5 brooches #71

Hi there,

Hope you are well.

I've worn (and remembered to photograph!) a few brooches this week so I thought I'd share them.  There aren't exactly 5- there seem to be 6 but never find- the post title fits!

Let's start from the top right and go clockwise:

1.  I bought this 'Connect 4' tank top from DinoprincessChar an age ago but it always annoyed me that it didn't have a top button so I decided to use the Jazzy Lapin bee pin that my friend M gave me for Christmas in the button hole!   I added the Rosebud Casson bee pin that I won in a Instagram competition to keep it company and a Topshop star brooch from a sale a few years ago.

2.  Dressing like an art-teacher. This Seasalt paint-sample shirt was a delightful charity-shop find last year.  I added the pencil earrings our new Deputy head gave me for my birthday last year (we used to do a job share together years ago) and added the cute face brooch that our old Deputy Head gave me for Christmas this year.

3.  This WhiteStuff heart shirt just needed a simple adornment with this Lorelai Le Quillec brooch.

4.  Finally, the Joanie Clothing 'Avid Readers' jumper works with this old Fable and Black 'Drink tea and read books' badge.  I always like promoting reading!

I know some of you don't really like this style of dressing or accessorizing- that's cool, it just happens to be something I enjoy- it doesn't mean I regard anyone's dress sense as any different to mine. But, which one might be your favourite?

x

January Books

In January, I read 6 books.  Not a huge start for the year but somehow, life has been rather busy!

Let's hear about them then.

1.  The Oaken Throne - The Deptford Histories Robin Jarvis
I've been working my way through the Deptford Mice books after purloining them from a charity bag from my little sister.  These books, all about the history of the small creatures, mainly mice and squirrels, are prequels to the Deptford Mice series.  These books are EPIC!  Anyone who thinks a book about mice is going to be tame is wrong- these are full of death, bloodthirsty characters, treachery and evil.  They are extremely gripping but for children's books, they are pretty brutal- so many important characters die!
In this book, we meet Ysabelle who is a squirrel of noble birth. The story begins with treachery in Greenwich- the old Starwife has been poisoned by a treacherous squirrel handmaiden who is plotting with their enemies, the Bats to overthrow the squirrels so she can take over as the new Starwife.  But, the silver acorn which is worn by the Starwife is given by the dying ruler to a falcon who carries to far off to woods where Ysabelle catches it.  Treachery ensues in this distant colony of squirrels and it seems the ancient Pagan religion of the Rathe Siddhe is rising again. Ysabelle, together with her original sworn enemy, a bat named Vesper end up travelling together to return the Acorn to Greenwich. 
I was MOST distressed by the ending- forget sanitary endings for kids where everything ends well, for it doesn't! So much death and destruction but I really cared about the main characters.  The story is very compelling. There is always a twist where someone evil is in disguise and did I mention the deaths?  Very addictive but quite dark!

2.  Off with his head -  Ngaio Marsh
A triple bill of Whodunnits had me excited.  The thing I enjoy a lot about Ngaio Marsh's books is that because theatre was very important to her life, music, dance and theatre play a big part in her stories- there are always actresses and actors in her stories.
This one was very interesting because the story involves a folk Dance and folk music.  A German folk traditions fanatic travels to a village called Mardian where she is perusing a rare surviving folk and Pagan tradition still practised there.  But the family of the Blacksmith who carry on the tradition will not allow her to see their rehearsals or talk.  She soon upsets the family but she's not the only one with a problem with the Guiser, others have grudges to bear.   At the annual performance of the play, the ending where the Guiser is supposed to rise after having his head 'chopped off' is not what it should as fails to rise again and is found with his head several feet away from him.  Roderick Alleyn is called in to solve this impossible crime as no one in a full audience is seen to go near the victim in the performance. 

This was both interesting in terms of the music and drama and intriguing.  The method of crime and reason and how it is done is extremely clever. I did enjoy the revealing of this.  I guessed 'whodunnit' and how but there were still surprises for me though! It's ingenious how Alleyn figures it out!

3.  Singing in the Shrouds - Ngaio Marsh
In the second book, a small cruise ship is due to leave but a girl is strangled near the boat with flowers left on her breast and the murderer is heard to sing as he walks away.  It seems only a member of the ship about to leave could be responsible as all of them were off the boat at that time.
A police officer finds the body and contacts Scotland yard but not before the ship has sailed!  It seems that this murder is following the same method as the 'Flower Murderer' a recent murderer who leaves his strangle victims with flowers on their breast and who sings.

