Sunday Salon: 20 years!

 

On the 12 November 2005, I posted a very imaginatively titled post called "First Post" on my shiny new blog which at the time was called Reading Adventures. I never expected it to last very long. After all, I had started diaries several times and never got beyond writing Dear Diary for more than a few weeks at a time. But....here we are.

I did have a gap of a year or so back in 2019 which coincided with a major reading slump, but other than I have been posting about books, baking and life in general over that time.

If I look back to see what prompted me to start a blog it was really because I read a book that I absolutely had to talk about. I was involved in various forums, and I read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, and I absolutely had to talk about it, so I wrote a review and thought well, I could put that in a blog and so Reading Adventures was born. 

My life has changed a lot over the period as you would expect. When I started, my son was 7, and we followed his cooking adventures as the little chef. Now he's the man who cooks on occasion. He spent time in America playing basketball, and has played quite a bit of 3x3 in Japan, China and Malaysia. When I started the blog I had been a single parent for 5 years. I had no idea that I would have to wait another 12 years to meet someone amazing but I did. Since then we renovated one house, built two more, been on numerous holidays, got married in 2019 and so much more.

Like life, blogging has changed a lot over the years. I have a few different templates, had a blogspot address and have had a .com address for years now. I used to also blog over at Historical Tapestry, have hosted and continue to host numerous events and challenges. These range from Library Loot which I co-hosted for years to Weekend Cooking and the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I still host now.  

Over the years, people have come and gone from the blogging world, but there are still a few of us who have been going for similar lengths of time. Some people, I still miss. Others have become friends in real life. Some of the bloggers I have met have inspired me to try new things, and I hope that I have done the same thing in return. I have met many authors, gone to book festivals and retreats and so much more. 

It's easy to look back and think that things were better in the past, but I think it is probably more that they are different. It does feel like there used to be more blogger events and a more cohesive community. For example, back in 2010 someone came up with the idea of Armchair BEA. When some people were actually heading to New York to go to Book Expo America, the rest of us joined in. I did whole weeks of posts where I would say if I was in New York today where I would think about which author I would be tracking down or this is what I would be doing. Or there was the Great North and South Crusade where KristieJ convinced us all that we absolutely had to watch the BBC adaptation of North and South starring Richard Armitage. I was obsessed with that show for years as a result. The book community of Twitter thrived and it was easy to get caught up in the excitement. 

While it is nostalgic to look back, you can still find those events which bring people together. I think of Paris in July (probably my favourite current event) or Twenty Books of Summer/Winter which I only participated in for the first time this year even though it has been going for years.  I still find new to me bloggers who have been around a long time through those events. I don't know that I am particular good at connecting with new bloggers, but I try!

There are things that have changed. Back in the day I predominantly read paper books and borrowed a lot of books through my local library. At the time I could have up to 60 books out from the library at one time and I was often juggling returning books so I could borrow the next ones. These days I predominantly read e-books. I remember I was so excited when I got my first e-reader (it was red and a thing of beauty) but it is really only in the last few years that I really moved over to e-books for the majority of my reading. I used to receive a LOT of book mail from publishers, but now it is very rare for me to receive a physical review book and it is even getting a bit harder on Netgalley. 

What I read has changed too. Back in the day I read very little contemporary romance and mostly historical romance. Now, it is absolutely the opposite. I can't remember the last time I read a historical romance. I also read my fair share of vampire, werewolf and other paranormal romance. I read a bit more crime and a bit more fantasy than I do now. Now, I read a lot more books set in Europe (France in particular) and I read quite a bit of Asian fiction. Things that haven't changed...I still love reading Aussie authors and historical fiction, although I read a lot more WWII fiction and less medieval than I used to.

For whatever reason, what I do and how I do it isn't particularly appealing to publishers, maybe because I am no good at aesthetics on Bookstagram and it often feels like a competition. Even after all this time, I still haven't worked out how engagement works. Sometimes I put a lot of time into a post and get nothing in terms of responses, and other times I post something easy, like a quote from a book about a particular subject and boom, more responses than I have had in weeks. You'd think I would be better at all of this by now! And I still don't have the secret to getting a large and active following. I think I am interesting but I don't seem to hold people's interest. 

You know I love a statistic, so I thought I would pull a few together!

This is post number 4304, and according to my stats there have been something like just under 6 million site visitors in that time. It's fair to say not all of them are actual people! There have been approximately 50000 comments.

