Day 25- Merry Whatever!

Credit: http://www.benjaminkanarekblog.com/2013/12/20/merry-christmas-happy-holidays-2013-2014/

Hello and welcome to Day 25 of Advent Countdown. We did it guys. Wooo, it's been a stressful month, and posting everyday is quite time consuming. Props to those who do. Thank you to everyone who has joined me for Advent Countdown. I hope you enjoyed it.

Anyway, this is just a quick post to say thanks and Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, have a great Wednesday, or whatever. Everyone have a great day (whatever you're doing). See you all next time.

"We Wish You a Merry Christmas" sung by Weezer
Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ-6sSRej9Q

Day 24- Twas the....

Hello and welcome to Day 24 of Advent Countdown. Today I thought I'd tell you all a little about Christmas Eve traditions in my house.

Christmas Eve is a day of getting everything done. Some cooking takes place, some movies are watched, and some emergency shopping is done by some members of the family. Personally, I like to shop early, and get it all done by the beginning of December. I actually start a list of what I want to get people pretty early on. Anything I see during the year that I think might be nice for someone, I add to their individual list. By the end of November, I've done some fine-tuning and decided exactly what I want to get every person on my list. So when December comes around, I actually get it all done. If I'm ordering anything online, I think it's especially important to get it early. Things can go wrong. Shipping problems, sold out issues, life can get in the way, etc, etc. I spend a long time deciding what to get people, and it would be a shame if procrastination got in the way of being able to do that. For my own peace of mind, I always prefer to start early.

I usually spend my Christmas Eve wrapping gifts for everyone, listening to seasonal songs and watching my favourite festive movies, absorbing as much of the good cheer as possible. 

At night, everyone in my family puts out a stocking. And I mean everyone. Our pets get one too. No matter how old I get, this is a tradition that will be carried on through the years. Once you get old enough that your parents are no longer doing it, you find yourself making your significant other's. And someday you'll be doing it for your own kids. I think the stocking may be my favourite Christmas tradition. You wake up, see it at the end of your bed and you just know- Christmas has begun. 

Other than that, my family doesn't really do much for Christmas Eve. We like to spend it alone, just us and get ready for the insanity and hecticness that is tomorrow. 

Thank you all for joining me for Day 24 of Advent Countdown. I do have a Day 25 for you all tomorrow, so join me tomorrow for that. 

Day 23- You're a Mean One...

Hello and welcome to Day 23 of Advent Countdown. A little late today I know, but hopefully you can understand why when you see what I have in store for you.

My very own version of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' by Dr. Seuss- though this one is based off the TV special from 1966. For legal reasons I have to say, I do not own anything. I simply re-recorded the audio, then applied images drawn by myself (obviously inspired by screenshots from the short) and turned them into a 'movie'. My goodness, this took a lot of work. And the recording nearly destroyed my voice. Haha, that Grinch voice is certainly hard to do for any period of time. Unfortunately, I also had a bit of a cold during the recording, but I don't think it's overly obvious. I'm afraid some of the quality was also lost in the upload- both in the audio and video too, but I hope you'll get some enjoyment out of it. I used a transcript I found here. Please enjoy:

Well I hope you did. If you'd like to share this attempt at entertainment, please ask me, and make sure to credit me please. Thank you all for joining me for this delayed day Day 23. See you all tomorrow for Day 24 of Advent Countdown. Are you panicking yet?

Day 22- He Sees You When You're Sleeping

Hello everyone, and welcome to Day 22 of Advent Countdown. Today I'm looking at the big man himself. In my culture that would be Father Christmas/ Santa Claus, depending on whether you prefer the British or American name. But who exactly is he? And how did he come to be? Well let's find out.

Frank Sinatra "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"

Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GavVjuVko0

A man of many names. Some call him either of the two above, or Saint Nicholas or Kris Kringle, or simply Santa for short, but do all these names refer to the same person?

