My 2016 Reading List

Here is my "list" ...

I am sure it will change throughout the year. 

I won't make it through all of these.

I'll add to them.

But these are what I'm starting with.

What's on your reading list this year?

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

I'll start by telling you that I loved this book.

LOVED it.

And I haven't even finished it.


I am not an aspiring writer.  I do want to write a book or two in my lifetime, but I don't want to be 'a writer'.  In my current job, I have opportunity to write for a community magazine four times a year.  I enjoy that but I wouldn't want to do it full time ... as a job.

I'm not interested, really, in writing fiction.  Although, after reading this book, I reckon I could give it a good crack.  I feel armed to take on the writing world ... even though it is not really what I want to do.  That is how good this book is!

Like I said, I haven't actually finished the book.  I started it a while ago and then life got busy and I gave my time to other things like my kids' and husband's birthdays, end of year events at school, Christmas, school holidays (summer vacation), and who knows what else!?  I have a little sunburn that tells me some of my time was given to the beach!  I hate sunburns and I fully lathered up with 50+ sunscreen but I missed a couple of bits and they aren't happy with me!

But back to the book not being finished!  I picked it up again the other day and have been reading away, totally loving it.  But today I got a notice from my library saying they assume I've lost the book and would I please return it or pay $51.62.  Oops!  I prefer to not pay for library books so I returned it!  I've re-reserved it though so I will finish it when it's my turn to take the book home again!

SK talks a lot about his life and his journey to becoming an author in the first half of this book. He shares some great wisdom that he has gained along the way.  I love this ... 'put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room.  Life isn't a support-system for art.  It's the other way around."

And ... "If you want to be a writer, you must do two thing above all others; read a lot and write a lot.  There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut."  It's really true, isn't it?  My art teacher tells us all the time that the best artists are the ones who do art ALL THE TIME.  It's probably true across the board ... the more you DO __________ fill in the blank, the better you become at it. 

SK encourages aspiring writers to set a goal of writing 1000 words a day.  Just sit and write.  Now, like I said, I'm not an aspiring writer, but I do want to write a book this year.  And so, in Feb, once the kids have gone back to school and I'm back into a routine, I'm going to start by setting myself the goal of writing 500 words a day.  I have no idea how long that will take me!  I guess I'll find out! 

SK says that what each of us knows makes us unique!  I agree.  I have a story to tell ... it's not fiction.  It's the story of 2015  ... my year of 'the uncomfortable'.  I'm not sure if anyone else (besides my husband, my best friend, and a handful of other people) will ever read it, but I'm going to write it!

I've also got a line up of books that I'm going to read in 2016.  I'll share that with you in another blog post soon!  Do you have a reading list?   Shoot me a link in the comments, I'd love to come check it out!  Or you can find me on goodreads ... I love finding new book recommendations on there!

Thursday's Books { 2 }

 

I only got two books this week. I was in a super big hurry and so just returned some and grabbed these two reserves that had come in.  My husband, Rory recommended the top one {Born Under A Million Shadows} to me.  He just finished listening to it. He commutes and so most of his books are 'read' in audio form now ... 

I had just finished the book I was reading not 30 minutes before going to the library and was glad for a new one that I knew would be good.  {Does anyone else hate finishing a good book and then starting another one that isn't as good ?}

I'm excited about looking through The Flexitarian Table.  Do you know what a flexitarian is ?  1. A person who is mainly a vegetarian but who occasionally eats fish or meat.  2. Someone who is not a vegetarian but enjoys meatless meals. 

I am a flexitarian ! I love meatless meals ... but I'm not a vegetarian.

Last weeks books: I haven't read the novels yet.  I have finished one that I had checked out the previous week and I'll review that here soon.  You'll want to read it ... it was great.  

The three cookbooks: 

The Lygon St book: I've checked this one out before and was not overly impressed with it.  I thought that I'd give it another go since I've now eaten on Lygon St !  But ... still couldn't get into it.  If you are a history buff, you will probably love it.  I am about as far from a history buff as you can get ...

The Movida Cocina book ... LOVED IT.  Would love to own in, but realistically, there are probably only a few recipes we will try and so will probably just try them and then be content to check it out from the library again if I ever want to try something different.

Michelle Obamas book ... didn't like it.  Too much boring stuff.  I would have liked it to be much simpler, with more pictures and 'how to's'.  Maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance but I guess that's it with this sort of book, if it doesn't catch my interest straight away, I move on to something that does.

That's it for Thursday's Books this week.  Would love to see your pile of books !  Just take a photo of your library books ... post it somewhere ... anywhere (!) ... facebook, instagram, flickr, photobucket ... your blog ... and then come leave me a comment so I can come see. 

So, tell me ... what are you reading ?  And have you visited your library lately ?

Books Books Books !!

