Abcinthia

I'll probably read the book at some point then because I'm enjoying the TV show so much. Much better Sunday TV than Birdsong turned out to be

I hope you all find it as interesting as I did 17. 9th Judgement - James Patterson (synopsis) A young mother and her infant child are ruthlessly gunned down while returning to their car in the garage of a shopping mall. There are no witnesses, and Detective Lindsay Boxer is left with only one shred of evidence: a cryptic message scrawled across the windshield in blood-red lipstick. I've been meaning to read a James Patterson book for ages. My sister is a big fan and I watched A Long Came A Spider a long long time ago at a sleepover and enjoyed it (though it's probably different to the book!). I enjoyed 9th Judgement. The plot and characters were enjoyable. I didn't realise it was book 9 in a series so I look forward to reading the others in the series. 3/5 Well

Is Call The Midwife any good? I've been enjoying the TV series and been thinking of getting the book.

I'm about halfway through Courtiers by Lucy Worsley and I've just started 9th Judgement by James Patterson.

Oh that sounds very interesting. I really enjoyed The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. Have to look for it when it's published. If I remember. My wishlist is getting ever longer lol

I've started a book on courtiers during the reign of George I and II of England which is also by Lucy Worsley and it's proving to be just as interesting as If Walls Could Talk. It's a completely different writing style (Courtiers is very formal whereas If Walls Could Talk was informal). I just finished Exposed by Liza Marklund. I don't really have much to say about it. It was an alright read - interesting in places but overall it's not really left much of an impression on me. 2/5

I struggled as well. I found it slow paced and wooden. It just didn't do the book justice in my opinion. Like chaliepud said, there is so much emotion in the book and the film just did not show that.

You're welcome! It was a really good read and full of interesting facts.

I've gone back to reading Jude The Obscure. I tried before Christmas but gave up so I'm giving it another go. I'm also reading The Boys From Brazil - Ira Levin.

If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History Of The Home - Lucy Worsley (Blurb): Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did Samuel Pepys never give his mistresses an orgasm? Why did medieval people sleep sitting up? When were the two 'dirty centuries'? Why did gas lighting cause Victorian ladies to faint? Why, for centuries, did people fear fruit? All these questions will be answered in this juicy, smelly and truly intimate history of home life. Lucy Worsley takes us through the bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen, covering the architectural history of each room, but concentrating on what people actually did in bed, in the bath, at the table, and at the stove. From sauce-stirring to breast-feeding, teeth-cleaning to masturbation, getting dressed to getting married, this book will make you see your home with new eyes. An excellent history of the household as seen through the four main rooms - bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen. Everything you could want to know about domestic life is covered in the book. I loved the television series and Worsley writes in a wonderfully chatty style and inserts lots of jokes which gives it a really informal feel - not like your run of the mill history books. 5/5

The Hidden Child - Camilla Läckberg (synopsis): Worldwide bestseller Camilla Lackberg weaves together another brilliant contemporary psychological thriller with the chilling struggle of a young woman facing the darkest chapter of Europe's past! Crime writer Erica Falck is shocked to discover a Nazi medal among her late mother's possessions. Haunted by a childhood of neglect, she resolves to dig deep into her family's past and finally uncover the reasons why. Her enquiries lead her to the home of a retired history teacher. He was among her mother's circle of friends during the Second World War but her questions are met with bizarre and evasive answers. Two days later he meets a violent death. Detective Patrik Hedstrom, Erica's husband, is on paternity leave but soon becomes embroiled in the murder investigation. Who would kill so ruthlessly to bury secrets so old? Reluctantly Erica must read her mother's wartime diaries. But within the pages is a painful revelation about Erica's past. Could what little knowledge she has be enough to endanger her husband and newborn baby? The dark past is coming to light, and no one will escape the truth of how they came to be! Hidden Child was a beautifully written and well thought out book. I was both disapointed and happy to discover it is part of a series. Whilst some other books in a series presume prior knowledge and effectively give away everything that happened in the previous books, Hidden Child does not so I cannot wait to have the pleasure of reading the previous books. The plot was interesting and I really enjoyed how domestic scenes were placed next to Police procedure and macabre murder. Some other books I've read have tried to do that but it always seems stilted or forced. Here it worked wonderfully. Same with the switching inbetween different times (modern day and 1944/5), it worked so incredibly well. The characters were life-like and I could relate to them or at least imagine those qualities in a real person. 5/5