Credit: http://crazy-frankenstein.com/free-wallpapers-files/christmas-santa-claus-wallpapers/santa-claus-arrived.jpg

Credit:
 http://www.saintnicholas.org/Files/image/Icons/st_nicholas_myra_500.jpg

Let start with Saint Nicholas. Often said to be the predecessor to the modern Santa, and the original gift-giver. But was he? Saint Nicholas was a Greek Christian bishop of Myra in Anatolia (now Turkey) during the fourth century. He was very religious, even from a young age, and devoted his life to Christianity. Famous for his generous gifts to the poor, including a famous event where he left three bags of gold anonymously on one family's doorstop, so their father could use them as dowries and his daughters wouldn't be forced into prostitution. 

So well loved was he, that for centuries people celebrated a day in his namesake- Saint Nicholas Day, on the sixth of December. During the Middles Ages, children were given gifts on the Eve of the fifth in his honour. During the Reformation (and its opposition to the worship of saints in many countries), the date was moved to the 24th and the 25th, and Saint Nicholas became Santa Claus. 

Credit:
http://www.biography.com/imported/images/
Biography/Images/Profiles/L/Martin-Luther-9389283-1-402.jpg

The custom of gifts for Christmas began with Martin Luther. He wanted children to focus on Christ, rather than Saint Nicholas or any other saints. It was he who suggested Christkind as the replacement gift-giver (who remains so in many cultures), but Saint Nicholas held his popularity in a majority. 








Prior to Christianity, the Germanic peoples (and the English) celebrated a midwinter event called Yule. When Christianity spread through Germanic Europe, many of the Yuletide traditions were brought into modern Christmas. 

Credit: http://www.asatru.ru/visions/wildhunt.jpg

During Yule, people believed that supernatural occurrences were much more frequent. One such event was the Wild Hunt- a ghostly procession through the sky. Many believe the leader of the hunt was Odin himself (as he has been given the names 'Jolnir' (meaning yule figure) and 'Langbaror' (meaning long-beard).  

Credit:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/
Georg_von_Rosen_-_Oden_som_
vandringsman,_1886_(Odin,_the_Wanderer).jpg

Odin is thought to have some mark on the formation of the current St. Nick- with his long, white beard, and his custom of  bringing gifts to children.
















In the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, St. Nicholas is often referred to as 'De Goede Sint' (The Good Saint) or Sinterklaas. He is portrayed as an elderly, serious man with white hair and a long, full beard. He wore a red cape over a traditional white bishop's alb, wore a red mitre, and held a long, gold shepherd's staff with a curled top (a crosier). He would distribute presents to children, checking his book of Saint Nicholas (full of childrens' names) to see if they had been naughty or nice.  This is a version of the real Saint Nicholas, who's celebration day is the 6th of December. He would arrive on a steam boat from Spain in mid-November, and begin to distribute gifts to all the houses (during a three week period), riding on a white horse above the rooftops.

Credit: http://www.kb.nl/sites/default/files/xkw_2865_voorplat_sinterklaas.jpg

Credit:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Ucmj2UupKT4/TOn40brcxrI
/AAAAAAAAA3o/Ua6nXjAX9JE/s1600/Tomte_by_Jenny_Nystrom.jpg

In the 1840's, Nordic folklore celebrated a being known as 'Tomte' or 'Nisse'. In Denmark, he became their gift-bringer, and was normally portrayed as a short, bearded man dressed in grey clothes and a red hat. This was very much a corruption of the folkloric creature, now influenced by the new Santa Claus traditions making their way through Scandinavia. By the end of the nineteenth century, these new traditions had reached Norway and Sweden, replacing the Yule Goat. However, a straw goat is still a common Christmas decoration throughout Scandinavia.

Father Christmas had a different origin. In sixteenth century England (during the rule of Henry VIII), Father Christmas was portrayed as a large man dressed in green or red robes lined with fur. He was the embodiment of good cheer at Christmas, and brought peace, joy, good food, wine and revelry. At this point, England no longer celebrated Saint Nicholas Day, so Father Christmas' celebration was put on the 25th to coincide with Christmas. 

Credit:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1
/Scrooges_third_visitor-John_Leech,1843.jpg

He had many portrayals, and the Victorians brought him to new life. A famous depiction was the image of the Ghost of Christmas Present in Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol', where he was illustrated by John Leech as a great, jolly man wearing green robes lined with fur. Around this point in time, Father Christmas and Santa Claus were widely seen as one and the same person. 












So Santa Claus himself is a mix of all three above- Saint Nicholas, Sinterklass and Father Christmas. His own name was first used by the American press in 1773. Many of his modern attributes (including flying, his sleigh, the reindeer and going down chimneys) were made canon by Clement Clark Moore's popular 'A Visit From St. Nicholas' (now more commonly known as 'The Night Before Christmas'), which he published anonymously in 1823.

Though his chimney entering ways may also have come from Pre-Christian Norse traditions. Odin would often drop down chimneys to deliver gifts on the Solstice. In Italian Befana tradition, a gift-giving witch is portrayed as constantly covered in soot from her trips down chimneys, and even in tales of Saint Nicholas himself, he would throw coins in through windows of peoples' houses. This evolved to down the chimney, as windows would often be locked. 

The hearth itself was seen as a sacred source of magic, used by elves and faeries as a portal to our world, that they used to deliver gifts. However, the association of chimneys with Santa Claus was down to Clement Clark Moore's aforementioned poem.

His base in the North Pole is thought to be down to an illustration done by American cartoonist, Thomas Nast. In 1863 he drew an image of the Jolly Old St. Nick, with the caption "Santa Claussville, N.P.".

Mrs. Clause may have come from a poem by Katherine Lee Bates in 1889 called, "Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride",  but she was popularised and brought into the canon in 1956, when George Melachrino released a song called, 'Mrs. Santa Claus'. 

Woah, there was a lot to get through there. No doubt this isn't all the lore that brought the modern Santa to life, but I did my best. I hope you all enjoyed learning about one of the most famous men of all time. 

Thank you for joining me for Day 22 of Advent Countdown. See you all tomorrow for Day 23. 


References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus

Day 21- Rockin' Around the....

Hello and welcome to Day 21 of Advent Countdown. It's close now, isn't it? Anyway, today I have some Christmassy photos. This countdown needed the Christmas tree somewhere in it, and I decided what better way to do it than to show you my very own Chrimble tree? So here it is:

And here we have the micro Christmas tree for my room. It's become a tradition carried through the years from my childhood, that my sister and I get mini trees in our rooms. Now that I'm older, I continue it still. It's nice to always have some pine-scented goodness around you. 

I hope you all enjoyed this brief look into my Christmas life. Thank you for joining me for Day 21 of Advent Countdown. See you all tomorrow for Day 22. 

Day 20- Have You Seen Him?

Hello and welcome to Day 20 of Advent Countdown. Today I have a little illustration I made for you all (in the style of the great Edward Monkton). I tried to draw and write something at least half decent. I hope you all enjoy.

Sorry for the copyright awkwardly placed in there, but you know how it is. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this short, Christmassy piece. It took me a ridiculous amount of time to create. 

Thank you for joining me for Day 20 of Advent Countdown. See you tomorrow for Day 21. 

Day 19- Here We Come a Wassailing

Hello everyone, and welcome to Day 19 of Advent Countdown. Today I thought we could take a look at some seasonal songs. Since there are far too many to go through them all, I've decided to turn this into a 'Top 10' list. So without further ado, here are this year's 'Top 10 Christmas Songs' in my opinion. Some of them will be old favourites and some will be new discoveries. FYI, this list won't be in any particular order. This list is also dependent on particular singers for each individual song, so I'll list the versions that I feel make the cut.

