Little Pixie

Thanks. It`s not as good a ratio when I take into account the number of re-reads - 19 books - but I`m still pleased.

Kafka on the Shore had better come with a kitty on the cover.

Thanks ! I had hoped that buying used books would cut down the total price I was spending on books, but oddly, it seems to have provided me with yet another excuse for book-buying.

I loved the first two seasons of In Treatment, then got stuck during S3 and haven`t got back into it. I`ll be interested in how you feel about the last season when you get to it. Oh ! I just finished watching Witnesses ( Les Tremoins ) - pretty good, might be one for you to search for on your Netflix. Poor kitties ! Hope they`ve forgiven you now. Xiao-Xiao is fine and sends her regards. Too rainy to go out much lately, so Mummy has to get the string out for entertainment purposes.

I`ve even started a new pile on the dining room table. And there`s a pile of books on the floor near my bed that the cat now likes to walk around on, so I can`t possible move those ( she wanders from my book table to the book piles and then on to my bedside table ). You`re right ! Those are far, far worse - and that`s why I buy so many out of print books, `cos there`s a limited supply. Well, that`s what I tell myself.

It said on the news that you`ve had 4 PM`s since 2013. Yikes !

Books read : 144 TBR 793 New Books Bought : 164 Total Cost : £ 476.45

I`ve ordered some more books - I found a cheapie Kafka on the Shore ( £2.81 ) and also got... How to Murder a Millionaire - Nancy Martin ( £2.84 ) The Widening Stain - Tom Schantz ( £3.85 ) Come, tell me how you live - Agatha Christie ( £ 3.48 ) By its cover - Donna Leon ( £2.81 ) The Black Shrouds - Gwyneth and Constance Little ( £3.35 )

Hi Kate and Kate`s felines.

Fingers crossed that your books arrive soon . I`ve just looked and found Kafka on the Shore for £2.81 again - shall order it and hope that this one arrives !

`Data not found` - it`s okay, I`ll google it.

There`s nothing more annoying than buying in two minds about buying something, succumbing, then seeing a major pricedrop. Nothing.

Hmm, I have Master and Commander in my vast TBR. After your review, I may even read it this century.

I`m enjoying it more than I thought; I`m now up to ep 11, and I`d previously stopped watching at ep 2 last year, thinking I`d get back to it at some point.

