tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41206106192074142512012-01-20T22:30:24.934+10:00Between the CoversAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.comBlogger6811100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-17157618562610890912011-02-24T22:58:00.004+10:002011-02-24T23:24:45.006+10:00Booking Through Thursday: Something Old, Something New
All other things being equal – do you prefer used books? Or new books? (The physical specimen, that is, not the title.) Does your preference differentiate between a standard kind of used book, and a pristine, leather-bound copy?
If it has the requisite number of pages, isn’t falling apart, and doesn’t have an unbearably hideous cover, I’ll read it.
Okay, I’ll admit pristine new books are Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-33072462014212453362011-02-21T21:53:00.004+10:002011-02-22T01:03:56.226+10:00The Sound of One Girl Napping
Ouch. Bad pun. (And I haven’t even read the book.)
Yes, it’s been awfully quiet around here lately. That’s because I’ve been feeling fairly awful. I’ve been plagued for weeks by some post-viral thing which has so far eluded explanation. I’ve already reduced two doctors to thinking it might be psychosomatic, and hope that when I see a specialist next week I don’t make it a hat trick.
So Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-45733293968420413552011-02-08T23:03:00.003+10:002011-02-08T23:37:42.347+10:00Teaser Tuesdays
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from - that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Two teasers this week! The Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-12143605794821244382011-01-27T22:58:00.005+10:002011-01-27T23:45:35.329+10:00Booking Through Thursday: Heavy
What’s the largest, thickest, heaviest book you ever read? Was it because you had to? For pleasure? For school?
Since I love huge books, this is a tricky one to answer ... there are so many possibilities!
Probably the biggest I’ve read were my Year 11 & 12 Psychology textbooks - large, thick, and hardback. Unlike every other textbook I’ve owned, I read them cover to cover; I had enough Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-27907012848737616642011-01-18T22:41:00.001+10:002011-01-18T22:45:14.027+10:00Teaser Tuesdays
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from - that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Miss Squeers had been Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-17792575662002009502011-01-16T21:54:00.006+10:002011-01-16T23:39:28.707+10:00Book Review: Deliver Us from Evil by David Baldacci
Shaw works for the Agency, an organisation which does the things “civilised” countries don’t want to tarnish their reputations by pursuing through official channels. His current job: Snatch Canadian businessman Evan Waller during his holiday in Provence. In exchange for talking about his plans to traffick enriched uranium to terrorists, Waller will be allowed to return to his other sideline - Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-3572941312586096022011-01-14T22:41:00.003+10:002011-01-14T22:59:01.639+10:00Fractal Friday: PhoenixAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-21693062653082398782011-01-07T21:00:00.002+10:002011-01-07T21:12:58.928+10:00Fractal Friday: BubblegumAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-45574297938029727582011-01-06T22:05:00.007+10:002011-01-07T21:14:11.358+10:00Book Review: The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
New York City, 1909: Sigmund Freud has arrived, with Carl Jung in tow, to lecture at Clark University, which has sent budding psychoanalyst Stratham Younger to accompany its guest. Two sets of circumstances soon arise to dampen their enthusiasm. Someone starts attempting to sabotage not only the forthcoming English translation of Freud's work, but the entire standing of psychoanalysis. And Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-36346819140406057202011-01-06T21:39:00.003+10:002011-01-06T22:04:34.550+10:00Booking Through Thursday: Resolutions
Any New Year’s reading resolutions?
I have two:
1. Read more books than last year. I didn’t hit three figures last year, which by my standards is pretty pathetic.
2. Complete each and every reading challenge I sign up for.
Since my non-reading resolutions list includes “stop procrastinating” I might actually have a chance of success.
Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-45839847286186902552011-01-04T22:41:00.000+10:002011-01-04T22:43:09.919+10:00Teaser Tuesdays
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from - that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
“In my head it's perfect. Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-29465099069171808702011-01-01T00:19:00.003+10:002011-01-05T23:07:10.314+10:00New Year Wishes
Goodbye 2010, and hello 2011.
Normally this would be where I enumerate some worthy but overly-optimistic resolutions, like “review all books read” and “leave more comments”. Right now, though, there are just two things I want from 2011:
For my aunt and her family in Rockhampton not to be flooded out when the Fitzroy River peaks.
For my cousin and his family to have a home to go home to Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-23295142258510725292010-12-31T21:55:00.004+10:002010-12-31T22:49:24.354+10:00
I spotted this over at An Adventure in Reading complete with permission to borrow away. So I took the lazy option for my end-or-yer post and did exactly that!
Best Book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows. Made me smile all the way through, and want to run off to an island somewhere.
Worst Book: The Quality of Mercy by Faye Kellerman. Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-61466403058257698642010-12-30T23:19:00.003+10:002010-12-30T23:41:13.708+10:00New Author Challenge 2011
1 Jan - 31 Dec 2011
Woohoo! Literary Escapism is back up and I can sign up for that challenge I’ve been eyeing off. I seem to have encountered an unusually high rate of sub-par reads this year, so maybe trying some new things next year will improve matters.
(Or maybe not. It’s just occurred to me that most of those disappointments were authors I hadn’t read before.)
For reading challenges Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-29361319546761765692010-12-30T23:03:00.003+10:002010-12-30T23:18:54.801+10:00Historical Fiction Challenge 2011
1 Jan - 31 Dec 2011
I think, a couple of weeks ago, I formed the intention of not taking on too many challenges next year. Or half-formed it. Or thought about forming it. Doesn’t really matter now, since I’m about to sign up for two more!
But I can’t resist the Historical Fiction Challenge, hosted this time by Historical Tapestry. I’ve chosen the Struggling the Addiction option of 10 books. Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-25068227236352585562010-12-30T21:50:00.004+10:002010-12-30T23:00:07.752+10:00Booking Through Thursday: Annual Review
What’s the best book you read this year?
Worst?
Favorite?
Best: The False Inspector Dew by Peter Livesey. A mystery set aboard the Mauritania in the 1920s with multiple twists and turns, and an ending I never saw coming.
Worst: Does it count if I didn’t actually read the whole thing? If so, The Quality of Mercy by Faye Kellerman. I can hardly remember the last time I itched so badly to Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-78151249817252985152010-12-28T23:08:00.001+10:002010-12-28T23:31:51.192+10:00Teaser Tuesdays
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from - that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
"I see no difficulty thereAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-5077692468854814782010-12-25T22:12:00.003+10:002010-12-26T00:25:59.170+10:00Merry Christmas!
I hope everyone reading this had a wonderful day and found at least one good book under the tree.
And I hope you had nicer weather than Brisbane! It’s been raining here for days, and it’s going to keep raining for days to come. I’m consoling myself with the thought that at least the house is on high ground. And this is going to be great for the giant tomato plant that’s sprouted in the compost Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-60990130175842735542010-12-09T21:57:00.002+10:002010-12-09T22:35:29.474+10:00Booking Through Thursday: Crappy
Do you ever crave reading crappy books?
Short answer:
Uh ... no. Why would I do that?
Longer answer:
Sometimes I enjoy reading thrillers that some people would regard as trashy. (Dan Brown might not be the world’s greatest writer, but his books are fun.) But that’s other people’s definition of crappy, not mine. And I’ve got much better things to do with my time than read books I think Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-73290002369766856002010-12-07T23:29:00.003+10:002010-12-08T00:01:21.210+10:00DNF: The Quality of Mercy by Faye Kellerman
Historical Fiction Challenge
When actor Harry Whitman is found near the road with a sword through his back, the obvious conclusion is that he was killed by a highwayman. His friend and protege Will Shakespeare, however, isn’t so sure. Asked by Whitman’s widow to find her husband’s killer, he sets out to investigate and soon finds that his suspicions are justified.
Meanwhile Rebecca, the Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-20414106296619054262010-12-07T22:49:00.003+10:002010-12-07T23:09:32.660+10:00Victorian Literature Challenge
Thanks to Becky’s Weekly Geeks post I discovered the Victorian Literature Challenge at Words, Words, Words and promptly succumbed to temptation. The challenge covers everything written in the Victorian era (1837 - 1901), and runs from 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2011.
I’ve chosen the Great Expectations option of 5-9 books; I think I’ll aim for an even half-dozen. Three from my TBR box:
Nicholas Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-51893932986405342432010-12-07T22:40:00.002+10:002010-12-07T22:49:34.212+10:00Teaser Tuesdays
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from - that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Mr William Walton, the Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-33133328805604813852010-12-06T22:59:00.001+10:002010-12-06T23:11:39.732+10:00Weekly Geeks: Plans for 2011
Do you plan on participating in any reading challenges in 2011? Are you planning on hosting any reading challenges? Perhaps you'd like to share an idea for a reading challenge - to see if there is any interest! Share with us which challenges look tempting to you! (You don't have to "officially" join any of the challenges for this weekly geek. Just let us know which ones you'd be most Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-73284032119330379082010-12-06T22:41:00.003+10:002010-12-06T22:58:29.853+10:00What’s in a Name? 4 Reading Challenge
What’s a good way to cheer yourself up after NaNoWriMo has come to an end for another year? Go and check out all the bright shiny new reading challenges! Beth is running the What’s in a Name? 4 Reading Challenge, and this year the categories are:
1. A book with a number in the title
2. A book with jewelry or a gem in the title
3. A book with a size in the title
4. A book with travel or Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-40776600632260518822010-12-03T21:59:00.001+10:002010-12-03T22:00:48.711+10:00Fractal Friday: Blue ForestAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-39557425294021625312010-12-02T21:09:00.002+10:002010-12-02T21:52:55.620+10:00Booking Through Thursday: First
How about First Editions? Are they something special? Or “just another book” to you?
