France

I found this pretty slow so it's been relinquished to the 'I might pick this up sometime and finish it, but not yet' pile. Not so slow that it went into the charity pile though.

A very quick round up of just some of what I've read since last clocking in properly: Gabriel's Moon by William Boyd is vintage Boyd, this story about a reluctant spy in the early 1960s iss an absolute gem. Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton Chloe Dalton found a very young leveret and raised it without much hope it would survive. It did and I found the book fascinating, in particular because she took great care to raise Hare as a wild animal in great contrast to my own family where my mother raised a badger from a few hours old who most definitely became a house badger and a pet. Sadly it seems from the ending that The Shadows of Men by Abir Mukherjee is going to be the last in the series, this one was just s good as the previous ones We Solve Murders by Richard Osman is sadly just not as good as his his Thursday Murder Club books but still readable. Out of Time by Jodi Taylor is the sixth in her Time Police series and like the rest very funny. The Last Word by Elly Griffiths is frankly unmemorable. For all those who were worried about Ben Aaronovitch running out of steam, the good news is that in Stone and Sky, Peter Grant's latest outing; he most definitely hasn't.

Just a few ideas: Mick Herron - both series Anne Cleeves Robert Galbraith Abir Mukherjee Peter Lovesey Chris Hammer Peter James

I read this about 15 years ago and remember it as being superb. I don't know why I always have to be prodded to read Maugham because I love his writing when I do.

Can I suggest Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton (which I read before this topic started). It's a wonderful account of how the author found a very young leveret and raised it, always aware that it was a wild animal and should not be a pet. It's one of those books that stays with you.

For very young ones Goodnight Moon and Each Peach Pear Plum - I second the Spot books, small children adore them. Peace at Last by Jill Murphy was a huge success with my grandson at a year old and also The Tiger Who Came to Tea

That was the book that made me realise that books didn't just tell stories, they took you to somewhere totally magical.

Definitely not! I've always loathed clowns and don't want even more reasons to!

If you enjoy them (not everyone does, but I did), they're addictive. The TV series is excellent too, it doesn't stick that closely to the books but near enough and the pacing is wonderful.

I'm sure once you've washed and blocked it most of the mistakes will disappear. Mine always do and I have loads.

So did I

Tell us some of the books you've enjoyed.

That's such good news! I thought Lonesome Dove was wonderful and have been reluctant to read any of the sequals in case they fell short and destroyed some of the magic.

Young Woman and the Sea by Glenn Strout is a book club read and getting surprise gems like this occasionally is why I keep going . It's the story of the first woman to swim the Channel a remarkable natural athlete called Trudy Eberle, why the Channel is still so difficult to swim, the history of swimming, women becoming accepted in some sports, the shennanigans around Trudy's attempts and more, lots of themes wound together into a fascinating piece of narrative non-fiction. I absolutely loved it and recommend it highly.

I've read a few of Liz Fenwick's books and thoroughly enjoyed the first one then gradually became less and less interested as I read more. I think maybe because they were a bit samey and, as you said, an OK read (but nothing special) so no impetus to get more of her books.

I can't remember either! I must be getting old (I AM getting old). I didn't go to school until I was 11 and then it was an all girls boarding school. I have a feeling we might have done Heart of Darkness for O level but I can't remember finishing it and there was something about hauling a cannon across Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. We had Richard II as our Shakespeare which I loved.

Oh brilliant! That's terrific news.

Yes, but there's nothing like a waterproof Kindle for reading in the bath!

What a cow! And I agree with Poppy, see if you can get a different HV or if you can't, just ignore her. If she really thought there was a danger of you allowing Ollie to snack on screws and computer parts she could have least waited until he was old enough to reach and grab. I've got three girls 2 1/2 years apart from each other so by the time no 3 came long I was feeding her, reading to no 2, then listening to reading practice from no 1. Your health visitor would have had a fit at the state of the house!

I liked this one a lot.

I got adept at supporting the baby with one arm and hand while she was feeding and holding the book with the other. Even easier these days with a Kindle. However when the next ones arrived it was no longer possible apart from night feeds as whenever I picked up a book another (usually My First Big Ladybird Book) wou!d be dumped in my lap with an imperious command to read! And don't worry about not getting things done. A health visitor told me se aways worried when she saw a new mother with an impeccably tidy house because either they weren't spending enough time with the baby or on themselves.

Wishing you all the best. Eye operations seem to have the most amazing rejuvenating effects, must be something to do with regaining vision you haven't had for ages, even years though when I asked my mother about having her cataracts removed she said it was awful! 'I haven't been able to see myself properly in the mirror for five years and now I can. I've got so old!" She was 89.

Our blackberry season is about to start (providing we get some rain ) and I'll be making blackberry icecream which is something you really don't get in the shops.

I suspect that the accusations have been going around for some time but people either didn't want to believe them or decided that they could be brushed under the carpet. And of course the paper had to be absolutely certain that they had all their facts before they published anything.

And actually Bruce was not a descendent of the family since he was the result of an affair so why was he left the house? Yes full of annoying things but it was still a very readable story.