Book Bingo

it seems I have read 105 books this year (55 more than the target I set myself on Goodreads). With only one more day to go, it seems unlikely that I will read more, so I'm drawing a line under this year's challenge.

As a bit of fun, I'm going to have a go at Reading Bingo, using only the books listed on my goodreads page:

A book with more than 500 pages:I went with the longest book on my list. Seveneves (Neal Stephenson)

A forgotten classic: I love a crime story, so: Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

A book that became a movie: This wasn't obvious for me this year. I had to do some research, but found Gorky Park (Martin Cruz Smith)

A book published this year: A lot of my books were new this year. The newest was released on Christmas Eve. Rupture (Ragnar Jónasson)

A book with a number in the title: Easy. Seventy-Seven Clocks (Christopher Fowler)

A book written by someone under thirty: This was really difficult, but I found a website that looks current and claims this author is 26. Bitter Sixteen (Stefan Mohamed)

A book with non-human characters: There were several to choose from, but this has river goddesses… Foxglove Summer (Ben Aaronovitch)

A funny book: I don't go much for comic writing, but this just happened to slip onto my pile. The Ladybird Book Of Mindfulness (Jason Hazeley, Joel Morris)

A book by a female author: There are lots of female writers in my collection, but this author is a favourite.  The Waters Of Eternal Youth (Donna Leon)

A book with a mystery: Another favourite author, writing in a new genre with a twist to his name. Moskva (Jack Grimwood)

A book with a one-word title: Loads of these, but I thought I'd choose a non-crime book. Nutshell (Ian McEwan)

A book of short stories: I prefer a novel, but there are a couple of collections in my list.  This one has a creepy touch. A Cat, A Hat And A Piece Of String (Joanne Harris)

A book set on a different continent: Most of my books are set in the UK, Europe, or Scandinavia (which is part of continental Europe, I think. Geography isn't my best subject.) I feel that Soviet Russia also counts partly as Europe. Iceland is Europe… The only book I can be absolutely certain is set on another continent is Kitchens Of The Great Midwest (J Ryan Stradal)

A book of non-fiction: There is only one this year (to my shame). Seven Brief Lessons On Physics (Carlo Rovelli)

The first book by a favourite author: Okay, this is cheating a bit, but if you treat this as not JK Rowling, it counts. The Cuckoo's Calling (Robert Galbraith)

A book you heard about online: I heard about this one on tumblr. People were outraged that it was "a bit gay". The Song Of Achilles (Madeline Miller)

A best-selling book: I tend not to read "blockbusters" This one is on the Times  best-sellers list. The Essex Serpent (Sarah Perry)

A book based on a true story: I'm not sure if this actually, really, truly happened, but I know Caravaggio was one for duelling and stuff, so it could have happened. Sudden Death (Álvaro Enrigue)

A book at the bottom of your "to be read" pile: I've been meaning to read this for years, and finally only managed it because I found a brilliant audio version. Moby Dick (Herman Melville)

A book your friend loves: I can't fill this square, sadly. And I was doing so well…

A book that scares you: Can't fill this square either. I don't read horror, and I don't have any dystopias on this year's list. 

A book that is more than ten years old: One that I finally, finally can say, with truth in my heart, that I have actually read. Ulysses (James Joyce)

The second book in a series: There were several contenders for this, but a good alternate-universe sci-fi will always win (especially if there are no spaceships or aliens). Europe At Midnight (Dave Hutchinson)

A book with a blue cover: I thought it was time I read a book by this author. The Mermaids Singing (Val McDermid)

If I tot up the squares I have filled on the card(including the free square), I have 4 horizontal lines, 3 vertical lines and 1 diagonal. Time to get next year's challenge on the road.

November

I started a NaNoWriMo, but didn't get more than a chapter and a half finished. I still have ideas, and I like my new characters, so the story will get finished. Don't know when though…

Theatrical highlight of the month was Glenda Jackson in King Lear, my first ever visit to the Old Vic. Had a brilliant seat in the stalls, which was pricey, but not ridiculously pricey. 

