Janet

Thanks. Yes, that's the one. I've just finished the first episode and am enjoying it but I think I will buy the other one too. Edit: I've just bought it for £2.22 on Ebay!

MONTHLY BOOK SUMMARY I kept forgetting to complete this section in 2015! K - Kindle A - Audio Book No initial - paperback January - 7 Books The Snow Sister by Emma Carroll - ( K ) The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie - ( A ) Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - ( K ) The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Armin Just William by Richmal Crompton - ( K ) Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford - ( A ) February - Books Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - ( K ) A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway The Blue Lagoon by Henry De Vere Stacpoole - ( K ) The Rabbit Factory by Marshall Karp Hard Times by Charles Dickens The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - ( K )

PAID-FOR KINDLE BOOKS PURCHASED IN 2015 AND BEFORE BUT UNREAD (total left = 7/9) 2015 The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton - 06.01.15 - £1.80 - finished 05.12.16 Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch - 02.08.15 - £1.99 The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson - 03.08.15 - £0.99 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - 31.08.15 - £0.99 South Riding by Winifred Holtby - 22.10.15 - £0.99 - finished 03.04.16 The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers - 28.10.15 - £0.99 - finished 30.04.16 Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - 06.12.15 - £0.99 - finished 02.02.16 2014 Mary Poppins - the Complete Collection by P L Travers - 02.09.14 - £0.99 The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo - 15.09.14 - £0.88 Read - 4

Last year my '2014 and earlier' list stood at 98 and I decreased it by 11 (10 read, one given away). I've added in 2015's books so now it's at 92. I hope to make some inroads to it in 2016! TOTAL TO READ PILE 2015 and before (total left = 79/90) 2015 Meadowland by John Lewis-Stempel - finished 04.12.16 The Enchanted Places by Christopher Milne - finished 16.10.16 The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley - finished 16.02.16 The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Armin - finished 24.01.16 The Rabbit Factory by Marshall Karp - finished 06.02.16 2014 The House at Pooh Corner by A A Milne The Weather in the Streets by Rosamund When We Were Very Young by A A Milne Now We are Six by A A Milne Pies and Prejudice by Stuart Maconie - finished 14.08.16 Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton - abandoned 21.02.16 Round the Christmas Fire by various Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch A Literary Christmas by various 2013 The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens Dombey and Son Charles Dickens David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Bleak House by Charles Dickens Hard Times by Charles Dickens - finished 09.02.16 Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - finished 05.11.16 Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens ~ Web by John Wyndham The Diary of a Provincial Lady (all four volumes) by E M Delafield Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - finished 31.07.16 And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers The Battle of Pollocks Crossing by J L Carr The Misses Mallet by Emily Hilda Young A Life in Letters by George Orwell Letters of Note by Shaun Usher 2012 The Day the Ceiling Fell Down by Jenifer Wayne The Merchant of Venice (Cambridge School's Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare English Journey by J B Priestley Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn French A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl - finished 21.07.16 2011 Mansfield Park by Jane Austen The Life and Death of King John by William Shakespeare Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez The Mysteries of Glass by Sue Gee The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende The Girl Who Kicked a Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson Shakespeare's Wife by Germain Greer The First Wife by Emily Barr A Song of Sixpence by A J Cronin The Green Years by A J Cronin The Minstrel Boy by A J Cronin The Northern Lights by A J Cronin Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie Journals of a Somerset Rector (1803 to 1834) by Rev'd Skinner Hitchhiking to Heaven by Lionel Blue Family Life by Sally Magnusson A Kind of Loving by Stan Bristow The Travel Books of W Somerset Maugham by W Somerset Maugham 2010 The Chrisalids by John Wyndham The Comedy of Errors (Cambridge School's Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare The Children of Knowle Green by Lucy Boston Boogie up the River by Mark Wallington A Midsummer Night's Dream (Cambridge School's Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare Trumpet by Jackie Kay Pre-2010 Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg - finished 24.10.16 The Rye Man by David Park The Bolter by Frances Osbourne Mister God, This is Anna by Fynn Inside the Whale by George Orwell Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell The Man Who Was Thursday by G K Chesterton The Third Man/The Fallen Idol by Graham Greene King Soloman's Mines by H Rider Haggard Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - finished 10.01.16 Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K Jerome The Chrisalids by John Wyndham The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker The Ghost Road by Pat Barker Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson On Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian Faulks The Common Reader by Virginia Woolf The Lord of the Flies by William Golding Hamlet (Cambridge School's Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare The Merry Wives of Windsor (Cambridge School's Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare Twelfth Night (Cambridge School's Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare Total read 11 Abandoned 1 Given Away 0

