Reading Challenge 2023: It’s Up to You, New York by Tess Daly

This post is about a book I read called “It’s Up to You, New York” by Tess Daly. In a previous post, I discussed the novel from a graphic design perspective. I discussed my initial thoughts on the novel based on the book’s cover design. In this post, I will discuss my thoughts on the book itself.

A few years ago, I visited New York and had a good time. I live in London, England and New York is similar in many ways. It’s a big city with people from all over the world. But it’s also very different. There’s a magical feeling about the place. It’s funny because when I was there, everything felt so familiar despite the fact that it was my first time visiting the city. This is because of all the movies and series I watched growing up, that took place in The Big Apple. One thing is for certain, there’s never a boring day in this unique city.

The reading challenge I chose to do was to read “a book set in another country”. I chose the US, specifically New York. I searched online for novels set in New York, created a short list and then went to my local library to borrow them. “It’s Up to You, New York” was one of them.

Above: Image of the book “It’s Up to You, New York”.

I didn’t have any expectations. I only wanted to feel the magic of the city and relive some of my own memories through the story, characters and places. Nothing too heavy. Just a casual read.

The story revolves around a young woman who works at a call centre. The young woman, Holly, has a lovely boyfriend named James and they both live in London. Life is pretty good…apart from the fact she doesn’t really like her job. Then one day, an opportunity arises to join a television show seeking the UK’s next supermodel. After much deliberation, Holly decides to join the show.

This is where the story really starts to take off. She enters into a completely different world from her own. This world involves luxury, celebrities, premieres, the spotlight and of course, New York! But above all, life changing experiences.

I think that the short chapters help create the sense of a fast paced world. Things happen so quickly in the life of Holly that, as the reader, you feel it too. It was really nice to read about locations that I visited, such as 5th Avenue, Little Italy, Chinatown, The Empire State Building and the Museum of Modern Art.

There were a few things that surprised me. Firstly, the book was set in London. I assumed that it would be set entirely in New York, however it was nice to start things off in London. I live there so I could relate to the things mentioned in the novel. Secondly, the fashion reality show is only part of the story. Many things happen outside the show that contribute to the story. For example, there is an incident that happens with her boyfriend which actually catapults her into New York, but then comes full circle towards the end of the story.

The characters were also interesting. There were many questions and thoughts going through my mind such as the motives of the characters including: Max (the billionaire host of the show, who is nothing but nice to her…but why?). Zane (who speaks so much slang, is he really saying anything?). Sasha (her friendly supervisor on the show, but then becomes frosty for some reason). Joe (a journalist, but can he be trusted?) and Moet (a foe on the show but then shows a sudden change of heart).

There are other more poignant moments such as her younger sister who is diagnosed with a condition that makes it difficult to walk and her child-like nature to trust people who eventually let her down. But also elements where she surprises herself with her bravery and courage, to overcome situations and figure things out.

I predicted a few things correctly during the course of the book, however, the big twist at the end had me shocked. I did not see it coming!

Conclusion

It took just under 2 weeks to read the novel. That is very quick for me. It can take me a while to read because I can be inconsistent, but I made a real effort to read on a daily basis.

The book is a love story to New York. There are romantic moments, but also very funny moments. It all made for a good read. I really enjoyed it.

This is part of a reading challenge I am doing inspired by popsugar. Click here to read other posts related to reading. I’m looking forward to reading other books as part of this challenge. So watch this space.

Book Cover Design Analysis: It’s Up to You New York by Tess Daly

I’ve been thinking a lot about New York recently. It all started with a podcast I listened to. It’s a French podcast I use to practice my listening skills. The title of the podcast is “Raconte-moi New York” which means “Tell me about New York” in French. The host tells the listener about his love, passion and adventures of New York. He is a French person who fell in love with the city by watching shows like Friends, movies by Stanley Kubrick, and following sports such as baseball. When I was listening to the podcast, it stirred up memories of my own. I went to New York several years ago and as the host was talking, it reminded me of my own experiences. I had also grown up watching shows and movies set in New York. After listening to an episode or two, it triggered my interest in the city once again.

