Down the TBR Hole #3

Hi, and how are you today? I’m doing another tidy up in just my third Episode of Down the TBR Hole. This meme has been running for ages now, and it’s a great way of updating and making room for all the new stuff that we’re forced to add to our poor TBR’s. The pressure is real folks!

As always, kudos to Lia who now blogs at her new blog Sunflowers and Wonder. Her other blog Lost in a Story is also worth a 👀💜

You probably all know how it works by now, but in case you’re new to this here’s the guidelines:

• Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 or 10 (or more!) books. (Of course, if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.)
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go

So there it is, the big hole of doom, who is going down it today? Let’s get cracking….

I FINALLY actually OWN this beauty as I’m a massive Herbert fan and this was one of the few I didn’t have because it was RIDICULOUSLY expensive! Even second hand internet sellers wanted in excess of £60 quid for it! 😯 Anyway, I found it on World of Books for a very reasonable £4.00. So I snapped it up. That’ll be a keeper!

I’ve read the first book in the series ‘Labyrinth’ and remember how wonderful it was, but I’ve just never got around to continuing. I don’t know why really, Kate Mosse is an incredible author. I’ll get to it. One day.

This is #3 in a series of classic Supernatural stories by Wheatley. I can’t get rid of this in case I love #1 and #2. It’s going to have to stay put I’m afraid! Not much of a clear out so far is it?! 🤭

Another mid-series offering from the macabre Wheatley that I still haven’t read. Sigh. It’s #4 in the Black Magic series and it’s on my second shelf down on my new TBR trolley, so I know it’ll be picked up soon.

Oh for goodness sake! This isn’t going well at all. I’ve just got to get around to this one. I owned it as I actually stayed in The Jamaica Inn in Cornwall about 15 years ago and bought the book while I was there. And now I cannot find it. 🤷‍♀️ I’ll have to re-buy because I can’t not read this. Honestly. 🙄

That didn’t make any space did it?! But I guess it shows that I do choose books that I fully intend to read after all.

I think I’ve learned over the last few years to not read all the books. Be a bit more choosy.

When I first got into reviewing I can remember saying yes to every book offered to me and it got a bit much.

I’m also done with what Zuky over at Bookbum calls ‘Throwaway Thrillers’. They really are ten a penny and getting samey. So I’m definitely adding less in that genre and again, picking one or two instead of twenty two!

Right, I’m off for a weekend of (hopefully) reading. So no talking to me. Anyone. Unless it’s to do with coffee. Or curry. I could murder a curry.

Night night.

Acronyms #2 – Or, translation to English of my previous post.

So I’ve been getting so many questions asking me what on earth I was waffling on about on yesterday’s post Acronyms – Or WTF does that stand for?

(I haven’t at all, in fact one person has shown a bit of intrigue, mainly trying to fathom out what I had for dinner. You know who you are. EVA, from Novel Deelights!! 😂)

So, just to milk it within an inch of its life, here’s the translation you’ve all been desperately waiting for.

I’ve read LORD OF THE RINGS, WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE, THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, PAPERBACKS FROM HELL and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE DA VINCI CODE, ANGELS AND DEMONS and THE LOST SYMBOL by DAN BROWN. But I’ve not got around to reading ORIGIN yet, his latest one.

I haven’t read, and I don’t think I would read A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES or TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE. They’re not really my genre choice, which would explain why I didn’t have the foggiest!

I listen to ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS PRINCE, ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, GUNS AND ROSES, IRON MAIDEN, and FLEETWOOD MAC, but wasn’t overly keen on NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK back in the day.

For dinner tonight I’m making PORK CHOPS and HAGGIS with POTATOES and MIXED VEGETABLES. And don’t forget the all important PEPPER SAUCE. My mans Scottish, so HAGGIS is a regular meal staple in my house.

Whilst creating my culinary masterpiece I shall be sipping a VODKA AND DIET COKE, (I actually had 4. Oops 😬) but I’m also a bit partial to the odd GIN AND TONIC. My all time favourite tipple has got to be RED WINE though.

TO ALL THE WINE I’VE DRUNK BEFORE,

This GRAPHICS INTERCHANGE FORMAT is for you.

As a teenager I fell in love and sent letters to my hearts desire SEALED WITH A LOVING KISS 💋💋✉️💋💋

Intrigued, interested or just darn right annoyed by my acronyms and would like to know WHAT THE FUCK I’m on about?

Comment below and I’ll let you know what things stand for. Or don’t bother. DO I LOOK LIKE I GIVE A FUCK?

Until next time,

TALK TO YOU LATER

HAPPY ACRONYM-FREE WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

Acronyms – Or, WTF does that stand for?

Firstly, I’d like to thank these three lovely ladies for the inspiration to create this blog post. Had it not been for our Twitter conversation yesterday regarding a certain ‘must read’ list that’s been doing the rounds, I would never of thought of this!

Kelly, @kellyvandamme who blogs over at frombelgiumwithbooklove.com

Eva, @noveldeelights who blogs over at noveldeelights.com

Emma, @damppebbles who blogs over at damppebbles.com

Check them out on Twitter and maybe give their blogs a follow, they’re great bookish fun!!

OK, so the conversation we were having started because none of us had read hardly any of the ‘must read books‘ on said list. In fact, we’d read none of them. Nowt. Zilch. Zero.

So this list that you may or may not be aware of gets sent by DM on Twitter and the recipients answers look a bit like this:

No

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

No

No

Yes

DNF’ed

No

No

Only book 1

Etc,etc….in fact there’s 23 answers in total.

And if you want to know what’s on the list, you comment with an emoji and it gets DM’ed to you. And so it continues.

Anyway, a couple of these ‘must read’ books have well known acronyms apparently. Just because the titles are a bit on the long side. However, me being me, as in, I’m old and so not with it, had no idea what they stood for.

I guess we’re all guilty of cutting corners, for the sake of saving a little bit of time and acronyms for book titles really are nothing new.

After all, I’ve read LOTR, WHALITC, THOHH, PBFH, and LTROI.

I thoroughly enjoyed TDVC, AAD and TLS by DB. But I’ve not got around to reading O yet, his latest one.

I haven’t read, and I don’t think I would read ACOTAR or TATBILB. They’re not really my genre choice, which would explain why I didn’t have the foggiest!

I listen to AFKAP, ELO, GNR, IM, FM but wasn’t overly keen on NKOTB back in the day.

For dinner tonight I’m making PC and H with P and MV. And don’t forget the all important PS. My mans Scottish, so H is a regular meal staple in my house.

Whilst creating my culinary masterpiece I shall be sipping a V&DC. But I’m also a bit partial to the odd G&T. My all time favourite tipple has got to be RW though.

TATWIDB. This GIF is for you.

As a teenager I fell in love and sent letters to my hearts desire SWALK.

Intrigued, interested or just darn right annoyed by my acronyms and would like to know WTF I’m on about? Comment below and I’ll let you know what things stand for. Or don’t bother. DILLIGAF.

Until next time,

Understanding and Treating Your Migraine by Paula Greenspan

Ironically, I started reading Understanding & Treating Your Migraine when I had a bit of a dull ache behind my right eye. I put it down to strenuously decorating my bathroom, looking up at the ceiling at a funny angle without my specs, and the two double vodka and diet cokes I had the night before.

Had I of already read this book, I would of been well aware that this was the beginning of a three day throb in my head that felt like an axe was chopping its way through my brain at twenty second intervals.

As some of you may or may not know, I’m at that age where I’m getting more and more aches, pains, strains, cracks and generally struggling to get up from kneeling down without bracing myself to do it.

My headaches over the last 3 or 4 years have been getting worse. I’ve tried to solve the problem, thinking perhaps it was down to my slightly unhealthy lifestyle, so I ditched the caffeine, red wine and chocolate for a while.

I’m pleased to say it made very little difference, apart from my waistline improved somewhat. I missed those three delights and was just a miserable, slightly slimmer version of me, so they are all back on the menu. As are the size 12-14’s.

Thinking it could be my eyesight, I spent a fortune at Boots opticians, ok, granted, I’ve always wanted Ray-Bans and decided to splash out, all in the name of stopping my aching head, but alas, the headaches still came. But at least I looked a bit cooler now, even if I was still in agony every few months.

The author, Paula Greenspan is a migraine sufferer herself. Along with input from many other poor souls who suffer buckets from these debilitating symptoms, I actually feel like I can start to improve the way in which I cope with them. After all, there is no cure, it’s just a case of educating myself and understanding those tell tale signs. This is all down to the reassurance, simple advice and knowing I’m not alone in my struggle after reading this book.

