thursdaythunks

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by THE THURSDAY THUNKERS!!!!!

These questions were submitted by last week’s Thursday Thunk’s participants! (so don’t blame Kimber & Berleen for the quality of the questions…..)
1. Have you seen the new Star Trek movie, and if so what did you think? Yes, and I loved it so much I’m going to see it again and am thinking of hiring myself out as a person to go with for people whose partners don’t want to (if that makes sense….)

2. Which popular sitcom character (past or present) are you most like?The Vicar of  Dibley, in shape and size at least

3. What kind of dreams do you have? Ones that I can’t remember

4.Bugger it. Go get a tattoo and come back. Right, now answer me this, what ees eet? A dragon, Chinese Imperial type preferably. But it will so never happen, I hate tattoos..

5. Do you think you could be on American Idol with the singing voice you have now without any voice training? No, I can’t sing at all (and don’t you have to be American to be on American Idol, so I’d fail that test ….)

6. How much wood, would a woodchuck chuck? If a woodchuck could chuck wood? The equivalent of a caber

7. If you were a tree in a Dr. Seuss book, what would you look like? Short and fat (and potentially grumpy)

8. Twilight? I’m addicted/Who cares/What the hell is Twilight? Who cares

9.Do you think Kimber and Berleen do a dube while writing these questions?
 Wouldn’t care to comment, but whatever floats their boat

10. What the worst injury you’ve ever had? Nothing worse than a sprained ankle, thank goodness.

11. What is your favorite dessert? There are so many to choose from, but at a pinch a really good quality chocolate mousse.

12. What do you prefer…beach or mountains? Mountains

13. What movie have you seen that still make you cry? Most of them, actually, I’m notoriously sentimental. White Christmas always does it though (we’ll follow the old boy wherever he wants to go).

14. Why are you making me submit a question? Are you too lazy to think of one yourself? Thought of one actually, can you guess which one it is?

15. how often do you do laundry? It seems like it’s every day….

16. What is your favorite movie of all time, and why? The Nightmare Before Christmas, just because….

17. If you won a million dollars in the lottery, would you keep working? No, I would do something different with my life and let a person who needs a job have mine

18. If there was a war of the gummies, would you be on the gummi bear side or the gummi worm side? Bears every time

19. What’s your favorite comic strip? Doonesbury

20. Close your eyes… imagine you are in the perfect room/place… describe it. It’s a library with books from floor to ceiling, Tiffany lamps, leather armchairs, Persian rugs, the works. And one day it will be mine!

….to be continued next week…. (you didn’t want all 40-some questions this week, did you?)

im-a-weekly-geekSo I thought to myself this week’s task doesn’t look too difficult, I just need to pull together a post on writers from my home town – how hard can that be? After all, Paisley has got lots of well-known people – we have actors (Tom Conti, David Tennant, Gerard Butler); we have musicians (Gerry Rafferty, Paolo Nutini) and of course we have footballers (especially the great Archie Gemmill). But writers, well….

I found three, one poet plus two who are more screenwriters than authors but I don’t care, I’m going to stretch this theme as far as I can!

  • Robert Tannahill, weaver and poet from the late 18th and early 19th centuries with a political bent, tragically died by his own hand as poets are wont to do…
  • John Byrne, parter of Tilda Swinton, playwright and artist, responsible for one of the best and funniest BBC TV series of the 1980s i.e. Tutti Frutti which is finally being relaeased on DVD this year.
  • Steven Moffat, writer of some of the very best Dr Who episodes since the series was revived, taking over full responsibility with the new Doctor in 2010 and an all-round good bloke.

thursdaythunks

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Kimber, taken over by Berleen, the color carrot orange and the number 94.
1. You are at the store when suddenly 2 men walk in with guns and rob the place. Are you the hero, quiet & follow the rules type, or try to make a run for it? I am definitely the terrified beyond the capacity for reasonable thought and therefore paralysed by fear type. Honestly.

