Breakfast

Two years on from my last participation in one of Susannah Conway's August Breaks and the photo for the Breakfast prompt remains pretty much the same.  Alfresco coffee on the balcony with my cat, Meg.

Semi-Charmed Summer 2015 Book Challenge

Sunny balcony, peanut butter on toast and a couple of good books - #livingthedream

I don't know how it happened, but I somehow missed the sign-up for the Semi-Charmed Summer 2015 Book Challenge!  I stumbled across it last week and was horrified to discover it had already been running for a good three weeks.  Given that one of my main goals in life is to finish fast enough to choose a category for the next challenge, I was a little upset.  And I ain't a fast reader at the best of times.  But undaunted, I set to choosing books.  Luckily I was able to count one I'd already read in May towards one of the categories, and the one I was currently reading towards another.  Sadly, A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro wasn't long enough to fit the general rules, although, in trying to make sense of it, I must have reread enough of it to bring the total number of pages read to at least 300.  I've since passed it onto a friend to see if she can explain what it was all about.

Here are the books I've chosen for the categories:

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that fits the general rules. - The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks (272 pages)

10 points: Read a book you have never heard of before. (Just go to a shelf and pick a book based on the cover, the title, whatever you want!) - Hex and the Single Girl by Valerie Frankel (320 pages)

10 points: Read a book that has been on your TBR list for at least two years. (If you've had a Goodreads account for 2+ years, this will be easy to figure out. If you don’t, do your best to pick a book you’re pretty sure you’ve been wanting to read for years.) - I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (408 pages)

10 points: Read a book that won a Goodreads “Best Book” award in 2014. - Landline by Rainbow Rowell (308 pages)

15 points: Read a book by an author who is completely new to you. - Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes (392 pages)

15 points: Read a book by an author you have read before. (No re-reads for this one.) - My Lover's Lover by Maggie O'Farrell (288 pages)

15 points: Read a book with "light" or "dark" in the title. (Or "lightness" or "darkness.") - Dark Matter by Michelle Paver (243 pages)

20 points: Read a book with the name of a city, state or country in the title. Edited to add: The place must be real, either current or historical, but not fictional. - Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin (361 pages)

20 points: Read a book with an animal on the cover. - Sea Otters Gambolling in the Wild, Wild Surf by John Bennett (272 pages)

25 points: Read a book that is part of a series with at least four books. - The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory (501 pages)

25 points: Read a book that is longer than 500 pages long. — Submitted by winter finisher Kristen from See You in a Porridge. - The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters (576 pages)

30 points: Read a book with an alliterative title. (All words in the title must begin with the same letter; no exceptions for articles or prepositions. Examples: Gone Girl or Nicholas Nickleby. Yes, this is tough, which is why it's worth the most points!) - Ursula, Under by Ingrid Hill (512 pages)

winner, winner, chicken dinner!*

image from etsy - available here

By jiminy, I think I've done it.  I've only gone and completed the Semi-Charmed Winter 2014 Book Challenge.  Go me, go me, go me!  (We've been watching Yo Gabba Gabba again recently.  Does it show?) 

And for anyone interested, here is how I did it:

5 points: Freebie! — Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (247 pages) ****

10 points: Read a book written by an author who has published at least 10 books. —  The Red Room, Nicci French (407 pages) ***

10 points: Read a book of short stories. — The Ladies of Grace Adieu, Susanna Clarke (235 pages) ****

10 points: Read a book with a food in the title. — The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley (363 pages) ****

15 points: Read the first book in a series that is new to you. — The Maze Runner, James Dashner (384 pages) ****

15 points: Read a book that was originally written in a language that is not your native language. — The Butterfly Effect (originally published in Norwegian), Pernille Rygg (224 pages) ****

15 points: Read a book written by a local author i.e. French. — The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles, Katherine Pancol (447pages) ****

20 points: Read a "bookish book." — The Book of Lost Things, John Connolly (321 pages) *****

20 points: Read a book with a direction in the title. — South of the Border, West of the Sun, Haruki Murakami (224pages) ****

25 points: Read a book from a genre you don't usually read. — Stalin Ate My Homework, Alexei Sayle (321 pages) – autobiography ****

25 points: Read a book with a song lyric in the title. — Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro (304 pages) after Never Let Me Go by Florence and the Machine *****

 30 points: Read two books with a different meal in each title. — Campari for Breakfast, Sara Crowe (304 pages) ***** and Dinner at Mine, Chris Smyth (295 pages) **

200 points!  (dances around room doing victory dance with glitter hands)

My favourite book was without a doubt, Campari for Breakfast which I laughed and laughed and laughed at. It was hilariously funny, and I have suggested it to everyone who has asked me for a book recommendation since the start of the year. All two of them. It was one of those books you want to race through because it is too good to put down, but that you also never want to end. Finding out later that Sara Crowe does the voice for Queen Thistle in Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom in no way put a damper on it for me. That show is genius. I have yet to get bored of it. Bear in mind that I have seen most episodes at least 10 times. And the ones with the Wise Old Elf in his underpants at least 20.

