Talisman

Yes I will start one for this year as well, probably in a minute in fact. Sorry if I put this in the wrong place, and please do feel free to move it if you need to. I don't really need to add it as it purely for my own records more than anything else and so I can link to it from the new thread I will start. As for the challenge - I must be about two thirds through by now yes. It has certainly been interesting and thought provoking. I suspect I will still continue to look for interesting foreign books after I have finished it to be honest, as these are the types of books I have always enjoyed reading. No chick lit for me - I definitely prefer something more literary for want of a better word, not that there is anything wrong with chick lit if you do happen to like that sort of thing.

I know it seems a bit late to start this now, as we are in 2017, but I didn't get round to it last year for various reaons and if I want to post a link to books read last year in my books read this year thread, then I have to start somewhere, so here goes: January Follow You Home: Mark Edwards The Venus Trap: Louise Voss Love in the Time of Cholera: Gabriel Marquez Garcia (Colombia) Death of a River Guide: Richard Flanagan (Australia) A Father's Betrayal: Gabrielle Gillespie (Yemen) The World of Yesterday: Stefan Zweig (Austria) Our Musseque: Luandino Jose Viera (Angola) Moors Account: Laila Lalami (United States) Stone Tree: Gyrdir Eliasson (Iceland) Nightblind: Ragnar Jonasson (Iceland) Catch Your Death: Louise Voss February Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery: Henry Marsh The Great Tax Robbery: Richard Brooks ​The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: Mary Ann Shaffer (Guernsey) The Dead Lake: Hamid Ismailov (Kazakstan) Journey: Adombire Gheysika Agambila (Ghana) The Blissfully Dead: Louise Voss March Beneath the Lions Gaze: Maaza Mengiste (Ethiopia) The Heart of Man: Kalman Jon Stefansson (Iceland) HHhH: Laurent Binet (Czech Republic) Lifesaver: Louise Voss Quicksand: Steve Toltz (Australia) April The Tea Lords: Hella S Haaase (Indonesia) The Mussel Feast: Birgit Vanderbeke (Germany) Fractured: Clar Ni Chonghaile (Somalia) The Girl in the Spiders Web: David Lagercrantz (Sweden) I Need Your Love - Is That True: Byron Katie Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All: Jonas Jonasson (Sweden) May Madeira Car Tours and Walks: John Underwood Lonely Planet Pocket Madeira How to Deal with Difficult People: Gill Hasson The Motorcycle Diaries: Ernesto Che Guevera (Argentina) Popco: Scarlett Thomas Are You My Mother: Louise Voss Abynssian Chronicles: Moses Isegawa (Tanzania) He Who Dares: Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter June The Vegetarian: Kang Han (South Korea) Stiletto: Daniel O'Malley Gould's Book of Fish: Richard Flanagan (Australia) The Undesired: Yrsa Sigurdardottir (Iceland) Menopause Mondays: Ellen Dolgen The Boy in the Dress: David Wailliams Into Thin Air: Jon Krakaurer (Nepal) Butterfly Fish: Irene Irenosen Okojie (Benin) July God and the Gay Christian: Matthew Vines Blackout: Ragnar Jonasson (Iceland) Circular Walks on the Gower Peninsula: Harry Garrod Roberts The Japanese Lover: Isobel Allende The Mirror World of Melody Black: Gavin Extence Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain: David Eagleman August What Milo Saw: Virginia Macgregor Cut: One Woman's Fight Against FGM in Britain Today: Hibo Wardere Management: Guide for First Time Manager: James Stevens The Many: Wyl Menmuir The Wandering Falcon: Jamil Ahmad (Pakistan) Cure: A Journey Into the Science of Mind over Body: Jo Marchant Written in Black: KH Lim (Brunei) The Sellout: Paul Beatty Land of Love and Drowning: Tiphanie Yanique (US Virgin Islands) Secrets of the Vatican: Cyrus Shahrad (Vatican City) September The Book of Memory: Petina Gappah (Zimbabwe) Forward Slash: Louise Voss My Heart Will Cross this Ocean: Kadiatou Diallo (Guinea) The Secret Life of Bees: Sue Monk Kidd Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body: Sara Pascoe Making Friends with the Menopause: Sarah Rayner October End of the Spear: Steve Saint (Ecuador) Lonely Planet Pocket Prague Daughter of Eden: Chris Beckett The Devil's Work: Mark Edwards From Here to Anywhere: Jason Smart Jonathon Livngstone Seagull: Richard Bach November When Hoopoes Go to Heaven: Gaile Parkin (Swaziland) My Beautiful Bahrain: Robin Barratt (Bahrain) The Madman of Freedom Square: Hassan Blasim (Iraq) Who Slashed Celanire's Throat: Maryse Conde (Guadeloupe) A Street Cat Named Bob: James Bowen Frozen Out: Quentin Bates (Iceland) All Quiet on the Western Front: Erich Maria Remarque (Germany) Gone Bamboo: Anthony Bourdain (Sint Maarten) Never Alone: Elizabeth Haynes The World According to Bob: James Bowen December Sleep Smarter: Shawn Stevenson Island on Fire: Alexandra Witze (Iceland) To Be Someone: Louise Voss A Way of Seeing: Coran Foddering Sex at Dawn: Christopher Ryan Before Night Falls: Reinaldo Arenas (Cuba) Politics: Between the Extremes: NIck Clegg The Man I Became: Peter Verheist (Belgium) The Kind Worth Killing: Peter Swanson Desirada: Maryse Conde (Guadeloupe) Africa to Asia: Jason Smart Losing Israel: Jasmine Donahaye (Israel)

