It occurred to me today that I've been making a major mistake with the way I've been posting this blog, I've been posting it first thing in the morning (which for me can be anything from 3am to 8am UK time! I'm not a good sleeper hence the amount I read) and of course nothing has actually happened that day for me to blog about apart from me ranting on about the poor grammar, editing, story consistency etc of the book I've just finished so I've resolved to try and do my blogs in the evening instead.
So yesterday after I posted my day went from bad to worse - bad because of the book I had just finished to me ended up visiting Mum in hospital following her hip replacement and having a full blown asthma attack as I entered her ward and ending up in the ER on a nebuliser. Then finally getting back to the ward to visit Mum and finding out that "they" had decided to discharge her! Barely able to walk on the crutches they had provided and with no real concern as to whether she, as an already disabled lady in her 70s who lives alone, had any kind of support arranged (which she did because my sister and I live very close by and had already sorted it all out) she was sent home with a large green bag full of medication and an appointment to see her Consultant on the 1st of April to assess her progress!
Today hasn't been much better, my Hubby has had a relapse in his health, I've been to see a legal adviser due to problems with my job and Mum isn't coping too well at home as yet and is struggling to reach the bathroom in time (probably too much information there but it's my blog and I don't think anyone else is actually reading it so it doesn't matter!).
OK onto the good side of the coin. Another book finished and this one was good and another free download so I've still not spent a penny of my reading matter for the year! I'm on my next book now (again free!) and have an ARC waiting to read as well as awaiting approval for 2 more ARCs by an author I really love so I hope they approve my request. Anyway the review for my latest finished book can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/815743480
I'm also really excited because an author whose work I love has another book due out in April and it sounds brilliant. If you've not read anything by @Raven McAllan before I would seriously recommend her work - she covers a lot of different sub-genres within the erotic romance genre so you do need to be fairly open minded to enjoy her work.
Right time to log off. See you tomorrow :)
Tuesday 7 January 2014
Monday 6 January 2014
January 6th, 2014
Well another day and another book read although in this instance I really wish I hadn't bothered! It's only saving grace was it was another free download so although I wasted a few hours reading it at least I didn't waste any real money.
Review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/814126922
Life is now starting to get back normal following the Christmas and New Year break. Hubby went back to work having had 2 weeks off! The traffic was back to it's absolutely horrendous level because most people are returning to work for the first time today and all of the schools have also gone back.
Mum is still in hospital and they are debating whether she can come home today or not because she's not managing to move around very well with the crutches she is going to have to use for the next few weeks. My daughter's on again/off again relationship seems to be in limbo but today she's flying off to spend a few days with her father so I am hoping time and distance will give her a chance to clear her thoughts.
Got to go so just a short post today. Off to find tomorrow's book to review :)
Review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/814126922
Life is now starting to get back normal following the Christmas and New Year break. Hubby went back to work having had 2 weeks off! The traffic was back to it's absolutely horrendous level because most people are returning to work for the first time today and all of the schools have also gone back.
Mum is still in hospital and they are debating whether she can come home today or not because she's not managing to move around very well with the crutches she is going to have to use for the next few weeks. My daughter's on again/off again relationship seems to be in limbo but today she's flying off to spend a few days with her father so I am hoping time and distance will give her a chance to clear her thoughts.
Got to go so just a short post today. Off to find tomorrow's book to review :)
Sunday 5 January 2014
January 5th, 2014
Oh dear day 5 of my personal challenge and I've already stumbled. No post or review yesterday but with very good reason!
Firstly the review - this is because the book I read was an ARC and I won't be posting my review until a little nearer the publication date - but I did enjoy it. Without giving too much away it was a New Adult, set in a college (yes I know there are a lot of them about at the moment!) but it did have a great story line and there is the promise of more to come in the series.
Secondly, my lack of a post. Well sometimes life gets in the way too much. I've got a lot going on right now - Mum is in hospital having had a hip replacement so I'm back and forth to see her; my darling Daughter is going through a very traumatic split up and Hubby has a really big interview coming up on Friday which meant that we had to go shopping for a new suit and tie and he also has to do a set-theme presentation to the interview panel so I've been helping him with that - although helping probably isn't exactly right it's more been moral support, coffee on demand, that kind of thing.
So to today. Yes I've read and reviewed another book - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/812630383
I've also decided to set myself a bit of a sub-challenge - and that is to see how many of the books I read year I got for free, either as an ARC or as a free download from Amazon. So here is the total to date:
ARC: 1
Free: 4
so essentially so far this year I've spent NOTHING on new books - that should keep my bank balance happy.
I already have my next couple of books lined up and they were free downloads as well.
Have a great Sunday :)
Firstly the review - this is because the book I read was an ARC and I won't be posting my review until a little nearer the publication date - but I did enjoy it. Without giving too much away it was a New Adult, set in a college (yes I know there are a lot of them about at the moment!) but it did have a great story line and there is the promise of more to come in the series.
