Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell Bookray

Wow!  It's been almost a month and I haven't received anything from any Bookcrossers until today.  This is amazing!  And it felt a little like April; where I received nothing at all.  So, this month is at least populated with one thing that came through the mail.

Now, this is a bookray that is held on Bookcrossing.  This is where a book goes on a permanent holiday without an ending until nobody else really wants to read it and then it's returned to its own - unless the owner advises the last person to keep it and do whatever they wish with it.  Pretty fun stuff, eh?  Well, today, I journaled the book (this means, I put in the number in the front and let everyone else know it arrived) and now this afternoon, when it rains again, I'll be getting into the first chapter or so.  

Thank you shnedwards in the UK for letting me onto the long list of other BCers to read this one.  It's been on my Wish List to read for a long time, but now, it can be removed.

From Releanna's Trip to Dublin!

Today is a cold, overcast and miserable day here in Brisbane; and we all found it hard to get out of bed.  So, it really brightened my day when I opened my PO Box and found a parcel waiting for me inside.  

Releanna had put up a giveaway for some souvenirs from her Dublin trip for us Bookcrossers and I put my name into it.  And what a lovely little parcel of prizes they are!  I'll love using the bookmarks and absolutely enjoyed the postcard; and will definitely attach the 'Finbaaad' phone charm as soon as I get a protective cover for my phone (so the screen doesn't get scratched; my last one broke).

Thank you again for the lovely prize, Releanna!  You're a wonderfully generous BCer!

Mixed Favourites Book Baggies Returns Home

There are times when I have the fun of organising a Book Baggie.  Sometimes it's themed; sometimes it's not.  This one was a Mixed Favourites one.  This means you can toss in any book you loved reading and recommend to anyone to read.  I also included a little pink plastic pencilcase that was for any goodies that may be collected and swapped along the way.

When I posted the baggie off four months ago around Australia, there wasn't much in the pencilcase and the baggie was full ( and I think it was a 5kg bag).  And it came back in a 3kg bag bursting at the seams with books; as did the pencilcase.  And just look at the amount of books that you all sent to around to each other, checked out, swapped and packed back in!  The last person on the list - Juli2007 - must have had a little trouble with packing the bag as when I unpacked it on the kitchen table, I couldn't re-pack to take it upstairs.

There was so much in the pencilcase too!  From a mini-bible to teas, moisturisers, sunscreen, bookmarks, ear-rings, stickers (loads of those!), magnets and other cute things!  And the books were of a wonderful assortment!  I even got two of my own back... how brilliant the world works.  And the funnier thing was that I couldn't fit the pencilcase on the table with the books; and so had to take a separate photo of the contents... how's that for amazing?

Thank you all for taking part and for all the wonderful goodies that came back home safely... well, I do look forward to next year's 'Mixed Favourites Book Baggie'... don't you? 

Vampire Books Trade Between Scotland and Australia

I really do enjoy vampire novels; they are so wonderfully written and are also a lot of fun to get into and write.  And seeing I've been reading some ordinary books, I just jumped at the chance to trade some of the books I had in my shelves that I had read with another vampire book lover from across the miles.  

Chucklesthescot in Paisley, Scotland offered up any of her vampire books as a trade with anyone who had some others she hadn't read.  So, I offered up two of mine that I haven't read and didn't see myself reading in the near future (one is a vampire novel by Maggie Shayne and the other is a zombie novel). 
Well, her books arrived today at my PO Box.  And I'm dying to sink my teeth in to them!  I'm currently reading another book first.  However, once I'm through it, I'll get into these ones before too long!  Thank you so much for the trade Chucklesthescot!

A Pressie From Tuesdayal.

I haven't received much this month in the way of RABCK's or Bookrings.  So, it's only been two very-well received parcels; and I really do appreciate mail from all over the globe.

And today, I made the quick dash to the post office to check the mail and found a well-stuffed envelope waiting for me.  When I pulled it out of my PO Box, it sounded like it had beads in it, so I opened carefully and found an old glo-mesh wallet in it.  I haven't seen this style of glo-mesh before; but I think it's called studded glo-mesh.  Now, this wallet has been very-well used and is missing a few of its pieces, but I will add it to my collection (actually, I'll be putting it with the delicate section of my collection.  It's a section where it'll be cared for in the best way and away from sunlight).  Thank you so much for sending this through the mail to me, Tuesdayal.  I really appreciate it.  I will most definitely keep it and care for it in the best possible way.

A Big Bag of Goodies!

Wow!  It's been such a long time since I received something... a month or so!  And this morning, I felt really down as I have new neighbours who are making me feel very depressed because of their attitude toward me.  So, it was a total surprise to find a parcel pick-up card in my PO Box when I arrived at the Post Office; and an even bigger one when I found out it came from Julie2007!  

Thank you so much for all the great goodies inside this one from your desk clean out!  There's ear-rings, rings, post-it notes, joke American $1 note and Australian stuff.  I found all kind of bracelets and a tiny deck of cards along with dozens of others cute things too.  Just have a look at the photos!  I couldn't fit all the things into one photo and had to take two separate ones to make it all fit!  Wow!  And Julie2007, you gave me some great stuff to put into the Surprise Parcel I'm giving away soon.  Thank you so much for this!  

2nd Prize Winner!

I love winning things; and when I do, I love receiving the parcels in the mail that says I've won! And this book is one of those things I've won; a second prize in fact. I entered a competition on Bookcrossing for on of the members on there whose birthday is on St Patrick's Day and came 2nd! Now, I love it when there's more than one prize; as I sometimes do draws where there's more than one prize. And it's even more exciting when the prize winners don't know who's getting what.

Today, this 2nd prize came in the mail for me. I'm so happy that it's the book I wanted too! Yay! Thank you so much goofbunny for sending me 'Getting There' by Sue Williams. Travel books are the next best thing to actually go there... and seeing I don't travel as much as I used to, I love to read about it. I'll be getting my nose into this in the next year or so.

Books to Commit To!

I've had a common problem in recent weeks and it's getting worse. I'll start a book, get a few chapters in and then put it down because it'll be good, but not great. But then today, I collected the mail to find two wonderful Douglas Adams books waiting for me! And what's more, they're both bookrings - so I have to read them! What a great thing to get me going again in the reading arena!

Well, I have anathema-device to thank for this... you wonderful bookring of 'The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul' and 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'. I'll be getting my nose into the first one today; and breaking my lack of commitment to reading. Thank you again for setting this up... and another thank you goes out to VampireQueen because this parcel came from her.

A Tolkien From South Africa

Today, I had an average day in the city. I went on a blind date off the internet, then looked around a second-hand bookstore next door to the place we met up at and bought piano music - jazz & blues, not soundtrack stuff. Then, I talked to a lovely uni student on the bus on the way home who has the best attitude towards life; he's a wheelie and hasn't let it stand in his way to study what he wants.

Once off the bus, I remembered I needed to get to the post office and purchase some envelopes and check my mail. In the box was a blue parcel pick-up card. So, I did just that and picked up a cool Tolkien book from South Africa! Thank you so much klaradyn for sending this to me! I'll add it to my collection of JRR Tolkien books here in the office. And I'll have a read of it once I get myself in 'The Silmirilion' (I think that's how it's spelt).

A Kalman RABCK from Western Australia

Today, I woke to a dull morning. Before 8am, it was drizzling with rain and I knew it wasn't going to get any better than this; and I had to go out. So, I ate breakfast and took the walk to the chemist, checked out the thrift shop for a book that was falling apart (and I found one perfect for my collage I have in mind) and found another really nice book by Stephen Fry. Then, I headed to the post office. Inside the PO Box, I found a blue pick-up card and so I went inside and did just that. I was handed a 3kg Australia Post satchel. At first, I thought it was my book baggie I had going around Australia; and thought it had returned kinda light and really quick (because goofbunny is the last person on that list). Then, when I got it home, I got Stevie out of her cage, sat her on my shoulder and opened the parcel. Inside was another parcel which I opened carefully. Once I got it opened, the bird and I found three beautifully wrapped books with an envelope that had been sealed with wax! We slipped out from between the wrapped parcels two sheets of books labels with Stevie's cute little face on it from my Bookcrossing bookshelf! How wonderfully cute is that?

Goofbunny! I gotta say, thank you very much for this! I wasn't expecting all this from you. Not only were there three books: 'Parrot and Olivier in America' by Peter Carey, 'Psycho House' by Robert Bloch and 'I Sing The Body Electric' by Ray Bradbury; but there was a pair of watermelon ear rings, two magnets, a bookmark with a carrot reading a book in an easy-chair, some gift tags and a strip of Ballycumber stickers. What a parcel! I love it! And two of the books are hard covers! Thank you again!