Book Talk: I've Been Reading...

More cold and wet so naturally more reading to be had.  Though I seriously need to do some catching up with my blog posts before the mad rush of spring and summer arrive and I'm madly gardening once again.

As for the reading...

Ahhh comfort reads.  My favourite.  These 3 were just the thing for the warm and cozies.  Definitely something we all need, especially at this time of year.

 

Of course once the warm and cozies were done it was time for some thrillerish thrills courtesy of 2 sci-fi's and 1 actual thriller.

All caught up with my thrills and comfort I felt like reading something a bit different and so I did a major dive into history books and bios, something that I use to read a lot of but have steered mostly away from for the past several years.

 

Finding some history books that I like the sound of took a bit of hunting but in the end I came up with this selection, all of which I enjoyed in different ways.

While I've been doing all this reading I've also still been working my way through my audios.  Doing jigsaws and having an audio to listen at the same time has been my latest thing this winter and a perfect way to wile away the day when it's freezing cold outside.

 

That.  And eating cake and drinking lots of hot chocolate.

Both the Ravenous series and the Stranded series have been a bit up and day with their stories.  

Some stories I have really enjoyed.   Others... not so much.  I definitely like the more darker, scarier ones than the silly, lighthearted ones which probably says a lot about my brain.

Still the acting and the characters have been top notched so I've still liked them, just not perhaps as much as the earlier series which were so amazingly good.

I'm now curious as to how the future series will go and whether the quality of the stories will carrying on being up and down.

A tag on to these Doctor Who series was Robots featuring the always excellent Nicola Walker.  As a fan of hers and her character it was great getting stuck into a series of her own and one I'm looking forward to carrying on with.

A Day in the Life... A Sunny July Day

With a week of rain looming high it definitely feels like a day to make the most of the sun...

8.30am

And I'm up.  Pink spotted socks and all and about to go for a morning walk.

9.30ish

 

Back from my walk and sitting down with a nice cup of Blood Orange tea, one of my favourite's and a perfect start to the day.

10.30 am

 

Mundane household chores all done and now contemplating what seeds to need to start.  So many seeds... so few seed trays.

11.30 am

 

And my seed growing containers are now all filled.  These ones have got corn in them.  I'm hoping this will give me an early head start in summer planting.  Now I just have to find a place inside our house to put them...

12.30pm

 

And my latest jigsaw is finished.  I've really been enjoying doing these this winter, especially since I haven't been able to do any gardening.

2.00 pm

 

After a morning of work it felt like the perfect to day to go on a drive and enjoy this gorgeous weather while we can.

And just look at how blue and calm the sea looks.

Looking into the sun from the hills near Fortose

3.00pm

 

Me and my shadow and Other Half too while we go on a walk through the countryside.

4.00 pm

A quick stop at a deserted coffee on the go cart and a lovely hot chocolate for me while Other Half and I sit outside and enjoy the view.

 

Just the thing to end the day on.

The Viewing Files: Water, Water, Everywhere...

With a week of rain coming up it seems kind of appropriate then to do a post of water movies.  Or at least movies featuring water.  Lots and lots of water.

So put on your wadders and gumboots, grab a hot drink and some cake and sit back for a wet ride.

 

Titanic

Starring: That guy from Hart to Hart

Original release: 1953

Synopsis: Boat meet iceberg, Iceberg meet boat

 

Oh look it's Robert Wagner singing.

 

Still the special effects are pretty amazing even if they did get some of the facts wrong.

River of No Return

Starring: Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe

Original release: 1954

Synopsis: A farmer walks into a saloon...

 

Marilyn in jeans and doing it rough. And even then she manages to look amazing.

 

An okay sort of movie even if Mitchum comes across as a bit of Alpha Male bully occasionally. Still the other leading man is so much worse. One of those movies where men are men and women better bloody well put up with it or live like a man.

Jaws

Starring: A ton of familiar faces

Original release: 1975

Synopsis: Don't go into the water...

 

Or Three Men and a Shark.

A really big shark.

They so should have brought a bigger boat.

Das Boot

Starring: Some Germans

Original release: 1981

Synopsis: Life in a tin can... under the sea

 

One of the best war movies ever made.

A Night to Remember

Starring: English people

Original release: 1958

Synopsis: That iceberg is back...

 

Less sap than the previous Titanic movie and no singing so that's plus right there.  The special effects are pretty great too.

Cocoon

Starring: A bunch of old people

Original release: 1985

Synopsis: Aliens and old people

 

Okay in its day but now just kind of long and boring.

The alien bits (which sadly were few and far between) were really the only bits for me that worked.  The rest was all kinds of meh.

The Abyss

Starring: Ed Harris

Original release: 1989

Synopsis: More Aliens... hopefully they are friendly

 

It's romance under the sea with Ed Harris saving the day and a bossy Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonino. Throw in a storm and some aliens that actually don't want to eat you for a change and you've got a not half bad movie even if it's a tad long.

The Perfect Storm

Starring: George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg

Original release: 2000

Synopsis: Sometimes you really should listen to the weather forecast

 

Makes the "Deadliest Catch" and other similar TV shows look like a walk in the park.

Riveting stuff.

The Shape of Water

Starring: No idea

Original release: 2017

Synopsis: A different kind of love story... one with a fish

 

The real story of Aquaman and it's not pretty.

Titanic

Starring: Kate and Leo

Original release: 1997

Synopsis: The Titanic movie

The movie that gave us a thousand memes and one of the most annoying songs in history.

Still the visuals are pretty spectacular.

July's Plans

Well the icy cold came as did the snow so it's been a month of hunkering down at home with just the occasional walk.  And since July will probably bring more cold and more snow the plans for the month are fairly low.

 

Oh well I can at least use the cold as an excuse to drink lots and lots of hot chocolate.  Always a plus.

Reading

 

Not much change since it's basically what I've been doing for the past few months.  On the plus side my To Be Read pile is still really small.  All this being organised and everything seems to be paying off.  The question now is can I keep it up?

Knitting

 

Less of a stop start project and more of a complete standstill so the plan for this month is to get stuck back in and finish it.  I'm going to try and spend at least an hour a day knitting.  Cross fingers that all goes well.

Watching

 

Letterboxd reviews are going like the clappers.  I've managed to post about 50 or more just in this past month.  

 

Now I've just got to make some time to watch at least one of the TV shows that are on my To Be Watched list.

Writing

 

Going slowly.  Which is at least something. 

A Day In The Life... All The Cake and A Solstice Too

And here we are another Solstice, another birthday, another day in the life of me.

 

So how did my day go...

8.30am

 

Awake and it's a foggy and chilly start to the day.  As you can see Nudge has arrived. Somehow I think he is trying to tell me something...

9.00am

 

Back in bed getting warm again after topping up Nudge's bowl and it's present opening time.  And look at the all the goodies I got.  Socks, jigsaws and a super soft cardigan... in pink no less.  My favourite colour.  And a book on sunflowers.  One of my favourite flowers. I'm feeling very spoilt.

 

And even more birthday jigsaws.  This time from Other Half.  I can't wait to get stuck into these.

10.00am

 

Finally.  The sun is out and it's looking like it's going to be a gorgeous day.

A gorgeous day calls for hamster socks.  So cute and so me.

11.00am

 

Back from a quick morning walk and it's time for a cuppa and a read.

12.30pm

 

A river in the middle of nowhere and we've stopped for a mug of tea from the thermos we've brought with us.  Just sitting and enjoying the sun and the view.

1.00pm

By the sea and another stop and some more sun.  This time we're snacking on some hot chips.  Yum.  And just the thing to keep us warm.

3.00pm

 

Back from our drive and it's time for cake.   And look how pretty it is. 

A few minutes later...

Sitting down with cake, hot chocolate and one of my favourite movies.  Just heavenly.

5.00pm... ish

A gorgeous sunset on a gorgeous day.  And the perfect ending to a solstice day.

Book Talk: I've Been Reading...

Winter.  Cold and wet.  Which of course means lots of reading and endless hot chocolate.  Not a bad way to spend the day when everything outside is gloomy and dull. 

So what have I been reading...

There's nothing more comforting that Chick lit reads.  Especially when accompanied by hot chocolate and cake... or maybe just the cake.  Either way they are my go to reads for all things light and fluffy.

 

I particularly loved Meet Me in the Margins and The Book Share, both of which are set in the world of books.  I mean really... what's not to love.  Just The Way You Are was also another fav read.  Perfect Chick lit reading all round.

From Chick lit to some quirky non fiction reads about a man who decides to celebrate some kind of National or International holiday every day.  Weird but funny and quirky which is so me.

Yep.  More Doctor Audio audios.  

 

As you can see I've been seriously working my way through all my audiobooks.

I love both of these series.  Very dark, very exciting, sometimes even spooky.  And such a great cast.  If you're a Doctor Who fan and like audios I seriously recommend checking these out.  So so good.

June's Plans

The 1st day of winter... and it's warm and sunny.  Which makes no sense what so ever.  Where's the icy cold, the frozen solid ground, the snow???  Somehow I feel just a little bit cheated.  Still on the plus side I've been doing lots of walking.  Lots and lots of walking.  Which I guess makes a nice change from all the gardening I'm generally doing.

As for the rest...

Reading

 

Going super well.  Which is good.  My To Be Read pile is down to just a handful of books.  Which is kind of amazing.  And even better I'm managing on the whole to keep it that way.

Of course my Waiting To Be Read pile is an out of control monster.  But as they are all books waiting to be published there's not much I can do about it except try and not add too many books that I want to read.  

 

We can live in hope.

Knitting

 

This is very much a stop and start project.  Even so I am slowly making progress.  Which is always a good thing. 

 

Now I just have to finish this vest so I can start my next project.

Watching

So many things to watch, so little time.

I am however slowly adding to my Letterboxd reviews and have plans to at least watch Bridgerton, Virgin River and A Discovery of Witches this winter.  I'm thinking I'm going to need a ton of hot chocolate and cake to see this through.

Writing

 

Always, always on the list.  This time round I'm planning on spending 1 day a week on doing some writing.  Even if it's just a few words.

Get Fit and Healthy

Lots of warmish weather means lots of walking.  Hopefully it's at least keeping me reasonably healthier.

 

I'm also making lots of homemade soup which has got to be good for me... I hope.