In My Mailbox (5)

This meme is hosted by The Story Siren.

Today I've been to Kyneton and back with the boy, dropping some books off for an event. It's a lovely drive, straight up the highway north of Melbourne, through Macedon and past Hanging Rock--Hanging Rock, that infamous picnic spot where Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay is set. In 1900, several boarding-schoolgirls go missing. Some are found with no memory of what happened to them, and others are never seen again. It's a very creepy tale and an Australian classic, and one I must get around to reading one of these days.

It's a warm, cloudy day in Melbourne, but freezing and wet in Kyneton. I was only too happy to scurry back to the city, the supermarket for some supplies and then onto the video store. It's going to storm tonight, so we stocked up on some old favourites and some new ventures: Aliens, The Amityville Horror, the first season of Firefly, I, Robot and Premonition. Of these I've only seen Aliens, which I love and is the boy's favourite of the Alien films. Mainly because of Bill Paxton, who he adores in this role!

It was a slow one this week in terms of books. The floor in front of my bookshelf is stacked with books to read, so I can hardly complain. One book for review, Hollywood is Like High School With Money by Joey Dean. This was an unexpected arrival and not exactly my thing, but I'll dip into it anyway. The second is Space Demons by Gillian Rubenstein, a classic urban fantasy middle grade book from 1987 that I must have read several times as a kid. It's actually signed by Rubenstein herself, to "Tim". Bought from eBay.

I'm halfway through The Demon's Lexicon. All I've read is how much people love this book, but I'm flagging. I can't seem to warm to Nick and the writing's rather drab. I'll persevere, but today I'm giving myself a little treat and reading World War Z in the intermittent sunshine and watching the storm clouds roll in. Ah, Caturday night at home!

Last night at a party I was talking to a couple of lovely and well-read women who belong to a book club that meets at our local pub. As my own book club is now defunct I've been hoping to come across another. I haven't joined yet as this month's book is The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (big fat yawn). I'll find out what next month shall bring and possibly have a few literary Chardies with them. ("It's pronounced Caaaaaar-ddonay, ya pack of shunts.") We bonded over a mutual love of Day of the Triffids, and Brave New World and A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian.

Tomorrow I'm going to the Northcote High Street festival. Drinking and dancing in the streets, huzzah! My friend Natasha is hosting a champagne brekky and then another friend, John Beta, is doing a DJ set at the Social Club. I hope the rain holds off.

I love spring. Especially weekends in spring. Happy Caturday to all!