Sunday Salon: Terry Pratchett 2010 Reading Challenge Participants

What's that common saying about the road to hell being paved with good intentions? Whilst I did have very good intentions both at the very beginning of the Terry Pratchett 2010 Reading Challenge and at various times throughout the year, I am not sure that I deserve that grim fate for being a bad challenge host!

I thought that as the challenge comes to an end, I would do a post listing everyone who participated in the challenge this time around, and that next week I would create a list of all the reviews that were written as part of the challenge! At least that is my intention.

While I don't think I will run the challenge next year, I am contemplating doing it again the year after, maybe making it a bi-annual challenge. I have certainly enjoyed all the books I read this year for the challenge, and look forward to reading more in due course! I still have a couple of books sitting on the shelf and I am sure I will continue to read more Pratchett books.

When I announced the challenge, there were five possible levels of participation:

Death's Apprentices (these dedicated readers read between 10-12 (or more) books)


Members of Granny Weatherwax's Coven (read either 9 or 10 books)

Academics at the Unseen University (read between 6 and 8 books)

Guards of the City Watch (read either 4 or 5 books)

Cashier at Ankh-Morpork Mint (read between 1 and 3 books)


I want to give a special shout out to Caty from Miscellaneous Mumblings who completed an amazing 17 books! Well done Caty!

Here's the list of participants


Susan at Reading Upside Down
Nymeth at Things Mean a Lot
Vasilly at 1330V
Katie Mack at Kiss Me Goodnight
Aarti at Booklust
Staci from A Life in the Thumb
Ninefly at Story on a Page
Leya from Wandeca Reads
Sauconys Books
Jacqui from Curiosities
Zibilee from Raging Bibliomania
Stephanie from Bookworm1858
Jo from Ink and Paper
Sakura from Chasing Bawa
Caty from Miscellaneous Mumblings
Amy at My Fluttering Heart
Bookpusher at The Genteel Arsenal
Michael at Classics and Cheese
Miss Eliza at Strange and Random Happenstance
Cath from Read Warbler
Sarah from And Here's How it Happened
Which Way Did She Go
The Fat Lady from Earley Days Yet 
Granny Weatherwax Apprentice
Liessa
Clover from Fluttering Butterflies
Dawn Leger
Bartango007
Jennie from Biblio File
Zee from Notes from the North
Lightheaded from Everyday Reads
Brenda from Brenda Loves Books
Alyce from At Home with Books
Lazula
Darcy from Roman de Renart
CarolAnn
Ranti from ThingQ
Eva from A Striped Armchair
Bookiemonster
Magpie from Tapping the Ether
Jess from Onward, Upward Ho
Stephanie from Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic
Sharon from Books to the Ceiling
Mee from Bookie Mee
Rebecca from Just One More Page
Aradia from Aradia's Reading
Ah Yuan/Wings to Dust from GAL Novelty
Marion from Books and Fiber
Sarah from Sarah's Book Reviews
Journey
Koolaidmom from In the Shadow of Mt TBR
Megan from Posey Sessions
Suz's Space
Beth's Books
Meri Greenleaf
Amanda
Avy
Amanda from Desert Book chick
A Trillian Books
Carey from The Tome Traveller
Heathcliff from Burn After Reading
Kate from What Kate's Reading
Wuestenrot
Sibylle from Magical and Colloquial
Engrannon
Kailana from The Written World


Please let me know if I have missed you off the list of participants in the challenge, or if you want to share  what level of achievement you achieved.

Weekend Cooking: Junior Masterchef Cook a Long

Cooking shows have taken Australia by storm over the last couple of years, and the biggest show is Masterchef. There have been two seasons of Masterchef, plus a celebrity version, and most recently a kids version. I haven't watched all the way through, just bits and pieces, but I had very mixed reactions to the Junior Masterchef episodes, alternating between awe at what these kids could do in the kitchen and  inadequacy because there is no way I could do most of what they could do to name just two things. I was pretty happy that my son could cook himself spaghetti bolognaise and shepherds pie etc before I saw some of the things they could do!

Each week on Friday they have a masterclass where the two chefs who co-host the show, Gary Mehigan and George Colombaris, share recipes and tips to the contestants and the viewing public. Last Friday night, they went a step further, and made the masterclass a cookalong. The idea was that kids at home could have the ingredients all prepared, and then they would follow George on the TV as he showed how to put it all together. I talked to the boy and asked if he would like to do it and he was enthusiastic so we decided that we would do it on Saturday.

When I looked at the recipe I realised that it made six desserts, and there was no way that I was going to eat all six. This might have been the case because the boy has a history of helping make something and then refusing to try it. We therefore decided to invite some friends over for dinner as well, at which point the boy said that he wanted to cook the whole dinner.

This is where I made a bit of a mistake. I did say yes, he could cook the whole dinner, but I didn't put any guidelines in place. He went through my recipe books, and came back and said this is what I want to make - Roast Rib Eye from Gary Mehigan's cook book Comfort Food. (I mentioned this book before for Weekend Cooking because it is one that I won on Twitter a while ago). I sent him away again to find something else, but he came back insisting that he still wanted to cook that, which is why we ate the most expensive piece of meat I have ever bought on Saturday night, along with broccoli and cauliflower cheese and roasted hasselback potatoes! Anyway, other than to say that it was worth the money with the spices on the outside giving it a real zing, what I wanted to focus on was the cook a long dessert.
The official name of the dish was Individual Hazelnut and Chocolate Self-Saucing Puddings with Candied Orange, but because the boy has an allergy to tree nuts (particularly hazelnuts) we just left those out. This also means that I never have Nutella in my house which is a bit of a tragedy really. Annnyyywaaayyyy...

