chesilbeach

A good day today, not too hot, mostly sunny although a bit cloudy at times too. A nice breeze for walking

You've taught them well - excellent book choices! Good luck in the next stage of your life, like others I'm incredibly envious, not having to work would give me so much more time to do things I enjoy.

Really? Sounds intriguing

Sounds promising, hope it works out for you, Noll

Dry today, although a few grey clouds around and reasonably, comfortably warm.

Current reading status Kindle: The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley (16%) Kindle: Reader, I Married Him by Tracy Chevalier (7%) Paperback: The Persephone Book of Short Stories (page 175/477) Paperback: Mystery and Mayhem by Various (page 50/300) Paperback: The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan (page 35/293) Hardback: Storm in a Teacup by Helen Czerski (page 154/291) Hardback: The Nature of Autumn by Jim Crumley (page 168/248) Audiobook: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (8 hours 52 minutes remaining) Read more of TNoA during my lunch break again, and the author is now referencing something he said in an earlier chapter!!! I know what you said mate, I read it an hour ago! It's so frustrating, as there are some lovely observations in here too, but the persistent self referencing is driving me mad. Thandie Newton's narration of JE continues to be wonderful. I had to sit in the car for 10 minutes when I got home so that I could finish off the chapter as it was completely compelling.

That's alright, I'm way behind with reviews ... I read that one in early March and only just written a review It was something a bit different, made a nice change.

I still haven't watched the telly series - I was waiting until I'd read all the books as I didn't want to spoil them!

What a shame. All the kids in the screening I saw were laughing and my colleague took his family last week and they loved it too. The minions didn't sound any more Spanish to me than in previous films, and the director who voices them is French and I'm sure I heard him say in interviews that their language is influenced by European languages so that it's meant to sound almost recognisable as real words while still being nonsense.

Current reading status Kindle: The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley (16%) Kindle: Reader, I Married Him by Tracy Chevalier (7%) Paperback: The Persephone Book of Short Stories (page 175/477) Paperback: Mystery and Mayhem by Various (page 50/300) Paperback: The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan (page 35/293) Hardback: Storm in a Teacup by Helen Czerski (page 154/291) Hardback: The Nature of Autumn by Jim Crumley (page 98/248) Audiobook: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (12 hours 46 minutes remaining) Read some more of TNoA during my lunch break, but if the author references and quotes his own previous books one more time, I think I might scream!!! Also listened to some more of JE on the commute so it's moving on nicely.

It's not as bad as it looks ... three of them are short story collections so made for dipping in and out of, two non-fiction which also work well for occasional reading, so it's only then two novels, one of which I'll have to start again as it's been a long time since I started it! I never worry about the audiobooks either, as I find that because you take them in through listening, they're completely different to reading off a page, so it's easy to keep pace with them.

Raisins and Almonds by Kerry Greenwood Death Before Wicket by Kerry Greenwood Away With The Fairies by Kerry Greenwood Murder in Montparnasse by Kerry Greenwood The Castlemaine Murders by Kerry Greenwood Review: I'm not going to review these separately, but I've read a batch of Phryne Fisher Mysteries books over the last few months, and enjoyed them all. I love the feminist nature of Phryne and her individuality. She's determined and strong-minded and doesn't suffer fools gladly. I like the ongoing story of her life alongside the mysteries, and I really enjoyed the additional back story running along with the investigation in Murder in Montparnasse. Having said all that, it definitely feels like fiction, and I'm not sure how much of a foot in reality the stories have in the society of the Australian society between the wars, but I don't really care, I read them for entertainment, and entertaining they are!

Hi Rob, welcome to the forum. I've removed the link from your post, as new members can't post links until they've reached a certain amount of posts, so it won't actually work for other members anyway. Can I ask if you're related to this book in anyway? It's unusual for a new member to join the forum and their first post to be about a new book by a new author without it being promotional. If not, then we'll look forward to you joining in the forum, and hopefully see your thoughts on the book after you've read it.

