January Books

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I have resolved this year, to post my books each month, even if I don't review them properly (I like reading books,  cannot be bothered to review, particularly as I have Book amnesia). In addition, I have resolved to read and clear some books from my bookshelves so they aren't groaning at the seams. I expect this resolution to do monthly reviews will go the way it has the past few years and this will be the only post, but we can but hope!

1. Hamnet  Maggie O'Farrell

William Shakespeare, had twin children, one of whom, Hamnet, died aged 15.  This account is a fictional account of the life of Shakespeare's children and wife.  It is set in 1596, and Judith, is taken ill with a sudden fever. Her twin, Hamnet searches for help but cannot find anyone to help at home. Mother, Agnes is away in a medicinal herb garden and father in London.  The book leads up to the death of her son with accounts of young Will (never referred to by name but inferred from the start), his wife Agnes and the children. It is brutal in places- life is very dirty, difficult and unloving for much of the family but what shines through is the love of the extraordinary mother for children.  The supposed description of way plague reaches the family is wonderfully clever and evocative and the death is devastating and how it results in a play called Hamlet very intriguing! I've never read any of this author but I really enjoyed this. I give it 4.5 out of 5 just because I find the grit of historical accounts a bit distressing.

2.  Escape to the River sea- Emma Carroll (after Eva Ibbotson)

This was a wonderful sequel to Eva Ibbotson's Journey to the River Sea.  The setting is WW2 and our main character is a Jewish/English girl, Rosa Sweetman who travelled to England on the Kindertransport, is now, in 1946, waiting for her family back in Austria to call her back home. However, her wait is interrupted by the arrival of Yara Fielding who has come to seek something in the library and soon she finds herself in the Amazon rainforest in search of Jaguars and something else.  The writing describing the settings is beautiful and the adventure that Rosa finds, unexpectedly includes danger from unexpected sources.  Without spoiling it, this was a worthy successor that kept you guessing. There is a great respect for the indigenous people in here too. I give this 5/5

3. The Case of the Gilded Fly -  Edmund Crispin

Robert Warner's theatre company is in Oxford to rehearse for his new play. Yseut Haskell, spoilt and unlikeable actress has enemies at every front and soon faces her demise in a college room close to the room of eccentric, amateur detective and Oxford don, Gervaise Fen's office.  Anyone had the motive  but who had the means.  This story is bonkers in places. I love the vocabulary of it, you can tell E.C (real name Bruce Montgomery) is erudite. Gervaise Fen is highly likeable, but also deeply frustrating through his eccentricity and smug knowing of who things but not really giving you a clue how he knew. There is a lot of red herrings. Entertaining and great setting of Oxford writing but I found myself getting distracted at times. I give it 3.5/5

4.  The Moving Toyshop - Edmund Crispin

Another Gervaise Fen  mystery, which I have read before, begins with poet, Richard Cadogan arriving in late at night in Oxford for a holiday but as he trudges along the road from the Headington roundabout, he ends up inside a toyshop where he finds a dead woman's body.  He is then knocked out and locked in a broomcupboard.  When he comes to the next morning and runs to the police station on Ifley road, when they return, there is no longer a toyshop but a grocers instead and certainly no body!!!!  Bemused, he turns to friend, Professor Gervaise Fen to solve the missing body and toyshop crime.  There is a lot of chaos and capers and wrong turns until we find who murdered who and why! This was more entertaining than the previous book and I enjoyed it! I give it 4/5

5.  Orbital - Samantha Harvey

I took a brief break from eccentric whodunnits to read this Christmas present I received which CBC had read before me. He spent the whole time telling me, "NOTHING happens, you will hate it!"  This book, shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2024, was a very imaginative and descriptive account of cosmonaults living aboard a space station. Written in the Present Continuous tense, it has a timeless feeling.  Not a huge amount happens in it, CBC is right but it is very celestial and beautiful if not the most exciting book to read. You could also say a bit boring. I give it 2.8/5.  Lovely, but not my cup of tea.

6. Holy Disorders -Edmund Crispin

In this fen book, we start on the train with organist and composer Geoffrey Vintner who has been attacked and threatened against going to Tolnbridge where he has been asked by his friend, Gervaise Fen, who is on holiday there, to cover the duties at the cathedral of Brooks, the organist in residence who has gone apparently mad after poisoning. The evening they arrive, the organist is then murdered and another member of the church murdered.  This complicated and convoluted case involves espionage, witchcraft and a Nazi plot. I found this book harder to stick with again, though as always Fen is irritating and funny and it's quite hard to work out what is going on! I enjoyed the church music references and I liked Geoffrey Vintner as a main character (Fen always has some sidekick who helps him solve the crime, alla Dr Watson.). I give this one 3.5/5

February Books

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 I am aware that this post is LONG overdue but I had it half written so I may as well finish it!

Here are some short reviews of some books I read!

10.  The Gilded Ones - Namina Forma

Category: YA

Our main character is Deka and she is about to have her Purity ceremony which happens when girls reach a certain age. If their blood flows red, they are fine, if it is gold, they are impure. This is a very patriarchal society. Her rejection by the village is horrendous but she is offered an opportunity to join an army of girls who fight against Deathshrieks who are increasing in number and boldness at attacking the people. Her new life is difficult and Deka wonders if she will ever be accepted anywhere. Will she ever come to terms with herself and the terrible truth she discovers? 

The world building in this book incredible and this felt very different. I felt like I went on a huge  journey with the character and I felt very much for her constant feeling of rejection and devastation. The ending was unexpected. I would love  to read the sequels even though there is some pretty gory description and allusion to violence and rape.    I give this 4/5

11. The Stormkeepers' battle - Catherine Doyle

This is the last book in a trilogy (and I haven't read the last 2) set on an Irish island telling of a boy called Fionn Boyle who is facing an epic battle. An evil sorceress, a crow character called The Morrigan has been raised from her death and they are all trapped on the island of Arranmore.  Fionn becomes the Storm Keeper of Arranmore and so it is he that stands between her and the future of only darkness. He will need to find a way to defeat her. But does everyone believe in him? Will any of them be left to help him before their capture?  There were a lot of battles- a lot of the character build up and introductions had been done in previous books  which meant I found the book exciting but exhausting.  I found the book quite dark, as is intended with this character but nonetheless very exciting.

I gave it 3.5/5

12.  I, Cosmo - Carlie Sorosiak

This book is told from the first person perspective of family dog, Cosmo.  Cosmo is worried about his family.  The parents seem to be arguing a lot.   It was so full of heart. I found myself very anxious about what would happen to Cosmo who is getting very old and when I saw a review comparing it to Charlotte's web, I spent most of the book getting worried about how it would end! The idea of the dog dancing classes and competitions seemed a bit far-fetched but funny. I bought an Author proof of this from Barnardo's. I give this 4.5/5

13.  The secret of Haven Point - Lisette Auton

Told from the perspective of Alpha Lux, a wreckling.  She lives at Haven Point, a lighthouse which is isolated from the rest of the wound. All the wrecklings have found their way there and have various disabilities or things which make them special or outcast by the rest of the world. It's all about positive naming. The Author is herself, a disabled person (her naming) and I like that her main characters all had disabilities and this was part of the plot. It had a fantasy element to it, mermaids who help the wrecklings rob cargo boats every so often to ensure they have the things they need to survive.  One day, our main character Lux notices a glint as if someone is watching with binoculars and she investigates and discovers a spy! I was confused a bit with the writing at times and I found the ending a bit strange and abrupt but I can't say why I feel like that. I give it 4/5

14. Sangu Mandana - Kiki Kallira breaks a kingdom

Based on characters from Hindu tradition, Kiki Kallira is a chronic worrier.  She worries about what she does to the detriment of her mental health.  She enjoys drawing a fictional character based on the folk stories and characters of Hindi mythology in Mysore to soothe her anxieties.  One day, it all goes wrong when characters start jumping out of her sketch book and she has to enter her fictional version of Mysore to save the city from the god she gave power back to by somehow releasing them from the prison they were placed in by the gods aided by a bunch of rebel children who are orphans and her beloved main character who defends them.   The book has an unexpected twist and great description and is very imaginative. I gave it 4/5

15.   Zillah Bethel- The Song Walker

This is one of those books where you have no idea where it will end! I was gripped. Our story begins with a girl who wakes up and finds herself stranded in the Australian outback, alone with no memory of who she is or how she got there. She only has with her a metal case with a combination lock.  She must survive the desert and see if she can discover who she is and why she is there. It was gripping with an surprising ending. I don't want to spoil this for you by saying more but is very respectful towards and educating of First Nation culture and I really enjoyed learning the secrets.

16.  The Body in the Blitz- Robin Stephens

The latest in the Murder Most Unladylike series spin off- The Ministry of Unladylike activity. May, Eric  and Nuala find themselves staying in a small Cul de Sac in London during the Blitz as they are needed at the Ministry of Unladylike behaviour.  They find themselves involved in another murder as a body is found in a house that was recently bombed in the Blitz. Who is it?  How long has it been there?  Who killed them.  The children must try to solve the mystery before the authorities do. There was a LOT of red herrings and round the houses with this one which seemed quite realistic and made it hard to work out who the murder was.  The children's friendships are tested and there is added difficulty that Daisy Wells is missing after a mission to France!  This was excellent as I always expect from Robin Stevens.  She represents a lot of different social groups in her stories, well and sensitively. I give it 5/5

January Books

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I used to review books regularly on the blog but I got out the habit as I found it a bit of a chore and experience book amnesia.  Kelly, Ivana and Anca suggested a couple of ideas for giving it a go so I figured I won't try to be 'book reviewy' in my approach and just go with it!  I tried very hard this month to try and review the books I'd read. I can't guarantee I will do this every month.

1.  Radio Boy - Christian O'Connell

Relieved to get this off my shelf at last. It was chucked out of someone's book corner OR the school library as the first page or pages had fallen out and got lost. I figured I would fish it out and give it a try as I felt sorry for it. I managed fine without the first few pages.

It's about a boy who is the typical underdog. He doesn't have loads going for him but his one thing is he hosts a radio show on the hospital radio. Sadly, he gets sacked from the job at the start of the story because no one really listens to it.   He's part of A.V club at school (with only 3 members) and he tries to ask for them to start a club at school. To his dismay, the much disliked headteacher shuns his obvious experience and gets his own smug son to host Achievement radio to talk about the achievements of those high flyers at school. He's sad and furious about it but his his Dad, when he eventually finds out about the sacking, suggests me start his OWN radio station, helped by his two friends.  They go about sourcing equipment. He decides to host incognito and this gives him a sense of bravery to say things about his headteacher and school and all the kids who listen LOVE it.  He eventually causes a lot of disruption at the school and gains more fans but is the power going to his head too much??

I loved this book!  I didn't know how this story was going to go and I liked the fact that he went to far and it got him lots of grief. His friends were interesting as were his very quirky parents (his dad was a failed rockstar...but only because he left the band when they went big)

I rate it 3.5/5.  I did find the main character a little irritating but it was an enjoyable book

It feels sad this should go into the bin because of its missing first few pages. Would anyone else want to give it a try?

2. Roots of happiness - Susie Dent

I bought this beautiful non-fiction book in the Waterstones sale. It's by Lexicologist Susie Dent who I went to watch in her one woman show last year at the Palace theatre in Southend. I LOVE learning new words so I really liked the idea of this.  It's aimed at children but I learnt some beautiful new words from it as well as seeing other ones I knew. It's a lovely hardback with excellent illustrations aptly showing the meaning of the words. All the words are beautiful or positive words ranging from archaic words, rare words or modern words.  She explains them really well and I felt the positivity that is intended from this book. It's so attractive!

I rate this 5/5!

3. While the light lasts- Agatha Christie 

I am pretty certain I've read most of Agatha Christie's books (except not her Mary Westamacott ones except the one I wrote about in my 2023 review) but I remember picking this up in the charity shop a couple of years ago for £1 and not recognising the title. It's a short story collection, most of which I did not remember at all except I wondered about one called Christmas Adventure which was about Hercule Poirot and a Christmas pudding (and I know I read The Adventures of the Christmas pudding  about 20-25 years ago but can't remember what it was about though I wonder if it is that short story book published under a different name?).

These were an intriguing collection of stories, all very different and I got through them quickly.  There was a great one about a treasure hunt and Within a Wall a story where a husband who was an artist gets very cross with this family friend who seems to inspire him in a new artwork everytime he has a row with her. His wife is very cunning with money and seems to be leaching from this family friend and at the end of the story, it seems that, once the friend is dead, that the man realises he is totally trapped in his marriage. It was all very alarming! Another one called The Lonely God, was all about a couple that meet in the British Museum

There was such variety of stories and again, not all seemed very Agatha Christie, that I give it 4.5/5!

4. Rainbow Grey and the Battle for the skies - Laura Ellen Anderson 

I bought this brand new from Barnardo's. The store I visit is often given sample proof copies or unsold stock from publishers so I've found quite a few great children's books brand new. This was only published last year. I found the first book in this trilogy last September in a charity shop so was super pleased to find this one. It's about Rainbow Grey, a weatherling.  In the kingdoms in the skies, magical beings called Weatherlings control the weather on the earth below.  Each weatherling discovers their own particular weather power when they are young and train at Sky Academy to control it. Ray Grey, in book one seems to have no powers at all (like her mother) until she discovers an underground  chamber on Earth where all the powers of the Rainbow weatherlings (not seen for 1000 years) come into her and she comes Rainbow Grey and gains her powers. She fought against a Rogue called Tornadia Twist in book 1. In this book, the final in the trilogy, Ray is trying find out what her own particular power is as a rainbow weatherling whilst Tornadia is ripping apart the Weatherlands with her rogues.  With all her friends and family in danger, Ray has to try and save the Earth.  The book was really exciting and imaginative and the illustrations (which are on most pages- the author is an artist) are really engaging-some of the pages are black with white print which is really intriguing.  I found the book (as an adult), occasionally, a bit too 'cool for school' but I know kids would love it and the characters like Nim, the cloud cat who is Ray's constant companion.

