This week....

I'm reading

Well, it's been a week! We have just gone through end of financial year which means it has been pretty full on. There are still some final tasks to be done, but we are definitely nearly there. Having said that, I still managed to get some reading done.

I finished The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak. As I mentioned last week I was really pleased that this book is predominantly set in the city of Konya in Turkiye which is a place that we visited a couple of months ago. I found this book a bit dense, but it was extremely interesting with lots of layers. I do enjoy this author's books and have already requested the next one from my library.

Next up I read In the Weeds by B K Borison which is the second book in the Lovelight Farms series. This is a very different read to the last book but it one that I found hard to put down!

Next up, I finished The King's Jewel by Elizabeth Chadwick. I count Chadwick as one of my favourite historical fiction authors and yet I hadn't read any of her books in years. It was so nice to be back reading one of her books. 

Next up, I started reading The Secrets of the Italian Guesthouse by Sue Moorcroft. I am on the blog tour for this book so my review will be up in a couple of days. If you are in the UK there is also a giveaway for this book so keep an eye out for the post which will be up on Wednesday. 

You would think that with all those books on the go I would know better than to just start another book that isn't a review book, isn't due back at the library, doesn't count for the Goodreads Summer Challenge or isn't on my 20 Books of Winter list. Apparently, my brain doesn't work that way so I started reading Don't Brake My Heart by Leonie Mack. Good thing it will at least count for Paris in July!

Last week I said that my next audiobook would be the latest Before the Coffee Gets Cold book. I did listen to the intro but now I have decided that I am going to listen to Unruly: The Ridiculous History of the Kings and Queens of England by David Mitchell. I have chosen this book for the Fact or Fiction prompt on the Goodreads Summer Challenge. I'll go back to the other one once I have finished this book

I am not sure how, but I managed to get through 16 books in June, and 9 of those counted for the 20 Books of Winter challenge. I gave several novels 4.5/5 but there was only one that I gave a 5/5 rating to and that was First Time Caller by B K Borison. Looking at the list now, I could probably have given one other book 5/5 which was This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page.

Books let our imaginations travel where our feet cannot - Nora Nguyen

Bookish travel

Here's where I travelled too through the pages of books during May

Europe

Ireland - Three Bags Full 

France - Piglettes

UK - This Book Made Me Think of You

Russia - War and Peace

Turkiye - The Forty Rules of Love

North America

First Time Caller, The Maid, Atmosphere, The Frozen River, Project Hail Mary

Australia

Queensland - Charlie's Last Angel

NSW - The Model Murder, Careful, He Might Hear You

WA - The Palace of Lost Virtue

SA - The Couples Retreat

Asia

Japan - We'll Prescribe You Another Cat

I'm watching

I started watching Eva Longoria: Searching for France over the weekend! So far we have watched 3 episodes and it is good, although she's no Stanley Tucci. Here's the trailer!

A couple of months ago we went to watch Project Hail Mary at the movies, which then prompted me to listen to the audiobook. We decided to watch the movie again while the movie was fresh in our minds. It has been really interesting to do this as there were things that I definitely didn't remember seeing the first time around. Of course, the book is more detailed than the movie and has more depth, but I do see myself watching this movie over and over!

The Tour de France has started! That means a few weeks of seeing beautiful scenery, amazing chateau's, big churches. Oh, and a few cyclists as well!





Life

Yesterday a friend and I went to see the Cartier exhibition which is currently on at the NGV. It was an absolutely gorgeous exhibitions of all things that glitter! Fabulous!

I will have a post up about the whole exhibition later in the week but here's a taster. And yes, that is a gigantic emerald in the middle of that piece!

We also tried a new brunch place this weekend! It has a very different vibe from the usual industrial style of most modern cafes! We will definitely be going back.

Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2026
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: July links
Paris in July: Beinvenue!
Paris in July: Since the last Paris in July
20 Books of Winter: July recap
Classics Club Spin: Careful, He Might Hear You by Sumner Locke Elliott

In My Kitchen: June

Six Degrees of Separation: Yesteryear to The Gilded Lily

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week

I'm reading

Another busy week reading wise! It is surprising in a way as it doesn't feel like I have a lot of reading time but I am making some good progress.

First I finished We'll Prescribe You Another Cat by Syou Ishida, which is the second book in the series. The third is due to be released later this year and I will read it! It's funny because I am not really a cat series, but I don't mind reading Japanese series that features cats.

Next up, I read Careful, He Might Hear You by Sumner Locke Elliott which was my selection for the current Classic Club Spin! I absolutely loved this. It was a really engaging read which I got through in just a couple of days, even though it is a pretty big book! This book also counts as a read for my read on a theme book club. This month the theme is Secrets

I then started Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak. This book is going to slow my reading down as it is pretty dense. I love that it is set in Konya though, which is a city in Turkiye that we visited on our recent trip.

On the audiobook front I finished Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir which I loved. The audio experience of this one was great!

My next audio book is Before I Knew I Loved You by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, the next book in the Before The Coffee Gets Cold series. I have only listened to the prologue so far though

I'm watching


A while ago now I read The Convenience Store by the Sea by Sonoko Machida and really enjoyed it. (my review). I only just learnt this weekend that they have made a TV version of the book, so I watched the first episode on Saturday. It is a bit kitschy but it is a lot of fun so far. 

We finished watching two series this week.  We finished watching the latest series of Welcome to Wrexham, which is always really good TV. 

The other series was The Ottoman Empire by Train which is hosted by British archaelogist Alice Roberts. This journey started in Turkiye, visiting cities like Ankara and Istanbul, and then on into Eastern Europe. It was very interesting! And it too visited Konya!

I also binged watched the third season of Stuff the British Stole. In this season, they talked about the English flag, a meteorite that was found in Victoria but is now in Britain, the history of tea and more. It is always very interesting viewing.

Here's the trailer

Life

It is end of financial year here which means that I am crazy, crazy busy. Not that I am not super busy the rest of the time too, but even more so this week. 

I could really have done with a quiet weekend but instead we had two very enjoyable events. 

On Friday night we went to see Post Modern Jukebox in concert. This is the second time I have seen them live. They do amazing versions of songs that you know really well and adapt them to the sounds of different musical eras. One of the highlights was a version of Every Breath You Take by The Police.

On Saturday night, we went to an amazing 5 course (plus some extra little morsels) Japanese dinner in the city. It was a delicious dinner, plus a cooking demonstration as we were shown how each dish was made, and then a cultural demonstration as well. There were drumming displays, judo demonstration and a musical performance. It was such a great night! I have so many food photos but I have resisted the urge and only shared the ones above!

Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: My Current Library Check Outs
The Palace of Lost Virtue by Anthea Hodgson
Weekend Cooking: Two South American movies
Sunday Salon: Rachael John's Book Club Reader Retreat




I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week....

I'm reading

I had to do some last minute reading for the Rachael John's Book Club Retreat weekend in the last week. 

First, I had to read The Palace of Lost Virtue by Anthea Hodgson which is a historical fiction novel about two women who live in the remote gold mining town of Kalgoorlie in the late 1800s. One of the women is a young Christian woman and the other is a jaded madam. It was a fun read.

Then I read The Couples Retreat by Mercedes Mercier, which I only finished with a couple of hours spare before the discussion!

Both of these books are on my 20 Books of Winter list, as is The King's Jewel by Elizabeth Chadwick. This book was on the list as I didn't get to it last year so I started it as soon as I could and I have made some good progress so far.

I did intend to start my Classics Spin read next but then I realised that I can't extend one of my library books, so needed to start that instead. That book was We'll Prescribe You Another Cat by Syou Ishida. This is a pretty quick read though and I am now maybe 2/3 of the way through even though I only started it this morning. 

I'm watching


Not much really!

Life


This weekend was the annual Rachael John's Book Club Retreat weekend. This year it was held in a regional city which is about an hour away from me, Geelong. It was another great event where you get to meet up with other book lovers, talk books all weekend, hang out with authors and generally have a great time. I am planning to write something more about this later this week so I will just say it was a lot of fun! I have already booked my ticket for next year!

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Authors I Am Looking Forward to Meeting at the Rachael Johns Book Club Retreat This Weekend

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Weekend Cooking: Hot Chocolate on Thursday by Michiko Aoyama

Thoughts on War and Peace

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week....

I'm reading

My big news this week....I finished War and Peace! Yes! I started this for the second time in January last year and was determined to finish it by June 30 and made it!

In other reading news, sometimes a book feels as though it was specifically written with me in mind, and that is definitely the case with This Book Made me Think of You by Libby Page. I loved it from beginning to end. I loved how bookish it was, it was sad but also hopeful, warm and uplifting! This will be on my best of list for 2026 for sure!

This week I also finished reading my first ever novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Atmosphere, which I read to fulfil two categories in the Goodreads Spring challenge. It is kind of funny that I was reading this book and listening to Project Hail Mary at the same time! I am making some progress with PHM, but it will be a while until I actually finish it.

I also finished reading The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon which was another Goodreads challenge read. It's my first book by her and it won't be my last.

Now I am reading The Model Murders by Amanda Hampson, which is the fourth book in the Tea Ladies series. It's so much fun visiting with these characters again!

We had our read on a theme book club meeting this weekend, and for the first time since we started this book club I didn't read a book to match the theme. I thinks on the shelf I could of read but they just didn't really appeal. The next theme is Secrets and I feel like both of the last two books I mentioned could fit for that theme!

I'm watching


On Friday night we went and saw a Peruvian movie called Mistura which is set in the 1960s in Lima and features a woman who needs to come up with a plan to save her house after her husband leaves her for a younger woman. It was very foodie and worth a watch!