Number one: Baby, It's Cold Outside sung by Zooey Deshcanel and Will Ferrell

Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp3UoqOkFJo

Taken from one of my favourite Christmas movies of all time (Elf), I adore this version. I find it a hard song to make work, and I think the dynamic between the two singers has to be done incredibly well. It's also a song with some questionable lyrics, so I like that they're sung by Will Ferrell's innocently clueless character Buddy. I'm just sad they never made a completed version of it. It wasn't released as part of the soundtrack, so you only have the movie version, unfortunately. 

Number two: Christmas All Over the World sung by Tim McGraw

Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMhlDdJ1L80

I know, I know, but Christmas is a time for cheesy (sometimes terrible) songs, and this song fits into the mindless happy category that just appeals to me. I don't have much to say about it other than that. It makes me happy and puts me in the Christmas mood.

Number three: Mary, Did You Know sung by Clay Aiken

Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiL993FK0y4

I know a lot of people don't like Clay Aiken, but I personally like his voice, and I think it fits this song perfectly. It's smooth and has the range. Mostly, I just love this song for its melody, the lyrics could be about anything and I would still sing along happily. I'm not a religious person, so the lyrics are just something to sing to, to be honest. Like I said- I'm in it for the melody. 

Number four: Red Nosed Reindeer Blues sung by Asylum Street Spankers

Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIWyp5Nr-Xc

I adore this song. It's catchy, it's pretty clever, and it has originality. Not to mention you've got some mean blues chords in there. Listen to it. That's all I have to say.

Number five: What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? sung by The Head and the Heart

Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWJ1PNC_S1k

 The Head and the Heart are a band I'm very fond of in general, so when I heard they'd done a seasonal (I don't know if I can really call it Christmas) song, I had to check it out. I'm so very glad I did. They make this song their own, and create wonderful harmonies between their individual voices. Please check it out.

Number six: White Wine in the Sun sung by Tim Minchin

Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCNvZqpa-7Q

Tim Minchin is an explicitly funny, Australian comedian. And I mean explicit in the censored way (or non-censored). He's a great musician, and incorporates that into his stand-up. Considering that, this song is surprisingly meaningful, and pretty much sums up exactly how I feel about the holidays (minus the sun part). In fact, this could be my favourite song on the list. If you only listen to one song on this list, make it this one.

Number seven: See Ya Santa sung by The Irreconcilables 

Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoG_AphJ2ME

A bit of a comedic one here, maybe more suited for older listeners. The tune is catchy, the lyrics are catchy, the whole thing is unbelievably catchy. And god I love her voice. I was in love with this song last Christmas, and still love it enough for it to be in my Top 10. 

Number eight: This Christmas sung by Me, You & Her
(Hint- click the play icon. It's the fourth song).

If No. 6 is my favourite song on the list, this is a close second. These girls most certainly make the song their own, and create absolutely beautiful harmonies with their voices. I could listen to this song on repeat for hours. You can pick this song up for free using the link above (i.e. this one) for a limited time. The whole album is lovely Christmas listening.

Number nine: Home Made Christmas sung by The John Hancock Band

I have to be honest here. While I do like the singers voice, I love this song purely for its message. This is another song that just screams 'meaning of Christmas' at you. And how I love it. You can pick the song up for free at the link above (this one) at the moment. 

Number ten: It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year sung by Andy Williams

Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbTaGsBhIR8

This song has been consistently in my Top 10 for years. I adore it. It is easily my favourite 'traditional' Christmas tune, and I don't think I'll ever grow tired of it. It absolutely never fails to put me in a festive mood, and has me singing along every time.


Well there you have it guys, my 'Top 10 Christmas Songs' of 2013. I hope you found some new favourites from this list. I'm a huge fanatic when it comes to Christmas music, and can often be heard singing various jingles around the house at the top of my lungs. The only downside is they're always so freaking catchy- which makes it hard to quit them after the season. Many a time I've found myself singing carols in summer. Oh well.

I hope you enjoyed Day 19 of Advent Countdown. See you tomorrow for the final leg and Day 20.