One note about the Chantilly cream. The quantity that you make is huge, so you could easily halve this and still have more than enough! You could also prepare the orange syrup and cream a little bit earlier as well.

Have to say, this was really, really good pudding, and I can't wait to make it again. Although it would have to be a very special occasion to recreate the whole meal!


Hazelnut Chocolate Pudding

Melted butter, for greasing
1 cup self-raising flour
1/3 cup oven roasted hazelnuts, peeled and roughly chopped
1½ tablespoons cocoa powder
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
60g dark chocolate70%, roughly chopped
140ml full cream milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
50g unsalted butter, melted, cooled
Icing sugar, to serve

Chocolate Sauce

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder, sifted
200ml warm water

Candied Orange Zest

Zest of 1 large orange, long thin strips
¼ cup caster sugar
50ml orange juice, strained

Cream Chantilly
400ml thickened cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Brush six ¾ cup-capacity round ramekins with melted butter and place onto an oven tray.

2. Combine flour, hazelnuts, cocoa powder, brown sugar and chocolate in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the centre and slowly pour the milk, butter and egg in, whisking until combined.  Divide batter evenly between prepared ramekins.

3. For the sauce, combine brown sugar, cocoa and warm water in a jug and stir to dissolve. Carefully pour chocolate sauce over prepared puddings to just under full.

4. Bake for 13-14 minutes. Remove from oven and stand for 2 minutes. Dust with icing sugar.

5. For the orange syrup, combine orange zest, sugar and juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes to a syrup consistency.

6. For the cream Chantilly, place all ingredients in a jug with a whisk attachment of a stick blender and whip until soft peaks form.

7.Serve puddings with a drizzle of orange sauce and a dollop of Chantilly cream.


When it says a dollop of cream, George showed everyone how to make quinelles of cream. Every time I go to use any of the cream, the boy insists that we can't just drop the cream on whatever we are having, it must now always be quinelled!

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.

Aussie Author challenge complete

A few days ago I posed the question Do you know what a drop bear is?

Here's the Wikipedia definition: a fictitious Australian marsupial.[1] Drop bears are commonly said to be unusually large, vicious, carnivorous koalas that inhabit treetops and attack their prey by dropping onto their heads from above.[2] They are an example of local lore intended to frighten and confuse outsiders and amuse locals, similar to the jackalope, hoop snake, wild haggis, or snipe.

Really, they are a joke played on unwitting tourists!

It was interesting because when that post went up I got a comment from someone on Twitter asking me if I had heard of an "oooh-me-doodle bird", which I must confess I hadn't heard of. The definition they gave is "really short wings & legs when trying to fly they sing ooh-me-doodle, ooh-me-doodle'. I am sure that there are a lot of other made up animals out there!

Having now finished reading The Third Day, the Frost by John Marsden, which is the book that contained the passage that prompted the posting about drop bears, I have also completed the Aussie Author challenge. The books I read were for the challenge were:

Shadowfae by Erica Hayes
The Night They Stormed Eureka by Jackie French
Disco Boy by Dominic Knight
A Distant Shore by Peter Yeldham
Lord Sunday by Garth Nix
Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden
The Dead of the Night by John Marsden
The Third Day, the Frost by John Marsden

Thanks to  Booklover Book Reviews for hosting the challenge! I will definitely be signing up to participate again next year.

Library Loot: November 17 to 23

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

It's my turn to host the Mr Linky this week, so after you have finished checking out all my loot, then please, feel free to add your link so that we can come and have a look at yours.

I did something a bit unusual tonight. I actually took books off the shelf myself. *gasp*. Normally I only spend a few minutes in the library because I just pick up the books that are waiting for me on the holds shelf and then leave.

Here's the loot that I got this week:

English Passengers by Matthew Kneale - This book was mentioned over at Goodreads, and seeing as the library had it, I thought I would borrow and see how it is. It would also mean that I would actually read a book for my sadly neglected perpetual Booker challenge!

Outback Station by Aaron Fletcher - I finished reading the first book in this series, Outback, last week. Whilst I did have some qualms, the story was definitely interesting so I will continue on with the series. By the way, does anyone know anything about the author of this book, Aaron Fletcher. We haven't been able to find anything out about him at all

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong - This is one of the books I actually picked up off the shelf myself. I just finished reading The Summoning which is the first book in this trilogy on the train on the way home tonight and I though seeing as I was at the library I might as well request the book while I was there, but then it turned out that the book was on the shelves, so I picked it up myself!

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan - I have been seeing reviews of the latest book from this writing duo, Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, and it looks like such fun that I want to read it even though I haven't read these authors before. My library doesn't have that book yet, so I thought I would start with this one instead. I picked this one up myself too!

What loot did you get this week?

Teaser Tuesday: The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Kelley Armstrong is one of favourite authors. I love her Nadia Stafford books, and her Otherworld books, but I hadn't yet read her YA trilogy, but I am rectifying that at the moment. This book, The Summoning, is the first book in the Darkest Powers trilogy.

My teaser comes from page 48:

As traumatic experiences went, the last few days were my best film fodder ever. But what genre would it be? Straight horror? Or psychological suspense? Maybe a combination of elements, surprising the viewer with - 

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out all about it, and how to join in!


Speaking of Kelley Armstrong, if you are a fan of the Otherworld series, did you realise that she has recently put up a graphic novella on her website called Becoming, which tells the story of Elena, after she was bitten.

The Drop Bears post

I am currently reading The Third Day, The Frost by John Marsden which is the third book in the Tomorrow series.

Here's the blurb:

Live what you believe in... die fighting for it.

The third day comes a frost... a killing frost.

The enemy spreads across the land, cold and relentless. They invade. They destroy. They kill.

Only the heroism of Ellie and her friends can stop them.