AUDIBLE BOOKS PURCHASED 2016 (BOOKS LISTENED TO IN RED!) 1. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Suzanna Clarke - 28.02.2016 - free (introductory offer) 2. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle - 02.03.16 - £2.18 - finished 03.03.16 3. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell - 11.03.16 – finished 24.08.16 4. South Riding by Winifred Holtby - 31.03.16 – finished 03.04.16 5. The Finding of Martha Lost by Caroline Wallace - 09.07.16 – finished 05.08.16 6. The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett - 09.07.16 7. The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon - 14.08.16 – finished 27.08.16 8. My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal - 29.08.16 – finished 08.11.16 9. A Mind to Murder by P D James - 04.09.16 – finished 10.09.16 10. Coffin Road by Peter May - 14.09.16 11. Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch - 18.09.16 12. The Warden by Anthony Trollope - 22.09.16 – finished 04.10.16 13. A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark - 13.10.16 – finished – 26.10.16 Total read 9 Abandoned 0 Total cost of books acquired: £54.07

PAID-FOR KINDLE BOOKS 2016 (BOOKS READ IN RED!) 01. The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier - 04.01.16 - £1.99 02. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke - 29.01.16 - £1.09 03. The Stars Look Down by A J Cronin - 10.02.16 - £1.89 - finished 21.02.16 04. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - 05.03.16 - £0.99 - finished 17.03.16 05. Room Emma Donoghue - 21.03.16 - £0.99 - finished 07.04.16 06. The Hog's Back Mystery by Freeman Wills Crofts 28.04.16 - £ 0.99 07. The Sussex Downs Murder by John Bude - 28.04.16 - £0.99 - finished 20.07.16 08. Murder Underground by Mavis Doriel Hay - 28.04.16 - £0.99 - finished 10.06.16 09. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - 10.05.16 - £5.49 - finished 30.05.16 10. One by Sarah Crossan - 01.07.16 - £0.99 - finished 05.07.16 11. Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L Sayers - 18.08.16 - £0.99 12. The Imortals by S E Lister - 21.09.16 - £1.49 13. Spectacles by Sue Perkins - 25.11.16 - £0.99 14. The Unforgotten by Laura Powell - 24.12.16 - £0.99 Titles read = Red Total new paid-for Kindle books acquired in 2016: 14 Number of these read: 7 Books abandoned: 0 Total cost of books acquired: £20.86

