Hayley

That's an interesting idea! I'm not sure I'd have the patience to actually wait though, I might end up sneaking a look at the next chapter This is going to be a bit rushed because I'm not going to be at home for the rest of the week and I have loads to sort out but, before I forget what I wanted to say about it: The Brothers Grimm Selected Tales - Historically Interesting There is one thing I absolutely love this book for and that is, despite the saying, the cover. It's one of the penguin hardcover classics (bought for me by my wonderful sister who understands my love of pretty books ) which is a very dark pink embossed in gold with lovely quotes on the front and back. For the way it looks, I would absolutely recommend it for any shelf. As far as the content goes I was impressed with the variety of stories they included. As I said earlier in the thread there are 57 in total, including a few variations on the same concept. So, for example, there are at least 3 which are identifiable as the Cinderella story we all know, but with different twists. I thought that was really interesting. On the other hand, if you weren't looking at them as an interesting part of literary history, I'm not sure you'd want to read them just as good stories. For either adults or children. There is a lot of unnecessary violence, multiple moments that are clearly racist and sexual equality is just non existent. So if you're interested in the history of the fairy tale or Victorian literature then it's a really interesting read but, if not, probably avoid it. I went to Astley book farm yesterday and sold quite a few books, including some I haven't read yet! Part of me really didn't want to, I like to at least try everything on my shelf, but I decided it was stupid to clutter my shelves with books I was avoiding reading, and there are things coming up I could really do with saving some money for. I'll update my shelf list on here once I have this week out of the way! I also had a book voucher I hadn't used and I managed to find the next two Dresden Files books (Grave Peril and Summer Knight) as well as two Joe Abercrombie books I wanted (Best Served Cold and Red Country). I couldn't resist starting Grave Peril last night so that's my next read

I've only read The Woman in White but I would recommend it

Yay an official UK publication date! 3rd November 2016, not long to wait now

A Tale of Two Cities A Christmas Carol and a couple of the other Christmas books Oliver Twist Hard Times Dombey and Son Little Dorrit Great Expectations David Copperfield My favourite is probably David Copperfield, I think it has the best characters, and there's a good film of it too What did you think of Nicholas Nickleby? I've had it on my shelf for a while, I just never get round to reading it!

Thanks both of you, it's good to hear the next one is going to be good too, I'm particularly looking forward to the dodo hunt now! I've been thinking about my spoiler and I think maybe... I honestly think A Tale of Two Cities is the heaviest book by Dickens I've read! Even though it's a lot shorter than some of the others it seemed more dense and the writing was definitely not as light-hearted as it is in others. I suppose it was fitting though, when the subject was so sad. Which ones have you read already? I think I'm going to try The Old Curiosity Shop next

Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor - Crazy Historical Fun This book has that same fun madness that The Eyre Affair had, only this time it's with history as the subject, rather than literature. It's very fast paced, there's always something new happening, a new time period to explore or a new twist in the plot. This does add to the madness, but it fits. Like Madeleine said above, it's a good escapist read. I found it hard sometimes to really get some of the characters. It wasn't a big problem overall but sometimes it felt like they acted out of character. But anyway, it was a fun read and I'm looking forward to seeing what time periods they'll travel to in the next book I've started reading The Brothers Grimm Selected Tales that my sister bought for me. There are 57 stories in it but they're all obviously quite short so I should be able to review it soon

Thanks Chesil, I've only read a few pages so far but I have high hopes for it That sounds like just what I want at the moment! A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - Emotional but slow moving I've heard a few times that this is Dickens' worst book and I have to say, it wasn't my favourite but it is still a good book. There are definitely times when it seems to be moving very slowly, far more than in any other Dickens book I've read. As it moves towards to second half of the book however the pace does pick up. I thought there were a couple of characters that fell a bit flat, although they had multiple appearances, I just didn't care about them, they didn't have any depth, but then there were others that absolutely balanced that out, making you really hate them or feel heartbroken for them. I've never read a book set during the French Revolution before and I really expected Dickens to completely take the view of the working class but there was an interesting balance in the suggestion of who is right and wrong. You can really see Dickens' belief in the importance of the individual as you feel your sympathy shifting from the starving man to the brutally murdered young woman who has done nothing personally but be born into the wrong class. It's definitely thought provoking, I liked that about it.

