SFN: #RRSciFiMonth | Part Two of #JorieReads “The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet” by Becky Chambers

Posted Sunday, 25 November, 2018 by jorielov Becky Chambers, Harper Voyager, HarperCollins Publishers, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Wayfarers series 1 Comment

Borrowed Book By: This was a purchase request* of mine from a few years ago – when we, stateside were having to wait extra long to read “The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet”, I took a rather pro-active interest in obtaining a copy I could read! I checked in with readers online and even the author herself, Becky Chambers to get an arrival approximation for the novel. In the end, I submitted a purchase request which was accepted and I am now reading this novel for the first time!

Uniquely enough, it is a very beloved copy!! Many patrons and readers have definitely read this copy ahead of me which warms my heart! This is why I love to submit purchase requests at my local libraries! (yes, plural!) Secondly, there were handwritten notes tucked into this copy which mirrored my own curious musings and they will stay with me, as the last time I tried to leave in a reader’s note in a library book my librarians put it in the bin! (*le sigh*) When I am able to purchase my own copy for my personal library, I’ll add the notes as a reminder of how I met the story originally!

As this is my own personal choice to participate and co-host this readalong for “The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet” by Becky Chambers I was not obliged to post a review (in full or in part) as I am sharing my readings of this novel (with chapter breaks per the Twitter chats schedule) for my own edification as much as I love to share my readerly life with my readers. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

(*) Originally requested and purchased September, 2016 ahead of the 2016 #RRSciFiMonth – however, for those of whom follow my blog you know why that particular November was impossible for me to focus on anything outside of family.

This year, I also wanted to have light duties officially as I love doing something behind the scenes to assist our lovely hostesses: Lisa (@deergeekplace) + Imyril (@imyril) who give us wicked good celebrations through the years as we all come together to champion the stories of Science Fiction (and their sub-genres/niches) which happily alight in our lives. We’re always reading similar stories – either together in tandem (such as we are this year with our RAL/readalong “The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet”) or on opposite years.

As Lisa is taking the reins to offer a recap of the lovely convo we shared @ 3p NYC | 8p UK on the 11th of November to kick-off our book club style readalong chat – I wanted to offer a chance to give readers, bloggers & visitors on the #RRSciFiMonth feeds a chance to answer the Qs I pitched during our first convo for #smallangryplanet.

Please REMEMBER: add #smallangryplanet to your replies/responses in order for us to find your messages on Twitter. You can also respond directly to the Qs themselves for easy referencing *but!* without the tag itself your reply is LOST.

Let's get this #smallangryplanet chat underway, shall we!?

Q1: What are your takes on the Ohan: how they must remain isolated from the crew but take such an internal exploration of self, universe & deeper points of 'purpose'? Whilst having a rather interesting take on their end?

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) November 18, 2018

Q1, part 2: Did anyone notice the similarities between the Ohan and the "angry planet"? Specifically how they each see 'patterns' of the universe & have a unique perspective on how the universe is oriented? They are seeing it through mathematics & code? #smallangryplanet

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) November 18, 2018

Q2: Chambers presents a discourse of discussion about inter-planetary life and how all life is inter-connected even if not directly biologically similar. What were
your thoughts as you read this passage? #smallangryplanet

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) November 18, 2018

Q3: The lesson Rosemary learnt from Jenks based on modders is something which is cross-relatable. Considering she was between a rock & hard place; seeking a new path and a break of freedom from her past What were your thoughts as her past was finally revealled? #smallangryplanet

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) November 18, 2018

Q4: When you reached the passages between Dr Chef & Rosemary – where
the quote originates about making life & the universe what you choose it to be – what as your first takeaway about Dr Chef's story? #smallangryplanet

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) November 18, 2018

Q5: What world-specific tech or back-histories did you wish were more fleshed out in this novel? (ie. standard vs solar; algae & Black Hole ambi usages; species histories, Earthern connections, etc) #smallangryplanet

— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) November 18, 2018

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet
by Becky Chambers
Source: Borrowed from local library

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780062444134

Also by this author: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet

Also in this series: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet

Published by Harper Voyager

on 5th July, 2016

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 433

Published by: Harper Voyager (@HarperVoyagerUS)
an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Ebook and Audiobook

The Wayfarer Series:

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (book one) | Add to LibraryThing

A Closed and Common Orbit (book two) | Add to LibraryThing

Record of a Spaceborn Few (book three) | Add to LibraryThing

Converse via: #smallangryplanet + #RRSciFiMonth* (during November 2018!)

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Sci Fi November 2018

Posted Sunday, 25 November, 2018 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Content Note, Dystopian, Fantasy Fiction, Fly in the Ointment, Hard Science Fiction, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Local Libraries | Research Libraries, Non-Fiction, RALs | Thons via Blogs, Sci-Fi November, Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Time Travel, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, Vulgarity in Literature

Author Interview | Conversing with #HistRom novelist Mindy Burbidge Strunk about the Somerstone #RegencyHouseParty series and her novel which continues our journey into Somerstone itself: “Mistaken Identity”!

Posted Saturday, 24 November, 2018 by jorielov Mindy Burbidge Strunk, Mistaken Identity, Regency House Party series, Self Published, Somerstone 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts, I am taking part in a special series of interviews!

I recently had the joy of sharing with you a conversation about my fascination and appreciation for #HistoricalRomances when I shared my interview with Rebecca Connolly! She wrote the Spinster Chronicles – of which I am reading the first two installments of her series this November! However, anchoured to the joyfulness of discovering her stories, this Autumn I had the pleasure of finding out about *Somerstone!* and the Regency House Party series!

This is one of those uniquely styled *round robin!* stories wherein each new author who steps into the story-line is picking up the threads of the previous author’s installment! Similar in the vein of why I am enjoying reading the Return of the Blackwell Brothers? Herein as we get a lovely introduction to Somerstone through a series of interviews and conversations I crafted together with the authors who make up this new series set in the Regency – one of my eras of preference for #HistRoms – we get to sort out what inspired the authors as they wrote their individual installments but also, get the chance to learn more about how the series was assembled!

Publishers (or in this case, the writers themselves!) create these nifty ‘mini-series’ and serial round robins not just to create a more unique environment for the reader to explore but also for their authors! There are several of these within my beloved #LoveINSPIRED Suspense I am slowly making my way through and finding out there is one for the Regency was truly a lift of joy to find! Especially as like most Regencies – when there is a ball or a formal party afoot, there is generally a heap more going on than what is generally taken on appearance alone! Where tucked away secrets can percolate to the surface and where everyone either knows someone directly or indirectly through their peerage, family or friends!

The beauty of course is going story by story, seeing how the arc of the series will continue to increase in climax and how each new writer who steps into an installment will put their own spin on the established narrative. The points of view could change or the mannerisms of the character(s) themselves could feel altered a bit – but if the whole of the mini-series maintains its rhythm and internal heart of centre, what you will discover dear hearts is a smashingly lovely respite to curl inside as the hours melt off the clock!

As this is a promotional tour focusing on the Digital First status of the novellas, I opted to host the series of interviews in lieu of reviews as I am eager for each of the novellas to become released into print. Although in theory, they might have already released – I haven’t checked on all the statuses when I shared my first interview in this series! It will take me a bit to gather them but I might also, lean on my local library to see if they might want to add this series to their card catalogue ahead of when I can bring a set home! Then, I shall have the same pleasure of joy of disappearing inside this series start to finish, finding what the readers on this blog tour have discovered and beyond! For the Regency holds a dear spot in my bookish heart!

May your #AutumnReads be as excitingly awesome as mine are becoming!

Conrad Pinkerton, the Marquess of Kendal, despises society; the scheming, the guises, and the games they play. And yet, for his twin brother, he agrees to a temporary guise of his own, pretending to be his brother for a house party. Playing the fop should be easy, as long as he keeps everyone at a distance. But when he meets Jessica Standish, he wishes she didn’t think he was someone else.

Jessica Standish has never been considered worthy by the ton and now that she and her mother are penniless, the chances of a good match seem out of reach. Even the matchmaking schemes of the Countess Du’Breven seem doomed to failure. This house party will change nothing, though it’s hard not to hope when she sees Lord Ian again. The connection between them grows, though he seems so different from the man she remembers.

With his family name and fortune on the line, Conrad knows he should leave with his secret intact. After all, how can she truly love him if she thinks he’s someone else?

These novels and stories set in Somerstone within the Regency House Party series were first serialised via RegencyHouseParty.com and were thus independently published afterwards.

Regency House Party: @RegencyParty | Instagram | Facebook Group

Add to LibraryThing

Published on: 21st August, 2018 | ISBN: 978-1718197114

Formats Available: Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #Somerstone + #RegencyHouseParty OR #Regency and #HistRom

Posted Saturday, 24 November, 2018 by jorielov in 19th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Romance Fiction, Singing Librarian Book Tours, Sweet Romance, the Regency era

#ThanksgivingReadathon | Jorie’s #mustread List for #Mythothon (otherwise known as the STORIES Jorie didn’t want to stop reading after she reached page 25!)

Posted Friday, 23 November, 2018 by jorielov A Mortal Song, Brodi Ashton, Cora Carmack, Everneath, Goddess of the Sea, Goddess of Yesterday, Ibi Zoboi, Jaclyn and the Beanstalk, Joanne Harris, Juliet Marillier, Katherine Marsh, Lavinia, Liz Kessler, Mary Ting, Megan Crewe, P.C. Cast, PRIDE, Rebecca Hahn, Roar, The Gospel of Loki, The Night Tourist, The Shadow Behind the Stars, The Tail of Emily Windsnap, Ursula K. LeGuin, Wildwood Dancing 0 Comments

This lovely readathon is hosted by Jackie @DeathbyTsundoku

You can find the Announcement Page on her lovely blog!

For the past three days, I’ve been reading the FIRST *25!* pages of all my borrowed #Mythothon Reads via my local libraries! Yes, you read correct, multiple libraries were involved! I wasn’t able to tweet each of the days I was reading as since Wednesday night & early Thursday morning, I have been in *severe!* pain!

Funny story short – when your selecting a special priced *ham!* from a bin in the Meat Dept. be sure to PICK IT UP with both your hands and DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE how much it weights! I literally threw my back out and the severity of the pain made it IMPOSSIBLE To read / type in any kind of combination. I’ve popped on as I could to give small updates but blessedly, after rotating hot/cold compresses I’ve been able to resume a slightly more ‘normal’ groove – hence, if you start to see reviews & posts magically populating my blog’s archive, you’ll understand ‘why’… Laughs with a smirk.

This post is to re-acquaint myself with the *thirteen!* stories which made my cut – the ones which I achingly had to put into the “Keepers Stack” in order to dig through the rest I borrowed to find the rest of the ‘gems’ I wanted to be reading for #Mythothon!

Ironically, I had originally envisioned spending 30! days on #Mythoton & #RRSciFiMonth – in the end, I’ve spent a fortnight so far reading my Sci Fi November selections (reviews are still forthcoming have no fear!) and I’ve only spent 72+ hours reading my #Mythothon selections! Thus, I’ve amended how those Mythos stories are going to be blogged! I’m starting off with this (post) to tuck into the 13 Stories which I knew in *25!* pages these writers were giving me something wicked lovely to contemplate and muse over as I read their #awesomesauce stories!

Next, I’ll be back-posting (Thursday)’s post which are the DNF selections – the stories which held either early promise OR repulsed me so quickly off the bat, there was simply no hope of return!! Those are the ones boomeranging back to the libraries so quickly I could have had whiplash! They might be ones who will resonate with other readers, but for me, as you will soon find out – there was *something!* not quite my cuppa within their pages!

Afterwards, I’ll be back-posting (Wednesday)’s post which is a continuation of gushing JOY over having discovered the magically lovely world-building within the Japanese set “A Mortal Song” which was truly absorbed & discovered the very day #ThanksgivingReadathon kicked off and entered my life! It will also serve as a journal about how a girl & her Mum can tuck into a diner late at night after a petrol accident (ever have a gas station have contaminated air?) to ‘clear’ their lungs — chattering about everything but specifically how this #Mythothon is giving me such a delightfully unexpected passage into a ‘hidden niche’ of literature I never knew existed! I also recapped the WHOLE twenty-five pages of “A Mortal Song” – so I’ll be trying to recapture that night – whilst discussing what we ate and drank; staying til nearly close and musefully enlightened with the joyfulness of Crewe’s artful story-telling!

Settle in with your favourite brew & cuppa in hand – soak in my ruminations over these enchanting twenty-five pages – per each novel of the stack of *13!* and find out why I, Jorie, wishes to DEVOUR the rest of the pages – maybe I’ll find beloved & cherished reads, maybe I’ll find myself pulled out of them at some unknown future page – all I know, is initially as I read these cleverly writ pages, I was fully absorbed through the vision each author had for their stories!

Come with me as we chase after #Mythos & #Mythologies – specifically attempting to focus on the Greeks with a few diversions along the way! Come share with me your own travelling routes in the comments & let’s rock out #Mythothon in the joyfulness of combined discoveries!!

My #25PagePreview of my #Mythothon Reads

during the 2018 #ThanksgivingReadathon !!

ALL the stories featured today
were #borrowed via my local #library!

I do earmark which ones were ILL’d but overall, for the most part, I lucked out by pulling from the locals which had a rather IMPRESSIVE selection of Mythos in Fiction!!

A Mortal Song by Megan Crewe

Site | @megancrewe | Pub’d by Another World Press
*Ill’d (inter-library loan)

Notation on Cover Art: I was truly taken by the artistry of the cover art design for ‘A Mortal Song’ as it held my eye, never letting turn away and told a story of its own! I love artwork like this which is custom made for the story – it gives you more dimension and a hugged in feeling as if the artist and the writer were in symmetry with each other! I had such high hopes for this one – I had no idea between the evoking artwork and the promise of the premise, I would literally find my first #Mythothon selection I wanted to hug + shout out about to the world!

A bit of a background – I personally have loved Japanese culture, tradition, customs and art ever since I was a young girl as my maternal grandparents were collectors of their art and music. I grew up knowing quite a bit about Japan as a result from a cultural perspective whilst as I grew into a teen, I started to correspond with Japanese friends through postal letters, enhancing my knowledge of their customs (such as the tea ceremony) and the contemporary living histories of my friends as we would exchange memories and traditions in our letters. As an adult book blogger, I learnt more through my readings of the Shinobi / Hiro Hattori novels by Ms Spann, as her stories are set in the 16th Century but illuminated as if we were time travelling straight back into that era and can alight as if we’re meant to live then rather than now! Thus, finding a story involving the ‘kami’ was another element of intrigue for me and one I wanted to readily explore.

Dear hearts, this novel was published in [2016] and I must confess, my copy of the novel appears to have been read either by readers who leave no trace like I do for having read their stories OR I’m the first bookish heart whose graced the pages with her imaginative heart. Either way, it felt super special dipping into this world and seeing the wonders which IMMEDIATELY started to unfold!

As I am composing a special post featuring A Mortal Song – comprising of the JOY of finding this story was breathed to life in such a unique way of giving me a fantastical quest and journey into not just the mind of Crewe but into this part of Japanese folklore and Mythology, I shall leave these short takeaways to entice you to wait for my further revelations of why this readerly girl and her Mum felt enchanted together for the symbolic beauty awaiting everyone who picks this story up for themselves to experience!

How do you prepare yourself to extract yourself from a WORLD you’re so dearly captured by you literally can’t think of anything else but ‘turning’ the next pages, falling further into the story and sorting out the Mythos along the way? I dearly wanted to stay up through the night & simply DEVOUR this until every last word was breathed into my imagination – however, life has a strange way of working against you at times! My back pain & injury left me unable to devout the night to “A Mortal Song” but my mind & heart never fully left its world; the pull it had on me was FIERCE!

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

#ThanksgivingReadathon 2018

Posted Friday, 23 November, 2018 by jorielov in #25PagePreview, #ThanskgivingReadathon, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, RALs | Thons via Blogs

#ThanksgivingReadathon | as #JorieReads and discovers her second! book hug: “PRIDE: a Pride and Prejudice Remix” by Ibi Zoboi

Posted Friday, 23 November, 2018 by jorielov Ibi Zoboi, PRIDE, Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix 0 Comments

This lovely readathon is hosted by Jackie @DeathbyTsundoku

You can find the Announcement Page on her lovely blog!

I fully admit it – I am positively consumed, addicted and attracted to the story of PRIDE & PREJUDICE!! In all its incantations and variants of entrance – if there is a PRIDE retelling, variant or after canon sequel, there is a good chance I am going to find it, sample it and either a) love it to the moon OR b) find it wasn’t my cuppa. In this instance, I remember vividly finding out about this particular release in the twitterverse, I even remember tweeting the author to talk about how wicked enthused I was about this re-telling – as I am forever and then some on the hunt for Austen stories which have a certain element of the original canon within them but then, take us through an wholly original variation only the writer themself could have envisioned!

I knew I wasn’t going to be able to purchase a copy of this novel when it published but I have had some good luck this year submitting purchase requests at my local library – to where they have purchased so many lovelies for me, I’ve lost track of them! I appreciate being able to submit the requests and it is an unexpected joy of mine finding out which ones are accepted as I never take it as a given they will accept a request for purchase. I feel humbled by the fact they enjoy my selections and are allowing me the grace to read stories faster than if I had to wait the six months outside of publication to seek them through ILL’ing (inter-library loaning).

I also was struck by the fact as soon as I saw the premise of this PRIDE and started to gather a sense about how it was writ – I knew it was the STORY I wanted dearly to READ but never knew I was seeking it! It was one of those random moments where I connected with a story prior to reading it – I have had a healthy attachment to stories set in New York City & the boroughs – I love literature what takes us to the City and gives us a heightened sense of what it is like to live there from all perspectives, lifestyles and areas of the City itself. I’ve felt as if I’ve lived a part of my life there due to how many stories I’ve read that are set there.

Brooklyn has been a place I’ve tried to envision and yet, failed a bit round the edges. As soon as I opened PRIDE – not only did I feel as if a part of my own childhood was re-envisioned through a conveyance of reality I knew once myself – but I felt as if the best grace of this story was feeling a personal attachment to Brooklyn itself! The beauty for me is how Zoboi wrote PRIDE.

As I grew up in a melting pot of a metropolis, I was also surrounded by cultures outside of my own heritage on an everyday basis. I love her instincts for telling this story – from the slang which is partially an upgrade from the slang of my youth (finally sorted out what ‘don’t throw shade on my door’ reflects as it is similar to a phrase from my youth) whilst it also tucks in linguistic nuance. I grew up hearing slices of different languages all the time – I still do in many ways, as cultural and ethnically, I live in a region that is rather diverse and I wouldn’t trade it for anything as I love how we all merge our lives together.

I was happy to realise I still knew what these phrases & words were – they were like little memory anchours of my past, coming back to the surface and allowing me to alight in the story as if I have never distanced myself from whence I was bourne. There are other variables I noticed – from their personalities to how they interacted to their dialogues and everything about how this was becoming introduced to us about their life, their world and their family. It was almost as if the people I knew as a child and young girl were now populating this novel. And, for me, that as the best literary gift to receive the week of Thanksgiving!

The library happily added this title to their card catalogue in October, 2018 – shortly after I requested it and during #ThanksgivingReadathon I was happily able to soak inside its prose and find myself so dearly attached, I am overjoyed for the discovery!

