Lord Samper's Library

Posting a little later than normal because last night was weird... Every time I tried to do something I fell asleep but every time I tried to fall asleep... you guessed it. I'm taking it easy today then, a comfy chair and a couple of books should take care of it ;o) In the meantime, this week has been a bit of a weird one, in general, and whenever that happens, a few more books seem to find their way back to my place. Funny how that happens :o) Lets take a little look shall we? It's all a little Warhammer 40k this week with a couple of new(ish) releases and 'Scourge The Heretic' , a paperback that tried to hide away, in Oxfam, but didn't hide well enough; not from me... ;o) In terms of my reading today, I've already made a start on 'The Relentless Dead' and I'll be dipping into the 'Garro: Knight of Grey' novella in 'Flames of Betrayal'. 'Out There Screaming' is a collection that I've had my eye on for a little while. I...

Today was meant to be a 'book review post' but as you can see, I'll be aiming to do that tomorrow instead... Yesterday was many things but unfortunately, it wasn't a day for reading, let alone writing about what I'd been reading. It was more of a day for tying up loose ends at work and then watching a lot of 'Community' with my daughters; I enjoyed one much more than the other ;o) Anyway... So, while I try and carve a little time, out of the day, to catch up on my reading, why don't we take a little look at what I'm trying to make time to read? I've got no time for taking a chance, on books that might not work out, so it's a sweet little pile of books that I have here... It's early days for 'Splasher' but I have a weakness for puns so I've got high hopes for this book. It's certainly very readable so far :o) And my daughter and I finally finished Season 11 of 'The Walking Dead' the other day. This reminded me that...

It's been a 'bit of a week' and to be honest, I'll be glad to see the back of it. Good job it's Friday then ;o)  With various bits and pieces going on (mostly around tying up loose ends at work before I leave), my reading hasn't exactly hit a brick wall but it has slowed right down with the usual dose of 'inability to focus' and so on. I'll get it back though, I always do. In the meantime, and while I'm trying to figure out which pieces of work can be completed/handed over, I thought I'd revisit a series of posts that I haven't touched since March last year . Yep, it's time once again for me to show off a couple of shelves and see if I can come up with some 'interesting facts' about them. It might even remind me to actually read some of these books. Wish me luck...  Not so much a 'shelfie' then, I lost the final remaining shelf (in the move) so this is more of a... I don't know... It's wooden and it holds books...

We all know that I've spent the last week looking after my ex-wife's cats (at time of writing, only for a few more hours...) but what people may not know is that I've also spent the last week fighting a secret war. A secret war that I must always fight, if only because I've never managed to land the decisive blow. And this last week was no exception... Yep, it's summer and I've spent the week squaring off against at least one mosquito (likely more) that is quite literally out for my blood. The end result? A very fat, content mosquito and me heading out to find something to stop my legs looking like pepperoni pizza ;o) I couldn't sort that problem out but, no surprise to anyone, I ended up buying a few books instead. Of course I did... ;o) Presented by, well... I haven't named him yet but he was happy to carry on in the meantime. Anyway... As seems to be the rule these days, all three books were found in Greenwich Oxfam :o) I've always meant to read J...

Apologies for the blogging silence over the last couple of days... In the end, it just got so hot that I had to focus my energy on getting work done and just park the blog for a little bit. When I wasn't working, I was either taking a nap or watching the 'Chucky' TV show (better than I thought it would be); once I'm done with the third season, I'll see about getting a post up here ;o) And then it got to yesterday afternoon and I realised that I'd pretty much been stuck in the house for a couple of days (it's hot inside and out but 'inside' is a lot more comfortable). Greenwich is only down the road from mine so I figured I'd pop out and find a couple of bookshops with decent air-conditioning, or a big ol' fan up a corner. Yep, I bought books... I'd try and come up with a decent (and humorous) excuse but it is far too hot for that as well. It was the least I could do... ;o) Just a short one today as, well... You can see the photo ;o) '...

Today's post is brought to you by 'Tiny Apocalypse', shown here (for context) with his compatriots 'Slim Apocalypse' and, erm... 'Slightly Dusty Apocalypse'... 'Slightly Dusty' will have a name-change very soon :o) 'Tiny' and 'Slim' (who actually has extendable legs, which is awesome) came home with me after yesterday's visit to the Hilly Fields Fair in Lewisham. I love the Fair, partly because they have a petting zoo but mostly because they have loads of stalls, that sell all sorts of stuff, and I'm a big fan of browsing. My daughter isn't as big a fan but she's only young, she'll learn ;o) There were a couple of book stalls and while there wasn't a lot there for the likes of me, I did pick up a couple of books. And because it's me, I also picked up another book on the way home ;o) Lets take a quick look... I did read 'The Wounded Land' , way back in the day, (even then, I had a habit of reading se...

So, 'Walking Dead Night' didn't happen last night, and I was at a bit of a loose end so you can guess what happened next... An evening spent browsing my bookshelves and making a little TBR Pile, that's what happened next :o) Reading that last sentence back does leave me feeling like I should question where my life has taken me (it certainly didn't take me out last night...) but on the other hand, I love my bookshelves :o) Anyway... The occasional 'TBR Post' helps me stick with what I'm reading (rather than just reading a few pages of something and getting distracted by something else) so, lets take a look at how I spent my Friday night... Here's what I'm working my way through at the moment, you'll more than likely see posts pop up next week. 'Conan and the Living Plague' looks like it could be a bit of an improvement on 'The Emerald Lotus' and 'Alien Harvest' is... Another 'heist' story. I'm ok with that...

Apologies for the silence here over the last couple of days. I had to take a couple of days off work (sickness) and that spilled over into the weekend. I'd love to say that I caught up with some reading but that would be a complete and utter lie. I did catch up with a lot of sleep though so I still came out ahead of the game, just about ;o) Anyway... I'll be spending today browsing my shelves and adding a few select reads to the TBR pile, I may even read a couple of short stories, we'll see. While I do that... Remember, back in November last year, when I read Virginia Feito's 'Victorian Psycho' and really enjoyed it ? Well, it turns out that a film adaptation is on the horizon. If the film is half as good as the book, it's going to be a lot of fun. I'll be watching it, just to make sure ;o) Here's the trailer... Seriously though, you should read the book. You're welcome ;o)

Well, not really ;o) This blog tends to do better when I talk about books, not so much when the focus is more on my having a moan. Lets just say that the last couple of days have been pretty hectic (with a fairly equal split between fun stuff and... not so fun) and my reading has hit a bit of a wall as a result. There's a small pile of books, all of which I've managed to get a few pages into but no further. You know the story... ;o) Well, today is looking like a quiet one so the plan is to do something about that small pile of books. I'm not going to finish them all but hopefully, I'll get a couple under my belt and go into this week with a few things to write about. Fingers crossed... Anyway, lets take a look at that TBR Pile, Right now, it's looking like 'The Satan Pit' and 'Night Shoot' will be what I sit down with today, possibly 'The Boys' Omnibus (Vol 1.) as well, lets see. I've got no other plans at the moment. The other books are ...

I love a Bank Holiday weekend, especially after I've just spent a fairly stressful three weeks in charge of my team at work... I know it's tempting fate to say this but... I'm really glad that's done and that my boss will be back in the office next week. Yep, I said it :o) This Bank Holiday weekend has come at just the right time then. And what does this Graeme do when he has a little extra time on his hands...? Yep, exactly right, I took a little time out last night, to pick a few books that I'd like to take a shot at. I owed it to myself ;o) Lets take a look, shall we? This time round, I'm going for quick reads balanced out by a book that is ideal for what I'm hoping is a Bank Holiday where I just camp out in the comfy chair, all day long (it might happen). And it's not the book that you think it is ;o) This TBR pile is a little 'Doctor Who' heavy but they're fun reads and a great way to feel like I'm making inroads into a much larger T...

The answer is simple, When you remove the packaging and find that the book you ordered has somehow 'mysteriously' become this book while in transit... My first glance had me had me wondering if this was a tale of the galaxy's smallest policeman (because that is exactly how my mind works when I'm working from home and haven't spoken to anyone in hours...) but then I remembered the blurb, on the back, and that set me straight. It was an honest mistake though, especially as I've never read anything by Lois McMaster Bujold. It feels like everyone else probably has though, is 'The Vor Game' worth a read or would you start with something else instead. ?Leave a comment and let me know. (And not only did I get a refund from the seller, I don't have to return the book either. Not the luck I was looking for yesterday, but I'll take it)

Just a mini-reset, I bet you didn't even realize that I'd gone ;o) With one thing and another (and then another), last week wasn't a good one; mostly work stuff and mental health. I thought I'd give myself a little 'time off' this weekend, just to get my head straight. Still, new week and all that, fingers crossed for a better week this week. Let's see... :o) Backing up a little bit though. Payday was last Friday and that meant 'Walking Dead Night' (for me and my eldest) was accompanied by Dominos Pizza. It also meant that on Saturday, I was able to take my daughters to Greenwich for nachos and book shopping. They like nachos and I 'really deserved' a little book shopping ;o) Lets take a little look at what came home with us... The lady who runs the bookstall, on Greenwich market, saw me coming and immediately pointed me at the small pile of 'Doctor Who' books on the table. I've never read 'Time-flight' (and I've only...

Apologies for the lack of blogging yesterday! I'll be honest... After a spirited defense, this week finally got the better of me on Thursday night. Whatever book I was reading at the time (I can't remember), I just put it down and went to bed. And that left me with nothing to post about yesterday but you know what? Sometimes that's ok :o) I don't think I touched a book yesterday but that was ok too; I spent some proper quality time with my daughters and hung out with the kitten while she was coming off her anaesthetic (she had 'that' operation). The kitten is fine by the way, just really drugged up and a little more unpredictable than usual... It seemed like a good time then to have a little re-set of the ol' TBR pile and set some reading goals for the next few weeks. Notice I said 'weeks'... I got a little carried away, browsing the bookshelves, and there's no way that I'm going to finish this little lot anytime soon (especially as I'll ...

It hasn't been a bad week but it has felt like there's been more of it than I'd normally expect, mostly because I've been trying to fit five days of work into a four day week (Easter Bank Holiday Weekend and all that). I got there though and now I'm looking at a week's holiday next week, I reckon I'll do better managing my time there ;o) Anyway... I started things off yesterday with a trip into Greenwich and a little nose around the market for books and lamb samosas. I was successful in my hunt for lamb samosa (they were lovely!) but the market didn't really yield anything in the way of books. I mean, there were a few 'Star Wars' books but they all seemed to be 'middle of the series' books and I didn't fancy playing that game. Oh well, that's the way the 'hunt' goes every now and then. Luckily for me, a quick stop at the Greenwich Oxfam turned a 'fruitless book hunt' into a 'fruitful book hunt' so my plans ...

It been quiet on the 'Books for the TBR Pile' front just recently but like the title says, all it took was last week's payday (and a rough week at work, mustn't forget that) to kickstart the whole thing again :o) At least for now that is, I've actually been having fun 're-discovering' books and don't want to lose that. Anyway... The blog was all quiet yesterday, mostly because I made a concerted effort to sleep as long as possible (didn't set any records but that's ok) but also because I took myself into Greenwich for a little book browsing that inevitably became book-shopping. Lets have a little look at what came home with me... Three books from the Greenwich Oxfam and one from the Waterstones over the road :o)  Regular visitors to the blog will know that I already have a copy of 'The House On The Borderland' but what I didn't have was a copy of 'The House On The Borderland' with cover art by Ian Miller. I will never pass up...

It hasn't been a bad week but I'm really glad I've got a day, to myself, where the only solid plan I have is to sit in the comfy chair and read a book or two. Everything else is optional ;o) I'm coming out the other side of a bout of Warhammer 40K and 'Horus Heresy' reading so while I'm finishing a few bits off, it's time for my reading to head in a slightly different direction for a bit. Let me show you what's what... First things first, here's what I'll be trying to finish off today, I'm also reading 'Horus Heresy' instalment, 'Galaxy In Flames' but the spine proved to be very uncooperative, when faced with a camera, so... Here we are ;o) To be honest, 'Galaxy In Flames' is more than likely going to be a 'commuter read', later on in the week, so today, I'll be working my way through the rest of 'Ashes of the Imperium' . Look at the size of the book, there's no way I'd be taking it on ...

These posts seem to be helping, right now, in terms of my having a little something to aim for each week. So... Here we are again with a little look at my reading plans, for the next week at least.  Yep, that's a pretty ambitious 'Mini' TBR Pile, there is no way I'm even going to try and read all of those books over the next week (one or two will be a good showing). I had one of those moments where I was picking books up and others caught my eye at the same time... ;o)  I'll probably go for just one of the 'Doctor Who' books, I just can't decide between them at the time of writing this post. Any suggestions? And while I've had my eye on re-reading the 'Black Company' books for a while, the Book Stooges review of 'The Black Company' prompted me to finally take it off the shelf. I'm trying to avoid rash 'reading promises' this year but there may well be a re-read of the series... We'll see ;o) The Pile is also looking...

When I'm reading in my comfy chair, my attention inevitably wanders to the shelves and I find myself thinking, 'ooh, I want to read that next...' or 'I haven't read that in a while'. More and more these days, I also find myself thinking, 'no more books for you until you've read those two at least...' These books find their way to the 'chair next to the comfy chair' and that's where they eventually become another random TBR Pile. It also really bugs my eldest daughter who has to deal with all the books before she can sit down in her favourite chair :o) Anyway... That was a bit of a roundabout way of introducing you to my latest TBR pile, thanks for sticking with it ;o) TBR piles always look good in a photo so while I'm getting some actual reading done today, why don't you take a look at what could be featuring on the blog soon(ish). The usual disclaimer applies, this is the TBR pile until something shinier catches my eye ;o) I'...

It's not hard (at all), I just really needed a title for this post... ;o) Last week was an intense one but I got through it, yay me :o) Next week is looking like more of the same (hospital appointments along with some other stuff) but I'm feeling pretty good about my chances, I've got this ;o)  I'm not quite there yet though, I still have a habit of promising myself books if I make it through a week and, if I'm caught between two tough weeks... I end up buying a few more than I probably should have done. It really is time for the 'one in, one out' policy to be implemented. That's not for today though (not when I've my kids coming over later). No, lets take a look at the books that came home with me over the last few days... I'd already had some anxiety over going back into the office so, last week, I sweetened the deal with the promise of a 'Robin of Sherwood' book if I made it in. And I did so, here we are :o) I'd always thought that...

The plan for 2026 is not to buy so many books and concentrate on the unread books, on my shelves, instead. That's still the plan but little did I know that I'd be the victim of a master book-tempter, and so early in the year... If you made the same resolution that I did, and you don't want to be book-tempted, then keep an eye open for this Womble as vigilance is the only thing that will keep your wallet safe ;o) The only problem is, if you do see this Womble then it's already too late and you are now the proud owner of a new book ;o) Anyway... I was reading through some of my favourite blogs, the other day, and came across this review for Clay McLeod Chapman's 'Acquired Taste' collection. I'd already read, and enjoyed, 'Wake Up And Open Your Eyes' so one payday later, and a little wait for delivery, I now have an 'Acquired Taste' as well ;o) They're feeding on you too. A father returns from serving in Vietnam with a strange and terr...