The Ark by Annabel Smith

The Ark, the new book from Annabel Smith (of #SixDegrees fame), tracks the inhabitants of an underground seed bunker, designed to protect the Earth's plant life from the environmental and political cataclysm that is taking place around it. Set in 2041, it begins with the inhabitants being told by a charismatic leader that they must enter ahead of schedule - only to find out that in doing so he's gone rogue.

2013 Wrapup

Welp, 2013 is done and dusted. Despite what I said last year, I did end up having another crack at the #52books challenge. I only got to 39 books, but I read roughly the same number of pages as I did in 2012 (almost 14k) so not a slack year, by any means.

Melbourne by Sophie Cunningham

One Summer by Bill Bryson

Mastermind: How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova

My first legit review: Eureka by Peter FitzSimons

Very shortly after I wrote my last post (the Casual Vacancy review) Bookworld ran a little competition - they invited anyone who had finished The Casual Vacancy to put up a review, and the best would get a free book.

#52Books - The Halfway Point

Okay, so last Sunday marked the end of the 26th week of the year, and therefore the halfway point of the 52 Books challenge. And as of that date, I had completed 24 books, was about halfway through the 25th, and about a third of the way through two more. And that’s about where I’m gonna leave it.

52 Books in 52 Weeks

Buying books would be a good thing if one could also buy the time to read them - Schopenhauer

It’s been a long time between posts, so before I get into the main bit, a small update: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card is officially a frontrunner for my favourite novel of all time; my combined present-haul from my December birthday and Christmas consisted mostly of books, so the TBR pile is taller than ever; and I’m moving to Melbourne and looking for a job, ideally in a bookshop. Since looking for a job in a bookshop involves visiting a lot of bookshops, the TBR pile has suffered even more; but if anyone who reads this has a lead on such a job, let me know!

Preincarnate by Shaun Micallef

The other day, when in Melbourne to see the Tutankhamen exhibit, I happened upon a bookstore in the throes of a closing-down sale. The carcass had been mostly picked clean by the time I got there, but I did manage to walk away with one bargain.