Tag Archives: Reading

Books From 2022

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1 Electricity of every living thing  Katherine May

This was a book I found whilst trying to look for books from Autistic peoples perspectives.
I enjoy listening to these kinds of books because it allows me to feel connected to someone else’s experience.

The name of the book relates back to the feeling the person gets when they touch another person. It feels like electricity running through their body.

They also discuss their feelings of their place in the world and how they interact with what is occurring around them. This is another area I feel connected to the writer and their experience.

If you are Autistic or have someone in your life who is, then please consider this book. Especially if that person is a woman. I am always on the look out for these kinds of books so please drop them in the comments below.

2 mighty boosh Julian Barrett, Noel Fielding
Whilst this is not an audiobook but a Radio Play it still counts.
I have been a massive fan of Mighty Boost for years. Me and my Brother used to watch it. Not a lot of people I knew when it first came out enjoyed it. But we loved it. I mean who doesn’t want to know a talking gorilla?

I cannot believe it came out in 2005! This makes me very upset. If you have never given Noel Fielding and Julian Barrett a chance I highly record you do so. The comedy is weird and quite niche. But if you are into Zoos, Arctic Tundras, Bryan Ferry and Goths you will love it. 

3 divergent mind Jenara Nerenberg
Just like the Electricity of every living thing this book was incredible. It looks at the way in which Autistic People view and experience the world around them. It asks questions like ‘how can we better design buildings to suit the needs of Autistic People?’ ‘How can we better structure our days to get the best out of Autistic people?’ Rather than it being the other way around.

I sat and listened to it whilst in the garden in summer laying on the grass and just enjoying the warm sun. It was quite comforting listening to a book which questions why the world can’t work for Autistic people instead of the other way around.

Again if you are Autistic or have and Autistic person in your life, please read/listen to this book. 

4 full circle Michael Palin
This is a great listen. I cannot believe Full Circle is a documentary from 1997. It was amazing listening to how he got around the world in a age before mobile phones and instant communication. The way he talks about the various places he visited, even back then is incredible.

The way some places were only just starting to grow in terms of people and population, like China. It made me wonder, what would it be like if he did the trip again now and did a comparison?

I like Michael Palin. He has a great voice for narration and is a good book to have on while you want to relax. 

5 avoiding anxiety in autistic adults Luke Beardon
Another book I really enjoyed. Autistic People can really struggle with Anxiety. Living in a world which is not built for Autistic people creates levels of Anxiety which can be paralysing at times.

This books talks about Anxiety from and Autistic perspective and once again I felt very seen. I felt quite comforted listening to it. 

6 outsider live Sarah Millican
I am a major fan of Sarah Millican. She sounds like someone I used to know and her voice is very comforting. So whilst I was in bed feeling poorly I listened to her recording of a live show and it was nice. Plus it made me laugh. 

7 comfort book Matt Haig
The thing I liked about this one is it was just short snippets. But it really made you think about self care and how you can make small changes or think in a different way to allow yourself to feel a sense of Self Comfort. 

8 all of the marvels Douglas Wolk
I absolutely love Marvel. My favourite is Spiderman. This was the first character I ever came across.

The book is quite long, but with good reason, the guy is talking about the whole Marvel Universe, or as good as.

There’s so much he delves into, not just major characters but also ones which didn’t have many of their own comics.

If you are a fan of Marvel I again urge you too read this on. 

9 beyond the wand Tom Felton
This was good listen in that Tom Felton is being very open about his mental health. Which is brilliant. He is very open and honest about his journey in the acting world and how he found it difficult adjusting to life after Harry Potter.

I am a major advocate for people being able to talk about Mental Health. It is really important we have spacers where we can talk about how we feel so we don’t let things get bottled up and overflow.

Again I would urge anyone to listen to this book and hopefully it will enable them to feel less alone.

This was just a list of all the books I listened to last year and what I thought to them. If you have any book suggestions please leave them in the comments. Books are great because we can share our thoughts and we can delve into a completely different world where we can learn about something new.

Happy Reading,

Self Care and Tea

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Hello all,

I hope your 2023 is going well. Apparently at this point we have reached ‘Blue Monday’ whereby we have all thrown our resolutions out the window and thought ‘forget that’.

Well how about instead of forgetting that resolution you just hit pause instead? I mean did you pick something impossible to give up? Do you try a new hobby which is becoming more of a chore? Perhaps you picked more than one resolution?

