Janet

I've read a couple of K M Peyton's Flambards series but I haven't heard of the ones you listed above. I read copious amounts of Dick Francis books when I was in my late teens/early 20s! Proof was the first one of his I read (and the only one I kept - I might re-read it one day!). Even though I'm not in the least bit interested in horseracing, they're good, fast paced thrillers, if a bit samey in places.

This morning I finished When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr which I really enjoyed! 9/10

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr The ‘blurb’ ”It’s not a bit like Charlie Chaplin except for the moustache,” said Anna. They spelled out the name under the photograph Adolph Hitler Anna is too busy with schoolwork and tobogganing to listen to the talk of Hitler. But one day she and her brother are rushed out of Germany in alarming secrecy, away from everything they know. Their father is wanted by the Nazis - dead or alive. It’s the start of a huge adventure, sometimes frightening, very often funny, and always, always exciting. This semi-autobiographical novel tells the story of Anna and her family’s flight from soon-to-be-Nazi-controlled Germany in 1933. Anna’s father is a famous author and is of Jewish descent. He knows that as soon as the Nazis come to power, which they will inevitably do, he will be arrested and so he leaves Germany for neutral Switzerland with Anna, her mother and her brother Max following on a few weeks later. They live in Switzerland for about a year but then have to move to France, and ultimately to England. This is a story of how it was to be a refugee and a little girl in the years before the outbreak of World War 2. It is a story of poverty, bravery and of learning. Despite all the difficulties the family faced, as long as they could remain together they knew they would be okay. I really enjoyed this book. I’d heard lots of good things about it and I wasn’t disappointed. I didn’t realise until after I read this, and then looked up Judith Kerr on Wikipedia, that her son is the author Matthew Kneale - he wrote one of my favourite books of this year, English Passengers. I shall have to look out for the two sequels to When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit now!

She's 53.

I'm on about page 100 of 250 so far and I'm loving it!

I'm always slightly nervous about saying I liked a book so much in case other people hate it and feel let down by my review, but I really, really enjoyed this book, even though it's fairly obvious in places. The 'blurb' While clearing out her grandmother's cottage for sale, Connie Goodwin finds a parchment inscribed with the name Deliverance Dane. And so she steps into a mystery that dates from 1692 in Salem and the infamous witchcraft trials. Nothing is entirely as it seems, and when Connie unearths the existence of Deliverance's spell book, the Physick Book, the situation takes on a menacing edge as interested parties reveal their desperation to find this precious artefact at any cost. What secrets does the Physick Book contain? What magic is scrawled across its parchment pages? Connie must race to answer these questions - and reveal the truth about Salem's women - before an ancient family curse fulfils its dark and devastating prophecy. Set in 1692 and 1991, Connie, a Harvard graduate student, goes to clear out her Grandmother's house, which has stood empty for years. It is hidden from the road and has an overgrown garden containing all sorts of unusual plants. The house itself has no electricity. Whilst there, she finds a scrap of parchment in a key hidden inside an old bible with the words "Deliverance Dane" written on it, and so begins her search to find out more about this woman, and to find her 'physick' book - a book of ancient spells and recipes. Whilst I think it's fairly obvious from the outset who the "interested party" is that is referred to in the synopsis on the back of the book, and I also guessed quite a few elements before Connie had worked them out I thought the story was excellent and one that I didn't want to stop reading, which is always the sign of a good book. I didn't really know an awful lot about the events of 1692 in Massachusetts before I started reading. Howe's research of the Salem trials is meticulous and really brought that period to life for me - I'd like to read more fiction set in this period. I think that when people think about witches, they often imagine them to be anti-religious, bad people who go round poisoning others with eye of bat and wing of frog ( ) but this book shows that the 'witches' involved in the Salem trials of 1692 were really just country folk making remedies, and who were misunderstood because of the hysteria caused by a few teenage girls. Some of the elements of magic in the modern storyline mean the reader must suspend disbelief for but as I read to be entertained as well as informed, this wasn't a problem at all Published in the US as The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, this is Katherine Howe's debut novel. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story and I shall certainly be looking out for more of this author's work.

I finished The Lost Book of Salem by Katherine Howe whilst I was on holiday. I loved it! I'm just about to start When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr.

The Gift. I've just looked on Amazon and that could be by Cecelia Aherne (although I doubt you mean that one!), Danielle Steele (ditto!), Alison Croggon (book 3 of a series)... I'm hazarding a guess you mean Nabokov?!

It really is! I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm not sure it appeals to me, but so many people seem to like it. Hmmm - I guess I'm missing out!

I didn't know about Nathaniel Hawthorne, Peacefield - that's really interesting. That's fascinating stuff about your family research. Although they were cleared, you could have witchy stuff in your blood - how exciting! Adam - I'm on page 187 of about 500 now and I wish I could phone in sick and spend all day reading it instead of having to go to Tesco and push a home delivery trolley round for the next four hours - boo!

The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams The ‘blurb’ From her lookout on the first floor, Ginny watches and waits for her younger sister to return to the crumbling mansion that was once their idyllic childhood home. Vivien has not set foot in the house since she left, forty-seven years ago: Ginny, the reclusive moth expert, has rarely ventured outside it. But with Vivien’s arrival, dark, unspoken secrets surface. Told in Ginny’s unforgettable voice, this debut novel tells a disquieting story of two sisters and the ties that bind - sometimes a little too tightly. I enjoyed it once I got into it, but it took me aaages to read it. This was more to do with my disappearing mojo (now thankfully back in place!) than the actual content of the book. I think some of it was slightly predictable but it didn't ruin my enjoyment of it. It's nicely written and is pretty atmospheric in parts. There are dark elements to it but they’re not graphic and it's not a difficult read at all. I sort of saw the ending coming but it was a good ending and the right one for the circumstances of the novel, I think. It was very promising for a début novel so I’ll certainly be looking out for more by this author in future. The paperback is 309 pages long and is published by Virago. The ISBN number is 978-1844084883. 7½/10

Oooh, that's good news, thanks. I've spent some of this afternoon Googling (well, Wikipediaing actually!) Salem, Boston, Massachusetts (sp?), Pilgrim Fathers... and having never really thought about going to the USA ever, I now have the East Coast area (forgive my ignorance - New England, I think?) on my 'to do before I die' list! I've also found another couple of books I think I'm going to look out for - The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent and The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, which is a children's book. I've not read a lot of historical novels (part of the appeal of this when I picked it up was to try something different, and I thought the modern/old time flip element would help) but this is so readable!

I am a woman in Massachusetts who has discovered an ancient slip of paper in an old family bible, with the words 'Deliverance Dane' written on it, which has set me off investigating whether it has something to do with the Salem Witch Trials of 1693!

Oh do! Obviously I don't know how it's going to pan out, but I'm really loving the writing style - it's one of those books that's so easy to read that it sort of slips down! ETA: Peacefield loved it too!

I'm about a fifth of the way through The Lost Book of Salem by Katherine Howe - Peacefield was so right about this book - I'm loving it! I really (really!) need to go and do some housework but somehow it keeps pulling me back - it's witchcraft, I tell you!

I must confess that I'd forgotten about this until Mollie posted a few days ago. I'm currently trying to get them into some sort of order in Excel so that I can let you know how it's going!

I finished The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams this morning. Having taken ages to read the first 150 pages, I read the last 159 very quickly! This takes my total number of books read so far this year to 40 - which is the number I read last year! Onwards and upwards!

You've just reminded me that I have this upstairs - I was going to start it but had just finished a Young Adult book so put it to one side and forgot about it! Thanks.

Well, this little lot should keep you busy, Adam!