Janet

AUDIBLE BOOKS PURCHASED 2017 (BOOKS LISTENED TO IN RED!) 1. Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson - 01.01.17 2. The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald - 09.01.17 - finished 11.01.17 3. A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh - 01/02/2017 - finished 11.02.17 Total listened to 2 Abandoned 0

'PAID FOR' KINDLE BOOKS ACQUIRED IN 2017 (TITLES READ IN RED!) The Essex Serpent (2016) by Sarah Perry - 02.01.17 - £0.99 - finished 22.03.17 The Ashes of London (2016) by Andrew Taylor - 03.02.17 - £1.99 - finished 18.02.17 The Witchfinder's Sister (2017) by Beth Underdown - 02.04.17 - £0.99 - finished 11.05.17 The American Boy (2003) by Andrew Taylor - 03.04.17 - £1.99 The Descent of Man (2016) by Grayson Perry - 16.04.17 - £0.99 - finished 01.06.17 Total 'paid for' Kindle books acquired in 2017: 6 Number of these read: 5 Books abandoned: 0 Total cost* of books acquired: £6.95

PAPER BOOKS ACQUIRED IN 2017 (TITLES READ IN RED!) FICTION / CLASSICS / CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT / NON-FICTION / SHORT STORY / PLAYS / POETRY 1. The Secret of Nightingale Wood by Lucy Strange - £0 finished 01.02.17 (11.01.17 - Present from Claire) - Children's / YA 2. The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo- £0 (11.01.17 - Waterstones, Cirencester) - Children's / YA 3. Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain by Barney Norris - £0 finished 28.05.16(11.01.17 - Waterstones, Cirencester) - Fiction 4. John Betjemen poems selected by Hugo Williams - £0 (18.01.17 - Waterstones, Wells) - Poetry 5. Village Christmas and Other Notes on the English Year by Laurie Lee - £0 (18.01.17 - Waterstones, Wells) - Non-fiction 6. Through the Woods by H E Bates - £0.60 (20.01.17 - Lion's Bookshop, Warminster) - Non-fiction 7. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout - £0 finished 25.01.17 (27.01.17 - Waterstones, Trowbridge) - Fiction 8. The Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine - £0 (11.2.17 - Waterstones, Wells) - Children's / YA 9. The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín - £2.20 finished 09.03.17 (14.02.17 - Ebay Online) - Fiction 10. Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel - £2.00 finished 18.04.17 (03.03.17 - Amazon) - Fiction 11. Dickens at Christmas by Charles Dickens - £1.24 (07.03.17 - The Book People) - Fiction 12. Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - £1.24 (07.03.17 - The Book People) - Fiction 13. Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome - £1.24 (07.03.17 - The Book People) - Fiction 14. Christmas Holiday by W. Somerset Maugham - £1.24 (07.03.17 - The Book People) - Fiction 15. Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg - £1.24 (07.03.17 - The Book People) - Fiction 16. If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino - £1.24 (07.03.17 - The Book People) - Fiction 17. A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flaag - £1.24 (07.03.17 - The Book People) - Fiction 18. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene - £3.00 (22.04.17 Left for Dead (shop), Shrewsbury) - Fiction 19. Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll - £0.00 finished 14.05.17 (01.05.17 - Waterstones Bristol) - Children's / YA 20. The Road to Wigan Pier Revisited by Stephen Armstrong - £1.50 finished 24.05.17 (05.05.17 - Dorothy House shop, Warminster) - Non-fiction 21. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith - £2.00 (08.06.17 - Bookends, Trowbridge) - Fiction 22. Educating Rita by Willy Russell - £1.00 (09.06.17 - Bookbarn, Hallatrow) - Play Total new books acquired in 2017: 20 Number of these read: 7 Total cost* of books acquired: £19.29 Library Books: 0 Library Books Read: 0 Books abandoned: 0 * Taking into account money off/vouchers/gift cards etc - so price paid, not necessarily cover price

