Cover Characteristics - Benches

Today's Cover Characteristics - Benches

Cover Characteristics is a weekly meme hosted by Sugar and Snark. Every week they give us these gorgeous themes and then you have to pick 5 (or more - whatever blows your hair back) covers featuring that theme. If you want to participate: 

• Pick your covers 
• Post it to your blog
• Share your post's URL in the linky provided by Sugar and Snark
• Go and check out the other guys who also posted! (This might influence your current TBR list a great deal.) 

My favourite cover for today is again going to be the first book that popped into my head when I saw the theme. (But now I really need to pop a chocolate in my mouth)

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The Sunday Post - 29 May 2016

Sunday 29 May 2016

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. This is a post to recap the past week on your blog, tell everyone about books and things you can showcase and share news for the upcoming week. Remember to link your post and to visit others who have linked up.


Winter is coming to South Africa! Next week it is officially winter in the southern hemisphere. Time for red red wine, read red books and  wear a red coat. 

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King Solomon's mines - H. Rider Haggard

Audio book: May 20 - May 26, 2016

Librivox recording - recorded by John Nicholson (I still vote for Sean Connery to do this reading)

You know what I love about book reviewing and blogging the most? It gives you the freedom to google your favourite books and characters for hours and hours and if someone asks what you are doing you can quite honestly say: RESEARCH. (You might even glare at them over the rim of your glasses. For effect you know. Also make sure to have a pencil at hand. Again - for effect)

Afterwards, you might sound extremely clever and give lots and lots of useless information to anyone who would be interested in listening. (I strongly suggest that you keep your glasses down on your nose and have that pencil either in your hand or stuck in your hair).

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Friday Meets - 27 May 2016

Yes, yes - I am aware that it is Saturday already (believe me, I am far more horror struck than you regarding the quick passing of time)

Meet me on Friday @ Friday 56 for a bit of Book Blogger Hop to kick-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.

My pick for today is a book that I have been dragging my feet with for the past two months (yes, that is 2 - I know. How dreadful). And it's not that I don't like it, in fact I love it! Maybe it is my subconscious at work here. I mean - this book is about a tortoise, thus:

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Cover Characteristics - 23 May 2016

Today's Cover Characteristics - Don't you turn your back on me! (Okay, actually it is covers featuring only the back of people)

Cover Characteristics is a weekly meme hosted by Sugar and Snark. Every week they give us these gorgeous themes and then you have to pick 5 (or more - whatever blows your hair back) covers featuring that theme. If you want to participate: 

• Pick your covers 
• Post it to your blog
• Share your post's URL in the linky provided by Sugar and Snark
• Go and check out the other guys who also posted! (This might influence your current TBR list a great deal.) 

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The Sunday Post - 22 May 2016

Sunday 22 May 2016

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. This is a post to recap the past week on your blog, tell everyone about books and things you can showcase and share news for the upcoming week. Remember to link your post and to visit others who have linked up.


Helllloooooo all you lovely people out there!! 

Yes, I am trying to sound like the lovely Mrs Doubtfire. I need the image of Mrs
Doubtfire or Maria/Mary (same same) or I will even settle for Nanny Mcphee. I need to think of puppies and rainbows and nannies who provide sugar in your medicine and not be called Sugar. 

  

     

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Friday Meets - 20 May 2016

Meet me on Friday @ Friday 56 for a bit of Book Blogger Hop to kick-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.

After watching The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen last weekend, I realized that I haven't read most of the novels hosting all those interesting and extraordinary characters. So I've decided to start with Allan Quatermain (he is the first character to make an appearance in the movie after all).

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Top Ten Tuesday

This week's Top Ten:

Ten books I picked up on a whim (however you decide to interpret that - bought, read, downloaded or stolen)

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature/weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a 'Top Ten' list and everyone is welcome to join. Just link back to The Broke and the Bookish and add your name to the linky.

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Cover Characteristics - Silhouettes

Today's Cover Characteristics - Silhouettes

Cover Characteristics is a weekly meme hosted by Sugar and Snark. Every week they give us these gorgeous themes and then you have to pick 5 (or more - whatever blows your hair back) covers featuring that theme. If you want to participate: 

• Pick your covers 
• Post it to your blog
• Share your post's URL in the linky provided by Sugar and Snark
• Go and check out the other guys who also posted! (This might influence your current TBR list a great deal.) 

When I saw today's theme, a song immediately popped into my head and yes - I've been singing the whole day to the music in my head. (I also march to the beat of my own drum, but that's completely besides the point today). Who of you remember Bonnie Tyler's album Silhouette in Red? I remember this soooooo well. I had (still have, thanks to facebook) this lovely friend in Primary School who introduced me to Bonnie Tyler when we were about 11 or 12. When this album was released, we listened to it constantly. She had an amazing sound system in her room, and when those first notes of the first song (When Sally comes around) on that cd started - you had goosebumps all over - even the windows were purring like a cat from pure enjoyment. I actually get goosebumps just by remembering. (My hair never, ever wanted to look like this.)

  

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The Sunday Post - RIP HP

Sunday 15 May 2016

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. This is a post to recap the past week on your blog, tell everyone about books and things you can showcase and share news for the upcoming week. Remember to link your post and to visit others who have linked up.

