chesilbeach

Just remembered I had an Audible credit to use, so I've just bought South Riding by Winifred Holtby for the English Counties challenge.

It feels like cricket is on almost all the time in our house at the moment! Currently watching SA v Eng test, but overnight watching Aus v WI and also seen some of the NZ v SL one day games.

I read Gill Lewis's Puppy Academy: Star on Stormy Mountain yesterday evening. It's a book for very young kids, but it's about a border collie and working dogs, so OH couldn't resist buying it for me Today, I'm going to start Heartsong by Kevin Crossley-Holland and Jane Ray.

Plus, you could always add them back again if you feel like it, perhaps if someone writes a review that peaks your interest again?

I think she must have bought the shops entire stock of that book!

]Monsters by Emerald Fennell Synopsis: A blackly comic tale about two children you would never want to meet. Set in the Cornish town of Fowey, all is not as idyllic as the beautiful seaside town might seem. The body of a young woman is discovered in the nets of a fishing boat. It is established that the woman was murdered. Most are shocked and horrified. But there is somebody who is not - a twelve-year-old girl. She is delighted; she loves murders. Soon she is questioning the inhabitants of the town in her own personal investigation. But it is a bit boring on her own. Then Miles Giffard, a similarly odd twelve-year-old boy, arrives in Fowey with his mother, and they start investigating together. Oh, and also playing games that re-enact the murders. Just for fun, you understand... A book about two twelve-year-olds that is definitely not for kids. Review: Emerald Fennell loves writing dark stories for children, and this is her darkest yet. The two main characters are certainly not ones you want to identify with, but they are compelling to read. The story is unsettling from the start, and draws you in and becomes more and more chilling as it goes on. The Fowey setting works well as it feels like it could be a very insular community with strong links to the sea, and tourism contributing to the sense of maintaining traditions and a friendly face to outsiders while there being an undercurrent running through the locals. All this adds to a bit of a disturbing read but ultimately satisfying book.

Thanks Janet, I finished it this afternoon and I did enjoy it a lot. I wonder if we both got the Matt Haig book from the same lovely friend

The Giraffe's Neck by Judith Schalansky Synopsis: Adaption is everything, something Frau Lohmark is well aware of as the biology teacher at the Charles Darwin High School in a country backwater of the former East Germany. A strict devotee of Darwin's evolution principle, Lohmark views education as survival of the fittest: classifying her pupils as biological specimens and scorning her colleagues for indulging in 'favourites'. However, as people move West in search of work and opportunities, the school's future is in jeopardy and the Lohmark is forced to face her most fundamental lesson: she must adapt or she cannot survive. Review: This was an impulse buy in the local bookshop, and I often enjoy translated fiction, but this one wasn't for me. I kept reading to the end, but I didn't enjoy it, it all just felt a bit flat for me, and to be honest, I still didn't really understand what it was about or what the point was. A bit lost on me, I'm afraid.

Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch Synopsis: In the fifth of his bestselling series Ben Aaronovitch takes Peter Grant out of whatever comfort zone he might have found and takes him out of London - to a small village in Herefordshire where the local police are reluctant to admit that there might be a supernatural element to the disappearance of some local children. But while you can take the London copper out of London you can't take the London out of the copper. Travelling west, Peter soon finds himself caught up in a deep mystery and having to tackle local cops and local gods. And what's more all the shops are closed by 4pm … Review: These books go from strength to strength. I don't want to say too much about it, as it's the fifth book in the series so I'm conscious of spoilers, but taking Peter out of London to the west country was a breath of fresh air, and I loved the crime story and how the fantastical elements were brought into it. Another great addition to the collection with no sign of a dip in the quality, as can often happen in a series. Looking forward to June for the next instalment.

The Inn at the Top by Neil Hanson (abandoned) Synopsis: The delightful tale of a young couple who in the late 1970s, on impulse, became the new landlords of the most remote, bleak and lonely pub - The Tan Hill Inn - located in the bleak landscape of the Yorkshire Dales. Having seen an article in the newspaper about the pub's search for a new manager, they arrived just three weeks later as the new landlords of the The Tan Hill Inn. It is a wild, wind-swept place, set alone in a sea of peat bog and heather moorland that stretches unbroken as far as the eye can see. With only sheep and grouse for company, their closest neighbour was four miles away and the nearest town twelve. They had no experience of licensed trade or running a pub, no knowledge of farming and a complete inability to understand the dialect of the sheep farmers who were their local customers. Eager, well-meaning, but in over their heads, our two heroes embarked on a disaster-strewn career that somehow also turned into a lifelong love affair with the Dales. The Inn at the Top is an entertaining ramble around the Inn, the breath-taking Dales countryside and a remarkable array of local characters, giving an insight into life in a very different different time and place. Review: I really, really wanted to enjoy this book. I wanted it to be a memoir along the lines of the Gervase Phill books, but set in a pub. For some parts it was, but the author also wanted to tell the history of the pub and the surrounding area, but the history sections were so dry, I found myself skipping ahead, and after about half the book, I eventually couldn't be bothered to read any more and abandoned the book. I'm sure if you like factual history, you'd enjoy this far more than me, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. Synopsis: Behind the seemingly innocuous façade of St Mary's, a different kind of historical research is taking place. They don't do 'time-travel' - they 'investigate major historical events in contemporary time'. Maintaining the appearance of harmless eccentrics is not always within their power - especially given their propensity for causing loud explosions when things get too quiet. Meet the disaster-magnets of St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around History. Their aim is to observe and document - to try and find the answers to many of History's unanswered questions...and not to die in the process. But one wrong move and History will fight back - to the death. And, as they soon discover - it's not just History they're fighting. Follow the catastrophe curve from eleventh-century London to World War I, and from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria. For wherever Historians go, chaos is sure to follow in their wake ... I've also read the following books in this series, but not including a synopsis in case there are spoilers for earlier books: A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor No Time Like The Past by Jodi Taylor What Could Possibly Go Wrong? by Jodi Taylor Review: I adored this series of books! I read all six within a couple of weeks, some straight after the previous books as I couldn't wait to get going with the next one. I'm the first to admit, I have little interest in history, and most straight forward historical novels leave me cold, but this series of books might just change all that. The time travelling historians visit well known and well documented times in history and bring them to life with their own experiences. I can't pick out one book above the others, as I've thoroughly enjoyed reading all of them, and they provide a roller coaster of a reading experience with a totally thrilling ride through human history, with a set of characters you come to love. I can not wait for the next book but it's not out until May!!! There are a selection of short stories I haven't read yet, so I'll probably dip into those to keep me going while waiting for book seven.

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. Synopsis: Irene must be at the top of her game or she'll be off the case - permanently. . . Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant Kai, she's posted to an alternative London. Their mission - to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book. Adding to the jeopardy, this world is chaos-infested - the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic. Irene's new assistant is also hiding secrets of his own. Soon, she's up to her eyebrows in a heady mix of danger, clues and secret societies. Yet failure is not an option - the nature of reality itself is at stake. Review: A mix of fantasy and history, I read this on holiday and remember sitting glued to my Kindle in a café as I couldn't face putting it down! It's got a hint of Jasper Fforde with the library which collects books from parallel societies, alongside the more fantastical supernatural creatures and the mystery of Irene's own history it adds up to a thrill of an adventure story with some unexpected twists and turns along the way. Good characters, and I loved that the mysteries that surrounded them were developed throughout the story, adding to the richness of the story. Most enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to getting the sequel which came out earlier this month, but need to read my Christmas books first!

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan. Synopsis: As dawn breaks over the Pont Neuf, and the cobbled alleyways of Paris come to life, Anna Trent is already awake and at work; mixing and stirring the finest, smoothest, richest chocolate; made entirely by hand, it is sold to the grandes dames of Paris. It's a huge shift from the chocolate factory she worked in at home in the north of England. But when an accident changed everything, Anna was thrown back in touch with her French teacher, Claire, who offered her the chance of a lifetime - to work in Paris with her former sweetheart, Thierry, a master chocolatier. With old wounds about to be uncovered and healed, Anna is set to discover more about real chocolate - and herself - than she ever dreamed. Review: I've been trying to catch up with Jenny Colgan's more recent novels, especially since she started setting them in foodie settings, and this one came up on offer when I was going on holiday, so it seemed like the perfect time to try it. To be honest I don't have much to say, for me, Colgan is one of the better romcom writers, and matching that with chocolate, cakes and bread suits me fine, and this one was no exception. I'm not sure I felt so immersed in Anna's story as I have with some of her other characters, but I was swept along in the romance of someone breaking away from their normal life they've been settling for, in order to follow a dream, and as always, I felt this was the stronger message than the actual love story with the man she meets. I always enjoy the romcoms where searching for a happier life and following your dreams is the main aim of the story, and the romance is secondary.

Right, in an effort to catch up, reviews to follow of books I've read over the last four months. Hope fully I haven't forgotten too much. Shakespeare on Toast: Getting a Taste for the Bard by Ben Crystal. Synopsis: Who's afraid of William Shakespeare? Just about everyone. He wrote too much and what he did write is inaccessible and elitist. Right? Wrong. "Shakespeare on Toast" knocks the stuffing from the staid old myth of Shakespeare, revealing the man and his plays for what they really are: modern, thrilling and uplifting drama. Actor and author Ben Crystal brings the bright words and colourful characters of the world's greatest hack writer brilliantly to life, handing over the key to Shakespeare's plays, unlocking the so called difficult bits and, astonishingly, finding Shakespeare's own voice amid the poetry. Told in five fascinating Acts, "Shakespeare on Toast" sweeps the cobwebs from the Bard - from his language, his life, his time - revealing both the man and his work to be relevant, accessible and full of beans. Review: I'm struggling to remember a lot about this book now, as it's been a good few months since I read it, however, what I do remember, is that after reading it, I finally know what iambic pentameter is and how Shakespeare used it! I know I enjoyed it at the time, and I know that I'll go back and revisit it again at some point, particularly if I ever decide to tackle an unknown (to me) Shakespeare play. Crystal tries to explain Shakespeare in the context of the Elizabethan era and how that would equate to today, and that makes for an interesting insight into his works.

Finished Beswitched. A great start to my Christmas reading

That's fantastic news, Michelle!

I was a very lucky girl and received lots of lovely books for Christmas. Demolition Dad by Phil Earle Sunshine on Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge The Winter Wedding by Abby Clements The Boy Who Drew The Future by Rhian Ivory Beswitched by Kate Saunders Puppy Academy: Scout and the Sausage Thief by Gill Lewis Puppy Academy: Star on Stormy Mountain by Gill Lewis The Sound of Whales by Kerr Thomson The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig Heartsong by Kevin Crossley-Holland and Jane Ray The Astounding Broccoli Boy by Frank Cotterell Boyce As You Wish by Cary Elwes I've been catching up with updating all my book lists this morning, and I'm almost up to date now. Now that Strictly is over, I'll have more time for my bookish activity, but I've realised just how far behind I am with my book reviews, so I think I might have to try and get some sorted this week, and try and catch up before the end of the year. Would love to have a nice clean start to the new year!

(Half) watching The Incredibles while I'm catching up on the forum

I really enjoyed the Christmas Special this year … I have to say, it was better without Bruce, who I know is recovering from surgery, but in his video message looked very old and I wonder if he'll be up to taking the mantle again in future? Tess and Claudia handled it brilliantly as they have all series. I loved most of the celebrities who returned (I adored Lisa Snowdon when she competed, and was especially happy to see her back), and enjoyed all the dances. I thought Harry and Joanne deserved to win, and I'd love to see her get a contender next year in the main competition to see more of what she can do with someone who can actually dance!

It's a pretty mild day here and at least it's dry!

Sounds like you had a lovely time Sabry. We had a fairly quiet day yesterday, a visit to my Dad in the morning, friends for coffee later on, then presents in the afternoon followed by our Christmas dinner. Smashing. Today is going to be a very lazy day. I'm planning to update all my book spreadsheets and lists, do some reading, eat far too much probably, and we'll be carrying on our annual mini games tournament (it's currently neck and neck, so all to play for ).

Watched Toy Story for the umpteenth time yesterday. Still as good as ever.

Received lots of lovely books for Christmas yesterday, and have started Beswitched by Kate Saunders. Am now going to update all my spreadsheets, databases and lists with all my presents and start preparing my book blog for next year.

We saw The Taming of the Shrew with Timothy Dalton and Vanessa Redgrave … it was incredible! It made all the difference at the time, as you could really feel how it should be delivered, making the reading of the play we were studying much easier.

You can see all of Jay's dances in one place on my website, if you like … his page is at http://www.ultimatestrictly.com/jay-mcguiness I'm really looking forward to the Christmas Special tomorrow. I loved Lisa Snowdon, so can't wait to see her dance with Pasha, and I'm also looking forward to seeing Harry dance with Jo too. I'm also looking forward to seeing Oti dance again … should be good to see her dance with a previous champion, even if it isn't one of my favourites.