PAPER BOOKS ACQUIRED IN 2016 (TITLES READ IN RED!) 01. Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper - £0.00 (16.01.16 – given to me by my Mum) – Fiction 02. The House of Silk by Antony Horowitz - £2.59 finished 16.02.16 (21.01.16 – Ebay) - Fiction 03. A Christmas Party by Georgette Heyer - £0.00 (26.01.16 - Gift from Claire ) - Fiction 04. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway - £0.00* finished 04.02.16 (30.01.16 - Waterstone's Birmingham) - Non-fiction 05. A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler - £0.00* finished 03.02.16 (30.01.16 - Waterstone's Birmingham) - Fiction 06. Dedicated to… (compliled by) W B Gooderham - £3.00 finished 28.03.16 (16.02.16 - Waterstone's Trowbridge) - Non-fiction 07. The Herring Seller's Apprentice by L C Tyler - £0.00* finished 27.02.16 (21.02.16 - Waterstone's Bath) - Fiction 08. The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth by Katherine Woodfine - £0.00* finished 10.03.16 (23.02.16 - Waterstone's Cirencester) - Children's / YA 09. In Darkling Wood by Emma Carroll - £0.00* (23.02.16 - Waterstone's Cirencester) - Children's / YA 10. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - £0.00* finished 05.03.16 (27.02.16 - Waterstone's Wells) - Fiction 11. The Harpole Report by J L Carr - £1.00 (01.03.16 - Bookbarn, Hallatrow) - Fiction 12. To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - £0.00* (02.03.16 - Waterstone's Bath) - Fiction 13. Room by Emma Donoghue - £2.00 08.04.16 finished 08.04.16 (05.03.16 - British Heart Foundation shop) - Fiction 14. The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss finished 04.04.16 (16.03.16 - BHF Shop, Warminster) - Fiction 15. Greenmantle by John Buchan finished 28.03.16 (16.03.16 - Lion's Shop, Warminster) - Fiction 16. Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier - £1.50 (23.03.16 - Charity shop in Sherborne) - Fiction 17. The Girl Who Walked on Air by Emma Carroll - £1.50 finished 31.03.16 (23.03.16 - Charity shop in Shaftsbury) - Children's / YA 18. Mrs Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - £0 finished 27.11.16 (26.03.16 - Waterstone's Wells) - Fiction 19. Once Upon a Time in the West Country by Tony Hawks - £0 finished 30.06.16 (29.03.16 - loan from Chesilbeach Claire) - Non-fiction 20. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman - £0.00 (30.03.16 - Present from Mum) - Fiction 21. Max Gate by Damien Wilkins - £0.00 finished 20.06.16 (07.05.16 - Present from Peter) - Fiction 22. The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave - £0.00 finished 20.08.16 (30.05.162 Present from Mum) – Children’s / YA 23. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante - £0.00 (01.06.16 - Present from friend Kath) - Fiction 24. Deep Magic, Dragons & Mice by Alister McGrath - £0.00 (09.06.16 - Present from friend Rachel) – Non-fiction 25. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff - £1.23 finished 12.07.16 (10.06.16 – Ebay Online) – Non-fiction 26. Ann Veronica by H G Wells - £0.00 (28.06.16 - NT Shop Molesley Old Hall - bought by Peter) - Classic 27. Seeing Things by Oliver Postgate - £2.99 (28.06.16 – Ebay Online) – Non-fiction 28. The Gremlins by Roald Dahl - £0.00 finished 05.07.16 (05.07.16 - Sent to me by a friend) – Children’s / YA 29. Wren Boys by Carol Ann Duffy - £0.00 (17.07.16 - Waterstone's, Wells) - Poetry 30. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin - £4.30 finished 01.09.16 (26.07.16 – Amazon Marketplace) - Fiction 31. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J K Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne - £7.69 finished 03.08.16 (31.07.16 - Waterstone's, Bath) - Playscript 32. Walking Away by Simon Armitage - £0.00 (24.08.16 - Loaned to me by Kay) – Non-fiction 33. Strange Star by Emma Carroll - £0.00 (24.08.16 - Waterstone's, Bristol) – Children’s / YA 34. Cogheart by Peter Bunzl - £0.00 (24.08.16 - Waterstone's, Bristol) – Children’s / YA 35. Smith by Leon Garfield - £1.00 finished 08.11.16 (04.09.16 - Oxfam shop, Cirencester) – Children’s / YA 36. Grief is a Thing with Feathers by Max Porter - £0.00 (20.09.16 - Loaned to me by Kay) – Fiction 37. Lanterns Across the Snow by Susan Hill - £2.80 finished 24.12.16 (13.10.16 – Online, Ebay) - 38. Puffin Book of Christmas Stories by Various - £1.00 (20.10.16 – Bookbarn, Hallatrow) – Children’s / YA 39. The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay - £0.00 finished 13.12.16 (29.10.16 - Bought for me by my cousin Ken) - Fiction 40. The Go-Between by L P Hartley - £0.60 (09.11.16 - Lions' Bookshop Warminster) - Fiction 41. A Child of the Forest by Winifred Foley - £1.00 (08.12.16 - Bookbarn Hallatrow) 42. The Christmas Book by James Reeves - £2.81 finished 23.12.16 (14.12.16 - Amazon Online) – Various 43. The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher - £0 (21.12.16 - Present from Mum) – Children’s / YA 44. The Girl on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent - £0 (25.12.16 - Present from Kay and Alan) - Fiction 45. The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig - £0 (25.12.16 - Present from Kay and Alan) – Children’s / YA 46. The Nutcracker by A T E Hoffmann - £0 (30.12.16 - Waterstone's Cribbs Causeway) – Children’s / YA Total new books acquired in 2016: 46 Number of these read: 25 Total cost* of books acquired: £40.68 Library Books: 0 Library Books Read: 0 * Taking into account money off/vouchers/gift cards etc - so price paid, not necessarily cover price

