14 December 2008

Sunday Salon #35 - 14 December 2008

My postings in the last week have had a bit of a Christmas focus including a post for the Christmas Advent Tour that I have participated in, and a look at Christmas trees, Christmas lights (and where to find them in Adelaide), and crime fiction books I have read with Christmas connections.

I haven't really done a lot of reading, apart from other people's blogs, although I finished one hand held book, and one I've been listening to in the car.

Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? For me this is the year of the book. I've bought some and have a few to buy.

Posts since last week:

  • Review: BLINDSIDE, J. R. Carroll
    An Australian author explores a scenario about bent cops. Raunchy, noir, violent.
  • Review: SKINNY DIP, Carl Hiaasen
    Crime fiction with a comic twist. Not quite my cup of tea but it did make me smile in places.
  • Light up your houses, read more crime fiction too
    Like many other cities, suburban Adelaide has a number of Christmas Lights schemes. If you want to know where they are then there's a link in this post. I also listed some crime fiction titles set at Christmas.
  • Trees and more Crime Fiction titles
    Decorating Christmas trees in public places. Adelaide has a huge one in our central square, Victoria Square. Some more Christmas crime fiction to read too.
  • Christmas preparations, & some crime fiction reading
    I am far from ready for Christmas. My youngest daughter and her husband have made some lovely gingerbread houses and there's a slide show of them to see. Me, I focus on the suggestions for books you can look for.
  • 2008 Blog Advent Tour - my "window"
    In my posting for the Blog Advent Tour I focussed on Christmas music and located a number of YouTube videos for you to watch.
  • Forgotten Books: Simon Brett's Charles Paris series
    This is where I started reading Simon Brett. Nicy cozy series with a dipsomaniac as an unlikely amateur detective.
  • What is your favourite fiction style?
    This was the poll that I ran this week. 21 people answered.
    Predictably what I would call crime fiction accounted for 12 votes: crime 2, detective 5, mystery 5. But then there were romance 2, realistic 2, historical 2, fantasy 2, action-adventure 1. No-one chose horror, science fiction, or western.
  • ACRC Update, 7 December 2008
    An update of where I am up to in the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge. 5 books and a set of short stories down. 75+ books and an unknown quantity of short stories to go, but I still feel motivated.
Currently reading:
  • now - THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT, Barbara Vine
  • sometime soon - THE 19TH WIFE, David Ebershoff
  • also listening to - CORDUROY MANSIONS, Alexander McCall Smith, ready for ch. 66
  • in the car -AGATHA RAISIN and THE QUICH OF DEATH, M.C. Beaton
Breaking News
This week's poll
How many hours a week do you spend reading for pleasure (on average)?
Your choices: >15 hours, 10-15 hours, 5-9 hours, <5 hours
Pop over and participate.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I will read The 19th wife durign my XMAS break. Looking forward to it.

Here is my SS post

Kerrie said...

What sort of holidays do you get Gautami? Thanks for dropping in.

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