I really don’t care about what print run a book came from; I just care about whether it’s worth reading. I wouldn’t have a clue what number edition any of my books are; it’s not something I’ve ever thought to check. And with books produced in such numbers these days I don’t regard a first edition as Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-5818732532785156142010-12-01T00:10:00.002+10:002010-12-01T01:04:47.971+10:00NaNoWriMo Day 30: Thank God It's Over - I Think
30 days. Too many cups of coffee. Too few hours of sleep. 80,592 words if Microsoft Word’s doing the counting. Several hundred less it it’s the NaNo website. (Definitely something strange going on there; up until last night it was adding a couple of hundred.)
It’s over for another year! In a way it’s a relief; I’ve spent the last few days thinking, I just want this novel to be finished! Not Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-49230760395632030292010-11-27T23:06:00.002+10:002010-11-28T00:50:25.774+10:00NaNoWriMo Day 27: I Finally Killed Someone!
At long last my mystery novel has a corpse gracing its pages!
(Sorry, Laurence. Not only for doing you in, but for having you killed as the result of a misunderstanding. And for the ignominy of being knifed in an alley near St Giles.)
I feel rather ghoulishly pleased with myself for finally working in a nice murder. I’m not sure what it says about me that I find it fun to kill non-existent Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-12008681089720532122010-11-23T23:36:00.003+10:002010-11-24T00:07:40.150+10:00Weekly Geeks: Antique Books
The other day I was noticing the old books on my book shelf. Old, meaning books that were "born" a long long time ago. Books that were published AND printed a long long time ago. (Not simply books that have been sitting on our shelves forever!)And it made me wonder what old books other readers have in their collection.
So this week, write a post sharing with us what old antique books you may Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-5603907087207807482010-11-23T22:47:00.000+10:002010-11-23T23:11:45.350+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
When not absorbed in the all-consuming literary chaos of NaNoWriMo (or attending to ... what’s that other thing? ... real life) I’m back in Elizabeth’s England, in 1593. I’m among a group of ostensibly Protestant conversos working to smuggle fellow Jews out of the clutches of the Spanish Inquisition. Although I don’t know it yet, my path is set to cross that of a player-turned-detective namedAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-15789486514482641212010-11-20T23:08:00.003+10:002010-11-20T23:38:12.049+10:00NaNoWriMo Day 20: Well, This is Embarrassing...
I’ve been addicted to mystery novels for over fifteen years.
I’ve been addicted to tv crime shows for nearly ten.
I have a biotechnology degree, which is basically a degree in conducting investigations. Heck, I could probably qualify for Mensa.
This year, for NaNo, I have a plausible villain with an interesting motive. I have an abundance of cross-connections between characters. I have hiddenAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-85460874904113898952010-11-19T21:06:00.002+10:002010-11-19T21:18:41.210+10:00Booking Through Thursday Friday: Borrowing?
I’ve been so immersed in NaNoWriMo (meaning so busy staring at a computer screen thinking, I really should write something) that I completely forgot this yesterday!
Who would you rather borrow from? Your library? Or a Friend?
(Or don’t your friends trust you to return their books?)
And, DO you return books you borrow?
Library, always. I enjoy the whole experience of going to the library: Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-88935826917803476562010-11-10T22:37:00.002+10:002010-11-10T23:17:59.145+10:00NaNoWriMo Day 10: Hello, I’m a Researchaholic
It’s been 7 minutes since my last Google search...
Downloading all 800 large-scale segments of the Horwood Map was, it turns out, only the beginning. A piece of gateway research, leading me on to making Google and the Online Etymology Dictionary my primary forms of procrastination, online or off.
I can’t help myself! I keep a running file as I write, noting down anything and everything I mightAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-25917152562031831032010-11-07T22:37:00.003+10:002010-11-08T00:05:14.706+10:00Gothic Reading Challenge
During my free time in November, not much can drag my attention away from NaNoWriMo. But a shiny new reading challenge? That doesn’t start until January? Count me distracted!
Susan B. Evans is hosting the Gothic Reading Challenge next year, covering everything eerie, spooky, spine-chilling, creepy, and fantastic. (In both senses of the word.)
