chesilbeach

Glad you enjoyed it - I'm planning to read the sequel too.

I would say my two stand out nature books so far this year have been 20th-Century Yokel by Tom Cox and Hidden Nature by Alys Fowler. Neither are out-and-out nature, but both have a strong element of nature writing in them, and I thought both were excellent and strike me as exactly the style of book that often ends up on the long list.

After a VERY foggy and a bit cool start to the day, it actually ended up being sunny and warm. Looks like more of the same tomorrow, then summer will be over and it'll back to autumnal weather again.

Read two fantastic books this week. First was The One Who Wrote Destiny by Nikesh Shukla, which was just lovely, although it does deal with death and grief too, and can't deny made me well up a bit. Also read a science book called A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived by Adam Rutherford which is all about genes and genetics and was absolutely fascinating while being very entertaining too. A bit out of my usual comfort zone for non-fiction reading, but I listen to a science podcast with the author and it's always a good fun programme to listen to, so thought I'd give his writing a go too.

Went to see The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society today. As charming and heartwarming as the book, and it looked beautiful. It's not a gritty warm film by any means, and rather sentimental, but I like that in a film at times. Lily James is fast becoming one of my favourite actors (especially after my favourite film of last year, Baby Driver). Also saw Thoroughbreds earlier in the week with my friend. A small indie film, which I saw described as a cross between American Psycho and Heathers. That's a pretty good description - not graphic violence, but quirky in a good way and we both enjoyed it a lot. Last night I caught The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie on television which I haven't seen for a while. I loved this film enormously as a teenager, and while I did still enjoy it, I did feel much more uncomfortable by the art teacher and his sexual conduct now that I'm older.

Taking a long weekend, and decided to start off with brunch at the café, then a trip to the cinema, followed by lunch in the park to make the most of the sunshine. Shared a table with a stranger, and as she was reading a book, decided to overcome my perennial shyness and asked her if the book was good. We ended up having a half hour chat about books, and she's going to try Ali Smith and I'm on the lookout for Annie Proulx!

Well done! I hope they've been good books for you

Exactly! Glad you're enjoying your books this year so far. I'm looking forward to the Wainwright Prize long list being announced which I think it usually early June which is not that far away now, but I've been reading some more nature books in preparation hoping to get a headstart, but we'll wait and see.

Don't worry about the numbers - you do all sorts of other interesting things with your time! I can't quite believe how many I've read, to be honest, I think it's because I've been stuck without access to any sort of workspace in the house and can't do any crafts, plus I have extra free time since last year so I'm just losing myself in books at the moment.

Day out down in Bridport today, and came home with a fantastic haul of old Ladybird books for my OH's nephew, some second-hand Michael Morpurgo books in excellent condition for my book buddy school, and a couple of book gifts for friends. Stopped for a read and a coffee and had a delicious slice of rhubarb crumble cake, and then later had a sneaky gelato - while mint choc chip and it was divine! Back home now, and just catching up on the forum.

This week I've finished four great books - The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin is a chilling mystery set in Victorian London, Dear Mrs Bird by A. J. Pearce is a charming World War Two story, A Sweet, Wild Note by Richard Smyth is a nature book about birdsong and An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor is the ninth in the St Mary's Chronicles series (and probably my favourite since the very first one in the series).

I've finished a few books over the last few days, The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young on Kindle was a brilliant book from a farmer explaining the ethos behind their farming methods and recounting the observations she's made while farming cows. I really enjoyed it. Also finished listening to The Secrets of Happiness by Lucy Diamond and then today, I finally got a copy of Beyond The Odyssey by Maz Evans and I've devoured it already! I also bought myself Swell: A Waterbiography by Jenny Ladreth and Storm Wake by Lucy Christopher.

