Last twenty books

I saw this meme over at Mysteries in Paradise, and thought it might be fun to do. Kerrie saw it at Kittling Books, and Cathy is the one who came up with this fun image to go with the meme. Now that I have had a bit of a look at where my last reads have come from it's not actually that interesting! Never mind, I will share it anyway.

So the idea is to share where your last twenty reads came from. Did you buy them new from a bookstore, did you receive a review copy, or from the author directly? Maybe you received some of the books as part of blog tour?

My last twenty read are as follows:

Betrayed by PC Cast and Kristin Cast (Library)
The Bridegroom by Linda Lael Miller (Review copy from publisher)
A Fatal Waltz by Tasha Alexander (Library)
Made to be Broken by Kelley Armstrong (Library)
A Hollow Crown by Helen Hollick (Library)
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley (Library)
Sin and Scandal in England by Melody Thomas (Library)
The French Mistress by Susan Holloway Scott (ARC from author)
Hugh and Bess by Susan Higginbotham (Review copy from publisher)
Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas (Library)
The Dream Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Library)
The Piano Teacher by Janice Y K Lee (Library)
Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn (Library)
Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts (Library)
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich (Library)
The Dark Rose by Cynthia Harrod Eagles (Library)
Chosen by P C Cast and Kristin Cast (Library)
An Affair Before Christmas by Eloisa James (Library)
Lord of the Silent by Elizabeth Peters (Library)
The Wedding Officer by Anthony Capella (Library)

So based on this selection, 85% of my reads come from the library. Just because I was interested I went back to look at all the books that I have read this year and found that this is actually not all that far off for the year. So far this year just over 81% of my reads have come from the library.

What would I do without my local library?

Actually, during the same time that it has taken me to read the above books, I have acquired 19 books but haven't read any of them. Scary! Of those books, 11 were books that I bought, 5 are review books and the remaining 3 are books that I won in contests. Without my local library I might actually get some of these books read!

These Books were made for Walking meme

Strumpet has posted this month's These Books were made for Walking question:

Is there a place that you have always dreamed of visiting specifically because of a book you read? It can be any kind of book: fiction, non-fiction, travelogue, you name it. If you have been to the place, did it live up to your expectations? If you haven't been, do you think you'll ever make it there?

Strumpet and I actually have the same city as at least part of our response, but because of different books!

I have wanted to go to St Petersburg since reading Paullina Simon's fantastic trilogy that starts with The Bronze Horseman. I can't tell you how much that book captured my imagination and made me want to go to Russia, and if I could make it during the White Nights of the Russian summer then that would be totally fantastic too! It certainly didn't hurt that not long after reading TBH, I then read Anna Karenina, which is predominantly also set in St Petersburg, but a hundred or so years earlier. Click here for images of St Petersburg.

I love it when reading a book makes me want to go there! There was a time after reading Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes, I so wanted to go to Tuscany again. Not just a little bit, but desperately, desperately! I know that going cyber touring isn't the same as actually being there, but I am grateful that it is possible to just click on links and find all kinds of images to further whet the appetite.

In some ways there are lot of places that I would love to go back to as well as new places to go to. After reading Sharon Kay Penman's books, I would love to go to Wales for the first time, but there are so many books that I have read that make me want to go to plaes where I have been before because I think I would appreciate the history, and the experience so much more than I did when I was 24 and travelling the world. I am sure if I was to go to a lot of the same places again now it would be a totally different experience than it was back then!

While I have been lucky enough to travel quite a lot, my life is in a far different place now, and even though my feet get very itchy some times I have pretty much resolved myself to the fact that for the time being I am not really going to be going anywhere! Cyber tourism will have to do for me for now.

So here is a video made from the movie of Under the Tuscan Sun.




And I had to post this one just for the food alone!

These Books were made for Walking meme

Strumpet from Strumpets life has had a cool idea for a meme! The These Books Were Made for Walking meme is designed to "blog about a book and travel in some way". This will be a monthly meme, held on the third Wednesday of every month. This month's theme is Beach reads.

I must start with a confession. I don't do beach reads. The idea of tyring to get comfortable under the hot sun with a book doesn't really appeal to me that much. Neither does showing the body that I have NOT worked so hard to get on the beach actually. Part of the reason is that over the years Aussies have been inundated with so many messages about skin cancer, that for me, sun bathing is very much a thing that I stopped doing when I was a teenager. I don't know of any of my friends who do so regularly either. It was kind of amusing when I lived in the UK because if there was a nice sunny weekend, everyone else would come into work either brown or red from sunbaking, and I would be the whitest person there. It's not exactly the sun bronzed Aussie image that is portrayed so often in the media, but never mind!

