Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Bookish Settings I’d Love To Visit

toptentuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the lovely ladies at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists and love to share lists with other bookish folk.

The rules are simple:

  1. Each week they post a new Top Ten list topic.
  2. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
  3. Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
  4. Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Ten Bookish Settings We’d Love To Visit.

I’ve chosen to focus on one book, a treasured possession that always comes out at Christmas. It’s An Edwardian Christmas by John S. Goodall, a wonderful picture book containing beautifully painted scenes that depict a nostalgic Christmas surely everyone would love to experience. If you’re lucky you may be able to find a copy in a second-hand bookshop or buy a used version online.


Edwardian ChristmasSo here are ten settings from An Edwardian Christmas I’d love to visit:

1) A white Christmas is pretty rare here in the south of the UK (we usually get our snow after Christmas) but who wouldn’t love one so they can build a snowman. Never mind the cold, because Nanny made sure we were properly dressed up in boots, winter coats, scarves, hats and gloves.  Plus there will be tea and crumpets waiting for us in the Nursery when we get back.

Edwardian Christmas Market2) Oh, for the days when shopping for Christmas food was like this not battling with your trolley around the supermarket or clicking items for an online shop.

Edwardian Christmas Church

3) The candles are lit in the vestry and the choir is warming up so it’s time to hurry through the snow to the local church for Midnight Mass.

Edwardian Christmas Tree

4) Decorating the Christmas tree is a childhood memory for a lot of us but who wouldn’t have liked the fun of decorating this monster?

Edwardian Christmas Kitchen

5) This kitchen looks positively calm which I don’t think is representative of many of us who take on the responsibility of cooking Christmas Dinner. Mind you, we probably don’t have this many helpers! I do hope Cook is taking that turkey out of the oven rather than putting it in otherwise there could be a long wait for lunch…

Edwardian Christmas Home Entertainment

6) No slumping in front of the TV to watch the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special or a decades old blockbuster but civilized entertainment for all the family around the pianoforte.

Edwardian Christmas Buffet

7) I don’t know about you but my Boxing Day buffet never looks like this. Where are the turkey sandwiches, the tin of Quality Street and the tub of Twiglets?  Would you mind awfully passing me another slice of smoked salmon…

Edwardian Christmas Costume Party

8) Fancy dress party, anyone? No, costume ball please – much more glamorous but no less entertaining from the look on the faces here.

Edwardian Christmas Sale

9) Forget Black Friday or Cyber Monday, rather a visit to the local department store to view the merchandise and bag a bargain.

Edwardian Christmas Pantomime

10) No reality TV stars or near-the-knuckle jokes but a good old-fashioned pantomime with nobody recording it on their mobile phone.

Wouldn’t you love to visit An Edwardian Christmas?


Christmas 4

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Winter TBR List

toptentuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the lovely ladies at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists and love to share lists with other bookish folk.

The rules are simple:

  1. Each week they post a new Top Ten list topic.
  2. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
  3. Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
  4. Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Top Ten Books on My Winter TBR List – a great excuse to look forward to all the bookish treats in store in the next few months.


Here’s my list – click on the title to read the Goodreads blurb.

Corpus_SignedCorpus (Tom Wilde #1) by Rory Clements – I can’t believe I’ve not read this yet as I loved Rory Clements’ John Shakespeare series and he was kind enough to sign my copy of Corpus when I heard him speak at Henley Literary Festival (click here to read my review of the event). Also, see below….

Nucleus BookpostNucleus (Tom Wilde #2) by Rory Clements – I have a lovely ARC of the next in the series, which is published in January so I need to catch up!

The Twelve-Mile StraightThe Twelve-Mile Straight by Eleanor Henderson – Another fantastic looking ARC from NetGalley and I was clicking on request as soon as it mentioned ‘for lovers of To Kill A Mockingbird’. Sold – to the lady whose TBR pile is huge already.

Oliver LovingOliver Loving by Stefan Merrill Block – Yet another NetGalley ARC that I couldn’t resist requesting. Described as “A dazzling novel about love, loss, and the mysteries of the mind”, it’s published in January.

The Snow ChildThe Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey – This is my book for the December theme of the BookBum Book Club, run by the lovely Zuky on Goodreads. The theme is “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”. It’s set in Alaska, so brrr…

The Good EarthThe Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck – This was the book from my Classics Club list I got in the latest spin. I need to read it by the end of December.  Lots of other book bloggers have given favourable comments about it so I’m looking forward to crossing at least one book off my Classics Club list in the next few months.

The Marriage of Miss Jane AustenThe Marriage of Miss Jane Austen by Collins Hemingway – I’m on the blog tour for this book in January. It imagines that Jane Austen entered into a secret marriage – sounds really intriguing.

TogetherTogether by Julie Cohen – Another book that I have a lovely copy of signed by the author. I’ve heard such great things about this from other book bloggers.  I also adore the gorgeous cover.

Beautiful StarBeautiful Star & Other Stories by Andrew Swanston – Gosh, another January blog tour!  I am going to be busy! I love my historical fiction and I’ve recently rediscovered an appreciation for short stories, so I couldn’t resist this one.  Another great cover, as well.

Sweet Hollow WomenSweet Hollow Women by Holly Tierney-Bedord – Set in Louisiana – tick. Following the lives of four generations of women – tick.  I also think the cover looks really enticing.

 

 

 

What are you looking forward to reading this Winter?