I rate it 4/5

5. The company of eight - Harriet Whitehorn

Another charity book bargain- it was £1 from Oxfam Hexham.  This is was an excellent, imaginative book in the 9-12 children's range.  Cass is an orphan who lives on an island in great city of Minaris.  her dream is to be an acrobat in the Circus Boat which travels from island to island performing but her guardian would never allow her to do this.  When she misses her audition, she jumps about a boat which is off to the Island of Women (where her mother was from) to try and see if she can catch the Circus boat another way.  On the way, she meets people from the Palace boat and soon joins them as an alternative route to the circus Boat but it seems noone is what they seem and she seems to lurch from adventure and safety and danger at every turn.  The description was beautiful (I love a fantasy map) and Cass is a great hero with some very likeable characters.  It has all the standards of a classic children's adventure and fantasyb but somehow felt new and fresh. I give this 5/5

6. Cats and Curses - Elen Caldecott

One of my sweeties in year 6 brought this to me when I spied someone reading it in class as I'd read the first book in this Marsh road mysteries series as she knew I wanted to read it.  Piotr, Andrew, Flora and Sylvie all live on Marsh Road, ordinary children with normal lives but who solve mysteries.  Andrew's mum, following an accident at work a year ago, is going to work at the antique shop/junk shop but then a mummified Egyptian cat turns up and all sorts of things start going wrong for the owner and the family.  Is it really a curse or is someone masquerading behind this and pulling strings.  This was a fun mystery. It's a bit too conversation led for me in places (a chatty book, if you know what I mean) but I love a mystery book and it was fun, plus it is a good children's book for friendship.

I give it 3.5/5

7. Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus

I borrowed this from my MiL's bookshelf last Summer when she was clearing out for moving and I am SO glad I did.  I have discovered it was an absolute bestseller and has been made into a TV series. It was absolutely wonderful. Devastating in places, quirky (I love slightly, odd, outcast characters who are often geniuses, socially awkard whether due to neurodivergence or what.

5/5

8.  Friends and Traitors - Helen Peters

I bought this from Ottie and Bea in Framlingham as it was on the 1/2 price shelf despite only being published last year. I love a children's WW2 book.  This has two main characters, Nancy and Sidney.The latter is a clever girl of working class background who has to leave school to work as a maid in a Manor house and a rich school girl who has been sent to a school who have been relocated to the same manor house.   Sidney is immediately picked on by popular girl who doesn't want to have any competition.  Both Sidney and Nancy, separately, overhear the Earl acting suspiciously and making reference which makes them suspect him of treachery against the British government.  A prank on the popular girl brings the girls together and unites them in their common suspicion and they join together to try and reveal the treachery.

This was really exciting and had a secret passage (always a winner in my book) and night-time adventures.  It's loosely based on true accounts artistocrats who turned traitor in real life though is fictional.  I enjoyed the friendship, how they managed reveal the crime and enjoyed the fact that Sidney and Nancy were suspicious of each other to the end- there wasn't an over the top effusion of friendshup which seems unrealistic.

I give this 4/5/

9. A Head full of Magic - Sarah Morrell

Fleur is a quiet girl who enjoys chess, books and her small friendship group.  But at the start of our story, she's been ousted from her trio by a new girl, Celeste, who is a 'cool girl' interested in hockey.   Fleur's nan is West-Indian and very close to her.  Her father went away about a year ago and her English mum is having to work hard to support her.  Fleur doesn't want to worry her nan and mum so doesn't tell them about the bullying she is experiencing from Celeste.  But something strange is happening. Animals suddenly seem very attracted to Fleur and she discovers she can talk to them.  When her nan's parrot tells her he's been seeking his missing wife and she realises that there's more to her nan than meets the eye, Fleur must try to use her powers to help him and to stop Celeste from winning the end of year hockey match. This book was quite unexpected in some ways and predictable in others.  I enjoyed the friendship aspect and how Fleur telling her family about her feelings and what is happening is important to the plot.  I'd happily read the next book in this series...if it becomes one?

I give this 4/5

Stats:

7 books Children's fiction

2 Adult fiction

1 Non-fiction

 6 new authors to me

3 books from previously read authors

The Big Book Review of 2023

As predicted, I failed to post ANY book reviews last year. I WANT to but I find it a chore.  I find also that I suffer from Book amnesia once I've moved onto a new book- I forget details such as character names, places and other crucial details. It would be helpful to as I find there's a lot to try and remember from a list of 90+ books at the end of the year! I must recommend three bloggers for excellent reviews- Kelly , Bev and Anca

Perhaps I should just post a list of them each month and state my favourite or any notable features? Any suggestions for a manageable, smart way of somehow acknowledging and reviewing books without fully reviewing them? All tips gratefully received

These questions, I THINK came from Janet's blog (she doesn't still blog but does review over on Instagram) but I  know various bloggers who have also stolen these questions from each other (Bev and I frequently steal post ideas  from each other! HA!) 

• Best book you read in 2023:

Ella Minnow Pea by  Mark Dunn still remains the cleverest book I've read, even though it is a reread!

• Children's fiction:

  I've ummed and ahed about which book I chose for this category.  I really loved  Onyeka and the rise of the rebels which is the second Onyeka book by Tola Okogwu.  It was so exciting and imaginative with some interesting ideas in terms of technology, a great importance of family and I wasn't sure how it would end.   Interestingly the other book I liked best was also by a Nigerian author. I adored Jummy and the River School by Sabine Adeyinka because I loved that I got a real feel for aspects of life in Nigeria- morals and principles, food and it was like a Malory towers book but set in Nigeria.  My last read of the year was the sequel to this book which amazingly, despite being only out since May 2023, I found in the charity shoo for 50p!

• Crime fiction:

Bev sent me The Floating Admiral which was written by The Detection club.  Several famous authors, including Agatha Christie, GK Chesterton and Dorothy Sayers, got together to write a whodunnit between them- each wrote a chapter, not knowing who the author had selected as their prospective criminal- it worked a bit like that game Consequences we used to play as children.  They then had to continue the mystery and advance the case further until the final author wrapped up the mystery.  It certainly read for a challenging whodunnit but this made it really intriguing!

• Classics:

Not that many to choose from this genre. I would definitely say The House on the strand by Daphne Du Maurier is the stand out winner.  Such an interesting book about how taking of certain herbs/drugs result in a travelling back to the past whilst the body remains in the present.  It had such evocative Cornish setting writing and I genuinely had no idea how the book was going to end.

• Non-fiction: 

I read 7 non-fiction books this year.  Not bad for me, a known-detester of real life books!    I would say that Night Trains- the Rise and fall of the sleeper train -  Andrew Martin was probably the most interesting.  Although it only covered a few European night train routes, it was comprehensive and I learnt a lot about the history and what has changed and how recently some routes have gone out of the night train option.  It did serve to make me want to travel on a night train again, asap.

