#NewEngland #Fall road-trip diaries, travelling with our toddler #Travel #MondayBlogs

If you’ve been following these recent Monday blog posts you’ll know we like road-trips

Fall Colours

Catch up with some of them here;

LA and back on a packet of crisps

Building US west coastal road so we could drive on

Australia

New York

Mauritius

New Zealand

Today’s road-trip is about when we went back to the US for a 10 day Fall trip to New England with our two year old.

Our trip began with an evening arrival in Boston, Massachusetts, this time I was armed with my stroller for use in the airports, which can be taken right up to the aeroplane doors and is essential for toddler travel. Our first stop was the coastal town of Portsmouth in New Hampshire. Coming from England and seeing familiar place names out of the environment we knew them in was a little strange. We also found that New England had more toll roads than we’d experienced before in the US.

Getting our fill of the number of states in this area of the US, we went over into Maine and visited Portland, enjoying the coastal road views and taking in some shopping.

The fall colours were amazing and we took our time enjoying scenic river banks. I fell in love with the covered bridges which are a tradition of New England. Built with roofs to keep the bridges open during the winter months. Stopping off at one of the many maple syrup farm shops we were invited around their little museum and given a talk about the maple extraction process. An added bonus was the local stories of the covered bridges being “sweet-heart” bridges, a place to meet your sweet-heart out of site of prying eyes.

We headed into the White mountains and slowly drove to the top of Mount Washington on some very tight and steep roads. (Approximately a 30 drive up and a 30-45 mins drive down) There’s a cog railway train you can take up but the 3 hour round-trip time was going to be too long to entertain our toddler on. For rally enthusiasts there is a “Climb To The Clouds” racing event each July on the Mount Washington auto- road where rally drives race to the top. The record stands at 6 mins and 9 secs set in 2014.

In Conway we stopped off at the steam railway centre

Our travels took us to Vermont and Burlington, we dined in one of those old fashioned train diner cars turned into a family diner and then indulged our daughter at the Vermont Teddy Bear factory, where we took the tour and she made a bear.

We did consider heading across to Niagara Falls, but we didn’t have the time this trip. Instead we headed back towards Boston, taking in the Boston Tea Ship which amazingly our little girl remembers today.

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Next Trip – Denver, Colorado and a rocky mountain white out experience.

#NewZealand for #Christmas with a 9 month old child – #RoadTrips #Travel #MondayBlogs

Here at Amber Halls, we’re gearing up for a summer road trip to Canada, meanwhile  I’m sharing some of our other Road-Trip experiences with you.

When my friend left to live in New Zealand we had an open invite to visit. In the first few weeks of an easy pregnancy we even considered it for when I was seven months pregnant, luckily we talked ourselves out of it. So instead we booked to go for a month the following year.

Sheep

As our departure date approached, we realised travelling with a 9 month old had its own trials. (nappies, baby food, formula milk etc)

We were taking our sturdy pram to double up as a high-chair for feeding time, however it had to go in the aeroplane hold, and so we hade to carry our child around the airport for 3 hours as she was only crawling. A wilful child, she insisted on crawling around much of Heathrow in her pink baby-grow.

We booked an on-board cot and were lucky that the traveller in seat three of our line, took one look at the babe and insisted he was moved, so we had 3 seats for her to climb all over and a cot, which she refused to sleep in. Stage one – off to Kuala Lumpur and a few hours stop-over. I never found the baby changing area and looked longingly at other travellers who knew about having a stroller which they could take on-board and push their kids around in airside in the airport.

Flight two to Auckland – a bit more tricky with a child who only catnapped. Our pram arrived from the hold, damaged and spent the rest of the trip tied up with string. Spent our first few days with my friend at the house they were still building and her Pyrenean mountain dog (child-friendly it was NOT) We spent just under a week with them, acclimatising (babe slept during the day and was wakeful during the night) I recommend The Botanical Gardens in Auckland post flight as they were very peaceful after all that flying, we borrowed the car they’d shipped over from England, which after just a few days badly and embarrassingly broke down on us.