That answer isn't really in the spirit of the meme though, so I thought I would talk about the kinds of books that make me think of the beach. If I did read at the beach or the pool it would most likely whichever book I was currently reading. I wouldn't make specific choices just because I was going to the beach or pool or whatever. The other thing is that if I wasn't going to go swimming, then I would most likely take my MP3 player and listen to a book as opposed to reading it, so that I could still supervise my son as he was swimming around.

Interestingly enough, it appears that there are some people who enjoy more high brow literature for on the beach. For me, if I was going to sit by the pool or on the beach, then I would want something that I didn't have to concentrate all the time on, so that rules out a lot of the classics, and more literature type reads. What I can see myself reading are some of the sprawling sagas that follow families through the years. Something nice and meaty, that will take a while to get through. For example, some of James Micheners books would do the trick, and there are a couple of his books that would give pretty good beach descriptions as well. I am thinking specifically of Hawaii and South Pacific for example. Actually, any chunksters that you can really get lost in would probably be suitable!

I hope that some of you feel inspired to join Strumpet's meme! I think it has a fun theme, and look forward to posting again next month! If you do respond to the meme let me know and I will come check it out!

I'm being punished!

Some time ago Michele from A Reader's Respite tagged me to do a post about 6 things about myself. I started the post, and have been thinking about what I might possibly say as my six things, but never quite got around to actually finishing deciding what they were or posting my list.

Now, my tendency to procrastinate has got me in trouble, because now I have been tagged by Ana (and I think someone else) to do the Six or Seven Random Things About Myself meme that is going around!

How did it grow by a further item? I am not going to ignore it this time, because next time it might be 8 random things I have to think of!


1. I can touch my nose with the tip of my tongue and I can curl my tongue. This is as close as I get to having a party trick. Good job I don't go to parties very often!

2. Like Ana, I hate being photographed and avoid it whereever possible. I think part of it is that when I look at a photo I see myself how other people see me and not how I think I look when I look in the mirror.

3. I think I was probably a bit mean today. My son has a friend over to stay. He has been a few times, but the first time he came I posted about it here. He just about drove me crazy. Tonight, I served him up the same pasta he wouldn't eat last time, and guess what...he's eating it! Guess if you are hungry enough you will eat anything!

Uh-oh. Might have got a bit excited here, he has eaten a bit, but not nearly enough.

4. My computer monitor really doesn't like the heat. If I am on it for too long it goes black and I then need to give it a rest for a while. It has always done this. The unfortunate thing is that we are coming into summer and we tend to have quite warm summers. It can be very irritating at times!

5. Every morning when I get up I spend at least an hour on the computer checking emails, some blogs and forums, and then I get ready for work. It is a habit that I really must break, but I don't think I can! Then when I get home from work, I spend even longer doing the same things, including trying to get my Bloglines feeds down to zero - something I am not always successful at.

6. I can not begin to express how much it bugs me when people park outside of the marked bays at the train station car park when there are still spaces left at the back. Once it is full, park where ever you can, but if there are still spaces, then use them and walk instead of being lazy!

7. I am currently in the middle of a reviewing slump. Notice that I didn't say reading slump, because I am definitely still motoring through the books, but I am struggling to sit down and write reviews for my books even if I have just finished them, or if I loved them. Hopefully this goes away soon, because I have a list a mile long of books that I need to review.


Now for who to tag: (Bwahahaha!)

We'll start with some reason commenters - Kim from Sophisticated Dorkiness,
Strlady from Sandy's Reading Journal, Kerrie from Mysteries in Paradise and Julia from Julia's Book Corner. I am also going to tag Jane, Natasha from Maw Books, Bonnie from Bon's Time Out.

Of course, if you feel inspired to do this meme yourself (and lets face it...why wouldn't you be! LOL!) then leave a comment with a link so I can find out a little about you too.

Book Blowout - Mini Challenge

The Where’s your book set? meme

Here’s how it works - just answer some or all of the following questions about the book you are currently reading (or just finished if you are between books). You can either post your answers on your blog and link us up using Mr Linky below - or post your answers here in the comments.

Here’s the questions:

1. Title and author of the book

2. What year is the book set in?

3. What happened on this day in that year? Go to google and type in the date ie 13 July 1952 and see if you can find a news item for that day

4. Where is your book set?

5. Have you visited that place before? If yes tell us something about your trip. If no, look the location up on google and tell us an interesting fact about the city/country.

At the moment I am reading The Cupid Effect by Dorothy Koomson. It is chick lit so is contemporary so for something that happened I am going to go with the year that the book was published which was 2003. On this day in 2003, Hurricane Claudette struck the coast of Texas. You can view some pictures here.

The book is set within the university/student world in Leeds in the UK. I have been to Leeds quite a few times as I used to live in Sheffield which is about 30 miles away. The main reason we used to go to Leeds was because it was the closest Ikea, but other good things about Leeds are some of the buildings like The Corn Exchange, and the National Armoury which was a fascinating place to visit as it houses many of the items from the Royal Armoury including shields, armor, and I remember visiting it one day and watching a really cool falconry display! Another good thing about visiting Leeds when I lived in the UK, was that it was home to the first Harvey Nichols outside London so my friends and I could go all Ab Fab sweety darling which was always a good laugh!

JUNEBloom

Julia tagged me for this last week, but I have had such a busy week at work, that I haven't had a chance to do it before now.

Rules:

Determine your birthday month and get a word that rhymes with it or you can affix to it. Caps lock your birth month (ex: MAYday! JUNE dune, APRILicious, JULYvely, AUGUST pocus, parched MARCH…). Be unique.

Your birth month plus the word affixed or rhymed shall become the tag’s title in your case.

Get your birthday and add the digits involved. Example, if your birthday falls on the 25th of July, add 2 and 5 you get 7.

Whatever is the sum, write a list of the MATERIAL gifts you wish to receive, the number of which shall correspond to the sum of your birthday. For example, applying the case above (in rule number 3), you will write seven (7) things you wish to receive.

After your wish list, put your name and birthday in the Bloggers’ Birthday Directory, with a link to your blog/s. Note: when you add your birthday, please place it in a way that the dates appear chronological (January, February… 1, 2, 3)
Pass this tag meme by tagging as many people as you want.

Name: Marg (JUNE Bloom)
Birthday: June 7
Calculation: 7

My Wish List:

1. Bookshelves
2. Books
3. A new frying pan
4. New clothes
5. New computer
6. Cleaning lady to come in once every couple of weeks
7. New job

Bloggers’ Birthday Directory:


February 20 - Caryl February 23 - Jammy March 7 - Mari March 29 - Rachel May 3 - Vannie May 8 - joanjoyce May 27 - Zang CaesarJune 7 - Marg September 25 - Alice Teh September 30 - Mckhoii October 4 - Julia October 22 - MommyBa December 18 - JoshuaOngYS December 19 - Alpha December 20 - Suzanne YOUR BIRTHDAY HERE


Who to tag for this one. I will go with Jane, Clare and whoever else wants to do it!

123 Meme

Clare from Confession of a Book Addict has tagged me for the 123 meme. I've done this a few times now but I don't really mind doing it again, as long as I have different books near me, which luckily this time I do!


1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

The book nearest to me is The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer.


"Speaking for myself, I never point bayonets at girls I mean to rape," said Harry.

"Pechero! malvodo!" Juana cried, pummelling him, but bubbling over with laughter.

Harry grabbed at her wrists.




This time I am going to tag Jane from Colour Me Jane, Li from Me and My Books, Kylee from Kylee's Book Blog
and whoever else would like to play along!

123 Meme

I've been tagged by Kerrie from Mysteries in Paradise!


I've had a clean up since the last time I was tagged for this meme, which does not mean that there are no books lying around within arms reach - just that there are different books! The books close by are Sleeping with the Fishes by Mary Janice Davidson (just starting this one), The Romanov Bride by Robert Alexander (finished not too long ago), Churchill's Triumph by Michael Dobbs (just wrote a review of this one), The Rose of Sebastapol by Katharine McMahon (my reading on the train book) and the one that I am going to be posting from which is Dead Man's Walk by Larry McMurtry (just finished today).

The rules are simple:

1. Pick up the nearest book.

2. Open to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

Mr. Forsythe was pleasant to him, but vague about when his daughter might return.

"I can't predict her," he said. "She's like the wind."

I tag Nymeth from Things Mean a Lot, Ladytink from The Movieholic and Bibliophile's Blog, Sandy from Sandy's Reading Journal, Rhinoa from Rhinoa's Ramblings and Teddy Rose from So Many Precious Books, So Little Time.

Non-Fiction All the Way?

Now there's a post title I would NEVER have expected to see on my blog!

Gautami has started a new meme about non-fiction, and I have had it sitting in my draft for about a week! I am so sorry that I didn't get to this earlier Gautami.

What issues/topic interests you most--non-fiction, i.e, cooking, knitting, stitching, theatre infinite topics that has nothing to do with novels?

