by Henry James

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Valentine Grey by Sandi Toksvig

The Telling Error by Sophie Hannah

Restless by William Boyd

The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable by Carol Baxter

The Wisdom of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

The Odd Women by George Gissing

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Jill by Amy Dillwyn

Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody

Tinseltown by William J. Mann

Love Alters ed. Emma Donoghue

Shirley by Charlotte Bronte

Room by Emma Donoghue

The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell

Farewell 2013...

Sure I'm not the only one thinking that 2013 went ridiculously quickly. It has been punctuated by the odd personal crisis and some things I really wish I could forget in the new year but it won't happen. On a professional front, though, I made a list of things I wanted to achieve this year in January. In addition, I made another list in September of things I needed to complete before the year was out. How did I do?

1. My PhD is obviously the most important thing in my life. With a little bit of luck I'll be close to completion by the end of the year - or at least I'll have all the blocks in place and just need to rearrange them a bit. Wishful thinking, perhaps, but goals were meant to be challenging.
Well, I'm close to having the blocks in place. Full drafts of all chapters need working on, as do the introduction, conclusion and appendix but - I think - we're almost on track. (More on this below)

2. Related to the above, I want to get some conference experience under my belt. Talking in public is not exactly something I'm good at but it has to be battled at some point and now is that time. I've submitted abstracts for a couple of conferences already but if they don't come off then there's plenty more to have a crack at.
Miraculously, I managed this one. I sat on the organising committee of the School of English Post Grad Colloquium and gave a paper to a select audience (okay, it was small but it still counts). Then in July I attended the VPFA conference in London and gave a paper there too. Experience under my belt so definitely a tick on this one.

3. Writing: In terms of priority for working on this year, I'd put them in this order: 'Lily', 'Danni', 'Liz', 'Lauren', 'Max' and 'Vic' (which is the actual order they were written in the first place!). Realistically, I think I'll only work on the first four of those - although all six would be nice. In addition, I'll try and resist adding new first drafts to my pot (excluding NaNoWriMo).
Further detail on individual writing projects is below but I will say that I did add two full first drafts and half of one to the pot. Whoops. Also this autumn, I parted ways with my agent by mutual agreement. Back to the drawing board, folks.

4. I'll participate in NaNoWriMo again - provided I have a decent idea come November.
I did. I succeeded too.

5. I'm working on a transcription (and introduction) of Edmund Yates's Black Sheep for Valancourt Books. By the end of the year I'd like to have made a huge dent in this - if not have it completely finished and submitted.
Unfortunately, Valancourt decided not to proceed with this. Fortunately, I'd only done a little of the transcription by the time they let me know.

6. Although I'm not quite sure where my work with 2020UK will take me this year but I'll continue working with the group.
Sadly, with too few cooks and too much broth (I think that's a good way of putting it), 2020UK and its successor TeamUK fell by the wayside. I couldn't devote the necessary energy to it and other people had similar problems. It's something that continues to upset me because working and communicating with like-minded people was excellent.

7. I'm not taking part in any reading challenges this year but that doesn't mean I won't be reading! My marvellous Christmas present of a Kindle (thanks to my sister and family) means I've started downloading loads of things I didn't have access to before. Some of them are work related (complete works of Wilkie Collins and some lost texts of Mary Elizabeth Braddon have already found their way onto the list) but others will just be plain fun. In addition, I'll be watching loads of classic films this year as my reward for doing some of the above stuff that looks terrifying in a list like this.
Haven't done as much reading as I wanted to but I have made a dent in the classics - two Anne Bronte novels, some Edith Wharton, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Bram Stoker and two Gaskells. In fact my collected book reviews list this year was very Victorianist - either traditional or neo-Victorian!

Goals from September

8. Final chapter of my thesis - Non-negotiable. This will be done and redrafted several times.
Well, it's onto four drafts, although they aren't complete redrafts, more like partial redrafts and more added to the chapter. However, it's certainly getting there. Didn't help that I spent a good proportion of December full of cold and unable to focus on my thesis.

9. Rewriting first chapter of my thesis - I'm pragmatic enough to realise the final work on this may end up being done in January. It's a hefty job and it all depends how long writing the final chapter takes me. More details on my thesis completion schedule can be found here.  
Haven't even started this. Again, illness was an issue plus the fact that I cancelled two supervisor meetings in December and my supervisor cancelled one. December was a wash-out on this front and January needs to be much better.

10. Research and write a Yates/Dickens article I've got in mind - Pie in the sky this one. I'll only have time to do it if the days are magically extended by fifty percent.
Pie in the sky indeed. Nary a minute of research done.

11. Research an article on dead insects in a Yates novel - Don't ask. Also, see above.
Likewise. I'd actually forgotten about this one!

