Just finished this powerfully moving story about twin boys, Jon and Eden, who suffered a tragic accident and had to live through the loss and effects, staying strong together
A tale set in Melbourne, Australia, my home, so many suburbs and roads mentioned were familiar and once I even passed through Altona at the same time the story was happening there.
Wonderful story, engaging and emotional
Highly recommended debut novel by Campbell Mattinson.

Absolutely loved this book!
Gilbert has guided me along, as I was so stuck with my own creativity. She guided & ensured me & reasoned, in so many ways, to keep going, if for no one else than for myself & for the sake of enjoyment, not torture or angst.
So eloquently written & spoken, I enjoyed the images I conjured up as she told her stories. So easy to.listen to.
I loved Eat Pray Love, but I loved this book so much more and in a whole new way 😍

I'm just over halfway and I'm loving it!
I don't often read very quickly or get so drawn into a book as I am with this one.

So much familiarity in her story and so much to learn about growing up and growing older. So very relatable.

I'm looking forward to watching the series on Netflix with my hubby when I'm done!

This was an interesting one. I've been recommended a few more of his books too.
Dispenza recently held a seminar in Melbourne and a couple of my friends went to see him. They said it was an amazing experience. He had the whole room meditating during the seminar.
I've almost finished this one and looking forward to reading more soon.
He has a TV series as well, which I started watching a few years ago, before I knew who he was.
Recommended :)

I must share this book!
Perfect for creatives or any human out there 😊
Loving it so far. So enpoint.

Loving this beautiful book atm.
Sweet teenage love and angst.
Pretty cover too.
My first taste of Rainbow Rowel

I've been taste testing a few new authors lately and am really enjoying what I'm discovering 😁

Beautifully written, poetic, life lessons and a great ending.
I loved listening to this on audio. Took me about 6 weeks over Christmas and I'm missing it now that I'm done
I don't read fantasy/supernatural but I quite enjoyed this story. Interesting, original concept.
Nice taste of V. E. Schwab.

Perfect narration by Julie Whelan!

My daughter had to read this for school so it was in my audiobook list after I had borrowed it for her when she had trouble getting through the paperback earlier this year.
Sometimes I'm a "grab the first thing I see" kinda person, and this was my first grab this week.
Curious as to what is being selected for year 7s, this book has me intrigued so far, at only an hour in. A dystopian world of a population of 300 & some bees.

Started this book one once again.
I'm listening to the audiobook atm as my novels are still boxed & sitting in a gigantic pile below the stairs of our new house and not yet on shelves since our move 2 months ago.
Enjoying this story so fat :)

Another one of Tyler's books to get me through long drives to my jobs over the last few weeks.
This one beginning in the 1950's and following a family's journey through to current day including Covid 19 and the lockdowns we all experienced.
I love Anne Tyler's writing and her poignant reminder of the passing of time. This book has many moments which are easily relatable to families including my own.
Enjoyable and easy to follow.

Loving this book at the moment
It's helping me realise the answers to many questions I've been having as well as helping me find reason to why things have gone awry.
It's been a struggle for a while with my partner & it's been hard to communicate openly without an outburst, so this book is helping me take a look into the past & compare my care givers relationship to me to the adult relationship I am currently in.
Hendrix is very clear & concise.

Ok, a quick stop at Beaufort, the town I stayed in for a 3 day artists retreat until the morning of my 50th birthday, where I stopped for a coffee on the way home, caught up on messages not recieved due to lack of reception up there and a browse through an op shop..... a must do, purchased something even if there wasn't anything too good on the shelves....
The top 2 were published the year i was born I realised when I got home!

Just a few books I've picked up over the past few months. Logging them now into my library catalog now to put them away.
I'm slowing down now on book collecting as I've actually run out of space and I think I have enough books to last me the rest of my days. Any books in the future will have to be pretty special (or cheap, lol) to make it on my existing stacks (not shelves 😁)
1415 is my current collection of novels.

Listening to the second volume of the Earth's Children series for the past month or so.
Interesting enough, perhaps I have too much on atm but the story is not keeping me interested enough to continue listening.
I'm tempted to begin another book for some variety as I've just come off the first book which took me 2 months to read, but I'm afraid if I do I won't go back. I'm almost halfway.
Is it worth it to continue?

Finished this recently. It only took me 2 months!
I didn't have the physical copy but found the audiobook in my husbands audible account 🙂 I only have been able to listen to it in the car between trips to work.
Loved it though! I've started the second book Valley of Horses now and I have both the audio and the physical copy. Looking forward to getting through the series of 6.

Diobedience is the true foundation of liberty
The obedient must be slaves.

Henry David Thoreau

Listening to The Giver of Stars whilst I get back into watercolor painting after 4 years break. I was only a beginner back then so still in my learning phase.
Hoping to paint some more interesting subjects in the future. Although not yet finished I gained some confidence whilst listening to this beautiful book and getting familiar with my paints again. What a satisfying evening.

This story is so beautifully told. I'm loving it so far.

Online schooling ✔
Lunch ✔
Doctors app ✔
Shopping ✔

Now for a bit of reading before dinner....

I'm almost 2/3 of the way into Gone Girl. I'm a bit weirded out by one of the main characters atm.
Enjoying the story so far. This kind of genre is definitely helping to confirm my favorite genre. And it's not this.
I've just finished Verity, & this has a similar feel. I enjoy them but stories which are set further back in history interest me more.

As our book of the month, my bookclub has chosen Verity for August.
I purchase it online and I'm now 75 pages in.
Not my usual genre but not too bad so far....

My only regret was reading the blurb on the back cover! I felt like it gave away far too much & I was rolling my eyes when the storyline was becoming ambiguous. I was already drawing conclusions.

Tip, don't read blurb on back cover if you like some surprise elements!

I've been jumping around a few books this week and tried out this one before it disappears from my audio library in 3 days. Well, I'm loving it so far!

Just finished this book as part of a bookclub read. It felt like a quick 16 hours on audio.
Not my usual genre but it was ok. I've never read anything by Liane Moriarty before and thought I never would.
I will elaborate more tomorrow.

I made some bookmarks recently for family members and I quite enjoyed it so I have decided to make some more. These are the ones I've completed this week as Melbourne is now in it's 5th lockdown. All my work has been cancelled again, luckily I don't have a mortgage!
So I have thought long and hard and decided to dedicate more time to my art to hopefully get me through these unpaid weeks should they continue on in the future.
More to come soon..😊

Found these top four books at a little free library in Brunswick right where I was working on Sunday 😃

I must do the rounds and drop my read books off to these lovely little shared libraries.

My birthday present to myself.
Normally I scour opshops for my books but there's been a few of which I can't seem to find. My wishlist was growing so, as I had so much work these last couple weeks and it was my birthday I thought I'd order the most prominent on my wishlist from online! I never pay full price for books, so it's quite special

Very excited 😁😁😁

Let's hope I don't find any of these at the opshop for a buck in the near future, lol!

I'm just over halfway atm
It really paints a picture of the difficult times and uncertainty as well as people's relationships in the early 40's in Australia during the war. Everyone doing their part to help the boys away at war. All the small things not really thought of, like grape picking to make fruit cakes to send over, school rubber drives, sock knitting, etc....
Letter writing also so beautiful between parents, friends, siblings, and lovers.

Been flat out working over school hols (thank goodness!) & haven't had much time for physical reading, but I've been listening to this fabulous audiobook on my long drives to & from jobs. It's the perfect companion to a lengthy drive & even though I didn't always look forward to listening to it early on, I sure got plenty from it soon after! Infact, I would happily read it again!
So much to think about, so much to learn.
So thought provoking.

These are the 3 books I am currently reading and coincidentally, I've just realized, they are all because of my 3 children.
Alice in Wonderland I'm listening to each night with my 8 year old girl.
The Hunger Games I'm reading with my 12 year old. It is a first time read for both of us.
Gone Girl I'm reading as my 19 year old wants to watch the movie with me but I'd like to read the book first.
3 great reasons to be reading 😍😍😍

After binge watching the mini series The Beautiful Lie on Netflix recently (based on Tolstoy's Anna Karenina) I've become obsessed with this story. I can't stop thinking about it. I have actually never even known the story before, although aware of the book.
So I've decided to sink my teeth into the novel today. Normally I'd be out at work from sunup til after sundown but once again all of my bookings were cancelled, so another week without pay...

Out for our exercise today during Victoria's current lockdown (with another 7 day extension I've just heard).
Got my water, my coffee, my knitting and my book.
My 12 yr old daughter is reading The Hunger Games at the moment so I'm reading along with her. My first time reading. Enjoying it so far 😊

It's day 3 of a 7 day lockdown here in Melbourne & I should be face painting all day at the Royal Melbourne Zoo but instead I'm reading The Zookeeper's Wife in bed.
Yesterday was spent cleaning my garage & preparing for online schooling next week! Keeping busy & productive 😁

This book is incredible in terms of facts in & around Warsaw during the German occupation in Ww2.
Looking forward to watching the movie when I finish.
Only 50 pages left!

I think I read this book at around 12-14yrs. I must admit I was curious about this story but I remember I didn't really find it engrossing.
Reading it again 36 years later I have a completely different perspective & am very much enjoying chipping away at it on audiobook with my 8 yr old.
We listen to about 5 minutes or less before she's fast asleep!!! I am liking taking it slowly & repeating some parts many times with overlapping a bit each night.

I've just read chapter 20 about pediatrician Henryk Goldszmit/Janusz Korczak. The saddest chapter so far.

I've never read any of Georgia Blain's work.
I actually have this on my shelf, but as I listen I couldn't imagine enjoying reading it although it is written beautifully. I'm listening whilst I pack for a weekend away.
It delves into the few main characters individually. Their lives past, current, their relationships, regrets & reflections. Although not engrossing, sister April totally makes me think of my girl!
Set in Australia. Rose Bay, Sydney.

Listening to this inbetween reading The Zookeeper's Wife.
An interesting memoir of two girls from South Africa beginning with the tragic fate of one.

This was a wonderful story of a young girl's life, her coming of age and a love story wound in, set in Australia in the late 1800's.
I've just finished it on the way home from work, a perfect end to my day :)

Reading this amazing true story at the moment!

Page 6
"Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind"

Page 18
"Mrs. Van Hopper's voice pierced my dream like an electric bell."
???

Just spent the last day, night and now morning finishing The Nightingale.
Wow, surprises all through!
I felt I was right there with these strong characters, more invested always knowing that the setting was very real.
I love the message in the story, the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
Heartbreaking times, living lives full of fear, risk, challenge, courage, adventure, survival, love.
Tear jerker.

Finding it hard to find the time to read lately with work being so busy, but I'm chipping away at this one.
It actually makes me think of the series 'Allo 'Allo as I'm reading & last night I found a few episodes that I used to watch so many years ago, quite ignorant then of the reality of war. But I'm finding many similarities between the two, albeit very different approaches. Anyway, I've had a good laugh at the series & now back to the book 😍

This scorched landscape stretches all the way to Lake Eyre, a salt lake covering around 5800 square kilometers with an annual rainfall of less than 125 millimeters. Surrounded by the Tirari Desert, the area has remained largely immune to the taming of influence of fences, roads and homesteads. Travellers through the ages have found it an unsettling environment. The explorer Cecil Madigan wrote in 1940: (see above)

Part 2 of my splurge at the OP shop recently.
Loving how big and diverse my collection is getting now but I must stick to reading my own books and stop borrowing from the library in order to chip away at my stacks.
So excited about all the possibilities I have to choose from though!

And yes, I had another book buying spree at my favorite op shop a little while ago.... this is half of it.
But when will I find the time???
Hoping work will die down a little to give me a breather and some reading time. I need some down time!

Found these 3 in a little free library recently!
My friend has been talking about Women Who Run with the Wolves! So excited I have an opportunity to read it also.

Any thoughts on the other 2 books?

I finished this chunkster this week and it's recorded the time I spent reading/listening. Wowsers! 3 days!
That's like almost 80 hours of listening (and rewinding) lol.
That'll gotta be my record.
Well I really loved this one, paired with the hardcover from the library, I found it so fascinating.
Now I'm onto The Dig Tree, same true story, written 15 years earlier by Sarah Murgatroyd.

"Some believed the Australian interior would reveal nothing more than a vast desert, others fantasised about mountain ranges, fertile plains, lost civilisations and wild animals unknown to science. A few believed the semi-submersible wagon might be needed to sail across an inland sea. The truth was - nobody knew."

Ok, on the hunt for Daphne du Maurier books, with my heart set on Rebecca, I found 3 of hers in a second hand book shop and my reserve at the library for Rebecca finally arrived.
I only have a few days left to read it for the #authoramonth challenge with @Soubhiville , but if i can't before then, then I'm still happy to read them later on in the year!

Right as I finally come to the close of Burke & Wills by Peter Fitzsimons, a copy of The Dig Tree comes in on reserve at the library for me!
A VERY busy weekend coming up for me with work, but on Monday I'll be snuggled up in bed ready to dig into The Dig Tree, from Sarah Murgatroyd's perspective, written 16 yrs previously to Fitzsimons. (Looks like the tagged book needs the authors name corrected).
So excited! I may just begin it right now 😁

Woo hoo! They made it! Well almost....the last leg, traveled on foot, Burke and Wills struggled through & were bogged down in the mangroves, only a days trek from the actual sea (the water here was salty at least) & not even a marker was left to indicate the furthest point of their expedition.
A long, difficult trek of 2000 miles across the Australian continent taking 6 months from Melbourne, Victoria to The Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory

"Beckler is stunned at the humility, the honesty... the humanity. It is the act of a gracious man with a conscience that Beckler had previously not considered the Aborigines capable of. Just like real people!"

This is such an amazing book.
The story, of course true, documented through journals, letters, news articles, personal recounts, documents & such is full, riveting & easy as well as entertaining to read.
Peter Fitzsimons has done a remarkable job in painting a textured picture of this expedition and breathing life into familiar names us Aussies know so well.
So much going on & much hardship on their journey. Its 4am & I can't put this book down!