#134 Our Game - John Le Carre I couldn`t really get into this one. It`s set and involved with the Caucuses, an area which rarely features in fiction ; it`s admirable to find a book about the problems of this region of Southern Russia, but ... It`s a bit too far-fetched and tails off rather than having a definite ending. Tim Cranmer`s wife disappears at the same time as Larry, a frenemy and spy, who had Tim as a handler. Tim sets off to find the pair. It`s all very exciting and interesting at first, but the more it goes on, the less it feel real. A shame. #135 A Novena for Murder - Sister Carol Anne O`Marie Nun writes whodunnit series - how could I not try this one out ! Sister Mary Helen retires to a Catholic College / Nuns retirement home in San Francisco, and the Head of the History Dept dies during an earthquake. In her seventies with a lifetime of reading mystery novels, she realises that the Professor was bumped off and investigates the death alongside her fellow nuns ( there`s a fun scene with them sneaking off to discuss the death and making plans to snoop around, and one of the Nuns says she feels like they`re in the French Resistance ). It`s nicely described ; you can really feel the dampness of the fog in San Francisco and hear the boats in the harbour. #136 Miss Zukas in Death`s Shadow - Jo Dereske Librarian Helma Zukas is doing community service in a Mission for homeless men, when someone gets bumped off. Fun. #137 The Ape who Guards the Balance - Elizabeth Peters I`d almost finished this one before I realised that the plot hadn`t really started, though once I`d finished it, I saw that what I`d taken as a routine archaelogical dig was more than that. What looks like a routine dig in Egypt turns out to have many layers , though I just liked it for the joy of spending time with the Amelia Peabody family. #138 The Falcon at the Portal - Elizabeth Peters More of a thriller than the previous book in the series. By this time, it`s 1911 in Egypt and there are some big shocks in store.... #139 A Dying Fall - Hildegarde Dolson Written in 1973, this comes across as rather dated now. Widow Lucy and her boarder, Inspector MacDougal, investigate the death of a newcomer to their Connecticut town. Whodunnit isn`t too difficult to work out. #140 The Amulet of Samarkand - Jonathan Stroud Uneven. Magician`s apprentice Nathaniel summjons a Djinni, Bartimaeus, and there`s a big adventure. Plotwise, it`s fun and inventive. The problem is Nathaniel - he`s colouless, dull, boring. The book really comes alive when Bartimaeus is featured - he`s sarcastic, witty and lots of fun. A shame. #141 Thornyhold - Mary Stewart After a lonely childhood, Gilly inherits a lovely cottage from her Godmother and her new life begins. There`s a cat, carrier pigeons with messages fo her and a romance, together with a slightly creepy, witchy undercurrent. #142 Curtain for a Jester - Frances and Richard Lockridge Another Pam and Jerry North ( and their cats Martini, Gin and Sherry ) whodunnit. The Norths attend a party in their building, given by a notorious - and rather malicious - practical joker. There`s a murder and the Norths investigate. No-one is as they first appear, and there`s a thrilling denouement at night in a joke emporium warehouse. #143 Picture Miss Seeton - Heron Carvic Miss Seeton - retired art teacher - witnesses a murder. Likeable enough, but I could`ve done with more of Miss Seeton and her fun persona ( she tuts at the impertinence of getting kidnapped and rescues herself quite cleverly ) and less of just about everyone else in the village. #144 Murder at Mount Fuji - Shizuko Natsuki Readable enough, but interesting mainly because it`s set in Japan and written by a famous Japanese mystery writer. Whodunnit and why is surprising, but I felt distant from the characters ( a lot of it is written in the past tense, ie, instead of discovering a clue in real time, one of the police team reports everything that they found to his superior ). Books read : 144 TBR 787 New Books Bought : 158 Total Cost : £ 457.31

Books read : 133 TBR 794 New Books Bought : 154 Total Cost : £ 457.12 Rats. Kafka on the Shore ( cheap at £2.81 ) was lost in the post. Grrr. Books bought - Helen MacInnes - Cloak of Darkness Marco Vichi - Death in August Lauren Weisberger - The Devil Wears Prada Melvyn Bragg - The Soldier`s Return all 50p each. Jonathan Stroud - The Amulet of Samarkand £1 Books read : 133 TBR 798 New Books Bought : 158 Total Cost : £ 457.31

Books read : 133 TBR 794 New Books Bought : 154 Total Cost : £ 457.12 Rats. Kafka on the Shore ( cheap at £2.81 ) was lost in the post. Grrr. Books bought - Helen MacInnes - Cloak of Darkness Marco Vichi - Death in August Lauren Weisberger - The Devil Wears Prada Melvyn Bragg - The Soldier`s Return all 50p each. Jonathan Stroud - The Amulet of Samarkand £1 Books read : 133 TBR 798 New Books Bought : 158 Total Cost : £ 457.31

Great book haul ! I didn`t realise there were so many Baantjer books in the series.

Aw ! Lovely pic. Torties rule !

Vast amounts of Dr Who with Peter Capaldi, ep 3 onwards.

Thanks for the heads up - have downloaded that freebie - looks good.

Yowser !! All excited now !! Thanks Steve.

I think most of my books come as used ones from the US now, `cos they`re out of print and unavailable here. I`ve had fun things as book marks - a Long Island train ticket, classical concert ticket for a hall in LA .. ..

Were you just watching for the laydeez ? Shocker ! The Flash finale - superb !

Hurray, new books ! I look upon buying second hand books as saving lots of money, instead of spending. This is not wrong.