It's Monday! What are you Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a meme hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. A weekly check in to see what you are currently reading and what is coming up. Head over to Shelia's blog to see what others are reading this week

I've missed a few weeks - got busy. I picked up a six week work contract that threw yet more confusion into an already confused house! Luckily I was able to manage to keep reading! So here's what I have read since I last posted. (about 5 weeks ago!)

What am I currently reading

Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen. I haven't been to the gym much as my work roster made it just too hard. Went four days last week so have hooked back into this.

King's Ransom - Sharon Kay Penman. I stopped reading this to read the Children's Book Council short lists. Really looking forward to getting back to it.

The Slippery Slope - Lemony Snicket Getting towards the end of this - the suspense is building!

Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay I had this on my phone. Then my phone had to be reset and I lost it. Haven't got around to downloading it again yet.

Panic - Lauren Oliver -  I downloaded this as my first ever book from Audible.com. I took it on recommendation from Shelia and am really enjoying it. Again, getting towards the end.

The First Third - Will Kostakis -  Older readers short list book. Love this quote from it - Life is made up of three parts: in the first third, you're embarrassed by your family; in the second, you make a family of your own; and in the end, you just embarrass the family you've made.
It rings so true to me!







What I have read.

 Fairytales for Wilde Girls - Allyse Near -  read as part of my quest to read all the Children's Book Council Older Readers Short list

My Life as an Alphabet - Barry Jonsberg - read as part of my quest to read all the Children's Book Council Younger Readers Short List

A Very Unusual Pursuit - Catherine Jinks -  another book from the younger readers short list

Violet Mackerel's Possible Friend - Anna Branford - again the younger readers short list

Song for a Scarlet Runner - Julie Hunt - the final younger readers book

The Sky so Heavy - Claire Zorn -  a switch back to the older readers list

The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde - an adult read, just for a change!












The short listed books are fantastic. I have three older readers ones to go and I also have the early childhood short list and the picture book short list to look at. Really glad I'm not a judge as I'm not sure I could choose!

So that's me! What have you been reading? Leave me a link, I'd love to know!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a meme hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. A weekly check in to see what you are currently reading and what is coming up. Head over to Shelia's blog to see what others are reading this week

So I missed last week as we were travelling back from Rockhampton where my son was competing in the Queensland State Titles for trampolining.  Here's a short video of his routine. They need to do 10 skills and you can hear me counting as he goes. I missed two somewhere!

He did pretty well, walking away with a second place in double mini trampoline and first in trampoline. Which means he is the Queensland State under 13's trampoline champion.

Yeah, I'm a little bit proud! He now gets to go to National Champs in Melbourne at the end of May.

What Am I Reading Now

 

Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen. Still reading this. Gym time has been limited, although I have managed to watch the BBC version.

King's Ransom - Sharon Kay Penman. You need to be patient if you are a Sharon Kay Penman fan. Her last book, Lionheart came out in 2011. However your patience is rewarded with meticulous research and a great story. Really enjoying this which is the 5th book in her series on the Plantagenets

Fairytales for Wilde Girls - Allyse Near. So every year I aim to read all the books on the short list for the Children's Book Council of Australia's Book of the Year Awards. They have 5 categories and I will read the Older Readers and the Younger Readers short lists. I'll get to the other 3 if I can.

The Slippery Slope - Lemony Snicket I have this audio ready to go for school going back this week. Wonder if we can knock the series off this year?

Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay And finally an audio for when I am in the car alone!









What I read in the past two weeks.

For having had a two week break, I really didn't finish much! King's Ransom is fairly large and I have picked up a six week contract which cuts into my reading time! So for now there have only been two finishes.

Wildlife - Fiona Wood. This is the first of the books off the Older Readers list I have read this year. It was a great start.

Light Horse Boy - Dianne Wolfer.  This was the first of the books off the Younger Readers list. Again, a great start.










Not a book finish, but I did also finish a quilt this week!

You can read more about it here.

So what are you reading this week? Leave me a comment, I'd love to know!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a meme hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. A weekly check in to see what you are currently reading and what is coming up. Head over to Shelia's blog to see what others are reading this week

What Am I Reading Now
 

 The Carnivorous Carnival - Lemony Snicket. Haven't made great inroads into this. The rule is we can only listen when all kids are in the car and last week that didn't happen much.

Breath - Tim Winton. Loving it. That's all.












Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett. This was recommended by my mother in law who is not a big reader. With my Kindle out of action, I finally picked it up. I'm enjoying it, but at over 1000 pages I will be downloading it to my Kindle when I get it back!







What I read last week.

Another good week with three finishes.

The Help - Kathryn Stockett. Due to the wonderful generosity of a friend, I was able to get my hands on a hard copy of this and finish it off! Thank goodness, I hate to be left hanging!

Call The Midwife - Jennifer Worth. I loved the show made by the BBC so knew I would end up reading this. Loved it too and will be reading the second one. It was interesting to see how they adapted some of the stories for the series.

Pardon Me For Mentioning...Alex Kaplan, Julie Lewis & Catherine Munro (editors) . This was a quick read of a collection of letters to two of Australia's largest newspapers. It was a good filler while I worked out what I wanted to tackle next!

I give up!!

Try as I might, I just couldn't get through The Science of Fear. I was enjoying bits of it, but in the end just didn't have the heart to go on.

The good news is my Kindle arrived today!! Sitting on the table at the moment waiting for me to go set it up! Yay!

Did you check out my TED Talks Tuesday last week? I hope so. Check back tomorrow for another amazing TED Talk - don't know which one yet as there are so many amazing ones to choose from!

So how was your week? Leave me a comment and a link - I'd love to know what you've been up to!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a meme hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. A weekly check in to see what you are currently reading and what is coming up. Head over to Shelia's blog to see what others are reading this week.

What Am I Reading Now?

The Turning - Tim Winton. Almost at the end of this now. Looking for reasons to spend time in the car so I can finish it.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot. I'm reading this as part of my Five From Forever in '14 challenge. It's fantastic. I am struck again and again about how many problems can be solved if things are just explained properly.

 The Carnivorous Carnival - Lemony Snicket. The kids and I finished The Hostile Hospital last week - in fact we missed the ferry because we all wanted to listen to the last couple of minutes! I'm not on car pool until tomorrow, but they have been bugging me since Tuesday as to when we are starting this!







What I read last week.

A few finishes last week.

My Brilliant Career - Miles Franklin. Superb! If you like Australian fiction, you must read this. Absolutely wonderful.

The Hostile Hospital - Lemony Snicket. As I said before, the kids and I missed the ferry in order to finish this off. Starting The Carnivorous Carnival as soon as I can get them all in the car together!

The Exile - Diana Gabaldon. This graphic novel covers the first third of the first book in the Outlander series (published as Cross Stitch in Australia) Highly disappointing and not worth the effort.

I've also started a Tuesday Meme called TED Talks Tuesday where I highlight various TED talks I find interesting. Last week I shared a talk by Janine Shepherd, an Australian cross country skier who was hit by a bike one day when out on a training ride. It's an amazing talk about her recovery.

Janine Shepherd

Tomorrow I'm going to share a talk by Shane Koyczan. Shane is a performance poet and shares his incredibly powerful story of bullying. Come back tomorrow and check it out!

Shane Koyczan

In the meantime, what did you read this week? Leave me a comment or a link to your Monday post!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a meme hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. A weekly check in to see what you are currently reading and what is coming up. Head over to Shelia's blog to see what others are reading this week.

What Am I Reading Now?

I have a few left over from last week...

The Hostile Hospital - A Series of Unfortunate Events Book the Eighth - Lemony Snicket -  so close to the end - onto the last disc! I do school pick up tomorrow so hopefully we can finish it off. I have number 9 ready to go.

The Turning - Tim Winton. Loving this audio when the kids aren't in the car. I enjoy a new short story starting and recognising characters from earlier ones.

My Brilliant Career - Miles Franklin. I'm reading this as part of my 100 Best Books List Challenge for the Australian category. Again, really enjoying this and am powering through it. Was hoping to have it finished by now, but have just fallen short. About 30% left to read.





What I read last week.

Just one finish last week, John Flanagan's The Lost Stories. This an absolutely fabulous series and I highly recommend it. It's aimed at early/ mid teens but it is so well written I'd suggest it to anyone!

Come back tomorrow to check out my new meme

Click here to find out what it's all about.


 So what was your week like?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a meme hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. A weekly check in to see what you are currently reading and what is coming up. Head over to Shelia's blog to see what others are reading this week.

What Am I Reading Now?

Shift - Hugh Howey - this is the second installment of the Wool trilogy that my sister put me onto. It's actually a prequel to Wool. Enjoying it so far.

What I read last week.

Only one finish last week.

Bones of the Lost - Kathy Reichs - starting to get a bit jaded about this series...

Quiet week for me, what have you been reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a meme hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. A weekly check in to see what you are currently reading and what is coming up. Head over to Shelia's blog to see what others are reading this week.

So I'm going to attempt to get back into this meme in 2014. If you want to see what I read in 2013, click here. In the meantime, let's just start with 2014!

What am I reading now?

Bones of the Lost - Kathy Reichs - love a good thriller mystery and Reichs very rarely disappoints.

What I finished this week/ fortnight?

Cross and Burn - Val McDermid - more quality crime fiction. I love Tony Hill!

11/22/63 - Stephen King - pleasantly surprised by my first King read in a long, long time.

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley -  a book that fits into the only two challenges I am doing this year - 5 From Forever in 14 and Best Book List Challenge.