I've read 2578 books in that time (or at least that's what my spreadsheet tells me!)

Of those I have reread 47 books, with The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta being the book I have read/listened to the most times, closely followed by The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley and Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. 

Beyond anything, I am grateful to blogging for giving me a community, especially during all those lonely years when I was a single parent where often blogging was my company. I have spent hours and hours creating blog posts, reading other peoples posts and more, and I don't regret any of them. When I look back through my archives I often find posts I had forgotten about that entertain me, bring back great memories or that I am just really proud of!

I still love talking about books, food and travel in this corner of the internet and I don't see that changing any time soon.

Armchair BEA: Breakfast at Tiffany's

If I was in New York today, I think I would have to start with Breakfast at Tiffany's! Of course, it isn't all that original as I am sure that plenty of people who recreate the iconic opening scenes from the movie,  and I would NEVER look anything like Audrey if I was to do so, but it would still be fun.

We actually have a Tiffany's here in Melbourne, so in theory we could have breakfast at or near Tiffany's anytime we like, but there is something much more iconic about the idea of doing in front of the New York store. Here are the opening credits:











Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of my favourite films. I first saw it on a Saturday night in with a friend when I was in my late teens and now every time I see anything to do with that movie it makes me think of that friend. I have seen it numerous times since then, but one of my favourite times when I saw the movie was when I went with the same friend and a few others to an outdoor cinema screening of it in the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide many years ago. A balmy sunny night, good food and company plus a great movie equals great memories!

It's been a little while since I actually sat down and watched it again. Might be time for a rewatch!

Another thing I always think of now when I think about this movie is the song that came out in the 90s (I think or maybe early 2000s) by Deep Blue Something which was called Breakfast at Tiffany's. I have listened to the song numerous times this week and was hoping to include it in the post, but I can't find an embeddable version of the video, so if you want to listen to the song, click here.

If I had of been at BEA on Thursday I would have been at the front of the queue to get Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore signed by the author. Last year she came to Melbourne and I got Fire and Graceling signed so then I would I would have the complete set! I am sure that I would find plenty of other things to do too but that would have been possible!

Now though, it is time to get ready for what I am really doing this weekend, which will include lots and lots of bookish goodness as I am going to the Australian spec fic convention which is being held here this weekend!

Armchair BEA: If I was in New York today

I am not sure why, but the first day of big events seem to have lots that I would want to do but then it slowly tapers down. But don't be deceived. Despite the fact that there are a lot less authors that I would be trying to see today, I would be doing a big-time fan-girl-dance-on-the-inside at least once!

So, the same rules apply as for yesterday. There would be no queues, no sore feet, all the booths would be right near each other so I could just wander leisurely from one place to the other - so not like real life at BEA at all.

Well maybe not all these behaviours!

My day would start with a visit to see Erin Morgenstern and talk to her about The Night Circus. This book made my list of excellent books for 2012 so I would love to talk about how she came up with the ideas for the book, all the excellent tents that were so magical and about the structure of the book!

After that, Sarah Maclean is signing 11 Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart. Interesting that this is the book that she is signing as she has had another book out since then!

Queue the fan girl dancing because I would next be on my way to see Robyn Carr! I credit this author for making me open to the possibility that I could actually enjoy reading contemporary romances after I read 12 or 13 books in the Virgin River series in the space of a month. We would be able to sit down, have a fantastic chat about the characters that populate the town of Virgin River, about what is coming next etc etc.

My final stop of the day would be to see Libba Bray. I am not sure why, but I actually didn't realise that this author even had a new book coming out, but I am definitely determined that I am going to get it now that I know about it!

Armchair BEA: Networking in Real Life

Today's Armchair BEA post prompt is

Today is the day that we discuss networking. Many of us bloggers network online. After all, Armchair BEA is all about networking online, particularly with other bloggers. However, how can you get more involved offline and in real life? Have you ever wondered how some bloggers have established those connections with local bookstores or libraries or even beyond?

For Day 3, we want you to share your positive experiences of using your blog to get involved in your community. This can involve partnerships with the local literary scene, attending author events and signings, or getting together with bloggers in your area. We want to hear it all!

When it comes to networking in real life, there is really only one way to do it and that is to be involved! I am lucky in that I live in a city with a pretty good literary tradition. There are lots of bookish events on and I do my best to go to at least some of them.

I choose to try and be very supportive of my local bookstore who does an amazing job of bringing different authors to the local area. For example, coming up in July, the bookstore is combining with out local library service to bring Jodi Picoult and her daughter who have written a book together to the local community centre that is five minutes up the road. Now, I am may not have previously been fussed about the sound of the book, but I will be doing my best to go in order to support the bookstore owner so that she can continue to get big name guests in. I mean, in terms of best sellers, Jodi Picoult is a big name and she is going to basically drive past the end of my road in order to get to the event! I also tend to buy books at those events, sometimes despite the fact that before seeing the authors I may not have even thought of buying the book because the bookstore needs to sell in order to remain a viable business. If you are in Melbourne and might be interested in attending the Jodi Picoult event then check out the details here.

Other ways I have gotten involved include participating in a romance book club that is run in one of the big bookstores in town. This has helped to get to know the events coordinator and whilst there has been limited physical benefit, I know that she knows who I am and I know that my name was mentioned in relation to a non romance related event. I have also been to author events at that store.

Another fantastic way to meet people is conventions. I have been lucky enough to go to two Australian Romance Readers Conventions where I had a fabulous time and got to meet some amazing people. This weekend I am going to Continuum which is the Victorian speculative fiction convention and this year it also doubles as the Australian convention.

Keep an eye out for local festivals. Even if it is just a small local festival you may get to meet local authors and who knows where that could lead you in the future!

Now, I am okay in a social situation, but I do get nervous beforehand, but an important thing to remember is that you already have a shared interest with many of the people that you meet in this situations! Some of the hard work of meeting new people is already done!

I would hate for it to sound as though I have this thing down though. There are lots more networking opportunities that I would love to be developing - better connections with local publishers (I just don't seem to be able to get good connections here despite having good relationships with overseas publishers), better connections with some of the festivals etc that are held here, so there is still plenty for me to be working on when it comes to networking!

For many people, there may not be local events to participate in like this, but if there are take the opportunities as you will meet like minded readers and get to meet some great people. I was lucky enough to meet other bloggers who live in my area who have now become my real life friends!

And for those who don't have these same types of opportunities, then talk advantage of online events like Armchair BEA, of social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads and build your online networks. You never know... one day one of those people might be in your area and you will be able to meet up!

Armchair BEA: If I was in New York today/Best of 2012

Today's prompt for Armchair BEA is:

Share some of your favorite books so far this year, and/or the the books being promoted at BEA that you hope will end up among your favorites for the year!

I actually shared my favourite books of the year in yesterday's post but I will add some other favourites a bit later, but one of the things that I have done for the last couple of years during Armchair BEA is to look at the schedule at BEA and figure out what it would be that I would have been doing if I was lucky enough to actually be in New York!

Of course, the best thing about this virtual attendance at BEA is that there are no queues, the authors will be waiting just for me to turn up with my book to be signed and even though there are several signing that will clash with each other, the booths will be suitably close to each other so that there is no rushing from one side of the building to another - and no sore feet!

My day at BEA would start with the Adult Book and Author Breakfast which is hosted by Stephen Colbert and features authors Barbara Kingsolver, Junot Diaz and Jo Nesbo. Having heard Jo Nesbo give an interview last week on Australian TV where he talked about his definition of a love story I hope they don't question him too hard because we would after all be eating! Really, the person who I would want to see most would be Barbara Kingsolver. I have only ever read one book by her, The Poisonwood Bible, but I did love that one!

After powering up with a delicious breakfast it would be a leisurely stroll to the signing areas (no crowds remember!) and my first stop would be to meet contemporary romance author Jill Shalvis. In my review of her new release, Lucky Harbor, I mentioned that I had read more than a dozen of her books in the last year so I definitely consider myself a fan!

Thanks to the very convenient booth placements I would then amble my way over to see Simon van Booy. I have only read one book by him, but it was a very good one!

Next stop - Catherynne Valente. She is another author who I haven't read as much of as I really should have, but I loved the one I did read (The Orphan's Tale: In the Night Garden) and I have been wanting to read The Girl Who Circumnavigated the World ever since it came out and now the sequel to that book is just about to come out too! Must get to them!

The next author I would visit would be Ruta Sepetys. I haven't actually read her book, Between Shades of Grey, but I am 95% sure that I am going to love it when I do get to read it!

A few years ago I read Debra Dean's Madonnas of Leningrad. It was one of several books that I have read that is set during the Siege of Leningrad during World War II, a setting that I find heartbreakingly compelling to read. She has a new book coming out called The Mirrored World and I am looking forward to reading it a lot!

