Monday check-in

Monday, February 16, 2015 Permalink

It’s Monday again. Already. Apparently. It’s a work day for me, but that’s changing – at least temporarily…. more on that later. I’m linking up with Sheila from Book Journey to share all of the exciting happenings in my little world.

What I read

I’m not sure exactly what I did last week, but it wasn’t a lot of reading and writing!

I read Rob Tom Smith’s The Farm  and I’ll be posting that review shortly as it’s been sitting in draft form for about five days! Apathy schmapathy.

A new book arrived compliments of Hachette Australia — due for publication this month — and overtook others to be next on my agenda. To say The Chimes  by Anna Smaill is a challenging read is an understatement. However I’d noted others commenting on its slow start but recommending hanging in there and I’m glad I heeded their advice.

the chimesI’ve started, but haven’t quite finished What You Can When You Can,  which I mentioned in last week’s post. It’s not due for publication until April and I have an advance copy (with a few bits yet to be completed) so I’ll be reviewing it in coming weeks.

What I wrote

Not much.

I mentioned last week that I’d spent some time pondering some decisions I needed to make and wrote about my concern of being too emotionally dependent on others (well, my mother in the absence of a partner) for support and comfort.

I posted my review of The Rosie Effect  in Goodreads; and blogged about Jonathan Kellerman’s latest Alex Delaware novel, Motive.

Other stuff

We actually had an earthquake last night. A rarity in Australia and even more so in my neck of the woods. It only measured 5.2 or so and was a couple of hundred kilometres from where I live, but I was woken by my shaking building.

Naturally (a few hours later), the memes have started and it reminds me of what I love most about Australia and Australians… that we’re excellent at taking the p!ss out of ourselves. I mean we’re not completely insensitive, so I think everyone waited until we knew there were no injuries or significant damage. But then… there’s no stopping us!

Found on Facebook. Original source - no idea!

Found on Facebook. Original source – no idea!

I had a few days away over the weekend – heading south to the Sunshine Coast for my aunt’s 60th birthday celebration. We dined at a local gourmet pizza bar and I had a spectacular gluten-free baked chicken pizza, which (in addition to chicken #obvs) comprised bacon, spring onion, pine nuts and thyme. Oh. My. God!

Valentine’s Day evening was therefore spent with my mother at Peregian Beach stuffed with pizza and watching the 1970 movie Love Story —  in the absence of better TV viewing fodder. As an aside, I was shocked at how much of the movie I’d ‘misremembered’. I mean, I recalled the general gist, but got other bits completely wr-wr-wrong!

Although the weather was fabulous we didn’t actually head onto the beach, although I set a rare foot on the sand to capture the obligatory share-on-social media photograph.

Peregian BeachAnd finally… I’ve resigned from my part-time work / contract thingy. I’m glad I’ve made the decision but it’s really scary as it means I’ll have no income (and nothing to fall back on). I’m staying one more week while the boss is o/s and then I’ll need to either find a non-existent job or try to find some paid writing and blogging work.

Reading this week

I’ve got five books sitting on my NetGalley shelf awaiting my attention. None are due for publication until April, so I’ve got a lot of flexibility this coming week when it comes to reading fodder. I desperately need to do some ‘income-generating’ thinking so perhaps it’ll be a light reading week for me as I spend my nights pondering my life and future rather than escaping into someone else’s.

So that’s my life and reading update. What’s on your agenda this week?

36 Comments
  • Greg
    February 16, 2015

    An earthquake- wow. Your trip to the coast (and the pizza) sound good! As for the job situation, I’m sure you have a good of what you need, and I’m sure it will work out. I can understand a bit, as I had to make a huge decision recently- take a great job and move, or stay where we are (and are happy) and it was tough. We had to weigh more money vs. being happy where we’re at, and we decided to stay. Not everyone would have done that , but we did.

    So good luck with your planning and hope your week is greta.

    • Debbish
      February 16, 2015

      Thanks Greg. And yes – you are very right – the decision has to be about more than $. I took a redundancy a few years ago and the change I made then was all about quality of life and balance. I don’t regret it at all though it’s been a struggle at times since!

  • Brona
    February 16, 2015

    Congrats on making your big decision. Sometimes you actually have to walk out one door before you can see the next one to walk through.
    Good luck

  • Sheila (Book Journey)
    February 16, 2015

    Chimes has an amazing cover. Enjoy!

    • Debbish
      February 16, 2015

      It does. It will be hard to review though….

  • Elizabeth
    February 16, 2015

    Do you read a lot of Jonathan Kellerman? I consider him one of my literary boyfriends. If you’ve never read his wife, Faye’s books, start with The Ritual Bath, the first in the Rena Lazarus series. They’re crime thrillers also.
    I’m off to read your review of The Rosie Project. I wasn’t in love; with it, but it may be that all the hype spoiled it for me.
    Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog!

    • Debbish
      February 16, 2015

      Yes Elizabeth I’ve read all of Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series.

      I used to read Faye’s books but found them a bit overly focused on religion and religious practices. I’ve read a few of Jesse’s as well. They were a tad hit and miss for me.

      Deb

  • thebookdate
    February 16, 2015

    I wish you could here the laugh out loud from the humour of the earthquake picture. 5.2 ain’t that small! We’ve been quiet lately – touches wood. There was a time when I was diving under the table on a regular basis and one in Wellington in a picture theatre that I thought would come down on top of us. Anyway quiet as I said.
    Love the Sunshine coast and the beaches but I guess they don’t float your boat so much. God – very brave to give up part time job – I hope there is something out there that is promising and fits for you. I am trying to fit in review books as I just want to read off my own shelf next month in March – takes some fitting around though.

    • Debbish
      February 16, 2015

      I wish there was some way of making money from my book reviewing, but alas… it doesn’t seem to be the case. (Wouldn’t that be nice!?!)

      And yes, an earthquake here is a rarity. Lots of people were freaked out. I’ve been through a few when I lived in East Timor and when I used to visit the Solomon Islands. I can’t imagine what it’s like living with the threat all of the time though. My bestie now lives with her partner in Christchurch and I jokingly use it as an excuse not to visit. (Well that and I don’t have a current passport and don’t want to get a passport photo until I lose weight!)

  • laurelrainsnow
    February 16, 2015

    Earthquakes happen often enough in California that they don’t throw me anymore…but if they are BIG ones, they do.

    Love the cover on The Chimes. Thanks for sharing…and for visiting my blog. I want to check out Motive….

    • Debbish
      February 16, 2015

      The Chimes has a lovely cover and it’s an interesting texture as well!

  • Teddyree
    February 16, 2015

    Good for you Deb, it wouldn’t have been an easy decision to make. I wish book reviewing paid lol, be nice to have a little income until I figure out if I’m good enough to get my photography off the ground. haha the earthquake humour cracked me up. And now I want gourmet pizza!! Happy reading and brainstorming 🙂

    • Debbish
      February 16, 2015

      Thanks Teddyree and I think you should go for it on the photography front!!!

      Deb

  • Pinky Poinker
    February 16, 2015

    My little nephew lives where you do and he said on FB he woke up scared with his bed shaking. My brother said it was caused by underground mining because there are no tectonic plates around there but I’m thinking it would have to be pretty damn aggressive mining to cause an earthquake. We had one here a few years ago and it freaked me out.

    • Debbish
      February 16, 2015

      We’re lucky we suffer so few here in Oz!

  • Pinky Poinker
    February 16, 2015

    P.S. I’m reading The Girl on the Train and LOVING it. Did you put me on to that?

    • Debbish
      February 16, 2015

      Yes! I think Rachel made me feel much better about myself!!! 🙂

      • Pinky Poinker
        February 17, 2015

        I’ve almost finished it. I’m feeling sorry for Rachel at the moment but I’m suspecting Tom at this stage, of being more than meets the eye. Gosh it’s good!

        • Debbish
          February 17, 2015

          Lots of book bloggers have been giving it rave reviews and it’s attracting a lot of publicity! Glad you’re enjoying it!

  • shelleyrae @ Book'd Out
    February 16, 2015

    I was surprised to learn about the earthquake, it is pretty unusual for up your way, though we had a tremor about this time last year.
    Good luck with your new career path, I’m sure you will find your way.

    • Debbish
      February 16, 2015

      Very unusual Shelleyrae! And thanks! xx

  • readerbuzz
    February 16, 2015

    Oh my, that We Will Rebuild photo made me laugh!

    Have a lovely week.

    Here’s my It’s Monday!

    • Debbish
      February 16, 2015

      Ah yes… we’re good at making fun of ourselves! 🙂

  • Nise' (Under the Boardwalk)
    February 17, 2015

    I would love to be on that beach! Best of luck as you begin this new journey.

    • Debbish
      February 17, 2015

      Thanks Nise. It was actually a lovely day and not too hot!

  • Char
    February 17, 2015

    It’s probably wrong to say this but I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to experience a local earthquake. I’ve felt one in Los Angeles and another in Wanaka but earthquakes here are few and far between. I’m glad it wasn’t very strong and caused so little damage.

    • Debbish
      February 17, 2015

      Am sure there’s still time Char! Actually a couple of people in Brissy commented on feeling a minor tremor – alarm went off and dogs started barking etc.

  • MarthaE
    February 17, 2015

    So glad there was no real damage from the quake.
    I hope finalizing the job decision brings you some peace. And I hope you will find a more promising and engaging endeavor.
    Happy reading in the meantime!

  • glambooklounge
    February 17, 2015

    Glad you’re fine. 🙂 I love your honesty in the post about your worries about being too emotionally dependent on your mother. You strike me as someone who is very aware and honest with herself.
    Have you looked on your local Craigslist job section? There’s a subsection called “writing gigs”. They usually don’t pay much but it’s a nice supplemental income.
    Glad to hear Chimes is rewarding even though it’s challenging. 🙂

    • Debbish
      February 17, 2015

      Not sure if Craigslist exists here in Australia – but you’re right I need to check out some writing opportunities. (Scary!)

      And I just posted my review of The Chimes – it took forever and I’m still not sure I nailed it!

      Deb

  • Jess
    February 17, 2015

    I love that meme, hilarious! I am excited for your change, quitting a job is a big, scary step, but often a very positive one! I am also looking forward to your review of Carla’s book!

    • Debbish
      February 17, 2015

      I must check with Carla / Roni to see whether they mind if it goes up early. Most publishers ask for reviews to only be published a couple of weeks before a book is released.

      x

  • Lindsey
    February 18, 2015

    Good luck with the big decisions you are making right now! It’s scary to make changes but it’s so good when we find the things that are best for us. 🙂

I'd love to hear your thoughts