When hot courage meets icy death, who will win through?


The Third Day, The Frost is the third volume in the award-winning Tomorrow series.

When I was reading it this morning, I was struck by two thoughts.

One is that there are some books that you really shouldn't read the ending before you get to it (yes, I know that a fairy dies every time you do this, but what can I say, I can't help myself!)

The second thing was that I was wondering how certain Australianisms come across to people outside of Australia. For example, there was this whole section about drop bears on pages 14 - 15..

"I hope you know what you are doing, sitting under that tree."

"What for? "

"Well, this time of day, middle of the afternoon, that's when the drop bears get active."

"That's right," the other man said. "Shocking area for drop bears, this."

"I wouldn't sit under that tree for a million dollars," the first man said.

Terrible what those drop bears do. I've seen them take a bloke's face off. Those claws. Gawd, they'd give you the horrors."

"And you never see the one that gets you."

"That's the truth."

"What for, drop bears?" the boy asked.

I'd worked around a bit further, to where I could see his face. He was fidgeting anxiously, but trying to look untroubled.

"You don't know what drop bears are? Fair dink, don't they teach you blokes anything? Fancy sending a bloke to a place like this and not telling him about drop bears."

"They told you about sharks, didn't they?" the second man asked.

"Sharks, yes."

"And crocodiles?"

"Crocodiles, yes."

"And hoop snakes?"

The boy hesitated. "Hoop snakes, yes," he said after a moment.

"Well, I'll tell you what mate, I'd rather go fifteen rounds with a crocodile than have a drop bear land on my head."

"What for, drop bears?" the boy asked again. He was showing real nervousness now, standing up straighter against the motorbike and with increased alertness in his voice. The men stopped working and spoke to him directly.

"Mate," the first one said, with great seriousness, "it's none of my business if you end up wearing a drop bear for a hat, but if you want to keep that good looking face attached to your head, I wouldn't recommend you spend any more time under trees."

So, anyone know what a drop bear is?

Launching: 2010 Virtual Advent Tour

Over the last 4 years Kailana from The Written World and I have been cohosting the Advent Blog tour where we ask people to share their holiday memories, recipes, traditions etc with us all. This year, we are doing it a little bit differently in that we have set up a separate blog for sign ups, buttons, and the daily posts talking about where the stops will be! We hope that lots of you decide to sign up and join in on the fun this year. If you would like to have a look at some of the posts in previous years, you will be able to find some links here.

If you don't celebrate Christmas, please don't feel excluded. We are interested in hearing what you do during the holiday season too!

Special thanks to Court from Once Upon a Bookshelf who designed these amazing buttons. This year we even have one that doesn't reflect snow for those of us who are in the Southern Hemisphere! Thank you so much Court.

You can also follow us on Twitter @VirtualAdvent

Sunday Salon: I've got a lot on!

Today I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about a few things that I have going on. This time of year seems to get very busy very easily online!

Where to start.

First things first! Have you seen the awesome Shaun Tan blogiversary giveaway that I have going on at the moment? You can win a special boxed edition of The Arrival and Sketches from a Nameless Land that at this stage has only been released in Australia. To enter, check all the details here.

Next up, South Pacific Book Chat. A few months ago, I mentioned in a Sunday Salon post a few months ago that Maree from Just Add Books and Tanabata from In Spring it is the Dawn were starting South Pacific Book Chat. There were lots of book chats on Twitter, but so often they were at inconvenient times for those of us who live in the South Pacific. So now, each week on Thursdays at 6pm JPN/8pm Eastern Aust/10pm NZ we come together and chat about all sorts of different things. Through #spbkchat I have met new book bloggers, and Tweeters, had a load of fun, and had some good book recs. Topics we have chatted about over the last few weeks include sports books, show us your TBR, spooky reads and more. Coming up this week we are focusing on Australian YA, so if you are on Twitter and would like to join in, then look out for the #spbkchat tag on Thursday nights.

One project that I am a little behind on is the Australian Book Blogger Directory. We are still taking entries, and there has been some discussion about there being a Book Blogger meet up in Sydney next March. Keep an eye out for further news about that. It will be announced both at the directory and here, and a few other places as well. If I get  organised, then I will try to organise one in Melbourne before then as well. I am planning to spend some time today putting new entries up. In the meantime, if you are an Australian Book Blogger and you would like to be added to the directory, then please head over to the Directory and leave your link.

Tomorrow, I will be posting about the 2010 Virtual Advent Tour. This will be the fifth year I have co-hosted the tour with Kelly from The Written World, and we always look forward to seeing all the posts by the participants. I just saw the buttons for this year's tour and they are Gorg-e-ous!

And finally, in a couple of weeks, we have a special week coming up at Historical Tapestry featuring one of my favourite authors, so I will be sure to tell you all about that when it happens!

All this means that I have lots that I can be doing on this Sunday morning, and can be very productive without even leaving the chair. If only I didn't have to be doing some housework at the same time! What are you going to be doing this Sunday afternoon?

Weekend Cooking: Baumtorte from Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomons

This week I have been reading the absolutely delightful Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomons. It's funny, moving, magical and so much more. There have been so many parts that I could have quoted from in addition to the two that I chose for my Teaser Tuesday post this week. As soon as I read the second half of Chapter 11, I knew that I wanted to do a Weekend Cooking post about it, even though I had already written my post for this week (which I have rescheduled for next weekend!) and even though I know that there has already been at least one Weekend Cooking post about this book.

To be honest, I could have quoted about 5 consecutive pages from this chapter, but instead here are some selected quotes touching on the themes of food, memories and emotions. To set the scene, Sadie and Jack are German Jews who emigrated to the UK in 1937, leaving behind their family who disappeared during World War II. One of Sadie's prized possessions is the well loved and well used recipe book from her mother, and this is the first time that Sadie has taken it out of the box she keeps it in to cook from it;

Sadie stroked the battered volume. The spine was coming away and the cloth loose, and she glanced through the index, neatly inscribed in her mother's curling hand and smudged with mixtures from a hundred meal times, until she found the one she wanted: 'Baumtorte'- part of a category called 'cakes to help you remember'. Unlike Jack Sadie preferred German to English because she like the literal meanings of the words; they were put together like tiny building blocks and felt good in her mouth as she said them. 'Baumtorte' was a good word, meaning tree (Baum) cake (Torte), since it is made of layers like the rings of a tree, Sadie, like her mother and grandmother before her, had baked a Baumtorte whenever she needed to remember. She'd baked a cake after Jack kissed her for the first time that December night, another when he proposed (in a noisy train carriage on the way back from Frankfurt, so she couldn't hear him and he had to repeat himself), another when they were stripped of German citizenship and one more after Elizabeth was born. She made the last one with Mutti on the day they received their exit visas. They'd asked for six (Jack, Sadie, Elizabeth, Mutti, Papa and Emil) but there were only three. They hadn't cried - they'd baked a Baumtorte. (page 140)

Sadie bakes her cake, with "each cake was placed on top of another and then another until, when dawn came, there was a cake towering many feet high with a thousand layers of rings: every layer holding a memory." (page 141). The ladies from the town smell Sadie's cake and invite her to their village meeting, and Sadie takes the Baumtorte with her.

It was time for tea and Sadie went to her Baumtorte, which rested on a makeshift table, bowing under its weight. She cut slices for each of them with a huge knife - the thinnest that she could manage. The women ate, and it was the most remarkable cake that they had ever tasted. It was sweet and perfectly moist with a hint of lemon but, as her mouth filled with deliciousness, each woman was overwhelmed with sadness. Each tasted Sadie's memories, her loss and unhappiness and whilst they ate Sadie was, for once, not alone in her sorrow. (page 144)

There are several places to find the recipe online. I found this one at The Times Online. Natasha Solomons has provided the recipe, and you can see what it looks like at the author's website.

INGREDIENTS

225g caster sugar (or vanilla sugar — caster sugar stored with a vanilla pod)
225g unsalted butter;
225g plain flour;
Zest of 1 lemon
6 eggs.

For the icing:
1 tbsp lemon juice;
175g icing sugar, sieved;
Candied orange and lemon segments for decoration

METHOD

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one by one. Stir in the lemon zest to taste — it should have a hint of lemon, not too zingy. When the mixture is creamy, slowly mix in the flour. Spread a thin layer of mixture in a cake tin and lightly brown under the grill. Continue to spread and grill, layer upon layer, until all the mixture is used. Allow to cool. Meanwhile, whisk the lemon juice into the icing sugar, then gradually add water until you have a lovely, thick icing. Ice the cake, then decorate with candied orange and lemon segments.

Please note this book is published under the title Mr Rosenblum Dreams in English in the US.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.

Blogoversary giveaway - Boxed set of Shaun Tan's The Arrival

5 Years! How long is that in blogging years?
It's hard to believe that I have been at this blogging business for 5 years! When I was a kid and teenager, I started dozens of journals. I would do a couple of entries, and then a couple of months later I would pick up the book, turn a couple of pages, and then start again, and the cycle continued over and over again. When I started blogging I actually half expected that same sort of thing to happen again, but it didn't! And now, 5 years on, blogging is an integral part of my life, and very much part of who I am! There are people who I know through blogging that I might never meet in person, but who I count amongst my friends!

To celebrate, I have a very special giveaway, but first a little background.

As soon as I saw a mention of the prize, I knew that I wanted to do a giveaway of it. Never mind that it is the most expensive non text book I have ever bought, and that I haven't bought myself a copy yet!

The Arrival by Shaun Tan is one of my favourite books that I have read since I started blogging, and I know that it is a book that has touched the hearts of other bloggers around the world. I've mentioned it here numerous times, and I have guest posted at other blogs about it, and if I see a review of the book on someone else's blog then I am practically guaranteed to comment!

It doesn't matter that there are no words in the book. The images have such strength that the story is evident and moving without words! One of the things I did when I first read this book was to give it to my then 8 year old son. While his story was different to mine, the key elements were the same.

Now, Shaun Tan has released a boxed set of The Arrival, and another book called Sketches from a Nameless Land, which gives the background behind The Arrival, the illustrations and so much more. To quote Shaun Tan, "it is like the extras on a DVD."

Here is the info from the website for this set:

This special boxed set of the best-selling, internationally acclaimed graphic novel THE ARRIVAL, and a new companion volume of commentary and developmental drawings, SKETCHES FROM A NAMELESS LAND, will fascinate anyone who has fallen under the spell of Shaun Tan's timeless story, and offers a revealing insight into the craft of one of Australia's most compelling author-illustrators.

THE ARRIVAL has become one of the most critically acclaimed books of recent years, a wordless masterpiece that describes a world beyond any familiar time or place. How did it come to be created, and what inspired its unique and captivating story? In SKETCHES FROM A NAMELESS LAND, author Shaun Tan explains the origins of his ideas, using examples from early research and concept sketches through to finished artwork. In tracing this evolution, he sheds light on the silent language of images, the spirit of the migrant experience and the artist's creative journey.

And here is just one of the videos from the website. If you would like to see more videos then there are a number of them available to view here.



As far as I am aware, this box set is only being made available through the Australian publishers and so if you win it, then you will have something that is quite hard to come by outside of Australia.

