A Busy Week of New Reading Material

I've had a busy week, and it's been filled with my craft group, reading and organising myself to get my butt into this year... yep, it's February already and this year isn't slowing down!

But on Monday, I thought to check my mail - seeing the rain had eased - and my PO Box was filled to the brim!  I also had to pull out a blue pick-up card!  Yay!  There was a parcel to get from inside the post office!  Anyway, once I did that, I found my curiosity got the better of me and I opened it right there in the place and found a brand new copy of 'Eucalyptus' by Murray Bail.  This came all the way from Scotland for the Australia Day Sweepstakes on Bookcrossing.  Well, I'd never heard of this author or the book, so this was a first for me.  And I'm looking forward to reading it too!
Then, while I was at my craft group, Nola (a lady who sits across from me at the tables) brought in some books she didn't want and showed them to us ladies before putting them up for grabs on the show and tell tables, where they're sold for $1.00 each.  I found a great copy of 'Hour's The Limit: Great Food In Less Than 60 Minutes' by 'Fast Ed' Halmagyi.  What a cookbook!  The pictures look great, the recipes look wonderful, and I've yet to try out anything in it, but it's all delicious sounding and I think I'll have to have a try of one of the pastas first... I'm not sure yet.

Also in the mail on Monday came my March issue of 'Good Reading' Magazine.  It's a bumper copy with all sorts of great articles about books, authors, and anything about the written word.  And you all know what I'm like about that!  Yep, obsessed!  Well, how was your week?  Filled with reading material like mine, or are you happily reading along like last week... please do keep us updated.  Until my next post, happy reading!

Writing Work This Wet Weekend

This weekend just gone has been one of the wettest around for some years; and I got a lot done!  

As I mentioned in the last post, I wanted to get some reading done - and I did.  I read a few chapters of 'Wizard and Glass' book 4 of 'The Dark Tower' Series by Stephen King.  That was on Friday night, but then on Thursday night, I read a few chapters of 'Dandelion Wine' by Ray Bradbury.  These books are total opposites, but both writers are absolute genius' as what they do in this world.

On Saturday, I cleaned out my lounge room.  It was great to be able to move around the house again, throw out a rubbish bag and fill up the Donation Box completely.  But then, it was also great to put things away too, check the water in the piano (yep, they need it to keep from warping) and I cleaned the coffee table and now, all I have to do is clear the dining table and the place look sweet!

But then, I stumbled upon two recipe books I'm working with.  They're lovely books.  One book is one Mum bought me where I write down recipes I've created or gotten from people and they are my favourites and the other is one I bought from my craft group and it's more professional-looking.  The second one is cut up into sections where you write your recipes down and there's little pockets where you can slot recipes cards that are loose and sitting around - a very nice book in all, something I'd definitely use!  So, I'm working with these two books, off and on.  Honestly, I really need to get them finished up and put away, they are getting in the way.
Then, I have a recipe book on my tablet.  This one is one where I've copied out my recipes from the first book onto an app I scored from the 'Play Store' for free.  It's great to have this on my tablet because I can take it anywhere and I have a recipe book at my fingertips without having to be hooked up on the internet - not a bad deal, right?  Well, I have to update that 'invisible' recipe book soon as well so I'm not without the needed recipe when I'm on holidays.  You never know when I'll need a recipe or two and if it's not on my table, it'll be at home.  Just what did we ever do without technology?

Well, I hope you survived the weekend, like I did.  I heard that overseas in the USA, there was a huge ice storm and everyone there was trapped at home as much as we were.  So, what did you get up to during that time? Until my next post, happy reading.

A Weekend of Wet Horrible Weather

Okay, here in Queensland, we are famous for our tropical cyclones - and their names can be really weird too.  Some are really violent, whereas others are just filled with rain, rain and more rain.  However, when they hit up north, the rain depression they turn into as they travel down the coastline often travel towards Brisbane and the border of New South Wales and we get some good falls of rain.

This time, we got Cyclone Marcia.  Yep, we got a Brady Bunch sister heading towards Bundaberg and Gladstone, and landfall is early tomorrow morning.  Now, we've had this kind of thing before, where it's just poured rain for a few days with lots of wind; and it's really unsettling for everyone.  But it does keep us indoors a lot over a weekend - which this one is going to do.

So, this weekend is going to be a good few days of cleaning out, cleaning up and a lot of reading... mainly the latter because I know that sleep will not be on the agenda.  This kind of weather really freaks me out.  It's not the rain, it's the wind that does it to me.  So, I'll be reading a lot of Stephen King (the 'Dark Tower Series' will be getting a look into) and probably some Ray Bradbury (yep, I'll be reading some of his 'Dandelion Wine' late at night if I can't sleep while the wind howls outside my window).  Otherwise, during the day, I'll be working on cleaning out my house more permanently.  Honestly, there's nothing else to do while it's raining... well, there's painting, but I mainly do that at night.

Well, you know what I'll be up to this weekend during the horrible weather.  What are you doing when the weather turns bad?  Until my next post, happy reading.

The Blank Page

Today, I opened up a new post here to see what I would write.  

There was nothing that came to mind immediately, and I worried about this a little. 

Sometimes this happens to me as a writer; and it's not a good thing to happen.  However, you have to remember, I worked on two books last year, and have been working on flash fictions throughout the year last year as well.  For this I'm really happy, so for now, I think a bit of imaginative silence is good... well, until the next great idea shows up!

I'm not reading very much either.  But I'm not worried about that either, I think it's just my mind taking a break from the written word for a while, until it wants to take it all in later on.

Do you do this?  Stop and slow down from reading or writing for a while, just to see the world around you for what it is?  If so, what do you get up to?  For me, it's delving into painting and gardening and cleaning out my house.  I know all of those are the complete opposite of writing, but it's probably best if they are.  Until my next post, happy reading.

Reading For Dumbies

I've got a great collection of books... I mean, there's some intellectual stuff here in my home office.  Some of the books I have here, I had to wait until the right time to read them.  I mean, I received them years ago, but didn't understand them until around a year or so ago, when I had read other things to catch up with the one I wanted to read (does that make sense?).

Then, once in a while I go out and get myself a 'dumbie' book.  It was 'SeinLanguage' by Jerry Seinfeld.  Now, I have absolutely zero interest in this guy - I actually don't like him as a comedian - and yet I picked up his book yesterday at my craft group and brought it home to read.

Okay... it's more than once in a while; it's a few times a year.  These are books which are pinch easy to read by people I have nearly next to no interest in; and they didn't sell any of their books here in Australia - or I'd never heard of the title here.  But I come across the book and pick it up anyway because it's an easy read.

My question to you today is:  have you ever done this, just to read something?  If so, whose book was most memorable?  Was it because you found out something weird about them, or was it something you already knew about them that nobody else did?  Do you remember the title and is it in print anymore?  If not, do you still have it hiding in your bookcase anymore?  Well, okay, that's more than one question - I'm just being nosy today.  Well, until my next post, happy reading!

The Month For Reading

February is the month for reading, getting into reading and loving reading.  I think it's a great idea to have a month dedicated to reading - especially if it's February, as it's as though we can have an affair with a book we're getting into.

We spend time with it.

We enjoy it...

We sneak off and ignore family members to be with it...

Yeah... sounds like an affair to me.

But I've been doing this for most of my life, so it's pretty much what I do all the time.  Yep, nothing out of the ordinary for me!

So, do tell, what are you delving into this month, this week... today?  I'd love to know.  Just leave your reads in the comment section below, and until my next post... happy reading!