I'm reading
Happy New Year everyone!
The beginning of the year means resetting everything, including the counter for the number of books read. However, the counter now sits at 2 after the first 4 days of the year. Admittedly I finished two books yesterday otherwise it would still be at zero.
I finished reading The Sweet Life Cafe by Helen Rolfe which I really enjoyed. It is set on an island in the Channel Islands. In the list of books it is shown as a standalone novel, but it really does feel like it could be the start of a duology or trilogy! I am planning to review this later in the month!
I also read So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan. Her books are very short, but they do pack a punch!
Finally, I started reading The Girl from Lake Maggiore by Siobhan Daiko.
Bookish travel
Here's where I travelled too through the pages of books during December
Asia
Japan - The Menu of Happiness, Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop
Europe
Scotland - The Secret Christmas Library
Britain - Golden Girls on the Run, Hot Desk, The War Time Library, One December Morning,
Ireland - The Oyster Catcher
Normally this is where I talk about my best books for the month before. I read 8 books in December and they were all good but there was nothing exceptional. I gave every book I read a grading of 4/5. That may well also reflect how busy my brain is with other things!
I'm watching
We went to the movies on New Year's Eve and watched Nuremberg which stars Russell Crowe as Hermann Goerring, Rami Malek and Leo Woodall. It tells the story of the Nuremberg war trials, starting with the arrest of Goerring through to the verdicts in the first trial. It's a serious subject but the movie was very compelling. Here's the trailer
After we got home we watched the concert from Sydney leading up to the always spectacular fireworks. We do get a bit of a show in our local area with all the illegal fireworks!
On the lighter side we also watched Big Fat Quiz of the Year, hosted by Jimmy Carr, which is always a fun way to revisit some of the bigger stories of the year.
Life
On New Year's Day we decided to go and visit the Melbourne Museum where they currently have an exhibition called Treasures of the Viking Age which all about the Galloway Horde which was found in Scotland in 2014. The exhibition itself was very interesting. We also took the opportunity to take a look around the other parts of the museum. They have recently reopened the natural history part of the museum with all the stuffed animals etc. It is now very modern, very interactive with the use of lots of technology like screens etc. It's a very different space to what it was when I used to take my son to the museum! My favourite part is the garden, and it was great to see so many families out there!
Posts from the last week
Top Ten Tuesday: Most Recent Additions
One December Morning by Emma Davies
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - January
January in Japan: Since the last January in Japan
In My Kitchen: December
Six Degrees of Separation: The Four Dutchmen to Case Histories
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
I watched the original movie of t he Nuremberg tgrials, starring Marlene Dietrich. It was a fantastic movie. Glad this new one was good too. Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteI think there have been a few different versions over the years Harvee!
DeleteMap-wise you got around in December! The Galloway Horde exhibit sounds fascinating. Happy 2026!
ReplyDeleteOops! The above comment is mine.
DeleteI think I have travelled more in previous months Olivia!
DeleteYou did a great job of “travelling” in December! We have a ton of illegal fireworks in my neighbourhood that see to go off weekly year round. The frequency of these has ruined any joy - especially at 2:30 AM! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteOr when they are still being set off two days later!
DeleteHappy new year! Nice that you've already gotten some books read. I read one so far. The movie sounds fabulous. Hope you enjoy your week.
ReplyDeletehttps://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2026/01/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-mailbox.html
I was a bit slow on the reading but it's back on track now Cheryl!
DeleteI enjoyed The Secret Christmas Library on audio, I love the narrator's accent. The museum looks interesting, yes these days museums are so different to when we were younger, so much more interactive.
ReplyDeleteThere were weird gaps in the version I listened to so I had to listen to it at a faster speed so I didn't notice them
DeleteAhh, that exhibition sounds so cool. Sounds like a good museum, too.
ReplyDeleteIt was a really interesting exhibition!
DeleteHappy New Year! Looks like you are off to a good start with your reading. The museum sounds fabulous. I'd love to see it. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteit's a long way to come for a visit to a museum Kathy!
DeleteI want to see Nuremberg. Looks good! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteIt's worth watching Yvonne!
DeleteThat's a good idea to keep track of where your books take you to in the world! We only go to museums when we travel these days. I should try to visit the museums in our area more often!
ReplyDeleteWe need to visit more of our local museums too. We tend to only go when there is a big exhibition on!
DeleteI especially love your "bookish travel" section. That's such a fun way to keep track of what we're reading. I guess we could consider time travel as part of that tracking too of all the centuries we've visited in our books!
ReplyDelete