chesilbeach

It's great that you're so excited about your reading this year Hayley! Hope you enjoy The Eyre Affair, it's one of my favourites.

Happy new reading year Lara!

Hope you have a good reading year, Karen

Hope you have a great year of reading Laura.

Hope you have a good reading year, Alex. Looking forward to more of the English Counties challenge this year

Have a great reading year Noll, looking forward to comparing notes on some of the books we read!

Hi Abby, hope you manage to get more reading done this year! Have a good one

This year, I'd like to achieve a better balance between male and female authors, and also a better split between fiction and non-fiction, as last year I read almost all fiction and very few male authors. I'd also like to make more of an effort on my various challenges, although a lot of my books are in storage at the moment, so not sure when I'll be able to actually get my hands on some of the books so that might be a bit tricky. Other than that, I don't have a huge TBR, so I'm really just looking to enjoy my reading this year and try and keep up with my reviews a lot better than I've managed this year!

My top books of the year. I'm going to split my top books of the year into two sections this year, as I've read a lot of children's and YA books, so I'm going to do my top five (grown up books) and my top five children's/YA books. My top 5 books: 5. Artful by Ali Smith Fantastic collection of essays celebrating art and it's affect on us, all linked by a narrative of someone going through a bereavement. 4. The Curate's Wife by E. H. Young Brilliant novel from the early part of the twentieth century, made more special for me as set in the area of Bristol I used to live in. 3. Walking Home by Clare Balding Clare writes about the importance of walking in her life, as well as the history of her Radio 4 programme, Ramblings (which is my favourite radio series). 2. A Robot in the Garden by Deborah Install Charming story about a man and the impact on his life of finding a broken robot in the garden. 1. Clay by Melissa Harrison Brilliantly written novel with so much wonderful nature writing as three main characters who come together in a park in London. Completely compelling and the one book I've thought more about since reading that any other this year. Plus honorable mentions for: The Dynamite Room by Jason Hewitt Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid The Chronicles of St Mary's series by Jodi Taylor Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy My top five Children's and YA books 5. Gorilla Dawn by Gill Lewis Another book with an eye on the importance of conservation of our natural world and the human forces that threaten it, but told from a child's point of view. 4. The Lie Tree by Francis Hardinge Wonderfully eerie Victorian tale of truth and lies, murder and revenge, and a treat of a page turning story. 3. Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill Dystopian tale in a world of teenager girls brought up to achieve the perfect body image. An oppressive and bleak read, but utterly compelling. 2. The Wells and Wong Mysteries by Robin Stevens I couldn't pick any one of these books over the others, so I've cheated and picked all of the first three books in the series. Jolly good romps for children - thrilling and funny murder mysteries. 1. Monsters by Emerald Fennell A cosy murder mystery in a Cornish village this is NOT! It's a dark and chilling read of two children who you definitely wouldn't want to meet yourself. Still sends a chill down my spine thinking about it. Plus honorable mentions for: In Darkling Wood by Emma Carroll The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine Darkmere by Helen Maslin The Dead House by Dawn Kurtigach

I'm still short of a few reviews from last year, but I'm not in the mood to write them today, so thought I'd do my stats for the year instead, so here goes ... I read 170 books this year. They were: 83 kindle books 71 paperbacks 3 hardbacks 13 audiobooks 136 by female authors 34 by male authors I'm a bit shocked by this as I thought I read more male authors. I don't know why, but I do tend to gravitate towards female writers, and this year seems to have been my worst year for male authors for a while. Will try and make the effort to read more male writers in 2016! 160 fiction 10 non-fiction I also shocked by this, as I normally read a lot more non-fiction than this. In total, I've read 44439 pages! I abandoned 4 books during the year, all of which I read between a third and a half of the book before giving up. From my challenges, I read: 1 book by J. L. Carr 2 books by E. H. Young 3 books published by Persephone 2 books from the English Counties challenge 2 books from my (extended) Year with Jane Austen challenge Would like to improve on this next year, and make particular progress on the Persephone and English Counties challenge. I bought 100 books in total, of which I've read 93 of them. At the beginning of 2015, by TBR was 21 books, and at the end of the year, it's 16 books, so at least it's come down! Of the books I read, I rated them as follows: 6 books received 5 stars (Outstanding) 65 books received 4 stars (Very good) 75 books received 3 stars (Good) 8 books received 2 stars (Ok) 4 books received 1 star (Poor / Did not finish) (Note: I don't rate audiobooks as they are books I've read before and am just listening again) My average score for the year was 3.4 stars.

