Collecting - Blog Everyday in May.

I don't know why but I have got into my head that a collection is when you have three or more of something.  If that's the definition of a collection then I have a few collections and my criticism of someone showing me their sword collection, which consisted of one sword still stands...  I seem to have accumulated a fair few shoes, badges, baking goods and cookbooks.

The two things I seem to have accumulated the most of are cds....

...and of course books!

 I sometimes wonder if I'm a hoarder but I then again there are a few things I actively collect like the Walking Dead graphic novels.

As well as band t-shirts, roller derby bout programmes for bouts I've seen and pieces of fabric I am sure I'll make something with one day.  They may not be the most conventional of collections but they're my collections and I think they are one of those things that make up a little part of who I am.

Recent Reads.

It's been a while since I last regaled the Internet with tales of the last books I have read.  Understandably I didn't manage to read very much in November and I think my prose suffered a little for that.

However, in December I made up for it by reading five books and neglected my writing. Well technically I read three novels and two graphic novels...

The first book I read was one I started trying to read another year but couldn't get into but this time I  persevered and ended up getting entranced by Life of Pi.

This is as the title would suggest is a story about someones life.  The life of Piscine Molitor Patel, aka Pi and the various challenges in his life but mainly his watery ordeal.  I'll let you get hold of a copy or watch the film and find out the rest of the story.

Almost immediately after finishing Life of Pi I was given another book to read.  This book was a book that Paul had got out of the library that appealed to me but was unable to steal off him when he borrowed it for himself. Later he got in out of Sheffield Central Library again especially for me.  The book? Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch.

When Paul was reading this book it appealed to me because of the mixture of magical elements and contemporary crime fiction story.  If you know me then you'll know I do enjoy a bit of magic or science fiction entwined into my yarns... crime stories aren't normally my cup of tea but I've enjoyed Jasper Fford's nursery crime series, Paul Magr's Brenda & Effy/ Iris Wildthyme books and Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series so maybe my tastes are changing as I age.

So I ended up devouring that book in a matter of days and enjoyed the mixture of crime drama tropes, magic, geeky references and reminders of puppet shows I hadn't thought about in years.  It made me laugh doubly hard at this years Doctor Who Christmas special actually...

Well once I'd finished Rivers of London I launched into reading the sequel Moon Over Soho that Paul has kindly renewed for me after he'd read it.

This book was just as enjoyable as the first one with the continued magical crime fighting adventures of everyone's favourite apprentice wizard copper and techno geek Peter Grant.  I probably read these books a bit too fast but I did really enjoy them, the only tiny bit that irritated me was that the main character is sometimes a bit dismissive about everywhere that isn't London but then again I'm not a Londoner.  Maybe that's a plus point for some people... I guess if I ever finish my novels people will ask why my characters are always Northern lasses but I guess that's all I know!

Still I'm looking forward to stealing the next book in this series from Paul when he gets it out of the library.  I also like how Ben Aaronovitch has written for Doctor Who like Paul Magrs. (I told my Paul this and he was not impressed! Even less so when I suggested I should try to do the same...)

Next on my book binge hit list was Volume 7 The Calm Before, this was a long anticipated read as I hadn't had my fix of the Walking Dead graphic novels for a year by this point.

I was lucky enough to receive this as one of mine and Paul's joint Christmas presents along with the next book, which was unsurprisingly Volume 8 Made to Suffer.

Both were gripping graphic novels and I won't give any spoilers away to anyone who hasn't got this far but they do a good job of telling the tale of a group of survivors and the trials they face after the zombie apocalypse.  If you haven't read them, give them a go they're brilliant but be warned you'll get hooked fast! Now I just need an excuse for getting volume 9...

After completing these I then started on to my next lot of literary crack and dove into George R.R Martin's A Game of Thrones.

Obviously this is a completely different book to Life of Pi, Rivers of London, Moon Over Soho or The Walking Dead Graphic novels but I think it's good to read something different for a while.  This is good because my sister and her boyfriend bought me this...

Technically it's seven books although it's kind of five I am reliably informed.  So far I'm about a quarter of the way through A Game of Thrones and I'm not not running to read it at every opportunity but I don't like to put it down when I start.  This is obviously a good thing as I can also get some other things done like write this! (Although I should be working on my fiction *cough cough*...)  It also reminds me of the days when I used to hole myself away with fantasy books and read until the books were finished, also another good sign.

I think that this A Song of Ice and Fire boxset should keep me out of trouble for a little bit or at least until I don't know mid June?

Now I think I'm going to attempt to introduce my anti-heroine to her latest predicament then nestle down with a good book!

Recent Reading

When I'm not making something tasty in the kitchen or heading out to see something exciting, I can often be found playing on the internet curled up with a good book.

For my birthday I received a number of lovely books which enchanted me in their different ways.  I've already shared with you the joys of the Bristol Community Cookbook but here are a few other treasures I've enjoyed of late.

These are the Walking Dead Graphic novels I got hooked on after opening them... I used to like reading the odd comic as a teenager but I've always prefered novels and thought that graphic novels were just comics with literary aspirations. I was wrong, these are amazing! Some of the plot points can seem a bit obvious whilst others seem like a shot in the darkness, shocking and confusing.  I found these after watching the TV show based on them and there are similarities in the first book but they aren't exactly the same, so don't let that put you off  reading them if you've watched the show.

Another book good book I recieved was from my lovely friend who bought me the Bristol Community Cook Book.

The Adventuress is an early work by Audry Niffenegger, of the Time Travellers Wife fame.  It is a story full of quirky characters, amusing and sometimes sad happenings.  The book is a gorgeous hard back book with a velvet spine and illustrations to carry the story along when words will not do. It is a modern day fairytale for the young at heart.

The last of the books which has caught my imagination recently has been: Abraham Licoln Vampire Hunter.

This book is from the pen of the author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame Smith. This book acts in a smilar manner to older vampire tales like Dracula trying to set up the truth of the account before spinning a wild tale but the actual story is more about the life of Abraham Lincoln than vampires. It took me longer to get into this book than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, maybe it's because Seth is getting more mature and sticking to one type of undead foe and no other tricks like ninjas were employed.  However, it could have been because of the historical build up due to the protagonists importance in American history, something I've never given a lot of thought to being not being American.... This isn't a book for historical purists or people looking for a serious read, this has pictures of an axe wielding Abe and vampires in period dress.  The book adds extra drama to an already dramatic life and it becomes gripping as you read of Lincoln's rise to power and turmoil in office. It's definately up there with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

I'm currently reading Mythology by Edith Hamilton.  What are you reading?  What have you read recently?