My #25PagePreview of the SECOND #Mythothon story which gave me such a warm bookish hug & gave me a thirst for more of it’s bookish heart!

during the 2018 #ThanksgivingReadathon !!

Pride: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Ibi Zoboi

was happily #borrowed via my local #library!

It ought to go without saying, but I am sharing my bookish ruminations for my own edification but also in a continued method of sharing my bookish life to help my readers find their own #mustreads and follow my own readerly journey into the stories I’m reading myself. I was not compensated for sharing my opinions and thoughts herein.

Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix
by Ibi Zoboi
Source: Borrowed from local library, Purchase REQ | local library

Genres: After Canons, Classical Literature, Re-telling &/or Sequel

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780062564047

Published by Balzer and Bray

on 18th September, 2018

Format: Hardcover Edition

Pages: 336

Site | @ibizoboi | Pub’d by Balzer & Bray
*purchase request of mine which was accepted by my local library
Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

#ThanksgivingReadathon 2018

Posted Friday, 23 November, 2018 by jorielov in #ThanskgivingReadathon, After the Canon, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Classical Literature, Inspired By Author OR Book, Jane Austen Sequel, Pride & Prejudice Re-telling, RALs | Thons via Blogs

#ThanksgivingReadathon | as #JorieReads and discovers her first! book hug: “A Mortal Song” by Megan Crewe

Posted Wednesday, 21 November, 2018 by jorielov A Mortal Song, Another World Press, Megan Crewe 2 Comments

This lovely readathon is hosted by Jackie @DeathbyTsundoku

You can find the Announcement Page on her lovely blog!

There are some stories which feel as if their world is not wholly unfamiliar to us, as if our first entrance into their setting is a returnt visit rather than the initial immersion! This is how I felt about reading A Mortal Song. The story which was unfolding right before my eyes was the kind of story you truly are hopeful to discover – where the author & the world they’ve left behind for us to find is achingly lush and spilling out into your imagination as if you’ve crossed this fantastical threshold many times and have become so familiar with what you’d see, you do not need a guide nor a map in hand to find your way again.

Of all the stories I borrowed from the libraries, this was the one I was most anxious about – I had no idea if it would even arrive in time, as I had to fetch it through inter-library loan – so imagine my happiness in finding it amongst the #libraryhaul selections I collected just ahead of the #ThanksgivingReadathon getting underway! It felt rather kismet – I was meant to read this story right now and it was a story which would evoke such an awareness of itself inside my mind, if I had been able too – I would have truly done as I tweeted: forsaken sleep and DEVOURED it straight-through on Wednesday night!

However, as I revealled on my #ThanksgivingReadathon TBR post – a serious back injury prevented me from being able to sit, type and read for any length of time. Hence why I grabbed an hour here or a few hours there between Wednesday & Friday to where I could chisel down my library holds into the thirteen stories I was most anxious to read in full! A Mortal Song simply percolated to the top of the list as soon as the world gave me something I was seeker as a reader who loves to #EnterTheFantastic whenever she can!

Nothing about Thanksgiving week went according to plan – not in the hours to read, not in the hours to plan a Thanksgiving feast and surely not, the ‘day’ in which we’d celebrate Thanksgiving. For starters, Mum was called into extra & double shifts – blessedly, our family is the most adaptive when it comes to holidays, as it was something we were always doing when my Dad worked as his industry was 24/7 as much as Mum’s is now. We decided we could cook the bird on Friday and feast after her shift; which turnt into cooking the bird from 8p to 1a on Friday rather than the morning/afternoon until after a double shift we decided a lighter dinner of chicken melted cheese sandwiches was closer to being a cosy comfort than a full-on turkey dinner with the fixings! Thereby, we re-shifted our plans once again – to where the bird is cooking happily in the oven (today) which is Saturday, by 7a the day of the #Mythothon chat! (hence why I’m trying to get two of my posts up on my blog ahead of it!)

