Kell

The ones I remember most vividly from my childhood are: Ronia the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis The Snow Spider Trilogy by Jenny Nimmo The Midnight Flk and The Box of Delights by John Masefield The Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton The Twits by Roald Dahl The Devil on the Road by Robert Westall Chocky by john Wyndham I still enjoy children's and young adult novels now and I'm getting to enjoy younger children's books again now as I read them to Xander.

Can you remember even a brief moment of the story? That might help as different prints will have had different covers...

Just realised it's National Children's Book Week (see article HERE about best-loved children's books). So, what are YOUR favourite children's books? Which titles transport you straight back t oa time of innocence? And do you still read children's books now?

I've only seen the Usborne ones. They have the Puzzle Adventures and the Young Puzzle Adventures for the younger kids. There's also the Fantasy Quests. You're sure it's definitely not them?

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY Loud What do you think of reading aloud/being read to? Does it bring back memories of your childhood? Your children’s childhood? Does this affect the way you feel about audio books? Do you now have times when you read aloud or are read to? I read aloud to myself all the time if I’m alone. I find it helps me really get into the characters (it’s the dialogue I tend to speak, rather than the rest of it). I also read aloud to my son, Xander (who is three years old) all the time. He loves books as much as I do. It’s not just a part of my childhood, reading aloud is part of the experience for me. I used to listen to audio books all the time. I’d walk to and from work, half an hour each way, and be plugged into my iPod the whole time, listening to someone else tell me a story. Loads of them were freebies read by laymen from Librivox, but some were professional ones. I enjoyed both. I don’t get the time to listen to them so much now though. I think I’ve answered the third part of the question in the first part of my answer, so I’ll leave it at that…

August and September Book Round-Up I didn’t get round to posting a round-up of the books I read in August last month as I was so busy with holidays, so here’s a bumper round-up for two months of reading. RATINGS: 1/5 Dire – don’t waste your time 2/5 OK, but nothing to write home about 3/5 Very good – worth a read 4/5 Excellent 5/5 Superb – read it immediately! BOOKS FINISHED IN AUGUST: 49. F E Higgins – The Black Book of Secrets (Sinister City 1) - 3/5 One from the library and the first in the Tales from the Sinister City series. A really great start to the series. It’s dark, it’s sinister, and it’s populated by characters I cared about very quickly. I’m looking forward to getting hold of the rest of the series from the library as soon as possible! 50. Julia Golding – Cat O’ Nine Tails (Cat Royal 4) - 4/5 The Cat Royal series just keeps on delivering! Fast-paced action, heart-warming characters, perilous situations, and real causes written in a manner that doesn’t condescend to its younger audience. This time round, Cat is all at sea – literally! It also delivers a sensitive portrayal of Native Americans and the oppression they often suffered at the hands of white settlers. 51. Philip Pullman – The Tin Princess (Sally Lockhart 4) - 3/5 This is the last book in the Sally Lockhart series, although it features Miss Lockhart (now Mrs Goldberg) very little. This is actually a good thing as Sally has always been a slightly unlikable character. Instead, this story focuses on Jim and another character we met way back in the beginning of the series (I won’t give it away). Throw in political unrest in a small European country and you have a very dangerous situation! It’s been a consistently good series, but I felt the end of this final installment left things hanging unsatisfactorily. 52. Douglas Jackson – Caligula - 4/5 Transworld Book Group – see full review HERE. 53. Nicholas Sparks – The Notebook - 4/5 This is not the kind of book I normally read. Although it’s written by a man, it’s a bit “chick-lit” and romantic for my usual tastes, but this is utterly compelling. As the story slowly unfolds, I’m finding myself falling in love with Noah and Allie, and I desperately wanted things to work out for them. It’s not often that a book makes me cry, but this one had me in tears, both of sadness and of joy. It’s a wonderful book and I recommend it even if it’s out of your comfort zone. 54. Alex Scarrow – Day of the Predator (TimeRiders 2) - 3/5 Time travel, dinosaurs, and possibly unravelling the entire space-time continuum – what more could you possibly want from a young adult novel? Well, great characters (check!) and a gripping plot (check would also be good. Ding, ding, ding – we have a winner! This is a brilliant sequel which expands upon what we learned in the first novel and makes some intriguing revelations (one important one I had already guessed back in the first book, but I felt quietly proud that I’d worked it out and it didn’t spoil things for me). BOOKS FINISHED IN SEPTEMBER: 55. Lee Carroll – Black Swan Rising - 3/5 Transworld Book Group – see full review HERE. 56. Steven A. Roman – Blood Feud (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Book 1) - 4/5 Reviewed for author HERE. 57. John Boyne – Crippen - 5/5 Transworld Book Group – see full review HERE. 58. Stephenie Meyer – The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (Twilight Saga Novella) - 2/5 I wasn’t impressed with the Twilight Saga (or Emo Sparkly Veggie Vamps R Us), but the completest in me demanded I read the accompanying novella. It’s no better than the rest of the series. Meyer is no great shakes as a writer and her one concession to originality is making her vampires sparkle in the sun. This novella is readable and blessedly short, but will only really delight those who are her most ardent fans. 59. Julia Golding – Black Heart of Jamaica (Cat Royal 5) - 3/5 Not quite as good as the last one. Once again we’re looking at slavery, but this time Cat experiences first hand how slaves are treated. There’s a smattering of piracy included, so a second sea voyage (however brief), but I would have preferred more of that to explore something a little different. Still good though! 60. Kevin Brookes – iBoy - 4/5 Young adult urban sci-fi thriller with a great concept. Fascinating study on moral right versus revenge and the responsibility of those who have power (a la Spider-Man etc). Believable characters coupled with hard-hitting themes which are deftly handled. I’ll be looking out for this author in future! 61. YS Lee – A Spy in the House (The Agency 1) - 3/5 First in a series of young adult historical detective/mystery novels. Packed with intrigue and it doesn’t dumb down for the teen audience either. Definitely worth pursuing further. 62. Steven Preece – Wasted Resource - 2/5 Reviewed for author HERE. 63. Lauren Kate – Fallen (Fallen 1) - 3/5 First in a young adult urban fantasy series. Interesting characters and concept although nearer the end it started to jump around a fair bit which meant I marked it down a little when I finished it. I’ll be reading the other books too though. BOOKS ABANDONED UNFINISHED: Kevin Crossley-Holland – The Seeing Stone (Arthur Trilogy 1) It’s 338 pages long, but has 100 chapters. By page 50, I had read 17 chapters and that was more than enough to know this wasn’t for me. To be honest, starting a new chapter every other page disrupted the flow – not that there was much flow anyway, as everything seemed to chop and change each time a new chapter began. As some chapters were literally less than a single page in length, I very quickly grew weary of it and dumped it. I won’t be returning to it or the rest of the series, despite being a huge fan of the Arthurian legends. A shame, because I was looking forward to it. Michael Cordy – The Colour of Death (Transworld Book Group) I just couldn’t read this one because it’s written in the present tense. It doesn’t matter how good a story is, if it’s written in the present tense, I just can’t get on with it. It hurts my head too much. So, sadly, I shall be unable to read this novel, which is the last one I was sent from the Transworld Book Group. Such a shame, because the other three. BOOKS STARTED (carrying over to October): Elizabeth Chadwick – Shadows and Strongholds Although I love historical fiction, I usually head straight for Roman, Tudor or Victorian eras, so this medieval setting is unusual for me and mostly an unknown quantity. Loving this so far – if it finishes as well as it’s started then I can see myself hunting out further works by this author in the future.

I wish the author of the poem was known - it's always credited as "anonymous" but I know it's been used for other fundraising projects so I'm pretty certain the author would be fine with this use too (of course, if the author ever contacts me and says differently I would pull the design immediately, but my searches so far have been in vain - elusive author, who are you?!). I completely agree, Isandriena - men are also known to get breast cancer (I actually highlighted that very point in a blog entry last month HERE). It's important that EVERYONE checks themselves out and gets to kow their bodies intimately so they can take note of any changes. My family has been houded by the Big C in various forms over the last few years - breast, prostate and skin cancer - so Cancer Research UK is a charity very close to my heart, as it does research and support for all kinds of cancer. It may well be that in the future, if other "cancer months" are announced, I shall do something to support them again for that cause too and do the designs in the appropriate colours. I'm actually starting to stitch a small amount of items for sale too - just finished stitching a key/scissor fob today and will continue stitching other items to raise a little extra - all proceeds will go to the charity.

£89 and available from 12th October. This could be what I've been waiting for! I was hoping for a Kindle for Xmas, but at £111 I thought it a bit much to think about. This is FAR more affordable and so sleek and pocket-sized!

And yet they don't seem to have done anything special for it - that amazes me! ETA: And the reason for that would be that we're wishing Google a BELATED happy birthday - according to Wiki, Google search engine was launched on 15th September 1997.

