I have really tried to push ahead with my reading in August. This has meant finishing a couple of books I had been reading for quite a while and managing to read and finish some new ones. I’m still behind with my reading challenges but not as behind as I was.
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?
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I am still pushing ahead with my reading and I am really hoping I can make a dent in my Goodreads Challenge before I go back to school.
What I am Currently Reading
This is my first Tracy Borman book and I am really enjoying it. I love the different approach she has taken for writing about these two amazing women from history.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I finally finished Babel, yay! It has taken me way too long to finish Babel but I kept taking breaks with it for some reason. Really enjoyed both of these books. Review for 111 Places in Bath that you Shouldn’t Miss is here.
What I Think I will Read Next
To be honest I have no idea what I will read next but here are a few potential contenders.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
My chosen quote this week is by the English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I.
“Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.”
Over the weekend I had a serious think about what books I would like to read in September. I think in September I will read shorter books as just recently I have been reading quite large books. I’m not sure whether to stay below 500 pages or 300 pages but I will wait and see what happens. I definitely don’t want anything over 500 pages!
Books I hope to read in September
Hopefully, I manage to read some of these books. I’m not great at sticking to a TBR so I never know how many if any I will manage to read in a month.
Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
Happy Monday Everyone. I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. It has been a Bank Holiday weekend here in England and this has meant lots of reading for me.
My chosen book this week is by one of my favourite writers and historians, Alison Weir. I absolutely love Weir’s fiction and non fiction and can’t get enough of her books.
Young Henry began his rule as a magnificent and chivalrous Renaissance prince who embodied every virtue. He had all the qualities to make a triumph of his rule, yet we remember only the violence. Henry famously broke with the Pope, founding the Church of England and launching a religious revolution that divided his kingdom. He beheaded two of his wives and cast aside two others. He died a suspicious, obese, disease-riddled tyrant, old before his time. His reign is remembered as one of dangerous intrigue and bloodshed—and yet the truth is far more complex.
The King’s Pleasure brings to life the idealistic monarch who expanded Parliament, founded the Royal Navy, modernised medical training, composed music and poetry, and patronised the arts. A passionate man in search of true love, he was stymied by the imperative to produce a male heir, as much a victim of circumstance as his unhappy wives. Had fate been kinder to him, the history of England would have been very different.
Here is the story of the private man. To his contemporaries, he was a great king, a legend in his own lifetime. And he left an extraordinary legacy—a modern Britain.
Please drop me a link with your Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.
111 Places in Bath That You Shouldn’t Miss by Justin Postlethwaite
Blurb
The magnificent historic city of Bath – home to sweeping crescents in honeyed stone, restorative thermal waters, and beautiful boutiques – is no stranger to those who seek to explore its manifold charms. Most are only intrigued by the the Roman Baths, the Pulteney Bridge, the Royal Crescent, the Circus. But for the more inquisitive there are countless hidden gems to discover. Pick up this book and explore Bath’s best-kept secrets – stories, locations, and unique personalities from the past and present, who have been neglected by the conventional tourist routes.
In these pages you’ll take a bespoke detour off the well-beaten path to unearth unexpected from secret statues and characterful pubs to artists’ studios and Georgian ballrooms, from memorials paying homage to lesser-known figures who left their indelible mark on the city to treats for foodies and fashionistas.
Make your own gin, weave a scarf, tell the time with a stylish personal sundial, play ‘shove ha’penny’, bind your own book – or head beyond the city fringes, just a short hop by bike, punt, barge, or steam train, for a fresh perspective on this picture-perfect metropolis. The possibilities are endless. Whether you’re a first-timer, a frequent visitor or a native who has ‘seen it all’, here are 111 things you never thought you’d see in Bath.
Review
If you have been following me for a while you will know that I love Bath and that I go most years. Last year I was lucky enough to go twice and I loved every minute. We have a trip planned there this year so I thought it was time I read this book to see if there are any new places we might like to visit.
