I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. I had meant to post this post near the beginning of the month but I fell behind.
I have been really enjoying my challenge and even though I doubt I will finish it this year it has significantly lowered my TBR pile which I am happy about. I am definitely going to do a similar challenge next year but next time I will try and choose shorter books as most of the books on my current list are huge! Here is my original list.
I am very far behind with the challenge but I have managed to read 10 books so far this year and I have 30 pages left of book 11.
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I have spent a lot of time today working on my Etsy shop which has been really nice as I really enjoy making bookmarks and creating new things for the shop.
Here are some of the latest products to land in the shop.
The TBR Tickets are definitely the most popular item in the shop so I thought it might be nice to have a Blind Date with a Book option as well. It is always nice getting a mystery book to add to your TBR pile.
The Treble Clef Bookmark has just been put up. I made one of these for a private order and the customer was really pleased with it so I thought I would make some more for the Etsy shop.
I hope everyone has had a good day. I have had a busy day teaching but because I have been at home teaching I have been reading and drinking tea between lessons which has been wonderful.
My chosen quote today is by the French fashion designer and businesswoman Coco Chanel (1883-1971).
“Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door. ”
It has been ages since I took part in a Top 5 Tuesday so I thought it was high time I took part again. I also love this weeks topic as who doesn’t love a good villain!
So here are my villains…
Cruella de Ville from 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith – I read this book as an adult and loved it and I have since read it a few more times as it is an absolute favourite. Cruella is the perfect villain in this book.
Alec D’Urberville from Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy – Now this villain is a real baddie and one I hated whilst reading the book. Sometimes you can get a soft spot for a villain but I had no soft spot for this monster.
Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – I’m sorry but they were both as bad as each other so I have put them together. These two deserved each other as they were both masters of destroying peoples lives.
Mr Rochester from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – I’m sorry but he was a mean man. He had no qualms about dressing up as a gypsy and messing with Jane’s mind. He lied to Jane and mentally tortured the poor woman.
Agatha Trunchbull from Matilda by Roald Dahl – This is a childhood favourite of mine but one I have also read as an adult. Trunchbull is such a meanie beanie and I think she is great. Dahl was so good at creating villains it was hard to just pick one.
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 have done 8 hours of teaching today so my brain is feeling rather frazzled but I’m looking forward to my book later.
My chosen book today is one that I hope to read soon as I really enjoyed the previous book.
The Last Song of Penelope by Claire North
This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. Many years ago, Odysseus sailed to war and never returned. For twenty years his wife Penelope and the women of Ithaca have guarded the isle against suitors and rival kings. But peace cannot be kept forever, and the balance of power is about to break . . .A beggar has arrived at the Palace. Salt-crusted and ocean-battered, he is scorned by the suitors – but Penelope recognises in him something her husband, Odysseus, returned at last. Yet this Odysseus is no hero. By returning to the island in disguise, he is not merely plotting his revenge against the suitors – vengeance that will spark a civil war – but he’s testing the loyalty of his queen. Has she been faithful to him all these years? And how much blood is Odysseus willing to shed to be sure?The song of Penelope is ending, and the song of Odysseus must ring through Ithaca’s halls. But first, Penelope must use all her cunning to win a war for the fate of the island and keep her family alive, whatever the cost . . .
Since the start of September I’ve been having a think about my Bookish Goals for 2024 and I’ve realised that some of my goals need to change because life is just too busy at the moment.
So here are the goals and what is happening with them…
Read 50 Books
Reading 50 books is never going to happen and I’m now so far behind I know it needs to change. With this in mind I have lowered my target to 40 books. I’m really hoping I manage to read 40 books and if I manage to read more I will be over the moon.
Read 24 Books in 2024
I have now read 10 books off my list but again it is doubtful whether I finish all 24 books before the end of the year. Especially as quite a few of the books on the list are huge. However, I’ve decided to not change my target by reducing the list but to just try and tick off as many of the books as I can. Whatever the final number is will be good because it means I have significantly reduced my TBR pile.
Finish the Shardlake series
Nope, never going to happen! I haven’t even read one of the Shardlake books this year so I haven’t got a hope in finishing the series. I’ve decided to just scrap this challenge and not worry about it. Hopefully, I will read the next book in the series this year but if not I’m not worried.
Read at least one chapter from The Wheel of Time series a day
This challenge is now out of the window but I am still reading The Wheel of Time series. Instead of pressuring myself to read a chapter a day I am reading this series last thing at night and I just go with whatever I manage to read each night. Some nights I read loads, some nights I manage 2 pages which I have to reread the next day because I was so tired I fell asleep whilst reading and dreamt some random rubbish.
Keep going with my Maigret, Agatha Christie and Classics Club challenges.
These challenges are meant to be ticking along in the background this year but instead of ticking they have just stopped. I have the next books planned for these challenges so hopefully I will get around to reading at least one book from each challenge before the end of the year.
Keep up to date with my book reviews
Finally, a challenge I am managing! This year is the first year I am on top of my book reviews and not so far behind that by the end of the year I leave loads of books with no reviews as I just can’t stand looking at them any longer. I’m now in a good routine with my reviews so I am hoping I can complete this challenge this year and for the future.
Overall, I’m quite disappointed with my goal progress this year but I also realise that this year is not an ordinary year. Since the beginning of June the house has been covered in scaffolding and the work that has been going on has not been conducive to reading. We’ve also been busy working on the garden and on the inside of the house so there has been less time for reading.
I really hope all my fellow Book Dragons are having better luck with their reading goals this year but if not remember it is the joy of reading that matters the most.
I thought it was time for a post about the things that haven’t involved books. I am back to work fully from Monday so the reading and adventures might slow down but I’m hoping not too much. Work on the house continues and this week has involved a lot of noise from the builders which has been rather distracting. We really hope the end is in sight as we would love to see the house all finished and no longer covered in scaffolding.
Decorating
Whilst the builders have been working on the outside of the house we have been busy trying to get work moving on the library. I have done more wall paper removing this week and I hope to get that finished this week. There is a very long way to go with this room before it becomes a library but maybe if we are lucky we can get it done before Christmas.
Afternoon Tea
We took my parents for afternoon tea at Stanbrook Abbey the other day and the food was fantastic. I do love an afternoon tea especially when they have a great choice of teas to choose from which this one did.
Recital
My husband and myself have been busy working on a recital over the summer and finally we did the recital last weekend. It went really well and the treble recorder and organ combo sounded fab. Here is a little snippet.
Cat Cafe
Husband had a voucher to go to Paws Cafe in Shrewsbury for his birthday so we went last week and it was brilliant. We have never done a cat cafe before but we will definitely be going back. We both fell in love with the Maine Coon there called Darwin. Lady Grey was also an absolute cutie and loved having cuddles. I’m definitely considering getting a Maine Coon one day.
Lady Book Dragon 