One of my most anticipated reads for 2012 is The Twelve by Justin Cronin, the sequel to the mega popular book from last year, The Passage! It would be a shame to be in the same building and not go and have a chat, especially seeing as he would be sitting there all by himself waiting for me to turn up!

My final two authors to visit would be Eloisa James, who is an author I have read a lot of, and then finally Adriana Trigiani who is an author I have only read a couple of books by, but who I want to read through the available backlist after reading and loving her latest book, The Shoemaker's Wife!

Looks like a busy day, right?

Yesterday I posted about the two books that I have given top marks to so far this year.  If you haven't read them yet, I highly recommend that you get hold of Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (but don't read it in public because you will cry!) and Legacy by Susan Kay, a must read if you are a fan of the Tudors.

When I look at the list of books that I have given the still excellent grade of 4.5/5 I am a little bit surprised to see that there are around about 20 books that I gave that grade to. I thought I would do a picture representation of those books with a very brief comment, but I would invite you to mention in the comments if there is a particular book you would like to know more about and I will add a bit of a paragraph when I get the chance.

Here goes:

Olivia and Jai by Rebecca Ryman - this book was highly recommended to me for anyone who likes to read historical fiction set in India. It is a drama filled and page turning read.

One Dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare - historical romance at it's best. Funny, passionate, engaging! Just have the third book in this trilogy to read soon.

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold - part of the iconic Miles Vorkosigan series. Need to get back to this trilogy soon.

The Black Pearl by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - Part of the uber-long Morland Dynasty series, this one is set during the reign of King Charles II, another of my favourite periods to read about in history.

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald - a book club choice in honour of the movie coming out later this year!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley - the first Flavia de Luce mystery featuring a precocious 11 year old girl as the main character and amateur sleuth!

A Good American by Alex George - I loved this immigrant story that was filled with music and food and family.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - a blogger favourite!

Lord John and the Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon - I wasn't keen on the first full length Lord John Grey book but ever since then I have loved them, and this one had lots and lots of Jamie Fraser so you can't go wrong with that really!

 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff - another winning book club choice. Not only is at a super quick read, but it is also funny and charming and pretty timeless considering it was published so long ago.

All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming - I don't read much contemporary set crime but I love this series which features a female priest and a married chief of police in a small town in New York State.

Shalimar by Rebecca Ryman - Another fantastic historical fiction read set in India. I think I might actually try and see if I can find it to buy as I loved it!

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett - It's Pratchett. What more do I need to say.

Ride with Me by Ruthie Knox - Hot and spicy contemporary romance that almost had me thinking about getting my bike out of the shed and going for a ride.

The Island by Victoria Hislop - Historical fiction set on and near a leper colony just off the coast of Greece.

 The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani - another immigrant story. I had read one Trigiani before and liked it but I loved this one!

Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry - I am a huge fan of Sarah Mayberry's books and I was always going to follow her when she decided to self publish this story! Oh, so good!

Fables 1 by Bill Willingham - This series is on a lot of my favourite bloggers list of favourite reads and if the rest of this series continues as well as this one did I will definitely be joining the chorus!

Lords of the White Castle by Elizabeth Chadwick - This author is one of my favourite historical fiction authors. I love the way she bring the medieval world to life to the reader.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett - I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book!

Armchair BEA: Introducing Me

Armchair BEA is here! This will be my third year of participating in this event that was originally started as a kind of substitute for those of us who couldn't make it New York for Book Expo America and now has grown into a massive week long celebration of books and bloggers!

The first post of the week is one where we are invited to answer 5 questions about ourselves out of a selection of around 10 questions. Here are the five I have chosen to answer.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? 

My name is Marg and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I am a single mum who holds down a full time job, a teenage son (wait, that doesn't sound right!) and most of the rest of the time I am either reading or talking about reading!

I started my blog nearly 7 years ago, which at times makes me feel positively ancient in blogging terms, and I started it because I wanted, no make that NEEDED, to find a way to talk about the books that I was reading and loving.

When I started  my blog I fully expected that the blogging phase would last a few months, and then it would fade away which is precisely what I used to do whenever I started a journal when I was a kid but somehow or another this blogging habit has stuck and I most certainly cannot imagine life without it!