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 Key: World Challenge (W) Classics (C) English Counties Challenge (EC) - total 30/48 Roald Dahl's children's books plus Boy and Going Solo (RD) - 21/21 Library (L) Kindle (K) Nook (N) Book club (real or online) (BC) Audiobook (A) FICTION CLASSICS CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT FICTION NON-FICTION SHORT STORY PLAYS POETRY 1. The Snow Sister (2015) by Emma Carroll - ( K ) - 01.01.16 - 3/5 2.The ABC Murders (1935) by Agatha Christie - ( L / A ) - 02.01.16 - 4/5 3. Sense and Sensibility (1811) by Jane Austen - ( C / K ) - 10.01.16 - 5/5 4. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (2015) by Natasha Pulley - 19.01.16 - 4/5 5. The Enchanted April (1922) by Elizabeth Von Armin - 24.01.16 - 4/5 6. Just William (1922) by Richmal Crompton - ( K ) - 25.01.16 - 4/5 7. Love in a Cold Climate (1949) by Nancy Mitford - ( A ) - 26.01.16 - 5/5 8. Fingersmith (2002) by Sarah Waters ( K ) - 02.02.16 - 4½/5 9. A Whole Life (2014) by Robert Seethaler (trans. Charlotte Collins) - 03.02.16 - 3½/5 10. A Moveable Feast (1964) by Ernest Hemingway - 04.02.16 - 4/5 11. The Blue Lagoon (1908) by Henry De Vere Stacpoole - ( K ) - 05.02.16 - 4/5 12. The Rabbit Factory (2007) by Marshal Karp - 06.02.16 - 4½/5 13. Hard Times (1854) by Charles Dickens - ( C ) - 09.02.16 - 5/5 14. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892) by Arthur Conan Doyle - ( C / K / EC - Greater London) - 13.02.16 - 4/5 15. The House of Silk (2011) by Anthony Horowitz - ( BC ) - 16.02.16 - 4/5 16. The Stars Look Down (1935) by A J Croning - ( K / EC - Northumberland ) - 21.02.16 - 4/5 17. More William (1922) by Richmal Crompton - ( L / A ) - 24.02.16 - 4/5 18. The Herring Seller's Apprentice (2007) by L C Tyler - 27.02.16 - 2½/5 19. A Study in Scarlet (1887) by Arthur Conan Doyle - ( C / A ) - 03.03.16 - 3½/5 20. Neverwhere (1996) by Neil Gaiman - 05.03.16 - 5/5 21. The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth (2016) by Katherine Woodfine - 10.03.16 - 4/5 22. Cranford (1853) by Elizabeth Gaskell - ( C / L / A / EC - Cheshire ) - 11.03.16 - 5/5 23. A Man Called Ove (2012) by Fredrik Backman - ( K ) - 17.03.16 - 5/5 24. After the Funeral (1953) by Agatha Christie - ( L / A ) - 26.03.16 - 3½/5 25. Greenmantle (1916) by John Buchan - 28.03.16 - 2/5 26. Dedicated to... (2013) compiled by W B Gooderham - 28.03.16 - 1/5 27. The Girl Who Walked on Air (2014) by Emma Carroll - 31.03.16 - 3½/5 28. South Riding (1936) by Winifred Holtby - ( L / A / EC - East Riding of Yorkshire) - 03.04.16 - 5/5 29. The Vesuvius Club (2004) by Mark Gatiss - 04.04.16 - 4/5 30. Room (2010) by Emma Donoghue - ( BC ) 08.04.16 - 4½/5 31. Revolting Rhymes (1982) by Roald Dahl - ( RD / L ) - 10.04.16 - 2½/5 32. Cold Comfort Farm (1932) by Stella Gibbons - ( BC ) - 20.04.16 - re-read - 4/5 33. Lord Edgware Dies (1933) by Agatha Christie - ( L / A ) - 23.04.16 - 3/5 34. Rhyme Stew (1989) by Roald Dahl - ( RD / L ) - 24.04.16 - 2/5 35. North and South (1854) by Elizabeth Gaskell - ( C / A / EC - Greater Manchester) - 28.04.16 - 5/5 36. The Nine Tailors (1934) by Dorothy L Sayers - ( K / EC - Cambridgeshire) - 30.04.16 - 4/5 37. The Murder on the Links (1923) by Agatha Christie - ( L / A ) - 04.05.16 - 4/5 38. The Minpins (1991) by Roald Dahl - ( RD / L ) - 12.05.16 - 3/5 39. Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928) by D H Lawrence - ( C / K / EC - Nottinghamshire) - 14.05.16 - 2/5 40. The Sign of Four (1890) by Arthur Conan Doyle - ( L / A ) - 14.05.16 - 3/5 41. Dirty Beasts (1983) by Roald Dahl - ( RD / L ) - 16.05.16 - 2/5 42. All the Light We Cannot See (2014) by Anthony Doerr - ( BC / K ) - 30.05.16 - 3½/5 43. Elephants Can Remember (1972) by Agatha Christie - ( A / L ) - 31.05.16 - 3½/5 44. Murder Underground (1934) by Mavis Doriel Hay ( K ) - 10.06.16 - 3/5 45. Max Gate (2013) by Damien Wilkins - 20.06.16 - 3/5 46. Mrs McGinty's Dead (1952) by Agatha Christie - ( A / L ) - 28.06.16 - 4/5 47. Once Upon a Time in the West... Country (2015) by Tony Hawks - 30.06.16 - 4/5 48. Don't Tell Alfred (1960) by Nancy Mitford - ( A / L ) - 04.07.16 - 3/5 49. One (2015) by Sarah Crossan ( K ) - 05.07.16 - 4/5 50. Gremins (1943) by Roald Dahl - ( RD ) - 06.07.16 - 2½/5 51. 84, Charing Cross Road (1970) by Helen Hanff - ( BC ) reread - 12.07.16 - 4/5 52. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894) by Arthur Conan Doyle - ( K ) - 14.07.16 - 3/5 53. The Sussex Downs Murder (1936) by John Bude - ( K ) - 20.07.16 - 3/5 54. Danny the Champion of the World (1975) by Roald Dahl ( RD ) - 21.07.16 - 4/5 55. Mrs Dalloway (1925) by Virginia Woolf - 31.07.16 - 3/5 56. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016) by J K Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne - 03.08.16 - 5/5 57. Lois the Witch (1861) by Elizabeth Gaskell - ( K ) - 04.08.16 - 3/5 58. The Finding of Martha Lost (2016) by Caroline Wallace - ( A ) - 05.8.16 - 4½/5 59. The Well-Beloved (1892) by Thomas Hardy - ( A / C ) - 10.8.16 - 3/5 60. Pies and Prejudice: In Search of the North (2007) by Stuart Maconie - 14.08.16 - 4/5 61. The Girl of Ink & Stars (2016) by Kiran Millwood Hargrave - 20.08.16 - 3½/5 62. Trouble with Goats and Sheep (2016) by Joanna Cannon - ( A ) - 27.08.16 - 4/5 63. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives (2010) by Lola Shoneyin - ( BC / WC - Nigeria ) - 01.09.16 - 3/5 64. Another World (1998) by Pat Barker - ( L / EC - Tyne and Wear) - 08.09.16 - 3/5 65. A Mind to Murder (1963) by P D James - ( A ) - 10.09.16 - 3½/5 66. The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1903) by Arthur Conan Doyle - ( K ) - 19.09.16 - 3½/5 67. My Name is Leon (2016) by Kit de Waal - ( A ) - 20.09.16 - 4/5 68. The Warden (Chronicles of Barsetshire #1) (1855) by Anthony Trollope - ( A / C ) - 04.10.6 - 4/5 69. The Well of Loneliness (1928) by Radclyffe Hall - ( K / EC - Worcestershire) - 05.10.16 - 3/5 70. Under the Greenwood Tree (1872) by Thomas Hardy - ( K / C ) - 13.10.16 - 3½/5 71. Enchanted Places (1974) by Christopher Milne - 16.10.16 - 3½/5 72. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (1987) by Fannie Flagg - ( BC ) - 24.10.16 - 4/5 73. A Far Cry From Kensington (1988) by Muriel Spark - ( A ) - 26.10.16 - 4/5 74. Great Expectations (1860) by Charles Dickens - ( C / EC - City of London) - 05.11.16 - 4½/5 75. Smith (1967) by Leon Garfield - 08.11.16 - 3½/5 76. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2011) by Ransom Riggs - 27.11.16 - 3½/5 77. Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field (2014) by John Lewis-Stempel - 04.12.16 - 4/5 78. The Miniaturist (2014) by Jessie Burton - ( K / BC ) - 05.12.16 - 4/5 79. The Wren Boys (2015) by Carol Ann Duffy - 05.12.16 - 3/5 80. The Santa Klaus Murder (1936) by Mavis Doriel Hay - 13.12.16 - 3/5 81. A Christmas Carol (1843) by Charles Dickens (re-read) - 15.12.16 - 5/5 82. The Christmas Party (1941) by Georgette Heyer - 22.12.16 - 3/5 83. The King of Christmas (2016) by Carol Ann Duffy - 22.12.16 - 4/5 84. The Christmas Book (1968) by James Reeves - 23.12.16 - 5/5 85. Lanterns Across the Snow (1987) by Susan Hill - 24.12.16 - 4/5 86. The Snow Child (2011) by Eowyn Ivey - 31.12.16 - 4/5 ABANDONED 1. Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton Total read 85 1/5 - I hated it 2/5 - It was okay 3/5 - I liked it 4/5 - I really liked it 5/5 - I loved it (or variations!) For how to read 'highlights' on the Nook, see here (With thanks to Claire!)