It also includes a whole host of experts giving sound advice on the subject, some things obvious, some not so much. It also has pointers about how to keep a Migraine diary and actually learn from it. There’s also a brilliant chapter covering Migraine and hormones and some very useful links to further help.

I’ve taken so much from this book, because, like many of us do, I’ve googled signs and symptoms and there’s so much out there, it’s hard to distinguish the sensible to the darn right ridiculous. (One person vowed that placing a blue clothes peg on her third eye was the ultimate cure. Failing that, anything a mid-dark blue colour would do. And no, I didn’t try it, I just took more ibuprofen and went back to bed!)

A surprisingly high proportion of people suffer from migraines and loose days due to not being able to function because of the intense pain and discomfort caused. Dizziness, feelings of detachment, cottonwool head and one of my regular favourites, the underfoot dropping jolt sensation.

I’m trying to make this as entertaining and funny as I can, but for those of us who get this horrible ailment I’d highly recommend getting this book! I cannot believe how much better it has made me feel.

Sometimes I thought I was having a stroke, the pain in my head was so severe, but after reading this, I’m far more positive about how I’m going to get through my next episode. I think that is due to the reassurance and knowing that other people experience similar symptoms, and I’m not loosing my head after all.

I’d like to say a big thank you to the author for writing this book, to Pen & Sword Publishers for sending me a copy to review, and also to the fellow sufferers who shared their experiences. I feel a whole lot better and not so alone now.

Book Tag – Inside and Out

Hello hello!! Only me!

After reading Nicki’s post over on her Secret Library Book Blog and also Drew’s hilarious answers on The Tattooed Book Geek I wanted to join in with this tag as it’s a lot of fun!

It’s a great idea and I thought it originally started over at Jessica Writes. Turns out, she didn’t as she put me right, so who did I wonder🤔 Anyhoo, be sure you check out and maybe follow these guys, their blogs are very cool!😎

So, without further ado, here goes:

1) Inside flap/back of the book summaries: Too much info? Or not enough?

Just enough to make me go ooooooh!!!

2) New book: What form do you want it in? Be honest: Audiobook, eBook, Paperback or Hardcover?

Being the ‘book cover judger’ that I am, I often get drawn in by a shiny new hardback. (See photo below!) Trouble is, they’re really heavy to hold in the bath which is my favourite reading place! So, unless it’s a new release from an author I’ve been waiting on, I’d say it’s gonna have to be paperback. Purely for comfort and convenience. Comfort always wins at my age!!

3) Scribble while you read? Do you like to write in your books; take notes, make comments, or do you keep your books clean, clean, clean?

CALL THE COPS!! People who write in books should get arrested.

4) Does it matter to you whether the author is male or female when you’re deciding on a book? What if you’re unsure of the authors gender?

It isn’t important at all. If I like the sound of the synopsis I’ll buy it based on that. AND THAT ALONE. (Lies, Lisa, lies, it’s all about the cover and you know it.)🤨 That isn’t true.

5) Ever read ahead? Or have you ever read the last page way before you got there?

That’s very disturbing behaviour. People who do that must be serial killers.

6) Organised bookshelves or outrageous bookshelves?

My ‘read’ bookshelf is a thing of neat beauty. Here’s a sample:

However, my ‘TBR’ trolley is a little bit messy, but it’s basically my life on wheels, so, you know…

7) Have you ever bought a book based on the cover (alone)?

Perhaps.

I’ll elaborate. The black sprayed edges did it. And it turned out to be a fantastic read by a fabulous author who I went on to read a lot more of her stuff…

8) Take it outside to read, or stay in?

I prefer reading indoors. Unless I’m on holiday and I’ll try my hardest to get engaged with my holiday reads at the pool. My problem with reading outside is I am such a nosey cow. I get so easily distracted by stuff, (other peoples conversations, shoe choice, summer dress choice, hair style, dogs, birds, cats, food, drink. You get the picture 🤥😆) My concentration level is zero in the big wide world. Book. In the bath. Best place ever.

Aaah, that was a fun one! Care to join in with this tag? Give me a mention, I’d love to have a read!

Until next time, bye for now 👋🏻