chesilbeach

Hope you feel better soon, Alexi. Can't wait to read your thoughts on Capital, as you know how much I enjoyed it! I felt exactly the same about Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore. Good start, but once it got to the conclusion, it just went in a direction I wasn't expecting and didn't like, and finished it in a grump. I've just finished reading last weeks chapters of Nicholas Nickleby and am going to go back to Love With a Chance of Drowning next.

WARNING --- THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD FOR CHAPTERS 15-17 I read chapter 15 at the start of the week, and have just read chapters 16 and 17, and if I'm honest, I don't feel as though the story has moved along much. If felt very much like scene setting for the next part of the story. After a good chapter 15, with Newman Noggs developing well, and we find him to be Nicholas's saviour in his hour of need at his arrival in London, and his introduction to the Kenwig family and knowing that the Squeers are out for revenge, chapter 16 felt a bit like a filler, with the interview with the MP seemingly leading nowhere, and then chapter 17 with Kate's first day at the Mantalini's seemingly just setting the scene. I think after previous instalments, I'd have been a (very tiny) bit disappointed with this one, BUT, I still enjoyed reading it and I still have no idea how the story will develop further. There looks like there will be some repercussions for Nicholas with his uncle after the Squeers incident, and I can't see Kate lasting long at Mantalini's, but I wonder how long before the family will be reunited, and what will happen in the long term for them. I can't wait to read the next few chapters this week!

The telly was switched on with it on all day, so I caught some of it as I was walking by, then got sucked in to the second half of the afternoon session! I'm not a golf fan by any means, and would normally actively avoid it, but there's something about the Ryder Cup and the way it's played and scored that makes it irresistible.

Anna, I've merged this with an old thread on the book, but Cloud Atlas is actually a different book. Here's a link to each: Black Swan Green -> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Swan-Green-David-Mitchell/dp/0340822805/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1411806200&sr=8-1 Cloud Atlas -> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cloud-Atlas-David-Mitchell/dp/0340822783/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411806263&sr=1-1

I've had a few library books in the past where someone has corrected the grammar in places!

I devoured Enid's books when I was little! I can't believe how quickly it went by, it's just so damn readable. I finished The Madness by Alison Rattle yesterday and started Love With a Chance of Drowning by Torre DeRoche which I'm enjoying very much. As it's International Translation Day, I treated myself to a new book from my local bookshop, The Dog by Kerstin Ekman, translated from the Swedish by Linda Schenck and Rochelle Wright.

Just blowing the cobwebs of this as Raven mentioned on his own thread, Spaced is 15 years old!!! Nice blog from Metro with 15 reasons why it's the best sitcom ever - http://metro.co.uk/2014/09/24/15-reasons-why-spaced-was-the-best-sitcom-ever-4863641/

Had a wander around a few bookshops today, and bought a couple of books in the Oxfam bookshop. I managed to find a copy of The Darling Buds of May by H. E. Bates for my English Counties Challenge, and also a copy of First Term at Mallory Towers by Enid Blyton which was perfect, as I've got all the other books in the series, but can't find my copy of this one, so now I have the complete set! I think the series will be a winter re-read for me this year.

Hi Alexi! Sorry, I'd completely forgotten to update this the last couple of weeks. I think we're all up to chapter 14 now, and reading chapters 15-17 for discussion at the end of this week. You've done better than me if you've managed to read Oliver Twist, Alexi! I read the first two chapters when it was a book for my reading group, but I found it too wordy, and couldn't read any more. I'm finding Nicholas Nickleby much more accessible and feels more contemporary in its style, and as I've mentioned before, knowing I only have to read a few chapters each week suits me perfectly. You're also right about the Squeers - they're a very mean and nasty bunch! I had an inkling, as soon as a daughter was mentioned, that she would set her cap at Nicholas, and that was never going to end well, was it? I'm glad that Nicholas has decided to leave the school and head back to London, but it does leave me worried for the poor boys that have to remain at that awful place. I have no idea where the story is going to go next, but I loved the cliffhanger at the end of chapter 14, not knowing which pair had turned up on Noggs' doorstep - will it be the male or female Nicklebys?

Hello again!

Just been to http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/judy-blume and was surprised in so many ways!!!! I think I've only read three of her books, and I don't remember there being more than that in the library when I read them, so I was shocked to see how many there are on the list. But then, I realised that Judy is 76 years old! Blimey, that was a shock. Also, amazed to see the Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was published in 1970, and Forever came out in 1975. I read them, I'm guessing, in about 1982, and yet I would have assumed both were contemporary to the time I read them. All that, and she's still writing and publishing books!!

