Jump to content

Claire's Book List 2015


chesilbeach

Recommended Posts

2014 reading blog - 151 books

2013 reading blog - 183 books

2012 reading blog - 145 books

2011 reading blog - 141 books

2010 reading blog - 130 books

2009 reading blog - 143 books

2008 reading list - 63 books

2007 reading list - 97 books

2006 reading list - 82 books

 

2015 BOOKS READ

 

January

1. A Breath of French Air by H. E. Bates

2. My Dear Duchess by M. C. Beaton

3. Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough

4. My Lords, Ladies and Marjorie by M. C. Beaton

5. The Child's Elephant by Rachel Campbell-Johnston

6. The Scandalous Marriage by M. C. Beaton

7. Gunpowder Plot by Carola Dunn

8. Perfect by Rachel Joyce

9. The Dynamite Room by Jason Hewitt

10. The Battle of Pollocks Crossing by J. L. Carr (Author challenge)

11. First Term At Malory Towers by Enid Blyton

12. Second Form At Malory Towers by Enid Blyton

13. Third Year At Malory Towers by Enid Blyton

14. Upper Fourth at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton

15. Queen Lucia by E. F. Benson (narrated by Nadia May)

16. In The Fifth at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton

17. Last Term at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton

February

18. The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton (abandoned)

19. Citadel by Kate Mosse

20. All Our Worldly Goods by Irène Némirovsky (Reading group)

21. Dimanche and Other Stories by Irène Némirovsky (Persephone)

22. Misty Falls by Joss Stirling

23. All Fall Down by Ally Carter

24. The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

25. Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens (WCBP15:5-12)

26. The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald (WCBP15:Teen)

27. Miss Mapp by E. F. Benson (narrated by Nadia May)

28. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavendar by Leslye Walton (WCBP15:Teen)

29. Violet and the Pearl of the Orient by Harriet Whitehorn, illustrated by Becka Moor (WCBP15:5-12)

30. Half Bad by Sally Green (WCBP15:Teen)

March

31. Cow Girl by G. R. Gemin (WCBP15:5-12)

32. Arsenic for Tea by Robin Stevens

33. Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill (WCBP15:Teen)

34. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood

35. The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

36. The Dark Tourist by Dom Joly

37. The Wolf Princess by Cathryn Constable

38. Prudence by Gail Carriger

April

39. Heap House by  (abandoned)

40. Soulless by Gail Carriger (narrated by Emily Gray)

41. Celia by E. H. Young

42. Lessons in Love by M. C. Beaton

43. The World That Was Ours by Hilda Bernstein

44. The Curate's Wife by E. H. Young

45. One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper

46. Changeless by Gail Carriger (narrated by Emily Gray)

47. The Gallery of Vanished Husbands by Natasha Solomons

48. The Curvy Girls Club by Michele Gorman

49. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

50. Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid

51. The Beautifull Cassandra by Jane Austen

52. Blameless by Gail Carriger (narrated by Emily Gray)

53. The Ghost and Lady Alice by M. C. Beaton

May

54. The Bloody Tower by Carola Dunn

55. Lady Lucy's Lover by M. C. Beaton

56. The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini

57. The Chocolate Debutante by M. C. Beaton

58. Obsidian Curse by Barbra Annino

59. Summer at the Beach Street Café by Jenny Colgan

60. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

61. The Viscount's Revenge by M. C. Beaton

62. The Boy in the Smoke by Maureen Johnson

63. The Green Hill Murder by Kerry Greenwood

64. The Black Ship by Carola Dunn

65. A Marriage of Inconvenience by M. C. Beaton

66. A Governess of Distinction by M. C. Beaton

67. House-Bound by Winifred Peck

68. Heartless by Gail Carriger (narrated by Emily Gray)

69. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamin

70. Going to Sea in a Sieve by Danny Baker

71. Minerva by M. C. Beaton (narrated by Claire Morgan)

72. The Goddess of Buttercups and Daisies by Martin Millar

73. Walking Home by Clare Balding

74. Resistance is Futile by Jenny T. Colgan

June

75. The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

76. Blood and Circuses by Kerry Greenwood

77. Blood Games by Chloe Neill

78. Sweet Masquerade by M. C. Beaton

79. C'est Modnifique! by Ian Moore

80. Ruddy Gore by Kerry Greenwood

81. Lucy by M. C. Beaton

82. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

83. The Bride That Time Forgot by Paul Magrs

84. Catherine Certitude by Patrick Modiano & Jean-Jacques Sempé

85. The Twins at St Clare's by Enid Blyton

86. Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne

87. The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Thériault

88. Artful by Ali Smith

89. The O'Sullivan Twins by Enid Blyton

90. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

91. In the Orchard, The Swallows by Peter Hobbs

92. Summer Term at St Clare's by Enid Blyton

93. Second Form at St Clare's by Enid Blyton

July

94. Claudine at St Clare's by Enid Blyton

95. Fifth Formers at St Clare's by Enid Blyton

96. In Darkling Wood by Emma Carroll

97. The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine

98. The Heavenly Italian Ice Cream Shop by Abby Clements

99. Middlemarch (West Midlands) by George Eliot

100. Campari for Breakfast by Sara Crowe

101. Sheer Folly by Carola Dunn

102. Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamund Lehmann

103. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

104. Mystery In White by J. Jefferson Farjeon

105. Prudence by Gail Carriger (narrated by Moira Quirk)

106. 2am at The Cat's Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino

107. Clay by Melissa Harrison

108. The Wimbledon Poisoner by Nigel Williams

August

109. First Class Murder by Robin Stevens

110. The Robot in the Garden by Deborah Install

111. The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera

112. Darkmere by Helen Maslin

113. The Mangle Street Murders by M. R. C. Kasasian

114. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (narrated by Susannah Harker)

115. The Taming of Annabelle by M. C. Beaton (narrated by Claire Morgan)

116. Ayoade on Ayoade: A Cinematic Oddysey by Richard Ayoade

117. Deidre and Desire by M. C. Beaton (narrated by Claire Morgan)

118. Betrayed: The Road to Redemption by Nicky Charles

119. Hippy Dinners by Abbie Ross

120. The Curvy Girls Baby Club by Michele Gorman

121. The Curse of the House of Foskett by M. R. C. Kasasian

September

122. Hippopotamus Pool by Elizabeth Peters

123. The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

124. The Tent, The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy

125. Shakespeare on Toast: Getting a Taste for the Bard by Ben Crystal

126. The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan

127. Stung by Joss Stirling

128. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

129. For the Good of All by Nicky Charles

130. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

131. Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina

132. The Inn at the Top by Neil Hanson (abandoned)

133. Perfect Girl by Michele Gorman

134. The Desirable Duchess by M. C. Beaton

135. A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor

136. The Westerby Sisters by M. C. Beaton

137. A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor

138. A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor

139. The French Affair by M. C. Beaton

140. No Time Like The Past by Jodi Taylor

October

141. The Flirt by M. C. Beaton

142. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? by Jodi Taylor

143. Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

144. The Giraffe's Neck by Judith Schalansky

145. Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

146. Diana The Huntress by M. C. Beaton (narrated by Claire Morgan)

147. Monsters by Emerald Fennell

148. The Snow Sister by Emma Carroll

November

149. The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

150. Omens by Kelley Armstrong

151. The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

152. The Angels of Ropemaker Place by Michele Gorman

153. The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell

154. Frederica In Fashion by M. C. Beaton (narrated by Claire Morgan)

155. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

156. Gorilla Dawn by Gill Lewis

157. Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

December

158. Poppy by M. C. Beaton

159. Her Grace's Passion by M. C. Beaton

160. Christmas at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan

161. Angel Dares by Joss Stirling

162. Lost on Mars by Paul Magrs (Abandoned)

163. Ms Davenport's Christmas by M. C. Beaton

164. The Bees by Laline Paull

165. The Christmas Bake Off by Abby Clements (short story)

166. Before The Fall: Arrival by Ally Carter (short story)

167. Beswitched by Kate Saunders

168. Puppy Academy: Star on Stormy Mountain by Gill Lewis

169. Heartsong by Kevin Crossley-Holland and Jane Ray

170. Puppy Academy: Scout and the Sausage Thief by Gill Lewis

171. The Boy Who Drew The Future by Rhian Ivory

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 528
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

2015 BOOKS TO BE READ

 

General: Fiction

1. A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig

2. A Fair Fight by Anna Freeman

3. Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge

4. Demolition Dad by Phil Earle

5. Emma by Alexander McCall Smith

6. Like by Ali Smith

7. Puppy Academy: Scout and the Sausage Thief by Gill Lewis

8. Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope

9. Sunshine on Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith

10. The Astounding Broccoli Boy by Frank Cotterell Boyce

11. The Boy Who Drew The Future by Rhian Ivory

12. The Sound of Whales by Kerr Thomson

13. The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson

14. The Winter Wedding by Abby Clements

 

General: Non-fiction

1. As You Wish by Cary Elwes

2. Film Freak by Christopher Fowler

3. Head Over Heel: Seduced by Southern Italy by Chris Harrison

4. Italian Ways by Tim Parks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OTHER AUTHOR READING LISTS

 

There are some authors whose work I want to read in its entirety, so I'll keep a list of their work here, and monitor how I'm doing. This is not a reading challenge or a time specific plan, just simply a list of books I want to read.

 

J. L. CARR

 

Key:

Books I own in Italics

Books I have read in Bold

 

BOOK LIST:

 

1. A Day In Summer

2. A Season in Sinji

3. The Harpole Report

4. How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won The F. A. Cup

5. A Month In The Country

6. The Battle of Pollocks Crossing

7. What Hetty Did

8. Harpole and Foxberrow, General Publishers

 

Status: 5/8 books read = 62.5% complete

 

E. H. YOUNG

 

Key:

Books I own in Italics

Books I have read in Bold

 

BOOK LIST:

 

1. A Corn of Wheat

2. Yonder

3. Moor Fires

4. The Bridge Dividing (aka The Misses Mallett)

5. William

6. The Vicar's Daughter

7. Miss Mole

8. Jenny Wren

9. The Curate's Wife

10. Celia

11. Caravan Island

12. River Holiday

13. Chatterton Square

 

Status: 2/13 books read = 15% complete

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PERSEPHONE BOOKS

 

I love the books from independent publisher Persephone, not just for their beautiful book designs, but also for their ethos and the authors they chose to publish, so much so that I even started a thread just about them! http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/9960-persephone-books

 

I made far too little progress on this list in 2013, and hope to rectify that in 2014. This is not a reading challenge or a time specific plan, just simply a list of books I want to read.

 

Key:

Books I own in Italics

Books I have read in Bold

 

BOOK LIST:

1. William - an Englishman by Cicely Hamilton

2. Mariana by Monica Dickens

3. Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple

4. Fidelity by Susan Glaspell

5. An Interrupted Life: The Diaries and Letters of Etty Hillesum 1941-43 by Etty Hillesum

6. The Victorian Chaise-longue by Marghanita Laski

7. The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

8. Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes by Mollie Panter-Downes

