WWW Wednesday: 4th December 2019

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

The rules are answer the questions below and a 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 everyone!

I’m very happy because I have managed to get quite a bit of reading in over the last week. I hope everyone else is having a good December so far.

What am I currently reading?

I’m reading A Literary Christmas in bits so I am basically dipping into it when I want something festive to read.

Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas is going OK so far even if it is making me grimace in places.

What I recently finished reading

I finished these three books basically at the same time I enjoyed them all but my favourite of the three was Christmas on the Little Cornish Isles by Phillipa Ashley.

What I plan on reading next

I am rather excited about these two books and I’m not sure which I will read first so I have put them both up.

Drop me comment if you have read any of these books and please drop a comment with your link in if you have also done the WWW Wednesday and I will check it out.

Mid Week Quote: Mother Theresa

Happy Wednesday!

I have been busy buying Christmas presents and I have nearly finished which is unusual for me this early. I love giving presents, wrapping them I am not so keen on. So this week’s quote I have chosen because it is about giving.

“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”

Mother Theresa

I have included some Christmas pictures as well, because it is nearly Christmas!

The lights and the sunset are from a walk yesterday.

The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton (Book Review)

The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton

About the author

Tim Burton was born in August 1958 and is an American filmmaker, artist, writer and animator. He is famous for his dark, gothic and eccentric horror and fantasy films. He often works with Johnny Depp and Danny Elfman.

Blurb

In all the world, there is no place like Halloweenland, and Jack Skellington is Halloween’s most important figure. It’s Jack who devises the holiday’s most macabre tricks and frights, and he’s delightfully done it year after year. But this year, something isn’t quite right: Jack has grown bored with the usual Halloween pranks, and the joy of seeing shock and horror on people’s faces has faded.

Then one night, while out for a walk in the woods, Jack sees something he’s never seen before – a strange door carved into a tree. Stepping through the door Jack stumbles into a world unlike any he’s ever known. He finds himself in a bright, colorful place called Christmas Town. Jack has finally found what he’s been looking for, and knows right away what needs to be done. He will bring Christmas to Halloween – with Jack starring in Santa’s role!

The beautifully designed commemorative edition celebrates the twentieth anniversary of this classic book’s initial publication and features meticulously reproduced original artwork from the incomparable visionary Tim Burton.

Review

I was so excited when I saw this book and I immediately bought it. I love the movie and I have watched it so many times, so when I saw the book I was overjoyed.

The illustrations in this book are stunning and completely right and the book is the perfect size so the illustrations work really well. There was one problem though, it was missing most of the story! Where was Sally? Where was Oogie Boogie? My two favourite characters were not in the book!

I can understand that Burton thinned the story down to its bare minimum to make this a children’s book that wouldn’t scare children like maybe the film would but I just missed my favourite characters and somehow not having at least Sally in the story meant that it just did not feel complete and left holes in the story for me that made no sense. However maybe a child would not see these holes.

I know I have probably looked far too much into this as a children’s book and realise that most children will love the book but for me it just did not feel right. The illustrations were amazing but due to my favourite characters being missing I only gave the book 3 out of 5 Dragons. Sorry Mr Burton but for me the movie is far better.

Purchase Links

Book Depository

Waterstones

One Day in Winter by Shari Low (Book Review)

One Day in Winter by Shari Low

About the author

Shari Low is a No. 1 bestselling author who has written over 20 novels and currently lives in Glasgow.

Blurb

One morning in December, Caro set off on a quest to find out if her relationship with her father had been based on a lifetime of lies. Lila decided to tell her lover’s wife of their secret affair. Cammy was on the way to pick up the ring for the surprise proposal to the woman he loved. And Bernadette vowed to walk away from her controlling husband of 30 years and never look back. In one day, four lives will change forever.

Review

This book was another freebie on Apple Books and a very enjoyable read if a little predictable.

The first thing that I enjoyed was that the book is very cleverly spread over one day with each chapter focusing on a certain character. The characters it focuses on are Caro, Lila, Bernadette and Cammy and how these four lives are separate but also linked.

I loved the character of Caro and felt so sorry for her, I do not think I would have coped like she did if I was in her situation. She was down to earth, kind and a decent caring person. Lila however is a complete contrast, she is selfish, uncaring, vain to the core and absolutely obsessed with the media, I really loathed her.

Cammy is a good man if a little vain but he basically wants to settle down and have a good life. Cammy I also felt sorry for because he is also boyishly naive and this leads to him not seeing the cold hard facts.

I must admit this book didn’t move me as much as I thought it would and I think Lila deserved to have had a much more just ending, she did not deserve her ending at all in my opinion and that is why I only gave it 3 out of 5 Dragons.

Purchase Links

Book Depository

Waterstones

First Day of Advent

Happy Advent!

December 1st and the first day of Advent means Christmas is coming!

Today I started my day by playing the organ for an Advent service and that included playing my favourite Advent hymn. In my eyes it isn’t Advent until I have either played or sung this hymn.

O come, O come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Adonai, Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Translated by John Mason Neale (1861)

Today has also meant the Advent candle being lit, a couple of Christmas decorations going up and of course opening the first door on my Advent calendar. I also managed to get some Christmas reading in as well, which is always good!

Happy reading.

November Wrap Up

Hello my fellow Book Dragons!

Well it has been another busy month with lots of studying and assignment writing as well as the normal day job keeping me busy.

Not as many books read this month but hopefully in December it will increase because I have loads of books I want to read.

Books Read (Click on the Titles to be taken to the review):-

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths

Venus and Adonis by William Shakespeare

A Very Murderous Christmas by various.

Total page count this month:- 656

Year page count:- 14,017

Happy reading!

Friday Poetry: William Shakespeare

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone has some fun weekend plans! Mine involves work and painting the dinning room sadly, although I am looking forward to going to a Christmas Fair where my sister is having a craft stall.

This week I have chosen a Shakespeare sonnet.

Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments; love is not love

Which alters when in alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove.

O no! it is an ever-fixèd mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wand’ring bark,

Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.

Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle’s compass come;

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me prov’d,

I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d.

William Shakespeare

Mid Week Quote: Marcus Aurelius

Hello Everyone!

I am so sorry this is a day late. I have been desperately trying to get my first assignment handed in. Thankfully it is all handed in and now I get a bit of respite before starting the next one.

“Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.”

Marcus Aurelius (170-180 CE)

Happy Reading!

Friday Poetry: Myra Cohn Livingston

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone has some good reading plans for the weekend.

My chosen poem this week is about the Earth and how we want to keep it and not destroy it.

Prayer for Earth

Last night

an owl

called from the hill.

Coyotes howled.

A deer stood still

nibbling at bushes far away.

The moon shone silver.

Let this stay.

Today

two noisy crows

flew by,

their shadows pasted on the sky.

The sun broke out

through clouds of grey.

An iris opened.

Let this stay.

Myra Cohn Livingston

Christmas Book Haul

Hello!

Today I have had a wonderful day off, as I spent the morning reading and then went and spent the day in Birmingham book shopping and exploring the German Christmas Market.

I had a lot of fun in Waterstones and bought quite a few books and my husband also got some as well so the lady on the check out was quite surprised at the varied selection. I also had a lot of fun looking at the children’s section.

Here are my lovely books:-

I bought this book because my best friend, nicknamed Tufty Seal highly recommends Adam Kay as a writer so I am really looking forward to reading this book.

I saw this today and just had to buy it as I absolutely love the film!

I must admit I got this because the cover was pretty, I know very shallow, but sometimes a pretty cover is all you need to buy a book.

I bought this because I loved the last book with Murder Christmas stories I hope this one does not disappoint.

Another book from the Christmas table at Waterstones. I hope it does not disappoint.

This book I got in the children’s section. I always get a version of The Nutcracker each year and this year I got this little one with a pop up surprise at the end!

I also got two very pretty decorations from the German Market.

Please drop me a comment if you have read any of the books.

Happy Reading.