I’ve selected the Darkness Within option: 5 Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-14593206219854971002010-11-05T22:13:00.002+10:002010-11-05T22:15:54.317+10:00Fractal Friday: Rosa MundiAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-54337246257038239912010-11-03T22:10:00.002+10:002010-11-03T22:16:02.096+10:00NaNoWriMo Day 3: 50-Foot Plot Bunnies on Strike
My subtitle for NaNo this year - the experience, not the novel! - could be “Attack of the 50-Foot Plot Bunnies”. A couple of characters I thought I’d safely filed away years ago got loose, invaded my imagination, and began clamouring for a series. A LONG series.
They, and their friends, so took over my spare waking moments that it was a shock last night to realise Holy %$!#@, I haven't posted Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-32783540008231777152010-09-23T21:35:00.003+10:002010-09-23T22:32:52.680+10:00Booking Through Thursday: Current
What are you reading right now? What made you choose it? Are you enjoying it? Would you recommend it? (And, by all means, discuss everything, if you’re reading more than one thing!)
Right now I’m reading Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer. I picked it up on my last visit to the library, first because it’s Georgette Heyer and second because of the title. After all, why would anyone shootAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-24226232719170267082010-09-21T21:58:00.000+10:002010-09-21T22:04:24.600+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m in Upper Nettlefold, where the neighbourhood is buzzing with the news that the Fountains’ butler has been shot.
Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-61155577063775756892010-09-19T22:17:00.004+10:002010-09-25T00:22:47.110+10:00Book Review: The Professor by Charlotte Brontë
Declining the assistance of his uncles, William Crimsworth proposes to make his own way in the world, starting as a clerk in his brother’s business. The life of an industrial town proving not to his taste, he takes himself instead to the continent and becomes a teacher in Brussels. While supplementing his income by teaching classes at the neighbouring girls’ school, he meets and becomes Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-66063153393172784752010-09-16T20:53:00.002+10:002010-09-16T21:35:09.655+10:00Booking Through Thursday: Day and Night
Today’s question is suggested by Mae.
“I couldn’t sleep a wink, so I just read and read, day and night … it was there I began to divide books into day books and night books,” she went on. “Really, there are books meant for daytime reading and books that can be read only at night.”
- ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera, p. 103.
Do you divide your books into day and nightAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-23729365115607828902010-09-14T22:10:00.002+10:002010-09-14T22:18:12.160+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m in San Francisco, trying to maintain some semblance of privacy in a family of private investigators.
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-22602679817252835882010-09-12T22:23:00.004+10:002010-09-12T23:11:52.125+10:00Library Loot
Why Shoot a Butler? - Georgette Heyer
The Pindar Diamond - Katie Hickman
The Spellman Files - Lisa Lutz
Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Schaffer
Notes from a Big Country - Bill Bryson
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society! Her Fearful Symmetry! Did I choose the right day to go to the library or Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-16838145584541780332010-09-08T23:20:00.000+10:002010-09-08T23:22:59.648+10:00DNF: The Fool's Tale by Nicole Galland
At the end of the twelfth century, Wales is a collection of disparate territories, none of them smaller than the little kingdom of Maelienydd. In the interests of security, Maelgwyn of Maelienydd agreees to a match with Isabel, who is not only English but one of the powerful Mortimer family. Although he is content enough with Isabel, Maelgwyn has good reason to hate the Mortimers. So too does Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-40021940308360611182010-09-02T21:50:00.004+10:002010-09-02T22:31:44.964+10:00Booking Through Thursday: Film to Paper?
Even though it’s usually a mistake (grin) … do movies made out of books make you want to read the original?
Absolutely! Books are almost always better than any adaptation; in the transition from page to screen stuff inevitably has to be cut ... and often something gets changed. After seeing the screen version it’s good to enjoy the original. (And if there have been significant cuts or Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-18095113629616322772010-08-31T22:49:00.003+10:002010-09-08T23:11:47.088+10:00Hallelujah! I Hope...
It’s alive! My desktop computer, that is. It’s been fitted with new and more capacious memory which Robbie the Computer Guy assures me will stop those pesky blue screens.
(Well, unless it’s not the memory but the motherboard, in which case it’ll need more bits taken out and replaced.)
Still, the wretched thing seems to like Robbie - it actually loaded Windows for him, which is more than it Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-1737469466701510422010-08-31T22:48:00.000+10:002010-08-31T22:49:19.598+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m a Greek slave in republican Rome, secretary to Marcus Tullius Cicero. My master is consul and surrounded by enemies - not least of whom is that psychopath Catilina.
