Top Ten Tuesday: Author Events

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Authors I’ve Met. 

I am very lucky to be able to attend author events pretty regularly, whether it be as part of individual authors, panel events, or even a reader's retreat that I attend every year. For my post today, I am going to share about some of the more recent events I have been too. If I go back 15 or 20 years there are some big name authors I could name such as Paullina Simons, Maria Snyder and more. I could also talk about the time I had dinner with Sara Donati in the Pacific North West or many years ago with Paullina Simons but I won't. For my post today, I am going to share about some of the more recent events I have been to which means that they are all Australian authors. 

Tess Woods -The most recent event I went to was in respect of Tess Woods new release, The Cairo Bridal Shop. Sometimes at these events there are even cocktails

Anita Heiss - I have met this author a few times now, and she was even the author on our table at one of the retreats we attended a couple of years ago. She is such a lively person! I last saw her at a romance panel event I went to a few weeks ago

Also at that same event there were a number of other authors including Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus , Nina Kenwood, Victoria Brownlee, Darcy Green and more. And there was swag!

Jodi McAlister - This author was at that same panel event but I have now met her a couple of times, including at the launch of her latest book

Steph Vizard  - This is another author I have met more than once who was at the panel. I see her at quite a few events, but specifically attended her book launch last year and re-met her at the readers retreat that I attended in June

Emma Grey - I was so excited to attend an evening with Emma Grey and Kate Solly. I read two of Emma's books last year and gave them both 5/5. This one was at a bookstore I had never visited before which is always fun.

Benjamin Stevenson - The author of the Ernest Cunningham series came to my local library as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival so I always try to attend events there because I would like there to be more!

Tom Trumble - a more unusual choice for me given that it is a non fiction book but I chose it because I thought that my husband would like to come to this one and he did. This event was held at the War Memorial. Interestingly, it was only as I searched my blog for a picture for this post that I realised that I had heard this author speak previously at a Melbourne Writer's Festival event 15 years ago!

Holly Brunnbauer  - An event at my previous local library which is about half an hour away from me, so I try to go to events there as well. 

Rachael Johns - Rachael Johns is possibly the only author who I would deliberately go and see twice in one day. On this particular day she was at my local library and also at an event called Books in Bars which is held in a regional city about 90mins away. Of course, I did both! The readers retreat that I have mentioned a couple of times is her brainchild. You can read about the fab time I had at this year's event here. 

This week....

I'm reading

This week I finished off my Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge by finishing reading One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle and then reading The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson. Both of these were okay reads without being spectacular.

I also read Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen which was a much more enjoyable read!

Now I am reading The Way We Are Now by Julie Houston for a blog tour later this week! It is set in the early 1980s in Yorkshire and so far it is really good! This is a new author to me.

This weekend it was my read on a theme book club meeting. Our theme was environment and interestingly two of us read the same book which was Wild Dark Shore and another person read another book by her as well! Next time we are doing our annual meeting where we do read the same book like most other  bookclubs. We will be reading A Far-Flung Life by M L Stedman. I am looking forward to reading that book!

I had a fun afternoon on Sunday afternoon when I went to an author event from Tess Woods where she was talking about her new book, The Cairo Bridal Shop. The cover on this book is gorgeous, and I am really looking forward to read it! I also got to have a delicious cocktail, listen to interesting conversation and meeting new people. There were a few people who didn't like some of the conversation because it was a bit political, but I didn't mind too much!

Before we look forward to September, I am going to take this opportunity to think about what my best reads were for the month of August. I read 15 books for the month and had some great reads. My one 5 star read was The Little Porto Book Club by Rebecca Raisin, but I also loved books Minnie Darke, B K Borison and the aforementioned Charlotte McConaghey.

Books let our imaginations travel where our feet cannot - Nora Nguyen

Every month I also like to look at where I travelled through the pages of the books I read! Here's where I travelled in August

Europe

France - The Secret Dressmaker, Kate and Frida

Britain - Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens

Portugal - The Little Porto Book Club

Italy - Italy and Forever, The Secret Diary of Rome, One Italian Summer

Australia

Queensland - Finding Forever in Pelican Crossing

Antarctica (Australian territories) -  The Wild Dark Shore

Various states - Three Juliets

Africa 

Egypt - The Nile Cruise

America

Washington - Kate and Frida

Maryland - And Now, Back to You, Mixed Signals

Asia

Japan - The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop

I'm watching

Nothing new really.

Life

On Sunday afternoon we went and had a traditional afternoon tea at a place called Mary Eats Cake. It was a place that I had been looking forward to trying for a while!


Max

A couple of months ago we changed Max's medication, and he is obviously feeling pretty good! Yesterday we were all out, and so he was home by himself. He helped himself to a huge helping of pasta that my son had left on the cupboard. I was very surprised that he could stand up on his back two legs long enough to even eat a small bit let alone have a bit of a feast. Who knew!

Posts from the last week

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - September links
Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Place Names in the Title
Three Juliets by Minnie Darke
Blog Tour: The Secret Diary of Rome by M A McLaughlin

In My Kitchen: August

Six Degrees: Wild Dark Shore to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close



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 2026

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2026

A Study in Sparkling by Jodi McAlister (July)- I am going to the launch of this one and can't wait!

Matcha on Monday by Michiko Aoyama (July) - This is the second book in the Marble Cafe series and is out later this week.

Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty (August)- This one is a bit outside my normal wheelhouse but it does sound like fun!

The German Ward by Pip Williams (September)- I am going to a book event for this one too!

The Birthing Tree by Amanda Peters (September) - The Berry Pickers was a five star read for me so I have high hopes for this one. 

Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen (September) - I haven't actually read a SAA book in years, but I still look forward to every new release 

The Cairo Bridal Shop by Tess Woods (September) - Looking forward to this one!

Grim Tidings by B K Borison (September)- I only own one book with sprayed edges which is Good Spirits, the precursor to this book. I have pre-ordered the sprayed edges version of this book too!

Orlando by Harry Whittaker (November) - This book is set in the same world as The Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley. This is her son who is continuing the series. It could be great. Or it could not be. I will have to read to find out!

The Heart Note by Vanessa McCausland (December) - I have loved the Vanessa McCausland books I have read and this one sounds great too!

Looks like September is going to be a bumper month for new books! Do you have any of these on your list?

Top Ten Tuesday: V is for...

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Villains (favorite, best, worst, lovable, creepiest, most evil, etc.). 

I did start having a think about villains and a couple did spring to mind, but not ten, so in the end I decided to twist the topic a little bit. V is for villains but it can also be for many other words, so here are my ten V is for....books

V is for Venetia by Georgette Heyer - I couldn't not include this book seeing as I have listened to it at least 4 times. Narrated by Richard Armitage this is an ultimate comfort book to listen to. Aural bliss! (review)

V is for Vintage 1954 by Antoine Laurain - This was such a fun read. A group of strangers share a bottle of wine from 1954 and find themselves back in the past. (mini review)

V is for Voice of the Falconer by David Blixt - I loved, loved, lovedthe first book I read by David Blixt which was The Master of Verona. This was the sequel to that book and I thoroughly enjoyed that one too! (review)

V is for Virgin River by Robyn Carr - I mean, there are a whole heap of books in this series set in a town called Virgin River, and a few of them have the word virgin in the title. I couldn't not have at least one of them in the list! (post about the whole series)

V is for Vision in White by Nora Roberts - I loved this whole series of four books which features a group of wedding planners, coordinators, florists etc who work together and it's their turn to fall in love!

V is for Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik - As soon as I saw this title I knew I would have to have a V for Victory included in the list. This book is the 5th book in the excellent Temeraire series by Naomi Novik which features dragons and Napoleonic history. So much fun! (reviews from earlier books in the series)

V is for The Vineyards of Champagne by Juliet Blackwell - This was an enjoyable dual timeline which tells the story of the Champagne region of France and the events that happened there during WWI

V is for The Visitors by Jane Harrison - This book tells the story of the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney but from the perspective of the indigenous people who were already here.

V is for The Venice Hotel by Tess Woods - I would love to be in Venice. Sigh. 

