Onion Budgie

Boiler problems at this end too! I have a combi. Yesterday, the expansion vessel ran out of puff (as it seems to do quite frequently), and so I had no central heating on one of the coldest nights in living memory! (Exaggerating, but UGH.) The engineer came out this afternoon and charged up the vessel again, but seriously, these combi boilers can be a pain in the neck and a worry for little things going wrong with them. Commiserations to everyone else with similar problems right now. It's at times like these that I wish I lived in a hot country!

I'm just about to start After the Funeral by Agatha Christie.

Athena, I have two budgies.

I'm two-thirds of the way through To the Lighthouse. It's going to be another 5/5! That's three 5/5s in a row for Virginia Woolf. I think that means I like her. I'll be diving back into my mysteries for March. Bring on the Poirot! I've missed the little mustachioed Belgian.

Well done, frankie, that's awesome! I gave up smoking nine years ago, when I first got my birds. Birds have delicate respiratory systems, so cigarette smoke can cause them problems. I was never a heavy smoker, so didn't find that I missed it much at all, thankfully. And I still have the same birds!

I've started To the Lighthouse by VW. Only a few pages in, and it's already wonderful. Woolf is the kind of author that you need to read slowly to best appreciate -- which means we're a match made in heaven, because I read at a snail's pace!

I finished Violet to Vita. It was the equivalent of a high-altitude plane with one of its wings working loose. 4/5 Now to finish up Mrs Dalloway (which is going to be a 5/5), and then... I'm not sure what next. Probably another Virginia Woolf, because I seem to be in that headspace right now.

It's snowing! I'd be happier about that, but I have to go out in it, in a little while.

Progress on Mrs Dalloway has slowed down while I steam through Violet to Vita -- which is 300 pages of tightly-coiled hysteria! What a huge mess those two (Violet Trefusis and Vita Sackville-West) put themselves in. It's made me want to read some of Violet's novels now, though.

Still reading (and loving) Mrs Dalloway. I've also just started Violet to Vita, which is a collection of letters from Violet Trefusis to Vita Sackville-West, 1910-21. Another book with a ponderously long introduction -- but an interesting one!

I've just a few pages left of Orlando. It's been amazing. So, I'm going to continue with Virginia Woolf and start on Mrs Dalloway a little later this evening. I have a whole pile of VW books incoming. My postman won't know what's hit him!

That sounds good! Later on I'll be making a spicy vegetable jambalaya. Looking forward to it.

Thanks for all the info! It's really helpful. I already have Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse on order. After I've read those, I'll begin adding VW's other works. I'm excited to have discovered another author that may well become a favourite. That doesn't happen often! I saw the filmed version of Orlando when it was first on TV. I don't remember any detail, but I do remember liking it. I'm off to check out Poppyshake's thread.

I read that a few years ago, and didn't much enjoy it. The characters annoyed me, and I found the style too overblown. But then, one might say the same of one of Genet's other works, Querelle -- and I loved that! I hope Our Lady of the Flowers improves for you.

I began with Orlando! It had been sitting on my shelf here for 15 years or more. I have a terrible habit of buying books and then leaving them to fester. But no more! Come in, Virginia Woolf, your time is up. I'm really glad I picked this out; it's amazing. Mrs. Dalloway is on my TBR. I really want to read the volume of letters between Woolf and Vita Sackville-West.. Soon!

I'm almost halfway through Orlando. It's a fantastic romp. I want to read all of Woolf's other novels now; her use of language is exquisite.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I read it in my late teens. I forgot it very quickly. It's one of those books that I've been meaning to re-read for years, if only to see why (to me) it's so forgettable! The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. All I can remember of this one is a big party, and people in a car wanting to get to a hotel just so they can drink Mint Juleps. I do recall that this book bored the bejeebus out of me. Again, this is one I should re-read to see if my viewpoint has changed over the years. Those are the two that spring immediately to mind.

I'm almost done with Roller Coaster. It isn't particularly well written. Looking at my shelf, I'm now dithering between Orlando by Virginia Woolf, or Skirt and the Fiddle by Tristan Egolf. Orlando has been sitting there in a huff for YEARS, so it'll most likely be that one.

Thank you! @karen.d They have dozens every day. When you're logged in, just click the "Browse" downbar, and then "Giveaways", and it'll take you straight to them. You can filter to preference, if you want.

I won a Goodreads giveaway today -- I'm genuinely astonished! The Last of the Greenwoods by Clare Morrall. It sounds interesting. With the number of entries their giveaways always attract, I never thought I'd win anything, ever!

Happy New Year, everyone! I'm just about to take down the Christmas decorations. Then I plan on doing some reading, and later on will watch the beginning of Season 5 of Elementary on DVD. Between all of that, I'll be opening a bottle of fizz, and cooking a New Year's Day dinner -- wahoo!

I only get antsy about taking the decorations down because by the end of the month, the four sets of battery lights (which have already had their batteries replaced once mid-month) are on their last breath of life or dead altogether, and look miserable! Everything's coming down today. I'm afraid of all the dust that must be lurking beneath.

35 -- which I'm pretty happy about. It's been a good reading year.

I've only a few pages left of Tied up in Tinsel, which has been quite a fun read, if nothing spectacular. Tonight I'll make a start on Roller Coaster by Karin Kallmaker. I haven't read a romance novel in a cow's age.

Eat, drink, and be merry!