Stories & Shout-Outs #13

After taking a bit of a break from joining in things - to give myself time to get ready for AusReading Month in November (warm up post coming very soon) - a few bookish events, readalongs and readathons have now come along and caught my eye.

The fine folk in Canada recently celebrated Science Literacy Week. Their website had a great list of science books to browse - check it out. My wishlist just got in touch with its inner big bang theory and exploded!

Naomi @Consumed By Ink is also getting into the 2017 Giller Prize longlist which celebrates fine Canadian literature.

I've been eyeing off the 100 Day Project for a few years now, but I have never been able to come up with an original idea let alone being capable of actually sticking something out for a hundred whole days!

Kim @Sophisticated Dorkiness decided to tackle the challenge this year with 100 bookstagram reviews on instagram. She writes about her experience here. I really enjoyed watching and reading her 100 days - it was a huge achievement and very inspirational.

It's big excitement time for the upcoming October 21st Dewey Readathon. They're hosting a #30DaysofReadathon to get everyone in the mood. Post it, instagram it, tweet it - share the buzz!

There's a L.M. Montgomery The Blue Castle readalong with Consumed by Ink and Sarah Emsley coming up too. The idea is to read (or reread as the case may be) the book before November so that you can blog/tweet about it with Naomi & Sarah using #ReadingValancy.

I don't need much excuse to reread The Blue Castle, but their timing is impeccable. Because I cannot read The Blue Castle without revisiting it's Australian cousin, The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough...which is a perfect book for this year's #AusReadingMonth with it's Blue Mountains setting.

I do agree with Naomi though, The Blue Castle has never had a good cover. Mine is a shocker.

I spotted this fab post with an amazing infographic (below) from Global English Editing about World Books last night. They've listed the most iconic book set in 150 countries around the world. Their choices will no doubt garner much discussion and debate, but personally I am very happy to see Cloudstreet represent Australia and delighted to see Pride and Prejudice come out on top in the UK.

I would have preferred to see Huck Finn instead of Tom Sawyer for the US. Japan's Tale of the Genji is about the twenty-third time I've now been recommended this as a must read book before visiting Japan, so I guess I should look into that some more.

I also liked the mix of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and plays in this list. For anyone, like me, who likes to read books in or about the country they're visiting, or hoping to visit, this is the perfect way to scratch that itch!

During our recent time in Cuba, we stayed with a friend of a friend and her husband in their B&B in Trinidad. They were incredibly generous and welcoming hosts and we had a ball the two nights we stayed with them. Hurricane Irma has had a huge, but fortunately not drastic, effect on their home and garden, Casa Los Mangos.

Fiona writes about their experience of living through the storm here.

Today I learnt about the difference between a tiger snake and highland copperhead. Our neighbour thought this might have been a baby tiger snake thanks to the shape of its head. But after posting the pic on instagram, a snake handler came back to me with the correct identification.

This particular baby copperhead was spotted on the top step of our mountain getaway on the weekend. Baby or not, it scared the bejesus out of me!

I consider myself to be very lucky - nearly 50 years of age and this was my first up close and personal with a snake - a cute little, sleepy, sluggish baby snake at that! The best kind.

Wishing you all a reptile-free, rewarding reading and blogging week.