lauraloves

Hi (waves ) Weve been so busy its crazy haha! Glamping is camping but glamorous I think! We stayed in a tent but it had a four poster bed inside and wooden floor with a log burner inside it was lovely! I'm most looking forward to moving as I can finally have all my books together in one place

So much for my keeping this updated - it was May the last time I logged in and now its August (rolls eyes!) Weve been so so busy with harvest the last couple of months that we havent really had time to stop and eat let alone do anything else! We did manage to sneak a couple of days away last month in amounst all the crazy though which was nice. We went glamping in the New Forest. Weve also decided to do a house swap with MIL and FIL so that we have the big farm bungalow and they have a smaller purpose build cottage. We are moving in in the next month and they are moving into a big caravan while we sort the financing out. They are moving out earlier as they spend the winter months in Portugal and then we get the nice warm house over the winter while the finances are all being sorted. I'll try and have a catch up on everyone elses threads too

Its been a month since I last had a chance to get on here but it only feels like a few days! We have been so busy with the farm we have just got our latest batch of pigs in and we are gearing up for harvest soon too. Its also been that fantastic time of year that all of last years paperwork needs to be go in order so I've been busy with that too. On top of that weve been busy getting all of the garden and polytunnel planted out too with all of the fruit and veg we need for the summer so thats kept me busy. My little one has also decided at the grand age of 18 months that he doesnt need to nap in the daytime anymore so where I'd normally have a couple of hours each day to keep up with the office work and the like I have to get it done while he is awake which doesnt always work well. I have despite all of the above managed to read a couple of books (and buy a good few more!) which hopefully I'll get around to writing down soon

Ah ok then - ill have a little read of more of the series and then try and get my hands on the prequel

He loved it when I read this one to him - brought back a lot of memories for me too Thanks Chrissy - I've added them both to my Amazon wishlist so next time I'm ordering books i'll get those for him too. I love the 'older' childrens books (if I can call them that!) I used to love a story called Smoke and Fluff and could 'read' this off to my mum from an early age - I'd made her read this to me so much I could remember it! Must ask her to see if she still has my copy! Oh I didn't know there was a prequel - not too sure how that would fit in with the story - I've only read the first so far though! Going to definitely read more in this series though!

Thank you I've had a notification from Amazon today to say it will be arriving today - so that's exciting hehe! I also ordered little one some classic childrens books too like The Very Hungry Caterpillar now hes taking a bit of interest in books

Great review of Neverwhere - I've just added it to my wishlist

13) Alex Rider Stormbreaker - Anthony Horowitz. Synopsis - In the first book in the number one bestselling Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, fourteen-year-old Alex is forcibly recruited into MI6. Armed with secret gadgets, he is sent to investigate Herod Sayle, a man who is offering state-of-the-art Stormbreaker computers to every school in the country. But the teenage spy soon finds himself in mortal danger. My Thoughts - This is a series that I wanted to read for a long time but I have held off a bit as I thought that it had quite high expectations of it and I wanted to like it. I need not have worried - I loved it. This book was brilliant it dragged you in from the start and I can see why it is so popular with the young adult - and not so young adult! - audience. I do wish I had read this as a teenager as I would have been about the right age to really love this. It was first published in 2000 and I would have been 10 then so I do wish I had come across it then but I enjoyed it a lot now. I self imposed a ban on buying a whole series before reading the first as I've been burnt many times before but this is the one time I wish I could have had the next book on the shelf ready to get straight into. Needless to say ive already ordered the next book from Amazon and I cant wait to start it. Rating - 5/5

I've finished Alex Rider Stormbreaker and I've started Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azcaban.

I decided to start reading Stormbreaker (Alex Rider) by Anthony Horowitz. Its a book (and a series!) I've been wanting to read for ages so pleased I've finally picked it up now!

12) A Daughters Secret - Eleanor Moran Synopsis - Mia is a high-flying child psychotherapist, hoping to be made partner in the thriving practice where she works. But then she takes on a case which will change her life for ever, and bring back the past she has done her best to bury. Thirteen year old Gemma was the last person to see her father before he went on the run, fleeing from a major criminal trial. The police are desperate to track him down, pressuring Mia to tease the information out of his angry and reluctant daughter. But what does Gemma really know and how hard can Mia push without betraying her? Both are hiding devastating secrets. Both need the other to survive. Will they learn to trust each other before it's too late? My Thoughts - I brought this book on the off chance as it sounded like a really good book however unfortunately it really didn't capture my imagination. I thought that the book would really get 'going' but unfortunately it just didn't. I thought that there would be more going on with the story with both the Mia character and also Gemma but it just didn't seem to go anywhere. I also couldn't keep up with the storyline as it kept jumping from one to the other and that was a bit difficult for me to follow aswell. Overall not an enjoyable read for me. Rating - 2/5

Thank you - I now have the problem of what to read first! I've actually heard that about this book so fingers crossed that its good I didn't realise that the author had written more than one book - oops! Bet I end up reading more then if its as good as everyone says Looking forward to it

I brought When Hitler Stole The Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr the other day - its been on my wishlist for years but ive finally got around to buying it

Heres my Birthday and Mothers Day (very late!) list of books I got! Denise Walsh - Starting Over (not a book I would have normally picked but it was a gift so I'll give it a go!) Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith The Shadow Hour - Kate Riordan The 100 - Kass Morgan Cinder - Marissa Meyer Inside Alcatraz - Jim Quillen Me Before You - Jojo Moyes Strictly Between Us - Jane Fallon Harry Potter The Creature Vault - J.K. Rowling

11) A Whole Lot of History - Kimberley Walsh Synopsis - In 2002 - along with Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding and Nicola Roberts - Kimberley Walsh won a place in the Popstars The Rivals band Girls Aloud, and her life changed forever. Ten years later, after six platinum albums, twenty top-ten singles, a Brit Award, an entry in the Guinness Book of Records and a triumphant sell-out reunion tour, the girls have decided to go their separate ways. What better time for Kimberley - a professional, hardworking businesswoman as well as a multi-talented actress and songstress - to tell her story. What was it like behind the scenes of a such a hugely successful band? Was there any truth in the rumours of endless feuds within Girls Aloud? How did she manage to maintain such a strong loving relationship with her partner Justin during the 10 years she was in the band? And how does it feel when your best friend becomes the most famous person in the land? Full of the warmth and laughter that makes Kimberley such a national treasure, with lots of insider secrets revealed too, this book is like curling up on the sofa for a gossip with a friend. There is lots still to come from the UK's favourite Northern lass. Just watch this space. My Thoughts - I'd brought this book a few years back on my kindle and as we went away for the weekend I took my Kindle as I'm trying to read the books on that when we go away. I was always a fan of Girls Aloud in the early days however I did kind of 'outgrow' them towards the end of the band. This book was ok - a typical celebrity autobiography which is something I do read a bit. I didn't really know much about what she had done in her early life before Girls Aloud so that was quite interesting. I also didn't know about the rifts in the band at the time so that was quite interesting too. It was an ok book - not one I'd read again but having read it I did enjoy it. Rating - 3/5

Thank you - I've finally got some antibiotics that seem to be working and I've also finally got a referral for some scans so fingers crossed things are in motion again. My reading mojo seems to be returning too so that's good too

Happy Easter everyone Lazy day here for us - little one has had a few chocolate eggs now I need the willpower not to pick at them haha!

I've just realised its been a couple of weeks since I've been on here. Ive been so busy with work its unreal, little one has hit the terrible twos early, weve had a mini break for my birthday and I've unfortunatly been really rather unwell again On the plus side I've finally got a referal from the Dr's for further tests but the best news is that I have a whole load of new books I need to put them all together so I can take a photo and sort them out properly but I think I've ended up with about 10 new books

I only found the blog around 6 months ago and I wish id had found this too while my little one was a newborn too - would have been much more useful that the advice that I'd got from drs/health visitors etc! If you get a chance to grab this then do - its fantastic! I'm hoping she carries on writing the books as her boys grow as it will fascinating to see if I'm still feeling the same as she does. My boy is around the same age as her youngest so it was nice to feel normal while reading this book!

10)Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J. K. Rowling Synopsis - Harry Potter's summer has included the worst birthday ever, doomy warnings from a house-elf called Dobby, and rescue from the Dursleys by his friend Ron Weasley in a magical flying car! Back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his second year, Harry hears strange whispers echo through empty corridors - and then the attacks start. Students are found as though turned to stone . Dobby's sinister predictions seem to be coming true. My Thoughts - I'm continuing my re-read of the Harry Potter series and while this is my least favourite Harry Potter book I still do really enjoy it. I'm not sure why its my least favourite - maybe the others are really good - or maybe its because this book features spiders quite heavily (shudders!) but its still a very good book. This is the start of where Harry started to learn about the history of Lord Voldemort and his relationships with a lot of the other characters are started to be made. I also really can't stand the character of Lockhart and I thought he came across quite true to the book in the film. I can't wait to start reading the next in the series as its my overall favourite of all the books! Rating - 5/5

I've just finished Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets not too sure what I'm going to start next - choices choices!

It's such a brilliant book - defiantly going to be going back for re reads of this one

9) The Unmumsy Mum by Sarah Turner Synopsis - The Unmumsy Mum writes candidly about motherhood like it really is: the messy, maddening, hilarious reality, how there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach and how it is sometimes absolutely fine to not know what you are doing. The lessons she's learnt while grappling with two small boys – from birth to teething, 3am night feeds to toddler tantrums, soft play to toilet training – will have you roaring with laughter and taking great comfort in the fact that it's definitely not just you... My Thoughts - Wow I love love loved this book! Its a book from the blogger The Unmumsy Mum - who I love! Who talks about being a mum and all the highs and lows that come with it. Normal parenting books focus on the lovely glossy side of parenting the cuddles kisses etc but this one focuses on what its actually like. For example fact that no matter what you do you hate baby group, sometimes you can't wait for the little darling to go to sleep (then you spend the whole time wishing they were awake). It was just a real refreshing book to read and know that you are not alone and the fact you hide in the bathroom for five minutes to try and save your sanity on a bad day is normal. This book is a must read for all mums - I wish it had been published a year ago when little one was a bit smaller as I think it would have got rid of an awful lot of the mum guilt I had. Rating - 5/5

Its amazing how much you miss in the films - when I'm reading them its like visiting an old friend so its nice to get back into them Hope your feeling a little better too

I'm having a nice and quiet weekend this weekend with just me and the little one as OH is working so hopefully it will be nice just us two