Secondly, my lack of a post. Well sometimes life gets in the way too much. I've got a lot going on right now - Mum is in hospital having had a hip replacement so I'm back and forth to see her; my darling Daughter is going through a very traumatic split up and Hubby has a really big interview coming up on Friday which meant that we had to go shopping for a new suit and tie and he also has to do a set-theme presentation to the interview panel so I've been helping him with that - although helping probably isn't exactly right it's more been moral support, coffee on demand, that kind of thing.
So to today. Yes I've read and reviewed another book - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/812630383
I've also decided to set myself a bit of a sub-challenge - and that is to see how many of the books I read year I got for free, either as an ARC or as a free download from Amazon. So here is the total to date:
ARC: 1
Free: 4
so essentially so far this year I've spent NOTHING on new books - that should keep my bank balance happy.
I already have my next couple of books lined up and they were free downloads as well.
Have a great Sunday :)
Friday 3 January 2014
January 3rd, 2014
Well Day 3 and I'm still on track! Posting here and book 3 read and reviewed!
See review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/809889089
Whilst I enjoyed the book very much, and will be investigating others written by the same author, it was another classic example of poor proof-reading/editing as there seemed to been rather a lot of confusion about the word YOUR and the use of YOU'RE instead. I know, especially with children, that this is a common mistake but honestly if you are going to publish a book please at least ensure that your spelling and grammar are correctly used otherwise you're going to find readers not taking you as seriously as they could!
OK rant over.
Today's book is one that I won't be able to post a review on just yet as I am doing a final read through for a publisher of something that is being published in a couple of weeks time so it's going to be a case of watch this space!
See review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/809889089
Whilst I enjoyed the book very much, and will be investigating others written by the same author, it was another classic example of poor proof-reading/editing as there seemed to been rather a lot of confusion about the word YOUR and the use of YOU'RE instead. I know, especially with children, that this is a common mistake but honestly if you are going to publish a book please at least ensure that your spelling and grammar are correctly used otherwise you're going to find readers not taking you as seriously as they could!
OK rant over.
Today's book is one that I won't be able to post a review on just yet as I am doing a final read through for a publisher of something that is being published in a couple of weeks time so it's going to be a case of watch this space!
Thursday 2 January 2014
January 2nd, 2014
Early days I know but well I'm back for the second day of my self-challenge and I've read another book and posted my review of it so 2 out of 2 can't be bad!
Spent yesterday afternoon at Mum's with my hubby, Mum, my sister and her family along with her grand-daughter. We had a nice dinner of poached salmon, assorted other sea food, a roast gammon for the non-fish eaters and a vast array of desserts. Mum is a little on edge, to say the least, because tomorrow (Jan 3rd) she's going into hospital to have hip replacement surgery and I think she's pondering a lot on all of the things that could go wrong so we are trying to be extra supportive right now. It's a good job she's only 2 miles away from me so I am able to spend as much time there as she needs and will need once she gets out of hospital.
Anyway yesterday I decided to start exploring the 108 books in my "To be read" folder on my Kindle and pick one to read - I tend to get a bit carried away downloading lots of freebies and then never get around to reading them so that's another challenge I've sort of set myself!
The book I ended up with was Seeing Stars by Vanessa Grant. It was originally first published in 2001 and to be honest it did feel dated but not in a good way. Oh and if you are going to re-publish something please have it re-edited because this one was full of typos etc. and that is something that I really find annoying.
Anyway my review for it is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/808359494
As you might be starting to realise I am totally anal about books being published (especially if I've spent real money on them) whether for Kindle or on paper that have just not been properly checked for editorial, typographical and grammatical errors. I've been known to stop reading a book altogether if it is really bad because I find that the errors fix themselves into my brain more than the story does.
Oh and another thing, I know that English (whether it is British English or American English etc) is an ever evolving being BUT please don't make words up. I don't mean in an internet abbreviation or text-talk type of way either, if you don't know how to spell a word properly or your spell checker doesn't like it then it's probably wrong so either pick a different word that means the same or find the correct spelling of the word you originally wanted to use. Here's a couple that I've spotted very recently that have really annoyed me:
Normalcy - sorry but Normal is an adjective and it's noun is Normality
Drug - not used to mean a medication or narcotic but in the context of moving or pulling an object or person "He drug her towards the bed" should surely be "He dragged her towards the bed".
Ok rant over for now. Have a great day to anyone who is actually reading this and has got to the end. Feel free to leave me a comment!
Spent yesterday afternoon at Mum's with my hubby, Mum, my sister and her family along with her grand-daughter. We had a nice dinner of poached salmon, assorted other sea food, a roast gammon for the non-fish eaters and a vast array of desserts. Mum is a little on edge, to say the least, because tomorrow (Jan 3rd) she's going into hospital to have hip replacement surgery and I think she's pondering a lot on all of the things that could go wrong so we are trying to be extra supportive right now. It's a good job she's only 2 miles away from me so I am able to spend as much time there as she needs and will need once she gets out of hospital.
