chesilbeach

As far as I remember, I couldn't even finish The Jane Austen Book Club, so despite the fact We Are Completely Beside Ourselves was Booker nominated and lots of people reviewed it positively, I resisted buying it when it was in the Kindle sale. Based on your review, I think I made the right choice.

Just been catching up with last nights game between Australia and New Zealand … what happened there??? Australia make only 151 runs, and NZ seem to be going reasonably well, only to collapse but somehow manage to cling on and win by 1 wicket. Sounds like it much have been a good match to watch … shame it was overnight here. Might try and catch some highlights later on.

After a beautiful day yesterday, today's forecast doesn't look promising. Thick, heavy cloud for most of the day, followed by heavy rain this evening. Let's hope the forecasters have got it wrong, and it's a bit better than predicted.

Today will be a reorganising day. Clearing out old stuff, getting some storage boxes and filling and arranging new stuff. Need to make an early start so I've got some time to do something a bit more fun later on.

I'm almost half way through Half Bad and I love it. Whenever I sit down with it, I find it hard to put down when I have to go and do something else.

Harry Potter secrets to be revealed by new JK Rowling bibliography I think this will be brilliant. I've been completely fascinated by the editing process for the books, and I hope this will add light to some of the differing accounts I've heard, and whether they have been hearsay or not. BUT, it's ludicrously expensive at the moment. The hardback is £75 and the Kindle edition is currently discounted to £39. I think it's meant for the book trade predominately, but I'm sure lots of fans will want the book to complete their collections, or just to read more behind-the-scenes details of the Harry Potter books.

Has he got any clothes he's a bit too big for, or that are a bit threadbare? Using gold paper or card, make a golden ticket, stick it in a bar of chocolate for him to carry, and he'd look just like Charlie Bucket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie's family are poor, so his clothes would look either too small or just worn out. If you google images of "charlie and the chocolate factory golden ticket" you'll get some ideas of what to make the ticket look like. Not much dressing up required, it's all in the prop!

I think the assumption is that YA is a genre in bookshops. It's not. All they're doing is allocating a section of bookshelves for books that are aimed at a particular age range. They don't have infinite space, and to subcategorise the limited number of books in that section probably wouldn't make sense and would make it harder to find a particular book if you were looking for it. They're basically trying to help children, teenagers and parents know which age range books are aimed at. I think it's actually better they don't then split them into separate categories, and the wider the range of books that are read as a child or teenager, they'll be able to find out more about what books they like to read, and will hopefully carry through to their adulthood. Personally, I have no problem with books in the a bookshop being categorised as just YA, as it's means I can browse through all styles and genres in the same space. For all other books, most of the bookshops now have separate sections for fiction, crime, fantasy, science fiction and classics, possibly historical fiction, but that's rarer. I'm sure that's because they believe that most people tend to stick to one type of book and don't want to have to sift through everything else to find what they want. The book shops have not said these are genres, but have shelved them based on what they are told by the publishers. Personally, I would prefer to have just one big fiction section for everything that isn't for children or teens. This way, I'd be able to find anything I wanted based on authors name, without having to worry about where the publishers/bookshop have decided it fits into a category. But, I can see why they think it helps people to know what type of book they are getting, as some might not realise from a blurb whether some books is fantasy or science fiction or crime, and are in the end disappointed with the book they've bought. When it comes to how books are reviewed and discussed, genre does become more important … at least to publishers, reviewers (as in professional media reviewers) and the various awards and prize panels of judges. There is still a very snobbish view of books, and a feeling that some authors and their books are more worthy than others, and they don't want to be lumped in with the rest of the masses. There's a perception that literary fiction has more merit, and has a higher literary value than other "general" fiction, and also the assumption that literary fiction published today, will stand the test of time and become a classic in the future. There are no hard and fast rules for what genre books fit into, it's subject to argument and at the end of the day, it's up to the individual to decide where they categorise their own books.

Gorgeous day here … just been out to the shops, the bus was on time(!), the sun was out, all the shops had what I wanted, everyone was smiling, tea and toast and a read in the café, lovely walk back. Fingers crossed it stays for the rest of the day!

I'd be a millionaire!

Actually, as a wrapping paper, it's quite thick, so would suit being a poster quite well!

That's what bugs me the most I think … no character is ever dead! I know they're all the undead anyway, but they've taken it one step too far for me now.

My dad was brilliant at woodwork. I have a table by my beside he made when he was still at school, with a beautiful chessboard top. It's my most cherished thing in the house. When I was little, he built all my bedroom furniture … bunk beds, cupboards, shelves, entertainment centre (think of the one Joey built on Friends ), and it was all beautiful. I used to help, but mainly all I did was hand over tools and sand things down … I'm an expert with a block of wood and a piece of sandpaper! I even helped him build the wood conservatory at the back of the house one summer when I was a teenager.

I don't think there is a hashtag, but I think it started because of this blog post from author Marcus Sedgwick. I've seen responses from @Patrick_Ness and @NonPratt.

I didn't realise they were both starting again over here. Managed to find The Originals on demand, so I'll watch that this afternoon and I won't miss any. Kylie, I actually prefer The Originals to TVD … I think TVD is ok, but for me it feels like it's lost its way a bit.

Wow, that's stunning. I love seeing the work of proper cabinet makers and woodworkers, so beautiful.

Just got up in time to watch the last five overs of the South Africa innings against the West Indies. AB de Villiers was incredible … the stats for his innings are amazing, including 30 runs off the last over, bring SA score to 408 off their 50 overs!!!

I found this article about the woman who inspired Charlotte's pen name quite interesting, so thought I'd share it here. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/25/book-inspired-charlotte-bronte-bewick-history-british-birds

Thanks, Noll. It's the second year I've read some of the books from the Waterstone's shortlist, and this year I've liked all the ones I've read so far. Last year, one I read was just ok, and the were a few I wasn't interested in, but I'm enjoying this year a lot. It's sort of nice to read a list someone else has come up with, and be able to judge which I think is the best book.

Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it .. It's one of the very few books I've read that I think I might read again. I'll be carrying on with Half Bad again today.

Decided to start Half Bad by Sally Green next. It's quite a hefty book, but read 30 pages and think I'm going to enjoy it.

Just watched this weeks Great British Sewing Bee - thought the judges got the first person to leave right, but gutted by the second person they decided to send home

That's why I stopped following them too.

Drool indeed! Sounds fantastic, hope it turned out well, Marie.

Just finished it. It was a very quick read, but I'm not sure what age it's aimed at … might be a bit too young for a 10 year old? I'm not very good at judging, as I don't know many children, and those I do know, I don't see often, so ages are a bit unclear for me! Have to say it was a great little read, and I loved the illustrations, so can't fault it, just don't know what age it's suitable for.