Thursday Quotables #1

Welcome to Thursday Quotables hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies. This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage during your past reading week. Whether it's something funny, startling, gut-wrenching or just really written beautifully - this is where you must share! It is so simple:

• Write a Thursday Quotable post on your blog. (We're all busy here, so pick something from what you are currently reading)
• Link back to Bookshelf Fantasies and link-up with the linky provided.
• Make sure to visit the other quotable bloggers and snitch their books.
• Go finish reading your book.

When in doubt, keep reading. A book will never die on you. - John van de Ruit SPUD

Putting pen to paper (literally)

After dedicating my latest Top Ten Tuesday to a few of my favourite quotes from books, I've decided to write a post on where this 'obsession' with bookish quotes come from. Now this is not a an easy (although quite laughable) subject to write about. I need to go dig and delve there where I can't even remember (but will never forget). 

Cover Characteristics - Ladders

29 June 2016 - Ladders

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.) 

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Favourite Book Quotes

28 June 2016 - Top Ten Favourite Book Quotes

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly link-up/meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish  where they provide a prompt and other lovers of list-making (me! me! me!) join in with their own top ten list. Feel free to have less than 10 or more if you need to at times and put a spin on the topic if you need to. Just please link back to The Broke and the Bookish  if you are participating. Link up with your BLOG POST (not your blog) in the linky provided and remember to pay it forward!

Seeing that it was The Broke and the Bookish's blogoversary last week - you can choose what you want to give them for an anniversary present this week. It's not as if we as participating bloggers do not be-gift them every single week with our clever thoughts and wit and participation in this utterly delightful link-up hey. Ag, we don't mind at all - any excuse for cake and wine. HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY!!!




This week is a freebie week: Either you can choose your own Top Ten of what ever you like (of course you can just pick the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 and come up with an equation that most readers will never understand - do as you please) or you can have a throw-back on an old topic. I'm a new blogger, so nothing is "old" in my frame of reference (or regret). 

Make Me Read It Readathon

Go ahead - Make me 

Time to put on my reading shoes and get ready for the latest Readathon with The Innocent Smiley and Tea & Titles.

The fun part of this Readathon is you get to pick what I should read. 

 Yes Hon - all you. And if you enjoy it so much, go and visit the other readothletes (a participant in a readathon is a 'readothlete') who have signed up and pick theirs as well. See, fun for everyone!

The Sunday Post - 26 June 2016

Sunday 26 June 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.


This is a very quick post just to say that I'm back from holidays! Had a lovely time and an even lovelier time today. I have a brand-new look and would love to hear your feedback and comments. Honesty is the best policy - so don't hold back! (You will not know if I stick out my tongue or pull a face or even start crying. You might only notice a couple of silent cyber attacks. (As soon as I figure out how to launch one...) )

I will be an active participant on the blogosphere as from tomorrow again and polish the brand-new look. Still need to update a few pages as well. 

10 Reasons why you really should read 11/22/63

Kindle: Read between 8 May - 10 June 2016

"That is the curse of the reading class - We can be seduced by a good story even at the least opportune moments."

 Book Blurb (courtesy of Goodreads): On November 22 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas. President J.F. Kennedy died and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King's heart-stopping novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination. King sweeps readers back in time to another moment - a real life moment - when everything went wrong.

Since the first publication of 11/22/63 in 2011, there has been written numerous reviews and comments on this exceptionally well crafted novel by Stephen King. I am most definitely not an expert on the works of Stephen King (I've only "discovered" the King in my 30's), but to me - this is his best novel (my frame of reference is not very big, please feel free to correct me!). Therefore, I am not going to add to the number of reviews - I will much rather give you 10 reasons why you really should read this book:

Cover Characteristics - Arrows

Today's Cover Characteristics - Arrows

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.) 

Staying true to my species (creatures of habit), I will again list my favourite cover as the one that I thought of first. 

   

The Sunday Post 12 June 2016

Sunday 12 June 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.


A couple of weeks ago I told you (very excitedly) that holidays are approaching in SA. Winter holidays are the best! We have a stunning arts-festival here in Nelspruit and normally all my friends are around (the Lowveld is the best place to be in winter). So the flow of red wine and good company is quite similar to the wedding in Cana.

Friday Meets - 10 June 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.

