chesilbeach

The Russian names were a bit of a struggle, weren't they? I agree with everything you've said in the spoiler, and was Glad you enjoyed it, Kay. I love the cover designs when you show them all together … they'd make a lovely collection up on the shelf …

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/17/author-uk-dream-job I know this survey was conducted on behalf of an organisation dedicated to digital publishing, but even so, 60% of correspondents said they would like to be an author and 54% would like to be a librarian. Personally, I'm obviously in the minority, as despite being an avid reader, I would not be suited to writing for a living, and I'd only want to be a librarian in the 1950s when it was still all about books. I'd much rather be a bookseller, so I could read all my products and chat to people who wanted to buy them!

I follow him on twitter, and he's already talking about the book he's writing for after this one is published! I've read quite a few of his now, and I think he'll be an author I eventually work my way through his entire work, but I've got a few more to go before I get there.

I finished All Fall Down today, and it's set up the rest of the series fantastically well, so already looking forward to the next instalment! I'm full on into my YA and children's book fest now, so next up will by The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead.

Tomato and mozzarella pasta

Good to hear you enjoyed reading it again, Ian … "perfick" reading for a wintry day.

You've obviously got a kinder, nicer Kindle than me … mine taunts me all the time, especially when I'm reading a paperback ... I can hear it from the coffee table whispering and moaning that I've abandoned it and there's books I haven't read on it that should be my first choices. At least the paperbacks keep each other company on the bookshelves and are happy to wait for me to get to them.

Hurrah! I hope you enjoy The Dynamite Room when you get it Anna … always a bit nervous when someone buys a book based on my review Fortunately, I'm not the only one who loved it, so I'm more confident that you'll enjoy it too!

I associate Moomins with minestrone cup-a-soup, as I remember getting home from school in the winter and having a cup-a-soup with my mum and watching The Moomins together! My tea sounds very similar to yours Kay, I like it reasonably strong, but with a good slosh of milk. Milk always goes in first, then either put a teabag in the mug and pour water on it, or if it's brewed in a teapot, pour the tea in the cup after the milk.

Thanks Kay (for the comments and the book! ) … I think most of her novels have been translated by the same person, but I guess the short story collection being from a different publisher might have been why they had a different translator.

Misty Falls by Joss Stirling Synopsis (from waterstones.com): Misty is a one-girl disaster zone. Born with a Savant 'gift' that means she can never tell a lie, her compulsive truth-telling gets her into trouble wherever she goes. So when she meets Alex: gorgeous, confident, and impossibly charming, Misty instantly resolves to keep her distance ...Someone so perfect could never be hers, surely? But a dark shadow has fallen across the Savant community. A serial killer is stalking young people who have these special mental powers. Soon one of them will be taken to the edge of death ...and beyond. Review: I'm not going to say too much about this YA book, as it's the fourth in a series, and I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who might read it. What I will say is that it's another gripping story, and although there is romance in there, the thriller elements of the story are far more important. The serial killer, when revealed, has a supernatural power that I found chilling, and the more I think about it, the more it makes me shudder at the thought of being under his power. If you like the series, you will definitely like this book, although far less emphasis on the Benedict family as in the previous stories.

Dimanche and other stories by Irène Némirovsky Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk): Since the publication of Suite Française in English in 2006 some of Némirovsky’s other novels have been published in the UK. Dimanche and Other Stories is the first volume of the short stories to have been translated into English. There are ten, written between 1934 and 1942, two of which prefigure Suite Française. Their settings are bourgeois Paris, where Némirovsky’s parents lived after they left Russia, Biarritz, and the Russia of her childhood. Each story is a novel in miniature: whether describing the impatience of a girl waiting for her lover, the tortured relationships of a large family, or the emotions of someone fleeing the German invasion, Némirovsky is always an acute observer, delicate, perceptive, ironic. Review: Thanks to the Jar of Destiny, this was the second Némirovsky book I read in a row. This time, however, it was a collection of short stories. I know short stories aren't to everyone's taste, but I mostly enjoy them, and this was no exception. I've written above about Némirovsky's writing style being sparse, but I found her writing in the short form denser and richer, finding it fascinating how different it was, and yet still retained something of her signature. There are definitely some themes that are similar to those of her novels, and some set yet again in during the war, but one thing I felt connected them was that I felt more affection for and connection with the characters than in her novels. Having read her work translated by more than one person, there's still a distinctive style to her writing, and considering it was written over fifty years ago, there is a very modern feel to her work. The stand out story was Liens du sang (Flesh and Blood) where the matriarch of a family of grown up children falls seriously ill, and her children and their spouses gather around what may be her death bed. It was a compelling insight into the dynamics of the family, and I couldn't find fault with it. One thing that does stand out is that some of the stories must have been written when she was quite young … on one occasion, a fifty year old is described as a "frail old man" … I'm over 40, so what does that make me? Despite that, it was an excellent collection, and I adored reading it. Yet another fantastic book from Persephone … with another gorgeous end paper. I love this publisher.