Time to leave our friends, we hired a car and set off, south, first to some glow worm caves at Waitomo  (Had to take turns as our babe was too young to go on the boats) We stayed on the shores of Lake Taupo, then, we drove up Mt Ruapehu. In Wellington we left the hire car and took the Seacat to the south island (balancing an enormous number of bags on the pram with the baby) That night we stayed near Picton, next we headed to Kaikoura for some whale watching, but found they didn’t take babies on board. So we headed south towards Christchurch then crossed the Southern Alps hoping to see Mount Cook, it was covered in cloud the day we were there)

Great scenery (yes there are sheep which you can meet on the road)  and interesting roads, single track bridges sometimes shared with train tracks, wild rivers, sun browned fields, and other times green ferns and mosses dripping with moisture, miles of traffic free roads, except for the one police speed trap which we got snapped in! Many of the motels had hot tubs, so after a day in the car we put our babe in her swim ring and let her bob about the tub with us as we relaxed. I fell in love with some of the personal mail boxes we saw. (see pictures below)

We stopped at Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph Glacier and carried our babe to the glacier foot. Then up the west coast to Westport and the Pancake Rocks, then Nelson and back to Picton and the Seacat. Time to go to Rotarua and the thermal mud areas, plus a Maori village experience. Here the babe decided she’d start walking whilst on the paths of the hot springs and only in tiny canvas slippers, “ooh ough hot”.  Christmas was spent back in Auckland with our friends, now we had a toddler, they were trying to finish outside decking and our girl was keen to show off her walking skills,  we went to the beach on Christmas Day!

The days before New Year we travelled around the Coromandel peninsula, it was lovely seeing flowers in full bloom, hay making and sunshine in what would normally be our mid-winter back home. To us the farming was of interest and I would describe it as Britain back in the 1970’s, about thirty years behind Britain.

Flights home were the same route, our baby wanted to toddle up and down the aeroplane gangway, but we coped and were even complimented by other passengers when we landed in London at how well behaved she’d been.

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Next The Fall in New England with a toddler.

Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT POISON BAY by @Belinda_Pollard #Mystery set in #NewZealand

Today’s team review is from Noelle, she blogs at http://saylingaway.wordpress.com

Noelle has been reading Poison Bay by Belinda Pollard

Book Review: Poison Bay by Belinda Pollard

Poison Bay tells the story of a wilderness hike turned dark and deadly. Eight friends from high school embark on a trek into New Zealand’s most forbidding wilderness. All of the trekkers have something from their past to hide, related to the suicide of another classmate, Liana, in front of them at an end-of-high-school party. Each of them has a guilty conscience from their relationship with Liana.

Their leader, Bryan, now lives in New Zealand, and has become an experienced trekker, orienteer, and survivalist. Bryan talks his classmates into joining him on the trek as a reunion celebration, a way to reconnect and work through Liana’s death. Bryan also tells them their expedition would establish an alternative to the famed Milford Track in Fiordland National Park. To ensure their participation, he pays for all their equipment and food. He then proceeds to take his classmates on a trek through unplotted and challenging wilderness at a brutal pace. By the time the classmates realize the sinister purpose of the trip, they are hopelessly lost and missing emergency communication equipment. Have they learned enough from the trek so far to survive and find their way back?

The author clearly has hiking experience in this park and has done a lot of research to make her story realistic. I felt myself trekking with them. I wish I could feel the characters as well. I wondered what they’d all been doing for the previous ten years (with the exception of Bryon and Callie) and they were rather two-dimensional, without character or dialogue quirks except for Rachel’s diabetes and Sharon’s lack of athleticism. There were long pages of dialogue I was tempted to skip. I also could not fathom why the group would surrender themselves so willingly to Bryan’s tyrannical leadership and not question where he was taking them a day or two into the hike.

Offsetting this were the challenges to the group’s finding their way out of the park – food, mudslides, avalanches, snow and torrents of rain. Plus a lot of surprises, all plotted in the darkness of Bryan’s need for personal revenge on each of his classmates. Three characters in the group searching for the trekkers – Sgt. Hubble and his trusted deputy, Tom Ganton, and Rachel’s mother – have more depth, and there are surprises in this side of the story as well.

This is the author’s first mystery novel. Despite its shortcomings, I was compelled to read it to the end, pushed by the scenery, surprises, and tension of the trek.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

 

Rosie’s #BookReview Team #RBRT POISON BAY by Belinda Pollard NZ #Mystery

Today’s team review is from Terry, she blogs at http://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Terry has been reading Poison Bay by Belinda Pollard

Poison Bay by Belinda Pollard

3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed by me as a member of Rosie Amber’s Review Team

Poison Bay is a mystery/thriller set in a New Zealand wilderness setting. Eight old friends meet up ten years later to go on a ten day hike masterminded by one of the group, Bryan. Bryan has hidden motives in getting them all together, though, and the story gains in sinister overtones as the hike turns into a survival situation.

I love reading and watching anything about survival in adverse circumstances, and when I started this book I found the writing very clear and easy-readable. I could tell that the author has done her practical research very well. Alas, for me, the novel was lacking in depth and atmosphere. The eight hikers remained one dimensional throughout, their conversation being unrealistic and information heavy, with no difference in language used, speech patterns or style of communication, all those aspects that make a character work. I didn’t connect with any of them; the girls seemed to just cry and hug each other, mostly. I thought it seemed like a teen read, very clean, with women thinking badly of the one who sleeps with a man in the group, and the worst word anyone says is ‘hell’. It was all a bit ‘jolly hockey sticks’.

The narrative was exposition heavy, with lots of ‘telling not showing’, and no real sense of place.

It’s a fairly good plot, I did find myself wanting to know the outcome, I can’t fault the English or the presentation, and I appreciated the knowledge that had been used to make it feasible, but with little characterisation, or portrayal of how dark the situation really would have been, it didn’t really work for me, I’m afraid.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

 

 

 

 

Would You BUY or PASS? #FridayFiveChallenge In The Land Of The Long White Cloud by Sarah Lark

Welcome to my Friday Five Challenge

Get yourself a cuppa and give yourself 5 minutes. (Use your own pic or copy mine or anything else like a clock/ stopwatch etc)

In today’s online shopping age, readers often base their buying decisions from small postage stamp size book covers (Thumb-nails), a quick glance at the book description and the review. How much time do they really spend making that buying decision?

AUTHORS – You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?

My Friday Five Challenge is this….. IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES….

1) Go to any online book supplier,

2) Randomly choose a category,

3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,

4) Read the book Bio/ Description for this book,

5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,

6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?

(then write a little analysis about your decision)

As I couldn’t think of a specific search term this week, today’s inspiration came from Amazon’s daily deals.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Book Description

Helen Davenport, governess for a wealthy London household, longs for a family of her own—but nearing her late twenties, she knows her prospects are dim. Then she spots an advertisement seeking young women to marry New Zealand’s honorable bachelors and begins an affectionate correspondence with a gentleman farmer. When her church offers to pay her travels under an unusual arrangement, she jumps at the opportunity.

Meanwhile, not far away in Wales, beautiful and daring Gwyneira Silkham, daughter of a wealthy sheep breeder, is bored with high society. But when a mysterious New Zealand baron deals her father an unlucky blackjack hand, Gwyn’s hand in marriage is suddenly on the table. Her family is outraged, but Gwyn is thrilled to escape the life laid out for her.

The two women meet on the ship to Christchurch—Helen traveling in steerage, Gwyn first class—and become unlikely friends. When their new husbands turn out to be very different than expected, the women must help one another find the life—and love—they’d hoped for.

Set against the backdrop of colonial nineteenth-century New Zealand, In the Land of the Long White Cloud is a soaring saga of friendship, romance, and unforgettable adventure.

Kindle Price; £1.00 or $1.53

Number of reviews; 358 on Amazon Uk or 1413 on Amazon US

Number of pages; 666 (Book 1 of a 3 book Saga)

Would I BUY or PASS?……..PASS

Analysis

With a really busy blogging week, I left this week’s post until the last minute (yes I can hear shocked gasps from some of you who know how organised I can be) and my mind went blank when I needed a search term. So I let Amazon do the suggesting and I scouted out it’s Daily Deals (As many potential buyers might do)

The green cover instantly stood out with the nineteenth century dressed women and the title grabbed me. I knew this book would be about New Zealand, a place I’ve been to and would love to go again. I’m a fan. So this book appealed for several reasons. It will be historical fiction, but in a place I love reading about. The price is great, the number of reviews quite amazing. The two draw backs are the length of the book, do I have time to read a book that long? Plus the fact it’s book 1 of a trilogy. It’s tempting, but as I run a really busy book review blog, I already have a huge list of books waiting for review. So today it is a PASS from me, but with Christmas just around the corner, I might leave a few large hints that “I wouldn’t mind reading this at a later date”, for the family to trip over.

Here are links to other bloggers taking up today’s challenge

This week Cathy has found a Christmas romance https://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/fridayfivechallenge-buy-or-pass-sleigh-bells-in-the-snow-by-sarah-morgan/comment-page-1/#comment-2994

Shelley has gone for a Fantasy http://shelleywilsonauthor.com/2015/10/23/buy-or-pass-fantasy-novel-fridayfivechallenge/

Alison is off to Munich Airport https://alisonwilliamswriting.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/fridayfivechallenge-munich-airport-by-greg-baxter-rosieamber1/comment-page-1/#comment-1563

 

The Celestial Sea by @MarinaDeNadous #mystical #fiction from #NewZealand

The Celestial Sea – A Sacred Romance and Moral Quest by Marina De Nadous

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Celestial Sea is a mystical spiritual book set in modern day New Zealand. An English family decide to emigrate and make a fresh start in this Antipodean land. We are lead to believe that their destiny is woven by a mystical craftsman. He creates the beautiful chalk boat seen on the book cover and sets it sailing to join the spirits of two chosen characters.

Our English family consist of The Laird – father and husband, My Lady/ Mouse – mother and narrator, Scowler – 14 year old Cedric, The Go-Getter – 9 year old son and Rinky the Minx – 6 year old daughter.

The Laird is a teacher and takes a job as head of Religious Studies, he’s a keen sportsman, alpha male. The younger children will join an alternative school which offers an education through natural, spiritual traditions and Mouse gets very involved with helping in class, making new friends and crating her own nature based workshops.

The family buy a house up a mountain and Mouses’ free spirit expands and frolic’s with ideas. She finds a kindred spirit in one of the school teacher’s. Adrian is a native Kiwi and a woodsmen and they build a beautiful relationship guided by the mystical craftsman. But one that break boundaries and will be tested.

The story is told through several writing styles including poems, songs and texts between Mouse and Adrian. It is a long slow read which mirrors the pace of life, the freedom and free thinking of the book. However it is also uplifting, lightening the load of everyday as you get lost in the moment up the mountain with the characters. A different style of book and a step away from the fast pace of modern day living.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews on Goodreads

Humming by Rachel McAlpine

Humming by Rachel McAlpine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Humming is a contemporary tale set in Golden Bay New Zealand. Golden Bay is found on the northeast coastline of the South Island. The story is set in the small community of Petitport and the story begins in 2001. Ivan is an artist, Jane runs a café, they have a relaxed open relationship. Ivan can constantly hear a humming noise and the search for it’s cause drives him to distraction.

Much of the community is brought together by a Tai Chi class that meets regularly. Xania has just returned from a year in Argentina studying Tai Chi under master Shan, she has returned to find many of her previous classes have dissolved under the unsatisfactory tutelage of Luna. Xania is expected to raise money for a Tai Chi centre in Auckland and must raise the funds for her Argentinian masters. The plans involve getting Ivan to paint pictures to raise funds for the centre.

Ivan likes being the centre of attention and plunges into deep depression when things don’t go his way, Jane panders to his artistic needs, but as his fiftieth birthday approaches he finds Jane stifles his artistic vibes. He is flattered by attentions he gets from Xania and other members of the Tai Chi group, which blindly lead him to involvement in illegal trading of protected species.

Xania’s passions for a healthy lifestyle are extreme as is her love of Argentina and the Tai Chi world. Through-out the book we read one sided e-mails to her former lover in Argentina as she makes a case for the Auckland centre. The situation almost hints at a cult style influence as Xania opens bank accounts and gives a finale sacrifice for the cause.

Jane and Ivan’s relationship runs hot and cold as they both battle with distractions. Ivan fails to understand Jane’s own artistic passion for her café and her pickles and preserves, nor does he appreciate the lengths she goes to tolerating his whims. Other members of the Tai Chi group also go through relationship challenges which conclude at the end.

This is quite a compelling read, the search for the source of the hum draws you in and the relationship issues keep you reading. Ivan is unpredictable and Xania is extreme enough to raise your eyebrows.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews on Goodreads

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT Fran reviews Bend With The Wind by Suraya Dewing

Today we have a review from Fran, she blogs at http://disappearinginplainsight.com/

Fran chose to read and review Bend With the Wind by Suraya Dewing

4 stars on Amazon

Title: Romance, Maori Traditions and Suraya Dewing’s Adept use of Language

Bend with the Wind is a novel that provides breathtaking descriptions of New Zealand locations, a good bit of history with an inspiring focus on Maori traditions and a romance that is not accepted on either side of a racial divide.

Sophie is a white, privileged, young woman who steps out of her own comfort zone and that of her parents when she falls in love with Joe, a Maori police man who has his own struggles – neither fully accepted by his Maori people or the white police force he is part of. The parts of the story I enjoyed the most revolved around the ways Sophie and Joe go about meeting the challenges of their evolving relationship.

Much of the couple’s early struggles are set against a protest of the 1981 Springbok soccer team’s visit to New Zealand. Sophie, an idealistic, student activist, is right in the middle of the protest opposing the team’s visit due to South Africa’s system of apartheid. Joe finds himself on the opposite side of the mess as a police officer who has to remove the protesters. There is a good deal of irony in all of this as Joe must act against his own people and his ideals while Sophie, the rich, white girl ends up on the receiving end of the violence set in motion by the protests.

This novel involves some time-shifting from the present to the not so distant past and then the distant past. Each time the reader is shifted from the past to the present he or she comes with a few more pieces of the puzzle the author has woven. For me, this time shift worked well between present day Sophie and Sophie as a young woman. I did feel as though the 1800’s Maori history with Te Whiti o Rangomai took me too far from the story I wanted to read. But that is only one reader’s opinion.

The book is worth reading for the romance, for the wealth of information on Maori traditions and for Suraya Dewing’s adept use of language. Consider this description of a street – “ . . . bright with flashing neon, car-beams and light-leaking shop fronts.” Brilliant. And these few lines could be autobiographical – “She was back being a word washerwoman, carrying her sentences in a basket, shaking them out and hanging them with care on the line, placing them in the sun to dry.”

Find a copy from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Guest Author Suraya Dewing

Our guest today is Suraya Dewing author of yesterday’s book Bend With The Wind, here is a link to the post if you missed it. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5JC

 

Where is your home town?

My home town is currently Auckland, New Zealand. However, I grew up in a remote part of New Zealand, Hokianga. The Hokianga shaped me. Auckland educated me.

How long have you been writing?

When I graduated from University I began a career as a trainee television director then went on to Public Relations. So, in that sense, I have been writing for 30 years. Like many creative writers I always wanted to write creatively but put that on hold because I needed certainty of income while we raised our family. In 2008 I returned to University and completed a Master of Creative Writing in 2009. I worked on ‘Bend with the Wind’ during 2009-10. Before that I had written short stories whenever I got the time (pretty average I must confess) and had a go at a novel which was awful.

What was the one idea which parked off Bend With The Wind?

The premise behind the novel is that a group might feel they have got away with an act of oppression. For a time the repercussions are hidden. However, resentment gathers momentum and eventually explodes. Usually an unrelated catalyst ignites the fire and violence becomes inevitable.

Where about in New Zealand did you set the settlement that Joe’s parents live?

Joe’s parents lived in a settlement called Parihaka which is in Taranaki, North Island of New Zealand. It is about ten miles out of New Plymouth.

Can you tell the readers a little about Colonel Messenger

Col. Messenger was a long serving member of the military in Taranaki and commanded an Armed Constabulary Post for a number of years.   In 1871-72 he was in command of the unit that pursued Titokowaru, a Maori leader and a government opponent. After the campaign Colonel Messenger returned to the Armed Constabulary Post and a nearby mountain was named after him in recognition of the period he spent surveying the area and protecting the land. He led, along with Col. Bryce, the troops into Parihaka. He was well regarded by settlers but for Sophie, being related to anyone associated with the history of the occupation was an anathema. This explained her reaction when she finds his name on their family tree.

How did they stop the Maori people from returning to their lands?

When the militia occupied the area they posted guards and no-one was allowed to return. Later, some received passes. At the time of the occupation and arrest of Te Whiti and Tohu homes were plundered, livestock killed and crops destroyed. The women were raped. Anyone who tried to get back was threatened and chased off. The land was in the hands of the militia for five years.

What were the Black Power group all about?

The Black Power gang lives outside the law and is largely made up of marginalised Maori and Pacific Island men. They live off income from drugs and the proceeds of crime.

Tell us some of the things that Joe did for young people to help them.

Joe helped the young people get back to their roots and to regain a sense of self worth. Many people were disenfranchised by the loss of their land. They were also banned from speaking Maori at school and the only legitimate history was that of the English which bore no resemblance to the world they knew. Afraid their children would be disadvantaged later in life, many Maori parents wouldn’t allow the children to learn anything of their heritage including language. He would have taught them their language, te reo, carving, whaikorero (speech making), local history going back many centuries and carving.There was a commonly held belief that being familiar with Maori culture would not allow Maori to get ahead in the world. This was true. Any connection with their culture was frowned upon by Pakeha authorities and often Maori parents supported this stance. He would have given them back a sense of pride in their heritage by taking them back to Parihaka, to the elders to hear the unacknowledged stories belonging to them.

Tell us what you are working on at the moment.

My publisher has requested a book of short stories so I’m working on those. Once they are finished I will go back through Bend with the Wind before my publisher produces it in hard copy.

Tell us about The Story Mint and where readers can find out more about you.

The Story Mint is a service that aims to give writers an opportunity to develop their writing skills, to get to know other like-minded people and to grow their profiles by demonstrating their story telling skills. We provide ways for them to do that including writing chapters and starters for serials, putting writing up on the Writers’Pad and getting engaged in the forum. We also have an active Facebook page and Linked In group. I have created an online analysis tool called the Style Guide™ which analyses writing styles. The writer submits a piece of writing and is immediately given feedback on the style and how to change it if it doesn’t fit with the intended audience’s preferred style. For example someone writing a romance novel will not want to have his or her writing land in the section where business articles land. The Style Guide™ is currently being tested for training writers who are second language users.

http://www.thestorymint.com

Find a copy of Bend With The Wind here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Bend With The Wind by Suraya Dewing

Bend with the Wind by Suraya Dewing

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bend with the Wind is set on New Zealand and weaves a story around the Maori people and their struggle for survival under White rule, over a period of just under 130 years.

We meet Sophie first at a Maori funeral. Then the story steps back thirty years to a time when Sophie was just nineteen years old and setting out to study a course in History about New Zealand and South Africa. This coincides with a planned rugby tour by the Springboks which is causing widespread protest due to the apartheid in South Africa.

Sophie and her friends are white teenagers and she has had a privileged upbringing. She meets Joe a Maori police officer. Joe introduces her to his family and through her college course she learns of the settler disagreements which took place in the 1800’s and of the Maori leaders in those disputes Te Whiti and Tohu who preached peace and fair sharing of the land.

Their mixed race relationship causes plenty of hardships and these are mixed with the parts that both play in the Springbok tour. It was a harrowing time for many involved and their relationship is stretched to breaking point many times.

This is a very powerful book full of very strong emotions and humbling lessons. Throughout the book the chapters are interspersed with the Maori language, some of which the reader can guess at, but I was pleased to find a Maori translation section at the back of the book. The messages in their words are beautiful and their traditions are uplifting. I shed a tear or two at the final funeral send off in this lovely book.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews on Goodreads