My (late) #Victober TBR

Hello there stranger!

Yes, it is I.  It is hard to believe that I have been absent from BookTube, and this blog, for about 2 months.  I have had a rather difficult time with my health - darn that chronic pain! - and that has affected my ability to a) film videos, and b) to sit down for hours to edit them.

However, I couldn't let Victober pass without at least getting a TBR out there... so, here we go.

I have listed all the links to the hosts, and other various sites/videos, for your Victober pleasure, so I won't rehash all that.  But, I will tell you about the books I have decided to read for this Victober.  The first is ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴍᴇɴ ɪɴ ᴀ ʙᴏᴀᴛ by Jerome K. Jerome.  Although I only read this book at the start of the year... oops, last August acutally!, and I still think about some of the passages.  The language is beautiful, and the characters are memorable.  I love the lazy storyline, it is so simple an idea and executed so well that I'm surprised that I hear so little about this book online.  A great way to spend a few hours.

Next up is ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴍᴇɴ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴜᴍᴍᴇʟ, a sequel to his much earlier novel.  Not surprising since I loved their first outing up the Thames.  This time round, the hypochondriac trio are off to the Black Forest on a cycling tour, with Montmorency in tow.  I don't know anything else about it, and I'm going to go into this with no expectations apart from expecting more beautiful prose.

And finally, there is the underrated, and new to me, offering of Elizabeth Burgoyne Corbett with ɴᴇᴡ ᴀᴍᴀᴢᴏɴɪᴀ. Published in 1889, it is a contemporary of Three Men in a Boat, and as I perused the synopsis, I immediately stopped as soon as I saw 'dystopian', and I'm going into this with no idea what it is about other than that.

So, those are the three books that I'm going to be reading this October.  Fingers crossed it all goes well, and I will be devouring other Victober videos so if you have made one, or have posted something on your blog about it, then leave me a link in the comments.

A big thank you for watching, and until I see you next time,

 

Last Bookmail in July

Hi there!

I finally fired up the ol' desktop today and while I was waiting for Norton to update all the anti-virus things, I thought I'd edit another video for you all.

July was a great month for bookmail - I only wish I hadn't ordered all this myself! There are still some items that are currently MIA, however, I have high hopes that the AbeBooks will arrive in the next week or so... but that Powell's order from the US is still not here, and I am getting rather antsy about it.

Okay, I'm off now.  Hope your July reading was wonderful, and that you found something new and interesting, or rediscovered an old favourite.  Thanks for watching, and until I see you next time,

 

October Reading Update

So, my October TBR is coming along pretty well.  I am taking part in #Victober this year, as well as my own Halloween Reads challenge.

Victober 

• Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
• Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell

Halloween Reads

• Thornyhold - Mary Stewart
• Pet Sematary - Stephen King
• Four Past Midnight - Stephen King

Of these five books, I have so far completed Thornyhold and Jane Eyre - both on the 1st of October - but since then I have not picked up anything else from my set TBR.  I did read Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness (which I bought on the 28th September), and one historical romance on my iPad, but since then I signed up for a trial of Netflix, and I have been hooked! ;-D

This weekend I am planning on starting one of the four short novels from Four Past Midnight, maybe Secret Window, Secret Garden?, anyway, I won't be missing out on any Stephen King because I can now watch Gerald's Game and 1922 movies that they adapted for Netflix.

A proper review video for Jane Eyre, Thornyhold, Time's Convert and whichever Stephen King I finish, will be up later in the month.  Until then, I'm heading back to catch up on some Netflix.

See you later,

 

#victober TBR

Yes, I have decided to toss my tiara into the ring and join #Victober 2018.

My plans were to start slowly and in Jane Eyre I found a book that actually fulfills all five challenges set by the hosts.

• A book by a hosts favourite Victorian author - check ✔︎
• Read a Victorian novel with a proper pronoun in the title (persons name/place name) - check ✔︎
• Read a book published in either the first or last decade of the Victorian era - check ✔︎  Jane Eyre was first published in 1847
• Read a novel written by a woman under a male pseudonym or published anonymously - check ✔︎ 
• Read a novel and watch a screen adaptation - check ✔︎

Victober was created by Katie Lumsden over at BOOKS AND THINGS, and is co-hosted this year by Ange from BEYOND THE PAGES, KATE HOWE, and Lucy from LUCY THE READER, who all have Victober Announcement video's up on YouTube and I have linked them above if you are interested in watching them, or if you would like to participate this year. 

