July Book Order

Hi! It's been a few days since I've been online.  I've just been so busy lately spending money on books ;-D

In the last week I have spent more money than I should have - nothing new there - but most of my books were based on recommendations from YouTube reviews.  *Gasp!*  I know!  Odd, huh.  But every review I checked out (The Readables, gingerreadslainey, polandbananasBOOKS, Ariel Bisset, and abookutopia) made these books sound sooooo good that I just couldn't help myself from adding them to my shopping cart!

So what did I get?  Well thank you for asking.  I have 8 books winging their way to me from Book Depository (so much cheaper than buying in Australia!) 

• Ghost Seer - Robin D. Owens
• Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas
• Cast in Flames - Michelle Sagara

 

 

• The Line - J.D. Horn
• Graceling - Kristin Cashore
• The Masterful Mr. Montague - Stephanie Laurens {a guilty pleasure}
• Concealed in Death - J.D. Robb
• Going Once - Sharon Sala {for my mum's b'day}

 

and the last complete season of Doctor Who - again, way cheaper from the UK (included p&h) than in Australia! 

I can't wait for the postie to start knocking on my door when each new book arrives.  Sadly, I already have my eyes on about another 10 books as they are scheduled to be released in the next few weeks.  I'll need a bigger house soon...

Experiencing technical difficulties

Having a frustrating afternoon as I'm trying to get the Related Posts widget all sorted out.  Can't seem to get it working to my satisfaction, so I'm sorry, but for the moment you'll just have to bear with me while I work this out - or get totally frustrated with it and remove it completely!  :-[

If anyone knows how to centre, and reposition the widget so it ends up between above the 'be sure to leave a comment' banner, could you let me know how to fix it?

Pretty please! ;-D

Update - since posting the above, I've removed the widget (once I found it in the code) after I got the irrits with it.  Problem now solved ;-D

Review: The Big Over Easy

The Big Over Easy
A Nursery Crime, Book 1
Jasper Fforde

Published: 6 January, 2006 (this copy)

Thorndike Press, Large Type Hardcover, 594p.
ISBN: 0-7862-8233-9

Meet Detective Inspector Jack Spratt, family mand and head of the Nursery Crime Division, long suffering under the shadow of the flashy Detective Friedland Chymes with his astonishing number of published cases in Amazing Crime Stories.  Spratt is fresh from a spectacular failure to see three wily pigs convicted for the murder of a certain wolf.  The media and tide of public opinion are set squarely against him.  Now, new trouble is brewing.  It's Easter in Reading - a bad time for eggs - and no one can remember the last sunny day.  Ovoid D-class nursery celebrity Humpty Dumpty, minor baronet, lover of women, ex-convict, and former millionaire philanthropist, is found shattered to death. . . 

 

Like The Eyre Affair, The Big Over Easy was a very imaginative and unique way to start a series.  The world building is so well done that you don't even question the differences between the realities, and you would think that having characters from nursery rhymes would jar you out of the reading experience, but Fforde has merged the two so seemlessly that having Humpty Dumpty fall off his wall doesn't seem out of the ordinary.

The characters were well developed.  Jack Spratt is ameniable, yet has some stored anger towards the obnoxious, egotistical and self-righteous Friedland Chymes.  Mary Mary (quite contrary ;-P ) is the new cop on the beat.  Her almost teenage level of adoration of the great Detective Chymes makes you want to slap her at times, but in all Mary is a likeable character and comes through for Jack Spratt in the end.

It is the murder of Humpty that stumped me.  There were theories, plots and subplots that just seemed to keep coming.  Just as Det. Spratt thought he had unmasked the identity of the killer... poof!  New evidence turned up.  Usually I have an idea - or at least a suspect - in mind as to the motive and identity of the killer, but in The Big Over Easy I wasn't even in the ball park!  A great twist at the end turns the entire investigation on it's head.

I won't go into other character summaries as it may spoil your reading experience, but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book.  As an avid reader I still can't believe that it has taken me this long to find Jasper Fforde - thank you YouTube - but I will now be making a space on my bookshelves for the Thursday Next, and now Nursery Crime series.

