Recent Reads - Books - What's Happening, Thursday Next?

Hi!!!

 

Well, hey there everybody. Happy Friday! Today's post is about some of my favourite books, one of which I finished reading last weekend. This is a bit like a review but not, and you'll soon see why, but if you're looking for some ideas for what to read this weekend, then look no further.

 

 

Let me introduce you to Thursday Next, a smart and brave literary heroine, and the books you can find her in.

 

The Eyre Affair is the first in a series of books that follow Thursday Next and her adventures, and Lost In A Good Book (which I finished last week) is the second. At the time of writing there are seven books.

 

Thursday and co live in 1985, but not as we know it. It is a parallel 1985 in which the Crimean War is still going on, people have pet dodos, Wales is a Republic and the Goliath Corporation hold a scary amount of power and control. Thursday works for SpecOps (who are kind of like MI5) as a literary detective - other SpecOps divisions include the ChronoGuard (time-travelling police) and the Werewolves and Vampires Disposal unit.

 

The first story follows our heroine on the trail for a major player in the literary crime market, Acheron Hades, who has been kidnapping characters from fiction and holding them to ransom - including Jane Eyre. In order to stop him, Thursday must find a way into the books themselves.

 

And then, in the second story, Thursday finds herself jumping into fiction again in order to find the truth when the Goliath Corporation meddle with her personal life, and she finds that lost Shakespeare manuscripts, a few too many coincidences and impending Armageddon are all part of a bigger plan - but whose? With the addition of some wonderful 'new' characters - ever wanted to meet the Cheshire Cat? - as well as all our book one favourites, its an awesome adventure.

 

 The books are an amazing mix of science fiction, fantasy, comedy and references to a bucket load of books. The characters all have such clever, often pun filled, names like Paige Turner, Bowden Cable (like the things on bikes?), as well as a personal favourite, Landen Park-Laine, and of course Thursday Next. The plot is interesting and unique and full of surprises and sub-plots and the world Thursday lives in is so vividly described. I absolutely adore these books and can't wait to read the rest of the series.

 

Jasper Fforde gets two thumbs up and a round of applause from me.

 

I hope you enjoyed today's post - it was a lot of fun to write.

Have you read the Thursday Next books? Do you have any book recomendations for me? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading.

 

I hope your day is brilliant!

 

GingerSnaps xxx



 

I've Been Thinking... - The Joy Of Colouring Books.

Hi!!!

Good evening everyone. I wanted to have a chat with you today about colouring books because I really like them. I know colouring in for 'grown ups' has been really popular recently, and it might all seem a bit odd, but honestly, I couldn't be happier.



I was a big fan of colouring in when I was little. I used to like 'fashion' type colouring in books, where I could colour in outfits to my liking and add in patterns (I've always liked clothes!). I liked taking control over the colours that would be on the page and I think there was a sense of accomplishment in finishing each piece.

Then, last Christmas, having seen a hundred and one grown-up colouring books in WHSmith every day, I decided that I'd ask for one and see what they were like. My mom bought me The Enchanted Forest by Johanna Basford (as well as another colouring book and some pencils). Then Elf Girl bought me this colouring book based on The Chronicles of Narnia (I have always loved the stories for my birthday.
 

My favourite parts of colouring in are still present - choosing colours is still a painstakingly thoughtful process, which I enjoy, and I still feel proud of myself when I complete a picture. The main difference in adult's colouring books and children's colouring books that I have noticed, is that the pictures are far more intricate and detailed, which means it takes me a quite a while to finish the pictures. This gives me time to really savour and consider the images, which is lovely.

A lot of the books are marketed as products to aid mindfulness, and I'm not sure I can comment fully or correctly on the subject because I'm not really all that clued up on the concept, but what I can say is that it is lovely to sit down and take time away from technology to enjoy colouring. It can certainly help you step away from things and puts you in a different mind set.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should treat yourself to a colouring book this Autumn because there is joy to be found inside their pages.

I hope you liked this post, and that you may have found a new activity to fill some of your lovely autumn evenings.

Do you own any colouring books? Which ones would you recommend? Do you think you might buy one now? Do you have any other comments or maybe suggestions for posts you'd like to see in the future? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks so much for reading.

I hope your day is delightful!

GingerSnaps xxx