A Start in Life by Anita Brookner Synopsis: Since childhood, Ruth Weiss has been escaping from life into books, from the hothouse attentions of her parents into the warmth of lovers and friends. Now Dr Weiss, at 40, knows that her life has been ruined by literature and that once again she must make a new start. Review: I've been banging on about a book podcast called Backlisted a lot recently, but it's a fantastic podcast giving new life to old books, and one of the contributors is a big fan of Anita Brookner. I've never read any of her books, but Penguin have reissued her novels over the last few years, so I decided I'd make a start at the beginning with her first one, originally published in 1981. The opening line is referenced in the synopsis, "Dr Weiss, at forty, knew that her life had been ruined by literature" and it was such a strong line, which offers an insight into the story from the very first page, but with such wit, that I knew I was going to enjoy it, and the rest of the book didn't let me down. Now, I'm someone who doesn't normally get on with character based fiction, as I need a plot to drive me on, but there are some writers who seem to engage me regardless, and I think Anita Brookner is going to be one of them. I loved how she looked at different themes of love and marriage, getting old, friendships and the affects of these themes on people. It a beautifully observed piece of writing, with a warmth and wit that gives you a nice warm glow when you get to the end. Can't wait to read more of her books.

As a Bristolian, born and bred, and also an E. H. Young fan and working my way through her novels, I was delighted to have the chance to read another of her books. For me, she is the author I most closely associate with Bristol, and I actually lived in Clifton for a while, and her descriptions of it are still recognisable today. This is one of her earlier novels, but was the most easily accessible today to be able to read for the challenge (although I'm gradually collecting all her books from second hand bookshops ). I did enjoy reading it, although it was not her best in my opinion, and I actually think her best work comes from her next novel onwards. What she does do so well though, is show the life of the lower and upper middle class women of the period. It's a period of change for women after the first world war, and this story looks at the attitudes of the various generations of women in the family, yet shows both their differences and similarities. I definitely found it tugging at my emotions at times as I became more involved in the story. The alternate title of the book is The Bridge Dividing and this is a reference to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, but is also a metaphor for the divisions between the middle classes on the town side of the bridge, and the upper classes on the countryside, and is another way of comparing the roles and attitude of women (and men) in different aspects of society of the time, but adds to the sense of place, which I believe makes it a good fit for the challenge.

The Montana Stories by Katherine Mansfield Synopsis: Eighty years ago, at the end of May 1921, Katherine Mansfield came to Switzerland, to live at the Chalet des Sapins in Montana (now Crans-Montana) in Switzerland. She was 32 and seriously ill with tuberculosis (possibly caught, according to her biographer Claire Tomalin from DH Lawrence). The next few months were to be the most fruitful period of her life; she did not have much time left to her. The Montana Stories is a new edition compiled and edited by Persephone Books of everything Katherine Mansfield wrote between July 1921 and the end of January 1922 when she went to Paris for medical treatment. For completeness there are also the two stories and an unfinished fragment that she wrote after she left Montana and before her death in January 1923; but the large proportion of her output during her final working months was written in the chalet shown on the frontispiece of the book. Review: It's been a few years since I read any short story collection, but I found this collection by Persephone in the bookshop, so I couldn't resist it. I've heard of Katherine Mansfield from both short story aficionados and also as a New Zealand writer, but this was the first of her work I'd read. It was fantastic. Despite the fact that some of the stories are actually just fragments that were published posthumously, this was like a masterclass in short story writing. Brilliant slices of life, with fantastic characterisation, and just enough to intrigue, inform and entertain. Outstanding writing, and a wonderful read - I will definitely be searching out more of her work.