For me, I am most likely pick up books about history, cooking or biographies/autobiographies/memoirs. Actually, when it comes to cooking I am most likely to buy magazines, and never actually get around to reading them but I am partial to a beautiful looking cookbook as well.

Would you like to review books concerning those?

In theory, if I read the book, I review them, although you all know that I am notoriously behind in my reviews! I am keeping up to date with the ones that I am currently reading but not making much impact on the backlog I have.

Would you like to be paid or do it as interest or hobby? Tell reasons for what ever you choose.

Whilst it would be nice to be paid to review, many of my reviews are purely based on my gut reactions to what I read and therefore can be changeable which I don't think bodes well for doing it professionally. In terms of being paid, I am still at the point where I am thrilled when I receive a package contains free books, so I am still happy with that for the time being. If anyone wants to give me money as well I am all open for that too!

Would you recommend those to your friends and how?

Mostly word of mouth. Luckily the girl I sit next to at work is a reader too, so we often have a chat about a variety of things including what we are reading, books we have loved etc.

If you have already done something like this, link it to your post.

Here's a link to everything that I have tagged as non fiction on my blog.

Please don't forget to link back here or whoever tags you.

Given that most people have already done this (again, sorry for being so slack!) I am not going to specifically tag anyone, but if you are interested please feel free to do it!

6 Unimportant Things About Me!

Kris from The Reading Spot has tagged me for a meme.

The rules are:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six unimportant things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your blog entry.
5. Let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs.


I have never read Jane Austen. Don't ask me why...just haven't.

Whenever I see a mention of a book that sounds the slightest bit interesting I add it to my TBR list. Sometimes, if it sounds very interesting, I will add every book by that author to my TBR list. My TBR list currently has 2134 items on it!

I am REALLY bad at opening my mail...unless it is obviously a book or from a friend!

I have been bungee jumping, jet boating and white water rafting.

I work for a church based charity. Whilst I don't swear at home at all (okay....very rarely) I swear like a trooper at work!

The first thing I do in the morning when I get up, and as soon as I get home from work is check my emails, groups and favourite blogs. Then, after dinner I will visit read through all the rest of my blogfeeds. I spend far too much time online!

Now...who to tag! Lots of people have already done this, but how about Daphne, Teddy Rose, Zeek, Ana, Rhinoa and....You!

Library Lovers Meme

A new meme from Becky.

February is Library Lovers Month, so to celebrate I thought I'd try to start a new meme going around about the library. I know one went around last year. I answered it. But I'll try to think of new questions. I'd really appreciate it if you'd play along :)

How do you plan on celebrating Library Lovers month? I don't know about celebrating Library Lovers Month.....perhaps I will pledge not to return anything else late for the rest of the month and to visit more than once a week!

How often do you accidentally spell library as 'libary' when you're in a hurry? You know, this isn't one of my regular typos. I do have plenty of others though!

What is the most amount of books you've ever had checked out at one time? Not so long ago I had 53 items out from my library. Now I am down to only 45. Go me! I think it was on Danielle's blog I saw a comment from someone that said they were only allowed to borrow four items at a time. I don't know how I would cope if my library had that rule. I guess I would just have to read more books that I own. Each time I get towards the next milestone in terms of numbers of books out I sweat it a little bit thinking that I have got to the point where the librarian is going to say...and don't you think you are just being a little greedy now, but I haven't got to that point yet apparently.

What is the longest you've ever gone without visiting the library? I went for years without visiting a library. I think it was probably 10 or 11 years. When I first started working I bought every book I read - you know how it is when you are young and frivolous and you basically have almost no financial commitments. Then I went through a period of 7 years where I barely read a book at all. Once I did start reading again I started buying books as well, but things have changed substantially now, so I try to control my buying a bit more and borrow the vast majority of the books that I read. I just can't afford to buy 200+ books a year.

What is the biggest fine you've ever had? Err - at one stage I had a fine of about $20 or so after I temporarily mislocated a book (and blamed the gremlins). Sometimes it gets up to $10 or so but that is usually because I have extended a game online and now have to pay it. Now my son on the other hand has a fine of about $32 at the moment because it took him months to return some books. Is it wrong to blame the 9 year old for that?

When you go to the library, do you plan ahead and make a list? Or do you browse?

I make extensive use of my library's online catalogue, and usually have requested all the books that I want, so I go in to the holds section pick them up, and then leave again, although I do usually make a detour past the books that they have on displays and the new books displays...just to see if there is something interesting there or not.

Have you ever been shushed or hushed by a librarian? Not that I can think of.

What is the worst (against-the-rules) thing you've ever done in the library? I can't think of anything particularly bad - except for maybe losing my cool with the aforementioned child when he cracked the sulks because I wouldn't borrow another game for him.

