Poppyshake's Reading Year 2013

[poppyshake]

Sometimes when I catch a video of a hoarder or someone who just doesn't clean up, I can see plates with left overs, and pizza boxes and everything, and I find it quite revolting. It's unhygienic! You will get insects buzzing around, won't you!

I always have the urge to go and tidy it all up but usually it's more to do with emotions and you have to get to the bottom of it to find out why they're hoarding (in extreme cases anyway.) I can't bear the thought of leftover food laying about .. my stomach flips. I saw a hoarder on TV who had maggots crawling about her kitchen  ewwwww!!

Do you think you would've had to stand in order, next to your bed, when he would come in for an inspection? Rather like in the army? And you would blow (silent) raspberries his way when he turned his back... And then throw cake crumbs at his back? And then he'd turn over quickly because he'd be suspicious of you, knowing you character, and you'd have to quickly hide the rest of the cake behind your own back and look like you were doing nothing... I can imagine it very well in my head!

 I would definitely rebel .. or at least I think I would  I'm not sure what sort of punishments were dealt out if Mr Dickens didn't find it all ship-shape but I think they were all obedient so possibly they never found out. I like the thought of throwing cake crumbs at the back of his head .. I hope some of them get stuck in his hair and make him a perfect fright for the rest of the day

I'm very sorry that you've read some stinkers lately ... But yes, it did help a bit

Thank you but it's fine  .. you really appreciate the good ones when you've read some stinkers. And sometimes you can cross an author off a list and, in the long run, that saves time and money  (bye bye Mr Henry James   )

[poppyshake]

I think Alaskans and Hawaiians ought to think very highly of us, we count them twice over I expect free plane tickets to these states from here on out!

 .. at the very least

Oh poppycock, poppyshake is a great name!

 It could've been a lot worse

Sure, why not We all need to put our feet up every now and then, have chippies and read a book!

Is there anything better?

I have to say it's quite apt... Well I'm not debauched, but I have a debauched mind, sometimes

Minds have a mind of their own though .. you can't be held responsible for that

That would be the day before gyne day Like a very weird two day holiday

 Lord!! don't tell the retail world .. they'll be commercialising it with cards and choccy   They need something to fill the gap ( ) between January and Easter     

I know! Although in general I think the States are way ahead of Finland in prison sentences... Over here criminals have it so easy   Such ridiculously and appallingly short sentences. And I'm not the only one who feels this way... I think the public is very much thinking the same, but the stupid laws, they never change.

That must be very distressing   .. there's no deterrent then either. Though they say that, in general, States that have the death penalty also have the highest crime rates  Has Finland got a high crime rate? I think our sentences are pretty fair but then .. life ought to mean life and all that.

I'm happy Alan's not the crime committing sort of fella...

Well he did vote for Margaret Thatcher once  

[frankie]

 .

 Lord!! don't tell the retail world .. they'll be commercialising it with cards and choccy   They need something to fill the gap ( ) between January and Easter    

 

:lol: I haven't laughed this hard in a week...!!! Oh please commercial world, don't fill that particular gap... The gap enjoys the freedom

 

(Will get back to rest later, but had to comment on that one )

[poppyshake]

Awww, I'm happy to hear Bimbo has faith in me. I'm sure you've had your hands in that!

Well, he is an independent thinker but, considering I left him out in the rain, he does still trust me

Maybe the other jumper could be his formal wear? Like for holidays and such? And maybe Sundays? Does he go to church?

 He doesn't no  He's thought about it but he wasn't sure the church had much to offer bears   

He's quite picky, isn't he. Is Alan any better with the accents? I wonder what he shall say about my accent... I wonder if I'll dare speak at all.

They don't mind accents at all .. they love an accent .. they just don't like my attempts at attempting them

Well, the problem is that I have my Australian posse, of course, and then only one Finnish furry friend, and he is not a keen traveler, he's never been outside North Karelia He is rather young, as well.

Well I quite understand .. the world is a scary place .. sometimes you're better off staying in your own bed.