I finished Sense and Sensibility today and then dug out the DVD to watch. I was rather surprised to find that Hugh Grant isn't in it, but Dan Stevens is! Turns out that I don't own the version I thought I did! Has anyone seen either version? If so, which did you prefer?

Thanks. I loved Emma so had my reservations about this, so I think I'll give it a miss then. Hello - welcome to the forum. I haven't read either of those books but hopefully you'll find some good suggestions here. Be warned though - this forum seriously increases the size of one's 'to read' pile!

How are you getting on with Emma, Claire? I nearly bought it the other day but I forgot and the price went back up. I did the same with the Sophie Hannah Poirot book too - gah! I hope you enjoy Year of Wonders - it's a great book. I'm reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. It's taking me a while, but that's nothing to do with the book, which I'm really enjoying - it's purely lack of time. I have the BBC DVD to watch once I've finished. I think I'm on about 40% but I hope to get a chunk read over the weekend.

I should probably have mentioned (although doubtless if you've looked at the book then you'll have realised straight away!) that it's a children's book (not really even a YA book from memory), but nevertheless was good.

I loved this book when I read it several years ago. The subject matter fascinates me and after reading it I bought A Parcel of Patterns by Jill Paton Walsh which tells the same story. I'm hoping to find something else for Derbyshire as I'm trying to ensure all the books are new to me (apart from Winnie-the-Pooh) but I could easily re-read this one.

Crime at Christmas by C H B Kitchen The ‘blurb’ 'There we were, all gathered together for a Christmas party, and plunged suddenly into gloom.' It's Christmas at Hampstead's Beresford Lodge. A group of relatives and intimate friends gather to celebrate the festive season, but their party is rudely interrupted by a violent death. It isn't long before a second body is discovered. Can the murderer be one of those in the great house? The stockbroker sleuth Malcolm Warren investigates, in this brilliantly witty mystery. Another vintage crime book (I’ve read a lot of these this year and I must say I really do enjoy them!), I found this virtually brand new copy in a second-hand book shop in London in September and put it away for Christmas. The first thing to say is that Christmas doesn’t actually have a lot to do with this book – it could easily have been set at Easter, or in the summer – the weather isn’t even Christmassy! However, that’s not to detract from the book which I enjoyed… However, overall the story was good, if a little unrealistic at times! This review is what my Mum would call ‘damning with faint praise’! I have since read that Malcolm Warren, the amateur detective in this book, features in other books and that the first one of them, Death of my Aunt is considered to be one of the finest vintage crime novels so I shall definitely look out for that. The paperback edition is 249 pages long and is published by Faber & Faber. It was first published in 1934. The ISBN is 9780571325931. 4/5 (I enjoyed it) (Finished 17 November 2015)

Thanks, Sari. I was a little concerned about it, because all I knew about it before we started reading was that the backdrop was the French Revolution - but I needn't have worried!

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens The ‘blurb’ Lucie Manette has been separated from her father for eighteen years while he languished in Paris's most feared prison, the Bastille. Finally reunited, the Manettes' fortunes become inextricably intertwined with those of two men, the heroic aristocrat Darnay and the dissolute lawyer Carton. Their story, which encompasses violence, revenge, love and redemption, is grippingly played out against the backdrop of the terrifying brutality of the French Revolution. Set in both England and France during the time of the French Revolution, this book starts and ends with two of the most memorable lines in literature! In it, a young woman called Lucie Manette is reunited with her father who was imprisoned in the Bastille. She had believed him to be dead and is shocked to find him living in digs in France upon his release. He is suffering from what would today be called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They make their home together in England and are happy. Lucie marries a man called Charles Darnay, a French tutor, but Darnay is not all he seems and it is not long before his past catches up with him… This is one of Dickens’ shorter novels and I read it with Alex and Claire and we discussed it as we went. We tried to keep the instalments as similar as those in which it was originally published so as to keep the same cliff-hangers. This was good on the one hand as it did stop at the right places, but I have to say that unlike Nicholas Nickleby (which we also read in instalments), I found it frustrating to have to stop reading to wait for the next instalment – I wanted to keep reading as it was so good! I know this review just doesn’t do it justice but I am so behind with my reviews and have decided not to put undue pressure on myself! I had resisted Dickens for a long time apart from one of my all-time favourite books, A Christmas Carol but have very much enjoyed those I’ve read since and am looking forward to reading some more of his works. The paperback edition is 404 pages long and is published by Vintage. It was first published in 1859. The ISBN is 9780099511854. 5/5 (I loved it) (Finished 17 November 2015)

Welcome back, Laura. Good to see you again. Congratulations on the birth of your little boy.

