Hi, I'm linking back to The sunday post held by Kim, The Caffeinated Reviewer. Click on the link to access her post and discover plenty
of great bloggers who are dying to share their book reviews, and other things, with you !
This week, I decorated our home for Christmas. Everything had to be "cat safe", so it's all up there, everything out of reach. Our oldest cat doesn't care at all, the youngest dreams of re-enacting Tarzan. She was watching my every move. So far, she has spared my small Christmas tree.
Working from home didn't go well, not on the "home" part (even if trying to work with a cat around your computer is complicated), but on the "office" part : in short, three of us worked for nothing. Oh well, Covid and all, happens, the world won't be turning the other way. But when I was working, I wasn't visiting or commenting or watching Booktube, so I missed a lot of things and that was unnerving. The same kind of work will take place next week, so let's cross fingers so that it doesn't happen again.
Anyway, I'll spend my sunday (no kids today) catching up on visiting, commenting and watching Booktube ! Stay safe and prepare yourselves ^^
Review : Anne Brontë : The tenant of Wildfell Hall - for my Brontë mania,
a wonderful feminist, Victorian novel !
Review : Alison Case : Nelly Dean - a retelling of Wuthering heights
that I liked, but not adored
Review : Sheila Kohler : Becoming Jane Eyre,
a touching fictionalised biography of the Brontës during the writing of Jane Eyre
I'm still reading Samuel Butler's The way of all flesh. It's good, but it's filled with bitterness and anger, in spite of the humorous way in which the story is told, that is a bit depressing. It's a semi-autobiographical novel and wow, some Victorian parents were really hard on their kids.
To change from the Brontës and Victorian era, I'll be reading, and hopefully reviewing, Martha Wells Murderbot, a series that has been highly recommended :
I'll also continue my Daphne du Maurier reading with The Loving spirit :
I'll also be continuing my Agatha Christie reading with The murder of Roger Ackroyd in my 1976 edition :
I'll see if I have time for more.
ON THE NET :
If you're curious about what Christmas looks like in the East of France, watch this video. I'm not from the East (West for ever !!) but my companion was born there, in Lorraine, and those places are famous for their Christmas markets and the beauty of the villages and their decorations (don't worry, nobody speaks French and the subtitles are easy to guess, just watch - the footages are "before Covid") :
Apart from that, I finished watching Miss Marple and have moved on to (re)watching Hercule Poirot and Frasier : comfort watch ! We're on season 8 of Supernatural - you don't want to watch this when you're eating...
The murder of Roger Ackroyd is one of my favorite Agatha Christie book. I hope you enjoy it as well. And that your tree is safe. Have a great week ahead.
ReplyDeleteI read it decades ago and remember thinking "what have I been missing ?!" when I reached the end :) Thanks Gayathri !
DeleteSorry that last week's online working wasn't successful:(. So annoying! Lol... love you have a cat that fancies himself as Tarzan. I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts on the Murderbot novella - I really enjoyed it. And some Victorian parents believed their children were born essentially fallen and needed a firm hand in order not to revert to savagery... Thank you for the video - I loved it:). Have a great week, Iza!
ReplyDeleteThanks SJ, I'm looking forward to reading about the Murderbot, that will be a nice change from The way of all flesh !
DeleteCats and Christmas trees - so tricky all the time! My cats are older now and only snuggle up underneath these days. :) I just told my husband about Murderbot! It looks like one he would love. I need to read more du Maurier. :)
ReplyDeleteDaphne du Maurier's writing is simply wonderful. I have an older cat (14+ ?) who doesn't care one bit about Christmas decorations, lol :)
DeleteThat's nice you decorated your home for Christmas, we did that last week. I hope your cats will spare your tree. That's too bad about the work from home not being successful. Hopefully next week it will go better. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lola, have a great week too and thumbs up for your business ^^
DeleteThat is so nice that you are able to work from home, I wish I could LOL
ReplyDeleteDecorating for the season is so fun right? I can't imagine the lengths you go to to get it "feline safe" but worth it I am sure.
Hope you have a wonderful week and stay safe and blessed.
I wish I could work all the time from home, but I would miss my readers and colleagues - I'm stuck home because I'm supposed to be more sensitive to Covid due to my health, so... Thanks Renee, stay safe too :)
DeleteIzabelle, I am sorry to hear about your work and you missing out on Booktube. You do look like you have been doing some great reading though! I loved The Tenant of Wildfel Hall and I also thoroughly enjoyed The Loving Spirit earlier this year, so I hope you will enjoy it, too.
ReplyDeleteTake care in the coming week, happy reading and I hope your Christmas tree survives your youngest cat! 🤞😹😊
A colleague read The loving spirit too recently, I'll be happy to finally get to reading it :) So far, so good regarding the cat ^^ Thanks Jessica !
DeleteCats can certainly be mischievous around Christmas trees. Glad you made yours cat proof. I have to do that with my new kittens. For now they are still in the cat proof guest room.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great week! Stay safe.
Thanks Yvonne, you too - and I'm dying to see your cats =^-^=
DeleteI see that I have the Martha Wells book on my Goodreads TBR but I have no clue what it's about. Let us know if you like it!
ReplyDeleteOhmygosh cats. Mine is 14-ish and so far she has completely ignored the small tree on the table next to her bed. Good luck with yours! Oh and mine HATES it when I'm on a conference call to the point of where she will bite me if I don't put her outside or distract her with some food.