Roderick Alleyn joins the crew at Southampton in cognito as a member of the company to try and unmask the killer.  But, he is worried- the killer kills every 10 days so he may strike again on the cruise if they cannot unmask them.
The book is full of repugnant characters, great caricatures and some very loveable characters (I loved the priest and the young Doctor) and some very strange events occur. The finding of the killer is again very clever and I actually got it wrong who the murderer was so well done Ngaio Marsh!
Very clever and fun!

4.  False Scent - Ngaio Marsh
The last of my Ngaio Marsh trilogy. In this story, an actress (yep, there's one in every book) who is very, very demanding is celebrating a big birthday. But, she is extremely jealous of any success that doesn't involve her and is growing increasingly difficult and erratic.  On the eve of her birthday, it seems she has accidentally killed herself by accidentally spraying 'Slay pest' insecticide in her face.  But all is not as it seems- who has killed her? 
Another one which I got wrong!!!  This was intriguing and done in a different way to what I thought and I liked all the drama.  It was clever the way Alleyn figured out whodunnit!

5.  The Mystery of the Three Quarters -  Sophie Hannah/Agatha Christie
Another book by Sophie Hannah written about Hercule Poirot.  This was a most intriguing mystery!  4 separate people turn up angrily at Poirot's apartment berating him for sending them letters saying he could prove that they were guilty of killing Barnaby Pandy.  Some of them are not sure who he is, others not! Poirot is mystified, since he didn't send the letters, but eager to vindicate himself.  Who is Barnabus Pandy?  The 4th person, it appears, knew him.  But he died by accident by falling asleep in the bath.  It seems the 4 accusees are totally unrelated apart from one.  Poirot is determined to find out whether Pandy was indeed killed and by whom.  Catchpole  of Scotland Yard and Poirot set out to find who sent the letters and why.   I honestly wasn't sure where this book was going and it had a very clever twist at the end. It did make me think of Agatha Christie's writing as she often wrote in new and intriguing ways- i.e. not a linear storyline.   This was clever, intriguing, hugely enjoyable and unpredictable!
6.    DK Eyewitness Guides: Insects
Last year, to my shame, I only read two non-fiction books and both were kiddie books.  I thought I should try to read a few more this year and er, started with another kiddie book!  The DK Book of Insects was one I liberated from my Father-in-Law's house when clearing out.  I AM intrigued by insects- Louise always has such excellent knowledge of insects that I thought I'd like to know a bit more.  This was a great format book- excellent photographs, diagrams with annotations and clear, friendly information to read. I learnt a lot about insects, their classification and distinguishing features.  Nice and simple for the non-fiction disliker in me!

7.  Dangerous to Know -  Tasha Alexander
I found one of these books at the Book sale at the Langdon Hills Nature Reserve when we visited between Christmas and New Year. I very much enjoyed the previous books in the Lady Emily series.  In this book, Lady Emily and her new husband, Colin Hargreaves have taken to France to his Mother's house to allow Emily to recuperate after her shooting in Constantinople and the subsequent loss of her baby.  But, it is far from restful for Emily.  She happens upon the dead body of a young woman who has been strangled and battered.  The woman in question has been missing from a mental asylum for 6 months.  How did she get there? Emily also is finding she and her new Mother in Law are not getting on.  Emily starts to question her sanity as she hears and sees the crying of a young girl. Is she going mad?  And who killed the young lady.  I guessed who the murderer was but not why.  The whole idea was rather preposterous but in a creepy and intriguing way!  I do so love the relationship between Emily and Colin!

Have you read any of these books? Are there any that you'd like to?
xx

The guilty reader book tag

As usual, I have stolen an interesting Book tag from Bev at Confuzzledom who stole it from  Youtube Channel from A Dash of Ash.

Have you ever re-gifted a book you've been given?
I'm trying to think about this but I just don't think I have and if I did, I think I would have said, "I was given this as a present and I've already read it."

Have you ever said you've read a book when you haven't?
I don't remember doing this!

Have you ever borrowed a book and not returned it?
Ahrgh, I did this frequently to my friend Maria during Childhood. Namely her Oz series books. I have a feeling I also did this with some Nancy Drew books from a friend and with The Once and Future King from a nice lady! I am bad!

Have you ever read a series out of order?
Pretty much every series I have ever read is out of order. The first Famous Five Books I read were Books 1,2,4,9 because they were an Omnibus set, the Famouse Five books were then acquired as I saw them. At school, I loved the Tim and the Hidden People series but my school didn't have all of them so again I read them out of order.  The Secret Seven and The Five Find Outers book didn't seem to have a designated order neither did any Agatha Christies. It was the same with the St Claire's series (Claudine at St Clare's was read first as it was acquired first) and the same with the Chalet School books as they are hard to find! Any of the Whodunnit series sets that I have enjoyed in recent times were purchased as random individual books in charity shops and were read as they were found. I don't mind this!