I got a pile of books from the library today ! I'm so excited ! I reserved a bunch a week or two ago and a few of them had come in, plus I found a few on the shelf that looked good.

One of my goals for 2012 is to make time to read. Well ... I read all the time, but mostly online these days. I miss books. Actual books with pages that turn ! So ... I'm going to make the time to read books ...

Hence the reserving from the library !

I'm starting one tonight. It's called Mice.

I plan to write some book reviews too so keep your eyes open for that.

Ok ... I'm off.

To bed.

To read !!

day 115 {biblioteca} 365 & WFMW

we are frequent borrowers at our local library, the librarian teases us about it ...
if there were frequent flyer miles for library books checked out, we'd be world travelers !
we like to get on our computer at home, reserve books and then once a week we pick them up
from the library van that parks not far from the kids school ... it's wonderfully convenient !!

because we have so many borrowed books, we needed a dedicated shelf for them
this one in our living room is perfect



the bottom shelf is home to all of our library books
here's what it looks like after today's visit



i hang a bag off the side of the shelf
this is where books go when we're finished, ready to be taken back



here's alia's section of the shelf
she loves that she can read now ... and she does lots of it



and jono's
he is a voracious reader



rory's books are all audio these days
perfect for his hour long (each way!) commute to work



and mine ...
mostly cookbooks, a bit of photography and creativity
true stories and a bit of jodi picoult



and with that ... i'm off to read

**

It's been a while since I've posted a Works For Me Wednesday but I thought this might be a helpful little hint for some. I know I used to be frustrated with lost library books ... not anymore ! The books have a home, and I know where they are ! AND ... when the kids (or we) finish a book, it goes into the return bag ... easy ... I just grab the full bag on a Wednesday morning, throw it in the back of the car, all ready for that afternoon's trip to the library.

Check out other things that WORK for other people ... you might find something helpful !

my day off

i asked for and was kindly granted a day off from work today

after the usual morning routine, and then dropping the kids to school

i made a pot of tea, lit some candles and planted myself on the couch to read my book

i am up now to hang a load of laundry and then go back to the couch

normal photo a day posting will resume tomorrow !

hope you haven't missed me too much !

xo

day 5 {snooze} 365

"I'm not tired Mom."

"Ok Jono, you can read for a bit ...."

I'd love to stay and blog ...

... but I've got much more urgent business to attend too !

Only a couple of chapters left !!

{Corner} BOOKS {View}

Hello to all my Corner View friends !
Things have been very busy around here and I've missed a few weeks !
I'm back now though and excited to see you all again !


Corner View is hosted by Jane at Spain Daily.
Join us as we travel the world each Wednesday ...

This week's theme ... "books"

I've written a fair bit about books (or reading) on this blog. I'm going to cut and paste from a post that I wrote last year today.

Here we go ...

I found the quote above in a coffee table book that my sister, Gina, gave me years ago. The Charm of Simple Things is a wonderful book about delighting in simple things. Things like ... "reading, conversation, music. The sunrise, sunset, the beating of rain on the roof, the gentle fall of snow in winter ..." to quote the book directly.

The laughter of children. The crackling of a burning fire. Stars on a clear country night. The rustle of leaves. The feel of sand underfoot during a walk along the beach. Fireworks ... to name a few of my own.

I could go on and on.

But I won't, because I want to talk about reading. It's one of my favorite things to do. A gift that was passed on to me from my parents, as it was passed on to them from theirs. One that Rory and I have already passed onto both of our children. At (almost) seven, Jono can read well. And at five, Alia is so desperate to be able to that I think she may teach herself if they don't do it quick enough next year when she starts school !

I have always got books on the go. I read all over the place. In the lounge, family room, at the dining room table while I eat breakfast, in the backyard on a blanket, in my rocking chair in the garage (where I sit when the kids play out front !), in the bath tub, on the toilet (but you probably didn't need to know that !).

The library is one of my favorite places to hang out. Books books books ! What could be better ? I have four library cards in my wallet now. Which means, if I wanted to, I could check out 120 books ~ and I sometimes come close ! I do almost always come home with a half dozen to a dozen cookbooks, a couple of computer books, a few photography books, a few books about famous painters, books that the kids have chosen, DVD's, music CD's, books on CD for Rory who commutes, and a novel or two for me. The library is such a great resource. If there are books that I've heard about that I want to read, I go on-line and reserve them ( for free ! ) and just pick them up when I go in ! We use the library so much, we actually have two shelves in our house dedicated to housing library books !!

As children, my parents read aloud to me and my siblings. I remember them reading the Little House on the Prairie books, Narnia, The Hobbit, The Winnie-The-Pooh books, and In Grandma's Attic ... to name a few. I'm reading In Grandma's Attic to Alia at night before she goes to bed. It's not a picture book so she just has to listen. She does. It's a little above her comprehension level but I like that because she asks questions and we talk about stuff.

