Top Ten Tuesdays: 10 Authors I am Looking Forward to Meeting at the Rachael Johns Book Club Retreat this weekend

 Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Bookish Wishes (List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your wish. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address [here’s how to do it on Amazon] or include the email address associated with your ereader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. Please don’t feel obligated to send anything to anyone!)

I am always a bit uncomfortable with this prompt, so I am changing the theme to suit me, which I do pretty regularly to be fair. This coming weekend I am heading down to Geelong, a regional city just over an hour away from where I live, and I will be attending the 2027 Racheal Johns Book Club Reader Retreat. I have been to all four of these and they are such a good weekend. There are usually around 100 readers and 20 guest authors. So here are books by 10 of the authors I am looking forward to meeting or seeing again this weekend.

The Lucky Sisters by Rachael Johns - Of course I had to have Rachael Johns on the list.

The Palace of Lost Virtue by Anthea Hodgson - Anthea is the co-host of the retreat so I had to have her on the list as well. I really liked The War Nurses by this author. We started hearing about this book at the last retreat and it sounds great. It is one of the book club choices for the weekend!

A Woman's Voice by Alli Sinclair - Last year I went to hear Alli Sinclair talk about this book and it sounds so good. 

The Paradise Pact by Anita Heiss - Anita Heiss is an amazing person to spend time with. Can't wait to hear more about this book! (Update - since I wrote this post a few weeks ago, it has been announced that Anita can no longer attend)

Where the Birds Call Her Name by Claire van Ryn - I have absolutely loved both of Claire van Ryn's books so I am very excited to meet her!

The Paradise Heights Miniature Railway Club by Kate Solly - I have booked a couple of times to go to author events with Kate Solly, but it just hasn't worked out, so I am pleased she is one of the feature authors this weekend.

The Bookshop of Buried Pasts by Sarah Clutton - I was supposed to go to the launch of this book a few weeks ago but I ended up having to work late so I didn't make it!

Better than the Real Thing by Brooke Crawford - Last year I ran into this author at quite a few events, so looking forward to seeing her again.

Sunrise at Sunny Cross Farm by Maya Linnell - I have read a couple of books by this author. This is her new book which has just come out!

The Wedding Forecast by Nina Kenwood - This sounds like such a fun read!

Have you ever been to a reader's retreat?

Top Ten Tuesday: Last 10 Author Events I Have Been To!

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Thanksgiving/Thankful Freebie. It took me a little while to think of something, but I got there in the end.

I am very lucky and yes, thankful, to live in a city with a very active book scene. There are always events on. Some times they are big named authors who attract a crowd of thousands, and sometimes it is a small event at a local library with just a handful of people. Then there are multiple festivals in various country towns and suburban areas. Sometimes I know lots of people in the room and other times not. One thing you do know when you go to an author event is that if nothing else you can talk about books! 

My post this week is the last ten author events I have been too. Usually if I attend an event I will buy the book and get it signed. Sometimes there are goodies, sometimes tasty treats, but the events are always fun!

Holly Brunbauuer - Just last week Bree from All the Books I Can Read went to our local library to hear this author talk about her debut novel, What Did I Miss? It was a very interactive session!

Rachael Johns (twice) - A couple of weeks ago I went to see Rachael Johns talk about The Lucky Sisters (my review) both at my even localler local library and then to a Books in Bars events in a regional city about an hour away from me.

Helen Goh - This was an event in the city where we not only got to listen to the conversation but also got to try some of the recipes from her latest cookbook, Baking and the Meaning of Life.

Steph Vizard - It was standing room only at this event which was the launch of her latest book,  A Smart Girl's Guide to Second Chances. 

January Gilchrist - By contrast, this was a very intimate conversation about January Gilchrist's debut novel,  The Final Chapter, which was held in what is in effect a sales office at a new residential development. This night was so much fun because it was such a small gathering! I took a friend with me who had never been to an author event before.

Madeleine Cleary and Anne Freeman - This was a fun night where these two authors spoke about their two books which both feature sex workers. One was set in 1850s Melbourne, The Butterfly Women (my review) and the other is a modern story about an online sex worker, Me That You See.

Emma Mugglestone - This launch for In the Long Run was held in a bar around half an hour or so away from me. There was even a delicious cocktail!