Have you ever spoiled a book for someone?
I very much doubt it because someone did that to me for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!!!

Have you ever dog-eared a book?
Yes, as a child, plenty of times. I used to fold corners and books always got caught in bags! I did that to my Mum's copy of The Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien.  I'm better nowadays but occasionally accidentally books meet with accidents in bags.

Have you ever told someone you don't own a book when you do?
I don't think I'd have done this on purpose. If I have, it would be by accident! I'm not ashamed of any books I own and I'm usually ready to lend and I'll say I don't want to lend it honestly if I don't want to.  Usually I am willing to lend.
Have you ever told someone you haven't read a book when you have?
I don't think so. I am pretty honest about my reading choices and it is rare that I would read something 'suspect'.  That said, no one has ever asked me whether I read a series of Regency Lords and Ladies Mills and Boons books I picked up in a charity shop thinking they would be good.  In case you want to ask, yes I did and I do not want to read about any equivalent Darcy and Elizabeth's sex lifes again thank you!
Have you ever skipped a chapter or a section of a book?
Only if I abandoned the book and didn't finish it.
Have you ever bad mouthed a book you actually liked?
No, I would not do that. I am very passionate about defending my tastes or dissing books I dislike.

So, it transpires that I don't have many dirty secrets in the reading department. Not that I am surprised by this fact!
Let me know if you have a go at this!

xx

5 brooches #64

Hello there!

It seems such an inordinate amount of time since I have shared a brooch post so I thought I should rectify that immediately!

 Up first is the brooch I always wear for the very first Recorder lesson I teach to Year 3.  I give them a whistlestop tour of the history of the Recorder and then show and play to them all the recorders in the recorder family. The little bonus at the end of the lesson is that I share with them that this little brooch is made by the Recorder makers- Mollenhauer - and it actually plays. It is a scaled down recorder brooch made out of Rosewood I think. Or Tulip wood or something like that! I love the colour of it. I wore it with a beautiful Treble Clef necklace which was a present from two sisters at the end of the year!

Here I wore this cute Compass brooch which has a spinning arrow which I received in my Wanderlust mystery box from Kimchi and Coconut! The whole box was amazing!

 Both of these pins, hard to see in this picture, advocate reading- Read More and Book worm!
I've just finished Day of the Triffids and think I did do both of these things!

 Lastly, here is a cute little Dalek brooch from 'Down the Rabbit hole'-  I wore him with a Clara outfit-though one she wore with Cybermen rather than daleks, alas!!

 I know some of you aren't really interested in brooches but I do like doing these little round ups!

Hope you are well.

xx

Advent Calendar Day 21: Festive reads

Having been part of the Bookstagram community this year, the idea of reading some festive-themed books came to mind this year.  I intended to read Jostein Gaarder's The Christmas Mystery through Advent though typically, I couldn't find it until yesterday!

The first book I read was 'Christmas at Tiffany's' by Karen Swann, picked up in a charity shop.

A large amount of the book is NOT set at Christmas so I think that perhaps the name is a marketing ploy but it is certainly an entertaining book.

Our heroine of the book, Cassie, finds out, during her anniversary party, that her husband of exactly 10 years has a child and relationship with someone else.  She flees together with her best friends who live in London, Paris and New York respectively and their plan (conceived in minutes apparently) is for her to live with each of them for 4 months and decide how she wants to spend her life from here on since she married straight from University and has been rusticating in Scotland since then.  She heads first to New York to stay with a friend there where she encounters her friend Susie's brother who she snogged just before she met her husband.  In New York, she undergoes a make-over in the style of friend and works for a PR Agency. She meets a man and all seems to go well until a bit of a disaster in terms of work...

In Paris, she changes yet again, discovers new skills, new friends and explores lists to get to know the place that the aforementioned brother has drawn up for her.

Eventually she ends up in London at the final location.

I enjoyed this book and the fairytale element of it although I found all the 'beauty and grooming' aspects of the book made me roll my eyes a bit and wonder why people suffer so much for perceived 'beauty'.  I also found the 'hero' of the book rather too perfect and in that sense, with his preplanning, verging on the creepy a bit, even though he was not written in that way! Still, it was a good ol' chick lit book that worked well for me. I like a happy ending!

My second read is a Terry Pratchett book, The Hogfather, which I first tried reading in August about 10 years ago before I had read very much Pratchett. I abandoned it and didn't really get into it.

This time, being more au fait with Disc World, having read quite a few in the last year, I really enjoyed it.

In Discworld, it is almost Hogswatch- Discworld's equivalent of Christmas.  The Hogfather is on his way with his hogs driving his sleigh. Except that The Hogfather seems to resemble Death, the Grim Reaper, this year and it seems strange things or happening. Someone or something has killed the immortal Hogfather and the belief that is currently not being used for that is making all sorts of strange creatures that people have suspected exist appear.

Susan Sto Stelitt, Death's Granddaughter, who desperately wants to live a normal life as a governess, despite beating up all the bogeys and horrible things that appear under the bed, gets embroiled when she realises that Death is doing a job he really shouldn't be doing.

I found the book wonderfully imaginative, festive and as usual, full of unbelievably poignant thoughts that strike you. It is dark as usual but with light and amusement. I really enjoyed the characters in it and the imagery and evocative place descriptions Pratchett created such as Bloody Stupid Johnson's shower room that Ridcully discovers.  He is so inventive. I always love the fact that there is a mystery to be solved in many of his books, in this case, what has happened to the Hogfather and WHY?

I enjoyed getting to know Death a bit better and realising he is really a sentimental soul in ways. He appears in pretty much all Discworld books but I've not read any with as much detail as this.  

This is definitely an alternative, brilliant festive read.

Read,of course, accompanied by snacks!

Have you read any of these?

This is my Advent Calendar for day 21 with Julie at KC's court.

September reads 2016

Here's the books I was planning to read this month.  

Alas, the Marsh went into October, the Radcliffe hasn't been begun yet and the Scheherezade, I've only dipped into. But the others?  Well, let's find out...

I read 7 books this month.  Less than usual, but there's been a lot going on with work and the weekends have been full.  There's a variety of authors this month but some of the usual suspects of course!

68.  Chambers Gigglossary- a lexicon of laughter edited by Vicky Aldus and Morven Dooner.

I do love dictionaries and books about words. It isn't very often I read non-fiction books so this makes a pleasant change.  This book tells about how, from the time of Samuel Johnson and his groundbreaking publicition, Dictionary of the English Language (in the mid 1700's),he added silly puns and rather opionated definitions of words such as

Fishing a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other 

As a result, slightly silly entries have been added to dictionaries based on words and have particularly remained a part of the Chambers dictionaries.  The book is highly amusing and whilst beginning with a history of Johnson's dictionaries, it includes reference to other contemporaries who also included humorous references in their dictionaries.  There direct quotes from some Humorous Chambers definitions as well quotes from famous proponents such as Spike Milligan and Oascar Wilde as well as the Chambers Gigglossary from the Chambers website where readers have been invited to send in their own amusing definitions.

Fashion: A means of expressing one's individuality by wearing and doing exactly the same thing as everybody else

This was definitely an amusing read which was easy to pick up and put down without losing a narrative thread, there not being one!

69.  The woman who went to bed for a year -Sue Townsend.

I love a good Sue Townsend book. In this one, our main character has just packed off her very bright, probably Autistic twins off to university and discovers that her Astronomer professor husband is having an affair with a colleague. She feels a fatigue which takes her to bed.  As with any Sue Townsend book, it is very domestic- about what's going on in the house, that's my experience of her books anyway. You find yourself chortling over silly details and wondering if such charicatures exist - which in fact they, I am sure, do.  The artistic, clever-sensitive painter and decorator who ends up falling in love with her, her astronomer husband and his bit on the side, her twins and their thieving, lying university acquaintance, her Mother and Mother-in-law, the people who become fans of hers who want to meet this 'woman in bed' who has 'magical powers' and wisdom attributed to her.  All very silly, but extremely compelling and readable.

70. The Bloody tower (A Daisy Dalrymple mystery)- Carola Dunn

I always enjoy these Daisy Dalyrymple books. They are never overtaxing, are very cosy, in fact someone says there is a genre called Cosy Crime which I think really suits these books. In this book, Daisy is staying at the Tower of London because she is writing an article on it and an old neighbour is now resident there because her relative is now the resident Governor so she has a way in.  A very nice old fellow is murdered who is standing guard and Daisy believes that he was mistaken for a much nastier guard who was supposed to be there.  It appears Blackmail and other such factors are involved.   Alec, her Scotland Yard detective husband, is the one who needs to solve the crime. Of course, Daisy gets involved and unearths critical clues and is the recipient of confidences.  I'll never grow tired of this series.

71. Roald Dahl- Song and Verse

I picked up this volume in the charity-shop since I knew we had Roald Dahl's centenary coming up. At 60p, it was a super bargain and in mint condition. It contains various poems and songs from Dahl's published and unpublished manuscripts. I utilised a 'song' (without a tune) from 'The Enormous Crocodile' and The Grobes from Charlie and the Great Glass elevator to compose my own songs and there are many more including Dirty Beasts, Charlie and the chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach. There are a few that didn't make it into books like a poem called The Shark and a song about one of the children who didn't actually make it into Charlie and the Chocolate factory Miranda Mary Piker.  There are also verses that were cut from the original books such as a song from the Monkeys from the Twits and some from George's Marvellous Medicine.

The book was attractively set out with illustrations from a large and illustrious selection of people including Axel Scheffler, Lauren Child,William Joyce as well as a few by the original Quentin Blake.

72, The perks of being a wallflower - Stephen Chbosky (not pictured above)

I've seen the film so I was intrigued to read the book. It is written from the perspective of Charlie in the form of letters to a 'friend'. He is a teen who has moved to High School and is highly intelligent yet awkward and shy. The book shows how he deals with High School, navigating Alcohol, drugs, friendships and relationships.  He comes to love his two closest friends.siblings Patrick and Sam, feeling more for the girl Sam though just accepting her saying that they would not have relationship.
There are lots of themes dealt with in this book, although I don't feel SO effectively as they could be.

 From the writing it is ambiguous- is Charlie autistic? It seems so but is never properly dealt with, it's not clear which I would like to know. Also, there is a big denouement towards the end to do with a theme, which again, I don't feel is dealt with so well, it's mentioned and stated but I just wasn't convinced with how it ended.
Nonetheless, I did enjoy reading this book.

73.  A kid for two farthings- Wolf Mankovitch

This charming book was one I picked up in Hay on Wye a good few years ago.It tells of a little 6-year old Jewish boy called Joe growing up around Shoreditch. Life is very difficult with little money and much hardship.  He lives with his mother in a room above the shop run by Mr Kadinsky who is a tailor.  He has heard about unicorns from the tailor and so when he sees a small white goat with only one tiny bump representing his horn on his hedad, he decides he must buy him for rubbing its horn will bring him wishes.  Those in his life are in sore need of wishes from Mr Kadinsky who wants a steam press, Shmule, the assistant who wants to win his boxing fight in order to buy a ring for his girl and his mother who longs for their Father to come home from Africa. Will the unicorn bring them the luck or will it be a disappointment. This was such a charming story full of heart but also the gritty realities of life in the East End in the 1950's, yet told in a way that will not turn a childish heart away.
74. Men at arms- Terry Pratchett

I have decided that my favourites of the Terry Pratchett books are the Night Watch ones. I read 'The Night Watch' a long while ago and 'Thud' which I adored so it has been a great revelation to find these books through the @Thediscworlddenizens bookclub on Instagram.
In this book, someone has realised that Corporal Carrot, the 6-foot dwarf who works for the City Watch, is the missing heir to the throne.  They wish to overthrow the Patrician and put him on the throne.  They have stolen a weapon of great power. Meanwhile, in the Watch, they are dealing with new recruits from the minority groups in Ankh-Morpork such as dwarfs, trolls and er- Angua who is something else.  Whilst trying to train these unruly recruits who don't get on so well, Samuel Vimes, the Captain of the Watch is preparing to leave to marry Sybil Ramskins, the noble lady who he got together with in Guards, Guards. But the Watch is in his blood and it might not be so easy to leave.

This book was immensely exciting with a whole mystery to solve as to WHO has stolen the weapon, WHAT it is, WHERE it is and WHAT are they going to do with it. I think this is why I like the Watch books so much.  Immensely exciting with those priceless Pratchett descriptions that just make you giggle uncontrollably on the train with their pithy word choices and make the people around you think you are weird.

The devastatingly beautiful Ringmaster's daughter

Sometimes, just sometimes you read an extraordinary book that you feel compelled to share with the World.  You find then, that no one you know has read it and thus, you have no-one to talk about it with.  This book by Jostein Gaarder is one of those.  A book which contains so much brilliance, extraordinary talent and food of thought, that it astounds you and makes you wonder how it could be conceived by the mind of a mere individual.  This author has an astonishing sense of making you look in the world in a different way.  If I find one of his books in a charity shop, a rare occurence, I consider myself fortunate.  The main character in this book is a genius, but one who is morally/socially different.  He has an amazing mind for creating book and film ideas and synopses, which he ends up selling to struggling authors, secretly.  He ends up responsible for the large majority of successful novels.  Known as the Spider, he has built a whole web of deceit which ends up trapping himself with awful consequences. The story tracks his childhood to adulthood in which we wonder at Petter who seems a strange, otherwordly character who can see through the foibles of others, can analyse and know what is going through their mind in an instant, views them with disdain yet with detachment- such an interesting character.  A brilliant part of this book is the inclusion of a series of synopses and short stories which this character wrote which are really imaginative stories, the like of which I hadn't thought about- bizarre, striking, horrendous!  It has an overarching theme of the search by a father for a lost child that adds a real air of tension and real sense of loss and something being missing or not right throughout and this only adds to the beauty of the story.  The denouement is devastating to say the least!!!!  If you buy any book this year, wanting to read something different, I strongly suggest this one- it is utterly brilliant and unique, unlike any book I have read in a while! Even better than Maya, which I reviewed in June/July and Hello, is anyone there? Even better than his most famous book Sophie's world.  I've even pasted the link to Amazon so you can buy it!