I haven’t bothered with anything this year which is too taxing, I want to enjoy more audiobooks because I like reading. That’s it. I just want to do one thing which I enjoy.

Looking straight down into a teapot with a tea bag brewing inside.

Plus I can incorporate another thing I love- tea. I absolutely love tea. As I am writing this I am enjoying a cup of Twinnings Lemon and Ginger tea. It is quite warming. Its good to relax with.

One thing I realised last year is I can feel overwhelmed at times which gets my head overwhelmed. It might not be a lot by other peoples standards, but to me it is a lot. Which is why, by focussing on books and tea I can tell myself to slow down and be kind to myself. So ask yourself, is your resolution allowing you to be kind to yourself? Mine hopefully will.

I can use books to learn more, I can use them to relax and unwind. Books are amazing to me and I used to love reading physical books. I am grateful audiobooks are a thing because if they were not I would have fallen out of love with reading, as I almost did.

So please remember to be kind in whatever goal you have given yourself. It is only the 16th of January. We still have plenty of time.

Thank you for reading,
Philippa B.

Other blogs you might enjoy:

Navigating Visual Stress
2019 Books So Far

First blog of the year

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Hello all,

First blog post of 2023. I have taken a bit of time away from writing blogs as things were very busy over the past few months.

I wanted to write today about what I would like to do over the next year, not so much goals as I am not a fan of goal setting. But more building on what I enjoyed last year.

Last year my blog did better than the year before in that I got a lot more interaction with it which was lovely to see. It is nice to know what I am writing is helping others. I appreciate you taking the time to leave comments.

I would also like this year to continue with my audiobooks. I really enjoy listening to them, when I am just about the house or before bed. I don’t listen to them when I am out and about. That’s more music.

Last year I listened to a lot of audiobooks on Autism, I also listened to some biographies. Then I started listening to books on self compassion. So I am branching out on my reading.

The self compassion ones are nice as they can pair with the books around Autism. I will continue with these this year.

Do you have any thoughts on your year ahead?

Thank you for reading and Happy Musings. 

World Book Day 2022

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Hello,

How are we all?

This week we have World Book Day coming up on the 3rd of March. Last year I did a small blog about what I had I had been listening too and I thought I would write another one about my love of reading.

Quite often you may see the discussion around are Audiobooks really reading? In my opinion, yes it is. For one reason I am Visually Impaired and without AudioBooks I would have lost the ability to do one of my favourite things. Reading.

My recent listens are:

Divergent Mind by Jenara Nerenberg
Click here for Audible 

Full Circle by Michael Palin
Click here for Audible 

All of the Marvels by Douglas Wolk

Click here for Audible

*other formats are available 


When it comes to rereading I enjoy a variety of different books, unfortunately fiction is not something I am listen to very often.

My latest listen is ‘All of the Marvels’. This book is great because it goes into a lot of detail about the Marvel Universe and how it has grown over time, the way it has addressed issues going on in the world and how it has an infinite scope to just keep going. If you are a fan of Marvel I would definitely give this one a read.

When it comes to books I love that you can always learn something. The argument that audiobooks are not really reading is pointless in my opinion. If you are enjoying them, if you’re learning something, if they are helping get you through the day then what’s the argument, really?

Stories and books should be for everyone. Whether you’re Visually Impaired and can’t see the book, or you’re Dyslexic and you struggle to follow along. It should not matter. Books are there to be enjoyed and if you enjoy reading then enjoy it by whatever medium you see fit.

What books have you been reading lately?
Don’t forget to check out #WritingCommunity on Twitter.
Charity Shops are a great place to pick up books.

Thank you for dropping in and see you soon. 

First Blog of the Year

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Hello all,

So here we are a few weeks into 2022. It’s scary isn’t it?

Well I thought I’d take the time to stop and reflect a little on where I’m at after a busy 2021.

Last year I pushed myself out my comfort zone quite a bit with work and loved it. I’m aiming to do the same this year.

The other thing I really want to do more of this year is listen to more audio books. I know I said this last year. My brother got me another Audible Subscription. I recently finished Divergent Mind by Janera Nerenberg. This book was fabulous. It really resonated with me a lot of the things she was saying.

