Month: August 2016

10 x 10 + 1 = The 101th Dalmatian – Give it a sniff

First of all – Thank you to all the congratulatory messages on my 100th post! Guess what? Here’s one more. I really am starting to feel like a Disney Princess here. If I don’t prevent you from falling asleep during a long and tedious-to-read blog post, I present you with another post filled with lovely little Ink Spots. (What do you mean, SHE’s not a Disney Princess??) I wanted to do something special for the 100th post celebration and seeing that Somebody already stole 100 puppies and gave them away, I had to think of something else. And then it hit me: The sum of the parts are greater than the hole whole. Let’s do a bit of maths and see how you can get to 100! 1. Ten things I’ve learned from blogging 1. Gif’s – so much better than gifts2. HTML – How To Make Lasagne (thanks Cait @ Paperfury!)3. CSS – Cruising the Seven Seas (yes, almost like RMS Titanic)4. RSS – Reporting Sinking Ship (again, almost like RMS Titanic)5. Meme – Yes, You!! Take part in them, it’s good for you.6. Disqus – Better than your High School Debate Team.7. Commentluv – Luv u 2 honey-bun8. Links – You won’t get murdered […]

Posted August 30, 2016
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The Sunday Post – Double up to 100

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. This is a post to recap the past week on your blog, tell everyone about books and things you can showcase and share news for the upcoming week. Remember to link your post and to visit others who have linked up.Today’s Sunday Post is the 100th post on my blog. Yea! Of course I had big plans for this post. I mean it is 100 and we all know how very important that number is. (Actually, I have absolutely no idea what the significance of 100 is. Will find out though)When I started planning today’s Sunday Post, I realized it had that one magical ingredient that one need to write a classic fairy tale like Sleeping Beauty: The reception will bore you to sleep. Too much thalk thalk thalk, tooo much blah blah blah.   So as a potential future evil queen (one should always aspire to greatness), I came to rescue you. I will NOT include my 100th post celebration, I will just give you a quick recap of the past two weeks and leave the celebrations for later in the week. That way you are bound to stay awake for the duration […]

Posted August 28, 2016
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Friday Meets – 26 August 2016

Am I the only one who feels like that? Not complaining at all – just sharing. Meet me on Friday @ Friday 56 for a bit of Book Blogger Hop to kick-start the weekend with Book Beginnings. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice. For this date, you will need the following:  Grab a book (Yes, any book. But it might get you to your other Friday activities a bit quicker if you just grab the book you are currently reading) Turn to page 56 or 56% on your e-reader Find a sentence or two (your other Friday activities might determine this) Post it! Remember to post your link on Freda’s Voice and to visit the other guys in the linky. And don’t forget to list the title of the book and the author as well. (With one click on the covers, you will be transported to the magical world of Goodreads) After requesting a book from Netgalley and it got DENIED (*gasp*), I visited my Netgalley profile and realized that my feedback ratio is only 40% (*gasp*). How is that possible?? I’ve only requested 3 books so far and two are read and reviewed. Looking at my shelf, I saw that I’ve actually received 5 books from Netgalley (huh?) – and then I […]

Posted August 26, 2016
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Book Traveling Thursdays #2

I have about an hour to kill, so let’s take a coffee break with Book Traveling Thursdays. Danielle and Catia are the two lovely moderators over at the  Goodreads group. Should you wish to participate, just follow these easy 1,2,3 block(g) myself steps:  Pick a book. At the beginning of every month, a list of themes will be posted. All you have to do is choose a book that fits that theme. In your blog post, include an explanation of why your chosen book fits the theme. Look at covers from multiple editions and multiple countries for the book you chose. Be sure to tag your posts with booktravelingthursdays so we can all see each other’s posts. (Link back on the Goodreads Group) In your post, include the the following:  The original cover The cover from your country (if there are multiple covers from your country, include them all) Your favorite cover Your least favorite cover This week’s theme is: Because reading takes us to a lot of different adventures, choose a book that makes you think about travelling. After finishing Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon over the weekend, I am going to pick this book for today. I’ve been to Thailand and […]

Posted August 25, 2016
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Thursday Quotables #3 – Not one, not two …..

Welcome to Thursday Quotables hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies. This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage during your past reading week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching or just really written beautifully – this is where you must share! It is so simple: Write a Thursday Quotable post on your blog. (We’re all busy here, so pick something from what you are currently reading) Link back to Bookshelf Fantasies and link-up with the linky provided. Make sure to visit the other quotable bloggers and snitch their books. Go read. You need at least one new book for next week’s feature. Seeing that it is my third Thrusday Quotables, today I’ll give you not one, not two, not three …… Okay, let’s just make it three. Three quotes from three different books I have read or are still reading during the past week. Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon In 1862, British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens agrees to serve as governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam. This historical novel, based on true events inspired the hit Rodger’s and Hammerstein musical, The King and I. King Mongkut, as portrayed by Yul Brenner, uttered the words that teachers all over the world have pondered on for […]

Posted August 25, 2016
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Ten Books that have been on your shelf since Before the Dawn of Time (aka Blogging)