Raiding the shelves

 For some reason I seem to be in the mood of easy-read chicklit!  It seems my mind cannot cope with much, I have restarted 'Out of Africa' about 3 times now!  I've read some great books appropriate to the terrible shopoholics that we bloggers are (no denying it- it's true!!!).  So part of your 'acceptance of your shopping-habit' shall be reading these books!  (Hee hee!)

23.  Sophie Kinsella Shopaholic abroad
As soon as I started reading this, I remembered that this was the book I had read before, some years ago!  It continues the story begun in the previous book I reviewed.  At the end of this, Becky Bloomwood had somehow avoided bankrupcy by landing a TV job reporting on financial matters.  She also got together with the delightful Luke, a PR director. In this book, Becky starts off well but when she and Luke head off to New York, things spiral out of control again.  A shopaholic in New York city is not a good combination and Gugenheim shop and sample sales begin to send her over the edge whilst someone is attempting a coup on Luke's company.  It all seems doomed to end in tears and chaos!  Like the previous book, I found myself wanting to shake Becky and say, "Stop shopping, for goodness sake!" (apparently, Sophie Kinsella intended this series to act as a cautionary tale and they certainly do that!).  Becky is incredibly lucky to get all her mess sorted out, I have to say!  I did feel I was living vicariously through her as I read though! A good read, one for the beach.  Again, I read this in an afternoon.

24.  Sophie Kinsella Shopaholic ties the knot!
The interesting thing about the sequel, in which Becky prepares for her wedding is not that she has a shopping problem but the underlying problem that leads her to get into trouble financially, she just can't fess up and tell someone when she's messed up! In this book, Becky meets her mother-in-law-from-hell, the mother who left Luke when he was young.  She is a society lady in New York who doesn't seem to like Becky but is all set to steamroller the wedding and have a huge fairytale affair in the Plaza New York! The trouble is, Becky's Mum is also planning a wedding back home in England.  Becky struggles to tell the truth to either party OR Luke and I confess, I couldn't see how she was going to sort this, especially when she discovers the Controlling NY Wedding-planner has a clause in the wedding contract that means she will be sued for $100,000 dollar if she pulls out of the wedding!  It was amazing to think about just how much one of those big society weddings cost and 'how the other side live'.  I did get this sense of how much money is wasted in such big affairs and again, I think this tale teaches us something! You can't help but like Becky though!

25.  Sophie Kinsella Shopaholic and sister
I did see myself in the beginning of this book as Luke and Becky are finishing up their 1 year honeymoon travelling around the world as Becky was shipping items she'd bought from each destination home!  I remember coming back from Bali, laden with suitcases and having shipped some stuff back and how hard it was to find somewhere to put the wretched stuff! (I came back with some 50 Balinese books amongst other things!).  The hilarious moment in the book was when they were home and 2 lorries rocked up with all her purchases from various countries including a whole Balinese gamelan!  (I only bought back 2 instruments, not an entire orchestra!).  Anyway, the main tennet of this book is that Becky has to get used to married life and trying to curb her spending whilst trying to bond with the sister she never knew she had.  The sister, who is a skinflint, who is able to count where every penny goes!  Somehow Becky also gets involved with a gangster who helps her when she sees a MUST HAVE bag which there are 100 people in a waiting list for! Great fun, though still of the same ilk, just with a different dimension!

26.  Kate Mosse The winter ghosts
J, CBC's Mum bought this for me in my stocking this previous Christmas and it sounded so intriguing!  The description and emotion in this book is really interesting. It is told from the point of view of a young man who has been tortured by the memory of his brother's death in WW1, who has not been able to forgive himself for HIM being the one who lived.  He breaks down in his car outside Nulle, a Pyrenese (I really cannot spell this today  or be bothered to look up the spelling on Google!) and some mysterious whispers greet him as he heads towards the village.  It is the evening of a special festival and he is invited by the landlady to come and join them.  When he gets there, most people seem to be ignoring him apart from a beautiful young woman who he feels instantly drawn towards, knowing he loves her from the start.  As chaos seems to break out of the party and soldiers appear to raid it, she leads him through a secret passage where she tells them what happened when the soldiers came before.  She tells of an exodus to the caves to flee the soldiers previously and then she leaves him.  It is only when he finds himself back in the Inn, that he realises he must find her.  But, what he finds instead is a devastating tragedy that has not been uncovered from over 700 years ago.  This book, which uses the premise and idea of some real and devastating events is both beautiful, awful and has a lasting impact.  It is full of deep emotion, regrets, and a longing for love.  The setting description is evocative and there is an uneasy sense of suspense throughout the book so when the final denouement is revealed, it is totally shocking! I STRONGLY recommend this!  The historical aspect is brilliant. 

27.  Helen Fielding Bridget Jones's diary
Oh how many times have I read this one?!!!  But somehow, I felt like I just wanted something familiar to read! I love the modern-day Pride and prejudice plot of this book.  It makes me laugh so much, it's all the silly images, such as the 'stumbling round the changing rooms of Miss Selfridge with the dress stuck over my head, rippling stomach on show', because I have had that experience and the comic phrasing is just brilliant and makes me think, "Yes, I have seen that/done that/made a fool of myself like that!".

28.  Lauren Ann- Riegler Confessions of a Jane Austen heroine.
I thought I'd ordered the sequel to this book from an Amazon seller entitled Rude awakening of a Jane Austen heroine, but this appeared in the post.  I assumed it was my mistake and just though I had better keep it.  It was only after I received an e-mail from Amazon asking me to review my purchase which listed the book I THOUGHT I'd ordered  that made me realise THEY were in the wrong!  Damn, it has got a bit bent in my bag so I can't really send it back so I decided to read it again.
Courtney Stone is a young lady who has been devastated by the betrayal of her fiance Frank and her good friend Wes, who has appeared to lie for Frank and collude with him.  She never wants to see Wes again.  But straight at the start of the book, she finds herself in the body of a young lady from regency times called Jane Mansfield.  Like Elizabeth Bennett, she has a horrid, ambitious, sharp-tongued mother, a lovely but ineffective father.  Not knowing how she has got there, she has to try and fit into the life.   She has to tread carefully, not knowing details of Jane's life, particularly what a certain handsome Charles Edgeworth, who makes her heart flutter, has done to incur her censure and turn her from someone 'so dear' to a stranger.  I love this book as it reminds me of 'Lost in Austen' the TV series which was so much fun! I like the way she sees the less sanitary side of Regency life which I, as a Jane fan, don't often think about and view it with rose-tinted glasses.  It is witty, funny and intriguing.  I like the mystery, the humour and all the details.  The only thing I do dislike, is not knowing WHY it happens to her!  This was my frustration with 'Lost', 'The prisoner' and other series' and books such as 'A series of unfortunate events' (most frustrating series ever- I read 13 books and STILL didn't get all the answers!)- I want to know WHY people end up having these strange experiences

29.  Craig Cabell The Doctor Who's who
This book was a gorgeous gift from the lovely Millie at New World as part of my Christmas Faith, hope and charity swap.  It looked a great book but I didn't realise just how fab until I started reading it a couple of weeks ago.  For someone like me, who isn't particularly fond of non-fiction, it was brilliant.  I haven't read that many biographies and I find them long and dull.  This book gave a short biography of the lives and working lives of ALL the actors who have played the Doctor, including the film and theatre doctors. There is enough to intrigue, interest and delight me, but not too much to make me bored!  What he has chosen to say is both interesting and insightful.  It's interesting to see how the character approached the role of the Doctor, how they came to take it, what had come before in terms of work and what they went on to do.  I learnt some real gems about the actors' lives, including Peter Davidson's real name- Peter Moffett- which explains why the Doctor's daughter was called Georgina Moffett! He is a little biased in his opinions, and the conclusion is a bit abrupt but the biographical details were fascinating!  If you love Doctor Who (and I do!!!!!!), this is wonderful but it would stil be interesting to someone with a mild interest. It's funny, but even though I generally detest non-fiction, I am totally happy reading umpteen non-fiction books about Doctor Who, there's always something new to learn!  I like the fact this bound together both new and old Doctor Who as it includes right up to Matt Smith.

"I wish I could read as many books as you do when I am older Miss..." What I've read this week!

How nice is that comment from one of my kids! He was reading Lemony Snicket, A series of Unfortunate events, The Austere Academy and me being me, I couldn't help but wax lyrical about how much I loved those books (I read one a day for 2 weeks!) and he was amazed that I'd read them all as an adult and then uttered those words. I was touched! It reminded me of a craze I began in my very second year of teaching, over Lemony Snicket.

It all began with my reading the series. I then came into school and told the children how cool they were and asked who wanted to be the first to borrow Book 1. There was wild clamouring For some reason, with that class, if I told them about a great book I read, they would all instantly long to read it.

From that moment, there was a MASSIVE waiting list to borrow my books. At least 20 children read the first couple of books in my class and one child read them all and borrowed all the subsequent sequels (The Unauthorized biography, Beatrice letters) from me. I loved that class....

Anyway, I'm not sure exactly what that has to do with this post, except to offer some sort of justification to the world for me reading so many kids books! Some people think it's a bit funny but I maintain

a) if I can recommend to a reluctant reader, something I think he/she might like, it's worth it

b) it's research for my job

c) I have to teach guided reading so I HAVE to read kids books in order to prepare the best for them

d) They are blooming exciting! I don't want to read about gratuitous sex and violence, I like things to be innocent and fun!


Anyway, if you have kids of the age 8-9, particularly maybe boys, then have a look at the books below. I bought the 3 Louis Sachar books in Book Ends in Hay-on-Wye in August for £1.00 a piece.

LOUIS SACHAR is a brilliant author for boys, particularly those at the latter end of Key Stage 2, early KS3. He writes about modern, social and moral issues that concern them. Behaviour, friendship, making right choices, outsiders, community, relationships, self-belief, family. I could go on. His first work I read was There's a boy in a girl's bathroom which is a wonderful book for children with challenging behaviour and social issues or dealing with difficulties in frienships but for anyone really of that age, they are marvellous.

The following ones are for younger children, year 3,4,5 I would think.
46. Louis Sachar Marvin Redpost:Class President

Part of a series of at least 10 books, the main character, Marvin is a kind and considerate boy who thinks before he acts. We encounter him and his friendships at school and outside. The characters in this book are quirky and all have idiosyncracies (word of the day!). There is always a subtle lesson to be learnt in the Marvin Redpost books. In this one, it is to do with daring, believing and aspiring. In this book, the class have all come in holey clothes when it transpires the American president is visiting their class! Cue pandemonium and frantic question preparations. It gets children to think about relevant questions when interviewing someone, people believing in their goodness and having dreams and going for them. There's a lot of fun, jokes and frolics thrown in for good measure that boys and girls alike will enjoy!

47. Louis Sachar Marvin Redpost: A magic crystal
Another book in this series, which interestingly touches upon friendship between boys and girls. When children reach year 4 or so, they're already starting to think, "EUGH girls!" or "Yuck boys!". In this book, Marvin becomes friends with a girl and this book is about how he and his friends deal with it. An interesting issue. Again, the character of Marvin ultimately comes across as someone who is a good role model as he faces dilemmas.

48. Louis Sachar Marvin Redpost: A flying birthday cake.

The general message of this is that old adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover," which is as important today as it's ever been. In this book, it becomes obvious to US the reader, that the new boy may be not of this world! This is a great book for Assessment Focus 3- inference and reading between the lines, in guided reading as you can get the child to talk to you about all the clues that prove that the character Joe might not be human. Again, the book deals with friendships. In this case, reconciling making friends with someone who is different to staying friends with people who don't want to welcome new people. It also deals with jealousy and standing up for what is right. In the case of Marvin- he has to make a decision between facing being bullied himself and standing up for someone who's being picked on. Highly recommended.

I thoroughly recommend all 3 as medium-sized reads that engage the child and encourage emotional literacy.

49. Edward Eager The Time Garden.

I LOVE time travel!!!!! Or in this case, Thyme travel! This book has inspired me to read HG Well, The time machine. HOW is it that I have not read any of his books?!

This is one for boys and girls. It has a Famous five ilk to it with a group of children, in a seaside mysterious house and garden, adventures, buried treasure, historical interest, play-on words. Some children who live in America end up staying with an aunt in her cliffside house and gardens. They meet a mysterious Natterjack upon a sundial who leads them on a variety of time travelling adventures. They meet American and English historical figures, help fugitives and even end up meeting characters from Little women. I found this book highly imaginative and great fun with some valuable lessons to be learnt as well for kiddies!

By the way, do you not think that front cover looks like Quentin Blake's work. Apparently, it's not him but don't you think it is????

http://www.amazon.com/ Thank you for the images!

Would you recommend these to any children? Do you read kids books at all? Have you read any of these?