A New Year of Reading Coming Up!

Yes! In only just over a day or so, we'll be in a very new year of 2016! This will be a squeaky clean new year of reading, writing and discovering bookstores and book-related topics! 

Yay!

Well, I'm hoping to get in and read more books than I did this year - but then I was writing a few things and editing this year, so that's why I was so slow in getting my reading list up. However I did buy many books to add to the ever-growing, ever-gremlining collection of my books! 

So, here are my hopefuls for next year to be read, in no particular order:

'Blood Music' by Greg Bear
'Mostly Harmless' by Douglas Adams
'Joyland' by Stephen King
'Oxygen' by Andrew Miller
'Margaret Olley: Far From Still Life' by Meg Stewart

These are just a few to start the year. I'll add to them as it progresses. 

I am currently reading 'Star Wars: Aftermath' by Chuck Wendig and loving it! Seeing Star Wars is a huge thing right now, I'm looking forward to getting my nose into the next book of this trilogy when I get the next one from the bookstore. Well, what have you hopefully planned to read next year? Until my next post, happy reading!

Pin it!

I've been meaning to expand my horizons in the way of how my photographs are viewed here. Right now, they are linked to sites and you just click on a particular word in a paragraph which is highlighted and you're taken onto another page - usually Photobucket.

However just before Christmas Eve, I joined Pinterest and have only uploaded three photos onto it. I've been meaning to join this site and have some fun with it as some of my friends have told me about it many times; but I've hesitated.

So, if you're part of a photographic site, which one are you a member of? I'm on Photobucket, 365Project and am now on Pinterest. Please do share yours and let us know the link/s so we can have a look into your reading world too. Until my next post, happy reading!

Caedmon Audio Books

Tonight's been a long one for me... very long. By the time you get in and read this, it'll be well and truly Christmas Day on the top and I'll be in bed sleeping off a massive dinner I really should have had more restraint in dishing up onto my plate at my cousin's house.

But when the gift-giving came around, I was totally surprised by what my brother and niece gave me! They went into the city on Sunday and sussed out presents for everyone - well the last ones for everyone - and found me two audio vinyls from Caedmon Audio Books. 

These books aren't whole books, they are just chapters of the books - excerpts if you will - and are read by the authors of the books themselves. Very cool if you ask me! And my brother knowing how I'd squeal with delight about these things bought them for me for two reasons: I love books in any way shape or form, and I collect vinyls. 

The most special thing about these two vinyls is that they were in their original wrappings and have never been played before. So, I'll have something to 'read' over the weekend while it's raining - very cool. 

Caedmon Audio Books have been around since the 1950's, recording books on vinyls for a long time to keep people in connection with the written word for as along as everyone had turntables. 
However, as time went on and technology became better and faster, another company took them over, but kept the name of Caedmon; to keep the familiar feel to the product - HarperCollins Publishing. This company expanded upon the vinyls and kept up the quality recordings in America and across the world; making Caedmon a household name.
In the 1990's, Harper/Collins moved with the times and changed their ways slightly and moved from vinyls to CD's - but they changed the old name of Caedmon to their publishing name and the older name of Caedmon faded out quickly; thus the next generation didn't know about them as well. 
I'm glad there's people who still have these long-playing vinyls around to play as they're something interesting and brilliant to keep on hand if you're wanting something different to read instead of a book or an e-reader. It's a very retro way of reading, and having the very author's voice reading the words the way they're supposed to have been read is even better! Until my next post, happy reading.

A Little Romance At Christmas

Anna Campbell is an Australian romance novelist, who writes some of the best and heart-warming romance I've read around.

Well, for the Christmas season, she's got a competition going on which is lasting only 24 hours! So, ya gotta be quick for this one!

Just jump onto her site here or Facebook status here and you can be in with a chance to win one of two print copies of her book 'Seven Nights in a Rogue's Bed' by Anna Campbell. So, what are you waiting for? Have a look, have a go, like and share it on her Facebook Author's page and see how you go - I have. Until my next post, happy reading.

