My year in books...

As we approach the end of another year, I thought I would reflect back on what I have achieved reading wise over the year. After all I started this blog initially as a 'book blog'.

This year hasn't been all that prolific for me in terms of reviewing books... REAL LIFE has gotten in the way of this mostly and I do find myself having less and less time for writing full detailed reviews. However, I have continued to read a lot, as always.

Mainly the 2nd half of this year I have been reading a lot of older books, I've been in a bit of a retro vibe! And also, the amount of kindle one-click purchases appearing on my bank statement was getting to epic levels so I actually thought I should knuckle down and actually read the books I have been collecting and putting on my groaning bookshelves! Which, I admit are mainly of the old school variety...

oooh, look at all the pretty colours...

Old skool romance FTW!

And surprisingly I have actually made my way through quite a lot of them!

Going forward, I am thinking of different ways to continue to keep this blog as a book based blog at its core. Such as mini, on the go reviews as I'm reading books or just a monthly summary and star rating... I've not quite decided.

But whatever happens, don't worry I'm still out there reading and enjoying romance novels as aways. Maybe one day I'll actually get through my entire book collection...

Two NEARLY full book shelves (p.s. theres also two more 'non romance' bookshelves in the other room...)

Xx

App for it....

So, it appears you can now blog directly from your phone on the blogger app, who knew?! 

I seem to always be a few steps behind on these kind of things. But be prepared for a lot more photos of Pete being blogged!!

In fact, here's one now...

The Great Big Career Change...

A lot has changed since I last posted on here. You may (but probably won't) remember that earlier on in the year I was having a bit of difficulty with the ol' life/work balance - basically I had none! Cutting my hours back helped a bit, but it didn't take long until the additional duties, and asking me to do extra hours, phone calls on my days off, etc, started piling on again.

It was around the end of summer when I realised that I. Was. Done. with my job. In the nearly ten 10 years since university I have only ever had one employer, and yes I had a 2 year break off work during that time, but enough was enough and I felt a change was needed.

And boy was it a big one. Let's just say going from banking and insurance into working for the NHS is veeeerrrrrryyyy different. Very! Applying for the job in the first place was a bit of a whim, actually getting an interview was surprising, and then to actually get the job was a complete shock!

Fast forward 5 weeks on and after a gruelling 4 weeks of full time training, which included 2 exams and audits, I am now flying solo and finding it, well er, challenging. Going from a job that I didn't like but could basically do with my eyes closed, to one where I actually had to use that brain that I'd buried away years ago has been a bit of a culture shock... But they say you can never go home again so I do want to make the most of this new role.

Not only that it works out so much better for my work/life balance. I only work 20 hours a week now over 4 evenings making it a lot better for me and my husband and Pete the dog!

Watch this space for more updates on the new job...! It might be interesting!

Xx

Welcome to Planet Apple...

I have been quiet on the writing and blogging front recently. There has been a couple of reasons for this. Mainly day job based, but also because my faithful laptop was on it's last legs and I was struggling to get use out of it.

On the days it decided to turn on at all, it took about 10 mins to do so, and trying to work over the loud constant buzzing it emitted was frustrating to say the least. And the most difficult part was that I couldn't type for long periods of time as one side of the keyboard would overheat to rather uncomfortable levels. As you can probably understand, I can't really write if I can't type (apart from pen to paper, of course!)


So I had a big decision on my hands... did I a) go and get myself a replacement laptop, knowing that probably in 3-4 years time I would go through the same thing, or perhaps b) get a PC desktop, a fairly decent one, with it's rather cumbersome-even-in-2014 tower, or did I go for the option that had been whispering it's way through my blood for the last few years... c) go all out and finally, FINALLY, get an iMac that I have always wanted.

It was a tough decision... and iMac was undoubtedly the favourite option. BUT, they are not the kind of this I can go out and purchase willynilly. They are expensive, so I could only justify the cost if it is something I will use enough to make it worth it, and will it have a longer shelf life than I have ever had a normal laptop last for. Also after years of being a PC user, I last used a Mac at university and that was only for design based programs (which was 12 whole years ago, would you believe!) would I be able to switch over to using a Mac or would it take a lot of adjustments.

Isn't it pretty!

I ummed, I uhhhed, spoke to a few people about it. (One person was so very against getting a Mac and that PC's are the only way to go that it only made me want a one even more! I don't give a damn if you can update the insides of a PC and not a Mac, that's not how I roll!) and eventually settled on my hearts desire and bought it. After a little fiasco regarding getting the item delivered, which I'm not going to go into as it just makes my blood boil and those of you whole follow me on twitter might remember my little drama, I now have a gorgeous computer that works.

And it's an iMac, yo!