So, as well as reading Jane Eyre, I will also be attempting the book chosen for the readalong which is Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell.  Like Jane Eyre, I have been meaning to read this for years to no avail.  Looks like Victober is the kick in the butt I need to finally start these classics.

Finger's crossed that I can complete both books.  I'll be updating my reading progress as the month goes along.  These won't be the only books I'll be reading in October.  I also want to get in some Halloween Reads and a little bit of Kingoween as well.  Looks like I'll have a lot on my plate for next month.

Wish me luck!, and until I see you next time.

August Book Haul, Part One

It's been a few weeks since I've felt like filming, or editing, a video.  However I have bought so many books during August that I really needed to get my butt in gear and film something, so welcome to the first of three book haul videos!

Today's video is just the new books I bought.  These either came from Book Depository, Booktopia, or from my local shopping centre.

Let me know in the comments if you have read any of these, and what you thought of them.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on these classics.  And until next time,

August Book Haul, Part 2

Well, this is odd.  Who would have thought that I'd get Part 2 of my August Book Haul up so quickly? ;-D

Thankfully I was able to film this on my small camera instead of the webcam (why are they such  poor quality?) and after a bit of editing, voila, Part 2 is up.  This video includes the romances I found, some miscellaneous titles (dystopian, non-fiction, horror/fantasy, etc.), and concludes with the small stash of cosy mysteries I was able to find.

Let me know in the comments if you have read any of these.  I'd really like to hear your thoughts on them, and until I see you next time,

Reading Progress July

Just keeping it short today.  It's been almost 2 weeks since I even turned on my computer, so getting it filmed and edited in a few hours was tiring.  I haven't read as much as I would have liked to, but what I did read I enjoyed, so that's a bonus.

I will be continuing on with my The Green Mile read-a-long next week.  Almost half way through and I'm loving it.  Will definitely have to watch the movie afterwards.  It's one of the few Stephen King film adaptations I've never watched - even though the blu-ray has been gathering dust on the dvd bookcase for nearly 18 months *hangs head in shame*

Anyway, I hope to start The Palace Job this weekend, or perhaps next week, and I have to film an unboxing because some bookmail arrived after I had edited this video.  Isn't that always the way? But I might start one of those books first.  Decisions, decisions....

So that's all for now.  I hope you're enjoying your reading and until I see you next time,

 

The Classic Book Tag

Well, hello there!

Yes, I thought it was about time that I dipped my little toes into the book tag waters.  There are so many tags floating around booktube that I can happily paddle in these waters for ages without running out of topics.

I didn't tag anyone, because to be honest, I think I'm the last person on BookTube to actually do this - but if you want to try this tag, please feel free... I tag YOU! ;-D

Anyway, I'm still editing another bookmail video so I'll say goodbye for now.

And until next time,

 

Eff-all Reading Update

Well, hello there stranger!

Yep, once again I got caught up in real life and two weeks have flown by before I've had a chance to turn on the desktop computer to edit and upload a video.  Thankfully nothing much has been happening reading wise.  I've been more dedicated to watching the latest season of Wynonna Earp that I picked up at Sanity just over a week ago.

I have a few reads planned.  I need to read The Island of Dr. Moreau before the end of April for my A Classic A Month challenge, of which I have fallen behind, and then in May it's time for everyone's favourite Austen, Mansfield Park - saying yah sarcastically.

Thankfully it looks like the weather has finally decided to behave and act like we're heading in to Winter.  It's almost May and I'm still walking around in singlet tops and shorts!  Which means that it's nearly time to get comfy on the couch with a good book/movie, a warm cosy blanket, a cat - or three - and a hot cup of tea and spend some quality time indoors out of the cold.

So now that my video is finally up and live (after internet dramas this morning), I'm now going to catch up on some of the household chores I was supposed to be doing this afternoon.  So, until next time,

November wrap up

Hello my lovelies!  I hope you are having a better day than I am.  It is quite chilly and pouring rain - in November! - when it usually is hot enough to fry an egg under the blistering Australian sun.  Don't get me wrong, I love this kind of weather... however, it is becoming clear that the weather has no idea what it is supposed to be doing ;-D

November has been quite a good reading month for me.  I've had a very very late order arrive, ticked a few more books off my TBR list, and bought a few more books in current series.  Favourite reads of the month so far have been White Hot and Wildfire by Ilona Andrews, as well as Hardcore 24 by Janet Evanovich (even though it didn't get a high rating from me).

Biggest dud was Come Sundown by Nora Roberts.  Can't believe how much this didn't enthuse me.  Perhaps it's because I loved Obsession (ignore the first 80 pages) and have reread that so many times since it was published.  Oh well, will keep my fingers crossed that Year One will redeem her in December.

I've managed to make my way through two more Agatha Christies.  Murder on the Orient Express and After the Funeral were quick and compelling reads.  Not my favourites, but not too shabby either.

Still have a lot of books sitting on my ever expanding TBR pile.  Still have to get around to Artemis and Vigil before the end of the year and am saving the Decameron for next years Big Book project.

I think that's about it.  I need to get off the computer as the storm has picked up and the rain in bucketing down.  Don't need to be online if the power craps out ;-D

So until I see you next time,

 

Really late bookmail

What the hell is going on with the postal service at the moment?  I finally received some mail today that was as much as 6 weeks overdue (Misty's letter) and my order from Awesome Books was 2 weeks late.  Even my Funko and Booktopia order (in the flat oversized parcel) were late.  Is it the pre-Christmas postal panic?  I don't know - and I don't particularly care.  I am only worried about my orders getting to me in a reasonable amount of time!

Okay, now that that mini rant is out of my system - I actually didn't indulge in a hissy fit in the video - I will say that for once, all of the used books I ordered from Awesome Books arrived in very good condition.  There is always one item that looks like it's been dragged through the bushes backwards, but today, not a problem.

So out of everything that I opened this morning, the biggest surprise came with the green Harper Perennial spine you can see above on the video titlecard, it is sooo floopy and very much smaller than other editions of the book I own.  I'm trying so hard not to go into video spoilers, but if you've read the book you'll know how much of a chunker it is.  On the plus side, I now no longer have to worry about emailing sellers asking for refunds (and then quibbling about the refund of postage as well) so that's a huge plus.

I was also going to haul the books I discovered at a local thrift shop last week (and I have been posting images on IG) but that would have made this video super long so I might just leave for now.

Anyway, so happy to finally have all my missing orders here, I'm only waiting on two books I won on Twitter comps over the past two weeks.  I'm now going to clean up this mess around my desk and try to find a spot for them on my shelves.  Wish me luck ;-D

And until I see next time,

 

A quick reading update

Yes, this is just a really quick update on what's on my desk at the moment.  I am currently rereading Archangel's Heart by Nalini Singh for the umpteenth time (I adore this series, but the author is running out of characters to centre her books on!) and after I finish AH I'll be picking up Archangel's Viper, again.  This is one of those series that I can reread over and over again without becoming bored.

Also, I did walk up to the Post Office after filming this only to be told that they hadn't even opened the bag containing parcels, let alone got them sorted *le sigh*  I hate it when this happens.  Looks like I'll be making an extra trip.  Good thing my PO is quite close so it's only a few minutes walk, but still... I don't want to do it.

So, my video is edited and posted, I've put my laundry on the line and now I need to get my butt in gear and start some general cleaning so the bedrooms don't look like a bomb has gone off in them.

Cheerio for now, and until I see you next time

 

And the books trickle in

This is the week that the books from my PEL binge should arrive - and indeed they have started to trickle in.  I walk down the road to my cute little post office every day to check the mail and yesterday the first of the PEL editions turned up.  Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and David Copperfield by Charles Dickens both arrived in amazing condition.  

However, the copy of Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy was in less than desirable condition {as you can tell from the webcam shot above}.  The front cover was all bent and smushed and there is obvious crinkling of the pages throughout the book.  Not what I expected when I ordered this

Thankfully today's package made up for that disappointment.  All the books that arrived in the post this morning were in excellent condition Hard Times, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Mill on the Floss and Sons and Lovers - and all had that rubberized texture that I love!  So I will bury my disappointment over the poorer condition of Tess because, truthfully, that could have happened while the books were in transit, and instead bookgasm over my growing PEL collection.

I can't wait to get my new bookcase so I can line up all these amazing spines on the shelf ;-D

Do you collect these gorgeouse PEL editions?  Let me know what your favourite cover design is.  The covers I'd love to get my hands on are Pamela by Samuel Richardson and The Monk by Matthew Lewis... oh, and Bleak House, The Pickwick Papers, Martin Chuzzlewit and The Old Curiosity Shop by Dickens.  Hmmm, Daniel Deronda by George Eliot and perhaps The Return of the Native by Hardy.  Okay, basically I want most of them! ;-D  But unfortunately they are Out of Print (OOP) and waaaaay too expensive to purchase second hand (over $200!).  Too rich for my blood.

