Countdown to 2025: Day 20

 This year I am participating in Countdown to 2025 hosted by Lynn from Lynn's Books. Today is day 20 and the prompt for today is Eggnog – a book that was out of your comfort zone

When I was looking through my list of books read this year I was wondering if I read much that was outside my comfort zone and then I got to this book and I was like....on yes, that's right. There was that one!

I decided to read this because it foodie, and it is set in Scotland, and I was travelling in Scotland at the time. What I hadn't taken into consideration is that this was horror, which I don't really read! This was a very dark and twisted tale which I wouldn't want to read again!

Tomorrow's prompt is Santa’s Snack – a book that was a ‘light read’ between heavier books

Top Ten Tuesday: Short stories

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week is a freebie so we can pick topic whatever we like. I am choosing to share the last ten short stories I have read or listened to, as the case maybe

The Secret History of Christmas by Bill Bryson - I listened to this last year, but decided to listen to it again this year. There's every chance that this might become an annual event. It's full of really interesting facts about the history of Christmas.

The Ex Proposal by Rachael Johns - This was originally published in an anthology but the author has just got the rights back so published it for her fans to read. It's available from her author facebook page.

The Christmas Book Hunt by Jenny Colgan - I got this as part of Amazon First Reads. I think it is now released and it was a bit of fun.

The Yellow Wood by Minnie Darke - This was an Audible only book, with about 4 hours of listening time.

Amelia's Shadow by Marie Benedict - This is part of a collection called Blaze about lesser known but interesting female characters. This one was about Ruth Nichols who was close friends with Amelia Earhart

The Tasting Menu by Stuart Macbride - I was tempted because this was set in Scotland, where I was when I read the story, and it was foodie, but it was a bit too much horror for me.

The Forgotten Chapter by Pam Jenoff - Another entry in the Blaze collection. 

Barriers to Entry by Ariel Lawhon - This is another Blaze book and I really enjoyed it. This one was about a woman who changes the way that people thought about criminal investigations.

The Bookstore Wedding by Alice Hoffman - I haven't read any of Alice Hoffman's full length books, but I have enjoyed these linked short stories 

How Captain Found the Anywhere Hotel by Gisele Stein - Last year I read an imaginative book called The Anywhere Hotel and Captain was the dog in the book. This story tells how he came to be at the hotel. I think this was only available to newsletter subscribers so I can't find a cover image for this one.

This week

I'm reading

We have a great life in Australia. One of the less positive things is that it takes a long time to get anywhere, but of course you can find some silver linings if you look hard enough. For example, this week we had around 20 hours of travel time which means I got a few stories read and watched a couple of things.

While we were on the plane, I finished reading The Secret Keeper by Renita D'Silva and then I read a few short stories. I will post my review for The Secret Keeper next week.

I was introduced to a historical fiction short story collection which is being published as a collection called Blaze by The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog. It is spotlighting interesting stories about women. So far I have read Barriers to Entry by Ariel Lawhon and The Forgotten Chapter by Pam Jenoff. I have had Lawhon on my radar for a long time but never actually read her. I will definitely read more. And I have read Pam Jenoff but it has been many, many years. I have some more long flights in my future so I will probably read more.

The other short story I read was by a new to me Scottish author, Stuart MacBride. The story was called The Tasting Menu. I don't read a lot of crime these days, so this was a bit out of my comfort zone, but I picked it up as part of the Amazon First Reads. If I had to pick a word to describe it, it would probably be gruesome.

Finally I started read The Map Maker's Secret by Catherine Law, which is another book predominantly set in Scotland. So far I am enjoying it a lot.


I'm watching

Before we left home, we were still watching a lot of Olympics, and that has continue since we arrived, except now we have to cheer for Australia, South Africa and the Netherlands.

On the plane there were a number of things on offer that I would like to watch. First up I watched a French/Japanese movie called Umami which stars Gerard areu. It is about a French chef who nearly dies and decides on a whim to go to Japan in search of the mysterious qualities of umami. It wasn't bad.

The next movie I watched was called Just One Small Favour. This is a Spanish comedy where a dysfunctional family is called to their summer home when the maid dies, and suddenly lots of secrets are being revealed. It was a bit of fun.

The final thing I watched was a cooking series called Simple Spices by British chef Nadiya Hussain. I have enjoyed a few of her books and series, and this was really good as well. I am not sure this is on in Australia so it was a bit of a find, and there are definitely 

Life

Can you tell I didn't get much sleep on the flight? We are here for my parents-in-laws 60th wedding anniversary, but on Friday we did a walking tour of Soweto which was very interesting, and now we are at a game lodge where we have been on a game drive so far and this morning a massage. The place we are staying is really 1beautiful, with this lovely pool. I am not sure it is quite hot enough to get in the pool but we will see

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Holiday Countdown!

Blog Tour: An Island Promise by Kate Frost 

Weekend Cooking: Greek-ish by Georgina Hayden

Sunday Salon: Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - July statistics

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