Little Pixie

Well done, Gaia ! I managed three books yesterday, go me ! I read Michael Innes - There came both mist and snow ( the last 204 pages ) , Leighann Dobbs - Probable paws ( 306 pages ), Spell disaster ( 256 pages).

Hurray, more people joining in ! Just a quick heads up - I have a Kindle Unlimited trial until the 19th or 20th of Jan, so will have everything on hold till then ( trying to squish as many freebies in as possible ).

Happy New Year`s Eve ! let`s hope everyone has lots of great reads in 2018 !

Happy New Year everyone !

I`m still a bit under the weather, thanks for asking. Stoopid migraines and generally feeling wuff. I`m so sorry for your doggies and other animals ; Xiao-Xiao will probably be hiding tonight too, cos we get a lot of fireworks along the river at Midnight ( so pretty, but awful for big cat ears ). Somehow, I feel like I`m already behind with 2018 !! Behind with reviews and getting my next blog up and running.

Is it Mario who was poorly ? Glad he`s on the mend ; echoing, Gaia, it`s so awful when a Furry Family Member is ill.

Ooh, goody !

karen d. , I`ve picked John Buchan`s The 39 Steps as your challenge.

Oooh, goody.

Thanks Will.

A decoration on this year`s tree - and a certain someone looking for her presents.

Ooh, looking forward to this one.

Challenges : Willoyd : Joseph Roth`s The Radetsky March. I loved this when I read it ; a lot of it`s set in Austria from around the 1850`s onwards. I found it especially interesting `cos a cousin`s father-in-law had to leave Austria in the 1930`s or 40`s ( he was rather outspoken about the Nazis ) , but some of the family still live there ( and I met my cousin`s husband`s cousin on a trip to Vienna ). Madeleine : Deanna Raybourn`s A Veronica Speedwell Mystery - A Curious Beginning . I don`t have this one ( yet ) but I`ve read and loved her Lady Julia Grey mysteries. Chesilbeach : I`ve gone for Mary Stewart`s Touch Not The Cat, one of my top books. Karen d : John Buchan`s The 39 steps. Alexi : Haruki Murakami`s 1Q84. I adored this when I read it ( rushing through the pages like it was a trashy Airport paperback ) and gave it to friends as a present. Chaliepud : Pasi Ilmari Jaaskelainen`s The Rabbit Back Literature Society. One of those reads which hangs around in your brain afterwards. Frankie :

Right, got it now.

Ditto ! I had acupuncture, then a wander round Sainsburys, and the sky looked like it had 3 or 4 competing weather systems : a really odd mix of clouds. Hurray, all my food shopping is now done. I've stocked up on essentials - like trifle - and lots of frozen veggies ( roast potatoes in duck fat, honey roast parsnips, broccoli ) . Let the festivities begin.

Yes, the TBR lists look fine :), though I still need to delete a handful of books which I've read. Looking forward to the Dee book ; I've read books in which he's referenced, so it'll be good to have a bit of historical grounding ( or enjoy made-up stuff, since I'm not even vaguely aware of how the book tackles the subject ). Am I also daring you to read the book, or are you planning on reading it anyway ?

So, my calendar for next year has all sorts of festivals and commemorations listed on it , covering the English speaking world. Some of them I'm familiar with - like Saint George's Day - and some I've not heard of, like NZ' s Waitangi Day ? It got me thinking, would anyone else be interested in posting about the Calendar Days which they observe ?

Just back from my neighbour`s - had mulled cider and hot mince ( I wrote `mice` at first, eek ! ) pies, yummy ! and swapped pressies - and we talked about what a great sunset there was last night.

Watched the finale last night, excellent. I really liked Anne Benoit as Christiane. The finale S4 ep of Brokenwood mysteries. Really pleased they`re making another season.

Tonight`s sunset :

At this stage, I`d settle for slowing down the increase.

Helloooo...

Me too. I`m not on Library Thing, and tbh, can`t face inputting 800+ TBR books, but I have a big TBR list at the start of my blog.

The book`s great fun.

The river`s dropping down again now, so we`re fine, thanks. It`s left a little ice rink in the field, for the ducks to go skating on.