chesilbeach

Watching the squirrel sneaking nuts out of the bird feeder in the garden

Chips straight out of the paper for lunch!

Test Match Special

Judy Blume makes plea to New York mayor for library funds

Nice piece on the book: Neil Gaiman: Why I love Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell And a lovely little insight from Clarke on the television series: Susanna Clarke on the TV Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

I joined in January 2009. I'd been blogging book reviews for a little while, but I was finding it was a bit lacking in interaction, so I had a look around for UK book forums and this one came up top in the search engine. I had a mooch around for a couple of days before signing up, and I've never looked back. When I first joined, I initially thought it was a bit clique-y but soon realised that I just needed to jump in and chat with people, and quickly realised it was a very friendly, inclusive forum. I loved that there was a request that everyone wrote in full, not abbreviations and text speak, and also not to just post in a thread unless you had something to add, rather than just replies with emoticons or pointless replies. It makes it much easier to stay interested in a thread if posts actually have a point, and I'd been on another forum (not a book one) where you'd just get endless replies with a smiley face or a single word response that it felt pointless reading the threads. One of the first books I recommended was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows and it was great to see so many people pick it up after my review, and it seemed to prove popular. I've also really enjoyed the discussion we had to come up with the list of books for our own English Counties Challenge, and it's been great to have group reads of some of the books too. As Kay as already mentioned, we've met up regularly over the last few years, and it's been lovely to meet up with a fellow bookworm in real life, and I'm hoping to meet up with some other members in the future … just have to overcome that shyness and pluck up the courage … as well as trying to find the time to make the trip!

Finished The Bloody Tower by Carola Dunn, started and finished Lady Lucy's Lover by M. C. Beaton, and have started The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini. All enjoyable … nice easy reading for a bank holiday weekend.

I'm not actively participating the read-a-thon, but I've had a pretty good couple of days reading anyway, and have read The Bloody Tower by Carola Dunn, Lady Lucy's Lover by M. C. Beaton and am about a quarter of the way through The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini. All on Kindle, so no idea of pages read, and didn't keep any notes of times taken.

Nice day out today - had a wander around Waterstone's although didn't buy anything, but did indulge in a coffee and a read. Keeping up with the cricket via TMS now, and going to sit down with my book for the rest of the afternoon.

Good plan! I might not be able to get ebooks signed, but they're a lot easier to sneak in the house

I'm not sure I'd want to read Only Ever Yours as a holiday read, but that's just me … it was pretty bleak, and I'd rather have something a bit easier to read on holiday. Noll's right though, the 400 pages whizz by. It's been a long time since I read Holes ... I'd say it was probably at the younger end of YA, but it was a really good story (and the film adaptation is great too!). I read Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants which is more my sort of holiday read, so based on that, I'd say At The Water's Edge might be a good choice.

Netflix and Ellen DeGeneres serve up Green Eggs and Ham I love the press release at the bottom of the article!

Forgot it was a new month and posted in the April thread to start with I'm reading another Daisy Darlymple book called The Bloody Tower by Carola Dunn - a murder mystery set in the The Tower of London in the 1920s.

It's May already! (I posted this in the April thread first of all, before I realised it was a new month ) It's decidedly nippy out considering it's the May Day bank holiday weekend … was hoping for the warmer weather to have settled in by now! I guess I'll just have to make do with a long weekend reading, snuggled up somewhere warm instead. Hope everyone has a lovely bank holiday weekend!

So sad to see such a beautiful house destroyed by fire: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-32528435

It's decidedly nippy out considering it's the May Day bank holiday weekend … was hoping for the warmer weather to have settled in by now! I guess I'll just have to make do with a long weekend reading, snuggled up somewhere warm instead. Wishing everyone in the UK a happy bank holiday weekend!

Going to read more of The Bloody Tower today. Bought myself Heartless by Gail Carriger on audiobook, and Summer at the Beach Street Café by Jenny Colgan on Kindle. Happy Friday to me.

Judy Blume!!!! My first real YA books were hers many, many moons ago. Adding in Paul Magrs makes it so, so tempting. You're both right, this is a great way to expand my YA reading horizons.

I was thinking of a re-read too, but I'm not sure I'd finish it in time now! It's a whopper of a book and so heavy to hold, but I guess I could get myself a Kindle version instead ...

That sounds like brilliant fun, June Productive day at work today, then had a nice visit with my dad this afternoon. Looking forward to a lazy(ish) evening

I'm quite enjoying The Goldbergs … appeals to me as it's set in the 1980s, so all my teenage years come flooding back to me watching it

Finished The Ghost and Lady Alice by M. C. Beaton, and started The Bloody Tower which is the next Daisy Dalrymple book in the series by Carola Dunn

Gah!!! It's soooooo tempting - will really have to see if I can swing it somehow.

Still chilly in the mornings, a bit blustery and showery today, but no extremes of any kind, so I'm alright with that!

BBC Programme Info for week 20 - 16th to 22nd May - Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell CONFIRMED!!!!! Exact day and time still not available, but it's definitely going to start that week!