It can be very tough finding the answers you’ve been searching for for so long and never quite being able to understand. Books like Divergent Mind, Neurotribes By Steve Silberman and Odd Girl Out by Laura James are incurable reads. Which for me, really helped me to understand more of myself which I have never fully understood. But that’s not for this blog…

I don’t normally set a lot of goals for the year, I find when you do, you can get quite down when you don’t achieve them. But I would love to listen to more audiobooks. I want to go to London and visit my brother. I would also love to be able to see more of my friends.

We all know the last few years has been exceptionally hard. I’ve just had a few days off and the other day I got to see my friend who I haven’t seen in two years. We went for afternoon tea. It was lovely. We didn’t hug. Hopefully next time. Stupid Rona. I missed my friend. 

I hope you all have plans for 2022 which you manage to achieve.  Remember if you can’t achieve them all, It’s OK. Set a few loose ones you know you want to achieve. Then you can feel accomplished and feel better.

I’m off now, I have a few things to crack on with. But I’ll be back soon.

I’m on Twitter @PhilippaB

World Book Day

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Hello all, 

I’m back after my Covid Vaccine, but that’s to be written about in another blog. I am feeling very grateful though that I received the vaccine. 

Today is World Book Day and for as long I can remember I have loved books. I always enjoyed English at school and it was probably one of my favourite subjects. No wonder I opted for an English based Degree in Media Studies. 

Do you remember in primary school when you used to get a new book? There was one occasion I remember trying to pick a book and putting it back and choosing from another basket. The teacher told me I had to chose a book which went alongside my reading level. This irritated me. I told them what kind of books I was reading at home and didn’t understand why I had to chose from the book box with my reading level. Eventually we came to a decision. If I read the books and brought them back quickly then I could move up the levels quicker. I did this and got to read harder books and proved a point which we all knew I could do, but for the sake of the system I had to have it noted down. 

Looking at a book shelf, there isa clock on the all above.

Reflecting on this and the fact that it is World Book Day I have been wondering how many books was I aware of when I was younger which featured Disabled people? What is that representation like now? 

Looking back I do not really remember that many books, especially from when I was younger which featured Disabled characters. Thinking about this I have just asked my Mum if there was a character in the Biff and Chip books who was a wheelchair user. She says there was. 

For World Book Day I have done a bit of looking around and found that there are some great books available which represent Disabled Children. A great article I found was in the HuffPost about a variety of books which feature Disabled people as the main characters. In the article there are a number of different representations, the best part is that in some of the books the Disability isn’t even the main plot line. Which is fantastic. After reading it I sent the article to a friend who teaches in a primary school and they loved it.

Part of the problem is not just having books about Disabled people, but also having them be written by Disabled people as well. So you know that as a Disabled child  ‘hey this book has someone in it like me’ then they can be told the Author is like them too. It is about allowing people to see themselves in stories and know that the person behind the story is able to understand how they feel. 

Whilst looking at wether representation is better today than it was when I was in school I came across Pablo and the Noisy Party. There is a TV series linked with the book which is brilliant because as we all know everyone learns differently. Written on the books Trust Website is ‘This empowering series competently reflects neurodiversity and like the TV series, has been developed by writers who are themselves on the Autistic spectrum, and is based on real-life experiences.’ When I saw this quote on Books Trust it made me smile to know that the comment I made in the previous paragraph is trying to be addressed. Children need to not only see themselves in books, but know those writing them are like them too. 

The other part of the problem is having access to these books for all children. It can not just be the case that we talk about them only to parents of Disabled children. They need to be in book boxes in every school. Otherwise how does it just become the norm that the woman in the street is using her white stick to feel the floor beneath her feet and get around safely? Or that the man wears headphones in the supermarket and hums quietly as he puts his items into his basket because he could be Autistic? 

These questions need to be addressed and by writing this blog have made you a bit more aware that these books are out there. You just need to look. But them being out there is not enough. They need to be in classrooms and libraries and they need to be seen as the norm. Hopefully by writing this and also in sharing the book list with my friend I have done something to help make a difference. 

Here are the links below to some of the things I discovered whilst doing this blog. 

Until next time,

Philippa B.

If you have enjoyed this blog and would consider donating to my fundraising for The British Heart Foundation and the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund, please click here. 

Pablo and the Noisy Party https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book/p/pablo-and-the-noisy-party/ 

Fun in the Sun https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/storybooks-featuring-disabled-children/ 

Disability Horizons- https://disabilityhorizons.com/2019/09/8-books-with-a-disabled-character-as-the-lead-or-focus-of-the-story/

Finished Reading Debbie Harry Face It

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Hello again, 

How are we all?