If you really love the book, and you are really cashed up, you might be interested to know that there is also a deluxe Collector's Edition which comes in a box that looks like a suitcase. Again, see the website if you want to drool over that! I must say that the website that has been developed to promote these releases is amazing, and you can easily spend more than a few minutes exploring it. Please note, if you do look at the website, then the prize that I am offering for this giveaway is the first item under Other Books, not the suitcase!

For those of you who haven't read The Arrival yet, what are you waiting for? I will also offer up a second  prize of a copy of The Arrival. In order to win this prize, you must be in a country that the Book Depository ships to.

Please spread the word so that as many fans of the book as possible get the chance to win this fantastic prize.

The prize details:

First prize: The winner will receive a special box set of The Arrival and Sketches from a Nameless Land as pictured above.

Second prize: One copy of The Arrival by Shaun Tan

The contest is open internationally, although for second prize I must ask that the prize winner live somewhere where the Book Depository ships.

Contest closes on 1 December 2010 at 5pm Eastern Australian Daylight Savings Time

To enter, please complete the following form:

At the Eleventh Hour, of the Eleventh Day, of the Eleventh Month

We will remember them.



This video is promoting a telemovie that is showing here on Sunday night.

Sisters of War is inspired by the true story of a small group of Australian nurses and nuns who found themselves in the eye of the storm when the Japanese military made them prisoners of war on the island of New Britain in 1942. It is a tale of strength, survival and forgiveness.

There is another trailer that gives more idea of the movie on Youtube

Library Loot: November 10 to 16

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

Wednesday night seems to be becoming library night for me. It is unfortunate that it coincides with Bingo night and the Bingo hall is directly above the library which means that parking is an issue, but luckily once we get a car park it's all good. Some time next year the new branch that is opening near me will be opened and then that will no longer be an issue.

When I went to the library I was actually only expecting to pick up two items, but between the time when I checked my account online and getting in there a couple more items had appeared on my list!

I just want to take a moment to say that I have absolutely no reloot in this week's haul! Can't remember the last time that happened! Here's my loot for this week:

Beyond the Night by Joss Ware - Joss Ware is a pseudonym for Colleen Gleason. I enjoyed the Gardella Vampires series so will give this one, which as I understand it is more urban fantasy. It was kind of strange that this was at the library tonight because I actually got notification that it was ready to be picked up a couple of weeks ago but when I went to the library I couldn't find it and neither could the library staff. When I checked my account today it said that this had a trace on it, which was still the case when I got to the library tonight, but the book was just sitting there on the shelf with my other holds. No idea what was going on there really!

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas - This is the start of a new series from Lisa Kleypas. The book only came out of processing today so getting new book smell for library prices! Have to love that. I am not quite sure what is going on with this one in terms of the series though. It seems a bit odd that this book is being released now (and it isn't a full size novel), but then there will be no new Lisa Kleypas releases next year. Would have made more sense to release it next year, but I guess part of it is the holiday theme. I generally don't read a lot of holiday themed novels, but this is the third one I have on my TBR list so far!

Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander - This is another brand new book, and is the next book in the Lady Emily Ashton series. I was a bit disappointed with the last one, so I hope this one is better.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier - I just finished reading The House on the Strand by this author, which I enjoyed so I am going to try to read a few more of her books.

Penmarric by Susan Howatch - Misfit from At Home with a Good Book and the Cat recommended this author for those of us who like to read big, juicy sagas, and I can't resist those kinds of books! This one has the added bonus of being a kind of retelling of Plantagenet history which is an added bonus.

Claire has Mr Linky this week, so head on over and share your loot!

A few weeks ago I posted a video of John Grisham talking about libraries, and this week the video is from Elizabeth Gilbert. I originally saw these videos posted at readthis!

Teaser Tuesday: Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomons

I first heard about this book when Heather from Capricious Reader was raving about it, as she read it, on Twitter. Based purely on what she was saying about it while she was reading it I requested it from the library, and waited and waited. Having finally come in I have now renewed it a couple of times, but it was down to the wire - I either had to return it unread or read it. I decided on the latter, and I have to say I really wish I had of read it before now! I am only 60 pages in, but I already love it, and will be putting in my request for Natasha Solomons next book as soon as it appears on the library catalogue.

The subtitle to this book is Or Friendly Guidance for the Aspiring Englishman, which kinds of help put the quote that I have chosen for Teaser Tuesday into a little bit of context. The teaser comes from page 21:

There remained one more item on Jack's list. He knew it to be the quintessential characteristic of the true English gentleman and without it he was nothing. Item one hundred and fifty: An Englishman must be a member of a golf club.

I am going to cheat a little bit and give two more sentences from page 63, as it amused me when I read it, and I think it gives a glimpse of the humour and charm of the novel. I am pretty sure that I am going to find plenty more quote worthy passages as I finish reading the book.

"My mother warned me that craziness ran in your family. I should have listened but no, I was young and foolish, and easily impressed by your red bicycle and your thick hair."

This book is also published under the title Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English in the US.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out all about it, and how to join in!

The Passionate Brood by Margaret Campbell Barnes

In this compelling novel of love, loyalty, and lost chances, Margaret Campbell Barnes gives readers a new perspective on Richard the Lionheart's triumphs and tragedies. Drawing on folklore, Barnes explores what might have happened if King Richard's foster brother were none other than Robin Hood, a legendary figure more vibrant than most in authentic history. Thick as thieves as Richard builds a kingdom and marshals a crusade, the two clash when Robin Hood so provokes the king's white hot temper that Richard banishes him. The Passionate Brood is a tale of a man driven to win back the Holy Land, beset by the guilt of casting out his childhood friend, and shouldering the burden of being the lionhearted leader of the Plantagenets.

