I’ve already blogged about My top blog posts/pages in 2016. Here are my blog stats for 2016:
These numbers have been gathered from either AWStats Software or WordPress’ Jetpack Site Stats.
The numbers continue to grow, year on year. Not bad for a little blog.
Write soon,
Antony
I had been thinking about getting a Seasonal affective Disorder (SAD) lamp for a while. Everyone I spoke to about it had friends that swore by theirs, but nobody that I knew actually had one.
So this Autumn, as evenings started to get darker earlier and there was less light in the mornings I treated myself to a Daylight Lamp by Beurer.
I have popped the daylight lamp on my desk and have used it daily, usually in the evenings after work throughout November & December. So what are my thoughts? They are mixed. The dark mornings haven’t seemed to affect my mood as bad, but this could be the placebo effect.
Despite the Daylight Lamp box boasting that the lamp is medically certified it doesn’t reference any specific research studies to back this claim up, let alone some good longitudinal research studies.
Here are my Pros and Cons for the Daylight Lamp by Beurer:
| Pros | Cons |
It appears to work. Getting up in the dark mornings hasn’t felt as difficult as in previous years. Nor has my mood seemingly been affected as much as normal by the lack of light. This could be the placebo effect, but does it really matter? As long as it works. It is easy to setup and work. Simply position it, plug it in and use the one simple on/off switch on the front. It is super-bright. I have nicknamed it my God Light. It has a stand, so sits on my desk easily. It is thin, meaning that it doesn’t take up much space. It is plastic, meaning that it is easy to dust/clean. It is lightweight meaning that it is easy to move. You could take it to work or other places with you. The lamp made no difference to my blood sugars, which is a good thing as a type 1 diabetic. | It was expensive, when compared with other non-SAD lamps, costing nearly £50. Replacement bulbs can only be bought from the manufacturer and not in any high street shops. I haven’t tried looking online, it’s possible that I’ll be able to get bulbs online. Hopefully they are not to expensive. Switching on/off the lamp requires you to hold the back, as the product is so lightweight that trying to press the switch without holding the back results in it moving. The front of the lamp does get warm/hot to the touch once it has been on a while. The manufacturer does recognise this and warms customers about it in the instructions. |
Overall the Daylight Lamp by Beurer has more Pros than Cons and can be bought on Amazon.
Review soon,
Antony
Misery by Stephen King is compelling, creepy and will have the reader on the edge of their seat with anxiety and fear.
In Misery Author Paul Sheldon has a dreadful car accident. When he finally wakes up, he finds himself in the guest bedroom of Annie Wilkes.
Annie Wilkes is a psychopath and Paul’s number one fan. She has dragged him from the wreckage, set and splintered his mangled legs.
At this time, Paul is in an incredible amount of pain and knows that he should be in hospital. Anne Wilkes used to be a Nurse has a stash of painkillers.
Annie is reading Paul’s latest book. Paul’s bestselling books about Misery Chastain have made him a lot of money, but he hates writing them despite their popularity. He see’s the Misery Chastain books as making the money he needs to live, so that he can get on with some real writing. So in this latest book Paul has done something drastic: he has killed Misery Chastain.
Annie doesn’t know about Misery’s death yet, but when she does she calls Paul a dirty bird and demands another Misery book, just for her, called Misery’s Return. And she won’t take no for an answer.
Nobody knows that Paul is at Annie’s remote mountain home. It will be months before the snow melts to allow Paul’s wreck of a car to be found. And meanwhile Annie makes it clear that she is prepared to make him suffer, severely, if he doesn’t cooperate. Paul does the only thing he can: write as if his life depends upon it (which it actually does).
The idea behind Misery is brilliant, clever and excellently expressed through King’s writing. He has turned Misery into a horror classic, with some traumatic scenes that will stay with the reader for a long time after they’ve finished the book. So people with a sensitive disposition be aware.
Misery is told in the first person perspective of Paul, meaning that there is an awful lot of internal monologue, especially at the beginning where Paul is bedbound. The description of pain from Paul’s perspective does lack variety and begin to feel a bit repetitive. The plot is fast-paced, full of tension and has plenty of hooks to make the reader be compelled to read on.
I read Misery in about a week, often staying up far later than I intended to, to find out what happens next.
Misery is gripping and a must read. Misery is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.
Review soon,
Antony
Here are the books that Antony has published:
