Friday, September 21, 2012

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

17 comments:

  1. Oh, Nomes, I loved your post!
    LOL
    And that book, Addition? sounds really good, it's going on my wish list ;D

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  2. That bookshop would give me a nervous breakdown! Love all the books, hate how they are dumped everywhere so you can't even get to half of them.

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  3. Aw, come on, you know why you haven't been reading a ton--it's because you're chatting with me. GUILTY.

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  4. YAY Nomes- lovely stories and photos. I want to live in your second hand book shop or maybe by the waterfall and stone steps at the top of your street! :0)

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  5. OH. MY. GOODNESS. THE BOOKSHOP. THE BOOKSHOP! I... seriously, I don't think I'd ever leave O__O

    And I LOVE what you mentioned about Toni calling it her 'heart' draft and 'brain' draft. Could it be more perfect wording? ♥

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  6. Hi Nomes!!
    There's another Moriarty book I need to/want to read! Plus... that bookshop! Lovely post!
    ~Isa

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  7. Gorgeous! And so close to your home. Amazing.

    That bookstore is like an epy of Hoarders. I think it would but enthrall me and make me feel claustrophobic. I'm a bit of minimalist.

    Great pictures and shares. It's so nice to see what you're up to.

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  8. Addition sounds great - just ordered it! (The description on Amazon says the MC is 35 though?!)

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  9. I haven't read any Nicola Moriarty yet but I know you loved her book Free-Falling! Also thanks so much for putting Addition on my radar...sounds like it has a lot of elements that could make it a book I really enjoy. You guys have so many talented YA authors in Australia! (And a large number who write New Adult, which is just fabulous. Wish we had more support for New Adult here!)

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  10. That is an amazing book store. A little disorganised, it seems like they might need a few more rooms and shelves ;p
    I love that all those great pics are so close to your home, it makes me miss my childhood home.

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  11. Enjoy your holiday, Nomes! I hope that your reading 'issue' resolves itself soon. I have countless books stashed around my parents house that have bookmarks marking where I abandoned them throughout the years even though most of them were good. It happens!

    LOVE that bookstore. I adore used bookstores so much, I'd spend hours (and lots of money) in there. :P

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  12. That second-hand bookstore looks amazing! There's one that's like that but not quite as bad near me, I love getting lost in there.
    And love your bushwalk pics, lovely!

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  13. I've been dying to read Free-Falling ever since your review, and the envelopes on the cover of Paper Chains already as me thinking about the Joy of the Envelope. Yay Moriarty sisters!

    Oh my gosh, that bookstore.

    And yay, I just got two Toni Jordan books. Can't wait to read them. Thanks for yet another rec, Nomes!! :)

    -Maggie

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  14. I'm pretty envious that you live so close to such a beautiful place! It would definitely encourage me to go bushwalking more.

    And I'm "reading" like 5 books right now (when I mean that I mean I'm reading 2 main books while the others are left waiting until I'm ready to read them). :/ I'm even worse at reviewing than I am at reading. Hope you get back into your groove soon!

    And that bookstore... I'm getting kind of jittery just looking at it. I would just lose it in there. I wouldn't know where to look first. Are there sections for different genres, or do you just have to dive in and hope you find cool stuff?

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  15. Ahh Nomes! It's great seeing another post from you after so long! Seems lie you're having a blast meeting fab authors, in second hand bookshops and bush-walking! I hope you get to find your unputdownable read soon! :)

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  16. I love this wrap up post of your life right now! Yay for another Moriarty book, those sisters are a talented bunch! And now I want to track down that book of Sonya's, I've only read 1-2 of hers. And I've never heard of Toni but of course now I want to read Addition!

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  17. Addition is going onto my TBR list right now.

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Thanks for the commenty love :)