Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

I've been reading a lot the last few weeks. I wrote about it briefly - in this 09 August 2015 post - however didn't elaborate all that much. I haven't even updated Goodreads (which is where I keep track of what I read and want to read) to show or share what I'm reading. Those who know me won't be surprised that I'm reading Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series and loving it. Starting to get to the last few books and have to say I almost want to take a break from reading just so the series will last longer! All this reading means I haven't been blogging much, haven't shared many posts on Twitter and have barely updated Facebook. And honestly, while I try to keep up to date with what's going on in the real world, I find myself thinking more about what's going on in MZB's fictional world than our real one. So, here's a quick post today with a few quotes about reading... The quotes were all found on Goodreads . “The more that you ...

Stormqueen! by Marion Zimmer Bradley My rating: 5 of 5 stars Interesting, intriguing. A story with a clear line to it, no jumping about from scene to scene, no confusion. Reading the Darkover books in the order they were written in has been a little confusing, however thankfully there are others who've read the books before me, have written notes about the books, who help me understand and take away some of the confusion with handy maps and explanations of who's who. This book did not feel like a confusing jumble as some of the other (earlier) Darkover books have, it felt like a clear story with a beginning and an end, a story I enjoyed reading and felt a part of. Although the story of Darkover intrigues me and I am determined to read all the books, I am glad that in this book I was able to get to know the characters, to really get into the story and feel that I was part of the action. View all my reviews

The Struggle Within by Christopher L. Bennett My rating: 5 of 5 stars Very much enjoyed this story. My only complaint is that it was not nearly long enough! Found the Kinshaya story fascinating, the Talarian story a little less so, although equally interesting. View all my reviews

The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet by Alicia Silverstone My rating: 5 of 5 stars Enjoyed reading this book and checking out the recipes. Before starting to read, I already agreed with a lot of what Alicia Silverstone says about the way we eat, what we put in our own bodies and the way we (humans) treat, use and abuse other living beings. A lot of what this book explains makes sense to me and sounds very logical. Still, I'm not an expert on nutrition or anything like that, so judge for yourself! I highly recommend reading The Kind Diet, if only because it's important that we all think about what we eat and where our food really comes from. View all my reviews Goodreads may not be the place to share my thoughts on eating meat or consuming dairy, however my personal blog - most definitely the right place! I'm not much of a meat-eater myself. Would say I'm about 95% vegetarian, actually. If not more than that...

I love it when a plan comes together... Err... No, wait... I mean... I love it when someone else likes books / authors I like! Six authors mentioned on this list of Paranormal Staff Picks. And five of those six write books (and series and short stories and...) I really, really really (really, REALLY really) enjoy! Five authors I love and one I've never read. Guess I know whose books I'll be looking up today! * Doing a Happy Dance while heading over to Goodreads... * Check out Paranormal Staff Picks from Hope Ellis - Penguin USA Blog Posted by Anne Bishop's Courtyard on Friday, 12 June 2015

“There are two types of writers: those who make you think and those who make you dream”  ~ Brian Aldiss In context: “There are two types of writers: those who make you think and those who make you dream” says Brian Aldiss, who made me dream for such a long time with his science-fiction books. In principle I believe that every human being on this planet has at least one good story to tell his neighbor. Paulo Coelho on How You Can Become a Better Writer | Time Magazine I've read my fair share of books - good ones, great ones, unforgettable ones, awful ones, tearjerkers, page-turners... Some books resonate with me more than others, some I remember better than others, some I simply can't put down. When it comes to my favourite writers, they all write books that fall into the 'can't put down' category. Because I want to know what happens next, on the next page and in the next chapter. All writers on my 'favourite writers' list write books that make me ...

