Countdown to 2023 – Day 31 ‘Bottle of Bubbly’ Get ready to bring in the New Year
31 December 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Bottle of Bubbly, Countdown to 2023, Craig DiLouie, Episode Thirteen
Today is the final day of my countdown to 2023. Today’s prompt is ‘Bottle of Bubbly ’.
BOTTLE OF BUBBLY (Your first read for 2023)
Well, I have a lot of good reads lined up for the New Year and in fact I’ve already made a good start on some of my January reads. I’ve already highlighted the new Laura Purcell book which I’m excited about. And I have a new Camilla Bruce and CJ Tudor’s latest. But, the book I’m going to highlight today, is Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie. This sounds fantastic and it already seems to be gathering momentum. Check out the description and cover:
My countdown is complete. Watch this space in January, I’ll be trying to come up with a ‘best of’ list for 2022 – which won’t be easy because I’ve read some excellent books this year. I’ll also be updating my Good Intentions Book Tag and taking a look at how well I managed last year and finally, I’ll be catching up on some reviews and doing some blog hopping. See you all in 2023.
The Friday Face Off : Completions
Here we are again with the Friday Face Off meme created by Books by Proxy . This is a great opportunity to feature some of your favourite book covers. The rules are fairly simple each week, following a predetermined theme (list below) choose a book (this doesn’t have to be a book that you’ve read), compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future’s themes are listed below – if you have a cover in mind that you’re really wanting to share then feel free to leave a comment about a future suggested theme. I’ve also listed events that take place during the year, that I’m aware of, so you can link up your covers – if you’re aware of any events that you think I should include then give me a shout.
I’ve added themes in below. For information, I’m trying out some new ideas so along with coming up with particular items for book covers I thought we could also look for certain elements contained within the book or that play a large part in the story – this really broadens things out because I have plenty of more ideas with this – I’ve gone for a few of the Tough Travel Themes (so a book with that theme – just choose any book – the theme isn’t necessarily on the cover, then compare covers), also, I’ve thrown in some genres and some colours. Hopefully this will open things out a little and give us some more freedom to come up with new books.
This week’s theme:
Completions – a satisfying conclusion to a book or series
Firstly, some news. As of the new year the Friday Face Off will be changing slightly which is why I haven’t posted a new list of themes. The FFO has been running for a few years now and I’ve had a lot of fun coming up with themes and finding books with covers that fit, but, I think the idea of themes has run its course and so from the new year the face off will be taking a more general course. This opens things up a little I think so you can choose any book that you’d like to compare the covers of.
This week my book is The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence. This is one of the most enjoyable conclusions to a series that I’ve ever read. Here are the covers:
I like both sets of covers that are available for this series but, on balance my favourite is:
Do you have a favourite?
Here’s the full series together:
If you’re taking part in this week’s theme feel free to leave your link in the comments below.
If you know of an event that’s coming up let me know and I’ll try and include covers that work for the event itself so that you can link up to the Friday Face Off and, as always, if you wish to submit an idea then leave me a comment – or if you’d like to host a week then simply let me know. Also, I would just mention that it’s very possible that some of these might be repeats from previous FFOs although I have tried to invent more ‘open ended’ prompt that can be interpreted differently and also prompts that relate to emotions. Finally, don’t struggle with any of these, this is meant to be a fun way of highlighting books. If you can’t come up with a book you think fits for a particular week use a freebie – perhaps a recent read for example:
From the start of 2023 I will no longer be using themes for the Friday Face Off but will be hoping to use current reads or look at previous books pre blogging, or simply shine a bit of a spotlight on some books that I’ve not looked at previously.
Countdown to 2023 – Day 30 ‘Family and Friends’ (1 day remaining)
30 December 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: CK McDonnell, Countdown to 2023, family and Friends, Love will tear us apart, The Stranger Times series, This Charming Man
Today is day 30 of my countdown to 2023 – woot, only one day remaining. Today’s prompt is ‘Family and Friends ’. The prompts can be found here if you want to join in. I’m hoping to use mostly books read this year. Let’s begin:
FAMILY AND FRIENDS (A book with great characters)
I’ve gone for a series that I’m really enjoying and where the characters are fantastic. This is an urban fantasy based in Manchester in the UK (so I confess I have a soft spot immediately for that reason alone) but, on top of that this is packed with great imagination and I love reading it. The Stranger Times series by CK McDonnell. Book 1 is The Stranger Times, followed by This Charming Man and the most recent instalment Love Will Tear Us Apart which was just amazing. My review will be up soon.
Tomorrow: Bottle of Bubbly – Your first read for 2023
Countdown to 2023 – Day 29 ‘Christmas Cactus’ (2 days remaining)
29 December 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Alice Feeney, Christmas Cactus, Countdown to 2023, Daisy Darker
Today is day 29 of my countdown to 2023. Today’s prompt is ‘Christmas Cactus ’. The prompts can be found here if you want to join in. I’m hoping to use mostly books read this year. Let’s begin:
CHRISTMAS CACTUS (A seasonal read)
So, by a ‘seasonal read’ I’ve chosen a book that is great to read at this time of year. A book with a murder mystery set on an isolated island with stormy weather making the chances of escape none existent. This was an addictive read with a twisted ending that I really didn’t expect. I heartily recommend this book. Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
Tomorrow: Family and Friends – A book with great characters
Can’t Wait Wednesday : The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt
28 December 2022
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Can't Wait Wednesday, Patrick deWitt, The Librarianist, Wishful Endings
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that was originally created by Breaking the Spine. Unfortunately Breaking the Spine are no longer hosting so I’m now linking my posts up to Wishful Endings Can’t Wait Wednesday. Don’t forget to stop over, link up and check out what books everyone else is waiting for. If you want to take part, basically, every Wednesday, we highlight a book that we’re really looking forward to. This week my book is : The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt. Here’s the cover and description:
From bestselling and award-winning author Patrick deWitt comes the story of Bob Comet, a man who has lived his life through and for literature, unaware that his own experience is a poignant and affecting novel in itself.
Bob Comet is a retired librarian passing his solitary days surrounded by books and small comforts in a mint-colored house in Portland, Oregon. One morning on his daily walk he encounters a confused elderly woman lost in a market and returns her to the senior center that is her home. Hoping to fill the void he’s known since retiring, he begins volunteering at the center. Here, as a community of strange peers gathers around Bob, and following a happenstance brush with a painful complication from his past, the events of his life and the details of his character are revealed.
Behind Bob Comet’s straight-man facade is the story of an unhappy child’s runaway adventure during the last days of the Second World War, of true love won and stolen away, of the purpose and pride found in the librarian’s vocation, and of the pleasures of a life lived to the side of the masses. Bob’s experiences are imbued with melancholy but also a bright, sustained comedy; he has a talent for locating bizarre and outsize players to welcome onto the stage of his life.
With his inimitable verve, skewed humor, and compassion for the outcast, Patrick deWitt has written a wide-ranging and ambitious document of the introvert’s condition. The Librarianist celebrates the extraordinary in the so-called ordinary life, and depicts beautifully the turbulence that sometimes exists beneath a surface of serenity.
Expected publication : May 2023
