Ms Magpie

Review: The Only Plane in the Sky: The Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M Graff #bookreview #book #review #nonfiction #kindle #literature #bookblog #bookblogger

Everyone over the age of about 25 years old will probably be able to discuss what they were doing and where on 11th September 2001. An important, compelling and so very sad book detailing the immediate events before, during and after attacks of Al-Qaeda upon America on 11th September 2001. On this day when people were commuting to work in the morning terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes…

Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid #bookreview #books #bookblogger #bookblog #literature #review

An interesting and unique book in its structure. Monique, an unknown writer is specifically requested by world famous actress Evelyn Hugo to write her biography. The book is segmented into parts for each respective husband of Evelyn however we quickly discover that none of her husbands are central to her story, instead the person who is central to Evelyn Hugo is her relationship and love for…

My Weekly diary up to 21st September #weeklydiary #reading #bookblog #bookblogger #writing #books #fiction #nonfiction #literature

Another lovely day as I sit here writing this post in the sunshine next to a river where there is a regatta and various races happening.

It has been a disjointed weaken which I spent the beginning part back at home for my sister’s wedding, read herefor the post, and the other half of my week back at work. Strangely this made the week feel even longer than normal, I always seem to feel this way…

Review: History of Magic: Charms and Defence against the dark arts by Pottermore #kindleunlimited #bookreview #books #literature #harrypotter #bookblog #bookblogger

A small novella which I found on Kindle Unlimited and read ver quickly. If I had bought this book I think I would have been very resentful as it turned out not to be what I expected. While it is a short, fun and informative book and considers history, myths and legends as sources for JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books, this was not how the book was advertised. I, and from reading some other reviews,…

Review: The Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh #amreading #bookreview #books #fiction #librarybook #literature #evelynwaugh #thedeclineandfall #reading #bookblog #bookblogger

A quick and farcical read. We follow the main protagonist Paul Pennyfeather throughout the book where he encounters many strange people who proceed to tell him their life stories this leads Paul to be involved in many farcical events; although it is notable that he is not instrumental in the events and often appears a passive influence. For example the the story commences with a group of drunk…

My weekly diary up to 14th September #weeklydiary #bookblogger #bookblog #reading #books #writing #literature

It has been a busy week, lots of travelling and the wedding of a family member which threw everyone into a riot of activity. Read the post for that here.

All this busyness meant that my reading was a bit fractured. I did manage to finish both Birdsong and The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo and reviews will be coming soon, hopefully! I’m hoping that next week will be slightly more quiet and…

A bit of a Do

The wedding of the decade happened for our family on Friday 13th September. For some Friday 13th can be full of bad lack and fear but for us the day went without any problems and we even had the sun on our side.

To keep things a bit unique and in character with my family there was a zombie cake.

There was love, laughter, dancing, fireworks and a hog roast (yummy and worth the wait). I now…

Review: A Constant Hum by Alice Bishop #bookreview #books #bookblogger #librarybook #literature #fiction #review #bookworm #amreading

A collection of short stories and flash fiction which all feature the historic and devastating effect of the fires which ravaged Victoria, Australia in 2009. Each story gives the reader a further fragment of the impact the fires had upon different members of these community, nature and wider Australia, in addition each story comes with a different perspective of the tragedy therefore evoking…

Review: The Octoberman by Ben Aaronovitch #bookreview #riversoflondon #bookblogger #librarybook #review #books #literature

A short but interesting alternative view of the London Rivers Universe. Set in Germany we view Peter Grant’s German counterpart Tobias Winter who is called in to investigate the strange death of a man found covered fungus. A detailed story of the supernatural as we had come to expect within this Universe with the added dimension of police procedure in Germany which grounds the story. My only…

My Weekly diary up to 7th September #weeklydiary #bookblog #bookblogger #amreading #reading #books #literature

It has been a strange ole week with three days spent on a training course for my paid job which made the week seem both really long and really short. While it is always nice to spend time away from the daily grind I’m now left with the residual worry of what I could be walking into Monday morning (bites nails worryingly!) The change to my working routine resulted in less time reading for pleasure…

My Weekly diary up to 31st August #bookblogger #weeklydiary #amreading #literature #librarybook #blogging #reading

Why is it that a week with a Monday off will often feel longer than a normal five day week? This week felt like it lasted forever particularly Friday which felt like the day which would never end! I also had the most awful headache for much of Friday which made reading anything very painful, sad times. However before I was struck down I finished and hugely enjoyed two books; A constant Hum and…

August roundup and looking forwards #reading #monthlypost #reviews #bookreview #librarybooks #literature #bookblogger

August has been a good month for reading books, part of me wonders whether I have spent all of my time only reading books as I seem to have digested a lot! Looking back it appears that my grand total for August is 12 books; how have I managed this feat? While I am a quick reader this total has still astonished me, I wonder if I can beat this? Within this total are some books which I completed…

Review: You will be safe here by Damian Barr #bookblogger #bookreview #fiction #librarybook #reading #literature #books

The story is based in South Africa within two significant time periods; The Boer War and towards the end of apartheid. In both periods there are striking parallels in which individuals are taken to camps they did not want to attend and told that this will be a safe place for them. We ultimately learn this to be untrue and with both places becoming fundamentally unsafe in very similar ways.

A…