Monday Musings

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading 

This week’s musing is… a book meme!

What was the last book you…
• borrowed from the library?

I actually have a whole pile of library books at the moment but the library book I borrowed that I'm reading at the moment is Friday Nights by Joanna Trollope. 75 pages to go and counting!

• bought?

 Hhmmmm.... I just bought 3 copies of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, by Tiffany Baker. They were too good to resist at just $2 each - and hardcover at that. But they were gifts... does that count?
The last book I bought for myself was... actually I think it was the same (woops - blonde moment!)

• cried over?

Goodbye Sarajevo,  by Atka Reid and Hana Schofield - it's the story of two sisters in the Bosnian War of the 1990s and the lives during and after this horrific period. Incredible! My best read of the year so far.  

• disliked and couldn’t finish?

The one I'm reading at the moment actually - Friday Nights by Joanna Trollope, but I'm determined not to let it beat me!

• read & loved?

I've had a good run of books I've loved this year, but perhaps one that comes to mind is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Now for the movie!

• got for review? (or: got in the mail?)

 The last book I got in the mail was actually a Lonely Planet Guide to Jordan - where I'll be in just 8 weeks time! I can't wait!

• gave to someone else?

The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly - I've been sending them to everyone!

• stayed up too late reading?

Um... all of them?! But The Dakota Born Trilogy, by Debbie Macomber was very tough to put down.

PS: Does anyone know why my text is highlighted in white?

Monday musings

Musing Mondays are hosted by MizB at ShouldBeReading.

This week’s musing asks…

Do you prefer character-driven stories, or plot-driven stories?

Can I be greedy and say I like both? I can so easily be captured by a great character - in fact, characters are certainly what make the book for me. But these great characters still need to have a strong plot around them to keep me really riveted - so, find the right balance and I'm hooked!

Monday Musings

This week’s musing asks…

If you were (are) going on vacation, what books would you take with you?

Hhhmmmm - good question, it depends what kind of vacation I'm going on. A beach side vacation - chicklit. Definitely chicklit! Or historical fiction. Give me Lesley Pearse, or Jennifer Donnelly, or Jill Mansell or Nicky Pellegrino. A slightly more intrepid vacation, then I'll pick a few books that are set in the location I'm visiting. But I also like to take along a really big read that I can delve into without any distractions. That's how I made it through, Shantaram, Lord of the Rings and Paullina Simmons', A Song in the Daylight (although that was a struggle!). But, if I was going on vacation tomorrow, I think I'd pack a few Sebastian Faulks novels. I haven't read any of his books yet and I think a vacation is exactly what I need to get started!

Musing Mondays

Do you like movies made from books? Which ones do you think have been done well — kept mostly to the plot of the book, etc?

Once upon a time I would have said No! Give me the book any day. There have been some truely awful movies made from books: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, My Sister's Keeper. But lately, I've had a good run of movies made from books. I was really impressed with the adaptation of "Water for Elephants" and "Snow Falling on Cedars" was an absolutely beautiful film (although without having read the book first I'm not sure I would have completely understood what was going on!"). And I'm now hanging out to see "The Help" after loving Kathryn Stockett's book, so all I can say is long may this good thing last!

Musing Mondays is hosted by Should Be Reading 

Musing Mondays

This week’s Musing asks…

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?

This is such a great question, and my answer would have to be The Dakota Born trilogy, by Debbie Macomber. It's quite an old one of hers I think, but it's certainly a goodie. I just loved the characters.

It's set in the North Dakota prairie town of Buffalo Valley and is the story of a town that is dying. Shops are boarded up, families are moving away, and very few members of the younger generation want to stay in the small town, instead seeking the excitment of city lights further away. However, a few of the younger generation from the city, head to the country and make for some delightful storylines!

You can read my review of the trilogy here - it's certainly one I'd recommend, if you can afford to go without sleep!

Musing Mondays

This week’s musing asks…

Where is your favorite place to read?

I've always been an 'at home' reader - in bed, on the couch, at the kitchen table, on the deck... but lately I've taken to reading in coffee shops, and I absolutely love it. I thought I'd get distracted - as my other love (second only to books) is people watching, but it seems I can multi-task and do both things at once! However, the catch is, I have to have a nice comfy chair in a coffee shop - can't read sitting at a table or perched on a bar stool, but find me a reading chair in a Starbucks corner, put an extra hot chai tea latte in my hand, and I'm in heaven!