Bookcase Progress part 2

WHEE! I have a bookcase! It is almost finished, but as it is now, I can put books on it!

So... what did we do? Well, I didn't read anywhere near as much as I was hoping over my holiday. In fact, I read less than I usually do while working! But, you don't want to hear that. Let me get on with the bookcase!

 After we managed to get the perfectly square base set against a particularly non-square or straight wall (that took effort, folks. Imagine trying to put a square in a circle.) we then started putting the actually bookcase part together. We assembled it sideways, working from the corner to the doorway. It took us an entire day to do two sections because, with the risk of repeating myself, the lack of straight lines just made everything so darned difficult. Both my mom and I wanted it to look perfect, and that meant that we didn't want gaps behind the bookcase. The other delay was that it was ever so slightly a bit heavy.

As you can see on the left, we would screw the shelves into the upright and then raise it. Next, we would screw the shelves into the next upright and raise it too. One of us would hold the thing up, while the other would screw like crazy.

I am now an expert at screwing. (Oi! You have a dirty mind!) Pine is not the softest of woods out there and screws don't just land in the right place. We drilled holes in the uprights for the screws, but they went into the shelves without. I was convinced at one point that I would be returning to work with one arm looking like The Hulk's, and the other as normal as ever.

The second day of assembly went so much better. By then, the only thing we were concerned about was that all the tweaking we had had to do would have moved the top piece beyond the edge of the base. Thank Merlin that was not the case. This project started to resemble Mark Watney's time on Mars...

 In case you are wondering how we got the shelves level, you will note that only every other shelf is screwed in. The others rest on clear plastic shelf pegs. I did not want my shelves uneven and the method we had thought of to get it that way without pegs would have required Gummyberry juice, radio active toxic waste dips and a stretch on a non-deserted island filled with danger. In other words, strength to the point where one might wonder if magic was involved. So we didn't do that in the end - obviously.

The first night, I emptied all my bookcases and planted books. I started off trying out the rainbow effect, because I have always thought it looked pretty although I knew it would drive me nuts as far as organisation goes. That lasted until I was too tired, and then they were just put there. This was to clear my other, older bookcases. I then broke those down and, between my mom and I, we stripped off the old paint and redid them. I can't say that they are now in the most logical place in my room, but at least I can now get to all my books (and sleep without the security light on my neighbour's house shining directly in my window at night).

You are probably wondering why I am saying that the bookcase is almost finished. Well, the top pieces that go up against the ceiling must still go in, and the part that goes above the door must still be done. We didn't want to cut the wood until we knew for certain exactly the size we would need (I refer you back to the issues with putting squares in circles and my walls not being straight. They look like brackets actually.) I will probably save that for a long weekend (one is coming up next month) or the next holiday.

Now I need to sort out my books and revert back to my more comfortable alphabetical arrangement.

Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell

I was curious. I also enjoy Jen Campbell's booktube channel and wanted to support her, so I bought one of her books!

This was hilarious! I read it out loud to my mom, and she and I both sat around laughing and the dumb things people can say. Of course, reading it in one sitting was not probably the best way to get the most out the book, as I found that, after a few pages, I would find some things less funny than others. If I had taken my time and dragged it out, I probably would have laughed harder and more often.

I would recommend this book to people who need to tighten their tummy muscles. (I found one particular entry so funny, my stomach hurt from laughing.) I also think booksellers would enjoy this - and book lovers.

I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads because, for a quick humorous read, it did everything it was supposed to.

This is the 45th book I have read for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

I am grinning from ear to ear. Can you tell?

Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy gave me hours of enjoyment for the past two weeks.

Now, how am I to review a trilogy? I suppose I talk about book 1 (a bit) and then leave the rest up to you. OK, so book 1, The Final Empire...

The Final Empire is ruled by a tyrant. The skaa are forced to work as slaves, receiving only meal tokens in payment for their services while the nobility attend balls and enjoy the riches of a better life. This is enforced by obligators and inquisitors. Surviving is difficult. Mists shroud the land at night, terrifying the skaa into remaining indoors, and ash falls from the sky, covering the world (and plants) making everthing dirty and food hard to grow.  Vin is a teenager who has grown up as a thief on the streets. Life is horrid for her, until the day she meets Kelsier, a mistborn, who shows her that she also has the rare power. Of course, Kelsier is also planning a rebellion...