W... W... W... Wednesdays * What are you currently reading? * What did you recently finish reading? * What do you think you’ll read next? What are you currently reading? Elizabeth Chadwick – Shadows and Strongholds I haven’t had much reading time this past week and this one’s a chunky one at 560+ pages. I’m about half way through and loving it so far. What did you recently finish reading? Absolutely nothing this week – just started reading Shadows and Strongholds… What do you think you’ll read next? It was my birthday on Monday, so I spent some of my birthday money on some new books which will be next up off Mount TBR: Kelley Armstrong – Spellbound (WotOW 12) Philippa Gregory – The Lady of the Rivers (Cousins’ War 3) Erin Morgenstern – The Night Circus

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month! I hope Michelle won't mind me posting this here. Breast cancer is something very close to my heart - and not just because my heart is right under my breasts! I know several people who have battled breast cancer and, fortunately, won. So, to do my part to raise awareness and perhaps help in fundraising efforts, I have designed four small charts which will be offered FREE from 1st October on my Kincavel Krosses blog. In addition to this, I have designed a blackwork sampler with the poem "What Cancer Cannot Do" which will go on sale in my Folksy Store on 1st October. All proceeds from the sale of this design will go to Cancer Research UK, who host the Race For Life each year. I hope others will enjoy stitching these designs, whether to give to friends and raise awareness, or to sell to charity. If anyone sends me photos of them stitched, I will set up a gallery specifically for them on my Kincavel Krosses Blog. You can visit my Just Giving page HERE. Thank you.

The Stand isn't really a horror novel - it's more a post-apocalyptic vision of America. It is, however, one of my all-time favourite boks and I highly recommend it! If you want a gore-fest, try some Richard Laymon. It's very schlocky but you may get a few shivers down your spine from them. He's incredibly graphic and ther's lots of violence and usually some sex in there too - sometimes combining the two. Try the Beast House Chronicles: The Cellar The Beast House The Midnight Tour Friday Night in the Beast House Others you might find creepy by Laymon are: The Night Show Night Games Funland Blood Games Endless Night Bite The Travelling Vampire Show Or you might like some James Herbert. He's had some creepfests in the past. Try some of these: The Dark Others The Fog The Secret of Crickley Hall You might also like The Magic Cottage and Once by James Herbert, but they're not really horror - more slightly scary fairytale-type stories. Both are excellent and should be read in that order. Lightning by Dean Koontz is another favourite of mine, but not really scary. However, you might like to try the following for some thrills: Phantoms The Bad Place Midnight Hideaway Sole Survivor Some other fantastic horror-themed books you may like to include (by various authors) that I have loved are: Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin The Wicker Man by Robin Hardy Dracula by Bram Stoker Carmilla by J Sjeridan LeFanu Frankenstein by Mary Shelley The Omen by David Seltzer The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson The Entity by Frank De Felitta I hope that's given you a few to consider and I wish you a chill-tastic October! Bwahahahaha!

TEASER TUESDAYS 1. Grab your current read 2. Open to a random page 3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 5. Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! My teasers: Synopsis: A Mediaeval tale of pride and strife, of coming of age in a world where chivalry is a luxury seldom afforded, especially by men of power. An awkward misfit, loathed by his powerful and autocratic grandmother, nine-year-old Fulke FitzWarin (known as Brunin) leaves his family to be fostered in the household of Joscelin de Dinan, Lord of Ludlow. Here Fulke will learn knightly arts, but before he can succeed, he must overcome the deep-seated doubts that hold him back. Hawise FitzWarin is Joscelin’s youngest daughter and she befriends Fulke. As they grow up, an implacable enemy threatens Ludlow and as the pressure mounts, their friendship changes until one fateful day they find themselves staring at each other across a divide. Not only does Fulke have to overcome the shadows of his childhood, he faces a Welsh threat to his family’s lands, and the way he feels about Hawise endangers all his hard won confidence. As the menace to Ludlow intensifies, he must either confront the future head on, or fail on all counts, not knowing if Hawise stands with or against him. What I think of it so far: Although I’m a huge fan of historical fiction, I usually go for Roman, Tudor and Victorian eras, so this jaunt into the medieval period is unknown territory for me. I’m enjoying it immensely and if it ends as well as it started, I’ll be looking for more by this author in the future.

How about The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner by Iron Maiden, based on the poem by Coleridge? Does that count? Also Odyssey by Symphony X - a 24-minute long musical interpretation of Homer's epic. Awesome!

I have birthday money, so I had to make a couple of birthday boko acquisitions rather than letting th emoney burn a hole in my wallet. Three new hardback books bought today: Kelley Armstrong - Spellbound (WotOW 12) Savannah Levine is in danger. That's not usually a problem. But, caught in the grip of a disturbing and violent murder case, Savannah swore to give up her unique gifts if it would save an innocent young girl. Little did she know that someone - or something - was listening...Now she has no idea how to restore her powers, just when she needs them the most. In this compelling, fast-paced new thriller, Savannah has to face a host of deadly enemies bent on destroying not only her, but the very fabric of the supernatural world. As dark forces gather, Savannah isn't just fighting for her life, but for everything and everyone she loves... Philippa Gregory - The Lady of the Rivers (Cousins' War 3) Jacquetta, daughter of the Count of Luxembourg and kinswoman to half the royalty of Europe, was married to the great Englishman John, Duke of Bedford, uncle to Henry VI. Widowed at the age of nineteen she took the extraordinary risk of marrying a gentleman of her house-hold for love, and then carved out a life for herself as Queen Margaret of Anjou's close friend and a Lancaster supporter - until the day that her daughter Elizabeth Woodville fell in love and married the rival king Edward IV. Of all the little-known but important women of the period, her dramatic story is the most neglected. With her links to Melusina, and to the founder of the house of Luxembourg, together with her reputation for making magic, she is the most haunting of heroines. Erin Morgenstern - The Night Circus In 1886, a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque des Rêves delights all who wander its circular paths and warm themselves at its bonfire. Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists, the Circus of Dreams is no conventional spectacle. Some tents contain clouds, some ice. The circus seems almost to cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the rêveurs – the dreamers. At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter’s daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer’s apprentice. At the behest of their shadowy masters, they find themselves locked in a deadly contest, forced to test the very limits of the imagination, and of their love... A fabulous, fin-de-siècle feast for the senses and a life-affirming love story, The Night Circus is a captivating novel that will make the real world seem fantastical and a fantasy world real. Also wanted to get (but couldn't because they're not yet published/weren't in the store): - Brian M Bendis - Richard Castle's Deadly Storm (graphic novel) - published 21st Sep - Terry Pratchett - Snuff (DW 39) - published 13th Oct - Richard Castle - Heat Rises (Nikki Heat 3) - published 20th Oct There are others on my radar, but those are the ones earmarked for birthday money spendage!

So, of the films I wanted to see this year, well, I've actually watched most of them now! The Green Hornet Disappointing and dull. I didn’t even think all the effects were all that really. The CGI characters LOOKED CGI, which was very disappointing. Other effects were better, however it still was’t enough to redeem it. Over all I though it was utter dross. The worst by far of the super hero movies I’ve seen in recent years. Yet another example of why Marvel is so much better than DC – because Marvel have originality on their side! The Green Lantern was always a cheap knock off of Superman, but this film is just awful despite a great cast. True Grit Very good, but would have been better if Jeff Bridges hadn't been mumbling all the time as I could barely make out muc hof his dialogue. Would still like t osee the original one though... Black Swan Quite possibly the worst film I've seen this year (at least one of them!). The trailer promised a thrilling stalkerish type film, but it just didn't live up to it. Portman was particularly lacklustre and Mila Kunis was the only good thing about it! Cowboys and Aliens I enjoyed this film so much more than I expected! Yes, I loved the trailer, but I feared it would be a case of all the best bits were shown in it and there wouldn’t be much else to it. Well, it turns out the best bits ARE in the trailer, but the rest of it lives up to the promise! It was a surprisingly fun and engaging film which, in a bizarre twist, had me siding with certain gang members as they tried to come good. It’s a creature feature that’s definitely worth watching! Season of the Witch It's Nicholas Cage - what more do I need to say?Like I said, this is a bit of a road movie but is primarily a fantasy tale of good vs evil. The look of the film is good with some nice special effects. As far as the acting goes, well its a Nicolas Cage film, so you get what you expect really, Ron Perlman isn’t exactly a Derek Jacobi either, but as far as entertainment goes, its an enjoyable watch, just don’t have high expectations. The Eagle Average fayre. Jamie Bell proves he can step up into the grown-up world of acting, leaving his Billy Elliot child-actor self far behind, but this isn't one of the best Roman films I've ever seen. Enjoyable enough, but nothing to write home about. I Am Number 4 I've still not read the book, but the film was enjoyable enough to warrant me thinking about watching any sequel that might be made (I know the second book is out now). Jane Eyre I’m a HUGE fan of Jane Eyre – beautiful story – one of my favourites. This was pretty good, but it lacked much of the passion of the novel and Rochester was, well, too good looking to be honest – Fassbender isn’t a conventionally gorgeous guy, but he’s certainly quite pleasing to the eye. Wasikowska seems just about made for the role of Jane – she’s petite and, like Fassbender, is unconventional in the looks department – she managed to look pleasingly plain. Jamie Bell was rather good as St. John and Judy Dench, well, she’s always a class act – marvellous as always. Paul Haven't watched this one and it's lookig unlikely I ever will having seen and heard more about it and the general concensus is that it's dross... Scream 4 The movie pays a lot of homage to its original counterpart, but I don’t think it was anywhere near as good. A bit too long though... Fast Five I enjoyed this movie until the final chase which to be perfectly was quite ridiculous and defied the laws of physics, but that aside, the movie was a decent story with plenty action and that is pretty much all the film was made for. For those of you who stayed behind in the cinema until after the credits would have seen a nice little extra piece of film that sets up a sixth installment of the franchise, and some fans will be in for a shock with what is revealed. Thor Thor is a good tale and although the plot isn’t complicated, its entertaining enough. Not worth all the hype that it was given, but the special effects are very nice and help the film to achieve its aim – bums on seats. We will of course see Chris Hemsworth playing Thor again next year when he joins The Avengers for another superhero outing, which should be equally as entertaining as this movie.I would say that any fan of superheroes will enjoy this movie and won’t be too disappointed by the lack of plot as the special effects make up for that. Priest Very disappointing. I think Paul Bettany is on a bit of a religious streak really – an albino monk in The Da Vinci Code, an archangel in Legion, and a priest in, well, Priest. I predict that in his next film, he’ll either play the Pope, or perhaps Jesus (actualy, he’d be a wonderful Judas, I reckon). Or maybe he’ll play God himself! Whatever he ends up playing, I’ll be watching it – the man is a God anyway! *drool* Transformers: Dark of the Moon I was sorely disappointed by this one. It’s dull and over-long. They could easily have knocked an hour off the run-time for a slicker, tighter film which might have been more exciting. If I’d actually paid to see this, I’d be fuming right now, as it’s 2 1/2 hours of my life I won’t get back. The effects are great, but most of the sequences (and especially the final battle) are just dragged out too much. Fright Night David Tennant was the best thing in this one. The overall tone of the movie is pretty tongue in cheek with plenty of humour to offset the horror and director Craig Gillespie has made a very decent job of this film that has been released perhaps a little too soon to capture a proper audience to be as successful as it possibly could have been. The Three Musketeers Not seen it yet, but we're planning a trip to the cinema to see it in 3D - DYING to see this one still!