Lustrum by Robert Harris.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You alsoAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-57029013698809985772010-08-27T23:39:00.002+10:002010-08-27T23:51:06.540+10:00Fractal Friday: TumbleweedAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-47259020130707654452010-08-26T21:57:00.003+10:002010-08-26T22:21:31.606+10:00Booking Through Thursday: Giving Up
If you’re not enjoying a book, will you stop mid-way? Or do you push through to the end? What makes you decide to stop?
Call it stubbornness, or an excessive sense of duty or optimism, or whatever, but it takes a lot to get me to quit on a book. I’ve dragged myself to the end of some absolutely God-awful books, and a lot of mediocre ones. I don’t like abandoning books; there’s always that Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-85692409544348653532010-08-24T22:51:00.011+10:002010-08-25T00:59:56.150+10:00Weekly Geeks
So today's Weekly Geeks is about examining a book (or books) which were published in your birth decade. Tell us about a book that came out in the decade you were born which you either loved or hated. Is is relevant to today? Is it a classic, or could it be? Give us a mini-review, or start a discussion about the book or books.
It’s a pity 1984 wasn’t actually published in 1984, because my Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-79698401003442184162010-08-24T22:48:00.000+10:002010-08-24T22:51:04.691+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m with the Murder squad in Dublin, investigating a case I should probably keep well away from. The victim was found in the area where, twenty years ago on the day I can’t remember, my two best friends disappeared and I somehow survived.
In the Woods by Tana French.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-367072764771136202010-08-23T21:58:00.003+10:002010-08-23T22:22:22.808+10:00Hello from the Laptop!
Because my desktop computer is currently unavailable. As in, possibly a few steps away from the Great Silicon Chip in the Sky. Or, since I’m an atheist, the council’s next Kerbside Cleanup. I’m hoping the computer guy can make sense of the jumble of letters and exclamation marks it presents whenever I switch it on.
(Ironic, really. I’m a stickler for correct English, and my computer now won’t Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-28277851826697380872010-08-15T23:32:00.003+10:002010-08-16T00:04:17.040+10:00Library Loot
In the Woods - Tana French
The Fool's Tale - Nicole Galland
Lustrum - Robert Harris
White is for Witching - Helen Oyeyemi
We have fiction! My last few Library Loots have been heavy on the fact, but this week I finally had a good hunt through the fiction section. (Well, last week, actually. But Friday night my computer was driving me nuts - hopefully someone at the Tech Support Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-47899964439625647022010-08-12T23:12:00.002+10:002010-08-12T23:33:44.650+10:00Booking Through Thursday: Evolution
Have your reading choices changed over the years? Or pretty much stayed the same? (And yes, from childhood to adulthood we usually read different things, but some people stick to basically the same kind of book their entire lives, so…)
Woohoo! Blogger’s finally decided to load!
I feel slightly underqualified to answer, given my age (or lack thereof). But then, I’ve been a book addict long Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-80491249588000865012010-08-10T23:24:00.000+10:002010-08-10T23:26:49.364+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m in Oxford, where I’m quite certain someone connected to St Frideswide’s church is going to be murdered.
Service of All the Dead by Colin Dexter.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-29526827988850506872010-08-06T23:00:00.001+10:002010-08-06T23:05:43.972+10:00Fractal Friday: JungleAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-10350742896900343282010-08-05T22:31:00.003+10:002010-08-05T23:03:18.979+10:00Booking Through Thursday: First Time
What is the first book you remember reading? What about the first that made you really love reading?
The short answers are, don’t know, and not applicable.
Now for the longer ones. I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember - longer, in fact. (And I’m a little envious of those who can recall the wonderful moment of discovery that they could read.) So my early reading experiences are Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-19482576759298319792010-08-03T22:50:00.002+10:002010-08-03T22:59:07.410+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m in a future society where who you are depends on what colour you can see and how well you can see it. Specifically, I’m in East Carmine, to do a chair census as part of a spot of humility realignment.
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page,Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-41096714630464113792010-08-03T22:48:00.001+10:002010-08-04T01:10:53.941+10:00Book Review: Brilliant Women by Elizabeth Eger and Lucy Peltz
As well as some of history’s most ridiculous hairdos, the eighteenth century produced some of history’s most brilliant women. The bluestockings were viewed as further proof of England’s superiority ... so long, of course, as they comported themselves with the utmost decorum. They wrote plays, poetry, and history; they produced literary criticism and translations from ancient Greek; they Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-34375750113841193912010-08-01T22:31:00.002+10:002010-08-02T00:38:31.893+10:00Weekly Geeks: To Kill a Mockingbird
July 11th marked the 50th anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, and arguably one of the most influential cultural books of its kind in the U.S.
