Back In The Blogosphere

Somehow, in the midst of all the chaos surrounding the recent birth of our second beautiful daughter A. (hooray!) I have managed to read six books. Six books in the past eight weeks! Granted, none have been difficult reads

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2011!!!!!
The silly season has come and gone in a flurry of food and festivities and now that I've had a chance to catch my breath, I have realised how long it's been since I last posted anything. Now, admittedly, I wasn't too worried about my extended absence, assuming that not only was everyone likely to be as busy (if not more so) as I have been, and also assuming that no-one was really reading my ramblings.

Blog Post Resurrection

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so I hope you're all feeling very fond of me by now! Apologies for the extended hiatus, my excuses include:

For Every Book I Read, I Add Another 3 to My List

'Once and Future King' is finished, closed, done and dusted! And now, naturally, I need to know more about King Arthur, Camelot, the Knights of the Round table (or as my daughter calls them, the 'noses lala table'), Lancelot, Guenever, etc. Whilst the book was a wonderful read it has unfortunately ignited a latent passion for historical-cum-fantasy fiction in the literary heart of yours truly, forgotten since I last read Homer's 'The Iliad' or 'The Odyssey'. Although a story which seems familiar, with familiar characters and a generally well known plot may seem as exciting as watching paint dry, just flesh out the characters, breathe life into the setting and fill in the sketchy details with twists and turns and suprises, and voila! CAPTIVATING! 

Get Reading! The Government says so...

First up, to my lovely, supportive encouraging friends: THANK YOU. I did try to enter the book review comp on The Book Depository but all my reviews hover around the 1,000 word mark and the limit was 200 words. And after a while of heavy handed editing (which was like choosing which of your limbs to cut off, I might add), I realised that the competition closed at 5:00pm today. *Sigh, ah well! Next time (hee hee, secretly pleased! It's one thing to do a blog because you want an outlet, and you know that friends will read it, it's another to put it out there in the big bad literary world).

Review: A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

One of Charles Dickens' best known books is certainly also one of his most memorable, poignant and best loved works. I am, of course, referring to 'A Christmas Carol'. Its influence is easily seen throughout modern Western culture in one form or another (particularly during the festive season); in dozens of theatre productions, in silver-screen movies, as an opera, and most prolifically in film including adaptations such as 'The Muppet Christmas Carol', 'Mickey's Christmas Carol', 'Ghosts of Girlfriends Past', and most recently 'A Christmas Carol' starring Jim Carrey.

What impact does this extensive media exposure have for the first-time reader?

Boo ya! (Got your attention)

There have been very few times in my life where I have been able to say this with any sincerity: I have nothing to say. No new news! 


I finished book two of George R.R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series - an epic fantasy series, compelling reading - but I can't bring myself to read book three. I literally feel sick at the graphic descriptions of wounded/maimed characters, and the inclusion of a character who is known for his penchant for 'flaying' his victims (ie: skinning them alive) makes me feel woozy. 
I'm reading 'The Once and Future King' by T.H. White, which is immensely enjoyable! But I can only read it