My colleague had his discplinary hearing today, even though he is leaving at the end of next week to start a new job. Anyone who knows the history will understand why it was still necessary to continue with the disciplinary. I gather though from HR that no further action will be taken. Although it is in a way frustrating, as he is leaving so soon there is little point in anything else. Of course had he not been it would have been a very different outcome indeed, as I am sure he knows.

Probably a bit of all of those things - and of course marketing.

Warmer than this time yesterday. I set the alarm for 10 minutes early in case I needed to scrape the car, but found I don't have to, so I logged on to here instead.

It was back to work for me today. I really did not want to get up when the alarm went off at 6.20am, but I knew I had to and of course once I was there it wasn't that bad. My colleague is definitely leaving next Friday - it has all been confirmed and of course he has been talking about it to everyone who will listen. Surprisingly they are still going ahead with his disciplinary - I guess he cannot get away with it just because he is now leaving. The meeting will be tomorrow. I haven't been sent an invite, but I am sure I will be the third person to know the outcome (after him and of course HR). It will probably be a warning though. I bought him a leaving card on the way home, as I am his Manager, so I guess it is up to me to start a collection for him. I am tempted to buy him a one way ticket to the North Pole with the proceeds but that wouldn't be fair on the penguins!

About the same here - about 4 degrees maybe with a definite chill in the air, but beautiful blue skies. Just the sort of winter weather I love. I hope it's like this tomorrow again when I return to work, so I can get a good walk around the site.

It was brilliant - unlike a lot of these type of films it actually has a good story to it and isn't just about the special effects, which admittedly though are good. The ending is a bit strange, but apart from that it was probably the best sci fi film I have seen since Gravity. I would be interested when the DVD is released to see how they made it.

We went to see Passengers this afternoon. It was brilliant and the best sci film I have seen since Gravity.

We are starting the New Year as we usually do with a tidy up of the house, getting rid of a load of last years clutter. This afternoon we hope to go and see the new Jennifer Lawrence film Passengers. Then it's back to work tomorrow.

I don't think I have heard of that one, but will go and have a look and if there is a Kindle version, add to my ever increasing wish list.

