Random Quote #211

I am not eccentric. It's just that I am more alive than most people. I am an unpopular electric eel set in a pond of catfish. 

Edith Sitwell

Merry Christmas!

The Graphics Fairy

Random Quote #210

I think you should be a child for as long as you can. I have been successful for 74 years being able to do that. 

Bob Newhart

Today Is The Day Of The Do Over

As the title suggests today is the day of the do over or the Deja Vu Blogfest as hosted by DL Hammons. I wasn't sure what to post at first, the last year on this blog has mainly consisted of random quotes and book related weekly event type things. But then I remembered this post where I revisited my t-shirt collection.

So I decided to revisit my revisit. :) To see the original post click here.

I Have Too Many! T-Shirts: Take Two

A while back now I posted about how I had too many t-shirts.

Well it was only really a half a*sed attempt. I wasn't sure I'd got all my t-shirts and I ended up showing my readers a measly 15 t-shirts. So I thought I'd take another run at it - a whole 3 and a half years later.

So this is going to be a fairly picture heavy post. You may recognise a few t-shirts from the previous post and you may notice that there are some missing :( and some new editions :)

I would have posted this sooner only I was missing the last couple of t-shirts and they have only recently resurfaced.

P.S. this does not include the plain t-shirts that I wear to work or the t-shirts I wear in bed... if I added all those I'd have to split this post in to at least 2 parts.

So on to the photos...

 

 

 

 

So it would appear I now have 30 t-shirts of this kind.

I was inspired to take another run at this post by IISuperwomanII as she celebrated her 300th video. She has many, many more t-shirts than me :)

So there you have it - a look back at my t-shirt collection... which has already grown since I originally posted this post.

To check out other people's reposts click the links at the top of this post and enjoy! :)

Random Quote #209

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

Audrey Hepburn

Random Quote #208

I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday

To take part in Tuesday Intros hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea all you have to do is post the first paragraph of the first chapter of the book you are reading or are going to read.

And to take part in Teaser Tuesday hosted by Should Be Reading is turn to a random page in the book you are reading and share 2 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page. Being careful not to include any spoilers of course.

Here are mine:

Tuesday Intro

(This is actually from what is titled the Introduction of this book)

It is sixty years since I first met Sidney Grice. He was still quite young - though he did not seem it at the time - and already well known in England. But he had yet to achieve the international fame that a series of hilariously inaccurate Hollywood films was to bring upon him.

Teaser Tuesday

"I never forget anything," he said, slipping his coat on, "least of all conditions, and I shall take you to any meetings that may be conducted during this investigation. But I am going now to the mortuary, hardly a place fit for the entertainment of a young lady."

Loc 448, The Mangle Street Murders by M. R. C. Kasasian

This book counts towards my total for the New Author Challenge 2014 hosted by Literary Escaism

Random Quote #207

I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.

Marilyn Monroe

Random Quote #206

One must live as if it would be forever, and as if one might die each moment. Always both at once. 

Mary Renault

Blog Blitz 2.0 And Deja Vu Is Coming...

As some of you will know I am a member of the Blog Blitz Team which was set up by DL Hammons to, for want of a better phrase, share the love in the blogosphere - basically every so often a victim someone is chosen randomly or recommended and we descend on their blog and leave them loads of great comments to make them smile, or in sometimes just to cheer them up :)

Anyway DL has decided to redo or restart the Blog Blitz team list, so if you were signed up before you'll have to go and sign up again if you want to continue to be part of the team. Or you can go and sign up for the first time if you weren't part of it the first time round.

You can go and sign up by clicking here, or by clicking the Blog Blitz logo over in the sidebar on the right.

And while I'm here and talking about DL a quick reminder that his Deja Vu Blogfest is now just under a month away. Basically on 19th December you just repost your favourite blog post from earlier in the year. To sign up for that click here.

So get clicking :)

It's Tuesday: Intros & Teasers

 To take part in Tuesday Intros, hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea, just post the first paragraph of the first chapter of the book you are currently reading or are going to read. The add your link to the list :)

And to take part in Teaser Tuesday, hosted by Should Be Reading:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Then add your link to the comments.

Although I haven't finished the book I was reading last week I do currently have more than one book on the go so I can give you the intro and teaser from something different to last week.

Tuesday Intro

Pannonia, 453 CE

The Barbarian encampment was enormous, a great city that moved from place to place at the whim of its unquestioned ruler, the High King. But in the dim light of this predawn morning it was in chaos. Hundreds of thousands of warriors and their shrieking women and ungovernable offspring milled about.  Hundreds of thousands of horses, cattle, sheep and goats all bleated and neighed in the general alarm and made the dawn a cacophony of sounds. The stink of the livestock competed with the smoke of ten thousand fires being fanned to life at once.

Teaser Tuesday

"They could easily be a surveillance team for a much larger conspiracy," said Klein. "They've still offered no good explanation as to why they're following you and spying on you."

Page 60, The Tombs by Clive Cussler & Thomas Perry

Random Quote #205

This is where it all begins. Everything starts here, today. 

David Nicholls

Tuesday: Intros & Teasers

This is what's up buttercup...

To take part in Tuesday Intros, hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea, just post the first paragraph of the first chapter of the book you are currently reading or are going to read. The add your link to the list :)

And to take part in Teaser Tuesday, hosted by Should Be Reading:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Then add your link to the comments.

So here are mine for this week...

Tuesday Intro 

This is actually the first paragraph of the prologue

And the woman could hear those old friends moving in the distant, and not so distant rooms of her home. Old friends she tried to forget for longer than she had the strength to remember. Until she understood her life had been one long wait for them to show up and commence whatever business they were so eager to finish. Because the old friends never forgot. They arrived without warning. They visited after dark and they never let go.

Teaser Tuesday

"You stayed with The Last Gathering for two years. Why did it take you so long to leave?"

Loc 530, Last Days by Adam Nevill

Random Quote #204

If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin. 

Ivan Turgenev

Random Quote #203

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself. 

Anna Quindlen

Happy Halloween!!!

Teaser Tuesday & Tuesday Intros

To take part in Teaser Tuesday you have to:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Then head over to Should Be Reading and add your link to the comments. 


And to take part in Tuesday Intros just share the first paragraph of the first chapter of the book you are reading or are going to read. And then go to Bibliophile By The Sea and add your link.

Tuesday Intro

Eight days ago my life was an up and down affair. Some of it was good. Some of it not so good. Most of it uneventful. Long slow periods of nothing much, with occasional bursts of something. Like the army itself. Which is how they found me. You can leave the army, but the army doesn't leave you. Not always. Not completely.

Teaser Tuesday

He spoke in a neutral tone and said, 'Help you?'
Which in my experience are two words that can precede anything from genuine wholehearted cooperation to a bullet in the face.

Page 51, Personal by Lee Child

Random Quote #202

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. 

Douglas Adams

Deja Vu Returns!!!

It has been aaagggeeesss since I took part in a blogfest - there's been plenty around but I'm that far behind with my blog reading that I only seem to find out about them after they've taken place.

But not this time!!!

On 19th December DL Hammons is resurrecting his Deja Vu Blogfest - it's really simple, just repost your favourite blog post from earlier in the year.

So getting clicking on that link above and go and sign up!

It's Teaser Tuesday & Tuesday Intro Time

Yes it's Teaser Tuesday & Tuesday Intro time again!!!

To take part in Tuesday Intro all you have to do is share the first paragraph of the first chapter of the book you are reading or plan to read. Then head over to Bibliophile By The Sea and add your link to the list :)

And to take part in Teaser Tuesday you have to:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Then head over to Should Be Reading and and your link to the comments. 

So here are mine for this week:

Tuesday Intro

Two weeks before Christmas, Jenny Payne lost her lover, her job and her home all in one day. It was not a good day, but it started well.

Teaser Tuesday

She leaned ever further over the rail, her eyes searching the water. She was rewarded a few seconds later as another dolphin broke the water, leaping upwards, water droplets surrounding him like silver confetti.

Loc 1198 (37%), Bring Me Sunshine by Janet Gover

This book also counts towards by total for the New Authors Challenge 2014 hosted by Literary Escapism.

Random Quote #201

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.

Albert Einstein

Teaser Tuesday & Tuesday Intros

This week I bring to you not just a Teaser Tuesday but also a Tuesday Intro.

Last week writer and blogger Sandra Nachlinger commented on my Teaser. And so I reciprocated by tootling over to her blog Writing With A Texas Twang, where I discovered that Sandra not only takes part in Teaser Tuesday but also First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros which is hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea.