The last book I read from Margaret Campbell Barnes was Within the Hollow Crown, which was about Richard II, and was quite slow and plodding and laborious to read. Leaving out the fact that this book is about another Richard, this time Richard I, I would not use any of these words to describe The Passionate Brood: A Novel of Richard the Lionheart and the Man who Became Robin Hood. Instead words like romanticised and idealised, fast paced, adventurous and over the top come to mind.

First, a note about the subtitle of this novel. To my mind it is a little misleading to suggest that the reader is going to find out more about Robin Hood because whilst there is a Robin in the novel, and there is an explanation for his outlaw status, there is precious little page time spent exploring the actions of the man who has achieved such legendary status over the years.

The male leading character for the drama that unfolds in these pages is undoubtedly Richard II, who history knows as Richard the Lionheart. As a character he dominates the pages. He is a man who is passionate, quick tempered, driven, pious and so much more. As king, Richard spent barely any time in England, but rather spent much of his time away on Crusade, coming close to reaching Jerusalem, but not close enough.

There is one character in particular who does manage to steal a little of the limelight from Richard where she is given page time, and that is his sister Joanna. I would love to read something about her at some point. Let's face it, most of the time I would be happy to read about any of this fascinating family. At one stage this book was released under the title Like Us, They Lived. I definitely think The Passionate Brood fits so much better!

We follow Richard as a young man, engaged to Anne of France whom he dislikes intensely (this young woman has sometimes been referred to as Alais in other novels ) and we travel with him as he journeys to Navarre where he meets the beautiful Berengaria who captures his heart. We join both Richard and his young bride as they go on Crusade, as he shows the military leadership for which he is still famous, the fighting with the other leaders, most notably Phillip of France, and then on his ill fated journey home where he is kidnapped and the country of England is nearly impoverished trying to raise the required ransom.

For a king who spent very little time in England, and whose wife didn't set foot in the country whilst she was Queen, Richard is still remembered with much fondness now. There is plenty of speculation about him, particularly in relation to his sexuality, but there is none of that in this novel. The Richard we find within the pages of this book is painted in broad strokes, not necessarily glossing over some of his less than stellar moments, but certainly presented in a highly romanticised fashion.

Reading this book has certainly piqued my interest, in particular for the next Sharon Kay Penman book which is telling Richard's story.

Over the years I have read a number of Margaret Campbell Barnes novels and for the most part I have liked them. This book is however my new favourite book from this author. It was a rollicking good read.

Rating 4.5/5

Many thanks to Sourcebooks for sending me a copy of this book or review purposes

TSS: LostBookSales.com

One of the things that I was conscious of when I bought my ereader is that whilst I was okay with talking about it on my blog, I didn't want to become a place where every post was ereader this and ebook that. I know from when I didn't have one that repetitiveness can begin to be a bit preachy! Have I mentioned though that I really love it so far, although there is one pretty big issue and that relates to geographical rights and how they affect this Australian reader!

Not too long ago, Diana Gabaldon posted on her blog about geographical rights specifically in relation to the fact that her graphic novel, The Exile, was not being published anywhere other than the US, Canada and Netherlands. I think though, that the extension to ebooks is quite logical

Well, see, the way that publishing works is that a publishing company buys certain specific _rights_ to a book. If you have a decent agent, you _don’t_ sell “worldwide rights” to your manuscript; the agent makes separate deals with individual publishers in different countries. Each publishing contract defines exactly which rights you’re selling—and the “exclusive territory” in which the book can be sold.

Which means that not all publishers buy all books at the same time—and not all publishers choose to promote the books they have in the same way, either.

When I first got my ereader, I wanted to be sure that I didn't go nuts buying books in the same ways that I don't go nuts in buying paper books, so I gave careful thought to decision of what book I was going to buy as my first ever ebook purchase. Once that decision was made, I set off to the internet places that I had heard would like my money. After trying a couple of different places, it began to look to me as though it wasn't yet available in ebook. I happened to mention that I couldn't find it, and was prepared to leave it at that, when Tanabata said, oh but it is available and sent me the link. I was aware that there were some geographical restrictions around, but given that Tanabata lives in Japan, it was a little surprising that she could buy the book, but I couldn't! As per the above, the book wasn't available in my region due to geographical restrictions.

Whilst I understand that there are different arms of the same publisher, it seems a little strange that I can buy a copy of a paper book from overseas with no difficulty whatsoever, but can't do the same for an ebook. There are authors who I want to support but I can't in my preferred format.

I am certainly not the first to be frustrated by this issue. Over the last few weeks, there have been posts from Bernadette at Reactions to Reading,  Sarah from Monkey Bear Reviews, and this week at Dear Author where the post gained 213 comments (so far), many of which were very interesting in themselves, including some discussion regarding piracy, something that rightly pushes the hot buttons for many authors.

One of the things to come out of the Dear Author discussion was a suggestion that there be somewhere people who want to buy a book, but can't or won't for whatever reason, can let publisher's know that they are losing sales from readers who want to be able to support the authors they love. Thus Lostbooksales.com was born.

From the About page:

Every day an author and a publisher lose out on a sale of book.  This is a site for readers to tell the world about the lost sale whether it is because of price, territorial restrictions or general availability. There are a whole host of reasons a particular book is not distributed all over the world. Sometimes agents advise their authors to sell only domestic rights which usually means US or UK get the goods. Sometimes publishers aren’t exploiting those rights.

So if you are missing out on being able to buy the books you want to buy, whether it be a paper book, or ebook format, then add your links and hopefully let publishers know that they really are losing sales every day.

I was just about to post this, when I noticed that at Dear Author they have just posted a follow up post about Geographical Restrictions, and once again it is very informative, particularly for those of us who have bought an ereader and happen to live outside the US in particular.