• YA:
  

I only read two of this genre but again, my winner is the author Neil Shustermann with his new book  Gleanings  in the Arc of a Scythe dystopian series.  This was a series of short stories from the Scythe world and gave some excellent backstories to events in the main trilogy as well as some ideas about how the world continues post trilogy.

• Dystopian fiction:  

I discovered the Piers Torday, Last Wild series which definitely counts as Dystopian and it was excellent. I read the 3 books in the series, the Last Wild, the Dark Wild and the Wild Beyond.  I read them because I found the 2nd two books in a charity shop in mint condition for the school library (I vet books before they go in!) and discovered one of the class book corners had book 1.   They were really compelling but not as dark and depressing as most of the dystopian books I read which I usually find really harrowing.  Perhaps because of the age group they are aimed at. Usually, I read YA or adult dystopian fiction whereas these are aimed at the 9-12 category.

• Most surprising (in a good way) book of 2023

The Night Diary - Veera Hiranadani.  I picked this up in a charity shop in Barnardo's for £1 in the children's book section. It is a fictional retelling in the form of letters from a girl, Nisha, in India to her deceased mother set at the time of the partition of India in 1947.  Nisha is half Hindu and half Muslim and lives  around the border.  We see the way things start to change and how people begin to treat each other as the change happens and involves Nisha and her Father making a journey.  I wasn't sure if the book was fiction or non-fiction before I began it but I found it really compelling and interesting. I absolutely adore any book written in the form of letters and wasn't expecting, from the diary, for it to be in this format.  It was so much more exciting than I thought the story was going to be too as well as very educational.

• Book you read in 2023 that you recommended most to others: 

I reread Ella Minnow Pea: the story of letters this year and this has been my most recommended book over the past few years so it still counts, however, if I am thinking of a NEW to me in 2023 book, it has to be Sabotage on the Solar Express by M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman , part of the Adventures on Trains series- I have recommended this to several children who have all enjoyed them.

• Best series you discovered in 2023:

Strictly speaking, I didn't discover it this year but I only READ the first book that year and that was the Laurie L King Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series. I only read the Beekeeper's apprentice (but I have had this and 6 other books on my shelf for several years) but really enjoyed it and can't wait to see how it continues!

• Favourite new author you discovered in 2023:

Natalie Haynes, the author of A thousand ships.  This book is the untold stories of the women of the Trojan war.   You can tell that the author has done excellent historical research, really knows her subject and imagined what life might have been like for a multitude of different characters in the Greek epics and history. In the Greek stories like the Iliad, we don't often get to hear about the women and their feelings and motivations and what it is like to be left behind, what it is like to be one of the casulties, the widows, the victims of soldierly machinations and whims. It wasn't an easy read, it was very brutal in places but it was nonetheless, a really different read for me. 

• Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love but didn't.

I LOVE Agatha Christie and I think I have read practically all her novels but I read (not sure if reread or just read though I was pretty sure I had read it before though couldn't remember any of the stories) The hound of death - Agatha Christie on holiday in Switzerland and I found the fact that most of the stories were based on psychological crimes or lots about seances very tiresome and unlike her usual writing.

• Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre to you.

Honestly, I'm not sure I read a book that was out of my comfort zone that I consider the 'best book'.

• Book you read in 2023 that you're most likely to read again in 2023.

I'm more likely to reread The beekeeper's apprentice - Laurie. R. King as I want to read the next books in the series and I may want a reminder!

• Favourite book you read in 2023 from an author you read previously.

I loved all the MG Leonard and Sam Sedgman Adventures on trains books that I read this year but I thought Sabotage on the Solar Express had a really interesting idea about trains run on a circular Hydrogen system- I wish it were possible!

• Best book you read in 2023 that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else

I adored the 44 tiny secrets by Sylvia Bishop which was recommended to me by the lovely proprieter of the Otie and the Bea bookshop in Framlingham (who gave me 8 free books for my school upon discovering I was a teacher and passionate advocate of contemporary fiction for children!) . It was SUCH a sweet story and I adored the beautiful illustrations inside and the fact that the book had a music theme!

• Favourite cover of a book in 2023:

There are two. I loved the front cover of The Ukranian Christmas book and also October October by Katya Balen as it had a really attractive lino-cut-style look cover.

• Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2023:

I'm not really sure any book had a great impact on me.  Not sure I reaad anything that deep!

• Book you can't BELIEVE you waited until 2023 to read:

Books, not book. I have had the Frances Brodie series about detective Kate Shackleton on my bookshelves for at least 8 years. Why had I only read ONE of them till this year? They were excellent!!!! I then passed them on to San!

• Book that had a scene in it that had you reeling and dying to talk to somebody about it (a WTF moment, a epic revelation, a steamy kiss etc). Be careful of spoilers

Well, I'm not sure there was anything that I was really longing to chat bout but I would have liked to chat to someone about Absent in the Spring by Mary Westamacott (Agatha Christie)- it was so unlike any regular Christie book I read, I just wanted to ask someone else's opinion about it!Ania

• Favourite relationship from a book you read in 2023 (be it it romantic, friendship etc)

I loved the relationship in Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer between Annis Wychwood and Oliver Carleton- it's very much a sort of Darcy and Elizabeth style relationship that starts with contempt.  knew they would end up together but it was fun seeing them get towads this point!

• Most memorable character in a book you read in 2023

I loved the character of Ania in Girl 38- finding a friend by Eva Josefowitz!

• Genre you read the most from 2023:

Children's fiction is definitely my most read genre this year. I definitely need to buy NO new books in 2024 and get through the ones I have.  On this note, I should mention that the entire staff at my school have borrowed children's books from my Music Room library recently as I have such a range of contemporary writers and I suggested it to our Reading Lead as part of the our inset to try and get them trying some new authors. Many were excited about it! No one has returned one yet so I am not sure how they are getting on.  I've had a steady stream of children using my music room  library scheme and they are really delighted by the selection. I read 58 books from the Childrens' fiction.  

• Best 2023 debut

City of Stolen Magic by Nazneen Pathak Ahmed was only published in June this year and I thought it was an excellent premise.  It is about forbidden magic in  India 1855 under British rule and how a young girl with powerful magic learns to control her magic and searches for her mother.  It was an really enjoyable book with a really unexpected development that I didn't see coming!

• Book that was the most fun to read.

I'm sorry I haven't got a clue- The best of 40 years  by Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Jack Dee and others was hilarious!

• Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2023:

I try not to write about the same book twice in here but the only one I cried over or felt like crying over was A thousand ships by Natalie Haynes. I cried for those who suffer in war but whose story never gets told- those who suffer brutality and misery.

• Book you read in 2023 that you think got overlooked this year or when it came out?

I don't really read about books and prizes that much (except for on blogs) so I'm not totally sure about this.

• Total number of books read: 91.  This is an improvement on the 82 I read last year (but not as good as the year of 106) and I credit it with the removal of Scrabble Go from my phone AND having a generally rubbish phone battery plus reading a very large number of children's books which I get through very quickly.  July was a good month with 11 books and May with 10.  The worst month was November with reading a big non-fiction tome and a fiction book that took me a while to get into. Can I get back to the elusive 100 next year like I did back in around 2016? Vix almost managed it with her impressive 99!

In ascending order, here are the books I read last year.

December:

84. Gifts - Laura Barnett

85.  Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer- Jeffrey Boakye

86.  The Christmasaurus and the Winter Witch- Tom Fletcher

87.  The Mistletoe Murders -  PD James

88.  Murder on Christmas eve- Val McDermid and others

89.  The Christmas Railway Detective - Edward Marston

90.  Time to shine at the River School- Sabine Adeyinka

91.  A Ukranian Christmas - Nadiyka Gerbish & Yaroslav Hrytsak

November:

80.  Absent in the Spring - Mary Westamacott (Agatha Christie)

81.  Doctor Who- The Vault

82.  A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Zeki

83. Danger at Dead Man's Pass - M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgeman 

October: 

70.  The Peculiar Peggs of Riddling Woods - Samuel J Halpin

71.  Bookshop girl- Sylvia Bishop

72. Noah Wild and the floating zoo - Alexander McCall Smith

73.  The House at the edge of Magic - Amy Sparkes

74.  44 Tiny Secrets - Sylvia Bishop

75. The City of Stolen Magic- Nazneen Ahmed Pathak

76.  Lady of Quality - Georgette Heyer

77.  Gleanings - Neil Shustermann

78.  Ella Minnow Pea- Mark Dunn

79.  October, October - Katya Balen

September:

60.  Cogheart- Peter Bunzl

61. Moonlocket - Peneter Bunzl

62.  Sabotage on the Solar Express - M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman 

63.  The Arctic Railway Assassin -M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman 

64.  Rainbow Grey - Laura Ellen Anderson

65. The boy who swam with Piranhas - David Almond

66.  The Boy who flew- Fleur Hitchcock

67. The Last Wild - Piers Torday

68.  The Dark Wild- Piers Torday

69.  The Wild beyond - Piers Torday

August:

51. Taylor and Rose- Villains in Venice- Katharine Woodfine

52. Taylor and Rose- Nightfall in New York Katharine Woodfine.

53. The House on the strand - Daphne Du Maurier

54. The hound of death - Agatha Christie

55. The beekeeper's apprentice - Laurie. R. King.

56. Climbing a Monkey Puzzle tree - Karen Wallace

57.  You don't know what war is - Yeva Skalietska

58. The last word (bookshop Mayhem) - Ben Bailey Smith

59. Dave the Pigeon-  Swapna Haddow

July: 

39.  The thief who sang storms - Sophie Anderson

40. Libby and the Parisian Puzzle - Jo Clarke

41. Count - ﹰMelvin ﹰﹰBurgess

42. Dragon ﹰrising -Katie and Kevin Tsang

43. The Good bear - Sarah Lean

44. Barb the Brave - Jason Patterson and Dan Abdo Jason Patterson, Dan Abdo

45. The Super Secret diary of Holly Hopkinson- Charlie P. Brooks and Katy Riddell

46.  The music in me- Sophy Henn

47. Yesterday crumb and a storm in a teacup- Andy Sagar

48. First Class Murder- Robin Stevens

49.  A thousand ships - Natalie Haynes

50.  The Mirror and the Mountain - Luke Aylen

June:

32.  Murder on a Summer's Day- Frances Brodie

33. 101 uses for Stinging Nettles- Piers Warren

34.  Death of an avid reader- Frances Brodie

35.  The 1000 year old boy- Ross Welford

36. Death in the Dales- Frances Brodie

37.  Death at the Seaside - Frances Brodie

38.  Death in the stars - Frances Brodie

May: 

21.  The Unfinished clue- Georgette Heyer

22.  Poison for Breakfast- Lemony Snicket

23.  Everything Beautiful- Eleanor Ray

24. Jummy at the River School - Sabine Adeyinka

25.  Dying in the wool- Frances Brodie

26. A medal for murder- Frances Brodie

27. Girl 38, finding a friend - Ewa Jozefkowicz

28. Murder in the afternoon - Frances Brodie

29.  A history of Music - David Schweitzer and Mary Richards

30.  Once upon a tune -Stories from the Orchestra - James Mayhew

31. An unknown woman- Frances Brodie

April:

14.  Happy here- Introduced by Sharna Jackson- 10 stories from Black authors and illustrators

15.   I'm sorry I haven't got a clue- The best of 40 years  - Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Jack Dee and others.

16.  Onyeka and the rise of the rebels- Tola Okogwu

17.  Georgette Heyer- The Unfinished Clue

18.  The Floating Admiral - The Detection club

19.  The Christie Affair- Nina De Gramant

20. Night Trains- the Rise and fall of the sleeper train -  Andrew Martin

March:

16. Inspector Singh investigates: A most Peculiar Malaysian Murder- Shamini Flint

17.  A jigsaw of fire and stars -  Baba Yadoe

18. The train to Impossible Places - P.G. Bell

February:

8.  Kidnap on the California Comet- Sam Sedgeman and M.G. Leonard

9.  The Night Diary - Veera Hiranadani

10. A Glasshouse of stars -  Shirley Marr

11. Aru Shah and the end of time - Roshani Choksi

12.  Death in Hyde Park - Robin Paige

13. Wollstonecraft Detective Agency- The case of the missing moonstone

January: 

1. Girl of Ink and stars - Kiran Millwood Hargave

2. Last Tango in Aberystwyth - Malcolm Pryce

3.Circus Maximus- Race to the Death- Annelise Kay

4.  The ministry of unladylike activity- Robin Stevens

5.  Paper Boat, Paper Bird- David Almond

6. Diary of a disciple  - Luke's story - Gemma Willis

7. Ra- the Mighty Cat Detective - Amy Butler Greenfield

Here are the questions if you want to join in in reviewing your last year's reads.

• Best book you read in 2023:
• Children's fiction:
• Crime fiction:
• Classics
• Non-fiction:
• YA
• Dystopian fiction
• Most surprising (in a good way) book of 2023
• Book you read in 2023 that you recommended most to others
• Best series you discovered in 2023
• Favourite new author you discovered in 2023
• Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love but didn't.
• Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre to you.
• Book you read in 2023 that you're most likely to read again in 2023.
• Favourite book you read in 2023 from an author you read previously.
• Best book you read in 2023 that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else
• Favourite cover of a book in 2023
• Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2023
• Book you can't BELIEVE you waited until 2023 to read.
• Book that had a scene in it that had you reeling and dying to talk to somebody about it (a WTF moment, a epic revelation, a steamy kiss etc). Be careful of spoilers
• Favourite relationship from a book you read in 2023 (be it it romantic, friendship etc)
• Most memorable character in a book you read in 2023
• Genre you read the most from 2023
• Best 2023 debut
• Book that was the most fun to read.
• Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2023
• Book you read in 2023 that you think got overlooked this year or when it came out?
• Total number of books read:

World Book Day costumes 2023- Hal and the Highwayman.

World Book Day!

My favourite day of the year!!! (apart from Christmas performance day and Vltava performance day with the Year 5's)

I LOVE the excitement of seeing what children and adults will dress up as! The more home-made, the better!

This year, the teacher strikes were happening on the official 2nd March World Book Day.

My union had not achieved the threshold to strike so I was 'working' but because all the other teachers, bar one are with the NEU, our school was closed. I worked from home as my sympathetic SLT realise that making me do the 3 hour round-journey for no actual teaching was a waste of time and they know I will get on with work.

As I was working, it struck me that I could do an 'At Home' world book day costume. I tend to like to wear 'dressy' outfits for Book Day so I had a quick think about one I could wear at home.

I came across the wonderful 'Adventures on Trains; series by MG Leonard and Sam Sedgman a couple of years ago.  MG Leonard had a son who was fond of trains but realised there didn't seem to be any chapter books aimed at older children with an interest in trains. She got together with Sam Sedgman and they wrote the series together.  The first is called 'The Highland Falcon Thief' and is an excellent mystery adventure book with some wonderful historic train details such as the Water Scoop!

My Godmother bought me the next 2 AoT books for my birthday last year and I recently read 'Kidnap on the California comet'.  The main character, Hal, wears a distinctive yellow coat, white and black breton striped top and jeans on the front covers. Ha, I can think of several of us who could pull together this outfit.

I donned the aforementioned garments and tried to mimic the pose on the front of the book (with added rucksack)

I then attempted the 'coat off' version from the next book, "Murder on the Safari Star' with CBC's 40th birthday binoculars added.

I shared my pictures on Instagram and Sam Sedgman shared my picture on his Stories and MG Leonard shared mine in her gallery of Hal on her website!

Did I tell you about a lovely story connected to these books?

My work colleague has a son who is around 8.  We were chatting and she was saying that it was hard to get him to read any new books as all he wanted to read was Wimpy Kid books and wasn't enamoured by anything else. I asked if he liked trains (she said yes) and I offered to lend her the Highland Falcon Thief for him. She agreed and I lent it.

Fast forward a week later and she told me he was absolutely loving it and she had gone in and found him reading it by himself in bed and he even took it on holiday with him. He asked to buy the next book and when they accidently bought Book 3, he was fretting about it so I lent him the 2nd book. She sent me a picture of him already reading it in bed that night and he sent me a lovely picture of the Highland Falcon Thief that  he'd drawn for me to say thank you! She was so grateful!

It is a pretty special feeling to know you have helped someone in their reading journey. I am lucky I have the time and inclination to read a lot of children's book so I can match readers with books. A lot of teachers struggle to make the time for it so it is nice I can help.

Anyway, back to THE ACTUAL WORLD BOOK DAY at school costume.

Well, I was planning on dressing as Paddington Bear but then I realised Year 6 had been learning The Highwayman- a classic ballad by Alfred Noyes and I would be teaching Year 6 that day.It tells the story of a doomed highwayman who is in love with the landlord's daughter Bess but it all goes wrong.

Back in my 'World Book Day list of ideas', dating from at least a decade ago, I listed the idea for The Highwayman or Bess to be characters. The poem itself gives you a detailed list of what the Highwayman wears.

Here's what I wrote on my blog post:

The highway man:
Also good for Year 6 and year 5 children.  From Robert Louis Stevenson's classic narrative poem.
The poem tells you what the costume should be!
 He'd a French cocked hat at his forehead.
A bunch of lace at his chin.
A coat of claret velvet 
And breeches of fine doe-skin.
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh!

And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.

(So that's:  a wine-red coat, ideally velvet, some sort of white shirt, ideally ruffly- you could make a ruffle out of some white material or just a handkerchief;   brown trousers or leggings (if girl?), A hat can be made out of black card again.    Think Admiral Nelson.
A sword in a belt, and two toy guns).  

When I used to teach this poem to Year 5, I did actually done a simple version of the outfit, o, I decided that I would like to be the Highwayman and do it properly as I knew we (meaning Mum and I) had all the garments between us.

Let's have a look at my outfit: 

I started with Mum's 1970's claret-velvet jacket.  I also had brown leggings which could act as his breeches of brown doe skin (worn with another pair of leggings underneath.Yes, I was self-conscious about wearing Leggings as trousers.

I added Mum's vintage leather belt to cinch the jacket and my eYe Italian brown boots to emulate his boots (not-quite thigh-level!)

When it came to the hats, Mum had both of my tricorn hats in her loft (bought for The Pied Piper of Hamelin a few years ago). 

She made me a blue ribbon hair-tie to do up my hair.

I asked Mum if she had any lace as I wanted to do something better for the 'bunch of lace at his chin' and for ruffly cuffs than CBC's Darcy shirt and sent her a picture of the Highwayman.

Fast forward a day and she had made me this wonderful neckpiece on elastic with some white cotton and some lace she had in the loft plus some elasticated ruffles for my wrists.

She also found an M&S vintage-looking blouse I'd given her from a charity-shop a few years ago that I could wear too.

I attempted to make a black eye-mask out of an old sock but it wasn't working so I donned a black headscarf as a face-covering to disguise my identify for any potential robberies!

I decided I would like a pair of pistol butts ("A twinkling") so I found a pair of duelling pistol images (which had both side views) online and I printed 2 sets of them. I cut them out and then stuck them to cardboard on both sides so I had the pistols to tuck in my pockets and brandish at individuals.

I decided against making a rapier. I did make an old sword for my Muskateer costume but I'm not sure where it is!

My final piece was to take a piece of cardboard and write out the opening verse of the Highwayman with its evocative setting-description (with excellent metaphors)  so I could share it with anyone who asked who I was.

On the otherside, I wrote out the verse/stanza about his description.

I then used watercolour pencils to try and illustrate the setting.

The Year 6's were delighted with my costume. Many of the other children thought I was a pirate!

In singing assembly for Year 4, I shared my true identify from the poem and then spent the assembly telling them the story of the Sorceror's apprentice by Paul Dukas whilst playing them the orchestral music.  I then showed them the beginning of the Fantasia version of it and encouraged them to try and find the end of it themselves.

They seemed pretty rapt with attention and said how clearly the music helped them.

Around the school, there were some marvellous costumes.

Some particular highlights were: The Gingerbreadman made out of Cardboard, the Headteacher in the most exquisite handmade 'Fantastic Mr Fox' outfit, the very hungry caterpillar in Year 6, Paddington Bear in Year 6. There were also lots of Wednedsay Addams characters- not sure if a book or not but they looked great!

Today was Cantatas and Concertos day in Year 6 where I got to share my joy in Bach's Coffee Cantata once again. I had a bit of a panic when I couldn't find my assessment sheets folder but luckily, after some ringing round, discovered one of the teachers had put it away safely for me! Phew!

Tomorrow, CBC and I are going to go on a foraging walk and meal with Vegetarian legend Leon Lewis and I really need to do some Gamelan practice!

Hope you are well!

xx

 

March books

Trying to catch up with my March reads.  I am so desperate to try and actually review my books this year!!! And now I have to somehow write about my April reads!

8.  Where were you Robert?  Hans Magnus Enzensberger

This is a German translation into English.  It concerns a curious teenager, Robert, who has strange eyes.  When he rubs his eyes and happens to be looking at an image of a place, he somehow time travels and ends up there.   It's such a curious and imaginative story with Robert ending up in all sorts of places- Soviet Russia, rural Australia, the home of his Grandmother...and back and back in time Robert ends up...you wonder how on earth he will ever get home again.  The translation is by Anthea Bell who is a superb translator (she translated my beloved Famous Five 19 sequel books by French author, Claude Vollier) - I love the feelings, the historical details- I have such a strong sense of place and character in this book.  Robert learns much along the way.  I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did.  I thought it would be one of those books I read once and give away but I really like the idea of reading it again. 

9.  A day in the death of Dorothea Cassidy -  Ann Cleeves

Dorothea Cassidy is a vicar's wife, social worker, kind soul and is involved in all aspects of lives in the town where she lives.  But she is found dead in the park, beautifully laid out in a floral display.  So who would want to kill her?  This was intriguing.  It wasn't the usual, 'everyone-thinks-the-victim-is-wonderful but they have a dark secret'-type of plot, it was a bit different and very intriguing. I genuinely wasn't sure who the killer was, which was interesting, and I got it wrong who actually was the perpetrator.  I liked the lead detective in this case. I'm not sure if it is a series or not but it was great Whodunnit and I wouldn't be adverse to reading more books of this genre by Ann Cleeves.  I give it 4 out of 5.

10.  Uncommon Type- Tom Hanks

This book was kindly given to me by Hazel when I expressed an interest in it. (I have subsequently passed it onto an ex-blogger, Char, who is a Hanks fan and, who I hope, will pass it onto other ex-bloggers who are Hanks fans.)  It is a set of short stories which all have the mention of a typewriter in them, in some, a key plot device, in others, a mere mention.

There are a couple of stories that are linked by characters (dotted throughout the compilation) and I liked meeting these characters a few times, even if I found the second adventure (in which they seemed to be travelling to the Moon in a homemade rocket!) a bit bizarre! I liked the first story in which 2 of the characters begin a relationship.  Another really lovely story was about the purchase of a typewriter from a specialist shop.  The typewriter at my grandparents' house was a huge part of our childhood and we LOVED sitting up there in the study typing away on it.  I still have some wonderful typewritten letters from my Grandad- they are so synonymous with my grandparents that this book made me feel nostalgic to own one (CBC would NOT be best pleased if I indulged though....something to do with filling up every single ounce of space or horizontal surface).  The stories were all different but all had a wonderful imagination and sense of place, even if some of the characters felt a little 2 dimensional. I really enjoyed this book.

11.  Foxglove Summer - Ben Aaronovitch

Confession- I read the first book in the Rivers of London (aptly named that) series and wasn't that fussed by it after loads of reading friends raved about it, recommended it to me and told me I'd love it.  I bought that and this book at the same time and didn't bother to read this one for a few years.  In the meantime, I read a short novella called October Man on holiday in Italy as I had run out of actual books, didn't want to read my Kindle, and borrowed it from my Mother-in-Law.

In this story, Peter Grant, PC and wizard in the police force, first new wizard in 50 years goes out to Herefordshire to investigate whether 2 missing girls has anything to do with magic.  In the search, he encounters talk of the fey folk, he is accompanied by the Goddess of the Beverley Brook in South London.  This book was SO much better than the original Rivers of London book and I found I enjoyed all the whimsical writing- there was a real sense of mystery in the solving of the crime and we learnt more about the history of the magical world and I sense there will be more revelations in future books. A fun and imaginative read with serious elements as well as some very apt observationally comedic elements. 

12.  The 7 professors of the North - John Fardell

Another book which I bought from a charity shop, this is, I guess, a sort of Science Fiction story for children.  It is wonderfully imaginative and takes us to very far north!

Sam's parents have an unexpected conference so luckily, he's saved from staying with an awful auntie, by the arrival of Professor Ampersand to takes him to Edinburgh, along with his grandchildren Ben and Zara to stay.  However, his arrival to the quirky home of inventions is interrupted by the arrival of a very ill Professor Gauntraker who, along with Prof A. was one of the 7 professors of the Far North. a university on Nordbergem, a small island inside the Arctic circle.  But the wonderful place of education was devasted by the betrayal of theft from it by Professor Murdo.  All the professors were left for dead but mysteriously managed to escape home and begin new lives. But now, Professor Murdo is back in Nordbergen!!! At this point, the professors are attacked and kidnapped by agents of the villain and taken to Nordbergen. It's up to the 3 children to try and rescue them before Professor Murdo unleashes a secret invention so dreadful, it could mean the end of the world!!! They are aided in their journey by the mysterious method of a secret train that takes them as close as they can to Nordbergen and are helped by a motley collection of characters.  The description and characterisation of this fun sci-fi kids book is really delightful and I really did picture the place and the feelings of being in them with a pounding sense of urgency and time ticking away! I loved the secret train and its history and really wish it was true! There was a great ending to this story and I thoroughly enjoyed it! 

13.  Letters to the editor- Ralph. A.  Hummel

I was sent this wonderful collection of letters last year, crafted by my lovely blog-friend Ally, one of the cleverest and most kind bloggers I know.  Ally has written many letters to the papers over the years to the New York papers which have wonderfully (and rightfully) been published and Ally had compiled them into one book.  Sadly, when it arrived, my husband accidentally spilt a cup of coffee over it and I quickly dived in and put kitchen-roll paper in between the pages and put it safely out the way to dry.  Of course, I then completely forgot about it until March, when, to my delight, I found the collection had dried out and hadn't been ruined in any way, just had a vague stain on a few pages.  Hurrah! Ally is an attorney so a lot of the letters have a legal theme and a lot to do with ethics but there are comments on political issues, reference to the boycotting of Jane Fonda because of her legal views on war (written AND published at the tender age of 15!!!!)  a strange request from a first Law boss regarding a Christmas tree written in a very witty, succinct way, an unpublished letter expressing love for a memoir but rewarded with a letter from the author of the memoir, reference to the treatment of disabilities, reference to sexism from radio presenters and a whole other set of letters.  Ally has SUCH  a succinct, clear writing style that shows the supreme intelligence and sensitivity I know her for and I felt able to understand the things I was reading about.  There are little hints of Ally's working life and I felt honoured to gain insight into a dear blogging friend's life outside of the blog.

What did you read in March (or indeed April....which I hope will come soon!) 

xx

Books I've read so far this year.

Since the whole pandemic began last year, inexplicably, I have read less than I have read in years.

It is bizarre, but somehow I've found it harder to concentrate on books as much as I usually would.  Scrabble Online has also had a lot to do with it, less train journeys and waiting at platforms, having  a better phone.

Still, apart from trying to finish off some games, I've given up ScrabbleGo during Lent and I've read a little bit more in March so far but still not so much.

I really did get out of the habit of reviewing books I've read on here, not least because, when I was reading more books, I actually get Book Amnesia.  After I'd moved onto another book, unless I reviewed it straight away, I couldn't remember character names and things that happened so I couldn't write reviews and then writing 8-9 reviews with details I was hazy about, was also not book.  Plus, I was reading a lot of library books (till March!) and returned the books swiftly, knowing my propensity towards large library fines if I forgot to return/review.