I will, I don't remember much too but I like to dive in blind. I have a 14+ y-o cat, she's sleeping now and doesn't care about Christmas. But the youngster ? Even since I began answering comments, I had to get up 5 times to stop her from devastating something ! Good luck with your cat :)
DeleteMy cat would try and reenact Tarzan as well! Lol! Cats are so much fun even when they're destructive. I wish I could work from home, but sorry to hear your experience isn't going so well.
ReplyDeleteI loved The Murder of Roger Ackroyd but it's been a while since I read it. My dad recently read it and called me about the ending. It's memorable! Enjoy! :)
I love cats too but when they're young, they're definitely a handful ! I remember from an earlier reading who the murderer is, I'm looking forward to finding the traces along as I go through it, thanks Rachel !
DeleteCats are hilarious when it comes to Christmas decorations. Luckily my chonky lump is mostly uninterested. She does do some things, but she doesn't try to climb the tree. I had a cat in my teens that liked to climb our tree and he would fall out every time. He was fine, but he never did learn his lesson.
ReplyDeleteI need to read the Martha Wells book too, it looks good. Have a great week and thanks for stopping by my blog!
I have a colleague who leaves her Christmas tree for 24 hours in her living room for the cat to go crazy on it, then she decorates it :) You're welcome Shannon, have a great week too !
DeleteGood luck with the tree and your cat. :) We have similar problems here. They don't seem to understand restraint at times lol.
ReplyDeleteI hope you love All systems Red. I need to read the latest book. And loved the video! I'd love to visit France and so it was a treat to learn more about traditions there.
Cats simply don't understand what "no" means ^^ I'm glad you loved the video, I'll try to find some more if I can :)
DeleteOur dog Lulu is afraid of the tree and ornaments. I adore Miss Marple and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Murderbot Diaries. I can't wait for the next one.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
Lulu is so cute :) I'm very eager to finish my current book to dive into the Murderbot diaries !
DeleteOMG, I have never read this one by Daphne.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to the lovely Christmas video. I recently had one of my students work on the Visites Privées video on Les marchés de Noël, fascinating tradition, going back to the Middle Ages
I don't think I ever read it either. Next week, I'll link to a video in Provins and its Christmas Market. No market this year, of course...
DeleteI watched the movie Becoming Jane, I guess it was adapted from the book you are reading.
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful video, thanks for sharing it with us!
Wishing you a great reading week
Becoming Jane was about Jane Austen, another Jane ;) You're welcome Shelleyrae, have a great week too !
DeleteI've been so lucky with all my cats throughout the years in that they don't bother the Christmas tree much... Yes, they take an opportunistic swipe at low hanging baubles/decorations but they don't jump or climb it etc which I'm forever grateful for! :)
ReplyDeleteI hope this week works out better if you're working from home.
Thanks Nicci, I hope too ! I usually leave a sturdy decoration especially for the cats to catch, so they don't feel frustrated ^^
DeleteWe just put up our tree today, and we're waiting to see how the puppy does with it. So far, he's been impressively calm and non-destructive. He did seem tempted by an ornament that's a little too close to looking like a stuffed animal, but he didn't destroy it. (Literally as I write this he's bopping an ornament with his nose, but he hasn't eaten one yet!)
ReplyDeleteWe shall see!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Fingers crossed for your ornament :D !
DeleteOh poor kitty! She just wants to live! 😉 it’s so frustrating when you work on something just for all that work to go down the tubes. I had that happen a few months back. It’s distressing!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great week this week!!
Our kitty is very, very lively, lol ! Thanks Stephanie, I hope you do too :)
DeleteMurderbot is excellent, I hope you enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteI’d love a cat but my friend keeps putting me off with her tales of cat gymnastics!
Have a good week!
I'm so eager to finish the book I'm currently reading to finally get to the famous Murderbot ! Oh yes, cats require a lot of attention... Have a great week too Heather :)
DeleteI would love to have a cat, but my husband keeps giving me a thumbs down.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in read The Way of All Flesh. I should add it to my list of someday books.
I'm currently struggling with The way of all flesh : some parts are witty and funny, but others are... boring.
DeleteI miss our cat who was pretty good about not attacking the Christmas tree.
ReplyDeleteI really like Murderbot and thanks for reminding me to pick up more in the series.
I enjoyed the L'Avent et Noel video and now I want Christmas cookies.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Have a good week and Happy Reading!
Our eldest cat doesn't care about our little Christmas tree and so far, the youngest has left it alone, phew. Ah, the famous Murderbot ! And now, reading your comment, I want Christmas cookies ! You're welcome Martha, happy reading too :)
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ReplyDeleteCats do seem to love it when the Christmas decorations come out, don't they? We had our tree up all year and now the cats are so used to it, they could care less, even with the addition of decorations and lights, which was more recently done. My cat Parker (who is no longer with us), was notorious for wanting to climb the tree. He once sent it spinning round and round on its base as he held on for dear life. His favorite though was climbing into the branches, finding a comfy spot and sleeping. In Nina's early years, she climbed to the top a couple of times, but she's lost interest in the tree as she's gotten older.
ReplyDeleteWorking from home has its challenges. I am home most days working and understand the fight with the cat. My Gracie loves to crawl on my chest or nap on my keyboard at the most inopportune times. LOL I hope things are going better for you with work this week.
I hope you are enjoying your reading! Have a great weekend!
Thanks Wendy, I had and while reading, the cats kept me warm :) Our youngest cat would have loved to play with the decoratons, but the eldest didn't so much as look at them. I can almost see your cat sending the tree spinning, lol !
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