Book Talk: I've Been Reading...

Well my audiobook... reading... is certainly going well.  Mostly because I've been working my way through my 8th Doctor Who adventures.  

 

On the plus side not only am I madly listening but I'm also madly deleting all the ones that I don't like.  Not that there are many of those, thankfully, and my endlessly growing audio collection is starting to look a lot more tidier and organised.  Always a win.

As for the actual reading...

Chick Lit as always for the win.

 

Feel good reads and each one different to each other.  This bunch featured YouTube influencers, a writer with writers block and a socialite who has to turn a rough around the edges guy into a corporate suit wearing charmer.

Perfection

And even though I've been burying myself in audio books I'm still managing to keep up with my non fiction reading.  Something I've mentioned in previous posts I wanted to increase this year.

 

Of course reading a gardening book is probably a bit of cheat since I mostly just look at all the pretty pictures but I'm counting it.  And I at least managed to make up for my skimming read by wading into two very heavy going but surprisingly interesting books - one on time and another on ageing and longevity.

 

Fascinating stuff.

Two great ones followed by three so-so ones then back to being great.  Pretty much sums up my Doctor Who listening. 

 

I have to say I'm amazed at how unique and different the great stories are which I just love and yet still faithful to the history of Who.

Something Inside was a particularly scary one and the emotions conveyed in all these stories are just so compelling.  I definitely find the more serious action packed but with emotions stories so much more my thing than the sillier more lighter ones.

Angst and drama is so me.

Frugal Living: Looking Back at The Good, The Bad, The What Was I Thinking

Clothing.  Can't live without it.  Can't buy all the pretties because I would be seriously broke if I did.  So instead most of my wardrobe is made of bargain buys courtesy of bargain basement shops that sell everything cheap (aka The Warehouse and K-Mart) or charity shops.

I love charity shopping.  It's like the best thing.  So many good bargains.  And all of the things that you just need and which cost an arm and probably your soul if you ever dared to buy them new. I've been a fan since forever.  And with money being even tighter it's definitely something that I want to get more into for the things we need.  

As for the bargain basement stores, well they fill a gap and even better I've been using them without spending any actual money.  I know right?  How is that even possible? The answer my friend is...

Vouchers.  From doing surveys. Who knew that was even a thing.  Certainly not me until about 6 years ago.  And now I'm hooked and madly earning dollars which then translate into to vouchers which I can spend at a variety of stores.  So easy and all free.  How awesome is that.

 

So what bargains worked and what bargains were bad choices which hopefully I've learned from and will never repeat.

Best Buys

 

$10 floral sneakers from The Warehouse

 

Love times 100.  Brought in 2016 and lasted me 4 years.  I so wish I had brought 2 or even 3 pairs of these.  That way they would have kept me going for a few more years.  Sob.

$5 pink satiny skirt from TradeMe

 

One of my all time favourite skirts that I brought about 6 years ago and have only recently gotten rid of.  So pretty, so comfy and just perfect for me.  Worn many, many times.

$5 floral A-line skirt from Hospice Charity Shop 

 

6 years on and I still have this and wear it regularly (despite it now being a little loose in the waist).  Who knew a grandma looking skirt would be just the thing.

$10 grey skirt from Factorie 

 

The absolutely perfect winter skirt in every way.  And one I love so much that I still have it even though it is now super loose on me and looking a bit sad from overuse.  That I can't wear this anymore is a tragedy.  As with the floral sneakers I really do wish I had brought more than one of these skirts.

$5 pink sneakers from K-Mart 

Worn pretty much constantly for the past 4 years and have only just recently thrown them out.  Super comfy in every way.  And another item I wished I had brought extra of at the time.

Worst Buys

 

$2 Beige...ish  knit top from Red Cross Charity Shop

 

I really thought I would wear this more.  But after a couple of wears it ended up just sitting in my wardrobe looking all sad and unloved for a few years until I recently donated it back.  Hopefully someone else will give it a little bit more love that I did.  Beige is so not my colour. 

$5 navy blue skirt from Hospice Skirt

 

I loved the look and feel of this and got so many complements when I worn it.  So on one hand this was a great buy.

 

But on the other... not so much as it kept getting caught on cupboard handles all the time and ended up constantly getting rips and tears it which no amount of mending could eventually cover up.  A gorgeous skirt that was sadly completely impractical for someone like me.

$9 Stripe t-shirt from K-Mart

 

What was I thinking.  Like seriously this is the worse t-shirt and just made me look like an old lady.  With no fashion sense.  Never worn (thankfully) and ended up being donated. 

$3 Black and red floral skirt from Salvation Army Shop

 

Gorgeous skirt that sadly I never wore.  Mostly because I could never find a top that worked with it colour wise.  Donated back.  As I do.

The Viewing Files: You Just Know It's Going To End Badly

So what do I do when things around the world look kind of depressing?  Watch science fiction movies about the end of the world.   

I know right?

My brain is seriously warped.

I'm now just going to eat all the cake and hope that an asteroid doesn't take us all out.

 

Fantastic Voyage

Starring:  Two leads who were only hired cause they look pretty

Original release: 1966

Synopsis: The things we do for our job

 

Just another day at the office. The one where you get miniaturist and injected into a scientist's body.

2001: A Space Odyssey

Starring: No one cares

Original release: 1968

Synopsis: Nothing happens... in space

 

Well that was 2 and half hours I'll never get back again.

 

So long, so boring, so nothing.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes

Starring: A bearded man

Original release: 1970

Synopsis: The end of the world... and it's still way better than the previous movie

 

I never really got the whole mutant psychic religious nutters who pray to a bomb but maybe that's just me.

 

As for the rest... well its not too bad. The cast at least try their best. Really though they should have gone with the original idea of Nova being pregnant and pushed the mutants out of this pic entirely.

Escape from Planet of the Apes

Starring: Apes but not as we know them

Original release: 1971

Synopsis: Carries on from the previous one.

 

More apes not acting like apes only this time they're the fish out of water.

 

Entertaining in the only way these movies were.

The Omega Man

Starring: Charlton Heston

Original release: 1971

Synopsis: A vaccine that's not so good

 

The background music was just so bad that it pretty much blotted out everything else.

 

Maybe that was a good thing?

Soylent Green

Starring: Charlton... again

Original release: 1973

Synopsis: Hopefully not our future

 

You could almost call this a docu drama which is actually really depressing.

 

It shows its age but the message is still pretty clear.

Logan's Run

Starring: Michael York and Jenny Agutter

Original release: 1976

Synopsis: 30 is the new... 80?

 

Boy meets girl.  Runs away with girl.  Finds out 'the truth".  And will now most probably die from starvation, disease and endless other things that will probably kill them because they are all pretty much clueless.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Starring: One of the men from Jaws

Original release: 1977

Synopsis: We're not alone

 

There's characters and a story in there somewhere but sadly the special effects hide much of it. It's also really long which doesn't help.

In the end you come away thinking "Is that it?" So many questions that are never really answered.

March Plans... Or The Calm Before The Storm

Two months in and the new year is so far going pretty well.

I'm on top of most things.  Which is amazing in itself.  Who knew I could be so organised and actually have everything under control for a change.

Of course it could all turn to custard any moment but for now it all busy calmness.   If that's even such a thing.

 

As for my plans for the month...

Reading

 

Well with the major purge of my To Be Read pile done I'm actually on top of this for a change.  Which gives me plenty of time to just read the handful of books I've got left.

 

All that extra time means I've also gotten ahead with some nonfiction and audio books.  Now I just need to find a graphic novel or two or 20 and I'm sorted.

Crafting

 

Another success.  Due to me being about half way through knitting up a vest for the winter.  I'm now just crossing fingers that I've got enough wool to finish it... 

Gardening

 

It been a fairly busy month what with all the harvesting and the endless weeding.    100+ carrots pulled, washed, scrubbed and grated, all ready to use for winter soups plus a small bunch of potatoes.

Now I'm just waiting for the corn to be ready so I can add it to the freezer of winter goodies.

Once that's done it's time  to get the garden beds ready for the winter.  A mammoth task of laying down cardboard, the compost, the mulch.  I may be busy for awhile.

Get Fit and Healthy

 

Pretty much just carrying on with the walking I've been doing and trying to resist all the cake. 

 

Oh and doing some yoga.  When I actually remember.

Writing

Blogging going well, writing... mmm not so much.

 

Story of my life right there.