Mistborn was marketed for a YA audience so it is really quite an easy read. It does not mean that the plot is simple or that there are aspects of adult fantasy that are missing. It has a complex and magnificent magic system which makes so much sense. It is simple to understand, but I admire Sanderson for thinking of it. I have never encountered a system like it before. The world is also well done. Even the religions are detailed and interesting. In the later books, even the politics is advanced. I liked how Sanderson didn't have the characters have all the answers, and make mistakes.

Characters grow and develop during these books. In the beginning of book one, Vin is a quiet girl who aims to not be seen. That is not her at the end of that book, and the character she becomes by the final book is a gazillion miles away from that timid mouse she was initially. Her change is gradual and logical. Oh, and can I just state here how awesome it is, again, to have a female character who can kick butt. I liked how Sanderson did not remove her femininity even though she was the fighter.
I also enjoyed that all the characters had their own distinctive voices. Oh, and even the main characters had flaws in their logic and prejudices. That was pleasant, as I thought it was far more realistic and gave them more depth. It also allowed for me to be able to make my own opinions and not rely on the characters too much. That is also rather rare in books.

I would recommend this series particularly to readers who are wanting to get into fantasy. I think readers who are used to Tolkien and other adult fantasy writers might find some aspect of this series a bit young, but even then, as this is an enjoyable read, it is still very possible they would enjoy it too. Folks with severe ADHD might suffer a bit through books 2 and 3 where the politics is being dealt with, as there is little action.

These are the 42nd to 44th books I have read for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge.
I gave The Final Empire (#1) and The Hero of Ages (#3) 5 stars and The Well of Ascension (#2) 4 stars on Goodreads. If I had to rate the series as a whole, I would probably give it 5 stars. It was really well-constructed and definitely not tossed together like a green salad. Sanderson put a lot of thought into this!

The Harry Potter Tag

Many folks on Booktube have done this and I have loved listening to all their answers.Here is my input!

This is in honour of the fact that yesterday, 8 years ago (wow, it has been that long!!!) I was standing in a queue in London in Charing Cross Road, waiting to buy my copy of Deathly Hallows!

WARNING: If you have not read (or watched - but come now, read them!) the series, back away from this page right now. There will be SPOILERS! (Obviously!)

Favourite book
That would probably be Goblet of Fire. The Triwizard Tournament, the dragons, the hilarity of Harry finding a date... But most of all, my favourite chapter was Flesh, Blood and Bone. I know it is dark, but it was beautifully chilling. It was also the point where I knew for sure that this was going to be serious. Sometimes, I have encountered books where I have felt that the bad guy was really not worth the hassle. Voldemort was not such a villain. He earned my respect, and my fear for Harry multiplied off the charts. I also got completely obsessed with this one during the, (What was it, 3 year?), wait for Order of the Phoenix.

Favourite movie
This is a tough one to answer! I loved the charm and magical setting created in the first two. I loved how Alfonso Cuaron captured the fear of the dementors and added the darkness to the series. I did have a few issues with some changes to the book though - and the omissions. I loved what Mike Newell did to Hogwarts and the kids (they were far more like real teenagers). And dang! Those dragons looked real! David Yates did a fantastic job too. I liked how he did all of Umbridge's rule changes (Imelda Staunton did a magnificent job of bring my most hated character to life)  and the Daily Prophet. He also gave me goosebumps with the cave in Half Blood Prince. And who can forget the fall of Hogwarts? I actually teared up there. It was like watching everything finally come to an end, literally and figuratively and friggin metaphorically too. I can't choose! Possibly Deathly Hallows part 2. Or Goblet of Fire, because it was fun and had an awesome soundtrack! I really liked them all, although I feel that Azkaban doesn't quite match the others. It is a bit more artistic.

Least favourite book
Another tough one. Can I chicken out and claim Deathly Hallows for the ugliest cover of the lot? More seriously, I would say maybe Deathly Hallows, or at least the camping and hiking part. I had no objection to it during my first read, but I really struggle to get through that part when rereading it. It seems that not a lot happened. But, saying that, it is still way up there on the list of books I have read that I love. (Maybe it also has something to do with it also ending the series.)

Parts of the books/movies that made you cry
If I hadn't been in company while reading Deathly Hallows, I probably would have cried over Dobby and Hedwig. My heart did break when Mrs Weasley hugged Harry after Cedric had been killed in GoF and we realise that he had never (as far as he could remember at least) been held like that, a motherly, loving hug.

As to the movies, I already confessed to getting very teary eyed over Hogwarts 'falling' in Deathly Hallows. The caption, 'It all ends here' is exactly how I felt watching that. No more books, no more movies. It was the end  in so many ways and that realisation hit with the force of an Avada Kedavra spell during that scene.

If you could hook up with any HP character who would it be?
Well, it would be fun to hook up with George Weasley. Some of my favourite characters, though, were Hermione, Ginny, Dobby and Tonks, but as Tonks and Dobby are no more (thanks Jo!), I guess I would settle for having a nice chat with one of the other girls. In fact, let's go with Ginny. It must have been quite the experience growing up with six brothers. While it would be fun to hear about all the Weasley boys, I think she would make an interesting character to get to know in her own right. To be honest though, the character that I would really want to hook up would be Harry. Which leads me to the next question...

Favourite character
Harry. He had guts. I loved that after Sirius died in Order of the Phoenix, he gathered himself together and then chose to go on. He didn't wait for destiny to find him. He accepted it. Which is a lot better than hiding under the bed and hoping Voldemort won't find you. He took control of his life and faced it head on. I also felt that, considering his upbringing, he could have turned out to have a lot weaker character. But he didn't. Harry was awesome! I loved him.

What would your Patronus be?
A tabby cat. Or a staffie. (This has nothing to do with my pets - I promise *whistles innocently*) I mean, look at the face! He would be delighted to protect me!

If you could have the Resurrection Stone, Invisibility Cloak or the Elder Wand which one would you choose?
I can't say that I would have use for any, although I could see how anyone would be tempted with the Resurrection Stone. What I wouldn't do to have another chat with my dad. I suppose I would go for the wand. I live in a dangerous country and it would be nice to do some magical self defence and zap someone's ass! (Nope, I didn't learn my lesson there, apparently.)

What House would you be in?
This is hard to answer. I was always put in Gryffindor in the past in all those online quizzes. I did, after all, head off to live in a country where no one spoke English and I didn't speak Korean. But to be honest, I could easily see myself in Ravenclaw too. I think I also have a bit of a Slytherin in me. I would not, however, make it to Hufflepuff. I am a procrastinator, and if it weren't for the last minute, I would never get anything done. It's a bit difficult to work hard at something whilest putting it off. Although, having said that, loyalty is something I have a lot of. Let's go Gryffindor (with Ravenclaw tendencies) because I would ask the hat to put me with Gryffindor.


IF you could meet any member of the cast who would it be?
Well, I have met Jason Isaacs and got his autograph! That was pretty cool. (Although strangely odd that of all the characters from the cast I would meet in real life, the one I did was responsible for the deaths of so many other on-screen heart-throbs.) I also saw Dan from not too far away. I think if I had a choice now, it would be Emma Watson. I admire what she is doing with He for She.

I would be completely happy to meet anyone from the cast though. I am a sucker for all things Harry Potter.

Have you played any of the video games?
Pfft. Naturally! I have played at least 1 through to 4. (My friend has them and we would play together when I would go and visit. It has been a couple of years though, so it is a bit vague now.)

IF you were on the Quidditch team which position would you play?
You're joking right! I would be the commentator. If there were no other members in my house to play, I would probably go for beater. (I might be able to whack a bludger, but at least the opposition wouldn't score if I messed up - unless the bludgers took out the rest of the team.) Trust me, they would not want me there! I can talk a lot though....

Were you happy with the ending?
It was ok. I think my biggest gripe was that they named all their kids after fallen heroes. At least the ending did bring a conclusion and the feeling that "all was well", which I appreciated after having my life and soul turned upside down for all those years. Ideally though, I don't know if it was what I would have chosen. There could have been far worse though. (Sweet, I remembered that avatar from yeeeears ago. Glad to see it still exists!)

How much does Harry Potter mean to you?
Wow. How can I put all of this into words! At least this isn't on Twitter! I met my best friend as a result of Harry Potter. I have had the best weekend of my life because of Harry Potter (she and I met up in London for a weekend - seriously!) I started reading again because of Harry Potter (I had finished my degree and was convinced that I should only read intellectual books. Only thing was, I was burnt out on intellectual books and I could not find anything I loved. And then I met Harry.). I started writing again because of Harry Potter. I found something to be passionate about. I met people who I could share that passion with. I lived those stories. I laughed, giggled and sniffed my way through those books so many times, I cannot even say how often I have reread them. By now you are probably thinking I am weird. You might be right. But Harry captured me completely. It reawakened my imagination, my creativity and made me passionate about something. And as I cannot  not finish a series, and I was constantly being left to hang in tortuous limbo while Jo wrote the next one.

Some Harry Potter memories
(This is not a part of the tag)

This is me at school dressed as Bellatrix Lestrange. (It helps to go as bad guys. Usually more fun for the make up, and extra fun to act mean for the day.) If you think that looks crazy, (although the light in the pic has lightened my dark circles etc. and my hair! Wow, I should try going that colour!), then you should have seen me go as Elphaba Thropp from Wicked. Green, folks. I went GREEN!

And then, as all HP fans do when they actually get to go to London do ... (Yes, this girl from Africa went to England because of a book! TWICE!) Yip, I popped onto Platform 9 3/4! That was a part of the best weekend of my life! Three days of just having way too much fun! I saw Dan in Equus (although I was just a wee bit embarrassed at that), I saw Jason Isaacs in The Dumb Waiter (he remained dressed; I was a lot more comfortable) and then went fangirling over Sherlock Holmes at 221B Baker street. And that entire weekend was all a result of having met my best friend because of Harry Potter.

Yeah. Harry Potter has been the cause of so many great things in my life! Thanks Jo!

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Shew! This is going to be a difficult book to review, because there is so much to say. So much to say, if fact, that I am already dreading trying to make it coherent.

“No more Internet. No more social media, no more scrolling through litanies of dreams and nervous hopes and photographs of lunches, cries for help and expressions of contentment and relationship-status updates with heart icons whole or broken, plans to meet up later, pleas, complaints, desires, pictures of babies dressed as bears or peppers for Halloween. No more reading and commenting on the lives of others, and in so doing, feeling slightly less alone in the room. No more avatars.”

― Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven

First off, I loved this. Station Eleven is a very clever book. It isn't just an apocalyptic book. The story starts just before the characters learn of the 'cause' of the apocalypse. It begins during a stage production of King Lear and the actor playing Lear, Arthur Leander, falls down and dies of a heart attack on stage. A man in the audience, Jeevan, tries to save him while a young girl, Kirsten, one of the cast members, watches. The story then jumps ahead 20 years, and we follow Kirsten, who is a member of a travelling group of actors.

Station Eleven doesn't have a protagonist as such. It follows the lives of these people, in a not-necessarily-chronologically order. The only thing these people have in common is that they are directly, or indirectly, connected to the dead actor.

This story explores interesting theories on the world and how it would change in the event of a disaster such as this occurring. Naturally. not all of these scenarios are pleasant, but I feel that there is a lot of accuracy in this telling.

I am looking forward to rereading this book in a few months. It was well constructed, and I fear that I missed too many things because it has been a couple of decades since I read King Lear. (It does not require the reader to be familiar with Shakespeare's plays, but I think that a reader who is will get a lot more out of this.) I think I will give it another go next year sometime, after giving King Lear a reread.

I suppose that, at the end of the day, that is really what anyone would want to hear. Yes, it is fine to dedicate a few hours of your life to this one. It would not be a waste of time. I do not necessarily think that everyone would love this, but I definitely did.

I gave this 5 stars on Goodreads.
This is the 41st book I have read for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge.

The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer

“WHO’S GOT A TAMPON? I JUST GOT MY PERIOD, I will announce loudly to nobody in particular in a women’s bathroom in a San Francisco restaurant, or to a co-ed dressing room of a music festival in Prague, or to the unsuspecting gatherers in a kitchen at a party in Sydney, Munich, or Cincinnati. Invariably, across the world, I have seen and heard the rustling of female hands through backpacks and purses, until the triumphant moment when a stranger fishes one out with a kind smile. No money is ever exchanged. The unspoken universal understanding is: Today, it is my turn to take the tampon. Tomorrow, it shall be yours. There is a constant, karmic tampon circle. It also exists, I've found, with Kleenex, cigarettes, and ballpoint pens.”

― Amanda Palmer, The Art of Asking

Have you ever had that experience where you are curious about someone and then they go and publish a memoir? I'm sure you have. Well, that is what happened with me here. I adore Neil Gaiman, so I wanted to know what his wife was like. So I bought and read her memoir.