V is for The Village Cafe in the Loire by Gillian Harvey - I would, however, be just as content to be sitting at a cafe in the Loire as well! (review)

There are plenty of other words that I could have used for this list, but there are ten books with titles begining with V.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Never Reviewed

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's them is Books I Never Reviewed. When I set my reading/blogging goals this year, I said that I wanted to make sure that I reviewed all the historical fiction I read and all the books by Aussie authors. So far, I have well and truly exceeded that and have reviewed just about everything I have read. It isn't my intention to go back to reviewing every book I read as there is too much "I am so far behind" pressure that comes with that, but when it happens organically....great.

So I will start with the couple of things I have read but not reviewed this year, and then go back to last year's list to see what I can find there!

The Wedding People by Alison Espach - I read this a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved it! It's a 5 star read for me. I intend to review this later this week.

Never Want to Sea You Again by Leonie Woods - This is a short story freebie from the author's Substack page. It's a fun, forced proximity romance. One fun thing is that you can choose if you want to read the spice version or the not so spicy version of the story! I chose the spicy version. A billionaire's secret daughter hides on board a yacht and finds herself in the middle of the ocean with a grumpy sailor! 

The Venice Hotel by Tess Woods - I read this towards the end of last year and really enjoyed it! It brings together a group of characters in a Venice hotel at Christmas time and they end up having to work together to help one of the guests. It was darker than I expected but very good!

The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley - You know, I have read all but the last book in this series and never reviewed any of them! I listen to them all on audio and they are big books. I do find the accents that are used, and the fact that there are different narrators for every audiobook, a bit odd. Maybe when I finish the series I will do some kind of retrospective review!

The Last Night in London by Karen White - I meant to pick up a Madeline Martin book when I started this one, but I liked it nonetheless!

The Ex Factor by Rachael Johns - This was another free short story and is still available on Substack. In this story a woman returns to the town and the husband she left behind so that she can get her divorce papers signed. This one was a bit spicy too!

Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - This is part of the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. I have reviewed a couple of them but not all of the. Seeing this author at Melbourne Writers Festival was one of my bookish highlights of last year. I listen to this series on audio too!

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods - Another audio read. I liked this one, without loving it. It's about a bookshop that has disappeared and a modern quest to find out what happened there. I am super excited about Evie Woods next book which is out soon called The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris!

The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson - Yes, another opportunity to gush about how amazing Laura Pearson is. I have now read three of her books and they are all so unusual with really imaginative ideas! And, of course, great reads! My favourite is The Beforelife of Eliza Valentine, but this comes a close second.

The Yellow Wood by Minnie Darke - I have been a huge fan of Aussie author Minnie Darke since I read The Lost Love Song which is an absolutely beautiful book. This was an Audible only book about a free spirited woman who doesn't want to be tied down to anyone or anywhere and the artist who loves her and is trying to move on.

The Presidents Hat by Antoine Laurain - Over the last couple of years I have become a bit of an Antoine Laurain fan girl. There's every chance I will still review this for Paris in July later this year.

And yes, I know that is eleven choices but I thought I would throw in an extra given that two of them are short story freebies from the authors!

Have you read any of these?

Top Ten Tuesday: New to Me Authors I Discovered in 2024

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024

I read 44 new to me authors las tyear, so I have had to try to figure our how to pick just ten. Interestingly I only had three 5 star reads last year and they were all from new to me authors, so that was an easy decision. 

The next four choices are people who I read more than one book or story from, and then I chose three Aussie authors who didn't fit into either of the previous categories!

Melissa Ashley - The first book I read last year was The Naturalist of Amsterdam and therefore it was my first 5/5 read for 2024 (my review)

Sue Heath - I loved The Secret Ingredient from this author. I am really hoping that we get something new from her in 2025. I'll be reading it. (my review)

Laura Pearson - I loved The Beforelife of Eliza Valentine so hard! I also read The Last List of Mabel Beaumont and bought just about all her other books. I will be reading her new book in the next week or so! (my review)

Hisashi Kashiwai - read both of the books that are available in English from the Kamogawa Food Detectives series last year. You can read my review of the first book here.

Gisele Stein - I read both The Anywhere Hotel and the associated short story called How Captain Found The Anywhere Hotel in quick succession

Jennifer Bohnet - I read two of Jennifer Bohnet's books set in France last year. The first was  A French Adventure (review here) and A French Country Escape (review here)

Helen Rolfe - Helen Rolfe's Skylark series is set in an Air Ambulance station and this provides a great backdrop to the stories. I read the third book this year as well. You can see my reviews for all three at this link

Sophie Beaumont - I really loved The Paris Cooking School (my review). I have her latest book, A Secret Garden in Paris to read on my Kindle.

Alli Parker - I have been talking about this author's book, At the Foot of the Cherry Tree, quite a bit recently. (my review)

Tess Woods - I read The Venice Hotel late last year and really enjoyed it!

Have you read any of these authors?

Six Degrees of Separation: Orbital to The Secret Daughter of Venice

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.

This month's starting point is Orbital by Samantha Harvey.

Usually when I sit down to write this post, I just have to look at the book title and the idea of where the first link, and then the second link, etc etc will take me. My main challenge is in completing a chain not using books I have used multiple times before. This was not one of those months. Part of the reason is that I was trying to force a direction but it just wasn't working. Sometimes, you just have to keep it simple. 

Over the last 18 months, British author Gillian Harvey has become a must read author for me. She writes books about life in France and starting over. Her new book, Midnight in Paris, comes out in the next couple of weeks and I am looking forward to reading it!

Midnight in Paris is a movie that I have seen quite a few times and which features several very famous authors who lived in Paris in the golden years of the 1920s. One of those authors was Ernest Hemingway and the book I am choosing is A Moveable Feast.

From a moveable feast I am then linking to Immovable Feast: A Paris Christmas by John Baxter. Baxter is an Australian who has lived in Paris for many years and published a number of books about the city and his experiences.

My most recent read about Christmas in Paris was Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel by Rebecca Raisin. I do have several books that I could have chosen about Christmas in Paris. Is anyone surprised.

Moving from Paris to Venice, my next choice is The Venice Hotel by Tess Woods, which I read recently.

Also set mostly in Venice is The Secret Daughter of Venice by Juliet Greenwood. This is the second book in the Shakespeare Sisters series, and tells the story of a woman who is trying to find her true identity during WWII.

I mentioned that I struggled at the beginning this month. Once I get going though, the connections do just happen. I was just finalising this post when I realised I had accidentally done a seventh degree. I could probably keep going as well. Maybe I will do a Top Ten Tuesday one day with ten connections! 

Next month, the starting point is Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Will you be joining us?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Summer 2024-25 to read list

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books on My Winter 2024-2025 to-Read List. As I am an Aussie, it is currently way too hot for it be winter, so these are my summer reads!

Midnight in Paris by Gillian Harvey - I am always very excited by the news that there is a new Gillian Harvey book on the way. This one is out in January, and the cover is gorgeous!

The Chimes by Charles Dickens - I read A Christmas Carol a couple of weeks ago, and I am intending to read at least one more of his Christmas stories. Yes, there is more than one!

The Many Futures of Maddy Lawson by Laura Pearson - Spoiler! Laura Pearson is going to be on my list of favourite new authors that I first read in 2024

Venice Hotel by Tess Woods - I have actually already started this one. Now it's a question of finishing it!

Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt by Lucinda Riley and Harry Whittaker - I just finished listening to The Missing Sister. There was a three year gap between the last two books but I am not waiting that long to listen to the final book in the series.

The Mirror by Nora Roberts - This is the second book in The Lost Bride trilogy. I will also listen to this one. The question is will it be before Atlas or after it!

The Last Illusion of Paige White by Vanessa McCausland - I have loved the last two books I have read by Vanessa McCausland so I have high hopes for this one.

The Jam Maker by Mary-Lou Stephenson - This one is out in February and I am very much looking forward to it!

The Secret Paris Garden by Sophie Beaumont - I really liked The Paris Cooking School! My plan is to read this before the end of the year but we will see!

The Bad Bridesmaid by Rachael Johns - I posted my review of The Other Bridesmaid yesterday. The Bad Bridesmaid is about Bridget's best friend Fred and is out in February!