Now, Donnie on the other hand, he's a keen traveler and he's widely read, too. He loves to cuddle up and read with me every night when I go to bed. He is a Kelpie, so he only has eyes for sheep, so I'm not even sure he knows what a koala ought to look like! Isn't that great? I'm sure he would think nothing of Bimbo's... uncharacteristic looks And he also speaks English! And he could tell Bimbo about Kylie and he's met Kylie's Mum and Dad, too! Great stories to share

I have told Bimbo about Donnie and now of course he can't talk about anything else  In an ideal world Bimbo would love to chase sheep .. but nature didn't give him the right tools for the job .. he wants to hear all about Donnie's sheepish antics though and about Aus of course .. Bimbo has been to the Isle of Wight so he knows all about travel

Well color me blimey! Well done, poppyshake!

Thank you *curtseys*  However, I can't accept the cookies as I haven't finished off last years reviews yet  .. I haven't dare look back further than that  

[Athena]

Of course not and I'm glad you enjoy our ramblements  We have known each other since I joined the forum in 2009 though probably we've only been rambling together for a couple of years  It's very strange .. we've never met .. but we have a close connection and are on the same wavelength I think  We hope to meet soon and then goodness only knows how much rambling we'll do and laughing .. I've got to get a waterproof sheet to go over my sofa apparently    in case we laugh too much     

x

That's very nice to hear ! It's great that the two of you have a close connection. I hope you'll get to meet each other soon and have a brilliant time.

[chaliepud]

Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor

 

Waterstone's Synopsis: On a rainy Sunday in January, the recently widowed Mrs Palfrey arrives at the Claremont Hotel where she will spend her remaining days. Her fellow residents are magnificently eccentric and endlessly curious, living off crumbs of affection and snippets of gossip. Together, upper lips stiffened, they fight off their twin enemies: boredom and the Grim Reaper. Then one day Mrs Palfrey strikes up an unexpected friendship with Ludo, a handsome young writer, and learns that even the old can fall in love.

 

Review: This was quite a bittersweet read, it was gently amusing (and occasionally hilarious) but the overall feeling was one of sadness. Now she's no longer able to live alone, Mrs Palfrey has moved to the Claremont Hotel. She's in great hopes that her grandson Desmond, who works at the British museum, will visit and the rest of the residents have come to expect it too but weeks and weeks pass and he doesn't show. It's on one of her nightly walks that she slips and is helped up and seen home by Ludo, a struggling young writer. The two instantly become friends and it helps put a bit of sparkle back into Mrs Palfrey's life.

She invites him to dinner at the Claremont and he comes, the other residents presume it's Desmond and Mrs Palfrey enjoys playing along .. at last she's competing .. and Ludo too once he's been put in the picture. But Ludo has relationship problems of his own which preoccupy him and he sees his visits to Mrs Palfrey as something akin to research for a novel he's planning. Bittersweet as I said, these are people hanging on to the edge of life .. their pleasures are often overridden by their pains and disappointments .. consequently they're petty and apt to be resentful and querulous. It's quite a sobering thought to think that this is where we're all heading .. IF we are lucky.

So kick up your shins .. while you still can 4/5

 

I received this yesterday as a gift from a friend, along with two other Elizabeth Taylor books so I'm glad to see you rated this one so well as she is not an author I am familiar with.  Fingers crossed I like it too!

Thanks to Sari for pointing me in your direction for a review. 

[poppyshake]

I received this yesterday as a gift from a friend, along with two other Elizabeth Taylor books so I'm glad to see you rated this one so well as she is not an author I am familiar with.  Fingers crossed I like it too!

Thanks to Sari for pointing me in your direction for a review. 

What a lovely present ... hope you enjoy it Hayley I definitely want to read more from her. There is a lovely film of Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont too apparently .. though I haven't seen it yet. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for when it comes on TV.

[poppyshake]

x

That's very nice to hear ! It's great that the two of you have a close connection. I hope you'll get to meet each other soon and have a brilliant time.

