My Little Brother Runs a Marathon!
Last weekend Matt and I headed to Brighton to watch my little brother, Thomas, run the Brighton marathon. My Mum and Grandma were there as well as Thomas' girlfriend and her parents so there was a real crowd of us to cheer him on. This was the first marathon he'd ever ran and the first I'd ever seen so I didn't really know what to expect. I didn't expect the amount of walking we'd have to do to cheer him on although I could hardly complain seeing as he was running a marathon! The weather managed to stay bright for most of it and I even got a slightly sunburnt face. The atmosphere was lovely and I was so proud of Thomas for finishing it. He'd never really done any proper running until last year but he set himself a goal and it was awesome to see him complete it. Here are some photos I took of the day.
Wednesday Challenge Update 11.04.12
Wow, it has been a really long time since I last posted one of these updates. I don't know why I haven't sat down and written about my challenges because I have been keeping up with them. So this is now going to be a long post I'm afraid just to catch up.
The books
Dooms Day Book - Connie Willis
This was a book that Matt shoved my way when I was debating what to read next. He has a large collection of books that I'm trying to read instead of buying too many new ones for this challenge. I found this book a little longer than I would have liked, I felt like it was stretched out too much in the middle. Over all though it was an awesome concept (it's a kind of historical fantasy type thing) and I did enjoy it, I just felt like it could have got to the point sooner.
Dayworld - Philip Jose Farmer
I think I read this entire book in one day. I really like the general idea of dealing with overpopulation by giving each person one day. The descriptions of the practicalities of this particularly appealed to me. It was easy to read and I was sad to get to the end of it. I think there is a sequel though so I may have to track that down.
The Demi-Monde: Winter - Rod Rees
This book was much more difficult to get into but about half way through something clicked and I found myself excited for the next one. A mixture of fantasy, history and sci fi, the Demi Monde is set in a virtual world comprising of a mixture of 'dupes' and historical figures such as Henry VIII and Reinhard Heydrich. Originally created as a military training ground, something has now gone wrong and the President's daughter is now trapped in the Demi Monde and must be rescued. Definitely worth reading.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and other Stories - Robert Louis Stevenson
I found myself really struggling to read this one. After hating the language to begin with it ended up being one of the things I loved most about the stories. It was particularly challenging in The Merry Men, one of the other stories in this collection, which was partly written in a Scottish dialect. I loved the ideas of man's duality brought up on all of these stories and I'm glad that I branched out and read something different. I'm trying to push myself in this challenge and read both more than I would usually and also a greater range.
Some Danger Involved - Will Thomas
Yet another book that Matt encouraged me to read. Yet another one I loved. I've been really lucky that I haven't read any bad books yet this challenge. A detective novel based in Victorian London, there's a definite Sherlock Holmes thing going one but that's OK. It's intelligent, witty and hard to put down. This story was centred around Cyrus Barker, the main character, hiring an assistant and trying to solve a crime where a young Jewish scholar is crucified. The first of five books, I've read the second one as well and will start on the others soon.
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Another book that I managed to finish in one day. Matt bought the entire Hunger Games trilogy after we went to watch the film last week. I'm glad he did. It was easy to read and hard to put down. I don't think that it is the best piece of literature out there but it was fun and enjoyable. The concept is interesting and the characters are good too. I read the second one of these as soon as Matt was finished with it.
To Kingdom Come - Will Thomas
The second book in the adventures of enquiry agent Cyrus Barker and his assistant Thomas Llewelyn. I really enjoyed this one as well although if I'm honest not as much as the first one. This time Barker and Llewelyn set out to infiltrate a secret cell of the Irish Republican Brotherhood known as the Invisibles after a bomb destroys the Special Irish Branch of Scotland Yard. This one was just as clever and I enjoyed the glimpses into the character's pasts but for some reason it just wasn't quite as good as the first book. I'll still be continuing with the series though.
The First Time: True Tales of Virginity Lost and Found - Kate Monro
This was the first non fiction book that I've read for this challenge and I really enjoyed it. There are such a range of stories in the book from a wide range of sources. It was an enlightening read and full of surprises, I only wish there were more stories as I just wanted to keep on reading them.
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
This is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy and I actually enjoyed this one more than the first. I felt like it was a little meaner, in a good way, and I enjoyed delving into the politics a little more. Still wish it would go a little further but it was definitely a fun way to waste an afternoon. Once again very easy to read and I'm looking forward to seeing how the next book pans out.
So there we have it. The past nine books that I've read. I'm currently on 15/50 (30%) which, according to Goodreads, is 2 books ahead. I just need to post them here more regularly because that took a lot longer than I thought updating that many in one go. I still have to catch up on the film challenge but I think that needs a post of it's own. I'll try and post it tomorrow.
The books
 |
| Image from Goodreads |
This was a book that Matt shoved my way when I was debating what to read next. He has a large collection of books that I'm trying to read instead of buying too many new ones for this challenge. I found this book a little longer than I would have liked, I felt like it was stretched out too much in the middle. Over all though it was an awesome concept (it's a kind of historical fantasy type thing) and I did enjoy it, I just felt like it could have got to the point sooner.
 |
| Image from Goodreads |
Dayworld - Philip Jose Farmer
I think I read this entire book in one day. I really like the general idea of dealing with overpopulation by giving each person one day. The descriptions of the practicalities of this particularly appealed to me. It was easy to read and I was sad to get to the end of it. I think there is a sequel though so I may have to track that down.
 |
| Image from Goodreads |
This book was much more difficult to get into but about half way through something clicked and I found myself excited for the next one. A mixture of fantasy, history and sci fi, the Demi Monde is set in a virtual world comprising of a mixture of 'dupes' and historical figures such as Henry VIII and Reinhard Heydrich. Originally created as a military training ground, something has now gone wrong and the President's daughter is now trapped in the Demi Monde and must be rescued. Definitely worth reading.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and other Stories - Robert Louis Stevenson
I found myself really struggling to read this one. After hating the language to begin with it ended up being one of the things I loved most about the stories. It was particularly challenging in The Merry Men, one of the other stories in this collection, which was partly written in a Scottish dialect. I loved the ideas of man's duality brought up on all of these stories and I'm glad that I branched out and read something different. I'm trying to push myself in this challenge and read both more than I would usually and also a greater range.
 |
| Image from Goodreads |
Yet another book that Matt encouraged me to read. Yet another one I loved. I've been really lucky that I haven't read any bad books yet this challenge. A detective novel based in Victorian London, there's a definite Sherlock Holmes thing going one but that's OK. It's intelligent, witty and hard to put down. This story was centred around Cyrus Barker, the main character, hiring an assistant and trying to solve a crime where a young Jewish scholar is crucified. The first of five books, I've read the second one as well and will start on the others soon.
 |
| Image from Goodreads |
Another book that I managed to finish in one day. Matt bought the entire Hunger Games trilogy after we went to watch the film last week. I'm glad he did. It was easy to read and hard to put down. I don't think that it is the best piece of literature out there but it was fun and enjoyable. The concept is interesting and the characters are good too. I read the second one of these as soon as Matt was finished with it.
 |
| Image from Goodreads |
The second book in the adventures of enquiry agent Cyrus Barker and his assistant Thomas Llewelyn. I really enjoyed this one as well although if I'm honest not as much as the first one. This time Barker and Llewelyn set out to infiltrate a secret cell of the Irish Republican Brotherhood known as the Invisibles after a bomb destroys the Special Irish Branch of Scotland Yard. This one was just as clever and I enjoyed the glimpses into the character's pasts but for some reason it just wasn't quite as good as the first book. I'll still be continuing with the series though.
The First Time: True Tales of Virginity Lost and Found - Kate Monro
This was the first non fiction book that I've read for this challenge and I really enjoyed it. There are such a range of stories in the book from a wide range of sources. It was an enlightening read and full of surprises, I only wish there were more stories as I just wanted to keep on reading them.
 |
| Image from Goodreads |
This is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy and I actually enjoyed this one more than the first. I felt like it was a little meaner, in a good way, and I enjoyed delving into the politics a little more. Still wish it would go a little further but it was definitely a fun way to waste an afternoon. Once again very easy to read and I'm looking forward to seeing how the next book pans out.
So there we have it. The past nine books that I've read. I'm currently on 15/50 (30%) which, according to Goodreads, is 2 books ahead. I just need to post them here more regularly because that took a lot longer than I thought updating that many in one go. I still have to catch up on the film challenge but I think that needs a post of it's own. I'll try and post it tomorrow.
Easter Sunday
We had such a lovely Easter Sunday this year. There was not a chocolate in sight and we headed out to Bowood to spend some time together exploring outside. Although the weather wasn't great we managed to avoid getting rained on.
Since there’s an adventure playground near the entrance most families didn’t get any further and so we had the gardens to ourselves for a while. I took advantage of this by taking a lot of photos. I even managed to get this very mature photo of a statue’s bum!
We took a lovely stroll by the lake, enjoying the day, the scenery and the company. I stayed away from the geese though, they scare me a little. After the lake were a few caves and then a wander through the house (which I forgot to take any photos of).
Since there’s an adventure playground near the entrance most families didn’t get any further and so we had the gardens to ourselves for a while. I took advantage of this by taking a lot of photos. I even managed to get this very mature photo of a statue’s bum!
We took a lovely stroll by the lake, enjoying the day, the scenery and the company. I stayed away from the geese though, they scare me a little. After the lake were a few caves and then a wander through the house (which I forgot to take any photos of).
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