I also am part of a group blog which is focused on historical fiction called Historical Tapestry and each year co-host the Virtual Advent tour with Kelly from The Written World which runs all through the holidays during the month of December. In addition I do some Australian focused things like allegedly run the Australian Book Blogger Directory (I say allegedly because I am very behind on that) and also co-host a weekly twitter chat called #spbkchat (South Pacific Book Chat) which was started as a way of having a regular book chat that was run during times that were convenient for us because most of the other chats seemed to always happen when we were sleeping!

What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012? 

Today I just finished The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera for my face to face book club. The meeting was tonight and I only just started the book yesterday which was cutting it a bit fine really! In the end I finished it with 37 minutes to spare before book club which is lucky!

I am currently reading Nadia Knows Best by Jill Mansell and I am about to start Attachments by Rainbow Rowell.

The best books I have read so far this year are Me Before You by Jojo Moyes and Legacy by Susan Kay. You can read the discussion post about Me Before You here. I haven't actually written a review for Legacy yet so I will summarise my thoughts on that book by saying I thought I was all Tudored out when it came to historical fiction. Legacy proved that in the right author's hands I could still read books with that setting!

What is your favorite feature on your blog (i.e. author interviews, memes, something specific to your blog)? 

I think I have a pretty stable blogging routine now. I usually do a couple of reviews a week plus co-host the Library Loot meme and participate in Weekend Cooking hosted by BethFishReads. I also participate in Sunday Salon. I think those last two are probably my favourites as there is lots of freedom to post about whatever you want to really!

What literary location would you most like to visit? Why? 

When I was much younger I spent five years living in the UK and whilst travelling had lots of opportunities to visit some amazing places, but now having so many more years of life experience and also having read a ton more books there are loads of places that I am pretty sure that I would get more from if I visited than I did when I first went to.

I would love to do one of the literary tours that authors are being asked to lead. For example, Elizabeth Chadwick is leading one later this year which will take the participants to many places that were significant to William Marshal who lived during the time of the Plantagenets in medieval Europe. It would be fabulous to not only visit all those places but also to have the chance to sit down and chat with one of your favourite authors. I know that Sharon Kay Penman has run one before and I think that there are other authors who are doing things.

The thing is though, if I do get the opportunity to travel again any time soon, as much as I would love to go to lots of literary places, really the first trips that I would be taking would be to see people who have become important to me through blogging. 

I know for example pretty much what my itinerary would be if I was going to get to New York and the east coast of Canada, or if I was lucky enough to get to France I know that I would be heading towards places like Grenoble that aren't necessarily on the normal tourist routes but where I know there is at least one like minded blogger who I would love to meet in real life.

Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?

My reading tastes have definitely changed since I started blogging. These days I am reading a lot more spec fic, loads more short stories and a lot of young adult and contemporary romance novels which I would not normally have read before I started blogging.

There is a whole world of books out there waiting to be discovered! Blogging and my fellow bloggers are definitely helpful in trying to work out which ones I think might be books that I could fall in love with!

Mailbox Monday: June edition

I originally decided to do Mailbox Monday posts monthly as I do enough weekly memes and I wanted to leave Monday's free for other things. I am thinking however that maybe I should do it weekly because then I could be more in denial of how many books it is that are coming into my house!

Mailbox Monday is on tour and for June it is being hosted at The Bluestocking Guide. Head over there to share your links, or to see what everyone else has posted about this week.
 

Won/Gift:

Radio Shangri-La by Lisa Napoli - I won this as part of Armchair BEA and I was very glad to get my first choice which was this book.

The Making of a Gentleman by Shana Galen - Jenny from Jenny Loves to Read sent me this to read. I read the first book in the trilogy a while ago and whilst I wasn't blown away with it, I did really like the concept so I will give this one a go.


Purchased

Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn - I was out for lunch with some of the ARRA girls and we visited the specialty romance store in Melbourne, and I couldn't leave without buying something. I read this and it started a Julia Quinn reading jag!

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks - I went and saw Geraldine Brooks speak a few weeks ago and wanted to get a book signed so I had to buy it first!

The Katyn Order by Douglas W Jacobson - There was a mix up for a blog tour which meant I didn't get this book when I was meant to. However I really wanted to read it, so ended up buying it myself.


Unveiled by Courtney Milan - There's been a lot of buzz about this novella. I haven't read the other connected books to this one, but I will.

Freebies

The Debutante's Dilemna by Elyse Mady, Friendly Fire by Megan Hart, Demon's Fall by Karalynn Lee and The Twisted Tale Stormy Gale by Christine Bell were all free downloads from Carina Press last week.

