Onion Budgie

I live in a top-floor flat, so I'll be ok. Gosh, yes, all of the books; the dinghy would sink! Our last severe flood alert was back in 2013, and the flooding was minimal; it didn't reach anywhere near where I live. Hopefully the same will be true for this time around. Lucky you for having good flood defences!

Woke up to snow, but it's already melting. My region is also on severe flood alert, so that's fun. Tidal surge expected at around 9.30pm. My next post may come from the inside of a dinghy!

Cumberbatch did say in an interview that Series 4 "goes to a place where it will be pretty hard to follow on immediately", so anything could happen. Your spoiler-guess would make a lot of fans of the show extremely sad, though, so I hope it doesn't happen. I don't think Twitter could take the strain.

I'm a slower reader -- any 500+ page book is a month long commitment for me -- so I have to be selective when it comes to thicker books, as we'll be spending a lot of time together. If the book turns out to be fantastic, then I couldn't be happier. My preferred book length is between 200-300 pages. Shorter is fine too. Characters can be as well defined in a 150 page novella as in an 800 page chunker; it all depends on the skill of the author.

I'm still working my way through Season 4 of Elementary, on DVD. Jonny Lee Miller's interpretation of Holmes is endlessly entertaining! I miss Rhys Ifans' Mycroft, though; I wish he could come back to the series, although I know it's unlikely. He was a blast.

Hope you feel better soon, Kell. What a run of bad luck indeed.

Shame on the doc for not keeping you informed, frankie. At least you know what's what now. I've found that eating a bowl of fortified cereal such as All Bran every day helps enormously with iron levels. A bowl of All Bran, for example, contains about a third of your daily requirement, as well as providing a ton of fibre, B12 and Folate. Keeps you regular, too.

Yay! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it!

Tonight it's chickpea & bell pepper pasta, with a side dish of steamed kale and broccoli. Yum!

"The scoutmaster paced back and forth in front of the morgue, a cigarette in one hand and a black plastic garbage bag in the other." The Great Forgetting by James Renner

Bad writing is my only criteria for abandoning a book. A dull book, or a book with detestable characters, I can slug on through to the end with those, but bad writing grinds my gears in the worst way.

I'm fully prepared to be swayed back again, if tonight's episode is up to snuff! I did adore the first two series. I simply didn't take to Mary's character, the way she was played, and how the episodes suddenly revolved so exclusively around her. I've heard rumours that this will be the final series. Perhaps it'll go out on a high.

I did write a short review on Goodreads, yes! If you love the Marx Brothers then you'd definitely love the bio, it was immense fun to read.

So I just finished reading Q's Legacy by Helene Hanff, and it was glorious. Both funny and touching, in equal measure. 5/5 That's it for Hanff -- I've read all of her six now. I miss her already. Onward, onward, to The Great Forgetting by James Renner, which sounds like a trip and a half, and I can't wait to dive in.

Middlesex! Go on.

Anyone watching the new series of Sherlock? For me -- just one episode in, admittedly -- it's been another disappointment. There hasn't been a good episode since Series 2, in my opinion, and I'm so sad about that. The introduction of Mary in Series 3 brought everything to a crashing halt. The characters seemed so broken, with everyone behaving terribly out of character. And no, that can't be blamed on "The Great Hiatus" of Sherlock's "death". It's down to sloppy, up-their-own-arse writing. Toby Jones enters the fray for Sunday's episode. Perhaps he'll rescue things. Plus, of course, you-know-who is out of the loop now. Thank bejeebles for THAT!

Amazon, 99% of the time. They're the cheapest -- I can find most of the secondhand books I want on there for a penny plus P&P. For brand new books, I juggle between Amazon and Book Depository, depending on who is offering the better deal.

~ To read some more of those books on my shelf that have been sitting there neglected for years. The number is beginning to dwindle (finally)! ~ To re-kickstart my own writing. I've written very little for months now, and that needs to change. (I write Holmesian pastiche and parody.) That's all I can think of at the moment.

28 this year. That's five fewer than last year, but I read more graphic novels in 2015. It's a tiny number compared to everyone else here!

About to start watching the DVD box set of Season 4 of Elementary, which stars Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu. I recently rewatched the first three seasons in preparation, and I'm so looking forward to seeing what happens. Each season has a spectacularly twisty, threading plotline that explodes at the finale, and it's such a fun programme to watch. So many episodes, though -- this'll keep me busy for the next couple of weeks.

The usual suspect on my part: Sherlock Holmes. He wouldn't want to come, so I'd have to threaten him. He'd be grumpy at having to celebrate anything so trivial as a New Year. But I'd sit him in a quiet corner with a bottle of whisky, and watch him get tipsy. I'd give anything to see Holmes drunk. He'd end up the evening with a lampshade on his head, giggling and blowing raspberries.

I finally finished Murder for Christmas. I didn't much enjoy the writing style; the author used the same descriptive phrases over and over (and over) and over again. Still, I didn't guess whodunnit, so the book had that much going for it, at least. Two repetitive stars out of five. I'm just about to begin Q's Legacy by Helene Hanff. Beatific bliss shall no doubt ensue.

I hope everyone's Christmas was all that they wished for! After four days of stuffing my face with lovely food & festive booze, it's now back to the calorie counting and exercise. Oh dear god no anything but that Hooray!

Is it this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Airmans-Song-Book-C-H-Ward-Jackson/B0014D6D4E There's a little more info on it here: http://www.horntip.com/html/books_&_MSS/1940s/1945_airmans_song_book__c_h_ward-jackson_(HC)/index.htm

Merry Christmas, Lau_Lou. Tonight I'm off to visit a friend to exchange gifts for birthdays and Christmas, and see some other friends who I haven't seen in a long time. Will have to brave the elements -- it's freezing outside, and windy. No sign of snow yet!