chesilbeach

Had to go to the dentist for treatment and the anaesthetic is wearing off now, so I'm in a bit of pain. Nothing serious, more just a niggling pain, but I think I'll probably have it for the evening. Nothing else remotely interesting has happened today (not that the dentist trip was interesting, but you know what I mean ), and I doubt if much will happen for the rest of the week, just another normal week at work, so looking forward to the weekend already!

I'm notorious for finishing a book and starting another one straight away (some say without thinking or contemplating what I've just read, but they're wrong, I mull things over later on ), especially series books or books by the same author, particularly if I've just enjoyed a book by that author, so reading an extract is lethal, as I'd get really annoyed if I loved it and couldn't start it immediately.

I've also just finished Second Form at Malory Towers in the waiting room at the dentist. Have now started Third Year at Malory Towers.

Hope you've had a good first day at your new job, Janet.

Exactly what I was thinking on both counts! Think how delighted you'll be when it throws out a novel you've been dying to read!

How could I not?!

Sunshine on Leith - loved it, had a huge smile on my face by the end!

No, I rarely read the extract of new books, especially if they're not out yet, because if it's really good I'd want to carry on reading and then the book wouldn't be available, and I'd (a) get a annoyed that I couldn't read it all immediately and (b) it might actually put me off reading it when it did came out because I was still annoyed after reading the extract. Illogical, I know, but that's me! Yay! Hope your box guides you towards it soon! Thanks, Paula!

I'd forgotten most people have the first three in an omnibus! Might as well carry on then

Are we carrying one with the second book straight away, or just finishing the first? I finished the first one this afternoon, and loved reliving my childhood reading. I must have read it at least a dozen times when I was young, and it was just like meeting someone from my own school days and reminiscing about stories from back then.

Every day I check the Kindle Daily Deal, but I'm thinking of not bothering any more. I haven't seen a single book on there I've been even vaguely interested in at least a couple of months. The monthly offers have been pretty uninspiring for the last few months too. I'm thinking of just visiting once a week to check if any of the books on my wish list have dropped in price and there are any bargains to be had there.

From the dizzying heights of my 9/10 last week, it was a crushingly poor 3/10 this week. http://www.waterstones.com/blog/2015/01/waterstones-week-in-books-quiz-23rd-january-2015/

It'll be worth the wait! I've just been looking at the Jason Hewitt's website, and he talks about the music used within the book, and the music listened to as inspiration when writing. He's put together a playlist on YouTube which looks very interesting. I'm going to be investigating it further this afternoon.

I'm still reading First Term at Malory Towers, but expect to finish it today. Not sure whether to read my Jar of Destiny book next, or whether to read one of the books Kay gave me yesterday! Decisions, decisions ….

Had a productive morning so far … collected a picture from the framers, had my reading glasses fixed at the opticians, picked up my next reading group book from the library and had a coffee, toast and a bit of a read at the café!

I read that last weekend! Fantastic book, glad you enjoyed it too, Janet.

Haven't had any reading time today, but I did start listening to Queen Lucia in the car.

After both of us feeling under the weather over Christmas, finally got chance to meet up with Kay and Alan, and we were able to swap Christmas presents. I was a very lucky girl, and Kay gave me Film Freak by Christopher Fowler and Dimanche by Irène Némirovsky (a beautiful Persephone book), plus some lovely chocolate, and a framed print of Alan's inspired by the Kate Bush concert. It's so beautiful, and a brilliant reminder of a fantastic performance. I'm very, very lucky! Kay also kindly lent me: Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamund Lehmann Mystery In White by J. Jefferson Farjeon Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley I guess my Jar of Destiny will be getting some additional items added tomorrow!

So happy you're pleased with the books I chose for you, Kay I hope you enjoy them! I forgot to say, but when we were in the café, a man came in and sat at the table behind Alan at one point, and started reading Don't Point That Thing At Me … he must be trying to read it before watching the film I hoped you'd love them. They did have a few more, but I can't remember what they were off the top of my head, but it had to be Brontë, Woolf and Austen for you.

I know. Although to be fair, both Channel 4 and E4 show it a lot, so the chance that it's on at the same time is actually quite high!

Me too!

I hope you both get a chance to read it, it was such a fantastic book.

The Dynamite Room by Jason Hewitt Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk): July 1940. Eleven-year-old Lydia walks through a village in rural Suffolk on a hot day. The shops and houses are empty, windows boarded up and sandbags green with mildew, the village seemingly deserted. She strikes off down a country lane through the salt marshes to a large Edwardian house - the house she grew up in. Lydia finds it empty too, the windows covered in black-out blinds. Her family has gone. Late that night he comes, a soldier, gun in hand and heralding a full-blown German invasion. There are, he explains to her, certain rules she must now abide by. He won't hurt Lydia, but she cannot leave the house. Review: I've been sitting on this review for a few days, and I still don't know what to write! I've actually taken a bit out of the Amazon synopsis as I don't want to give anything away. There's no real introduction at the beginning, as you are dropped straight into Lydia's story. Even that isn't all it seems initially, and gradually the story reveals itself. The nightmarish journey home for Lydia is almost like a ghost story, and then when the soldier arrives, you are thrown into a captivating war story. I don't read a lot of war books, but this one was just so compelling, I read it in two days. Every time I had to put the book down, it felt like a loss. Each little revelation makes you rethink what you'd previously decided about the two characters, and I loved that it is not a simple war story of allies and enemies, but about two ordinary people who have been torn apart by the effects of war. It takes place over only five days, yet because there are flashbacks from the memories of the two characters, it feels quite expansive at times, and other times it almost feels like the house has become their prison, and you get an oppressive feeling of being confined. After such a considered pace to the story, the final day is a heart stopping climax, with a couple of twists and turns in it, but very emotional. Fantastic book.

We're British, so the bun fight will go something like this. Claire: I can't believe you don't like Mansfield Park and don't think it's as good as Pride and Prejudice. *tuts* Kay: Sorry Claire, I just didn't enjoy it as much as her others. Claire: That's okay, we're all entitled to our own opinion. At least you love Pride and Prejudice … I might have to watch the Colin Firth series again when I get home. Kay: Ooh, that's a good idea! Another coffee?

When I read it when I was little, I just thought Darrell was an odd name that I'd never heard of before for a boy or a girl. But then, that was also the same for the exotic Alicia … not a name us working class types came across back then … I didn't even know how to pronounce it! Having said that, it's not the first time Blyton had given a girl a boys name, as there's George in The Famous Five series, although that's shortened from Georgina. I think she might have done it elsewhere too, but I can't remember off the top of my head. Someone I know gave all her girls names like Robyn, or Georgina and Phillipa, so they would be shortened to George and Phil (or Pip) and be boys names.