The Sunday Post 44; It's Monday! What are you reading? 44

 

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/

The second week of my holiday absolutely sped by, despite my most ardent wishes it would slow down. Time never listens to me. 

I spent my second week binge-watching The Haunting of Hill House, stitching, reading and eating. The older I get, the more willing I am to embrace my inner hobbit. 

Son of Mine is always happy when I get time off, because it means he gets picked up from school - otherwise he walks home. There's a seconds bakery near the school and we always stop there at least once when I pick him up. They make these amazing citrus truffles around Christmas time, and then just sell them until the stock runs out. I managed to snag some, so I was happy with that. 

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

I worked yesterday for some overtime, and it was okay, but it meant I didn't go to my friend's for our usual Saturday night, I was just too tired. So I came home, watched Drag Race and did some stitching.

I read The Haunting of Hill House and thought it was all right - the series was better, which is rare. I haven't read any of Shirley Jackson's short stories, but I have read We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and that is GREAT. It's creepy and atmospheric, and what I wanted Hill House (the book) to be. 

I also finished Wyrd Sisters, and The Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking.

I'm still reading Foundryside, which I'm enjoying a lot, and Bookshops and Bonedust, by Travis Baldree, which is the prequel to Legends & Lattes. It's very enjoyable as well.

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

The Sunday Post 43; It's Monday! What are you reading? 43

 

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 ... capitalism unclenched its jaws slightly, and I'm halfway through two weeks off work.

I didn't do a lot last week - some reading, some stitching. I watched the first series of Reacher (Large Man Hits Things A Lot) which I enjoyed, and Son of Mine and I have started watching Fool Me Once, on Netflix, which is very good.

I did errandy type things on Wednesday and on Friday went to my friend's place for a bonus stitching/watching session. We watched a couple of episodes of the Traitors UK, and then finished the series last night at our regular Saturday night session. It's So. Good. It's  honestly my favourite show, I think.

Son of Mine had a couple of friends over on Friday night for a sleepover, so I threw some pizza to the wolves, and retreated to my room to do some stitching and watch some Voyager. 

Yesterday was a quiet one though I did get some reading done.

I had coffee today with a friend/workmate of mine. She's leaving at the end of this month and I am very sad about it - she's one of my people at work. We started about the same time and have pretty much been friends ever since. But she feels the need for a change, and while I'm happy for her, I'm sad for me. 

I finished The Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, and was highly entertained. I'm still reading Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett, and I also started Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett, which is sort of ... industrial fantasy? If that's a category. That's what it feels like. 

I'm also reading The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I want to watch the series, but wanted to read the book first.

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

The Sunday Post 42; It's Monday! What are you reading? 42

https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/ 

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

Let me see... Capitalism put out snacks and trapped me again, so I went to work. 

We won at quiz again on Wednesday night, which always feels good I have to say. 

I went to my friend's after work on Friday night instead of Saturday, as we both had prior Saturday engagements.

We watched The Traitors UK and stitched. Still, I think, my favourite show. I love it so much.

I put in a couple of hours overtime at work on Saturday morning, and the extra few dollars will definitely come in handy. 

Then on Saturday night another friend and I went to a show - it's a one-woman show very much inspired by Shakespeare and it was hilarious. It's called Tempestuous: https://www.hotpink.co.nz/the-tempestuous/

This is usually the time of year for Shakespeare in the Park, but this was done in a theatre - possibly because of it being a one-woman show. But it was great. So, so funny.

Son of Mine had a friend over last night for a sleepover, and I dropped them in town today to pursue pizza, so I went to the library, and got a couple of books out.

I haven't done much else today, to be honest.

I have two weeks leave now, and I'm very much looking forward to it. My plan is to power down completely - for the first week at least - and just do the things I like to do - read, watch TV, watch movies, cross-stitch, play videogames. I also want to sort out some clothes because my drawers are getting a bit full, but that sounds like a job for second week off Maree.

I finished The Watchmaker's Hand by Jeffrey Deaver and also Daisy Darkly by Alice Feeney, both of which were just ... okay for me.

I'm still reading Wyrd Sisters, and I also started The Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher, which is a YA fantasy novel, and so far pretty entertaining.

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

The Sunday Post 41; It's Monday! What are you reading? 41

 

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 ... capitalism opened its maw wide and trapped me yet again, so I had to go to work.

Quiz started again on Wednesday night and we set off on a positive note with a win, which was nice.

I was not feeling great towards the end of the week so I took a couple of sick days on Thursday and Friday. Just general run down-ness I think. It's also been extremely hot here (for those playing along who don't realise, I live in New Zealand. It's summertime) and I do not do well with the heat. I'm an autumn/winter supferfan. 

So I sat on the couch, and watched TV pretty much. I've finished TNG and started Voyager. I forgot how much I really enjoy Voyager. I also watched Peter Ustinov's Evil Under the Sun, which was a lot of fun. In the spirit of trying to watch new things and not just rewatch old things, I started Reacher. I've only read one of the books and honestly thought it was just okay. The show is fun though, as the premise seems to be "large man hits things", and I'm here for that.