Not a bad start to the year I feel. So what have you been reading? Leave me a link in the comments, I'd love to know!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a meme hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. A weekly check in to see what you are currently reading and what is coming up. Head over to Shelia's blog to see what others are reading this week.

What am I reading now.

The Rise of the Fifth Estate - Greg Jericho

Another one I heard about on the radio first, although I can't remember which program. A bit dry in bits, but on the whole very interesting, especially in the wake of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's speech last week which attacked the opposition leader for being a misogynist - an event which was covered widely online and not so much in the main stream media. 

What I've  Read In The Last Week.

Bit of a non fiction week this week!

Gone Viral - Frank Bowden

A Private Life - Michael Kirby

Get Well Soon - Kristy Chambers

What's next?

Hmmm, not sure, although I think it will be fiction! Most probably Various Positions
since it's due back at the library soon!

What are you reading this week? Leave me a link, I'd love to know!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

t's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a meme hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. A weekly check in to see what you are currently reading and what is coming up. Head over to Shelia's blog to see what others are reading this week.

What am I reading now.

The Breaker - Minette Walters

This is one of my library books so fits with my month long library challenge.

It also fits into my quest to read all of Minette Walters books.

What am I listening to.



.

The Potato Factory - Bryce Courtenay

I'm finally back to this as my main audio and making good progress.

What I Read In the Last Two Weeks

Again it's been a fortnight since I posted, so here are my reads for the last two weeks!

The Coming of the Whirlpool - Andrew McGhan
Spartacus: The Gladiator - Ben Kane
A Straight Line to My Heart - Bill Condon
Cloudstreet - Tim Winton
When We Were Two - Robert Newton
When We Were Orphans- Kazuo Ishiguro - review to come, only finished it last night!

What's next?
It's all about library books here for the next month - or at least until June 24 when we go away for two weeks and it will become all about the Kindle! You can check out my month long library challenge here.
So what are you reading? Leave me a link, I'd love to know!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a meme hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. A weekly check in to see what you are currently reading and what is coming up. Head over to Shelia's blog to see what others are reading this week.

What am I reading now.

Spartacus: The Gladiator - Ben Kane

This was sent to me by the publisher for review. I'm not far into it, but think it's going to be quite good!


Whatever It Is, I Don't Like It - Howard Jacobson

This was our book group read for April. Book group was on Sunday. I hadn't finished and I'm fairly sure I'm not going to.

What am I listening to.



Cloudstreet - Tim Winton

So I am driving again, but the other week I forgot to take my Kindle with me to listen to The Potato Factory so I borrowed this...and because it's a library audio I need to listen to it first so I can return it on time. Poor Bryce Courtenay, still waiting for me!

The Potato Factory - Bryce Courtenay

I will get back to it eventually, I promise!

Blog recommendation this week.

This weeks blog recommendation is Vodkamom. Vodkamom is an American kindergarten teacher who tells the funniest stories about her kids. In between she also blogs about her kids - teenage girls Bitchy and Sassy and her son Golden Boy. In the past couple of years her marriage has broken down so there is a bit of that there too.
To illustrate the funny things her kindergarteners say, I give you this:

We were working in our journals during Kid Writing today, and it was the girls' turn to sit at my table. They were working on their pictures, and I was helping with the words when SOMEHOW the girls got on the topic of pierced ears. (We had spent the last ten minutes searching for the tiny, clear BACK to one of Sasha's earrings, only to miraculously find it on the carpet. I'm surprised jack hadn't eaten it, but that's another story altogether.)

"When I get big, I'm gonna get my nose pierced AND maybe my LIP!" Lily said dramatically.
Sasha looked at me and raised her eyebrows. "Well," she said matter of-factly, sitting with her legs crossed as she colored, "I might get my nose pierced, but never my privacy. No girl, not my privacy."


um.


(Omg. I don't know HOW I hold it together. I just don't know.)

Source: http://www.vodkamom.com/2012/04/honestly-some-days-im-convinced-im-just.html

And she does other cool things with them, like grass heads!

Source:http://www.vodkamom.com/2012/04/i-turned-my-back-for-one-minute-and.html

Love my Vodkamom!

What I Read In the Last Two Weeks
I missed out on Monday's post las week, so this week you get two weeks worth of finishes!

Ishamel and the Hoops of Steel - Michael Gerard Bauer

Don't Call Me Ishmael - Gerard Bauer

The Golden Day - Ursula Dubosarsky

The Dead I Know  - Scot Gardner


They are all younger readers and all from the The Children's Book Council of Australia Older Reader's Short list.  Except Don't Call Me Ishmael. If you are into YA fiction I strongly, strongly recommend The Dead I Know. I still have three other titles in the Short List to read, but they will have to be spectacular to beat The Dead.


What's next?
The rest of the CBCA Ollder Readers short list is a pretty high proprity at the moment - with the added bonus of being good reads!
So what are you reading? Leave me a link, I'd love to know!