The boiler did its thing spectacularly this year, exploding and spewing hot water all over the kitchen. We had a few hiccups until a proper repair was done. It's become normal for winter. 

We lost Leonard Cohen and gained Donald Trump as PEOTUS (sigh).

I read my first ever Rebus book, and finished all the Rivers of London series of novels, taking me well over my challenge target of 50 books.

All in all, a quiet month.

October overview

A busy month, this month. A lot of reading, including a fair few of the Bryant and May books, and the brilliant "Europe at Midnight". Continuing the Shakespeare rewrites, Ian McEwan's "Nutshell" was an interesting take on Hamlet.

Cooking disasters this month included a burnt sponge, a flabby blancmange and an absolutely awful pumpkin dish, which was sad because it ought to have been delicious

I finished the Skelly jumper, and started a xmas jumper, which I may or may not finish in time for xmas.

And more important than all that, I got out of the house a bit. A trip to Tesco and the new Marks and Sparks (two days in a row, woo); a theatre trip (Little Voice, ok, but not brilliant), Art Macabre at the Cutty Sark (not as much fun as it sounds, trouser and pantless  man notwithstanding); two art galleries, Portrait and White Cube, both for Gormleys, and two excellent O2 gigs, Jean Michel Jarre and Van Morrison/Jeff Beck.

Ended the month feeling reasonably ok. Roll on winter.

September roundup

The month was hot. Hottest September ever. Until the last couple of days, when Autumn arrived suddenly. 

I had a couple of my rare visits from Edd, which was nice, and an even rarer one from Tor ( sadly without the boys). 

Tony came round and repaired my curtain rail, which now looks good and works. I put up new cream curtains, put the winter blanket and quilt on the bed and put up my newest bedroom acquisition, gold angel wings. I also bought a proper box to keep all my medicines in, instead of udding the cake box, which is now available for cakes. 

The Paralympians knocked the socks off the Olympians in terms of medals, but the edge was slightly taken off for me by the Rusdiams not being there. 

In order to compensate for the lack of Russians, I bought (and read)  all eight Arkady Renko books, 

plus a few other novels, including another in the Shakespeare rewrites series, this time The Winter's Tale. 

I left the house only four times this month (too hot on most days). I visited the GP for tests. Blood pressure is fine, bloods results will take a while.  

Bex and I went to a new theatre for us, the Arcola in Dalston, to see a short opera "Maria of Buenos Aires". It was good to see something brand new in "fringe" theatre.

I also saw Turandot for the first time, sadly not live, but an "as live" cinema broadcast. Spectacular set, and the tenor was very good. The first time I have heard "Nessun Dorma" in context.

I bought new fairy lights for the kitchen (copper cookie cutters), and got a tax rebate. The weather finally cooled down and I'm ready for autumn.

August

 

A very warm August. So warm that I could hardly bear to let the sunlight into the house, it heated the rooms up so much. By keeping doors, windows and curtains shut, I managed to keep the living room temperature down to just under 80°. I got my foot spa out and filled it with cold water. My own personal paddling pool. 

Edd and Richard both had birthdays. Can't believe Richard is a year old! Where has the time gone?

August was Olympics month, and Team GB did very well, winning even more medals than they had at the London games. 

We got a new satellite TV dish and box in time for the Olympics (although not in time for the opening ceremony) and can now record shows that clash with ones we're watching. How modern we feel!

I went out exactly three times this month. Two Friday concerts at Charlton House and one live screening ( Richard III withRalph  Feinnes and Vanessa Redgrave). The cinema was in Greenwich, so we went to Jamie's Italian to eat afterwards. I did have other things that I could have gone to, but to be honest, didn't really feel very well. 

I did a LOT of reading. I finished Ulysses, which left me no more enlightened than I had been before I started it. I read two modern rewritings of Shakespeare; the taming of the shrew (Vinegar Girl) and the merchant of Venice (Shylock is my name).  The first made me angry, as the play always does, the second left me vaguely unsatisfied. I'd hoped for a better ending for Shylock, which didn't happen. The other books were three crime novels by authors new to me, and a very pretentious "literary" novel about one of Caravaggio's duels, which left me wanting to throw the book in the dustbin. Sadly, it was the kindle version, so I could only consign it to the cloud.

