Books for Vietnam & Thailand

In the blink of an eye, almost half the year has flown by and I am down to single digits until my trip. I originally had plans to create a really funky packing video. But alas, I couldn't find the energy or the will to do it. Instead, I thought it would be fun to create another travel reading list, similar to what I did before my trip to Mongolia.

Books for Mongolia

What does one do when spending 11 days on a tour in Mongolia, with no access to internet and in the middle of a country. Why stock up on books for my Kindle! One of my exes bought me a Kindle Paperwhite for my birthday. At the time, I was a little irritated (embarrassingly) as I was adamant that I didn't need one. But it has now changed my life and I am so glad that he made that purchase for me. He used to read my blog (not sure if he still does) so Hello! Thank you! :) 

I have tried to branch out from my usual novels (read: thrillers) and have a bunch of different novels. These include:

→ A Curious Beginning - Deanna Raybourn
→ My Grandmother Asked me to Tell you She's Sorry - Fredrik Backman
→ The Versions of Us - Laura Barnett
→ Instructions for a Heatwave - Maggie O'Farrell
→ Luck, Love & Lemon Pie - Amy Reichert
→ The One Plus One - Jojo Moyes
→ The Choices We Make - Karma Brown
→ First Comes Love - Emily Giffin
→ The Camel Club - David Baldacci (a "safe" novel)
→ Harry Potter & The Cursed Child

Have you read any novels lately that you would recommend? Add me on Goodreads to see what I am reading! 

Deck

I only have one final exam next Wednesday and I feel like I am already in holiday mode. A. and I went out for lunch in Dee Why as we had plans to stay at the Dee Why carpark (more on that later). We go to Dee Why quite a bit because it is really the only place on the northern beaches where there are a lot of restaurants aside from Manly (which is incredibly difficult to find parking). Quite a few places had lunch deals but we settled on Deck. It was actually a gorgeous day with, surprisingly, a lot of people around.






We both ordered the Wagyu beef burger with chips and a ginger beer ($12 w/ any drink purchase). The chips were amazing! Each one was super crispy and I suspect they were fried twice. The aioli was also very tasty. A lovely lunch on a very lovely day.






So remember how I mentioned that I wasn't a fan of Game of Thrones two months ago in this post.Well I sort of take it back. Sort of. I am currently a quarter through the fifth novel, A Dance with Dragons, and have been quite enjoying the stories since the third novel. Still not a fan of some characters and their stories - even though I know that it will be very important at some stage- but I guess that is to be expected. Back to the carpark! So we were in the car watching the first two episodes of season 4. In the carpark and next to a lagoon. Shortly going to have a tv Skype night to watch the next episode. I wouldn't say that I am hooked on the series, but I want to know how it all ends.

Weekend

On Saturday I went to Manly for my volunteer position and it was such a lovely day; blue skies and warm temperatures and yet standing right next to the water at the wharf it was so cool. I forgot I missed the sea salt smell.







I am a fan of Cecelia Ahern's novels; there is something quirky about them and just different to other romance/chick-lit novels that I have read. They almost remind me of a fable (minus the animals) crossed with a fairytale; her stories are more substantial and less fluffy than they appear on the surface.

At work a week ago, I came across her new novel, 'The Time of my Life'  and I finished it earlier tonight.

Lying on Lucy Silchester’s carpet one day when she returns from work is a gold envelope. Inside is an invitation – to a meeting with Life. Her life. It turns out she's been ignoring it and it needs to meet with her face to face. It sounds peculiar, but Lucy’s heard of this before. Anyway, she can’t make the date: she’s much too busy despising her job, lying to her friends and avoiding her family. It turns out that Lucy’s life isn’t what it seems. Some of the choices she’s made – and stories she’s told – aren’t what they seem either. From the moment she meets the man who introduces himself as her life, some of these stubborn half-truths are going to be revealed in all their glory – unless Lucy learns to tell the truth about what really matters to her. From a big family dinner to an extraordinary work crisis, from chasing after a long-lost boyfriend to learning what home really is, Lucy Silchester has an appointment with her life – and she’s going to have to keep it.

I believed that Life would be a God-like figure who would lead Lucy to the right path. Rather to my surprise, he was just an average person who was so intrinscially connected with Lucy and her emotions and mental state. Overall, just a lovely read and her novels always make me feel so inspired.