Alli Sinclair - This was a drive up the highway for an hour or so to an event in Ballarat to hear Alli Sinclair talk about her new book, A Woman's Voice.

Joanne Miller (The Eights), Chloe Adams (The Occupation) and Michelle See-Toh (Jade and Emerald) - This was an event held in a library about half an hour away from me, and featured three debut authors from Penguin. 

Alli Parker - This was a fun launch for Until the Red Leave Fall. It was held in a super cool bar. The mood was set with 1950s music and the crowd was buzzing! And there were these super cute cupcakes

Wow, that has surprised me. That only takes me back to the end of July this year. Oh, and I just realised I missed one too! Sorry Christine Newel! I suspect that there will be only one more event this year which I am going to on Thursday, but bring on next year, when it will start all over again!

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

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025, I have tried not to cross over too much with my previous lists of books that I am planning to read over the summer, although it probably would have been smarter not to add another 10 books to my TBR right?

The Lucky Sisters by Rachael Johns (October)- What can I say. Rachael Johns is always an autobuy author for me!

In the Paris Fashion by Sophie Beaumont (November) - I have loved both of the Sophie Beaumont books I have read so far! I am looking forward to seeing the final cover too!

Last Stop on the Winter Wonderland Express by Rebecca Raisin (August)- Super excited about this one!

Daughters of the Batavia by Stefanie Koens (July) - I have long been fascinated by the wreck of the Batavia and we also saw the replica when we went to The Netherlands a while ago, so keen to read this one. 

Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki (October) -  This is the follow up to The Full Moon Coffee Shop which I enjoyed a lot. 

The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin (August) - I am late to the party for Madeline Martin's historical fiction novels, but having read one recently, I am determined to not get further behind!

The Midnight Estate by Kelly Rimmer (July) - Kelly Rimmer has moved away from her excellent WWII novels, so it will be interesting to read this one!

The Forget-Me-Not Library by Heather Webber (November) - I really enjoy Heather Webber's books, although I think I am a couple of books behind!

The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts (November) - This is the final book in the Lost Brides trilogy. I have listened to the previous two so I imagine this will be another audiobook for me!

A Woman's Voice by Alli Sinclair (July) - I loved The Codebreakers so I am looking forward to this one!

Do you have any of the same books on your list this week:?

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Degrees of Separation

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books You’d be a Fool Not to Read (Happy April Fool’s Day! In honor of this silly holiday, share the books you think people must read for whatever reason. They could be your favorites, books you deem classics, books that you learned something important from, books you wish you’d read sooner, etc. You could even narrow it down to a specific genre and share the must-reads for that genre. Get creative!)

I am not really feeling this as a topic so I have decided to be a fool in a different way. Every month, I participate in a meme called Six Degrees of Separation. It is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best. The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links.

You can choose to make the links between books in any way that you like. It could be from a word in the title, part of the authors name, a cover that reminds you of another book, the subject of the book. It really is just a big game of association. In order to start things off, I am going to choose to use the last book I mentioned in last week's Top Ten Tuesday post and see where that takes me using 10 books instead of the normal 7!

So how does this make me foolish? Because I am doing the wrong meme!

My starting point is White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton as it was the last book that I mentioned in last week's Top Ten Tuesday post. 

One of the main characters names in Daughters of Tuscany by Siobhan Daiko is Rosa which connects nicely to the author's name for the previous book. (my review)

I am choosing to use the fact that the main setting for Still Life by Sarah Winman is Florence which is  the capital city of Tuscany This book is almost a love letter to the city.

From there I am choosing to use the word Life from the title and choose Life After Life by Kate Atkinson 

Another Kate whose writing I enjoy is Kate Forsyth who writes phenomenal fairy tale retellings wrapped up in historical fiction. Normally I would pick Bitter Greens but this time I am going with The Beast's Garden which is set against the backdrop of WWII.

Next I am choosing Briar Rose by Jane Yolen. This is another fairytale retelling I enjoyed, once again set during WWII. There are even some similar motifs on the cover of both of these books. (my review)

Using the word Rose and the WWII setting as the links I am choosing The Rose Code by Kate Quinn, which is about the codebreakers working at Bletchley during WWII. 

Still focusing on WWII settings, and the work of codebreakers, this time Australian women who were based in Brisbane, I have chosen The Codebreakers by Alli Sinclair

I hadn't really intended to have so many WWII connections, but here is another one. My main link though is that both authors have the same first name. I have therefore chose At the Foot of the Cherry Tree by Alli Parker as my next link.  

