This week ...

I'm Reading....

I decided that I wanted to read a book that I could get completed engrossed in. After thinking about some options, I decided that it was high time that I read another Rainbow Rowell book. There is a slight flaw in this plan as I had absolutely no time whatsoever to just sit and read over the weekend but never mind.

I am enjoying Fangirl, even though as an Australian we don't really do the college thing in the same way. It is a little interesting in terms of location though because if my son had of gone back to US college this year he would have been going to a college in Nebraska which is where this book is set.

I have long been a fan of the idea of stories with stories which this book has because Cath, the main character is a massive fan of a series called Simon Snow, even writing fan fiction. I do find it a bit odd that Rainbow Rowell has then gone onto write two Simon Snow books. Will I read them? Most likely. Do I still find it a bit odd? Yes

I also finished reading Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas. This is part of the  Ravenels series. I enjoyed the book, although I though that the subplot at the end came out of left field a bit, but overall another solid read from this author. I did love that we got to see Sebastian and Evie from Devil in Winter (review here). The hero of this book is their son, and so we got to see the family life that they have build together.

I'm watching....

We finished watching The Witcher and also Friday Night Dinners, so now we wait for new series of both of those.

We have also been watching The Good Place over the last couple of years. Now we wait patiently for each new episode, knowing that before long there will be no more because this series is the last.

I guess that means that we need something knew to watch. Any recommendations

I'm doing...

Over the weekend we went to a big outdoor concert and then to the theatre. Very cultural!

Every summer there are a series of big outdoor concerts that take place at various big wineries. There is usually a good mix of international stars and local legends. This weekend we went to see a lineup that included a local band called Magic Dirt, then Birds of Tokyo, Paul Kelly and finishing with Cold Chisel. The last two are Australian legends, and I hadn't seen either of them live before.

I really enjoy Paul Kelly's music because he is a storyteller within his music, which I love. He is a voice for social justice issues, and he was phenomenal on stage. I am definitely keen to go and see him live again

Cold Chisel are an Aussie band who were huge in the 70s and 80s before going their separate ways. I had seen the lead singer, Jimmy Barnes, in concert several times but not the band as a  whole.  They have so  many iconic songs that had the crowd going wild!

A funny story to give you some idea of how entrenched Cold Chisel was back in the day. The first time I went to America was in 1993 and my friend and I were doing a Contiki tour of the south west corner (San Diego, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas etc). The first morning we got on the tour bus, the guide was talking about playing music during the tour. Basically everyone could send their cassette tapes (remember those) or CDs (fancy new technology!) and they would then be played over the course of the week. After everyone had done so, the guide said that she was somewhat puzzled as were the first tour she had done in 8 years where there were Aussies on the bus and no one had bought a Cold Chisel tape!!

The other thing we did this weekend was going to see the theatre of War Horse!  The puppetry was totally mesmerising and there were times that you had to remind yourself that they weren't real horses on stage. The story can't help be somewhat bleak given the subject matter, but there were moments of light relief, mainly from the goose.

I'm glad we went to see it this time it was here!


I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date