Family Emergency Update

I am so happy to be able to say that my mum is out of the CCU (Cardiac Care Unit) and is currently in the rehab ward of the hospital while she undergoes some physio in preparation of her coming home.

As you can well imagine, the last 2 weeks have been a complete nightmare.

However, now that my mum is on the mend, I will try to get my butt back into gear and start filming some new series I hope to include on my channel.  It won't happen this week as I'm taking this slowly, but I hope by the end of May I should be uploading more regularly.

Thank you once again to everyone who commented on my video with their well wishes, they were very much appreciated.

So, my lovelies, until I see you next time

 

Lucky Dip Questions 01 - Why Time Doesn't Fly in Stephanie Plum?

Okay, I don't think this Lucky Dip Question was solved by any means, but it's something that I've wondered about for a while now.  Why does time move so differently for some characters in the Stephanie Plum series?

If you have read the books, and notice this weird phenomenon, then please let me know what your thoughts are about this odd little quirk in the comments below. 

And until I see you guys next time,

 

Series Recommendation #01 - Miss Fortune Mystery

Hi there!

It's been a hot minute since I have been able to either film, edit, or upload something.  Today I'm just letting you know about a fabulous series I've recently been devouring and let me tell you, if you are a fan of fun, quirky, fast paced and action packed series with a hint of romance, and laugh out loud moments, then please pick up the Miss Fortune Mystery series by Jana DeLeon.

Would be a fantastic inbetween series for fans of Stephanie Plum.

Let me know in the comments if you have read this series because I am dying to chat to someone about these books and characters ;-D

Anyway, gotta go and hop on to editing the next video (trying to make up for lost time), and until I see you guys next time,

 

King-ly Reading Update: Part One

Hi, and welcome back!

I am so glad to be back at the computer, and finger's crossed, there will be no NBN or power maintenance holdups for the foreseeable future.

Now, as you can see from the title of the video, I've gotten back into my Stephen King groove and have been watching - and buying - a whole lot of King stuff.  Firstly, I blame this on finding Needful Things had dropped on STAN (Australian streaming service) and from there I bounced over to Netflix to partake of Gerald's Game.  I had been putting off watching Gerald's Game because I had wanted to read the book, as I mentioned in this video, but alas, I caved and on a hot afternoon I got myself comfy on the bed, snuggled down into the pillows with my iPad, and pressed PLAY... and OMG! did I love this adaptation.  Won't go into spoilers because I want to read the book and compare it to the adaptation in a video, but dang, it was amazing!

I have also been trying to track down some of the US hardcovers of Bag of Bones, Pet Sematary, Night Shift, Carrie, The Shining, and a few others that I just can't seem to find for a reasonable price.  I do have some more editions in the upcoming PARTS TWO and THREE of my King-ly Reading Update videos, because I got a little 'click happy' this month.

Anyway, I've got to get back to editing the new footage so I can get something up during the week.  Thanks for your patience, and until I see you next time,

 

Just a little hiccup is all

Currently reading Pet Sematary 

Oh, boy.  Just when you think it’s safe to go back in the pool, Murphy’s Law strikes.

So. I had two videos that I was hoping to finish editing and get uploaded this week, but the internet gods have thrown a spanner in the works and I received notification that not only was my NBN Broadband going to be down this week, you know, for maintenance (yeah, right), but my power supply would also be in question this week as the electricity company also wants to do some maintenance... seriously, what are the odds for this?

That means that I’m not going to be editing diddley-squat because I do not want to loose any of my footage thanks to an ill timed outage, not that I will be able to upload it anyway. So, I’m falling back on my reading, and to my delight, I’ve been burning up the pages. I’ve already surpassed my goal of 100 books for the year (28 February), and I’m now chasing my highest page count of 45,000+ (set in 2017).  I’ve been discovering a lot of great new authors and series - thanks to the free books on Amazon Kindle - so I think I’ll try to put together a list of my favourite new authors/series.

Then there are the books that I’m trying very hard to read because a) they’re on my personal reading goals list for this year, and b) because I want to watch the adaptation, so I need to read the book.  So far I’m working my way through Pet Sematary by Stephen King, and I’m expecting The Meg blu-ray in the mail tomorrow so I’m downloaded the ebook.  For my #aclassicamonth challenge, I’ve decided to go with Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie so I can get it off my list.  However my #bigbook2019 progress has floundered because I have yet to pick up The Count of Monte Cristo.  Oops.

I’m currently flying through some new urban fantasy and paranormal cosy mysteries, but I’ll catch you up on those in a future post.  Now, I think you’re all up to speed on what’s happening, or not happening, so I’ll leave you here, and until I see you next time,

Early February Reading Wrap Up

Phew, just got this up in time ;-D

Trying to keep this post nice and short, so all I'm going to say is that I'm trying a slightly different format for my end of the month reading wrap ups (to try and keep the run time down), so I hope you like it.

Thanks for watching, and drop me a line below if you have any ideas or book recommendations for me ;-D

And until I catch you next time,

 

Bookmail & Wrap Up

Sorry about the delay.  I've been having a few issues with the new Mojave OS ever since I updated my software from Yosemite.  It's been slow, and sluggish, and yesterday I couldn't force quit a program that was preventing me from shutting down the computer, so I had to pull the plug - oops, power outage.

Today I think I've gotten some of the kinks ironed out, but it's still so frustrating to feel like you're being held hostage by your iMac.  Finger's crossed I can actually shut down properly today.

Anyway, last week was quite a good week for me.  Two of the books I've been wanting to read - to see if I want to continue on with the series - were actually at my library.  I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, but trust me, in a small regional country town, having any of my paranormal romance or urban fantasy series on the shelves is major.

I'm still on the fence in regards to Torpedo Ink.  I enjoy the overall story, but the messed up lives, the abuse, and the extremely graphic nature of these books is starting to get to me.  It's like the Anita Blake books all over again.  If you have any thoughts on the matter, let me know in the comments.  I'd seriously love to discuss this with anyone who is having problems with the direction the series is going in.

Thanks for taking the time to watch my videos, I hope to get more up soon.  And until I see you next time,

 

Kindle Binge

I can't believe that January is already behind us in the review mirror of life, and it seems the older I get, the faster time flies.  As I have mentioned before, thanks to the insane weather conditions this summer, I have spent a lot of time inside reading.  And this has led to a corker of a reading month.  So far, in January, I have managed to plow through a grand total of...

 

Yeah.  Just like last year, I have read over half of my Goodreads challenge goal in January.  Now, if I can keep this up for even another month or two, I'll be well on my way to having my best ever year!  If you are wondering if I'm competing against anyone/everyone by blowing through so many books

a) NO, and

b) I only compete against my own previous results.

and to my surprise, even thought I don't like reading Kindle/eBooks (because they make my eyes sore, and I can get bad tension headaches), I fly through them. I devour the electronic editions so much faster than I can the print versions.

Anyway, to wrap this up - Yes, January was a great reading month.  I discovered a few new series, and a couple of new authors that I will be trying more of.  I hope you also had a great reading month, whether that was finishing two books, or one hundred and twenty. 

If you have any recommendations - I'm always looking for new books and authors - please let me know in the comments below, and until I see you next time,

 

A tiny January wrap up

January was a pretty good reading month.  I have read 40 books so far (with 2 days left in the month), but I'm really happy with what I've read so far.

I managed to finish the Firekeeper Saga - after 12 years of looking for the books! - and I think I've mentioned it in most of the video's I've made recently that I had at least filled in the missing gaps in my collection.  It is a wonderful fantasy series that has no sex, sexual violence, graphic violence, nor does it have any swearing as such.  Truly, if you are hesitant about reading fantasy series because of the violence and graphic sex that usually accompanies a lot of fantasy books, then please try this authors work.  Okay, announcement over.

Apart from that I've reread a few of the Stephanie Laurens books, contemplated picking up The Count of Monte Cristo, as well as The Great Zoo of China, but decided that steamy tropical weather was not conducive to a good reading experience so I'm waiting for autumn to kick in.  Cold Comfort Farm is giving me some problems.  I put it down the other day (I'm 48 pages in) and I just don't feel the urge to pick it back up again.  Flora isn't a character that I am drawn to, but I hope once I get into the story again, that will change.

I don't have any solid plans for next months reading.  I'll choose another classic from my #aclassicamonth list, but that's about all.  I'm not even sure if any of the authors I read have any new releases in February, so I'll play it by ear.

Thank you for tuning in to my little rambling chats.  I hope to see you all next time, and until then,

 

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,