April Book Photo Challenge Day 8 Nostalgic

I have quite a few of these books that I used to look at a lot as a really little kid. The second picture here is the key to why I did that.

I had/have a bit of a thing for books that have dust covers when the hard cover underneath has something different on it to the dust cover. Its like a secret world only you know about, or so I thought when I was little. I still, to this day check under dust covers to find hidden pictures but they are few and far between. 

This particualar book is one of my favorites. It Faeries illustrated by Brian Froud. Never actually read it (it is not a story book but and art book with anotations) but the pictures are so familar that they are like old familiar friends.

April Book Photo Challenge Day 7 Socially Awkward Character

I have two favorite socially awkward characters that I just couldn't split and I just relised that they sit together on a shelf.

Dirk Gently knows so much and can read so much into everything that people miss judge him to be socially awkward. Abit like Sherlock Holmes but without the class. I use one of his phrases all the time when I'm doing bugger all and people think I'm smart; "What are you doing?" I'm making a topographic map of my navel" It a great way to shirk people off without them feeling like they are being shirked off.

I love Rincewind. I have loved Rincewind for as long as I can remeber. His pathological fear of just about anything has never stopped the world from inflicting his destiny on him wheather he is having fun or not, usually not. He knows he is socially awkward and would just like to left along but the rest of the world and even some magic spells don't notice or just don't care. Good thing he is a wizard otherwise he might have to deal with the oppiste sex too.

I love these two and have taken on board a lot of their traits over the years. They have a special place in my heart.   

April Book Photo Challenge Day 6 Book and Animals

"Nothing cracks a turdle like Leon Uris"  Does this count? (You can't tell me you didn't just read that in Cletus' voice!)

No, but seriously. The only animal I have is my fur baby Colin and he loves books! I have caught him licking books in the library a few times, thats why he is not allowed in there when one is home. But who couldn't love this face?

Or this:

Of course that is why he gets away with so much.

April Book Photo Challenge Day 5 Favourite Cover

This might seem a little strange but this really is one of my favourite covers and no it's not suposed to be ripped.  The whole ripped thing comes from the fact that a little bit of me feels like I need to rescue books that no else wants. It was on one of those really cheep book sale tables in the middle a shopping center.

The second thing is that this is the book that sparked my love for Gregory Maguire's re-told fairy tales. This was long before the whole Wicked phenomenon (I'm totally not knocking that cos I have been to see it when it came to Burswood.) Thankfully now people actually listen to me when I say  how awsome this book is. 

As far as the cover thing goes though, all of his books have this peek-a-boo thing going on and I love it.

April Book Photo Challenge Day 4 1990's

The Tales From The Wyrd Museum series by Robin Jarvis published in the 90's

I have a weakness for second hand books and this often leaves me in the predicament of getting the first book in a series and looking for the rest for, I think I'm going on for a decade, later. I picked up the first one and was completely taken and have yet to find the second book in the series. The Fatal Stand  on top there is the 3rd in the series...... unbelievably frustrating. But I just can't help thinking the second book it out there somewhere I I am ment to rescue it. 

April Book Photo Challenge Day 3 Spring

Well once agian I live in opposite land so we are not coming into spring, we are in autum. But I don't really think we have and autum here becasue isn't that traditionally when things start to die or shutdown? Plants here are just starting to recover and put on new growth since we have just move away from our summer position 3 metres from the surface of the sun. 

Anyway, its coming into Autum/Winter here and I just finished my Doctor Who scarf that only took me 4 months (considering I haven't done any knitting since I was in single figures and I didn't stuff it up I think I did a really good job) I will be putting it in a lot of photos. A little bit proud of my self.

It is currently keeping my Doctor Who book collection warm. I promised myself that I would read this collection this year and I think this holiday coming, when it is all wet and gloomy (we get about 2 weeks of that total a year) would be the perfect time.

Next project, thigh high grey woolie socks for reading at home in. Top cozyness level will be achieved. 

April Book Photo Challenge Day 1: Currently Reading

Day 1: Currently Reading

I have been drawn in once again to the YA "girl who is special and there is also a special boy" genre. Not only with Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi but I have also been asked to review the newest book in the Five series by Holli Anderson so I'm currently reading Five - Out of the Darkness.

I'm 50 pages into Shatter Me and I am hopful (but doubtful) I'm not going to disapointed by the old "I need a boy to show me I'm special" 

I am 7% of the way through Out of the Darkness and i'm feeling a bit "I want hogwarts but in America" but it doesn't have the old world charm that other books of this genre has. We shall see.

Early days yet.

 

Day 15 January Book Photo Challenge: Favorite Antagonist

Once again, I have cheated a little with this one and picked a group of antagonists. Namely zombies!
Zombie stuff (books, TV shows, movies) are my guilty pleasure and whats more (and I haven't watched warm bodies yet so I don't know how successful it was) they cant be romanticised like vampires and werewolves.

They are humans reduced to the most basic instinct, eating things. That it. And I love it! The cheesier the better as far as I'm concerned.

Just as a proving point of how bad it can get and me still love it, I have actually read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and loved it and then thought it would be a good idea to purchase and read Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. I got about a chapter in, it was terrible, terrible writing, terrible premise, terrible shoehorning in of the extra plot, which no doubt  Pride and Prejudice and Zombie had also, but without zombies, there was not the suspension of belief that I would have otherwise.

And who can blame me being taken in with opening line gems like:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.