My sister in law gave me this book for a birthday present a few years ago but like a lot of my books it has sat on one of my many TBR piles. Last week I was going through one of these many piles and found it and thought it was high time I read it.
The first thing I really liked about this book was the set up. Each place is spread across two pages; the description and details on the left hand page and a well chosen picture and brief description on how to get there and a tip on the right page. I also quite liked how a lot of the tips featured a nearby pub that you could enjoy a good pint and spot of lunch in.
I really liked Postlewhaite’s writing style and found the information he gave really interesting. Places that I have visited or walked past or through many times I learned things I didn’t know about from this book. There were extra nuggets of history facts that I had never come across and interesting facts like the acoustics at The Circus.
This book is quite a few years old now and was published pre covid so a few places especially the restaurants and pubs have either changed names or perhaps even closed but the facts given about the history of the premises were still really interesting. I really enjoyed this book and I have made a list of new places I would like to visit and I will be looking at the familiar sites with new eyes now I know new things about them and what to look out for. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.
(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 ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
A travel writer and editor for the last 16 years, author Justin Postlethwaite usually writes about the food and culture of France. However, having lived in Bath for even longer, he was thrilled to look a little closer to home for this book. The opportunity to delve deeper into the stories, characters and sites in his adopted hometown meant witnessing and exploring this beautiful city with fresh affection.
I hope everyone has had a good week so far and have some fun plans for the weekend.
My chosen poem today is by the Romantic poet Anna Seward (1742-1809).
Sonnet: To the Poppy
While summer roses all their glory yield
To crown the votary of love and joy,
Misfortune's victim hails, with many a sigh,
Thee, scarlet Poppy of the pathless field,
Gaudy, yet wild and lone; no leaf to shield
Thy flaccid vest that, as the gale blows high,
Flaps, and alternate folds around thy head.
So stands in the long grass a love-crazed maid,
Smiling aghast; while stream to every wind
Her garish ribbons, smeared with dust and rain;
But brain-sick visions cheat her tortured mind,
And bring false peace. Thus, lulling grief and pain,
Kind dreams oblivious from thy juice proceed,
Thou, flimsy, showy, melancholy weed.
Anna Seward
This short novel, already a modern classic, is the superbly told, tragic story of a Cuban fisherman in the Gulf Stream and the giant Marlin he kills and loses—specifically referred to in the citation accompanying the author’s Nobel Prize for literature in 1954.
Review
This book had been on my TBR for a very long time but I had never actually owned a copy. A few months ago whilst book shopping I saw a copy and bought it and last month I read it.
I read this book in one sitting because once I started I was enthralled with Hemingway’s writing style. Usually I struggle with short books because I always find myself wanting more but this wasn’t the case with this book. It is a simple story set in Cuba about an elderly fisherman called Santiago. Santiago has nobody left in his life but there is a young boy Manolin who takes care of the old man. There is a bond between the young boy and the old man because Santiago taught the boy to fish and the boy used to go fishing with him but not anymore.
Santiago has fallen on hard times and has not caught any fish for many days. Because of this he decides to head further out to sea than he usually does and with this begins the fight for his life. This beautifully written book focuses on the old man’s struggle, his determination to catch and bring in the fish of his dreams. His struggle at times is almost meditative. We know all his thought processes and his emotions.
We learn so much in this book, we learn that age teaches us a great deal but with each day we lose more and gain less. We see the old man raging against his age, fighting against nature, time and of course a fish. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons and can’t wait to read more of Hemingway’s books.
(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 ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899-1961) was an American novelist, short story writer and journalist. His economical and understated style – which included his iceberg theory – had a strong influence on 20th century fiction, while his adventurous lifestyle and public image brought him admiration from later generations.
My chosen quote this week is by one of my favourite authors Khaled Hosseini (1965). Hosseini is an Afghan-American novelist, UNHCR goodwill ambassador and former physician.
“But better to get hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie.”
Lady Book Dragon 