Five Things and HEY

1. BEST NEWS EVER yesterday:

Oh, man, I didn't even know about this book until yesterday and I am already aching/dying/desperate to get my hands on it. No idea what it is about, but it is by Nicola Moriarty (!) and the cover and title are gorgeous. Due out early 2013

2. Meet my local second hand book shop:

Totally feel like you are in an episode of Hoarders walking around there. Three rooms, many aisles, decked out like this.

Bonus: the kids love going there (who wouldn't?).

Look what I found! This is the 1995 edition of the very famous and well loved Sleeping Dogs

Totally fluked seeing this book! (was right on the top of a random stack). This is the first Sonya Hartnett I read, back when I was 15 (!). So cool to finally have my own copy. Any other Sonya Hartnett fans out there? She is AMAZING.

3. On Monday, I met Aussie author Toni Jordan at Caloundra Library.

She is one of my favourite (and I know many others) writers of (smart) romantic comedy. Her debut, Addition, is SUCH a favourite book of mine. I've loaned it to so many friends and read it 2.5 times myself (we all know which parts the .5 were, haha). It's PERFECT crossover, with our 19 year old protagonist and the gorgeous and sexy 19 year old Irish boy (my gosh. sexytimes.) and I love that the protag has OCD (one of my fave topics in fiction) and this time presented in such a fun (but heartfelt) way (gosh, enough with these parenthesis already!)

Speaking of Addition: it is available worldwide. Translated into, like, 17 languages. Multiple reprints and soon to be a movie. I love it so. MAJOR RECOMMENDATION from me.

ANYWAY. I took my copy to get signed ... [cue drum roll] and upon reaching Toni, flipped it open and found she had already signed it. CLASSIC. Back in 'Sydney '98' She signed it again for me anyway, and, I just have to add, my inscription is WAY better :)

I am too private to share actual inscriptions. Sorry if this tiny pic drives you crazy!
Side note: I love this cover for it ;)

Also, Toni Jordan talked for an hour and she is SO funny and eloquent and I took mad-girl notes and loved it. Also took my husband. he liked it, too, especially the bit where we (Toni and audience) joked about OCD (not to be disrespectful, etc). I completely didn't dob myself in, but who doesn't have some kind of OCD issues? (well, apart from my husband...) 

One thing Toni shared that I liked: she calls her first draft her 'heart draft' and her second draft her 'brain draft'. Meaning the first time it's all about getting into the characters and the story and feeling it, and the second time through it's making it work: research, tension, shaping the story. Beautiful.

4. Been doing a lot of bush-walking, this place just at the top of my street.

Maggie, of Young Adults Anonymous, pointed out that one of my pics is like the US cover of Jasper Jones. Sweet.

5. I've really been sucking at reading.

I have PILES of half read books on my bedside, bookshelves and half done books on my kindle. I return books to my library, 3/4s read. It's becoming my new thing :/ Most are actually really good. I am just finding that if it is not EXACTLY my kind of perfect book, I lose interest. If I am not sucked in with that unputdownable feeling, it gets put down and I have no urge to pick it up again.

It's actually really frustrating...

Plus YOU GUYS it's school holidays! Best feeling ever. I love having the kids home and sleeping in, and my parents are driving up so I'll get to feel all tourist-y alongside them.

It feels so good to make this random post and say hi to you all!

x Nomes