I think there’s a few factors for me. She’s only a couple of years younger than me, so all the cultural references match with my childhood, I’d read a lot of the books she talks about at around the age as her, and I could identify with life as a bookish child in the same way she describes it, which made it feel very personal to me

Finished Bookworm by Lucy Mangan last night - it was brilliant. Unusually for me, it was a straight 5 star read. Today I finished listening to The Year of Taking Chances by Lucy Diamond and I've started The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin, and although I'm only fifty pages in, I think it's going to be a very good read.

I can't deny, the tile and the cover of Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy we what drew me to buy this middle grade book. It's a science-fiction steampunk story in a world and period which closely mirrors our Victorian/Edwardian period, and where explorers are revered and rewarded as the cream of society. Their sky ships (steam powered hot air balloons) take them across continents to the ends of the earth, and the two main characters, brother and sister Arthur and Maudie, are orphaned when their fathers expedition ends in tragedy. But, something about the story of his demise doesn't ring true with the children, and after being thrown into poverty, the decide to go in search of the truth themselves. The story is entertaining, but I felt the villains and heroes of the story were signposted very early on, but I think that's because I'm an adult who has read plenty of stories in my time, and can see patterns that younger readers may not, so for me, it did go exactly where I was expecting it to. That said, what it does do, is set up a very interesting world, and I would definitely read a follow up to see where the author takes it next time.

I've had A Long Way From Verona by Jane Gardam on my wish list since I heard it being discussed on Backlisted and finally decided it was time to read it. It starts with a declaration from the narrator, Jessica Vye, that "I ought to tell you at the beginning that I am not quite normal having had a violent experience at the age of nine". As a now considerably older thirteen years old, she records her world and her school life, with a truthful dedication as she knows she is a "born writer". A classic unreliable narrator gives this book such life, it's an absolute joy to read. The brazen arrogance of a child who believes she is right, and struggling to conform to the rigid strictures enforced on young girls of the period, produces a witty, charming and forthright narrative that encapsulates the baffling life of a young teenager and the transition from childhood. I laughed a few times, and as with the best of books, had to read some aloud to my boyfriend as it just had to be shared. As I mentioned earlier, this was a featured book on Backlisted where I found out this is semi-autobiographical, and if you do read this book, I would definitely recommend searching out that episode of the podcast, as it will enhance the reading experience and provide lots of additional background information, including a brief excerpt of an interview with Gardam where she talks about this book. This was initially published as a children's book in 1971, I suspect because it features a thirteen-year-old narrator, but I think in retrospect, it's now found in the general fiction section of bookshops, and I suspect you will get more out of it as an adult, looking back on your childhood. Having said that, if you read it as a child, I'm sure it's one of those books that will get into your psyche and you'll end up re-reading again as an adult time and again. I've read a couple of Gardam's other novels, and will definitely be going back to read more now.

Finally got to watch A Monster Calls at home, now that other half has finished reading the book. Loved it just as much as when I saw it in the cinema, but I blubbed A LOT again. However, it's been quite a while since I read the book and OH informs me that it's very different, and has lost all the subtlety as well as one of the main characters, so he preferred the book, but did still enjoy the film as a completely different entity.

I finished both The Body in the Ice and Quadrille yesterday, and have immersed myself in Bookworm today, and as the author was born close to the same time as me, we seem to have have a lot of shared experiences of childhood reading, so I'm enjoying her memoir immensely!.

I've had a lovely weekend. I've done very little except go out for brunch, visit a couple of bookshops and read, so the weather hasn't particularly bothered me! Back to the grindstone tomorrow, but at least it's a short working week thanks to the bank holiday today.

There have been plenty of new books to honour 100 years of women's suffrage in the UK, and for the middle grade readers comes Make More Noise! by a range of female authors. This is a selection of short stories focusing on inspirational female characters, some set in the era when women were campaigning for the vote through the 100 years following up to contemporary stories. Some authors were familiar and others new to me, but together brought a wealth of ideas to their stories to celebrate and inspire girls and show them that they can do anything they set their mind to, and gender should not be a barrier to their dreams. A very enjoyable collection.

I've had years when I've read almost exclusively women, and only realised when I've done my review at the end of the year, so I'm consciously trying to read more male authors. Like you, often my non-fiction tends to be written my male authors, but again, I'm trying to balance that a bit more. The Wainwright Prize is usually pretty good at having a mixture of male and female writers, so that helps, but I'm also trying to find more female authors in non-fiction and more male authors in fiction too. I'd definitely recommend Storm in a Teacup by Helen Czerski, a book of physics in the everyday world, if you're looking for a female authors in the science world. I've never read any Elizabeth Taylor but she's often mentioned on Backlisted podcast, so she's definitely on my radar as one for the future, but when that will be, I don't know!

The Curse in the Candlelight by Sophie Cleverly is the fifth in the Scarlet & Ivy series, so I'm not going to mention the plot for fear of spoilers, so I'll just say, it continues the story of the twins at boarding school, and is another fun mystery for the middle grade audience. I don't think it's one you'd want to read on its own, as by this point, I think you probably need to know the back story, but for the target audience, I think they'd love this series. All I will say in terms of plot was that it was great to see Ariadne featuring more. Enigmatic, I know, but it's so difficult to review individual stories on a long running series!

Needing something, hopefully, a bit more upbeat after Thornhill, I decided to read The Day She Saved The Doctor by Susan Calman, Jenny T. Colgan, Jacqueline Rayner, Dorothy Koomson. Four short stories, each focusing on one of the Doctor's companions - Sarah Jane, Rose, Clara and Bill - and each a story where the companion is the hero of the piece. A range of Doctor's and a range of settings, I loved all these stories. Don't want to say too much, as they're short stories so it would spoil them to give away to much information other than the characters, but great fun from four fantastic writers. Makes me want to read some more Doctor Who stories, and I know Jenny T. Colgan has just written a Target novelisation of The Christmas Invasion (the best of the Christmas episodes from the new series, in my humble opinion), so I think that will be my starting point.

Thornhill by Pam Smy was my last read on the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for older readers list, and I'd saved it for last as it's part graphic novel and I wasn't sure how I would get on with it. The cover shows a dark house with a white outline and illuminated window on it, and the paper edges are sprayed black too, so it has a very sinister look and if I'm honest, made me a little nervous to start it! It follows the story of Ella who has moved into a house with her dad, and it backs on to the forbidding looking Thornhill, Institue for Children which has been shut up for years and becomes derelict. When Ella sees lights on in one of Thornhill's windows one night, she is drawn in, and after seeing a girl in the grounds of the house, she's captivated. The illustrations are interspersed with diary entries from one of the residents of the children's home from years ago, and Ella becomes determined to find out more. Like Ella, I was absolutely captivated by the story and as it unfolds, I became all the more unsettled. It really got under my skin, and at times was genuinely chilling. Fabulous illustrations, with a very muted palette which suited the story and helped build atmosphere. Just thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine!

The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor is a crime/thriller which starts during the Great Fire of London in 1666. It follows the story of two characters - James Marwood, investigating the murder of a man found dead in the ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral, and Catherine Lovett, who has been left in the care of her aunt and uncle, but is forced to flee in order to save her self from an abusive environment or the prospect of a loveless marriage. The story rattles along at a great pace, and generally evokes a sense of time and place well, and the two stories work well in parallel and threading in and out of each other, and I enjoyed the novel a great deal. I partially listened to the audiobook version as well as reading on Kindle, as when I had time to read it, I often wanted to keep going to find out what would happen next, so would listen in the car after having read a section in the café. The characterisation is well done, and as you gradually find out more about the two leads back stories, it helps move the plot along and fill in the gaps to bring the story together as a whole. Apparently, it's the start of a series of novels, and the next one, The Fire Court is out now in hardback. I'll wait for the paperback edition, but I will certainly give the next one a go, although if this was to become a long running series, I wonder whether I would bow out eventually, as I'm not sure I'd want to keep going for more than a few books with this story limited to Marwood and Catherine as the main characters, but I obviously can't judge that after just one book!