What's the worst thing you've ever done to a library book? I was going to be all righteous and say that I take pretty good care of my library books, but then tonight I was driving along and had to stop suddenly and the drink of the front seat fell over and spilt on my bag...and on the side of my library book! Whoops.

Have you ever had a "favorite" librarian? Not that I can recall. There are certain ladies at my library that I prefer to be served by, but other than that not really.

If you could change one thing about your library it would be... I am generally pretty happy with my library. If there is anything I guess I would like to see a bit more interactivity - maybe a board or something where you could get reader recommendations, or a little more adaptability on the website. Oh, and could they please hurry up and order those books that I am waiting for. If they look at their website stats they will see the same searches over and over again...those are me! Oh, and they could do with a little more expansion of the romance section!

In closing, I found this cartoon over at Booklust, and I thought it was very fitting to post with this meme. Thanks to Patricia Storms for allowing me to use it.

Book Meme: 123

Julia has tagged me for a really easy meme! Well easyish anyway! I have done this one before but it's a fun one, so I am happy to do it again!


The rules of this particular meme are:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages)
2. Open the book to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence
4. Post the next three sentences
5. Tag five people



So what's difficult about this then? well...nothing really except that I have 5 books sitting basically equidistant from where I am now. (I really need to clean up!) Using a very complex process of Eenie Meenie Miney Mo (or however you spell it!) I give you the following sentences:

Look - I spent three days in that godforsaken circle, thinking. And by God, I thought. I thought of staying, and I thought of going.

Those three sentences came from The Outlandish Companion by Diana Gabaldon.

What were the other books that I could have chosen from? Whispers of the Night by Lydia Joyce, The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne, The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet - Book 2 by Dr Manny Noakes with Dr Peter Clifton and Lord of the Fading Lands by C L Wilson. Somewhat strangely I haven't read any of those books!!


So, who to tag? How about Teddy Rose, Raidergirl, Kailana, Zeek and Chris.


Speaking of all things Outlander, I was over on Youtube today, and I realised that it actually never occurs to me to search for book related things over there. I am not sure why, because I find enough other stuff over there. Anyway, one of the things that I can across was a tongue in cheek casting for the Outlander books that I thought that others might enjoy - click here to watch!

Eva's Book Meme

Seeing as I have been tagged by Julia, Rhinoa and Aarti, I probably should answer this meme, created by Eva, which has been sweeping through the bookish blogs that I read!


Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

That would have to be Dorothy Dunnett's books. I have been intending to read them for a while now. In fact, it was one of my reading resolutions for last year, and I still didn't manage to start them. I have borrowed the first one, Game of Kings, a couple of times, but had to return them because I couldn't read them before it was due back. I am going to attempt to borrow, and READ, Game of Kings some time this year!

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?

Err - well, I think I would have a dinner party (because I am far too old for clubbing!) and start with Jamie Fraser from Outlander because I think that he would be a very entertaining guest. I guess if he insisted that Claire had to come that would be fine.

Another guest would be William Marshal from Elizabeth Chadwick's The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion - a man of honour and integrity - and given his history of participating in tourneys I am sure that he would have some great stories to tell!

And the third? John Thornton from North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, but only as portrayed by Richard Armitage - no real good reason other than for the eye candy factor!

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can't die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realise it's past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?

It's tempting to say War and Peace, but as I am intending to try and read the new translation by Pevlear and Volokhonsky sooner rather than later, I would hate to be jinxing myself!

Come on, we've all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you've read, when in fact you've been nowhere near it?

I may have inferred that I read a book to an author, when I actually only got half way through! The sad thing is I really enjoyed the book, or what I read of it, and even bought the second one, at relatively great expense because it was coming from Canada. One day, I will finish it, I really will!

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to 'reread' it that you haven't? Which book?

I really can't think of one straight off.

You've been appointed Book Advisor to a VIP (who's not a big reader). What's the first book you'd recommend and why? (if you feel like you'd have to know the person, go ahead of personalise the VIP)

It really does depend on the VIP. Is it a female who really needs to escape into another world away from their busy lives - maybe some Outlander. Is it someone who would like to challenge themselves - maybe Anna Karenina.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?

I think I would go with Latin, simply because it is the basis for so many other languages, and presumably if I am fluent in Latin, it won't be that difficult to master some of the other languages myself!

Having said that, I always wanted to learn Japanese.

A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?

Hmmm.....maybe Anna Karenina, because I am sure that it is the type of book that you could get something different out of every time you read it!

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What's one bookish thing you 'discovered' from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?