Thanks. I rarely get a chance to dress up nice and the dress had been sitting in my wardrobe for over a year just waiting to be worn. There are other books behind the front row of books and my skirt is blocking the two shelves of classics. I want another book case so I can properly arrange the books in order. Currently only my history books are in order

The Identity Man - Andrew Klavan Synopsis: A nationwide manhunt is underway for John Shannon, a petty criminal framed for murder. But he’s convinced he won’t get caught. He’s hiding in the ruins of a city destroyed by a terrible flood, and, thanks to a mysterious foreigner calling himself the Identity Man, he has a new face, new papers, and a new life. But the city is crawling with corruption. Crooked politicians, gangsters and dirty cops are everywhere, and for some reason Shannon doesn’t understand, all of them want him dead. John Shannon has run out of second chances, and now he’s running out of time. Moving through the darkness in the burnt-out shambles of a dirty town, he must ferret out the secret of his new life, before he is left with no life at all. This book took me ages to get into. It wasn't the plot (which was pretty adequate verging on interesting towards the end) and the writing is fine - it was easy to see how other people can like it and how it got all the nice reviews on the front cover. The characters, whilst nothing original (petty thief who is really a good guy, corrupt cops/politicians, FBI agents on an illegal mission, shady foreigner, teenage gangstas; a good, virtuous woman in a bad neighbourhood) were all OK: I can't really complain about them but I will not be singing their praises either. This book was just not my cup of tea. I was over halfway through before I started to get quite interested in what was going on. There was just something about the novel that felt odd, stilted and unable to gel together. 2/5

I am currently reading If Walls Could Talk - Lucy Worseley + The Hidden Child - Camilla Lackberg

Taken last month.

Yes I'll definitely be watching it.

Thanks Frankie! Popcorn - Ben Elton This book was alright. That's all I can really say about it. Everything (from plot to characters to writing) was average. 3/5

Kill Me Once - Jon Osborne It wasn't a bad crime book but towards the middle/end it was quite predictable. I liked the idea of a serial killer who instead of just copying previous serial killers, corrects the mistakes which lead to their capture. 3/5

The Night Strangers - Chris Bohjalian Gosh this book was rubbish. I really cannot think of anything I enjoyed about it. It was horror/thriller by numbers and it really failed to deliver. The plot was boring. The characters felt really wooden and I disliked them all. 1/5

Most pillowcases have a flap inside don't they? Perhaps he has made that inner flap into a kind pocket.

Ooo sounds interesting. I've added it to my wishlist. I'm currently reading The Weaker Vessel by Antonia Fraser which deals about all kinds of lives and what women could expect in the 17th Century. It's really interesting. It sounds like the same book. The one I read was about the marriage and divorce of Mary Eleanor Bowes and they are both written by the same author. Maybe the tag line has been changed inbetween publications or for different countries?

It was really good. If you manage to read it, let me know how you find it.

Wedlock: How Georgian Britain's Worst Husband Met His Match - Wendy Moore This was an amazing book. Well resarched and well written; it had me gripped from start to finish. It was fascinating to discover what it meant to be a women during the Georgian period of history and that despite what Mary Eleanor Bowes went through, how long it was before things truely began to change for women and what they could expect from marriage, education, custody of children etc. 5/5

I finished my first book The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. I really enjoyed it despite not being sure it was my cup of tea. 5/5

I just finished The Suspicions Of Mr Whicher. I thought it was a well written book and really interesting. 4.5/5