Weekend Cooking: The Various Flavors of Coffee by Anthony Capella

Do you ever take the time to look back over the posts that you have done for Weekend Cooking? I did this week, and it was a pleasant way to spend a few minutes. I looked back over some food related memories, some new recipes that I had tried and liked, some old favourites, and only one dismal failure!

I was also reminded that I had never actually posted my review of The Various Flavours of Coffee by Anthony Capella, despite the fact that we had played the guess the title game a while ago now, so that is what my Weekend Coffee post is this week:

It was a cup of coffee that changed Robert Wallis's life - and a very bad cup of coffee at that. The impoverished poet is sitting in a London coffeehouse contemplating an uncertain future when he meets Samuel Pinker. The coffee merchant offers Wallis the very last thing a struggling young artiste in fin de siecle England could possibly want: a job.

But the job Wallis accepts - employing his palate and talent for words to compose a "vocabulary of coffee" based on its many subtle and elusive flavors - is only the beginning of an extraordinary adventure in which Wallis will experience the dizzying heights of desire and the excruciating pain of loss. As Wallis finds himself falling in love with his coworker, Pinker's spirited daughter Emily, both will discover that you cannot affect one set of senses without awakening all the others.

Their love is tested when Wallis is dispatched on a journey to North Africa in search of the legendary Arab mocca. As he travels to coffee's fabled birthplace - and learns the fiercely guarded secrets of the trade - Wallis meets Fikre, the defiant, seductive slave of a powerful coffee merchant, who serves him in the traditional Abyssinian coffee ceremony. And when Fikre dares to slip Walllis a single coffee bean, the mysteries of coffee and forbidden passion intermingle...and combine to change history and fate.

This is the third book that I have read from Anthony Capella, but it was the first one that I have been disappointed in, and it is going to be hard to quantify, because the topics covered are all quite interesting but when combined into one story it didn't quite work. One of the main reasons for this is because the main character, Robert Wallis, is quite unlikeable and to my mind Capella didn't manage to rehabilitate him to this reader.

The man we first meet in a coffee shop in London, drinking a very average cup of coffee, is a younger son whose father has told him that he needs to find a way to support himself after having been sent down from university. To be honest, I can't think of many positive elements of his character. He is a spendthrift, he frequents prostitutes regularly, thinks nothing of dabbling in drugs, and certainly doesn't want to have to work for a living.

What he does do well is use words, and it is this trait along with the fact that Robert seems to have a good palate for different flavours which attracts the attention of Mr Pinker, a wealthy coffee merchant with a big idea! His idea is to  create a kind of reference library of tastes so that when he is ordering coffee beans from all round the world they can refer to the vocabulary and he will know exactly what flavours he can expect to receive in his shipment.

To develop this reference guide, Wallis begins to work closely with Mr Pinker's daughter Emily and they soon develop a relationship, with Robert thinking that he may well soon find himself more than just an employee to Mr Pinker, yet he doesn't really have much to recommend him other than he is quite dapper, generally paid for through borrowing from loan sharks. Take this example:

I considered carefully what to wear for dinner at Pinker's. On the one hand it was almost one's duty, as an aesthete, to make a striking show at table. One the other, I wanted Pinker to think of me as a possible future son-in-law. I should wear something impressive, I decided: something that declared that I was, if not quite his equal, then somebody of distinction within my own sphere. After some consideration I found the very thing: an ornate jacket of green Jacquard silk, inlaid with gems, which seemed to shimmer with the opulent iridescence of a mallard's neck. It was on display in Liberty, along with a magnificent turban in blue, at the fastening of which was a sumptuous brooch of red garnet. The only problem was that the ensemble cost six pounds, a sum I could no longer afford.

There were moments during this book which were very amusing. For example,  when Wallis turns up for dinner in the above outfit, one of the other characters (a dour Scotman who plays a pivotal role in the lives of both Robert and Emily) says

"they'd warned me that ye were a pote, Wallish, but they'd no' warned me that ye might forget your clothes."

"I beg your pardon?" I said, frowning.

"Ye've turned up to dinner in your dreshing gown, man."

Robert finds himself sent to Africa to build up a coffee plantation, and there comes into contact with a beautiful slave named Fikre, and he once again finds himself distracted from the task at hand. Instead of concentrating on the problems of getting the coffee plantation running, dealing with the locals he finds himself embarking on a torrid relationship that can only end in disaster, one way or the other.

It is difficult to say much more without giving away too much of the plot, but I will say that later Robert finds himself involved with the passionate, rebellious and somewhat dangerous women who were involved in the suffragette movement and also in efforts to break the coffee trading block that was prevalent at the time enabling a couple of families to dominate the world coffee trade.

Whilst there were glimpses of all the things that I have enjoyed in his previous novels, it seemed to me that the author tried too hard to include too many different elements within the story all framed around an unlikeable character. Whilst he was better by the end, the improvement wasn't enough to overcome the distaste I had for him earlier in the book.

By trying to lend the book various flavours, instead of coming up with an enjoyable brew, we ended up with a muddy cup of sludge.

Pass the instant coffee.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.

This also counts as my entry for the letter V for Historical Tapestry's Alphabet in Historical Fiction.

I want to read... The Wedding Shroud by Elisabeth Storrs

I don't often talk about what we have going on over at Historical Tapestry, unless we are running one of the big week or longer events. I am not really sure why. I should probably mention when we have giveaways etc. At the moment, for example, you can win a copy of Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig and a Christmas ornament (if you live in the US that is).

Today though, we have a guest post from Australian author Elisabeth Storrs that has me very interested in reading her book so I thought I would post about it here. When Elisabeth Storrs sent the post through to me to put up at Historical Tapestry, I read it, and got to the end and thought Wow, I want that!

Take a look at this book trailer and then head on over to Historical Tapestry to read her post "Why I Love Etruscan Art".