Star Wars Adjacent

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' is a huge thing right now - well, okay, it's been going on for well over 30 years; since 1977 - and it's still going.

I think I saw the first one, but was too young to remember seeing it. But by the time the next few came out, we did go and see them; and I was old enough to remember seeing them and have the Star Wars fever that accompanied them.

Now, there's an author out there who's writing books about Star Wars: Chuck Wendig. He's written a book I'm currently reading titled 'Star Wars Aftermath', and it's the first in a trilogy. I first heard about it when it came out in September - but only online. So, when I found it in a local bookstore, I jumped on it and bought it immediately. 

Very cool!

And yes, this Star Wars is everything to do with the Star Wars everyone is watching right now. I love it in every way. It's written in first person, it's filled with action, filled with page-turning adventure and passionately written! 

I haven't gotten halfway through the first book yet. 

So, while everyone is rushing around the stores looking for that last minute present for the person they forgot on their list, go out and buy this book. It's well worth it! Or better still, buy it off Amazon and get it delivered before Christmas, so you have something to dive into while everyone is in the food coma over the New Year. 'Star Wars Aftermath' by Chuck Wendig... I love it! It's got everything about Star Wars... it's adjacent to Star Wars, and it'll keep your mind and imagination ready for the next one - yes Star Wars VIII; seeing you've just see VII. Until my next post, happy reading.

Now on Facebook!

Hey, if you have a Facebook account, you can now follow My Reading List on Facebook! 

Yes, that's right! 

Now, it was a closed group, but I think it's best if I make it a public group; as reading and writing is such a great thing to do. So, if you'd like to have a read of some great articles, have a look at funny pictures of books and jokes, or just talk about your last read, your most recently-written piece, please do jump on into My Reading List on Facebook. Or just click on the link below and you'll be taken straight there.

My Reading List

Happy reading!

Cumquat Books Is No More

I went out today to drop into a bookstore I had gone to over a year ago; and meant to drop into this year; only to find that Cumquat Books is no longer. Isn't it sad when a bookstore closes down? Especially when it's an independent one? I think so.

I found out from the owner of a lovely Vintage Clothing store that the lady, Anne Visona, retired from the bookstore business last year. She wasn't going broke, and there wasn't any problems with the store. She just felt it was too much for her. Well, I'm sad to hear about this.

However, the lady at the clothing store told me about another bookstore - if I was interested in it. I said yes immediately, and she gave me a bookmark of The Mount Gravatt Bookstore over near the Mount Gravatt College on Cavendish Road. Well, I thanked her very much and jumped in the car, grabbed the GPS and punched in the address... but the darned thing had never heard of the streets I wanted it to take me to. 
Well, I pulled out the refedex, found the street and kind of knew my way there. I got onto the freeway, took the wrong exit, found my way back to where I was supposed to go and needed to pull over to see how much further I needed to go - as I had found the Mount Gravatt College. So, I pulled into Carmel Street, and what do you know, I saw Little Cavendish Road - the very street which was attached to Carrara Street, which was where the bookstore was situated!

Who needs GPS! I followed my nose!

Well, this bookstore was in a little strips of unsuspecting shops; and what a shop it is! So, I parked the car in the car park, locked it up and walked along the footpath in the cool, quiet shade of the shops, finding this wonderful treasure of a store in the least-expected place in the world! And this place is lovely! It's well-set out, air-conditioned and isn't just a second-hand bookshop, but also a book exchange. I love these places because you can swap over your entire library of books for others instead of buying brand new. What a great store to have in the quiet suburban streets of Mount Gravatt... and it's got a great selection of everything too. I'm definitely coming back here! They don't have an official website, but I found this site which is just as good. So, if you're in the area, drop into the Mount Gravatt Bookstore, it's got some great books instore - and if you can't find what you want, just ask Cindy, and she'll be able to help you. Until my next post, happy reading!

