Sunday Post 48; It's Monday! What are you reading? 48

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for a catch-up - is hosted by Kimberly, here: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ and It's Monday! What Are Your Reading? is hosted by Kathryn, here: https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/

Why is it when you cut yourself, it's always in the most inconvenient place? I cut my finger yesterday and it's right at the tip, so when I'm typing I hit the cut every single time.

Anyway. 

My week was much more uneventful. 

I went to work because capitalism and I didn't marry rich when I was young and skinny. 

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

Son of Mine had a sleepover at a friend's on Friday night. It's funny - both his dad and I are pretty introverted - his Dad moreso than me - but somehow we've created this extroverted social butterfly who can make friends with anyone. 

So I parked up on the couch with some stitching and had planned to watch The Bourne Supremacy but could not find it on any of the streaming platforms we have. After a bit of browsing and false starts, I watched Pain Hustlers on Netflix, which is about a pharmaceutical start up with Emily Blunt and Chris Evans. Review to come later in the week.

Yesterday morning I arose from the depths, got myself settled for some uninterrupted TV and watched episode 2 of The Fall of the House of Usher. I'm greatly enjoying it but I can only take one episode at a time, and I need to wait until Son of Mine is out and about. 

Then I went to pick him up from his friend's and took Lily to the vet for her regular blood tests. 

I did some reading in the afternoon and ferried Son of Mine and another one of his friends about for a bit. He went to that friend's last night for another sleepover. He's going to come home and crash VERY hard I think. 

I'm still reading Poirot and Me by David Suchet which I'm enjoying. I also rented a couple of the Poirot seasons from the library, so I've also been working my way through those. 

I'm also still reading You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard which is still great.

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

Short reviews

 

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travls Baldree is a prequel to Legends & Lattes, which I absolutely loved. And, I have to say, this one had me grinning like an idiot as well.

Viv is a young, brash Orc, just starting out as a mercenary with Rackham's Ravens when she's badly injured by the minions of necromancer the crew is chasing.

She's forced to take downtime and finds herself settling into Murk - a sleepy beachside down to rest and recuperate.

Viv doesn't take the enforced rest very well to start with, and things start to stack up for her.

Luckily, she meets some friends along the way, including Fern who owns the town's only bookstore, and Maylee, the dwarf - and romantic interest for Viv - who owns a bakery.

Unfortunately, the necromancer is still out there, and she's heading for Murk...

This was just. Lovely. I don't know how else to describe it honestly. I loved it so much.

After the book of Miss Marple short stories by modern writers didn't work out, I decided to go back to the source material. 

I picked up A Caribbean Mystery, in which Miss Marple is on holiday in the Caribbean - slightly bored if she's honest, but overall enjoying herself - when someone is murdered.

The murder - of a retired Major who's main goal seems to be boring everyone rigid with his stories - sets off an unexpected chain of events, leading to Miss Marple acting as a very unlikely Nemesis.

I haven't read this one for a few years so had forgotten whodunit. So I was entertained and surprised at the same time.

I had seen Foundryside at my library a few times, but - true confession  - the cover put me off for some reason, so I never picked it up. I *think* I saw someone on an instagram reel mention it and I though "oh, that DOES sound lik me," so I borrowed it from the library.

And it's SO good! Sancia is an escaped slave, living on the margins of a society with a very strong dividing line between the haves and the have-nots.

She survives by stealing, and she also has a secret - Sancia has a scrived plate in her head, which means she can ... talk? to things that she touches - walls, doors, windows ... 

She does a job for a fence, and steals a key. What Sancia doesn't realise is how important that key really is.

The worldbuilding is great, and Sancia is a truly compelling main character. Fantasy plus heist is one of my favourites, and this did not disappoint.

Sunday Post 47; It's Monday! What are you reading? 47

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for 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 ... my week was slightly more eventful than I generally like.

My sister was admitted to hospital last Monday night with pneumonia. (She's fine, and home now). So on Tuesday after work I went down to see her and take some magazines and books as she was - understandably - bored. 

Tuesday was also my work bestie's last day, and she has now moved to a different city. I miss her a lot - more than I thought I would, to be honest. I know we can keep in touch thanks to the magic of social media and cellphones but it's not the same as seeing someone every day.

Quiz was Wednesday night, and we didn't place for the first time this year - we came fourth. Can't win them all, I guess.

Friday night was a work do at a pub that had already been cancelled twice. 

I was very ready for the weekend by the end of it all.

I went to the library yesterday and to a secondhand store where I found a couple of art cards I'm planning on framing and hanging up. 

Son of Mine had a sleepover here on Friday night, and then spent Saturday night at another friend's place. So he's feeling rather tired today. 

Today I haven't done much at all, and it has been nice.

I finished Foundryside, and very much enjoyed it. I also finished A Caribbean Mystery.

I started Wife after Wife by Olivia Hayfield and I don't know whether it's just me, but I got 3 pages in and honestly could not take the writing. But it has a bundle of 4 and 5 star ratings on goodreads. But the writing is just ... clumsy somehow? Life is too short to read books that irritate me. 

Anyway. I'm reading Poirot and Me by Sir David Suchet, about his 25 years playing the great detective, and I also started You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard, which is shaping up to be very promising.

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

Maree's Movie Night - The Bourne Identity

 

I mentioned in my Sunday Post that I'm trying to watch more movies this year. I've set a goal of ... 55? I think? and I've watched about 10 so far.

So I've decided, to help me stay on track, I'll start reviewing the movies that I watch. 

There's no rhyme or reason to it, it's just what I'm feeling like on the night, and how good my concentration levels are. 

So. First up is The Bourne Identity, starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne.

I haven't read any of the books, but the movie is highly entertaining.

Jason Bourne is some kind of super-spy, who has been fished out of the ocean with absolutely no memory of who he is. Then things start going REALLY bad.

A friend of mine pointed out that the reason these movies are so good is that Bourne has to rely on his wits to get through, and she's right. He has amnesia, but muscle memory kicks in and he powers through. 

The cast is absolutely stacked to the gills with some top action talent, though Julia Stiles is criminally under-used in this one. From memory her part expands in the next movie.

The perfect Friday night film.

Sunday Post 46; It's Monday! What are you reading? 46

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for 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/

Son of Mine is over his bout of Covid and husband and I were lucky enough not to be infected this time around. Son's symptoms were mostly that of a bad cold or flu, and he spent a lot of time napping. He's feeling better, tested negative, and he's back to school tomorrow. Which he is VERY excited about.*

*Not.

Anyway. I opted not to go to quiz on Wednesday night as a couple of my team members are immuno-compromised, so I stayed home, and the team won without me. 

Apart from that... not a lot, really. Son of Mine and I went to the library on Saturday, and he's recently taken up drawing, so I took him to buy some colouring pencils and sketch paper. I went to my friend's as usual on Saturday, where we stitched and watched Survivor. We're only up to season 44, so no spoilers. :)

Today I had some sour cream and bananas that needed to be used up so I made a banana loaf, which came out pretty well. I spent the rest of the afternoon stitching and listening to You Must Remember This, a podcast about the first 100 years of Hollywood history. It's interesting stuff and podcast listening is great for stitching.

Otherwise I've been watching more Star Trek: Voyager. I also started season 2 of Reacher, which for me is just pure entertainment. I've only read one of the books, and I thought it was okay, but the show is great fun. I also watched the first episode of The Fall of the House of Usher, which I really enjoyed, but I need to wait until Son of Mine isn't around. I enjoy watching things with him but he comments on everything and I feel like Usher is the kind of show I really need to concentrate on.

I'm trying to watch more movies as well as reading more books, and towards that goal I try to watch one movie a week. Sometimes it pans out, sometimes it doesn't. This week I watched The Bourne Identity, which I haven't seen in many years. It holds up pretty well.

I'm still reading Foundryside, which is great. I had started Marple, an anthology of short stories featuring Miss Marple by modern day writers, but I sent it back to the library after "Miss Marple let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding" in the first story, and Miss Marple cursing ("hell" but Miss Marple would never) in the second one. So I've gone back to the source material, and I'm re-reading A Caribbean Mystery. 

Sunday Post 45; It's Monday! What are you reading? 45

 

The Sunday Post - a chance for 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 bank account cried out to me in dark despair, so I went back to work on Monday after my break. To say I was reluctant to go back to work is an understatement. Reader, I did not want to. 

Reader, I had to.

Anyway. We came second at quiz on Wednesday night, which is fine. Generally I'm happy if we place. 

Thursday, Son of Mine had gone on a field trip to the Waimumu Field Days with his school - https://www.southernfielddays.co.nz/ It rained on Thursday and he ruined his sneakers. So after work on Thursday night the two of us had salad - I mean burgers at McDonald's and did a spot of shopping for new sneakers.

Friday night my department was supposed to go out as a group but one of our team leaders ended up going home with a stomach bug. So that event was cancelled, and some of us just ... went to the pub.  It was fun, and I was home by 9 but I was definitely peopled out. 

Yesterday my friend who is leaving soon came around and we watched The Emperor's New Groove, which is her favourite movie.

Today, Son of Mine woke up with a completely blocked head, and youuuu guessed it. He has COVID. 

The guidelines now state you don't have to isolate, and your household doesn't but I am keeping him home from school for the week, and I picked up my hard drive from work in case I need to stay home as well. So far I've tested negative but COVID is a sneaky bastard. 

Saturday night friend and I went to the library, and did a few errands, which definitely included a bakery. I restrained myself to just some lemon cupcakes so I'm proud of myself for that.

I'm still reading Foundryside, and I finished Bookshops and Bonedust, which was very cute. I also started Marple, an anthology of Miss Marple stories by modern-day writers. I'm not very far in as of yet though.

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

Short reviews

 

Fourteen year old orphan Mona works in her aunt and uncle's bakery. She bakes, she sells to customers ... she can also create magic through dough.

However, when Mona literally trips over a dead body in the bakery's kitchen, things start to get bad very quickly.

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking - apart from having the greatest title - is a fun fantasy novel. The magic system is a lot of fun, and there are some truly memorable characters. Not just Mona - there's Bob, the sourdough starter, Knackering Molly and Spindle, the thief. 

It's so much fun to read.

The Scottish Play, by way of Terry Pratchett's endlessly creative imagination. 

Featuring Nanny Ogg,  Granny Weatherwax, and Magrat, the newest witch, who has definite ideas about How Witching Should Be Done. Unfortunately, she's stuck with Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax, who just sort of .... get on with it.

The old king of Lancre is murdered, and a new one sits on the throne. A bad king. What are three witches to do? 

Well, not interfere, certainly ... 

Whenever I don't know what to read next, I have three go-to authors. Agatha Christie, PG Wodehouse - and Terry Pratchett. You really just can't go wrong with Discworld.

I wanted to read this one before watching the Netflix show. I'm glad I did, but they have very little in common. That's not a bad thing, though.

The book hints at terrible things and hauntings, but - for me - it didn't dive into them enough. I wanted ... more, if that makes sense. I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle a few years ago, and loved that one. It's creepy and tense and incredibly atmospheric.

I enjoyed Hill House, and do love a spooky story, but I wanted more from it than I got.