I managed then to get through a total of 94 books last year, which is a record for me and a fantastic result. I was aiming for 90 which had been my previous record. I didn't get through as many countries as in previous years, but that is bound to happen as I start getting towards the end of this challenge. The last country that I completed for the year was The Man Became I Came by Peter Verheist for Belgium. ​​The new countries that I managed to complete in 2016 were then ​Belgium, Sint Maarten, Guadeloupe, Bahrain, Swaziland, Ecuador, Guinea, Vatican City, US Virgin Islands, Brunei, Benin, Nepal, Ethiopia, Argentina, Czech Republic, Tanzania, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Uruguay, Angola, Austria and Yemen. I also managed books from Iceland, Colombia, Guernsey, Australia, Indonesia, Sweden, Somalia, South Korea, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Germany, Cuba, Israel and of course England and the United States, ​all of which are countries I had already covered.

Sounds like the right thing has finally happened then Virginia - it must feel good to be vindicated after all this time. Apparently my colleague who has caused all the trouble where I work has also resigned - the maintenance team texted me to let me know just before Christmas. Apparently he has been offered a job in a hotel. I wish him well if that's what he wants to do - I wish the hotel well too! I hope everyone had a great Christmas, we certainly did. It was certainly a different one, but a great way to spend it, walking around the island in all weathers. The day after we arrived the island was battered by 50 mph winds, so we didn't get much walking done that day, but we made up for it the rest of the week. According to my fitness band, I did about 43 miles during the week, which isn't bad at all. I even managed to get down to the Pyramid (a lump of pyramid shaped rock, at sea level) for a spot of sun bathing on the last day - yes, sun bathing (fully clothed of course) in December. I think I scared poor Coran a bit with some of the places I took her to! Christmas lunch of course was brilliant - we were sitting in the pub for about 3 hours. The staff put on a fantastic spread - we had leek and potato soup, a lovely nut roast with all the veg and chocolate mousse, with cheese and biscuits to finish off, and of course a few glasses of mulled wine. Walking back to the Castle where we stayed was interesting! All in all though it was a brilliant week. I even managed to read 4 books.

I will finish my 95th today - it only has another half an hour to complete.

I think it helps, although you could just as easily be an ugly sister.

Thanks for the good wishes everyone. I am feeling a lot better than I was, and the cough has been a lot better today, so fingers crossed for tomorrow and that I manage to get a good nights sleep. All our stuff is laid out on the bed ready to go in the bag. All the hotel reservations etc. have been printed out. The bottle of Baileys I am taking with me (well, it is Christmas) has been removed from the cupboard and my camera battery has been charged. All we have do now then is tidy up the kitchen, take out the rubbish, go and see the next door neighbours, deliver a few last minute Christmas cards and collapse in a heap! I won't be around for Christmas of course, so Merry Christmas in advance to all!

Favourite read? Daughter of Eden by Chris Beckett Favourite author? Mark Edwards Most read author? Mark Edwards Favourite book cover? A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen Book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? none Book that most disappointed you? Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley Funniest book? He Who Dares by Del Boy Favourite literary character? Angie Redlantern from Daughter of Eden Favourite children's book? didn't read any Favourite classic? didn't read any Favourite non-fiction book? Animal by Sara Pascoe Favourite biography? didn't read any Favourite collection of short stories? didn't read any Favourite poetry collection? didn't read any Favourite illustrated book? didn't read any Favourite publisher? wouldn't know Favourite audiobook? didn't read any Favourite re-read? didn't read any

Sounds like a good deal to me Noll, you should definately go for it. I have been nursing a stinky rotten cold all weekend and have felt like absolute crap. It has progressed from a sore throat to a streaming nose with slight temperature to a horrible dry cough. Hopefully the worst of it will be over by the time I have to drive down to Barnstaple on Wednesday. I just hope that Coran doesn't get it in the meantime, as being ill in such an isolated place will really not be fun at all. It is then my last day of work tomorrow until January 3rd, which I cannot say I am sorry about. One way or another, it has been one hell of a year.