On Satruday night we watched two movies. The first was a WWII file called Into the White which was set in Norway. It was based on a true story where a German plane crew and a British plane crew come together in a remove cottage in the middle of nowhere and have to work out how they are going to survive.

In a change of pace we then watched Office Romance which stars Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein as the boss and her lawyer who begin an inappropriate office relationship. I actually laughed out loud several times!

And for old times sake I watched First Wives Club with Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton as three women whose husbands left them for younger women.

Life

Not a lot to tell this week!

Max


Happy birthday to the Max! This good boi turned 4 this week! 

Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: Books with handwriting on the cover
Blog Tour: Charlie's Last Angel by Maggie Christensen
The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson
Afternoon Tea Diaries: Paradox at Oxi Tea Rooms
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: May statistics



I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week...

I'm reading

Do you ever feel like it doesn't matter how much you read, the amount of books that add to your TBR is always far greater than the number of books that you actually read! That is definitely the case for me at the moment.

I did get get through several books last week, and then I started or picked up other books that I had previously started and put down. 

I finished reading Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. We went to see the Movie of The Sheep Detectives a few weeks ago and I picked up the book after that. It is fair to say that this is one of those rare occasions where the movie is better than the book. To be fair, they have two completely different story lines which only have some character names and the basic premise of the sheep doing the investigating in common but still.

The I sped through First Time Caller by B K Borison. I have only read a couple of her books so far but I have loved them both and I know that I am going to enjoy whatever she puts out!

I also read The Maid by Nita Prose. This was a selection for one of the Goodreads challenge categories. It's not my normal genre but I did enjoy it!

I then read Piglettes by Clementine Beauvais. I swear I saw that someone had read it for a previous iteration of Paris in July but I can't find who. It has been years since I read a YA book, and there were a couple of things that bothered me but overall it was a fun read. My review will be up in July as part of Paris in July

I am on the blog tour for Charlie's Last Angel by Maggie Christensen this week so I need to get on and write the review. 

I then started This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page. I am not very far in but I am loving it already. Can't wait to get back to it!

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon is another Goodreads challenge selection, so this is the book I am reading when I can't sleep at night!

I am making a concerted effort to finally finish War and Peace. My aim is to finish it by the end of this month! Currently I would need to read an average of 8 pages a day to get there. Wish me luck.

I was sorry to see the news that Iranian/French author Marjane Satrapi has passed away at the very young age of 56. Many years ago her Persepolis books were doing the rounds in the blogosphere. I also loved the movie adaptation of her book Chicken with Plums. In particular there is a montage scene towards the end of the movie which I still remember with fondness now.

I'm watching

A couple of months ago we re-watched the first two seasons of Ted Lasso. This week we started re-watching season 3 so it should be relatively fresh in our minds for when the next season comes out in August.

I did go to the movies this week to see a Mexican/Uruguyan film called Nothing Between Us which is showing as part of the Spanish and Latin American Film Festival. It is about two people who have an affair while on a work trip to Mexico. I am going to see a Spanish film this week so I will post about both of them soon.

Life


It was my birthday on Sunday so we went to our favourite afternoon tea destination. As always it was an exceptional experience with amazing customer service!

My husband bought me this cute booknook for my birthday! Now to find the time to start to put it together!

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Author names - Jane who?    

20 Books of Winter: 2026 reading list

The Seaside Book Club by Helen Rolfe

In My Kitchen: April/May

Six Degrees of Separation: The Post-Office Girl to Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens







I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week...

I'm reading

It's been a pretty good reading week for me this week, including a 5 star reads! 

I mentioned last week that I had started The Little Wartime Bookclub by Kate Thompson. I was surprised when I first picked it us to see how long the book is. It's very close to being a chunkster, but despite it's size I sped through it in just a couple of days. I loved it! And it was a 5/5 read!

Next I picked up Hot Chocolate on Thursday by Japanese author Michiko Aoyama. This is the third book I have read by her, and it was her debut and I thought it was fabulous. I am looking forward to reading the sequel to this book which is out in a few weeks. I will post a review of this one for Weekend Cooking in a couple of weeks time.

I then read The Paradise Pact by Anita Heiss. It has made me laugh out loud a couple of times but it also irritated me at times. I made it to the end though. 

Finally, I started my first Twenty Books of Winter read which was First-Time Caller by B K Borison. I think I started it too early though as I could easily have finished it yesterday. I had to pace myself so I could finish it today and have it count as a June read!

How on earth is it the end of May already? And isn't that what I think at the end of every month! May was a pretty good month for me. I had two 5 star reads this month being In the Paris Fashion by Sophie Beaumont and The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson. Shout out to Hot Chocolate on Thursday which was a standout read too, even if it didn't quite make it 5 stars. It was very close. In total I read 11 books for the month so that it s a pretty good average.

