Janet

I've only read the first one but I enjoyed it.

I am *loving* Fingersmith by Sarah Waters! I read some on a train journey yesterday and got to an 'OMG, I didn't see that coming...' moment!

I love my Kindle Paperweight too, and if you like Classics they're also available free on Project Gutenberg (the odd one that's not on Amazon). I have a basic Nook too as I occasionally read library books on it.

It happens! Sometimes I have an old window open (I'm a bugger for having too many tabs open!) and then reply there and realised I've missed zillions of posts! It's a book I didn't expect to appear as a deal, so it's worth repeating!

Is there an echo in here?!

Thanks, Will. I read some pretty good books in 2015. I finished Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford earlier this week and that was great too, and also had me chuckling. It's not often a book makes me laugh out loud. I'm definitely going to listen to Don't Tell Alfred and will probably try one of here lesser known (to me) books. I definitely want to read some more Hardy this year.

I'm about 22% of the way through Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. It was on my Wish List for years and then popped up as a Kindle Deal last December (I think). I'm loving it!

I was just coming here to post that myself. I snapped it up. I've been thinking of doing the Audible trial and getting this as my free book. I don't know how Whispersynch (or whatever it's called) works, but it would be good if it worked with this book!

I'm sorry I'm late to the party (I have *so* many blogs to catch up with ) but I just wanted to wish you a happy reading in 2016 year. I love the idea of visiting all those libraries. Which libraries are they? I.e. do you have counties in Finland and they're in your county? Please, forgive my ignorance.

Sounds good. I've read four of them (so far - I intend to read more) and have enjoyed them all.

Just passing by to say I'm loving the TV adaptation of Love in a Cold Climate (I've just finished part 1). I think it's pretty clever how they're weaving the two books together!

It sounds right up my street and just perfect. I probably won't read it until later in the year but I'm certain I'll enjoy it. I didn't know she wrote crime novels so I've learnt something new. I 'Wikipedia-ed' her and she had quite an interesting life! I'm sorry you got so wet. I wasn't too bad when I got on the bus (there was one waiting when I got there - perfect timing!) but I was glad I bought that hat! Edit: Aww, Michelle. Perhaps you need a holiday to the West?!

Not my thing, but for chick-lit overs there is a new book by Veronica Henry due out this year called How to Find Love in a Book Shop due out in June. I don't think it's been mentioned, but apologies if it already has.

The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth by Katherine Woodfine (YA) Vinegar Girl (A re-telling of The Taming of the Shrew) by Anne Tyler Bookworm by Lucy Mangan - maybe - I can't find much info about this! The reality is I'll probably only buy the first one on that list this year!

I'm really late with this (and I still have one 2015 book to review!) but mine are... Your favourite read of the year? I read some great books this year and it’s hard to choose, but probably And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Your favourite author of the year? Agatha Christie, I think! Your most read author of the year? Agatha Christie – 7 (6 were audio books) Your favourite book cover of the year? Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome or The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (my picture of the latter doesn’t do it justice!) The book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? I didn’t abandon any this year. The book that most disappointed you? The Phantom Tollboth by Norton Juster. It just didn’t do it for me, I’m afraid. The funniest book of the year? The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford – I got some strange looks out walking listening to this and suddenly laughing out loud! Your favourite literary character this year? Don Tillman from The Rosie Project and Fanny from The Pursuit of Love Your favourite children's book this year? Paddington by Michael Bond for nostalgic reasons and The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine Your favourite classic of the year? It would always be A Christmas Carol as that’s one of my favourite books, however, if I choose a new-to-me-in-2015 one then it would be Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy Your favourite non-fiction book this year? The Young Ardizzone by Edward Ardizzone Your favourite biography this year? The Young Ardizzone by Edward Ardizzone Your favourite collection of short stories this year? I didn’t read any short stories this year. Your favourite poetry collection this year? Dorothy Wordsworth’s Christmas Birthday by Carol Ann Duffy (it’s only a single prose poem – it’s the only poetry book I read this year) Your favourite illustrated book of the year? Without a shadow of a doubt it has to be A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig – stunning! Your favourite publisher of the year? I always find this one difficult to answer because I don’t select books by publisher. I read more Penguin books than any other publisher, but I would have to answer Slightly Foxed, just for the way the book is printed and bound! Your favourite audiobook of the year? The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford – this would have been my answer to the first question if this category didn’t exist! Your favourite re-read of the year? I re-read four books this year (that’s a lot for me!) – however, my favourite is always my annual read of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

I'm pretty certain Kay has it - she mentioned the price of 2 shillings and sixpence being on the cover I think.