Now, I know what you're probably thinking... does getting a new computer warrant and entire blog post?! Well, in my rather boring life, yes it does! It's a shiny new toy and very exciting. It also means I have the (working) tools to try and make a go out of getting published. Maybe now that I have something inspiring to write on, I might , ya know, be more inspired to write. For that, only time will tell, but in the last week I have managed 3000 words... and that is more than I have managed in the last few months combined!

Going forward I've got a few kinks to try and iron out... Basic things like how the hell do I copy and paste on this thing? and Where on earth do I save something? I have sort of managed to work out!
My current issue is whether or not to purchase Microsoft Office or just stick with the in-built pages app, which to be honest so far I am not getting along with that well.

Any advice on decent Word Processing and Spreadsheet programs I should/could use would be greatly appreciated?

Also, other useful app recommendations? What is all the fuss about linking iPhone via cloud? etc...

Anyway, that's enough about my shiny new Mac for now, watch this space for some more updates and blog posts soon....

Pete's not sure what all the fuss is about... and why do I sit at the desk instead of paying him attention?!

 Xx

Back in the New York groove...

Hello, hello, hello!

Well what a whirlwind it has been since I last posted, which was far far too long ago, lots going on but most of it boring so I'll bullet point it

• Crappy day job
• Puppy time
• weight loss
• crappy day job
• family issues
• crappy day job

Get the idea?! It's not been an easy few months that's for sure. But... things are getting back on track now. For one I have changed my hours back to part time, my work was consuming my life and that has never been what I have wanted out of a job/career, so I made the decision to step down and cut back to get my life back. Now I have more time to spend with Pete the puppy (yay!!) and the husband of course, more time to spend sewing and doing stuff I like, and more time to spend on reading and writing - two things I love. Believe me, I have missed this blog.

I have also recently returned from a fantastic holiday to my favourite place in the whole world... New York City. There is nothing quite like walking round the city that is so full of life of all types to really bring back your joie de vivre. Everything about this city is so raw and honest that it brought the life out of me again. I loved it. Did lots of shopping, sightseeing, walking, eating, etc!

So, to sum up... I'm back!! I've got lots of blog posts and book reviews coming up soon so watch this space.

Good to see you all again. 

Its been a while...

I know it has been a long time since I last blogged. Sorry, sorry!

The end of 2012 saw a lot of change happen in my life and unfortunately some things (like writing and blogging) were pushed to the side while I found I was extremely busy!

So what's been happening, I hear you ask? Oh... OK, so maybe you didn't ask but in case you were wondering I'm going to tell you!

Well, I guess the two biggest things are that our adoption application has suddenly started moving again (more on that in a mo) and I have re-entered the working world after 2 years 7 months. Big change.

I wasn't actively looking for a new job, but I had been thinking about getting out of the house a little more. As much as I enjoyed being at home full time, the original plan had been that I would stop working to raise our family (natural or adopted) so when neither of those things seemed to be happening, I was kinda just going through the motions and feeling more and more disconnected from the world. When I saw that my old employer had a job opening in a different department, I decided to apply on a whim and I don't think anyone was more shocked than me when a week later I was offered a position!

I took a part time 21 hours per week contract so I will still have time to write and do my own thing, although for the first 3 weeks I did work full time hours - exhausting! And surprisingly, I love it! I love having some independence again, and having my brain active all day, as well as having a reason to wear all my lovely shoes and make-up. 

So, I had finally decided to go back to work. I was convinced that our adoption application was no longer being considered as when I last spoke to the adoption team I had a very tense conversation with the head of  the team as they wanted us to consider taking an older child (age 2.5 - 3 yrs). I said no, because I felt that it wouldn't be right for us. I'm only 28 and this would be our first child, to me it was unrealistic to expect this from us. After that conversation it was made to seem that unless we agreed we would no longer be considered. It was so very disheartening, and I had made my peace with it all. 

Naturally that meant that the week I was offered a new job I also heard from the adoption team for the first time in 10 months saying they wanted to go ahead with our application after all. Typical. My husband and I agonised over the decision, but we decided to carry on but this time it would be on our terms. We won't change our minds on what is the best course for our lives, no matter the pressure we might receive, and I will work.

We met our assessing social worker for the first time in mid December. It was a very nerve racking morning and I didn't come away feeling all that confident about everything, but nobody said it would be easy. I have seen her once since then, and I will keep you updated as to how it all goes. Fingers crossed but I'm keeping my hopes under control in case it has to be put on hold again.

I have made it clear that my career is important. I gave up a well paying job, with the intention of re-starting my career after the adoption was done. That is no longer an option. I wanted to go back to work as the longer I leave it, the harder it will be to get back into it.

