King Book Mail (+ one)

Hello, and welcome to my newest Kingly book mail video!

Sorry this will be quite short.  There are some major storms brewing so I need to get off the computer ASAP.  All of these items arrived in the last few days, so I just had to film a book mail video - so I could get them off my desk!  I have left links for all the editions mentioned in the video in the description area.

I hope you enjoy this, and until next time...

Kingoween TBR

It's that time of the year again!  Okay, it's Spring here in Australia, but still.... Halloween!

This year I'm going ahead and having a King themed month.  Yah, Kingoween!  Autumn/Winter is just made for Stephen King reading, but early spring will still do, so I've got four books that I'm hoping to read - Pet Sematary, Misery, Doctor Sleep, and Gerald's Game - as well as a couple of movie adaptations.

Thankfully the heatwave that sprang up so unexpectedly - and worryingly - has broken.  It's dropped about 18°c (I'm back in long sleeves and a cardigan!) from temperatures over the last 10 or so days.  Having a WTF moment wondering how hot it's going to get this summer.  But that's beside the point.  What I'm trying to say in a rather long winded fashion, is that it's actually perfect weather to start on my Kingoween plans.  I might heat up some lunch and watch one of the movies, and see how it goes from there.

If you want to join in on my Kingoween TBR, or have a TBR of your own, let me know down below ;-D

And that's all I've got to say at the moment.  I"m off to make my lunch.  So until I see you next time,

 

It can't be October already!

Seriously, I can't have been in this house for almost a month!  There are still boxes stored in the garage and stuff spread out throughout the house with only a vauge idea of where they will finally go - and I'm freaking out about the hours of unboxing and decorating that need to be done before Christmas.  So with that deadline foremost in mind, I fired up the desktop and put on a movie and spent most of this morning in the spare room trying to bring a little bit of order to what will be the 'library' and sewing room.  It was so messy that I nearly twisted my ankle trying to get past the boxes that had been conveniently dropped just past the door and forgotten.  It's now nearly 1pm and I'm quiting for the day so I can go grab some lunch and either continue reading my October Miss Marple, At Bertrams, or (most likely) whack in a season of The Vampire Diaries and veg out for the rest of the afternoon.

Looking out over the farmland behind my place!

On the reading front, I finished my September Miss Marple in a few hours.  Enjoyed it more that I thought I would, but I can't believe how much the Miss Marple TV adaptations play fast and loose with the source material.  I'm down to my final three books for the year, and while some books were adapted quite closely - others... only vaguely.  Hopefully in the future the BBC will remake all the Marples in the style of And Then There Were None as that was beautifully designed and filmed.

Apart from these two Agatha Chrisite's, I have only started reading the All Souls Trilogy as October means Halloween Reads is back on again.  Like the LOTR trilogy for fantasy fans, I think this has become a yearly reread around this time of year.  I love the way the story unfolds over the trilogy, and while I don't think it ended with all my questions answered, I do love reading A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night.

Couldn't resist these gorgeous Halloween Jack-o-antern lights!

Luckily my first lot of Book Depository orders have arrived at the new address.  One is a bind up of the first two Aunt Dimity books that I ordered last month only to have the order cancelled and refunded as they were out of stock of this very book.  However, when I saw it recently I ordered it again and managed to get a copy! (It's now out of stock again).  The final book in the Kylie Chan series arrived as well, can't believe that Black Jade is the final time we'll see these characters.  Thankfully there are nine books in the series that I can reread any time I get the urge to see Emma and Xuan Wu, but still, I'll miss them.

Still having trouble finding all the books I'd like to read soon as the bookshelves are a total mess (and I won't be unpacking any more 'book' boxes until I get the current mess under control), so I'll go with whatever strike the Halloween spirit in me.

Until next time, 

Coming Soon - Review of All Souls Trilogy

image made by me

In the spirit of Halloween I pulled out my copy of A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness and found myself, once again, lost in the world of witches and vampires, daemons and magic.  I marathoned the trilogy over three days, and today I am feeling a little bereft as I leave that world.  So to help me with my book hangover, I decided to do a review of the trilogy for anyone who has thought about picking it up.

I'll try to avoid any major spoilers - or at least warn you.