So, I re-watched some of my favourite movies and series set in New York. I looked at some of the photos I took when I was there, and I even watched a few YouTube videos of people travelling to the city that never sleeps for the first time. It was all good fun. Then, I realised something. I’m doing a reading challenge (similar to popsugar‘s challenge of reading a variety of books for the year). I had never read a book set in New York before. Now was my chance.

I searched up books set in New York online, created a list and went to my local library to see if some of them were there. For the first read, I wanted something light-hearted and not so serious. A book that showed the magic of New York, a book that made me think of the city and perhaps want to visit again. Preferably in modern New York. Perhaps a romantic novel, or one with some humour I thought. So, I came across a few books and one of them was called “It’s Up to You New York” by Tess Daly. It fit the mood I was in. A good choice for a casual read. I just started it and I’m enjoying it so far.

The first thing I loved about the book was the book cover design. It really stood out from the crowd. It’s beautiful. This post is about the book cover from a graphic design perspective.

Above: Image of book (front and spine)

The first thing that stood out for me, was just how elegant and beautiful everything was. It really felt romantic and magical. I love the title. The decorative serif font used for the “It’s Up To You” part of the title, fits well with the theme of New York being a magical place. It’s as if the protagonist is saying this with a strong attachment to the city. In fact, there is an image of a woman staring at the skyline, perhaps romantically and in deep thought. It’s really clever because the viewer can also see what she sees, and assume her thoughts through the title. It’s mysterious. You want to know more.

The colours enchance the mystery. The colour purple can be associated with mysteriousness, and it is used to good effect in the design. The purple mixed with pink and then a darker purple from top to bottom of the cover, creates unity and communicates a sense of wonder and curiosity. It also creates elegance and romance. Purple can also be associated with luxury and royalty. The pink creates a slight contrast, but also creates unity because it is close to purple on the colour wheel; making it analagous. There is also unity with the image of the woman as she is dressed in a pink colour and her fashion also represents elegance.

The added effect of the fireworks in the sky surrounding the title fits well with the font-style. There is nice contrast between the words “New York” with the rest of the title. It is a sans-serif and is more modern. Perhaps communicating the time period of the novel or the well-structured modern city style. The title also stands out. It is light whilst the background is dark. The name of the author and what it is about (bottom) is synced with the background in pink, showing that the more important information is the title of the book and the image. It all works out for a great design. It makes me want to read it, and that is what I am doing.

Graphic Design: Peter Pan Book Design

This post is about a book design cover I created for the Peter Pan story.

It was an exercise from a book titled Graphic Design School. The tasks were as follows:

1. Select a classic novel that you have read and are fairly familiar with. Consider the story-line, the message and the overall tone of the writing. Make a list of the most influential elements in the novel such as characters, circumstances, defining events, time periods. Define the target audience for the novel. Select a key theme for an image that represents this novel, draw it, stage a photograph of it, research archival images, come up with as many creative means to visually represent this theme.
2. Sketch 3-5 ideas from your list that best illustrates your concept for the book’s cover. Choose a final design idea.
3. Develop and finalise the design by using traditional media or digital media

Why I chose the Peter Pan story

The Peter Pan story is about a boy who never grew up. He lives in a place called Neverland. He travels to London and takes Wendy and her brothers to Neverland. This is the start of an adventure that involves pirates, mermaids, flying and more! I chose the Peter Pan story because I loved it as a child. I have great memories watching the Disney Peter Pan film and being in awe of the characters, scenes and amazing animation. I also loved watching Hook, which is another version of the Peter Pan story. This time, Peter pan is an adult who forgets who he is, until he returns to Neverland. The 2003 Peter Pan film is the closest to the original book written by J.M.Barrie. I read the book as an adult. I love the book and film. It’s magical.

Research

The first thing I did, was to make a list of the characters and defining events of Peter Pan. I also wrote down the target audience which is children.