Books let our imaginations travel where our feet cannot - Nora Nguyen

Bookish travel

Here's where I travelled too through the pages of books during May

Asia 

China - The Bonesetter's Daughter

Korea - A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang

Japan - Gate to Kagoshima, Hot Chocolate on Thursday

America

California - The Bonesetter's Daughter

Hawaii  - The Paradise Pact

Europe

Italy - An Italian Island Love Story, A Venice Summer

Spain - Call of the Camino

UK - The Seaside Book Club. The Little Wartime Library

France - In a Paris Fashion

I'm watching


We are big fans of Welcome to Wrexham, so the other night we watched the first episode of Nexacas which is where Eva Longoria buys into a Mexican soccer team. It is aiming for the same kind of feel as Wrexham. Not sure we will watch all the episodes but it was interesting. Now it has been announced that there will be a similar series about the Bonds Flying Roos which is the Australian Sail GP team owned by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. 

On Saturday night we finally got around to watching Remarkably Bright Creatures, which is based on the book by Shelby van Pelt, which I read and loved last year. I listened to the audio where the voice of Marcellus was provided by Michael Urie. When I first heard that they were making a movie I did hear that Urie would once again providing the voice which I was excited about. However, in the end Marcellus was voiced by Alfred Molina and he did a great job.

Here's the trailer

Life

On Thursday night we went to a new to us restaurant and had a delicious dinner and then we went to an event at the Immigration Museum called Enlightenment which is an immersive light and sound experience. The light show is set to the music of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It was a really nice evening.  I do think we will go back to the restaurant, particularly because they had some truly amazing looking cocktails!


On Sunday afternoon I did something a bit different for me called Sip and Slay. Basically it was a makeup class accompanied by as much wine, champers or soft drink as you like, which may or may not be a good combination. Most days my idea of putting make up on is foundation, mascara and something on the lips, and the thought of having to put eye shadow on puts me in a cold sweat. It was a fun afternoon and I did learn a bit but I am not sure I can do the full routine that we learnt while I am sitting at traffic lights in the car!

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite books by favourite authors
Gate to Kagoshima by Poppy Kuroki
Weekend Cooking/Cook the Books: Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn






I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week...

I'm reading

Even though work is absolutely crazy and I am exhausted at the end of every day, I am still managing to get some reading time in. Being so tired does impact my enjoyment of books. Last year I had many, many more 5 star reads by this point in the year. However, I did have one 5 star read this week which was exciting.

I finished reading A Venice Summer by Lynne Shelby. I had previously borrowed a Lynne Shelby book from the library so I went back on to request it again given that I enjoyed this book so much. It seems a bit weird to me, but the book is no longer availabe which is a bit sad. I guess I will have to buy it if I want to read it!

Last weekend we went to see the movie The Sheep Detectives which is based on the book Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. I was a bit concerned about reading the book now having seen the movie so recently but I am going to say that the movie is more inspired by the book than based on it. A lot of the story is different to the movie, and it needed to be so that the movie could get a family friendly rating.  I am half way through the book right now so will be interested to do a full comparison of the two versions once I get to the end.

My 5 star read this week was In the Paris Fashion by Sophie Beaumont. I had read and enjoyed Beaumont's two previous books set in Paris so I knew I would like it. It felt like the right book at the right time for me as I read it in a day, and I closed it with a very contented sigh. Does the book have some flaws. Absolutely. Will everyone love it like I did. Probably not. Did it leave me smiling long after I finished the book. Yes. And that's what makes it a 5 star read for me!

I did also start reading The Little War Time Library by Kate Thompson this week. I am finding it hard to put it down! It is due back at the library already so I need to hurry up and finish it

I shared my Classics Spin list last week, and the spin landed on number 9, so I am going to be reading the Australian Classic, Careful, He Might Here You. I am looking forward to getting started on it once I pick it up from the library.


I'm watching

We had a date night on Saturday night which consisted of going to a Turkish restaurant for dinner and then watching The Mandalorian and Grogu at the cinema. The dinner was good, and we would totally go again. The movie was fine. The story could easily have been done as a TV series. My husband is a big Star Wars fan so we were likely always going to go and see it.


Life

See last week's comment about work being frantic. It's true again this week with weekend work and late nights. Not sure it is going to calm down yet.

Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: 20 Books of Winter (Part 2)

Blog Tour: A Venice Summer by Lynne Shelby

Weekend Cooking:  A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week

I'm reading

Last week I finished reading The Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn. This is the current Cook the Books selection. Now I am just trying to figure out what to cook to accompany my review. I am not sure exactly what yet but I will come up with something this week

After that I read the recently released The Seaside Book Club by Helen Rolfe which I enjoyed. 

Next up I started The Venice Summer by Lynne Shelby which I am on a blog tour for later this week!

