Goodreads Monday is hosted by Lauren’s Page Turners. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Hello!
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. My TBR is huge and ever growing so trying to choose one book off it to feature for this post is always quite tricky.
So my choice is…
Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family—and would bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.
A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what it undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
I love science fiction and this has been on my TBR for a very long time. I remember my sister making me watch the film and going out to buy the book the very next day but then I never got around to reading it for some reason. This is something I want to remedy soon, hopefully this year but I will have to find my copy first as I’m not sure whether it is at my parents house or in a box somewhere in my own.
So there is my Goodreads Monday! Please drop me a comment with your Goodreads Monday post and I will head over for a visit.
Happy Reading!
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Facebook kindly reminded me that three years ago today I was on holiday in Barcelona. I must admit I would love to be on holiday right now but sadly that is unlikely to happen this year. So I have gone for a poem about the desire to travel.
The poem is by Edna St Vincent Millay who was an American poet and feminist activist, living in the first half of the twentieth century.
Travel
The railroad track is miles away,
And the day is loud with voices speaking,
Yet there isn't a train goes by all day
But I hear its whistle shrieking.
All night there isn't a train goes by,
Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming,
But I see its cinders red on the sky,
And hear its engine steaming.
My heart is warm with the friends I make,
And better friends I'll not be knowing;
Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take,
No matter where it's going.
Edna St Vincent Millay
Happy Reading
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So I almost forgot my round up of the month of all the lovely books that I acquired in June!
Thankfully I have remembered because I do like being able to see all the books I have got and what I have got left to read.
Books I Acquired in June
Once upon a time, inhabitants of another world tore a hole through the universe and came to Earth. They called themselves Suriias, and rivalled humans in knowledge and skill with one great exception: they had magic.
War followed. Humanity lost. And three hundred years later, humans are on the brink of extinction.
Orphans Thorn and Thistle live in hiding. They are the last of their families, the last of their friends. They scrape by, stealing to survive and living on the streets or hiding in sheds. But even under the brutal regime of the Suriias, there are places where humans can mingle in secret with magical sympathisers, and one night Thistle gets an unexpected offer of marriage from a Suriia with high standing and friends in all the right places. For Thistle, it’s a chance at safety and comfort; for Thorn, it’s a chance to find the ones who killed her parents.
And so the pair move into the capital city of Courtenz. An urban monstrosity of magic and might, false friends and flying cars, drones and death tolls, the new city promises a fresh start – and new love – for both.
But if there’s one thing Thorn knows for certain, it’s that dreams can swiftly turn into nightmares.
A nest of vipers, they called us. But that is not how it was.
Mercia, 775 AD. In the grand Saxon halls of Mercia, King Offa rules with ruthless ambition. Aggressive and relentlessly acquisitive, his three daughters are destined to marry advantageously in service of their country. Eadburh, the youngest, is neither the cleverest nor the most beautiful of the three. But, with her father’s ruthless spirit and the secret gifts passed down from her mother, she is determined to carve her own path in the world.
2021. Simon Armstrong has escaped to a secluded cottage on the English-Welsh borders, desperate to finish his book about Anglo-Saxon King Offa. But he soon finds himself disturbed by unsettling noises and visions. Calling in local expert Bea to identify the issue, Simon hopes to get back some peace – but soon Bea is as embroiled as he is, feeling increasingly connected to a ghostly presence that is growing ever-stronger in its desire for revenge.
And when Simon’s daughter disappears, centuries of secrets and resentment begin to tumble out…
All Andrew wants is to be normal. That’s why his coworkers believe he has the perfect wife and two children waiting at home for him after a long day. But the truth is, his life isn’t exactly as people think . . . and his little white lie is about to catch up with him. Because in all of Andrew’s efforts to fit in, he’s forgotten one important thing: how to really live. And maybe, it’s finally time for him to start.
Only three books acquired in June! To be honest I am in shock as I expected it to be a lot worse. One of these was a lovely gift from the author and the other was my Willoughby Book Club monthly subscription. This means last month I only bought one book!
