chaliepud

Hope all you sick peeps feel better soon! Sending hugs and virtual honey and lemon! I'm just home from watching Hacksaw Ridge, i don't think I'll be sleeping well tonight, so graphic and sad!

Just home from watching Hacksaw Ridge, oh my, I feel emotionally exhausted, it was relentless and graphic, so so graphic, I was going to take my 15 year old daughter to watch it but I honestly think it should be an 18. It was amazing though, as was Andrew Garfield, I'm not surprised Mel Gibson has been nominated for best director at the Oscars. Did I mention it was graphic? If that is a true depiction of war then it is easy to understand why my Grandfather and others who served chose not to ever talk about what they experienced.

Good old sausage and mash with lots of veg and gravy, perfect for a damp winter evening!

I've read the first 3 of the Mortal Instruments but then got distracted with other books, I have 4 and 5 on my TBR so hopefully will read them at some point as I did like them!

I've been watching lots of M*A*S*H episodes, I've always loved it but hadn't watched it for a while but feeling the love these last few months, my other half bought me a M*A*S*H t-shirt for Christmas too!

Hopefully not!

http://forreadingaddicts.co.uk/literature/read-popular-book-year-born/16633 Mine was The Exorcist! No thank you!

Ha! Like a few years ago when I managed to delete all our family photos off the laptop? Someone has got to look out for the needy doggies! Yep, less buying books, and more saving! I don't blame you, it was ok, but a little dull! Thank you, maybe it will encourage me to read some of the books that have been on my TBR a while!

Ah, but you do read a lot more books than me so you need to buy more! I may be going to a book fair mid February so I'm not sure what will happen there!

Who Do You Think You Are, with Julie Walters.

My latest read is Our Song by Dani Atkins, not sure what to make of it so far!

Ah, I hadn't noticed as I was looking at it on my phone and for some reason your font shows as italics on there so I can only read it properly with my glasses on and obviously can't have had them to hand. I'll add the exra 4 to mine if you don't mind, they look fun!

Ah, trust me, Diane, it'll be well worth it, stick those specs on and go for it!

Thanks, Diane, it was fantastic! I'll hold off borrowing for the moment, I am committed to lowering my TBR this year and have managed to not acquire any books this month!

2. Everyone Brave is Forgiven - Chris Cleave Amazon synopsis: In a powerful combination of both humour and heartbreak, this dazzling novel weaves little-known history, and a perfect love story, through the vast sweep of the Second World War - daring us to understand that, against the great theatre of world events, it is the intimate losses, the small battles, the daily human triumphs, that change us most. My thoughts: (quotes in bold) We live, you see, and even a mule like me must learn. I was brought up to believe that everyone brave is forgiven, but in wartime courage is cheap and clemency out of season. I fancied this book from the moment I saw it on a new releases list early in 2016, of course, being set in my favourite era, WWII helped! The story centres on May and her three friends; Hilda, Tom and Alastair, May is a young socialite in 1939 when war breaks out, highly spirited and forward for the time and she isn’t afraid to voice her opinion and stand up for others., immediately volunteering to help with the war effort, ending up teaching which wasn’t her first choice! Cleave did not hold back in dealing with sensitive subjects throughout the book, racism, sexism and other prejudices are at the forefront along with class barriers and post traumatic stress, however it is dealt with intelligently and not merely written about so as to shock the reader, clearly a lot of research was done and in the Afterword Cleave talks about how the book was inspired by his families experiences of the time – his own Grandfather was stationed in Malta during the war and a fair section of the book covers the British Army being trapped there, low on food and other supplies, an area of the war I knew little about before reading this. Despite having read a fair amount (mainly fiction) about the London bombings I also learnt more about them, Cleave using language that shocked and spoke all too truthfully about the horrors that Londoners faced at the time, interjecting humour here and there to lighten the mood. I was shocked by the racism that black Londoners suffered (also the ‘afflicted’ and ‘handicapped’), Mary, like the majority of us today, could not see why they should be treated differently to anyone else and made great efforts to teach these children. “It was simply a peculiarity of the British that they could be stoical about two hundred and fifty nights of bombing, while the sight of her with a Negro child offended their sensibilities unbearably.” (Mary) “Oh, I hope I don’t teach. Because look what we did: we saved the zoo animals and the nice children, and we damned the afflicted and the blacks. You know what I do every day in that classroom? I do everything in my power to make sure those poor souls won’t learn the obvious lesson.” (Mary) All in all a reasonably slow paced character driven book in the main, exploring relationships, and how they change when under extreme pressures, the characters and the writing are memorable, and realistic. I particularly enjoyed May and Hilda’s friendship, both rather critical of one another and yet fiercely loyal all the way. “Well, we want different things from men. You earnestly want someone who will help you reform society,” said Hilda. “Whereas you…?...just want a tall man and a stiff drink. You could even swap the adjectives,” Mary smiled. Beautifully written, this will stay with me for a long, long time. 5/5

Point Break, the remake...not good!

UPDATE A book you read in school A book from your childhood A book published over 100 years ago A book published in the last year A non-fiction book A book written by a male author - Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave A book written by a female author A book by someone who isn’t a writer - When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi A book that became/is becoming a film A book published in the 20th Century A book set in your hometown/region A book with someone’s name in the title A book with a number in the title A book with a character with your first name A book someone else recommended to you A book with over 500 pages A book you can finish in a day A previously banned book A book with a one-word title A book translated from another language A book that will improve a specific area of your life A memoir or journal A book written by someone younger than you A book set somewhere you’ll be visiting this year An award-winning book A self-published book A book with a season in the title A book with a colour in the title A book with a cafe/tearoom/resaturant theme A book with an animal either in the title or as a character

Haddock Choeder with a cold glass of white.

There were many things that might have changed the eventual outcome of that night. Our Song ~ Dani Atkins

Same one as I'm doing Diane, good luck!

He had an amazing voice and gave such gravitas to any role he played.

It looks amazing and the library will be fabulous! Make sure you keep us updated with pictures!

Congratulations Peace, the house looks lovely, just how I imagine American houses to be!!

Hope everyone is feeling well and not too cold! Good luck with the haircut Claire, I have a friend that does mine which is lovely as we have kids, dogs in common so always something to talk about! So tired today, took Maddie and friends to a concert at Shepherd's Bush last night and didn't get to bed till 1am, up at 6 for dog walking and work, it's going to be a loooong day!

Yep, needed by reading glasses for this one, enjoy!!