Midlife Rebel

At long last I have finished reading a fiction book for the Reader badge for Rebel Badge Club. Initially I made good progress with the Reader badge but my progress has slowed right down since I decided to read an actual hard copy book rather than listening to an audiobook. I chose to read Ann Sei Lin's debut novel Rebel Skies as I was drawn to the artwork on the cover and the name of the book! The reviews I read beforehand were also highly positive. Although it took me a while to get through the book due to other priorities in life, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was very different to anything I have read before. I recently read a review about Rebel Skies which said "The story definitely gives off Studio Ghibli vibes." This is my thought on the book exactly. Rebel Skies is a very imaginative book and would be visually stunning if made into an animated film. One can only hope! The same reviewer also comments that the story is told from two main perspectives: Kurara, the main ...

I have been a fan of Van Gogh's artwork since visiting the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam four years ago. By creating this set, Lego have enabled me to make my very own masterpiece of The Starry Night. I spent many relaxing hours on taking my time to build this set from 2316 Lego pieces. Well, I say 2316 pieces but that's not quite true because to my surprise my set had a piece missing! So here is The Starry Night composed of 2315 Lego bricks. Happily though, Lego customer service are sending me the missing brick in the post. I love the colours of the bricks used for the sky in this set and I also love the little church and houses. In the foreground you can see Van Gogh himself painting the scene. Upon completing The Starry Night, I have now completed the Builder badge for Rebel Badge Club. It's just as well because as enjoyable as Lego is, Lego is a rather expensive hobby! I am now ready to crack on with some other badges :-)