Nicole (NicolePatrick) attempts 75 this year (again)

My name is Nicole, this is my second year in the 75 Books Challenge group. In 2014 I struggled to find my feet and only managed to read 28 books. This year I hope to better manage my time between uni/work/housework/life so that I am better able to fit more reading time into my day.

My top 5 books from 2014 were:
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier
The Farm by Tom Rob Smith
The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles de Lint
Seven Wild Sisters by Charles de Lint

A honourable mention goes to The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor



The above image is of two beautiful Paperblanks journals I received for Christmas from my mother along with a feather quill from my husband.
You can also find me on instagram where I hope to upload beautiful photos of my reading progress throughout the year (nicpatrick1987).

Welcome back and I love the picture of the journals and feather quill! Beautiful!

Welcome back!

Dropping by and leaving a star. Beautiful picture!

lkernagh:Thankyou. I am so in love with the journals, I have my eye on a few more beauties to purchase once I have filled these two.

drneutron:Thankyou for having me back :). Hopefully I can do a bit better this year.

Samantha_kathy:Thankyou for dropping by. I will have to come and visit your thread :)

Hi Nicole! I'm also a second year 75er.

Planting a star and hoping to get to know you this year.

Welcome back Nicole.

I am just about to bury my nose in the world that is Middle Earth. My husband and I just watched the last instalment of The Hobbit movies so I figure it is about time I read (for the first time) The Fellowship of the Rings. I am lucky enough to own a beautiful cloth bound edition which was released in November of 2013. I am so looking forward to this, seeing how much I love The Lord of the Rings and all in that franchise.



SuziQoregon: Thank you for stopping by my thread. I managed to find you and place a star so as not to lose you in the craziness of the 75 Group. I look forward to getting to know you also :)

SandDune: Rhian, thanks for stopping by. I seemed to have lost your thread in the latter half of 2014. Hopefully I can keep up this year. A happy new year to you :)

I've got The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings on my planned reading list for this year. I have heard that the Hobbit movies weren't really true to the book - apparently lovers of the book felt Bilbo's cleverness had been downplayed in favor of more action, which missed the whole point of the book. On the other hand, the Lord of the Rings trilogy seems to have been fairly true to the book, although with less characters. To be honest, I haven't seen any of the Hobbit movies yet, I think I will only after reading the book. Have fun reading the books!

>8 NicolePatrick: Hope you enjoy The Fellowship Of The Ring! It's on my TBR list too, I also love the movies and am sure the books are even better...

Happy New Year, Nicole.

Hi!
I hope you enjoy reading The Fellowship of the Ring. I love those books (and that universe) so much. Just be prepared that the first half or so of TFotR can be a bit slow to get through. There's a lot of walking and not really so much action. There's a reason a lot of that was cut from the movies... Still a tremendously great book. I need to re-read them - someday.

Happy New Year, Nicole! Those journals are gorgeous!

Happy New Year, Nicole!

Wow, that feather quill is gorgeous, and so is the diary.
I too have challenged myself to read The Lord of the Rings this year, and I am quite looking forward to it, I think.

I'm following you on Instagram :) I loved the pic of the Hobbit book and the ticket to the Hobbit movie, it's a neat idea.

Happy new year Nicole. Good luck with your reading hoals!

I hope you enjoy The Fellowship of the Ring - it's been many years since I read it.

I just wrote wonderful replies to you all and my computer chucked a hissy fit and closed my internet browser. Here come the replies, take two.

Samantha_kathy: You are right in regards to the Hobbit movies not being true to the book, I was only have this discussion with my cousin yesterday. However, if you disregard that fact the movies are quite good in their own right.

LibraryLover23: I am also sure the books are even better than the movies, as is the case most of the times. I am itching to find out.

BLBera: A very Happy New Year to you too :)

PawsforThought: Thank you for the warning about the slowness of the first half. I only read a little last night and I am still plugging away at the first bit before the book proper, something about the history of hobbits. It is quite interesting but I am looking forward to getting into the more action based parts of the book.

scaifea: Happy New Year to you too. Aren't the journals just beautiful, I think it has started something of an obsession. I need more!

lkernagh: Happy New Year to you too. Hope you had a great night :)

ronincats: Thank you Roni :)

kaystj: Thank you, I am so in love with the quill and diary's. I love writing with and in them. Thank's for following me on instagram, its something new and exciting to me, I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon enough. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on TLoTR, when you do get to reading them :)

The_Hibernator: Thank you, happy new year to you too. Wishing you all the luck for completing your goals too.

SuziQoregon: Thanks Suzi, so far so good :)

1. Roger Ascham and the King's Lost Girl by Matthew Reilly 65 p (AudioBook)

In this special prequel to Matthew Reilly’s The Tournament, Roger Ascham, the unorthodox tutor of Princess Elizabeth, is charged with tracking down a favourite prostitute of King Henry VIII’s who has gone missing.

This is a bit of a first for me, first "book" of 2015 and first audiobook I have ever listened to. I was given this audiobook by a local book seller as a free gift, along with another audiobook. I have not read The Tournament, but from listening to this, I think I might like Reilly's writing style and may just go a pick it up at some stage. The story was well read and very engaging, although very short. A very nice way to spend my drive to work, much nicer than listening to terrible music on the radio.

Hello Nicole, welcome back and Happy ROOTing.

I love the diaries and the quill. Lovely matching colours

>21 connie53: Thanks for stopping by and the well wishes, Connie :)

>19 NicolePatrick: Hang in there! It's gets better. Once they've hung around at Tom Bombadill's house for approximately a million years things pick up. And the history might be a bit of a slow read but it's nice info to have - makes the story fuller.

>23 PawsforThought: I am actually quite enjoying the journeying, we have left Tom Bombadill, I thought he was quite an interesting character.

2. Poison Study by Maria V.Snyder 361 p.



This book is a re-read for me from one of my favourite authors. Snyder is releasing a long awaited new book in this series, so I am reading this series and the spin off series in preparation. For some reason this series is one of my all time favourites and re-reading this book did not leave me disappointed, its the first book I have been able to get through in some months.

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...

Reading this book was like reuniting with old friends, it left me feeling warm and cosy, took me back to the time when I first encountered the series and devoured it. Poison Study has left me hungry for more.

>25 NicolePatrick: That series is still in my TBR. Good to hear it's one of your favorites!

Ah, Poison Study. I liked that book, but I have not read any of the sequels -- I read somewhere that there is no Valek in the second book, so I postponed it indefinitely.
How about you? Did you find the sequels worth reading, and if so, would you recommend them?

>25 NicolePatrick: I love The Poison Study and Glass series and I can tell you Shadow Study is just as good. You are going to love it! :-)

I'm afraid I could not suspend disbelief enough to swallow the romance in Poison Study and so have never continued the series.

>27 kaystj: There is a bit of Valek in Magic Study. And I would definitely recommend the series but I am biased because I love it so much.

>26 connie53: I look forward to reading your thoughts on the series when you do get to it.

>28 SapphiredDragon: How have you read Shadow Study already!?!? It's not released here until March, so jealous.

>29 ronincats: i can see why you feel like that Roni and normally something like that would probably annoy me but in this case I can seem to get over it and just enjoy great story telling. If we all liked the same things life would be boring :)

>30 NicolePatrick: I got an advance copy to review for my blog and even though its not due out till march and I can't post the review till the end of this month. I had to read it right away :-)

>31 SapphiredDragon: You are so lucky! I cannot wait!

3. Magic Study by Maria V.Snyder 390 p.

With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways—and her newfound friends and relatives don't think it's for the better....

Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magic training—especially as she's been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince—and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians.

If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies.... (Goodreads)

I think there really is no need for me to say how much I enjoy this series. I loved it. I need more. Enough Said.

Again a re-read :)

4. The Shifting Fog (The House at Riverton) by Kate Morton 599 p. (Audiobook)

Summer 1924

On the eve of a glittering society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again.

Winter 1999

Grace Bradley, ninety-eight, one-time housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet's suicide. Ghosts awaken and old memories - long consigned to the dark reaches of Grace's mind - begin to sneak back through the cracks. A shocking secret threatens to emerge, something history has forgotten but Grace never could.

Set as the war-shattered Edwardian summer surrenders to the decadent twenties, The House at Riverton is a thrilling mystery and a compelling love story.

I enjoyed this audiobook, but did not love it. The characters were nice. The story was interesting. I wanted to know what happened. But that was it. I did not feel and overwhelming urge to continue listening, I think the lady who read the story was okay, but her portrayal of an American accent grated on my nerves at times, she used a slow southern drawl, which made the apparently well to do Americans sound like country bumpkins. The main character, Grace was very likeable and I enjoyed listening to her view of the world.

I have a physical copy of The Secret Keeper by Morton, so I will be interested to see how it compares.

I now need to find another audiobook to listen to in the car, any suggestions?

I am always intrigued how some books have different titles in different countries, and not due to language translations. The title The Shifting Fog has a creepier, more gothic feel to it than The House at Riverton does, or maybe it is just me. ;-)

As for audiobook suggestions, I used the LT compare books feature to see what you might like that I have already read. According to the feature, it recommends The Golem and the Jinni, The Night Circus and The Martian... among a bunch of other books. Good luck choosing your next audiobook read!

>35 lkernagh: You are so right, I have no idea what the reasoning is behind the different names. Maybe the publishers thought The Shifting Fog would capture more readers as it sounds more mysterious.

I didn't know you could do a thing like that! I have already read the night circus, in 2013 I think, and to be honest I didn't much care for it. I think I will have to pop into the book store during the week and have a look at what they have. Maybe they will have more free samples? If I could be so lucky!

I accidently purchased some books, we went looking for a DVD of The Dictator and I ended up looking in the book section. Bad move, although I only picked up three and they are the first books to enter my house this year, so its not too bad.
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham
Last Woman Hanged by Caroline Overington

I am seriously looking forward to reading all of these, and quite soon I hope!

I am currently listening to The Assassin's Blade on audio book which I am quite enjoying. I am been meaning to finish the Throne of Glass series as this seem's like a good way to do it. You might like it if you liked the study series ( and haven't already read it of course :-P)

Hi Nicole. The Kate Morton was a very good read for me. Enjoy!

>38 SapphiredDragon: Thanks! I have been kind of wary of the Throne of Glass series because of all the hype. Maybe I should give it a go. I ended up picking up a non-fiction audiobook by Bill Bryson. I can't remember the name of it right at this moment though. Its quite interesting and funny so far.

>39 connie53: Hi Connie! Sorry I haven't visited your thread in awhile. I hope to pick up the Morton book soon.

5. Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder 441p.



I really did enjoy the third book in the series. However, the constant reference to the previous books grated on my nerves. I can appreciate that the references would be helpful in jogging your memory if there was a sizeable period of time between reading the books, but otherwise it was annoying.

Looking forward to the fourth instalment in the series. Cannot wait!