chaliepud

I'm a big fan of moody and brooding!

Cool, I just read what the NY Times had to say about My Cousin Rachel.. 'From the first page...the reader is back in the moody, brooding atmosphere of Rebecca'. Can't be bad then!

I really can't.. A whole week of no cleaning or cooking, guaranteed sunshine and seeing some lovely sights! Maybe I should take MCR with me.. I'll pop it on the shortlist now.

Hmm, I'm not sure about that one, I just read a synopsis and it seems very quirky and very imaginative??

Ah I see your predicament! I only need them for reading so not too much of a hassle. It's a shame glasses are so expensive as ideally they are something you would like to try before you buy! My Mum has worn varifocals for years and wouldn't be without them and my brother has just started wearing varifocal contact lenses and seems to be adjusting well, he is an amateur photographer and the glasses were just a nuisance.

I lived Rebecca and Jamaica Inn so I have high hopes for MCR! We are going on a cruise in the Mediterranean, starting in Barcelona and heading through Mallorca, Marselles and three stops in Italy. We did the same trip three years ago and can't wait to revisit and try some new things.

I enjoyed Summer at the Lake by Erica James so I am optimistic about The Dandelion Years, not least because the storyline involves a book restorer and flashbacks to WWII! Looks like we have a few books in common, hopefully I'll get to them in the not too distant future and we can compare notes.

How exciting, thanks Michelle! :)

Oh nothing here, hopefully you'll be sending it further west after!

Lots of us on here have agreed that A Monster Calls is a great read, so fingers crossed!

He certainly is!

WIll you watch the film when it comes out? Hope it picks up soon Gaia! I'm reading The Girls from Corona Del Mar by Rufi Thorpe, just my kind of book, a little dark and depressing but written in an uplifting style. I only saw on the back of the book yesterday that the book is recommended by Vanessa Diffenbaugh who wrote The Language of Flowers, a book in my favourite top ten.

I don't usually read chick lit, but I'm always up for trying something, especially if it comes recommended.. I'll pop it on the old wish list!

Oh dear, a few more books purchased. Oh well, the new bookcase arrives on Saturday so at least I will have somewhere to put them! The Dandelion Years - Erica James The Captain's Daughter - Leah Fleming Coastliners - Joanne Harris Second Hand Heart - Catherine Ryan Hyde After the Fall - Charity Norman Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand My Cousin Rachel - Daphne Du Maurier The House on the Strand - Daphne Du Maurier The Cornish House - Liz Fenwick Am going on holiday in two weeks, need to start deciding how many books to take and more importantly, which ones!! (Other half has nicked my kobo so will have to be tree books!

To add another.. a fair amount of Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase by Louise Walters is set in a bookshop. Goodreads synopsis Roberta likes to collect the letters and postcards she finds in second-hand books. (In the bookshop she works in) When her father gives her some of her grandmother's belongings, she finds a baffling letter from the grandfather she never knew - dated after he supposedly died in the war. Dorothy is unhappily married to Albert, who is away at war. When an aeroplane crashes in the field behind her house she meets Squadron Leader Jan Pietrykowski, and as their bond deepens she dares to hope she might find happiness. But fate has other plans for them both, and soon she is hiding a secret so momentous that its shockwaves will touch her granddaughter many years later.

The main breeder in Finland is called Windwarriors but I believe they are very close to Sweden, in Komi? Obi is indeed introverted and a bit of a worrier, If dogs can be pessimistic then that is him! He grumbles to keep people and other dogs away from him and in the main they listen and the older he has got the more dogs show him respect and give him a wide berth, I remember the same with Dylan when he got older too, must be the older statesman thing.

I'm sure it was, they are very distinctive, some are plain faced without the eye patches that Obi and Jojo have. You remember right, we do have a Finnish Spitz in the next road but I've never seen it off lead or over the country park we are next to so I'm not sure if they walk elsewhere or just street walk which would be a bit sad. You've got that right, he is grumpy wherever he is.. Actually, that's a bit mean as he is perfectly happy with his little family, he likes the quiet life bless him!

Have you not thought about reading glasses Claire? I struggled to admit that I needed them but my arms were getting too short for the books I was reading so didn't have a choice! Also useful for reading ingredients on food packaging etc.

Ah, wouldn't that be great, Jojo would definitely love to travel and meet you and all the Finnish dogs, I know for a fact there are other Cattle Dogs in Finland! You could play with her while I declutter! Obi would just sit and grumble in a corner, what could be called a Busman's holiday! (Hopefully you know what that means!

Hey Noll, a few of my favourites, though whether they all fall entirely into your requirements I'm not sure but they may be worth a look see... Human Traces - Sebastian Faulks (sorry, but I have to mention it every time anyone asks for suggestions! Honestly it is very good, but not particularly light) The Light Between Oceans - ML Stedman The Island - Victoria Hislop The Thread - Victoria Hislop The Novel in the Viola - Natasha Solomons Year of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks (set during the plague in Derbyshire so maybe older than you want but one of the best books I've ever read). Orphan Train - Christina Baker Kline Half of the Human Race - Anthony Quinn The Girl You Left Behind - Jojo Moyes Any Mary Hooper books, maybe set a bit too far in the past (think plague/great fire etc) but YA but not toooo YA if you know what I mean. Good luck in your quest!!!

I bought Second Hand Heart by CRH this week, coincidentally in the second hand shop! Has anyone read this one? I saw the author and remembered her being mentioned here and thought it may be worth a punt for 59p?

Sorry to hear you had a bad time with your roomie and that you're going to have to move. Fingers crossed you find somewhere lovely in the perfect location with lots of lovely people and dogs close by, and most importantly a decent roommate! I love to declutter, friends actually ask me around to help them with theirs.. I often think I should do it for a living!

Just focus on the fun you're going to have putting them all in place again and then knowing they can stay there for a long long time before it needs doing again.

Is it on your TBR Noll? I'd be interested to hear what others on here think, Muggles liked it and the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are overwhelmingly in favour of it. Gorgeous cover though, so I may keep it just on that basis. (I only normally keep my favourite reads).

Willoyd, have you read anything by Joyce Carol Oates? I read The Gravedigger's Daughter some years ago and I very much like the way she writes, so detailed. I have two others of hers on my shelves, The Falls and Little Bird of Heaven.