My Year in Books

 Thanks Goodreads for this colourful reminder of an entertaining and educative reading year.

YOUR 2022 BOOKS

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Reading Challenge - December

On the 27th December 2021 the Goodwill Librarian launched on Facebook her 2022 reading challenge. I made a hasty decision to join this challenge. 

Each month I will report my progress in reading books that fulfil her criteria. I will add a link to the Librarything entry for each criterion I tick off.

I've read quite a few books this month. These can be seen on my Librarything or GoodReads accounts.

Following are details of title I ticked off in December to complete the challenge. You can see the full list of criteria here.

35. Only published as an ebook : Broken Promises: Scottish Breach of Promise cases by Norrie McLeish

I really enjoyed this challenge which forced me to extend my reading repertoire by reading new authors and genres. The only real issue I had was in listening to an audio book, I found it took way too long to get through the story.

I'm sad that the Goodwill Librarian hasn't yet posted a 2023 Book Challenge, I hope she does in the coming days, I will certainly sign up.

In the interim I have signed up for a Goodreads Calendar Challenge that only requires me to read 24 books: 2 per month based on a calendar theme. If you are on Goodreads you can seek it out.

This link will take you to my earlier monthly challenge posts https://ballau.blogspot.com/search?q=reading+challenge .

Christmas Ornaments

Puzzling our way towards Christmas with a little help from grandchildren..

We love a jigsaw. 

Eau de Book

It made my heart sing.

When opening one of her birthday gift books yesterday my granddaughter pulled it close, breathed in and savoured the scent of the new pages. We then discussed that wonderful Eau de Book sensation.

Fingerpost

In celebration of adding a new word  "Fingerpost" to my lexicon I took a look at the many signs I have keyworded "Signs" in my photo archive and tagged those I think are "Fingerposts". To earn a tag the signs must be mounted on a single post and have a pointy or finger shaped end.

I didn't find as many as I thought would fit my criteria, I'm sure there are more that I haven't previously tagged.  Following is a small collection of some fingerposts that I found in my albums. Please remember that many of these are taking from moving vehicles so may be crooked or fuzzy.

St Malo, France

London, England

Side, Turkey

Villa Adriana, Italy

Italy

Auckland, New Zealand

Kuranda, Australia

Scotland

Highclere Castle, England

Highclere Castle, England

Villa Adriana, Italy

Robben Island, South Africa

France

Ireland

Galway, Ireland

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

Kenmare, Ireland

Jeju, South Korea

Seoul, South Korea

Woolsthorpe Manor, England

Abidjan, Ivory Coast

A Touch of Germany in Chatswood?

 Last night in Chatswood we had a lovely post dance concert celebration dinner with a large family group. 

Of course our two granddaughters were stars of the show at the Concourse, kudos also the the organisers who produced a slick show at the family friendly time of 4pm. 

For our dinner we adjourned to The Bavarian Chatswood a family friendly restaurant not too far from the theatre. We had a super time chatting about the performances and revelling in the excitement of our two dancers. 

What struck me was that some of the items on the "German inspired" menu didn't reflect my memories of beer cafes and restaurants I'd visited in Germany. It was interesting that I, and the three people around me, ordered that German staple "YOUR ALL-TIME FAVOURITE PARMI: Golden crumbed chicken, prager ham, mozzarella, napolitana".  I added some authenticity to my serve with a potato salad accompaniment while the others chose fries!

The huge serving was hot and delicious but was too much for my delicate appetite! I'm sure that today Paddy will enjoy the half of the schnitzel that I wrapped in a few napkins and brought home for him. 

Reading Challenge - November

On the 27th December 2021 the Goodwill Librarian launched on Facebook her 2022 reading challenge. I made a hasty decision to join this challenge. 

Each month I will report my progress in reading books that fulfil her criteria. I will add a link to the Librarything entry for each criterion I tick off.

Since returning from overseas I have lifted my game and read quite a few books. These can be seen on my Librarything or GoodReads accounts.

Following are details of titles I ticked off in November. You can see the full list of criteria here.

40. An audiobook read by the author. I gave this a shot and tried very hard to finish this book but I'm just not a fan of this format. 

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

45. About current events - I chose this book because I know that this is a continuing issue for doctors.

Scrubbed: A heart surgeon's extraordinary memoir of life, death and everything in between by Nikki Stamp