Mid January Reading Wrap Up

Why, oh, why did I procrastinate and put off filming stuff for BookTube?

It's been such an effort to try and make this video as I had to do so much editing.  It is surprising how little time it takes to forget just how to talk to a camera.  Unfortunately, I had so many stumbles and moments where I couldn't find my big girl words that it's embarrassing, but I'm determined to get back in the swing of things.

Since I filmed and edited this on Wednesday, I wasn't able to add in my stats for the last couple of days.  So far January has been a massive month for reading.  As of this morning, Saturday 19th, I have read 30 book and have cracked the 9000 word barrier. Yep, 9000+ words have been read in 19 days.  I can't believe I have been quite that prolific. If I can keep up this pace for 2019 I think it will be my best ever year on Goodreads!

I have a few more (shorter) videos I hope to get up before the end of January, but until then thank you for watching, and until I see you next time,

 

Reading Goals for 2019

Well, here we are.  Back at the start of a new year.

I can't believe all the books I've got lined up to be read this year, but I'm going to give it a red hot crack.  There are so many books sitting on my shelves that have been there for years, and 2019 I've decided, is going to be the year that I purge my shelves.  It's either read it, or get rid of it.

Wish me luck, folks.  I'm definitely going to need it.

Thanks for watching, and until I see you next time,

 

Big Book Challenge 2019

I'm trying to get out my final videos of 2019, so bare with me ;-D

This is the first of my reading challenges for 2019.  There are only two rules for the Big Book Challenge:

• must come off my TBR shelves
• must be over 1000 pages (although anything over 980 will be considered)

That's it!  They can be of any genre, hardcover or paperback, and published last year, or 300 years ago.

This challenge started in, I want to say 2015 (?), and I found this to be a great way to get those hefty tomes I kept overlooking, or ignoring, off my overflowing TBR pile.  This year I chose two translated classics - a complete coincidence I assure you ;-D

Let me know in the comments if you have read either of these books as I think I'll need the encouragement.  I'd also love to hear what your reading goals are for 2019.

Thanks for watching, and until I see you next time,

 

My Goodreads stats are in!

I can't believe it's only days until 2019!  The older I get, the faster the year seems to fly by.

Today I'm talking about my Goodreads stats.  This is just an overview, and not an indepth discussion on any of the titles mentioned.  I had a lot of fun with my reading this year - which I will discuss in my Best & Worst Reads of 2018 (coming soon!) - and have already planned out some of my 2019 challenges, so finger's crossed.

I hope you have a wonderful holidays, and a fabulous New Year.  Thank you for watching, commenting, liking and subscribing, and until I see you next time,

 

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas

Well, it's that time of the year, again!  The tree is up, the presents are wrapped, and it's promising to be a mild sunny day for Christmas.

Thank you to everyone who has liked and commented on my videos, or subscribed to my channel.  It means a lot to me, and I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas (or Happy Holiday's if you don't celebrate Christmas).  I look forward to making more videos in 2019.

And until I see you guys next time,

Just a quick update

Hi guys,

Sorry this is so rushed, but I’m on my iPad and all this hen-pecking typing is driving me nuts.

As you can see, I’m taking a little time out, but plan to be back after this heatwave and local bushfires calm down.

Thank you for watching (and subscribing! 🥰), and until I see you next time,

100 subscribers... really?!

Really.  Yes, I had to check my email twice, but it's true - I have now reached the milestone of 100 followers ;-D

I can't believe that I achieved even this small goal.  BookTube is just something I do for fun, and to connect with other book lovers.  To know that you are reaching other people who love books, and don't mind listening to completely unscripted ramblings is amazing!

Thank you (for the 100th time!) for watching, and subscribing to my channel.  I hope to be talking about all the bookish things for a quite awhile ;-D

And until I see you next time,

 

Cloak & Dagger Christmas TBR

Hello, my lovelies.  Sorry, but this is just going to be a very short post today.

Yes, I am taking part in the Cloak and Dagger Christmas readalong - and I am sooo excited!  Plus, being a glutton for punishment I am also modifying this TBR for the 12 Days of Cozmas readalong as well.  Thank God everyone decided to do cosy mystery readalongs otherwise I would be royally screwed ;-D

Let me know in the comments if you are going to be participating in either (or both?) readalongs, and what you will be reading.

Thank you for watching, and until I see you next time...

 

Bookmail, Funko's and a New Camera!