For some reason, they've changed the title of the Joss Stirling book - when I read it, it was called Storm and Stone and they've given it a redesigned cover which is closer to her other books. Anyway, you're right, as a reader of her other books, I enjoyed this one a lot! Not sure if you know, but the next book in her other series, Misty Falls, is out on Thursday.

Yay! Since you mentioned them yesterday, I've been tempted to add the Judy Blume books to my wish list. Might wait and see what your thoughts are on re-reading them, as worried they might not stand the test of time.

Phew! I've had a surprisingly slow reading week this week. I've been easily distracted by other things, so I'm planning to have a bookish day today. I've decided to definitely stick to the plan to read my TBR books first, and then hopefully by the end of October, I'll have read them all, and I'll be back to buying the next book I'm going to read.

Started Trouble at the Little Village School by Gervase Phinn yesterday, so will carry on with that today, plus I'll be reading the next part of Nicholas Nickleby.

Hello Claud!

My copy of The Crane Wife is a paperback (this one … http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Crane-Wife-Patrick-Ness/dp/0857868748/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_pap?ie=UTF8&qid=1411128640&sr=8-1&keywords=the+crane+wife). No pressure then! I thought it was definitely a slow starter, but honestly, after each little chapter, I fell in love with it a little bit more. Hope you like it. Don't be put off by the size of Capital, it'll fly by. It's seems like I've read a lot more than I have, just because I finally managed to catch up with some reviews! I think those two books are the same - I think in the US it was originally published with the "From Miss Tibet to Shangri La" subtitle, but has been reissued more recently with the "Five Years in Tibet" subtitle instead. Will try and get to that review this weekend

Finished A la Mod: My So-Called Tranquil Family Life in Rural France by Ian Moore this morning. Loved it and will definitely read the book that follows it. Not sure whether to carry on with How To Be Both or read the next instalment of Nicholas Nickleby or to start something completely new

I was hoping to have a long reading session yesterday, so I bought How To Be Both by Ali Smith, so I could read it before I see her this week, but unfortunately, I hadn't realised how long a book it was, so I've only scratched the surface and never going to finish it in time. I think I'll go back to A La Mod by Ian Moore today, as that's a much easier read, and not feeling up to anything too taxing today.

Urgh, terrible nights sleep last night. I bought some new pillows which are too hard and now feels like I'm sleeping on a wooden plank, and then woke up at 1:30am because it was too hot. Went downstairs and saw temperature outside was 17ºC and 24ºC inside!!!! Had a glass of water then sat up for an hour and a half until I felt a bit more sleepy again, then went back upstairs and opened all the windows but couldn't solve the pillow problem. Have woken up with a bit of a headache this morning and in a bit of a grump

Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop by Abby Clements Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk): When Imogen and Anna unexpectedly inherit their grandmother Vivien's ice cream parlour, it turns both their lives upside-down. The Brighton shop is a seafront institution, but while it's big on charm it's critically low on customers. If the sisters don't turn things around quickly, their grandmother's legacy will disappear forever. With summer looming, Imogen and Anna devise a plan to return Vivien's to its former glory. Rather than sell up, they will train up, and make the parlour the newest destination on the South Coast foodie map. While Imogen watches the shop, her sister flies to Italy to attend a gourmet ice cream-making course. But as she works shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the best chefs in the industry, Anna finds that romance can bloom in the most unexpected of places... Review: This is quintessentially what I want from a holiday read. On the surface, and from the cover, it looks like a frothy romance, but I thought it was much more than that. It's about family, bereavement, following your dreams… and ice cream! There are some elements of romance and finding someone to love, but these felt minor themes to me, as it was more about how the two sisters lives change and they find a more fulfilling life by the end of the book. I loved the seaside setting, the ice cream shop is somewhere I wish was real so I could visit, the descriptions of the ice creams are mouthwatering, and the two sisters themselves are people I would like to be friends with. What more could you want from a comfortable, relaxing read while sitting in the sun on holiday? It was smashing, and I'll definitely be adding more of Abby Clements books to my wish list for future holidays!

