Minireadathon

I can't remember how they started, exactly, but periodically Nat from http://www.inspringitisthedawn.com/ and I indulge in a mini-readathon.

Basically it means read as much as you can/want over about 12 hours, and tweet about it periodically. There are other regulars, or semi-regulars who join in, and it's fun.

It's all about reading, catching up and sharing what you're reading.

We're having another one tomorrow, of a sort. If you feel like spending your Sunday (or Saturday, depending on where you are) reading, or if you have time for an hour or two, join in! :-)

Reading and things

I'm sure some people remember this from ... the start of last year. And possibly this: http://justaddbooks.blogspot.com/2010/01/its-january-do-you-know-where-your.html (NB: he looks like this now >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>)

Anyway. I was possibly the slowest read-along-er ever but I finally finished Return of the King today, loaded up with a cold, and a four year old who was alternately excited about his new telescope and howling because he knocked his noggin on the coffee table.

In between the natural chaos that a four year old brings, I travelled to Mount Doom with Frodo and Sam, and to Gondor and to Rivendell and the Shire ...

There's something about LOTR that makes me ... nostalgic? every time I read it. Partly because I first read it at 14 and partly because the trilogy itself is nostalgic - so many references to the glory days of Middle Earth, which makes that teeny tiny space inside that you never, ever acknowledge ache just a little bit.

ROTK is my favourite of the series, with the last line from Sam "Well, I'm back," summing up so very very much. And. Just. Still love it.

I'm also reading The Emerald Atlas, Book 1 of The Books of Beginning. Should hopefully finish that this weekend too. I'm enjoying it - a lot - but the tagline "Be the first to read the book that will define a generation!" (it's a review copy I got through work) is a little bit ... ... desperate?

Everyone everywhere will be looking for the new Harry Potter now that all the books and all the movies are done, but ... don't do that. Let your book stand on its own and be its own awesome self. It's better that way. :-)

Didn't go to the movies this week; there wasn't really anything on I wanted to see; plus I have a cold. Well, mostly I have the blocked nose from hell which is making me tired and thirsty all the time.

So no vlog this week - the last thing people need is to watch me sniffing for 10 minutes. Maybe vlog next week ...

RIP VI and other stuff

That angel makes me think of Blink, my favourite Dr Who episode. *Shiver*.

RIP time again already! I haven't signed up (yet - lol) but I do love Carl's challenges: http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/r-eaders-i-mbibing-p-eril-vi#more-3880

(Aside: It's entirely possible I completed Once Upon a Time this year without noticing. Hrm.)

So I shall do what I always do. I will dither. I will make an unrealistic list of books and ... possibly do a vlog. Who knows?

Anyway. I read One Day by David Nicholls this week and I was .... ... underwhelmed. I mean, it was fine, the story was interesting but I found the characters really unengaging and a bit two-dimensional. Especially Dexter. I honestly kept waiting for him to stop acting like a dropkick and deal with his drinking and it sort of ... didn't happen. I'm genuinely puzzled by all the fuss over it, but maybe that's just me being picky.

For now I'm re-reading Return of the King, which is a very, very long hangover from the LOTR readalong of early last year. *ahem*. Aside from that, I don't know what's next, as ROTK is very much a pick-up/put-down book for me because I've read it so many times.

I did start reading A Study in Scarlet again, after many years. Anyone who knows me will know I've developed a slightly unhealthy obsession with the BBC's updated Sherlock, so I've decided to go back to the source material.

On Thursday I went to see Hanna, and it was amazing. I wasn't sure at all what to expect - it's about a 16 year old girl who's been raised in isolation by her father to be an assassin but it's fantastic. Saoirse Ronan is amazing and the soundtrack - by The Chemical Brothers - is fantastic. As soon as I'm financially stable (ie payday) I'm buying the soundtrack.

My plan for the rest of Sunday is to tuck up on the couch and read. Ah ... Sundays ...

A post about nothing

Have some penguins. I have no idea where that pictures is from, by the way. I just like it. :-)

I was mentally going over my week, but nothing outstanding or extraordinary happened. I went to work, I came home. Went to see Crazy Stupid Love on Thursday, which was a bit 'eh' for me. Too much Steve Carrell and not enough Emma Stone. Also Ryan Gosling is kind of funny-looking.

Other than that, it was business as usual. Except I seem to have caught Patrick's cold, which is fun times.

I finished a book this week, which I always celebrate as a major achievement - lol. Anyway, I read The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino - a thriller set in Japan. It was an interesting read, but I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending - whether I liked it or not.

So now I'm in that strange gray area, where I don't know what I want to read next ...

Finished a couple of books last week - A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin and Finder's Shore by Anna Mackenzie.

LOVED A Game of Thrones. Seriously good stuff, honestly.

I liked Finder's Shore - third book in the Sea-wreck Stranger trilogy but I always wanted those books to be a little bit longer. They're all about 220 pages each and I think the worldbuilding and backstories would have benefited from being a little bit longer.  Also all of the conflicts were resolved super-quick which made for slightly unsatisfying reading.

I enjoyed the series, I just wanted a bit more depth.

A Game of Thrones on the other hand, is nothing BUT depth and I love it. I'm not ready to take on A Clash of Kings yet - I still feel a little bit like I need to lie down in a dark room bathing my temples with lavendar - lol. There's just so much in the book - a workmate of mine called it a soap opera and it sort of is, but you know, with swords. And incest. And dragons. Which make everything better.

I met Nicky aka @stormfilled yesterday - she's touring New Zealand and having a great time. We went to Zookeepers - a local restaurant for hot chocolate and ended up there for dinner as well because we were talking so long - lol. Twas a great night.

We were going to go for coffee and bookshopping this morning, but Nicky's laundry queue at her motel had other ideas. So this afternoon we went to the local museum and art gallery, to see the tuataras, which I've blogged about before: http://daysmeanmore.blogspot.com/2010/11/november-catch-up.html (well, sort of). And oh ... it's been less than a year since we visited the museum - I thought it had been two! Time flies :-)

They were out in force today, because it was sunny, and it's always awesome, seeing dinosaurs in action. Well, sort of action. We roamed the museum, which has definitely undergone an upgrade since I was last there, and had coffee. Twas a good afternoon, and it was awesome meeting someone from my twitter feed in real life. :-)

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Your meme is here: http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/

I had hoped to finish A Game of Thrones by today, but I have about 100 pages to go. I'm still loving it but I don't think I"ll plunge right into A Clash of Kings just yet. It makes me want to lie down in a dark room with lavendar to bathe my temples - lol.

Next up, I think, might be The Poisonwood Bible. I'm not sure. We went to the library on Saturday and yes, I know, ban, but I promised Patrick we'd take him to the children's library and Jeremy said he didn't need to get any books, so what's a girl to do?

Exactly.

I've  had The Poisonwood Bible for a while, and it's from my TBR so I shall try and be good. :-)

Happy reading.

Dad's chair

The chair in the photo belonged to my Dad. It was his office chair years ago when he worked for the Railways. I think he brought it home with him when he retired.

Mum kept it after she moved to her flat, and we used to prop Patrick in there to feed him when we'd visit Mum at lunchtime. It doesn't look it from that photo but it's actually pretty good for feeding a baby. (Not a newborn, obviously, but a baby able to sit propped up).

Hilites used to sleep on that chair, and as you can see, it's been well appropriated by our other cats (Piper and Misty in this photo). We ended up with the chair because no one else seemed to want it and I have memories tied to it. And, okay, it's kind of ugly but I couldn't stand the thought of it going into the garage sale.

So here it is - the Chair. With bonus extra cats.