So, there is those two things and I have also been decorating my house, which has taken up a lot of time and still isn't done!

And that is why I haven't blogged for while! Things are starting to settle down now so I am looking forward to getting back to writing and having more time to read again.

All the best.

Xx

When life gives you lemons...

I haven't blogged for a while and the main reason for that is that last week ended up being crazy busy. With a family emergency that resulted in me having to look after the six month old foster baby for five days. To put it lightly I. Was. Exhausted. Both physically and emotionally! But it wasn't just that that caused me to want to stop in the middle of a very crowded street, look up and just  scream as loud as I could...

A what-should-have-been-routine eye test last Monday didn't end with my needing glasses as I thought it would. Oh no, it certainly didn't! Turns out apart from a slight correction issue my eyesight is fine, it's every-bloody-thing else that is wrong.

I left the opticians with a medical referral to my GP, a hospital referral to the eye clinic as I have a nevus in my eye or something (I can't remember what she said as I had stopped listening and started panicking by that point) that needs to be investigated and a very foul mood. Not what you expect at 10am on a Monday morning, that's for sure.

The GP didn't have much better news either, turns out I have high blood pressure and as it is affecting my eyes it needs treating. I was prescribed some medication and told that I needed to go to the hospital THE NEXT DAY to have some blood tests taken to check my liver and kidney functions, or something. Which was doubly annoying as I had planned (and booked travel) to go to the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace that day. But off I went, with baby, husband and mother-in-law in toe (Mother-in-law was there for another reason btw!), and got stabbed and jabbed by a nurse with the loudest voice in the world in a curtained off area in the Path lab. Also, my tests had to be fasting so I had not had my usual morning coffee and the baby had cried most of the night! Not a happy bunny.

Wow, this is a long story!

Anyway, like I said I'm now on medication for high blood pressure and I have to go back and see my doctor next week, I am restricted to only two cups of coffee a day and I'm still waiting for my eye clinic referral to come through.

But on the plus side, I did manage to get to the Knitting and Stitching show after the coach company very kindly agreed to swap our tickets to the Sunday. Me and mother-in-law had a great time, spent money as though it was going out of fashion and virtually had to cram all our goodies into the storage areas on the coach! I have so much beautiful fabric to stroke and look at now... don't know what I'm going to do with it yet but it's lovely.

So that is why I haven't been around for a while... How was your week?!

Xx

A nice surprise...

I received some of the new relaunched RIVAs today. I was so excited about this relaunch, I love the RIVA line and have really missed it being available on general sale.

The new covers are, in my opinion, so pretty and really suit this fresh, fun line... See?!

Have a look at the newly relaunched titles available here on on Mills & Boon UK website

So, anyway like I said my RIVAs arrived today and they are every bit as pretty in the physical form. And there I was standing in my kitchen with a cup of coffee idly having a flick through the first pages of them when in 'The Best Mistake of Her Life' by Aimee Carson I came across this....

People, that is MY review!! My words are printed... In an actual book! Can you say, Proud Moment.

It was such a shock, I had no idea it was going to be in there, I was reading the paragraph thinking 'This sounds familiar' and then I realised!!

Such a nice little surprise, I'm really happy to have my review noticed. I don't review books for recognition, or profit; I just like books and like to tell people so.

But, darn, it's nice to get noticed! Thanks Mills & Boon :-)

Xx

P is for Penalties... and D is for Disappointment...

Well, that's it folks!

England are out of Euro 2012...

You know what? I wouldn't have actually minded this fact - after all this is very much a rebuilt England squad that haven't really had chance to gel - and I was certainly not expecting them to go on to win the competition even if my heart secretly hoped for it, most of us didn't even expect them to get past the group stages anyway.

But WHY did they have to lose on penalties...

AGAIN

I actually found myself wishing that Italy would just get it over with and put the damn ball in the back of the net. Perhaps it's an even more bitter pill to swallow that England were playing against a, let's be honest, very lacklustre Italian performance.

All I can say is if England played like that against a poor Italy, then Germany, waiting in the next round, would have destroyed them.

So, disappointed? Yes.

Surprised? No

Annoyed that it was penalties that defeated England again? Most definitely.

Some players in the team really showed just how brilliant they are (I'm looking at you John Terry - even though you're a w*nker!) and some showed us that they simply can't play well for England even if they are thought to be the second coming, I mention no names (Rooney).

HOWEVER, regardless of last nights performance, they are still England and they still deserve our support. I have great faith that eventually we will win something, we just need to keep cheering on our lads.

And perhaps we'll even win a penalty shoot-out one day... I can dream right?

Oh, and don't pelt me with tomatoes but I want Germany to win now!

Bring on Brazil 2014!