BOOKS READ IN 2017 Key: English Counties Challenge (EC) - total 30/48 World Challenge (W) - total 51/223 Classics (C) Library (L) Kindle (K) Nook (N) Book club (real or online) (BC) Audiobook (A) FICTION / CLASSICS / CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT / NON-FICTION / SHORT STORY / PLAYS / POETRY 1. The Christmasaurus (2016) by Tom Fletcher - 01.01.17 - 3½/5 2. The Girl Who Saved Christmas (2016) by Matt Haig - 02.01.17 - 4/5 3. The Go-Between (1953) by L P Hartley - 07.01.17 ( EC - Norfolk) - 4/5 4. Grief is the Thing with Feathers (2015) by Max Porter - 08.01.17 - 4/5 5. Walking Away (2015) by Simon Armitage - 10.01.17 - 3/5 6. The Bookshop (1978) by Penelope Fitzgerald - 11.01.17 ( A / EC - Suffolk) - 3½/5 7. The Palace of Curiosities (2013) by Rosie Garland - 14.01.17 ( BC ) - 2½/5 8. Coffin Road (2016) by Peter May - 21.01.17 ( A ) - 4/5 9. Howards End (1910) by E M Forster - 27.01.17 - ( K / EC - Hertfordshire) - 3/5 10. A Child in the Forest (1974) by Winifred Foley - 30.01.17 ( EC - Gloucestershire ) - 4/5 11. The Secret of Nightingale Wood (2016) by Lucy Strange - 01.02.17 - 4/5 12. The Reader on the 6.27 (2015) by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent (trans. Ros Schwartz) - 04.02.17 - 3/5 13. A Lineage of Grace (2001) by Francine Rivers - 09.02.17 - 3/5 14. Selected Poems (1982) by Laurie Lee - 09.02.17 - 2/5 15. A Man Lay Dead (1934) by Ngaio Marsh - 11.02.17 - 4/5 16. The Unforgotten (2016) by Laura Powell - 11.02.17 - 3½/5 17.The Ashes of London (2016) by Andrew Taylor - 18.02.17 - ( K ) - 4/5 18. Danse Macabre - a Novelette by Laura M Hughes - 19.02.17 - ( K ) - 4/5 19. Agnes Grey (1847) by Anne Brontë - 22.02.17 - ( K / A / C ) - 4½/5 20. In Darkling Wood (2015) by Emma Carroll - 23.02.17 - 4/5 21. My Name is Lucy Barton (2016) by Elizabeth Strout - 25.02.17 - ( BC ) - 3/5 22. The Old Wives' Tale (1908) by Arnold Bennett - 05.03.17 - ( K / C / EC - Staffordshire ) - 4/5 23. The Testament of Mary (2012) by Colm Tóibín ( BC ) - 3/5 24. The Essex Serpent (2016) by Sarah Perry ( K ) - 22.03.17 - 5/5 25. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) by Arthur Conan Doyle - ( C / K ) - 30.03.17 - 4/5 26. The Sitterford Mystery (1931) by Agatha Christie - ( A ) - 08.04.17 - 3/5 27. Beyond Black (2005) by Hilary Mantel - ( BC ) - 18.04.17 - 2/5 28. Death in the Clouds (1935) by Agatha Christie - ( A ) - 30.04.17 - 4/5 29. The Professor (1857) by Charlotte Brontë - ( K ) - 01.05.17 - 3/5 30. The Witchfinder's Sister (2017) by Beth Underdown - ( K ) - 11.05.17 - 4/5 31. Letters from the Lighthouse (2017) by Emma Carroll - 14.05.17 - 4½/5 32. The Crossing Places (2009) by Elly Griffiths- ( A ) - 19.05.17 - 4/5 33. The Road to Wigan Pier Revisited (2012) by Stephen Armstrong - 24.05.17 - 3/5 34. Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain (2016) by Barney Norris - ( BC ) - 28.05.16 - 4/5 35. The Blackhouse (2009) by Peter May - ( A ) - 28.05.17 - 5/5 36. The Descent of Man (2016) by Grayson Perry ( K ) - 02.06.17 - 3½/5 37. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (1940) by Agatha Christie - ( A ) - 04.06.17 - 3/5 38. The Call of the Wild (1903) by Jack London - ( A / C ) - 18.06.17 - 3½/5 39. The House at Pooh Corner (1928) by A A Milne - 28.06.17 - 5/ [/color] 40. The Mill on the Floss (1860) by George Eliot ( EC - Lincolnshire / K ) - 01.07.17 - 3½/5 41. Please Look After Mother (2008) by Kyung-Sook Shin - ( BC / WC - South Korea) - 06.07.17 - 2½/5 42. Spectacles (2015) by Sue Perkins - 12.07.17 - 3/5 43. Cowboy Song - The Authorised Biography of Philip Lynott (2016) by Graeme Thomson - 21.07.17 - 5/5 44. The Lewis Man by Peter May – 5/5 45. The Mystery of the Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine – 4/5 46. Call for the Dead by John le Carré – 3/5 47. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham – 4/5 48. On the Marshes: A Journey into England's Waterlands by Carol Donaldson – 3/5 49. The Misses Mallett by E H Young – 4/5 50. Hot Milk by Deborah Levy – 3/5 51. Pattern: The Secrets of Lasting Design by Emma Bridgewater – 3/5 52. Holding by Graham Norton – 4/5 53. Strange Star by Emma Carroll – 4/5 54. The Trouble with Henry and Zoe by Andy Jones – 3/5 55. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith – 4/5 56. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel – 4/5 57. Lorna Doone by R D Blackmore – 3/5 58. The Mystery of the Midnight Peacock by Katherine Woodfine – 4/5 59. The Trumpet-Major by Thomas Hardy 60. Kitchens of the Great Midwest by Ryan J Stradal – 3/5 61. Pax by Sara Pennypacker – 4/5 62. A Literary Christmas: An Anthology – various – 4/5 63. The Invisible Child and the Fir Tree by Tove Jansson – 3/5 64. The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton – 3/5 65. Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak – 3/5 66. A History of Britain in 21 Women: A Personal Selection by Jenni Murray – 4/5 67. The Last of the Spirits by Chris Priestley – 4/5 68. Pablo Picasso's Noël by Carol Ann Duffy – 3/5 69. Winter Magic by various, selected by Abi Elphinstone – 4/5 70. The Nutcracker by E T A Hoffmann – 3/5 71. The Chessmen by Peter May – 5/5 72. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – 5/5 73. A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the Establishment by John Preston – 4/5 74. A Murder of Quality by John Le Carré – 4/5 5/5 - I loved it 4/5 - I really liked it 3/5 - I liked it 2/5 - It was okay 1/5 - I hated it (or variations!) Note - sea blue = #006666 green = #006400 blue = #0000ff

