Weekly Wrap Up : 11/03/18

Posted On 12 March 2018

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Talk about the best laid plans.  Haha, this week has been all about the best laid plans  -going to hell in a handcart.  Anyway, I got to read one book – yes ONE BOOK –  and I’m 50% into my other book so ….   And, today is Mother’s Day, so that was nice.  Hope you’ve all had a good week.

Books read:

  1. Master Assassins by Robert VS Redick

masterA

Next Week’s Reads:

  1. Planetfall by Emma Newman
  2. The Bitter Twins by Jen Williams – I’ve read 50%
  3. Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne

Upcoming reviews:

  1. Starborn by Lucy Hounsom
  2. Envy of Angels by Matt Wallace
  3. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham (Vintage Sci Fi book)
  4. Semiosis by Sue Burke
  5. Between the Blade and the Heart by Amanda Hocking
  6. Master Assassins by Robert VS Redick

I’d love to know what you’re reading this week.

On Mother’s Day

Posted On 11 March 2018

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To all the women out there – I salute you.  Mum’s, chums, aunts, grans, sisters, daughters,  everyone.  Have a great day. And, just for being you, here are a few fictional mums that I thought I’d share:

1. The Other Mother –  from Neil Gaiman’s Coraline.  She is one scary mother.  *shivers*.  Is there anything about her at all that is redeemable – I’m struggling to find it – although I suppose she’s acting true to character, even if that is rather dark and scary and with button eyes.  I couldn’t miss her off the list though.  Such a great book and a fantastic animation.

coraline

2. Molly Weasley from JKRowling’s Harry Potter.  You have to love her, she’s super mumsy but also ultimately kick ass when needs must.  You all know what I’m talking about:’

Not my daughter you bitch’

3. Cersei Lanister – GRRMartin’s Game of thrones.  Her own ambition leads to the downfall of her children.  Not an ideal role model for sure but makes for great reading and watching.

‘shame!’

4. Mercy  – from the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs.  She’s such a great friend and protector to Jesse (Adam’s) daughter.  She knows when to say something and what to say, when therapeutic shopping is needed and when cookies are the only thing that will help.

Mooncalled

5. Toby Daye’s mum from the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire – a mother who is largely absent.  I can’t say too much about her because it will be all spoilery but she’s a woman who has lost her grip on reality and has largely taken herself out of the picture.  However, she does make the odd appearance – and usually just when needed.  I haven’t read all the series so I’m still finding out where her story arc takes me.

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6. Phedre from Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series.  Thank goodness for Phedre!  Let’s just say that she goes to great lengths to rescue Imriel and then adopts him as her own.  She is pretty amazing.

7. Mrs Bennett – from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  Okay, she is a bit of a schemer, she does interfere a tad but her heart is in the right place.  And, anyway, everyone knows that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in need of a wife. Right?

Tell me your fictional mums that must go on the list.

 

‘…but Icarus flew too close’

FFO.jpg

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, compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite.   Future week’s themes are listed below. This week’s theme:

 ‘…but Icarus flew too close’ – a cover featuring the Sun

This week I had a book that didn’t work out because there was only one cover, I had a book that did work but was a bit sneaky and so the book I eventually found was :  Dune (Dune #1) by Frank Herbert:

I’m not sure which is my favourite this week.  I think I have a joint favourite:

Which is your favourite?

Next week – a cover featuring a doll or puppet

Future themes:

16th March – ‘I got no strings to hold me down’ – a cover featuring a doll or puppet

23rd March – “When she was a child, the witch locked her away in a tower that had neither doors nor stairs.” – a cover featuring a Tower

30th March – ‘A little soil to make it grow’ – a cover featuring seeds/spores

6th April –  “After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.” – a cover featuring a family

13th April – ‘lawns and rocks and heather and different sorts of trees, lay spread out below them, the river winding through it’ –  a cover featuring a panorama

20th April – Where there’s fire there’s… – a cover featuring smoke

27th April – ‘Those darling byegone times… with their delicious fortresses, and their dear old dungeons, and their delightful places of torture’ – a cover that is positively mediaeval 

4th May-  ‘A Hand without a hand? A bad jape, sister.’ – a cover featuring a hand/hands

11th May – ‘Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth’ – a cover featuring a dinosaur/s

18th May – ‘Let’s talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs;’ – a cover featuring a gravestone

25th May – Trip trap, trip trap, trip trap – a cover featuring footsteps

1st June – clinging and invasive – a cover featuring creeping vines

8th June – Raining Cats and Dogs – a cover featuring a stormy sky

Women’s History Month: Influential Female Authors through history

For the month of March the lovely Cupcakes and Machetes blog is running an event (inspired by the month of March being Women’s History Month) celebrating women’s achievements.  I thought I’d join in with this by listing a few female authors throughout history who have made a great contribution to the literary scene and whose works I have loved.  Below are three authors, with different styles of writing and stories that have given me much reading enjoyment over the years.  Gothic romance, gothic horror and murder mystery:

1. Charlotte Bronte – best known for Jane Eyre published under the Pseudonym Currer Bell.  Charlotte taught in a school and as a governess and her own experiences no doubt played into her works of fiction.  Charlotte and her sisters, Emily and Anne, all published their works under male names after being repeatedly rejected for publication.  She is an author who broke the mould, writing of a passionate woman who wasn’t afraid to stand up for her own desires or beliefs. Jane Eyre is a favourite of mine and a book that I have reread a few times.

janeeyre

2. Mary Shelley – a female writer who set out to write a ghost story and instead wrote, arguably, the first science fiction novel.  Frankenstein.  A gothic tale of creation and creator.  A fantastic book that really begs the question of who is the true ‘monster’ of the piece.  Shelley’s book was published anonymously with a foreword written by her husband – this of course led to speculation over whether she had actually written the book.  Frankenstein has maintained its ability to fascinate audiences through both the book and the many adaptations which it has inspired.

frankenstein

3. Agatha Christie – one of the most famous mystery writers.  Her two best known detectives are Poirot and Marple.  For a brief spell, back in the day, she became the centre of attention when she herself disappeared for a few days following a scandal concerning her husband.  Murder on the Orient Express is probably the most famous of her works but I’m very fond of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd:

rogerA

Of course there are lots of influential female writers.  Let me know who you would add to the list.

 

 

Waiting on Wednesday : Charmcaster (Spellslinger #3) by Sebastien de Castell

Can't Wait Wednesday

“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: Charmcaster (Spellslinger #3) by Sebastien de Castell – publication is very close!  March 17th – which is just as well because I’m hooked to this series and can’t wait to read on.

charmThe third book in the page-turning SPELLSLINGER fantasy series.

‘I was getting almost as good at running away from enemies as I was at making them in the first place. Turns out, I wasn’t running nearly fast enough.’

Kellen has begun to master his spellslinging and the Argosi tricks for staying alive, and he and Reichis have found a career that suits them both: taking down mercenary mages who make people’s lives miserable. But Ferius is concerned that Kellen is courting disaster . . .

Perfect for fans of The Dark Tower, Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Terry Pratchett, Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher.

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