Xx

Wednesday on Writing... Distraction, Distraction, Distraction

There are days when writing is easy. I'll start the day sitting on my sofa with a cup of coffee as usual and I will be raring to go, bouncing with the want to get up to my desk and open up that word document and hammer out some words, cramped fingers be damned.

Then there are days when writing is like pulling teeth. Every word feels like it's tortured out of me and whatever I do get down just ends up as a load of old rubbish destined to meet the editing scissors.

And then there are days when I do want to write, but everything else around me just seems so much more interesting!

It's called distraction! We all suffer from it, and I am suffering from it in a bad way at the moment...

It's called Football Fever... Thanks to the current Euro 2012 tournament I can't seem to keep my focus on my WIP for more than an hour or so at a time.

I sit at my desk in the morning, have a prat around on twitter, check my email, then write blogs, or do anything else I need to do. By the time I'm usually getting into my stride with writing, at around 11am, I'm distracted by checking the football news on the internet, or watching the highlights on the telly, or prating around on twitter again... anything but writing!

In fact I have been so swept up by this disease that I haven't even read a book in five days... That's almost unheard of for me.

So, I put this question out to the world...

What are your distractions, and how do you try to stop them interfering with writing?

Answers much appreciated, and if you find my missing attention span then please send it to me!

Xx

Come on England!

It seem's to have been overshadowed this year, what with The Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the upcoming Olympics, but now Euro 2012 is well and truly on it's way.

I relish International football tournament time - it's the only time I get to truly control the TV remote! I am a huge football fan, have been all my life, so this next 30 days is going to keep me entertained.

So far there have been some good, boring, and just OK games. The highlights have been Russia beating Czech Republic 4-1, a surprise victory! And Ireland getting beaten 3-1 by far-superior Croatia last night.

Less exciting games have been a 1-all draw between Italy and Span - the two greatest teams in the world, I expected a lot more. And, a lacklustre Germany only just beating Portugal.

But tonight... It's the big one, our first game.

England v France

I'm as nervous as I am excited, but I truly believe in the team and wish Roy and the boys all the best.

Usually when a football tournament is upon us the build up goes on for months, so much so that by the time the England are about to kick their first ball there is not only the usual pressure of winning a match but also got the whole country, including the wolves of the press, leaning heavily on them, expectation high, and waiting to either cheer or throw them to the lions.

Perhaps with the focus on other events recently, that will go in England's favour... Or perhaps the injection of a new manager and a new mindset will be the key to cracking the code that is England's international team.

Who knows, but one thing is for sure that that tonight, at 5pm kick off, the country will wait with bated breath for that magic thing that is the beautiful game to begin...

Sing it with me...

I'm England til I die,

I'm England til I die, 

I know I am, 

I'm sure I am,

I'm England til I die. 

Birthdays, Shoes, Sharks, and Sore Feet...

Last Thursday was my 28th birthday...

If I ignore for a moment the realisation that it is only 2 more years until the dreaded three-OH, it was a great birthday!

On the actual day I didn't really celebrate much, my husband bought me a couple of small gifts and I got some money from my parents and my mother-in-law, which is always appreciated!

For my birthday treat, on Saturday, husband and I got on the train and spent the day in London. I adore London, living only an hour away we do try to go as often as we can but with trains being quite expensive at the moment it is sometimes not possible.

Also both husband and I were conscious of the fact that as we get nearer and nearer to the Olympics then it is only going to get more difficult to go to London without it being super busy!

So we planned a day of culture and shopping...

First up we went to the Design Museum to see the Christian Louboutin exhibition... Oh it was AMAZING! Such beautiful shoes, each like an individual piece of art just sitting there displayed for my viewing pleasure. I can't tell you how much I just wanted to reach out and touch, and hold, and caress, these exquisite creations... unfortunately the 'Do Not Touch' rule was in place so I couldn't! The fetish room and the work room areas of the exhibition are so interesting. Couldn't take photographs either so I can't show you any that I took, however here is a few links and images I found online...

Design Museum info
The Guardian write-up
The Style Examiner write-up

I'm sorry if these images are a bit randomly placed, I'm having some problems with blogger and getting images in!



After that we went to the Tate Modern to see the new Damien Hirst exhibition. Something that I was beyond excited about, I have adored Damien Hirst's work for years.

No photography was allowed again but my husband did manage to get a couple of sneaky shots on his iPhone, the quality isn't great though!

I was astounded how big this exhibit was, there is so much work there, almost too much, it took a long time to actually settle in!

Some of my favourite pieces include (naturally) the shark in formaldehyde - The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living-, Pharmacy, In and Out of Love with the live butterflies, and all the spot paintings!