I'm going to copy a few people's ideas and use this as an index, but I'm going to simplify my blog too! Books read In 2006 - 20 Books read In 2007 - 30 Books read In 2008 - 40 Books read In 2009 - 65 Books read In 2010 - 45 Books read In 2011 - 60 Books read In 2012 - 76 Books read in 2013 - 63 Books read in 2014 - 57 Books read in 2015 - 69 Books read in 2016 - 86

I love your index in post #1 - very organised. Looking forward to following your progress, especially in regards to Dickens, Hardy and the English Counties challenge. I hope you have a good reading year this year.

Hi Dan. Welcome to the Book Club Forum I've read a few books off your list. I'm going to try to read A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson in 2017 - I've been putting off for a number of years... Happy reading in 2017.

Your blog is the most organised I've ever seen, and I love the photos at the start of the threads. I am in total awe of your number of unread books. I hope you have a great 2017.

Hello, old friend. I'm looking forward to discussing some more English Counties books with you. It's a great challenge - I'm really enjoying it! I'm on 30/48 too and I'm currently reading Norfolk's offering. I need to sort out the rest - I wasn't going to re-read any books, but I've got quite a few alternatives to find as a result. Happy reading in 2017.

I love what you've done there! </easily pleased> Happy reading in 2017, Noll.

I always set a target of 52. I usually exceed it but I'm not brave enough to increase it! Happy reading in 2017, Hayley.

