The Sunday Post 31: It's Monday, What are you reading? 31

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for bloggers to have a chat - is hosted by Kimberly,  here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

The week that was ...

Monday was a public holiday here, so no work for me (yay). I had a very lazy day and just watched TV and did some stitching. Wednesday I had off because I wasn't feeling well, so no quiz this week for me. :( But the team came second so that was good.

Friday was dress-up day at work for Hallowe'en. I couldn't wear the dress I had intended as it's a summer dress and Friday was absolutely freezing, despite the fact it's Spring here. There were even snow flurries. So I just dressed in my plainest clothes and parted my hair on the side. I also stuck up a bunch of photos of James Caan in the movie around my desk. So. Low effort.

Others went all out, and dig much better jobs than I did.

Friday night spawn slept over at a friend's place, so I watched the last episode of Our Flag Means Death, and I had finally started season 3 of Picard, so I finished that as well. Yesterday I went to visit a friend who had ankle surgery the week before to take her some books and have coffee.

Then, as always, I went to my other friend's for our usual Saturday night.

Today there was a kind of craft fair happening so I went to that with another friend. I didn't buy anything - because I don't have any money - but it was fun wandering around and looking at all of the stalls.

Finishing Picard must have made me nostalgic, because I've started watching The Next Generation from the beginning. And everyone is so YOUNG! S

Spawn wanted to go to the library to return some books, so we did that as well. And now here we are.

I'm still reading Ninth House, and A Long Petal to the Sea. I've also started the Agatha Christie biography by Lucy Worsley, and today I read The Crow graphic novel that a workmate loaned me a few weeks ago, so I can finally return it. (I am not a good person to lend books to.)

Anyway. How's your week? What are you reading?

The Sunday Post 30; It's Monday! What are you reading? 30

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for bloggers to have a catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly, here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

I really need to stop being lazy and start doing more posts. 

Um. Anyway.

My week was all right. Work again happened despite my feelings about it.

We came fourth at quiz on Wednesday - we were well out of the running but it was a fun night.

On Friday night I parked up and watched some TV and did some stitching. Son of Mine was at a friend's for a sleepover/birthday party, so it was a quiet evening.

On Saturday I set out on a couple of side quests - I had to get Lily's thyroid medication, and I went to the library. I also visited what felt like every single secondhand store trying to find a copy of Misery that I can take to work on Friday. Had I managed that, I was going to get people to sign it and tell them I was their Number One Fan. I did find it at the library, so shall just have to settle for creeping people out without asking for their autographs. The costume doesn't really adhere very strictly to what Annie Wilkes wears in the movie. And, also, it's not the middle of winter here. So I'm just mining my own wardrobe and going as Dowdy but Insane Middle-Aged Annie Wilkes. Should work.

I went to my friend's as usual last night. We've run out of reality TV for the moment, so we started watching Vigil, a British murder drama set on a submarine. Pretty good so far.

I also got some stitching done this afternoon while I watched a couple of movies - Escape Room on Netflix (which I wish I hadn't), and The Talented Mr Ripley, which I remember watching years ago. It's still pretty good. I also watched Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves last Sunday. I don't play D&D but it was a fun watch.

I finished Picard, the prequel novel to the series, and thought it was all right. I also finished Latest Readings by Clive James, so I could pass it on to my friend as it's her birthday today, and she loves Clive James. I decided to retire River God in the meantime, as I keep looking for reasons not to pick it up.

So for now I'm reading A Long Petal of the Sea, by Isabel Allende, which is set during the Spanish Civil War. It's very good, but it's very ... you know those books? Where it's a really really good read, but  you can't say you're enjoying it exactly, because of the subject matter? That's what this is.

I also started Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. I haven't read any of her other books, but a workmate raved about this one, so figured I'd give it a go.

How about you? How's your week? What are you reading?

The Sunday Post 29; It's Monday! What are you reading? 29

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for bloggers to have a catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly, here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

Let's see. Last week ...

Work was a thing that definitely happened, against my most ardent wishes. 

We came second at quiz, which is definitely better than fourth.

Our election was last night, so I voted yesterday morning (I don't want to talk about the results, ugh) and afterwards myself, Son of Mine (Doctor Who reference there) and a friend went to the library. We then repaired to a pub for some democracy fries as a reward for exercising our civil rights. 

