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.
Happy Monday!
I hope everyone has had a good start to the week so far. I am on half term so I had a lovely morning reading and drinking tea.
My chosen book today is one I have only recently purchased but one that I have wanted to read for a while.
Here’s how the history of the Roman Empire usually goes…
We start with Romulus, go on to Brutus overthrowing Tarquin, bounce through an appallingly tedious list of battles and generals and consuls, before emerging into the political stab-fest of the late Republic. From there, it runs through all the emperors, occasionally mentioning a wife or mother to show how bad things get when women get out of control, until Constantine invents Christianity and then Attila the Hun comes and ruins everything. But the history of Rome and empire is so much more than these Important Things.
In this alternative history, Emma Southon traces the story of the Roman Empire through women: Vestal Virgins and sex workers, business owners and poets, martyrs and saints. Each gives a different perspective on women’s lives and how they changed, across time and across class lines.
Please drop me a link with your Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.
Another week down and another week closer to Christmas. I must admit I am getting rather excited for my Christmas reading and have already started getting together some Christmas books I want to read in December.
I started reading this a few days ago and although I find it interesting I wish there was actually a bit more about the hauntings in it. So far it has been more of a history lesson and about the authors grief for his recently deceased father. The actual hauntings only get a few lines.
I met up with some friends this week in Lincoln and this meant I could tick off another Waterstones from my Waterstones Challenge. I must admit my challenge has not been going well recently but I’m hoping I can get back into it again properly soon.
This was a lovely store with a very traditional store front. I found the ground floor rather cramped which made browsing rather a trial but the second and third floors were lovely. I especially loved the science fiction and fantasy section which was huge. They also had a dedicated cat section which was brilliant!
Here are the lovely books I purchased or should I say my wonderful husband purchased for me. I must admit social media made me buy The Pumpkin Spice Cafe so hopefully I enjoy it.
I have already started reading Hauntings by Neil Oliver and I am really enjoying it so far.
So there is number 15 off the list. I’m not even thinking about how many I have left.
I hope everyone has had a good week so far. I am very happy because I am now on half term which hopefully means adventures, rest and reading.
My chosen poem this week is by the American writer of children’s poetry Jack Prelutsky (1940).
It's Halloween
It's Halloween! It's Halloween!
The moon is full and bright
And we shall see what can't be seen
On any other night:
Skeletons and ghosts and ghouls,
Grinning goblins fighting duels,
Werewolves rising from their tombs,
Witches on their magic brooms.
In masks and gowns
we haunt the street
And knock on doors
for trick or treat.
Tonight we are
the king and queen,
For oh tonight!
it's Halloween!
Jack Prelutsky
My chosen quote this week is by the German-American writer Charles Bukowski (1920-1994).
“We’re all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn’t. We are terrorised and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing.”
I have been thinking about the goals I set myself for 2023 and whether I will succeed with any of them.
Here are the goals that I set myself:
Read my height in books
Read 80 books
Read more Ancient Greek and Roman literature
Classics Club, Maigret and Agatha Christie Challenges
Read one nonfiction book a month
Reading my height in books has been going well so far. Am I allowed to say that I am quietly confident I will make this challenge? I haven’t read many books in October so far but I am hoping to read more in half term and I always generally read a lot of books in December so I am really hoping that will be enough.
Read 80 books is not going to happen! Not unless I suddenly win the lottery and give up work before the end of this year. I finally decided to lower my Goodreads Challenge this month because the amount of books I had fallen behind was just stressing me out. My new challenge is 70 books but I am still hoping I will read more than 70 books.
Reading more Ancient Greek and Roman literature has been going better than it did last year. I still want to read some plays before the end of the year but I am pleased with how this challenge is going so far.
The Classics Club challenge could be better but I have been making progress. I’m hoping to read two more books off the list before the end of this year. The Maigret challenge is not going so well but is better than the Agatha Christie Challenge. I haven’t read one Agatha Christie book this year! I have read some Maigret books but not as many as I had hoped. There is still time to read some Agatha Christie before the end of the year!
Read one non-fiction book a month has been no problem. In fact most months I have read more than one non-fiction book a month. Some months non-fiction is all I want to read. I have really been enjoying my non-fiction reading this year and I hope it continues.
Overall, my goals have good points and bad points but I still have a couple of months to improve on certain goals. I’m happy with how things are going so far but rather disappointed that I won’t manage the 80 books in a year.
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!
I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. I am really looking forward to half term as I really need a rest and some quality reading time. My chosen book today is one that I have only recently added to my Goodreads TBR.
Set in the 19th century, The Romantic is the story of life itself. Following the roller-coaster fortunes of a man as he tries to negotiate the random stages, adventures and vicissitudes of his existence, from being a soldier to a pawnbroker, from being a jailbird to a gigolo to a diplomat – this is an intimate yet sweeping epic.
Please drop me a link with your Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.
Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality. It is all about sharing the books that you have recently added to your bookshelves. These books can be physical books, ebooks and of course audiobooks.
Hello!
It was my birthday yesterday and I got some lovely books to add to my shelves. I always love getting books for my birthday and thankfully people have realised they are some of my favourite presents.
The Romantic by William Boyd – Boyd is a new author for me but my niece chose the book for my birthday because she thought I would enjoy it. I am looking forward to reading it.
Cats in Medieval Manuscripts by Kathleen Walker-Meikle – I read the Dog version of this a few years ago and absolutely loved it. I have been trying to find this book for about two years and my wonderful husband managed to find a copy for my birthday. I will be reading next because it looks so interesting.
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien – Yes, I have read The Hobbit many times and yes I have many beautiful editions of The Hobbit but I don’t have this beautiful edition. This edition will proudly sit on my Tolkien bookshelf.
Have you added any new books to your bookshelves recently?
Lady Book Dragon 