With more to come in 2016! Happy reading in 2016, Alex.

I shall look forward to seeing what 2016 has in store for you. Happy New Year, and happy reading in 2016.

Or even 2016! I'm glad you've had a good 2015. Here's to another great year.

] Dorothy Wordsworth’s Christmas Birthday by Carol Ann Duffy The ‘blurb’ It is Christmas Eve, 1799, and Dorothy Wordsworth is awake in the dead of night. She stands outside in the winter cold, waiting patiently. When the new day breaks it will bring family and friends to Dorothy's door. For tomorrow is a double joy: tomorrow is her Christmas Birthday. Carol Ann Duffy's wonderful poem Dorothy Wordsworth's Christmas Birthday takes us to the frozen landscape of the Lake District, where a merry celebration is about to begin in the Wordsworths' cottage. Gorgeously illustrated by Tom Duxbury, this festive poem evokes the snowy Lake District as Dorothy celebrates her birthday with her brother William Wordsworth and fellow poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 2014’s Christmas offering from Carol Ann Duffy! I bought this in January last year with some of my Christmas money but I thought I’d save it for this year’s festive period. I have very much enjoyed Duffy’s past Christmas offerings, especially Mrs Scrooge and the wonderful Christmas Truce and although I enjoyed this one, it wasn’t as good as those and I find that just a few weeks after finishing it I cannot remember it at all! On the plus side, I can read it again anew! The paperback edition is 48 pages long and is published by Picador. It was first published in 2014. The ISBN is 9781447271505. 3/5 (I enjoyed it) (Finished 10 November 2015)

Love for Lydia by H E Bates The ‘blurb’ Lydia, a girl from a wealthy but isolated background, gradually discovers the delights of growing up – completely captivating the young men who are her companions. The lives of the young people unfold against the carefree background of the late twenties, with summers at their hottest and winters at their coldest. It is a glimpse back at an age not long gone, but nonetheless gone forever. Lydia is an enigmatic girl who is sent to live with two maiden aunts after the death of her parents. Edward Richardson, a young author who is disillusioned with his job is sent to interview the young woman and soon finds himself tasked with taking Lydia ice-skating. At first she is shy with him, but soon she begins spending her time with him, beguiling him until he is totally in love with her. However, Lydia is not prepared to settle for one man and soon casts her spell over other acquaintances of Richardson’s, including Tom Holland, a young farmer, the charismatic wealthy Alec Sanderson and even the rough mechanic Blackie Flannaghan – a man of lower class who acts as chauffeur to the group. Lydia laps up the attention and enjoys the power she wields over her suitors… until one day when tragedy strikes, changing their lives forever. Lydia is shocked to realise that she has become self-centred tries to make amends for her behaviour, but Richardson has taken the situation badly and Lydia wonders whether she has ruined things forever… As a child, this book was on the bookcase and I remember being drawn to the attractive cover. I’m not 100% certain it was the same as this one, which I found in a charity shop recently, but it is certainly from the right era. Bates captures moods so well and his characterisation is great. It is hard to feel sympathy for Lydia and yet I did feel sorry for her, but my pity lay with Richardson. I have read quite a few of Bates’ novels now and I do love the way he writes. However, It’s funny, because although I enjoyed this at the time I can’t really put my finger on why! I am sure I shall read more of his works – I certainly have my eye on Fair Stood the Wind for France. The paperback edition is 303 pages long and is published by Methuen Publishing. It was first published in 1952. The ISBN is 9780413776532. 3/5 (I enjoyed it) (Finished 10 November 2015)

I use Goodreads regularly and I didn't notice the change! I only realised it had changed when I read a long thread of people moaning about the changes. I've just had another look and I guess I can see that the font is clearer to read but really, I can't see much difference...

I'm perfectly certain we did!

A great haul of books, Claire! I have Beswitched on my wish list so I hope you enjoy it. I also got A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig from a lovely friend - such a gorgeous book.