chesilbeach

I've just finished The Quietness by Alison Rattle. Enjoyed it more than the first book of hers I read, and reminded me of Mary Hoopers books.

Roasted tomato and mozzarella pasta bake - we roast the tomatoes on the vine with garlic and olive oil in the summer when they're at their best, then freeze the sauce so we can use it during the cold months when the tomatoes are out of season, and we can still have our favourite pasta dish!

I'm surprised you haven't seen H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald in Waterstone's - I've been in four different branches this year and since it was published, it's had window displays, table displays and been on the Recommended shelves in every single one of them. It's been hard to miss as far as I could see! Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates has been widely promoted across the media, and I've heard two different radio programmes discuss The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. I followed the Man Booker prize quite closely this year, after Ali Smith was long- and then short-listed, so I've also read about the books on the list, so I've come across The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan quite a lot too. I've also been looking at Once Upon An Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers as it will make a good Christmas present for young children, and it's was on the Recommended shelves in the Children's section in a couple of Waterstone's I've visited too. You need to look harder!!!!

MasterChef Australia - it's Heston Blumenthal week, and they've just had to do one of the most difficult challenges I think I've seen.

Had to fend for myself tonight, but scavenging in the fridge, I found a bit of double gloucester and some mushrooms, so had a delicious omelette.

I know … it's always worrying when you only hear good things about a book, especially for me, as I'm notorious in my book group for being the one who hates a book that everyone else loves! Thankfully, this was the exception.

I assumed they were Mrs Mantalini's customers bills, and that Ralph buys them for a lower value so that Mr Mantalini can get cash immediately, but at a lower face value, so when Ralph will eventually then collect the payment direct from the customers and make a profit. I don't think we've been told what "profession" Ralph has, but it does seem to revolve around money, and I think buying other people's debts is probably one part of that. Urgh, wasn't that a nasty surprise for us. Nice to learn a little more of Smike's back story, and you're right, it does give us more hope I love the Cheeryble brothers! At last, some kind, honest and generous people - lovely for Nicholas to find some good in society. Whilst it was a terrible thing to say, it must be awful to have put all your hopes on your children inheriting from a rich uncle, thinking that they would be financially secure, only to find that this was now only a distant possibility and worry for their future. I'm just reading another book set in Victorian London, about a working class family who have had multiple babies die, but still have five children alive. The father leaves after the death of the youngest baby, and the mother does the only thing she can to get immediate money to be able to feed her children, and prostitutes herself, and as they live in a single room, the only thing separating the children from what their mother has to do, is a sheet hung up shielding the bed. As she says to her eldest daughter, it's that or the workhouse. It doesn't bear thinking about. Back to this book … me too!!! Oh, actually, I've already read this weeks chapters as I'm working a lot of overtime this week, and not sure when I'd have time to settle down with it, and didn't want to get behind. You've got some cracking stuff coming up!

Thanks for telling us about the Voyage, Steve. I think I'm going to have to get a new Kindle at some point, and it sounds like this will be the one to go for. Muggle not - mine's well out of warranty now, and it was a replacement under warranty for my original one anyway, so Amazon won't replace it again, so if it does ever fail, I'll have to buy a new one. I couldn't be without one now, so maybe I'll have to start saving some pennies now in case my does eventually go kaput!

I finished Gold by Dan Rhodes yesterday, and I thought it was great. In fact, as I think back on it and contemplate the story more, the more it makes me smile. Dan Rhodes is definitely going on my list of authors to read more of, but I'll have to be careful, as I think there are some that won't suit me! I'm going to be a bit pushed for reading time this weekend, so today I read my Nicholas Nickleby instalment for this week and I've also started The Quietness by Alison Rattle today.

The shortlist of the Waterstones Book of the Year 2014 has been announced today: Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & Beyond by Sabrina Ghayour Once Upon An Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories by Marina Keegan H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty You can find out more about the books on the Waterstones blog. I've not actually read any of these but there's a few already on my wish list, and I think it's quite an interesting selection. I definitely want to read H is for Hawk, and Richard Flanagan won the Man Booker this year.

I know there are one or two Kate Bush fans here, so thought I'd post a link about the reissue of Cathy, originally a limited edition of a book about the young Kate. http://www.waterstones.com/blog/2014/11/cathy-a-gallery/

As soon as I heard his voice, I knew it was Nick Frost, and then when he appeared … he looked just like Dickie Attenborough in Miracle on 34th Street!

Stick with it … it'll change and evolve, and by the end you'll feel entirely different to how you do now!

I finished Daylighters this morning - the final book in this series - then read my Nicholas Nickleby instalment for this week, and have now started on Gold by Dan Rhodes.

I've just thought about Dark Matter by Michelle Paver - brilliantly atmospheric ghost story set on an Arctic expedition, with an amazing sense of place and beautiful descriptions of the landscape.

I've been visiting the shop most weekends, and it is definitely getting better. They've had at least one author signing each month too, and more often than not, there's at least one other person in there whenever I go in. The book selection is improving, and the best thing is, I'm seeing more non-bestselling authors and translated fiction making an appearance, so it's worth going in to look at the selection, even if I don't buy too much at the moment. I was hoping to have depleted my TBR by now, but the last dozen or so are still hanging around, but once I've got it back down to a single low digit, I think I'll be more inclined to buy more regularly from them.

I've just seen someone mention this on twitter, as they went to the recording on Friday … This sounds brilliant! Here's a link to the tweet where someone has posted a photo of the cast list (which looks fantastic too!): https://twitter.com/SteveDoherty1/status/531389847593058304

Six!!! I've listed them in this post in my book thread

I never bother, especially if it's a book that hasn't been published yet, as if I liked it, I'd want to read it immediately!

I bought a couple of Christmas themed romcoms this month which I'll save to read nearer the time ... Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop by Jenny Colgan Christmas Carol by Michele Gorman

I'm about a third of the way through Daylighters, so going to try and finish that one this morning.

I started young … I could never get enough Enid Blyton when I was little. I read her almost to the exclusion of everyone else between the ages of probably five (Noddy books) and twelve (Adventure books). Jane Austen has to be in there, as I've read and re-read her so much over the years. I'm working my way through all of M. C. Beaton's books (I think she's written close to 160 books, and I've read 91 so far). Finally, and most importantly, Ali Smith. My favourite author, and I've read every book I've been able to get hold of. Some of the earlier ones aren't easily available, but if I find them, they will be mine! There are plenty of authors who I've read a lot of their books, but none that I would say I devour, and often I've liked certain series of theirs but gone off others, so I've not included them here.

Yes, many, many times - it's in my top three favourites of all time. I absolutely adore it. I listened to the audio book earlier in the year, and it just made me want to watch the film again, which I have done a couple of times. Then when we went to our friends in the week, I had to pick the film to watch, and we hadn't seen it for so long, Howard's End jumped off the shelf at me! I think it might be the next audio book I get too.

Woohoo!!! Really pleased you're enjoying it, Anna. Still my novel of the year so far

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