It is just brilliant. I can't get enough of it.

 

Day 14 January Book Photo Challenge: Book OTP

I picked Threshold by Sara Douglas as my OTP (one true pairing) because Boaz and Tirzah were so bound to each other that in subsequent books (The Darkglass Mountain series) set many generations later, their offspring end up together.
Brilliant book, brilliant series, amazing author.

Day 13 January Book Photo Challenge: Page Saver (ie Bookmark)

This is my favorite book mark because my great grandmother (Little Nana) made it. I don't know when but I have had it for as long as I can remember. It is made of pressed flowers (everlasts I think) between two pieces of plastic bound together. It has recently been through a traumatic event when I first got Colin, our dog, when he got hold of it and chewed the top off. Luckily he did not damage the flowers and I was able to mend the top.

Day 12 Book Photo Challenge: Library or Book Store

I live in a relatively new suburb and consequently we don't yet have a library (and bookstores are pretty thin on the ground these days.)
I have, however, been following the progress of the building of the library that should open in April. Above is the drawing of what it should look like. I have been following this progress since we moved here 18 months ago and just 3 days ago my mum rang me to inform me that we were getting a library. Thank you mum.
Luckily I do work at a high school where a I am allowed to take out a large stack of books to last me over the summer holiday. Otherwise I would die....because I have so few books in my house hahahahaha.

Day 11 Book Photo Challenge: Book Shelf

I have published photos of my library before but this section of the shelf was hidden behind my reading chair. This is the main part of the shelf that I see when I'm sitting in my chair and reading. They make me feel comfortable.

Day 10 Book Photo Challenge: Favorite Genre

My favorite genre to read is Fantasy with a little bit of Science fiction (they mostly get lumped together anyway.)

These photos that you are seeing are the ones I refresh on my phone periodically to use when I am out at bookstores because I forget which books I have. The reason for this is that I buy a lot (and I mean a colossal amount) of second hand books and at the prices I pay  (between $10 for a box to like 50 cents a books) I wont hesitated getting the 2nd, 5th, whatever book in a series and then looking out for the rest of them. 

Before I initiated this system I picked up books 1, 2, 4 and 5 of David Eddings' The Belgariad at a book said whilst in a small country town for a wedding (I can find a book sale anywhere) for like 50 cents each, with the intention of picking up the up the 3rd volume somewhere down the track. I accidentally brought the 3rd book of The Tamuli series. 

Now I use the photos on my phone.  

Day 9 Book Photo Challenge: A Quote To Live By

Quote source Marcus Tullius Cicero (mostly) and I really do try and live by this quote as the vast majority of the rooms in my house have an ever increasing number of books in them. Also, a little proud of this because I painted and lettered this this morning. Think I might frame it and put it up in the library.

Day 8 Book Photo Challenge: Reading in Bed

Everyone does it, what more can I say.

Day 7 Book Photo Challenge: This Book Inspired Me

We all know by now that this is my favorite book but now it has inspired my do something I haven't done in quite a while. Draw. I'm not that good and I am surrounded by people that are but drawing these quotes from the book have allowed me to enjoy my drawing again.

Day 6 Book Photo Challenge: Emotional Rollercoaster

None who have read it can go past Harry Potter for an emotional rollercoster. If read in the early years of your life, this one and especially the opening chapter title will live with you forever. Enough said.

My other pick is an author that I don't think gets nearly enough credit for the amazing work that she did. I read Threshold by Sara Douglas in high school and was devastated that it was a stand alone book. Then, a decade after its publication, I found the The Serpent Bride that was a continuation of the original book as the Darkglass Mountain Trilogy and made a noise in the bookstore only another book addict would understand. I cannot recommend her books enough. 

Day 5 Book Photo Challenge: Favorite Non-Human Character

Couldn't split this one. These are Marvin; the paranoid android from Douglas Adams' Hitch Hiker's series and The Luggage from Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels.

Luggage was made from sapient pearwood and is featured in (amongst others) the very first Discworld book The Colour of Magic (1983) and I have always wanted one. Most of the time he is mildly annoying but some times he saves lives. (see luggage is a he as they find a female luggage in Interesting Times and they have children.) 

Marvin on the other hand, I have always loved because I felt a kindred spirit with him. Not so much the "brain the size of a planet" thing but the "life, don't talk to me about life" thing really spoke to me as a teenager. Where as others had grunge and rock stars, I had Marvin. And now he's on my car keys wherever I go.

Day 4. Book Photo Challenge: First Book I Ever Loved

This is more of a representation of the first books I loved to get off the shelf as a child and look through. I have a couple of different series of Faeries and Elves and Dragons and things (my favorites are by Brian Froud).

Several reasons I love these. They have dust covers so i loved taking them off and seeing the embossed lettering and illustration underneath. I was always so excited when the pictures underneath the dust cover were completely different from the cover itself. Secondly, when flicking through these books for the photo challenge I realised  this was the reason I still attempt to draw. I copied so many of the drawing in these books, with hope of one day being as good as Brian Froud 

Day 3 Book Photo Challenge: Childhood Favorite

 This is one of those books that I have no idea of its origins in my home but has just always been there. It is so old its falling apart but I still love opening it up every so often and looking at the picture of the little mermaid getting her hair done sitting on an elephant's skull. The elephant's skull always intrigued me, how did an elephant's skull come to be in the ocean, let alone why it was adopted as a seat to have one's hair done. The drawing is exquisite and it reminds me of my child hood.