chesilbeach

I finished The Borrower yesterday. It was okay, but veered into the unbelievable, and there ending was just too far fetched to make me believe it could happen, with one major problem that I just couldn't get past, which I can't discuss as it's a major plot spoiler. I did talk to Kay about it yesterday when we met up, and we both agreed on that same thing! Plus points were definitely that it had a librarian as a main character and a love of books ran through it. I'm going to go back and try and finish Death Comes To Pemberley next, as I want to read it before the television adaptation over Christmas.

Cheese on toast

I totally agree!!! THIS is what I want to see in a show dance - recognisable steps with a few lifts that suit the music and the dance:

I'm waiting for next Saturday to make up my mind for who I'll vote for (if anyone) in the final, but I did vote for Abbey at the weekend, as her dances were the ones I enjoyed most, especially the American Smooth - I didn't think her samba was worthy of a 10, as there were some mistakes, but then there were way too many 10s given out on the night, so I'm not going to begrudge her them! I didn't like Nat's AT first time around, but when she danced it in the dance off, I thought it was much more engaging, and can't put my finger on why. I have to agree with lots of the comments I've heard praising Brendan's choreography - I think he's outdone himself this year, but unfortunately, Sophie hasn't quite managed to live up to it. I do like her though, and have voted for her a few times through the series, as I didn't want to see her go, but not necessarily because I thought she was the best on the night. What put me off her AS on Saturday was the dress which I found really distracting. Susanna, meanwhile, is sort of a female equivalent of Chris Hollins - good fun, a great interviewee on It Takes Two, bags of personality, tries really hard, but isn't the best dancer technically. But, if she dances her paso doble and waltz again to the same level or better in the final, she could get much closer to the others, and possibly surpass Sophie, and I'm a sucker for a paso doble. Throughout the series, out of the four finalists, I've voted for Abbey, Sophie and Susanna, but if Natalie engages me on Saturday, my vote could go her way instead! It's really open as far as I'm concerned.

Did you have a favourite character? I liked both Cheyenne and Griffin. Cheyenne because she didn't just allow herself to be a victim in the situation, and tried to fight for herself when she could, and Griffin because despite the fact he'd done wrong in the first place, he did try to redeem himself. Did you have a favourite part of the story? The actual car theft was good, as you got the story from both characters perspectives and it set up the rest of the plot well. Have you read anything else by this author, and do you think you will now go on to do so? This is the first book I've read by Henry, and I probably would only read another if someone here strongly recommended it. Would you only recommend this to teens, or all age groups? I think it's probably only for teens, as I suspect most adults would find it a bit too lightweight. YA can be much stronger in tone and themes, and this one didn't quite hit the mark for me. ‘Girl, Stolen’ is a thriller. What do you think is the difference between a mystery and a thriller? To me, a mystery is about puzzle solving, whether there is crime involved or not, whereas a thriller is more based on action and peril, and usually associated more with crime. If you had to surrender a sense—taste, touch, smell, hearing, or sight— which would you choose? What would be the hardest sense to lose? I'm not sure, but I think taste and smell are so interlinked that if you lost smell, you would also lose taste. They must surely be the easiest to lose, as they wouldn't affect your ability to live a normal life, I think it would just make life very dull in that aspect. Sight would be the one that would be most affecting, while hearing would make life difficult too. I'll try and come back and do the rest of the questions another time. Overall though, I would say that it wasn't a bad book, but perhaps a bit predictable, and I didn't love the characters, although I was happy to read the story.

Decided to read The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai next - it's one that Kay lent me, and it's got a librarian as the lead character so it must be good! Having said that, I'm a quarter of the way in, and the first sentence of the blurb on the back cover gives away a plot point that still hasn't happened yet, but I am enjoying it so I shouldn't complain too much.

That's the one! Well done, Janet, over to you.

Yes

Yes No

I've unintentionally had a Hugh Grant day - first up was About A Boy, then switched over and coincidentally found Two Weeks Notice and have just caught Four Weddings and a Funeral. If I hadn't seen Notting Hill in the week, I might have been tempted to put that on now!

Yes, but not just a love story.

Yes

Yes Contemporary fiction

Yes.

Nope, very close to the beginning!

Ok, next one is ... She waved gingerly, then turned around and moved away along the path. She walked at a snail's pace, cautiously placing her stick before each step, like she was rediscovering walking after a bedridden spell. Xxxxx felt a tug inside him as she left. He wanted to take a picture, photograph her this time, not light. He hesitated, then shot her from behind, her shuffling figure back-dropped by the water and the ram's grey field.

I've just finished reading Crow Stone by Jenni Mills for my reading group. One of those stories where the historic story runs alongside the contemporary one. I did finish it, but not my cup of tea really. Not sure what I'll read next.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes?

They've just done the classic trick on the UK broadcast, and fried an egg on the manhole cover outside the ground - it must be sweltering!

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, perhaps?

So it's going to be too late for Dickens, Collins, Wilde if it goes into the 20th century … maybe H. G. Wells?

Oh, does that mean it's an anthology or collections of stories? Hmm, I'll have to think about it!

I made a batch of a veggie bolognese style sauce this afternoon, so we'll have veggie spaghetti bolognese for dinner, and the rest will go in the freezer for some easy meals over Christmas when we can't be bothered to cook! It'll go with any pasta not just spaghetti, and I sometimes use it in a lasagne as well. Also bought a lovely stone baked boule bread to go with it tonight.

It sounds quite old fashioned, so is it quite old? Maybe early 20th century?

There seems to be have been an avalanche of M. C. Beaton books on the Kindle Daily Deals this week, but so far I've only found one that I didn't already have, so I just bought one so far. Reading wise, I've had my first good day of reading for a while, and finished Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey, and am just about to start my reading group book, Crow Stone by Jenni Mills.