I have had a lovely day today spending time with family and friends.
My chosen poem today is by the American poet Mary Oliver (1935-2019).
The Summer Day
Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean - the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down - who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
I thought it was high time for an update about my Etsy shop. I think this is probably the first update this year so I am rather slacking.
My little shop has been going steady but the most popular item in the shop has definitely been the TBR Tickets. I have sold thousands so far this year and I have had to upgrade my Cricut machine to keep up with demand. I have also received some lovely reviews about these tickets which is always nice to receive.
I have a new Blind Date with a Book parcel available which also comes with a choice of hand creams. I love these hand creams! My personal favourite is the Moringa cream but the others are also fab. These are the perfect size to fit in your handbag.
The musical instrument bookmarks are expanding and I’m hoping to add more instruments soon. The Saxophone and Flute bookmarks have been quite popular so far.
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. For more info please check out Jana’s blog.
Hello!
I can’t believe this is my first Top Ten Tuesday of 2024! I have no idea why I haven’t taken part this year as I usually love taking part in Top Ten Tuesday.
One of my aims this year was to buy less books and read them as quickly as I can rather than leaving them to get lost on one of the many TBR piles in my house. So far I have probably managed to read about 50% of the books I have bought or acquired this year.
So here is the list of books that I have been super excited to buy and even had on preorder for months and months and yet I still haven’t read.
Medea by Rosie Hewlett – I loved the sound of this book and had it preordered in 2023 and yet it arrived this year on the day of publication and I have still not read it! I really hope I get to read it soon.
Fate Breaker by Victoria Aveyard – I love this series and after reading Blade Breaker I was desperate to read Fate Breaker to see what happens next and yet I still have not read it even though it is currently sat looking at me from the top of one of my TBR piles in the lounge.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Bettany Hughes – This is another book I had preordered and yet it is still not read.
Twelve Caesars by Mary Beard – I love Mary Beard’s books and I will be honest I have actually read half of this book but haven’t finished it yet. I really need to concentrate with this book and I just haven’t had that concentration recently.
Queens of the Age of Chivalry by Alison Weir – Anyone who has followed my blog for any length of time will know just how obsessed I am with Alison Weir. I dream about reading all of her published books and yet so many sit unread on my TBR pile, this is one of those many books.
Henry the VIII the Heart and the Crown by Alison Weir – Same reasons as number 5.
House Odysseus by Clare North – This is another sequel that I have been excited to read and yet haven’t managed to read yet for no particular reason.
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati – This is a new author for me and a book I found in a bookshop and liked the look of but sadly it still sits unread.
The Templars by Dan Jones – I’m not overly fond of Dan Jones’s translation work but I do enjoy his books and I was very excited to get this book and read it.
Fairy Tale by Stephen King – I haven’t read much by Stephen King but I was really excited when this book came out and thought I would make the effort to read more King as I like his books but sadly this hasn’t happened yet.
I do wonder if the reason so many books I am excited about sit unread is because I am a mood reader. I know my fellow book bloggers have the same problem. Please feel free to tell me why you think you do the same as I would love to hear your theories.
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’ve had a lovely few hours working in the garden and I’ve managed some reading. Having the day off work really is the best!
The book off my Goodreads TBR is from an auto buy author for me. I love the books of Stacey Halls so when I saw this book coming out I had it preordered straight away.
From the Sunday Times bestseller and winner of the Women’s Prize Futures Award, the captivating, highly anticipated new novel, inspired by real historical figures and events.
In a quiet house in the countryside outside London, the finishing touches are being made to welcome a group of young women. The house and its location are top secret, its residents unknown to one another, but the girls have one thing in they are fallen. Offering refuge for prostitutes, petty thieves and the destitute, Urania Cottage is a second chance at life – but how badly do they want it?
Meanwhile, a few miles away in a Piccadilly mansion, millionairess Angela Burdett-Coutts, one of the benefactors of Urania Cottage, makes a discovery that leaves her her stalker of 10 years has been released from prison . . .