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Once upon a time came a story so full of high adventure and true love that it became an instant classic and won the hearts of millions. Now in hardcover in America for the first time since 1973 (in its native Florin it has been on the Florinese Times bestseller list continuously since the week it was published), this special edition of The Princess Bride is a true keepsake for devoted fans as well as those lucky enough to discover it for the first time.

Westley ... handsome farm boy who risks death and much, much worse for the woman he loves; Inigo ... the Spanish swordsman who lives only to avenge his father's death; Fezzik ... the Turk, the gentlest giant ever to have uprooted a tree with his bare hands; Vizzini ... the evil Sicilian, with a mind so keen he's foiled by his own perfect logic; Prince Humperdinck ... the evil ruler of Guilder who has an equally insatiable thirst for war and the beauteous Buttercup; Count Rugen ... the evilest man of all, who thrives on the excruciating pain of others; Miracle Max ... the King's ex-Miracle Man, who can raise the dead (kind of); The Dread Pirate Roberts ... supreme looter and plunderer of the high seas; and, of course, Buttercup .... the princess bride, the most perfect, beautiful woman in the history of the world.

S. Morgenstern's timeless tale - discovered and wonderfully abridged by William Goldman - pits country against country, good against evil, love against hate. From the Cliffs of Insanity through the Fire Swamp and down into the Zoo of Death, this incredible journey and brilliant tale is peppered with strange beasties both monstrous and gentle, and memorable surprises both terrible and sublime.

Last week was the final week in the Princess Bride Readalong, and we came to the end of the journey. The final section was the additional chapter, or rather the first chapter of the long lost sequel to The Princess Bride, Buttercup's Baby.

After the somewhat wishy-washy ending to The Princess Bride, it is interesting that Goldman wrote Buttercup's Baby, but I am not sure that it added a lot to the Princess Bride experience. We saw two main points of view - Fezzik and Inigo. I wasn't all that keen on Fezzik's, but I loved Inigo's story! Could have read a lot more about Inigo! The strange thing about this one chapter is that the time frame seemed somewhat fluid as well. The parts about Fezzik took place after the end of  The Princess Bride, but all of Inigo's story took place before the events of the main book.

Once again, the author continued to interject into the text. Sometimes those interjections were very amusing, but at others, they were just plain annoying and not funny at all. A big part of this chapter was talking about Goldman being allowed to write this chapter, because the Morgenstern estate preferred to have a prominent Florinese author, Stephen King, to do the abridgement rather than have Goldman do it. This was one section of interjection that I did enjoy, with Goldman writing about going to visit King to talk about the fact that he really wanted to do the abridgement. I thought it was very cool of Stephen King to be part of this. Apparently he still gets asked about this because there is an answer about it on his Frequently Asked Questions page on his website.

Sometimes the interjections served to challenge the reader to disbelieve what they are reading

For example, towards the end there was a mention about golf balls, and there was the following interruption.

(Me again, last time this chapter: no, that is not anachronistic either; there were golf balls in Scotland seven hundred years ago, and, not only that remember Inigo had studied with MacPherson the Scot. As a matter of fact, everything Morgenstern wrote is historically accurate; read any decent book on Florinese history.)

Talking about the book as a whole, I did enjoy the read, but there is a big BUT, I never connected with Buttercup at all! All we really learnt about her was that she was beautiful, and that's about it. It wasn't enough for this reader.

This isn't the first readalong that I have participated in, but it is the first one I have actually completed (go me!). Generally I wouldn't spread a book this size over a period of five weeks, and so I sometimes found it difficult to either put the book down at the end of each section, and then to pick it back up again.

In the end, I though The Princess Bride was fun, but I think I need to now watch the movie to see exactly why this story is so beloved by so many people I know!

I am planning to watch the movie shortly and will hopefully post about it when I do.

Click on the following link to see my previous posts about The Princess Bride readalong

Rating 4/5

Library Loot: November 3 to 9

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

I made a very last minute visit to the library tonight. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it or not. Part of the reason is that I knew that I had 8 items to pick up, 3 spaces on my card, and only 4 items to take back, so there was no way known I was going to be able to pick them all up.

When I went to the counter I told the librarian that I had left one item on the hold shelf because I didn't have enough space, to which he replied they were just guidelines, and so he let me borrow them all. There's every chance they are going to regret letting me know that they aren't rules as such!

Here's the loot I go this week:

Provocative in Pearls by Madeline Hunter - The second book in the Rarest Blooms series.

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett - the next Discworld book.

Brown Skin Blue by Belinda Jeffrey - I read an awesome review of this book at Inkcrush, and had to request this book straight away.

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner - I won a copy of the second book in this series last month, but can't possibly read a series out of order, so had to borrow this one to read first.

The Savage Sky by Emma Drummond - This author was mentioned in the Sweeping Sagas group at Goodreads, so I thought I would try out the one and only book that the library has by this author. The tagline is Allies in War, Bitter Rivals in Life - sounds like exactly my kind of book!

A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh - The final book in the Huxtable quintet.

The Princess Bride DVD - After finishing the book, the next obvious step is to watch the movie.

Spooks Season 7 - I am watching this for one reason, and one reason only:

What loot did you get from the library this week! Add your link to Mr Linky below so that we can all come around and have a look!

Teaser Tuesday: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments trilogy last year, I was very excited when her latest book, Clockwork Angel came out, and so far I haven't been disappointed!

My teaser comes from pages 97 and 98:

He didn't know what books meant to her, that books were symbols of truth and meaning, that this one acknowledged that she existed and that there were others like her in the world. Holding it in her hands made Tessa feel that everything that had happened to her in the pas six weeks was real - more real even than living through it had been.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out all about it, and how to join in!