I've been updating my records today and realised I've actually started a lot more books than I thought, so I need to update my current reading status! Current reading status Kindle: The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley (16%) Kindle: Reader, I Married Him by Tracy Chevalier (7%) Paperback: The Persephone Book of Short Stories (page 175/477) Paperback: Mystery and Mayhem by Various (page 50/300) Paperback: The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan (page 35/293) Hardback: Storm in a Teacup by Helen Czerski (page 154/291) Hardback: The Nature of Autumn by Jim Crumley (page 34/248) Audiobook: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (14 hours 19 minutes remaining)

A Sky Full of Birds by Matt Merritt Synopsis: Britain is a nation of bird-lovers. However, few of us fully appreciate the sheer scale, variety and drama of our avian life. From city-centre hunters to vast flocks straight out of the Arctic wilderness, much-loved dawn songsters to the exotic invaders of supermarket car parks, a host of remarkable wildlife spectacles are waiting to be discovered right outside our front doors. In A Sky Full of Birds, poet and nature writer Matt Merritt shares his passion for birdwatching by taking us to some of the great avian gatherings that occur around the British isles – from ravens in Anglesey and raptors on the Wirral, to Kent nightingales and Scottish capercaillies. By turns lyrical, informative and entertaining, he shows how natural miracles can be found all around us, if only we know where to look for them. Review: Although I love spotting birds in the garden or when we're out, and I love hearing the dawn chorus on my way into work during the spring months, I would never consider myself a birdwatcher. What I loved about this book, was that the author made me realise that I can be a birdwatcher without being one of the people (often referred to a "twitchers") who will travel hundreds of miles to see a rare sighting of a bird and tick if off their list. This book is all about appreciating the amazing spectacles of birds that can be found in and around the British Isles, from the more well known, such as the murmurations of starlings at dusk, through to close to fourteen thousand of pink-footed geese at dawn in Norfolk. Matt Merritt is the editor of Bird Watching Magazine, so birds are a big part of his life, but he describes how he came to love birds as a young boy, and then they got a bit forgotten during his teenage years, but after a doctor recommended walking to relieve chronic back pain, he started to take note of the birds and his passion has grown from there. As well as the birds, you get to appreciate the different type of birdwatchers, from the casual (like me), to the more dedicated who have a good set of binoculars and take pleasure in the observation of birds, through to the obsessives who will travel many miles for a view of a rare bird that they can record and mark off their list of all the birds in their county, country, continent or even the world, and how all can have their own appreciation of these creatures. The combination of his own experiences with the descriptions of the birds makes for a wonderful read, and would definitely have made my shortlist this year. My rating: 9/10 (but I might raise this to a 10/10 on reflection)

The Otters' Tale by Simon Cooper Synopsis: When Simon Cooper bought an abandoned water mill that straddles a small chalkstream in southern England, little did he know that he would come to share the mill with a family of wild otters. Yet move in they did, allowing him to begin to observe them, soon immersing himself in their daily routines and movements. He developed an extraordinary close relationship with the family, which in turn gave him a unique insight into the life of these fascinating creatures. Cooper interweaves the personal story of the female otter, Kuschta, with the natural history of the otter in the British Isles, only recently brought back from the brink of extinction through tireless conservation efforts. Following in the footsteps of Henry Williamson’s classic 1920s tale Tarka the Otter, readers are taken on a journey through the calendar year, learning the most intimate detail of this most beautiful of British mammals. Cooper brings these beloved animals to life in all their wondrous complexity, revealing the previously hidden secrets of their lives in this beautifully told tale of the otter. Review: Now this was much better! Simon Cooper's style for this book was to write the story of a family of otters who lived near his home, but to tell it from the otters' point of view. It could have been a fine line between keeping it realistic and anthropomorphising the personality of the individual otters as he talks about them, but he does a fine job of keeping them the wild animals they are and attempting to interpret his observations of their lives into a coherent tale, that almost reads like a novel but with natural history occasionally added to the mix. I thoroughly enjoyed reading every single page of this book. When I think about it, I do have to wonder just how much artistic license has been taken in order to make the story of the family of otters flow. Otters are notoriously difficult to observe, and while they lived in close proximity to the authors home, he must have had to imagine some of the aspects, and used his knowledge from observation and from scientific studies and other books in order to complete the story of this family. There are certainly a lot of books listed at the back which the author has read and referenced, and at the end of the day, the end result of his research is to write a captivating tale of the otter in the modern world, so I guess it doesn't really matter, but it did make me wonder if this was nature writing or novel writing. Regardless, it was an incredibly engrossing book. My rating: 9/10

The Little Paris Bookshop (from Waterstones.com) by Nina George Synopsis: (from Amazon.co.uk) A somewhat lost soul presides over a floating ‘literary apothecary’ on the Seine, a man masking the pain in his own heart by prescribing the appropriate volume to heal the wounds of others. A revelation from the past prompts him to up-anchor and begin a singular journey of discovery toward a resolution that is genuinely life-affirming. Books about books can so often run toward the twee, but George’s skill renders this tale as a sweeping, grand romance. With a cast of winsome, slightly-fractured companions - the bookseller Jean Perdu; the enigmatic Catherine, the woman who unlocks his past; and Max Jordan, the blocked, suffering author who accompanies him on his quest - The Little Paris Bookshop is a pitch-perfect, bittersweet tale that effortlessly repeated the bestselling success of its release in Nina George's native Germany in the UK. Review: I must admit, I felt the cover of this book felt like it was going to be a bit of a rom com and a feel-good story, but I was completely wrong. That’s not to say it was a work of literature that will be a classic for future generations, but it had more depth than I thought it would. Having said that, it’s still a fairly easy read, and I do have a fondness for stories of people who leave behind their lives to go on a journey, and I enjoyed reading it a lot. As Jean’s story unfolds, you realise how grief has affected his life, and how long the emotions have been buried and the effect it’s had on his life. I wasn’t entirely sure about the inclusion of Max’s story, as it took a long time for me to have any patience with him, but I guess that’s probably my fault! As always, I always wish there was more about books in a story about bookshops, but as these go, this one didn’t do too bad a job. Certainly no twee-ness as the mentioned by Waterstone’s in their synopsis, and overall a warm and engaging story.

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk Synopsis: (from waterstones.com) The year I turned twelve, I learned how to lie. I don’t mean the small fibs that children tell. I mean real lies fed by real fears – things I said and did that took me out of the life I’d always known and put me down hard into a new one. It all begins in the summer of 1943, in a place a long way from war and yet haunted by it, in a community hiding prejudice and fear. Annabelle has lived in Wolf Hollow all her life: it’s a quiet place where Anabelle has never had any reason to be afraid. But when cruel, manipulative Betty arrives in town, Annabelle's calm world is shattered, along with everything she's ever known about right and wrong. Then Betty disappears and suspicion falls on strange, gentle loner Toby, a shell-shocked veteran. As Wolf Hollow turns against him, and tensions quickly mount, Annabelle must do everything in her power to protect Toby - and to find Betty, before it is too late. Review: I read this book as it was shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Children's Book Prize, and was amazed at the strength of the story. I can’t imagine having read a book this powerful and real when I was 10 years old, and yet it’s a fantastic story to allow children into the world of war and the impact on society. It brings those big ideas into a small town, while also dealing with bullying and effect on a child, but how she deals with it, but it forces her into a coming-of-age period in her life. The story had a big impact on me, but the shortlist was an incredibly strong one this year, and I could have easily picked one of three books to win, including this one, but unfortunately, none of them won!

The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock Synopsis: (from waterstones.com) Alaska, 1970: growing up here is like nowhere else. Ruth wants to be remembered by her grieving mother. Dora wishes she was invisible to her abusive father. Alyce is staying at home to please her parents. Hank is running away for the sake of his brothers. Four very different lives are about to become entangled. Because if we don't save each other, how can we begin to save ourselves? Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock's extraordinary, stunning debut is both moving, and deeply authentic. These intertwining stories of love, tragedy, wild luck, and salvation on the edge of America's Last Frontier introduce a writer of rare and wonderful talent. Review: I was drawn by the cover of this YA book, and also by the fact it was set in Alaska and in the 1970s (when I grew up) and it seemed an unusual setting, so I thought I’d give it a go. It was a powerfully evocative story, with a wonderful sense of time and place, and the lives of these young people was unusual and made for an engrossing read. The characters lives are heartbreaking at times, and the period makes it feel like a lifetime away and a world away from everything we know. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to those who enjoy YA books set in the real world.