I finished The Sound of Whales this morning, and have now started The Star of Kazan. Have to say, I haven't been tempted by any of the 12 days of Kindle sale, so my TBR hasn't suffered this year!

Happy New Year everyone. We'd been out most of the day, so just had a quiet night in yesterday. Fell asleep in front of the telly and woke up when all the fireworks started at midnight. Lazy morning today finishing off the book I was reading, then out for coffee, food shopping and a visit to my dad. Planning to write up all my end of year book lists this afternoon, play some games and then hoping to watch a film this evening.

We went up to a friends house on Wednesday and had a film marathon ... started with Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2 as they hadn't seen either of them before, and they loved them. Then watched The Man from U.N.C.L.E which I hadn't been keen to see as the trailer looked awful, but ended up enjoying it a lot. Would be quite happy to watch a sequel. Finally, we watched Big Hero 6 which was brilliant. Some of the cityscapes looked amazing! Yesterday, we went to see Spectre at the multiplex yesterday morning, as OH hadn't seen it yet. He enjoyed it, but thought the script was a bit ropey, then in the afternoon, we went to the local cinema to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens which made both of us feel about 8 years old again. I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, but I did see them when they first came out when I was little, but after The Phantom Menace we didn't watch the rest of the prequels, but as it was in JJ Abrams hands, thought I'd give this one a go, and I really enjoyed watching this new one.

Finished on exactly 170 in the end.

The temperature seems to be dropping today, and feels like we might put the fire on tonight. Thankfully it's not raining today - I was out yesterday and got caught in a torrential downpour and was soaked to the skin within a minute. Unfortunately, there's heavy rain forecast over the next couple of days. Fingers crossed no-one gets any more flooding.

I finished The Boy Who Drew The Future by Rhian Ivory last night - excellent YA. I've started another of my Christmas bookss today ... The Sound of Whales by Kerr Thomson - great start so far.

Congratulations on the birth of Ethan, Laura! Hope you're better now. Great to see you back on the forum.

Thanks bobbly. Monsters is probably going to make one of my top books of the year list, so I'll be interested to hear what you think of it if you read it. I absolutely adore The Chronicles of St Mary's series! Why can't authors write faster!!!

Finished the beautiful Heartsong, and have started As You Wish by Cary Elwes about the making of the film, The Princess Bride. Think it'll be a dip in and out of book, so might read other things in-between chapters.

My next door neighbour is attempting to sing a long to Coldplay so I've just put down my book and switched on the TV to find Mary Poppins … and the sound is now turned up loud to drown out Coldplay!