The whole thing was simply mind boggling, too see so much of his work is really a once in a life time thing since most of it is privately owned.

Here are some links-

Tate Modern info
The Guardian write-up & Video tour

Oh, and this is incredibly popular, it was so busy, so definitely consider booking tickets, as we did!

Now as you can imagine after all of that my feet were very sore from all the walking and wandering. We had planned to do a lot of shopping after that, but once we had been to the exhibitions and hopped over to Whole Foods for some food we didn't actually have much time left.
We only managed a quick visit to Selfridge's and with the Central line being closed we had a long, difficult, sweaty, and packed (MANY, MANY, MANY loud West Ham fans!) tube trip back to Liverpool Street and we only just managed to get our train back!

I spent most of Sunday with sore feet and stiff legs from the trip! But it was worth it, I had brilliant birthday weekend!

Let me leave you with a picture of my husband coping a feel outside Tate Modern...!

Xx

A Slight Obsession...

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I wasn't feeling well last week so I took a break from most things until I felt better!

Anyway...

Things on the writing front are going really well. Upfront Centre Stage is gaining momentum, I have rewritten my first 4 chapters and I am MUCH happier with them. I felt my previous ones, especially the first, just weren't showing enough of my voice and were a little too awkward sounding.

Also I have found that now that I have plotted a little bit (with the help of my new friend The Board) I'm much more motivated to continue writing. On some days I have been getting close to writing 5k, which I am so pleased with.

Now, you may be wondering what all this has to do with the title of this post.

Well the answer to that is that I am currently suffering from a book addiction - in particular buying new books! Which isn't a good habit to have at the moment when I am trying to find the £11,000 it's going to cost to remodel our bathroom and kitchen!

Last week I bought nearly 15 new books (some brand new, some second hand, and a few ebooks!). Someone on twitter mentioned that there needed to be an ebook addiction support group, and I think I may need that. I counted up and my ebook numbers reached close to the 300 mark... gulp! I don't even want to go into the number of books I have on my shelves, they are bulging once again and I only had a clear out a few months back.

In an effort to try and curb this unnecessary addiction I have been going to the library a lot. I live next door to my local one, I'm in there nearly everyday checking out new books or ordering ones in. The other day I had such a large pile that they slipped out of my hands on my way to self service checkout and crashed down on the floor causing a very loud noise in the small and quite library... Embarrassing.
But at least it only cost my pride and not my depleting funds!

Sitting at my desk this morning after trying to cram my newest acquired books on the shelves I have decided I need to actually read EVERY unread book on these shelves. I mean really, it is unacceptable that I am buying books when I have so many yet to read. All I can say is that if there was ever a nuclear explosion or something that I somehow survived, which caused me to be trapped in my house then I would have plenty of entertainment.

I'm not going to buy any more books.

Stop rolling your eyes... I'm not!

Nope, instead I am going to get whatever I want that is new from the library and make an effort to actually read all those unread books on my shelves.

Or, I'm going to try my damnedest anyway. If you catch me in Waterstones... well, perhaps you could pretend you didn't see me!

Of course, gifts don't count and are always welcome ;-)

What books have you read/bought recently?

Xx

Pretty much sums it up!

Wednesday on Writing...

It has been Easter bank holiday weekend here in the UK, which means that my husband had Friday and Monday off work. And typically it rained all of those 4 days, so nothing was really done other than having a nice relaxing long weekend. Of course by the end of Monday I was so ready for Richard to go back to work (!).

Anyway my point is, I didn't update this blog or do anything remotely work-like on Friday or Monday because of this. Weekends and holidays I like to relax and have a break rather than work.

I have called this blog post Wednesday on Writing and this is [I hope] going to be a regular post every Wednesday with an update or feature on writing.

Please email if you have any suggestions or contributions you would like me to feature.

***

I have been reading a few writing craft books recently, in an attempt to both improve my writing as well as kick my recent lack of motivation up it's bum!

The first book I decided to read is Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder.

Save the Cat! is a book that I have heard a lot about but never actually got round to reading. But I am so glad I have finally done so...

Not only is the book written with a fun and casual style, as though Blake Snyder is telling you all of this in a conversation, but it is also very useful. Especially if you ignore the amount of Steven Speilberg references (clang!).

Even though the book is written for screenwriters, most everything can be used by those of us writing other stuff. I have seen many authors recommending this book.

What I found most useful is the Logline, Beat Sheet and the advice on using The Board for plotting out your story before actually getting down to writing.

For me this was a revelation! I have no shame in admitting that I am a total pantser when it comes to writing, seriously... During my many years in higher education my essay plans were never longer than half an A4 sheet of paper! However I often hit walls and find certain bits that I want to include just simply don't fit or don't work, so by using The Board I hope this will help me not to hit these walls too often. Blake Snyder's rule of limiting the amount of cards used on it and structuring it round the Beat Sheet, I think, gives a nice balance. I can plot but still very much be a pantser!

I also liked Blake Snyder's honesty about writing, storytelling, and writers.

"To be a [screen]writer is to deal with an ongoing tug of war between breathtaking megolmania and insecurity so deep it takes years of therapy just to be able to say 'I am a writer' out loud"

Other great quotes that really gripped me are:

"Because liking the person we go on a journey with is the single most important element in drawing us into the story."

"A screenwriters daily conundrum is how to avoid cliche.
You can be near the cliche, you can dance around it, you can run right up to it and almost embrace it.
But at the last second you must turn away.
You must give it a twist."

So, I have done my logline and I am in the process of filling out my Beat Sheet whilst fiddling with index cards ready for The Board!

And what is really great about this book is that reading it has made me excited about writing again... hooray!


Xx

Policy is boring...

As you may have noticed I do a lot of book reviews on this blog! That is something I love doing and will continue to do so even though I am no longer being silly and trying to read a book a day or more. However, I feel the need to add a page of information about my reviews to make it clear how I go about things.  I have received a few books from authors to review and to avoid any confusion the information will include what I will accept, etc.

This will be posted on it's own page, on the tabs above, but I am posting it now as an update.


Introduction

One of my passions is reading and as such, a feature of this blog is book reviews. The majority of the books I read and review I have acquired myself. Either bought in either physical form (brand new or second hand), ebook form via most ebook stores and read using e-reading apps available for the iPad, or borrowed from my local library.
The books are usually chosen by me, but I am always interested in recommendations.

Review Copies

If you are an author or publisher and would like me to consider reviewing your book(s) please contact me via email -
everydayisthesameblog (at) gmail (dot) com

Please bear in mind the following criteria for my acceptance of a book.

What I will review

I mainly read books that fall in the 'women's fiction' area, including mainstream/general fiction, romance including category and single title, chick lit, suspense etc. This is not an exhaustive list.

What I will not review

I read most things.
I don't tend to read erotic romance/erotica, however a book that falls within this category yet has strong romantic (or other) elements - where the sex is secondary to the rest of the story and not gratuitous - may be considered at my discretion. Other books I do not read are paranormal, inspirational, historical, sci-fi, horror, action, etc. But once again, these may be considered.
Definite no-no's are books that include indecent content, taboo subjects, and unnecessary violence especially towards children and animals.

I'm not here to judge what you read, it's just that I chose not to.

Format

I am happy to receive books in physical or ebook form. For ebooks please be aware that I use an iPad to read on, I have most e-reading apps (iBooks, Kindle, Overdrive, Bluefire, Kobo) so it will need to work on those platforms.

About my reviews

All my reviews will be in the form of a blog post on here. The post will include a cover image, title and author info, publisher's info, category line where applicable, year and date of publication, ISBN, and blurb.
Please note that the publishing info and the ISBN will usually relate to the UK release of the book - let me know if you would like to have release info for other countries included.

The reviews will consist of my rating followed by my summary and review.

I don't like every book I read! Where I have chosen a book myself and end up not enjoying it, it's more than likely that I simply will not write a review for it. However if the book has been sent to me for review, then the review provided will be honest and detail why I didn't like it.

I do not resort to insults (especially towards the author), nor do I use unnecessary snark. Reading is subjective and while I may not like something another person will. I'm British after all, and we are unfailingly polite!

Turnaround

Books sent to me will be prioritised as soon as they are received. I would hope to read the book and post the review within 14 days. However, life does sometimes get in the way so I can't always promise this.

My rating

I know it is sometimes difficult to understand the different review ratings out there. Here are mine in the simplest possible terms:

1 star - Hmm, I really didn't like this one. Sorry!

2 stars - I didn't like this, but some bits were OK. Perhaps this was not for me...

3 stars - I enjoyed it... but not all of it. Who's perfect though, right?!

4 stars - Really, really enjoyed it! Yes, some bits were better than others but that's life!

5 stars - Absolutely loved it! It was amazing, brilliant, great, fantastic... etc!

A half-star is used when I am being indecisive and can't decide to be more negative or more positive... I'm indecisive a lot!

Other stuff

I also post my reviews on goodreads as well as tweeting my review including a link. *If you would like me to '@' you in the tweet you must let me know as I wouldn't automatically do this.

I am also happy to host authors and/or giveaways here on my blog. In fact it would be my pleasure to do this, please email!

I would be interested in reviewing other stuff including products if this suits my interests. Please contact me by email to discuss.

I DO NOT review unpublished work, and I am not able to provide critiques to your work.

Where to find me

email - everydayisthesameblog (at) gmail (dot) com

Twitter - @RLAeverydaysame

Goodreads - RLAeverydaysame

Thank you

Xx

I'm back...

Although I would love to tell you that my silence in bloglandia for the last two weeks has been because I have been having some kind of adventure, preferably of the vacation kind, but no, I have still been here, just not around.

That is to say I have been having a break from writing, reading, my desk, etc. I felt the need to relax and regroup and spend a little time with me... However after two weeks I have realised that spending time with me is kinda boring, and I felt a little lost without something to actually do!

So, I am back now. My knuckles are cracked and ready to get back down to business with my current WIP as well as some exciting new features for my blog.

Watch this space...









Xx

365 books in 365 days Challenge ... The Stats

So yesterday I blogged about the end of my 365 books in 365 days challenge. Today is my chance to geek out and share a bunch of stats that I kept a record of throughout the challenge.

Enjoy!

Fastest time reading one book - 1 hour 40 minutes
Longest time reading one book - 8 days (a whole week of babysitting!)


Most number of books ahead of schedule - 12
Most number of books behind schedule - 33 (I read like mad to catch up!)


Total number of different authors - 185

Format

Own-Copy - 190
ebook - 105
Library-copy - 70

Ratings

1 Star - 4
1.5 stars - 1
2 stars - 22
2.5 stars - 14
3 stars - 78
3.5 stars - 39
4 stars - 160
4.5 stars - 38
5 stars - 9




Average rating - 3.59 stars

Most read authors

Publishers/Imprint

Mills & Boon - 275
Harlequin - 70
Silhouette - 17
Entangled Publishing - 1
Wild Rose Press - 1
Carina Press - 1

Category Lines (for Mills & Boon/Harlequin/Silhouette books)

If you have managed to get to the end of this geektastic blog post, then I applaud you!


Xx

365 books in 365 days Challenge .... The End!

Well, I did it.

On the 19th March 2011 I decided to set myself the challenge of reading 365 books in 365 days and document it in the form of reviews on this blog.

Yesterday, Sunday 18th March, I read my 365th book.

I would love to say that it has been easy and/or fun however at times it hasn't, but I was determined to complete it and I am so proud that I have done so!

Along with the reviews, I have also kept a track of some figures and stats, in a note pad that my husband colloquially named my serial-killer book, which I will post about later.

I would like to thank anyone who has read this blog, whether it was once, twice, or everything.


Out of the books I read 14 of them were sent to me by the authors. A huge thank you to the following authors for that -

Heidi Rice
Sarah Morgan
Liz Fielding
Wendy S. Marcus
Kate Walker
Nicola Marsh
Lucy King
Maisey Yates
Samantha Hunter
AJ Nuest


All of the books I read for this challenge were new reads, I had not read them before. Naturally along the way there have been some casualties, or DNF's, which I did not include in the challenge.

These were -

The Rancher's Reunion - Tessa Radcliffe (Inspirational is not my thing)
Fallen - Michelle Hauf (Paranormal is not my thing either!)
The Italian Millionaire's Virgin Wife - Diana Hamilton (Heroine came accross as though she was a child!)
Return Match - Penny Jordan (hero and heroine were first cousins - couldn't read it!)
Temporary Measures - Leigh Michaels (hero and heroine were third cousins - again couldn't read it!)
Cheap Thrills - Tiffany Wild (just didn't enjoy it!)

I think out of 365 books to only DNF 6 books is pretty good going!

I will continue to read (of course!) and review books, although I am going to have a little break from it all!

Once again thank you to all of you who have follow me along this very crazy challenge.

Happy reading.

Xx

A very uncomfortable day...

I am sure any woman reading this will be able to understand completely what I am about to talk about in this post. And that is the dread monthly period, and how it can turn a regular day into feeling like hell and a normal woman into a crazy person! (Also, it's the day of the month my husband dreads as he gets the 'run to the shops' job, I have been told that buying ladies items is very embarrassing for a man!) 

I'm talking about period pain.

Yesterday I had what can only be described as a completely wasted day and, you know, it is very frustrating when your whole schedule is pushed to one side because you can't really do much more than sitting around in pain and feeling very sorry for yourself. 

I spent the majority of yesterday fidgeting in discomfort, my period pain is always in my lower back, and oddly my neck, and no matter what I tried I just could not get comfortable. I tried lying down on sofa, sitting up on sofa, laying in bed, I lasted a total of 10 minutes sitting at my desk before I was so uncomfortable that I had to go back to the sofa!

Last time I was in America I bought some over-the-counter medication specifically for period pain and other related symptoms, and they are fantastic at getting rid of the pain - it's really strong stuff - but the trouble is they make me so drowsy I lose a couple of hours being half asleep from it!