Reading, for me, opens up not only the imagination but a whole world of ideas and inspiration. It can be an escape. A place of learning, a place of stretching and growing. I laugh. I cry. I get mad. Frightened. Even irritated. I get attached to characters in novels. I'm always bummed when a great series ends ...

The above is a stack of some of my favorites ... ones that I own anyway. I've talked about a few of these books on this blog ... Water For Elephants. The Creative Family. You Sexy Mother.

And last ... cookbooks. COOOOOOKBOOOOOOKS !!! I looooooove cookbooks !! Don't you ? You can see evidence of my love of cookbooks over at The Beans Blog !

I look forward to coming round and visiting all of you this week ! Seeing what "books" looks like in your corner of the world !! Hooray ! For now though ... it's time for our weekly trip to the library so I'm going to have to bid you au revoir, auf wiedersehen, arrivederci, sayonara, adios, shalom, aloha ... and hooroo. I think that about covers the languages in which I can say goodbye !

{a little light reading}

If you need me, I'll be sitting on the couch reading THIS and THIS ... EEEEEEK !!!

Any advice from you experienced parents out there ??

{surprise dinner guests}

i am not in the bath
i am not reading my book

i'd like to be, however, something more exciting has come up

i got a phone call this morning from some friends who we haven't seen since their wedding
they are on the coast and we get the pleasure of having them here for dinner tonight !

good thing i did a bunch of housework yesterday !
i just need to do a bit of dusting
vacuum
mop
and then the house should be good to go ...

i'll dash up to the shops to get a couple things
get the kids from school
get dinner started

and then just chill til everyone arrives

i may even start work on a post that i am sooooooooooooooooooooo thrilled about
it's not on this blog though
it's a new one
and
it
is
FULL OF ARTWORK !

not just mine
all of the students in the studio where i take my art lessons
and the professional artists who work there
will be posting their work
to this blog !

seriously.
it's going to be so cool !

it's in the very early stages so you'll have to bear with us.
i will give you the link soon !
very
very soon !

in other news:
my cousin jill misses my old blog
she says
the posts were longer
with more
photos
and "newsier"

what do the rest of you think ?
especially those of you who remember my old blog ...
the one that i took down after i got a
creepy comment and
decided i didn't want to have photos
of the kids faces ...

was it better ?
why ?
why not ?

just gathering info ..

ok.
better go.
i need to get started on everything so that
i am not a frazzled
woman
when our friends arrive

i hate that.
i like to have everything done
so i can just be
relaxed
and
ENJOY
the company of good friends !

School Holidays ~ Day Five

a magic show ...





a trip to the library

A Little Tour

Hi there ! Come on in ...

We're still getting unpacked around here but let me show you this first room as you walk into the house. I've put two photos together in an attempt to show you where the room is when you come in the front door. I'll have to take a few more angles later but this will have to do for now. I'm a bit stumped as to why the wall in the first picture looks purple. It's not purple. It's white (or maybe it's more off white) like in you see in the second picture ...

This room is pretty much unpacked. Except for the box I've got a box sitting there beside the TV. It's videos. We don't have a VCR that works so I'm not sure what to do with them. I don't really want to keep them in our (little) entertainment unit but they are ones we want to keep. You know, weddings and family events and stuff like that. Home vidoes. Any ideas what I should do with them ?

Say hello to Jono on your way through. Don't expect to get a response though. He's got his nose in another Captain Underpants book ...

Come into the kitchen. I've got a pot of tea brewing ...



And I've made some Turkey, Cranberry, Camembert, and Lettuce Sandwiches.

Help yourself.

Once you're finished we'll go have a peek at my little gardens outback ! I just love them. I can't wait til we get some furniture out there so we can eat and enjoy the lovely gentle breezes that are forever blowing. We're even dreaming about a hot tub out there one day ...

It's quite a big area, our patio. The picture doesn't do it justice. Probably because I was trying to get the garden and not capture the size of the area. I'll try to do that another time ...

Have a look ... Isn't our little garden adorable ?! It's got some pretty well established plants. Tomatoes, Carrots, Strawberries. There are a few lettuce looking things and something with vines that we think might be pumpkin or zucchini. Could even be cucumber. It's flowering so we should know soon. There's flat leaf parsley too. It's even got a little sprinkler system installed that will make watering super easy !

And look at this !! Our little herb garden. The herbs in it aren't little though. Seriously, the rosemary is enormous ! We've got rosemary, thyme, oregano and chives !! I've used all but the chives already !! They are wonderful ! Heaps of flavor !

Aww, look at my little kitty cat. You'll often find her there on our bed snoozin' away !

Well guys, I'm glad you could stop by. I must head off now. Rory is out at a friends Bucks Night. The kids are getting their pj's on and I'm heading them towards bed. I've rented a movie for myself .... a drama ... Rory hates dramas so I always watch them when he's not here !!

I'll let you know if it's any good ...