2. Do you like Twizzlers? No idea

3. Are you a YouTube watcher? Occasionally, catching up on comedy or music; some great old Kate Bush stuff on there from a TV special around 1979 or 1980  which I had seriously come to believe I had imagined as no-one else remembered it. Until I saw clips on YouTube.

4. When an auto glass store calls you and asks if you have a chip or crack in your windshield, what do you tell them? “That’s weird; I don’t have a car.”

5. What is the age difference between you and your father? 28 years

6. Have you ever tried to find the end of a rainbow? Yes, but it keeps moving

7. Camping – recreational vehicle or tent? I will never, ever, ever go camping.

8. Have you ever had to call 9-1-1? No

9. Who is your favorite blog in the Thursday Thunk bloggers to visit? Don’t like to play favourites, and I don’t always get to them all (or indeed any of them)

10. How long do you think you could live locked in your house on the food that you have on hand right now? Depends on how hungry I get…

11. Pepper – shaker or grinder? Grinder

12. What state (or country if you are not in the US) is 2 states west of you? Canada, I think, but geography was never my strong point

13. What color do you believe you look best in? Black

and once again… next week is Thursday Thunkers Questions… so….

14. What is your question submission for next week? Have you seen the new Star Trek movie, and if so what did you think?

bookshopSo after the excitement of Star Trek on Sunday at the London IMAX, a short walk to the South Bank for dinner was followed by a mini-spree in a local bookshop which resulted in the purchase of a few more books, showing that my good intentions have almost certainly been thrown completely out of the window. The Bride’s haul consists of:

  • The Logic of Life by Tim Harford – a follow up to the Undercover Economist which I enjoyed last year. This is about how we all make decisions and what the economic impulse underneath those decisions might be;
  • The Double by Jose Saramago – so you’re watching a rented video and you see an actor who is identical to yourself in every physical way. You go and look for them, don’t you?
  • Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose – a guide for people who love books and for those who want to write them, according to the subtitle blurby thing, and what could be fairer than that? 

btt2Last Saturday – May 2nd – was Free Comic Book Day, so some questions around that topic:

  • Do you read graphic novels/comics? I certainly do, love them to bits. I tend to read graphic novels simply because I am never organised enough to (a) find out about something in the comic world coming up before issue 1, and (b) even if I did manage that I don’t have the necessary geeky discipline to make sure I get every issue.
  • And on that note, the only difference in my mind between comics and graphic novels is format. But that may be a bit simplistic.
  • And for the friend who has never tried graphic novels? Well that’s a difficult one because it depends on whether they are into fantasy or not, because most of my stuff is in that genre. I started with The Dark Knight Returns and that’s what I’d give them, or anything Sandman, or what I’ve just lent to my friend The Silvery Dude, 1602. There’s Maus, of course. And Watchmen. Where to stop?

thursdaythunksThis week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Berleen & Kimber via Skype, the color cranberry (is that a color?) and the number 1,999,784,926,901.

1. Why the heck did you come back this week to do this meme? I am nothing if not a glutton for punishment. 

2. Ever whiten your teeth? Nope

3. Do you drive the speed limit? Can’t drive (yes I know but we can’t all do everything and London’s public transport system is fine for my needs thank you very much)

4. Did the dog eat your homework? Occasionally, but it was usually kidnapped by aliens.

5. How many bites does it take to get to the center of a watermelon? Depends on how big your mouth is and I am not saying (although friends and family would no doubt have a view).

6. Did you eat paint chips as a child? No; chocolate chips, though, that would be me.

7. If someone rang your doorbell/knocked on your door at 1am, would you answer it? Certainly not, that’s what my husband is for.

8. “Amazingly Smooth” makes you think of what? Either a really good single malt or someone I’m working with at the moment.

9. What was the last stupid thing someone said to you?(not counting this meme’s questions) Are you Scottish? (duh, like the accent wasn’t a giveaway….)

10. Would you eat a stick of butter for $100? No, don’t like butter and don’t need $100 (or equivalent) that badly.

11. Find the nearest fabric tab, not counting your clothing you are wearing. What does it say the object is made of and where was it made? 100% cotton, made in Hong Kong

12. What is the strangest name you’ve ever heard someone name their child (or a person you met… however you want to answer it)? Luxley (it’s a boy in case you’re wondering)

13. Why is some toilet paper really soft and others are really hard? That’s just life I guess, you have to take the rough with the smooth….

bookshopYesterday, in honour of the Bank Holiday, I went on the first book spending spree that I’ve had in a long time. I haven’t been writing much about new books simply because I haven’t really been buying any; the Book God’s largesse at Christmas and my birthday at the end of January satisfied my cravings, and I was determined to make inroads into the tbr pile which now resembles nothing so much as the Great Pyramid.

But yesterday was a public holiday close to payday, and I found myself in a book shop and just had to succumb.

The spoils were:

  • The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen – following on from my recent post I just had to get the next one in the series, possibly to hold for August Crime Month
  • Henry by David Starkey – my love for the sixteenth century is well-known and I’ve been watching Starkey’s series on TV so this was a bit of a no-brainer
  • Bloomsbury Ballerina by Judith Mackrell – this has been on my wishlist for ages, snaffled now that it’s out in paperback; and
  • A Literature of Their Own by Elaine Showalter – British women writers from Charlotte Bronte to Doris Lessing – ’nuff said.

Not a bad haul for someone who really wasn’t intending to get anything at all – well, maybe Henry was always in the cards, the others were a bonus!

Who was I rooting for in Monsters vs Aliens?

What did The Doctor find on Planet of the Dead?

Am I better off not Knowing?

Will I miss The Departed?

Did the Mothman Prophecies ring true?

Head here to find out….

theprofessorsdaughterjoa49143_fSo, you are the daughter of a nineteenth century professor, and the ancient Egyptian mummy owned by your father wakes up for the first time in 3000 years or so; what do you do?

Well in this case you dress him up in Dad’s top hat and tailcoat and swan around London arm in arm, all the while falling in love. But inevitably there are misunderstandings and parental disapproval on both sides to stand in  the way of true love. Plus Her Majesty Queen Victoria ending up in the Thames…

This is a lovely book, a sweet story beautifully illustrated and, according to the blurb inside the cover, best enjoyed with romantic company and a pot of fine Darjeeling (though I would always go for Earl Grey myself.)

themephistoclubtessgerri48096_fSo, cards on the table, I really, really like Tess Gerritsen. I like the fact that her two main recurring characters are women. I like the fact that her books are pacy and easy to read. I like the fact that the plots are nicely judged so that they are a bit (but not too) complicated. I like the fact that there is just enough bloody murder to satisfy the gorehounds but not so much that the crime fan who’s a bit squeamish about the whole serial killer thing will be put off. The Mephisto Club fits the bill, and I lapped it up.

I’m not even going to attempt to explain the plot because the whole point of a good crime/detective novel is not to know what’s going to happen in advance and then having the fun of trying to work it out yourself. So here we have dismemberment, ancient symbols, mirror-writing, revenge, evil, an elite group with a mysterious purpose and all the right connections, a long-buried secret, and lots and lots and lots  of blood. What’s not to like?

I absolutely adore anything with a decent secret society; even though I don’t believe any of them really exist, the idea of  some kind of cabal running the world, or at least a little bit of the world, or maybe just having influence in a particular sphere, manages to be both comforting and worrying at the same time.

Failed once again to work out the murderer but still huge fun.

Bride of the Book God

Follow brideofthebook on Twitter

Scottish, in my fifties, love books but not always able to find the time to read them as much as I would like. I’m based in London and happily married to the Book God.

I also blog at Bride of the Screen God (all about movies and TV) and The Dowager Bride, if you are interested in ramblings about stuff of little consequence

If you would like to get in touch you can contact me at brideofthebookgod (at) btinternet (dot) com.

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