I got over the 'it is by Neil Gaiman's wife' very early into the book. Amanda Palmer became an artist in her own right. To give a little bit of info about Amanda Palmer (all of this I learnt in the book), after she left her record label, she used Kickstarter to fund her next project. She had the most successful Kickstarter project, raising over a million.

While this book does cover her career from start to present, it also covers so much more. It covers relationships with people - not just the 'special someone' in one's life, but everyone, including strangers. Let me touch briefly on one point that is to do with a relationship with that 'special someone': Amanda was really sick shortly after she and Neil Gaiman were married. She ended that chapter rather miserably, saying, surely she shouldn't have to ask. Surely he should know. I thought that was profound. I think it is too easy to assume that the special someone should know when you need help. I think this is where the art of asking really peaks. It is not about 'how to ask' but that you should ask.

Her focus on connecting with people was inspiring. I am going to try and take it to the classroom. Really make the kids feel that I am seeing them. She says in the book that people don't want to get looked at, they want to be seen. It is about making connections with people.

I have included the video to the TED Talk she gave on this topic. The book is a much more fleshed out version of this speech, and it covers new angles and aspects as well, but everything she mentions here is in the book too. It is probably a good way for one to test whether they are interested in it or not.

There are so many nuggets of wisdom in this book. One thing that I think is very relevant is the cyclical nature of giving and receiving. Just as with the tampon story above (the is how the book starts) the artist gives their music which helps people, so the financial 'gift' the people give in return helps the artist. But for the rest of us who are not artists, we also fall into the giving and receiving cycle.

“Asking for help with shame says:
You have the power over me.
Asking with condescension says:
I have the power over you.
But asking for help with gratitude says:
We have the power to help each other.”

― Amanda Palmer, The Art of Asking

OK, I will stop there. I am finding it very difficult to comment on this because it is not written as a self-help book. The nuggets are there for the reader to unearth and appreciate - which I think gives this far more credibility.

On a slightly more negative side, I should probably say that I did feel that she mentioned being a living statue for a huge chunk of the book. While I understand where she was coming from and the importance that the 'statue trade' had on her outlook, I did start to feel that there was only so much one could say about silently giving someone a flower in response to them putting some money in a hat.

Who do I think will enjoy this? Well, fans of Amanda Palmer's would - but then, they don't need me to tell them that. I think people who are wanting to get into any field that is artsy would get something of value out of this. In fact anyone could get something of value out of this. I wouldn't say that this is for everyone, but it is good to read something of value over something enjoyable occasionally. Because the book is broken up into smaller parts (I am not just talking chapters here), some a few lines, others a couple of pages, this book is actually very good to read over a period of time. There are many places where one can stop for the night and pick up something else.

This is the 40th book I have read for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge.

I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads because I really appreciated many of the ideas in this book.

The Martian by Andy Weir

This has to be the most entertaining read I have had in a long time.

As a kid I loved survival stories. I thought the idea of finding water and food out in the middle of nowhere an exciting challenge. But, that is nothing. What would one do if they were stranded on Mars? Food, water? There is no air even! That is the challenge that Mark Watney faces.

Now, let me just state for the record that if I were stranded on Mars, my log would not be perky. I would have an instant sense of humour failure of epic proportions. Fortunately Mark Watney is nothing like me. He is hilarious! I woke up half the house laughing at the things he said. (That is no exaggeration. My mom did get her revenge though, as she laughed her way through the book a day after I was done with it.)

Watney, besides his wonderful personality, is also quite brilliant. He makes MacGyver look like an underachiever (although they both have a lot of respect for duct tape), and makes Bear Grylls look like an amateur. Finding water on earth is easy, man. Try figuring that out on Mars!

I really enjoyed the science in his book. I loved Watney and his sense of humour. I enjoyed the plot, and the suspense made me chew all my nails away. If anything in that brief list sounds appealing to you, then give this book a go.

Just as an FYI,  I would read the book before watching the trailer for the movie because it shows pretty much everything except the last 30 pages or so. It's a big spoiler.

Talking about the movie, I wonder how they are going to capture Watney's humour. I am guessing the log approach won't work on the screen. Oh well, here is to me actually wanting to watch a movie based on a book. It does not happen often. (Last time was Harry Potter!)

I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads, although I should probably bump it up to a 5. I loved reading this too much for it to be a 4 star book (and it does take a lot to make me laugh out loud at anything).

This is the 39th book I have read for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge.