 

Scary blogger moment

While fiddling around with my Google+ settings I thought I'd accidentally deleted all the photos in the albums for my blog!  OMG!  What the heck did I just do?!  So in panic mode, I started googling to see if there was anything I could do - otherwise it would take months to find all the old photos and upload them again!

After about 15 minutes of shock, it turns out that I had just changed the privacy settings.  An absolute relief, but I'm still slightly shaky now when I think about it.  So if you want to avoid having a truly scary blogger moment - don't touch the privacy settings in Google+ 's Photo albums!

 

Review: Dark Wolf

Dark Wolf
A Carpathian Novel, Book #25
Christine Feehan

Published: 2014

Piatkus, Hardcover, 358p.
ISBN: 978-0-349-40216-1

Skyler Daratrazanoff always recognised the miracle that was Mimitri Tirunul, a man beyond any dream that had ever engaged her nigths.  But she is human.  Vulnerable.  He is Carpathian.  Nearly immortal.  She is nineteen.  He is an ancient.  Yet she holds half of his soul, the light to his darkness.  Without her, he will not survive.  Caught between the two arring species, Dimitri has spent centuries fighting to keep his people free and humans safe.  He has survived honourably when others have chosen to give up their souls.  Now, marked for extermination by the Lycans, Dimitri finds himself alone, and fearing for his life.  But salvation is coming . . .

No Lycan would ever suspect someone like Skyler to mount a secret rescue operation.  A teenage girl.  A human of untested abilities.  But she has something no one else has.  She is predestined for Dimitri - as he is for her.  And there is nothing stronger for Skyler than her desire to see her life-dream come true.  However dangerous it might be . . .

Lost a book

This is one of the most annoying things.  I bought a book that I was sure was the first book in a trilogy because I was certain I had book 2.  On returning home, I looked up the series online, and yes!  The second book cover is very familiar but I can't find it in my book cases anywhere :-(  Nooooooooo!  So now its a case of upending 3 BIG bookcases full of books until I find it... 

I just hope I didn't take it back to my folks house and leave it in my old bookcase there?

 

Book splurge

I spent the last two days visiting family back home.  Got to spend some time with my mum - who is recovering from hip replacement surgery - and, along with my aunt, we went shopping yesterday.  It was a bit of a circus.  Getting my mum in and out of the car and setting up the wheel chair each time, but we all enjoyed the day out.  Got to go to Spotlight and buy some more fabrics.  Thought I'd better do that before hitting the shopping centre (and the bookshops!).

As you can see, I raided the discount book bin at mum's Big W.  There are so many books in that store, compared to my local Big W, so I was actually able to find a few books.  There was one in particular that I was really chuffed to find as it is OOS (out of stock) at all the online book stores that I've tried to buy it from.  So you can imagine my surprise when I plucked Written in Blood by Sheila Lowe out of a pile at the bottom of the bin (I actually found 2!).  I also found two more books in the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn, plus a Joan Hess Claire Mallory book, and the big score was the final book in the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. 

Then last night I remembered the email I'd recieved on Thursday from Book Depository which was for a voucher for an extra 5% off and I just couldn't help myself.  I was going to get another 2 books, but their prices had increased by about $2 each (I'd missed the pre-order period), so I'll just keep them in my wishlist and wait until the prices come down again.  In the end I bought books that were in series I'd been collecting. 

I've been trying to curb my book addiction lately, but as you can plainly see- it doesn't seem to be working all that well.  Next month there are more books coming out in some of the other series I've been getting.  Oy, it's a never ending cycle ;-D

 

Doctor Who is Back!

I'm soooo excited!  Don't forget to cancel your plans, fire up the popcorn and get ready as the Doctor will be back on Australian screens {ABC of course} for the first episode of season 8 on 24th August 2014.

It seems our new Doctor will be exploring a darker side of his nature ;-D  Can't wait!