Have you read To Kill a Mockingbird? When did you first read it? Did it affect the way you think about race and class in the U.S.? Do you agree that it's an influential and/or important book?
If you Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-63653230980868230822010-07-30T22:44:00.000+10:002010-07-30T22:46:22.093+10:00Fractal Friday: ViolettaAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-67737107215465497192010-07-27T22:53:00.001+10:002010-07-27T22:57:58.985+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m taking a non-fiction tour through Europe with James Holman, the Blind Traveller of the early 1800s.
A Sense of the World by Jason Roberts.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-64166789213079302742010-07-23T23:40:00.006+10:002010-07-24T00:29:07.789+10:00Library Loot
Clean: An Unsanitised History of Washing - Katherine Ashenburg
The Natural History of Unicorns - Chris Lavers (who could resist a title like that?)
A Sense of the World - Jason Roberts
Shades of Grey - Jasper Fforde
The Vow on the Heron - Jean Plaidy (for the Historical Fiction Challenge)
And on top of all that....
....Book sale loot! I always stop for a peek at the discounted Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-51997852281717314492010-07-23T23:38:00.002+10:002010-07-24T00:28:23.069+10:00Fractal Friday: Cyclone RoseAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-77490886673507807372010-07-16T23:32:00.003+10:002010-07-17T01:09:24.197+10:00Eight Absolutely Impossible Things
Today’s my 26th birthday, which got me thinking. Or rather, yesterday’s arrival of a card from my father did. Sure, books are great, and I won’t turn down a nice pair of earrings. But if I could have anything for my 27th ... if some really generous genie came along ... what would I choose?
In no particular order:
1. For my father to acquire taste in birthday cards. This year’s was a Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-59285251131623876302010-07-16T23:27:00.001+10:002010-07-16T23:32:53.426+10:00Fractal Friday: VertebraeAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-48587448437586040812010-07-15T21:41:00.002+10:002010-07-15T22:11:50.336+10:00Booking Through Thursday: Hot!
Well, folks, I don’t know about where you are, but right here, it’s HOT.
So … when you think about “hot reading,” what does that make you think of? Beach reading? Steamy romances? Books that take place in hot climates? Or cold ones?
Where I am it’s the middle of winter. Which is not to say it’s cold - it is the subtropics, after all - but still too chilly for my preferred form of “hot Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-71320148720433973702010-07-13T22:47:00.002+10:002010-07-13T22:57:59.744+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m in England during the lead-up to the Jacobite rebellion of 1745.
Waverley by Sir Walter Scott.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from - that way people Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-61469096092156452402010-07-06T22:46:00.001+10:002010-07-06T22:52:48.387+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m making a non-fiction foray into the history of prostitution in London from mediaeval times to the present day - and feeling very glad I was born into modern middle-class security.
London: The Wicked City by Fergus Linnane.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-4192889441179319852010-07-02T23:18:00.001+10:002010-07-02T23:32:54.230+10:00Fractal Friday: MoondanceAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-14371029200193330712010-07-01T21:55:00.002+10:002010-07-01T22:23:03.093+10:00Booking Through Thursday: Disappointment
Name a book or author that you truly wanted to love but left you disappointed. (And, of course, explain why.)
I wanted to love The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber. I read a feature on it in the paper and thought it sounded fabulous. I waited ages to get my hands on a copy from the library, during which time I cast many wistful glances at the shiny new copies in the bookstores. Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-23238437362864026042010-06-29T22:52:00.001+10:002010-06-29T22:54:21.738+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m in London, investigating a murder at a publishing house. There’s also a prankster on the loose, and someone tampered with the body ... but am I looking for three people, or two, or just one?
Original Sin by P. D. James.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-61484659199241776402010-06-25T23:25:00.002+10:002010-06-25T23:38:44.197+10:00Fractal Friday: Hubble BubbleAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-34552962167361579072010-06-24T22:12:00.005+10:002010-06-24T23:36:14.084+10:00Versatile Blogger Award
The lovely Tampa BookWorm has given me
For which the rules are:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Pass the award along to 10 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (In no particular order...)
4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.