Finally, I started Poppy Kuroki's Gate to Kagoshima which is a time travel where a modern woman ends up living in 19th century Samurai Japan. In the end I finished this one as well on the train today. I have to say that there are some pretty scathing reviews on Goodreads but I really enjoyed this one!

I'm watching

It has been a good viewing week. We watched what is being called the third season of Good Omens but it was more a movie to finish off the story which started in seasons 1 and 2. I did enjoy the ending but it did feel like there was a story that was cut short.

It was my husband's birthday on Saturday and we chose to have a fairly quiet day. We did however go to the movies to see The Sheep Detectives. I can't remember the last time I went to the movies to see a family movie. It was a really lovely movie and I am so glad we saw i! It's funny, charming, deep and features some very big names! Go see it if you can! Here's the trailer

We also started watching Welcome to Wrexham season 5. Both of the first two episodes have been very emotional! Such good TV!

I was excited to see that the new season of Tucci in Italy is out so we watched the first couple of episodes as well! So far we have watched the episodes on Naples and Sicily

Life


Work is frantic and I can't see it changing any time soon!

Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: 20 Books of Winter (Part 1)
What We Ate on Holidays: Turkiye

Classics Spin #44

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week....

I'm reading

This week I read A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa. The main reason I read it is because it fits the AAPI month category for the Goodreads challenge, but as a bonus it also counts for the Speccy Fiction Challenge. Hopefully I will will review it soon!

I also started The Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn. This is the next Cook the Books read so I need to finish it and cook something inspired by it too before the end of the month.

I did go to one event for Melbourne Writers Festival this week. As part of the in the suburbs series author Benjamin Stevenson came to visit my local library. Unfortunately I could not fit in any other events for the rest of the festival so I am glad that I at least got to attend this one! Benjamin Stevenson is the author of the Ernest Cunningham mystery series. It was very interesting to hear about his inspirations, about a potential TV adaptation, about how he nearly killed off Ernest at the end of the second book and so much more!

It was our read on a theme book club meeting this weekend. There were only 4 of us there but we still managed to have some lively discussion feature books about Mothers and Daughters. I read Amy Tan's book The Bonesetter's Daughter. Our next theme is Immigration, so I will have to see what books I have that suit this theme. 

I'm watching

Now that we are back from holiday we have started watching Masterchef Australia. I wasn't sure whether we should go back and watch all the episodes from the beginning but in the end we just jumped in at episode 8 or so and went from there!

We also finished watching Alan and Amanda's Greek Job which features them renovating a house in Corfu! The series is always a lot of fun!


Life

It was back to work this week. I might have only done four days but I was absolutely exhausted by the end of the week!

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors You Wish Were Still Writing Today
Weekend Cooking: Taste of Two Continents Food Walking Tour - Istanbul
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - April Statistics






I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week....or more precisely the last couple of weeks.

 

First of all.....Happy Star Wars Day

It's a bit strange to me that I am all over this Star Wars thing now. Up until about 10 years ago I had never seen a Star Wars movie but my husband is a big fan so we now watch all the spin offs and I already know we will be going to the movies to see the new Mandalorian movie when it comes out soon. I still have never seen all of the movies though.

I'm reading

As a general rule, I don't read as much while I am holidays as I do when I am home. Occasionally we have holidays where that doesn't apply, but over the last two and a bit weeks where we have been in Turkiye it has definitely been the case.

Since my last This Week post I finished reading both New Chapters on the French Riviera by Jennifer Bohnet and The Hotel by the Sea by Julie Caplin (which I reviewed here and here respectively).

I then decided to read The Astral Library by Kate Quinn, as it fit two categories in the Goodreads Spring challenge, and because I really enjoy her historical fiction writing. This one is most definitely not historical fiction. I enjoyed it, but it did take me a while to get through, and it isn't my favourite book of hers.

After that I read The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan. My read on a theme book club theme for May is Mothers and Daughters and this book definitely met that theme. I have only ever read The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, and that was in the 1990s so it was interesting reading this book now.

My final read while I was away was An Italian Island Love Story by Leonie Mack. This is part of her Wedding Adventures series which I really love! it was perfect plane reading! 

My reading numbers were down for April (mostly because I was too busy being on holiday). I read 7 books in total. I gave most of them a grade of 4 out of 5 but nothing really jumps out as being a best of the month. Hopefully next month. 

Books let our imaginations travel where our feet cannot - Nora Nguyen

Bookish Travel

While I didn't read many books, I did visit quite a few places in April (both in real life and through books!)