Basically you share the first paragraph (or paragraphs if you want) of the book you are reading or going to read soon. So I thought I'd give it a whirl seen as I have just started reading a new book. So to take part in First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros do as above and then go and then add your link over on the Bibliophile's blog.

And here are the rules of Teaser Tuesday:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

And then head over to the Should Be Reading blog and add your link to the comments.

So here are mine:

Tuesday Intro

(this is the first paragraph of the first chapter not the prologue)

...His eyes opened and uncertainty surfaced with the wakefulness. The clatter of iron on iron, wheels on tracks, and the rhythmic lurching of the carriage banished the lingering shreds of his dream. He blinked once, twice, disturbed by gossamer after-images that had no clear form and certainly no context. David Ash drew in a breath and let his head loll to one side so that he could watch the passing scenery.

Teaser Tuesday

With that he turned and disappeared into the darkness at the top of the stairs. Avoiding Ash's gaze, Nanny Tess hurried after her nephew.

Loc 827, 22%, Haunted by James Herbert

Random Quote #200

Money can't buy happiness, but it can make you awfully comfortable while you're being miserable.

Clare Boothe Luce

I Have Too Many! T-Shirts: Take Two

A while back now I posted about how I had too many t-shirts.

Well it was only really a half a*sed attempt. I wasn't sure I'd got all my t-shirts and I ended up showing my readers a measly 15 t-shirts. So I thought I'd take another run at it - a whole 3 and a half years later.

So this is going to be a fairly picture heavy post. You may recognise a few t-shirts from the previous post and you may notice that there are some missing :( and some new editions :)

I would have posted this sooner only I was missing the last couple of t-shirts and they have only recently resurfaced.

P.S. this does not include the plain t-shirts that I wear to work or the t-shirts I wear in bed... if I added all those I'd have to split this post in to at least 2 parts.

So on to the photos...

 

 

 

 

So it would appear I know have 30 t-shirts of this kind.

I was inspired to take another run at this post by IISuperwomanII as she celebrated her 300th video. She has many, many more t-shirts than me :)

Teaser Tuesday

I've been absent from Teaser Tuesday for a couple of weeks. The first week I was, to kind of quote Will from Will & Grace, 'at Death's door, only the bouncers wouldn't let me in because I didn't look cool enough'. (I say kind of quote as Will was speaking in the present tense and I'm using the past tense)

I wasn't really at Death's door... I just had a cold but what I didn't have was the energy to write a blog post.

And then last week, even though I was enjoying reading the book, I was getting a bit exasperated at still being on the same book for the last 3 weeks.

But I'm back now, sans cold and with a new book.
 

And here are the rules:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Then head over to Should Be Reading and add your link to the comments.
 
Here's mine:

"I still don't understand why you had to have a meeting at two in the morning," Boo said.
"That's when it had to happen," Stephen said.

Page 71, The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson 

This book also counts towards my total for the New Author Challenge 2014 hosted by Literary Escapism... even if it is actually book 2 in a series, which I didn't know at the time of buying it. 

Random Quote #199

We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.

Stephen Hawking

Random Quote #198

I was wise enough never to grow up, while fooling people into believing I had. 

Margaret Mead

Random Quote #197

My life has a superb cast, but I cannot figure out the plot.

Ashleigh Brilliant

Teaser Tuesday

The rules of Teaser Tuesday:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Then head to Should be Reading and add your link to the comments. 

Here's mine:
 
Kay sat down and Felix surveyed the faces at the table. 'Last Monday, Jacob's friends in the Køge cell were rounded up.'

Page 132, I Can't Begin To Tell You by Elizabeth Buchan
 

Random Quote #196

All animals except man know that the ultimate of life is to enjoy it.

Samuel Butler

Teaser Tuesday

The rules of Teaser Tuesday:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Then head over to Should Be Reading and add your link to the comments. 

Here's mine:

'You've just told me I don't belong here. But I've lived here longer than I lived in England.'

Page 31, I Can't Begin To Tell You by Elizabeth Buchan 

This book counts towards my total for the New Author Challenge 2014 hosted by Literary Escapism. 

 

Random Quote #195

The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Teaser Tuesday

To take part in Teaser Tuesday all you have to do is:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Then head over to Should Be Reading and add your link to the comments. 
 
Here's mine:

'It is a serious business, blackmail. These harpies will force you to pay - and pay - and pay again!'

Page 144, The Labours Of Hercules by Agatha Christie