Are any of these books on your list!

This Week ....

 

I'm reading

Can you believe that it is so close to the end of the year? We are on holidays from next week so really it feels very close. I am still getting some reading in and have a few books that I want to get read before we get to the start of 2025.

Last week I read Stuck in Second Gear by Carmen Reid which I really enjoyed. I will definitely be reading more from Carmen Reid!

For a complete change of pace, I then read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I had never read the actual book, although obviously I know the fundamentals of the story. 

I then did something I haven't done for a long time. I sat and read a book through from beginning to end in one day. The book in question was The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns. 

I then started reading The Venice Hotel by Tess Woods. I am only a few chapters in yet, but I am already intrigued. Even though there is nothing to indicate it all on the cover, this is actually set at Christmas time, so this is a good time to be reading it!



I'm watching

I didn't get as much watched this week as I have in previous weeks. 

The only Christmas movie I watched was Bringing Home Christmas. An antique store owner finds a WWII uniform and a love letter and sets about trying to find the rightful owner with the help of a military professor. It sounds like a dual timeline novel that I would have read, and it was a nice movie.

I then watched A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter. It's fair to say that I had heard of her, but I couldn't say that I know a lot about her. And I certainly didn't know who a lot of her guests were. Nevertheless, I very much enjoyed the show and I thought she was pretty entertaining! I particularly liked the duet of Last Christmas with Chappell Roan!

Life

It was a busy week activities wise!

On Tuesday night we went to an author talk featuring four chefs who all have new books out. The four chefs were Tony Tan, Alice Zablanski, Emelia Jackson and Ben Shewry. I am hoping to talk more about this night a bit more as a Weekend Cooking post soon. At least that is the plan!

On Saturday I did a cake decorating workshop, where had slice the cake, add the fillings, decorate with buttercream and then pipe the Christmas tree design on the front. It was the first time I have done a cake with this particular shop, and I will definitely do more!

And then on Saturday night, we went to see Hans - A Christmas Hootenanny. Hans is an Australian entertainer who labels himself as a German superstar. Think all the disco hits, accordion, song and dance you can handle, with a Christmas twist! It was a lot of fun.

Afterwards we joined thousands of others walking along the river bank looking at the Christmas decorations and a water, light and sound show. 

It was a very big Saturday! 

Posts from the last week


Countdown to 2025: Day 9
Top Ten Tuesday: Stormy!

Countdown to 2025: Day 10

Blog Tour: Stuck in Second Gear by Carmen Reid

Countdown to 2025: Day 11

Countdown to 2025: Day 12

Countdown to 2025: Day 13

Weekend Cooking: Advent by Anja Dunk
Countdown to 2025: Day 14
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge November Statistics
Countdown to 2025: Day 15



I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date and Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Spring 2024 To-Read List

 Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books on My Fall 2024 To-Read List. And because we are in opposite seasons, my list is my Spring reads

I've had a few weeks off from Top Ten Tuesday, mainly because I was on holidays. What that means is that I have a few half written posts that I might roll out at some point this year. However I am here for this one!

So, let's get started. 

A Secret Garden in Paris by Sophie Beaumont - I really liked The Paris Cooking School by this author so I am hoping to get to this one as soon as it comes out.

The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson - I just read my first Laura Pearson and I Loved it! Even before I finished that book I had bought three more.

Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel by Rebecca Raisin - Christmas, Paris, and books. Check, check, check. I am there.

The Little Provence Book Shop by Gillian Harvey - Gillian Harvey has become a must read author for me!

Crying at H Mart by Michelle Zauner - This is the next Cook the Books selection.

At the Stroke of Midnight by Jenni Keer - According to Goodreads I am already reading this one, but in reality I think I shelved it unintentionally. I now fully intend to actually read it

The Venice Hotel by Tess Woods - See, I can do Italy as well as France!

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore - This is getting a bit of buzz in a book group I am in.

What I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci - pre-ordered on audio. Can't wait for Stanley to be talking just to me. Or at least that is what listening to his last book on audio felt like

Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - also pre-ordered on audio. This is the next book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series.

What books are you looking forward to?