No problem, I'm glad it was of some use . Do keep us updated on your progress, I hope you find it!

Great mini reviews I'm glad to see your two highest rated are The Essex Serpent and The Wind in the Willows as both are on my "to read" list!

I have a couple of updates because I've been on holiday. I'm still reading A Tale of Two Cities but since my copy of that book is a really pretty edition I was reluctant to bring it to the beach or out in the heat (I left a book out in the sun once and all the pages fell out - lesson learned!) so I read the other two books I had with me first while I was there. Which were: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany - Nostalgic I did enjoy reading this script but if I'm honest it was enjoyable for the novelty rather than the quality. I started reading the Harry Potter books when I was about 10 so I really grew up with them and I did love them. This play takes you back into that world, with all the familiar characters and for that reason it's fun to read. On the other hand the plot is really not very original, the behaviour of some of the characters feels a bit odd at times and it relies very VERY heavily on references to the previous books. One of my first thoughts when I put it down was, I can see why it wasn't written as a novel, it wouldn't have worked. Bellman and Black: A Ghost Story by Diane Setterfield - If Ghosts were Memories This book was one of those that was nothing like I expected. For a start, I thought it was going to be a ghost story and it really isn't. From the blurb and the cover I understood that it was going to be a book about a boy who kills a rook, the opening of the first mourning emporium and ghosts. Based on this I expected it to be quite fast paced, maybe a little dark and scary but it's not that kind of book at all. When I was half way through and there was still no mention of a mourning emporium I started to get a bit annoyed with it. It seemed to just be the story of the life of a man who's very good at business. I think I was probably 3/4 of the way in before I realised I was reading it wrong. What this book actually is is quite a deeply metaphorical story about memory and how it defines us. I was actually going to give this book two stars on goodreads after I finished it but then I decided that would be harsh because, if I had known what kind of book it was and had been reading it without the expectation of something that was never going to happen, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. It's actually a very clever concept and well written. It merges so many themes together under the theme of memory; light, sound, colour, death, mythology. I would recommend reading it as a thought provoking book but not if you mind there being little action. September is going to be a fairly stressful work month so I'm just going to be squashing in reading whenever I can. I'm over half way through A Tale of Two Cities though so I'm hoping to finish that soon and then maybe start Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

I know I'm a bit late but I loved The Black Magician Trilogy and had no idea there was a prequel or that The Traitor Spy Trilogy was set in the same world (although I have seen them in shops I just assumed they were unrelated because they're a different trilogy!) I'm going to look at them now, thank you Athena I hope you enjoy your new books too!

There was!? Clunky doesn't sound good but I'll have a look at it anyway I'm glad to hear there's a good mix in The Mistletoe Bride, I wasn't really expecting that, especially not humour! Wow I didn't know it was free on there! I hope you like it. I've never heard of D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, I'll have to look it up

I haven't read a vast amount of Poe's work but I was impressed by what I have read, particularly his "detective fiction". I think maybe you have to consider it in it's historical context and in terms of how innovative his style was to really see the value of it. I don't think any of his horror is going to terrify any modern reader but it's certainly atmospheric. I'm not sure about having a drink with him though... knowing some of the scenarios that mind thought up I think I'd just like to view it from a safe distance

Well I'm glad to hear you both think it's worth reading I bought The Mistletoe Bride and Other Haunting Tales by Kate Mosse a few days ago too and I'm looking forward to trying that but I feel like maybe I should wait until winter! I'm enjoying A Tale of Two Cities but my sister is reading The Cursed Child at the moment and keeps making shocked noises like "No! Really?" so I think I'm going to have to read that next to find out what's going on

Hi, I've just had a look to see if I could find anything that might be useful to you and came across this page talking about an artist named AE Taylor being commissioned by Esso (then Pratts) for these maps. Do any of them look like the map you're looking for? http://www.petrolmaps.co.uk/essomaps/pratpict.htm If not then I at least hope that gives you another lead. Good luck with your search

I agree, I loved Labyrinth! Have you read Citadel? I have that on my shelf too but it sounds quite different to the other two.