Europe

UK - Hopes and Dreams at the Chocolate Pot Cafe

Greece - The Islander's Daughter

France - New Chapters on the French Riviera

Portugal - The Hotel by the Sea

Australia

Queensland - Something in the Air in Pelican Crossing

America

Maine - The Seven Rings

Massachusetts - The Astral Library

I'm watching

We flew a Chinese airline this time as we had to rebook our flights to avoid the conflict in the Middle East. We would absolutely fly them again, but I know to expect that the entertainment selection is limited. I therefore only watched a couple of documentaries. One was about various destinations in China and another was an Italian documentary about The Hermitage museum in St Petersburg. When I say watched, I am being literal here as I couldn't understand what was being said in either of them!

Life

We had the most amazing time in Turkiye! Apart from one day we had amazing weather, we saw some amazing sights and food. If you have ever thought about visiting Turkiye, then do it. We would both love to go back!

The first few days we were there daughter came to stay with us with her partner we had never met before so we enjoyed time with them visiting some of the major sights including The Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar and we did a foodie walking tour. After they left we did a Turkish bath, visited the Basilica Cistern and more. We then joined our tour which included a visit to Topkapi Palace.

After that we left Istanbul and headed to Cannakale which was our base for spending time on the Gallipoli peninsula. The whole reason we booked this tour was so we could attend the Dawn Service at Anzac Cove on Anzac Day and it was a truly memorable experience.

After that we headed to see the ancient cities of Troy and Ephesus, visited places like Pamukkale and finally Cappadocia where we were able to take a hot air balloon ride!

It was a such a fantastic trip!

Now I have to get ready to go back to work tomorrow! 

Posts from the last week


Blog Tour: The Hotel by the Sea by Julie Caplin
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - May Links
Six Degrees of Separation: Wild Dark Shore to The Enlightenment of Bees





I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week

I'm reading

Don't you love it when you have occasions of reading serendipity! 

I am currently watching a renovation show which is set in Corfu. Last week I read two books in a row set in Greece, the second set in a hotel by the sea in Corfu.  The next book I am reading's title is literally Hotel by the Sea!

The first book I read was a WWII novel call The Islander's Daughter by Patricia Wilson which I reviewed here. Then I read Summer Ever After by Mandy Baggot which is set in a beachside hotel on Corfu. My review is here.

I then started The Hotel by the Sea by Julie Caplin. However, I realised that I had another book due before that one so now I am reading New Chapters on the French Riviera by Jennifer Bohnet. The review for that one will be up later this week. 

I am currently trying to list the books I want to read while I am on holidays in priority order. I think the Julie Caplin will be my plane reading on the way to Turkiye at least

I did finally finish listening to The Lost Brides by Nora Roberts, which is the last book in the Lost Brides trilogy. 

I then started The Names by Florence Knapp on audio. I got to the end of the first chapter and stopped, mainly because I am wondering if it might be a bit heavy for now, but if I stop now that means that I have to figure out what I need to listen to instead. Maybe it is easier to just stick to the decision I already made

I'm watching


Last night I watched the first seven episodes of The Other Bennett Sister and I am hooked! I can't wait to watch more, although I am a bit concerned that I might need to wait for a few weeks to watch the last couple of episodes.

The Other Bennett Sister focuses on the middle Miss Bennett. Often overlooked because she is plain, it is only once she gets out from under her mother's thumb that she truly blooms! It's so much fun!




Life


We went to two comedy shows at the Melbourne Comedy Festival over the last couple of weeks. First, we saw Wankernomics and then Nurse Georgie Carroll. Wankernomics basically takes all the things that happen in corporate workplaces and then makes fun of them. Here's a clip that I recognised. My boss says she has a hard stop quite regularly!

Nurse Georgie Carroll talks about a lot of medical stuff, the joys and trials of being a nurse in the healthcare system. Both of these shows were very, very funny!

The countdown in on to our holidays. After the indecision about whether we should go or not, I am really looking forward to getting away! The holiday nails are done. The pre-holiday haircut is scheduled for tomorrow night. Just have to get through three frantic days at work now!

I am not sure if I will be able to post my This Week posts or not. We'll see!

Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: Island Time!
Blog Tour: Something in the Air in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen
Blog Tour: The Islander's Daughter by Patricia Wilson
Blog Tour: Summer Ever After by Mandy Baggot
Weekend Cooking: Le Assaggiatrici (The Tasters)



I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week

I'm reading

This week my reading has been all about upcoming review books. 

I read Jessica Redland's Hopes and Dreams at the Chocolate Pot Café which I reviewed here.

This coming week I have three reviews due. I powered through Maggie Christensen's Something in the Air in Pelican Crossing. I always love Maggie Christensen's books and this was another engrossing read.

I also started reading The Islander's Daughter by Patricia Wilson. This is a dual timeline WWII novel which is partly set in Greece. I haven't read this author before. My review will be up for this in a couple of days. I need to finish this one was I have one more book due for review by the end of the week

We went away for the weekend and we started listening to Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir while we were driving (for reasons that will become obvious later in this post!

