Miscellaneous Thoughts9 Comments

Fun for Monday: Halloween Book Covers Tag

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This is an original tag created by Kristen over at Moonlight and Metaphors that I was particularly attracted to because Kristen’s rules are so relaxed: “It’s really simple. All you have to do is find a book cover for each topic! It can be covers you love, books you’ve read, random covers – there are no rules. You can put your own spin on things. Do what you want 🙂 Just have fun…” Yay! Can do! I am so hijacking this tag to talk about some of my favourite cover artists! (Whilst keeping it spooktastic, of course).   Skull/Skeleton/Bones This … Continue reading Fun for Monday: Halloween Book Covers Tag

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Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

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Take a cup of each of the following: Nancy Drew, the Famous Five and the Usborne Puzzle Adventures; throw in a generous handful of The Goonies, Monster Squad, and some Young Sherlock Holmes if you have it; add a pinch of Scooby-Doo, Where are You? and just a few Lovecraftian tentacles, blend together and pour through a strainer to remove any lingering lumps. Chill for thirteen hours, then serve lavishly dressed with tropes and stage directions. What I’m trying to say is that this was a bundle of fun to read and definitely something I will read again … but … Continue reading Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

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Fun for Monday: Halloween Creatures Tag

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I saw this tag done by the Orang-utan Librarian back in 2018 (before I was brave enough to do tags – can you imagine?!) Created by Anthony of Keep Reading Forward, I thought it’d be a fun one to do today to celebrate the start of the Wyrd and Wonder mini event Spooktastic Reads … Hurrah! Hurray! Let’s get spoopy!     Witch: A magical character or book At the risk of being repetitive and thus boring, the only answer I can give here is Zen Cho’s Sorcerer to the Crown and its sequel The True Queen. They’re magical books, with … Continue reading Fun for Monday: Halloween Creatures Tag

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Books with a body count

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Don’t get me wrong, I’m a placid library employee who enjoys long walks in nearby woodlands, crunching through autumn leaves and wearing big woolly jumpers. I’ve no particular desire to stumble across a real dead body while on a walk (and it’s always at the back of my mind that that could happen – you know what they say about dog-walkers and joggers being the ones who find the bodies, right?), but in my reading life, if there are going to be bodies, I want lots of ‘em! Authors can just be so darned creative when it comes to killings … Continue reading Books with a body count

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Read-along: Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey (Week 6)

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It’s the final week of our read-along and Lisa of Dear Geek Place is our host, helping us give shape to our (many) thoughts and (all the) feelings as events draw to a close. Most participants have been providing links to their posts here on the Goodreads page (not me, because I’m a lazy toad, but all the good people I’m reading along with have) if you fancy reading some more coherent thoughts than mine. If you’re still with me, then let’s dive in… …I don’t have to warn you about SPOILERS, right? We’re talking about the end of the … Continue reading Read-along: Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey (Week 6)

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Fun for Monday: The Library Lover Tag

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I saw this over at A Mad Hatted Reader’s blog who saw it at Book Stacks Amber. I shouldn’t have to say it, but for those who don’t know, libraries are my thing. And as this week (5th to 10th October 2020) is Libraries Week in the UK it seems a fitting choice of tag for today. How often do you visit your local library? Every day, pretty much. We work every other Saturday and on Sundays to a rota, so my weekend is usually a Monday. Before she passed away and we moved house, I used to visit our … Continue reading Fun for Monday: The Library Lover Tag

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Read-along: Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey (Week 5)

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We’re truly out on the Long Road this week as we travel with Phèdre, Joscelin and Hyacinthe to Alba, and the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been. Guiding us through this week’s dramas is our host Peat, of Peat Long’s Blog. As always, information about this read-along, each week’s questions and links to most participants’ responses can be found on this Goodreads page here.   And, Blessed Elua, watch out! There are SPOILERS galore now that we’re this far in!     We’re back on the road again with Phèdre and Joscelin, and this time they’re with Hyacinthe as … Continue reading Read-along: Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey (Week 5)

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Fun for Monday: Book Buying Habits Tag

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Zeezee over at Zeezee With Books did this tag about a month ago. It originated with booktuber Megan Olivier. I do love to answer questions …   Where do you buy your books? Under normal circumstances I buy the majority of my books second-hand. However, this year being what it has, I’ve been using Hive, Blackwells and Waterstones to feed my book habit. I’ve sworn off Amazon because Mr Bezos really doesn’t need any more money. (And I second Zeezee’s sentiment about Borders – that was just the best bookstore!)     Do you ever pre-order books? If so, do … Continue reading Fun for Monday: Book Buying Habits Tag

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Read-along: Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey (Week 4)

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Wow! It’s week four and things just keep getting bigger and going deeper in this book. Phèdre and Joscelin may have escaped Skaldia, but they’re by no means out of danger and court politics are looming large. As always details for this read-along can be found here and imyril’s also the one linking to all other participants’ contributions in her read-along posts, so all eyes on her, please. Questions are being posted each week on the Goodreads page. And this week I’m hosting! Hi Everybody! *waves* Don’t trip over the SPOILERS!   Week 4 Chapters 32 to 47 inclusive Waldemar’s … Continue reading Read-along: Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey (Week 4)

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Fun for Monday: The Opposites Tag

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Another Monday, another tag. This one I found over at Dreamlands Book Blog where Beatrice not only shows off some of her beautiful books (I particularly love her copy of the complete Sherlock Holmes stories, it’s just sooo pretty!), but also reminds me just how expensive books can be for a lot of readers, particularly outside of the UK/US. How cool would it be to set up an international book-swapping website?   For this challenge I have tried not to mention any books that I’ve already talked about at some point on my blog. Just for fun. Watch me drop … Continue reading Fun for Monday: The Opposites Tag