Love Madness Fishing by Dexter Petley Synopsis: Soon after Dexter Petley began writing down his observations of people on the borders of rural Kent and Sussex during the 1960s and 1970s, he realised that his stories were acquiring a broader significance. Between the riverbank where he taught himself to fish and the secondary modern where gardening and smallholding were on the curriculum, he witnessed the lives of a demobbed generation who were still adjusting to post-war Britain, surviving hand-to-mouth, eking out a living mending cars, recycling scrap metal or hop-picking. This fractured landscape, carried like an heirloom since boyhood, has allowed Petley to untangle the fragments of his own life, from the loss of his first love to the nomadic existence he has been living ever since, in London, Africa and France. Here is an unsentimental memoir of exceptional quality. Reminiscent of Laurie Lee and H.E. Bates, each story is peopled by vivid, earthy characters who gravitate around the lakes and ponds and rivers that have flowed through Dexter Petley's life. Review: Hmm. I've been struggling to thing what to write about this book. It wasn't a difficult book to read, and there were some beautiful passages in there, but on the whole, I felt it a bit of a chore. I never felt any connection to the author or his family and friends as he discussed them. I couldn't relate to his experience of school and growing up, and I didn't really understand the fishing side of things, getting confused about what type of fishing he was attempting at time, and the names of the rods and what that meant eluded me. I'm sure there will be an audience of readers for whom this book would be a completely different experience, but I'm afraid it just didn't engage me, and it's been my least favourite of the books on the longlist so far. I've rated it seven, but over time (and after reading other books on the list), I'm inclined to drop it to 6/10, but this rating is about my enjoyment of the book only. My rating: 7/10

The January Man: A Year of Walking Britain by Christopher Somerville Synopsis: In January 2006, a month or two after my father died, I thought I saw him again – a momentary impression of an old man, a little stooped, setting off for a walk in his characteristic fawn corduroys and shabby quilted jacket. After teenage rifts it was walking that brought us closer as father and son; and this ghost of Dad has been walking at my elbow since his death, as I have ruminated on his great love of walking, his prodigious need to do it - and how and why I walk myself. The January Man is the story of a year of walks that was inspired by a song, Dave Goulder's The January Man. Month by month, season by season and region by region, Christopher Somerville walks the British Isles, following routes that continually bring his father to mind. As he travels the country – from the winter floodlands of the River Severn to the lambing pastures of Nidderdale, the towering seabird cliffs on the Shetland Isle of Foula in June and the ancient oaks of Sherwood Forest in autumn - he describes the history, wildlife, landscapes and people he encounters, down back lanes and old paths, in rain and fair weather. Review: There's no doubt for me that this is a well written book, and I enjoyed reading it, with some great descriptions of the landscape, observations from the different walks, and showing that sometimes, with difficulties with weather or circumstances, there are times when you just want to get to the end of the day. I could certainly empathise with those rough days when the pub beckons at the end of the walk! The problem I had was that I didn't feel there was enough coherence between the chapters. Each of the walks was interesting, and the ongoing story of the authors relationship with his father and how they walked together was woven throughout the book, but I didn't always get the feeling that I knew why he'd chosen the walks he had other than from the map, in that they continued on the route around the country - was that enough to justify the walk? There's also a problem with the subtitle of the book, "A Year of Walking Britain", as of all the walks taken only one was in Wales, and one was partially in Scotland, and everything else was in England, so I felt a bit shortchanged in the locations of the walks from the title. So, it's not my favourite but it's also not my least favourite of the year, but I think I'd wait until I'd read all the books before making up my mind whether it would make my short list this year. My rating: 8/10

I've not looked at the books much, so don't know how they match up with the series - do you know if it's one book per television series? I'm almost finished series 1 now, I think I've got two more episodes to go.