Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. Every Wednesday I write a post about my previous week’s reading and use my Goodreads content to show you the book cover, blurb and the response that I have written on the site. Unfortunately, I have been ill and am rather overwhelmed by everything that is going on in my life. For those reasons I am unable to create a Reading Roundup post to my usual standard and I apologise if you feel that your visit to my site has been wasted. You may like to read some of my other posts on the same subject, or, if you are particularly interested in scarves and other such frivolities, you might enjoy looking at the links in the sidebar.
Anyway, I hope my concentration levels improve so that I can finish my latest book: Tad Williams’ To Green Angel Tower, #03 Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. It’s a great book, so far (I have read about a third of it)!
I can’t believe that Friday has come around so quickly. For today’s post I had intended to write the Scarf of the Moment profile for my new Hermès scarf, Le Carrousel du Tigre Royal, but I am not able to manage that.
You see, unfortunately, I am struggling mentally at the moment. My severe depression has been really difficult to handle over recent months and I have been suffering together with my very supportive chaps. In addition, in the five years since I had the stroke, I am noticing more and more issues with my memory. All of this means that I am difficult to live with, frustrated and sad.
I suppose that many people, as they age, begin to think about organising their finances, household, and general physical and digital “clutter”. This could be for a variety of reasons. In my case it’s because I am frightened of another stroke which could have a serious impact on my memory and cognitive function, and my physical ability to use tech. I am the most computer literate person living in this house on a day to day basis. When Younger Son visits, that hierarchy probably changes, but I feel that it is my duty to support the family by making it as simple and clear as possible to access our physical (in terms of our iPads and laptops) and cloud data. Lovely Husband deals with all of the actual paperwork and has also been working his way through it all, which is also a mammoth task!
So, because I worry that I may have a limited time in which to sort all of this out, I have been spending hours deleting obsolete stuff, moving files across between devices and online storage, teaching myself how to use both Windows based and Apple based devices and Cloud accounts, and so on. This would be pretty mind frazzling for someone who’s brain is fully functional, never mind for me!
To help with these actions, I created a series of diagrams yesterday to show what I was trying to achieve in a visual representation. This is really helpful for me and the actual creation process was too…
Family Storage Options
An added complication is that my new antidepressant has an “interesting” side effect on me! I have become extremely manic. My brain is bouncing around from idea to idea, making my concentration levels dive. It’s kind of like this…
Wake up far too early >> open iPad >> read a couple of news headlines >> read X for 2 minutes >> eat breakfast >> drink a cup of tea >> play a quick game of Solitaire >> glance at Facebook >> start reading a Mumsnet post >> get bored after two sentences >> check my phone >> flit to my files and open a couple >> have a cup of tea >> do some of the newspaper crossword >> back to the iPad >> create an image >> read 3 paragraphs of my ebook >> go to the blog post that I started to write yesterday and write a new sentence and a half >> check my phone >> more tea >> make some notes about how to uploa… >> try to find someth… >> chat wi… >> drink some t… >> check my mob… >> forget how to do… >> try to find my notes on how… >> eat my lunch >> and so on, and so on… >>>>>>> ……….. 😆😆😆
… and I missed out: sorting out my meds, taking my meds, more tea, getting dressed, chatting to my chaps, answering the phone, writing emails, trying to help with housework, going to the loo, more tea, ordering stuff online… and more and more…
Lovely Husband and Elder Son are really trying to help, but I must be worrying them so much. It’s frustrating for me, but it must be awful for them. I just hope that this all settles down!
I have put some things in place to help:
Ordered some sticky notes and notepads for physical reminders.
Organised hospital bags for myself and LH with the idea that if I have them ready, we won’t need them. Superstitious I know!
Using the Notes and Reminders apps on my iPad.
Sorting out our Contacts and making sure they sync across all devices.
Printing copies of our Contacts.
Making easily accessible lists and also instructions for myself. I can forget half way through doing something that I have done hundreds of times before! Then I can’t remember where I wrote that…
Anyway, this post has become much longer than I envisaged when I wrote the original title (so I rewrote it 😆🥲🤣). To leave you with something much more pleasant, here are two lovely scarves that I wore last week…
Outfit of the day 17/01/25 with Hermès Le Caroussel du Tigre RoyalOutfit of the day 20/01/25 with scarf by Oliver Bonas
I think I need to wear more scarves next week. Perhaps they will help me achieve a feeling of calm and peace.
Welcome to the post! I have to admit that I have not finished my latest book, so I cannot write about it today. The book I am currently reading is The Green Angel Tower by Tad Williams, #03 Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series. As it is such a huge book it will probably take me a couple of weeks to finish it. I am really struggling with my health, particularly my level of concentration, so I’m finding it really difficult to focus on reading. Everything seems to blur together and I get to the end of a paragraph then realise that I haven’t actually taken in the meaning of the words. Sometimes I have to reread sections a couple of times before the story sinks in. This seems to have been caused by some new meds and I hope that these side effects settle down very soon.
Exciting news, at least for me, is that there is a new book by my most favourite author, Guy Gavriel Kay, on the horizon. I follow him on Facebook and saw this post back in December…
Guy Gavriel Kay – Facebook post, screenshot 05/12/24
According to Amazon UK it will be available in the UK on 27/05/25. I can’t wait!!! I don’t care what else may be happening in May because I will be reading this book!!!
Yes…
I will be reading GGK’s new book!!!
So, that’s settled – 😆😂🤣😂😆
I will keep my eyes open for more news and information about the book. First source would be his fan site, Bright Weavings…
Guy Gavriel Kay – Bright Weavings fansite, screenshot 22/01/25
The site is run by Deborah Meghnagi, not GGK himself, and is a fabulous source of information about his work.
There is also more information on Amazon UK and Goodreads. Here is the blurb…
“From the internationally bestselling author of Tigana, All the Seas of the World, and A Brightness Long Ago comes a sweeping new novel of love and war that brilliantly evokes the drama and turbulence of medieval France.
Thierry Villar is a well-known–even notorious–tavern poet, intimately familiar with the rogues and shadows of that world, but not at all with courts and power. He is an unlikely person, despite his quickness, to be swept into the deadly contests of ambitious royals, assassins, and invading armies.
But he is indeed drawn into all these things on a savagely cold night in his beloved city of Orane. And so Thierry must use all the intelligence and charm he can muster as power struggles merge with a decades-long war to bring his country to the brink of destruction.
As he does, he meets his poetic equal in an aristocratic woman and is drawn to more than one unsettling person with a connection to the world beyond this one. He also crosses paths with an extraordinary young woman driven by voices within to try to heal the ailing king — and help his forces in war. A wide and varied set of people from all walks of life take their places in the rich tapestry of this story.
Both sweeping and intimate, Written on the Dark is an elegant tour de force about power and ambition playing out amid the equally intense human need for art and beauty, and memories to be left behind.”
It seems to be available to preorder, but I can only find the hardback version at the time of writing. I am tempted to preorder the hardback but that would probably be silly because of my vision issues.
After looking online I have also seen this post on Instagram and have now added him there as well…
Guy Gavriel Kay – Instagram post, screenshot 03/12/24
Please let me know if you see any more new information about this book, bearing in mind this is a UK site. If I find out anything, I will post it as soon as I can.
Welcome to my Friday post! Those of you who have followed me on various websites will know that I am really weak willed when it comes to Hermès scarves and shawls. I just cannot stop myself falling for certain designs, stalking them online, and then snapping them up when they emerge! My excuse this time was that there was bound to be a January price increase. In addition, the new Spring/Summer 2025 season’s collection was beginning to appear online. As usual, those fortunate to live in certain countries were able to purchase the new season’s scarves well before Christmas. The rest of us were not so lucky. In fact, some of them arrived on the UK site, then went again a couple of days later!
And then, one scarf in the colourway that I really love arrived suddenly on the UK site…
So I pounced! The scarf was purchased by yours truly and then vanished from the site again! It has probably appeared and disappeared several times between me writing this post and you reading it! All will be revealed below…
The usual lovely packagingThe iconic orange box and ribbon…
Yes, it’s Le Carrousel du Tigre Royal designed by Katie Scott for Hermès’ Spring/Summer 2025 season. The scarf is a 90cm silk twill, the purchasing code is H004206S 07 and the colours are Marine/ Lavande/ Bleu Glacier. Here are the images from the Hermès website…
Le Carrousel du Tigre Royal designed by Katie Scott for Hermès
Hermès fans might compare some of the design elements of this scarf with Sous le Charme d’Orphée, designed by Alice Shirley, which I own as a 90cm silk twill double-sided scarf and as a 149cm cashmere/silk shawl. In fact I have seen other Hermès scarves with this concentric circle motif. However, I feel that there are enough differences between the designs for me. My new scarf has a background with geometric elements, for example. Anyway, you can see what I mean: these scarves are my new Le Carrousel du Tigre Royal and Sous le Charme d’Orphée, together with two older Hermès designs …
Le Caroussel du Tigre Royal – HermèsSous le Charme d’Orphée – HermèsAstrologie – HermèsLa Promenade de Longchamps – Hermès
Below are a couple of modelling photos to show how this colourway works against two different cashmere sweaters, one cobalt blue and the other turquoise. When I upload the Scarf of the Moment scarf profile for this design I will have photos of a range of scarf knots with navy, cobalt, turquoise and perhaps purple or lilac tops. I am sure that it would also work with some brown shades, such as camel, but I don’t wear these colours now.
Le Carrousel du Tigre Royal – Hermès
Well, I think that is all I can manage for today’s post. I would love to know what you think of this design and colourway, and also your opinions on the new Hermès Spring/Summer 2025 season scarf offerings! You are very welcome to add your comments below 😊.
Welcome to my first “proper” Reading Roundup” post for 2025! I have set my target for the year on Goodreads and have finished one, rather long, book. To make things attainable and not any kind of pressure, I set the target as 50 books. Before I had the stroke in 2019, I usually read more than 100 books every year. Probably because I read a lot of children’s books and Young Adult for my work as a school librarian. These days I usually manage to go beyond the 50 target, but I don’t want to have any kind of negative thoughts. After all, reading should be enjoyable and fun at any age!
So, what have I been reading?
The Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams
I decided to continue to read Tad William’s trilogy, “Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn”, so purchased the ebook of the second book The Stone of Farewell. This is the blurb…
“Following a brutal civil war, Osten Ard has been crushed under the rule of the two villainous High Kings. A single hope if the rebels can find the three swords of legend – Memory, Sorrow and Thorn – they might be able to bring the Storm King and evil King Elias down. Once but a humble kitchen-boy, Simon is now Simon Snowlock, dragonslayer and bearer of the mythical sword Thorn. But Simon is more alone than ever his friends have been imprisoned and his liege lord, Prince Josua, has been exiled. And the Storm King may also be in possession of one of the swords… A single chance if Simon can deliver Thorn to Josua and lead his followers to the Stone of Farewell, the rebels may be able to muster the forces necessary to rise up against Elias and the Storm King. But no one knows where the Stone of Farewell is. Or, indeed, what it is… In STONE OF FAREWELL, Tad Williams sets his characters against impossible odds – and proves that the beloved, internationally-bestselling DRAGONBONE CHAIR was no fluke, but one of the greatest fantasy novels of all time.”
The was a huge book and it took me ages to read, however, it was worth the effort! Here is my response on the Goodreads website…
Well, this was a really enjoyable book. When I was reading the first book in the trilogy, I struggled with the opening chapters and nearly put it aside. After reading some of the comments on here, I decided to persevere and ended up loving the book so much that I took the risk of purchasing the other two. And what an excellent decision that was!
The Stone of Farewell follows the adventures of several main characters, and also a few of the lesser ones, including a couple of young women. To be honest, while I was pleased that a male author, writing this series in the 1990s, included female characters, these two really irritated me! They were both becoming very odd and whinging. It would have been more interesting to “promote” some older women to the main story arc, for me at least. Perhaps the third book will put that right.
Anyway, the world building was excellent, the plot exciting and most of the character development terrific (I was trying to think of a suitable word beginning with “e”, but failed dismally). I did struggle a little with the switching around from each point of view, but that is my own issue.
I have already bought the ebook of “To Green Angel Tower”, the final volume and am looking forward to immersing myself in this fantastic (in many senses) world again.
I will try to finish the huge final book, To Green Angel Tower, in time to write about it in next week’s post, but it is even longer than the above book and I would prefer to savour it rather than rush to the last chapter. Anyway, you all know how I will be occupying myself every afternoon if I can just hide away from Lovely Husband and Elder Son and get some peace and quiet!
Happy Reading!
Love and best wishes,
Snne
📚📕📚📕📚
P.S. I had a play around with the WordPress AI image generator and these are the two that it came up with for this post. But some of those book titles look a bit strange 😆😅😆. I may become addicted to this…
First of all I would like to wish you all a belated…
I do hope that you had a wonderful holiday season. Ours was nice, if a little quiet. Younger Son was able to get here for a short visit and it was so heartwarming to see him again. He gave me a lovely variety box of teas. I also received glamorous earrings from Elder Son and, of course the amazing Sous le Charme d’Orphée shawl from my Lovely Husband (it was a joint birthday and Christmas present). I had fun watching my three “chaps” opening their presents and then they all worked together to cook a delicious Christmas dinner, whilst I went back to bed with a pot of tea! There were also lots of nibbly bits for the evening meal 😊.
Here are the pretty earrings. I love the colours…
Earrings by Oliver Bonad
I wore Sous le Charme d’Orphée on Christmas Day with a cobalt blue cashmere v-neck jumper from John Lewis, navy cord trousers from Lands’ End and sparkly earrings.
Sous le Charme d’Orphée shawl – HermèsSous le Charme d’Orphée shawl – Hermès
Oh, I just have to remind you once again of the full design of the glorious Sous le Charme d’Orphée 140cm shawl…
Sous le Charme d’Orphée shawl by Alice Shirley for Hermès
And these are the other lovely Hermès scarves that I wore over the holidays…
Appaloosa des Steppes gavroche – Hermès
A view of the whole pattern of Appaloosa des Steppes. It is a small 45cm gavroche, also designed by Alice Shirley…
Appaloosa des Steppes gavroche by Hermès
You can just see one of my new earrings peeking out on the above image. They are from Skagen…
Lazy Leopardesses is a 90cm silk scarf designed by Arlette Ess for Hermès…
Lazy Leopardesses scarf by Hermès
Finally, I really enjoyed showing off my Tulipomanie giant triangle (again by Hermès) when I went out, wearing the same cobalt blue cashmere v-neck over a navy cotton polo neck top…
Tulipomanie giant triangle – Hermès
The vibrant colourway of the Tulipomanie giant triangle, designed by Aline Honoré…
Tulipomanie giant triangle by Hermès
Phew! I think that is enough for this week! Next Friday I have something new, blue and interesting for you 🤩😊🤩.
Have a lovely weekend!
Love and best wishes,
Anne
💕💗💖💗💕
P.S. If you would like more information about these Hermès scarves and shawls, here are the links to my Scarf of the Moment scarf profiles. There are even more listed in the sidebar on the right hand side of the blog.
Welcome to the first Reading Roundup post for 2025! In this post I am going to look back at 2024’s books. I set a target of 50 on Goodreads and actually logged 60 for the year. Actually, I read quite a few more because I comfort read some old favourites as I was struggling with my mental health.
Let’s have a look at my 2024 reading journey…
As I wrote above, I actually read more than this! These graphics were produced by Goodreads well before the 31st of December.
Well, that’s nice to know!
I try to write reviews, but I have never been very good at this, which is a rather terrible admission from a former librarian! Most of the time these days I add a quick response on the Goodreads site because I forget the details of the book so quickly.
I have read quite a few very loooooong books this year! Can we have a few very good if not excellent books in my favourite genres that are much shorter? Please…
I think that is self explanatory!
Oh, add also thrillers, crime and mystery at the very least!
One more thing: I have now read over 1000 books since I retired, just over ten years ago, which is pretty good going when you are in my state of health 😊.
So, in next week’s post I will write about the book(s) I have finished in 2025 and set my new target.
Welcome to my blog! I am going to take a break for a few days over the holidays. Younger Son is coming over to join us – hooray!!! Our small family will be together again 💖💖💖💖.
There may be a Reading Roundup post next week, but it depends on my health and family issues. So, I may not be back until next year.
Merry Christmas! …and a Happy New Year! by unukorno on Flickr
I hope that all friends and visitors have a wonderful festive season, wherever you are in the world!
Welcome to this week’s post. It may turn out to be the final one for 2024, as I can’t see me feeling like writing one on Christmas Day! Well, I might manage a “Merry Christmas” type of post.
I have been taking ages to read my latest book as it is really huge at over 800 pages. This is the cover…
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
Yes, I chose Tad Williams’ The Dragonbone Chair, #01 Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series. I can vaguely remember hearing of this book before, but had never actually read it. When I saw it recommended, I decided to try it. Here is the blurb…
“Kitchen-boy Simon is bored, restless and fourteen years old – a dangerous combination. It seems, however, that his life has just taken a turn for the better when he’s apprenticed to his castle’s resident wizard. As Simon’s learning to read and write under Doctor Morgenes’ tutelage, forces greater than he could possible imagine are gathering: forces which will change Simon’s life – and his world – forever.
Following the death of Good King John, Osten Ard is plunged into civil war as his sons battle for control of the fabled Dragonbone Chair – the country’s throne as well as the symbol of its power. Simon is forced to flee the only home he has ever known, a journey which will test him beyond his worst nightmares.”
Because my concentration and memory levels are so poor, it took me ages to get to the finish! In fact I really struggled with it and nearly gave up by the time I had read the first third. Then I saw a comment (I think it was on Goodreads) to the effect that the plot would improve from about 40% onwards. So I persevered and, in the end, really enjoyed the book (I only finished it an hour before this post was due to go live!) and I have immediately ordered the next one in the series! To those people who have read more of the series, was this a good idea? I would love to have some opinions of this series.
Well, I don’t think that this has ever happened to me before in all my decades of reading! To be honest, I very nearly gave up on this book when I was about a third of the way through. In the end, having read a comment on here, I decided to persevere and was totally blown away by the time I finished the book.
The reason for this is that I simply misunderstood the structure of this book. That first third is necessary in that Williams spends that time building his amazing world with historical and geographical background, the differing intelligent beings, animals and nature, and towns and buildings. He also sets up the cast of characters, showing the reader how they are living, the relationships between them, their previous deeds and so on. Our hero, Simon, starts off as a gawky, naive, teenage boy with a lot to learn and experience.
After the reader has discovered all of this, the plot then begins to gain some pace. More adventures take place and the book becomes very exciting.
So, I could have made a mistake by putting this book aside at 30%, but I am so glad that I didn’t. And now I’m really looking forward to reading the next book in the trilogy!
Hello everyone! Yes, it’s come around again! The new designs for the Hermès Spring/Summer 2025 season are emerging online. There are already some 90cm silk twills as well as a cashmere/silk giant triangle. I haven’t seen any new shawls on the UK site yet, but they are sure to be released soon.
If you want to keep abreast of the latest information, it is always worth following the new season’s thread on The Scarf Forum: …..Hermès Spring/Summer 2025 Scarves…..
Just a quick tip: if your favourite design appears online then snap it up before the expected price increase in January. Of course, Hermès might decide to lower their prices this time, but that’s very unlikely!
Here are some of the new scarves in a slideshow format:
Botanica Grafica Double Face 90 H903852S
Jour de Casting 70 H984213S
Carré Libre 70 H984212S
Le Carrousel du Tigre Royal 90 H004206S
Tout en Selle 90 H004204S
Brides de Gala en Fleurs 90 H004192S
Libre Comme Pégase 90 H003802S
La Ligne Coup de Fouet 90 H004183S
Un Carré sur l’Herbe 90 H004181S
Bottes Story 90 H004203S
Eperon d’Or et Tenues de Jour 140 H244216S
Festival des Amazones Bandana 140 H244217S
Inventaire Poétique pour un Conte Sellier 140 H244193S
Thalassa 140 H241581S
There are real beauties in that gallery! I haven’t included the one that has caught my eye because I am mulling over whether I can justify the price.
Oh, I must share this one with you it’s an old design that has been reissued as a “Forever” scarf…
Attelage en Arbalète Forever 90 H001554S
Those horses’ bums always make me laugh! (Apologies to my “horse lover” friends…).
There are also some cute (and expensive) Pegasus scarf rings!
Pegase scarf ring permabrass H603872S 00Pegase scarf ring palladium H603873S 00
Well, I think that is it for now! This post has taken quite a lot of compiling, although I do enjoy the processes.
Happy Weekend to you all (I will be dreaming of scarves)!
Former professional school librarian, now retired through chronic illness. Trying to keep cheerful by reading, drinking lots of tea, blogging my new life, and my love of bling!
The Librain
The Librain......retired 
Dear Lauren, thank you so much for this kind and lovely comment! Love & best wishes, Anne XXX