poppyshake

Very handsome looking book collection Steve Have you had to cull any to make room? Is the charity shop going to benefit from your rearrangements?

Happy New Year Gorgeous and Happy Reading! You are the Queen of lists they are just phenomenal I am already scribbling down titles

Well yes .. that may be best .. I wouldn't want you to get a criminal record because of me

Yes it does mean that ... and it's not difficult to imagine Kate as being 'away with the fairies' as she's not necessarily a conventional thinker .. especially in song. Danny just played up to the impression everyone had that Kate was a little bit (and in the nicest possible way) nuts Re: Michael .. I'll put it in spoilers

I reckon it would be brilliant as an audiobook Claire .. I imagine Danny reads it which is perfect. You get lots of piccies though so my advice (this is what I do and .. though it is a little bit naughty .. I don't think it's been officially listed as a crime yet ) is to check out the pics afterwards in Waterstone's/Mr B's

Happy New Year and Happy Reading in 2014 Oosh! Glad you enjoyed The Secret History .. it's fab isn't it?

Happy New Year Anna and Happy Reading! I'd second what Oosh says about We Need to Talk About Kevin .. it's not my sort of read normally but it was on a holiday cottage bookshelf and I'd run out of my own reads. From page one I was totally gripped .. though I do believe I squinted through some of the more graphic stuff Also absolutely loved The Poisonwood Bible

Brilliant article in The Guardian .. thanks for linking to it Kylie (goodness .. a ballet version of Lord of the Flies .. the mind boggles ) Definitely looking forward to Ransom Riggs' Hollow City .. loved MPHFPC and also Paul Murray's The Mark and the Void (Skippy Dies was just brilliant.) The Moomins are a 100! I must read them this year

My TBR is made up of several library acquisitions bought 10 for a £1 .. it's too good a deal to turn down Hope you enjoy reading them Marie Started Sisters By a River by Barbara Comyns ... going well so far though the spelling is atrocious (haha .. I had to look atrocious up ) I'm not sure if it's supposed to be or whether the writer just couldn't spell for toffee (actually she probably couldn't spell 'for toffee' .. it seems to be all the simple words she gets wrong and then she's fine with words like 'alabaster' .. maybe she Googled more complicated words .. or did the 1947 equivalent of Googling anyway )

Yes .. I read it a while back and I'm sad to say *look away now Ben* that it doesn't get any better .. in fact it gets even more ridiculous. Don't let that put you off of the Adrian Mole books though which are brilliant (or the early ones are anyway .. I'm not up to date.) You will definitely be laughing out loud with them

You will .. you are just about the most organised and well disciplined person I know I seem to regard my TBR with the same suspicion as I regard Carter Beats the Devil

Lord!! .. I've just tapped and unwrapped a chocolate orange

Review of Danny Baker's Going to Sea in a Sieve

Thanks LP We are all being positively abstemious in our book buying There are at least a hundred books I want to own/read/lick so to have only bought six so far is truly virtuous. People will be shocked when I write and tell them that I haven't bought books with their Christmas money (and I won't be able to get away with that old photocopied letter either ) .. a lot of them think that reading books is a humongous waste of time and so will be extremely proud of me for not squandering their money. They may even send more next time (haha .. I'll definitely be back on the books by then )

Going to Sea in a Sieve by Danny Baker Amazon's Synopsis: Danny Baker is one of the most recognisable voices on British radio. Working as writer, presenter and broadcaster he has seen, as an insider, much of what has come to pass in British popular culture both in music and TV for over 30 years. Now, Danny tells his own story. Born in 1957 to a boisterous working-class family in Deptford and leaving comprehensive school at fourteen he traded a rich, if hard-edged, upbringing for an almost immediate, if accidental, life in London's (very) fast lane. In Going to Sea in a Sieve, the first volume of his memoirs, Danny explosively and honestly recalls the extraordinary roots of his long career. From the lie of being David Essex's brother and the myth that he killed Bob Marley, to real-life dealings with Marc Bolan, The Clash, John Lennon, Elton John, Tommy Cooper, Spike Milligan and, most famously, Michael Jackson. Danny Baker's autobiography is a wild and wildly funny take on the collision between an incident-packed British childhood and a wild rock-and-roll youth. By the time his life in TV comes along, the Deptford boy had well and truly been around the block. Review: Anyone who knows Danny from his radio show or TV appearances pretty much will know what to expect here. I must admit to not being particularly a fan usually (though I haven't heard his radio show) ... he talks a million miles a minute and sometimes bores me in the detail. However, my niece had recommended it (and also bought it for me for Christmas) and we usually like the same sort of biographies plus there was a very positive comment on the blurb by Caitlin Moran ... and if she is finding it funny then I know I probably will. I did ... he is an absolutely brilliant storyteller. Some of it has possibly been embroidered (I feel he gave this away somewhat by admitting to being a terrible fibber in the past .. like pretending to be David Essex's brother to enjoy the associated perks and also, claiming, or rather not denying, that he inadvertently killed Bob Marley ) One thing he is keen to point out is that there's no misery here (unless you count his Mum putting the exclusive silk shirt given to him .. when still warm .. by Marc Bolan after Danny complimented him on it .. in the washing machine ) Danny had a brilliant childhood and .. so far in the story anyway .. a brilliant adolescence. He seemed to get on with everybody and has always been popular. He's not bragging .. he just sees no need to claim otherwise but it is a little bit wearing after a while. Only a bit though because, for the most part, it is as vibrant and gossipy as you would want and expect. Any fan of music, especially music from the late 1970's will love it. Imagine working in a London record store .. sometimes alongside Elton John and also touring with the likes of Ian Dury and the Blockheads? There's so many anecdotes here that your head spins with them .. all very amusingly told too. Possibly though .. if you're a Queen fan .. this isn't the read for you. Danny clearly isn't and he's pretty scathing about them and they don't come over very well here His early childhood is brilliantly recollected too .. the whole family are hilarious rogues. Most of it is really funny but his recollections of meeting Michael Jackson when interviewing him for the NME (or 'what was left of the real Michael Jackson' as Danny puts it) were very thought provoking and came as close as anything I've ever read to explaining, or giving some insight anyway, into Michael's situation. I cannot forgive him however for turning over Kate Bush He was a new writer for NME then and thought the interview needed oomphing up a bit and therefore made Kate sound even more away with the fairies than she really was (when in actuality they'd been having a grand old time reminiscing about Lewisham) ... no wonder Kate avoids journalists. Very easy to read and highly entertaining. This is Vol 1 .. can't wait for the rest 4/5

Both of those collections look great, I think they've got all the ones I'd recommend. The Great Expectations I really liked was a bit earlier than the Gillian Anderson one (though I liked that too) .. Ioan Gruffudd plays Pip .. it looks to be on one of those collections. The ones I'd recommend are: Martin Chuzzlewit (Paul Schofield, Tom Wilkinson) Our Mutual Friend (Keeley Hawes, Paul McGann) David Copperfield (Maggie Smith, Daniel Radcliffe) Great Expectations (Ioan Gruffudd, Charlotte Rampling) Bleak House (Gillian Anderson, Dennis Lawson) Little Dorrit (Claire Foy, Tom Courtenay) I'm not sure about Nicholas Nickleby ... the one with Gregor Fisher and Charles Dance in is probably the best one I've seen but I think I've yet to see the definitive NN. There's a really old b&w Pickwick Papers (James Hayter) which is a joy (actually I think they've colourised it now .. I saw it over the holidays on TV) and the old A Tale of Two Cities (Dirk Bogarde) is good too (though I wish they would make a new version.) There looks to be a version of A Christmas Carol with Michael Horden in it according to those boxsets. Ooh!! .. I haven't seen that one Truly don't worry about The War of the Worlds .. we're in no hurry at all

There's a dog in it .. so we're halfway there It's got toast in it too .. which I know is only a recommendation to me but still .. three mentions if I remember correctly I wasn't the only one to like it but quite a few people didn't

With Dickens I think it's often worth doing. The books are so detailed that it's still a joy to come to them after seeing a dramatisation as there's so much more back story etc and a much more extensive cast of characters. I did that with both Martin Chuzzlewit and Our Mutual Friend and I'm glad I did because I might have been a bit bamboozled otherwise. Possibly with Great Expectations or David Copperfield (or Nicholas Nickleby) it's not necessary but they have all had great adaptations. I've got quite a few of them if you want to borrow them (why don't I live around the corner Janet .. I'd so love to watch them with you ) Willoyd will be here in a minute telling you not to watch them at any price

Yep I blubbed too at A Monster Calls ... it would be pretty hard not to I think. Enjoy your new books Hayley .... new books AND a spa visit ... lucky, lucky you (I trust that you're all mellowed out now and that any leftover Christmas stress has been pampered away )

Alan is recommending that frankie DOES read it .. and I'm recommending that she DOESN'T .. I seem to be winning at the moment though I won't take offence if it goes the other way Ooh the Incredibly Tough Books for Extreme Readers list .. that's a fearsome grizzly bear of a list!

Thanks Chrissy You too xx You're very welcome Diane .. I'll keep the teapot warmed for you Thanks Gaia I finished my first book of 2014 today .. always a relief to get the first one under your belt and to cross something off the TBR .. it's an encouragement anyway. However I did cave in and order a few books from Amazon Only four though which is far, far, less than usual at this time of year with money burning a hole in my pocket. Have decided to do something fairly practical with the rest of the money .. like buy a much needed chest of drawers or a bookshelf or something. Books ordered are: Kilvert's Diary - Francis Kilvert (edited by William Plomer) - Read an extract in Round the Christmas Fire and really enjoyed it .. then I saw the cover (not that that had any bearing whatsoever ) On the Black Hill - Bruce Chatwin - Heard great things about it and it's part of the County Challenge. The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag - Alan Bradley - Really enjoyed the first of this series (Flavia de Luce) and bought another this week but found I had got the third instead of the second ... this then was an essential buy. Shakespeare on Toast: Getting a Taste for the Bard - Ben Crystal - Yes, of course it was the title ... there was no way I wasn't getting this once I saw it. I believe I do have a taste for the bard already but this will egg me on (haha) plus there's a pic of Shakespeare ON TOAST on the cover ... genius!

In line with my love of all things vintage .. I've been listening to The Puppini Sisters (in particular their Christmas stuff.) Came across this one and didn't believe it could possibly work .. somehow it does though http://youtu.be/NgGfIy53fI4

Trying to learn to crochet .. forgot I am too old and too dense to learn a new skill. Claire promises to rescue me if it all gets too much

To be fair, Steve's keeping all the bookshops going for when we're all ready to dip into our purses again .. somebody's got to keep them afloat I actually bought two books today myself .. it's just two seems such a small number as to be almost not worth mentioning

What a beauty ... you're really going to enjoy reading that this year (how many sleeps now Janet? ) Shame about the weather .. it's been beautiful today but it's so unpredictable at the moment Re: Dickens. I don't think you can go far wrong by choosing any of them .. perhaps not Barnaby Rudge .. and maybe not The Old Curiosity Shop but any of the others (I'm guessing .. I've only read seven of them but have heard most of them though some were abridged.) Great Expectations, Bleak House, David Copperfield and The Tale of Two Cities are my faves though