Anyway yesterday I decided to start exploring the 108 books in my "To be read" folder on my Kindle and pick one to read - I tend to get a bit carried away downloading lots of freebies and then never get around to reading them so that's another challenge I've sort of set myself!
The book I ended up with was Seeing Stars by Vanessa Grant. It was originally first published in 2001 and to be honest it did feel dated but not in a good way. Oh and if you are going to re-publish something please have it re-edited because this one was full of typos etc. and that is something that I really find annoying.
Anyway my review for it is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/808359494
As you might be starting to realise I am totally anal about books being published (especially if I've spent real money on them) whether for Kindle or on paper that have just not been properly checked for editorial, typographical and grammatical errors. I've been known to stop reading a book altogether if it is really bad because I find that the errors fix themselves into my brain more than the story does.
Oh and another thing, I know that English (whether it is British English or American English etc) is an ever evolving being BUT please don't make words up. I don't mean in an internet abbreviation or text-talk type of way either, if you don't know how to spell a word properly or your spell checker doesn't like it then it's probably wrong so either pick a different word that means the same or find the correct spelling of the word you originally wanted to use. Here's a couple that I've spotted very recently that have really annoyed me:
Normalcy - sorry but Normal is an adjective and it's noun is Normality
Drug - not used to mean a medication or narcotic but in the context of moving or pulling an object or person "He drug her towards the bed" should surely be "He dragged her towards the bed".
Ok rant over for now. Have a great day to anyone who is actually reading this and has got to the end. Feel free to leave me a comment!
Wednesday 1 January 2014
January 1st, 2014
Not being one to ever make New Year Resolutions that I know I can't keep I am not sure why I have set myself this task but here goes.
I suppose the best place to start is by introducing myself and explaining what I am hoping to achieve here. I am going to try and post everyday and review or discuss the book that I am currently reading or have just finished.
My name is Tina, I love to read - paper books, kindle books, blogs, the back of cereal boxes, you name it - if there are words there then I have to read them! I can't remember a point in my life when I didn't have at least one book on the go. Romances, erotica, Sci Fi, fantasy, I honestly don't mind because I will give almost anything a go although I cannot read horror (gives me nightmares!) and I'm not keen on suspense/thrillers or poetry. I also enjoy crocheting (and making up my own patterns), watching movies - especially sci-fi, spending time with my family and pets and, oh yes, my computer! Whether its being on various of the social network sites, playing or running cribbage tournaments or playing fantasy war games my computer is just about always on.
Through my childhood I can remember loving anything written by Enid Blyton, the Famous 5, the Secret 7, her Naughtiest Girl series, The Magic Faraway Tree, the Mallory Towers series, and so much more. Each offering in its own way a chance to escape into a world so different to the one I was living in. As I grew a little older my taste in books became a little more eclectic - the complete works of Shakespeare (in old English verse!), Georgette Heyer, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and anything else that I liked the look of in the school Library. Oh and then of course there were the Mills & Boon books that my mum loved to read - they became my guilty pleasure.
By the time I hit my early 20s I had discovered this wonderful author who could only be found in certain book shops. The author must have been a very prolific writer as there were always lots of new titles available and as they were very reasonably priced I built up a rather good collection of them. The author's name was "Anonymous" and the subject matter was, well to put it simply, erotica. It's funny because that was 30 years ago and yet if you read certain newspapers erotica for women (or Mommy Porn) was something brand new that happened a couple of years ago when the 50 Shades books came out. What is even funnier, at least to me, is that those top shelf books that I read all those years ago are being re-released but this time instead of the author being "Anonymous" they now have names although that's about all that's changed in the books!
Last April a good friend of mine opened up my reading world even further when she gave me her old Kindle because she had a newer, better, one. I'd always sworn that I wasn't interested in them and that I much preferred the feel of a real book in my hand but I was wrong. The Kindle has opened up an even wider reading world to me. I can download books instantly they are released, usually much cheaper than the paper versions, I can get books totally for free or a greater reduced price by signing up for a couple of email alert groups that hunt out these offers and now I am also getting to read books before they are even published by getting ARCs (advance review copies) from various publishers. The only proviso to accepting them is that you are willing to post "an honest" review on one of a number of sites to promote the book prior to publication. That's not a hardship as I tend to do a written review on both Goodreads and Amazon anyway. So mentioning reviews, I am an extremely fast reader, I can manage up to 3 full length novels a day, sometimes I am reading them for the first time and other times I am re-reading particular favourites. From first registering on Goodreads in April 2013 until 31st December 2013 I registered 243 books as read. This year I am aiming to post a review everyday of something that I have read.
So with that in mind, here is my first review of the year:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)