chesilbeach

Bought myself some new books today. Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens The Wolf Princess by Cathryn Constable The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald Violet and the Pearl of the Orient by Harriet Whitehorn, illustrated by Becka Moor I'm going to add these to my mini YA TBR pile, and then when I've got some time off work soon, I'll have splurge on them all. Will be a nice break after the few books I've read recently that have been all set in France and most during the two world wars or between them! Need to read the first book of Middlemarch which should keep me occupied until I'm off.

The shortlist for the 2015 prize was announced this week: Best Illustrated Book: The Queen's Hat by Steve Antony The Dawn Chorus by Suzanne Barton Blown Away by Rob Biddulph Where Bear? by Sophy Henn Atlas of Adventure by Lucy Letherland, words by Rachel Willams The Sea Tiger by Victoria Turnbull Best Fiction for 5-12s: Girl With A White Dog by Anne Booth Cowgirl by G R Gemin The Boy In The Tower by Polly Ho-Yen Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens Violet and the Pearl of the Orient by Harriet Whitehorn, illustrated by Becka Moor A Boy Called Hope by Lara Williamson Best Book for Teens: The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgeral Half Bad by Sally Green Dead Ends by Erin Lange Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill Smart by Kim Slater The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton I like the Waterstone's prize, there are usually some great reads on the list, and this year looks like another good one. I bought myself a few of the shortlisted books today … Murder Most Unladylike, Violet and the Pearl of the Orient and The Apple Tart of Hope and I suspect I'll be getting a few more from the Teens list too … if not all of them!

Just read this fascinating article on Angela Brazil, whom the journalist claims is the author of boarding school books which all later writers are influenced by. It references Malory Towers and the Chalet School books, as well as the stage show Daisy Pulls It Off, which I saw with my friends in the 1990s, and was bloomin' brilliant.

Visited Waterstone's today and came home with … Also bought myself the audiobook of Middlemarch (unabridged) to accompany the group read we're doing of the English Counties Challenge. Only a few short stories left to read in Dimanche, so hoping to finish it this evening.

We're not much for Valentine's in our house … in fact I don't think we've ever done anything to celebrate it in all our years together! Looks like you two know how to do it properly though. It's on my list! I'm sure I'll get to it one day … just not sure when that day'll be yet

Started off cloudy, but cleared during the morning, and bright and sunny by lunchtime. Was quite warm too, but temperature is dropping a bit again now. At least it was dry, unlike yesterday!

I've read a couple of short stories from Dimanche so far, and hoping to finish a few more tomorrow if I can find a bit of reading time.

All Our Worldly Goods by Irène Némirovsky Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk): Pierre and Agnès marry for love against the wishes of his parents and the family patriarch, the tyrannical industrialist Julien Hardelot, provoking a family feud which cascades down the generations. Even when war is imminent and Pierre is called up, the old man is unforgiving. Taut, evocative and beautifully paced, All Our Worldly Goods points up with heartbreaking detail and clarity how close were those two wars, how history repeated itself, tragically, shockingly... Review: I think this is the fourth Némirovsky book I've read, and I like her writing a lot. She writes of the lives of ordinary people who've lived through extraordinary times, but she has quite a pared down style, so although sometimes you think not much is happening, but by the end of the book, you realise you've lived through the marriage of a couple spanning the years from before the start of the First World War through the intervening years until after the end of WW2. There is very little periphery, with Pierre and Agnès taking almost all the focus throughout, but through the story of their lives together, you see French society of the period, the impact of war on individuals, families and communities, and eventually, how history repeats itself in some of the familial relationships. From reading up about the author, I know she and her family fled their home at the beginning of the Russian Revolution, and this flight is a repeated theme in her books I've read, both in Suite Française and this book, with families trying to escape the invading forces by car to places they believe will be safer, and she brings this experience to life for the reader. I'll be interested to see what everyone else at my reading group made of the book, when I go to the meeting next week, but I suspect it won't be everyone's cup of tea. I can already imagine some being bored by it, not caring about the characters, and probably not finishing it, but I was delighted to see it come up, and am very glad I read it.

Not news, but a little thing about libraries that amused me! https://twitter.com/IveReadThat/status/557902341853421568

Libraries are a big topic in the UK book news at the moment, as many are threatened with closure due to pressure on council budgets, so I thought I'd start a topic about libraries in general. Not related to the closures, but I thought this article about 2014 borrowing figures from UK libraries was interesting: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/13/library-users-firmly-focused-on-fiction Pleased to see such a prominence of both fiction and children's/YA borrowing

Not my pet, but I know there's lots of cat lovers here who will love this … https://twitter.com/Globe_Pics/status/563230611176173568

You two … poor old Henry James. I read Washington Square and I enjoyed it, but have only read that and The Turn of the Screw. Having said that, I've read that even James himself didn't like Washington Square so perhaps I stumbled on the odd one out in his work!

You're right, it is very "British Stiff Upper Lip" in tone, and reminiscent of the times it was written in with so much related to the class structure … did Enid ever do working class?

Intermittent rain with some sunny spells, and a bit warmer than it has been. Hoping it dries up but we manage to keep the sunny spells for the weekend

The Middle

In Rue Las Cases it was as quiet as during the height of summer; and every open window was screened by a yellow blind. Dimanche and other stories by Irène Némirovsky

We read this in English at school, I think in the third year, so I would have been around fourteen. Genuinely can't remember a single thing about it. I was reminded of it recently though, as it was discussed on Radio 4's Open Book a couple of months ago: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04vk033

I think the jar likes me … Dimanche is actually a collection of short stories, so it's perfect to read now, as I can alternate between this one and Middlemarch.

I finished this months book for my library reading group today - All Our Worldly Goods by Irène Némirovsky. Decided I'd pick a book from my jar and then decide whether to read that or the first part of Middlemarch next … would you believe it, I picked Dimanche by Irène Némirovsky!!! It's the only other book of hers I have on my TBR and the jar decided it would be the most suitable for me to read next.

They were together, so they were happy. All Our Worldly Goods by Irène Némirovsky

Excellent review of Rebecca I still remember exactly where I was when I read it, and actually having to put down the book and come on the forum and post this:

Ooh, I really hope you enjoy it, Melodious. I read it when I was a teenager, and it's still right up there with my favourite books ever.

Mine isn't too bad … I've been going for nine years now, and I think I'm one still there from when I first started going apart from the librarian who runs it! We have had people who like to talk but not listen, and there was one person who always seemed to interrupt me whenever I was giving my opinion, but I don't think any of them have done it intentionally or with any sort of agenda, it's just the way they were. It's one of the few social evenings I have, to be honest, and I do enjoy the process of everyone discussing a book we've all read (or at least attempted to read! ). The only problem I have is that nearly everyone is older than me by at least 20 years, and nearly all are retired. There have been a few younger people who've come along, but they never last more than one or two meetings, so it doesn't encourage others to join. It's also all women, as again, men come along once and then decide they don't want to join a group of only women talking about books, but it's a vicious circle, as you can't get more men to come if there aren't men there already.

Glad to hear you're starting to feel a bit better, Alexi I can't decide whether to start Middlemarch next, or try and sneak in a quick read first … if I go to the jar, it might give me something like Barchester Towers, which wouldn't exactly be a quick read!

They did, last month, but I had to work late, so I couldn't go. I'll catch up with them next week at the February meeting, so I'll ask them about it then.