You need to scroll right to the bottom on Audible to search. It does look like you have to sign up first - their site is very clever! I've never done it because my phone isn't compatible, sadly. I get a lot of audio books from my local library. They cost £1.80 but I don't begrudge that. I listen to a clip of it on Audible before I get one from the library, just to check the narrator - you're right - a narrator can be off putting if they don't sound right to the listener. Project Gutenberg have free classics for books out of their royalty period, but as Michelle says, they're narrated by volunteers so you don't always get the same narrator all the way through. I listened to a couple of Oscar Wilde's plays through Gutenberg but it was a bit off-putting having them narrated in an American accent, but once I got past that I enjoyed them. It's good of people to give their time to do them.

A Fine Balance is a fab book, Kay. I hope you enjoy it. I love the sound of A Traveller's Year. I hadn't seen your post about this when I said today that I was planning to read a book in its monthly instalments! Lovely to see you guys today. I forgot Alan's book again. I'd even moved it to somewhere more obvious. At least, I thought it would be more obvious...!

I finished Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford today. Great book! I've started Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. I'm not very far in at all, but so far, so good.

Great review of The Radleys. I hadn't a clue what it was about (the audio book version says very little on the back too) - it wouldn't have been the same if I'd known. I'm intrigued as to what Matt Haig is like as a person now - I might have to follow him on Twitter for a while (although I'm a *very* sporadic user these days) just to get a taste of him!

It was lovely to see you and Alan (and Claire) today too. And yes, the time whizzed by, as ever. Shame about the weather - I was going to suggest a wander to a couple of second-hand book shops. Maybe next time you guys come to Bath...? I think it's our turn to come up to you next time? I did indeed finish Love in a Cold Climate. It was fab. I've reserved the audio book of Don't Tell Alfred. I shall endeavour to watch the TV series soon.

I echo Kay's sentiments - it was lovely to see you today. And a big thank you for the book (vintage crime - yay - it's become one of my current favourite genres) and for the gorgeous glass tree decorations - totally unexpected and really appreciated - thanks.

I started and finished it yesterday. Whoops! Too much time on my hands yesterday!

How is Scout settIing in? I hope you have a great year of reading, Kylie. I shall look forward to following your blog.

Look Who’s Back by Timur Vermes (Translated by Jamie Bulloch) The ‘blurb’ Berlin, Summer 2011. Adolf Hitler wakes up on a patch of open ground, alive and well. Things have changed - no Eva Braun, no Nazi party, no war. Hitler barely recognises his beloved Fatherland, filled with immigrants and run by a woman. People certainly recognise him, albeit as a flawless impersonator who refuses to break character. The unthinkable, the inevitable happens, and the ranting Hitler goes viral, becomes a YouTube star, gets his own T.V. show, and people begin to listen. But the Führer has another programme with even greater ambition - to set the country he finds a shambles back to rights. Look Who's Back stunned and then thrilled 1.5 million German readers with its fearless approach to the most taboo of subjects. Naive yet insightful, repellent yet strangely sympathetic, the revived Hitler unquestionably has a spring in his step. In this satirical novel, Adolf Hitler wakes up in 2011 and finds a very different Germany from the one he remembers. He is taken in by a newspaper seller who is amused by this comedian who impersonates Hitler so well and he is eventually ‘discovered’ and touted as the next big thing on the comedy set. Hitler becomes a sensation but there is more on his mind than entertaining the German public… I’m finding it difficult to put my thoughts about this book down coherently. On paper it sounds like it should be really funny… and it is funny, up to a point. However (and yes, I *know* it’s fiction, and satire) I couldn’t entirely get past the fact that he’s Hitler – not a character to be admired or to entertain, but a fascist dictator whose actions resulted in the deaths of millions of people. I guess I felt guilty for finding this Hitler quite likeable, if ludicrous. I know this review probably makes it sound like I hated the book – I didn’t, but I have very mixed feelings about enjoying it! The paperback edition is 384 pages long and is published by MacLehose Press. It was first published in 2012. The ISBN is 9781782067832. 3/5 (I enjoyed it) (Finished 30 December 2015)