Kylie

I finished reading The Walking Dead Compendium #1 and have read about 60 pages of The Dig Tree.

I bought this one the other day. I'd seen it years ago in a bookshop and always regretted not buying it, so I was very happy when I saw it in my local bookshop.

I love it so far, Anna, but I thought The Devil in the White City was one of the best works of non-fiction I've ever read, so I don't know that my thoughts will be of much use to you.

Great review. I recently removed this book from my wishlist because I figured I should read all of Wodehouse's books first, and that's going to take a long, long time!

It's Australia Day next week, so I've decided to read Sarah Murgatroyd's The Dig Tree, which is about Burke and Wills' unfortunate attempt to cross Australia. It's a story I've always found fascinating because of the tragic series of events, so I'm looking forward to reading about it in detail. I've also done some tidying of my books and read a little of Dead Wake.

Stinking hot today...around 39ºC. We've now had a thunderstorm (yay!), and the temperature has dropped to around 24.

If the photos are readily available elsewhere, just tell her you threw it out years ago!

I can't remember if this has been mentioned in any of the links posted, but fans of Alan Bennett might be interested to know that 'Keeping On Keeping On, a third collection of lectures, diaries and other occasional writing, will be published this autumn' (Guardian).

The Guardian has published a list of 10 graphic novels to look forward to in the next six months. It's titled 'part one', so presumably part two will focus on the second half of 2016.

Not quite what I was expecting (or hoping for), but ultimately I think it was quite a good ending. Read a little more of Dead Wake. Larson is setting the scene and the context in the lead up to the sinking of the Lusitania. He's a remarkable writer.

Mary Roach has a new book coming out in July this year called Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War.

Great review of Rowling's latest, Ian! You've made me really want to start the series.

I finished Under the Skin today. Very thought-provoking and well written! I'll now be continuing on with Dead Wake, which is about the sinking of the cruise liner Lusitania by German forces during WWI.

I'm continuing my way through The Walking Dead...about halfway through season 3.

Time for a new thread! What are you all listening to?

I'm enjoying it well enough (if 'enjoying' is the right word!) I guess, like most people, I would have to note how strange it is! I'm loving the slow reveal though. I'm about halfway through it now.

I'll try not to post too many pics...but since you asked... I went and sat in the bathtub for a while, and she hopped in with me for a bit and rubbed against me. She hasn't been game enough to get on my lap yet (maybe she's not a lap cat), but we're getting there. And she seems to have regained her appetite. When I went in this morning, she had eaten the bowl of food we put down yesterday and the bowl we'd put down the day before that! Then I put a little more food out and she ate it in front of me. I couldn't stay in there as long as I planned because Jasper came and sat outside the door and was constantly meowing. Of course, when I eventually went out, he'd left and has barely been near me since. It's like he's thinking 'I don't want you, but I don't want anyone else to have you either'.

Have you considered listening to audio books for times when you're not up to reading? Or is it best for you to be in a quiet environment? I hope Winny is looking after you. That library sounds absolutely perfect!!

Aw, sorry to hear that. I hope you're feeling better today.

I watched The Godfather (which I've seen once before) and then fell asleep partway through The Godfather II (not the movie's fault).

Squeeee! I wanted to ask but was afraid it wouldn't be true! You better finish it this time, woman!

Thanks! I'm super excited too. Thanks Gaia and Abby! I agree. She's so beautiful. The name she came with is Renaye, but I'm going to change it to Scout, named after the character in my favourite book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Thanks Noll! My Mum's not too fond of cats (or animals in general), but she has become quite fond of Jasper over time, and she sent me a text first thing this morning asking how Renaye/Scout had settled in. The shelter dropped off Scout at my place at lunchtime on Friday. I'd set up the bathroom with food, litter, blanket (I lined the bathtub with my good white blanket!), bed, scratching post, toys etc. She'll be staying in there at first until she gets used to her new surroundings. Then I'll start introducing her to Jasper and letting her explore the rest of the house. For the first 24 hours she didn't touch her food or water and just stayed huddled in a little nook next to the bathtub. That was pretty much to be expected, but I was a bit worried because she needed to take her medication, which I had mixed in with her (uneaten) food. The lady from the shelter ended up coming over this afternoon and used a gadget thing to make her take a pill. I feel much better now that she's had her meds, and she's now eaten a full sachet of food, so I'm optimistic that I won't have trouble with her pill tomorrow. She's been in the litter tray but did at least part of her business outside of it. When I went in to check on her earlier, she came straight out of her hidey hole and spent ages walking around me and rubbing up against me, which is a great sign. Tomorrow I'm going to take a pillow in there and make myself comfy in the bathtub with a book so she can get more used to being around me. Even though the shelter lady told me to wait a week before introducing her to Jasper, my partner (N), who has had a lot of cats in his lifetime, decided he wanted to try things his way (i.e., waiting no time at all), so he let her out yesterday (against my wishes!). She and Jasper just kind of looked at each other and then wandered downstairs together, and then Jasper ran back upstairs and hid under the bed! So much for asserting his authority over his territory! Then N let Scout out again today (when I wasn't paying attention) and let her roam around. Jasper didn't bolt this time, but he sat partway up the stairs and watched her warily. I don't think there'll be any problems at all between these two. No words were spoken between them. Scout pretty much ignored Jasper because she was more interested in checking out her new surroundings, and Jasper seemed a bit weirded out, but not cranky or particularly scared.

I've read 100 pages of Under the Skin, and I started Erik Larson's Dead Wake.

Interesting! I had/have an account with them, but I never really used it.

Bargain indeed, Geordie! I have all but the Hutson book on my TBR pile. I look forward to your thoughts on them.