Being of the Field by Traci Harding My rating: 5 of 5 stars There are some authors whose next book you simply must read no matter what, because you enjoy their work and the way their minds work. Traci Harding is one of those authors. I've been a fan of her writing and her thinking for over a decade now (fourteen-ish years? Seriously? Wow!) and while sometimes a character makes me wonder if maybe they're not too perfect (and good at almost everything to boot!), it is the story that keeps me coming back for more with every book. Traci Harding takes her readers on an amazing adventure that I hope will continue through many more books, stories, characters, countries, worlds and universes. I enjoyed getting to know Taren, Lucian, Zeven and the rest of the crew of AMIE. They were new characters yet felt like old friends - books two and three explained why that was, exactly. I actually squealed and couldn't stop smiling upon realising where these books were taking me. The ideas t...

Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop My rating: 5 of 5 stars I very much enjoyed this book and loved reading more of the adventures of the well-written characters in this series. Meg's development was very interesting to read about; getting to know more of the Others was lots of fun and the way the blood prophets learn to find their place in the world made me both happy and sad. I would love to live in this world and get to know the many Others who inhabit it. The way the Others see the world makes so much more sense than the way the humans live and makes me wish humanity in the real world thought more like the Others in this book. Loving the land and living in harmony with nature and each other makes so much more sense than attempting to destroy, dominate and control both the planet and other beings. I wrote this last month about the same book and thought I'd include it in this review: Brilliant. Awesome. Amazing. Heart-wrenching. Sweet. I love Anne Bishop's work and the intri...

I loved this quote when I read it! “Only a female could be as calculating and have the foresight that destiny requires,' the gypsy explained. 'Now fate is a man,' he went on, 'no planning, just go with the flow and see what tomorrow brings.” ― Traci Harding, The Dragon Queens

"Knowledge, surprising as it sounds, begins with the unknown. With accepting how little you know. A few drops of humility, I've learned, can save me from an ocean of arrogance! Then, with a touch of curiosity... a person can learn and grow endlessly." Excerpted from: The Wisdom of Merlin by T.A. Barron (Philomel Books) Source: " The Secret To A Meaningful Life In Just 7 Words " Article by Alena Halll | The Huffington Post

As much as I love eating cake, adoringly gazing at photos of delicious-looking cakes and other gorgeous food is lots of fun too! This cake makes me hungry, makes me want to visit my nearest library and may be one of my favourite cakes ever! Yum! Post by Title Wave . In case you can't see a photo above this text, click here to visit the Title Wave Facebook page to have a look at this super-gorgeous Library Cake for yourself!

Dracula by Bram Stoker My rating: 4 of 5 stars I tend to enjoy books featuring magic, vampires, were-animals and supernatural creatures. Not because I'm such a big fan of horror and gore, but because I like reading about worlds similar to yet different from our own where people live mostly as we do, however with several huge differences. Dracula did not disappoint - I enjoyed the story and am glad I finally read this classic. Written as a series of diary entries (and letters and a newspaper article) by the main characters, Dracula is a gripping tale and kept me reading right until the very last page. I like the Diary format as it allows one to really see events from a character's point of view; to get into their heads and experience events as they lived them. Even though I knew (in general lines) what would happen in the story, I still wanted to read a very detailed diary entry of how those events would play out, simply to experience the book to its fullest. This book w...

Fair Game by Patricia Briggs My rating: 5 of 5 stars A fun and interesting read that I enjoyed a lot. Possibly one of the best books set in this universe. View all my reviews

Burka en Blahniks by Ebru Umar My rating: 5 of 5 stars Wat een heerlijk boek om te lezen! En wat een heerlijk oprechte schrijfster zonder blad voor de mond of politiek correcte non-mening! Zo lang mogelijk uitgerekt maar nu toch echt (twee keer!) uitgelezen. Een ding weet ik zeker: Ik haal dit boekje over een paar maanden met heel veel plezier weer uit de kast. View all my reviews

I love language and especially love reading books and stories that play with language or show the author's love for language. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is one such story. I'd known the story of Alice in Wonderland for years before actually sitting down to read the book as an adult. What struck me was not only how much I enjoyed the fun and craziness of Alice's adventures, but how much I enjoyed the author's way with words. The simple yet exquisite beauty of the words on the page as they come together into a whimsical whole is simply amazing to me. Source: Quote HD.com I also love tales set in magical or fantastical worlds like the amazing Anne Bishop's Black Jewels books or J. R. R. Tolkien's extremely intricate world of Middle Earth . Alternate realities are very interesting to explore as well, worlds that are similar to yet different from our own. I like how they often provide great insights into our own world and our own thinking, despite so...

