Winter Reads
With one month left to make the most of the cosiest reading time of the year, here are some of my newest reads. For books: a high school reunion with a difference + a pandemic survivor and his dog. In magazines: the always delicious Fete + Mollie Makes blogging issue. New-to me blogs: Raspberri Cupcakes & Sonia Styling...read on for more :)
An unusual mix of books for me this time round...an Australian book about friends from boarding school who reunite at a funeral to discover what happens at school never stays at school. On the flip side, a novel about a pilot and his dog...surviving a massive flu epidemic that leaves almost no-one behind...following a freak radio transmission he picks up in on a standard patrol flight. I picked it up because I loved how he wrote about his dog...I'm not normally one of `end of the world' type sagas but this one kept me gripped!
Under the Influence by Jacqueline Lunn: The past is never history. Eve Hardy is exactly where she wants to be in life. She is a successful concert cellist for the Royal Opera, living with her handsome partner in his London apartment. Everything is possible. Sarah lives in Sydney with her husband and two young children. She thrives on being the centre of their world. When the sudden death of their old school friend Meg brings them back together for her funeral in country New South Wales, it is time to face the past and the secret they all shared. A secret that began at boarding school with that girl, Rebecca Thornton - beautiful, wanted, gifted at maths, English and spotting losers who didn't know they were losers yet. A schoolgirl secret that changed the women they became. Sometimes, you can bury your past. Sometimes, the past tries to bury you.
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller: Hig somehow survived the flu pandemic that killed everyone he knows. Now his wife is gone, his friends are dead, and he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, Jasper, and a mercurial, gun-toting misanthrope named Bangley. But when a random transmission beams through the radio of his 1956 Cessna, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life exists outside their tightly controlled perimeter. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return and follows its static-broken trail, only to find something that is both better and worse than anything he could ever hope for.
I have a thing for the winter editions of lifestyle magazines. For some reason they're always my favourite, followed closely by the autumn edition. Maybe because they're always full of comfort food and ways to stay cosy...where it's all about embracing extra layers (coats...blankets...that sort of thing). So I've been waiting for Fete mag eagerly...and it seems many others have been too as they're sold out online so if you're lucky enough to spot one on a shelf somewhere...grab it and don't let go! :) This one features, amongst other things, a family getaway with Brooke Holm in Canada (love her photography!) and a behind the scenes look at Temple and Webster.
I've also been getting a lot out of this special blogging edition of Mollie Makes. It approaches blogging from the ground up if you're looking to start your own...includes interviews with much loved bloggers (including our very own Pip!)...and tonnes of stuff on photography and social media. It's huge...I'm only half way through and I think I'm going to have to read it twice...the second time to go back and check out all the good stuff shared like apps and new-to-me blogs and design resources. It's about $18 but I've gotten so much out of it already that I thought it was worth it...even from my halfway point :)
Lastly, some new blog subscriptions that I've been exploring. I was drawn to Raspberri Cupcakes via a reference to cookie monster macarons...and discovered Steph was a Sydney-sider with a love of sugar similar to my own so I couldn't help but subscribe...I can't say no to an Aussie food blog...especially one as pretty as this! Totally want the cake currently on the front page.
A friend from work has shared so many posts from Sonia Styling with me that I decided it was high time I added her to my Feedly folder. I hardly ever add fashion/beauty blogs but this one I like. She gives good advice, does giveaways, and I like a mix that includes plenty of lifestyle posts as well. Plus it never hurts that she has a super cute dog as well :)
So there you have it...a bunch of stuff I've been reading lately. I'd love to hear what's on your Kindle/nightstand/magazine pile at the moment? :)
You Might Also Like: Winkelen & Flow (Favourite Online Magazines) and Reading in Autumn