Hmmm, I sense another post in my future - why aren't all the PEL titles still available?  ;-D

I'm off to reorganize my shelves so I can fit these babies in, but until next time,

 

Pre-birthday splurge

Yeah.  So, this was a thing over the weekend.  Money has been a little tight - still have to pay my electricity and telephone bill this week - but with my birthday coming up I wanted to treat myself to a book or two since my family don't buy me books because they are never sure what I've got, or want to read.  

Enter the smart phone.  I was browsing the Book Depository and Awesome Books websites on Saturday night and after about an hour of idle searching it was a shock to discover that I had 10 books heading my way!  Okay, two were for my mum for Mother's Day, but daammmmn!

Sunday afternoon.  I'm online again and poddling about Awesome Books - again! - adding books to my wishlist (and the cart) when I hit on the 'genius' idea of buying up some more Penguin English Library (PEL) editions to add to my collection.  Yeah, really bright idea.  Bought a further 8 books, and then jumped on AbeBooks to find some OOP PEL editions and ended up spending more money as I found two (and bought a third book anyway)!

So, here is a list of what I bought on this birthday binge of shame...

As you can see, I must have lost my mind for a few hours!  In truth, these are books that I've wanted for a long time - and that I will be reading in the future - so I don't feel too guilty about buying them as a majority of them are used books in great condition.  However, I probably could have timed this splurge better ;-D

In the meantime, I have not been reading as much as I would like.  Everyday chores like laundry, mowing the lawn, gardening, cooking, etc., have been a priority.  Hoping to read Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen this month.  I read Emma last May and loved it, so finger's crossed I have the same reaction to S&S.

Since I've spent way too much recently on books, I'm going to concentrate more on my massive TBR pile (300+ books I think) and get a chunk of that read before I allow myself another book order.  I'll settle for reading 20-30 titles.  It will be a challenge, but with winter only a few weeks away, and the colder nights, I'm hoping to snuggle up with some good books over the coming weeks - there's nothing on TV anyway ;-D

Have you had a huge book splurge?  If you have, let me know how many books you got so I don't feel so bad ;-D

Until next time,

Autumn is finally here

{as you can tell from the photo above, it's later when I finished this post.  Sky was so lovely to photograph against}

Good morning, my lovelies!  Today is a beautiful chilly autumn day, you know the kind - with painfully blue skies and not a cloud to be seen.  Been quite a while since we've had any autumn-worthy weather, so I thought I'd take advantage of it and try some outdoor book photo's later ;-D

On the plus side, my wrist is getting better slowly.  There is still a hard part under the scar, but I can now type more comfortably - but it means that I've had to spend the morning trying to update my Goodreads book challenge as I've been M.I.A there for the past 4 and a bit weeks!  Oops ;-D

I've read a few more titles since my last update, including Boyfriend from Hell by Jamie Quaid {review to come}, and discovering that the book I bought the other day from the Big W bargain bin is the same book that was delivered about 2 weeks ago - only with a better cover!  Oh well, such are the problems of a bookaholic.

My May title for A Year of Marple arrived today.  Sadly I can now no longer put off reading what is one of my least favourite of the adaptations.  Fingers crossed that I find the book more palateable.  And I have only read the first few pages of my Classic a Month book, Emma by Jane Austen.  It's not looking very good on the book challenge front, is it, if I can't get my butt into gear and read my designated TBR.  See, this is why I don't like setting a TBR for myself as I am a mood reader.  Oh well, at least I can tick them off my list and will be able to confidently say that "yes, I've actually read that" by the end of the year ;-D

Okay, have to quite now as I'm getting more than a few "Stop. . . NOW!" messages from my wrist.  I've learnt the hard way to stop when the aching sets in.  Will update the blog as I can, but will be posting pictures of my reading life on Instagram if you want to know what I'm reading.

Until next time,

Picks for February

It's the start of the month, so it is time to choose the next book in my Classic a Month as well as the next book in my A Year of Marple challenges.

For the classic I ended up going with The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  I have seen the amazing movie by Baz Luhrmann.  The world he envisioned was so beautiful and full of colour.   Can't wait to see what I think of the book, and if it evokes a similar response for me.

The next book in my A Year of Marple is The Body in the Library.  Perhaps my favourite adaptation, along with The Mirror Crack'd, I am a looking forward to reading it, but a little hesitant because of my reaction to The Murder at the Vicarage.  I really did not like reading the story from anyone else's POV.  All the adaptations, whether on TV or a movie, are always from Miss Marple's POV.  I am having trouble following the story through another characters eyes.  

