I feel like I got a really early start on the Christmas books this year, but that I have done a lot less Christmassy things so far, at least compared to last year. Maybe it's because I wasn't working this time last year so I have more time. Or maybe I am just not in a Christmassy mood yet!
August to November
1. Will You Stay Another Day? by Samantha Tonge (my review)
2. Winter Nights at the Bay Bookshop by Jessica Redland (my review)
3. So This is Christmas by Helen Rolfe (my review)
4. Lost Stop on the Winter Wonderland Express by Rebecca Raisin
5. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
6. Christmas on Fifth Avenue by Julie Caplin (my review)
7. A Christmas Gift by Sue Moorcroft
8. A Family for Christmas in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen (my review)
9. The Midwife's Christmas Miracle by Fiona McArthur
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Books I hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes. I don't ask for books so I am sharing the last ten Christmassy books I have read!
Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki - I didn't realise this was a Christmas book when I decided to read it, but it really is. It is set in the week leading up to Christmas and features talking cats, astrology and amazing sounding food!
Golden Girls on the Run by Judy Leigh - Our Golden Girls end up helping to organise a nativity play in this book (my review)
The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan - How does getting stuck for Christmas in a crumbling Scottish castle which is full of books sound to you?
Christmas at Hollybush Farm by Jo Thomas - When a community comes together at Christmas, anything can happen. (my review)
Life Begins at the Cornish Cottage by Kim Nash - This is another book with community events at the centre, especially a Christmas pantomime (my review)
Good Spirits by B K Borison - This is a spin on the idea of the ghost of Christmas past visiting our main character but this is a ghost with a difference.
The Midwife's Christmas Miracle by Fiona McArthur - My favourite part of this book was the metal ornaments that our main male character was making for our female lead.
A Christmas Gift by Sue Moorcroft - This book features a Christmas play! (my review)
A Family for Christmas in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Christensen - I love it when we get to read about Christmas as it is in Australia. Warm days and nights, maybe some time by the pool or the beach. (my review)
Christmas on Fifth Avenue by Julie Caplin - I would love to visit New York at Christmas, but if I can't, reading this book has definitely taken me there! (my review)
I have more Christmas books that I have read this year, but these are the last ten. What I didn't do this year is listen to Hogfather by Terry Pratched or The Secret History of Christmas by Bill Bryson. These have been part of my Christmas traditions over the last few years but I just couldn't fit these audiobooks in this year!
My difficulty in deciding which book to read next continued, which was a bit more heightened given I didn't have much reading time this week.
In the end I started reading Hot Desk by Zara Stoneley. I have read and loved two books by this author under her other author name, Sue Heath, but it is my first Zara Stoneley book. I was kind of surprised that my library actually had any of her books. I hadn't actually looked but when I was at another library for an event, I noticed that they had one of her books on their shelves, which inspired me to look at my library catalogue, and voila! This one was there waiting for me1
I did also read a couple of chapters of One December Morning by Emma Davies but I haven't made it very far yet!
I'm watching
December 21 is affectionately known as Gravy Day to many Australians, thanks to the lyrics of a song called How to Make Gravy by Paul Kelly. Last year, a movie also inspired by the lyrics of the song came out but I only got around to watching it this week. It's definitely not a light and fluffy Christmas movie which given the story in the song about a man in prison writing to his brother asking who's going to make the Christmas gravy.
Here's the trailer:
Life
Given that I only changed jobs in August and I have already had a holiday since I started, I don't have any leave entitlements. I am therefore working through the break and so I am only getting the public holidays off. That meant cramming all the Christmas shopping into one day on the weekend.
We did have our end of year event for work last week. It was a bit different from the Christmas events I have been to for my previous employers. There were musicians, a magician, wandering oyster shuckers and so much more!
For 2025 I have decided to have a go at Spell the Month in Books which is hosted at Reviews From the Stacks. The link party opens on the first Saturday of the month, but I won't be posting until after that as I already have other things scheduled every Saturday and for the first two Sundays of the month. I will be sharing this post with Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz.
The theme for this month is Giftable. The biggest challenge is finding three E books!
D - Dinner by Nagi Maehashi - We have been cooking out of this cook book for more than a year every week and I am sure anyone could find recipes to cook out!
E - Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson - This book is funny, irreverent and the start of a series, so you could give someone the next book next year as well! (my review)
C - I am cheating with this one but picked it because it is a lot of fun and is now part of my Christmas tradition. I think I totally get away with it because after all the C in December sounds like an S anyway! Secret History of Christmas by Bill Bryson
E - Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell - This is an older book but it was on that gives you all the feels. It is also a YA book so would work for a range of giftees. (my review)
M - Me Before You by Jojo Moyes - Another book with all the feels. I have read, and loved, this a few times now! (my review)
B - Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - This might be something a little different but it gives Japanese foodie charm vibes. (my review)
E - Emma by Jane Austen - maybe a lovely special edition in honour of Jane Austen's 250th birthday.
R - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt - I would recommend the audio of this one. The guy who does the voice of the octopus was exceptional and he is voicing in it the upcoming movie!
I hope that you all get the books you want as gifts this year!
Welcome to another entry in my irregular event, Afternoon Tea Diaries.
Earlier this year my husband and I visited Oxi Tea Rooms and were blown away by the afternoon tea experience we had there. I do use the word experience deliberately as it wasn't just nicely presented food. The food items were mini pieces of art, and there was a fun interactive element as well. I posted about that afternoon tea here.
When I was trying to find a place to catch up with some friends pre Christmas, I thought this would be a great place. The good thing is, the Oxi Tea Rooms menu changes regularly so while it was another great experience, it was different to the first time we went.
The theme this time was Palate Through Time. The pre set afternoon tea menu was called Before and took us on a culinary journey through different times and places. If we had of wanted to also indulge in the a la carte menu, these had a theme of Beyond. These items looked spectacular but we didn't get to taste them.
The idea was that each item on the board represented a time and place across ten different eras either through the way it was presented, or the flavours or both
Here's the list of items that were included in the Before menu
2500 BC - Ancient Egypt - flatbreads, confit mushrooms, herbed salad
100+500 BC - Ancient Rome - barley, cured king fish, pickled red ginger
Once again this was a multi sensory experience. There were little glass jars on the table that were colour coded to match with each of the courses (except for the first one). In the jar, there was a piece of rock that had been infused with a smell that matched each of the courses. The idea was that you smell the rock and then eat the food and that you then have an enhanced flavour experience. It was going well until we realised that one set of our jars had the lids mixed up.
In the picture above, you can see the horse which was the Colombian era, the curried chicken pie tart, and the sponge cake. In the bottom picture you can see the Ancient Rome cured fish and the lavender dessert. As you can hopefully see they are all exquisitely presented, and for the most part they were all delicious. I didn't love the last one or the lavender one, and my favourites were probably the Elizabethan pie tart and the sponge cake.
It isn't afternoon tea without tea, and this is one aspect of the experience that didn't change. There were more than 30 different types of tea which we were invited to smell to make our choice. There options vary from Taiwanese oolong tea, to Kenyan tea and South African rooibos tea. I can't remember what I chose last time, but this time my selection was a roast peach tea. I seem to be going through a bit of a peach phase at the moment.
The tea that you selected was then brewed two ways. The first cup of tea was brewed using a traditional Chinese brewing method and then the second cup was brewed using a futuristic machine called a teapresso.
The day we went, it was the very end of the Palate Through Time menus. It was changing a couple of days later to a menu called Victoria: The Place to Be which highlights the produce from our state. This menu is available until April. I am definitely planning to go before the menu changes again. And probably when it changes to the next menu as well.
Weekly meals
Saturday - Away for the weekend Sunday - Away for the weekend Monday - Roast beef rolls and gravy Tuesday - Pressure cooker spaghetti bolognaise Wednesday - Pork Stir fry Thursday - End of year function Friday - Takeaway
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is Books On My Winter 2025-2026 to-Read List. Of course, I live in a land Down Under my to-read list is for summer!
Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees by Aimee Nezhukumatathil - This is the current Cook the Books selection and I am listening to this on audio.
The Croatian Island Library by Eva Glyn - This will be my first blog tour for next year
Flashlight by Helen Choi - Currently buddy reading this one with Bree from All the Things I Can Read.
The Oyster Catcher by Jo Thomas - I started this a while ago but I had to take it back to the library before I finished it.
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters - This has been on my TBR list for a long time.
In the Paris Fashion by Sophie Beaumont - I really enjoyed Sophie Beaumont's previous Paris books so I am looking forward to this one.
Yours Cheerfully by A J Pearce - I loved the first book in the Emmy Lake series so I have high hopes for this one.
My Big Greek Island Ex-Scape by Sandy Barker - This book comes out early next year and it sounds like a lot of fun1
The Arctic Curry Club by Dani Redd - I saw these books on someone's blog last week! This is the only one I can get in Australia
Jean Plaidy - My read on a theme book club theme for January is a childhood favourite. I think I have decided to revisit my high school reading days when I obsessively read every Jean Plaidy book my library had! Big decision is which one! I am leaning towards The Goldsmith's Wife, mainly because I have two copies of that one!
I finished Golden Girls on the Run by Judy Leigh which was a lot of fun and which I reviewed here.
After that, I pretty much hit a reading wall. I think it is because I don't have any more due dates for blog tours etc so I looked at the 50 books or so that are at the top of the various folders (amongst the thousand or so that I have on there) and couldn't decide which book was next up.
It turns out though, that a delayed flight and three hours sitting at an airport, can help with that. I read Best Wishes From the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki, which is the second book in the Full Moon Coffee Shop series and is set at Christmas.
I then quickly read the epilogue to Helen Rolfe's Best Days of Our Lives which was lovely.
On the way home I read The War Time Book Club by Kate Thompson. I have had a couple of her books on my TBR pile for a long time and I have to say I am wondering why I waited so long!
I'm watching
I haven't watched my normal number of Christmas movies yet this year and I can't see that changing this week which is a shame. I did watch Tinsel Town which stars Keifer Sutherland and Rebel Wilson as well as a few familiar British actors. It is about a washed up American action star who ends up in a small town doing pantomime. It was a bit of fun but if I was given away prizes, the prize for worst Yorkshire accent goes to Rebel Wilson. Here's the trailer
We did go to the movies to see a delightful documentary called The Golden Spurtle. It is all about the World Porridge Making Championships which is held in a small Scottish town of Carrbridge each year. You would think that a movie about porridge might be a bit stodgy but it was a lot of fun! We bought a spurtle when we were in Scotland but we haven't used it yet. Here's the trailer
We watched the first episode of the second series of A Man on the Inside with Ted Danson. We really enjoyed the first series and I hope to watch more this week!
Life
We did a quick trip up to Brisbane this weekend to do Christmas with the kids before they start travelling to their Christmas destinations!
We had dinner at a lovely restaurant and then we went to the beach with Nala, the golden retriever who used to live with us! Oh, and the kids and their partners!