I tried using a screen to cover my bedroom window as the curtain rail was seriously in danger of falling down in the night, leaving me exposed to the gaze of the neighbours across the street. It didn't really work well. Bex tried re-fixing the rail, but it didn't work. A new approach is needed. Watch this space. 

July

So, another month gone. Had planned to be quite active this month, but the weather got toooo hot, and my health suffered as a result. I started off well, with a trip out to the National Theatre for the Threepenny Opera (excellent) followed by early dinner at Wahaca on the south bank, where they put us in the overhang part of the shipping container (scary). While we were eating, there was the most amazing downpour of rain. I have never seen anything like it before. Luckily it eased off for long enough for us to get to the pier for a boat back to Greenwich

The next outing was a couple of days later to the Greenwich Music Time festival, and 2Cellos, who were amazing. 

I had booked to see Titus Andronicus at the Rose Playhouse (the archaeological site in Southwark), but it was too hot to even think of going out on that day, so we gave it a miss. I did venture out on my own a couple of times (one day to the bank, one day to the Chemists), and managed to bruise my arm quite badly on the bus ( it still hasn't completely faded). We were planning to watch Il Travatore on the Woolwich big screen, but I saw a notification on Twitter that it was broken, so we ended up watching indoors, via the computer, with a Wimpy takeaway that Bex kindly picked up  on her way home from work. 

So- adventures in food this month? 

The aforementioned Wimpy and Wahaca; a planned sausage-inna-bun barbecue that fell flat; a good paella with big prawns, and a dish of Ottelenghi's baked cardamom rice, which was a little too al-dente, but otherwise ok. Oh, and I dug out the egg slicer that hasn't been used for a hundred years or so  and used it two days running.

Household stuff: a new toilet seat (been meaning to do that for a loooong time); new shower curtain and bathroom cabinet (relocated the old cabinet into my room where it holds shoes, as it was always intended to); new dining chairs that the cats can't ruin, and a lovely new radio as a treat for me.

The reading challenge:

Well on my way to finishing early. The newest Harry Potter was released on 31st, and I downloaded and read it the same day. It was ok. Other books this month were mainly crime (1 Icelandic noir; 2 soviet Russian detective novels set pre-war; one magical-realism London rivers story; and Dostoyevky's Crime and Punishment.) There was also a sci-fi and a historical novel; and Ulysses. Ulysses is hard work. I'm still only half way through it. I think it might have given me the headache I have now had for a whole week.

Finally, in national news, we have a new Prime Minister. 

I am setting myself two challenges for next month: get out of the house more, and finish Ulysses. We shall see how it goes…

June

So, in June the hospital prescribed another heart drug, which does seem to be helping a bit. I don't seem to be quite so breathless around the house, and I can get to the bus stop without too much discomfort. My health otherwise has been a bit iffy; I broke a tooth (I think the drugs have affected my teeth; they're incredibly sensitive); and I got an infection in my throat which needed antibiotics. 

I cooked paella and bread, square Victoria sponge, lemon pavlova and a fabulous cake with spiced syrup. Bex and I ate out once, at the Old Brewery in Greenwich. We had a sharing platter of whitebait, crab and smoked salmon. Delicious. 

Did more in the way of culture. Two concerts at the Naval College chapel, a baroque ensemble, and harps with singers, both lovely. The June opera on the Woolwich big screen was Nabucco, with Placido  Domingo I'm the title role; and we went to a new opera, Banished, at the Blackheath Conservatoire, but left at the interval. It was too shrill. (Blame it on modern music).

We got a new Venetian blind for the kitchen, which Tor helped me to install. It looks clean and fresh. The old one was in a real state. 

Tim Peake landed safely back on earth, and we had a strawberry moon on the night of the summer solstice. 

I read two books and have started several more. Notably, I began James Joyce's Ullysses on Bloomsday, and an actually enjoying it. Reading has taken a back seat to knitting this month, though. 

Finally, the country went to the polls again to vote on the EU referendum. Shockingly, we voted to leave, which has triggered all sorts of political upheavals. As the month ends, we are waiting to see who will lead BOTH our main parties. Watch this space. 

May roundup

There were a few warm days this month, and I managed to get out of the house five(!) times. Okay, so two of the days were trips to the hospital to get a 24 hour heart monitor attached and removed, but still, outside!  I walked to the polling station to vote for the mayor, just in time, before a sinkhole opened in the road  just outside it. No idea how I'll get there to vote in the referendum next month.

Bex tidied the garden beautifully, she and Tor got rid of the old bench, chairs, barbecue etc; and I bought new wrought iron benches. Got to sit on them on the couple of sunny days, before it got cold and I had to shut myself in with the heating on again. The cats have discovered the outside!

Made a wonderful elderflower and lemon cake; and a not-too-bad Goan fish curry. 

Read seven books, including the new JCGrimwood, went to cinema for live broadcast of the Royal Ballet's Frankenstein, an excellent performance, and took a trip to Greenwich for the book festival. 

A better month than last month, I think.  

2016-the year so far

A quick catch-up post

In January, I seemed to be buying a lot of multi-coloured carrots. I introduced colour (turquoise) into the living room for the first time, and am learning to live with it. Bex seemed to be at the vet with one or other of the new cats almost the whole month. 

Alan Rickman and David Bowie left this world, and Tim Peake made the first spacewalk by a British  astronaut. 

My wardrobe had developed a mouldy smell which I discovered was my Birkenstocks, which had mildewed, so I had to throw them all out, along with a lot of my clothes which no longer fitted. A good new year prune!  I was able to rescue my havaianas by giving them a good scrub. I bought some new "lady DMs" and christened  them by wearing them to a funeral (my uncle Tommy). Afterwards, walked to Edward Square, my early childhood home, which is now a pretty public garden. 

The walk was incredibly tiring, even though short, and I was glad Bex was there to lean on. I'm pretty much housebound these days. 

In February, I started a book challenge. My target is 100 books before the end of the year. I made a good start, seven books this month. I also discovered the joy of the e-book. Cooking challenges included the making of Nigella's spruced-up vanilla cake, in its proper tin (delicious); homemade dried fruit compote (horrible); wholemeal bread (didn't rise properly, very heavy, inedible); and rhubarb turnovers( delicious). 

March was pretty uneventful. I made one trip outside the house (to the doctor), and read four books. We had a couple of really disrupted days when the builders were in attacking the damp. We now have permanent vents in the living room and my bedroom, and doors to the kitchen and living room, which mainly stay propped open. They painted the living room, which was a surprise, so it is now a tasteful shade of magnolia. Luckily, it doesn't clash with the turquoise curtains. They didn't paint my bedroom, but Bex came to the rescue and did a great job. I had managed to buy "rice pudding" paint online (Crown paints) and the room looks fab. (Apart from the curtain pole that the builders managed to send skew-whiff). Between us, we painted the wardrobe white. (Not as straightforward a job as it sounds). 

Cooking challenges this month: Thomasina Meiers's duck with oranges and cabbage (cabbage needed more cooking); Easter cake ( Bex made the chocolate cake, I bought the coccy eggs online from Carluccio- delicious); lobster and prawn paella (delicious, apart from the lobster, which was a pain to shell and dismember and a complete disappointment flavour wise -won't bother with it next time; prawns will be fine on their own). 

In April, we lost Prince and Victoria Wood. 

I read six books, including a fabulous audio version of Moby Dick. 

Hardly challenged myself at all with cooking. Made caprese salad with really nice tomatoes, attempted to use wild garlic, and made fluff for the first time in ages. Bex made a good version of lemon potatoes. 

I found a silver satchel online and bought it on a whim. I may never get to use it, though. I'm not sure my health is ever going to improve enough for me to go out much. Feeling a bit low and sorry for myself just now.