Seven Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-7096793442094455132010-06-24T21:45:00.007+10:002010-06-24T23:08:28.783+10:00Library Loot
London: The Wicked City - Fergus Linnane
Alex & Me - Irene M. Pepperberg
The Illustrious Dead - Stephen Talty
The Professor - Charlotte Bronte
Remarkable Creatures - Tracy Chevalier
Waverley - Sir Walter Scott
I had an unpleasant surprise at the library today: made a beeline for the history section and found myself gazing blankly at the travel books. Seems someone had the bright Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-3289523400793527182010-06-23T23:46:00.001+10:002010-06-23T23:49:36.744+10:00Book Review: The Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd
In a small bookshop in Holborn, Charles Lamb makes a wondrous discovery: a book once owned by William Shakespeare. His mother isn’t much impressed, and his father is too mad to know or care, but his sister Mary shares in his delight. The siblings quickly become friends with William Ireland, the bookseller’s teenage son, who wants to step out from under his domineering father and publish his Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-59952366299631742692010-06-23T23:27:00.001+10:002010-06-23T23:44:32.819+10:00Book Review: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Historical Fiction Challenge
Mary is the greatest Boleyn girl at the court of Henry VIII. Young, beautiful, and safely married, she has caught the eye of the king himself. Her ambitious Boleyn and Howard relatives are determined that she should keep it, no matter what it takes. With Queen Katherine slowly aging and only one small girl as heir, Henry needs a son, and there is much to be gainedAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-56106768997160064272010-06-22T22:43:00.000+10:002010-06-22T22:48:12.310+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m in the midst of civil war in seventeenth-century England, struggling to make ends meet and wondering where my Royalist husband is and if he’ll ever come home.
Rebels and Traitors by Lindsey Davis.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-47325699218168951362010-06-20T22:28:00.003+10:002010-06-22T00:25:13.595+10:00Weekly Geeks: Hoarding Behaviour
So this week, I am curious about those gigantic TBR piles which readers tend to accumulate. Please share with us your habits, tendencies or obsessions when it comes to hoarding behavior.
Post a photo (or two or three) of your books to-be-read
Share your buying or book accumulating habits - how bad of a problem do YOU have?!?!?
Do you keep all the books you’ve read, or do you give them away orAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-33249823592339530442010-06-18T23:10:00.001+10:002010-06-18T23:27:46.654+10:00Fractal Friday: Lace BruléeAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-8540067497864728342010-06-17T21:59:00.004+10:002010-06-17T23:43:54.507+10:00Booking Through Thursday: Now or Then?
Do you prefer reading current books? Or older ones? Or outright old ones? (As in, yes, there’s a difference between a book from 10 years ago and, say, Charles Dickens or Plato.)
How current is current?
I get virtually all my books second-hand or from the library, so it’s rare for me to get hold of a book in the year it was published. In fact I tend to categorise anything published in the Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-69780192129309603692010-06-15T21:49:00.001+10:002010-06-15T21:54:49.577+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m in Calcutta in 1838, on board the Ibis. The onset of the Opium Wars has prevented her being refitted to transport drugs, so she’s reverted to her old use - as a slaver.
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-35054523446396044342010-06-14T22:41:00.001+10:002010-06-15T00:25:21.812+10:00Bookfest 2010
Yesterday I discovered a new way to tell you’re surrounded by kindred bookish spirits: When you make a public spectacle of yourself by audibly cheering and grinning like an idiot on spotting the book you most wanted to find, and none of your fellow browsers give you a second glance. I guess people who spend their weekends pushing shopping trolleys round book sales and crossing acquisitions off Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-43859749682550530802010-06-13T23:00:00.004+10:002010-06-13T23:28:52.822+10:00Bloggiesta Finish Line
I had the best of intentions. Really, I did. I had my day all planned out: rise early, head out for an efficient bit of book shopping at the Bookfest, do a bit of review writing when I got home, put in a couple of hours tonight, and voila! A commendable Bloggiesta effort.
I started to get a sinking feeling when the train I wanted to catch failed to show, making me half an hour late. And then Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-36338289823734250752010-06-13T00:11:00.002+10:002010-06-13T00:16:46.101+10:00Bloggiesta Update #2
I DID IT!! I finally found a Blogger favicon tutorial that worked. (At least, it works in Firefox. If you’re viewing this post in a different browser, please leave a comment and let me know if it’s working for you too.) I’m over a third of the way through my twelve hours, and the offline work is going well. The online stuff (link-checking, for instance) ... not so much. My excuse is that I donAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-32304158277598019602010-06-12T00:57:00.002+10:002010-06-12T01:00:26.605+10:00Bloggiesta Update #1
After nearly three hours in front of the computer, my list looks like this:
Add a favicon
Tinker with different fonts for my blog posts
Expand my blogroll and subdivide it into categories
Re-upload the award images missing from the right sidebar ever since the image host I used folded
Check for dead links
Write a new profile
Clear out my backlog of reviews
Add reviews written to the indexes
Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-62803464108031012322010-06-12T00:39:00.002+10:002010-06-12T00:57:30.567+10:00Book Review: The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
Ten years ago, the powerful and corrupt Janissary Corps was defeated by the Western-style New Guard. Now four of the latter’s brightest cadets have disappeared ... and one has turned up in a giant cauldron just like the ones the Janissaries used as war drums. With only ten days until a review of the New Guard and a major proclamation by the sultan, the palace sends for Yashim Togalu. He’s Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-65118202509108142172010-06-11T22:51:00.001+10:002010-06-11T22:53:57.709+10:00Fractal Friday: WheatfieldAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-244915417884740102010-06-11T22:21:00.005+10:002010-06-11T22:48:21.895+10:00It’s Bloggiesta Time!