I drove about for a bit after dropping the passengers off at their respective abodes (mine, in the case of Son of Mine, obviously) as I'm trying to find a secondhand copy of Misery. Work has decided we all need to dress up for Hallowe'en and I'm going to go as Annie Wilkes. Mostly because I can source that from my own wardrobe. But I want a copy of the book. I do have one but it's in an omnibus with two other Stephen King novels.

I went to my friend's as usual, and we're run out of reality TV for now, so we're starting on the backlog of dramas (mostly British) that she's recorded. We watched The Ex-Wife, which was pretty good. 

Today we went to a craft show and I managed to not buy anything, so I'm proud of myself for that. 

Every so often with what I'm reading my brain decides that - for whatever reason - it's not working for me. So it proved to be the case with both The Persians and The City of Last Chances. So I returned them to the library. Nothing against the books themselves, they just weren't right for me at the time. I did finish Hallowe'en Party, though. 

I'm still reading River God, and something that I do when books aren't working is I'll either read an old favourite, or I'll read Star Trek novels. I got Picard by Una McCormack out of the library, which is a prequel to the series. So far it's pretty good.

A while back I happened upon a book on the library's withdrawn shelf by Clive James called Latest Readings. When he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he shifted his massive library to Cambridge, and determined to spend what time he had left reading. Latest Readings came out of that. I need to finish it so I can pass it on to my friend, who is a very big Clive James fan. 

I also somehow started A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende.

Anyway. How about you? How's your week? What are  you reading?

The Sunday Post 28; It's Monday! What are you reading? 28

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for bloggers to have a catch-up, is hosted by Kimberly here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/  and It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

My week was much the same. Work, etc.  Spawn was on school holidays (back tomorrow) and J also took the 2 weeks of the holidays off, so I've been the only one working.

J goes back to work tonight so we'll go back to "normal."

We came 4th - by ONE POINT at quiz on Wednesday which is always a somewhat bitter pill for me as I tend to be competitive. I know it happens, I just don't like it.

J took my car in to a different place for a second opinion on what work needed done, and their quote was a solid $1500 less than the first place for the warrant of fitness. I had been considering whether it was even worth keeping it, but a friend insisted we get a second opinion. So it's just a couple of tyres and the brake pads that need replacing. 

I didn't do very much at all yesterday, although I went to my friend's as usual. We've run out of reality TV for a while so we're diving in to the backlog of British crime dramas that we seem to have stacked up.

Spawn and I went to the library today as he'd asked to go, and I left without borrowing any books. I mean, I still have about 10 or so out of the library, but leaving with none is very unusal.

I've done some stitching as well this weekend and watched a couple of movies - Now You See Me and Now You See Me 2 which were fun. I also finally finished season 3 of Only Murders in the Building, which I really enjoy, and I watched the first 3 episodes of season 2 of Our Flag Means Death.

I finished Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six and ... eh. It was okay, but for a thriller I felt the author pulled a lot of punches where she could have followed through. I'm still reading The Persians albeit very slowly.

I also started The City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky and I decided to re-read Hallowe'en Party as well.

How about you? How's your week? What are you reading?

The Sunday Post 27; It's Monday, what are you reading? 27

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for bloggers to have a catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly, here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

My week was relatively uneventful. Work was a place I went to so I could earn my paycheck and pay taxes like a good citizen. It's springtime here which, in September and October tends to mean very unsettled weather, and it rained for a lot of last week. Which is fine, I enjoy the rain as long as I'm not out in it.

Add in some very strong winds and little sunshine though and it does get a bit trying. However, it's been warmer and much less rainy today, which has been nice. 

We won at quiz on Wednesday night, which is always nice. 

Friday night I ordered pizza for tea and watched a terrible movie with a group of twitter friends - it's something we do periodically and it's always fun.

Saturday I did a little bit of stitching - I have a dragon WIP that is all shades of green, so I can really only work on it in daylight. Saturday morning tends to be the best time to get that done. Spawn and I went to the library after lunch, and I wend to my friend's as usual. We watched the end of The Traitors UK, which was great, and The Traitors is now one of my favourite reality shows.