Thanks Gaia  it will certainly be a red letter day

[poppyshake]

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

Synopsis: It is 1866, and Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of twelve local men, who have met in secret to discuss a series of unsolved crimes. A wealthy man has vanished, a 'lady of the night' has tried to end her life, and an enormous fortune has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into the mystery: a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely patterned as the night sky. The Luminaries is an extraordinary piece of fiction. It is full of narrative, linguistic and psychological pleasures, and has a fiendishly clever and original structuring device. Written in pitch-perfect historical register, richly evoking a mid-19th century world of shipping and banking and goldrush boom and bust, it is also a ghost story, and a gripping mystery. It is a thrilling achievement for someone still in her mid-20s, and will confirm for critics and readers that Catton is one of the brightest stars in the international writing firmament.

Review: This is a book to build up to .. you should do thirty bicep curls a day or, at the very least, wait for the paperback It won this year's Booker prize and that's really what sparked my interest because I hadn't heard of it before the announcement but there's definitely been a buzz around it since (and possibly before .. I am very slow in hearing buzzes ) It's 848 pages long  and so probably the first thing to ponder is ... did it really have to be that long? Well .. though it seems to have taken forever .. it didn't in fact take me that long to read (and I could've been quicker if I hadn't diverted my attention with other books ) and I didn't find it boring or a trudge .. much shorter books have seemed a good deal longer but, if you like your books to be action packed and fast paced, this probably is not the book for you (UNDERSTATEMENT!! ) There is a lot of repetition which is useful for a half-wit like me but even I found it a little too repetitive in places. Most of the time it was helpful as it explored a different viewpoint of the same set of circumstances but some of the 848 pages could have been lost without damage I thought. At times it is a little convoluted, you don't start off quite understanding the relationships between the characters so keeping hold of the threads is difficult but you can just read on with confidence as the pennies do all drop eventually.

I quite liked the astrological aspect of the book though could never make up my mind whether it was there for any reason other than ingenuity. It did flavour the story but not in any significant way. Her chapter preambles are like little synopses in themselves which is something I quite enjoy (you know .. like Winnie the Pooh .. where chapter six is entitled 'in which Eeyore has a birthday and gets two presents' ) .. and these ones in particular were both intriguing and entertaining especially as they got longer and longer as the chapters got shorter (ending with the last chapter which is far longer in title/preamble than content )

It's a beautifully told tale and an intriguing one but I don't know if it's that extraordinary. You can't help but think that it's its sheer epic size (along with the writer's age) that has made it an award winner and that the prize may have been given out for persistence  especially when you think that Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell wasn't even shortlisted  (let it go poppyshake ) It's obviously very descriptive and it takes its time in the telling. I think she particularly excelled at describing New Zealand during the Goldrush .. it's not a period in history I know at all well so I rather relied on her to set the scene and she did that splendidly. Her characters, though interesting, are not necessarily well fleshed out (there are so many of them for a start, not just the twelve men but several other key characters) .. you can't really get under their skin, but then it wasn't really necessary for the plot and anyway you do come to care about one or two of them so it's not as if they're cardboard either.

To sum up, I would recommend it to anyone who likes a thrilling tale told (unthrillingly ) leisurely. Anyone who has ever read Dickens and thought 'oh .. just get on with it' isn't going to like it I am not one of those people however and so, for the most part, I was happy to take my time in unravelling the mystery. Eleanor Catton is definitely someone to look out for .. I may take a look at her previous book The Rehearsal which at 320 pages is obviously one of her short stories   4/5

[Karsa Orlong]

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

 

Review: This is a book to build up to .. you should do thirty bicep curls a day or, at the very least, wait for the paperback It won this year's Booker prize and that's really what sparked my interest because I hadn't heard of it before the announcement but there's definitely been a buzz around it since (and possibly before .. I am very slow in hearing buzzes ) It's 848 pages long

 

848 pages?  Is that all?  It's a pamphlet!  

 

 

 

I quite liked the astrological aspect of the book though could never make up my mind whether it was there for any reason other than ingenuity.

 

I wondered about this.  How important do you think the charts are?  Are they necessary?