12. Corrections on Downton Abbey essay when these come back - Non-negotiable.
Done, done and done. Yes, multiple corrections! I'll let you all know when the collection featuring my essay is out.

13. Finish sixth draft of 'Danni' - This is essentially a polishing exercise. I finished the fifth draft earlier this year and now I'm trying to make it perfect.
I managed this one. Apparently, the epic cold of doom removed the pressure from me to work on my thesis and I worked on this instead. It came in at around 77,500 words and I'm proud of the effort I put in. Word choices, pacing, characterisation consistency - the nitty-gritty of fiction writing and it was a delightful change to working on first and second drafts.

14. Finish first draft of 'Izzy' - I've been stopping and starting with this one all year and I know where it's going. Just need to get it finished. The first draft's about two-thirds done.
Yep, this one was accomplished too. Right before NaNo. I went from one first draft straight into another.

15. Finish first draft of 'Kathy' - This is less than 20k in at the moment but I would like to complete it before the year's out. 
Unfortunately, Kathy got left behind this year. I still think she's worth completing and hopefully I'll manage it in the coming months.

So what do we think? Nice mix of pass and failure there, rather more of the latter than I would've liked though. I need to pull my socks up. Funny, I said a similar thing last year...

My Favourite Books of 2013

Picking five favourites out of my list of collected book reviews for 2013 was much easier this year than it was last. I struggled last year, having read so many good books that my head burst with them. This year a certain few rose to the top and, while there were about eight that deserved a place, narrowing it down wasn't too tricky. So here we are! Something interesting to note is that all these books were read in the early months of the year - they must be potent to all survive and be on this list.

Tom-All-Alone's by Lynn Shepherd

A very clever book that draws on Bleak House by Charles Dickens and centres on Charles Maddox, a private detective, who is employed by the infamous Edward Tulkinghorn. An excellent book I want to read again soon. My full review can be found here.

Kay Thompson: From Funny Face to Eloise by Sam Irvin

I didn't read much non-fiction in 2013 but this biography was brilliant. Thompson was an incredibly talented yet self-destructive individual who was at the centre of Hollywood but very rarely in the public eye. The what-ifs of her story are so tantalising. My full review can be found here.

Elijah's Mermaid by Essie Fox

I realise this is the second year in a row Essie Fox has made it into my favourites list and I make no apology for that - Elijah's Mermaid is an entrancing book. It follows Pearl, a web-toed 'mermaid' who has lived her life in a brothel and Lily and Elijah Lamb, twins who live with their grandfather. Much more than that would be spoiling it so I'll say no more. My full review can be found here.

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

This is an incredibly dark book centred on a group of survivors in a lifeboat whose hopes of being rescued are slim and rely on the capacity of the boat being diminished. What follows is an excellent tale relayed by an unreliable narrator. This is probably the book that stayed with me longest once I'd put it down. My full review can be read here.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

Reading Anne Bronte for the first time made me realise that she is my favourite Bronte, no question. This book, although quietly understated, deals with themes far ahead of its time. A woman, married to a drunkard and an adulterer, leaves her home in order to protect her son. The narrator, Gilbert Markham, falls in love with her, giving rise to an incredibly complex situation. A brilliant book in my view. My full review can be found here.  

Farewell 2012...

At the beginning of 2012 I posted about what I hoped to achieve in the year. In addition to that, in September I compiled a 'traffic light' post about what I needed/wanted/would be grateful to get done in the last three months of the year. Time for seeing how I did.

1. I've signed up for two specific reading challenges this year (see the links on the sidebar). I aim to complete them. In addition, I want to read some of those books I've been meaning to for a while - Wolf Hall, The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister and Nella Last's War to name but three.

I failed at both challenges! The classics summary can be read here while the short story summary is here. However, at least I read loads of books this year, including a decent balance of non-fiction.

2. I daren't make any predictions about my PhD for the coming year. I just hope that I'm still studying at the end of 2012. Whatever happens, I've already learned a lot from my research. That'll never go to waste.

Well, I upgraded in the early part of the year and have been working hard at it ever since. I'm definitely still studying, though I'm a little further behind than I hoped (see below).

3. I want to complete some revisions of all four manuscripts I've got floating about. Two are in the later stages of development and two of them are first drafts. I will also aim to have at least one short story published this year and try and complete a few of the unfinished projects I've got hanging around.

I didn't quite complete those manuscript revisions. Really, I've focused all my revision efforts on one novel (the one that got me an agent) and I'm even running behind at that. But - and this is a healthy 'but' - I've got big plans for some of those manuscripts (for details of my major writing projects see here). I may not have put them into practice yet but at least the ideas are there. I haven't had any short stories publishing because, again, my enthusiasm for submitting waned early in the year when other pressing matters took over. It's still a goal but I don't think it's an immediate concern. As for the unfinished manuscripts - I didn't finish those but I did start (and finish) two more first drafts. 