One of the things I decided to do more of last year was read. I didn’t read as much as I would have liked. So I’m going to try again this year. My brother bought me an Audible subscription and I really enjoy it. 

I have been told that with Audible you don’t actually buy the books. So that’s a bit of a downer. But it’s still a good subscription service. 

The book I have just finished reading is ‘Face It’ by Debbie Harry. I love Blondie and I think Debbie Harry is wonderful. It was really nice to read more about the band and how they evolved and changed so much over time. 

The thing which I did not check out before buying the book, because I was so excited it was there, was who was reading it. Which made for a wonderful surprise when I heard Debbie Harry’s voice. I’ve always loved Blondie and I think their music is brilliant. To be able to read about her life and the band was great. 

Seeing how much of an impact she herself had on the music industry and how Blondie changed and grew over time made it difficult to stop listening. The amount of women who were lead singers in Rock bands at that time was quite limited. So I think that is one of the reasons why I like Debbie Harry so much. She wasn’t afraid to try new things and she wasn’t afraid to challenge the status quo. It was great how she says she did what she did because she enjoyed it. She did it for herself. But it was said in a way that was not self righteous. She is a woman who is amazing at what she does and she isn’t afraid to go for what she wants. 

It was interesting to hear how Punk started to grow and evolve around the 70s and how she describes the difference between the scene in New York, LA and London. It was interesting because I don’t know much about Punk. I don’t know much about the culture. But to learn how she and Blondie were such a force in helping to shape that genre and culture was pretty cool. 

I genuinely enjoyed the book and I would urge people to read it. It came out in 2019 and is available on Audible. You get an accompanying PDF with fan art people have sent her over the years. The way she discusses her fans and the fans of Blondie is so nice. She loves receiving the art work from people and you can really tell that in her voice. 

In the book she also talks a lot about her relationship with Chris Stein. His book is one I will be putting on my reading list. 

Anyway, it was an amazing book, I loved it and I think you should read it too. Debbie Harry is incredible and I need to take a look online and see if I can find that Barbie Doll of her. I never knew there was one. 

One more thing, if you have enjoyed my blog please follow this link to my fundraising page. I’m in the process of using the bike in the garage and counting my daily steps to cycle 660 miles in about 200 days to raise money for The British Heart Foundation and The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. 

Hello 2021

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Hello 2021. 

So last year was a bit of a wash out wasn’t it? I wrote a blog about the books I’d read, looking back on it now I did not read that many. Although the ones I did read were very good. So this year I’ll try read some more. 

One of the good things to come out of last year was purchasing my own domain name, pipxar.com. It was a really pleased with this as it got me back into blogging. After looking at a variety of websites to host my blog and talking to different people I settled on wordpress.com. I think it was a good choice. I didn’t bother with the email address though. I just kept using the old one I had. The main issue I had setting up my domain was that I used to call my blog Random Musings. This domain was already taken though so I had to come up with something different. For a bit of a joke me and my bother thought Pipxar might be a funny choice. Turns out it was an unregistered domain and I went with it. 

The other good thing to come out of 2020 was my decision to start a bit of fundraising for two amazing charities. One is The British Heart Foundation and the other is The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. They are incredible charities which exist to help support those living with heart conditions. If you’re interested then click here and you can follow my journey as I aim to raise £3000 by the 21st of August 2021. 

Whilst writing this blog I took the opportunity to partner with my friend Beth, who is a completing her BHF funded PhD. I would definitely check out her blog. She’s very passionate about what she does and about getting more women into science. Check out her blog, it’s pretty cool. 

I think this year I will just continue with my blog and fundraising. I also aim to continue reading more. I use Audible because I’m Visually Impaired and it really does help me get more joy out of reading. I used to love wandering around Waterstones and buying books, but I soon realised audiobooks would have to be the way forward. Reading has always been something I enjoyed, but I slowly started to realise that the reason I was not reading as  much as I liked was because my Nystagmus was playing up even more if  I read physical books. Nystagmus, for those who don’t know, is an involuntary eye movement. It makes you feel like you’re living life on a roundabout and you feel sick. Check out my blog here. 

Anyway, thats me for now. I’m going to go. I’ll check in again later. There are a few ideas I have for my blog, with the help of my new moleskin notebook I will hopefully be a bit better this year at planning out my posts and getting them scheduled. 

I wish you all a happy and safe 2021!

See you soon, 

Philippa B.