Sepulchre by Kate Mosse - Enjoyable, but with a "but" It's hard to review this book because it was a slightly bumpy read. I started off really liking it, then some things started to bother me a bit, then it got good again, then I wasn't sure I liked where the story was going, then it had me gripped again. I did enjoy it, I gave it four stars on goodreads which was my immediate reaction after I finished it. The book swaps between two time periods, which become increasingly interconnected (a style I have enjoyed before) and to be honest I think the problem was that I loved the older parts, but didn't really connect as well with the modern day sections. This is probably to do with the main characters of both sections. In 1891 we have Leonie, who's young, strong minded, stubborn, intelligent and curious. In 2007 we have Meredith, who manages to have a glass of wine with every meal and order cocktails at her hotel every evening even though she's meant to have no money. Aside from that slightly odd feature though I just didn't feel like Meredith had much depth. The only times her story was interesting was when it was focused on Leonie. Luckily though, that happens a lot and even if Meredith's story seemed a bit flat, Leonie's is mysterious and emotional enough to make up for it. I really couldn't decide what I felt like reading next. Earlier I picked up the 'Brother's Grimm Selected Tales' my sister bought for my birthday but now I'm thinking A Tale of Two Cities. It's a book I've read chunks of in the past but never just sat and read all the way through. Hoping to pick up my reading pace a bit now I don't have quite as much wok to get finished. I am 14 books behind target according to goodreads

It's interesting reading everyone's answers to these. I can't believe how many book cases some of you have! A — Author You’ve Read The Most Books From: Terry Pratchett B — Best Sequel Ever: Not sure. Maybe The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe C — Currently Reading: I'm still deciding what to read next but I'm thinking possibly 'The Brothers Grimm Selected Tales' D — Drink of Choice While Reading: Tea E — E-Reader or Physical Book?: Physical Book F — Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Dated in High School: No idea G — Glad You Gave this Book a Chance: A few actually from my book bundle challenge - probably 'Rivers of London' most of all. H — Hidden Gem Book: 'The Eyre Affair' - I don't know how I didn't try it sooner! I — Important Moment in Your Reading Life: Being taken to the library for the first time by my Granddad J — Just Finished: Sepulchre by Kate Mosse K – Kinds of Books You Won’t Read?: Chick lit / Romance L – Longest Book You’ve Read: I have no idea! M — Major Book Hangover: I'm sure this has happened lots of times but felt pretty lost after Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman! N — Number of Bookshelves You Own: I have two book cases and two shelves on my wall - all my other books are in boxes under my bed! O — One Book You’ve Read Multiple Times: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland P — Preferred Place to Read: Bed because I like putting lots of pillows behind me Q — Quote that Inspires You and Gives You All the Feels: 'Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe n magic will never find it.' - Roald Dahl (It was printed at the front of the Roald Dahl anthology someone bought for me when I was little and was probably the first quote that really stuck in my head) R — Reading Regret: Not reading more S — Series You’ve Started and Need to Finish: The Rivers of London series - the next one can't come quickly enough! T — Three of Your All Time Favorite Books: It's so hard to pick favourites! Maybe 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens, 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll and 'The Wee Free Men' by Terry Pratchett. U – Unapologetic Fangirl/boy for: Books in general but for a single person it has to be Terry Pratchett V — Very Excited for this Release More than Anything: I feel like I'm repeating myself now but I'm really looking forward to 'The Hanging Tree' - the next Rivers of London novel. W — Worst Bookish Habit Buying faster than I can read! X — X Marks the Spot – Start at the top of your shelf and pick the 27th book off it: Based on the shelf that's in front of me at the moment, 'The Heroes' by Joe Abercrombie Y — Your Latest Book Purchase: I bought four books from a charity shop - Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield The Mistletoe Bride and Other Haunting Tales by Kate Mosse The Resurrectionist by James Bradley The Shakespeare Curse by J.L. Carrell (the sequel to a book I own and didn't know it had a sequel) Z — The Zzzzzzzzzzzzz Snatcher Book (Book That Kept You From Sleeping) This happens to me all the time . Recently the worst one was 'A Fever of the Blood' by Oscar de Muriel

It sounds like a really good dream - I went to library, there was a surprise sale and then they gave me a free book! - why can't that ever happen to me? Hope you enjoy all your new books

I've never used a hoop but I think I remember reading somewhere that you can turn your design face down and iron the back to get the crease from it out. I'd like to get back to cross stitching, I found it really relaxing when I did it before. What pattern did you get? I always look at the ones in Hobbycraft when I go with my sister but some of them look a bit complicated!