I read 14 books in March which kind of surprises me as I didn't feel like I was getting a lot of reading done and work has been pretty challenging. I didn't give any books 5/5 this month, although there were 5 books that I gave 4.5/5 to. They were

Books let our imaginations travel where our feet cannot - Nora Nguyen

This is where I travelled through books during March

Europe

UK - The Strawberry House, The Language of Food, The Heir Apparent

America

Maryland - Lovelight Farms, The Correspondent

Mississipi/Missouri - James

Australia

New South Wales - Everyone this Christmas has a Secret, Lessons in Love at the Seaside Salon

Tasmania -  The Heir Apparent, Past the Shallows

Europe

Italy  - The Leopard
Russia/Germany - The Rebel Romanov:Julie of Saxe-Coburg, the Empress Russia Never Had

Asia

Japan - We'll Prescribe You a Cat

I'm watching

We went to the movies on Friday and saw Project Hail Mary which we really enjoyed. I did spend half the movie trying to remember what other Ryan's name was. No idea why my mind fixated on that. The Martian is one of those movies for me where I will put it on whenever I come across it on the TV schedule. I suspect Project Hail Mary might too!


Life

We decided to do a quick getaway for the Easter long weekend so we visited an island which is a couple of hours away from us called Phillip Island. It is most famous for two things. The motorcycle grand prix was held here for many years and each night at dusk a colony of penguins waddles up out of the sea. We didn't see either of those but we did enjoy our time on the island visiting the Nobbies (where we saw this fellow as well as lots of big geese and more), the local market, going the Vietnam Veterans Museum and more.

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Buzz-words!
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: April links
Blog Tour: Love Blooms at the Cornish Cottage by Kim Nash
Blog Tour: Hopes and Dreams at the Chocolate Pot Café by Jessica Redland
Weekend Cooking: In My Kitchen: March
Six Degrees of Separation: The Correspondent to Letters from Skye




I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week

I'm reading

Last week I started reading The Rebel Romanov by Helen Rappaport as my selection for Her Story category on the Goodreads Challenge. I was a bit worried that I wasn't going to be able to finishe it before the end of the month as it felt like I was getting through it very slowly! However, it turns out the last 35% of the book were all the footnotes, photos and references so all of a sudden at 65% I was done!   

I also finished reading Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett for my book club selection. The theme this month is books you have borrowed from someone. I borrowed this from Bree at All the Books I Can Read more than 10 years ago so it is probably time I finally read it! Now that I have read it I am wondering what I was waiting for as it was a really good read! You can see the pile of other books above. Our next theme is Mothers and Daughters. I have no idea what I am going to read!

Now I need to get on with my review books for April, so I have read Love Blooms at the Cornish Cafe by Kim Nash. I have a couple of reviews due this week and a couple more next week so hopefully I can get through them

I did also read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans which was a lot of fun. It was due back at the library a couple of days ago so I need to go and return that one and pick up at least one other book that is currently on hold!

I'm watching

We have watched all three previous seasons of the show where Amanda Holden and Alan Carr buy a dilapidated house in Europe and then do it up. The first two seasons were in Italy and the third season was in Spain. This season they are on the Greek island of Corfu. It's a lot of fun


Life


We had a very busy weekend this weekend. I baked, we had brunch with friends at a new cafe on Sunday morning and I had book club on Saturday morning. 

On Friday night we went to see the first of three shows we are seeing at the Melboourne International Comedy Festival. We went and saw Australian comedian Emma Holland in her show, The Dog Dies at the Beginning. It was an interesting show, talking about her reaction to losing her dog. 

On Saturday night we went to see (and hear) the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra do their show Art of the Score, which is when they focus on the music of a particular composer's movie scores. This time it was James Horner so featured music from Avatar, Titanic, Field of Dreams and so much more!

The big news is that we have made a call on our upcoming trip. We had been looking at the state of the world and wondering if we should go or not. We knew we would have to find new flights that didn't go through Dubai. We have decided we are going so booked our new flights over the weekend

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Autumn 2026 To-Read List
Weekend Cooking/Cook the Books: The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs
Mini Reviews: Three Aussie Books






I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week....

 I'm reading

I am feeling the pressure of the end of month at the moment. I have set myself the goal of finishing all the categories in the Goodreads Challenges, I have library books due back and book club is next week. I then have several review books due in the first week of April. I do feel like I made quite a bit of progress this week though.

One of the book I needed to finish was my first Classics Club Spin selection which was The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. I read most of this on the plane last week so I was able to finish it off and write my review this week! Go me!

I had started Heir Apparent by Australian author Rebecca Armitage before I went away but I had to return the library book when I was only half way through. I ended up buying it so I could finish it. I ended up having a bit of fun with it. This was my selection for the Star Selection category of the Goodreads Challenge.

Then I needed to reread The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs. This is the current Cook the Books selection. I have decided what I am going to cook, and when I say I I actually mean what Robert will cook, and just need to finish the post ready for next week. A quick look at the top of this post might give you some idea what direction my thinking is going.

