Little Pixie

I`ve ordered one of them in English - click for more.

Books read : 59 TBR 794 New Books Bought : 84 Total Cost : £ 207.56 #59 The Life changing magic of Tidying - Marie Kondo Excellent little book. I read it with the intention of having another read before I take up tidying properly - procrastinating ? Never ! - but I`ve already thrown a few things out ( things which I meant to get rid of, but never got round to . After reading the book, they suddenly stood out ). It`s non-judgemental and there are stories about Marie Kondo`s clients which are illuminating, plus stories about Marie herself which are very honest. Sadly, there are no before-and-after pics, which I would`ve enjoyed.

And video tapes ! Oh wait, I still use those.

I think I will, too . Probably. A few more books to read before I need to make that big decision.

No subscription ; it`s something I stumbled across when I was searching for Montalbano recently. There are some YOUTube clips available, to give you an idea... clip , clip, behind the scenes. Congrats on the new books ! That`ll keep you out of mischief.

Aw, thank you. I`ve been really lucky this year ; I`ve found two good series to get into ( Mr and Mrs North, Amelia Peabody ).

I`m reading that one now ; The Crocodile, the snake and the dog, I think it`s called. A few more books and I have to decide whether to read them in chronological order or publishing order, `cos two of the books seem to be `flashback` books. Hmm.

Books read : 58 TBR 795 New Books Bought : 84 Total Cost : £ 207.56 Time to get up-to date again... #45 Murder is Suggested - Frances and Richard Lockridge Can someone be hypnotized into killing someone ? The Norths investigate. There`s a particularly jaw-dropping moment when the Police ascertain that the murder room is sealed, only for someone to suddenly appear inside it. #46 My Kind of Magic - Joyce Grenfell A slim volume of Joyce Grenfell ephemera ( articles, recipes, poems). She had such a talent for describing things which touched her deeply. #47 Murder has its Points - Frances and Richard Lockridge Pam and Jerry North attend a party for one of Jerry`s authors, only for the author to be shot dead when standing next to them. #48 Murder by the Book - Frances and Richard Lockridge The final Mr and Mrs North mystery seems them on holiday in Key West, when Pam stumbles across a body. #49 Rounding the Mark - Andrea Camilleri Very funny at times, and sometimes a difficult read ; Inspector Montalbano investigates a child trafficking case. #50 Death of an Angel - Frances and Richard Lockridge A Broadway playboy is murdered in his sealed appartment ; Pam and Jerry rush to investigate. #51 Hasty Death- MC Beaton After a string of fun reads, this is one I couldn`t get into. The plot is a lot of fun - Lady Rose and her maid leave her opulent household to work as typists and get drawn into a scandalous mystery - but that feels like all it is - a plot. It just feels shallow and un-fleshed-out. It is very funny though, and maybe someone else would like it more. #52 The Curse of the Pharoahs - Elizabeth Peters #53 The Mummy Case - Elizabeth Peters #54 Lion in the Valley - Elizabeth Peters #55 The Deed of the Disturbers - Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody investigates nefarious goings-on in 1890`s Egypt, with husband Emerson, son Ramses and cat Bastet. The books get funnier and funnier as they go on and Amelia is a delight. The books really do feel as though they`re the recently discovered journals of a lady archeologist. #56 A six letter word for Death - Patricia Moyes The last of the Henry and Emmy Tibbett books which I had left to read. Henry is sent a mysterious crossword and has to solve the clues to solve a ( possible ) murder. #57 The Norths meet Murder - Frances and Richard Lockridge The first of the Pam and Jerry North books, published in 1940.. Pam decides to throw a party ; due to space considerations, her landlady allows her to use the empty appartment above the Norths` place in Greenwich Village. Pam and Jerry go upstairs to check it out and find a nude body in the bath tub.... It`s the first book I`ve read where you get a real sense of the commotion involved when the Police, forensics, photographers, etc turn up to attend a murder. How Pam and Jerry help Inspector Weigand ( who features in the other books, too ) find the murderer, with the help of Pete the Cat, is a lot of fun. #58 The last camel died at noon - Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody in a Rider Haggard-esque adventure. Amelia and Emerson are approached by two family members of a couple who went missing in the Sudan a decade ago, and investigate the disappearance. It`s amusing, it`s exciting, and I don`t mind reading one after another in the series, `cos they skip ahead a year or two, and there`s so much in the private life of the Peabody-Emerson household to catch up on.

Dun-dun-der-der ! Dun-dun-der-der... Dee-dee-dee, etc

Oof, you must`ve been about the first person on it - I`ve never reallly bothered with it before, just dipped in and out, but she seems like someone I`ll look at regularly.

Thank you. @ those prices - That`s robbery !! I don`t know how those US book shops make a profit anyway, with such low prices for the UK. Not that I`m complaining... I`ve enjoyed reading Deanna Raybourn`s blog and tweets over the past day or so ; it feels like `real` writing, rather than someone having a blog/twitter account just to get publicity for their work.

It`s like the Board`s Mission Statement.

Another brilliant tweet which I need to share...

Congrats on 33 books !

Those tweets are really good fun, as is her blog.

I`m quite fussy about needing to read things in order.

Here`s the clicky for Amazon UK - Voyage into Violence by the Lockridges. Most of those books are for £2.81 including UK delivery from the US. When does your import tax kick in ? Ours starts at £16 or £18, can`t remember which.

Well done on spending less on books ! Glad that you`re enjoying your library visits. Erm, I skimmed the post.

I`ve just been amusing myself by reading Deanna Raybourn`s Twitter feed ( Her Lady Julia Grey mysteries are lovely ) . Love this Tweet.

I hope you like Spiral ; S5 was the best thing I`ve watched this year. IMDB - Inspector Montalbano is the English title. I don`t know if you can do a search for the star on Netflix, Luca Zingaretti ? DVDs are available too. Can you get a free trial with something called MHZ ?

Aw, thanks Gaia. The Baantjer book is coming from the US - as are most of the books I`ve been ordering this year - it`s so good that those Amazon marketplace bookshops are available. I `had` to buy The Long Earth, after picking up the 2nd of the series in a charity hospice shop ( I`d eventually have bought the books, anyway ).

As opposed to Man Flu, which is supposedly much, much worse than anything experienced by the Ladies. Thanks for commiserating with me .

You`re welcome. I`m watching repeats of Inspector Montalbano atm ; that`s worth trying, too.

I tend to forget that there`s a dictionary on Kindle.

Books read : 11 TBR 835 New Books Bought : 80 Total Cost : £ 207.56