4. I will continue working with 2020UK and hopefully attract more people to the ranks.

This one I've done! I've enjoyed my year working with like-minded political folk and I look forward to whatever 2013 brings in this respect. 

5. I'll continue being there for the people who need me (for babysitting or a chat) but I'm making no predictions about where I'll end 2012.

Fairly sure I've been a good aunt this year. I've been lacklustre in the granddaughter department but that's not entirely my fault - she's slowly mentally disintegrating and my best efforts can't reverse that. All I can do is answer the phone when she calls in the early hour of the morning and listen to her crying when she needs me to. She's not a damn burden to me and I resent the people who make her feel that way. 

My PhD has to take up one of the priority slots. I'm currently working on my second chapter (on disability representation in the works of Wilkie Collins and Edmund Yates, if anyone's interested) and I want to have that finished by the end of the year. Polished up to the hilt too. Got 3000 words which just need tinkering with then only another...10,000 of analysis or so. Easy. 

Failed. It isn't polished up to the hilt, nor is it actually finished. I'm close to completing a draft of it but that's not what I was hoping to achieve. Still, my supervisor seemed pleased by the fact I've pulled this chapter together more quickly than the last one and the next will be even easier because I've got pretty much all of my secondary reading out of the way but I'm not satisfied.

The novel that helped me get an agent is in the middle of a complete rewrite. When I say 'in the middle' I mean that I've only rewritten around 15,000 words so far. It was a 70,000 word novel and it's now shaping up to be around 85,000 I think. That makes me not so much 'in the middle' as 'somewhere near the beginning'. Nevertheless, I want this redraft to be finished by the end of the year.

Failed. Only up to 44,000 on the rewrite which might look good but it's not what I was aiming for. This needs blitzing - and soon. 

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is soon going to be upon us again. I've achieved the 50,000 target two out of three attempts and I am determined to give it a go this year. I already have my idea and everything. I enjoy taking part in NaNoWriMo because it gives me a first draft in the bag in a month which I can then work on later. I haven't yet had time to look at the one I finished last year but it's there waiting patiently in line!

Passed. Finished NaNoWriMo just over the 50,000 mark. My wrap-up post can be found here.

I'm around 36,000 words into another first draft (the one which I keep abandoning and picking up again). I'd tell you about it in detail but then I'd have to go and chop off my fingers from the sheer embarrassment of it. However, I would like to finish the first draft of this novel by the end of the year, and I don't see it stretching beyond 60,000 words. So that's doable.

Passed. Although it also barely scraped over the 50,000 mark, it's another first draft in the bag bringing my total to six manuscripts in progress.

I've been thinking over the second draft of another novel I've got on the go. Although I was surprisingly pleased with the way the first draft worked out, I know I've got to make some fundamental changes to the background of the piece and that'll impact the front story. So far I've got a few thousand words of the rewrite which I had to abandon after other areas of my life took precedence but I'd love to have a second draft finished by the end of the year. 

Failed. Haven't even looked at this one since September and there are others now ahead of it in the queue. 

Blogging is an important part of my weekly routine and I'm not given it up. After consultation, I've decided to aim for at least 40 posts in the next few months. At least. They will probably mostly consist of book and classic film reviews because I'm doing, well, a lot of reading of books and watching of classic films. In a way, blogging counts as the fun part of this list though, of course, it's all fun.

Passed. Forget over 40 posts on the blog - I got over 50! That's procrastination if ever I saw it. 

So, yes, my report card screams 'could do better'. On the other hand, I keep piling my plate full of projects so it's no wonder that I'm flagging. Nevertheless, 'could do better' means 'should do better' in my book. And I will in 2013. 

Farewell 2011...

At the beginning of 2011 I posted my hopes for the year. Let's see how I did with the things I wanted to change or improve on.

1. I have decided to work at my PhD until my eyes blur and give in from over-use. I will not try and figure out ways of getting around the work and I will be the most coherent and widely-read student I can be. I love my subject and I'm not half-bad at it. Come 2012 I will have been upgraded from MPhil to PhD status.
Well, I haven't upgraded yet! I've been up and down the research rollercoaster in the last twelve months and feel no closer to the final loop. However, I'm assured I'm edging towards it. I still enjoy my subject and I still appreciate the works of Edmund Yates, even though he's been getting on my nerves most of the year. 

2. I have decided to focus on revising the unpublished novels I have waiting around before starting something new. One in particular has tremendous potential and with a restructure of plot I think it could really be something. By 2012 I will have revised this and (hopefully) submitted it.
I'm a little closer on this one. I've revised each of the two novels I had at the beginning of the year at least once and submitted them once apiece. Without anyone telling me, I realised they needed more work and I'm revising them again. I have also - despite my little focus point above - written two more complete first drafts. Well, I had to participate in NaNoWriMo, didn't I?