My good-old trusted friend and companion - HP my laptop, decided to retire early in 2016. My husband and I thought it wise to put him in an "old age home" for computers. The type of home where they minimize your daily schedule to maybe just one or two chores and for very limited time. All HP-my-old-pal had to do, was wake-up every morning, go to just one folder, open it and connect to his HP nephew, the printer. Not too much strain on those old wires. But alas.... It was with the greatest of sadness that I declared HP as dead as a doorstop 6 weeks ago. (My husband suggested that we use HP as a doorstop in future - to honor the memory of our profound loss).

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Friday Meets - 13 May

Meet me on Friday @ Friday 56 for a bit of Book Blogger Hop to kick-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've re-read an old classic this week. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-expury. No particular reason - maybe I was just contemplating if somewhere, we do not know where, a sheep that we never saw has (yes or no) eaten a rose.

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Recipes for Love and Murder - Sally Andrew

Paperback read between 4 and 10 May 2016

I have a confession - I don't read enough South African fiction.

 After reading this novel, I realized that I can't call myself "proudly South African" AT ALL. I love my country, but I am not always

proud of my country. But I will never be a Peter and say "I do not know you". I would rather be like a real prim and proper Afrikaans "poppie" and just keep quite and sit in the corner. And then someone like Tannie Maria comes along and she reminds you of a couple of things: 

• I love being Afrikaans
• I love the Klein Karoo
• I love koeksisters, bobotie, melktert, vetkoek and karringmelk beskuit
• I love vetplantjies
• I love the smell of the first rain on the warm dry earth
• I love SPAR (although I might check out the managers with an eagle eye hence forth)
• I love being white, but have a black friend that I can honestly call one of my 5 best friends ever. 
• I love reading a South African murder mystery that has nothing to do with politics or apartheid or South African history (Die Groot Trek OR The Soweto uprisings) 

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Currently Reading

Tuesday 10 May 2016

Paperback

 

Recipes for love and murder by Sally Andrew - what a fun read! I am just about finished with it. Just still need to scroll through some of the delicious recipes (not the one for murder - although all the ingredients and method are very well explained in this novel).

The widow by Fiona Barton - will start with this one later tonight. 

Kindle

 

  

11/22/63 by Stephen King - I am currently reading this one and enjoy it immensely. But it is 842 pages long and I am suppose to partake in the Bout a book read-a-thon this week. Sooooooo - I will try to finish the following (or at least one!) this week.

Five little pigs by Agatha Christie

The longest ride by Nicholas Sparks

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Google Play books and audio

  

The little prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery - I am reading this little, but lovey book on my phone. In class. While the kids are working. OR while waiting for the next ones to arrive. The rest of the time - I do teach. Honestly.

Three men in a boat by Jerome K Jerome - also just about finished with this one. Quite enjoyed it. Don't really know what I'll be listening to afterwards. Will wait and see what pops up on Librivox and keep you posted!

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Cover Characteristics

Today's cover characteristic - MAPS

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. Remember to add your name to the linky so that others can visit!

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The Sunday Post

Sunday 08 May 2016

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. This is a post to recap the past week on your blog, tell everyone about books and things you can showcase and share news for the upcoming week. Remember to link your post and to visit others who have linked up.


After the mini mid-term break, the past week was rather busy regarding classes and lessons. I still need to learn the art of juggling classes, home, husband and blog all at the same time. I've always been in awe of professional jugglers, I could hardly hit one ball with a tennis racket and always closed my eyes when a ball were thrown to me. I honestly don't have any ball sense, books make sense to me and I welcome them with open arms and eyes wide open.

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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 been reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce since last weekend and I know if I don't use it for this feature today, it will only end up as a review in my Reflections on Ink page. This is one of those books you want to spend time with and tell others about it. So I am going to page back a bit to share with you. 

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Top Ten Tuesday

This week's Top Ten:

Top ten childhood characters we'd like to revisit as adults

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature/weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a 'Top Ten' list and everyone is welcome to join. Just link back to The Broke and the Bookish and add your name to the linky.

It is my first time joining the Top Ten Tuesday and I know that I am most probably dating my age with this post. Oh well - count your age by the books that fill your shelves (and memories) and the friends that surround you!

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Library Card - May 2016

What to read in May 2016

Paperback/hardcover

    

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When God was rabbit - Sarah Winman

Paperback read between 23 April and 01 May 2016 

A review in quotes 

" I wrote about what I'd lost that morning. The witness of my soul, my shadow in childhood, when dreams were small and attainable for all. When sweets were a           penny and God was a rabbit. "

When God was a rabbit is a purely fictional account of the life of Eleanor Maud Portman between her birth in 1968 up to the events of 9/11 and beyond. To quote Sarah Winman herself: "Although not autobiographical, I wanted this book to have the feel of a memoir, textured by real moments and real places of my childhood. It is narrated by Elly, who we meet in 1968 at the point of her birth, and who we follow through the confusion, joy and magic of childhood, where secrets are cast and rabbits speak."

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The Sunday Post

Sunday 01 May 2016

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. This is a post to recap the past week on your blog, tell everyone about books and things you can showcase and share news for the upcoming week. Remember to link your post and to visit others who have linked up.


My husband was in Europe this past week and as he walked through the door last night, he was greeted by a first-grader who couldn't stop talking about her first week at school. She just had to tell him about all the new and wonderful things she has learned. She now knows about buttons and badges and weekly meme's and links. She also discovered that she is not alone out there anymore. There are thousands of amazing like-minded friends on this playground. Isn't this just marvelous!

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