Love Nina: Despatches from Family Life by Nina Stibbe Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk): In the 1980s Nina Stibbe wrote letters home to her sister in Leicester describing her trials and triumphs as a nanny to a London family. There's a cat nobody likes, a visiting dog called Ted Hughes (Ted for short) and suppertime visits from a local playwright. Not to mention the two boys, their favourite football teams, and rude words, a very broad-minded mother and assorted nice chairs. From the mystery of the unpaid milk bill and the avoidance of nuclear war to mealtime discussions on pie filler, the greats of English literature, swearing in German and sexually transmitted diseases, Love, Nina is a wonderful celebration of bad food, good company and the relative merits of Thomas Hardy and Enid Blyton. Review: Love, Nina is a collection of letters that the author sent to her sister, and while replies are referenced, it's a one sided affair, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. I was a teenager during the period of the book, so there are a wealth of pop culture references that I recognised, making it all the more enjoyable. I loved Nina, the family and her relationship with them, and Alan Bennett is a neighbour who is a regular at the family dinner table - how could I not love reading this?! I was surprised at how slow I was to read the book. Normally, a book of letters or a diary format is one I would fly through, but I think because it felt like every word was important and relevant, so there was no skimming or racing through, I just indulged in the warmth of the family and their relationships with each other, and those who come into their lives. I've seen other reviews mention Adrian Mole as a fictional comparison, and that sums it up perfectly for me. Funny and heartwarming, but with an honesty and relevance for me, I thought it was great.

The Humans by Matt Haig Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk): THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME. OR IS THERE? After an 'incident' one wet Friday night where Professor Andrew Martin is found walking naked through the streets of Cambridge, he is not feeling quite himself. Food sickens him. Clothes confound him. Even his loving wife and teenage son are repulsive to him. He feels lost amongst a crazy alien species and hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton, and he's a dog. What could possibly make someone change their mind about the human race...? Review: I'd just read two fantastic novels. I bought this on a whim. I thought it would be good, but I never expected it to be the best novel I've read this year. It started well, but as I read each chapter, I fell more and more in love with it. It starts off and you think it's a straight up science fiction story. There's a mathematical hypothesis plot line that runs through, but honestly don't let this put you off, you really don't need to know about maths to understand it. As it goes on, while the science fiction element is still there, you realise this is much bigger than genre, this is the blueprint for what it means to be a human, for what it is to be alive, simply an incredibly moving book. It's also funny and smart and intriguing and sad and uplifting … and wonderful. It's going to take a superb book to beat this to be my top read of the year. Highly recommended.

Capital by John Lanchester Synopsis (from amazon.co.uk): Capital: the City of London. Capital: money, currency, finance. Both are central to the multicultural micro-society living and working on Pepys Road-an ordinary street in the Capital. Formerly working class, the simple houses have seen a wave of gentrification and expensive renovations that have rendered them highly desirable, valuable real estate. Here lives Roger Yount, powerful investment banker daily trading risk against profit on the Foreign Exchange. An annual bonus of a million might seem excessive, but with second homes and nannies to maintain, he's not sure he can get by without it. Elsewhere on Pepys Road is the Muslim Pakistani family living above their convenience store, and a senior widow who entertains visits from her graffiti artist grandson. Recently arrived is Freddy Kano, teenage football celebrity, recruited from Senegal to join the Premier League, who left a two-room shack to follow his dream. Their stories intertwine with the immigrant workers who service the wealthy residents of the City: Zbigniew, the builder from Warsaw, catering to the super-rich in their interior decoration whims; the nanny who looks after Roger's two small boys while his well-groomed wife indulges her shopaholic tendencies; and traffic warden Quentina, who has exchanged the violence of the police in Zimbabwe for the violence of the enraged upper middle classes. For them all, this city offers the chance of a different kind of life. Each house has its own story and its own secrets, having seen its fair share of first steps and last breaths, and plenty of laughter in between. Today, through each letterbox along this ordinary street drops a card with a simple message: We Want What You Have. Review: Wow, what a book. I'd been a bit daunted by it, at almost 600 pages, but seriously, it just flew by. I've never lived in London, and don't visit it often, but this, this is what I think modern London is all about. A hotch-potch of nationalities and classes, living side by side without really knowing anything about each other. Their stories are fascinating while still being about ordinary people, some who have extraordinary events happen during the book, while others have experiences that most of us will go through during our lives at some point. The chapters swap between the various characters, but I never felt lost or forgot who each person was, and the We Want What You Have plot line weaves their stories together, helping to move the narrative forward, but it's not really the dominant theme, it just brings a cohesion to the story. What is does also do, is highlight a theme in modern society, where everyone aspires to a better lifestyle, but some harbour the jealous sentiment that others have more than they have earned, and that they deserve what those with more have. What I loved about the book is that it's never judgemental, but offers an assessment of modern London society, albeit with an empathy for the characters. The characters have an authenticity about them, and they make the story as captivating as it is. A brilliant novel, and one I would heartily recommend.

I'm not sure everyone's enjoyed it - I'm sure I've seen a more negative review somewhere, but I loved it. I thought it read like a modern day fairytale for adults.