Happy Reading
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My chosen quote today is by Margaret Mead. Margaret Mead (1901-1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured as an author and speaker in mass media during the 1960’s and 1970’s.
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.”
Margaret Mead
Happy Reading
If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you
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 seem to have been quite busy this week so far which has has sadly meant less reading.
What I am Currently Reading
Still reading this and still enjoying it. I just wish I had more time to read it.
What I Have Recently Finished Reading
I read this whilst my husband was watching the Grand Prix and I think this will be a new tradition for me. Reading a Maigret book whilst the Grand Prix is on should help my Goodreads Challenge. Review will follow shortly.
What I Think I will Read Next
As usual I’m never sure what I will read next but maybe it will be one of these.
Please drop me a link with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
Happy Reading
If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you
The House Party: A Short History of Leisure, Pleasure and the Country House Weekend by Adrain Tinniswood
Blurb
A delightful journey through the glamorous story of the English country house party by the bestselling historian.
Croquet. Parlour games. Cocktails. Welcome to a glorious journey through the golden age of the country house party – and you are invited.
Our host, celebrated historian Adrian Tinniswood, traces the evolution of this quintessentially British pastime from debauched royal tours to the flamboyant excess of the Bright Young Things. With cameos by the Jazz Age industrialist, the bibulous earl and the off-duty politician – whether in moated manor houses or ornate Palladian villas – Tinniswood gives a vivid insight into weekending etiquette and reveals the hidden lives of celebrity guests, from Nancy Astor to Winston Churchill, in all their drinking, feasting, gambling and fornicating.
The result is a deliciously entertaining, star-studded, yet surprisingly moving portrait of a time when social conventions were being radically overhauled through the escapism of a generation haunted by war – and a uniquely fast-living period of English history.
Review
We bought this book when we visited Croome last month and it has been tempting me to read it ever since. I could have easily read this book in one sitting as I found it so interesting but I made it last two days instead.
The book begins at the beginning of house parties starting from when Queen Elizabeth I used to visit and stay at people’s houses when she was travelling through the country to when eventually the traditional house party died out.
This book is filled full of glamour, wealth, luxury and everything you can imagine that happened in fine country houses during house parties.
I loved how the book described every detail of the house party from the invitations to what food and drink would have been served and the activities people would have partaken. The stories told in this book about different house guests and their hosts were hilarious. I particularly liked the house guests who brought their own thermos flask with cocktails in to have in their room because they knew their particular hosts didn’t hold cocktails before dinner.
There were a lot of little stories in this book and a lot of famous names mentioned. However, for such a short book I think too many stories were mentioned and maybe just a few famous houses should have been focused on. To be honest I would have loved a much longer book as I could have happily read another 200 pages about the famous houses and their parties. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons and I will definitely be reading more of Tinniswood’s work.
Adrian Tinniswood has worked as an author, broadcaster, lecturer and educational consultant for nearly 30 years in both Britain and the United States. Tinniswood studied English and Philosophy at Southampton University and was awarded an MPhil at Leicester University.
If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you
Happy Friday! I hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend.
My chosen poem today is by William Wordsworth. Wordsworth (1770-1850) was an English Romantic poet who was Poet Laureate from 1843 till his death in 1850.
I think this is a good poem for everyone who is finishing their studies this month for their summer break.
The Tables Turned
Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
Or surely you'll drop double:
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?
The sun above the mountain's head,
A freshening lustre mellow
Through all the long green fields has spread,
His first sweet evening yellow.
Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.
And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.
She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless -
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.
One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things: -
We murder to dissect.
Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.
William Wordsworth
I hope everyone has had a good June. My reading wasn’t great in June but to be honest I’m doing a lot of research at the moment so I am reading just not books I would blog about. I am also in the mood for reading longer books at the moment which is slowing me down as well.
Statistics
Only 5 books this month and it was nearly 4 but I managed to squeeze in a short book yesterday. One of the books also does not have the page info listed so didn’t show up on the statistics so I should have had 2 books in the 500+ range.
Lady Book Dragon 