My next two reads were both for the Goodreads Challenge. For the Persona Picks category I read We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida and for Choice Archive category I read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

I started reading The Rebel Romanov by Helen Rappaport as my selection for Her Story in the middle of the night on Saturday night. I am not sure if non fiction books should be middle of the night reading really!  

I also started reading Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett for my book club selection. The theme this month is books you have borrowed from someone. I borrowed this from Bree at All the Books I Can Read more than 10 years ago so it is probably time I finally read it!

I'm watching


Nothing really


Life

I have picked up a cold/flu/infection on my travels which I could have done without. I have felt very average all week and today my ears are blocked so I don't think it is quite done with me yet!


I did take some time this weekend to say farewelling  to Jane who used to blog from Janezworld (also Life at Number 8 and a blog/zine thing that was A String of Pearls). She passed away last week. I actually met Jane pre-blogging days on the Oprah Book Club boards. Jane and I almost met in person a couple of times but it didn't quite happen. She was, however, always very supportive of me and I was sad to hear of her passing. 

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Green Book Covers
James by Percival Everett
Weekend Cooking: What I Ate in India
Classics Club Spin: The Leopard by Guiseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa





I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

This week...

 

I'm reading

Before I went away last week I carefully constructed a reading order to decide which books I wanted to read while I was away taking into consideration various challenges, upcoming review books and other factors. It would appear that I was kidding myself as I read on the plane on the way to India on Monday, and then didn't pick up a book again until Friday afternoon once work was done!

I did make a good deal of progress with The Leopared by Tomasi de Lampedusa which is my current read for The Classics Spin. I have enjoyed this one, although it is taking me a bit longer to read than I otherwise might normally.

The other book I finished was James by Percival Everett. This book was everywhere last year and I can see why. It also filled three categories in the current Goodreads challenge!

I am very conscious that I have multiple library books due back that I can't extend and so there is every chance that they will be going back to the library unread. For some of those books it won't be the first time!

I'm watching

I didn't actually turn the TV on while I was in Kolkata. I did, however, have plenty of times for watching movies and I watched four good ones.

On the way to Singapore I watched Rental Family, which stars Brendan Fraser. It is set in Tokyo and is about an American actor who is hired out to play roles in people's lives. For example, he plays a reporter who is supposedly interviewing an elderly actor about his life. It was a really nice movie and worth a watch.

On the flight from Singapore to Kolkata I watched an Italian movie called The Tasters. It is about a group of women who were forced to become the tasters of Hitler's food to check that it wasn't poisoned. The existence of these women and their role only came to light in the 1990s so it was a very interesting story.

On the way back I watched a movie from New Zealand called Tina. It was out here last year and I really wanted to go and see it but I didn't get to it. It was a lovely movie, very sad though. It is about a woman who is depressed following the death of her daughter in the Christchurch earthquake. She is forced to go back to work as a teacher in a rich school and it is about her providing inspiration to a whole new group of students. 

And finally I watched a French movie called Nun in the City. This is currently showing here as part of the French Film Festival so I was delighted to find it on the movie channel on the plane. This was such a fun movie. A bit silly, but fun nonetheless. A nun named Lucie finds herself discovering what life is like after 20 years in a convent. 

Life


Well...what a week! It started with a good week's wedding last Sunday evening, and then the rest of the week I was in Kolkata in India! I never imagined I would get this kind of opportunity in my line of work so to get the chance was amazing! It was also very intense and tiring. It was so much fun to meet our offshore team in person and they were so welcoming! 

The company that they work for is massive, and at the campus we were visiting there are something like 18000 people working there at any one time, with round the clock shifts, so around 27000 in total. And they have six other offices in the city as well, and then more around the country. It is mindblowingly big!

The hospitality was incredible. We were really looked after very well. We had a driver everyday as well as 3 course buffet style lunch every day and they took us out to dinner at a very nice restaurant as well! On two nights they took us out to see a bit of the city including visiting Victoria Monument, the Ganges River, the Mother House where Mother Theresa lived and worked and more. 

My bosses went home earlier than I did, so I got some extra time with the team and then on Saturday I had a day to myself so I went on a sights and sound tour! There were definitely both of these. I was able to visit the Mother House again and take a bit more time, as well as visit the pottery area of the city, College Street which is where the book markets are, the flower markets and walk on the Howrah bridge.  Here is a short video from College Street. There is a really large area covering several blocks which is just stall after stall of booksellers. 

I will say that it was very humid, which I struggle with but that aside, it was a great trip with lots of great memories created! 

Who knows if I will get to go again, but if not, I am grateful that I had the chance to go this time

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Chronologically Speaking
Afternoon Tea Diaries: Victoria: The place to be at Oxi Tea Rooms
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: February Statistics



I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings