Hello, everyone, and welcome to my first post of the week!
Well, people who know me well may be rather surprised by parts of today’s post. I have mentioned The Purse Forum on here loads of times, listing the many threads that I follow, mainly centred on scarves. In addition, I am also interested in clothes and jewellery, not necessarily the most fashionable or expensive, but the beautiful and striking pieces. For those, I follow some of the threads about celebrities and “royals”. Now, I am not a monarchist when it comes to our own Royal Family, but I do like to see what some of the women wear.
So, with those points in mind, this image caught my eye last week…
Duchess of Cambridge
This photo of Catherine is so lovely, but what really got my attention were the gorgeous earrings! Luckily, the clever women on The Purse Forum had identified them. I decided to go to the Chalk Jewellery website straight away…
On arrival, I quickly realised three things: 1) the website was under huge pressure from the large number of visitors doing exactly the same as me, and 2) loads of items were sold out or in other people’s baskets, but 3) the jewellery was definitely affordable for someone like me! What to do?
Well, like any good librarian I know how to search for what I want! I had a look around and found some of the Chalk Jewellery items on a very unexpected website. It turns out that the design of Catherine’s earrings is based on some of the architectural elements of the Royal Opera’s building. Furthermore, some of the jewellery can be found in their shop! Eventually, I chose earrings that were similar but smaller, for, obvious reasons.
Here they are…
Marisa Stud Earrings – Regency by Chalk Jewellery
The earrings are very cleverly constructed from wood, tiny mirrors and resin and are so light and easy to wear. I tried them on as soon as they arrived and laughed aloud when I realised that the pale green matched one of my newish nightdresses! There are other colourways of these earrings and matching or similar necklaces and bracelets available.
My modelling attempt…
Marisa Stud Earrings – Regency by Chalk Jewellery
Well, I am a little embarrassed to have put my photo in the same blog post as Catherine and, OK, I know I desperately need a haircut! I am going to try and make an appointment (and keep it). Er….. soon.
Right, I think that is enough for now. Wednesday’s post will be the usual Reading Roundup and I might have another purchase to show you on Friday, all being well.
Happy Friday! Welcome to the final post of the week.
Hot weather really knocks me out and I have spent most of the week in bed with a large fan moving the air around. It’s very noisy and only slightly effective. On the couple of times that I managed to get dressed, I wore the recently purchased blue and white dress from Marks and Spencer. It is very comfortable and skims over my lumps and bumps. Here is a reminder…
Dress by Marks and Spencer
The dress looked nice with this “teatime” jewellery from Pixie Wing…
High Tea necklace by Pixie Wing
High Tea earrings by Pixie Wing
If you hasten over to the Pixie Wing site, they have similar versions of this necklace and earrings in their sale in silver with both blue and green colourways!
I have always loved earrings in a huge range of styles, so when I saw a very famous person wearing some gorgeous and very affordable ones this week, I had to investigate further. I will tell you more next week…
Welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup! These Wednesday posts are about the books that I have finished reading since the previous week’s Roundup. I am a member of Goodreads, where I have been tracking my reading for a few years. For these posts, I include each book’s blurb and my review from Goodreads. Usually, I expand a bit on my review. Since I had a stroke in September 2019, I have to read ebooks as my eyesight was affected. Also memory issues mean that I have to write my reviews very soon after finishing each book as I often forget what I have just read! Apologies for the brevity of my reviews, but you can usually find much more detailed ones on Goodreads and other such sites. Mine are usually quick responses to the book and are not always in tune with other people’s!
Right, let’s begin…
The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold
OK, so I swamped you all with the first three Vorkosigan Saga books in last week’s post! I have to admit that I read a fourth before tearing myself away from this brilliant series. This one is The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, #06 Vorkosigan Saga.
Here is the blurb:
“Together, they can get into a lot of trouble. Trouble only the combined forces of the Free Dendarii Mercenaries can get them out of. At least, that’s what they’re hoping…
In this latest adventure with the galaxy’s craftiest mercenary leader Miles, starts out by so shaking up the High Command on his home planet of Barrayar that he is sent to the other side of the galaxy – where who should he run into but his old pals the Free Dendarii Mercenaries. And a good thing too, because it turns out that Miles’ childhood chum, that’s Emperor Gregor to you, has been the victim of foul play, and only Miles – with a little Dendarii muscle – can save him. This is very important to Miles; because if Gregor dies, the only person who could become the new emperor is Miles himself – and that he regards as a fate worse than death.”
Another great read in a great series. I love the ingenious solutions to complicated situations and the sneaky humour of the whole book. Miles is such a great character and very unusual for the time that the book was written.
My only negative is that I really missed Cordelia, Miles’s mother. The first two books that I read were based on her and I really grew to love her. Now that we have moved on to the next generation, it is a shame that such an interesting and strong character is sidelined.
I am sure that I will return to the series very soon. For my next book I went to one of my other favourite series…
The Nameless Ones by John Connolly
The Nameless Ones is the 19th book in John Connolly’s Charlie Parker series. I think that I have read the entire series to date, but will have to check (checked and, yes, I have read them all). This is the blurb:
“From the international and instant New York Times bestselling author of The Dirty South, the white-knuckled Charlie Parker series returns with this heart-pounding race to hunt down the deadliest of war criminals.
In Amsterdam, four people are butchered in a canal house, their remains arranged around the crucified form of their patriarch, De Jaager: fixer, go-between, and confidante of the assassin named Louis. The men responsible for the murders are Serbian war criminals. They believe they can escape retribution by retreating to their homeland.
They are wrong.
For Louis has come to Europe to hunt them down: five killers to be found and punished before they can vanish into the east.
There is only one problem.
The sixth.”
Once again, my response might be considered to be unexpected:
I am struggling more and more with this series. It used to be one of my favourites and I found the characters and events intriguing and interesting. It was always pretty gory, but now the bloodletting seems gratuitous in the extreme.
Parts of the book were exciting and gripping, but the whole idea of concentrating on Louis and Angel, with Charlie Parker only having a bit-part was disappointing. I remember the war in the Balkans quite well, but found the explanations of this became very repetitive. The worst aspect for me was the constant and almost salacious mentions of rape. In all of the bloodshed and horror this was a step too far.
So, this leaves me very unsure about reading any further books in the series, which is a shame because Connolly is such an excellent writer. This is a real dilemma!
Hello and welcome to a new week on the blog. Monday is the day when I write about random things! To be honest, I am struggling to find something to write about today. The sun is shining and I love the long days at this time of the year. Today is fairly peaceful, at the moment, because only Lovely Husband and I are in the house. Elder Son has gone out for the day, so I can relax quietly and enjoy time to read my current book.
I would go outside and sit in the garden, but I find it difficult to read on my iPad in the sunshine. Since my stroke in 2019, I can’t read print books very easily as I need to increase the font size. So, I prefer to sit in bed where I have everything that I need within reach. There are other more, er, “personal” reasons why it is better for me to stay indoors, but I am not going to explain those on here! Perhaps readers can work these out for themselves…
Anyway, at this point I will leave you with these images of my favourite statue…
Statue of Zeus/Poseidon, National Archaeological Museum of Athens
This bronze statue of the Greek god Zeus or Poseidon remains my favourite, ever since I saw it as a student of Ancient History and Archaeology back in 1977. More information and photos can be found on Wikipedia.
Whew! Yes, we Brits tend to fuss about the weather, rain or shine, snow or wind. Today is very hot here in the English Midlands and I find it very difficult to cope with heat because of my lung and cough issues. So, I am wearing one of the new dresses from Marks and Spencer that I wrote about last week. Later in the afternoon, I am going to try to sit outside in the garden for a while.
I took a quick photo this morning and added in my brightest Hermès scarf, Au Coeur de la Vie, just for a few minutes. That yellow!!! I just love the other colours in the scarf: purple, green, orange, turquoise, and so on. Eventually, I removed the scarf as it is far too hot to wear one and I didn’t want to spoil it with sweat! Anyway, here is the photo:
Outfit of the day 17/06/22 with Hermès’ Au Coeur de la Vie scarf
I will also show you a picture of the full scarf:
Au Coeur de la Vie by Aline Honoré for Hermès
If you would like more information and photos of this extraordinary scarf, including other colourways, please have a look at the Scarf of the Moment post that I wrote back in 2017.
Welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup post. This was an unusual and rather extraordinary week of reading. First of all, I managed to finish three books without rushing. Secondly, I loved all of them and gave them all five stars (I am on a bit of a five star roll at the moment – lucky me!). Thirdly, all three were from the same series.
So, apologies if you are not a fan of:
Science Fiction.
Lois McMaster Bujold.
Her Vorkosigan Saga.
Some of you may remember that I read her Fantasy series, World of the Five Gods, a couple of years ago. The books are so brilliant that I was left wondering why I hadn’t read much of her work before. Since then, I have been meaning to try her Vorkosigan books, but hadn’t got around to actually buying or borrowing them. Well, the other day I finally took the plunge and got started and all I can say is…
Wow by Erich Ferdinand on Flickr
Just one thing to note: like many long series, this one was not written in one long chronological arc. Bujold herself has listed the series in a reading order, and I am trying to follow that as far as possible. There is a prequel to the first book and I will read that when I feel like it!
Right, let’s get started with book 1…
Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
OK, before I begin, yes these are the worst covers for a science fiction series that I have seen for a very long time. What were they thinking!
The first book of the saga, and the first written, is Bujold’s Shards of Honor. This is the, very short, blurb:
“When Cordelia Naismith and her survey crew are attacked by a renegade group from Barrayar, she is taken prisoner by Aral Vorkosigan, commander of the Barrayan ship that has been taken over by an ambitious and ruthless crew member. Aral and Cordelia survive countless mishaps while their mutual admiration and even stronger feelings emerge.”
Here is my review on Goodreads and I did make it one of my “favourites”:
After reading Bujold’s Fantasy books, I have been meaning to start her Science Fiction. In fact, I have had this series at the back of my mind for years. Now, people are saying that this book is rather different to the rest of the series. I suppose I will eventually find that out for myself.
For a start, I really loved this book. The main characters were great and well-written. The fact that they weren’t the usual kind of hero and heroine – looks or age-wise – was more than merely interesting. The plot was unusual and exciting, with, perhaps, a little dip in the middle of the book. The final chapters set the reader up nicely for a sequel.
As I was reading the final chapter, I realised that I had just read it as a short story in the Federations collection a couple of weeks ago! How is that for a coincidence?
Oh, one negative. The design of the Kindle book cover is dire! What on Earth (or any other planet) has it got to do with the content?
This book, Barrayar, follows straight after Shards of Honor, although it is listed as Vorkosigan Saga #07. Confusing, eh? Anyway, here is the blurb and note the prestigious award!
“Cordelia Vorkosigan’s plans for a peaceful married life (after all the bloodshed and trials recounted in SHARDS OF HONOR) are shattered when a poison gas attack, intended for her husband Aral, leaves her ill and her unborn child damaged. Resisting enormous pressure to abort her son, Cordelia struggles to keep her unborn child–transferred to a uterine replicator–alive while thwarting plans by a ruthless opponent to murder the young emperor and assume absolute power over all of Barrayar. Once again Cordelia displays her courage and her remarkable combat and leadership skills. Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel.”
I followed the reading order advice, so jumped straight to this book. Once again, this was a superb read. The main characters, especially Cordelia, were really well-written. I do love strong, realistic but humanly flawed heroines!
The first part of the book was quite slow going, although still very readable, it then moved into an exciting and satisfying adventure. I enjoyed reading a book so clearly written by a woman. She brought issues that can only be experienced by a female to the fore, but not in a clumsy way.
I am now gripped totally by this series and have gone straight to the next book!
I seem to have raced through these books so far! I became so absorbed that many of my usual activities were put on hold. Anyway, I also finished a third book in the series…
The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold
This book, The Warrior’s Apprentice (listed as Vorkosigan Saga #02), follows Miles Vorkosigan as a young man. This is one of the better blurbs that I could find:
“Between the seemingly impossible tasks of living up to his warrior-father’s legend and surmounting his own physical limitations, Miles Vorkosigan faces some truly daunting challenges.
Shortly after his arrival on Beta Colony, Miles unexpectedly finds himself the owner of an obsolete freighter and in more debt than he ever thought possible. Propelled by his manic “forward momentum,” the ever-inventive Miles creates a new identity for himself as the commander of his own mercenary fleet to obtain a lucrative cargo; a shipment of weapons destined for a dangerous warzone.”
This is my rather rave (or raving!?!) review on Goodreads:
Oh, how I loved this book! Totally brilliant, imaginative, ingenious, clever and wryly humorous! Bujold is a genius and I can’t stop reading this series. As soon as I finish one, I have to buy and download the next.
Miles Vorkosigan is a well drawn and wonderful character with such unexpected abilities. I can’t wait to follow his adventures further!
OK, I know that I have probably irritated quite a few regular readers of the blog by focusing on this series. And I must admit that I am presently reading the fourth book, The Vor Game. I will try to drag myself away after this one and read something else in time for next week’s post.
Hello and welcome to a new week on this blog. If you haven’t visited before, I try to post three times each week:
Monday is for Updates: random musings, bits of news, shopping and anything that catches my eye.
Wednesday is for Reading Roundups: my weekly post about the books I have read with links to my Goodreads activity.
Friday is for Outfits of the Week: showing any outfits I have worn, with an emphasis on scarves.
There are quite a lot of other areas of the blog, particularly my “Scarf of the Moment” scarf profile posts. These are usually about my growing Hermès scarf collection, plus a few from Liberty of London. You will find a list of these posts in the right-hand sidebar. At the top of the blog, as well as the sidebar, you can also see links to other parts of the blog.
Please let me know if you ever find broken links or any other issues with the blog. I also really love and appreciate feedback, but please be aware that it might take me a while to answer. My poor health means that I cannot always stay on top of things!
I have had quite a nasty coughing fit already today, so will leave you with this lovely quote from Carl Sagan, illustrated by Chris Riddell:
This week’s post is going to show you more of the two dresses from Marks and Spencer that I wrote about on Monday. If you remember, I am trying to find Summer dresses that will be comfortable and also skim over my lumps and bumps (weight gain due to some of my meds plus lack of physical activity). I also hoped to get something reasonably attractive to cheer myself up!
Here are the two dresses again…
Summer dresses by Marks and Spencer
Taking the pink one first. It is such a bright and cheerful colour! The fabric is quite a substantial cotton jersey and the length is to mid-calf on me. Perhaps I could have chosen the shorter length as I am only 5ft 4in. Anyway, I decided to try it with an Hermès scarf (Cosmographia Universalis), which has a lovely range of blues and a gorgeous bright pink.
Here it is…
H003365S 05
I thought that the dress would bring out the touches of pink in the scarf. In addition, I wore some lapis lazuli earrings by Bill Skinner Studio (link in the sidebar).
This is the outfit…
Outfit of the day 10/06/22 with Marks and Spencer pink dress
I think that this works quite well?
The second dress is a simple animal print midi dress with a v-neck in blue and white. This time, I decided to wear a necklace (a birthday present from my sister) and crystal earrings (a present from Elder Son). Marks and Spencer call this a “beach dress”, but I am happy to wear it just about anywhere!
Outfit of the day 10/06/22 with Marks and Spencer blue and white dress
I am really happy with this dress too! OK, I am not going to show you full length photos because I am so unhappy about my shape, so I will just say that these outfits make me feel reasonably positive about myself.
In addition, I have other nice necklaces that I could wear with either dress. The first picture is of both dresses with the scarf and the second shows some of my necklaces…
Dresses, scarf and necklaces
Well, I think that is all for now and I hope that you all have a great weekend.
I have enjoyed two very different books in the past week. The first was a book of science fiction short stories, the second an absorbing dystopia that mirrors our own situation.
Federations ed by John Joseph Adams
The short story collection is called Federations, edited by John Joseph Adams. Here is the blurb:
“From STAR TREK to STAR WARS, from DUNE to FOUNDATION, science fiction has a rich history of exploring the idea of vast intergalactic societies, and the challenges facing those living in or trying to manage such societies.
The stories in FEDERATIONS will continue that tradition, and herein you will find a mix of all-new, original fiction, alongside selected reprints from authors whose work exemplifies what interstellar SF is capable of, including Lois McMaster Bujold, Anne McCaffrey, George R.R. Martin, Catherynne M. Valente, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Alastair Reynolds, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg, Harry Turtledove, and many more.”
This is quite a large collection and it took me a while to finish. This is my short response as written on Goodreads:
Generally an enjoyable read with some good stories by some of my favourite authors: McCaffrey and Bujold. Others were poor or mildly irritating! Worth a try if you like science fiction.
Apologies for such a short review. Unfortunately I was unable to write something longer and more detailed. I can recommend having a look at some of the responses on Goodreads as many members have written detailed story by story reviews.
My second book was completely different…
The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird
This was another completely random selection from the Library’s ebook service and what a choice! The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird was a gripping read. Here is the blurb:
“Set in a world where a virus stalks our male population, The End of Men is an electrifying and unforgettable debut from a remarkable new talent that asks: what would our world truly look like without men?
Only men are affected by the virus; only women have the power to save us all.
The year is 2025, and a mysterious virus has broken out in Scotland–a lethal illness that seems to affect only men. When Dr. Amanda MacLean reports this phenomenon, she is dismissed as hysterical. By the time her warning is heeded, it is too late. The virus becomes a global pandemic–and a political one. The victims are all men. The world becomes alien–a women’s world.
What follows is the immersive account of the women who have been left to deal with the virus’s consequences, told through first-person narratives. Dr. MacLean; Catherine, a social historian determined to document the human stories behind the “male plague;” intelligence analyst Dawn, tasked with helping the government forge a new society; and Elizabeth, one of many scientists desperately working to develop a vaccine. Through these women and others, we see the uncountable ways the absence of men has changed society, from the personal–the loss of husbands and sons–to the political–the changes in the workforce, fertility and the meaning of family.”
I must have read this book in record time as I was so absorbed in the story. This is my review:
Well, I am glad that I read this in 2022 and not in the earlier years of our own, real, pandemic! I think I would have frozen in fear. Anyway, I thought the book was excellent and very well thought out. As I have a husband and two sons, I found the whole idea of a man-killing plague terrifying. As a feminist, I found the whole idea of a world run by women really interesting and intriguing.
Yes, there are some faults in the book – pointed out by some of the reviewers on here who are more expert in medical issues. But as a work of fiction, I enjoyed the structure, the progress of the story and the final ending. I wonder what the author can come up with next!
Yes, once again the book has mixed reviews on Goodreads. Most are very positive, but a minority have strong criticisms and some of the negativity rings true. I do think that this book is well worth reading. After all, we can all come to our own conclusions!
I am presently totally lost in another book, which I will write about in next week’s Reading Roundup post. So, in the meantime…
Welcome to a new week on the blog! I hope that you enjoyed the weekend of Jubilee frolics, if you are into that kind of thing. In the end, I read and watched a few bits and pieces and it all looked like fun, although rather too expensive in the current climate.
Anyway, talking of expenditure, I get my “allowance” at the beginning of the month and I had a bit of a spree on the Marks and Spencer website. Most of the items were staples – underwear and nightwear – but I did order two dresses. They haven’t arrived yet, so I will just show you the website images and post about them again on Friday, when I can model them. Mind you, that’s only if they look OK!
Here are the two dresses…
Summer dresses by Marks and Spencer
For some reason, the M & S website cuts off the bottom of images. These dresses are both cotton jersey and midi length. To be honest, I am such an awful shape these days that nothing will really fit. I am just hoping that these two items will be comfortable in warm weather and will not look too dreadful. Despite this, I don’t wish to fade into the background and the bright pink dress will at least ensure that doesn’t happen!
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, you always write the loveliest comments! Thank you so much, love Anne X