Isn't the whole thing just so damn inconvenient!

Anyway the whole thing made me think about the relation between period pain and writing - how when things aren't going right it starts as a little niggle and begins to get more and more uncomfortable until you begin to realise nothing is working! And that is a little of what I am going through at the moment with my current WIP.

What do you do when that niggle turns into something that can't be ignored or medicated, and the only solution seems like giving up and just doing nothing?

Should you delete the whole blasted thing and start again, or maybe take a break to get over the 'pain' and go back to it when your less frustrated, or just plough on and hope that it sorts itself out eventually? 

My answer - to both the period pain and the writing pain - is taking a break. So that's what I am doing.

Sometimes we all need to learn that stepping away from a situation that seems hopeless can solve many dilemmas and refresh our whole outlook on things. The trouble with writing (and period pain) is that when things are bad it seems that nothing can get you out of that deep pit of despair, especially when others around you don't really understand, and sometimes the only solution is a bit of rest.

What do you do when everything gets too much and doing nothing seems a much better idea?

Xx

A busy couple of weeks...

I haven't posted for a while, and that has been due to the fact that I have had a very busy (and exciting) couple of weeks. Which I am going to tell you about now...!

The first thing was that I had to say goodbye to the little foster baby my Mother-in-law has been caring for for 13 months. I was sad as I have spent a lot of time with her and really watched her grow up into a [naughty] little toddler, and she has been my first real experience with babies. But I am so pleased she has a nice new adoptive family to go to, she definitely deserves to have a great life!

And speaking of adopting... I have never actually talked about this much as it is something that has had a lot of false starts, but my husband and I are in the process of applying to become adopter's. I have said how much we want a family of our own, unfortunately this has not happened for us. As you already know my husband's mother is a foster carer, has been for 26+ years, and my husband's youngest brother is also adopted. So the area of social care isn't anything new to us.

Unfortunately as adoption in this country is run by your local council (no private agencies) you are pretty much puppets on their strings of bureaucracy. It has been a frustrating process, we heard nothing - absolutely nothing - from Social Services for 8 months and then suddenly it seems to be moving forward.

Last week we attended a four day pre-assessment 'Preparation Course'. I am not going to say too much about this as 1, we can't (confidentiality), and 2, I will post about this and the whole adoption thing in more detail another time.

However, let me tell you, it was basically four days of sitting on very uncomfortable chairs listening to some very useful information and a lot of unnecessary information, as well as witnessing some rather hideous outfits worn by social workers!

My husband said it best when he described is as the parenting course that Marge and Homer have to go on in 'The Simpson's' episode 'Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily'.

!

But, our assessment should start in the next couple of weeks, which will last about 4 months and will be gruelling, but has to be done. We're now looking that, all being well, we could have a child matched with us by the end of the year! Very exciting!

The week was pretty stressful at times which brings me on to my next 'item'! On Thursday morning, the last day of our course, we woke up to a VERY cold house and realised that the heating was not on, and the boiler not working. After having a cold water wash and getting dressed in record time we left the house, hoping that the boiler would sort itself out over the day.

No such luck, when we got home it still wasn't working and by this time the house was so cold we could see our breath! Now luckily my Dad is a plumber, so we didn't have to call out a random person and have him charge who-knows-what just to step foot in the house! He said he would come up the next day to check and/or fix it. I was in a bit of a panic and convinced myself we would need a whole new boiler, which would take a huge chunk out of our savings. And with our kitchen and bathroom due to be re-fitted soon and a potential child coming soon, we really could do without that!!

Anyway, an hour before my Dad was due to arrive the next day, guess what started working again...? Yup, that's right! The boiler. Dad checked it to make sure it is all in working order, and it is, and has been working fine ever since (finger's firmly crossed!). 

Remember when I mentioned it was cold, right? Well this weekend it has snowed, quite a lot! Saturday morning we got the bus up to mother-in-law's, but the bus home at 7.45pm decided it didn't have to turn up (it hadn't snowed yet), and about an hour after we had shivered back to mother-in-law's house with our cold tails between our legs it started snowing! Mother-in-law lives in a village, in the middle nowhere! So we we're stranded for the night. The next morning the snow was nearly knee deep (for me anyway, ankle deep for husband!) We had to get a taxi all the way home as no buses run on Sunday's!

Here is some photo's of the snow this morning - 

View from my study

A section of our back garden

Some of you probably think this snow is nothing, but for us Brit's it is loads, our snow is usually crap and turns to slush after a couple of hours!

So, that was the last couple of weeks... Sorry for going on quite a bit.

All the best.

Xx