Above: Images of character list and defining events of Peter Pan

After much deliberation, the key themes selected were “flying” and “adventure”. I feel that these words represent Peter Pan really well. One of the first things I like to do during my research, is to come up with a list of words. This helps me generate ideas.

Above: Image of the first words that came into my head

After the research period, I like to start sketching. I created sketches based on the research gathered.

Above: Image of sketches

I really wanted the design to reflect the themes “flying” and “adventure”. The book cover is like the window to the book’s soul. It gives you an insight of the world you are about to enter. This is what I wanted to create through the design. A sense of flying, adventure…and freedom.

Final Design: Above is the design I chose

The next step was production. I decided to use the Photoshop software to make my design come to life.

The main element of the design is the image. So I browsed the internet to find the perfect image. The key words that were searched for were: “boy flying” and “boys jumping”. I managed to find a silhouette of a group of boys jumping from iStock. I really like this image.

Boys Jumping

Image of silhouettes

I used the magic wand tool to eliminate the white background. I wanted to created a focal point that grabbed the viewer’s attention immediately, so I placed one of the images in the centre, and increased the size so that it filled the majority of the design. I used the emphasis principle by creating an outer glow and an embossed effect. I also stylized the image by using a leafy texture. The contrast principle was used with a darker green colour and the bright outer glow. I chose the colour green because this is the colour that is most associated with the character. Calmer colours such as blue tend to be used for backgrounds because it appears to be further away from the viewer. I used a blue colour that is associated to the evening. It’s dark but not too dark. I remember watching the famous scene in the Disney animated Peter Pan film, where Peter Pan flies across London with Michael, John and Wendy, and the sky was a medium dark blue. That is what I was aiming for.

I chose four further images to surround the main image. I used the dominance principle to create volume and further enhance the main image. The four images are black with two of them being the same image. The colour black and the repetition creates unity. I also changed the scale of the images, so that they appear to be much smaller than the main image. I really like the images because they create a sense of flying and freedom.

I used a serif font because it symbolises an older and more classic period. Sans-serif fonts tend to feel modern but I wanted the typography to feel older or classic. I chose a very light blue colour which slightly matches the outer glow of the main image (which is white and yellow). I edited the angle of the fonts so that it matched the motion of the main image, steering it upwards. The letter “P” for “Peter” and “Pan” are closely linked but the rest of the letters slightly spread out. It’s as if the fonts are also flying.

Image of final design

To finish, feel free to listen to a wonderful soundtrack below from the 2003 Peter Pan film. It is one of my favourite film soundtracks. It really represents the feeling of wanting to fly. So what are you waiting for? Fly!

Conclusion

I had fun creating this design. It took me back to my childhood and made me think of all the wonderful memories I had with this story. I had the opportunity to work on design principles such as balance, unity, dominance and contrast. I used Photoshop to bring my designs to life. I used inspiration from the Peter Pan films and music. Overall, it was a great experience.

Lastly, wherever you are in the world. Remember that “to live would be an awfully big adventure“.

To see other designs, feel free to check out my portfolio.

Ciao for now!

Reading Challenge: Rafael Nadal

Howdy folks, I’ve just finished reading another book for the reading challenge, Rafa Nadal: My Story.

It’s an autobiography written about the tennis player Rafael Nadal. I originally purchased this book in order to check off the ‘A book written by someone under the age of 30’ challenge. The book was published in 2012, Nadal at the time of publish was 26 or 27 years of age. He is now 29 at the time of this post. But this book also completes the ‘A memoir’ and ‘A book originally written in a different language’ challenges.

Apart from the challenges I was also interested in reading the book simply because I like watching the sport, especially wimbledon. In fact, it was during Wimbledon of this year that I got the urge to purchase this book. I was also interested in other tennis players such as Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer but no autobiography was to be found for them, well Andy Murray does have a couple but one is before he won grand slams and the other is solely on his preparations for his wimbledon triumph in 2013. I’m more interested in autobiographies than biographies as I like to hear from the person him or herself about their life, experiences etc. Rafa’s book was most ideal.