Day 16- I'm Thinking of a Word

Hello and welcome to Day 16 of Advent Countdown. Today I've got a Christmas crossword for you all. But not just any crossword, it's a crossword I created myself. Yes, all the clues and answers are of my own devising. I did try my hardest to create an interactive crossword, but sadly it was not to be. I did find one program that had the ability to create exactly what I wanted, but it cost $50 before tax, and I couldn't justify the money on something that I would likely never use again. Oh well, c'est la vie. Que sera sera and all that. Now, without further ado, here's my very own Christmas crossword:

Unfortunately, (as I said earlier) despite my best efforts I could not create it to be interactive. Instead, I can offer you a link to the website I created it with, where you can solve it online or print it off here. Let me know if it doesn't work for any reason. The answer key is on there too. I debated posting the answer key too, but I know that's just temptation. So, what I will do is post the answers at the bottom of this page. I'll leave a hideously large gap between my last sentence and the image, so you'll have to scroll down to see it. FYI, some of the answers can be found in previous days of Advent Countdown. 

Well that's it for Day 16 of Advent Countdown. I hope you all enjoy the festive crossword that I created just for all of you. See you tomorrow for Day 17.

SPOILERS BEYOND HERE

Day 13- Scrub Your Cares Away

Hello and welcome to Day 13 of Advent Countdown. Today I have another DIY for you all. With a similar theme to my candy cane soap, the scent stays the same, but instead of a soap, we have:

Candy Cane Sugar Scrub

Now this project is ridiculously quick and easy. Here's what you'll need:


1 cup of granulated sugar   

1 cup of vegetable oil

1 vitamin E capsule

Peppermint essential oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste

An air-tight container for the scrub

This is a recipe I found on My Kitchen Addiction. All credit there. So let's get started.


1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. For the vitamin E capsule- cut it open with scissors/knife and squeeze out the oil into the bowl.

Use as much or as little peppermint oil as you desire, until you're happy with the scent. It shouldn't take too much. That stuff is strong.





2. Stir all the ingredients together with a spatula until combined. That's it. You're done. 

3. Pour the scrub into your container. I bought these jars from Amazon. You can find them here . They were quite a bit bigger than I thought. I doubled the recipe to fill them this much. I'd suggest maybe the small version. I actually wanted a medium size, but couldn't find one available. Alternatively, if you don't think the large is big enough, they also have an extra large version. Other than that, the jars are lovely. Thick, strong glass, and subtly elegant. Definitely worth the money.

And you're done! Make sure you stir before each use (as the oil and sugar will separate). I added little labels with 'how to use' instructions onto mine (as they were gifts). Simply apply a small amount to the skin and rub in. Leave on for 3-4 minutes for ultimate use, then rinse. You can use it on hands or body. 

I test-tried a little of the extra and found it works nicely. It exfoliates and moisturisers. Exactly what you want from a scrub. Let me know if you try this one out yourself. 

I hope you all enjoyed this quick, easy DIY. I'll be making another batch for myself soon. I couldn't resist. Thank you for joining me for Day 13. I'll see you all tomorrow for Day 14 of Advent Countdown. 

Day 12- A Good Old Book Haul

Hello and welcome to Day 12 of Advent Countdown. Today I thought I'd do my first ever book haul. I hope you all enjoy. As a disclaimer- yes, I bought everything with my own money, and no, I'm not trying to show off. Hauls are pretty popular generally, and I thought I'd try my hand at one. Let's get into it then shall we?

This is a collective book haul, and is basically a sum up of books I've purchased in the past month. Now most of these books were bought in my local charity shops, a couple from my local pound shops, and a couple from Amazon (to make up the £25 for free shipping. If I'm going to have to spend the money anyway, may as well get something out of it). I hadn't bought any books in a while, so there's quite a few listed below.

Now as I haven't read any of these books yet, I can't give you reviews, but what I will do is post the blurb on the back (or inside cover) of the book, so that you can get a rough idea what they're about. I'll attach a link to each book on Amazon on the titles, in case you want to check them out.

The first book I picked up was: Lights Out in Wonderland by D.B.C. Pierre. 

