Chrissy

Oh, it is, it really is. Plock to you too! I adore Thursday Next, and actually have frequent random Nextian thoughts,

Terry Pratchett's The Shepherd's Crown has been reduced from £9.99 to £4.99 today.

Yesterday I bought Philip Pullman's The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass on kindle. I have the books, but I know my Mum really wanted to read them, and as she can only read in big font (thank you kindle!) this was the way to go. I already had Northern Lights so she is all set. Today I bought Terry Pratchett's final novel, 'The Shepherd's Crown'. It has been sitting at £9.99 for ages, but finally today it dropped to £4.99.

Goodreads has a list on Harem/polygamy fiction. You may find what you are looking for there. It's a very specific thing you are looking for, so it may be that you need be really specific on a search engine - "Harem, survivalist, post-apocalyptic, fiction", that sort of thing.

The Chase Celebrity Special. Easy viewing for a Sunday evening.

One thing I found, related more to where the book was printed / sold rather than the book itself is this from the Kings College London website. During Shakespeare’s time, but also long before and after his life, the main centre of London’s – and indeed Britain’s and Europe’s – book printing and book trading industry was situated in the direct vicinity of St Paul’s Cathedral. Starting in the early 14th century, long before the invention of printing, St Paul’s precincts and sometimes even the Cathedral itself were used to store books and writing materials. When King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, the buildings on the site were seized by the Crown and afterwards sold mainly to printers and booksellers. The new bookshops did not only occupy the former religious buildings lining the churchyard and adjoining streets, but they had also installed themselves against the Cathedral’s walls. As a result, in Shakespeare’s time, the precincts of St Paul’s were synonymous with the book trade. Walking around St Paul’s nowadays, one can easily remain oblivious to this part of St Paul’s history, since all traces of the once flourishing book trade on the site have gone. I noticed that the title page mentioned 'Paul's Chrurchyard' and thought it would probably be related to St. Paul's Cathedral in London. It looks as though that may be the case. ETA It looks like a little information can be found on Thomas Calvert in the book written by Willian Ellerby & James Piggott Pritchett entitled A History of the Nonconformist Churches of York.

I saw Avengers - Age Of Ultron yesterday. Good fun, although I get that I have missed some bits of the ongoing Marvel story by not having seen the Captain America, Thor & Iron Man films. I'll get to them eventually.

My immediate thought was an archive box such as this one, or a clam shell box such as this. Or maybe archiving book bags (couldn't find a link!). We have some old books here, and timetables and things and actually keep them in a chest of drawers. This (so far) has avoided any accidental damage to them, and keeps them out of light, and puts less physical stress on the book spines etc. Good luck finding a solution that works for you. The most important thing is what is the book? Any chance of a photograph?

I had to keep apologising / explaining to husband why I had suddenly burst into laughter when reading them.

Welcome back. Sounds like you have been super busy. Glad that things are settling for you, and especially that you have started a job you love.

20) Rivers Of London by Ben Aaronovitch Life changes for probationary PC, Peter Grant one night while guarding a murder scene when he takes a witness statement from a ghost. From there he sits at the centre of this macabre and brutal murder enquiry. 21) Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch Jazz musicians, ageless beauties, chimeras and the faceless man. The plot thickens significantly in this second book. 22) Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch An art student is found murdered at Baker Street underground station. Strange markets, secret ancient communities, the FBI, and the power of art. 23) Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch Architecture, demon traps, european magics and the faceless man and his diabolically murderous schemes. Fascinating, with a plot tha manages to magically dash about whilst remaining thoroughly dense with plot, people and detail. 24) Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch Peter Grant spends most of the book in the countryside, assisting in a search for two missing girls. Rural folklore, the Romans, adultery and unicorns. What more could you ask for in a book? I had bought each book in the series as they came up on special offer for the kindle, but hadn't actually read any of them. I had a feeling I would enjoy them, but had no idea by just how much. Witty and imaginative, each book has it's own tale to tell, while an arc stretches across the series. Mr Aaronovitch beautifully melds together present day and modern policing methods with history, legend, mythology and folklore in such an imaginative way that poses (and I quote here) 'a juxtaposition between the magical and the mundane' (Wikipedia ~ Rivers Of London). They have gone straight to the 'Absolute Favourites' list of books. LOVE THEM!

I finished the fifth one in the series yesterday, and all I can see is that the series just gets better and better. I couldn't slow up my reading, I so wanted to devour them. I am thinking of going back and re reading them a little slower so I can really absorb them before the next book comes out. I love the intermingling of folklore, mythology, history and legend being laid out alongside modern sensibilities, humour and such original and compelling stories. Love 'em!

For those that remember Sue, I have some sad news. Her daughter posted on Facebook today that Sue died this morning. She had been battling cancer in recent years, and I was taken into hospital very recently. Sue was one of those people that seemed to grab life by the throat, and give it merry hell. I'll miss her.

I started the fourth book in the Rivers Of London / Peter Grant series of books. I am enjoying these clever books so much.

Jasper Fforde held a web chat on the UK Guardian newspaper site. Here's the link! Jasper Fforde web chat What would you have asked him?

Mr Fforde had a web chat today on the UK Guardian Newspaper site. Here's the link. I wish I had known it was happening, although I have no idea the question I would have asked him.

Mother Nature can be cruel at times with her activities and weather, but I would say that so many deaths could be prevented by mankind getting together and creating proper access to water supplies. I found this article on the governments of Belgium and The Netherlands, who are planning on extending the provision of iodine tablets to people living near nuclear power stations. There appear to be a number of concerns, with both the age (and therefore the reliability) of the reactors being a worry, and the concern that terrorists may target them.

There's a lot of fours and fives there Julie, and that's so great.......well, so long as you are not marking them out of 50!

I will keep my eyes open for your list.

I'm doing great Julie, thanks for asking. I have been enjoying my reading this year, everything ticking over nicely. How about you? Any stand out books?

Star Wars - The Force Awakens. Finally! I did enjoy it, and loved the 'nods' toward the original trilogy, although I did think they slipped into replication rather than homage once or twice. Rae and Finn are really good additions to the universe and I look forward to seeing more of them.

Thanks Madeleine, I think I probably will continue to enjoy them. I started the second book last night, and so far so good.

I have finally got around to reading Rivers of London, and I loved it! Even better is that I have the next four ready and waiting for me on my kindle, having snapped them up every time they came along super cheap on Amazon. Maybe it was taking a bit of a chance, buying then all up before I had even read the first, but I had a distinct feeling that I was going to enjoy them. Great pacing, interesting central premise and story, and I adore the references to London's rivers. Great stuff.

I only discovered them when I looked on fantasticfiction.com, it wasn't immediately apparent that they were connected to the series until you actually read the blurb for them. I may have also bought the Revivalist series by her too. I thought that having enjoyed the Morganville Vampires, The Weather Wardens and the Outcast series by her I may as well go the whole hog. Which leads me onto........ Me too! For the same reasons!

1) The first name that sprang into my mind was Molly Weasley from JK Rowling's Harry Potter series. Loving, nurturing and a kick-ass witch (I'm thinking of her 'exchange' with Bellatrix in the Deathly Hallows). She adores her own children, and immediately identifies the lack of motherly love in Harry's life and seeks to fill his life with love and second helpings and encouragement. 2) Honoria Lucasta Delagardie, The Dowager Duchess of Denver and the clever, batty and inclusive mother of Lord Peter Wimsey from the series by Dorothy L Sayers. 3) Thursday Next, literary detective from Jasper Fforde's fabulous Thursday Next series. This may be considered an odd choice, but I love how Thursday wants her children to be who they are, even if she may at times take a detour to get to that way of thinking. She would kill for her loved ones, and not in that fluffy bunny way of foot stamping and shouting, but in a she-would-get-hold-of-a-tank-and-squish-any-enemies way. My kind of gal! I may add to the list later as more spring to mind.