You're brave listing your Kindle books 'to be read'. I've no idea how many books I have on my Kindle - I'm going with the ostrich approach! (Do they really bury their heads in the sand, or is that a myth...?) I have started keeping a tally of Kindle books that I've paid for in the last few years, but I have tons of freebies that I haven't listed. Happy reading in 2017

I've tried culling my 'to read' books in the past but I just find it so difficult to actually get rid of them! Well done for getting your pile down to 45 - that's quite manageable I should think. And good luck with buying fewer (I shan't say no!) books in 2017.

I read a sample of the author's second book but I'm not sure whether it sounds like something I'd enjoy. Thanks - I didn't actually read any authors from Northern Ireland this year, I've noticed! It absolutely tears the magic away - that's such a good way to put it. And I totally agree - I still love Pooh bear and I'm sure I always will.

I found it rather underwhelming too, Bobs. I am about a quarter of the way through The Go-Between by L P Hartley which is the English Counties Challenge book for Norfolk. I had it in paperback but the writing is so small that I struggled a bit, so I've bought it on Kindle and I'm getting on much better with it as a result.

2016 Stats Books read – 86 Total Pages – 24,633 Average page count per book – 286 That’s an increase of 26.2% of pages read in 2015 and the most books I’ve read in a year since I began keeping a record (previous highest was 76 in 2012) I abandoned just one book – Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton 14 Children’s / YA Books (six of these were for my Roald Dahl Challenge) 16 Classics (five are Sherlock Holmes/Arthur Conan Doyle – I’m not sure if they are actually considered classics or not) 45 Fiction 7 Non-fiction 2 Poetry 1 Play 1 Mixed genres Most read authors Agatha Christie – 6 Roald Dahl - 6 Arthur Conan Doyle – 5 Charles Dickens – 3 Elizabeth Gaskell – 3 Female Authors – 44 Male Authors – 41 Joint M/F Authors – 1 35 authors are still alive 51 authors are dead Of the 86 books read I gave ten books 5/5 and one book 1/5! Country of birth Australia – 2 Republic of Ireland – 3 England – 52 Scotland – 11 USA – 7 Wales – 7 New Zealand, Nigeria, Sweden, Unknown – 1 each The earliest publication was 1811 – Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 7 books were published in 2016 14 published in the 19th Century, 42 published in the 20th Century and 30 published in the 21st Century The shortest books (4) had 48 pages (two Dahl Challenge books and two Carol Ann Duffy poems) and the longest book had 714 (The Stars Look Down by A J Cronin)

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey The ‘blurb’ Alaska, the 1920s. Jack and Mabel have staked everything on a fresh start in a remote homestead, but the wilderness is a stark place, and Mabel is haunted by the baby she lost many years before. When a little girl appears mysteriously on their land, each is filled with wonder, but also foreboding: is she what she seems, and can they find room in their hearts for her? When Mabel and Jack lose their unborn child, their grief makes them pack up the life they’ve known in Philadelphia and move to the wilds of Alaska where they plan to live off the land. But life is hard and lonely and the couple grow apart. One evening when it snows they build a snow child in their yard. Mabel gives it red gloves and a scarf – the moment brings the couple a kind of closeness that has been missing for a long time. The next morning, however, the snow child has gone, but during the course of the next few days the couple have a feeling that they are being watched. Eventually a young girl starts appearing at their homestead although she never stays long, and while Mabel looks forward to her brief visits she is still terribly lonely. When the couple become friends with a family who live nearby, Mabel’s life improves slightly as she becomes friendly with the unconventional Esther, but as she speaks to her friend about the snow child who has come into her life, Esther worries that the woman is suffering from cabin fever. Meanwhile, Mabel realises that there are parallels between her and Jack’s snow child and a Russian folk-tale in a book her father used to read to her long ago… I’ve had this on my ‘to read’ pile since 2012 and don’t really know why I left it so long to pick it up. I really enjoyed the story which was is so atmospheric – the wild Alaskan landscape and the snow are characters in their own right in the book which charts just how difficult life was in 1920s Alaska. Based on a Russian fairy-tale, it is a story of hardship and sorrow, but also one of friendship and hope. The paperback edition is 448 pages long and is published by Tinder Press. It was first published in 2011. The ISBN is 978 0755380534. 4/5 (I enjoyed it) (Finished 31 December 2016)

Yes, I like to read Christmas-themed books in December. I didn't manage to read all the ones on my shelves this year though.

