Raven

You have my pity!

It is very much comfort reading for me. I first read the book as a teenager in the mid/late 80s, and have re-read it every few years ever since. I grew up in the West Country so know the Devon and Cornwall coast quite well, and this book brings back a heavy hit of nostalgia (especially now) for places I haven't seen for many years. Wallington also has a knack for seamlessly blending the imparting of information with humour that makes the book an enjoyable read. Have you read any of his other books?

Obviously there are people who do not like certain genres or specific authors because they just don't click with them, but I would say that all of the authors you have listed there above are very good writers. I cannot say that about Jodi Taylor having read Just one Damned Thing After Another because the book was, frankly, a mess. The review I wrote here sums it up my thoughts pretty well: http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/3119-ravens-reads/&do=findComment&comment=501824 so I won't go over the same ground again here. As I say in my review above, Max isn't without appeal, but too much of the focus is on her character, to the point where it breaks the plausibility of the world she inhabits. I can only assume this series gets better as it goes along, but I won't be reading them to find out, despite having the next two volumes on my Kindle (I got the first three books for 99p before she was signed up by Headline; they look to be self published, but I don't know if that is the case).

I started reading Mike Gayle's latest novel, but couldn't get into it, so I've resorted to an old favourite, 500 Mile Walkies, by Mark Wallington. I thought I had read this relatively recently, but scrolling through my reading history I see I last read it in 2014! Still, seems to be working; nearly half read in two days, which is lightening fast for me at the moment..

My sister loves these books, but having read the first one I have to admit I just don't get the love for them!

Edge, as well. I don't know if this is relevant to Firefox, but Chrome has recently stopped allowing downloads from https sites if the object being downloaded is from a http site/link. At the moment I know this applies to executables, and I think it may also cover images, but from the beginning of next year it will apply to all content hosted in this way. This shouldn't be an issue for images hosted on this site, but if they are linked from another site that might be the issue (you can check this by right-clicking on the link, that will display the target address of the image and show whether it is on a http or https site). Disclaimer: The above may be a massive red herring!

That was your sister? I must compliment you on her mighty fine beard! Never touched her, guv...

Given up on Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O'Keefe. It's rare for me to admit defeat but I feel like I've been reading this forever and I'm still only 60% in. The story is going nowhere, it's poorly written and knowing this is the first book of a trilogy I can think of better ways to pass the time (staring at a blank wall, for instance).

Careful you get that request right, I once ended up with a spiteful dwarf...

Pff... It's faded from my memory, but did they even talk over why Ace left? (after the events in the book, so there was some context given everything that happened?) I don't remember them doing so... I would say that School Reunion (the David Tennant story with Sarah-Jane Smith) is a good example of how to do a "companion meets the Doctor again" story, this, less so. Just having an ex-companion in a story isn't enough, there needs to be some examination of their previous relationship and how they have changed since they parted, and the wider story needs to support that. I don't think this book did either of the two very well. I can see why Moffat and Co. have continually said they will only bring old characters back if the story supports it. Sitting there, wearing a jacket covered in badges...

I've not listened to them - as I don't want someone else's voice in my head when I'm reading the books! - but I have heard that Kobna Holdbrook-Smith does a very good job with them.

^ Try clearing your Firefox cache/ browsing history, that can sometimes cause issues.

Amazon currently have a Black Friday Kindle deal where if you spend £10.00 you get a £3.00 kindle credit (runs until the 26th).

Nice and mild outside of my south-facing bedroom window; artic cold outside of my north-facing kitchen window! Also, just seen a giant cloud that looked like an Imperial Star Destroyer. The joys of working from home...

Ooh! I did a review thingy of that: http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/3119-ravens-reads/&do=findComment&comment=505866 *spoilers* I didn't enjoy it as quite as much as you!

Well done, Hayley! (and thanks for all the hard work!)

I'm struggling through Velocity Weapon, by Megan E. O'Keefe, and so far it a complete mystery why it has garnered so much praise... It's slow, not very interesting and reads like fan fiction. I've nearly put it down for good twice now, but for some reason have felt compelled to pick it up again. I think I just want to get to a part where I can see why it has been praised!

Oh, it was long gone when I posted that!

Lord alive, I've died and gone to breakfast food heaven! Just popped in M&S on my way into work and have found they are doing Full English Breakfasts in a box! 2 minutes in the microwave and you have bacon, a poached egg, a sausage, tomato and beans. Wonderful! I can see this becoming a bad habit...

2 episodes of Star Trek: Discovery down, and I can't say this season has got off to a flying start. The first episode was flat, but the second was better. 4 days to new baby Yoda...

Enola Holmes A good, fun old romp of a film, in which Milly Bobby Brown is simply brilliant. Star and producer, and she was just 15 when it was made! She was good in Stranger Things, but if she carries on like this she's going to end up running Hollywood!

I think I've only ever seen Aaronovitch's books on a table in the science fiction section of Waterstone's.

I like Abigail as well. Aaronovitch seems to be pretty good at writing feisty females! The foxes are in it; they think they are spies, according to the blurb! I think the previous hardback novellas have been around that price.

New novella next March: What Abigail Did That Summer https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08L5ZP9D7/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i2 Looks like it is set at the same time as the main series novel Foxglove Summer.

That must have been a good workout!