chesilbeach
-
Posts
13,339 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Books
Posts posted by chesilbeach
-
-
Very, very wet.
-
Had a mammoth reading session today and have finished Ma'am Darling by Craig Brown. I've also started Poppy Pym and the Beastly Blizzard by Laura Wood, The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry and Tipping The Velvet by Sarah Waters ... so that's a paperback, ebook and audiobook. The hardback I've got lined up next is Hidden Nature by Alys Fowler, so that'll be one of each format in progress to suit wherever I am and what I'm doing!
-
Thanks, I haven't read that one yet
-
12 minutes ago, Ben said:
@chesilbeach: Hi Claire, was going for The Essex Serpent until I saw that Alexi had made that terrific choice. I reckon you'll love it. As for my choice, I'll go with Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner simply because I've been meaning to read it to, and this might tempt me into action
Hi @Ben. I read Hotel du Lac last week, so would you mind picking something else for me please?
-
No time for reading so far today, but I'm hoping to squeeze in a bit this evening. I'm still only about half way through Ma'am Darling so I think I'll try and read some more of that.
-
I've managed to avoid the rain any time I've had to go outside today, but it has mainly been wet.
-
Cold
-
I've also just finished a Lucy Diamond book - The House of New Beginnings. All of her books I've read so far have been more about friendship and finding a better life than the romance elements, although they are definitely marketed in the romantic comedy area. I haven't come across Any Way You Want Me yet, but it does sound again like it divides opinions!
-
Ooh, I started reading Lucy Diamond books last year, and this was the first one (I actually listened to the audiobook), and she's becoming one of my favourites for a bit of romantic escapism, up there with Jenny Colgan for me. Glad you enjoyed it, Diane, and if you've not read any of her other books, I'd say all the ones I've read so far have been very enjoyable. :)
-
Been busy all day, so have been listening to an audiobook and I've finished The House of New Beginnings by Lucy Diamond.
I also had a credit to use, so I've used it to buy Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters which is on my Round Robin challenge.
-
Finished my first book on the Round Robin Challenge yesterday evening - Wildfire At Midnight by Mary Stewart. A murder mystery set on the Scottish island of Skye originally published in the 1950s. This is my second book by Stewart, who had recently had new editions of most of her novels published, and what I found incredibly interesting was that it's only sixty years since it was first published, yet there's a few things that I found incredible. The first was just how often someone smoking a cigarette was mentioned, and the second (slightly more shocking) was that the characters regularly referred to catching the murderer so "he could hang". It's hard to believe that it's still fairly recent that capital punishment was abolished in this country, and that it was automatically assumed that the culprit would receive the death penalty.
Despite all that, it was a really enjoyable read. Lots of twists and turn, with secrecy and dalliances thrown into the mix, as well as fantastic descriptions of the mountains, walking and climbing them, and the a nod to the first group to successfully climb Mount Everest. Unexpected happenings, red herrings and some genuinely creepy moments, it was a perfect winter evening read.
-
Drove down to Dorset this morning, and had a wander around Bridport before heading down to the beach. Very cold and a bit overcast, but the waves were crashing on the beach, so I loved it. One of my favourite type of days.
-
Overcast and cold pretty much all day, but no rain.
-
So my no book buying rule is going really well ... just three bought today
Found another Anita Brookner at the second hand shop today, so I now own a copy of The Bay of Angels. The last book in the Beetle Boy trilogy is out in Waterstones and I wanted to get one of the limited editions with the sprayed edges, so I had to buy one of those, and then they had a buy one get one half price sticker on it, so I thought it would be rude not to, and chose Wed Rabbit by Lissa Evans to go with it.
-
Your journal sounds lovely Noll, and I like the idea that you've amalgamated different ideas to suit your own style. Look forward to seeing some pages.
-
Went out for breakfast this morning, and had buttermilk pancakes with caramelised bananas and maple syrup, which was bloomin' delicious! A couple of errands to run, and a stop off in the bookshop, and now back home to catch up with some more jobs around the house.
Not sure what we'll do tomorrow, but hoping to fit in some sewing and reading again this weekend.
-
Fog and ice. I worked late last night and had to scrape the ice off the car before I could drive home, and then got up this morning, and looking across the rooftops, you'd have thought it had snowed, there was so much white out there, but it was actually just frost and ice.
-
On 1/10/2018 at 9:30 PM, willoyd said:
I wouldn't want to do it on a regular basis, but I think it's good as an occasional break. I know next to nothing of the books and authors that others in my group read for their own pleasure, and I would hope that this would add to knowledge of those I might not have otherwise read myself, i.e. another way of broadening my experience. Also makes me think about why I enjoy the books I do.
That's why I'm in two minds about it!
Most of the people who go tend to like crime, historical and fantasy novels, so I'm going to think about something completely different from those, maybe a nature or travel book.
-
Went into the bookshop to order a sewing book, and came out with A Wood of One's Own by Ruth Pavey.
Still reading Wildfire at Midnight and Ma'am Darling.
-
21 minutes ago, willoyd said:
I like that idea - must get my book group to try it out.
Hmm, I’m in two minds. The thing I like about going to a book group is trying something I wouldn’t normally pick up and this sort of defeats the object of it, but on the other hand, I can just take along any book I’ve read recently and reduce the TBR instead of increasing it!
-
Back in the swing of things now, Christmas and the New Year holidays seem so far away, and we have just started planning our holidays for this year and booking time off work. Will be Dorset and Cornwall again but not sure where exactly yet, I just know I'm looking forward to them already!
I managed to get back to my sewing machine last weekend and realised it's been a year since I last used it. I only did a bit of sewing some scraps together to make bigger pieces for a scrappy quilt that will be a long time in the making, and also made half a dozen blocks called economy blocks which are foundation pieced (sewing directly onto a paper pattern for accuracy then the paper removed at the end) for a quilt I started making a while back.
-
In the first place, I suppose, it was my parents' fault for giving me a silly name like Gianetta.
Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart
-
It's been nice and bright today, and a little warmer too.
-
Went to my book group meeting last night, where we discussed The Bear and the Nightingale which received mixed reviews. Half the people loved it and read it in really quick time because they couldn't put it down, while the other half of us were ambivalent. We all agreed the pacing was slow, particularly in the first half, and none of us knew it was going to be part of a trilogy when we started, and only the ones who loved it are going to read the next books. Next month, there won't be a selected book, it's just read anything then come and talk about it!
What's Up in January 2018
in General Chat
Posted
After a very long, very busy week at work, I've got a few days off, so have made the most of the weekend to have a bit of a lie-in, and just relax. I've done some sewing and plenty of reading and treated myself to brunch out at a local restaurant yesterday morning. I'm meeting up with Janet and Kay but apart from that, looking forward to a few more days of the same as the weekend!