Friday Poetry: Mandy Coe

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone has some fantastic books planned to read this weekend. I can’t help but remember that this time last year I was in Hawaii having an amazing holiday and reading some fab books by the pool.

Anyway, here is my chosen poem.

Amelia Earhart

‘…fears are paper tigers.’

A ribbon in her hair and mud on her dress

Amelia climbs too high

then, like any child in a tree,

blinks at the dizzying ground and sky.

Amelia spreads the map on her knees

to light the Atlantic with her torch.

She taps the fuel gauge, adjusts her course.

The stars seemed near enough to touch.

Amelia’s red Vega roars around

a world of cloud and sun and time,

and whenever a child defeats

her fears, Amelia still climbs.

Mandy Coe

Happy Reading

This and That Thursday

Good Evening!

The post is a bit delayed today so apologies. I’m still trying to get my head around the fact it is now July! Here is what I have been up to which is non-book related.

Baking

I tried a new recipe this week which was for ginger oat biscuits. The recipe was rather flawed as the ingredients wouldn’t stick together so I had to add a little bit more golden syrup, but you can never have enough of golden syrup. I then put the mixture as stated in the recipe on the baking tray and they came out of the oven like rock cakes rather than biscuits. Oh well, they are still yummy but could have done with a little less time in the oven.

Walking

We have been doing a lot walking recently and my best friend and myself have set ourselves the challenge of walking at least 2 miles everyday. This has led to us meeting a lovely horse and enjoying some wonderful views on our evening walks. I must admit I have always loved walking in the evening, the peacefulness is just wonderful.

Paint by Numbers

The picture is almost finished! I just have a few numbers left and the bits that are peach to finish. Hopefully next week it will be finished and maybe even hung on the wall. I can’t even begin to calculate how many hours I have put into this painting.

Swimming

We were also very lucky to go for a swim this week. My in-laws have a lovely outdoor pool so with the hot weather we took the opportunity for a nice swim. Hopefully we will be able to have a few more swims this year before it is closed up for the winter.

So that is my week.

Happy Reading!

WWW Wednesday: 1/07/2020

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?

It’s that time again! I’m really getting back into my reading at the moment and I am loving it!

What I am currently reading

I started this yesterday and at the moment I am bit unsure with the story but we will wait and see.

What I have recently finished reading

I loved this book so much and can’t wait to read the next one.

What I think I will read next

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It will be either of these, not sure which one will be first yet though.

That is it for another week. Please drop me a comment if you want to chat about any of these books and of course drop me link with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.

Mid Week Quote: Thomas Beecham

Hello!

Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a good week so far.

This week my chosen quote is by Thomas Beecham (1879-1961) who was an English conductor and best known for when he conducted the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras.

“Great music is that which penetrates the ear with facility and leaves the memory with difficulty.”

Thomas Beecham (1879-1961)

June 2020: Wrap Up

Hello!

The last day of June is here so it is time for the Wrap Up. Remember click the picture for the review!

Books I read in June

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Pages: 517

Format Read: Hardcover

Dragons: 5/5

Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Prasadam-Halls

Pages: 32

Format Read: Kindle

Dragons: 5/5

The Avengers, Vol 1 by Brian Michael Bendis, John Romita Sr.

Pages: 112

Format Read: Kindle

Dragons: 4/5

(No Review)

The Queen’s Rival by Anne O’Brien

Pages: 384

Format Read: NetGalley

Dragons: 4/5

Arthur: Prince of the Roses by Alison Weir

Pages: 54

Format Read: Kindle

Dragons: 3/5

The Blackened Heart by Alison Weir

Pages: 45

Format Read: Kindle

Dragons: 4/5

(Review pending)

Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession by Alison Weir

Pages: 544

Format Read: Hardcover

Dragons: 5/5

(Review pending)

Total book read: 7

Total pages read: 1688

So that is my June. Some good books read and more pages read than May. Let’s hope July is just as good.

Drop me a comment with the links to your monthly wrap ups and please let me know your thoughts on any of the books I have read.

Happy Reading!

Arthur: Prince of the Roses by Alison Weir (E-Short Review)

Arthur: Prince of the Roses by Alison Weir

About the author

Alison Weir was born in 1951 and is a British writer of history books, and latterly historical novels, mostly in the form of biographies about British Royalty.

Blurb

Arthur, the first Tudor prince, is raised to believe that he will inherit a kingdom destined to be his through an ancient royal bloodline. He is the second Arthur, named for the legendary hero-king of Camelot.

To be a worthy ruler, he must excel at everything – and show no weakness. But Arthur is not strong, and the hopes of England weigh heavy on his slight shoulders. And, all the while, his little brother Harry, the favoured, golden son, is waiting in the wings.

Review

I will be honest I was very excited to find that there were e-shorts to accompany Alison Weir’s Six Tudor Queens series, so I immediately downloaded the first two and read them.

This e-short is about Arthur and is written from his point of view. Arthur has a lot to live up to and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He was named after the great Arthur of Camelot who is legendary and his story inspires everyone, a lot for a young boy to think about growing up. He couldn’t help but feel pressurised without the knowledge of also been the oldest son and next in line to the English throne. Everything was stacked up against him.

I really liked how Weir had got into the head of Arthur. He was only young when he died and hardly lived life and Weir perfectly put this across. Weir showed a young boy who knew he would never be as good as his little brother and just wanted to be with his mother which wasn’t allowed.

This story really made me feel for Arthur and want to read a little more about him, in fact if Weir decided to do a full length story about him I would happily read it. I was disappointed with how short it was. I gave this e-short 3 out of 5 Dragons just because I found it too short and wanted that bit more. This was only 99p from Amazon which made it even better!

Purchase Links

Kindle

(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you)

First Lines Friday: 26/06/2020

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

Hello!

It is time for another guessing game? Remember the answer is below the cats!

Here we go…

10th July 2007

She has been walking for a long time. It’s funny but she hadn’t thought that there was so much space in England. The map, which she printed out in the library at school, seemed to show the youth hostel here, somewhere in this sea of green, but now that she’s walking, in her special shoes with her backpack on, there’s no sign of any buildings anywhere.

and the answer is…

Everything has changed for Dr Ruth Galloway.

She has a new job, home and partner, and is no longer North Norfolk police’s resident forensic archaeologist. That is, until convicted murderer Amyas March offers to make DCI Nelson a deal. Nelson was always sure that March killed more women than he was charged with. Now March confirms this, and offers to show Nelson where the other bodies are buried – but only if Ruth will do the digging.

Curious, but wary, Ruth agrees. March tells Ruth that he killed four more women and that their bodies are buried near a village bordering the fens, said to be haunted by the Lantern Men, mysterious figures holding lights that lure travellers to their deaths.

Is Amyas March himself a lantern man, luring Ruth back to Norfolk? What is his plan, and why is she so crucial to it? And are the killings really over?

How did you do? Please drop a comment with a link to your First Lines Friday and I will head over to see if I can guess the book.

Happy Friday!

Friday Poetry: Emily Dickinson

Happy Friday Everyone!

I can’t quite believe it is Friday again so soon. I hope everyone has some good books planned for the weekend.

This week’s poem is by Emily Dickinson.

A Bird Came Down the Walk

A Bird came down the Walk –

He did not know I saw –

He bit an Angleworm in halves

And ate the fellow, raw,

And then he drank a Dew

From a convenient Grass –

And then hopped sidewise to the Wall

To let a Beetle pass –

He glanced with rapid eyes

That hurried all around –

They looked like frightened Beads, I thought –

He stirred his Velvet Head.

Like one in danger, Cautious,

I offered him a Crumb

And he unrolled his feathers

And rowed him softer home –

Than Oars divide the Ocean,

Too silver for a seam –

Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon

Leap, plashless as they swim.

Emily Dickinson

This and That Thursday

Hello!

It is time for another weekly update!

Cats

Yesterday was Lyra and Pan’s 12th birthday. We tried to celebrate but the cats weren’t really that bothered. We had a BBQ to celebrate, Lyra was about but Pan was obviously hiding somewhere cool. Anyway they had some special cat milk as a birthday treat.

Paint by Numbers

The paint by numbers continues. I’m hoping to get it finished one day but I’m now on the really small fiddly bits which are a bit off putting. Although you can see more of what the picture is meant to be now.

Walks and Exercise

This week we have gone on some different local walks which has been a nice change of scene. I particularly liked the yellow flowers we saw at our local nature reserve. Exercise continues but I have been doing more exercise using my Nintendo Switch and the Ring Fit Adventure Game.

Cupboard sorting

I attacked my clothes cupboard this week and learnt a few things. Firstly, I have way too many tights. Secondly, 45 pairs of socks plus odd socks is probably not healthy. Thirdly, I won’t have to buy black leggings for a good ten years. In the end I realised that I really don’t need any new clothes for a very long time but that doesn’t include Tikiboo leggings or shorts because I can never have enough of those. I should probably sort out all my sheet music next but that usually takes several days but it needs to be done as I usually try to do it twice a year and it is very overdue.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

We have been binge watching Buffy in the evenings this week as well. I had forgotten just how much fun it was to watch although Faith has appeared now and she never was my favourite character.

The rest of the week has contained teaching online and studying so the usual antics. When I asked my husband what else we had been up to this week he said we had had a Cornetto which is very exciting as it’s probably the first ice cream we have had for nearly a year.

That is my week! Please let me know how your week has been going in the comments. I love to chat and hear what everyone has been up to.

WWW Wednesday: 24/06/2020

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?

Welcome to my WWW Wednesday!

Thankfully this week I have done more reading than last week.

What I am currently reading

Started this a few days ago and must admit that today I can’t put it down. You just can’t beat reading a good book on a nice sunny day.

What I have recently finished reading

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I really enjoyed The Queen’s Rival and the review is here. The other two are E-shorts which I also really enjoyed especially The Blackened Heart reviews will follow shortly.

What I think I will read next

I have recently been accepted on NetGalley to get an ARC of this, so I will read it next so I can review it before publication. I’m very excited as I discovered Mike Gayle this year and love his books.

So that is it for another week. Please leave me a comment with your WWW link and I will head over or if you want to chat about the books I have listed today.