I must admit my idea of the autobiography was that I would learn about the person himself, his family and how he came about the sport but the very first section of the book starts off with the 2008 wimbledon final, and I must admit that a sort of disappointing feeling conjured from within, well not so much disappointing but more so a slight worry that the book would just be about stats, facts and match accounts but there was no need to worry at all.

It starts off with that memorable match but it then delves into the world he lives in. We, as readers, learn of his family, lifestyle and much much more. Let’s start off with his family. Not much is known of his family in the media and from reading this book you understand why this is. Much like the mafia they are a very close bunch unlike the mafia they’re not involved in crime. Mallorcans are not like the rest of Spain, it’s an island where the inhabitants tend to keep themselves to themselves. It’s also a place where Nadal is truly liberated and can walk through the streets without any hassle whatsoever which makes it a very unique place indeed. Each family member has contributed to the success of Rafael Nadal and made him who he is today, contrary to people’s thoughts Rafa Nadal is a shy and, at times, a clumsy person, the latter according to his mother. But on the battle field i.e. the tennis court he is a warrior and a battler who fights for every single point relentlessly. His dad is the same in his profession as a business man, a fighter, and his uncle Toni, described as ‘Cold-eyed and resolute…a straight talker’ is more of the disciplinarian. Uncle Toni was rather hard on Nadal, treating him harder than the other kids he coached, refusing to give praise when he did well and so on but he taught him valuable lessons, even though they were harsh and sometimes over the top which Nadal isn’t afraid of mentioning, they were all in all to his great benefit. The three women in his life; his mother, sister and girlfriend are very good examples of the Mallorcan way, they are not one to seek attention and use Nadal’s stardom for their own advantage. They all contribute to Nadal’s humble attitude and success on the court. A win for Nadal is a win for them all.

Rafa Autobiography

What I love most is that their greatest desire for Nadal was that he would grow up to be a ‘good person’. Quite rare to hear of that. We see this by the way he stays on to sign autographs, most recently in his shock loss to Dustin Brown in Round 2 of Wimbledon(how many players do you see signing autographs after losses? Not many) and his attitude on the court in keeping ‘a good face’.

I like the fact Nadal has good words to say about his rivals. We learn that Federer and Nadal are not only rivals but friends. He also speaks very highly of Djokovic who at the time was a rising star and is interestingly the current world number one.

The book also takes you through his thoughts and preparations before, during and after matches. The life of a tennis player and what they go through. I learned just how hectic and overwhelming it can be for an elite athlete. The career of a sports person is a really short one and even though they can be paid extremely well, it’s their body that is on the line which inevitably suffers from injury along the way as it is a demanding profession.

He sets a few records straight that the media either misunderstood or plainly made up. An example is the story behind his left hand, how even though he is right handed it’s his left hand that is used for his forehand strikes. The media made out that he was forced by his uncle and coach Toni to switch from his right hand to his left as he thought it would suit him better but the fact of the matter was in the earlier days of Rafael Nadal and Toni’s tennis relationship, when training and hitting the ball, Nadal would hit his forehand using both his right and left hand, much like a two-handed backhand but for the forehand. Uncle Toni then told him that if he wanted to be a professional he would have to use one hand and Rafa chose his left hand, which felt natural, even though he is naturally right handed.

I learned quite a lot actually from this book that I didn’t expect. There were some very inspiring quotes and thoughts from the book that I will integrate into my life. I didn’t expect this but that’s the joy of reading, this was one of the reasons I wanted to get reading; to store up knowledge. ‘A wise man stores up knowledge’  – Proverbs 10:14.

My favourite quotes from the book are ‘If you can control the mind, you can control the body’ and ‘Because anybody who digs deep enough can always find the motivation they need for anything.’ The former was said by Nadal’s physical therapist Rafael Maymo aka Titin when talking about dealing with pain and the latter was said by none other than Uncle Toni when he motivating Rafa Nadal ahead of the Australian Open final of 2009. Nadal was struggling to physically recover after a tiresome five setter against Fernando Verdasco. Nadal, for once, was doubting he could recover in time let alone win but Toni’s words were just what he needed.