Blurb: "Gabriel Brockwell, aesthete, poet, philosopher, anti-capitalist demonstrator, and disaffected twenty-something decadent is thinking terminal. His philosophical enquiries, the abstractions he indulges, and how these relate to a life lived in disappointment, all point in the same direction. His destination is Wonderland. The nature and style of the journey is all that's to be decided. 

Taking in London, Tokyo and Berlin, Lights Out in Wonderland documents Gabriel's remarkable global odyssey. Committed to the pursuit of pleasure, Gabriel's adventure takes in a spell in rehab, a near-death experience with fugu ovaries, a sexual encounter with an octopus, and finally and orgiastic feast in the bowels of Berlin's majestic Tempelhof Airport. Along the way we see him disintegrate and reshape before our eyes as his urge towards self-destruction transforms into a vitalising epiphany. 

Lights Out in Wonderland carries you through its many corridors of delight and horror in Gabriel's voice, which is at once sceptical, idealistic, seductive, and broken. An allegorical banquet and a sly commentary on these End Times and the entropic march towards insensate banality, DBC Pierre's third novel completes a loose trilogy of fictions; each of which stands alone and distinct as a joyful expression of the human spirit."

From the back of the cover: "Look at it, my friend: all that has ever been called love of life, is a love of things that won't happen...Our farewell dinner should be as splendid as anything since the fall of Rome. A Feast of Timalchio. A night of the Satyricon. A limbo that blisters all restraint, a cone of nimbus so high that stars are sucked inside it."

The next book I picked up was: The Beach by Alex Garland.  

Blurb: "The Khao San Road, Bangkok- first stop on the backpacker trail. On Richard's first night there a fellow traveller slits his wrists, leaving Richard a map to 'the Beach'.

The Beach is a legend among young travellers in Asia: white sands circling a lagoon hidden from the sea, coral gardens and freshwater falls surrounded by jungle. In this earthly paradise, it is rumoured, a select community lives in blissful innocence. For Richard, haunted by the glamour of Vietnam war movies, a trek into unknown Thai territory is irresistible. He was looking for adventure. Now he's found it."

Now I'm sure quite a few people have already heard of this story. There was a movie adaptation starring Leonardo Di Caprio. The movie was actually why I picked up the book. I enjoyed the film- weird and disturbingly askew as it is- and I'm a firm believer that the book is usually better, so I thought I'd check it out.




Third up is: One Day by David Nicholls. 

Blurb: "15th July 1988. Emma and Dexter meet on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways.

So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows?"

This is another quite well known book, now famous movie adaptation. A friend recommended the book to me, but I never really got round to picking it up. I have a 'To Read' list a mile long, so it can take a while to get to books at the bottom. So when I saw this in my local charity shop, I thought I may as well pick it up.




Next up is: A Million Little Pieces by James Frey.  

Blurb: "Aged just twenty-three, James Frey had destroyed his body and his mind almost beyond repair. When he enters a rehabilitation centre to try to reclaim his life, he has to fight to determine what future, if any, he has. His lack of self-pity, cynicism and piety gives him an unflinching honesty- a fearless candour that is at once charming and appalling, searing and darkly funny."

Fifth is: Silver: Return to Treasure Island by Andrew Motion.

Blurb: "July, 1802. In the marshy eastern reaches of the Thames lies the Hispaniola, an inn kept by Jim Hawkins and his son. Young Jim spends his days roaming the mist-shrouded estuaries, running errands for his father and listening to his stories in the taproom; tales of adventures on the high seas, of curses, murder and revenge, black spots and buried treasure- and of a man with a wooden leg.

Late one night, a mysterious girl names Natty arrives on the river with a request for Jim from her father- Long John Silver. Aged and weak, but still possessing a strange power, the pirate proposes that Jim and Natty sail to Treasure Island in search of Captain Flint's hidden bounty, the 'beautiful bar silver' left behind many years before. Silver has chartered a ship and a hardy crew for this purpose, whose captain is waiting only for the map, now locked away at the Hispaniola.

Making haste from London, Jim and Natty set off in the footsteps of their fathers, their tentative friendship growing stronger day by day. But the thrill of the ocean odyssey gives way to terror as the Nightingale reaches its destination, for it seems that Treasure Island is not as uninhabited as it once was.

Featuring a cast of noble seamen, murderous pirates, and stories of love, valour and terrible cruelty. Silver is a worthy sequel to Treasure Island- one of the greatest adventure stories ever told- and a work of extraordinary authenticity and imaginative power from one of England's greatest writers."

This is a book whose cover really sells it. Just look at that gorgeous illustration. How could I not pick it up? I was intrigued when I found this in my local pound shop. Yes, pound shop. Hopefully that won't be an indication of the quality of this book. I'm interested to know what the author did which such a famous story, and whether he did it well. Only time will tell.



Up next is: The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin. 

Blurb: "The song lines are the invisible pathways that criss-cross Australia, ancient tracks connecting communities and following age-old boundaries. Along these lines Aboriginals passed the songs which revealed the creation go the land and the secrets of its past. In this magical account Chatwin recalls his travels across the length and breadth of Australia seeking to find the truth about the songs and unravel the mysteries of their stories."

Next one is: The Night Rainbow by Claire King.

Blurb: "Under the sweltering heat of the summer sun, five-year-old Pea- and her vivid imagination- run wild in the meadows behind her home on the edge of a small village in southern France.

Pea's father died in an accident, and now she only has her little sister, Margot, for company. Their mother is too sad to take care of them and has withdrawn to a place where Pea cannot reach her, no matter how hard she tries.

When Pea meets Claude, a neighbour who seems to love the meadow as she does, she wonders if he could be their new papa. But what secret is Claude keeping?"

This was one of the two books I bought from Amazon. The other was:




The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. 

Blurb: "Mother of three and wife of John-Paul, Cecilia discovers an old envelope in the attic. Written in her husband's hand, it says: to be opened only in the event of my death. 

Curious, she opens it- and time stops.

John-Paul's letter confesses to a terrible mistake which, if revealed, would wreck their family as well as the lives of others.

Cecilia wants to do the right thing, but right for who? If she protects her family by staying silent, the truth will worm through her heart. But if she reveals her husband's secret, she will hurt those she loves most..."

I've got to be honest. I may have picked this one up for its cover (and the author's last name). Look at it. I have no idea whether a butterfly in a jar has anything to do with the story, but my goodness it's pretty. I suppose it could represent a delicate person, beauty and being trapped. But who are we kidding really? I hope the book is as good as the cover makes it look.



Next we have: Half-Sick Of Shadows by David Logan.

Blurb: "On the eve of Granny Hazel's burial in the back garden, a stranger in his time machine- a machine that bears an uncanny resemblance to a Morris Minor- visits a five-year-old Edward with a strange request.

And Edward agrees to be his friend.

But Edward is not alone in the world. His twin sister, Sophia, is about to bring future tragedy upon herself through an all-too-literal misunderstanding of a promise she made to their father.

And so while Sophia stays at home in the Manse, Edward is sent to boarding school. There he encounters the kind and the not-so-kind and befriends the strangest child, Alf- a boy whose very existence seems to hint at universes of unlimited possibilities...and who might one day help Edward free Sophia.

A comical tragedy, a tale of childhood wonder and dismay, a story of familial dysfunction, of poetry, the imagination and theoretical physics, this novel is all of these and rather more besides."

This was another one of the books I picked up at my local pound shop, and again I'm hoping that is not indicative of quality. The final book I picked up there was:



Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante.  

Blurb: "The police are convinced that Jennifer White has killed her best friend.

Amanda's body has been discovered in her home, stabbed to death and with four fingers from her right hand neatly removed. The murder is a horrifying shock to a quiet and genteel neighbourhood. Jennifer's work as an accomplished surgeon and the stormy nature of her friendship with Amanda mean that she is the prime suspect.  However, even Jennifer cannot tell if she really is responsible. Her days are spent in confusion and her memories fragmented, thanks to the Alzheimer's that is gradually destroying her one brilliant mind.

