Monday, October 25, 2021

This Week...


 I'm reading...



Not a lot of progress on the reading front this week. I had to stop listening to Susanna Kearsley (The Winter Sea) while I was reading Susanna Kearsley (The Vanished Days). In fact, I didn't read much at all this week. 



I can't really settle on an audiobook at the moment. I did start listening to another one this week which was the new autobiography by one of the Masterchef hosts, Jock Zonfrillo. He also narrates the book so I am getting to listen to him tell his own story with his fabulous Scottish accent. I am hoping that this will catch my attention, especially seeing as I don't often read non fiction.



I'm watching...



On Friday night we watched Wonder Woman 1984. I was underwhelmed, which is disappointing seeing as the first movie was really good.



Other than that, my main weekend viewing was Historical Novel Society Australasia Conference. The schedule was two full days jam packed with session about historical fiction of all kinds. I didn't get to watch as much as I would have like, but luckily the panels and interviews are all available for the next three months as part of the conference price, so I can watch them at my own leisure. There were also some chat salons which was an opportunity to talk to authors talk about a specific topic. These were not recorded which is a shame. I did see the one hosted by Kate Quinn, author of The Rose Code amongst other things,where she was talking to lots of other authors about WWII. So interesting. Here she is with Kate Forsyth in the earlier conversation.



I have been to a couple of other HNSA conferences and whilst online is in no way the same as being in the same room, there are also some advantages of being at home. When you are on location, you can't put a load of washing on between sessions, or watch the first session while having a cup of tea in bed, or dash to have a shower etc between sessions. Yes, I did all of these things.



Life



After 262 days of lockdown on and off since March 2020, Melbourne celebrated Freedom Day on Friday. Our last lockdown started in mid July and was supposed to be a short, sharp lockdown. It last more than 3 months.



There were lots of people who went out and partied, but to be honest, the thought of Freedom Day was pretty anxiety inducing for me. I am sure we will get out and about a bit more over the coming weeks, but this week it was all about seeing family. 



On Saturday night we went to my sister;s for a games night which was a lot of fun. We played two games. The first was called Codename and the other Stupid Deaths. If I had to pick one, I would choose Codename. On Sunday we went to see my husband's/our daughter's new house which she moved into a couple of weeks ago.  The last time we went to see it, it was at the frame stage. Now it's finished! Won't be long before our house starts getting built.



Posts from the last week



Top Ten Tuesday: Back to the 80s

Music A-Z: U

Bookish Quotes: Wise Words

Weekend Cooking: When Life Gives You Lemons





I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

10 comments:

  1. I can’t blame Victorians relief at lockdown being lifted, but I think caution is still sensible given case numbers.
    The HNSA program looked interesting but sadly I couldn’t spare the $$

    Wishing you a great reading week

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    1. I have been to 3 of the 4 HNSA conferences so I was determined to not miss this one Shelleyrae.

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  2. Glad to hear your lockdown has been lifted. I'd still be less than eager to gather in crowds even if it is celebrating "freedom." I'm pondering my next audiobook choice since I just finished a long series. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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    1. I am sure I will get used to it soon Kathy!

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  3. Virtual conferences definitely have their advantages! Sometimes I find listening to a memoir requires less focus/concentration than a novel.

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    1. I don't listen while I am working otherwise I would be distracted by both.

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  4. I've read jock's book. there's been so much controversy about it. it was very readable but i didn't believe a word of it! Marco pierre White says it's all rubbish! hilarious.

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    Replies
    1. I just went and read a couple of articles Sherry. It doesnt paint him in that great a light does it

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