Coveted Cover: The Arrival

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

This book contains no words, just pictures, and it doesn't need any. It's amazing and if you haven't read it, go out and buy it right now. I love the art because it's a mixture of realism and surreal and I think the cover is gorgeous.

From Goodreads:

In a heartbreaking parting, a man gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship to cross the ocean. He's embarking on the most painful yet important journey of his life- he's leaving home to build a better future for his family.

Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant's experience through a singular work of the imagination. He does so using brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images. Because the main character can't communicate in words, the book forgoes them too. But while the reader experiences the main character's isolation, he also shares his ultimate joy.

Page Turners: A Clash of Kings

I am currently reading:

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

From Goodreads:

A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. Two great leaders--Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon--who hold sway over an age of enforced peace are dead, victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

Catch Up

And...I'm back! We went to Bath but then we came back and had two of our friends staying with us for a few days so we've been busy! Hope you didn't miss me too much.

We were just outside Bath for a few days, which is why I was away, staying with my fiancé's mum in her lovely pub. Her husband and her decided to try their hand at being pub landlords and are doing really well with it so far. She does all the cooking and kitchen related things and he serves behind the bar, talks to customers etc. Their daughter turned thirteen on Monday so we went down to give her some presents and spend a few days hanging out with her, while also seeing a few of our friends from university. She's a pretty cool teenager and wants to get into nerdy things like comics and such.

The Fleur De Lys on the right:

Image from Panoramio

Isn't is gorgeous? My fiancé's mum is a fantastic cook and she tries really hard to make sure that there is something for everyone on the menu. She tends to have at least two vegetarian options as well as a vegan option and even a gluten free option too! Why can't everywhere be like that?

While in Bath we went to Velo Lounge:

Image from Bath Restaurants

This is the place we always used to hangout at as students, we always lived only a short walk away. We've never managed to find somewhere as good as here, it just has the best atmosphere.

My second favourite place to hangout at in Bath is Jika Jika:

Image from Bath Heritage Watchdog

I sat in here for an hour reading A Clash of Kings while my fiancé played mini-golf with his sister and a friend. It's another great place with a great atmosphere and awesome coffee. I love having a chai latte and Thoughtful Bread Box.

When we returned back home we went out for an Indian with our friends on the first night, which was yummy as usual.

Sunday we played mini golf at the mini golf opposite our house, went for a walk down to the jetty and ate  ice-cream, well I didn't because I didn't want any and one of our friends had sorbet because she's vegan, but still, and ate at Prezzo.

Monday we went to Canterbury.

Image by me

I returned home with Azumanga Daioh volume four, Gitaroo Man for PS2 (I already own the PSP version), a big bottle of Aloe Vera King, George of the Jungle on VHS, Rocky Horror on VHS, Basil the Great Mouse Detective on VHS, Okami PS2 guide (it's one of my favourite games and the guide has pretty artwork in it) and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe audiobook tape.

Tuesday our friends returned home, but before they left we went out for breakfast at Beaches which is a really cool café that does yummy all day breakfasts amongst other things.

Here's a weird picture of the inside:

Image from Let's Visit

We wandered around the few charity shops on the high-street and I got The Emporer's New Groove on VHS, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, an awesome panda mug and Jingo, The Fifth Elephant and Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett audiobooks all on cassette tape and read by Tony Robinson, two of which have never been opened. I love charity shops, if you didn't know that already. Then we just hung out at home playing games until our friends had to leave.

So yes, that was what I did last week and this week, so far!

Coveted Cover: The Lord of The Rings

The Lord of the Rings

Here's a hit of pure nostalgia! I adore this cover of The Lord of the Rings. It's the cover that both my copy and my Dad's copy has. I first read my Dad's copy of The Lord of the Rings when I was 10 and I was super proud of myself for finishing a grown up book all on my own for the first time ever. A family friend then bought me a boxset of the trilogy and The Hobbit but I've never actually read them, my sister borrowed then and read The Fellowship of the Ring, so now one of the books is creased while the others aren't, which makes me a little grumpy. As a teenager I invested in my own copy of The Lord of the Rings and specifically chose to track down the same version as my Dad's. 

I own three version of The Hobbit with different covers, The Lord of the Rings in two different versions (this one and the boxset) and I have The Simarillion too which is also a 90s version with the cover art by John Howe. I love his style and I love Middle-earth.

Page Turners: Catching Fire

I am currently reading:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I'm going to Bath today so I'll be reading this on the train as well as The Demon's Watch!

From Goodreads:

Sparks are igniting, flames are spreading and the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol-- a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before... and surprising readers at every turn.

Listen To This: Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

Another song from my current novel playlist.

I adore Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova/The Swell Season. This whole album reminds me of summer and my fiancé. It's just stunning and I love how the songs are just achingly beautiful and touching.

Sunday Catch Up

Happy Easter!

My fiancé set up an Easter egg hunt for me this morning and these are all the eggs I found! There was over 30 all together. We gave the bunnies to his Dad and Granny to eat though, they don't have any Easter eggs of their own.

Chicks everywhere! I have a slight obsession with the little guys, I find them both adorable and hilarious. My niece loves them too, she and my fiancé were playing with some last year. The game consisted pretty much of the chicks screaming all the time...I'm not sure why. We also like to have our Easter related toys come and sit on the table and join in the festivities. Some of those toys are very old and from my fiancé's childhood and others are pretty new. The little grey bunny is called Teacup and was a charity shop rescue, his friend is a bright pink, surreal looking cat called Monsieur Teapot, I'll have to post of picture of them together at some point, that was also rescued from a charity shop.

My fiancé took the above photos of the table decorations.

I really, really wanted a Muppets egg this year with the mug but when we went to buy our eggs the shop had sold out. Luckily my fiancé tracked one down for me so I now have a lovely Muppets mug! This is just one of the reasons why I'm marrying him. The chocolate egg itself was cheap and kinda gross (but I ate it anyway) because it wasn't Cadbury but the mug is awesome.

This week I got another writing job for another blog and I'm still editing my novel. I've rewritten a large chunk of chapter one and I'm moving onto chapter two now. I'm also off to Bath on Tuesday so updates might be less frequent next week.

Enjoy your Sunday!