May Be Finished, But Continuing On

NaNoWriMo may have finished last month with a lot of people completing their 50,000 words successfully. 

Um... I wasn't one of them, but I tried! Yeah, I got around 10,000 words done and then had to pack it in because I was typing chapters with just one hand due to one of my hands being unable to type.

But at least I was getting in and giving it a go.

Anyway, for all of those who didn't get to finish the first draft of their book, are you still plugging away at it? Has it held you long enough to keep on finishing it? Mine has. And it's good that I've begun it as it's a good book too. It's a continuation of my 'Angel Love' book and I'm hoping to get it finished up over the New Year or so - well, before school starts anyway.

So, do tell, if you've done NaNoWriMo, have you either finished your book (and what you're going to do with it next) or if you haven't; are you going to continue on with it? And if not, why not? Until my next post, happy reading.

Typo Stores

Today I went out to Wesfield Garden City to search out my last Christmas present.

Yay! 

Yes, I'm early in finishing - as usual - and it was a Gloria Jeans Christmas mug - as usual. And that was all I was going to buy. I was hoping to leave the shopping centre with just one thing.

However, I stopped by a place called 'Typo' where you could by all kinds of lovely things from decorations, letters that lit up, mugs, bags, art supplies, notebooks of all sizes, types, colours and with photos on the front and back. They have retro-style cushions and old typewriters (which don't work, they're just decoration) and sell portable turntables which don't have any cords (which is strange in itself). But this place is just filled with all kinds of wonderful and joyous things to keep you looking for hours on end!

And I did more than look... I did what I promised myself I'd never do! I bought something from there and hoped I could use it. Well, okay, it was a notebook, so I knew I'd use it. Anyway, if you want to see what this place has to offer, just go here and you can see it. Otherwise, I'll put their link on the side bar and you can look at it at your pleasure. Until my next post, happy reading.

Writer's Group Christmas Party

Yesterday, I went out into the cooler wet day of Logan City to my last writer's group at the Loganholme Library. Seeing it was for Christmas, I took along some cake and we sat down and enjoyed some lovely food while discussing the writings of other writers in the group.

Three or four writers had emailed their work to everyone and we all had a go at reading the 6 pages. Even though I had only done my readings two days previous, everyone knew I hadn't had a good month; so it was forgiven at my lateness.

I enjoy reading other people's work as it lets me into other worlds, styles and emotions of how their stories move. Sometimes I'm reading something which is halfway through and there's not much in the way of explanation of how things are going, the plot or who is who, but most times, I can pick up on it all; which is good. 

We had a newer writer who wrote a first draft yesterday. It had a time-traveling train in it, which everyone loved and picked up on straight away, and characters which really needed a lot of fleshing out. However, when we got back to the train, she told us that it wasn't in the entire story, just in the first part. However, we found it made a profound impression on us and encouraged her to keep in there - to use it like the Tardis or the Delorian - and she thought it sounded good. Then, we started sprouting things from 'Back to the Future', quoting Doc Emmett Brown and Marty McFly ... it was funny! We had a few Great Scotts flying around, a 'This is deep' and somebody said something about a 'Flux Capacitor'; and we all got in and cracked more jokes about time travel, ate some more food and - before we knew it - it was time to pack up and leave! 

Yep, this was it for my writers group. This means I'll be hiding away in my cave to write more, read more (hopefully) and enjoy getting into the art and writing worlds. Until my next post, happy reading.

Page by Page

While I was recovering at Brunswick Heads, I had a lot of ideas for my markets run through my head. It was helpful that Mum took me to junk shops to see what things could be helpful there too... yep, good, old Mum and her suggestions were great. I'm going to use some of them too.

Well, I had another idea to work with as well. I bought a book to start writing in each day. No, it's not a journal/diary. This is a book where I write about something about each day on only one page. There's no 'Dear Diary' no signing off - like I said it's not a diary - it's going to be a year-long story of day-to-day life. 

