Notes of Life

It’s been more than a couple of weeks since my last post and I don’t really have an excuse. I’m full of cold now, but that’s only been since the weekend. I’m surrounded by a box of tissues, medicated sweets and an empty mug of Lemsip. I’m just hoping I can sleep tonight, because sleep has escaped me for the past 2 or 3 nights and to say I’m tired would be an understatement!

So, what have I been up to? Not much really, apart from work, spending time with friends, writing reviews and reading.

I’ve recently redeemed another £20 Amazon voucher for writing reviews on Dooyoo, so that’s over £210 worth of Amazon vouchers earned from writing reviews since May last year. It’s only pocket money, but it’s provided me with books, DVDs and CDs etc. I used part of my most recent voucher to buy The Time of My Life by Patrick Swayze & Lisa Niemi which has just been released in hardback, though I’m aware the paperback version, when released, may contain an extra chapter as Patrick sadly died just before the release of this autobiography written with his wife. I haven’t started reading the book yet, as I’m half way through another book, but it’s now sat waiting in my big pile of books to be read. It’ll probably jump straight to the top as Patrick’s untimely death is a current topic.

I’m currently reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I spotted the book in a Ludlow bookshop… The tagline “When Death tells a story, you really have to listen” got me intrigued and the fact that it’s a “The Sunday Times Bestseller” told me I was in for a good book, so I picked it up and paid full price for it as I couldn’t wait to read it. ‘The Book Thief’ is narrated by Death and is about a young girl called Liesel who lives in Nazi Germany. Her brother has died and she is living with a foster parents on Himmel Street. Before Liesel arrived there she stole her first book at her brother’s graveside… it is not the last book she steals. It’s quite a read at nearly 600 pages, but I am around two-thirds of the way through and I can barely put it down.

There’s another book that has caught my eye, but which I’ve yet to buy… It’s Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson. It’s a thriller about Isaac Newtown when he ran the Royal Mint and discovered a very skillful counterfeiter. I’ve added the book to my Amazon wishlist and will probably either put it on my Christmas list or buy it in the new year, after all, I do have quite a pile of books to get through already!

Are you currently reading a book? Any books you can recommend?

Last night’s sunset caught by leaning my camera on the garden fence!

and tonight’s dusk…

I spent most of yesterday at Ludlow. The Food Festival was on and it always makes for a good day out (just make sure you pre-book your tickets online, so you don’t have to join the queues!). I tasted some of the goodies on offer and bought another book from the town’s bookshop (like I’ve not go enough to read already!). The weather was beautiful, so I was in no rush to come home.

Ludlow Food Festival is throughout the town centre and in the castle grounds, so I made use of the chance to do a little exploring and take some photos…….

I’d like to go back for a look around on a day when there’s no events on at the castle. I spotted a good scene for a photo yesterday, but a marquee was in the way, so I’ll go back on another day for some more photos.