The Weekly Brief

Hello!

I hope everyone has had a good weekend so far. I am feeling rather good about 2023 so far. Blogging and reading is going well and I up to date on all my book reviews. I actually feel organised with my blog for a change!

Anyway, here is what has been happening on the blog this week.

Posts this Week

Currently Reading

I’m nearly half way through with this and I must admit I am struggling. I suspect I have already worked out who the murderer is because the story is quite predictable but I am really struggling with the characters especially the main character. I will carry on till the end though as I am reading and reviewing it for the publishers but I am finding it all quite odd.

Happy Reading

Etsy

The Weekly Brief

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. I have had a wonderful week with reading and blogging but I am back to work tomorrow so that could all change but hopefully not.

Posts this Week

Currently Reading

I’m over half way through with Aeneid and really enjoying it. I have also just started Amours De Voyage, I am finding it rather strange but quite amusing.

Happy Reading

Etsy

The Weekly Brief

Hello!

I hope everyone has had a good weekend so far. I am still trying to catch up on my book reviews but I am falling further behind sadly. Hopefully, things will start to slow down work wise so I can catch up with everything.

Posts this Week

Currently Reading

Really enjoying my festive reads so far this December.

Happy Reading

Etsy

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I have been busy working and getting ready for Christmas but I have also managed some fun adventures as well.

Wightwick Manor

We went back to one of our favourite National Trust places to see their Christmas displays this year. I really enjoyed the theme of A Christmas Carol and thought it was beautifully done. I always find Wightwick so quirky and pretty but with the decorations this year as well it really was magical.

Christmas Stall

I have recently done my first Christmas stall with my new business Lyra’s Pawsome Books. I really enjoyed the day and sold some items as well which was an added bonus. I will be definitely doing more stalls in 2023.

Bath Christmas Market

Last week we stayed in Bath for a few days and did loads of Christmas shopping at the Christmas Market. It was really nice to get away for a few days before it gets really busy work wise over Christmas.

Frankenstein Museum

There were parts of this which I found interesting but I did not like the weird smells that also came with the displays. It was quite creepy in places but it was funny to see just how much the monster has been used in film, TV and advertising over the years.

On the run up to Christmas we have some more Christmas adventures planned but the main thing we will be doing is prepping and playing for Christmas jobs. I am hoping to get some reading done on the run up to Christmas and also some more products for my Etsy.

Happy Reading

Etsy

Politically Correct Holiday Stories For an Enlightened Yuletide Season by James Finn Garner (Review)

Politically Correct Holiday Stories For an Enlightened Yuletide Season by James Finn Garner

Blurb

Holiday tales have long delighted and entertained us, but until now they’ve always been burdened with society’s skewed values and mores. Stories that reinforce the stifling class system (Dickens’s A Christmas Carol), legitimise the stereotype of a merry, over-weight patriarchal oppressor (Santa Claus in The Night Before Christmas), and justify the domestication and subjugation of wild animals (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) abound in the literature and lore of this season. Now James Finn Garner has stepped in to revise and improve these familiar tales to free our social consciousness from the ghost of prejudice past. From the newly revised “Nutcracker” to “Frosty the Persun of Snow”, these stories rekindle the true holiday spirit and redefine the idea of “good will to all men” to include womyn, pre-adults, and companion animals as well.

Review

I picked this up from a National Trust second hand bookshop. When I saw the book I immediately picked it up because I thought it looked like quite a fun read. The book was clearly brand new as well which also added to the appeal.

At only 99 pages I thought this would be quite a quick read for me but it turned out that it took me a while to read rather than flying through it like I normally would. This is probably because I didn’t really gel with this book and wasn’t so keen to pick it up and read it.

I can understand the appeal of this book because it is political correctness in overdrive and it kind of has a funny appeal to it but after a while it just started to get on my nerves. My favourite story was the retelling of A Christmas Carol. This was because of Scrooge’s fantastic reactions to the spirits that visit him especially the last spirit. In fact I was a little disappointed with the ending because I really wanted Scrooge to act on his new philosophy.