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan My rating: 5 of 5 stars I've put this book down countless times since I started reading it, intending to start again from the beginning and take notes. It's almost like I'm afraid that without doing some serious prep work first, I might miss something or not quite understand the historical context of a situation. Yet the book keeps drawing me back in: Looking at it turns into reading a few sentences turns into reading another chapter. The writing style makes the book easy to read, there are plenty of in-text references to ensure I don't need (to take) notes and learning more about the revolutionary Jesus that Aslan describes keeps me coming back for more. "Zealot" bring the Holy Land of Jesus' time almost close enough to touch, which makes it an entertaining, interesting and thought-provoking book. UPDATE: Having read through the Notes section and finished the book, I am even more amazed at t...

Book of Psalms: With an Interlinear Translation by Menachem Davis My rating: 5 of 5 stars I very much enjoyed reading the Psalms and working on my (very basic) Hebrew at the same time. While reading left-to-right English from right to left can be confusing, I have to admit that the directional arrows helped me adjust easily, just as the introduction promised. The interlinear translation makes the Hebrew easy to connect with while ensuring that the English-language sentences make sense to the eye and the mind. View all my reviews

I'm a Very Happy Trekkie !!! Took a bit of searching online but finally managed to find a few new (to me) Star Trek books that I've been lusting after for ages! To celebrate that I woke up from open heart surgery a month ago today, I figured I deserved a present. And what better present for a Star Trek fan than four new books. I'm super happy! Finding the next four books looks to be a bit of a mission - the online bookstore I got the first four at was the fourth store I visited, however that's a mission for next month. For now I'm just hoping my books will get here soon! Want to know what I'll be reading - Check out these Star Trek : Typhon Pact books here!

Het is zaterdag avond. Ik zit op de bank, laptop op schoot. Lees een recensie over een (voor mij nieuw) boek dat ik wil lezen. Het boek klinkt goed. De moeite waard om te downloaden via Project Gutenberg . Niet bepaald een nieuw boek aangezien het (legaal) online te downloaden is maar hopelijk wel een leuk en interessant boek! Ik lees een aantal theorieën over Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden. Ik lees over wie het nou gedaan heeft en waarom. Over wie er doodgevallen is, wie er springlevend is. Nog een paar uur wachten tot het antwoord van week 6 dat op zondag bekend moet worden. De aanwijzingen deze week leken met Wiet te maken te hebben over het algemeen. De titel van deze week is echter "Het Bewijs" dus wijzen de aanwijzingen nu naar de dader of naar een overlevende? Maandag is me niet helemaal duidelijk. Degene die langs de beveiligingscamera loopt lijkt voor mij Nina of Wiet te zijn. De reactie bij het laten vallen van de tas zou van beiden kunnen zijn, denk ik. Volgens...

I am looking forward to reading Reza Aslan's newest book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth , a book exploring the life and teachings of the historical Jesus. Although I am not a Christian and do not believe that Jesus is or was the son of God, I am interested in world religions, Biblical history and Israel, which makes Jesus a very interesting person to learn about. If time travel existed (and my time machine had a Tardis-like translation circuit...) I would love to head to the Galilee or (how awesome would that be: ) to the Jerusalem of Jesus' time to experience for myself what life was like back then and to find out in what kind of a world he lived. I would love to be just a face in the crowd, one of the many who congregated to hear Jesus speak or see for myself if what people were saying about him was true. How amazing would it be to actually meet the man behind the legend, to see the expression on his face as he talks, explains and teaches, to listen to word...