I'm happy to report Xan's birthday cake is a smash hit success!

I love all three! I've also read the following mash-ups/subversions of her books (with my ratings): Emma Tennant – Pemberley - 3/5 Amanda Grange – Mr Darcy, Vampyre - 3/5 Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - 3/5 Lynn Shepherd – Murder at Mansfield Park - 3/5 I also recently heard about the following books, all told from the point of view of the men in Austen's novels, all by Amanda Grange: Darcy's Diary (2005) Mr Knightly's Diary (2006) Mr Darcy's Diary (2007) Captain Wentworth's Diary (2007) Edmund Bertram's Diary (2007) Colonel Brandon's Diary (2008) Wickham's Diary (2011) Henry Tilney's Diary (2011) Dear Mr Darcy (2012) I have them all on my wish list...

I use the recipe I posted on my blog HERE. Last time I made it, I used chocolate buttercream frosting and it was glorious. This time, however, I wanted to use vanilla so I could use chocolate for the piping.

The cake has turned out lovely and I've decorated it ready for tomorrow: Rich, dense chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting and chocolate frostnig piped on top. I can hardly wait to cut a slice!

It seems the two threads have been merged now.

I have corn muffins in the oven just now, and buttermilk biscuits waiting to go in. Just from a packet mix, but they're still good! I had to order them from a company that imports from the USA. I've used them quite a lot for these - every couple of months or so I put in an order for corn muffin and buttermilk biscuit mixes - LOL! I'll be baking a chocolate cake from scratch tomorrow though, as it's Xan's 3rd birthday on Saturday and we're taking him to see Numberjacks at the theatre so I won't have a chance to make it on the Big Day itself. Still, it'll give me more time to decorate it with his name and a big number 3 while he's sleeping.

If anyone fancies a swap of one of the books they've received (whether you've read it and want to try another one, or couldn't get into it and would like to try another instead), I have The Colour of Death by Michael Cordy which according to all the other reviews is great, but I can't read it because I just can't get on with present tense format. Would love to swap for one of the following (in order of preference): Death Sentence by Mikkel Birkegaard The Water Room by Christopher Fowler The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark Teacher, Teacher! by Jack Sheffield The Secrets Between Us by Louise Douglas Twelve by Jasper Kent The Obscure Logic of the Heart by Priya Basil If you're interested, gimme a shout!