Anyway. I took spawn for a haircut on Saturday morning which has been a long time coming - I just hadn't got around it to it but he definitely needed one. We also went to the library and the supermarket - as Son of Mine put it, it was a proper adventure. (We bought snacks.)

I went to my friend's last night as usual and we binged a few more episodes of The Traitors UK, which is absolutely my favourite show.

Today was super exciting with housework and another supermarket visit. I spent the afternoon listening to one of my favourite podcasts (You Must Remember This, about Hollywood's first century) and I worked on a couple of blackwork projects. I might do a post on those at some point. 

I read The Watchmaker's Hand by Jeffrey Deaver recently, and thought it was .... okay. I like Mr Deaver's earlier works better - the twists are more twisty and shocking. I keep going back for some reason and honestly I should know better. I'm also reading Wyrd Sisters by Mr Sir Terry Pratchett, which is no less enjoyable for being a re-read. I also have Daisy Darkly by Alice Feeney on the go, which is a riff on And Then There Were None. So far so good.

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

Short reviews

 These are the first 3 novels I have read in 2024. I haven't done reviews for a while and I don't want to go too far back, so fresh start and all that jazz.

   First up is Under the Mountain, by Maurice Gee.

This is a re-read for me, and is a book that is deeply embedded in the psyche of many Kiwi Gen X kids. The book came out in the 1970s/80s and a TV series followed.

Twins Rachel and Theo come to Auckland from the country to spend the summer holiday with their aunt and uncle. However, there's more going on than the twins realise, to do with the creepy and secretive Wilberforces and Mr Jones, a mysterious old man with an interest in the twins.

This is one of those books that I absolutely cannot be objective about. I love it for the story, for the nostalgia, and for the deep essence of Kiwi-ness that it just ... exudes. 

Next, is the graphic novel The Tea Dragon Society by Kay O'Neill. I know it's only halfway through January, but this was a five-star read. It's so charming and the art style is so lovely. Blacksmith's daughter Greta finds out about the dying art of tea dragon care-taking from a kindly tea-maker. 

She also discovers new friends - not least shy Minette, and also the tiny tea dragons themselves. First book in a series, and I need the rest of them immediately, if not sooner than that.

Highly, highly recommend.

Last up for this post is Paladin's Grace by T Kingfisher. The only other book I've read by T Kingfisher is Nettle & Bone, which I loved.

And ... I loved this as well. 

Stephen is a Paladin, but of a dead God. He's drifting a bit and doesn't really feel like he has a purpose. He and his fellow remaining Paladins serve the Temple of the White Rad, which means they mostly stand around looking intimidating.

Then Stephen meets Grace, a perfumer with a troubled past and it all kicks off.

I will say - I'm not a fan of "romantasy" novels. Romance generally isn't my thing, and this burgeoning genre which - given I don't read it - seems to mostly be made up of teenagers mooning about so definitely not my thing. HOWEVER, Grace is in her 30s and Stephen is in his 40s. They're adults with their own pasts and lives and - despite the severed heads - it's ... low stakes? Not Legends & Lattes low stakes (which is also great) but Stephen and Grace aren't out to Save The World. 

They just want to save themselves. A fun read.

The Sunday Post 40; It's Monday, What are you reading? 40

 

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/

We're back to "normal" after the weird liminal space of Christmas and New Year. And because capitalism never sleeps, I had to go to work. 

Quiz doesn't start again until this Wednesday so it was a quiet one for me, work aside. 

I did some reading, did some stitching ... the usual. 

Spawn, a friend of mine and I went to the library on Saturday morning and I went to my friend's place last night for stitching and watching TV. We're watching season 2 of the Traitors UK, which may possibly be my favourite TV show.

I watched the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie on Friday night and was NOT prepared for the emotions at all. 

I am currently reading The List by Yomi Adegoke, which isn't grabbing me the way I had hoped, but it's pretty good so I'm going to keep on going.

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

The Sunday Post 39; It's Monday! What are you reading? 39

 

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. I didn't do a post last week as I was working on Sunday, filling in as the regular Sunday person was on holiday. 

I had Monday and Tuesday off as they're public holidays, and I did my traditional re-watch of Lord of the Rings and start a new project. A friend of  mine turns 40 in March so my new start is a birthday present for her. 

I also worked yesterday (I don't normally do Saturdays) so the overtime cash money will come in handy.

I am feeling tired, though. And I'm trying to think of what else I've been doing...

Watching Star Trek: TNG mostly, I think. I'm up to season 7. I do want to at least try and watch some new (to me) shows and not just re-watch old favourites, but it's so ... cosy I think. 

I finished Labyrinth Heart, and I loved it. I also finished Three-Act Tragedy which was also great.

I got Holly by Stephen King for Christmas, and spent most of Boxing Day reading it - it was my last read for 2023.

I also read The Tea Dragon Society which is an absolutely adorable graphic novel by K. O'Neill. 

Now I'm reading Paladine's Grace by T Kingfisher, which I am absolutely loving.

How about you? How's your new year so far? What are you reading?