First Book 2022 and Happy New Year

And I see for the ninth time we celebrate our first book of the year. I chose mine off the print TBR shelf. I chose a new to me author, and one with a summer cover… because of course its summer down here in New Zealand. As I post, it is the evening of January 1st and I have read a few pages. Very promising.

And my first audiobook for 2022 is Venetia because I felt like an historical and fun. Listened to some of this so far today, hmmm jury is still out!

May 2022 be one of health and happiness for you and your family. May the books read be fantastic.

First Book of the Year 2021

Well I have made that all important choice of what book to start my reading life in 2021. Plus I really enjoy seeing what others have chosen.

So I have gone for a backlist book published in 2014.
It’s #2 in a series.
It is a cozy mystery.
It comes from the library.
It has a link to a hobby I love.

I’ve had it sitting here for a little while as I was saving it up, because I could. The library gives 5 weeks for having it out over the holiday period.

This year I hope to read a few more cozy mysteries, I enjoyed the first one in this series, and was interested in a few quilting tips I didn’t know about. One was if you prick your finger and get a bit of blood on the fabric, your spit will help take it out! I haven’t had to test that yet!

Knot in My Backyard by Mary Marks. I love that blue quilt on the cover!

First Book of the New Year 2020

Since 2014 Sheila over at Book Journey has been leading us in choosing that first special book of the year. Its thanks to her that I have been doing it since then, I just hadn’t thought of it before. However I think its such a great idea.

For 2020 I am choosing one of my own bookshelf and its a reread as well. It is a large number of years since I read it and I bought myself a new copy because I have no idea where the copy I read is.

Its by Rumer Godden, written in the 1960’s and considered a bit of a classic. I know I liked it first time round, but draw a big blank on it now even as I read the blurb!

Bruised by tragedy, Philippa Talbot leaves behind a successful career with the civil service for a new calling: to join an enclosed order of Benedictine nuns. In this small community of fewer than one hundred women, she soon discovers all the human frailties: jealousy, love, despair. But each crisis of heart and conscience is guided by the compassion and intelligence of the Abbess and by the Sisters’ shared bond of faith and ritual. Away from the world, and yet at one with it, Philippa must learn to forgive and forget her past

Would you read it? Have you read it?

 

I’m Not Tickled Pink!

Most people who know me know I have a thing about pink. Because its my least favourite colour. Over at Anna’s Herding Cats Burning Soup she is challenging us to think pink this month!

When I arrived in this house there were salmon pink curtains – not so bad but I said “I’m gonna change them soon”. Yes like nearly ahem 17 years later they are still there. But… look out 2019 is the year!

The bathroom was very pink – the walls in the house were all light pink. No! No! At least now most of the walls in the house are a yellow. And the kitchen cabinets have been painted out from their pink colour. The pink bathroom is gone. Yes!

But… I can’t escape pink – well apart from the fact I don’t wear it. I am more an autumn wearing person.

I am learning to accept pink! Allow it about here and there. Someone planted pink flowers in my garden. I used to chop them all off. Now I just am thankful for flowers.

I fell in love with this pink fabric! What! No its quite nice really. I loved sewing it up. I’ll give the quilt away but… well I do like the pink in this one!

I think I could adapt to pink here and there!

Taking a look at my bookshelves I see hardly any pink covers – maybe a couple. One library book too that has a kinda rose pink cover that I am planning to read soon. But I can cope with a pinkish book cover.

What’s your favourite colour and what’s the one you try to avoid and perhaps like me not totally be able to escape.

If you are a lover of pink – what’s your favourite thing in pink? Would you drive a pink car? Cook with pink pots? Have a pink phone? Have an all pink bathroom? Well you know I wouldn’t!

First Book of the Year

Oh yes time to pick that first book of the year. The one that sets the tone we hope for all the reading in 2019.

I have chosen one that is written about a woman who marries C. S. Lewis. I have seen this book well reviewed by other readers I respect and so it came into my hands from the library just in time to be my pick. I have started it as its the 1st of Jan here already, I have perused the back and all the research she has done for this book so feeling very positive about it.

I find it is a bit of a risk reading a fiction book about a real life person, some books in the past I haven’t liked what the author did with those people. However I like Patti Callahan’s books so I was willing to read.  I know nothing about her although of course like most I have read some of C. S. Lewis’ books and loved the movie Shadowlands. Hmm that makes me want to re-watch that movie.

And a Very Happy New Year everyone.

Celebrating 2018 Books and Reading

Top Books for 2018

I read about 155 books this year and here are the ones I really loved.

A Favourite New to Me Author

This Irish author – I’ll be back reading her books as time goes by, I have already purchased an audio for future happiness. Trish from Between my Lines introduced me to this book, and I just loved it. I borrowed it from the library but I am waiting till I can buy it with this cover and then I will buy it. I know this cover doesn’t look much, but read the book and then went “perfect cover”.

A Debut that I Liked

Extraordinary book for a debut, beautifully written, one that sucked me in, even though I wasn’t happy about the ending but that is neither here nor there!

Coverlicious

This cover just says “read me” when I look at it, and I love the colours and the Christmas lights.

Addictive Read

Well that would be the Fatal series by Marie Force and this year was no different. And as can be seen from my Goodreads Year in Books – so many other readers are with me on that! By the way that’s not the highest rated book on Goodreads. Just out of the books I’ve read this year! This series I just love. Romantic suspense in spades. But should be read from Book one.

 

 

So thought provoking

This one touched my heart and mind. What about you might ask? Homelessness. Such a memorable book.

Best Library find

I borrowed this from the library in CD audiobook format, a bit of a pain listening on CD but I made it work for me and was great listening. Saved me a credit at Audible! That said, 2018 was the year of the library for me, so many new 2018 books read from there.

Thank you to the wonderful authors who wrote these books and many thanks to bloggers who shared their reads and hooked me in to reading them.

Welcome on in.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

A smooth landing in from my Blogger blog. Hopefully this change will continue to go smoothly and my blogging and reading life will continue on as usual!

 

So