After reading this book I am certainly a fan of Rafael Nadal. I admire him as a tennis player and I sincerely hope he wins more grand slams and gets back to his very best which is a joy to watch. One of the greatest ever tennis players I have ever seen. It got me thinking of things that I certainly didn’t think I would generate from reading this book such as the importance of family, enduring and refusing to give up on your goals. Vamos Rafa!

Reading Challenge: The Lord of the Rings

I have finally managed to finish the novel The Lord of the Rings which means the Reading Challenge is up and running! The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was a rather enjoyable book. That ticks off three challenges from the list in one go: A book with magic in it, A book that became a movie and A book with nonhuman characters.

It’s taken a good few months for me to finally finish this book. Like I mentioned in my reading book challenge post, I wanted to get back into reading so I decided to read books that have been adapted into films, this way it keeps me motivated. I actually started reading the book towards the end of last year after reading The Hobbit, but then restarted because of this challenge.

It took months simply because I didn’t read everyday. It was more of a spontaneous act; A page or two here and there and other times it was a chapter or two. However, I realised as I got more into the novel the pace increased and I really started enjoying it, although it was still pretty sporadic in terms of when I read, sometimes it would be several weeks without touching the book. I read The Hobbit before delving into this book so I recognised a few characters such as Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Gloin and the lands such as The Shire and Moria. I was really happy to find that Bilbo Baggins was involved in the novel as he is one of my favourite characters in The Hobbit. The same goes for Legolas and Gandalf with whom I really liked in the Hobbit franchise. I would say that the Lord of the Rings is a lot slower than The Hobbit in terms of the pace of the adventure but I am not surprised considering that there are three novels compared to The Hobbit’s one. I found it interesting that The Ring was passed down to Frodo, Bilbo’s nephew, and that the creator Sauron was after it. He was the same nuisance who had been imprisoned in the Hobbit films, I think he was classed as The Necromancer.

My J.R.R. Tolkien Collection

Rivendell, the household of Elrond, is such a lovely place. The description in the novel gives a pleasant image in one’s mind. An image of a magnificent dwelling place. That was one of my favourite parts of the novel, finally they had escaped the wrath of The Black Riders. This was the very place were Frodo saw Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins again so it was a poignant moment. I smiled as Bilbo Baggins was revealed. This is where the adventure really kicks into another gear for me as they decide to take the ring to Mordor in order to destroy it once and for all. So a company of nine are on the quest. Which is actually really cool.

I like the fact that Frodo wasn’t alone, as a reader I found each character interesting and unique in their own way. Along the journey I learnt about their personal motives. traits and more. There were a few things that surprised me such as Gandalf being seized by a Balrog and presumed dead, that was a pretty sad moment for me in the novel but for some reason I don’t think he’s dead. (Well, we’ll find out in Part 2!) Saruman betraying Gandalf was another as his greed and anxiety turned towards the ring, Boromir in a desperate act trying to persuade Frodo in giving him the ring and using it against The Dark Lord.

I have to say however, that my favourite character in the novel is Strider. His other name is Aragorn. At first he appeared rather suspicious after being introduced as Strider in the land of Bree where Frodo, Merry, Sam and Pippin stayed for a night or two but the more I read the more he grew on me. I like his character, a lonesome ranger filled with integrity and honour. I like the character Sam a lot too, although he may seem feeble, his determination to follow and help Frodo any way he can is admirable. His love for all things Elves is awesome too! I am now looking forward to Part 2 of the franchise, especially because of how Part 1 ended. It ended with the company divided, Frodo and Sam heading to Mordor by themselves.

It’s left me with a few questions on my mind: What is going to happen when Frodo and Sam reach Mordor? What is Aragorn and co going to do once they find out they have left? Where is Gandalf? Part 2 is going to be a very interesting read.