9. Few Eggs and No Oranges by Vere Hodgson

10. Good Things in England by Florence White

11. Julian Grenfell by Nicholas Mosley

12. It's Hard to Be Hip Over Thirty by Judith Viorst

13. Consequences by E. M. Delafield

14. Farewell Leicester Square by Betty Miller

15. Tell It to a Stranger by Elizabeth Berridge

16. Saplings by Noel Streatfeild

17. Marjory Fleming by Oriel Malet

18. Every Eye by Isobel English

19. They Knew Mr Knight by Dorothy Whipple

20. A Woman's Place: 1910-75 by Ruth Adam

21. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

22. Consider the Years by Virginia Graham

23. Reuben Sachs by Amy Levy

24. Family Roundabout by Richmal Crompton

25. The Montana Stories by Katherine Mansfield

26. Brook Evans by Susan Glaspell

27. The Children who lived in a Barn by Eleanor Graham

28. Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski

29. The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett

30. Kitchen Essays by Agnes Jekyll

31. A House in the Country by Jocelyn Playfair

32. The Carlyles at Home by Thea Holme

33. The Far Cry by Emma Smith

34. Minnie's Room: The Peacetime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes by Mollie Panter-Downes

35. Greenery Street by Denis Mackail

36. Lettice Delmer by Susan Miles

37. The Runaway by Elizabeth Anna Hart

38. Cheerful Weather for the Wedding by Julia Strachey

39. Manja by Anna Gmeyner

40. The Priory by Dorothy Whipple

41. Hostages to Fortune by Elizabeth Cambridge

42. The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding

43. The Wise Virgins by Leonard Woolf

44. Tea with Mr Rochester by Frances Towers

45. Good Food On The Aga by Ambrose Heath

46. Miss Ranskill Comes Home by Barbara Euphan Todd

47. The New House by Lettice Cooper

48. The Casino by Margaret Bonham

49. Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton

50. The World that was Ours by Hilda Bernstein

51. Operation Heartbreak by Duff Cooper

52. The Village by Marghanita Laski

53. Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary by Ruferguson

54. They Can't Ration These by Vicomte De Mauduit

55. Flush by Virginia Woolf

56. They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple

57. The Hopkins Manuscript by Rc Sherriff

58. Hetty Dorval by Ethel Wilson

59. There Were No Windows by Norah Hoult

60. Doreen by Barbara Noble

61. A London Child of the 1870s by Molly Hughes

62. How To Run Your Home Without Help by Kay Smallshaw

63. Princes in the Land by Joanna Cannan

64. A Woman Novelist and Other Stories by Diana Gardner

65. Alas, Poor Lady by Rachel Ferguson

66. Gardener’s Nightcap by Muriel Stuart

67. The Fortnight in September by Rc Sherriff

68. The Expendable Man by Dorothy B Hughes

69. Journal by Katherine Mansfield

70. Plats du Jour by Patience Gray and Primrose Boyd

71. The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett

72. House-Bound by Winifred Peck

73. The Young Pretenders by Edith Henrietta

74. The Closed Door and Other Stories by Dorothy Whipple

75. On the Other Side: Letters to my Children from Germany 1940-46 by Mathilde Wolff-Mönckeberg

76. The Crowded Street by Winifred Holtby

77. Daddy's Gone A-Hunting by Penelope Mortimer

78. A Very Great Profession by Nicola Beauman

79. Round about a Pound a Week by Maud Pember Reeves

80. The Country Housewife's Book by Lucy H Yates

81. Miss Buncle's Book by De Stevenson

82. Amours de Voyage by Arthur Hugh Clough

83. Making Conversation by Christine Longford

84. A New System of Domestic Cookery by Mrs Rundell

85. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple

86. To Bed with Grand Music by Marghanita Laski

87. Dimanche and Other Stories by Irène Némirovsky

88. Still Missing by Beth Gutcheon

89. The Mystery of Mrs Blencarrow by Mrs Oliphant

90. The Winds of Heaven by Monica Dickens

91. Miss Buncle Married by D. E. Stevenson

92. Midsummer Night in the Workhouse by Diana Athill

93. The Sack of Bath by Adam Fergusson

94. No Surrender by Constance Maud

95. Greenbanks by Dorothy Whipple

96. Dinners for Beginners by Rachel and Margaret Ryan

97. Harriet by Elizabeth Jenkins

98. A Writer's Diary by Virginia Woolf

99. Patience by John Coates

100. The Persephone Book of Short Stories by Various

101. Heat Lightning by Helen Hull

102. The Exiles Return by Elisabeth De Waal

103. The Squire by Enid Bagnold

104. The Two Mrs Abbotts by De Stevenson

105. Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield

106. Into the Whirlwind by Eugenia Ginzburg

107. Wilfred and Eileen by Jonathan Smith

108. The Happy Tree by Rosalind Murray

109. The Country Life Cookery Book by Ambrose Heath

110. Because of the Lockwoods by Dorothy Whipple

111. London War Notes by Mollie Panter-Downes

112. Vain Shadow by Jane Hervey

 

Status: 11/112 books read = 10% complete

Link to comment
Share on other sites

THE ENGLISH COUNTIES CHALLENGE

 

For more details, visit the English Counties Challenge board: http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/forum/74-english-counties-challenge/

 

Key:

Books I own in Italics

Books I have read in Bold

 

BOOK LIST:

 

BEDFORDSHIRE: My Uncle Silas by H. E. Bates

BERKSHIRE: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

BRISTOL: The Misses Mallett by E. H. Young

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE: The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper

CAMBRIDGESHIRE: The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers

CHESHIRE: Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

CITY OF LONDON: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

CORNWALL: Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier

CUMBRIA: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

DERBYSHIRE: Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

DEVON: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

DORSET: Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

COUNTY DURHAM: Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE: South Riding by Winifred Holtby

EAST SUSSEX: Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne

ESSEX: The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James

GLOUCESTERSHIRE: Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee

GREATER LONDON*: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

GREATER MANCHESTER: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

HAMPSHIRE: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

HEREFORDSHIRE: On The Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin

HERTFORDSHIRE: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

ISLE OF WIGHT: England, England by Julian Barnes

KENT: The Darling Buds of May by H. E. Bates

LANCASHIRE: Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

LEICESTERSHIRE: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend

LINCOLNSHIRE: The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

MERSEYSIDE: An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge

NORFOLK: The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley

NORTH YORKSHIRE: All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

NORTHUMBERLAND: The Stars Look Down by A. J. Cronin

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE: Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence

OXFORDSHIRE: The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford

RUTLAND: Set In Stone by Robert Goddard

SHROPSHIRE: Summer Lightning by P. G. Wodehouse

SOMERSET: Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore

SOUTH YORKSHIRE: A Kestral For A Knave by Barry Hines

STAFFORDSHIRE: The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett

SUFFOLK: The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald

SURREY: Emma by Jane Austen

TYNE AND WEAR: Another World by Pat Barker

WARWICKSHIRE: Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes

WEST MIDLANDS: Middlemarch by George Eliot

WEST SUSSEX: Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

WEST YORKSHIRE: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

WILTSHIRE: Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

WORCESTERSHIRE: The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall

 

Status: 17/48 books read = 35% complete

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A Breath of French Air by H. E. Bates
 
Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk):
And so at the end of a rainy English August the Larkins – all ten of them, including little Oscar, the family’s new addition – bundle into the old Rolls and cross the Channel to escape the hostile elements.
 
But far from being the balmy, sunny and perfick spot Ma Larkin hoped for, France proves less than welcoming to an eccentric English family. The tea’s weak, the furniture breakable and the hotel manager is almost as hostile as the wind and the rain they’ve brought with them! And when the manager learns that Ma and Pop are unmarried yet sharing a room under his roof, the trouble really begins …
 
Review:
After enjoying The Darling Buds of May yesterday, I couldn't resist buying the sequel today.  The Larkins decamp to Brittany for a holiday, and find their hotel rather dilapidated, the food disappointing, the bar almost non-existent and even the weather letting them down.  Gradually, the fortunes of the holiday turn around, new friends are made, old friends are met, and everyone has a lovely time.  Again, not much happens, but the gentle affection for the family and the period made me nostalgic for a time before I was born!  Lovely escapism for my first book of the year. :smile2:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all! :flowers2:

 

Didn't even open a book or pick up my kindle yesterday, but think I'll start another of my Christmas books today.  Probable candidate is Long Larkin by Lindsey Barraclough - a book my OH bought me, and one I'm actually a bit dubious about as it sounds and looks quite scary, and not my usual cup of tea at all.  :hide: 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope you have a marvelous reading year, chesil! :smile2: I expect to be adding a lot of books on my wishlist after reading your reviews this year, too... :D 

 

A few comments on your TBR: coincidentally I have a copy of Perfect by Rachel Joyce borrowed from the library. I can't remember if it's on my wishlist or if I have another book of hers on my wishlist. But ... which edition do you have? This is the library copy I have:

 

 

perfect-rachel-joyce-uk-new.jpg

 

 

It's absolutely gorgeous :wub: (If you manage to overlook yellow add for the other novel. Oh yes, that's the novel I have on my wishlist by her :D Haha, sticker was useful for once!) I see there's another similar edition out there, though:

 

 

perfect-rachel-joyce.jpg

 

 

This one's gorgeous, too! How could one choose? 

 

Anyway, about the actual book. The blurb sounds so interesting! Any chance the book is high on your TBR list? :giggle2: Your favorable review might just nudge me in the right direction, from just admiring the cover to actually reading it... 

 

I forget: have you read anything by Jonathan Tropper before? I know some members on here have... But I can't remember who! I see you have One Last Thing Before I Go on your TBR. I've not read it yet, but I've read two other books by him and he always makes me laugh :) 

 

 

 

A Breath of French Air by H. E. Bates
 
Review:
After enjoying The Darling Buds of May yesterday, I couldn't resist buying the sequel today.  The Larkins decamp to Brittany for a holiday, and find their hotel rather dilapidated, the food disappointing, the bar almost non-existent and even the weather letting them down.  Gradually, the fortunes of the holiday turn around, new friends are made, old friends are met, and everyone has a lovely time.  Again, not much happens, but the gentle affection for the family and the period made me nostalgic for a time before I was born!  Lovely escapism for my first book of the year. 

 

Sounds like just the right book to start your reading year with! :smile2: Great choice!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have Perfect on my TBR too Frankie, although I'm dubious because I think i awarded Harold Fry a mere 2/5! I have the second cover - this gorgeous, I agree!

 

Oh dear re: Harold Fry! :unsure: I went on Goodreads and Amazon to see what kinds of rating the both have received, and HF is in the lead. But ... It's a completely different book and you might like it so much more than HF! Maybe you should be the one to read the book next and tell Claire and I if it was any good :giggle2:

 

The covers are so gorgeous it's almost ridiculous :wub:

 

Edit: I have to add: I even love the font they've used in the blurb :wub: 

Edited by frankie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...