Morning all – I hope you are having a good weekend.  I am writing this feeling a little worse to wear (having forgotten I needed to get ahead of myself yesterday) because I went out last night to see a band I haven’t seen for over 20 years, The Wonder Stuff. I have to say, I’m now feeling my age thanks to a smidge too much beer and a lot of jumping up and down.  Part of me wonders what it must be like for a band that is writing new music again to have a group of people there just to listen to the hits…but the other (bigger) part of me is just so happy to have heard the songs live again.  It was so much fun!  For those who haven’t heard of the band (and I’m sure that’s a lot of you), here’s a taster…Read More »

Hi all and happy Sunday.  I hope you are having a good week and a good weekend.  Today, the sun is shining so I am happy – it’s been very up and down this summer and I am starting to panic we won’t be getting the weather we need to BBQ again before winter roles around (sorry to sound so depressing!).

Saying that, I doubt we will get to cook out today as we have too much to do.  My in-laws are visiting next week and my spare bedroom looks like a bomb has hit it and I daren’t even go into my daughter’s bathroom – which they’ll be sharing – so I will be spending the day tidying  Maybe if I get all more chores done there will be a veggie burger and a beer at the end of it?Read More »

Morning all and welcome to my first weekly update in a month.  I hope everyone is doing well and the summer is treating them kindly.  Despite being back a week, I am still in a bit of a holiday mood – which is lovely – and have now started counting down the day still I am done with work and ready to start on my new life of (hopefully) gainful self-employment.

Because this was the “back from holiday” week there isn’t a lot to report.  I spent a lot of time doing laundry and sleeping late trying to get over jet lag and I also went back to work – which wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be.  We came back to rain (which is apparently what the UK had the whole time we were gone) so there wasn’t much chance to get back outside but I am hoping this week will be different and I will be able to get out and get back to my 0 to 5K plan and efforts to get fit.

On the blogging front, it was nice to get back to visiting people and catching up with their posts, though I didn’t get to as many as I would have liked, and I managed to post every day during the week (though some were actually pre-written reviews so there was a bit of cheating in there).  Here’s what I wrote…Read More »

Morning all and happy Sunday.  I hope you are having a good weekend.  Ours has been busy as we prepare for our upcoming holidays.  I have been panic buying shorts and t-shirts after deciding nothing I own suits me or fits me or is just quite right for our holiday.  Then there are all those lovely travel size products that making packing easier but in reality are never enough of a two week holiday…I am not sure why I insist on buying them but I do.  The only downside of going away is my tomatoes, the first I’ve grown in years are on the verge of turning red so it’s likely my parents will reap the benefits of my green thumbs vs. me!

On other, blog related notes, it was also a good week.  I posted every day and read some brilliant books…Read More »

Morning all and welcome to a lovely, sunny, Sunday.  I hope you are having a good weekend.  Given the weather, we spent most of ours outside, partly on chores (the garden needed some serious neatening and we are still battling to take down a wall of ivy the previous owners let run wild), but also on just hanging out and chilling.  These last few weeks, with all the rain, I’d forgotten how nice that could be.  Today there are plans for more of the same before I have to jump on a train for work (yes, on a Sunday!) so I plan to make the most of every minute of freedom.  So, without further ado, here is my week in review(s)…

On Monday, I reviewed Sometimes I lie by Alice Feeney, which I really enjoyed – more than I thought, though I had heard it was good. There were lots of twists, turns and a great – unreliable – narrator (my favourite kind with this type of book, as long as I don’t dislike them).

On Tuesday, I introduced my latest read Buried on the Fens by Joy Ellis, which I’ll be reviewing this week.  I won’t give much away but I have to say I do love the main character, Nikki.

On Wednesday, I did the Mid-year freak out tag which has been making the rounds; I’ve really enjoyed reading people’s mid-year updates so wanted to join in….then realised it’s much harder to pick your favourite book or best debut or fictional crush or, or, or (you get the picture). Here’s just a selection of books that made the list…

On Thursday, I reviewed The Silent Kookaburra by Liza Perrat which was part thriller, part coming of age.  I really enjoyed it but have to say there was some scenes that made me uncomfortable and which I don’t think I was prepared for.

On Friday, I joined in with the book blogger hop for the first time in a month or so, sharing the sentence that summed up my passion for reading.  I have a bit of a thing for collecting quotes on reading so I decided to use one of my favourites.

Finally, on Saturday, I shared the books that I’d added to the shelves this week as part of Stacking shelves – all of which I’m excited about and one of which was a complete surprise when it turned up in the mail this week.

And that’s it for me this week.  How was your week, reading and otherwise – what books should I be adding to stacking shelves next week or avoid like the plague?

Emma x

This week, I’m linking in with Kimba at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer and her Sunday Post and with (a little early) Katherine at Book Date for It’s Monday, What Are you Reading? Head over by clicking on their badges below to see what other bloggers have read, written about or just added to their shelves.

Morning all and happy Sunday…and welcome to July – how did it get here?  Still, I shouldn’t complain as (in the way we’ve started counting since having kids) it means it’s only 20 more sleeps till my holiday.  All this holiday thinking has – thankfully – gotten me out of my grumpy mood I am pleased to say.  I can officially start getting excited!

I also need to get organised.  All the main bits are done (flights – check, hotel – check) but I need things like clothes for lounging on the beach (which would definitely help!).  A hat or too might be in order as well as, last time I checked, temperatures were pushing  100 so I am going to need some way to get shade.

In the meantime, I have managed to stop thinking of the sun long enough to do some blogging.  Here’s what I wrote last week…Read More »

Hi all and happy Sunday. I hope you have had a good week and are having a good weekend. I have to admit to having been a bit grumpy this week and I’m not quite sure why. The sun has shone (for the most part)and other than Monday I haven’t had to travel for work at all (a minor miracle for me), meaning plenty of time for my family and to do things I want to do.

Maybe it’s because I’m less than a month away from a lovely holiday and I just want to be on the plane then by the beach or only a couple of months from finishing work and starting my new ventures but nothing has set quite right and I feel like I have been very much “grumble, grumble, mutter, moan”. I suppose the fact that I am aware, though, is a good sign and I am determined to try and feel a bit more cheerier today, even if going to see The Smurfs movie might mean it will be a stretch.

Meanwhile, on the blog I managed to post every day (my new if possibly unachievable goal)…Read More »

Morning all and welcome to a truly glorious Sunday where the sun is shining and, as a result, I have to say all feels right with the world.  Plus, it’s father’s day – an excuse for us to eat, drink and get just a little bit merry, which we’ll be doing when my parents come over later today.  It will be a nice end to a rather busy weekend – lots of kid’s activities yesterday plus I very stupidly agreed to make ice-cream for the first time and not using a machine…Mary Berry promised me it was easy (but can you trust her really?).  We haven’t tried it yet so hopefully it will be tasty enough to have been worth the effort.

As for the rest of the week, there isn’t much to report other than I worked, worked and worked some more (sound familiar to anyone?).  I also got some blogging done.  Here’s what I posted…

On Monday, I reviewed My Sister by Michelle Adams, which I liked but didn’t love thanks mainly to not liking the characters.  It’s a debut though so I need to be a little generous here because I think with a few tweaks (for me) it could have been pretty good.

On Tuesday, I introduced my latest read, Guiltless by Viveca Sten, the third in the Sandhamm series which I am very much enjoying, even if a lot of people seem to end up dying on an island that boasts a population of just a few hundred!

On Wednesday, I reviewed Cold Kill by P. J. Tracy, a mother and daughter writing team who have created a great world of characters.  This one wasn’t my usual read in that there were conspiracy theories and international espionage involved but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

On Thursday, I wrote about my habit of judging books by their covers and how it’s not done too badly for me, even though I know it’s something I shouldn’t do.

On Saturday, I shared the books I’d added to my shelves this week – no surprise there is plenty of crime and mystery!

And that’s it for my week.  How was yours, reading and otherwise?

Emma x

This week, I’m linking in with Kimba at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer and her Sunday Post and with (a little early) Katherine at Book Date for It’s Monday, What Are you Reading? Head over by clicking on their badges below to see what other bloggers have read, written about or just added to their shelves.

Morning all and welcome to another Sunday and another weekly update, my first in a while. I haven’t had much time for writing or blogging these last few weeks and this post has been one of the casualties. Hopefully, though, all is now right with the world again and I will be back to posting each week.

My absence has been a real combination of things. Work, as always, has played a part but I was also doing my bit in the local elections, knocking on doors and giving out leaflets, in my spare time instead of spending it reading,

It’s the first time I’ve done this and it was scary but also fun…and I’m looking forward to doing it again in about six months given the outcome (being slighly saracastic here as another election is the last thing any of us probably want right now!).

In between it all I managed to come down with one hell of a cold, knocking me out for about three days. I know others find that they can read while lying in bed feeling sorry for themselves but not me…though I have the feeling sorry for myself down pat!

It all meant that if a post wasn’t already scheduled or at least drafted, it had no chance of making it into the world.  Here’s what did get published in the last couple of weeks though…

The People at Number Nine by Felicity Everett, which wasn’t what I had hoped or expected.  I was left a little disappointed by a story that started so well but, for me, flagged by the mid-way point.

Roots, Radicals, and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World by Billy Bragg, which won’t be for everyone but I think is a must for music fans out there.  It’s a detailed and fascinating look at a two year period in our musical history, without which we might not have had the Beatles.

The Dinosaur Feather by Sissel-Jo Gazan, which I read weeks ago as was part of my personal challenge to read the books I’ve owned the longest.  It took me a while to review it because I needed time to recover – it was a long book and sooooo not for me.

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley, which I loved.  It took me into the everyday world of Jane Austen, an author I knew little about and had a lot of misconceptions about (it turns out)..

I also shared my Monthly update: May, 2017 and too part in a couple of book blogger hops on which authors I’d like to meet and the fun side of blogging

As I look at it now, then, not as bad as I thought – though my book choices could have been a bit better (June’s update will not be as positive as May’s!). I just be more organised than I thought 😀.

How about you – how have your weeks been (and is anyone in the UK reading this suffering from the same election hangover I have?).

Emma x

This week, I’m linking in with Kimba at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer and her Sunday Post and with (a little early) Katherine at Book Date for It’s Monday, What Are you Reading? Head over by clicking on their badges below to see what other bloggers have read, written about or just added to their shelves.