 

 

To sum up, I would recommend it to anyone who likes a thrilling tale told (unthrillingly ) leisurely. Anyone who has ever read Dickens and thought 'oh .. just get on with it' isn't going to like it

 

Oh I was really interested until you said that

 

Great review, as usual

[Athena]

Great review ! I don't think it's a book for me, but it was nice to read your review on it.

[Kidsmum]

Great review, i think i'll reserve this from the library just in case i don't get on with it 

[poppyshake]

848 pages?  Is that all?  It's a pamphlet!

 I knew someone would say that. What can I say? .. I'm a lightweight  I've always thought 600 pages was pushing it

I wondered about this.  How important do you think the charts are?  Are they necessary?

 Not really .. they do add something but I didn't think they were particularly necessary

Oh I was really interested until you said that

 It's one of those stories that may well appeal to those that don't like wordy, descriptive, slow paced plots though .. it just depends on whether you get caught up in the story or not   I don't know if it would be a sound investment for you though and I'd rather not bear the responsibility for it     If it's ever on a 99p Kindle deal .. that might be the time to give it a whirl. Shocking lack of swords and battles though

Great review, as usual

Thanks

[poppyshake]

Great review ! I don't think it's a book for me, but it was nice to read your review on it.

Thanks Gaia

Great review, i think i'll reserve this from the library just in case i don't get on with it 

Perfect KM .. and though it's really large you will know quite soon if the style suits you. I borrowed it from a neighbour which I'm glad of as it wouldn't really fit on any of my shelves but I wonder how large the paperback will be  .. it's bound to be an almost equal whopper. I might be tempted if I see it in the charity shops and given how many people seem to abandon it that seems quite likely. I think that's mainly because of its size .. if it doesn't grab you immediately .. the thought of all those pages is extra daunting.

[poppyshake]

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Waterstone's Synopsis: The Turn of the Screw tells of a nameless young governess sent to a country house to take charge of two orphans, Miles and Flora. Unsettled by a dark foreboding of menace within the house, she soon comes to believe that something malevolent is stalking the children in her care. But is the threat to her young charges really a malign and ghostly presence or something else entirely?

Review: Oh Henry James!!         There were about four reasons to pick this book up. It's part of the counties challenge (Essex,) it's a ghost story and so perfect winter reading, it's a book I have on Kindle so, if I could just settle to reading it, the Kindle might not be deemed a most monumental waste of money (that could, to be frank, have been put towards a Kitchen Aid mixer ) and lastly it was recommended to me after my dismal last outing with Mr James (The Ambassadors which would be sure to make the shortlist of 'Books You Would Happily Barbecue!' )

So I came to it with a sense of purpose but also a little trepidation. I had seen the drama a few years back and all I can remember is that Colin Firth was in it  Strangely, though I'm sure I watched it all the way through, I have no recollection of any of it and I believe at the time I was completely bamboozled and hadn't the foggiest (disconcerting but not a rare occurence .. obviously ) Anyhow, the book started off well and Henry redeemed himself somewhat. It wasn't a trial to read (unlike The Ambassadors which was not only a trial but a full life sentence ) .. that is it wasn't a trial to begin with.

It has all the right ingredients for a ghost story. It begins with tales around the fireside on Christmas Eve. The talk turns to visitations and visitations in particular which have 'fallen on a child'. One of the party is not particularly impressed with the tale being told .. he has a much more dreadful story to tell .. 'if the child gives the effect another turn of the screw, what do you say to TWO children?'. He has a manuscript locked in his safe, which was written by the very governess central to the story. This governess had been employed to take care of two orphaned children. Their guardian (Colin Firth) didn't live with them, they lived in a big rambling country house in Essex (of course they did ) and he lived in London. When appointing this (nameless) lady he has but one stipulation .. 'that she should never trouble him - but never, never: neither appeal nor complain nor write about anything'  .. she should take the whole thing over and 'let him alone'. Somehow .. just because of his gentlemanliness, handsomeness and no doubt pure Colin Firthiness  .. she falls in love with him (after just two brief meetings ) and possibly this stops her from running for the hills as you normally would when given this sort of ultimatum .. though I'm not so sure now that it shouldn't have been him doing the running

So far, so good. Off she trots to this lonely rambling house (well she didn't trot actually .. she crunched up the gravel path in a commodious fly ) and there she meets the housekeeper Mrs Grose and the younger of her two charges Flora. Flora's older brother Miles is away at boarding school. The first slightly unsettling note comes when, shortly after the governess's arrival, Miles returns home after being expelled .. the reasons for which are unclear.

