#BookBingo – Travelling Back in Time

This year I am joining in once again with Book Bingo hosted by Theresa, Amanda and Ashleigh and this round I am checking off Travelling Back in Time with The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams. It was a bit of a struggle to think of a time I would like to travel back …

#BookSnapSunday – Castle Rackrent

This is not the Book Snap that I had originally planned a few days ago. We were meant to spend yesterday at Dicky Beach, near Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, catching up with friends from South Australia. Dan was very excited about going to the beach and knowing that we were going to be at …

#BookSnapSunday – a product of endless books

A few days can be a very short time. Only last BookSnap I was reflecting on our need to be ruthless with our book collection and weed out those that were never likely to be read again. And then, just a few days later, I came across this quote by C. S. Lewis about growing …

Reading the Canon

It is hard to believe that semester two is here already. After the interruptions and stress of semester one, the break seemed to fly by in no time. I had such high hopes of all the things I wished to achieve during the break, but very little came to fruition. I was feeling really quite …

#BookSnapSunday – Wide Sargasso Sea

Visitors to our place often comment on our extensive book collection. As avid readers we do have a lot of books and it can be very difficult to part with such dear friends. Some are long time favourites. Some are still waiting to be read. And others have been read at some point in the …

#BookBingo – Prize Winner

I missed Book Bingo in June. With the stress of assignments and exams I was otherwise occupied, but today I am checking off the Prizewinner square with Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce (1920-2006). First published in 1958, it won the Carnegie Medal and is still credited as "one of the best-loved children's books ever …

#BookSnapSunday – Here Be Dragons!

It’s quite possible that this dragon themed post is inspired by our recent burst of cold weather. This morning was one of those days when you would rather stay in bed and seriously consider hibernation. Do dragons hibernate? Smaug seemed to have slept for a long time before desolating Laketown in fire and ash. At …

#BookSnapSunday – The Dictionary of Lost Words

"Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary,  how potent … they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them!"  Nathaniel Hawthorne The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams In 1901, the word bondmaid was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is …

#BookSnapSunday – Philippa Gregory

I haven't quite got back into the rhythm of reading yet. Current events are proving to be very distracting and worrying, but pictured here is my Philippa Gregory shelf. As a history student, of course I love Philippa Gregory. She brings to life the various kings, queens and consorts of the royal court of England. …

#BookSnapSunday – Tom’s Midnight Garden

When Tom is sent to stay at his aunt and uncle's house for the summer, he resigns himself to weeks of boredom. But as he lies awake in his bed he listens to the grandfather clock chiming in the hall downstairs. Eleven...Twelve...Thirteen... Thirteen! Tom races down the stairs and finds, outside the back door, a …