Love this poster! https://twitter.com/STHLibraries/status/677078267170562048

READING LISTS PERSEPHONE BOOKS Key: Books I own in Italics Books I have read in Bold BOOK LIST: 1. William - an Englishman by Cicely Hamilton 2. Mariana by Monica Dickens 3. Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple 4. Fidelity by Susan Glaspell 5. An Interrupted Life: The Diaries and Letters of Etty Hillesum 1941-43 by Etty Hillesum 6. The Victorian Chaise-longue by Marghanita Laski 7. The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher 8. Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes by Mollie Panter-Downes 9. Few Eggs and No Oranges by Vere Hodgson 10. Good Things in England by Florence White 11. Julian Grenfell by Nicholas Mosley 12. It's Hard to Be Hip Over Thirty by Judith Viorst 13. Consequences by E. M. Delafield 14. Farewell Leicester Square by Betty Miller 15. Tell It to a Stranger by Elizabeth Berridge 16. Saplings by Noel Streatfeild 17. Marjory Fleming by Oriel Malet 18. Every Eye by Isobel English 19. They Knew Mr Knight by Dorothy Whipple 20. A Woman's Place: 1910-75 by Ruth Adam 21. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson 22. Consider the Years by Virginia Graham 23. Reuben Sachs by Amy Levy 24. Family Roundabout by Richmal Crompton 25. The Montana Stories by Katherine Mansfield 26. Brook Evans by Susan Glaspell 27. The Children who lived in a Barn by Eleanor Graham 28. Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski 29. The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett 30. Kitchen Essays by Agnes Jekyll 31. A House in the Country by Jocelyn Playfair 32. The Carlyles at Home by Thea Holme 33. The Far Cry by Emma Smith 34. Minnie's Room: The Peacetime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes by Mollie Panter-Downes 35. Greenery Street by Denis Mackail 36. Lettice Delmer by Susan Miles 37. The Runaway by Elizabeth Anna Hart 38. Cheerful Weather for the Wedding by Julia Strachey 39. Manja by Anna Gmeyner 40. The Priory by Dorothy Whipple 41. Hostages to Fortune by Elizabeth Cambridge 42. The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding 43. The Wise Virgins by Leonard Woolf 44. Tea with Mr Rochester by Frances Towers 45. Good Food On The Aga by Ambrose Heath 46. Miss Ranskill Comes Home by Barbara Euphan Todd 47. The New House by Lettice Cooper 48. The Casino by Margaret Bonham 49. Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton 50. The World that was Ours by Hilda Bernstein 51. Operation Heartbreak by Duff Cooper 52. The Village by Marghanita Laski 53. Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary by Ruferguson 54. They Can't Ration These by Vicomte De Mauduit 55. Flush by Virginia Woolf 56. They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple 57. The Hopkins Manuscript by Rc Sherriff 58. Hetty Dorval by Ethel Wilson 59. There Were No Windows by Norah Hoult 60. Doreen by Barbara Noble 61. A London Child of the 1870s by Molly Hughes 62. How To Run Your Home Without Help by Kay Smallshaw 63. Princes in the Land by Joanna Cannan 64. A Woman Novelist and Other Stories by Diana Gardner 65. Alas, Poor Lady by Rachel Ferguson 66. Gardener’s Nightcap by Muriel Stuart 67. The Fortnight in September by Rc Sherriff 68. The Expendable Man by Dorothy B Hughes 69. Journal by Katherine Mansfield 70. Plats du Jour by Patience Gray and Primrose Boyd 71. The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett 72. House-Bound by Winifred Peck 73. The Young Pretenders by Edith Henrietta 74. The Closed Door and Other Stories by Dorothy Whipple 75. On the Other Side: Letters to my Children from Germany 1940-46 by Mathilde Wolff-Mönckeberg 76. The Crowded Street by Winifred Holtby 77. Daddy's Gone A-Hunting by Penelope Mortimer 78. A Very Great Profession by Nicola Beauman 79. Round about a Pound a Week by Maud Pember Reeves 80. The Country Housewife's Book by Lucy H Yates 81. Miss Buncle's Book by De Stevenson 82. Amours de Voyage by Arthur Hugh Clough 83. Making Conversation by Christine Longford 84. A New System of Domestic Cookery by Mrs Rundell 85. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple 86. To Bed with Grand Music by Marghanita Laski 87. Dimanche and Other Stories by Irène Némirovsky 88. Still Missing by Beth Gutcheon 89. The Mystery of Mrs Blencarrow by Mrs Oliphant 90. The Winds of Heaven by Monica Dickens 91. Miss Buncle Married by D. E. Stevenson 92. Midsummer Night in the Workhouse by Diana Athill 93. The Sack of Bath by Adam Fergusson 94. No Surrender by Constance Maud 95. Greenbanks by Dorothy Whipple 96. Dinners for Beginners by Rachel and Margaret Ryan 97. Harriet by Elizabeth Jenkins 98. A Writer's Diary by Virginia Woolf 99. Patience by John Coates 100. The Persephone Book of Short Stories by Various 101. Heat Lightning by Helen Hull 102. The Exiles Return by Elisabeth De Waal 103. The Squire by Enid Bagnold 104. The Two Mrs Abbotts by De Stevenson 105. Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield 106. Into the Whirlwind by Eugenia Ginzburg 107. Wilfred and Eileen by Jonathan Smith 108. The Happy Tree by Rosalind Murray 109. The Country Life Cookery Book by Ambrose Heath 110. Because of the Lockwoods by Dorothy Whipple 111. London War Notes by Mollie Panter-Downes 112. Vain Shadow by Jane Hervey 113. Greengates by R. C. Sheriff 114. Gardener's Choice by Evelyn Dunbar and Charles Mahoney 115. Maman, What Are We Called Now? by Jacqueline Mesnil-Amar 116. A Lady and Her Husband by Amber Reeves 117. The Godwits Fly by Robin Hyde Status: 13/117 books read = 11% complete

THE ENGLISH COUNTIES For more details, visit the English Counties Challenge board: http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/forum/74-english-counties-challenge/ Key: Books I own in Italics Books I have read in Bold BOOK LIST: BEDFORDSHIRE: My Uncle Silas by H. E. Bates BERKSHIRE: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame BRISTOL: The Misses Mallett by E. H. Young BUCKINGHAMSHIRE: The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper CAMBRIDGESHIRE: The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers CHESHIRE: Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell CITY OF LONDON: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens CORNWALL: Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier CUMBRIA: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome DERBYSHIRE: Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks DEVON: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle DORSET: Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy COUNTY DURHAM: Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE: South Riding by Winifred Holtby EAST SUSSEX: Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne ESSEX: The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James GLOUCESTERSHIRE: Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee GREATER LONDON*: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle GREATER MANCHESTER: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell HAMPSHIRE: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins HEREFORDSHIRE: On The Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin HERTFORDSHIRE: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ISLE OF WIGHT: England, England by Julian Barnes KENT: The Darling Buds of May by H. E. Bates LANCASHIRE: Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson LEICESTERSHIRE: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend LINCOLNSHIRE: The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot MERSEYSIDE: An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge NORFOLK: The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley NORTH YORKSHIRE: All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot/Dracula by Bram Stoker NORTHAMPTONSHIRE: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen NORTHUMBERLAND: The Stars Look Down by A. J. Cronin NOTTINGHAMSHIRE: Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence OXFORDSHIRE: The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford RUTLAND: Set In Stone by Robert Goddard SHROPSHIRE: Summer Lightning by P. G. Wodehouse SOMERSET: Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore SOUTH YORKSHIRE: A Kestral For A Knave by Barry Hines STAFFORDSHIRE: The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett SUFFOLK: The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald SURREY: Emma by Jane Austen TYNE AND WEAR: Another World by Pat Barker WARWICKSHIRE: Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes WEST MIDLANDS: Middlemarch by George Eliot WEST SUSSEX: Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons WEST YORKSHIRE: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë WILTSHIRE: Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope WORCESTERSHIRE: The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall Status: 35/48 books read = 73% complete

AUTHOR READING LISTS The books I own for these authors are in storage, so I may not be able to continue these challenges this year but keeping the posts for reference in future. J. L. CARR Key: Books I own in Italics Books I have read in Bold BOOK LIST: 1. A Day In Summer 2. A Season in Sinji 3. The Harpole Report 4. How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won The F. A. Cup 5. A Month In The Country 6. The Battle of Pollocks Crossing 7. What Hetty Did 8. Harpole and Foxberrow, General Publishers Status: 5/8 books read = 62.5% complete E. H. YOUNG Key: Books I own in Italics Books I have read in Bold BOOK LIST: 1. A Corn of Wheat 2. Yonder 3. Moor Fires 4. The Bridge Dividing (aka The Misses Mallett) 5. William 6. The Vicar's Daughter 7. Miss Mole 8. Jenny Wren 9. The Curate's Wife 10. Celia 11. Caravan Island 12. River Holiday 13. Chatterton Square Status: 2/13 books read = 15% complete

2015 reading blog - 171 books 2014 reading blog - 151 books 2013 reading blog - 183 books 2012 reading blog - 145 books 2011 reading blog - 141 books 2010 reading blog - 130 books 2009 reading blog - 143 books 2008 reading list - 63 books 2007 reading list - 97 books 2006 reading list - 82 books 2016 BOOKS READ January 1. The Sound of Whales by Kerr Thomson 2. The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson 3. A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig 4. Demolition Dad by Phil Earle 5. Sunshine on Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith 6. Emma by Alexander McCall Smith 7. Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson 8. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks February 9. Just William by Richmal Crompton 10. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 11. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling (narrated by Stephen Fry) 12. Beetle Boy by M. G. Leonard 13. Italian Ways by Tim Parks 14. The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett 15. South Riding by Winifred Holtby (narrated by Carole Boyd) 16. More William by Richmal Crompton 17. Summer Lightning by P. G. Wodehouse (narrated by John Wells) 18. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor (narrated by Zara Ramm) 19. Cheerful Weather for the Wedding by Julia Strachey 20. Pip and the Paw of Friendship by Gill Lewis March 21. The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth by Katherine Woodfine 22. The Little Shop of Happy Ever After by Jenny Colgan ​23. Mobile Library by David Whitehouse 24. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers 25. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (narrated by Juliet Stevenson) 26. The Children Who Lived in a Barn by Eleanor Graham 27. Film Freak by Christopher Fowler 28. The Very First Damned Thing by Jodi Taylor (Short story narrated by Jodi Taylor) 29. Rain: Four Walks in English Weather by Melissa Harrison 30. When A Child Is Born by Jodi Taylor (Short story narrated by Zara Ramm) 31. Once Upon A Time In The West… Country by Tony Hawks 32. Perijee and Me by Ross Montgomery 33. The Secret Paris Cinema Club by Nicholas Barreau 34. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides 35. Roman Holiday by Jodi Taylor (Short story narrated by Zara Ramm) 36. The Lady In The Van by Alan Bennett 37. See How They Run by Ally Carter 38. The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman April 39. Christmas Present by Jodi Taylor (Short story narrated by Zara Ramm) 40. Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings by Jodi Taylor (Short story narrated by Zara Ramm) 41. A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor (Narrated by Zara Ramm) 42. The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer 43. A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor (Narrated by Zara Ramm) 44. Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier 45. Jolly Foul Play by Robin Stevens 46. The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins 47. Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope 48. Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld 49. Spectacles by Sue Perkins 50. Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge 51. A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor (Narrated by Zara Ramm) 52. As You Wish by Cary Elwes May 53. The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave 54. No Time Like The Past by Jodi Taylor (Narrated by Zara Ramm) 55. Lies, Damned Lies, and History by Jodi Taylor 56. Common Ground by Rob Cowen 57. Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine 58. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot 59. The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks 60. Public Library and other stories by Ali Smith 61. The Savage Marquess by M. C. Beaton 62. Me and My Ghoulfriends by Rose Pressey June 63. Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes 64. The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer 65. Forever Charmed by Rose Pressey 66. Crime Wave by Rose Pressey 67. The Outrun by Amy Liptrot 68. Urn Burial by Kerry Greenwood 69. Regency Gold by M. C. Beaton 70. A Very Special Year by Thomas Montasser 71. England, England by Julian Barnes 72. The Movie Doctors by Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode 73. Persuasion by Jane Austen (narrated by Juliet Stevenson) 74. Coastlines by Patrick Barkham 75. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley (narrated by Thomas Judd) 76. The Fish Ladder by Katherine Norbury July 77. Raptor by James MacDonald Lockhart 78. Strange Star by Emma Carroll 79. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (narrated by Patricia Routledge) 80. The Beach Café by Lucy Diamond (narrated by Jane Collingwood) 81. Silken Bonds by M. C. Beaton 82. The Love Match by M. C. Beaton 83. Being A Beast by Charles Foster 84. Landmarks by Robert Macfarlane 85. The Paper Princess by M. C. Beaton August 86. The Moth Snowstorm by Michael McCarthy 87. The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts by Annie Darling 88. The Dreadful Debutante by M. C. Beaton 89. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling 90. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (narrated by Stephen Fry) 91. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer 92. Lies, Damned Lies, and History by Jodi Taylor (narrated by Zara Ramm) 93. The Grand St Mary's Day Out by Jodi Taylor 94. To Dream of Love by M. C. Beaton 95. Daisy by M. C. Beaton 96. Poison or Protect by Gail Carriger September 97. Dracula by Bram Stoker 98. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend 99. The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald 100. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle 101. A Kestrel For A Knave by Barry Hines 102. Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson 103. Lydia by Natasha Farrant 104. The Immortals by S. E. Lister 105. Imprudence by Gail Carriger October 106. The Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse November 107. Christmas at the Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan 108. Two on a Tower by Thomas Hardy December 109. Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens 110. Cogheart by Peter Bunzl 111. Christmas at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan 112. Cakes In Space by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre