Author: elzaread

King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard

King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard Series: Allan Quatermain #1 on 1885 Genres: Classics Pages: 264 Format: Audiobook, Paperback Source: My Bookshelf Goodreads H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines has entertained generations of readers since its first publication in 1885. Following a mysterious map of dubious reliability, a small group of men trek into southern Africa in search of a lost friend-and a lost treasure, the fabled mines of King Solomon. Led by the English adventurer and fortune hunter Allan Quartermain, they discover a frozen corpse, survive untold dangers in remote mountains and deserts, and encounter the merciless King Twala en route to the legendary hoard of diamonds. Audio book listened to between May 20 – May 26, 2016 (Listened to a few chapters again 25 June 2020) Librivox recording by John Nicholson (I still vote for Sean Connery to do this reading) My rating: Goodreads: H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines has entertained generations of readers since its first publication in 1885. Following a mysterious map of dubious reliability, a small group of men trek into southern Africa in search of a lost friend-and a lost treasure, the fabled mines of King Solomon. Led by the English adventurer and fortune […]

Posted June 26, 2020
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Wednesday Wisdom with The Shadow of the Wind

It’s Wednesday and time for mid-week reflection. As you all know by now, I am a little white kitten who love to cause havoc as much as possible. By now, I can rearrange bathroom, kitchen and clothing cupboards like a pro. My ultimate desire, is to start rearranging my mommy’s bookshelves as well. Alas… I am only able to access one. I do get the impression that some books on the shelf are even more precious to my mommy than me. Impossible, I know. But still, that little voice lingers…. I know that my mommy can reflect on books forever and a day. She even has these little books that she constantly writes in while reading a book. Apparently it’s for quotes and thoughts. I’m not that good with reflections yet, unless you talk about the little kitten who hides behind the mirror. I also know that my mommy has been very sad about the passing of Carlos Ruiz Zafon this past Friday. She says he wrote the most magical books and you just can’t get more perfect than that. The only thing I could think of to do to help her, was throw those little books from the shelf, […]

Posted June 24, 2020
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Top Ten Tuesday 10 Books set in South Africa

It’s Tuesday and we’ve been playing around with this week’s prompt for Top Ten Tuesday for a couple of days now. “Pick a past TTT topic you’ve done and re-do/update it”. My mommy’s been strolling down memory lane, aka Mareli Thalk Ink, searching for a previous post that we can use and link up with That Artsy Girl, our lovely host for this weekly feature. We are from the land way down there on the southern most part of Africa, South Africa. We live in a picturesque coastal town, called Jeffreys Bay. Our hometown is one of the five most famous surfing destination in the world and hosts the annual World Surf League surfing event at Super Tubes during July. It’s better known as the Corona Open. Rather ironic, don’t you think? And I have no idea what that actually means. I haven’t even been born last July and so far, nothing much except the world wide Lock Down is occurring here or on our beautiful beaches. But we are still reading. And we are still proudly South African. So let’s share 10 books set in South Africa with you today. Mommy has made a few tweaks and add-on’s and she even listed the books according to genres, to […]

Posted June 23, 2020
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The Sunday Post #2

Greetings! It’s Sunday and we are still here! The Angels were definitely hard at work this week in accomplishing that miracle. Our week was rough, but the weekend was good enough. Mommy spend hours upon hours trying to figure out all the know hows of blogging again, and I’m not all that sure that she is much wiser 7 days later. But alas, she still tries and I do provide the necessary assistance and support by catching birds and releasing them in her bedroom. Luckily it’s now time for a quick coffee break with Kimberly over at her cozy corner of the blogosphere, Caffeinated Book Reviewer to rant and rave about our past week. There we share the books acquired, what we are currently reading and watching and anything else you deem necessary to share regarding the last 7 days. You are most welcome to join us – just link up! Adding to the litter Except for obtaining some new skills regarding HTML codes and skimming Blogging 101, we didn’t actual add anything this week. Mommy just received another lovely coloring book from one of her friends. Querkles Cats by Thomas Pavitte. I have to be honest, I was shocked to realize that she […]

Posted June 21, 2020
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Weekend Book Friends #1

Greetings! It’s Friday and I have survived my first week of blogging. Mommy says this is way more complicated than she remembers and she needs a weekend of books and wine. I totally agree. She needs to swap her whine for wine and pay more attention to me. Let’s pop those bottles and open those pages and get the weekend reading going. What better way to spend your weekend than sharing a few glasses and pages with friends. So we will meet up with a couple of Mommy’s old friends. Our first stop is Freda over at Freda’s voice who hosts the Friday 56. Don’t show up empty handed though! 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 last but not least, don’t forget to list the title of the book and the author as well. Today’s feature is an oldie, but still a goodie. […]

Posted June 19, 2020
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Top Ten Tuesday 10 Books on my Winter Shelf

It’s Tuesday and time for Top Ten Tuesday! The most popular meme on the blogosphere. Or so I’m told. This is my first time and I am super excited (all curled up in a warm blanket at my mommy’s feet). The last time she visited, it was still hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but there is a new pretty lady over at That Artsy Reader Girl who is playing host now. I think I’m going to like her. She seems like a cat person. Today’s prompt is Top Ten Books on my Summer TBR list. Luckily that pretty Artsy Lady considered us here in the Southern Hemisphere as well where we definitely do not experiencing any summery vibes. This is my fist winter and I’m not all that sure how I feel about it. There’s lots of cuddle time and some comfy warm blankets to snuggle into. But nature still calls and I need to go play outside as well where it’s dreadfully cold and wet. Mommy says I should just embrace it and think of all the lovely books we are going to read in front of the fire. So let’s have a look at what she’s dusting of […]

Posted June 16, 2020
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The Sunday Post #1

Greetings Humans! How wonderful to meet up with you on this sunny Sunday afternoon. My name is Elza and yes, I am a feline of about 8 months old. My mommy used to blog at marelithalkink a couple of years ago. As soon as we can figure out all the know hows, we will try to import the previous content. For now, bare with me here (luckily I’m awfully cute). My mommy was very excited to see that the Sunday Post are still being hosted by Caffeinatedbookreviewer She explained to me that this is a weekly meme where you can recap the past week, show off any new books and share anything else you would consider worth mentioning. Like the grasshopper I caught and left to die under the pillow on the chair where Daddy sits in the kitchen. All you need to do is link up and go and say hi to few other bloggers. *Mommy tried to update on Monday about 100 times and on Tuesday a few clicks Clicks Clicks later, I think I did something wrong and now half the post is gone. Oooops… I do get away with murder (small lizards, butterflies, moths, the fore mentioned grasshopper), so maybe you […]

Posted June 15, 2020
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Friday Meets 15 December 2017

How many Fridays do we have left? Before Christmas? After Christmas? I am seriously suffering from a bit of Scrooge syndrome the past couple of weeks. In more ways than one. Some good, some bad. But I do believe it is Friday and that means we can talk books. I can still do that. Meet me on Friday @ Friday 56 for a bit of Book Blogger Hop to kick-start the weekend with Book Beginnings. Let’s start with Book Beginnings for a change. Why leave new things for the new year when trying them out in the old year is just as good? This weekly feature is hosted by Gilion @ Rose City Reader. Every Friday we share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.I’ve got a good old Christie listed today. And it comes with a confession. I’ve read and re-read so many Agatha Christie books. I especially enjoy reading the book and then watch the adaptation. There’s been numerous adaptations of her work and most of them are also of such good quality that […]

Posted December 15, 2017
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Top Ten Favorite Books for 2017

The year is just about at an end and not to sound like Scrooge, but bah humbug to that. Not that I am ungrateful, in fact I am extremely grateful to join The Broke and the Bookish once again for Top Ten Tuesday and that I managed to read more than 10 books this year so that I can at least make a selection of my Ten Favorite Books for 2017. As with most books, my selection is strictly based on personal experiences. None of my favorites for 2017 are actually published in 2017. In fact I have two books on my list that were published in the previous century! But that is the wonder of books and the magic of reading. It is always in the present tense the moment you open the book. I don’t really have an ascending order from most favorite to least favorite list for this year. Each of the books listed meant something to me through a really tough year. Let’s have a quick look at the books that made my list: Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult Okay, this one is actually my favorite for the year. It’s my blanky book. A book that brought comfort and peace and […]

Posted December 12, 2017
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Queen of Spades by Michael Shou-Yung Shum

Title: Queen of SpadesAuthor: Michael Shou-Yung ShumPublished by: Forest Avenue PressPublication date: 10 October 2017 Genre: General Fiction, SuspenseISBN: 19424363319Mareli’s rating: 3.5 starsRecommend to: If you have a gambling problem – stay clear. This book reveals the ‘magic’ of a casino and the luck of the card. Description: Queen of Spades revamps the classic Pushkin fable of the same name, transplanted to a mysterious Seattle-area casino populated by a pit boss with six months to live, a dealer obsessing over the mysterious methods of an elderly customer known as the Countess, and a recovering gambler who finds herself trapped in a cultish twelve-step program. With a breathtaking climax that rivals the best Hong Kong gambling movies, Michael Shou-Yung Shum’s debut novel delivers the thrilling highs and lows that come when we cede control of our futures to the roll of the dice and the turn of a card. Forest Avenue Press “We can never know anything for sure”, the Countess replied. “for what we speak of is gambling” What an intriguing tale involving gambling, casinos, card dealing, taking high stake chances and card games I never even heard of……I’m still not much the wiser, but I was mesmerized by the magical and oh so addictive turn of the cards. Hard to believe that this was Michael Shou-Yung Shum’s debut novel. […]

Posted October 28, 2017
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Author: elzaread

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