July Book Buys!

This was a good month to get into some serious reading - as you can see - and it was also a great month for sales as it's the end of the Financial Year.  So, I got out there and bought up as much as I could before the sales vanished on us for another year.

First off on the list, I bought two books from QBD at Garden City - where I have never paid full price for anything, even if they aren't having a sale.  The first book I saw was 'Home:  My Memoir of My Early Years' by Julie Andrews.  Now, I love this actor as she's so talented and have wanted to know more about her off screen.  And when I saw this book in the bargain box, I knew it was meant for me.  It's in hard cover and it's in lovely condition.  I can't wait to read it

The next one was 'The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun' by JRR Tolkien.  This was also in hard cover and I've heard good things about it.  Many books have been published posthumously by him and they have made his name more famous than ever; and this one is no exception.  I bought these two on 1st, July.

On 6th, July, I went for a walk around my local area and dropped into the nearby Thrift Shop where there's a great supply of books on sale there.  Initially, I only go in there to browse; but on this day, I ended up buying two books.  The first one was 'An Indecent Obsession' by Colleen McCullough in hard cover and the other

was 'Black Hearts' by Arlene J Chai.  The second one will be registered on Bookcrossing and posted off to a good friend of mind in Asia who loves these kinds of books.

My third purchase was an impulse buy and I really shouldn't have done it.  But looking through bookstores is something I do to get an idea of what people are reading.  I watch what the public pick up and buy so I know what I should be reading too; usually it's not what they're buying to give a wider scope for you all.  So, on this day, I was looking at the

larger tables and found 'Pop Babylon' by Imogen Edwards-Jones & Anonymous.  I've read a few of these and found them very amusing, fun and light to read.  They're not popcorn reading, but still a good fun book to get into.  This is my third one I own of the series.

So, there you have it.  My book purchases for this month.  Few and budget-orientated and yet from all over the place.  Until month, keep reading.

The Traveller by John Twelve Hawks

Michael and Gabriel Corrigan are brothers in trouble; big trouble, and they don't realise it.  For their whole lives, they have been on the run and have been fed stories about Harlequins and Travellers and how the Vast Machine is controlling everyone on the planet; and how it will eventually catch up with them if they don't stay off the Grid.  So, their family lived most of their lives on a farm in the middle of nowhere without electricity, no television or even a radio and the boys were kept out of school as well; being home schooled instead.  This was going okay until the fateful night the ripped their family apart and had them on the run again; the night their father vanished into the night leaving their mother to pack what was left of their destroyed house into the car and to keep them on the run again.

It's years later and Michael and Gabe have grown up to believe whatever they want.  But, while Gabe is careful about his life, Michael isn't.  Both have money and have achieved a lot in their lives and all the freedom they have is about to come to a grinding halt very quickly when they find out the stories they were told about Harlequins and Travellers while growing up are all true.  However, only one of the men is a true Traveller - who has it in his blood - while the other has it chemically implanted into him by the Brethren; the people who ran the Vast Machine.  The main question is:  who is the true traveller and who isn't?

I bought this book last year when I heard great reviews about it.  Then, when my Reading List here at home got chocka-block with other reading, I had to put it to one side.  Then the second book came out ('The Dark River') and I thought to leave it until the third book came out so I could read the whole trilogy all at once.

Well, there's nothing in the book that gives away much to who John Twelve Hawks is.  So, I'll just write what's in the back:

'John Twelve Hawks lives off the grid.'

Books In Verse

Seeing I'm busy reading some pretty good books, it got me thinking about the style of other books I've got in my on-growing collection.

There's a small - but select - group that's beginning to find a place in my reading list and on my Mt TBR of versed books.  These are books that tell a story but they are written in poetic verse.  This is not a new trend.  Shakespeare and other great writers of olden days have been doing this type of written work for hundreds of years; and so it's nothing out of the ordinary that it would come back into style.

While I was away in Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland for the week away in May, I had 'The Monkey's Mask' with me and began reading it; not knowing it was a versed book.  From the first page, it had me hooked faster than a traditionally written book.  The way it was written moved so fast and I loved how the scenes didn't need that many words to get the feel and sense of the whole book across.  I enjoyed the first few chapters completely and found it was unputdownable.  I haven't finished it yet, but I will definitely find time after 'The Traveller' to get back into it. 

Another book I've been sent by a Bookcrosser was 'Make Lemonade' by Virginia Euwer Wolff.  I didn't get as far into this one as 'The Monkey's Mask' but this book is also written in verse; setting the scenes were easily done and the feel of it was wonderful.

So, what books have been written in verse - either from Shakespearean times or modern - that have taken you along quickly and easily?  And which ones are your favourite?

Been Busy Readin'

It's been a while since I did a decent book review here; and there's a good reason why I haven't, and I've only been writing about books and reading.  I have had my nose in a few books at the same time.  

There's 'The Traveller' by John Twelve Hawks which I bought sometime last year and have had my nose in for the last few weeks.  It's a good story; however it's full of details and I don't wish to miss them.  So, I'm taking my time with it; re-reading where I need to (which is only a few paragraphs back most of the time).

Then, there's 'The Witch of Portobello' by Paulo Coelho which I haven't gotten very far into, but it's gotten me interested enough to keep going the next time I pick it up before turning out the light.

My third book I'm reading has stalled - which happens sometimes - but I'm not giving up on it as I really do like the way it

reads.  It's 'Parrot and Olivier In America' by Peter Carey.  It's so wonderfully written - and I'm only about 100 pages into it - that I don't want to give up on it.  

So, they are the books I've got my nose into right now.  Which books are you reading at the moment?  Are there any that you've stalled on that are either frustrating you or you're not willing to give up on?  Or have you fallen into a slump where you feel that any book you pick up isn't good enough?