Monday, March 18, 2024

This week...

 I'm reading



I mentioned last week that I started reading a book because it was calling to me. Unfortunately, a different book started calling my name and so I ended up reading No. 23 Burlington Square by Jenni Keer instead. I really enjoyed it, so no regrets, but now I need to try and fit the other book in.



I also finished reading Relish by Lucy Knisley. I will have a review up for my reread of that book on the weekend.



Now I need to decide what to read next. Should I read  one of my upcoming blog tour books even though I have about 3 weeks, or just a normal review book, whatever I feel like from my TBR list, or one of the 3 library books I have out. Decisions, decisions.




I also finished listening to Richard Armitage whisper sweet nothings in my ear. Actually he was narrating the book Sylvester by Georgette Heyer. Alway such a treat to listen to one of these books



I wasn't sure what to listen to next. However, last week I tried a new post out called Time Travel Thursday and I was reminded that 10 years ago I was reading one of the books in the No. Ladies Detective Agency and so I decided to listen to The Woman Who Walks in Sunshine, the next book for me in the series. It will also count for my Read on a Theme bookclub as well, so I will have read two books for this month.



I'm watching



We finished a couple of things this week. Firstly, we finished Bake Off : The Professionals which is a show that we love.



We also finished watching Masters of the Air, which is the story of the 100th Bomber Group from WWII. After finishing the last episode, we also watched a documentary called The Bloody Hundredth which features interviews with the actual men who lived the story from the TV series.



Last week, we watched the first part of The Three Musketeers, which was called The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan. This weekend we went and watched the sequel, The Three Musketeers: Milady. Interestingly, both of these movies were filmed at the same time. The end of the movie definitely lends itself to another movie. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a third movie.



Finally, I felt the need for something a bit fun so I watched Irish Wish on Netflix, which stars Lindsay Lohan. It wasn't bad. Here's the trailer.





Life



Last Tuesday night we went to see Pink in concert. This is the third time I have seen her live. The first two times it was in an arena, but this time it was in a stadium, so just Pink, her band and dancers, and 59998 other people! She always puts on an amazing show.



I also did a cooking class for a Maltese Easter treat called Fogilla. I am looking forward to sharing that experience with you all in a couple of weeks.




I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Weekend Cooking: Ready, Steady....Cook


Last Friday night I was flicking through the TV menu and I saw the name of a TV show that stopped me in my tracks. There is a new version of Ready Steady Cook. When I first started this post, I was contemplating calling the post Back to the Future, because this show gives me an instant throw back to when I first moved to the UK in 1994.



I remember being somewhat bewildered by some of the TV  game shows on British TV. They had an affinity for what seemed like quite odd game shows to this young Aussie. And yet, by the time I left 5 years later, I was completely converted and still watch some versions of these shows years later.



Here is an example. I was completely bewildered by shows like Countdown, where you get a selection of letters and compete to make the longest word in 30 seconds. The first few times I watched it I was like.... what the heck is this. And now, 30 years later, we watch 8 Out of Ten Cats Do Countdown at least twice a week, and if I am finished work in time, I will watch the repeats of the Australian version which is known as Letters and Numbers.



I'm not sure that there is still not an affinity for slightly odd game shows on UK TV, even now. I mean, a show like Would I Lie to You when it is described does not sound like a must watch show, and yet it is in our house. Or more recently we have been watching something called The Odd Couple where celebrity couples compete against each other to determine who is the best couple. They undergo tests like who can pack the dishwasher best together, or reverse park a car. Doesn't sound like a must watch TV. And yet, it is very funny to watch.



And there was Ready Steady Cook. The show was hosted by Fern Britton, and she welcomes two celebrity chefs to the stage. A lot of the chefs who became household names in the UK appeared on the shows, including chefs like Ainsley Harriott, James Martin, and many more. Ainsley Harriott went on to host the British version of the show for around 10 years.



The idea is that two contestants bring a bag containing 4-5 ingredients and then the teams have 20 minutes to come up with the tastiest looking dishes, yes multiple, usually 3 dishes. The audience then hold up cards featuring either a red tomato or a green capssicum (pepper) which determines which team has won.



In more recent versions of the show, there is a Chef's Challenge where the chefs then get another set of ingredients, they have to say what they would make with them in 10 minutes and then audience chooses which menu sounds the best and then the two chefs make it.


It's all very frantic, very high energy and sometimes the food which gets created can be  a bit on the odd side when you have to incorporate such random ingredients together.



Eventually, the show came to Australia and was shown on weekday afternoons. Originally it was hosted by Peter Everest, and then later by comedian Colin Lane. Whilst it was still the same format, it all felt a bit kitsche and so it didn't really become part of my TV routine, maybe because I didn't get to watch very often. I do believe that the show was made in various other countries around the world as well.



And now, it is back, this time at 7.30 on a Friday night, and I have to say it feels like perfect Friday night viewing. Most Friday nights, I am totally exhausted and just need something to be on the TV that will entertain. It is hosted by Miguel Maestre, a Spanish chef who has become a mainstay of lifestyle TV shows here. he is someone you would definitely describe as high energy and high enthusiasm. So much energy 



It is still very low tech, with the audience still holding up boards with either the tomato or green capsicum to cast their votes. Not a lot of tech here, even in the kitchen.



I have now watched the first two episodes, and already I am meeting new to me chefs, as well as old favourites from Masterchef. The first episode featured a chef called Mike Reid, known as the Laughing chef, but he was no competition for the laughing Miguel. He was playing again Hayden who originally rose to prominence on Masterchef.



The second episode featured a Spanish chef to the stars called Sergio Perera against another Masherchef alumni, Sarah Todd. As an aside, we now have a commencement date for the next season of Masterchef Australia. There are three new judges this season, following the death of Jock Zonfrillo and the departure of Melissa Leong. Looking forward to that starting soon.



And the most important thing is the prize. The winner receives a bronze ladle! I did wonder what would happen if you have the same chef win multiple times. I mean, how many bronze ladles does one chef need?




Watching the show has been a fun walk down memory lane, and I can definitely see myself vegging out in front of a TV on a Friday night watching this!!




Weekly meals

Saturday -  
Sunday -  Prawns and salad
Monday - family dinner
Tuesday - Out for dinner
Wednesday - Baked chicken breast, mashed potato and beans
Thursday - Baked butter chicken and rice
Friday -Takeaway








Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Friday, March 15, 2024

Blog Tour: The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey

Have you ever tried to start a book club? It can be a bit difficult, especially if you are trying to bring together a group of strangers. In the latest book by Gillian Harvey we meet Grace, Leah, Monica, George and Alfie who are all British expats who have been living in France for varying lengths of time.

Grace decides that she wants to start a book club for English speakers who live in and near Bordeaux. She already knows that her friend Leah will be a member, but she doesn't know how much more interest she will get. She is therefore really pleased to learn that there are several other interested parties, but you never really know if everyone will click, and if they will come back after the first meeting!

Leah and her family moved to the area three years previously with the idea that they would be able to be self sufficient. They have planted the veggies, bought the chickens, but really, it hasn't turned out to be that easy. They have plenty of eggs, although it is a bit of a risk to go in and get them because at least one of the chooks doesn't like Leah but there are only so many egg dishes you can have. Leah's teenage daughter has turned into a moody teenager and her husband is behaving very strangely. It all just feels a bit too hard

Monica is a young mum who lives in a gorgeous apartment in Central Bordeaux. Her husband is away for weeks at a time and she is struggling with caring for herself and a young baby.

George is a tradie who has been living in France for a year working on a renovation, and Alfie moved to France years before with his mother.

Grace is the organiser, the person who volunteers for all sorts of activities, who ensures the food is organised and that everyone has what they need. Whilst she is always happy to be available to listen to everyone else, in a way that can come across as a bit intrusive, she isn't really that open to others. I feel like I have known a Grace in a previous book club, so I was interested to see how the new friendships influenced her behaviour. 

One of the things that I find interesting with book club related books is that the book club choices are always very earnest, lots of classics. and not the kind of book that the reader is reading! It's something that I have noted in previous book club books too.  The classics that they read in the book did prompt some interesting conversations at least.

I've read the last four books by Gillian Harvey, and I can assure you right now, I will read the next four too! One of things that I like about her books is that whilst they are all set in France, the situations are all a bit different and so it doesn't feel like you are reading the same book over and over!

Also, how gorgeous is this cover??

I am sharing this with the Bookish Books Reading Challenge and the New Release Challenge.

Check out other stops on the blog tour to hear other's thoughts on this good read!!

Thanks to the publisher, Rachel's Random Resources and Netgalley for the review copy

Rating 4/5






About the book

The Bordeaux Book Club

Love books? The Bordeaux Book Club is seeking new members!

When Leah and her husband moved to France, it was with the dream of becoming self-sufficient. But in truth, it’s not the ‘good life’ she’d imagined, as three hours of digging barely yields a single straggly carrot. Worse, her teenage daughter is acting up, and her husband seems to find every strange excuse under the hot French sun to disappear.

So when her friend entreats her to join the new bookclub she’s forming, Leah decides it’s something she will do for herself. The chance to make new friends, to drink a few glasses of wine, and to escape into stories that take her miles away from the life she’d thought would be her own happy-ever-after.

But the book club is a strange group of misfits. There’s prickly Grace, who lives alone and seems to know everybody and like no-one. Buttoned-up Monica, who says her husband is away and appears to be parenting her baby all alone. Handsome builder George, who has barely read a book before. And Alfie – who is a full two decades younger than everyone else, and is hiding a devastating secret…

As the stories they read begin to bring the new friends closer together, Leah is about to discover that happy-ever-afters don’t always look how you expect them to…

A gorgeously escapist read from the bestselling author of A Year at the French Farmhouse, perfect for fans of Veronica Henry, Jo Thomas and Fiona Valpy.


Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/bookclubsocial


About the author


Internationally best-selling author of contemporary, emotionally compelling and humorous commercial fiction.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gharveyauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GillPlusFive

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gillplusfive/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gillianharveyauthor?lang=en

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/GillianHarveyNews

Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/gillian-harvey


Thursday, March 14, 2024

Time Travel Thursday

Recently I saw someone mention a feature called Time Travel Thursday which was started by Emily at Budget Tales Book Blog. Given that I have a handy dandy list of the books I have read going back to  July 2004 I thought this could be something I could do!!


The idea is that you share what were you reading at a point in the past so here are the books I am sharing.


1 year ago



Here's my review



2 years ago






5 years ago





10 years ago






Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Read on a theme book club

  


Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books I’m Worried I Might Not Love as Much the Second Time Around (I love re-reading, but there are some books that hit so perfectly and I loved so much that I worry reading them again wouldn’t be the same. Or maybe the books I read when I was younger wouldn’t be favorites anymore. Or maybe some books just don’t age well?).

I don't reread that much, except for certain audiobooks like Hogfather by Terry Pratchett and two Georgette Heyer books which are narrated by Richard Armitage.

Instead this week, I am going to share some of the books that I have read for my read on a theme book club. What is a read on a theme book club? And is it book club, bookclub or book-club? My book club meets approximately every 6 weeks and at each meeting we decide on a theme for the next choice. You then read whatever book you like that meets the theme rather than the more traditional method of picking a specific book that everyone then has to read




The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman - This is the current theme which is Crime: Fact or Fiction. It seemed the perfect time to read a book I have had on my TBR for a while now.

The Anywhere Hotel by Gisele Stein - The theme for this was Out of My Comfort Zone, which for me was a new to me self published author. I missed the meeting for this as I was away for the weekend which was a shame as one of the other ladies read all three Fifty Shades books and the conversation was apparently hilarious.





The Naturalist of Amsterdam by Melissa Ashley
- The theme for this one was A Book with a City in its name

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus - The theme for this one was Science and it was one of the few occasions where a couple of us read the same book.





Spring Clean for the Peach Queen by Sasha Wasley - The theme was Colour in the Title

The Last of the Apple Blossom by Mary-Lou Stephens  - The theme was Spring





The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams
- This is the only book we have ever all read for the one meeting, and we chose to do this because some of us were going to hear her speak at Melbourne Writers Festival.

The Visitors by Jane Harris - The theme for this one was Indigenous Authors




Dreaming in French by Vanessa McCausland
- The theme for this one was Australian Authors. To be fair, a lot of the authors on this list are Australian!