Plus, if I didn't stick them on my blog list of books, I also forgot what I'd actually read.  All a bit hopeless really!

Anyway, that's a not very good introduction into actually writing about the books I've read so far this year as I'd really like to do that again, even if writing reviews is not really my favourite activity!

January:

1.  Blitzcat - Robert Westal

This was one of my Hexham charity shop book buys and I love a good WW2 children's story (indeed any WW2 story).  It follows the adventures of a cat, named Lord Gort, as she tries to find her owner who has gone off to fight in the war. Along the way, she touches the life of various people for a while who she meets and spends some time with as she moves on and has some incredible effects on those she encounters- perhaps she is lucky as the people who she meets seem to be very lucky.  It shows various aspects of life for different people during the war- civilians, soldiers, homeguards, pilots, landladies for soldiers which is interesting and keeps it varied. There is a real sense of hope in this story.  The writing is poignant and beautiful with some good building of tension. It doesn't end the way I expected which was good and I was compelled to keep reading.  

It has some swearing and references to sex made which make it perhaps not quite suitable for the age I teach but apart from that, I think it is a marvellous book.   I give it 4.5/5

2.  Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour bookstore  -  Robin Sloan

I bought this in Hexham also and bought it purely for the compelling title.  It wasn't what I expect and was a really intriguing book.  Clay, a web-designer originally, can't seem to find a job in his field until he takes a job at a strange, dusty old bookshop which is open 24 hours a day and a very, very odd owner.  He has the night shift which is bizarrre for a bookshop. He has very few customers but then discovers the shop has another purpose.  Visitors have to be recorded carefully in a log with descriptions and they have access to some very strange books on very, very high bookshelves which Clay must never read himself.  It turns out there is a great ancient mystery to be solved from centuries ago and whilst it is an ancient mystery and conspiracy, it can only possibly be solved by using the latest technology.  With the help of a worker for Google and various high tech people, Clay goes on a search to try to solve the mystery.

I LOVED the ending of this and the feeling of wondering what on earth the mystery would turn out to be.  I honestly had no idea what it would be or how it would turn out. This was a wonderful mix of ancient and modern and I found it truly compelling though I found the beginning a bit slow!  The ending was fab!  4.25/5

3.  The Language of Kindness (A nurse's story) - Chrissie Watson

Another Hexham charity shop purchase, this is an autobiographical account of life as a nurse in the NHS.  It is told compassionately and with great care with a focus on the background of the author as well as her time as a nurse.  I enjoyed this and felt I learnt a lot more about nursing and how hard it is and what a thankless, stressful and yet amazing in some ways, job. However, I did find the way the chronology jumped around quite irritating.

I give it 3.5/5

4.  The Psychology of  Time Travel - Kate Mascarenhas

CBC bought this for me for my birthday last year (I think, or was it the year before?) and was a curious story,  It is about a team of women who built a way of time travel but one of them went mad.  It is set in  1967 but then 2017 where the grandaughter, Ruby, of one of those timetravel pioneers never knew what happened to her Gran but then gets a strange warning about the imminent death of someone elderly but unknown and finally 2018, where Odette is the person who finds the mystery dead woman and wants to solve it.  This was an odd book, intriguing but I didn't find myself gelling with it at first.  I wanted to know who had killed the dead woman but the strange chronology and the curious way time travel was portrayed didn't make me love it at first.  Things became clearer and more intriguing as the book moved on. I did really like the character of Odette and it was good that the entire set of main characters were female.  The psychology aspect of it was really clever and different (and crucial to the plot).   It was a very imaginative and original read and I would recommend giving it a go even it wasn't my favourite read- probably because it is sci-fi and for some reason, I don't LOVE sci-fi books. 

I give it 3/5 just because it wasn't totally for me, not because it isn't a good book.

In February, as far as I can remember, I read  3 books (atrocious!)

Rumblestar by  Abi Elphinstone

The Unmapped Kingdom is a set of lands where magic is real and all sorts of creatures live. But one day, Caspar Tock is trying to escape some bullies by hiding in a clock when he finds himself in another land.  This is not good for Casper who likes routines and timetables and is NOT the sort to like adventures.  But he finds himself alongside a grumpy girl called Utterly Thankless, being the only hope of saving the unmapped kingdom of Rumblestar from a harpy called the Morg who is trying to steal the magic of the kingdoms for herself from where she is imprisoned.

The story was a lovely one and builds on the typical theme of friendship and taking risks to allow yourself to have friends.  It was imaginative and fun with great descriptions and likeable characters.  I did contemplate trying to dress up as Utterly for my world book day costume but knew no one would have heard of this book sadly.  I really want to read the other books in this series now and when various relatives were talking about birthday presents, really wanted to say, "Please buy me the rest of the books!" but at the same time, worrying about purchases being made from Amazon and wanting them from an independent bookshop, actually asking for something in particular and people expecting me to want 'SPECIAL' presents because it was a big birthday (I didn't).  Sadly, didn't pluck up the courage but I hope to buy the sequels next time I'm in Northumberland from Cogito books (where I bought this one)

I give this one 4.5/5

6.  The Problem of evil- James Runcie

This is the second of the Granchester books I have read (this one obtained from the library sale rack) and is about the life and adventures of priest, Canon Sidney Chambers who helps solve murders and mysteries  He is now happily married to his lovely German wife,Hildegard (LOVE!) and faces a series of mysteries to solve.  I like the short story format but all within a chronological time frame and overarching storyline and I like that Sidney is truly portayed as not perfect.  There's a missing painting, a priest killer and a baby who goes missing- they were enjoyable stories. I wasn't totally fixated on reading this but I enjoyed it.   3.75/5

7.  The Kingdom by the sea - Robert Westall

I didn't realise I had inadvertantly bought two Robert Westall WW2 setting books when I was in Hexham.  This is about Harry, a boy whose house is bombed in WW2 Northumberland (very happy to read another book set in Northumberland!) and whose family hadn't made it to the air raid shelter with him.  He doesn't want to be sent to live with his aunty so he sets off along the Northumbrian coast.  He doesn't have a plan apart from a vague idea to head towards Lindisfarne with a dog who it seems has lost its family.  The book tells about how he survives in terms of food, shelter and mentally.

Firstly, any book set in Northumberland is bound to please me, plus, my aforementioned liking of WW2 era books but the proximity to the sea and the sense of survival in in this book really is wonderful.  I read it really quickly, really wondering what would happen to Harry.  I like books with details about food, I think this stems from my love of Enid Blyton and food descriptions, though I do think Harry eats waaaay too many chips. I really did love this though and all the strange, good and bad characters he meets. The descriptions of the sea and the weather and events really did transfix me and I didn't know how the book was going to end. The ending was a bit of a shock to me, I must say.  There was something so free and different about this book and I would definitely read it again.

I give this 5/5.

I can't guarantee I will be able to keep up the reviews but will try!

Have you read any good books this month?