I started The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig (a present from Kay and Alan) last night when I went to bed and I've just finished it. I bought The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry on Kindle today. I was going to buy the hardback but looked it up on Amazon and it's 99p today!

I nearly bought the hardback in Waterstones this morning, but we decided to go for a coffee first, so I looked it up on Amazon whilst we were in the coffee shop and couldn't believe my luck on the timing.

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry is 99p today!

Favourite read? I was going to say South Riding, but I've put that under the audio book category, so I'll say Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I just loved the alternative London! Favourite author? Probably Agatha Christie as we both like listening to the Poirot books and they therefore remind me of some lovely weekends away. Most read author? Agatha Christie and Roald Dahl with six books each Favourite book cover? Two stand out: Book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton - too ridiculous Book that most disappointed you? Lady Chatterley's Lover by D H Lawrence. I would have undoubtedly have given up on this if it wasn't and English Counties Challenge book. Funniest book? Just William by Richmal Crompton - my first visit to William - I really liked him! Favourite literary character? A toss up between Flora Poste from Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons and Mrs Hawkins from A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark Favourite children's book? It's a play script, but probably Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J K Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne. Sure, it's not perfect, but it was great to revisit the wizarding world. Favourite classic? Hard Times by Charles Dickens Favourite non-fiction book? Pies and Prejudice by Stuart Maconie, although Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field by John Lewis-Stempel was so beautifully written that it's a close second. Favourite biography? I only read one, so Enchanted Places by Christopher Milne Favourite collection of short stories? / Favourite poetry collection? (I've merged this into one category as this book contained both) The Christmas Book by James Reeves Favourite illustrated book? I'm not sure this really counts as they're photographs, but Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs Favourite publisher? Vintage Favourite audiobook? South Riding by Winifred Holtby - superb Favourite re-read? I always say A Christmas Carol (and this year is no exception!) but I'll say Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - I enjoyed it more the second time round than I did the first time.

I finished 2016 on 86 books - my highest ever total. My previous highest was 76 in 2012. I read a total of 24,633 pages (average page count is therefore 286) which is a 26.2% on last year's page count so I'm pleased with that. Like Will, I've read some excellent English Counties books. I read 12 classics this year.

I finished The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher today. It was fun - I imagine if I were the target audience (7-9 years) I would have really loved it.

Lanterns Across the Snow by Susan Hill The ‘blurb’ An account of a country childhood in Wessex a hundred years ago. Evoking the delights and surprises of Christmas and the mood of the countryside in the bleak mid-winter, this is a nostalgic and lyrical story. “Last night, the snow fell. And then I began to remember. I remembered all the things that I had forgotten. Or so it seemed. But not forgotten after all. They were all there, stored away, like treasures. Last night, the snow fell…” Fanny is sitting by the window watching the snow, and as she watches she recalls long, long ago when she was a child living with her parents and brother in the Dorset countryside in the early 1900s. Fanny’s father is a vicar and is busy with Christmas preparation and Fanny is beside herself with excitement as she watches the snow fall and anticipates the festive season with excitement. But it’s not all sweetness and light, as a tragedy befalls a villager of whom Fanny is very fond and she struggles with the ‘why him?’ question. But that same day a baby is born which demonstrations to Fanny that for everything there is a season. I bought this book after to chatting to a friend about Susan Hill. I’ve read a few of her books and have enjoyed them, especially as she writes in quite a variety of genres, but I hadn’t actually come across this one before. With my love of Christmas it sounded right up my street. It’s a gorgeous story, set over a period of three days and not only are Susan Hill’s characters well-written, but the setting in the snow is very evocative of times gone by when life was much simpler. Very short at only 79 pages, it was nevertheless a very enjoyable read. The paperback edition is 80 pages long and is published by Penguin. It was first published in 1987. The ISBN is 9780140125894. It is currently out of print, apart from on Susan Hill’s website (where it’s rather expensive!) and from Ebay. 4/5 (I enjoyed it) (Finished 24 December 2016)