Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. Continue reading
Tag Archives: J. Ryan Stradal
Non-fiction November – Book Pairings
I’m not a huge reader of non-fiction but my book shelves reveal my weaknesses – books about genetics, pop-science, the Art Deco era, and memoirs (am I allowed to count them as non-fiction?) make up the bulk of my non-fiction reading.
On the strength of that (and a little belatedly), I have decided to take part in Nonfiction November (spotted at JulzReads and Sarah’s Book Shelves).
This week’s non-fiction topic is ‘book pairings’ – pair a non-fiction title with a fiction title. Continue reading
June Rewind
Looking back over five years of Junes, the theme is ‘solid but not outstanding’ (with the exception of my 2012 pick, which I really loved). The rewind – Continue reading
Reading Challenges 2015
Every year I say I’m not going to do reading challenges and then I do. Why? I like a list. I like a reason to look through lists. I like discovering books that I might have otherwise overlooked.
I participated in five reading challenges this year and completed all of them. Continue reading
Finished the Summer Reading Challenge on a strong note
Today marks the end of the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge, hosted by Cathy at 746 Books. After a slow start, I romped it in with days to spare, although haven’t written detailed reviews of my final two books – Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller and Whiskey and Charlie by Annabel Smith. It was a strong finish. Continue reading
Show-off holiday post: Hobart
I’ve just returned from a few days in Hobart with my lovely friend, Steph. Steph is an excellent travel companion because she understands the important stuff like snacks* and museum gift-shops**.
I hadn’t been to Hobart since the seventies (I know!), so really, all prior Tasmanian experiences didn’t count and I was essentially a newcomer.
And what an amazing few days we had. The purpose of the trip was to visit MONA, however I quickly realised that a visit to MONA is a good way to dress-up three days of eating and drinking. I’ve been lucky enough to have some amazing meals during the last few weeks but my two nights out in Hobart – at Franklin and then Ethos – were possibly two of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. Anywhere. Ever. Continue reading
Top Ten Tuesday – Top 5 Books I’ve Read So Far in 2015
See what I did there? I’m only picking five. My true stand-outs. Continue reading
Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
I loathe the word ‘quirky’ used to describe books but right now I don’t have the strength to open the thesaurus to find an alternative (suggestions welcome) – I’m ‘recovering’ (feeling ‘luminous and exhausted’) from an amazing few days in Hobart where I ate some of the best meals I’ve ever had (more on that later). All relevant because Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal is a quirky book about exceptional food.
“It was about as much flavor as fifteen seconds were capable of; after one bite and one sip of wine, Cindy felt luminous and exhausted.” Continue reading
20 books of Summer (except that it’s Winter)
In light of my post about my Netgalley habit and the fact that after June 19th I’ll have oodles of reading time (because exams will be over), I’ve decided to join Cathy’s 20 Books of Summer reading challenge. Except that it’s winter here. And therein lies the really ace thing about reading – it’s suited to #ALLTHESEASONS. Yes, there’s nothing better than having sand in the crack of your paperback (you thought I was going to say something else, didn’t you?) but it’s equally lovely to burrow under the doona, warm and toasty, and kill an hour with a book. Continue reading