He was actually quite cooperative today, which is surprising. It goes in fits and start though, and was probably simply because it's pay day, which means he has money to once again go to the pub. He seems to have taken at least some of what was said yesterday on board, although this doesn't excuse his behaviour yesterday, which was very threatening and aggressive. Under the circumstances HR were left with no other choice really. I will have to wait and see now I suppose after Christmas to see what happens next. I think you made the right decision re Amazon. From what I gather they are a hideous company to work for anyway, and it really isn't worth the risk to your health. I have only two more days of work now until Christmas - yippee !

I wish I could say that. My throat has been itchy and sore for a few days now which is not what I need right now. Mind you, I would rather have it now than all over Christmas. It has been another eventful day for me. We have appointed a new part time cleaner and finally placed the other one under disciplinary. It is not what I particularly wanted to happen, but in the end he left us with no other choice.

Me too. I think a lot of the problems stem from the fact that my previous Manager did not deal with things properly by keeping them properly informed about what was going on. His successor was not really there long enough and there were issues with his own cleaning standards as well, which meant that he did not get through his probationary period. I have though been there a long time and seen first hand the way in which this man behaves and there is really no excuse for it. He met briefly with HR today on his own and from what I gather they made at least some progress. We have another meeting tomorrow with him in which we hope to give him some clear objectives to work with. As it stands though if this doesn't work and he continues to be this belligerent and hostile and refuses to cooperate then we have 2 possible recourses. The first will be an official improvement notice period of perhaps one month during which his behaviour will be monitored in more clearly defined and measurable ways. The second (and I am very much more inclined towards this option than the first one given the history) is to start disciplinary proceedings immediately. I personally believe that he is being deliberately obstructive and that this should not be tolerated. I am the third Manager he has done this with, so it is definitely him and not me. I personally think then that it is high time something was done. Lunch at least was nice. I am amazed really when we do things like this how comfortable it has become for me being the only woman in a team of about 10 men. They really are a great bunch of guys though, who all work hard and have a laugh together which is what it is all about and one of the reasons why I enjoy working here so much.

Congratulations on the new job Peacefield. Sorry to hear about your hands and arms Virginia. After what I have read about working at Amazon though I am not surprised. Working as a cleaner I sometimes find that my hands and arms hurt, especially after using the scrubbing machines, but you do get used to it after a while and the aches and pains start to subside. I had very difficult meeting today with one of my colleagues to discuss some concerns about the cleaning standards and how he is managing his work. I had backup from HR as I knew it would be difficult, as I know what he is like. The words I would use are hostile and belligerent. He basically refused to communicate with either of us, and tried to turn it round by saying that I was not fit for the job. We weren't having any of it though and made it clear that at the moment things are being monitored, but if things do not change, then he may be issued with an improvement notice, which will then lead to a disciplinary. I said that I want to help him and try and make things easier for him, I even asked what I could do to help with this, but he would not even answer. He just kept saying that he didn't care as he was looking for another job. Good bloody riddance I say. I am interviewing 2 candidates on Thursday for another cleaning positon which I am looking forward to. We had a quick run through of the format and questions this morning. Tomorrow the whole team (except the person mentioned above, who is refusing to go) are going out to the local greasy spoon for lunch. We do this every year and it is usually good fun. It's a chance to spend time together as a team outside of work and be paid for it, which can't be bad!

It's not exactly puff pastry but there are some recipes for some nice sounding mini quiches here: https://www.vegansociety.com/resources/recipes/starters-snacks-and-sides This site also seems to be quite good: http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/pastries

I am about halfway through book no 85, so should be on track to manage my goal of 90 books this year.

It was a great night, although I left early. It was a little too loud for me and I was tired from a long week. It was nice to see everyone outside of work though and have a dance and a laugh. I would imagine there were a few sore heads this morning ! I am sure everything will be fine. The maintenance manager tells me that he has informed my old Manager (the one before the one who had ADHD) of my promotion and he is delighted. We hope to meet up for a drink in the New Year so that he can offer his congratulations in person. Hope your enjoy your brothers girlfriends birthday. I am going to go and sit in bed now and have a quiet afternoon with my Kindle.