Before I started blogging, I would never have thought that I would read paranormal romances. Vampires and werewolves? Bah, not for me! Of course, that's changed and now I read them quite regularly.

Another change is that I read more fantasy now than I ever have before. Books like Anne Bishop's Black Jewels books for example, would be books that I never would have found because I just would never normally have gone near the Fantasy section of the bookstore. Now, I wouldn't say that I read it regularly, but I do read enough now and look forward to reading well written fantasy.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she's granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.

My dream library is one where I have ever expanding bookshelves where I could keep all the books that I own and want to own! I am not all that fussed about leather bound, but certainly would love a library full of pristine trade paperbacks, and if some of them are signed by my favourite authors then all the better! At the moment, I am in desperate need of new bookshelves but I also have a problem in how I am going to fit them into my living room if I do buy more!

And the final portion of the assignment is to tag four others.

I tag:

Susan Higginbotham
Kelly from Loaded Questions
Kerrie from Mysteries in Paradise
Kathrin from Crazy Cozy Murders


*And, for extra credit, if you leave a comment letting Eva know you've done the meme with a link to the post, she will give you some link love via a big list of who's participated. Additionally, if you link back to her original post, she will enter you in a drawing to win The House at Riverton. If you're an American, this is especially exciting since it isn't going to published until April. ;) To be in the drawing, you must have posted the meme (and commented) by February 5th, which is when she is holding the drawing.

Desktop Free View meme

Darla has tagged me for the Desktop Free View meme that is going around! It's easy to do so here we go!

It's my boy...at the Twelve Apostles a couple of years ago. Actually it's probably time I updated it!




Here's how you play:

A. Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun. You can do a screen capture by going to your desktop and pressing the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key). Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and do a Paste (CTRL + V).If you wish, you can “edit” the image, before saving it.

B. Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of icons. Things like that.

C. Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

D. Add your name to this list of Free Viewers with a link pointing directly to your Desktop Free View post to promote it to succeeding participants.

So, I am going to tag:

Kailana
Clare
Kat
Ames
Holly

The list of Free Viewers so far is:

• iRonnie - I Set No Corner
• Thess - Thesserie
• Rebecca - Skippy Heart
• Knoizki - A Dialogue With K
• Beng - Kauderwelch
• Tina- My Good Finds
• Rachel - Heart of Rachel
• Alice - Hello, My Name Is Alice
• Julia - Julia's Books Corner!
• Darla - Nichtszusagen
• Marg - Reading Adventures
  

Blogging Tips Meme

I've been tagged twice to do the Blogging Tips Meme, firstly by the girls at Twisted Kingdom and then by Coversgirl from Between the Covers.


Blogging Tips

It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.)

Add the next number (1. 2. 3. 4. 5., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers. Try to make your tip general.

After that, tag 10 other people. Link love some friends!

Just think- if 10 people start this, the 10 people pass it onto another 10 people, you have 100 links already!


1. Look, read, and learn. ***
-http://www.neonscent.com

2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other. *
-http://www.bushmackel.com

3. Don’t let money change ya! *
-http://www.therandomforest.info

4. Always reply to your comments. ****
-http://chattiekat.com

5. Link liberally — it keeps you and your friends afloat in the Sea of Technorati. **
-http://chipsquips.com

6. Don’t give up - persistance is fertile. *
-http://www.velcro-city.co.uk

7. Give link credit where credit is due. **
-http://www.sfsignal.com

8. Pictures say a thousand words and can usually add to any post.*
-http://scifichick.com

9. Be Brave, some of the best posts are when you step out of your comfort zone.
-http://twisted-kingdom.blogspot.com

10. Follow the links in posts and comments. You never know what blog gems you will find! - http://readingadventures.blogspot.com/




Now I am supposed to tag 10 people, so how about:


Ana from Aneca's World
Ana(Virgulina) from CosyWorld
Clare from Confessions of a Bookworm
Holly from What Were You Expecting
Cindy from Nocturnal Wanderings
Daphne from Tanzanite's Shelf and Stuff
Susan Higginbotham
Karina from Fire Bad, Book Pretty
Kristina from Kristina's Book Blog

and you!

Books and Bucks Meme

Five Reasons the Best Writers Come from the Outback - and no, that isn't the US restaurant chain....the REAL outback! Sorry...no onion bread!

1. Need a cast of colourful secondary characters? It takes a special kind of person to live in the Outback for years at a time! They definitely count as colourful!

2. Lost your inspiration - the local pub is the best place to go searching for it! And it's likely you can get a nice cold drink to help cool down at the same time! Multi-tasking - you gotta love it!

3. Beautiful landscapes, vivid colours, wide open spaces. Wait...we're not meant to be painting are we?

4. You can talk to yourself, and your characters, all you like. After all, when your closest neighbours live hundreds of miles away, you can't just drop in for a coffee when you want to have a chat!

5. Well....what else is there to do?

Tied to the Tracks by Rosina Lippi. July 3, 2007. ISBN: 0425215326

"[This] is a hilarious, smart, sexy novel with a heart of gold." -- Susan Wiggs

"[Lippi] turns her buoyant creative talents to the romantic comedy genre with an effervescent tale of a trio of offbeat Yankee filmmakers plunked down deep in the heart of Dixie." -- Booklist

Read an excerpt. (Adobe Reader required)| Watch the book trailer

You can find Tied to the Tracks at Amazon , Barnes & Nobel, Borders, Powells, or at your local independent bookseller.

This meme has been entered in the Tied to the Tracks contest, originating on Rosina Lippi's Storytelling2 weblog. If you'd like to enter the BUCKS & BOOKS meme contest, get the rules here.

A Simple Book Meme

I have been really bad at doing meme's I have been tagged for lately (I promise they are all in draft at various stages of completion!), but this one was pretty easy so when I was tagged by Darla, I thought I could do it pretty much straight away!








161 & 5 Book Meme


Rules



1. Grab the book closest to you

2. Open it to page 161

3. Find the fifth full sentence

4. Post the text of the sentence to your blog

5. Don't search around for the coolest book you have, use the one that is really next to you

6. Tag five people to do this meme.









"They look fantastic, and I think that's more important than how they taste."



From Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke.



Now...who to tag? I think most people have done this at some point or another, but I will go with Ana, Ana from Cosyworld, Kailana, Ames and Nath.

I'll fix the links when I get home! Have to go and pack ready for the flight!

Five Things About Me

I was tagged by C2 to do the Five Things meme that is going around so here goes:

1. I am pretty drained by my job at the moment. I think the time is coming to move along. I am however going to stay at least 6 months more so that I can get paid out my Long Service Leave when I do leave.

2. I'm not really a good Aussie. I don't like Vegemite, Russell Crowe, not real keen on Lamingtons, don't really get why we get a day off for a horse race! Not that I am complaining though. Means that I have a four day weekend this weekend. Wait...any excuse for a long weekend...that makes me a better Aussie than I thought.

3. I really, really need to lose weight. I keep on thinking about it, but haven't really done anything about it. Oh, I've tried just about every diet going, but not wholeheartedly, if I am being honest with myself.

4. I think I have a new hobby...just not sure how it happened! LOL!! I have gone and bought lots of paper and punches, ink and stamps to be able to start card making. Guess the only thing to do now is to actually make some!

5. I collect new groups and new blogs like there is no tomorrow. Usually they are related to books that I have read or reading in some way or another. Just can't help myself!

20 Things that Irritate Me Today

Tagged by Dev. When I first sat down to write this, it took me ages to think of them all. Of course after I went to bed I thought of at least half a dozen more, and then since then...well lets just say I could have written quite a lot more! So these are the things that annoyed me a couple of days ago.

1. Those little bits of skin or nail that grow on your finger. I had one that I pulled off about 10 hours ago. In the last hour or so my finger has started throbbing and gone red. Amazing how much it hurts!

2. Noisy train carriages - don't you know I am trying to read people!!

3. Reading a series of books out of order - hate it, hate it, hate it!

4. Being tired - by the time I work full time, be a single mum and try to have a life, I am pretty much always tired.

5. Being overweight - but feeling too tired most of the time to do anything about it. Can anyone say "vicious circle"?

6. Office politics - man, I can't start it when the drama starts building and everyone is bitching about such small, inconsequential things.

7. Narrow minded and obnoxious people - especially in web forums and the like. Isn't it amazing how often those things go together.

8. One sided friendships - When I lived in the UK I made some quite close friends. When I ring them every six months or so, they are always delighted to hear from me, and inevitably say something along the lines of "Why don't you ring more often?". Leaves me wondering what's up with their dialling fingers that they can't ever ring me! Of course, there are others that are the same here as well.

9. Late trains - normally I don't mind having to rely on public transport, but if the trains are all running on time, there is literally a minute's changeover between when one arrives and the other leaves. Really annoying when you pull into the station just in time to see the connection leave!

10. Mornings

11. Shopping - that's right...I don't like going shopping. Doesn't matter what kind of shopping it is...clothes, groceries. Only exception would be book shopping and I am not even doing that at the moment!