As the women’s worlds collide in ways they could never have expected, they will discover that freedom always comes at a price . . .
I hope everyone has had a good weekend. I’ve managed some reading and some fun music practice. It is always nice to do some practice for myself rather than work. Blogging has gone really well this week, I just hope I can keep it up.
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!
I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. I am really looking forward to half term next week, I’m hoping it will mean lots of reading time and some adventures.
I’ve received two books this week both of which I am very excited about to read.
Klova by Karen Langston – This sounds like a really different read for me and one that intrigues me. Hopefully I get around to reading it soon.
The Hedgerow by Anne Leigh Parrish – I love the cover of this book and I am hoping the book is just as beautiful because I really like the sound of the blurb.
My chosen poem for today is actually more of a prayer but I think it is beautiful and worth sharing.
Chief Yellow Lark (c.1850-1915) was a Sioux Indian Chief in the late 19th century. He translated several Sioux prayers into English.
Great Spirit Prayer
Oh, Great Spirit, Whose voice I hear in the winds and whose breath gives life to all the world. Hear me! I need your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever hold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice. Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people. Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
Help me remain calm and strong in the face of all that comes towards me. Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me. I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy: myself. Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes. So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame.
With Donnowan’s expedition lost to a dragon, Miriam Huckerpucker gathers a ragtag band of undeads and sets off to the fringes of the known world to rescue the remnants. And also find the true villain behind the dragon attacks and why dragons suddenly appeared in this world.
Could the villain be the same one who makes old and new enemies show up on the road? Like the old hag who comes haunting from her past or the new hag who comes hunting her in the present?
Miriam doesn’t have time to ponder as she hurries along, but with painted barbarians, disfigured corpses and wanted criminals by her side she has to stay clear of the main roads, losing valuable time sidetracking through the wilderness.
But it is the same wilderness that Donnowan’s expedition travelled through. On her way she stumbles on vital clues and learns an odd thing or two.
Like accidents happen.
And dragons too, apparently.
Review
I was so excited to get reading about some of my favourite characters again and learn more about them. I nearly read this book in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down but sadly I had to go to work.
This book did have some sad moments in it for me, one really upset me but I won’t say more as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. There was the usual banter between characters that we had in the first book but there was definitely a more serious tone at times. I also liked the camaraderie that developed between Miriam’s ragtag band of undeads.
I loved the extra details we learn about the characters in this book. Miriam’s revelation was a big surprise and rather sad. You really start to get a better understanding of the characters in this book and their past lives. You also get to see a more vulnerable side to the characters.
This book had quite a few surprises in it and I spent quite a bit of time working out who the villain was (I got it wrong). Learning how dragons were made was brilliant and I also liked learning about the power of bone clippings.
The scenery descriptions in this book were also excellent. Yes, I absolutely loved this second instalment of the series and I can’t wait to read the next book. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.
🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲
About the author
Everybody makes a story about themselves. Here is my take:
I started out
1) as a kid telling myself stories using my imagination, then
2) growing up to tell stories to others as a gamemaster (which I still do), then
3) getting sucked most unwilling into occult stuff (the flip side of quantum physics?), escaping that to
4) hesitantly get an education in programming, then
5) surviving dull years surrounded by the machines that go ping and keeping the weekends occupied by reading and being artful and conjuring exhaustion for the work week, then
6) saying enough is enough and submitting myself to another long streak of education, this time in art, where I started out painting (and still do) but graduated in spontaneous storytelling (or bearing witness to my imaginary worlds if you want a fancy way of saying it) then
7) start writing down these stories instead of telling them to an audience, ending up like
1) the kid I began as, telling myself stories using my imagination…
…which is the nation I prefer to be in (after doing my stint of travelling abroad) and where I go by the name of Astor Y Teller.
The rest of me can be gleaned from the books and if not, it’s not worth telling.
Lady Book Dragon 