This week....

I'm reading

Well, I guess it was to be expected. I started my new job last week and my reading time took a complete nosedive! Things weren't helped by the fact that I chopped and changed what I was reading so I currently have several books on the go. At the moment I am struggling a little bit to juggle review due dates with library due dates with the books I have left on my 20 Books of Winter list, and with the books I want to read for Aussie August and Women in Translation month. And, of course, then there are the books that I just want to read for the sheer fun of it!

I started reading The Three Juliets by Minnie Darke, which is one of the books I nominated for my 20 Books of Winter list but I had to put it aside to read 100 Years of Betty by Debra Oswald as I realised it was due back at the library and could not be extended.

Another book from my 20 Books of Winter list that I started was The Midnight Bakery by Emma Davies. This will also be a post for Weekend Cooking at some in the future, assuming I can get back to it. 

I did read Will You Stay Another Day by Samantha Tonge which I will review this week as part of a blog tour.

I started The Girl from the War Room by Catherine Law which is one of two books due to be reviewed next week for blog tours.

Then I started The Florence Sisters by Tessa Harris, thinking that book would be the next book due back at the library but then two more books came up as non-renewable. I therefore started reading The Convenience Store by the Sea by Sonoko Machida. Fortunately this was the perfect book to read in one sitting on a Sunday afternoon! I really loved it!

I may be putting too much pressure on myself!

I did go to an author event this week! I took a drive up the highway to a town called Ballarat which is just under an hour away. Whilst that sounds like a bit of a drive, it is actually easier to get to than some of the bookstores on the other side of town. This time, I went to hear Chloe Adams and Alli Sinclair talk about their new books. I went to see Chloe Adams last week but this is the first time I had heard Alli Sinclair talk. I have been a fan since I read her book The Codebreakers. Her new book is called A Woman's Voice and it sounds so good! I have a couple of author events this week which I am really looking forward to!

I'm watching


Portugal and Spain are places that are on our bucket list so when I saw that Michael Portillo had a show on Portugal we binge watched all three episodes. The first three shows focussed on Porto, Braga and The Algarve. When there are new episodes we will watch more.

We also started watching Michael Palin in Nigeria. My son is half Nigerian and my husband lived there for a couple of years (before me obviously) and so I was keen to see something about Lagos which is where my ex was from.

I also watched the Netflix movie My Oxford Year, which is based on the book by Julia Whelan, better known as audiobook narrator extraordinaire. I liked the movie, although I was a bit surprised by the melodramatic turn in the story. 

I finally watched the second Fisherman's Friends movie which is called Fisherman's Friends: One and All. I have had it on my list for a few years at least! I really enjoyed this movie, and especially the sea shanty soundtrack.



Life


So far, the new job is great! The people are nice, there are going to be plenty of challenges and opportunities, and I feel like a can make a difference. There is a lot of information overload at this point though! It is a bit of a change after being off work for nearly 10 months, especially on those days when I have to get on the train relatively early! I am sure I will get back into the routine soon enough.

Posts from the last week


20 Books of Winter - July 
Top Ten Tuesday: Sports Romances
Blog Tour: A Place in the Sun by Jo Thomas
Blog Tour: One Snowy Day by Shari Low
Blog Tour: Waves of Change in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen
Afternoon Tea Diaries: The Tea Rooms
The Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: July statistics

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings