Hey hey, a sting in the tail (Scorpions)

 

Wie geht's?

This is my current 'to-be-read' pile (although to be accurate you can lop off the top three as they've joined the 'read' pile now).

It's the term 3 break so Lee Child has leap frogged to the head of the queue. No Middle Name is a set of Jack Reacher short stories.

After that I'll try something more challenging (Edmund Gosse's Father and Son) before heading back into Anne Tyler territory. She's great - easy to read, worthwhile, well-drawn characters, warmth and well written - a winning combination in Wozza's world.

Love and peace - W

So eat eat eat you eat eat eat you eat eat eat eat eat eat (Patti Smith)

Wie geht's?

I was panicking.

For the first time in I can't remember how long, I had nothing to read.

The last books I brought with me from England have long been read and the two cheap Warehouse finds are also done and in the recycling bin. 

I checked Mabelle's book case while staying there recently but the bodice rippers and Jodi Picoult novels did nothing for me. 

It was a real problem - thanks to being recently in the UK, I'm a few months ahead in my music magazines and waiting for NZ to catch up. That is a pain.

So, I asked Jade for help. She came up with a pile of books for me to check, and that's where shortlisted the books in the picture above come from.

Night School is one I read recently but I can reread Lee Child books pretty effortlessly. Those Feet is a book I gave to William and saw in their bookcase. Both those came with me to the Hawke's Bay.

That leaves the Picoult novel (still not my thing - it went straight back into her collection), The Woman In The Window - which I started reading and also put back as the central character wasn't likeable at all, and Eat Pray Love.

As it didn't appear to be written for me (the front cover says: 'EPL has been passed from woman to woman like the secret of life'), I started with some trepidation. 

I shouldn't have worried - and I'm wondering why it's marketed at women exclusively - I'm 104 pages in and still engrossed in Liz's wacky post divorce/ post rebound travelogue to Italy and elsewhere. I haven't seen the Julia Roberts film version so maybe that helps (?).

Why wouldn't men like this story? It's a great insight to one person's resolution of their mental health issues and that should surely touch a universal chord.

Blokes - don't be put off!

Love and peace - Dulcie Purdy's eldest son

Liar - oh everybody deceives me; liar - ooh, why don't you leave me alone? (Queen)

Wie gehts?

This is a public safety warning: don't be sucked in, as I was, by clever advertising for James Patterson's Liar Liar.

Constantly walking past London Underground billboards proclaiming Liar Liar features the female Jack Reacher did me in big time.

Unfortunately I had nothing to read on a return journey, so when LOML needed a comfort stop between the London Bridge tube station and the Southern rail service to Caterham, I ducked into a WHS Smith and bought Liar Liar too quickly.

Bad bad bad mistake.

My heart started sinking on the train and then I went through a bloody minded phase - I paid 8 quid for this so by crickey I'm going to read it - that lasted until an hour ago, when I stuffed it into the bag of stuff to go to the charity shop tomorrow.

Why is it so bad? 

• The writing fails abysmally compared to Lee Child  
• Juliet Blue is NO JACK REACHER
• It's a serial killer story (I avoid them)
• It's set in Australia

Yes, my expectations were high thanks to the advertising, but that's not my fault is it?

But, yes, I agree, I should have taken some time on due diligence before handing over my debit card. Mea culpa.

So: don't get sucked in like I did and avoid this novel (and James Patterson) like the plague.

Love and peace - WNP

I got the rockin' pneumonia and the boogie woogie flu (Johnny Rivers)

I've had to take two sick days in a row this week with this stoopid cold. I really can't remember the last time I had to do that.

Yesterday was the peak day - sweats, heavy cough and nothing stemmed the nasal flow and, believe me, I tried - three different types of cold and flu tablets!

Today it's just that heavy feeling, a sore nose because of yesterday and a cough. Should be back to work tomorrow.

Being at home with a cold is weird. It's not relaxing but not boring either. It's a between time. A pause. An enforced rest.


Davy Jones and Frank Zappa's cameo in Head.

 I've been reading (Die Trying by Lee Child) and watching some videos (Head by The Monkees and Grey's Anatomy Season 6 episodes when Jacky's been around).

Whenever I'm sick and recovering I have an urge for marmite and lettuce sandwiches. This is from when I was a kid and mum would make those for me.

What else? Well I have also been watching some TED talks online and I've done a couple of posts as well.

Jimi has been keeping me company too. He has stuck close - either the other side of the couch (he didn't appear too impressed with Head), or in the shelf of the desk while I use the computer (he's there now). If I go to the kitchen to make a cuppa he follows me out and then follows me back.

[By the way - we've worked out that he's been owned by Arabic speakers rather than westerners. He looked at Jacky blankly and disdainfully when she saw him try to scratch the couch arm and shouted, "NO". But the Arabic version, "LA" - as in lar, got his attention immediately.]

Another in between activity has been taking some more photographs of him to put on the blog.

He seems to blend in to the surroundings so let's play Where's Jimi?.

Love and (cough) peace - Wozza