Bookcase progress

A couple of weeks ago I said that my mom and I are making a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookcase for my room. Wow, is it taking a long time! (Which is why I have only read 2.5 books this month so far!)

Here is a 'quick' progress report.

The Before shot: (We never usually remember to take these in our household!)

 I couldn't get the whole thing in the picture. Ever so inconveniently I have a wall behind me. (It would be great if there was no wall there and the room was bigger.)

There are a couple of things to notice: The dodgy bridge between the two 6 foot bookcases that is drooping a bit in the middle. Super safe, I tell ya! I am a firm believer in extreme reading. Then there is the bookcase behind my bed, which is completely inconvenient for finding books (especially since they are packed on double), but extremely convenient for the reading light. I will miss that reading light, although I already have a plan... Watch this space.


And then the 'trashing the room' process began. In the beginning it was fun! And then I realised just WHAT I had got myself into. And putting that bookcase on my toe wasn't the motivator I needed either.

(That bookcase held my classics, old English, poetry and uni textbooks for the subjects I liked and/or still need to refer to for teaching. The bridge began my fiction books in alphabetical order (of author - do I need to add that?). The right side 6' bookcase and the white one on the wall continued with that. The little one behind my bed either hosted books that I am not a huge fan of, or books that I loved but were bought second hand donkey's years ago and look rather dreadful.)

I could technically show you four photographs of my bookcases as they stand now. But, they all look like this. It makes finding the next book to read rather tricky although it is a great way to really load up bookshelves.

So that part of the process took two days. Yes. TWO DAYS! I thought it would take two hours! I guess I misjudged that a bit. Although, as my biannual serious book-dusting job (I do less vigorous dusting roughly every two weeks) takes almost a week I suppose the penny should have dropped at some point.

Since the destruction of my room, my mom has been a champion, sawing the shelves and and putting together the base unit. I didn't want my books to go right down to the floor as they get dusty really quickly down there, and I feel that they are more likely to get damaged by the animals. I sound like I am obsessed with dust. I am not. I am obsessed with books. I would also prefer to spend my spare time reading and not cleaning, so prevention being better than cure and all that stuff, right!

While Mom was doing that, I was up the ladder painting the wall the bookcase is going to go on. I chose a dark colour. It is a brownish-pink, and a lot darker than it looks in the picture below. I also did the side walls for about a metre in an off-white shade of the same colour. (The rest will be painted when I can move further than a metre into my room.) I wanted the wall behind the books to be darker as I figured that a darker paint would make any smudges etc. less noticeable. I don't want to have to try and paint it in a few years and try and not paint the shelving. (I will spend a fortune on masking tape alone when that time arrives.)


So this is the base unit, before we screwed it into the wall. (It is now firmly attached and the doors stay closed. Yay!) That was a mission to fit, because my mom made it perfectly square, but the people who built our house had obviously not heard of the word 'square'. The walls actually banana in a curve and they put more plaster on the bottoms of the walls so the walls look to angle a bit. (No, it isn't going to fall down. Promise. It isn't noticeable with the naked eye, but put a straight piece of wood against it, and suddenly there is a problem.) It took us four days of fiddling and faffing to get it to fit. By then, mom and I were feeling rather tired and a bit fed up. (You know how you feel when it seems nothing will go right?) I should also point out that, in that picture, the wall looks a dang side smaller than it is. That portion is almost 3 metres!


In the mean time, I have been doing the rest of the wood. (I wanted it all sanded and varnished before putting it up, as it will be easier in the long run and I won't get paint all over the freshly painted walls either.) So this is what I have been doing.

Side note: When people ask for preferred winter reads, let me point out now that this picture was taken last week, in the middle of winter, at about 4pm. I don't 'seasonalise' my reading. I don't really have seasons. Winter is perhaps 10 degrees cooler than summer.

Going back to the topic: I have been painting and painting and painting, with a magnificent vanish, Woodoc. It isn't like the cheap varnishes out there that actually make the wood go orange. This brings out the buttery tones of the pine and, up close, they look like tigers eye (the stone, not the animal). The solvents in the stuff though, I have had it up to here with the smell. (My hand is pointing up high, very high.) I made a pun. Did you see?

With luck, tomorrow will be the last day of painting and then there will be THE ASSEMBLY. I can't wait!

So, I am guessing that, if you have read up to here, you might have a few questions.

Why on earth are my mom and I doing this?
Well, you have to meet my mom. She could have been McGuyver's mother. She can do ANYTHING! She does wedding cakes of the highest quality (she actually was taught a bit by the guy who did them for the royal family), she can do body work on cars, she can build, she sews (all my clothes as a kid were homemade and better than anything you could buy), knits... There is nothing my mom cannot do. She loves doing this kind of thing.
Then there is also a bit of a feminist thing to this. This is just one case. We bumped into a friend of my dad's when we were buying more sandpaper and odds and ends. He is a retired carpenter. (Also did amazing work.) When he heard what we were doing, although I know his comment was not meant maliciously, it was patronising. "We must give him tips." Really, he did it for a living for decades. What he was really saying was that we couldn't do it. But this is not the first project that we have tackled, nor was that the most condescending comment we have received by far. We are constantly being treated like idiots at the hardware store. In fact, I can count two occasions when we weren't. Hell, we have even had to go and find salesmen when it comes to powertools, because they just ignore us. Why can't we do this because we are women? Seriously?! So, because we are women, we are going to do it, and we are going to do it well.

Your next question, whether you are asking it or not, I am going to answer too:

What is a 37-year-old doing living with their mother?
Well, my dad died 3 years and 8 days ago. I moved back to help my mom out, especially since my grandmother lives here too, and she is 93-years-old and comes from the clan McLeod. It has added some complications (like the fact that I have, or more correctly, had, furniture and a kitchen and ... you get the drift; and that I was quite happy with having a lot of space.) Mom and I merged our stuff, took the best out the duplicates and gave the rest away to Animal Welfare's secondhand shop. We get along like the Gilmore Girls though, so this arrangement actually works really well. It also beats coming home to an empty house.

Favourites for the First Half of 2015!

I have read some brilliant books this year so far. I thought I would be highly unoriginal and give a quick overview of the best (according to me).

 Winger is a good book for teen readers. I really enjoyed this, once I figured out how to ignore the main character's over-sexed imagination. Moriarty: the one book that completely and utterly had me stumped. It beat me. At least I am not in bad company on that one. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (and the remained of the series) are gripping thrillers. The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a beautifully written series capturing the lives of some people in Botswana. Beautiful in its writing and wisdom, this is a good series for folks who would like to read a book(s) set somewhere besides the USA or UK.

 The Perks of Being a Wallflower is also a good read for teens. It would probably suit teens older than Winger's crowd. The themes are similar in some respects, but Perks covers a lot more. Good read, good book, good thoughts. Dark Places is another gripping read from Gillian Flynn. If you like thrilling stories, then this one is for you. Hell, the pages practically turn themselves! World War Z was amazing. It is not your average zombie apocalypse novel, but a political and social commentary on different countries all over the world. Enlightening and definitely food for thought. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making is beautifully written. The plot keeps the pages turning, but there are some beautiful lines that I just got stuck on so that I could reread them.

 My two favourites for the year so far! Room was such a well planned book. The theme of this novel could have made this the darkest and freakiest and most unpleasant book to read, yet the narrator completely sold it with his innocence. I loved this one. 2am at The Cat's Pajamas was beautifully written. I loved the style of the story and I loved the story. I was still glowing the day after having read it!

Here is to hoping the 2nd half of 2015 is just as successful!

June 2015 Wrap Up

...coming to you traditionally late as I had to finish writing the reviews on the books I read in June.

June was quite the month! I got through 12 books! Woot! That makes it my most successful reading month this year, and that is something considering I was still working! It has also put me 6 books ahead of schedule! Can you sense the size of my smile? I bet you can.

The month started quietly with the memoir More Fool Me by Stephen Fry. Although I enjoy Fry's writing (to date), his persona on tv and his sense of humour, I found myself, for the first time, not enjoying something he had done. This memoir was disappointing. Even if I ignored the facts covered that were disappointing, the writing particularly towards the end, was a let down. I found it very repetitive, and I could not see the point in it being there at all. I did learn more about Hugh Laurie, though, and I enjoyed those bits.

Next up was Dune by Frank Herbert. I had had this book on my shelf for a long time and had been putting it off (for shallow reasons: butt-ugly cover and tiny print). It was time that I read it and so I did. I was quite impressed with this. I am not a huge reader of Sci-Fi so I really do not have much to compare Dune to. But as a whole, the story moved and kept my attention. I really appreciated the amount of detail Herbert went into in world building. There are some areas, thinking back on it, that did not feel completely right, but I cannot put my finger on it. Maybe it was that even though Paul was the protagonist and the mighty warrior/saviour of the people, he still seemed unknowable to me.