Travelling back to Wednesday, a day and night which altered itself per hour – Mum and I found ourselves in a neighbouring towne, shopping for last minute bits for Thanksgiving and our weekly groceries – as sometimes, you just want a switch-up from going to your regular local haunts as it can become a strain of familiarity. Not to mention, our local shoppes and stores were more Grinch than Eggnog cheer this year; so by switching cities, we were able to find the ‘jolly’ we were dearly missing otherwise!

It was here, amongst free samples from cooking demos, bakery delights & deli specials we found our little cozy comfort of joyfulness the holidays generally exhume into our lives!! It was on our return trip where everything went slightly haywire – we passed by a petrol station and that is where our lungs & our eyes were inundated by a petrol leak! It contaminated the air in the car & I personally could not breathe – I have horrid environmental & seasonal allergies – which wasn’t helping at all to curb the smell – as I was trying to breathe through my shirt (and failing miserably!), I told Mum to head towards the diner which was slightly outside of the city back towards home.

There was wood smoke outside and petrol in the car – ironically enough with a biting chill to the air which gave us the most hope of all the smell would erase whilst we were tucked into the warmth of the diner. This is after hours for most places – well past the hour you’d think a place would be open but it is one of those dives you can’t help but return due to a kind-hearted staff and cosy comfortable foods! I grabbed all the bags full of our food choices and slammed the doors to walk in the brisk air and try not to hyperventilate in a delayed panic reaction to lack of breath!

As we made our ways into the front section of the diner (as who knew they’d be slammed the day before Thanksgiving?) – we settled in for coffee and conversation, as what is better than recovering from such a horrid and putrid air attack than coffee & a fireside chat!? I looked at the side dish menu of the day and spied a favourite: fried okra! Ooh, yes, please! We ordered a basket (which was plenty to share for two hungry foodies!) with bleu cheese dressing (beyond YUM) and had an unlimited mug of java to keep the conversation flowing!

The interesting bit is one of the waiters thought I was hyper excited due to the coffee – what he failed to know though is I’m naturally hyper and coffee actually has the reverse effect on me – it calms me down to my bones! I was so chill it was hilarious! What he mistook for coffee induced reactions is I was seriously on a high of love for A Mortal Song as I had just spent a considerable amount of time fully animated (with hand gestures!) discussing the ENTIRE 25 pages I had read earlier in the day!!

I wanted Mum to experience what I had experienced – thus, I tucked straight in- talking about the kami – from the crane and the monkey; commenting I hadn’t realised monkeys would be so keen for styling hair til Mum reminded me that Steve Irwin (we’ve been thrilled to bits the Irwin’s are back with their new show “Crikey! Its the Irwins” which we’re LOVING) met an orangutan who not only climbed down the tree – *he played with his hair* – I added! Ooh, I had forgotten that!

We didn’t even see the crowd in the diner, nor realise about twenty minutes went past before my mug was re-filled as they were making fresh decaf (I like to drink half/half so I’m not drinking straight fully loaded cuppas) – we were so invested in the moment, the height of the revelations and the curiosity of what is coming *after!* those first twenty-five pages! I am not even sure if anyone overheard us if they would understand the conversation as I was even delving into how Sora could morph dimensionally through solid rock of Mt Fuji!!

I’ll never forget Wednesday – the best gift I gave myself was participating in the #ThanksgivingReadathon – similar to July when I was participating in the INSPY Reads readathon – I’ve noticed, sometimes I need a proper nudge to get me back into the stories I most desire to read. Sometimes I need to pull myself out of my routines and rhythms and simply focus on a niche of literature I’m either wholly passionate about (like INSPY) or keenly curious over (such as Mythological After Canon Fiction) – it allows you to step through literature in a condensed state of concentration and walk out the other side with a renewed passion for reading, discovery of the stories and a better sense of who you are as you evolve through a new heightened layer of being an inquisitive and intuitive reader!

My #25PagePreview of the VERY first #Mythothon story which gave me such a warm bookish hug & inspired me to have a coffee klatch discussing it as if the pages were re-illuminating in front of my cuppa!

during the 2018 #ThanksgivingReadathon !!