Month: April 2017

Question Marks and Full Stops with Kim Dinan

Greetings! A couple of weeks ago, I’ve shared some inky feelings on the Yellow Envelope by Kim Dinan. This was one of those I-wish-I-had-genie books. “I wish, I wish I could travel to far-off places, to the great, big out-there”. Imagine if you also have a yellow envelope in your pocket with just 3 rules: Rule #1: Don’t over think it Rule # 2: Share your experiences Rule # 3: Don’t feel pressured to give it all away Now wouldn’t that make for a great travel memoir? Throw in some great writing, a few humorous situations and some food-for-thought (quotes from the Yellow Envelope) and it’s a done deal. Needless to say, when Sourcebooks gave me the opportunity to do a Q&A with Kim Dinan, I immediately had a few things I wanted to ask Kim. But I had to think about it. What do I really want to know? Not that much interested in the weather or the food, but the experiences she will carry with her forever and a day: 1. Your travels as told in The Yellow Envelope turned you into a wonderful storyteller. Is that fact or speculation? In other words, do you think you would have been such a master […]

Posted April 25, 2017
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Friday Meets – 21 April 2017

Greetings! It is a beautiful day in my hometown. The sun is shining and it’s just a bright bright sunshiny day! So let’s talk books for the weekend. 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. Seeing that it is such a beautiful day in my beautiful country, I’ve decided to feature two books by South African authors today. I am currently reading Why you were taken by J.T. Lawrence and so far definitely so, so good. 56%: “As soon as you can, Cat. The list, it’s a ….. kind of a …… poisoned chain letter. It’s not just a list. It’s […]

Posted April 21, 2017
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Don't Tell Anyone by Eleanor Gray

Title: Don’t Tell AnyoneAuthor: Eleanor GrayPublished by: Midnight InkPublication date: 08 December 2016 Read: April 16 – April 18 2017Genre: Mystery; General Fiction; Family DramaPages: 384ISBN: 9780738750224Mareli’s rating: 4 starsRecommend to: Lovers of Whodunnit Description: Nearly lost in a fog of grief over the fatal stabbing of her daughter, art historian Grace Neville feels only sorrow as Jordan Dukes is found guilty of murder. Days after the sentencing, Grace receives a visit from Jordan’s father, who claims that his son is innocent and a grave miscarriage of justice has taken place. Jordan’s history of gang-related violence and the fact that he doesn’t have an alibi make his father’s plea hard to believe. But then why does somebody break into Grace’s home and go through her daughter’s belongings? In Don’t Tell Anyone, Eleanor Gray explores the relationship between a mother and a daughter, and the secrets that drive Grace to seek the truth no matter what the cost. Goodreads Don’t Tell Anyone is one of those books that you can actually tell everyone about. Most readers enjoy a good Whodunnit every now and then. Don’t Tell Anyone is a decent mystery with a twist or two in the tail. Grace is devastated after the brutal stabbing of her only child, Tara. Her “almost […]

Posted April 20, 2017
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The Sunday Headlines #4

Greetings! It’s Easter Sunday and time for another edition of The Sunday Headlines where we bring you an update of the past week and give you a forecast of the upcoming week. As always, this post links up with The Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and It’s Monday! What are you reading? hosted by Book Date. Remember to give these lovely ladies a visit and add your linky!It’s been dreadfully cold and raining (hallelujah!) over the weekend, so yes – I would much rather spend my afternoon curled up with a book. But I’ve already skipped Friday Meets and my strict Dutch Reformed background will not permit my conscience to skip another weekly feature. So let’s see how short and sweet this can be!Thalked about this week Cover Characteristics – The saga of Smelly Cat Part 1 Book Travelling Thursdays – The Saga of Smelly Cat Part 2 Top Ten Tuesday – Most Unique Characters in Literature Book Review Jane Steele: Reader, I didn’t care for it much No Self-help section this week. But off the blog, I did go to the movies this week. Imax. 3D. It was amazing…… Beauty and the Beast official trailer Forecast for the week Recently Finished Currently Reading The Signature of […]

Posted April 16, 2017
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Book Travelling Thursdays #4 – The saga of Smelly Cat Part 2

Greetings! Welcome to another edition of Book Travelling Thursdays, hosted by the Goodreads group. Should you wish to participate, just follow the instructions at the end of this post. Earlier this week, I told you about the newest edition to my household. My very own Smelly Cat! Cover Characteristics – Perfume. Seeing that today’s theme for Book Travelling Thursdays is your favorite pet, I’ve decided to honor my little kitten by featuring Jennie by Paul Gallico. Jennie is the story of a young boy called Peter, who is knocked down by a car. To his considerable astonishment, when he recovers, he is not a young boy, but a cat! Fortunately, he meets Jennie, a cat who had been abandoned by her family when they moved away, who educates him in the wiles of the feline world. It was first published in the UK in 1950 and also published in the USA in 1950, but under the title The Abandoned. Here are the two original covers: Those were obviously the days before Covers became really important. The cover below on the left, is the one I have on my bookshelf (it is featured on my photo with Smelly Cat as well!). The one next to it […]

Posted April 13, 2017
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Jane Steele – Reader, I didn't care for it much

Jane Steele by Lyndsay FayeMy rating: 2 of 5 stars This book is a very good example of a bad habit. The habit of assumption. One assumes that a book is going to be great for oh so many reasons: 1.Everyone is raving mad about it (Sometimes Everyone is just raving mad)2. That blurb. I mean really. Of course Everyone is going to go raving mad about it. What’s NOT to like about – “A Gothic retelling of Jane Eyre. Like the heroine of the novel she adores, Jane Steele suffers cruelly at the hands of her aunt and schoolmaster. And like Jane Eyre, they call her wicked – but in her case, she fears the accusation is true. When she flees, she leaves behind the corpses of her tormentors. A fugitive navigating London’s underbelly, Jane rights wrongs on behalf of the have-nots whilst avoiding the noose. Until an advertisement catches her eye. Her aunt has died and the new master at Highgate House, Mr Thornfield, seeks a governess. Anxious to know if she is Highgate’s true heir, Jane takes the position and is soon caught up in the household’s strange spell. When she falls in love with the mysterious […]

Posted April 12, 2017
6 Comments

Top Ten most Unique Characters

Welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday! Today’s topic is Top Ten most unique books we’ve read. Browsing through my reading lists, I’ve realized that apparently I have quite a fondness for unique books. (Most probably because I am such a unique creature myself) And then it hit me! Instead of making a list of the most unique books I’ve read, what about a list of the most unique characters I’ve encountered in literature? You know, those characters without an equal, the one of a kind. Those characters who just can’t be copied. Yes, there are 100’s of them floating out there, but these were my Top Ten Favorites: 1. Hercule Poirot With his patent leather shoes, his pince-nez reading glasses and his turnip pocket watch – Hercule Poirot knows how to put the little grey cells to good use. He has solved over 50 murders and rather than painstakingly examining crime scenes, he enquires into the nature of the victim or the psychology of the murderer. He predicates his actions in his underlying assumption that particular crimes are committed by particular types of people. 2. Luna Lovegood “The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness. Perhaps it was the […]

Posted April 11, 2017
20 Comments

Cover Characteristics – Perfume

Cover Characteristics is a weekly meme hosted by Sugar and Snark. Every week they give us these gorgeous themes and then you have to pick 5 covers featuring that theme. If you want to participate: Pick your covers Post it to your blog Share your post’s URL in the linky provided by Sugar and Snark Go and check out the other guys who also posted! Greetings! We’ve picked up a tiny, tiny, tiny little kitten in the neighbor’s garden a couple of weeks ago. I took him to the vet this morning and she doesn’t think he is much older than 6 weeks (I know – aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh). My husband calls him “Stinkie”. That roughly translates to Smelly Cat. Yea! I’ve got my own Smelly Cat. So today’s Cover Characteristics will be dedicated to my brand new Smelly Cat. We’ll get you some Perfume my boy. Not the easiest of book covers to find… But I did manage to find a few and even added one or two to my reading list. My favorite Covers (yes, all 3. Okay, you choose): The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury The Sleeping Prince by Melinda Salisbury The Scarecrow Queen by Melinda Salisbury Such beautiful […]

Posted April 10, 2017
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The Sunday Headlines #3

Greetings! Welcome to another edition of The Sunday Headlines where we bring you an update of the past week and give you a forecast of the upcoming week. As always, this post links up with The Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and It’s Monday! What are you reading? hosted by Book Date. Remember to give these lovely ladies a visit and add your linky!Thalked about this week APRIL LIBRARY CARD STAMPED CALVINIST TEACHINGS: A list of vile and detestable things FRIDAY MEETS: Not so face to face with Agatha Christie And in our self-help (for no-one else will) section this week: HOW TO DISMALLY FAIL AT BOOK BLOGGING Forecast for the week Currently Reading Jane Steele by Lindsay Faye (kindle) – About 80% done. Will hopefully be finished with it by Tuesday. And review by Wednesday Thursday Friday One surprising day. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (paperback) – Not very far yet. But highly enjoyable. Uneasy Money by P.G. Wodehouse (audio) – I’m struggling a bit to get into audio books lately. Concentration is not what it should be I guess. So I thought let’s take a Wodehouse again. Always good for a laugh. Cross my heart hope to read […]

Posted April 9, 2017
20 Comments

Friday Meets – 07 April 2017

Greetings! No, I’m not here to talk politics today. I’m just here for the books and free coffee and cake. But I simply had to share this joke. Should you by any chance be interested, you are welcome to read more about the Friday March against Zuma @ News24. Let’s talk books! 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. I am currently reading The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert and I enjoy it so much. I’ve used a great quote from this novel yesterday in my Thursday Quotables post. If you come from a strict Dutch Reformed Church background, you have to read everything […]

Posted April 7, 2017
28 Comments

Month: April 2017

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