Friday Meets

Meet me on Friday @ Friday 56 to start the weekend with Book Beginnings.

Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice. For this date, you will need the following:

•  Grab a book (Yes, any book. But it might get you to your other Friday activities a bit quicker if you just grab the book you are currently reading)
• Turn to page 56 or 56% on your e-reader
• Find a sentence or two (your other Friday activities might determine this)
• Post it!
• Remember to post your link on Freda's Voice and to visit the other guys in the linky.
• And don't forget to list the title of the book and the author as well.

I have this terrible habit of reading more than one (or two or three) books at the same time. I do try to stick to one per format though. For this week's Friday 56, I will choose the paperback I am currently reading - When God was a rabbit, Sarah Winman.

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Reading in the rocking chair

'Worrying is like a rocking chair - it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere'

I remember reading Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot when I was in High School. How absolutely absurd the whole thing was to me. Vladimir and Estragon were just sitting there. On a bench (or was it a rock?), under a tree. Waiting. Endlessly and in vain. They didn't do anything. They didn't go anywhere. They just waited and worried for and about this Godot person/entity/deity/pty.ltd - whatever.

 

"Nothing happens. Nobody comes. Nobody goes. It's awful!"

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Currently Reading

Paperback 

  

My reading progress for the past week was a bit slow. Flue-season in SA and I got it. Thankfully I also got the most beautiful flowers from a wonderful friend. 

I'm still reading Come, thou tortoise by Jessica Grant. It is a lovely read with the loveliest characters. Especially Winifred. She is a tortoise yes, but I do so love her. So why don't I just finish it??  I'm just running through books at the moment. Very similar to a hare. Quite sure that Winifred will catch up with me. 

I've started When God was a rabbit by Sarah Winman on Sunday afternoon. Not exactly sure what is going on here yet, but so far it is an easy read and I'm looking forward to see what happens with Elly and Jenny Penny. 

Oh.My.Word........

As I'm typing this, I suddenly realize I am reading about a Tortoise and a Hare. Will definitely keep you posted on who won the race! The funniest part of all, this was NOT intentional. 

Kindle 

What's the use of a 'reading schedule' if it's not to not follow your reading schedule? This book is not on my April library card, but it has been on my kindle for a few months. I started with The name of the rose by Umberto Eco, the book that I should be reading - if only I was in the habit of sticking to schedules. I will finish that one too. Eventually. I've heard and read plenty of excellent reviews for The unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce, so far I believe the raving reviews might be valid. 

'Life was very different when you walked through it.'

Audio (Librivox)

 

This book has been on my TBR list for ages and is also on my "listed" books for 2016. This is one of the novels on Librivox where some of the chapters are read by different readers. For me as a listener, I don't always like that. Especially if some readers are just better readers than others. Like Sandra G, that girl is very good!  But it's still fun book to listen to. It is an art to use a bit of word play to portray the simplest of events with so much wit and humor. Hats of to Jerome K. Jerome.

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Bout of Books read-a-thon

Bout of books read-a-thon update!

Saturday 14 May 2016

 

• The Widow - 154 pages (finished)
• The Mystery box - 4 pages

Total pages read: 156

Books finished: 1

Friday 13 May 2016

 

• The Widow - 120 pages
• The Little Prince - 26 pages (Finished)

Total pages read: 146

Books finished: 1

Thursday 12 May 2016

It was a hectic day - if only we can always escape into a book and books can always be the only comfort we need.

• The Widow - 40 pages

Total pages read: 40

Wednesday 11 May 2016

  

• Three men in a boat - listened to 5 chapters (finished)
• The little prince - read 19 pages
• 11/22/63 -read 9 pages

Total pages read: 28 

Books finished: 1

Tuesday 10 May 2016

 

 

• Recipes for love and murder - read 166 pages (finished)
• Three men in a boat - listened to 3 chapters
• The little prince - read 2 pages
• 11/22/63 - read 17 pages

Total pages read: 174

Books finished: 1

 Monday 09 May 2016

  

• Recipes for love and murder - read 93 pages
• The Little Prince - read 9 pages
• Three men in a boat - listened to 4 chapters

Total pages read: 102 

Books finished: 0

Bout of Books #16

I just saw the Bout of Books read-a-thon at Dual Reads and thought: Ah what the heck! I'm new to this blogging thing. Let's give everything a fair chance - at least once. I might need a bit of help though. Thankfully I've quickly realized that the blogger-world gives more support than the AA.  So here goes!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am on Monday, May 9th and runs through Sunday, May 15th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional.