Fractured images and remembered conversations return to her over the days of the police investigation. As her condition deteriorates, she struggles against succumbing to the indignities of her illness. She frequently fails to recognise her children, Mark and Fiona, when they come to visit and cajole her, but at times she finds herself vividly reliving distinct moments from her most significant relationships- with her late husband James, her much-loved medical career and of course Amanda, who knew even her most intimate and dangerous family secrets.

Turn of Mind is a portrait of a complex friendship of vexed intimacy, with a compelling mystery as its heart. It is a powerful and moving debut that will haunt readers long after the police have drawn their final conclusions about what happened on the cold February evening when Amanda lost her life."

We're getting there guys. I know it's a long list, but next up is: From The Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey by Pascal Khoo Thwe.

Blurb: "A member of a tiny, remote Burmese tribe famous for their 'giraffe-necked' women, student Pascal Khoo Thwe was forced to flee to the jungle during the rise of the corrupt military dictatorship. His lover had been arrested, raped and murdered by the armed forces, and Pascal became a guerrilla fighter. But a chance meeting with Dr John Casey, a Cambridge don visiting Mandalay, would change both their lives forever.

Overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles and danger, the two men strike up a scholarly correspondence that would take Pascal from the hardships of guerrilla warfare to the hallowed world of Cambridge University. This is the moving true story of his extraordinary life and miraculous journey."

Next up we have: The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall.

Blurb: "Eric Sanderson wakes up in a place he doesn't recognise, unable to remember who he is. All he has left are journal entries recalling Clio, a perfect love now gone.

So begins a thrilling adventure that will send Eric and his cynical cat Ian on a search for the Ludovician, the force that is threatening his life, and Dr Trey Fidorus, the only man who knows its secrets."

This is a book I've been wanting to read for a long time, so when I saw it today I absolutely had to pick it up. Now just to get around to reading it.




The penultimate book is: The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey. 

Blurb: "It's Jake's birthday. He is sitting in a small plane, being flown over the landscape that has been the backdrop to his life- his childhood, his marriage, his work, his passions. Now he is in his early sixties, and he isn't quite the man he used to be. He has lost his wife, his son is in prison, and he is about to lose his past. Jake has Alzheimer's.

As the disease takes hold of him, Jake struggles to hold on to his personal story, to his memories and identity, but they become increasingly elusive and unreliable. What happened to his daughter? Is she alive, or long dead? And why exactly is his son in prison? What went so wrong in his life? There was a cherry tree once, and a yellow dress, but what exactly do they mean? As Jake, assisted by 'poor Eleanor', and a childhood friend with whom for some unfathomable reason he seems to be sleeping, fights the inevitable dying of the light, the key events of his life keep changing as he tries to grasp them, and what until recently seemed solid fact is melting into surreal dreams or nightmarish imaginings. Is there anything he'll be able to salvage from the wreckage? Beauty, perhaps, the memory of love, or nothing at all?

From the first sentence to the last, The Wilderness holds us in its grip. This is writing of extraordinary power and beauty."

This was another book whose cover drew me to it. A beautiful illustration, that will hopefully will be true of the story inside.



Okay guys, last book. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.

Blurb: "Six interlocking lives- one amazing adventure. In a narrative that circles the globe and reaches from the 19th century to a post-apocalyptic future, David Mitchell erases the boundaries of time, genre and language to offer an enthralling vision of humanity's will to power, and where it will lead us."

Another pretty well-known book (and movie adaptation), I am almost ashamed to say I have not read it...yet. I picked this up today, and look forward to changing my previous statement.




There we have it everyone. We got there in the end. If you made it this far, thank you very much. Give yourself a pat on the back. I hope you all enjoyed my first book haul, and Day 12 of Advent Countdown (oh yeah, that's what this was for).

See you all tomorrow for Day 13.