What next in the Reading Challenge? Well, first things first, I shall watch the first film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a reward. I’m going to purchase it but a colleague of mine has kindly said that he will lend me the Blu-ray version. I’ve also just ordered a few books. One being The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers of course but the other two are pretty different. A classic in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and the autobiography of Nelson Mandela. That way the classic novel and non-fiction challenges will be fulfilled. So alas ladies and gents, ’til the next post. It’s a ciao for now.

Reading Challenge 2015

For the year 2015 one of my New Year Resolutions is to read more and what better way to go about doing that then to set yourself a challenge? I have to thank a French Penpal of mine in Camille, she is the one who introduced me to the very challenge I am on about.

Much like blogging and writing, I’ve decided to make reading books a daily habit of mine in order to improve my vocabulary, grammar and speaking in my native tongue. So after reading a few articles on the ‘Benefits of Reading’ as well as watching a couple of videos on the topic, I felt motivated enough to pick up a book and get back to reading. I used to read during my secondary school days, my favourites were books ‘Julie and Me, and Michael Owen makes three’, ‘The Amandans’ and others I can’t quite remember at the moment. During college and university however, I never read for pleasure and so lost touch with reading. Another factor which has driven me to read again are a few shocking book statistics I came across whilst watching a video in a book tuber named ‘ReadingWithJack’ such as the average person reads less than one book in a year, after most people who finish college/university only read 5 books over the course of their lives which are all pretty extraordinary really. Below is the very dude and his video:

So having decided that I wanted to read, where could one start? Luckily I found a little something whilst looking at my bookcase. It was more of an accident really. J.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was found on top of a few books which caught my eye. It turned out that it was my brothers’, who got it years ago but never read it. An epiphany struck, why shouldn’t I start with this? ‘The third film is due to come out in a couple of months so that should give me incentive to read’. At the time I hadn’t seen the films thus far and with the third and final film of the franchise due to come out in a few months, an idea popped into my head to read the novel first and then watch all three films. This was the first time I had read a book that had been adapted into a film and such fun it was! I loved the novel! It surprised me how much fun it was to read from the dwarves gathering together at Baggins’ place to the first perilous encounter with Trolls and the introduction of Gollum’s ‘Precious’ to the battle of the five armies. It’s a wonderful story which brightened my soul each time I read it. I’ve now read it three times.

This inspired me to read other books, ones that I have yet to actually start reading mind. Books that have been adapted into films. I think one of the keys for me was to read something interesting, or something that interests myself. It seems sci-fi or fantasy genres are of interest. The Maze Runner is a film I watched spontaneously, without much thought, in the cinemas. It wasn’t a first choice but because nothing else was on that interested me, I reluctantly went in to watch the film and boy am I glad I did. It was a real surprise, I went in with low expectations but went out feeling glad I did. I later spoke with a staff member, who was French so it gave me an opportunity to practice my very basic French haha, and surprise surprise would you believe it she had the novel version of The Maze Runner. I had no idea that there was a book! So I purchased the book and plan on reading it after The Lord of the Rings(of which I am reading now!). I’m so excited as the second film is due to come out this September leaving me with plenty of time to read up on the books. The Hunger Games is also another book I purchased, I watched the first film really enjoyed it. I have yet to watch the rest of the franchise, I shall only watch it once I finish the novels, the same goes with the Lord of the Rings. Yes, I still haven’t seen it!

Reading Challenge; The one Camille, French Penpal, introduced to me:

Reading Challenge

Above is the link to the actual article and on top of that are snapshots I took of the Reading Challenge. I’m currently tackling the ‘A trilogy’ and ‘A Book written by someone under 30′ challenges in The Lord of the Rings and Usain Bolt’s Biography respectively.

So having said all that, I will continue to endeavour in reading and hopefully complete this challenge by the end of the year. I will keep you posted along the way! I’m currently about halfway through the first Lord of the Rings book, on page 200 or so and a few chapters in Usain Bolt’s biography. So Ladies and Gents, ’til next time!