Oh, and an important bit of advice to anyone reading considering picking up this trilogy is the reading order.  This is definitely a trilogy where you must start at the beginning.  There will be no skipping ahead, ladies and gentlemen, as you will miss out on vital information that may leave your reading experience a little cattywampus.

So look out for each review as it goes up.  I can't wait to share my feelings and thoughts with you on a trilogy that I just adore.

Until next time,

Time flies

via Shutterstock

I can't believe it's almost Halloween already!  This year is just flying by.  It seems the older I get, the faster the years seem to speed by.  I wish it would slow down... I wonder, who do I call about that?

Anyway, onto other things.  I've been a very bad bookworm the last few weeks.  I have more than a few books that have arrived in the mail - with a few still left to arrive!  And I get to pick up an armful of books over the next few weeks that I have had on layby at a local store (mostly mine, but a couple for Christmas presents).  Soon it won't be a case of buying a new bookcase or two, but moving into a bigger place so I can fit all the needed bookcases.

In other news, I have a few Christmas ideas gelling at the moment.  I want to get back into sewing and quilting (stupid carpal tunnel has prevented me from sewing nearly all year!), but I've found 2 smaller, and quite simple, projects that I will try before attempting something more complicated - and possibly painful.

Speaking of painful, I got in my annual redecorating funk and moved nearly all the furniture and bookcases around 3 weeks ago.  I like the new layout as I can experience morning sunlight in the lounge area once again, and I'm not in a dark corner hiding behind a bookcase when I sit on the sofa.  But I paid for this one-woman-effort with major nerve problems in my wrists.  Thankfully after a day or two the pain subsided - and it was worth it.  I love the open plan look.

Apart from that, not much else has been going on.  I'm waiting to see the surgeon at the hospital to see what they have to say about operating on my wrists (something I'm really not looking forward too), and in the mean time I'm going to try and catch up on some Halloween reading.

Speaking of, I finished the All Souls Trilogy this morning.  Absolutely adore it.  I have re-read the trilogy at least four, perhaps five?, times.  The only problem is that there are so many unanswered questions that I'm hoping Deborah Harkness is planning another book to resolve all the loose threads.  I don't care if it's 10 years in the character's futures... I just need to know! 

{Hmmm... note to self: perhaps a review is in order?}

Anyway, I'd better scoot and get on with my long list of chores.

Until next time,

 

PS - Oh, I forgot to mention that I won my first ever giveaway (online)!  Allen & Unwin were having a spring clean and I won a book on Instagram.  Was so excited.  I had nominated to get the book, Prick, but somehow ended up with Undermajor Domo Minor?  Caused a few minutes of confusion, but the synopsis sounded very intriguing.  Hope to get to it in November.

Top 5 Wednesday - Halloween Recommendations

Happy Halloween, my lovelies!

Welcome once again to another Top 5 Wednesday.  This week we are looking at our top 5 Halloween recommendations.  Whether or not you like to have the fright of your life, or just want to get into the Halloween spirit, books can play an important role in getting your inner-imp all fired up.  So here is a list of what I plan to be reading in the coming days leading up to Halloween...

Wicked as They Come  by Delilah S. Dawson

With steampunk hunks and a twisted atmosphere it's a winner - plus it's got Blud-bunnies!!

The Woman in Black - Susan Hill

 OMG!  So good.  This is a Victorian Gothic/Haunted House deal.

{PS, the movie of this is way creepy ;-D }

 The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman

Such a fabulous book.  Eerie and mysterious.  A fast, action packed story.

 Maplecroft - Cherie Priest

 Just arrived in the mail, and can't wait to read for Halloween ;-D 
Lizzy Borden and demons... hmmmm

Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K. Hamilton
This is the first book in the series, but it has everything!  Vampires, zombies, shapeshifters,
witches, necromancers, fae - and not the nice kind! - and anything else you can think of ;-D

WARNING
 Not for children or readers under 18!
Seriously, this series is full of MATURE CONTENT and does have graphic violence
 - and from book 6 there is are sex scenes (very graphic icky scenes from book 10 onwards)

So these are the books I'll be reading this Halloween.  I hope you found something you might like to try this spooky season.  Leave a link to your favourite Halloween Reads in the comment section below, I'd love to see what you're reading this Halloween.

And remember, this series was created by the lovely Lainey at GINGERREADSLAINEY and I'll include a link to the Goodreads group if you would also like to participate {here}

Until next time,