First Lines Friday: 9/10/2020

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

 

It’s time to get guessing that book! The answer is below the cats.

“When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist. They called me nymph, assuming I would be like my mother and aunts and thousand cousins.”

 

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and the answer is…

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In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

Drop me a link with your First Lines Friday and I will head over for a visit.

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Friday Poetry: T. E. Hulme

Happy Friday!

I hope you all have fantastic weekend plans which involves books, snuggly blankets and a hot chocolate or two.

Due to it being Autumn I have chosen an Autumn poem.

 

Autumn

A touch of cold in the Autumn night –

I walked abroad,

And saw the ruddy moon lean over hedge

Like a red-faced farmer.

I did not stop to speak, but nodded,

And round about were the wistful stars

With white faces like town children.

 

T. E. Hulme

 

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This and That Thursday

Hello!

So this week has included lots of studying again but today I also had a lovely surprise whilst visiting my mom. My sister who lives in Scotland and who I haven’t seen for two years has come down to the West Midlands because my nephew is trying to do his theory for driving a bus and he can’t get one in Scotland so they have come down to take the test and also socially distance see the family. It was wonderful to see my sister and three nephews but I must admit I did miss being able to give my sister a hug.

So here is what else I have been up to this week

Knitting

The scarf is almost done, I am not looking forward to sewing all the ends in though. I always find the sewing and sewing of ends to be the worst part of knitting. I am already planning new projects to attempt after the scarf.

Halloween Decorating

Yes, I know we aren’t quite at Halloween yet but I have already started decorating the house and Eeyore is very excited to be joining in.

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Exercise

I’ve started exercising more again and I am working on my flexibility and strength. I have challenged myself to be able to do the splits at some point. Most likely it will never happen but I will be happy if I get to be a bit more flexible.

TV

We are still watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and are now on Season 6, I really did not enjoy the musical episode we watched last night! We have also started watching Spooks which I haven’t seen for years and never actually saw the first 3 seasons.

So there is my week. I hope everyone is also having a good week.

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Mid Week Quote: Mark Twain

Happy Wednesday!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far.

I really love this quote by Mark Twain so I thought I had to share it with you all.

 

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbour, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.”

 

Mark Twain

 

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Top 5 Tuesday: Black and Orange Book Covers

Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, and now being hosted by Meeghan reads.

 

This is the first Top 5 Tuesday that I have done for ages so it is nice to take part again. So here are 5 books with either black or orange covers.

 

Troy by Stephen Fry

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

The Martian by Andy Weir

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Sappho: Poems and Fragments by Sappho

 

Please drop me a link with your Top 5 Tuesday and I will head over for a visit.

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International Teacher’s Day

Hello Everyone!

Today is International Teacher’s Day! So I wanted to wish all my fellow teachers a massive Happy International Teacher’s Day. You all deserve a massive pat on the back and a big well done especially during the chaos that is 2020.

Well done everyone and keep up the amazing work but also remember to look after yourselves as well.

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September 2020 Wrap Up

Well September got off to a great reading start and then studying started and everything has sadly slowed down. I’m doing a lot of reading for my MA and doing extra reading for my dissertation but not so much of the fun books that I blog about. Although I’m hoping to do something fun for my dissertation.

So here is my September…

(Click the pictures to go to the reviews)

Sappho: Poems and Extracts by Sappho

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Pages: 144

Format Read: Paperback

Dragon Rating: 5/5

 

 

 

 

Moonflower Murder by Anthony Horowitz

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Pages: 608

Format Read: Hardback

Dragon Rating: 3/5

 

 

 

 

 

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 

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Pages: 301

Format Read: Hardback

Dragon Rating: 4/5

 

 

 

 

 

The Existence of Amy by Lana Grace Riva

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Pages: 247

Format Read: Paperback

Dragon Rating: 5/5

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Smell of Cedar by River Dixon

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Pages: 96

Format Read: Kindle

Dragon Rating: 1/5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Books Read: 5

Total Pages Read: 1396

Drop me a comment if you have read any of these books and want to chat. 

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Friday Poetry: William Shakespeare

Happy Friday Everyone!

I hope everyone has some good book plans this weekend.

The poem I have chosen is actually one of Shakespeare’s Sonnets.

 

Sonnet Number 8

Music to hear, why hear’st thou music sadly?

Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy;

Why lov’st thou that which thou receiv’st not gladly,

Or else receiv’st with pleasure thine annoy?

If the true concord of well-tuned sounds,

By unions married, do offend thine ear,

They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds

In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear.

Mark how one string, sweet husband to another,

Strikes each in each by mutual ordering;

Resembling sire, and child, and happy mother,

Who, all in one, one pleasing note do sing;

Whose speechless song, being many, seeming one,

Sings this to thee: ‘Thou single wilt prove none.’

 

William Shakespeare

 

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