For all Bout of Books 16 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. 

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Cover characteristics

Today's cover characteristic - CIRCUS (oh yea!)

Cover characteristics is a meme hosted by Sugar & Snark - each week they post a characteristic and choose 5 of our favourite covers with that characteristic.

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The girl who saved the king of Sweden - Jonas Jonasson

Paperback read from 10 - 22 April 2016

As predicted, Jonas Jonasson did not disappoint with his second novel, The girl who saved the king of Sweden. Being a South African myself, there were certain aspects of this novel I've enjoyed even more than its predecessor The 100-year-old man who climbed out the window and disappeared. 

The story opens in 1961 with the birth of Nombeko Mayeki  in Soweto, South Africa. Although she was statistically destined for a short and hard life, it did appear as if the odds were ever in her favour. Yes, she was black and a girl. She was also ran over by a drunken engineer and forced to work for the brandy-soaked head of a top secret South African project (Pelindaba hint hint).

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Cover characteristics

Cover Characteristics is a weekly meme hosted by http://sugarandsnark.co.za/

This week's cover characteristic is: 

Alcoholic beverages

  

Right ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. Next to wine, I can highly recommend this as an excellent remedy for a sour disposition.

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After Anna - Alex Lake

Read from April 10 to 17, 2016 

 

 

A five year old girl is missing. Taken in broad daylight right outside her school gate.

 These things happen. Way to often in this day and age. Thanks to the media, it doesn't take too much imagination to sketch  a vivid picture in our minds of what can happen when a five year old girl disappears. You hope and pray that the child will be found alive. Maybe it's a bit much to ask that she'd be returned unharmed as well. But that is exactly what happens with little Anna. One week after her abduction, she is returned to her mother. Unharmed. To quote the book description; "This is where the nightmare starts".

Talk about a twist in the tail. There are plenty of psychological thrillers these days with twists and turns that will make a circus pig jealous.

               

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Currently reading

Paperback/hardcover

The author of The-100-year-old man who climbed out the window and disappeared, Jonas Jonasson's newest novel already promises to be as fun-filled and entertaining as its predecessor. I've actually struggled a bit with Jonasson's writing style when I first started The-100-year-old man. He's quite quirky with an atomic amount (no pun intended) of word-play. Same with The girl who saved the king of Sweden, but this time I am prepared and quickly got into it. The story opens with Nombeko Mayeki who was born in a Soweto shack in 1961. She's a rather clever girl and by the age of 14 she was already the manager of the latrine emptiers in South Africa's largest shantytown.

 "They complained that their manager was talking politics. Wasn't it enough that they had to carry shit all day? Do they have to listen to it too?" I suspect this might be my #21 on http://bookriot.com/2015/12/15/2016-book-riot-read-harder-challenge/

Kindle 

Every parents' worst nightmare.......

A five year old girl is missing. Mommy was a bit tied up at work and late to pick Anna up from school and she vanished, without a trace. From the book description, I know she is returned one week after her abduction. Anna has no memory of where she has been, apparently that is only the beginning of the nightmares. I do hope the "week" will pass quickly, because my husband is constantly asking: "Did they find Anna?" I got this book for cheap-cheap on the daily specials on https://www.bookbub.com/home/

                                

Audio (Librivox)

I've been meaning to read Henry James' classic ghost story The turn of the screw for a couple of years.Somehow the 'classics' just kind of disappear from my need-to-read-this-now list. It tends to be so looooong and sometimes downright boring to read it. And then I discovered Librivox! This is a free public domain for audio books.https://librivox.org/ Having somebody else reading the classics for you turns out to be quite a lot of fun! I've listened to a couple of novels already and definitely recommend trying it. I'm half-way through the reading of The turn of the screw and I am convinced that the "unknown" governess is missing a couple of screws. Flora and Miles are a bit creepy though.  I suspect they would have had a nice long chat with Cole Sear on the matter of seeing dead people. 

   

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