Sunday Summary (16/8/15)

Five things that made me happy this week (with special thanks to Ellie the Lit Nerd.)

1. Having a week off work. It's been fairly crummy weather, although there were a couple of gorgeous sunny days, and last Sunday I went to Ventnor beach with my family, swam in the sea twice, and then had hot chocolate from my favourite beachside cafe, Lady Scarlet's. They also do lovely ice cream and sundaes gluten-free cakes, and if you have coffee, they give you milk in one of those old-fashioned 1/3rd pint glass bottles.

2. Writing. Despite not working, I seem to find my natural writing time is late into the night. I find it's easier to get into a routine when I have several days off at a time, rather than just one day, and I've finished one chapter of my work in progress this week, and am aiming to get another one done before I go back to work on Wednesday.

3. There were, however, a couple of days when I didn't manage to get any writing done at all, and on Friday, I switched on my laptop to find it wouldn't boot up past the "welcome" page, before turning to black. I've had that computer a long time, and had a lot of work done to it, so I decided it was tuime to treat myself to a new laptop. I bought a very petite, blue one - it looks a bit like a "my first laptop" toy. I do intend to get my old one fixed, if I can, though.

4. Last week was also Cowes Week, the big sailing regatta, when lots of posh and boat-obsessed people come to the Isle of Wight. We're not so interested in the boats, but there was lots of street food, and a falconry display in Northwood Park, where we watched a bird called Swoop doing some very impressive flying and diving - to the song "Danger Zone" from Top Gun! And on Friday it was the annual fireworks event, which is a bigger deal on the Island than November 5th! The weather was a bit drizzly, but it was better than last year, and my friends and I congregated on Cowes Green for the evening to watch the fireworks.

5. One of my family friends, Lois, threw an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party yesterday afternoon, and my mum, dad and I were among several of the guests who went in costume (I was the Mad Hatter.) Lois has recently retired from working as a librarian, and threw the party in celebration of the novel's 150th anniversary.

Bout of Books: 

I've also decided to sign up once more for the Bout of Books readathon, which begins tomorrow, although I'll have to share my reading time with my writing. Still, I'd like to get my current book finished (A Man Called Ove) and read three more from my to-read shelf. These may or may not include The Rook by Daniel O'Malley, Goodnight Beautiful by Dorothy Koomson, Doris Lessing's The Golden Notebook, and/or Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 17th and runs through Sunday, August 23rd in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 14 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. 

- From the Bout of Books team

Will you be taking part? If so, what books are on your pile - or do you prefer to just read whatever takes your fancy at the time?