At the moment I'm also enjoying a couple of home-grown reality shows - House Rules NZ where teams renovate each other's house and are scored on it, and Celebrity Treasure Island, where celebrities (well, NZ value for celebrity, we don't have a deep well to draw on) compete in a Survivor-style game to win money for charity. It's a lot of fun, though one of my favourites went home last week. 

What else. I haven't done a lot today. Spawn and I watched some Golden Girls - he loves it - and I did some stitching. We also baked a lemon loaf, which came out really well. Spawn did most of the work, while I directed operations. 

I'm still reading Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six and it's okay, but a little bit annoying with the time jumps and the implied You Will Never Guess Who This Person Is. It's due back at the library via Libby in a couple of days, so I need to try and get it finished. I'm also still reading River God, and I picked up a non-fiction book - Persians: The Age of Great Kings by Lloyd Llewellen Jones. I don't read a lot of non-fiction but occasionally 

The Sunday Post 26; It's Monday! What are you reading? 26

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for bloggers to have a catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly, here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

Okay, the week that was ...

I had a very sore right arm on Monday - I still don't know what I did to it, but even driving home from work was a struggle, and I had to go around corners with only one hand on the steering wheel.

I had Tuesday off luckily, so I thought "painkillers and rest" which is what I did, while bingeing Only Murders in the Building. Wednesday morning I woke up, had a shower and realised that my arm was too sore for me to put a bra on. So I got as dressed as I could, and took a sick day. More painkillers and rest, and that - so far - has done the trick. 

My workmate who had Covid is back, so our workload was not as great as it had been.

Friday night I was going to watch a movie with Spawn, but a friend of his came over for a sleepover, so I watched The Matrix Resurrection, and wished I hadn't. It is a movie that I watched. I can't say it was good, because it wasn't. But I managed to get some stitching done - my friend's birthday is next month, so I'm making something small for her.

Saturday morning I did some stitching and watched another terrible movie - The Misfits on Netflix. Not the old-school one with Marilyn Monroe but an egregious heist movie with Pierce Brosnan. I love a good heist movie. But this was not that.

I took the boys into town after lunch so Spawn's friend could meet up with his family, and Spawn and I then went to the library. I went to my friend's place as usual last night, and we discussed whether we'd make good traitors or faithfuls - we're still watching The Traitors UK.

Today she talked me into going to the movies to see A Haunting in Venice and frankly I wish she hadn't. I love Agatha Christie, and I'm ambivalent on Kenneth Branagh's Poirot, but this movie ... was certainly something that I watched. It's apparently based on the novel Hallowe'en Party, but it bears about as much resemblance to that book as I do to Kenneth Branagh.

And it was just ... tedious. Heavy on jumpscares and symbolism and honestly I think if I'd been alone I  might have just left. 

Anyway, here we are. I still need to make my bed and cook dinner, so thought I'd get this done first.

I finished High on Arrival by Mackenzie Phillips - she of 1980s One Day at a Time fame and also the daughter of John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas. It is an interesting read, but a very disturbing one. 

I'm still reading Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six, and I started River God by Wilbur Smith. I actually read it years ago, but I have the series up to Desert God, so thought I'd start over. It's not a short book, so that one is going to be read in short bursts. 

How about you? How's your week? What are you reading?

Two reviews

 

It's 1983, and Susan Arkshaw has just turned 18. She moves to London, intending to start art college, and look for her father.

However, Susan's life takes a very different turn when she meets Merlin - a left-handed bookseller. From the moment Susan meets Merlin her life goes down a very different - and very magical path.

I can't be articulate about this book. I loved it so much. There's something cosy about it somehow? There's magic, and there's myth and a little bit of romance, and some really excellent worldbuilding. 

It is honestly pure fantasy escapism in the best way.

Twenty year after his sister Tara has disappeared, Peter receives a phone call from his parents. Tara has turned up. The trouble is - she looks exactly the same as she did when she vanished 20 years ago, and she's come back with a wild tale of where she has been.

For Tara, it's only been six months, and she's been living in a very strange kind of fairyland. 

The book weaves together the past, the present and Tara's story of her time in the other land to create a kind of modern myth, almost. There's the mundane of Peter's life with his family, and the wild of Tara's story, and the in-between as well. 

It's an extremely readable book that does make you think "What if?"