The Proxy Bride by Zoe Boccabella - The theme was New and I chose this one as I bought the book new, it was a new author to me and it was about starting a new life.

What themes do you think you would choose if you were in a read on a theme book club!

Monday, March 11, 2024

This week....


I'm reading



Our current theme for our read on a theme book club is Crime: Fact or Fiction, so I decided it was time for me to see what all the fuss is about and read Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club. I can see why people enjoy it. There are a lot of fun elements in it, and I love that we are only just getting to know all of the characters, especially Elizabeth. Can't wait to find out more about her past.



Speaking of book clubs, my next read was The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey which I am need to review for a blog tour this week. I have always enjoyed this author's books and this was no exception.



Just this morning I started a book called The Lost Letters of Aisling by Cynthia Ellingsen. It was one of Amazon's First Read books this month and it was calling my name.



Finally I thought I better actually start reading Relish by Lucy Knisley which is this month's Cook the Book selection. This is actually a re-read for me but it was a VERY long time ago.



I'm watching



You know I love a foreign film festival and make an effort to see at least one film from each festival during the year. If I had to pick a favourite film festival though, it would be the French Film Festival and it is on right now! Hooray!! Looking at the list of films, there are at least 5 or 6 that I would like to see.



I occasionally gently encourage my husband to come with me to see festival films, so I thought I would start this year's festival viewing with a film he should really like. On Saturday night we went to see the The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and it was a lot of fun. There have been so many version of The Three Musketeers over the years, and this one was a very good version. There were sufficient levels of buckle and swash, derring do and fair maidens! It was a lot of fun. We are planning to try and see the follow up movie, The Three Musketeers: Milady next weekend! 



Here's the trailer for D'Artagnan






Life



It's a long weekend here as we have Monday off for Labour Day, it is hot hot hot. We have 3 days in a row over 38 degrees. Now, in other parts of Australia they will scoff because they have that every second weekend, but here in Melbourne that is the longest streak we have had since 1942. We are therefore keeping a very low profile this weekend and not doing a lot. We went to the movies on Saturday night and today we are going to my sister's for dinner and maybe a swim!



In other news, I have been thinking about a blog redesign for years, and it is actually happening! Watch this space...literally!



Max and Nala







We did put the clam shell out for the dogs yesterday, although I do think we need a bigger pool for them! lol




I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Sunday Salon: Historical Fiction Reading Challenge February Statistics

 


For the last couple of years I have been sharing statistics each month for the Historical challenge, and my plan is to continue to do this again this year. I find it interesting to see what are the books that people are reading and reviewing! Having visited most of February's posts, I can tell you that there are some very interesting books being reviewed - unusual times and places, translated fiction and more - and I have added several books to my TBR list!


In terms of the books, there were 56 reviews linked up for the challenge, shared by 22 participants. This is less than for the same month last year but I am sure we will catch up!  There were 56 individual titles reviewed, written by 55 different authors. There were 3 reviewers who reviewed more than 5 books each. Thank you to everyone who shared their links whether it be 6 or just 1.

So which books were reviewed more than once in February? Well, none actually, which I think is a good indicator of the wide variety of historical fiction books there are out in the reading world!

There was one author who was reviewed more than once, and I am very pleased to say that she is an Australian author by the name of Melissa Ashley




Tracey at Carpe Librum reviewed Melissa Ashley's 2019 book The Bee and the Orange Tree which tells the story of Marie Catherine D'Aulnoy and is set in the French courts in the 17th century. You can find her review here.




The book that I read was The Naturalist of Amsterdam which was once again set in the 17th century but this time in Amsterdam and Suriname. My review is here (safe to say I enjoyed it a lot!)

Last week I shared the longlist for the Sir Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction as my Top Ten Tuesday post. 




The only book from the longlist that has been reviewed so far this year is Cuddy by Benjamin Myers, which Helen from She Reads Novel reviewed this month. It sounds like a really good read. 

My Father's House by Joseph O'Connor is also on the longlist, and this was one of the most reviewed books of the 2023 challenge.


If you haven't already signed up, it's not too late! The sign up post is here and you can add your links to the March link post here.

I am linking this post up with Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz!

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