Thank you Erm... they may have already been full when I posted last In my defence though I didn't buy two shelves full of new books - it just means that now all the books that were in random places around my room have a home I have a couple of reviews to do at once today but they're only for short books so I'll keep them short too! How the Marquis Got his Coat Back by Neil Gaiman - Tantalising In Neverwhere Gaiman created a fantastical world that you really want to explore. This book gives you the chance to do that. You get to find out more about some of the Neverwhere characters, meet some new characters and explore some different parts of London Below. It's just so short! It's like a teaser for how brilliant a full sequel could be. It's still definitely worth reading but it's made me really hope there's more still to come from the Neverwhere world. The Portent by George MacDonald - Uniquely Haunting but Strangely Vague This was a bit of a random read. I put it on my phone because I wanted to check something work-related about it and ended up reading the whole book (it's only very short). I like George MacDonald but his other adult novels I've read have been quite dense and complex, whereas this short story isn't at all. It's hard to summarise without giving anything away. It has a lot going on. It has a romance at its heart but is more about the supernatural (and I suspect traditionally Scottish tales of the supernatural but I don't know enough about the subject to say for certain). My criticism would be that it has too much going on for the length of it. There are some really interesting events that seem like they're going to be really important but they don't seem to have really gone anywhere by the end. It's interesting and entertaining but it's not the best I've read from MacDonald. Since the last two books I've read have been new I thought I'd pick out one that's been on my shelf for a while and decided on Sepulchre by Kate Mosse. I've only read about 50 pages but it seems good so far

Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Pretty Mythology I saw this book behind the counter in an oxfam book shop a while ago and bought it even though I had no idea what it was about because I'd enjoyed The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne, I like Victorian things and it was really really pretty . The edition is a hardback from 1914 (the book was originally published in 1853) and it turned out it's a book of popular Greek mythology adapted for children, which I was very pleased about because I always liked mythology! The 'pretty' in my title refers to the stories themselves as well as the cover. They're told a bit like myths crossed with fairy tales. Obviously, being for children, a lot of the gruesome and tragic aspects of the myths have been removed. Hawthorne also made all the protagonists either children or very young people who have only just passed childhood. For those reasons it's definitely not a good idea to take these as a guide to Greek mythology. On the other hand, it was really interesting and fun to read alternative versions of the stories I already knew (or at least had aspects of myths I knew of) and also to see how these stories were being presented to Victorian children. For example, among the Argonauts on their quest for the golden fleece is 'a beautiful young woman, named Atlanta, who had been nursed among the mountains by a bear [...] she had grown up in a very wild way, and talked much about the rights of women, and loved hunting and war better than her needle.' There are a lot of Victorian children's stories that are just purely moral tales of bad children getting lost or eaten or other terrible things so it was nice to imagine a little girl hearing about the wild female warrior who goes on adventures and promotes women's rights . They were an interesting, easy and pretty read anyway and I'm glad I picked it up I had a voucher for amazon which I was going to use to buy some bookends (because I have 2 new shelves! ) but I found some very pretty ones that didn't use all of the voucher so I also bought How the Marquis Got his Coat Back and Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. One of my best book buying excuses . So I think it's back to Neil Gaiman for me now!

Hi I really like Arthur Conan Doyle too and definitely want to get round to reading all his novels and short stories! Which is your favourite by him so far? Do you like fiction about Hollywood and movie stars? Because I read a book last year, 'Beautiful Ruins' by Jess Walter, that I think someone with an interest in those subjects would really like.

I just saw A Gathering of Shadows on a list for the ten best science fiction and fantasy books of 2016 so far I definitely want to try A Darker Shade of Magic. The boundary between adult and young adult really is very confusing. It's a shame too because I think it categorises books in a way that could deter potential readers from books they would really enjoy.

I don't think anyone can eat a whole stick of rock, I have no idea why they make them that big! You're probably right about ploughman's being an all year thing, you do always see it on pub menus, I don't actually eat them because I don't really like pickle but my mom likes them in the summer so I suppose I just associate them with that time of year What were they thinking!?