https://twitter.com/Waterstones/status/567715815051755520

I haven't read this one, but I did read another Ronson book and enjoyed it and his writing style, so hopefully you'll enjoy this one, Kay.

Yep, it sure is. We had some on Sunday … although after working all day, coming home to find the batter made, I'd assumed OH was going to cook them for me for a change, but he then just said that cooking pancakes was my job, and I had to do it. Not impressed. Not much love went into that cooking. Feeling more mellow today and also expecting to have to make them, so don't mind that I'll have to stand at the stove later on …

I finished Misty Falls last night, and started All Fall Down by Ally Carter today. It's the first in a new series from the Gallagher Girls spy school books and the Heist series of teenage high society criminals, so really looking forward to it.

Actually, it's on Sky Sports over here, which is a subscription satellite channel, so it's not available to everyone, and also explains why they can dedicate so much time to it. They've actually renamed the channel to Sky Sports World Cup for the duration of the competition.

After a couple of mild days, it was a bit of a shock to go out to the car this morning and find it completely frosted over … in fact, the doors were a bit frozen over and I had to give them a right old tug to get them open!

We read The Pact and Vanishing Acts. I found the characters both annoying and a bit dull, the stories felt artificially sentimental, and then if I remember rightly, when it got to the courtroom section it was like rehashing the same story and I didn't care what the outcome was. I was in the minority though, as most of the group enjoyed both books, so I suspect we'll get another at some point.

Buy a book and never read it? Who do you think I am????? It would just sit on my Kindle, taunting me ... Read me. Read me. Readmereadmereadmereadmereadmereadme. READ ME. READ ME. READ ME. READ ME. AREN'T YOU EVER GOING TO READ ME???

I've only read two Jodi Piccoult books, but disliked them both intensely. Both were chosen by my book group, and after the first one, I almost didn't read the second, but thought it only fair to give it a go. Definitely not for me, but glad to see you enjoy her work, as it would be awful if we all liked the same books!

I remember watching that film at the cinema. It was on a Saturday afternoon, and we were doing a marathon of three films in a day, and this was the middle one (although I can't remember what the other two were now). It was packed out, and we had to sit on one of the side areas on the aisle, quite close to the front as it was the only place with two spaces left. Thought it would spoil the film for me, but it was so completely captivating, I don't think I even thought about it while the film was on.

I couldn't start the next pick from my jar, as I couldn't reach the top shelf of the bookcase to get it down! So instead, I took my Kindle to work and started on Misty Falls by Joss Stirling … it's one of my YA reads I was saving, but I've got a nice little pile of them now, so thought it would be a good read before I start on the book jar pick, Celia by E. H. Young. OH has now climbed on the table in front of the bookcase to get Celia off the shelf for me, but it's a bit dusty! Neither of us are tall enough to reach the top shelf, and certainly can't see the top of it, so it doesn't get dusted very often and the book's been up there for at least fifteen years!

I read the first two books over the Christmas holiday … one was on our English Counties Challenge list, and I enjoyed it so decided to read the second one as well. I intend to finish off the series at some point. I never watched the television series, but I was familiar with the actors who played the various characters, and I couldn't get them out of my head while reading the books. Hope you enjoy them, Ian.

I hadn't spotted this one on your list before … I'm sure I read this a long time ago and while I remember it being very good, I think I needed to take it a bit at a time, and read other things in between segments. Hope you enjoy it!