Tag: Reading

World Book Day: The Doctor Who loves to read

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The Doctor of BBC’s Doctor Who might be a world-saving, time-travelling 900-odd-year-old alien, but even he makes time for a good book or two in his hectic life.

What started over 50 years ago as a (somewhat) educational filler-programme is teaching kids today (in a very sneaky way) that literature isn’t dull. Literary references abound on the show, and the Doctor is showing a whole new generation that it’s perfectly acceptable to geek out a little when you meet your favourite author or cry over fictional characters. Sometimes, the literary nods are subtle, a throw-away line here or a sneaky glimpse of something there, but sometimes they are bold and in your face. For example, there are whole episodes dedicated to William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Agatha Christie.

Some episodes were even written by famous authors. The list of authors includes such names like Ben Aaronovitch (known for Rivers of London), Douglas Adams (known for Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), Neil Gaiman (known for Neverwhere) and Mark Gatiss (known for the Lucifer Box trilogy).

As it is World Book Day today, I compiled a list of 40 references to literature or reading on Doctor Who, with a little help from my cousin.

Have we missed anything?

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If We Were Having Coffee… On New Year’s 2017

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Hello my lovely booklovers,

and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, a blog hop by the lovely Diana over at Part Time Monster. Every weekend we get together for virtual coffees and a little casual chat. How has this past week been for you?

If we were having coffee today, I’d invite you to have a nice hot cuppa with me, testing out my new Senseo which my family gave me for Christmas. They also got me about 9 different types of coffee, so we’d have lots to choose from, including hot cocoa. I can also make you tea (again, loads of flavours). It’s a crisp, clear day here in Germany, blue skies but about -3°C – if you’re up for it, I’d suggest wrapping up warm, grabbing our coffees and spending some time in the garden to enjoy the fresh air and clear our heads for the year ahead.

If we were having coffee today, I’d tell you that I have a lot planned for 2017, chief amongst those plans is to finally establish a proper posting schedule for reviews on this blog. Others include getting fit, writing more, changing jobs, possibly continuing my studies, and doing more for my mental health by making time to be creative.

And I am done apologising for being me. So from now on, I will be completely unapologetic and unashamed of my geekiness. I’m proud to be a geek girl, a reader, a writer, a lover of magical realism, fantasy, sci-fi, who gets obsessed with TV shows and characters and actors and likes to talk about all the things that interest me. 

If we were having coffee today, I’d tell you that I am challenging myself to read 70 books this year. I’m not going to go by themes this time, though. I currently own 733 books and I still have to read a few of them. And I actually already started. I decided to stay up after getting home from the New Year’s Eve celebrations and I started and finished reading Ajax Penumbra 1969 by Robin Sloan, the prequel to Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. Let’s see how many books I can get through this year.

If we were having coffee today, we’d talk about the return of Sherlock tonight. I can’t wait, it’s been 3 years since the last full season. As a major fan of the original Sherlock Holmes stories, and having a literary crush on John Watson (which only intensified when they cast one of my favourite actors Martin Freeman to play him) I am so excited to see what the Baker Street Boys will get up to next.

Thank you for starting your year by having coffee with me! Check out the other Weekend Coffee Sharers as well, though!

Same time, next week?

60 Books Challenge

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 60 Books Challenge 2016

This reading challenge was put together by Study.Read.Write.

  1. A book written by someone under the age of 25 
  2. A book written by someone over 65 
  3. A book published before 1850 Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
  4. A book published this year Hard Red Spring by Kelly Kerney
  5. An anthology 
  6. A book published by an indie press
  7. A book about or by someone who identifies as LGBTQ 
  8. A book that takes place in Asia 
  9. A book written by an Asian author 
  10. A book by an African author 
  11. A book that takes place in Africa 
  12. A book by or about Native Americans 
  13. A book by or about Aborigines 
  14. A Young Adult novel Aristotle and Dante discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sàenz
  15. A sci-fi novel Doctor Who: The Angel’s Kiss by Melody Malone
  16. A National Book Award winning book 
  17. A Man Booker Prize winning book 
  18. A Pulitzer Prize winning book 
  19. A retelling of a classic story Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
  20. An audio-book Silver: Return to Treasure Island by Andrew Motion
  21. A book adapted for radio The Gaveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (adapted by BBC)
  22. A book that was recommended to you My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem
  23. A book originally published in a different language 
  24. A book in a foreign language 
  25. A book you consider a “guilty pleasure” 
  26. A book published the year you were born 
  27. A book with more than 500 pages 
  28. A classic romance 
  29. A book that became a movie Octopussy & The Living Daylights by Ian Fleming
  30. A book with a number in the title 
  31. A funny book Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
  32. A mystery or thriller And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
  33. An erotic novel Casanova: The Venetian Years by Giacomo Casanova
  34. A book with a one-word title Daredevils by Shawn Vestal
  35. A nonfiction book We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  36. A popular author’s first book 
  37. A book from a favourite author you haven’t read yet 
  38. A book based on a true story Voss by Patrick White
  39. A book from the bottom of your to-read-pile The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell
  40. A book based on its cover alone The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman
  41. A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t 
  42. A book with antonyms in the title 
  43. A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit 
  44. A trilogy 
  45. A book from your childhood 
  46. A book with a colour in the title 
  47. A book that makes you cry 
  48. A book with magic Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
  49. A book by an author you’ve never read before The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
  50. A book you own but haven’t read How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
  51. A book that takes place in your hometown, state or country 
  52. A play Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris
  53. A banned book Into the River by Ted Dawe
  54. A book based on or turned into a TV show Doctor Who: Sleepers in the Dust by Darren Jones
  55. A NaNoWriMo winning novel 
  56. A book your dad loves 
  57. A book your mum loves 
  58. A book your grandparents love/own Xingu by Edith Wharton
  59. A book by an author with your initials  
  60. A book by an author with the same first name