And I'm not sure how it's going to work out. It could be boring an sleep-inducing, it could be exciting and fun, it could be full of philosophical thoughts and deep meanings... or just a book filled with page after page of crap.

I'll let you all know in a year... and see how it goes, okay? Until my next post, happy reading.

On The Mend and Still Writing

Well, it's been two days since I arrived home and I've still got the stitches in my arms and hand. But I'm going well. I'm still writing and reading and doing all the usual stuff I'd do as a writer, but my right hand is getting crabby faster due to the overuse of it; and the stitches not being used to being used.

I didn't get to 50,000 words on my NaNoWriMo this past month, but that doesn't matter. I got up to around the 10,000 word mark, and that means I won in my own way - I was writing with one hand and I got in and did my best this year... and that's all that matters, right?

I read 'Revival' by Stephen King... and that was a wonderful thing to get done. Now, I'm able to get in and read something else over Christmas too. If you'd like to know how that book turned out, just read the review below and then race out and buy the book! You'll love its absolutely creepy ending... I did, kinda, sorta... *shudders at the thought of it*... well, you know how it is with SK.

Now, I've got my nose into 'Star Wars Aftermath' by Chuck Wendig... a great writer I've become interested in for a few years now. I've been writing on his blog - well, through his blog - 'Terrible Minds' with my Flash Fiction for 2 years now and have become a regular on there. I either creep people right out or make them cry and laugh... either way, I'm getting really good at writing Flash Fiction; and I'm hoping to publish the work over the next few years.

Speaking of writing, I got an idea while I was down the coast. It's hard to explain it. I bought a book of blank paper and what I'm going to do is do one page of writing per day in long-hand. When the end of the year comes due, I'll have a book written. It will be either a success of what I've written or a book of writing that isn't good at all. I'll see how I go.

And because I forgot to write about the November Book Buys, here it is now... I scored some lovely books over the past month. They were great. Early in the month, I bought 'House on the Hill' by Estelle Pinney - a great friend of mine who I used to sing with in the Southern Cross Singers when I was a member of a choir - for a few dollars. This book was almost brand new and I sent it to France at a Christmas present for an ornament exchange... just to cheer up my exchange buddy; who lives near the boarder of Italy. I also got 'Full House' by Maeve Binchy too - it's not a thick book, unlike her others - but it's a nice little book to read over the holiday period. And then, I scored 'Such a Long Journey' by Rohinton Minstry also at my Craft Group. All three books were bought on 2nd, November... not a bad score if you ask me.
Then, at Craft Group again, I found three more books which were great. There was 'Fools Rush In' - Book One by Janice Thompson and 'Swinging on a Star' - Book Two by Janice Thompson. Then, there was 'Facing the Light' by Adele Geras. The first two books (which were the first of a series) were of Wedding Books... so I thought to give them a try; seeing I don't read many women's fictions. Anyway, that's all there is for last month's book buys. Until my next post, happy reading!

What Are You Reading?

It's almost here; silly season, Christmas! The time we all put up with our family, give expensive presents after maxing out the credit card on not only those things, but also food and decorations and lights.

But this time of year is also for reading. I love catching up on those great faves of mine - clearing off a few from my Mt To Be Read... yes, that gargantuan pile of books collected over the year that i have been meaning to read, well, i try to get in and read as many of them as possible at this time of year.

i do it now before i don't get the time to during the year because life gets in the way while you're busy making other plans - so John Lennon was right about that, right?

so far this season, I've knocked over 'Revival' by Stephen King. i had the book already half-read, and i read the other half in just 2 days! i'm currently 170 pages into 'Night World - Vol 1' by J.L Smith and have read 40 pages of 'Star Wars Aftermath' by Chuck Wendig. i can't wait to get more reading done soon. so, what have you been reading - and are planning to read - during this season of Christmas?