After Dune, I hit a play in a hunt for literature for a class at school. The Real Inspector Hound was a quick, hillarious read. I enjoyed how it satirised critics and how it mimicked a crime drama on stage. There were so many unexpected events that by the end, I gave up trying to predict and just enjoyed the outcome.

The Time-Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was the next book I finished. I went into this expecting something impressive, but instead I found myself disappointed. I will be honest (again) and reiterate that I am not a romance reader. I feel that there is more to being successful than landing a partner for life. I could not justify Clare's attraction for Henry (besides the fact that he would come and visit her when she was a child and that she had grown up knowing that she would marry him). I didn't think he was a great catch. I also felt that Clare did not have a great role in the story. Henry would travel through time, and she would basically sit and wait for him to return. I know I am simplifying it, but surely she could have been more than 'the time traveller's wife' and been something on her own?

The start of the Rainbow Readathon marked the beginning of a great stretch of reading. It began with Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. I enjoyed reading this. I found the plot original and I enjoyed how Sloan merged the old and new 'technologies' in the making of this book. I liked the characters too. And of course, it was set in a bookshop. What is there not to like?

Next up was The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente, whose title could be a novel on its own. I absolutely loved this. Although it has the feel of a children's book, I really don't think a child would get out of it what an adult would. There were some really awesome lines in it, and some of the ideas were inspired too. I think many folks out there would enjoy it - if they are prepared to give it a chance.

Last year I read Legion in Legion and The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson, a bind-up of two novellas. This month I moved the book to my mental 'read' pile by completing the second story, The Emperor's Soul. Although I think I was more impressed with the first story, I really enjoyed this one too. I had never read a scenario like the one he created in this book before, and I found it gripping. I was constantly wondering what was going to happen next. I think this book makes a good introduction to readers who are tempted to read Sanderson, but who are nervous at the size of Mistborn or his other books.

Once again, I decided to read a book that I had been ignoring because it was ugly: The Accidental Apprentice by Vikas Swarup (I sound horribly shallow, but this cover really is ugly - especially if you happen to not like orange.). This was a fun revisit to India again for me. I enjoyed the female characters in this, and loved how they were strong, independent and wise. I would recommend this one to readers who would like to start reading diversely, and would like a simple introduction to India. This book was very accessible and the plot did keep things moving.

I then decided to hit my favourite series of the year, and read The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith. This is the 4th book in The Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. This book was enjoyable again, but I am starting to find them a bit too similar to each other. I know, I know, that is what one would really want in a series. But the magic that I felt in the first two are no longer there. The book was still good, but it was not fantastic. I would still recommend this series to readers. I still plan on continuing them.

Next up: Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman. Some of the short stories in this collection were fantastic. It is no secret that I love Neil Gaiman's writing. Having a short story from him every night was my version of Christmas. There were some really awesome stories. With the risk of repeating myself again, I really loved The Man who Forgot Ray Bradbury, If you read no other short from this collection, make sure you read that one. Oh, and for fans of Doctor Who, there is a short story of the Doctor in there too. He captured the atmosphere of Doctor Who well.

The penultimate book for the month was Night Film by Marisha Pessl. While I rated this one fairly low (for me), I still enjoyed the reading experience. I can see why a lot of people would like it, especially with the webpages and files etc. in it. I should warn that the ending could be disappointing to some. I found it disappointing. But then there are others out there who liked it, so don't take my word on that one.

And finally! The best book of the month and possibly the year, 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino. I absolutely loved everything about this. I loved the style in which it was written, I loved the characters (even the not-so-nice ones), and I enjoyed the 'plot' - although it isn't plot heavy like a crime novel would be.

Shew! This is a long post! If I ever get round to Booktubing, I will look forward to doing these on video and not fixing a gazillion typos in the attempt to not look illiterate (my keyboard is acting up, and being 1am isn't helping matters).

Books read: 12
Books cleared for TBR challenge: 11
Books bought: 18 *gulp* (I am blaming it on the fact that I am getting a new bookcase, so for the first time in a long time, I am not worrying about space. Plus, my bookshop got in a huge selection of books I really wanted at a third of the normal price. Man! I was not going to put it off!)