3.I have decided to continue with my good form of the last few months as far as submitting short stories goes. I will submit at least two a month to various competitions and aim to write a new one at least once a month. (I realise that doesn't add up but deal with it)
I fell down a little on this one. I made fourteen submissions of various formats throughout the year. One short story was shortlisted, one television drama was longlisted and one short play script was produced in September. I'd say that's progress enough for now. With the exception of the tail end of the year, my submissions were pretty regular. Meaning that I didn't have any major head-bashing periods.

4. I have decided to be the best friend I can be and be there for people who I know would be there for me in a heartbeat. I've got some great people around me and I need to appreciate them more. Also in this area, I will contact some old friends and family members I've neglected for too long.
Maybe I fell down on this one too. Or maybe I didn't. The fact is, there is no point surrounding yourself with people who don't want to be there and don't help when they are. That does neither party any good. The friends I've ended the year with are the ones that are sticking - and have stuck - for quite some time. Equally, why should I chase after old friends and family members? They could easily contact me. I shouldn't be the one doing the chasing all the time. There's nothing in life that makes you feel quite so unwanted.

5. Finally, I have decided that 2011 is the year to let go of the dreams that cannot be and focus on the dreams that can. I envisage this being the difficult one but I'm up for the challenge.
This one I toyed with. I took one step closer to being a strong person and simultaneously took one step back. My personal life has been sketchy this year but I've survived it. Given what other years have brought me, 2011 wasn't too bad in this respect.

So what else did I achieve that I didn't put in my goals last year? Well, I've started working with a political group called 2020UK whose aim is to discuss what form governance should take in the UK. We're eager for guest bloggers, article writers and anybody willing to retweet our stuff and gain us some more readers so please do take a look at the website. I spent a good portion of the year writing for a lesbian news site, Lesbilicious.co.uk, and I've discovered many new acquaintances, bloggers and funny personalities on Twitter. I am still into musicals and I swear that's never going away and I will never ever forget seeing Liza Minnelli at the Royal Albert Hall in June. That made my year and, quite possibly, my life. I must thank Claire for talking me into it. I should also thank Sal and Nicola for keeping me sane in various ways this year. It can't have been easy!

It's been a year that deserves mixed reviews on the whole I think. My great uncle died towards the end of it. I didn't know him as well as I should have but I knew enough about him to miss him. Let the final word on this post go to him: RIP Ken.

Farewell 2010...

I must admit, at first I had some difficulty in establishing what had changed in my life this year. After all, I'm still living in the same place with my father and I'm still in the same relationship I was twelve months ago. Yes, I'm doing a PhD but I was reading so many books before that I really can't tell the difference...

The truth is, though, I've accomplished more than I thought I could, at least on a personal level. I've left two jobs of my own accord and devoted myself entirely to a subject whose depth astonishes me on a daily basis. I now have two full-length manuscripts vying to get themselves revised and published. I've also come on leaps and bounds with my confidence in the creative sense. Generally, I feel better about that aspect of my life.

I owe thanks to a lot of Twitter people for helping me out this year, whether by posting links to massively informative and inspirational blog posts or just responding to my own ramblings. And, of course, a special shout-out must go to the (old) stalwarts: Claire, Laura, Nicola and Sal who have all egged me on this year to the point where I want to strangle them. Thanks!

Since I started this blog back in April I've made 71 posts. These have been on subjects from politics to coincidence, but mainly concentrating on the world of writing and entertainment.

2010 saw the triumph of Downton Abbey, for instance. I was reluctant to watch it at first and allowed four episodes to build up before I started. Of course, then I sped through it. It's escapism, I think that's why it's so popular. Plus, it's well-written, it's coherent - both exceptional things in the world of modern television. Read my series review here.

As for the rest of the television world this year, I haven't really been into much. I've taken to watching American import, The Event, which I'm hooked on. It could be said that I've watched Glee religiously but there are gaps in the plot and characterisation on there that the Titantic could squeeze through. Coronation Street hit 50 and I tuned in for the special tram crash week. Aspects of the soap really make me want to keep watching as another form of escapism but I may put my fist through Kate Ford's face. We'll have to see what 2011 brings on that score.

I haven't read many books this year, many that aren't directly related to my degree anyway. I'm swimming in Sensation Fiction which is fine because I seem to have developed an adoration for it. However, several of the new books I've read this year I've managed to review: The Good Doctor, Tell It To The Bees, Nights At The Circus and The Haunted Hotel.

All in all, it hasn't been a terrible year. I've learned more than I thought and lost less than I should have.

I went to places I would never have considered going twelve months ago. I've met new people, reconnected with the old, and tried to be a decent human being. That's not a bad sum total for a year.