Review: The Silver Needle

The Silver Needle
A Tea Shop Mystery, Bk 9
Laura Childs

Published: 2008

Berkley Prime Crime, mass market, 260 p.
ISBN: 978-0-425-22676-6

Theodosia Browning and the staff of the Indigo Tea Shop are feeling the heat, and not just because it's August.  The Charleston Film Festival has brought them a busy week of catering jobs - and first up is the opening night gala at the historic Belvedere Theatre.  But the festival starts off with a bang when famous director Jordan Cole is shot on his way to the podium and the entire audience witnesses his death silhouetted across the scrim.

When two of the judges quit, festival organizer Timothy Neville asks Theodosia to stand in.  He also wants her to help him deflect suspicion from his granddaughter, who worked with Cole.  Reluctantly, Theodosia agrees - only to get pulled into an ivestigation as perilous as any big-screen thriller...

As I can't seem to read these book in the order they were written I hope I'm not giving away too many spoilers.  Once again Theo finds herself dragged into the middle of a murder investigation that really has nothing much to do with her - but her soft heart has her delving into matters best left to the professionals - often against her own better judgement!  Emotional blackmail seems to be the running theme when it comes to roping Theo into the business of murder - and everyone around her seems to know it.

Visions in Silver blurb out!

amazing cover!  can't wait to get my hands on it ;-D

Just found the blurb for the upcoming book in The Others series by Anne Bishop.  This is a fabulous series - full of shape-shifters, seers and elementals - and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book.  Visions in Silver, due out 03 March 2015, is the third book in what will hopefully be a series {and not a trilogy!} that follows the struggle of Meg Corbyn, a blood prophet - who has escaped her captors and is trying to make her way in the world - and her often turbulent relationship with Simon Wolfguard.  Althought this series seems to have been slotted into the Young Adult genre, it is a fabulous series no matter what your age.  If you love the Anne Bishop's Black Jewel series, then you'll love The Others too.  So to whet your appetite, here is the blurb...

Phryne Fisher's Back!

I'm so happy that the ABC has finally announced that a 3rd season of Miss Fisher's Murder Mystery will go ahead.  Filming is scheduled to begin in Melbourne in mid-October.  Can't wait to see what happens with Phryne and Jack ;-D

 

Short burst of insanity

Am I crazy or what?!  I just bought 2 Amy Butler patterns from Fishpond.  The much blogged about Weekender Bag, and the Birdie Sling Tote.  They were just so gorgeous.  Enticing me, whispering  "...make me, make meeee!"  So I caved and bought them both.  ;-D

 

A beautiful sunset

Just thought I'd post this photo I took from my kitchen window last night.  Before moving out here, I was always taking photos of the sunsets from the back landing of our family home.  But after moving, it just doesn't enter my mind as I don't have any reason to be out there at this time of night.  However last night I noticed a beautiful colour washing onto the kitchen wall as I was getting ready to make dinner, and was lucky enough to catch the last of the sunset with my camera.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did ;-D

  

PS - this was the actual colours in the night sky.  I haven't edited or altered the colours in any way!

 

More new books

Hi again!  With all the cold weather blues, I forgot to add the new books my postie was so kind to deliver to my door last Friday afternoon to one of my posts.  I've been waiting on tenderhooks for the last book in the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, Book of Life, to come out - just one more sleep left! - but before I buy it I wanted to re-read A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night.  That's all fine and good, but my copy of Shadow of Night is the huge trade paperback, and it's just way too bulky to put into my handbag when I go out.  Then when I was online at Book Depository I came across the US cover for the mass market size.  I loved the cover design so I bought it. 

Reading list is in

Just wanted to quickly post the list of books chosen for my book club's July reading list.  It was a tough choice, but we decided on three new books by authors none of us had read - which was a miracle in itself! - so we'll all be on even footing this time.

Can't wait to get The Woodcutter.  I love to read the way people adapt fairytales, and this sounds so interesting.  Demon Hunting in Dixie was on my list until it got cut (I had too many), so I'm glad it popped up.  Finally What's a Witch to Do? - this is another book that I've looked at periodically - but never bought.  I think this should be a good cross-section of reading.  It's been absolutely freezing here the last couple of days - and nights! - that having a couple of books to read while nesting on the couch in a blanket is a good excuse to stay inside.