So, those are the next two books in my self-imposed book challenges for 2016.  I still haven't cracked open Gone with the Wind yet.  I'm a little worried about that brick ;-D

Until next time,

Off to a great start

Last night's reading quandary... went with Copper Beach

After a blah reading month in December, I was surprised to find that January has been a huge reading months so far.  Although I've only read 4 new books, I have re-read 2 series to far!  Yes, I had a case of the I-must-read-that-again's, and devoured both the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh, and the Arcane Society/Harmony series by Jayne Ann Krentz (Jayne Castle).

"This is how we blog from bed, blog from bed, blog from bed..."  using EvieNyxx as the keyboard holder

I have been aided in this reading frenzy since due to the fact that I've been laid up for a little while with a bad back, and achilles tendonitis.  Not good for everyday chores that need to be done - don't even start with the vacuuming or hanging out the washing! - but reading books by the handful has helped me pass the time and forget about all my aches and pains.

On the Murder at the Vicarage front, I'm still making my way through at a snail's pace.  Up to page 72 now.  We have a murder, and now with the introduction of Inspector Slack (still an arrogant asshat), it should become a faster read.

My classic for the month, Playing Beatie Bow, is still sitting on top of the basket, waiting for me to pick it up.  Will have to get on that soon as January is just flying by.

Have three new books that should arrive in the post later this week.  Ordered Les Miserables (I know, but I just couldn't resist it), and two of the four books I was missing in the Psy-Changeling series, Shield of Winter and Shards of Hope.  Want to get them all finished before the next release later this year.

Surrounded on all sides by cats!  This is Phrynekinns.

Have a huge stash of books on lay-by in town that I will be picking up later this month, but they will need a post of their own there are so many of them.  Then my self-imposed book ban goes into effect.  I can only buy books that are part of a series that I am already reading - and not the start of a new series - and no stand alone books either, unless they are for a book challenge.  Thrift shop books are a no-go, and unless I get books as gifts, my one and only 'splurge' will be the annual Bookarama held in October.  Thankfully I read a lot of series, so I'm not going to be totally book deprived.

So, that's all from me.  I hope you're having a great January and curling up with a good book.

Until next time,

2016 Book Challenges

Looks like this is the year for self imposed book/reading challenges.  I have a couple of the books that I'd like to get to this year, and hopefully by posting this list it will give me the motivation to finally read them!

First challenge is...

This really needs to happen.  I have loved the TV adaptations (first with Joan Hickson, then Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie) for so long that I can't believe that I haven't actually read any of the books... even though I own most of them!  So embarrassing.

T5W || All the pretty little fonts

This week on T5W, we are exploring our favourite title fonts.  Why do we buy the books we do?  Is it because of the cover images only, or does the title design (i.e., the font) also sucker you into an unexpected purchase?  Let's see.

I spent a couple of days pondering the covers of some of my favourite books, and my TBR shelves, trying to figure out what made these books so attractive to me.  I decided that in the end, yes, the font of the title - and it's design, relative to the cover art - does play a big part in why I'm attracted to the book, because as much as I wish I could say otherwise, I will go out of my way to find the exact edition that I find most attractive (within reason ;-D).

#5 - Love the use of colour, and the playful design that matches the cover art illustrations.  The mixture of fonts also makes it quite pleasing to looks at.

#4 - ah, Locke Lamora.  Part of the reason I bought this UK edition was the fonts (well, that and the cover art).  It gives me the impression of a mysterious story and I'm hoping to get to this soon.

#3 - I couldn't resist this edition of Lady Audley's Secret when I first saw it online.  I eventually tracked down a copy on AbeBooks as I loved the swirly lettering that was covering the page.  And, yes, the title (embellishments included) is all one continuous line - I checked!

#2 - it was a toss up between this edition of The Shining, and one of the Knickerbocker Classics, and I chose The Shining because I found the dual fonts to be a little more engaging than only using  a simple, clean font.  For some reason this works for me.

#1 - what can I say?  This is such an amazingly beautiful font for a title.  I enjoy calligraphy, and Illuminated Manuscript, so I am in bookworm heaven looking at this.  I don't have a copy at the moment as I'm waiting for the postman to deliver it, but I had to include it as my top title font.

Thank you for checking out my T5W list.  Which of these books do you think has the best title font?  I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment below.  

As always, T5W was created by the lovely Lainey over at GINGERREADSLAINEY and I'll include a link to the Goodreads group {HERE} if you would also like to participate. 

Until next time,