Thursday 11 July 2013

No TV

So, as you know I don't have a TV here in Devon which has meant occupying myself in other ways. I was dreadful, I'd get in at around 5.30 and the TV would go pretty much straight on and stay on til bedtime - soaps, drama, general rubbish!!! 

Have I missed it since I haven't had it - well, to be honest, NOPE!! And no-one is more surprised about that than me.  I have wi-fi so I have access to iPlayer, ITV player, 4 on demand etc etc and yes I have watched some odds and ends but mainly series (Dr Who, Broadchurch, Call the Midwife, Scott and Bailey, Foyle's War), no mindless soap watching.  I also have a dvd player (laptop) and a LoveFilm membership via my bank account and I've watched a few films and series that I've got through that.  One of the main reasons I don't think I've watched a huge amount is because my laptop gets REALLY hot and it's pretty uncomfortable having it sat on my lap after a while!!

There have been a couple of occasions where it would have been nice to curl up and watch some rubbish TV, a cold winter afternoon and when I've been poorly but those instances have been few and far between.

I back to Kent for a long weekend a few weeks back and wasn't tempted to put the TV on (which was lucky as I've cancelled the TV licence). I was much happier seeing friends, chatting and living my life than watching fictional characters live theirs! 

The main thing I have done to fill in the time though has been read. Those of you that know me know I read quite a bit anyway but I think 43 books in six months is pretty good going even for me!!! They are a real mixture mainly because Starbucks were doing a free voucher code every week and quite a few of them were books. I will give most things a go when it comes to reading and even if I don't really like the style I will often read to the end anyway - I hate stopping part way through a book and not getting to the end!

The Feist books I am reading for a second time. Some of you know that I have been reading Feist since I was introduced to Magician when I was 18. He has written 30 books over the course of 30 years that all interlink with each other or carry on the lives/families from the very first one. Earlier this year the 30th book was published in the UK and will bring the whole lot to a conclusion! I was lucky enough to get to meet the author and get a cloth bound copy of the very first book and a hardback copy of the last book signed.  As I know this will be the last time we will meet these characters there is a part of me that doesn't want to read the last book yet - so I decided to read the whole lot, start to finish!! I'm reading them in published order and have done 7 books so far - 23 to go!!

Anyway - I seem to have waffled quite a bit here so I'm off to carry on with the 44th book!!

Started 6th Jan

Peter Robinson - The Price of Love (collection of short stories)
Jo Nesbo - The Redeemer (grisly detective tale)
Billie Piper - Growing Pains (autobiography)
Tess Stevens - Sold (autobiography)
Chas Newkey-Burden - Amy Winehouse 1983-2001 (biography)
Tony Hawks - Round Ireland with a Fridge (hitch hiking round Ireland with a fridge to win a bet!)
Lionel Shriver - We Need To Talk About Kevin (gruesome book about a kid who carries out a high school massacre)
James Bowen - A Street Cat Named Bob (autobiography)
W. J. Burley - Wycliffe and Death in a Salubrious Place (detective novel)
Paullina Simons - Tully (novel about growing up)
Lauren Weisberger - The Devil Wears Prada (girly)
Jo Nesbo - The Snowman (crime thriller)
Marcia Willett - Forgotten Laughter (family life)
Margot Aczel - From Death Row With Love (true story of a death row inmate)
Sue Moorcroft - All That Mullarkey (chick lit!)
Christopher Paolini - Brisingr (3rd book in the Inheritance Cycle - dragons and elves etc!)
Christopher Paolini - Inheritance (4th and last book of the Inheritance Cycle)
Sabine Dardenne - I Choose to Live (story of her kidnap and subsequent the trial)
John le Carre - The Constant Gardener (who dunnit conspiracy)
Kylie Chan - White Tiger (1st in a trilogy, gods, dragons, and lots of other strange goings on!)
Kylie Chan - Red Phoenix (2nd in the trilogy)
Kylie Chan - Blue Dragon (3rd in the trilogy)
Marian Keyes - Rachel's Holiday (chick lit)
Jane Lovering - Vampire State of Mind (choc lit with vampires)
Ken Follett - The Pillars of the Earth (epic about building cathedrals and the lives that revolve around it)
W. J. Burley - Wycliffe and How to Kill a Cat (detective novel)
W. J. Burley - Wycliffe and the Pea-Green Boat (detective novel)
W. J. Burley - Wycliffe and the School Girls (detective novel)
W. J. Burley - Wycliffe in Paul's Court (detective novel)
Nancy Farmer - A Girl Named Disaster (coming of age story set in Africa)
W. J. Burley - Wycliffe and the Beales (detective novel)
Raymond E Feist - Magician (elves, dwarves, men and magic!)
W. J. Burley - Wycliffe and the Tangled Web (detective novel)
Raymond E. Feist - Silverthorn (2nd in the trilogy)
Raymond E. Feist - A Darkness at Sethanon (3rd in the trilogy)
W J Burley - Wycliffe and the Four Jacks (detective novel)
W J Butley - Wycliffe and the Cycle of Death (detective novel)
Raymond E Feist & Janny Wurts - Daughter of the Empire (1st in a trilogy linked to Magician and the others)
Raymond E. Feist - Prince of the Blood (following the story of the Magician trilogy)
W J Burley - Wycliffe and the Dead Flautist (detective novel)
Lucy Fletcher - Alice in Weddingland (chick lit)
Raymond E Feist & Janny Wurts - Servant of the Empire (2nd in the trilogy)
Raymond E Feist & Janny Wurts - Mistress of the Empire (3rd in the trilogy)

2 comments:

  1. That's a real mix of books you've got there! My reading output is much less than that. Hope you're enjoying Devon in the sun!

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    1. Loving Devon in the sun - think a beach may have to feature in my weekend!

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