This is around the time I started to lose a little patience with the story. In no time at all the governess becomes completely infatuated with the children. She doesn't just dote she becomes absolutely (and quite creepily) besotted with them and as Mrs Grose is already a fully paid up member of their fan club, the pair of them talk about the children in a most peculiar way. This of course would've been a good way to unsettle the reader if it hadn't come across as completely improbable. It seemed to me that, almost instantaneously, they fell into a most cryptic way of speaking to each other which I just found unbelievable. Also, once again I fell a victim to Henry's convoluted sentences. You can start the sentence in full understanding and end it completely foxed. He loses you somewhere in the middle. It's an absolute art form with him.

The story was already fairly ambiguous and so I resented having to work so hard to plot my way through it. I did keep a thread of understanding going which I was able to cling onto from time to time but I couldn't really tell what he would be at and was not one whit clearer after the story ended. I have no idea now what on earth happened .. and in a year or two (or possibly a month ) I'll be viewing it just as I did the drama. I don't mind ambiguous stories .. but when it's a bit of a struggle it would be nice to get a pay off at the end or even to have one or two theories flying around in your head, but if your general impression is 'what was that all about?' it's not very satisfying.

I did enjoy the lead up and the story gave me chills and for that Henry James gets a rather generous 3/5  I'm not going to do battle with him again though .. he's muffed it  

[pontalba]

The Luminaries sounds great, Kay.  Excellent review!  Def going on my wish list, I'll be watching the Marketplace prices.

[Athena]

Sorry you didn't enjoy The Turn of the Screw, it sounds like I wouldn't very much like this author either. Great review though .

[poppyshake]

The Luminaries sounds great, Kay.  Excellent review!  Def going on my wish list, I'll be watching the Marketplace prices.

Thanks Kate Hopefully it will come tumbling down in price soon. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it does and that you enjoy it  This is definitely a book worth reading on Kindle .. far less cumbersome.

Sorry you didn't enjoy The Turn of the Screw, it sounds like I wouldn't very much like this author either. Great review though .

Plenty of people do enjoy it though Gaia, I'm just not a fan of his writing style 

[poppyshake]

The English Counties Challenge (the most famous books associated with each English county)

Progress 25/48 (but I intend to re-read nearly all of them )

 

1. Bedfordshire - My Uncle Silas by H. E. Bates
2. Berkshire - The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
3. Bristol - The Misses Mallett by E. H. Young
4. Buckinghamshire - The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper review
5. Cambridgeshire - The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers
6. Cheshire - Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
7. City of London - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens review
8. Cornwall - Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier
9. Cumbria - Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome review
10. Derbyshire - Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
11. Devon - The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
12. Dorset - Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
13. County Durham - Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
14. East Riding of Yorkshire - South Riding by Winifred Holtby
15. East Sussex - Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne
16. Essex - The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James review
17. Gloucestershire - Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee
18. Greater London - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
19. Greater Manchester - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
20. Hampshire - Watership Down by Richard Adams review
21. Herefordshire - On The Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin
22. Hertfordshire - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
23. Isle of Wight - The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham review
24. Kent - The Darling Buds of May by H. E. Bates
25. Lancashire - Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson review
26. Leicestershire - The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend
27. Lincolnshire - The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
28. Merseyside - An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge
29. Norfolk - The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley
30. North Yorkshire - Dracula by Bram Stoker review
31. Northamptonshire - Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
32. Northumberland - The Stars Look Down by A. J. Cronin
33. Nottinghamshire - Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
34. Oxfordshire - The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
35. Rutland - Set In Stone by Robert Goddard
36. Shropshire - Summer Lightning by P. G. Wodehouse
37. Somerset - Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore
38. South Yorkshire - A Kestral For A Knave by Barry Hines
39. Staffordshire - The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett
40. Suffolk - The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
41. Surrey - The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells review
42. Tyne and Wear - Another World by Pat Barker
43. Warwickshire - Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes
44. West Midlands - Middlemarch by George Eliot
45. West Sussex - Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
46. West Yorkshire - Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
47. Wiltshire - Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
48. Worcestershire - The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall

 

This is the list that we painstakingly came up with .. or it is very near to the list anyway .. I may have made one or two tiny changes in favour of books I prefer or haven't read  (but I haven't compromised on famousness  ) I've also made an extensive list of books recommended and suggested during our discussions because it would be nice to read those too. Some of them, though not so famous, were more evocative of the counties they represent. 

Edited November 28, 2013 by poppyshake

[pontalba]

Thanks Kate Hopefully it will come tumbling down in price soon. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it does and that you enjoy it  This is definitely a book worth reading on Kindle .. far less cumbersome.

Plenty of people do enjoy it though Gaia, I'm just not a fan of his writing style 

 

I found it on Kindle for about 8 USD, so grabbed it. 

[Ruth]

I love your reviews  Have added The Luminaries to my wishlist, which actually means I'll probably buy it this weekend

 

Glad I'm not the only one who struggled with The Turn of the Screw.  I think I was extra disappointed because I started it expecting to enjoy it.  I didn't finish it, although I probably could have - I've finished books which I've enjoyed less.  Maybe I'll give it another try one day (but probably not)!

[Kidsmum]

I shall be giving The Turn Of The Screw a wide berth, i have The Golden Bowl on my TBR pile but after having trudged through The Ambassadors i'm not sure if i can bring myself to read it 

[poppyshake]

I found it on Kindle for about 8 USD, so grabbed it. 

 Absolute bargain .. hope you enjoy it Kate

I love your reviews  Have added The Luminaries to my wishlist, which actually means I'll probably buy it this weekend

 

Glad I'm not the only one who struggled with The Turn of the Screw.  I think I was extra disappointed because I started it expecting to enjoy it.  I didn't finish it, although I probably could have - I've finished books which I've enjoyed less.  Maybe I'll give it another try one day (but probably not)!

Thanks Ruth  Yes .. it's a shame .. I thought I'd like it too and fleetingly I did .. very fleetingly  Hope you enjoy The Luminaries   

I shall be giving The Turn Of The Screw a wide berth, i have The Golden Bowl on my TBR pile but after having trudged through The Ambassadors i'm not sure if i can bring myself to read it 

It's not as bad as The Ambassadors .. that was just a trudge but I don't think his style changes much. I've always intended to read Daisy Miller but I can't see me getting up the enthusiasm .. maybe if I run out of options  

[poppyshake]

Had a few miserable days with an eye problem and got treated, by Alan, to a book  I had pointed it out to him at the weekend as a potential Christmas present but I did half hint that it would be lovely if I had it before Christmas because the stories would be so good to read in the run-up  I am a shameless hussy when it comes to books. I have learnt how to do just the right amount of hinting .. so that it lodges in the mind but doesn't become an aggravation to the potential buyer .. ie: Alan   

 

Anyway it's this book ..

Round the Christmas Fire: Festive Stories

 

It features stories and extracts from all sorts of authors .. Charles Dickens, Truman Capote, P.G. Wodehouse, Laurie Lee, Stella Gibbons etc etc. Some of them I'll probably have read but just from dipping into it already I've read new stories. The first two are both ghost stories .. one by M.R. James and one by Edith Wharton which are shiver inducing but thankfully not too terrifying and they're followed by P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit which immediately makes you feel much better  I'm going to really enjoy reading it

It's a companion book I think to one Vintage released last year called Dickens at Christmas .. I haven't got that one but I might have to find a copy now as they would look so well together  

 

It's been a bit of a miserable week but nothing that can't be solved by tea, toast and a good book. I even lit the fire to make it more authentic   

[Athena]

The book looks beautiful! I hope you enjoy the rest of the stories !