I convinced myself last week that I will definitely be able to use 11/22/63 this week for Friday 56. Meaning 56% and not page 56. Alas..... 

Not even close (only around 20% currently). Life is interfering with my reading here.

The Summer of my imagination

20 Books of Summer 2016

I honestly don't do winter. I would much rather prefer to have my heart beating at 55 beats per minute and find a warm, cozy spot to snuggle in and forget about the cold out there. Not a dark place, there has to be sufficient light for reading. (This from someone who lives in sunny South Africa, in Nelspruit. Our average winter temperature is around 23 degrees Celsius)

Unfortunately, I'm not genetically allowed to go into hibernation. The second best option is thus to take part in all these summery challenges and meme's hosted by the Northern Hemisphere. When reading - it's always summer.

I've already packed my beach bag stacked with all my upcoming beach reads 

Top Ten Tuesday - Beach reads 

and now I've decided to sort out my reading challenges for 2016 by participating in 20 Books of Summer hosted by 746Books.


1 Summer: 96 days, 6060 pages, 63 pages/day, 20 books.

Here is my list (there might be one or two or ten varients):

The Ice Queen - Alice Hoffman

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"What is the best way to die?"

I'm not going to give the answer, although it is quite logical and very, very true. I don't think I will complain dying with an Alice Hoffman book on my chest. Really, I've never read anything by this lady that didn't play on my deepest of deep feelings, there where a tissue can't reach. The Ice Queen is one of Alice Hoffman's earlier works and although one can definitely see (okay read) how much she has developed over the past 10 years, I honestly think there are plenty of authors out there who will never be able to write as good. Imagine what's going to come out of her pen in another 10 years. Can't wait!

Alice Hoffman knows how to tap into magical realism in such a way that you are convinced of the truth and reality thereof. "You know what the issue is with the world? Everyone wants a magical solution to their problem, and everyone refuses to believe in magic". (This quote is from the Alice in Wonderland, not the Alice-magical-author).

Cover Characteristics - Lipstick

Today's Cover Characteristics - Lipstick

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.) 

Due to an ongoing dispute with the Tooth Fairy, I don't wear lipstick. But if I did wear lipstick, this is what I would have loved to look like:

Come, thou tortoise - Jessica Grant

Paperback: Read between 19 March - 05 June 2016 (I know,.... But keep in mind - this was a book concerning a tortoise. I call it "empathetic reading")

 Winnfred: "This is what I've been reduced to. A Bookmark. Shakespeare's bookmark. Oh perish the thought. Oh woe is me. Methinks I need a plan" 

Should you be in the very, very fortunate position to be following this blog (amazement in the making here - watch this space) for the past two months - this is the book you should be thanking.

The idea of starting my own blog was simmering somewhere the back of my mind for a couple of months and it took Winnifred, the highly opinionated tortoise, to bring the idea to the boil. When I read the above quoted lines from Come, thou Tortoise, it was an enlightening moment. That is exactly what I have become! A bookmark. Really, think about it; I'm not working full-time anymore; I'm at home most of the day; I spend most of my waking hours reading; at least 15 000 of my daily quota of 20 000 words per day are on books and authors and bookish blogs. See??? 

"This is what I've been reduced to. A bookmark. Me thinks I need a plan"

Sunday Post - 05 June 2016

Sunday 05 June 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.



Just to proof that I know how to be sweet and short (yes I know I am physically sweet and short, this is to show I can do it with words as well), today's post is going to be a very quick recap of the past week. 

Weekly Meme's:

Friday Meets - 3 June 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.

I'm still in search of The league of Extraordinary gentlemen.
Finished King Solomon's Mines last week, so now I am getting better acquainted with 

Top Ten Tuesday (Thursday...) - 2 June 2016

This week's Top Ten:

Ten books I want to read on the beach this summer. 

Library Card - June 2016

What to read in June 2016

My library card for June doesn't reflect a 1900's dance card (aka 'Wallflower') anymore. It is filled up and I've been adding names and titles for the past two weeks already. If all of these will get a twirl on the bookish dance floor, we'll have to wait and see.... I solemnly swear that I will try my utmost best. Who needs sleep?

Paperback/Hardcover

  

 

Kindle

  

  

Guess I need to start dancing here.... (Does anybody else hear ABBA in their heads as well? And have you noticed how easy it is to just replace the words dancing queen with reading queen??)

Currently reading