So...2011!

So, we have reached the end of 2011. Where has the year gone? I feel like this one has flown by. 

Looking back, it's been a mixed bag, overall, in terms of writing, blogging and reading - if I were to summarise this year in a sentence, it would be as 'the year in which I read a lot of books I didn't want to be reading'.








Book Quote Friday: The Tiger's Wife

Readers, I am sick. Not in a twisted or Dostoevsky-type way, just in a head cold, rooted to the sofa-eque fashion. My sneezes are violent enough to scare off Tolstoy (my cat, obv.) and right now my cough is definitely worse than my feeble little bite.

All of this is unfortunate for Tea Obreht, author of this week's Book Quote Friday book, The Tiger's Wife, as the attention that I wanted to commit to talking about this wonderful, wonderful book is currently being occupied by my search for more tissues and increasingly overwhelming desire to just go back to sleep.

So I will be brief:







In My Mailbox, No. 1

As promised in my previous post, I am now doing In My Mailbox, a Story Siren meme where I list all the books in my immediate vicinity, so even if I don't blog about them you know they're there. And they don't feel ignored and rise up against me, which would be as frightening to you as it is to me if you could see Just. How. Many. There. Are. 

Seriously, shelves, bookcases, lampshades, fridge. Everywhere. All of them simultaneously giving me the evil eye and the come on until I don't know which way to look. Essh.

Barry Unsworth's 'The Quality of Mercy': ARC from Hutchison, review to come in next week or so;

Wilkie Collin's 'The Woman in White': an ex-Book Club choice. However, seeing as I am no longer doing the book club (I'll tell you that story sometime) I have put it down for now. I will pick up it soon though, as it's really rather good.

Tea Obreht's 'The Tiger's Wife': I have read this actually, but it's hanging around waiting for a Book Quote Friday post or a review.

Javier Marias' 'Written Lives': bought after reading this post on 'Wuthering Expectations'. Sounds a little crazy, but that makes it all the more tempting to pick up.

George R. R. Martin's 'A Feast for Crows': although, to be honest, I am not reading this and have all but no intention to. My husband is reading his way through the entire series however, so they are all over the house. And 'Game of Thrones' was, until the series ended, all over my TV. So it deserves a mention I think.







7 People I'd Like To Be [Friends With] When I Grow Up

Everyone needs role models. Here are mine: