43. I Got 237 Problems But a Book Ain't One
The Case of the Lost Loaf
Hello, friend - hope you’ve had a good week!
We made it through ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred - mostly due to your cool head in a crisis and fashionable slacks.
All in all we were very lucky - managed to keep power and the flood from our door. Communities have been rallying to clear up debris and restock supermarket shelves after all the madness.
Who knew so many people were obsessed with bread?! Even those random pita pockets were in short supply! Don’t even get me started on bread with pouches, it weirds me out, as it should you.
Anyway, I digress. If you, or those you love were in the hit-zone - we hope you’re all recovering well and have everything you need. If you’re in a part of the world that needs more rain and you didn’t get it - let’s work on our precipitation dance, it may just need more tap.
Fishbird Catch of the Week
We publish articles twice a week on the Fishbird Central website - every Wednesday and Saturday! This week’s included:
TBR ABCs - Female Authors!
In this post we’re celebrating a lineup of talented women writers, from horror and fantasy to cosy crime and Australian classics. We've gone through our shelves, alphabetised them (we’re cool like that) and selected a few pearlers we need to read sooner rather than later! Lots of great books here (we hope) from Ania Ahlborn’s ‘Dark Across the Bay’ right through to Anne Zouroudi’s ‘The Messenger of Athens’. Who’s your favourite female author? Do you tend to read more male or female authors? Dish some goss in the comments!
Check out the latest post here - TBR ABCs - Female Authors!
Sketching March - Week One, 2025!
While the rainy weather was tip-tapping on our window sills, I was busy sketching famous people and sending them to alternate universes to get into scrapes. In this post, Alf Stewart, Jack Reacher, Mark Scout and Mary Poppins all go through the sketchy matrix and have to deal with the unsteady strokes my pen has dealt them. Also, there’s Rain Dog (who is thrust unexpectedly into Sprint Methodology), Ian Underbrella (who gets the last laugh) and Eggatha Christie (who’s writing a cracking mystery).
Check out the latest post here - Sketching March - Week One, 2025!
Read The One You’re With
Sheltering in place is a great time to do a stocktake of all the books you have on hand.
This week I went through all the books on my to-be-read shelves, and those waiting on my Kindle, and stuffed them all into a spreadsheet. Could I have spent this time actually reading the books? … Yes. Did I buy more books while compiling the spreadsheet to make sure I had a full A to Z? You know it, cutie.
“Shut up about how cute I am, I already know that! Just tell me some stats, dawg!”, I hear you shout. Command activated. I have a whopping 237 unread books consisting of 106 Female & 131 Male Authors.
Anyone wanting to buddy-read can hit me up for a copy of the spreadsheet in the comments & help me pick future TBRs.
A Little Note
Desperate for more of me during the week? I get it, you’re only human.
I drop short Notes on this platform daily to tide you over. Keep up with my daily sketches, hot off the presses. From our main newsletter page, just click on the ‘Notes’ tab and we’ll hang out in short introvert-friendly bursts.
Quick Fire Wrap Up
Currently Reading: ‘Death in the Stocks’ by Georgette Heyer. An English bobbie returning from night patrol finds a corpse locked in the stocks on the village green. He identifies the body immediately. Andrew Vereker was not a well-loved man, and narrowing down the suspects is not going to be an easy job. The Vereker family are corrupt and eccentric - and hardly cooperative. This one’s a hoot!
Currently Watching: ‘Slow Horses’ Season One. Follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve as a dumping ground department of MI5 due to their career-ending mistakes. Was waiting to get a few books ahead of the TV series before diving in :)
Currently Singing Along To: ‘Not a Robot’ by Marina & the Diamonds. “It's okay to say you've got a weak spot, you don't always have to be on top. Better to be hated than loved, loved, loved for what you're not. You're vulnerable, you're vulnerable - you are not a robot”.
Have any book, song or show recommendations? Let me know in the comments! :)
Wishes for the Week
Be kind, rest up and give yourself $10 and a pat on the back. You’re showing up and standing out in the best possible way. Nicely done, sunshine x
Here’s a cat you can buy with that $10. It comes with one can of food and 3 wishes.
Hot tip - don’t wish for more cats, that could get pricey.
Stay cool, punks.
‘See a cat, pick it up and all that day you’ll have a cat.’ - Puss n’ Boots (probably)
Jen x
Love it 🌟🌟🌟🌟