chesilbeach

I've been struggling a bit with House-Bound, and I think it's just the wrong time for me to be reading it, so I've put it aside for now, and started a quick easy read instead - The Ghost and Lady Alice by M. C. Beaton.

You could try having a look at http://www.quickreads.org.uk- these are mainly designed to help people who struggle with reading for whatever reason, but are written by big name authors and are all short books. I read Quantum of Tweed by Conn Iggulden a few years back and really enjoyed it. I think they publish about half a dozen every year, and cover a wide range of genres, so you should find something to your taste there

Not sure if I'll actively take part in the read-a-thon this month, but will hopefully still find plenty of time for reading over the weekend.

Wednesday is almost done and it's downhill all the way to the weekend now! Not been too bad this week, but a long day on Monday, learning something new yesterday, and a pretty full day today mean I'm looking forward to the bank holiday and a nice long break.

Got a bit damp going into work this morning, and the heavens opened not long after I sat at my desk, but this afternoon has been lovely. Quite windy, but bright and sunny.

I would definitely re-instate treat night for this! I hope I'm not getting too excited too early, as I don't want to be let down, but it could well be the highlight of the television year

I just get an error that the webpage was not available, but not to worry, I only wanted to look to see whether it had any dates in it, as I don't want to spoil too much

Still reading House-Bound which I think will take me a couple more days at least to finish, but it's quite wordy. It was a bit of a slow starter, but I'm getting into it now and enjoying it.

A little bit of thinking required for this one! I *think* mine would be: The Children of Cherry Tree Farm by Enid Blyton Persuasion by Jane Austen Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Suzanna Clarke Quartet In Autumn by Barbara Pym The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde Mapp and Lucia by E. F. Benson Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith The Secret Lives of People in Love by Simon Van Booy The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber Findings by Kathleen Jamie The order is just based on when I read them going from oldest to most recent, and I've limited myself to one book per author, otherwise it would have been a whole list of Ali Smith and Jane Austen.

What I like about the website to vote, is that even though they've picked a shortlist of books they think will be the most popular, they've also given you the option to chose any of her other books too. Nothing worse than when someone asks you to pick a favourite and then give you a shortlist that doesn't include the one you want. I've only read one (And Then There Were None) and to be honest, it wasn't my cup of tea, so I haven't bothered with any more.

Good luck, Virginia.

It looks lovely, but it's flipping cold … brrrr

Thanks Kylie … you're right, it looks amazing! I can't get to the link to the review, so not sure if it mentions the date in there, but programme info is published by 3pm on Thursday, so if it's going to be in the week of the 23rd May, we'll know then, if not, it must be on the last weekend (30th/31st) of the month if it's premiering in May.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/27/famous-fans-vote-for-worlds-favourite-agatha-christie-novel The article explains more, but it is a campaign to find the world's favourite Agatha Christie novel to celebrate the 125th anniversary of her birth.

Congratulations Kell! I haven't done anything for the last couple of days, but planning to do some exercise tomorrow after work.

Very cold this morning, with ice on the car when I left for work but it's been quite bright all day, and it was still light as I left work, but as I hit the motorway it was like someone had turned off the lights! Very dark cloud, and within a few miles I was driving through a very heavy rain storm. Fortunately, the rain let off just as I got home, especially as I couldn't park outside my house, so I managed to get in without getting too wet.

Started House-Bound by Winifred Peck during my lunch break today, and also finished my audio book on the way home in the car.

I watched Knight and Day again last night … gotta love those comic romantic action films!

Just got home after a long day at work, but at least it was a productive day, so it was worth the long hours. Won't have time to do much else this evening, other than catching up here. The only thing wrong is I'm suffering from hiccups at the moment!

The Gallery of Vanished Husbands by Natasha Solomons Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk): At thirty a woman has a directness in her eye. Juliet Montague did anyhow. She knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted to buy a refrigerator. But in a rash moment, Juliet commissions a portrait of herself instead. She has been closeted by her conservative Jewish community for too long, ever since her husband disappeared. Now she is ready to be seen. So begins the journey of a suburban wife and mother into the heart of '60s London and its thriving art world, where she proves an astute spotter of talent. Yet she remains an outsider: drawn to a reclusive artist who never leaves Dorset and unable to feel free until she has tracked down her husband - a quest that leads to California and a startling discovery. Review: I'm in two minds about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed reading it, it flowed very well and I never felt it a struggle to read. On the other hand, I never felt that compulsion to read it and it hasn't left a lasting impression on me. I think, if I'm honest, I never felt completely convinced by Juliet and her story, and although an interesting look at the changing society of the 1960s in London, while Juliet always slightly remained an outsider, I also felt an outsider to her story, and I never completely connected with her as a character. The startling discovery about her husband wasn't that startling to me, but I wonder if that's because I'm reading it in the twenty first century, and not in the period when it's set. I enjoyed the art world setting, the different styles and lives of the artists, and the description of some of the artworks and I liked how the story was tied into the various portraits of Juliet. But, overall, I did enjoy it, although not as much as I enjoyed her previous books.

One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk): Meet Silver. Forty-four, divorced and living alone. His once celebrated music career is now a faded memory and his ex-wife is about to marry another man. The only good thing in Silver's life is his Princeton-bound teenage daughter, Casey - and she would probably say the exact opposite about him. So in Silver's opinion, things could be going better ... a lot better. Then Casey drops a bombshell: she's pregnant. Yes, it was her first time, and, no, she hasn't told her mom. Silver knows things have got to change, and when he discovers he has a fatal heart condition that means he could drop dead at any minute, he decides it's time to make a list: 1. Be a better father 2. Be a better man 3. Fall in love 4. Die But the question is, can Silver rebuild his life, regain the respect of his family, and be there for Casey when she needs him most, or has he left it all too late? Review: This book was a perfect example of why I should give books a second chance! I bought it last summer and read about 50 pages and put it aside because I hadn't found it engaging, and it felt as though nothing had happened. I put it aside, but when I created my book jar, I added it as I thought I'd probably give it another go, and I'm so glad I did. When I picked it up again, I was obviously in a completely different frame of mind, as I got into it almost immediately, and finished it the next day. Despite the fact that this is a book about a man who has found out he has a very serious heart problem, it actually reads like a romantic comedy, with some family drama thrown in. It makes a refreshing change to read this type of book from a male perspective, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's not too taxing to read, and the pages fly by, but I felt an affection for Silver and his family and friends, and as the book goes on, I got more and more involved. I'm not going to say what the ending is, obviously, but I loved it. I never expected to end how it did, but I'm so glad, as it left me exactly where I wanted to be with the Silver's story. This is the second book I've read of Jonathan Tropper's and I won't hesitate to buy another if I see one in the bookshop.

The Curate's Wife by E. H. Young Dahlia has just married Cecil, the curate of the parish. The book starts on their first day home after their honeymoon, and you realise immediately that this marriage has baggage with it. Dahlia's mother has a past that has tainted the reputation of her daughters, and unable to face living with their mother and her new husband, the girls have been forced to find new homes, which has led Dahlia to marry Cecil, who fell in love with this beautiful girl, while Dahlia knows she must make the best of her new life. Another of E. H. Young's novels set in Clifton, Bristol, although it's never mentioned as such, I could again picture the setting and felt I could see my old stomping ground on the page. I loved this book, probably even more that Celia. It's very much a story of the early months of a marriage already under strain before it's started, due to Dahlia's mother's indiscretion, and the disapproval of the wife of the vicar Cecil works for, and this is very much a look at their parochial society. I felt there was a touch more humour in The Curate's Wife than in Celia, but there were also some much stronger scenes between husband and wife, but mostly told through their thoughts rather than their dialogue, so you felt more involved than you might if you just saw that they said to each other. It's quite intense at times, and you see these little glimpses of a very real relationship and conversation. I'm so glad my book jar has finally got me started reading my E. H. Young books, as I'm really enjoying them. One of my favourite books of the year so far.

Glad to be of service.

Short and sweet, I've already finished The Beautifull Cassandra (in my defence, it's only 54 pages long ). Gone back to the book jar, and have picked out House-Bound by Winifred Peck, which is another from my Persephone TBR.

I'm addicted to Four In A Bed where four B&B owners compete against each other, by visiting each others establishments and then critique their stay and pay what they think their stay was worth. They show a weeks worth of programmes on weekend afternoons, so I'm currently watching these since the weather's not so nice today.