The biggest surprise (aside from realising two chapters in that I'd already read South of the Border, West of the Sun but  c o m p l e t e l y  forgotten) in doing the challenge has, again, been the rediscovery of my LOVE of reading and I'd like to thank Megan, again, for hosting such an exciting challenge.  I'll be back for the next one (not least because I am desperate to finish fast enough to choose a category for one of her challenges one day!)

*I'm actually in no way the actual winner since some speedy readers managed to finish the whole thing in less than a month, and many more have finished before me as the months have progressed.  But in the race against myself, I can claim victory.  I think.  My set ideas of victory have been severely challenged recently by my three year old (constantly concerned at the moment about "being the winner").  When I pop the pirate, she is the winner.  She is also the winner if she pops the pirate.  Go figure.

Bad Reader

(image from etsy - available here)

Oh, I've been bad. Really bad. Bad at reading.

I had high hopes of crossing a large number of books off my list for the Semi Charmed Winter Book Challenge, but I only managed two. And some people have finished the whole bleeding book challenge! Most annoyingly of all, I am way behind my sister. That really grates, especially since it was me who suggested she sign herself up for the challenge. What was I thinking?!? I'm hoping the Christmas break will give me a chance to catch up, but in all honesty, I'm probably deluding myself.

So what did I manage to read?

1.  The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan Bradley (374 pages) which I would rate 3.5 stars. Yes, I'd recommend it.  In fact I did, to my father in law, who has taken in home with him. This earns me 10 points as a book with a food in the title.

2.  Dinner at Mine - Chris Smyth (352 pages) which I would rate 2 stars. It was entertaining enough, but lacking in substance. Would I recommend it? If you were in dire need of something to read. As this was one half on my two books with different meals in the title, I can't even count it towards my total points!

So, these two tomes bring my total to 10 points. I'm not impressed at myself. Let's see what next month brings, heh?

nose in a book

It's Day 3.  And I'm still in the middle of The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels.  There's nothing wrong with it, it's a beautifully written book and all, it's just not on the list I've supposed to have started for the Semi-Charmed Winter Book Challenge.  And boy, I really want to start some of those books!

like a kid in a book shop?

The Semi-Charmed Winter 2014 Book Challenge is about to commence!  I'm very excited, since I didn't manage to participate in the summer one and I really missed it.  This challenge seems to be the main motivator for me to keep reading (although I have recently joined a lovely book group so that's been helping too).  Since the challenge was announced, I've been scouring the internet to find contenders for the categories that I didn't already have on my bookshelf.  Here are my ideas, although I can't promise that these decisions are final!

5 points: Freebie! — I’m leaving this one open at the moment, since I’m hoping to read one of my book group books for it, and we haven’t chosen the next selection of books yet!

10 points: Read a book written by an author who has published at least 10 books. — The Steep Approach to Garbadale, Iain Banks (390 pages)

10 points: Read a book of short stories. — Echoes From The Macabre, Daphne Du Maurier (319 pages)

10 points: Read a book with a food in the title. — The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley (363 pages) 

15 points: Read the first book in a series that is new to you. — The Maze Runner, James Dashner (384 pages) or, and I’m slightly ashamed to admit this, Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery (280 pages).  My eldest daughter has just finished reading this and is adamant that I should read it too.

15 points: Read a book that was originally written in a language that is not your native language. — Grotesque, Natsuo Kirino (467 pages).  If anyone else is looking for ideas for this category I highly recommend Blindness by Jose Saramago (320 pages)

15 points: Read a book written by a local author. — The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles, Katherine Pancol (447pages) (She's French.  And this was a hard topic to find a book for.  Yet another reason to move back to Scotland, methinks).

20 points: Read a "bookish book." — The Book of Lost Things, John Connolly (321 pages)

20 points: Read a book with a direction in the title. — South of the Border, West of the Sun, Haruki Murakami (224pages)

25 points: Read a book from a genre you don't usually read. — Stalin Ate My Homework, Alexei Sayle (321 pages) – autobiography

25 points: Read a book with a song lyric in the title. — Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro (304 pages) after Never Let Me Go by Florence and the Machine

 30 points: Read two books with a different meal in each title. — Campari for Breakfast, Sara Crowe (304 pages) and Dinner at Mine, Chris Smyth (295 pages)

Day 4: Orange