2023

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 have been going through my vast TBR again and have found another book that I would love to read but forgot about. I’m really intrigued by this book and would love to read it.

Four brides. One Dress.

A tale of faith, redemption, and timeless love.

Charlotte owns a chic Birmingham bridal boutique. Dressing brides for their big day is her gift . . . and her passion. But with her own wedding day approaching, why can’t she find the perfect dress…or feel certain she should marry Tim?

Then Charlotte discovers a vintage dress in a battered trunk at an estate sale. It looks brand-new-shimmering with pearls and satin, hand-stitched and timeless in its design. But where did it come from? Who wore it? Who welded the lock shut and tucked the dog tags in that little sachet? Who left it in the basement for a ten-year-old girl? And what about the mysterious man in the purple vest who insists the dress had been “redeemed.”

Charlotte’s search for the gown’s history-and its new bride-begins as a distraction from her sputtering love life. But it takes on a life of its own as she comes to know the women who have worn the dress. Emily from 1912. Mary Grace from 1939. Hillary from 1968. Each with her own story of promise, pain, and destiny. And each with something unique to share. For woven within the threads of the beautiful hundred-year-old gown is the truth about Charlotte’s heritage, the power of courage and faith, and the timeless beauty of finding true love.

Please drop me a link with your Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

The Weekly Brief

Hello!

I hope everyone is well. Blogging and reading have gone reasonably well this week.

Blog Posts

Currently Reading

Still plodding along with these two although I’m reading The Cicero Trilogy more at the moment.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

August 2023 TBR

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. I will be honest all my reading challenges are getting behind at the moment except maybe my reading my height in books. I really hope I can start moving forward again and start to catch up.

Here are some of the books I hope to read in August.

Books I hope to finish in August

I have been reading these books for what seems like forever so I really hope I can get them finished in August.

Books I hope to read in August

In all honesty I suspect most of August will be taken up with Babel and The Cicero Trilogy but I really hope I get to read these books as well.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Friday Poetry: Herman Melville

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone has had a good week so far. It’s the weekend tomorrow woo!

The poem I have chosen today is about a shark and the reason I have chosen it is because I am obsessed with films about sharks. I love a good shark film and I am throughly excited about going to see Meg 2 next week at our local cinema.

The Maldive Shark

About the Shark, phlegmatical one,
Pale sot of the Maldive sea,
The sleek little pilot-fish, azure and slim,
How alert in attendance be. 
From his saw-pit of mouth, from his charnel of maw
They have nothing of harm to dread,
But liquidly glide on his ghastly flank
Or before his Gorgonian head;
Or lurk in the port of serrated teeth
In white triple tiers of glittering gates,
And there find a haven when peril's abroad,
An asylum in jaws of the Fates!
They are friends; and friendly they guide him to prey, 
Yet never partake of the treat -
Eyes and brains to the dotard lethargic and dull,
Pale ravener of horrible meat. 

Herman Melville

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

July 2023 Wrap Up

Hello!

I hope everyone had a good July. I did a lot better with my reading in July. I suspect my holiday helped with this but I’m hoping to have a better August as well because I don’t currently have any school teaching.

Statistics

Books

Pages: 192

Format Read: Paperback

Review

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲

Pages: 112

Format Read: Paperback

Review

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲

Pages: 605

Format Read: Kindle

Review to follow

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲

Pages: 398

Format Read: Kindle

Review to follow

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲

Pages: 176

Format Read: Kindle

Review to follow

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲

Pages: 346

Format Read: Kindle

Review to follow

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲

Pages: 99

Format Read: Paperback

Review to follow

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲

Goodreads Challenge: 38/80

Still behind with my Goodreads Challenge but I live in hope that I will manage to catch up.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Mid Week Quote: Robert Frost

Hello!

My chosen quote today is by the poet Robert Frost who was one of the United States’ best loved poets and playwrights. He had four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry and a Congressional Gold Medal.

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.”
Robert Frost

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

WWW Wednesday: 2/08/2023

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

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 have had a very busy with my Etsy shop today which has been nice.

What I am Currently Reading

I have started reading these two books again after having a break whilst on holiday. I am thoroughly enjoying The Cicero Trilogy.

What I have Recently Finished Reading

I finished my latest Muderbot book and I absolutely loved it. It has got to be my favourite Murderbot book so far.

What I Think I will Read Next

I have gone a little bit off track with my 20 Books of Summer Challenge but I am still working my way through my TBR pile.

Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Goodreads Monday: 31/07/2023

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!

How is it the end of July already? This month seems to have flown by and it is scary.

I have been going through my vast Goodreads TBR and there are so many books on there that I added years and years ago that I still want to read so I think it is time to bring them to the front of the list again. So here is a book that I added way back in 2018.

Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have been raised in a powerful family that has provided wives to the rulers of Egypt for centuries. Ambitious, charismatic, and beautiful, Nefertiti is destined to marry Amunhotep, an unstable young pharaoh. It is hoped by all that her strong personality will temper the young Amunhotep’s heretical desire to forsake Egypt’s ancient gods, overthrow the priests of Amun, and introduce a new sun god for all to worship.

From the moment of her arrival in Thebes, Nefertiti is beloved by the people. Her charisma is matched only by her husband’s perceived generosity: Amunhotep showers his subjects with lofty promises. The love of the commoners will not be enough, however, if the royal couple is not able to conceive an heir, and as Nefertiti turns her attention to producing a son, she fails to see that the powerful priests, along with the military, are plotting against her husband’s rule. The only person wise enough to recognize the shift in political winds–and brave enough to tell the queen–is her younger sister, Mutnodjmet.

Observant and contemplative, Mutnodjmet has never shared her sister’s desire for power. She yearns for a quiet existence away from family duty and the intrigues of court. Her greatest hope is to share her life with the general who has won her heart. But as Nefertiti learns of the precariousness of her reign, she declares that her sister must remain at court and marry for political gain, not love. To achieve her independence, Mutnodjmet must defy her sister, the most powerful woman in Egypt, while also remaining loyal to the needs of her family.

Love, betrayal, political unrest, plague, and religious conflict, Nefertiti brings ancient Egypt to life in vivid detail. Fast-paced and historically accurate, it is the dramatic story of two unforgettable women living through a remarkable period in history.

I’m so pleased I have rediscovered this book as I really want to read this book soon.

Please drop me a link with your Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

The Weekly Brief

Hello!

I hope you have all had a good weekend so far.

This week has been busy work wise but I have managed some reading.

Blog Posts

Currently Reading

I took a break from Babel whilst on holiday as I didn’t take any physical books with me but now I am back I am back to reading it and I am really enjoying it so far.

Happy Reading

Etsy

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Friday Poetry: Emily Bronte

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone has had a good week so far and has some good plans for the weekend.

My chosen poem this week is by one of my favourite authors Emily Bronte (1818-1848).

Past, Present, Future

Tell me, tell me, smiling child,
What the past is like to thee?
'An Autumn evening soft and mild
With a wind that sighs mournfully.'

Tell me, what is the present hour?
'A green and flowery spray
Where a young bird sits gathering its power
To mount and fly away.'

And what is the future, happy one?
'A sea beneath a cloudless sun;
A mighty, glorious, dazzling sea
Stretching into infinity.'

Emily Bronte

Happy Reading