Rudolph the Nasally Empowered Reindeer was probably my least favourite story as Rudolph was just too irritating.

Overall, I did enjoy this book but it didn’t really hook me in and didn’t have me as gripped as I expected. This is definitely a book that I could take or leave and I give this book 3 out of 5 Dragons.

🐲🐲🐲

About the author

James Finn Garner is an American writer and satirist based in Chicago. He is the author of Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, Tea Party Fairy Tales, and Honk Honk, My Darling.

Etsy

The Weekly Brief

Hello!

I hope everyone has had a good weekend so far. My blogging hasn’t gone quite to plan this week. I had planned to blog yesterday but we got stuck outside our house for hours and hours waiting for an emergency locksmith because our lock broke. Hopefully next week will be a better blogging week.

Posts this Week

Currently Reading

I have finally started my festive reading and I am very behind. I am really enjoying this book although I was very surprised to see how small the print is (maybe I am getting old).

I have done lots of Christmas shopping this week which also meant that I have bought a few books for myself as well. I will post a book haul soon.

Happy Reading

Etsy

The Weekly Brief

Hello!

I hope everyone has had a good week. I have finally started my festive TBR and so far I am really enjoying it although I keep adding more books.

Posts this Week

Currently Reading

I am still trying to finish Ithaca and Warrior Queens and Quiet Revolutionaries because I really want to focus on my festive reads.

Happy Reading

Etsy

November 2022 Wrap Up

Hello!

I can’t believe we are now in December. It really is scary how quickly this year has gone. Sadly, I have only managed another 4 books this month. I am really hoping I manage to read more books in December because usually December is my best month for reading apart from the Summer holidays. I certainly have a rather substantial TBR for December lined up.

Statistics

Books

Pages: 320

Format Read: Paperback

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲

Review to follow

Pages: 316

Format Read: Paperback

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲

Review

Pages: 336

Format Read: Hardback

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲

Review to follow

Pages: 130

Format Read: Hardback

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲

Review

55/60 Goodreads Challenge

I am so behind on my book reviews so I am hoping to catch up with them all this month before the end of 2022. Hopefully I manage to catch up and I really must start writing my reviews as soon as I finish the book so I don’t fall so behind again.

I hope everyone had a good reading month in November.

Happy Reading

Etsy

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I thought it was time for a check in of my non-bookish activities. A lot of my time is currently taken up with work and because the weather has been so horrid I haven’t managed much walking but we have been trying to make the most of our days off together.

Statesman Train and Whitby Abbey

We recently went on a Statesman Train to Whitby and back with my husbands family. The food was absolutely incredible and I managed quite a bit of reading on the train. It would have been nice to have had a bit more time in Whitby but we managed to see the Abbey which is somewhere I have always wanted to visit.

Christmas Shopping

I love Christmas and I love buying Christmas decorations so we have been to a couple of places to buy some new decorations. These include lights for the outside and inside, I also managed to get a few Christmas presents as well. I have yet to find a new singing toy but I have managed to find a light up Father Christmas. I buy a new Christmas singing toy every year. I’m hoping to get some more decorations when we visit the Bath Christmas Market in December.

Christmas Card Making

I have recently got into Christmas card making and I am really enjoying it and finding it a nice relief from work. In fact I am finding it a little bit addictive. Due to the sheer amount of cards I have been making and I am now putting them on my Etsy site as well just in case I get swamped with Christmas cards. I am going to have a go at making some birthday cards as well. If you would like to check out my Etsy site the link is below.

Etsy

Walking

We are trying to go on walks when we have time and the weather isn’t to horrid or it is too dark. We have been having a lot of rain recently which has been hampering our walking but we are still trying. On Tuesday we went for a lovely walk with beautiful sunshine and explored our local nature reserve.

So there are some of my latest adventures and endeavours. We have quite a few things planned for the run up to Christmas so I will keep you all posted.

Happy Reading