12. Grey hair - on my head that is...not so bad on other peoples head!

13. Being broke

14. Confrontation - I am really not good at it!

15. Corns on my little toe - it really hurts

16. Whiny people...oh wait..that's me!

17. Out of print books - Now I know that not all books can stay in print all the time, but why can't the ones that I want to get hold of always be available!

18. My mum - oh the stories I could tell....but I won't!

19. People who take steps to get out of paying child support - I work in payroll and there are always people who are trying to get out of paying the money they are supposed to pay for Child Support. Could be because I never see any of the money that I should get from the ex. Of course, when the amount he is supposed to pay is so insulting, it's not worth fighting for.

20. Weekday cooking - I love finding a recipe, buying all the ingredients, and then cooking something nice, but the Monday to Friday "what are we having for dinner" question is really, really annoying!

Top 100

I've seen this at quite a few blogs, and decided that just for fun I would do it.

These are the top 100 from an AAR poll in 2004. The ones that I have read are in red, and the ones that I have on my TBR list are in purple.

1. Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
2. Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale
3. Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie
4. As You Desire by Connie Brockway
5. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie This has been on the TBR forever
6. Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
7. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
8. Over the Edge by Suzanne Brockmann
9. All Through the Night by Connie Brockway
10. Sea Swept by Nora Roberts
11. It Had to be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
12. A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh
13. Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer
14. The Proposition by Judith Ivory
15. A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught
16. Ravished by Amanda Quick
17. Frederica by Georgette Heyer
18. Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand by Carla Kelly
19. MacKenzie's Mountain by Linda Howard
20. Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard
21. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
22. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
23. The Bride by Julie Garwood
24. Devil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens
25. To Have and to Hold by Patricia Gaffney
26. Born in Fire by Nora Roberts
27. Winter Garden by Adele Ashworth
28. Gone Too Far by Suzanne Brockmann
29. The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
30. Saving Grace by Julie Garwood
31. My Dearest Enemy by Connie Brockway
32. In the Midnight Rain by Barbara Samuel
33. The Windflower by Laura London
34. Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
35. Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught
36. Nobody's Baby but Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
37. A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux
38. Paradise by Judith McNaught
39. The Shadow and the Star by Laura Kinsale
40. Dream Man by Linda Howard
41. Out of Control by Suzanne Brockmann
42. Silk and Shadows by Mary Jo Putney
43. See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson
44. Shattered Rainbows by Mary Jo Putney
45. Thunder and Roses by Mary Jo Putney
46. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
47. Heart Throb by Suzanne Brockmann
48. For My Lady's Heart by Laura Kinsale
49. Honor's Splendor by Julie Garwood
50. Lord Carew's Bride by Mary Balogh
51. Untie my Heart by Judith Ivory
52. Dream a Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
53. The Secret by Julie Garwood
54. This is All I Ask by Lynn Kurland
55. Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh
56. One Perfect Rose by Mary Jo Putney
57. To Love and to Cherish by Patricia Gaffney
58. Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
59. Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
60. Venetia by Georgette Heyer
61. Daughter of the Game by Tracy Grant
62. The Prize by Julie Garwood
63. Reforming Lord Ragsdale by Carla Kelly
64. Prince Joe by Suzanne Brockmann
65. The Notorious Rake by Mary Balogh
66. Heartless by Mary Balogh
67. Son of the Morning by Linda Howard
68. Sleeping Beauty by Judith Ivory
69. Where Dreams Begin by Lisa Kleypas
70. The Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer
71. The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
72. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegar
73. With This Ring by Carla Kelly
74. The Lion's Lady by Julie Garwood
75. The Rake by Mary Jo Putney
76. Fallen from Grace by Laura Leone
77. Always to Remember by Lorraine Heath
78. Castles by Julie Garwood
79. One Good Turn by Carla Kelly
80. Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts
81. By Arrangement by Madeline Hunter
82. Perfect by Judith McNaught
83. My Darling Caroline by Adele Ashworth
84. The Defiant Hero by Suzanne Brockmann
85. The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann
86. Guilty Pleasures by Laura Lee Guhrke
87. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
88. Kill and Tell by Linda Howard
89. After the Night by Linda Howard
90. More than a Mistress by Mary Balogh
91. Born in Ice by Nora Roberts
92. Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase
93. The Charm School by Susan Wiggs
94. Scoundrel by Elizabeth Elliott
95. How to Marry a Marquis by Julia Quinn
96. Angel Rogue by Mary Jo Putney
97. Trust Me by Jayne Ann Krentz
98. Dancing on the Wind by Mary Jo Putney
99. Once and Always by Judith McNaught
100. This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Well....19 read and 13 on the TBR list....that's pretty, well poor, I guess! LOL!