As part of the 2010 Blog Improvement Project, I’ve signed up for Bloggiesta. (Which I really wish was on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, because Monday’s a public holiday.) I’m only aiming for twelve hours, because this weekend is also Bookfest time [insert squeals of delight here]. My blogging to-do list:
Add a favicon
Tinker with different fonts for my blog posts
Expand my blogroll and subdivide Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-42868157631395650342010-06-09T21:53:00.002+10:002010-06-10T00:33:17.067+10:00Book Review: The Secret Woman by Victoria Holt
2010 TBR Lite Challenge
When Anna Brett’s best friend, Chantel Spring, offers to help secure her a position as governess at Castle Crediton, Anna leaps at the chance. What else can she do? Her last living relative, Aunt Charlotte, is dead; and despite Chantel’s evidence at the inquest the shadow of suspicion still hangs over her. The antique business she inherited has turned out to be mired Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-16766161550779639372010-06-08T21:39:00.001+10:002010-06-08T21:45:33.709+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m at the court of Henry VIII, being used by my family as a pawn to further their own ambitions.
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-62497167934041962572010-06-06T22:58:00.004+10:002010-06-07T00:14:07.677+10:00Weekly Geeks: The Wishlist
Is your wishlist as big as your TBR pile? What books are topping your list? Are there any new releases that you are counting down the days for? Share a handful of titles and be sure to share why you want to get your hands on these books! And if another blogger is responsible for that book being on your wishlist, consider sharing a link to their review!
Is my wish list as big as my TBR pile?
Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-14918315566584532462010-06-04T22:20:00.001+10:002010-06-04T22:25:56.954+10:00Fractal Friday: Primrose PathAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-35855120542751088052010-06-01T21:45:00.003+10:002010-06-01T21:55:58.628+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m in Istanbul in 1836, where one of the sultan’s soldiers has been found dead under most unusual circumstances, and three others are still missing.
The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need toAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-32737205649967613452010-05-28T23:22:00.001+10:002010-05-28T23:31:35.844+10:00Fractal Friday: AquaAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-82362557578484744412010-05-28T22:31:00.005+10:002010-05-28T23:03:41.202+10:00Library Loot
The Lambs of London - Peter Ackroyd
Rebels and Traitors - Lindsey Davis
Sea of Poppies - Amitav Ghosh
The Janissary Tree - Jason Goodwin
The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
A couple of days ago, I was wondering what books I could read for the Chunkster Challenge. Now I’m wondering how I’ll finish my borrowed chunksters in four weeks! 651 pages in Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-385916641627488682010-05-24T22:35:00.002+10:002010-05-25T00:05:20.162+10:00Weekly Geeks: A Character Comparison
For this week's task, let's take a close look at some of our favorite bookish characters. Specifically, think of a character that you really relate to, a character that you think you could jump right in the story and actually be, a character that you think the author might know you because it comes so close to who you are! List for us the traits of that character that you feel closely Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-35764070399854094842010-05-21T22:50:00.001+10:002010-05-21T22:53:34.571+10:00Fractal Friday: CarnivaleAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-52157686386882874352010-05-18T21:51:00.002+10:002010-05-19T23:21:28.700+10:00Book Review: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
In post-war Warwickshire stands Hundreds Hall, slowly crumbling into ruin amid the shrinking lands of its estate. Mrs Ayres and her two children live in the handful of rooms not yet closed up, with only a couple of servants to help stave off decay. Roderick, injured in the war, worries incessantly about money while slowly drowning in a sea of paperwork. His plain sister Caroline settles into aAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-84442313156932879522010-05-18T21:37:00.003+10:002010-05-18T21:47:30.213+10:00It’s Tuesday, Where Are You? / Teaser Tuesdays
I’m taking a tour of Rome circa AD 200, with the aid of what amounts to a Lonely Planet guidebook for time-travellers.
Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day by Peter Matyszak.
TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the Amat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4120610619207414251.post-87514962113975940992010-05-14T22:22:00.003+10:002010-05-14T22:52:25.134+10:00Fractal Friday: AscensionAmat Librishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343725194203848055noreply@blogger.com0