The Ex Boyfriend's Handbook by Matt Dunn and Dating Mr December by Philippa Ashley are both supposed to be fun reads, which sounded perfect to me at the time.


Netgalley/Galleygrab

One Good Reason by Sarah Mayberry - I have read a couple of this author's books this year, so I grabbed this one when I saw it.

The Wind Up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi - Heard lots of good things about this one.

The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison - This was nominated for the Orange Prize so should hopefully be a good read.

City of Promise by Beverly Swerling - I have really enjoyed all the other books in this series, so the chance to read the final book was one that I couldn't pass up!

Grave Sight graphic novel - I have read the series that this is based on, so thought I would see how the graphic novel version was.

Accidents of Providence by Stacia Brown - I have read quite a few books set in the court of Charles II, but not a lot about what happened during the time of Charles I.


For review

The Orchard by Jeffrey Stepakoff - I read Fireworks over Toccoa by this author a couple of years ago.


Sylvester by Georgette Heyer - I always feel as though I should have read more Heyer!

Sunday Salon: That was the week that was!

In last week's Sunday Salon I talked about the week I had coming up. I said it was going to be busy and I was right!

I was out every night this week as well as trying to do Armchair BEA. I had so much fun participating in Armchair BEA again this week, but I did run out of steam by the end of the week. I had pre written 3 posts, plus a couple of reviews, but with not being home I didn't get time to write the final two posts. I do want in particular to address the question about community, but I will save that for a future Sunday Salon post I think.

I was lucky enough to be interviewed not once, but twice, and I won a book that I have really wanted to read ever since it started to be blogged about so that was great too! Firstly, I was interviewed over at the Armchair BEA site as part of a group of four international bloggers. I talked a LOT, but then again that probably won't be a surprise to any of my regular readers. Also, I was interviewed by Rebecca from Kindle Fever, and finally I was lucky enough to be given a shout out by The Book Gatherer as well!

Last week I mentioned that I was doing a couple of book related things. First of all, I went to see Cassandra Clare in person. The event was held at Westgarth Theatre, which is a gorgeous venue. The theatre has an art deco vibe and the interior is very much an old fashioned theatre - big comfy, plush seats, loads of leg room,  and little trays in between each seat where you can put your drink.

The evening started off with a drama presentation of one of the earliest scenes in City of Bones, where Clary has just come to the Institute with Jace and there is opposition. It must have been a lot of fun for Cassandra Clare to see that, although with the movie casting news coming thick and fast, I am sure that it is something that she will be getting used to!

Local author Leanne Hall dressed up as Magnus and interviewed Cassandra Clare, who did really well to get up on the stage in the first place. The stairs were a little precarious, and she was wearing high heels despite the fact that she currently has a broken toe. What a trooper! Then again, I gave up wearing high heels except when I absolutely have to years ago!

Among some of the things that were discussed was the movie process, and about how involved or otherwise the author is in the casting process. She also talked about her future plans in terms of the books she would like to write. There will be more books set in the same world as her current series, and there are some plans for a YA adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and maybe some kids books as well.

A lot of the discussion centred around the themes of the latest trilogy set in the Shadowhunter world, and amongst those there will be an exploration of the theme of falling from grace. There will also be some page space given to the fact that Jace really needs to discover who he is after the revelations of the last book in the previous trilogy.

There were lots of people in the audience who went all out in dressing up for the appearance, something I would never, ever do, but I do admire those who have the bravado to do that kind of thing!

I did buy the two latest books with the intention of getting them signed, but the place in the queue where I stood looked like it was going to be more than an hours wait, so I had to decide between standing in the queue for more than an hour in my not so comfortable boots, or actually get home at a reasonable time. It is a sign of my advancing maturity that I chose to go home!

As usual, my photos from this event are very average!

On Thursday night, we attempted to have a Melbourne book blogger meet up. Bree and I had a great time chatting, but that's about all I will say about that.

Friday night after work I went to go and see Kristin Cashore. There was a short time where she was signing books at the State Library so I went and got both Graceling and Fire. Of course, once I was standing in front of her, I couldn't think of a single thing to say to her. She was very gracious in taking the time to talk to everyone in the queue and I managed to get a photo too. Of course, if I look like I might have just rushed from one end of the city to the other, it would be because I had! Never mind!

This weekend, I managed to hurt my back getting washing out of the washing machine today and have house guests arriving soon. A quiet weekend was what I needed after a very busy week, but I could do with being able to move at least a little bit!