OMG!  I can't believe I actually spent so much 😵

Yes, I am now coming to you with the Canon EOS 200D, and I am beyond excited about finally owning a DSLR.  I've been wanting one for years, but could never justify the expense (soooo expensive in Australia!), however when my old trusty Nikon Coolpix started to fail I decided I needed to invest in a quality camera that was versatile and would allow me to use it for various projects.

Do I love it?  YES!  Am I freaked out by spending so much? YEEESSS!

Anyhoo, it will take me a little while to get myself sorted out with a filming setup, so don't worry if a few video's look funky, I'm working on it.

Thanks for watching, and until I see you next time

 

Reading Update, November 2018

Hello, my lovelies!

It's been a bit longer than I'd anticipated.  Things are just all over the place here.  At the beginning of last week I undertook the massive task of scrubbing all the floors in the house - and promptly started paying for it with my Achilles troubles flaring up, as well as my back issues roaring back to life... and we won't even talk about what happened with my carpal tunnel.  

Results... clean floor,  but I was stuck in bed for a few days.

This did, however, lend itself to getting some more books read.  I had already earmarked an Agatha Christie or two to pick up, and with some of my most anticipated books coming out, well I was perfectly content to become a hermit for a few days ;-D

Luckily, by the end of the week I was feeling pretty good, and was able to resume normal day-to-day activities.  Picked up some boxed sets of Poirot (series 4, 6 and 7&8 which are combined), and had a great weekend just flaked out on the couch with the AC running (mini-heatwave here in QLD), while I enjoyed revisiting with Poirot.  We won't even talk about the new remake of Murder on the Orient Express, because I just can't.

Anyway, I have some plans for future videos that I'm trying to nail down at the moment.  Still, there's always time to pick up a book, and I have quite a few I'd like to get read before the end of the year - but that's another video ;-D

Thank you for watching, and until I see you next time

 

Back in the swing of things

This heatwave is ridiculous!

Hi there, my lovelies!  This is only going to be short so I can get hurry back to the AC in the living room as it's getting very very hot and muggy.  Seriously, what's up with this weather?

Anyway, I don't have any hauls planned for the next couple of videos, but I'm hoping some Top 5, or perhaps a bookshelf tour might be on the cards.  Let me know below if there is a specific video you would like me to do, and I'll put it on the list ;-D

Okay, I'm roasting in this room.  Thank you for watching, and until I see you next time...

 

Halloween Reading Fail

Yep, I'm calling it.  October was a dud of a reading month.  I only got one book from my Halloween Reads/Victober TBR read, Jane Eyre, and that was it until the last two days of the month when I picked up Trail of Lightning and The Palace Job.

What happened?  I had such plans... well, Netflix happened.  Yes, I joined the Netflix cult and became engrossed with all the Halloween goodness that was on offer.  I binged Ghost Wars, Superstition (great premise), The Haunting of Hill House and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina when they dropped, and whatever spooky movies or series that caught my eye.  Let's face it, Netflix is addictive.

Thankfully, I seem to be past the first flush of the Netflix thrill, and have already read a few more books since I filmed this on the 2nd of November.  Perhaps I'll even pick up a King book this month? ;-D

Anyway, with a heatwave on the horizon here in QLD (predicting 37°c today) I should be able to get a bit more reading done while I sit in the comfort of my lounge room and bask in the wonder that is the AC.  The weather is just all over the place at the moment.  Usually not this hot until end of December, start of new year.

Is anyone else finding the weather unseasonable?  Let me know below if you are, and until I see you next time,

More Stephen King bookmail

When I went up to the post office this morning, I didn't expect to get a pile of Stephen King stuff.  It makes me so happy when I can add more Kingly items to my collection ;-D

Although some of the items mentioned in the video were bought from Amazon (US), they were actually ordered through Amazon AU as Amazon still won't let Australians order from any of the international Amazon sites.  I've got to say, being geoblocked from all the other Amazon sites sucks severely.  The small pool of items Australia has access to from overseas on the site is very frustrating - especially when an item is available on just about every other site, but Australia's!

Anyway, that's a rant for another day.

Of the film adaptations that arrived in the mail today, I'm most excited to watch 'Salem's Lot (1979), and Silver Bullet (with Corey Haim).  I've now read both the books that these movies are adapted from and I'm intrigued to see how the adaptations used the source materials.

There are still more items winging their way to me, but I just couldn't wait to tear into the packages so there will be another haul towards the end of October, early November.

So that's it for today.  Let me know what your favourite Stephen King movie is, or what book would you most like to see adapted.  I always love to hear what fellow Constant Readers think about any screen adaptations.

Thank you for watching, and until I see you next time...

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...

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,