And finally, I am using the word tree as my link to Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak . (my review)

So there we have it! 10 books linked by various different means taking us from a Korean woman living in Japan in the lead up to WWII to a book where the Cypriot characters are living in London following years of conflict on their island. I inadvertently ended up with quite a few WWII books, as well as several books with roses on the cover!

I would mention that there are lots of option with every level of this there are multiple different ways you could go. For example, I saw Sarah Winman at Melbourne Writers Festival a few years ago now, so I could have picked any other author who I have seen at MWF as my next choice and the chain would have ended up looking very different, and everyone's chains are always unique. Do you think you would have fun doing this exercise?

Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Books of 2022

 

 

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Favourite Books of 2022. I have linked to reviews where I have one, bu as usual, I didn't write reviews for most of them. Will try to do better in 2023.

I am pretty stingy when it comes to handing out 5 star grades. There were only two but as I look at the list there are several of the 4.5 stars that should probably have been 5 stars. Oh well. First the 5 star reads.

The Island Of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak - I loved this book so much. It wasn't what I expected at all and it was so good! (My review)

The Beautiful Words by Vanessa McCausland - My one word review of this book for an earlier TTT was "beautiful"

Now for some of my 4.5/5 reviews

Book Lovers by Emily Henry - I listened to this on audio and loved it! The way that the narrator has Charlie saying "Stephens" when he is addressing the main character. Ooh la la!

With Love from Wish and Co by Minnie Darke - Darke's previous book, The Lost Love Song was one of my favourites last year. This one was really good too!

The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku - What an extraordinary story. Eddie was a Jewish prisoner of war in WWII and then built a life for himself in Australia after the war.

Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci - Do yourself a favour and listen to this one on audio. And then maybe borrow it from the library, and then buy the book.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune - I was definitely getting FOMO so I had to read this one, and now I know what all the fuss is about.

Escape to the French Farmhouse by Jo Thomas - I read this by accident. I had another similarly titled book that I had to read for a blog tour and I read this one instead. I have since read another of her books and just bought another one, so I guess it worked out well.

The Codebreakers by Alli Thomas - This was about a group of Australian women who worked as codebreakers from a garage in the Brisbane suburbs during WWII.

Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran - Set in an aged care home, this book tells the story of how an extended family came to Australia from Sri Lanka, and about the current challenges they face in terms of dealing with age and racism. 

Honourable mentions to The Stand In by Lily Chu, and both The Christmas Party and The Last Summer by Karen Swan

Six Degrees of Separation: The True History of the Kelly Gang to The Goldminer's Sister

 

 

Welcome to this month's edition of Six Degrees of Separation, which is a monthly meme hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best.  The idea is to start with a specific book and make a series of links from one book to the next using whatever link you can find and see where you end up after six links.  I am also linking this post up with The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz. 

The starting point for this month is The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey

The Codebreakers by Alli Sinclair - My first choice based on a true story that didn't come to light until the early 2000s. This book tells the story of the women who worked out of a garage in suburban Brisbane breaking codes.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn - Another book based on the hidden history of codebreakers, this time based in Bletchley Park in the UK.

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn - Myconnection is really that this another Kate Quinn novel, but it doesn't hurt that this book features  a femail pilot which links it back to The Codebreakers too.

Black Diamonds by Kim Kelly - Speaking of diamonds.....

The Diamond Hunter by Fiona McIntosh- and sticking with the diamond theme

The Goldminer's Sister by Alison Stuart - My final selection moves away from diamonds towards gold. Another name for someone who hunts for diamonds and gold is a miner.

So there we have six choices that  are all historical fiction which often gives us a fictionalised version of history.

The starting poing for next month is Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason.

Top Ten Tuesday: One Word Reviews

 

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the 

topic is One-Word Reviews for the Last Ten Books I Read (submitted by Susan @ Bloggin’ ’bout Books). A fun topic!

The Life She Dreams by Maggie Christensen - Farewell - The last book in the Granite Springs series.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones - Classic- My first book by this beloved fantasy author.

The Postcard from Italy by Angela Petch - Inspiring - We are now planning to visit the part of Italy that this book is set in.

The Christmas Party by Karen Swan - Engrossing - Read this one in a single sitting which is very rare for me now.

The Beautiful Words by Vanessa McCausland - Beautiful - Obviously taking inspiration here from the title but it does apply as a review too.

The Codebreakers by Alli Sinclair - Fascinating - a little known story from Australian WWII history.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (translated by Geoffrey Trousselot - Time-travel - The second book set in a cafe in Tokyo

The Custard Tart Café by the Sea by Isabella May - Tasty - Just thinking about this book makes me want to eat custard tarts.

The Snowy Mountain Cattleman by Alissa Callen - Fab! - Already looking forward to the next book in this series.

Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran -  Unexpected - The saying don't judge a book by it's cover applies here. The cover looks kind of light and cutesy but it has so many deep topics inside the cover.

So there are the last ten books I have read!

This Week....

 

I'm reading...

After a week last week where I didn't get to read much, I did manage to get some reading done, mostly on Friday afternoon. I picked up my book and just kept on reading for the most of the evening! I really enjoyed getting lost in the pages of The Codebreakers by Alli Sinclair. The story was even more interesting because it was based on the true story of a group of women who worked decoding messages during World War II in a garage in suburban Brisbane. 

I have also started reading The Custard Tart Cafe by Isabel May which is pulling double duty for both for this week's Weekend Cooking post and a blog tour! Better get reading so I can be ready in time.

I'm watching....

We spent the early part of this week catching up on the Sail GP  - think grand prix but with super fast, super hi tech boats. My husband loves sailing and his dream is to own a boat one day. To be fair, I don't know the first thing about race sailing but there's no doubt it is more dramatic than I expected it to be. I think we are thinking very hard about going to see one of these races in Christchurch next year.

It was also the finale of this year's Great Australian Bake Off. Fortunately, it is only a couple of week's until Masterchef Australia starts again. We are also getting the new series of Great Kiwi Bake Off soon too.

Life....

I learnt a very important lesson on Saturday night. As I was leaving home I realised that I had left my phone at home, but I thought about it and then thought, well, I'm with my husband who is likely the only person to call me, so it won't matter if I don't go back and get it! 

Wrong!!

I had completely forgotten that I would need to show my vaccination certificate when we entered both the restaurant and the theatre where we were going! Ooops!

Luckily we found our way in and enjoyed the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performance of Brahms Piano Concerto No.2 and Korngold Symphony in F-sharp. My husband loves orchestral music so it was a treat for him.

We also spent Sunday in the Yarra Valley at a craft market and at a flower festival. Autumn is here in earnest now. It was grey and drizzly for most of the day but the flowers were lovely. 

Posts from the last week

Bookish Quotes: What is Philology?

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - April link up

Weekend Cooking: What I Baked in March

Six Degrees of Separation: Our Wives Under the Sea to Mr Rosenblum's List

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

This Week....

I'm reading...

I didn't find much time to read at all this week. I started a couple of books but only got to read a few pages of each of them. Hopefully I can make some progress this week.

The first book I started was Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett which I am reading for March Magics. It only took a couple of pages for me to start smiling. I really should Pratchett more often. The packaging of this particular edition surprised me a little. There is no description at all. Not on inside covers or back covers. Maybe that is a sure sign that you have made it? 

The other book I started was The Codebreakers by Alli Sinclair, the story of Australian code breakers during World War II. I need to finish this as I can't extend my library loan again.

I'm watching.....

Another week of not watching a lot I'm afraid.

Life

Last week was the first time I had worked back in the office for several months. This week I ended up working two days in the office. We have just moved into a new location. It is an existing building that has been reimagined. The spaces and functionality are very impressive. Not enough to convince we mtaht I need to go in more than once a week, or at maybe twice at a stretch.

The highlight of this week was going to see Hamilton on Friday night. We were supposed to go to Sydney last year to see it, but that got cancelled. We already have tickets for May, but I thought that we would put our name into the $10 ticket lottery and we won! And the seats - front row! We will still go again in May, but I think after that I might put our names in again and see if we can get seats again. 

On Saturday night we went to see An American in Paris. Now, I am not sure if we would have enjoyed it more if we hadn't just seen Hamilton, or maybe it just wasn't the right event for us. It was nice, but we didn't love it. 

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Adjectives in the Title

Weekend Cooking: Breakfast Songs

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