Quest for a new steed

My trusty steed of thirteen years has suffered one too many visits to the metal horse repairer lately. Since it was getting harder and harder to shift into reverse without crunching the stirrup each time, I have let poor Mossy (so named because of the moss growing behind the side trims) go to pastures new.

Double rainbow

My faithful companion has been exchanged for the same breed, and I saw a beautiful rainbow in the sky on the day I took young Wish Maker out for a test ride. This was a sure sign that our adventures together would be as happy as the ones with Mossy, and I collected my new steed on the day of luuuurve. Hoorah!

(Do you suppose medieval adventurers ever traded in their trusty steeds for a newer model?)

Quest: Successful!

National Libraries Day

Kingswood Library

It's National Libraries Day today. I supported another of my local libraries and borrowed a YA title ('What Happened to Goodbye' by Sarah Dessen, in case you're interested).

How about you? Have you borrowed any books from the library today?

Seeking more shelf space

What's a girl to do? Too many books to read, not enough shelf space to store them.

Downend Library

Thankfully, LibrariesWest (a public library consortia involving five local authorities in partnership) solved the problem for me and I have access to their many hundreds of bookshelves - and their many thousands of books! Last year I borrowed seventy-five books from thirteen different libraries and I've borrowed seven books from three different libraries so far this year. I'm not sure whether I'll beat last year's total of 105 books read, but I'll give it a shot. (My personal TBR pile at home is reaching headbutt heights, so I won't be running out of reading material any time soon.)

Hillfields Library

I'd also like to add some new libraries to my 'collection'. Hillfields Library was one such last year. When I checked the availability of a book I wanted to borrow, I discovered Hillfields Library stocked it so I paid them a special visit. The librarians there were lovely and were very pleased to see me (I think most people are surprised to find Hillfields even has a library!).

Incidentally, National Libraries Day is taking place on Saturday 8th February and a visit to my local library on that day beckons...

What about you? Do you need more shelf space? Have you joined your local library?

What's your favourite Christmas movie?

Is there a particular movie you just have to watch at Christmas?  Perhaps it's a perennial classic like The Wizard of Oz or White Christmas or A Miracle on 34th Street or A Christmas Carol.  Or maybe you prefer more recent fare like Home Alone, Love Actually, The Polar Express or Elf.

My go-to movie to get me in the Christmas spirit is, aptly, a ghost story: The Amazing Mr Blunden.  I first saw this when I was at junior school - it was such a treat to gather in the assembly hall and watch a film instead of doing schoolwork!

A Salvation Army band plays God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman whilst a white-haired man in a top hat and cape walks through a street market as snow falls around him.  He visits a widow and her children to tell them about a job as caretakers of a derelict, partly fire damaged country mansion.  Whilst the mother is out of the room, the man asks Jamie and Lucy if they'd be afraid if they saw a ghost...


Two children were killed in a fire at the mansion one hundred years ago and Mr Blunden wants Jamie and Lucy's help in making amends for that fateful night.

I love, love, love this film.  The cast are perfect, the setting is so atmospheric and the incidental music totally adds to the mood of each scene.

Incidentally, the film is based on a book (see, it's not just recent books like Harry Potter or Twilight that have made it to the big screen).  The Ghosts is by Antonia Barber, and I managed to track down my very own copy of couple of years ago.

What's your favourite movie to watch at Christmas?

Quest to write a novel in a month

Is it possible to write a novel in a month?  According to Chris Baty, the founder of National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo, as it's affectionately known), it is.  Back in 1999, twenty-one people signed up for the quest and the event has snowballed since then.  NaNoWriMo takes place in November and people all around the world will be squeezing every second out of every day just to achieve their daily wordcount goals - their objective is to write 50,000 words of a new novel this month.

I was toying with the idea of entering, but laptop problems over the last few weeks (big 'grrr!') have made me a little wary (I'm hoping the crashes have been resolved now I've had a new motherboard fitted though).  Anyway, to those who've risen to the challenge, I wish you the very best of luck!  Maybe I'll be joining you next year.

In the meantime, I'll be dipping into the 'No Plot?  No Problem!' book by Chris Baty that I picked up at my local charity shop a little while ago.  (And I'll be wondering if the person who gave the book to the charity shop ever wrote their own 50,000-word novel...)

Have you entered NaNoWriMo this year?  How's your wordcount shaping up so far?

Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal auction

Remember the Gromit Unleashed trail that took place over the summer in Bristol?  Last night the 80 Gromits went to auction and a staggering £2.3 million was raised for Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal.  The top pooch was Gromit Lightyear, designed by Pixar, who sold for £65k, and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children will benefit from the generosity of those bidding.

"Cracking good job, Gromit!"

Gromit Roger

Another Gromit I met on my travels over the summer was Gromit Roger, who was designed by the animation director of Disney's Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Richard Williams.

Quest to read 100 YA books (Part 3)

Judging by the number of library books I've borrowed this year, I've already read over 50 books so far in 2013.  I think this is a new record!  Here are my next block of 25 books in my quest to read 100 YA books (Part 1 found here and Part 2 found here).


51) Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
52) Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
53) Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
54) Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr
55) Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr
56) Bumped by Megan McCafferty
57) Thumped by Megan McCafferty
58) The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg
59) The Haunting of Tabitha Grey by Vanessa Curtis
60) Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
61) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
62) Tempest by Julie Cross
63) Rebel Heart by Moira Young
64) Looking for Alaska by John Green
65) Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
66) Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
67) Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder
68) Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder
69) Sea Glass by Maria V. Snyder
70) Spy Glass by Maria V. Snyder
71) If I Stay by Gayle Forman
72) Where She Went by Gayle Forman
73) Smuggler's Kiss by Marie-Louise Jensen
74) Flip by Martyn Bedford
75) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Quest: To Be Continued...