chesilbeach

I found my old Malory Towers books a few months ago, but I was missing the first one … luckily, I found a copy in the charity shop a few weeks ago! If you like, let me know when you're going to read it, and I'll start mine too, and we'll have a mini read-a-long.

^ We're recording it to watch tomorrow night … I NEVER would have guessed that they would take the story in the direction they did last week

I adore Barbara Pym, ethan. So pleased to see someone else reading her books, and hope you'll enjoy whichever of her novels you choose next.

I read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (although I have to admit, it was mainly for the main characters name … you know why ) and I did like it, but I haven't been inclined to read any more since. I might give it a go at some point, but it's not at the top of my list According to IMDB, Neal Street Productions are developing a television series, and they produced Call The Midwife and The Hollow Crown series, so perhaps it will be another production for the BBC? They have produced other television series for other companies, as well as film and stage productions, but they look to have a pretty good track record, so hopefully they'll do Flavia justice. In a moment of horror, I've just realised that I haven't been in here and wished you a happy new reading year Please accept my sincerest and most grovelling apologies … and some cookies to make up for it!

I'm sure I remember watching a film version of Pippi Longstocking but I can't find one on IMDB that looks familiar, and I'm also sure I read some books when I was very young, but I honestly can't remember them at all. I will, however, be looking to read this one myself now! (Especially if it comes with a lovely coffee and a cake like in the picture! )

I'm about a third of the way through Gunpowder Plot and it's another good 'un so far

We had a daytrip to my namesake today, so I finished reading The Scandalous Marriage by M. C. Beaton while looking out at and listening to the stormy waves crashing onto the shore at my favourite beach. Think I'm going back to my TBR next and reading the next Daisy Dalrymple Mystery, Gunpowder Plot by Carola Dunn.

We've just watched Guardians of the Galaxy. Everyone, and I mean everyone, had been telling me it was a great surprise, very funny, and one of their favourite films of the year. I think this had overhyped it in my head. I did like it, I chuckled a few times, but I'm really not a big fan of either comic book film adaptations or science fiction films with loads of CGI, so perhaps I'm just not the audience it's aimed at. It didn't help that OH (who I was watching it with) didn't like it at all, so even when I chuckled, he was stony faced, and comedy often only works when others find it funny too. I'd be happy to watch it again, and even watch a sequel, but I guess it'll be a solo viewing for me in future!

Hope you have a fabulous reading year, Ruth.

I only ever listen to the Harry Potter audiobooks read by Stephen Fry, rather than read the actual books now, but I probably listen to them all every couple of years. I find them easier to listen to, as he's such a great narrator and brings everything to life (I still say he'd have been the best choice for Dumbledore in the films, just made up to look older), however, there is one chapter I always have to bypass, and that's the chapter in book five where ...

A repeat of Would I Lie To You

Happy new reading year, Alex! Looking forward to discussing more English County books with you.

Hope you have a good reading year in 2015!

Happy reading in 2015, Laura!

I've added A Robot in the Garden to my wish list, although it's a bit pricey for a pre-order at the moment, so will see if it comes down a bit closer to publication.

The Crimson Petal and the White sped by, it was such an engrossing read - in fact, I had to limit myself to one chapter a day as I didn't want it to end too soon! Hope you enjoy it, and the rest of your reading year, Devi.

Yes, it's the book for this month, but I've got to work late the day of the meeting so i won't be able to go, and after I'd asked you about it, I decided it was either read the whole trilogy, or nothing … so I went with nothing! I won't find out until February how everyone else got on with it.

I finished The Child's Elephant this afternoon, and I've treated myself to another M. C. Beaton romcom for my weekend reading.

The Child's Elephant by Rachel Campbell-Johnston Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk): When a baby elephant is abandoned on the African savannah, a young boy named Bat takes her back to his village and cares for her. But Bat's grandmother explains that Meya cannot stay with them for ever - the call of the wild will always be sounding in her soul. Then frightening rumours arrive at the village; rumours of kidnapping, suffering and war. Bat and his friend Muka are snatched, and catapulted into a new life of unimaginable terror. Will the bond between Bat and Meya strong enough to save them? Review: I finished this book this afternoon, but I still don't know how I feel about it, yet. I did enjoy it, but it's taken me all week, which for a children's book is almost unheard of. I know I've haven't had the best week, which has definitely impacted by reading, but I wonder if that's all that affected my enjoyment. It did feel really long, and I felt the blurb on the back (which is different from the synopsis I've copied about) gave too much away, but because of the content, I felt it was needed, as there are some very difficult scenes that if I was a parent, I would want to know that my children were reading it. And that was actually another problem - the first half of the book solidly felt like a children's book, aimed at perhaps the 9-12 age range, but then the story takes a much darker turn, and this is for an older audience. The descriptions of the natural world in Africa are very good, and I think it sets the environment and society up very well, and there are a smattering of illustrations of Meya the elephant throughout the book, which are beautiful pencil drawings. I guess, as I write this review, I'm thinking that it was a pretty good read for me, but I did wonder at the intended audience for a book that starts so differently from how it ends. Maybe it's just because I'm not a parent, and I'm a little bit too removed from my own childhood to get a true impression of what age it's suitable for.

I worked really hard on getting my TBR down to zero a couple of years ago, and although it did creep up for a while, it's around the 20 mark most of the time, and I'm happy with that. I do have some challenges which I already own books for, or have downloaded free ebooks for them, and I've excluded these, which would take me up around the 50ish mark, but even that doesn't feel too bad. At the end of last year my TBR was lower than at the start of the year, so again, I'm happy with that. So the answer to the question is no!

Haven't done it for a while, so dead chuffed with a 7/10 this week! http://www.waterstones.com/blog/2015/01/waterstones-week-in-books-quiz-9th-january-2015/

I've moved this into your original thread about the same website, emelee

Oops, didn't mean to exclude you, Janet! The books are good though

I think the reason I'm conscious of publishers is because I follow them on Twitter to keep abreast of when new books from my favourite authors are coming out, so I'm more aware of them come the end of the year book list questions. And then there's always those beautiful Persephone dove grey books that look gorgeous on my bookshelves … can't help but remember them!

Nothing wrong with a bit of anarchy around the place to liven it up. Not finishing books I'm not enjoying is something I'm doing more of as I get older … life's too short and all that. I'm also writing much briefer reviews, unless I really, really love a book and then I can't stop myself waffling on, or unless I really, really hated it and need to vent my anger somewhere! Anyway, hope you have a very enjoyable and guilt free reading year, Steve!