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly link-up/meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish  where they provide a prompt and other lovers of list-making (me! me! me!) join in with their own top ten list. Feel free to have less than 10 or more if you need to at times and put a spin on the topic if you need to. Just please link back to The Broke and the Bookish  if you are participating. Link up with your BLOG POST (not your blog) in the linky provided and remember to pay it forward! Today’s theme for Top Ten Tuesday is Ten Books that have been on your shelf (or TBR – let’s not kid ourselves here) from before you started blogging.Seeing that I’ve only been blogging for four months, the state of my actual bookshelf looks like this:  See, lots and lots of space for more books. But believe it or not, hiding in between all those vast open spaces are a number of books I haven’t actually read. Yet. And yes, they have been on that shelf for more than four months. Some for more than four years. Others closer to fourty years. My bad. I know. At least these I still want to read. There […]

Posted August 23, 2016
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Anna and the King of Siam – Margaret Landon

The devilish parts:Title: Anna and the King of SiamAuthor: Margaret LandonPublished by (ebook): Open Road Integrated MediaPublication date (ebook): 23 August 2016 (first published in 1944)Genre: Literary/Historical FictionPages: 395ISBN:  9781504038553 Description: In the early 1860’s, Anna Leonowens, a widow with two young children, was invited to Siam (modern day Thailand) by King Mongkut who wanted her to teach his children and wives the English language and introduce them to British customs. Inspired by two memoirs written by Mrs Leonowens, Margaret Landon took the first person narratives and enhanced them with details about the Siamese people and their culture from other sources. The book has been translated into dozens of languages and has inspired at least six adaptations into various dramatic mediums. Now, for the first time, it is also available on electronic format.Mareli’s rating: 4 starsRecommend to: Readers of historical fiction and memoirs and those who love Rodgers and Hammerstein’s hit musical – The King and I    I’ve received an electronic copy of Anna and the King of Siam from Netgalley and Open Road Integrated Media in exchange for a fair and honest review.  When I first saw that there is a copy up for review on Netgalley, I requested one immediately. I remember the 1956 movie adaptation of The King and I […]

Posted August 23, 2016
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It's Monday! What are you reading? #2

I couldn’t do my Sunday Post yesterday as we were without electricity from Saturday night. Eish. (South African. An exclamation expressive of surprise, agreement, disapproval, etc. Word Origin. from Zulu.)We live in a part of town where you can be guaranteed of NO electricity when there is just the slightest hint of thunder. Well, it did appear as if the Dear Lord moved His entire house on Saturday night. Quite a bit more than just the hint of thunder came down on us. And as promised, the lights went out. Until last night.Luckily, (what an unfortunate state to be in) – we are used to power outages in South Africa.  Luckily (what a fortunate state to be in!) there is still It’s Monday! What are you reading? This weekly feature is hosted by Bookdate and it’s a great way to get your reading week sorted. All you need to do is:  Tell us what you are currently reading What did you finish reading last week What do you plan on reading next Add your link to the linky provided by your host Visit the other bloggers who also deal with terrible Mondays, but still find the time to prioritize their reading schedules Make sure to read really […]

Posted August 22, 2016
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Friday Meets – 19 August 2016

Meet me on Friday @ Friday 56 for a bit of Book Blogger Hop to kick-start the weekend with Book Beginnings. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice. For this date, you will need the following:  Grab a book (Yes, any book. But it might get you to your other Friday activities a bit quicker if you just grab the book you are currently reading) Turn to page 56 or 56% on your e-reader Find a sentence or two (your other Friday activities might determine this) Post it! Remember to post your link on Freda’s Voice and to visit the other guys in the linky. And don’t forget to list the title of the book and the author as well. (With one click on the covers, you will be transported to the magical world of Goodreads) As soon as this post is done and my last student leaves the class, I will start reading my Book Beginnings listing of last week. Will hopefully get past page 56.   Page 56: “All the paperwork backed up because of snow, because of ice, because of too many days off over Christmas and New Year. Because of general lackadaisical attitudes. Because of illness caused by inebriation or cold. The inability of a person to come through from […]

Posted August 19, 2016
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Inky Feelings on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. RowlingMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Harry Potter is a generation thing. Like 80’s music and movies. Or 60’s fashion. Every generation following that eras have a different take on it. Same with Harry Potter. And the last installment, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, is the generation definer. Following all the reviews, I came to the conclusion that there are two main generations here: 1. The kids who grew up with Harry Potter. In other words, when Harry was 12, they were 12.2. The “older” kids. Those of us who were in our late teens to twenties or thirties when Harry first entered Hogwarts. (Not as old as Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall – although I do know a couple of “elders” who also read Harry Potter) Closer to Snipe’s age. The first generation mentioned above, didn’t rate The Cursed child very high and I get the impression that they were rather disappointed with it. Why?? Is it perhaps because they struggle to “picture” Harry as a happily married husband, but an unhappy dad? Or that he doesn’t get to slay dragons every day but actually has to work for a living? […]

Posted August 19, 2016
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