Kerry (CDVicarage) continues in 2023

Astonishingly (to me) this will be my twelfth year in this group and in May I will mark my sixteenth Thingaversary. Last year was quite an upheaval for us: Jon, my husband, finally retired from his post as a Rector/Vicar in the CofE, which meant moving out of a large Rectory and into a modest semi. It was a new-build and the moving date kept slowly moving later and later, but by the end of June we and our much reduced possessions were in place, albeit mostly still in boxes. After six months we should be fairly well settled in, and in some ways we are but the Christmas season has jolted us a bit - we didn't have the traditional places for putting the tree, the Advent calendar, the Christmas cake etc etc. The second Christmas cake has not yet been broached as it was so well hidden away. The best thing about our new house is its position: we are close to the centre of a large village - Holmes Chapel - and closer to Clare, Richard and Toby (daughter, s-i-l and grandson). Toby spends two days a week with us and I spend two days (not the same ones) working with Richard in his small printing business. My mother (now 83) has also moved into the same little estate, around the corner but not in sight, which makes life easier in some ways but adds further committments. I have an unofficial challenge of reading 200 books per year, which I have achieved in six of the last seven years but not this year. The other 'failure' was the year we moved from Crawley Down to Nether Alderley, although that was a much easier move it obviously still took time and effort.

I'm fairly confident of reaching 75 this coming year but other aspects of my reading have changed. I've always been a re-reader and, if anything, I've increased that, although I do try new books too. I have a Real Life bookgroup and the other six members usually choose books that I wouldn't have read if not 'forced' to. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don't. I also follow Liz's (Lyzard) tutored threads in the 75 and Virago groups and these are often books that I wouldn't have chosen on my own but her tutoring and encouragement, and that of the rest of the group, usually enable me to finish and appreciate the books.

I haven't made a list of last year's 'best' books but when I sorted by ratings my 4 and 5 star books were nearly all re-reads. Of books new-to-me last year most were published by Dean Street Press - especially their Furrowed Middlebrow range but also the Golden Age mysteries - two types of book that I would probably have rejected not many years ago. I don't seem to have the capacity for big or 'difficult' books these days but I think apparently 'light' fiction is just as worthwhile if well-written.

I already have some of your 2023 threads starred and will no doubt add more as time goes on and hope to welcome many of you to mine!

January:

1. Portrait of a Turkish Family, 3rd January
2. Don't Tell Alfred, read by Adjoa Andoh, 5th January
3. Deira Joins the Chalet School, 6th January
4. The Nothing Girl, read by Lucy Price-Lewis, 13th January
5. The Dig, 14th January
6. The Belton Estate, 16th January
7. The Something Girl, read by Lucy Price-Lewis, 21st January
8. Slightly Foxed 74: Voices from the Riverbank Summer 2022, 21st January
9. Anne of Green Gables, read by Kate Burton, 22nd January
10. The Time of the Hunter's Moon, 23rd January
11. The New Moon With the Old, 29th January

February:

12. His Dark Materials: The Complete Collection, 2nd February
13. Mothers and Daughters, 7th February
14. The Bullet That Missed, 10th February
15. The House in Dormer Forest, 12th February ROOT
16. The Blue Castle, 14th February
17. The Little White Horse, read by Miriam Margolyes, 15th February
18. The Girls on the Shore, 16th February
19. Persuasion, read by Juliet Stevenson, 17th February
20. La Belle Sauvage, 17th February
21. The Scribbler No. 21 July 2022: A retrospective literary review, 17th February
22. Heiresses, 18th February
23. The Scribbler No. 22 November 2022: A retrospective literary review, 19th February
24. Breathing Lessons, 22nd February
25.Slightly Foxed 75: Beside the Seaside Autumn 2022, 25th February
26. The Secret Commonwealth, 27th February

March:

27. Death in the Stocks, read by Matt Addis, 1st March
28. A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting, 6th March
29. Driftnet, 8th March
30. Green Money, 11th March
31. And Furthermore, 12th March
32. Kate Hardy, 15th March
33. Murder While You Work, 16th March
34. Pirouette, 18th March
35. Lady of Quality, read by Eve Matheson, 19th March
36. Invisible Women, 20th March
37. Travellers in the Third Reich, 25th March
38. Case in the Clinic, 28th March
39. Love's Shadow, 30th March
40. Slightly Foxed 76: String is My Foible Winter 2022, 31st March

April:

41. Thrown, 2nd April
42. Behold, Here's Poison, read by Matt Addis, 2nd April
43. The Talisman Ring, read by Phyllida Nash, 8th April
44. The Last Remains, 11th April
45. Tiny Sunbirds Far Away, 12th April
46. Love in a Mist, 13th April
47. The Maid, 14th April
48. Agatha Christie: a Very Elusive Woman, 20th April
49. Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, 22nd April
50. Ask A Historian: 50 Surprising Answers to Things You Always Wanted to Know, 23rd April
51. Phoebe, Junior, 24th April
52. The Whicharts, 25th April
53. They Found Him Dead, read by Matt Addis, 25th April

May:

54. The White Lady, 2nd May
55. A Blunt Instrument, read by Matt Addis, 7th May
56. The Nightingale, DNF 8th May
57. Remainders of the Day: More Diaries from The Bookshop, Wigtown, 10th May
58. Susan Takes a Hand, 13th May
59. Rebecca, 16th May
60. Slightly Foxed: Light Reading: No. 17, 16th May
61. Little Plum, 21st May
62. Wooing Mr Wickham: Inspired by Jane Austen's Heroes and Villains, 22nd May ROOT
63. When Falcons Fall, 25th May
64. The Marriage Season, 26th May
65, No Wind of Blame, read by Matt Addis, 26th May
66. Slightly Foxed: The Sensation of Crossing the Street: No. 18, 27th May
67. Where the Dead Lie, 29th May
68. Murder in the Parish, 30th May
69. The Princess of the Chalet School, 31st May

June:

70. Puck of Pook's Hill, 3rd June
71. Magpie Murders, 5th June
72. Moonflower Murders, 9th June
73. Princess Priscilla's Fortnight, 11th June
74. The Beach Hut, 12th June
75. Envious Casca, read by Matt Addis, 13th June
76. A Trail Through Time, 14th June
77. No Time Like the Past, 15th Jume
78. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, 16th June
79. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?, 17th June
80. Lies, Damned Lies and History, 18th June
81. And the Rest is History, 18th June
82. An Argumentation of Historians, 20th June
83. Hope For the Best, 21st June
84. Plan For the Worst, 22nd June
85. Another Time, Another Place, 23rd June
86. A Catalogue of Catastrophe, 25th June
87. The Good, the Bad and the History, 26th June
88. Slightly Foxed: No. 19: A Lonely Furrow Autumn 2008, 26th June
89. Duplicate Death, read by Matt Addis, 26th Jun
90. The Glass House, 29th June

July:

91. Cook For Me, 1st July
92. Slightly Foxed: No. 20: Shrieks and Floods, 1st July
93. The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry, 2nd July ROOT success.
94. House Arrest: Pandemic Diaries, 2nd July
95. Slightly Foxed: No. 21: All Washed Up, 2nd July
96. One Of Our Ministers Is Missing, 3rd July
97. One Moonlit Night, 7th July
98. The Shell House Detectives, 10th July
99. Detection Unlimited, read by Matt Addis, 13th July
100. Who Was Sylvia?, 14th July
101. The Magician's Nephew, 15th July
102. Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North, 21st July
103. Business as Usual, 22nd July
104. The Claverings, 23rd July
105. Viking's Dawn, 24th July
106. Footsteps in the Dark, read by Matt Addis, 28th July
107. The Vintage Shop of Second Chances, 30th July
108. One Year's Time, 31st July

August:

109. The Road to Miklagard, 1st August
110. Viking's Sunset, 5th August
111. Death at Dyke's Corner, 9th August
112. Why Shoot a Butler?, read by Matt Addis, 9th August
113. The Geometry of Holding Hands, 11th August
114. A Death at Seascape House, 13th August
115. Mystery on Hidden Lane, 17th August
116. The Swallows' Flight, 19th August
117. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, 19th August
118. Flame-Coloured Taffeta, 20th August
119. The Cornish House, 21st August
120. The Trust, 25th August
121. The Capricorn Bracelet, 26th August
122. Letters to Michael: a father writes to his son 1945-1947, 27th August

September:

123. Black Sheep, read by Barbara Leigh-Hunt, 2nd September
124. Juniors of the Chalet School, 2nd September
125. The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies, 3rd September
126. A Death in the Parish, 5th September
127. A Man of Some Repute, read by Michael Page, 9th September
128. A Youthful Indiscretion, 10th September
129. Wrong Place, Wrong Time, 12th September
130. Visitors for the Chalet School, 14th September
131. A Question of Inheritance, read by Michael Page, finished 17th September
132. Simon, finished 20th September
133. Prince Caspian, finished 25th September
134. Marple, finished 26th September
135. A Matter of Loyalty, read by Michael Page, finished 28th September
136. A World of Curiosities, finished 28th September

October:

137. Wicked Whispers at St Bride's, 3rd October
138. Jane Eyre, read by Juliet Stevenson, 6th October
139. Artful Antics at St Bride's, 7th October
140. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 8th October
141. Santa Grint, read by Zara Ramm, 8th October
142. The Private Lives of the Saints, 15th October
143. Wildfire at Midnight, read by Lucy Paterson, 17th October

November:

December:

Happy New Year to you all! Please come in!

Welcome back, Kerry!

>15 drneutron: Thanks, Jim, and I must find your thread. Perhaps it should be part of the rules - 'All members must follow the Founder!'

>16 CDVicarage: 😀 Looks like I’ll need to be less boring in 2023!

Happy new year, Kerry! Looking forward to your 2023 adventures.

Hi Kerry my dear, i loved that you visited my new thread and left your star so here i am reciprocating the gesture. It seems we have quite a lot of books in common and you like me are a tea drinker. I am looking forward to visiting here in 2023 and seeing your messages on my thread. Sending love and hugs dear friend.

Happy New Year

Wishing you a comfortable reading year in 2023, dear Kerry.

Happy new thread Kerry!

Happy New Thread & Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Kerry. It looks like 2023 will be a much more relaxed year for you, which is well deserved!

Happy new year, Kerry!

Happy New Year and happy new thread Kerry!

I haven't had time to look at best and worst of the year for me either! Hope you have a great year of reading! I'm hoping I'll find a way to get my numbers back up to the 150 range this year.

Happy New Year, Kerry. I hope 2023 is a good year for you.

Thank you all for your New Year wishes and I return them, of course. I hope I shall be able to keep up with the threads better this year and comment more. But I think I say that every year!

A good start (for me) is a daily book, which will be in my Currently Reading collection for the whole of 2023:



Days Like These. I shall have to be careful with the touchstone when I mention this again as there are many, many books with this title

A poem for every day of the year - yesterday's was about the making, and breaking, of New Year's resolutions. Today's is about the discovery, on this day, and later disproval (is that a word?) of a planet between Mercury and the Sun.

>29 CDVicarage: That sounds interesting. I might need to try it next year. Looks like it comes out in paperback in October so I added it to my Book Depository wish list.

>19 johnsimpson: Thanks, John, except you might flounce off when you discover that I don't like tea! I wish I did it would make life easier. I've spent thirty five years as a Vicar's Wife and it's definitely true that the CofE runs on tea, and having to refuse tea over and over again (and usually being supplied with very inferior coffee instead) makes life quite awkward!

>31 CDVicarage:, Hi Kerry my dear, i would never flounce off as i drink more coffee than i used to but i do love a nice pot of tea.

>32 johnsimpson: No, I can tell you're not the flouncing type!

Time for the first weekly round-up:



Portrait of a Turkish Family, finished 3rd January. This was the book for my RL bookgroup and was interesting if not particularly enjoyable. We had read a novel set in Greece at this time and wondered what the view from the other side (i.e. Turkey) was. This wasn't a novel and therefore had no real narrative arc but was a collection of incidents and I found it hard to engage with any of the 'characters'. And, after rushing to finish it, I didn't make the meeting anyway so it doesn't feel like a good start to the year's reading. At least things will probably improve!



Don't Tell Alfred, read by Adjoah Andoh, finished 5th January. First audiobook finished this year, and a definite improvement on the previous book! I've always loved the novels of Nancy Mitford, particularly the 'main' four. However of those four this is probably my least favourite. The first three are now historical novels but this one is just modern enough to be dated instead. However, this was an excellent reading and there are enough funny bits to make it worth reading again.



Deira Joins the Chalet School, finished 6th January. This is the eighth book of 90 (currently) Chalet School titles and the last of a run of three fill-ins; it's back to EBD for the next title The Princess of the Chalet School. This one was very good: the plot fits well with EBD's stories and the writing matches her style well, too. The Austrian-set books are definitely my favourites and that goes for the fill-ins as well as the originals.

My reading fell off towards the end of last year and I don't feel I'm back into my usual swing yet. I now have (probably) too many books on the go at once: The Dig, The Belton Estate, The Nothing Girl (audio), The Amber Spyglass (reading along with the TV adatation), A Toast to the Old Stones (left over from Christmas), plus my daily book Days Like These and my three long term non-fiction books - A Distant Mirror, The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words and A History of Christianity. I hope to have whittled this list down by the end of the month.

Hi, Kerry! - sorry to be so late stopping by (dropped a star but forgot to visit, duh), welcome back! :)

>36 lyzard: Thanks, Liz. I'm already following your thread and the Belton Estate thread, of course!

Happy reading in 2023, Kerry!

>38 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. It's good to see you about on the threads again.

>35 CDVicarage: Does reading along with an adaptation work for you? I like to read a book before watching an adaptation but if I don't give it enough space in between I find I get a bit nitpicky about the changes they make.

>40 humouress: Usually I would prefer to read a book before seeing a TV/film adaptation but this is a book I hadn’t wanted to read before. When the TV series started an ebook version was available for 99p so I thought I might as well buy it as not. I found the story quite complicated so I thought reading along would help however my daughter, who had read (and re-read) it as a child has been more helpful in explaining any confusion! With this third book I’m more ‘into’ the story and haven’t yet needed the print edition, but I will read it later.

Dropping by to wish you a splendid weekend, Kerry.

>42 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. I hope you're enjoying the birthday weekend. (I'm sure you are!)

>43 CDVicarage: Japanese food is a favourite of Belle's, Kerry, but not so much mine. We will go to a Japanese restaurant in Intermark Crown Princess Hotel :

I still don't feel I'm up to my usual reading rate but I've finished two titles this week:



The Nothing Girl, read by Lucy Price-Lewis, finished 13th January. This was a re-read but I was surprised that I've only read it once (or twice) before - once in print and once in audio - so I had forgotten large parts of the story. It is a very good reading and I enjoyed it very much for my bedtime book so that I've gone straight on to the sequel.



The Dig, finished 14th January. This is the book on which the film is based. I haven't seen the film although I would like to. It is obviously based on fairly recent real events and people which always makes me a bit unsure - both about how much is real and the morality of making fiction from someone's reality without their consent or input. However it left me wanting to know more about the characters so It must be a successful novel!

I still haven't reduced my number of Currently Reading books but I think the time has come for some of them to be abandoned or put aside for another time. I shall look at that over this next week. Perhaps.

>45 CDVicarage: We really enjoyed the film of The Dig. I haven't read the book, so don't know how faithful it is to the narrative, but it is a very interesting movie.

>45 CDVicarage: I read that a couple of years ago and thought it interesting and intended to watch the film but somehow never got around to it.

We enjoyed the movie, The Dig, but I didn’t realize it was based on a book. My husband might enjoy it and my library has it, so thanks for the info!

>45 CDVicarage: >48 PaulCranswick: >49 Copperskye: we don't have any paid for TV channels so I shall have to wait until it reaches a Freeview channel. I did look to see if it was on Amazon Prime but there are only two quite different films of that name available!

I didn't get round to a weekly post last Sunday as we were out of our usual routine so this one looks better than recently in that I have finished five titles:



The Belton Estate, finished 16th January. This was the latest in Liz's tutored threads - we are working our way through Anthony Trollope's œuvre. I enjoyed it but I would have missed a lot of the significant points and more subtle nuances without Liz's input.



The Something Girls, read by Lucy Price Lewis, finished 21st January. Another enjoyable re-read for my bedtime book.



Slightly Foxed 74: Voices from the Riverbank Summer 2022, finished 21st January. I'd got rather behind on my issues of Slightly Foxed. I was part-way through this one when we packed up to move in the summer and it didn't go with the other books and has only just surfaced. I'm also reading from Volume 1 online (up to no. 17) and I think it took a few issues to get into their stride but there has never been an issue that I haven't enjoyed, learned from or increased my Wishlist from!



Anne of Green Gables, read by Kate Burton, finished 22nd January. I have been reading this on and off for over a month. I know the story so well I can read a few chapters at a time. I had to work myself up to listening to the part when Matthew dies.



The Time of the Hunter's Moon, finished 23rd January. When I was a teenager (fifty years ago, now!) I read my way through as many of the works of Jean Plaidy (and her many aliases) as I could. I preferred the historical novels but I also read the gothic mysteries. I know I read this one but I could remember nothing of the plot so it probably counts as a new book!

>51 CDVicarage: I know I read that Victoria Holt one years ago because I remember the title. I probably couldn't tell you a whole lot about the plot at this point, but it would have involved the elements of Gothic/romantic suspense novels of that age.

>51 CDVicarage: I'm sure that you knew that Victoria Holt also wrote as Jean Plaidy and was really called Eleanor Hibbert.

Hope your weekend has been a good one, Kerry.

>53 PaulCranswick: Yes, Paul, I did! And she used many other names as well. I wouldn't like to have to compile a bibliography for her.

>54 CDVicarage: Well Kerry the bods at fantastic fiction have done it for us!

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/p/jean-plaidy/

Only two titles finished this week, although one was very big (and had taken a long time:



The New Moon with the Old, finished 29th January. Well, this was - odd? I've read and enjoyed I Capture the Castle and this book is felt to be quite like that by other reviewers but I doubt I'll be re-reading this one. Having now read some reviews I discover that it was set in the early 1960s - not an impression I'd got! Perhaps it's my age - I was a child in the 60s - but it seems dated as well as very unrealistic, whereas I Capture the Castle was set far enough back in time not to be. I don't need novels to be realistic - I've got Real Life for that - but this was verging on the silly. However every time I thought 'Shall I bother to finish this?' something amusing or clever or delightful in some way occurred so I did.



His Dark Materials; The Complete Collection, finished 2nd February. My daughter was given and read, and re-read, these books when a child - early teens - but I never read them and I don't particularly like Philip Pullman, not that that should make a difference and I have read and liked several other books of his. However when the TV adaptation began the ebook was for sale at 99p so I thought I'd give it a go. I watched the TV series and read along with it, so it's been in my Currently Reading collection for over three years, and I was impressed by both the TV and book versions. I even thought some of the alterations made for the TV version worked better than the book version, which I never usually do. My library has ebook editions of the The Book of Dust so I might even go on to those at some time.

January finished in the middle of the week so here is my January summary:

I finished eleven titles this month - compared with nineteen or twenty in previous years - which I feel is quite low. Two were paper books, five were ebooks and four were audiobooks. Six titles were new to me (or first read so long ago as to have been totally forgotten!) and five were re-reads. My reading rate had fallen towards the end of last year and it still hasn't picked up. I wonder if I'm still in an unsettled state following Jon's retirement and our house move - time will tell!

>57 CDVicarage:, Hi Kerry my dear, your reading for January is no where near as bad as mine, my big chunkster took me longer than usual to read. I am hoping that February will be a lot better and i have one under my belt already. I think you will have a great February my dear.

>56 CDVicarage: No way I would have counted His Dark Materials as one book, Kerry, but of course your reading numbers are always great anyway!

>59 PaulCranswick: I would normally have catalogued the books separately - easier to do with ebooks - but for some reason I added them all as one so it was too late!

Two titles finished this week, and I have several books nearly finished:



Mothers and Daughters, finished 7th February. While Erica James' books are superior to what I usually categorize as 'Chick Lit' they are still not woderful. I almost abandoned this one but it just began to pick up and so I continued to the end. I did skim-read a Joanna Trollope, An Unsuitable Match, recently which had a similar plotline - a woman's grown-up children were horrified at their mother's plan to re-marry and let her know in a bullying manner.



The Bullet that Missed, finished 10th February. A quick, enjoyable and easy read. I have liked all the books in this series so far - and I expect to like the fourth when it is published - but I am glad that Richard Osman doesn't intend to continue the series but stop at a high point.

Well, numbers have jumped this week - eight titles finished:



The House in Dormer Forest, finished 12th February. This was my choice for the Virago Group's annual theme/challenge. I have read and enjoyed books by Mary Webb before and I enjoyed this one more than I expected. It is full of lyrical description of the natural world, but there was so much that I began to skim through after a while. It is a 'gloomy' book - no-one seems to be happy or contented and I could see where Stella Gibbons got many of her ideas for Cold Comfort Farm. However there were bits of dry humour too.



The Blue Castle, finished 14th February. This is, apparently, L. M. Montgomery's only novel written for adults, but it is not 'adult'! and was, in many ways, just like 'Anne' for a grown-up reader.



The Little White Horse, read by Miriam Margolyes, finished 15th February. This book is a childhood favourite. This is a nexcellent reading, although my copy is not very high quality - it's a digital version copied from an audio cassette - but the only version available from Audible, though well read by Juliet Stevenson, is abridged. Miriam Margolyes is a very good audiobook reader and she pronounces Maria's name correctly - Mar-eye-a not Mar-ee-a.



The Girls on the Shore, finished 16th February. This is a short story in the Two Rivers series, which I have enjoyed.



Persuasion, read by Juliet Stevenson, finished 17th February. A re-read of a long-term favourite. Persuasion is definitely my favourite of Jane Austen's novels. Or sometimes it's Pride and Prejudice, or Emma, or Mansfield Park...



La Belle Sauvage, finished 17th February. Having been disinclined, for many years, to read Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials books, I finally did along with the recent TV adaptation and, by the end, I was enjoying them. I've now gone on to his prequel/sequel series The Book of Dust. I can't remember if Malcolm and Alice appear in the original series so I might have to revist them to find out!



The Scribbler No. 21 July 2022: A retrospective literary review, finished 17th February. This is another of those paper books that have only just surfaced after our house move. This volume refers to books featuring action on trains, an article on suitable contents for food hampers for travel, novels featuring the suffragette cause, novels about spies, and a literary trail of Berwick-upon-Tweed.



Heiresses, finished 18th February. This was available to me through Amazon Prime; I didn't search it out but it popped up when I was looking for something else and since I have read two books (about the Mitfords) by this author I thought I'd give it a try. It was an easy read, although I skimmed some parts, but there was nothing unexpected - money doesn't guarantee happiness!

Not so many titles finished this week:



The Scribbler No. 22 November 2022: A retrospective literary review, finished 19th February. Finished just in time for the arrival of the next issue! This one featured reviews of books about angels, trees, choirs and bells, and a literary trail in Essex, based on the books of K. M. Peyton.



Breathing Lessons, finished 22nd February. This was my RL Book Group title and I only just finished it in time for the meeting. I had read it before - many years ago - but I hadn't remembered much of it. We were fairly unanimous in our opinions: it was a good, very well written book but the main character was so irritating - someone you'd run a mile from in RL - that none of us really enjoyed it and don't feel inclined to read any more by this author. Although, in my very first book group in the mid 80s, one of the first books I read was The Accidental Tourist!



Slightly Foxed 75: Beside the Seaside Autumn 2022, finished 25th February. Another lovely selection of articles. A new issue arrived recently so I'm still two behind!

>62 CDVicarage: I'll have to look for the Cleeves short story.

>62 CDVicarage: and >64 thornton37814: Here it's available on Amazon for 99p, but it really is a short story (I think it's very dishonest for the publisher to bill it as a novella). I borrowed it from the library as an ebook and hope it will be included in an anthology soon. Ann Cleeves and Martin Edwards have worked together in the same writers' events group, Murder Squad, for about 20 years, though I imagine they've become very busy given that Ann Cleeves now has 3 series that have been adapted for TV and Martin Edwards is editing lots of anthologies and writing intros for British Library Crime Classics, and still writing quite a lot of books of his own. Or maybe it's time for all her short stories, series work and others, to be put together in one volume.

>65 elkiedee: I discovered I've already purchased it for 99 cents (U.S.) I just haven't read it. I probably haven't reached the place where it fits into the series yet.

Only two titles finished this week, but one was fairly hefty:



The Secret Commonwealth, finished 28th February. I'd liked La Belle Sauvage and expected this to be more of the same but I was disappointed. I think the His Dark Materials books were YA and I assumed The Book of Dust would be too but this one seems much more for adults. It's also longer than it needs to be (or perhaps I should say longer that I wanted!) and, even more annoying, it's the second of three, so it ended, not exactly on a cliffhanger, but the story is unfinished. This means I have to wait for the third episode to be published, which, if I had realised, would have meant I wouldn't have started the series so soon. I expect I shall read the third book but I jope it's not as long as this one!



Death in the Stocks, read by Matt Addis, finished 1st March. I've read this in print but this is the first time I've listened to an audio version. Penguin seem to be re-issuing, with different readers, all Georgette Heyer's books. So far I find that I much prefer the original readers for her Regency novels but the new readers for the detective novels. While I have found her detective novels to be easily readable and enjoyable, I have also found them to be 'dated'. For this one I would have given it four stars for the reader but only three for the book.

I did better - in terms of numbers - this month than last, I finished fifteen titles: four paper books, nine ebooks and two audiobooks. Twelve were new to me, including one ROOT success, and three were re-reads - both audiobooks, and my RL bookgroup book, although I first read that so long ago it felt like a new book!

Several of the threads that I follow in this group are in the form of a general diary as well as a reading diary, and it has been my intention to do the same. However something has always come up to stop me getting started. This week was to have been THE week but instead I have been distracted by my husband's health problems, which have necessitated several short-notice appointments at the GP's or the local hospital. It has been unexpected and has therefore rather shocked him, probably making the symptons worse. However drugs are starting to lower his blood pressure and the tests for cancer have come back negative so life is calming down again for both of us, and I may be spending more time with LibraryThing in future.

>69 CDVicarage: Oh my Kerry, you've had quite a week. I'm glad to hear Jon's condition is improving and that the tests were negative. That must have been very stressful.

>69 CDVicarage: I'm sorry to hear about your husband's health problems but happy that things are looking up.

>69 CDVicarage: I'm sorry to hear that your husband is having health issues. It seems grossly unfair so soon after retirement. Mike has had to re-plan his exercise regime when a test that was run to clear him for going to higher heart rate came back indicating that was a no-go.

Sorry to hear about the stressful health challenges for your husband, Kerry. Sending along best wishes for both of you.

>70 lauralkeet:, >71 humouress:, >72 quondame:, >73 MickyFine: Thank you Laura, Nina, Susan and Micky for your very kind wishes. Things are improving and Jon is happier - he is never a good patient so that is the main thing for me! - drugs have dramatically lowered his blood pressure and his improved prostate problems and still no sign of cancer. He had an MRI scan yesterday (no results yet) which took longer than it should have done as he fainted out cold when the cannula was put in his arm so he had to recover from that before the scan could take place. It's an unexpected reaction as he is not squeamish at all.

Quite a good reading week, with three titles finished:



A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting, finished 6th March. Several people have recommended this here on LT and it came up in my PL ebooks list so I thought I'd try it. I was wary as I am a very keen Georgette Heyer fan and was irritated by the Bridgerton series being labelled as 'ideal for Georgette Heyer fans', especially as when I tried the first one I didn't care for it. (I haven't seen the TV adaptation as we don't have Netflix.) I liked this more but it still wasn't up to Georgette Heyer's standard (in my opinion) and when I started a Heyer audiobook (Lady of Quality)afterwards I noticed all the detail - of fashion, servants, tansport etc - that Heyer includes is not there. However if this turns into a series, which is quite likely, I think, I shall happily read the next one.



Driftnet, finished 8th March. This is a series - sixteen books, so far - and again it was recommended here on LT (sorry, can't remember by whom) and as being suitable 'for fans of the Ruth Galloway series', which I am. I discovered that my mother had a copy in her Calibre ebook library - " I don't know how that got there!" - so I tried it. Again, although it is 'grittier' than Ruth Galloway, I enjoyed it and will happily go on to the next.



Green Money, finished 11th March. I decided to relax back into the Furrowed Middlebrow. Although this is not one of D. E. Stevenson's best - it's not set in Scotland! - it was a lovely read and whiled away the two and a half hours I sat in the hospital waiting room yesterday while the MRI scan took place.

I'm glad to see Jon continues to improve, Kerry. Making note of a new-to-me series. I don't need to start another right now but maybe in future ... I'll watch your progress.

>74 CDVicarage: I'm glad Jon is doing better and there haven't been any cancer indications. Sometimes the body reacts strongly when the mind would let the "insult" pass, no telling.

>74 CDVicarage: Glad to read Jon is improving, Kerry.
I hope you get the MRI results soon.

>76 lauralkeet:, >77 quondame:, >78 FAMeulstee: Thank you Laura, Susan and Anita for your good wishes. Jon continues to feel quite well and he has an appointment at the hospital on Tuesday so we should know more then and, hopefully, get settled with any treatment that may be needed.

It's Mothering Sunday in the UK today and we have had a lovely family time. We often go to the church where Clare and Richard are members, even though it is at a distance, and they suggested that we definitely come today and they would take us out for lunch afterwards to mark the day. Since my mother lives close to us I suggested that she should come too and I would treat her to lunch! So, lunch for six - spread over four generations - from two year old Toby up to his eighty-four year old great grandmother. Of course it was very busy - everyone one wants to treat their mothers - so we spent a long time over the meal but it was very pleasant and Toby behaved (and ate) very well.

A good reading week - five titles finished:



And Furthermore, finished 12th March. A fairly typical showbiz autobiography; quite interesting but really only a list of events with very little background or explanation. Still, I like Judi Dench so I was happy to read it.



Kate Hardy, finished 15th March. Back to the Furrowed Middlebrow, which just suits me at the moment. There is enough tension (but not too much) to keep me interested and just enough doubt about the ending!



Murder While You Work, finished 16th March. For a murder mystery there was very little tension in this! It was fairly obvious, quite soon, who the murderer was all that was in doubt was the motive and exact means, but it was a good read.



Pirouette, finished 18th March. I think the final outcome of this story was in doubt until the end. Noel Streatfeild writes well about ballet but the attitudes were rather dated - it's set in the 1950s - although this will probably be a historical novel soon!



Lady of Quality, read by Eve Matheson, finished 19th March. This is a many times re-read (or listen) and has been my bedtime book for the last week or so. This is the last of Georgette Heyer's Regency novels, published 1972, and it is not her best but this is a lovely reading and the story is funny and goes smoothly.

I was very sad to read today that the publisher of the Furrowed Middlebrow reprints, Rupert Heath, died on 6 March of a heart attack, aged only 54. His wife also died a few months ago of cancer. More on the FM blog from his business partner/collaborator Scott.

I went to a new Book Group on Friday this week. It was run by the local public library and followed a different format from any other I been a member of. Instead of reading the book at home and meeting to discuss it - the usual format, in my experience - we read the book out loud during the meeting, taking it in turns to read a few pages each. The current book is The Maid and I was pitched in at chapter 10, rather than starting from the beginning, although it is a book I have in my kindle library so I can catch up before next Friday. My mother came with me - or rather I went with her, as it was her idea - but I didn't know any of the other members. I was definitely unsure to start with as one came in carrying a particularly nasty tabloid newspaper and all were older than me (and I'm sixty-five) and didn't look as though they would be very good readers. However, although some were hard to follow to start with, once your ear tuned it it was fine, although there were some odd pronunciations! We all had a copy of the book to follow as well so if I didn't quite understand the reader I could see for myself what it should be. It was further complicated (for me) by the variety of accents: my mother and I don't have accents (i.e. we have a southern English accent!), we are in Cheshire and most of the other members are local, except for one Irishwoman, and the book is set in Toronto. I like reading out loud and the book is OK - almost a Canadian Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which I liked - so I shall go again. I'm not sure how the books are chosen but I like to think I am fairly wide-ranging in my reading so unless a book that I really can't stand is picked next I think I shall keep it up. It might be more of a problem if it's a book I like as I would find it hard not to read on between meetings.

The library runs another book group, with yet another format, on Tuesdays, but that is definitely more a social occasion: you take along with you the book that you are currently reading, and read it and discuss it with anyone else who is interested. I always have more than one book on the go at a time, so how would I choose? However that appeals more to my mother and as she is not taken with The Maid we may end up in different groups!

>82 CDVicarage: I have a library reading group in a more traditional format which was set up by library staff a few years ago, and since that library manager retired another has taken it on, and makes sure that anyone who needs to is able to borrow a copy of a chosen book for the month from the library service (sometimes it's a book I've read or have TBR in Kindle or even paperback already).

Another group has started which is more of a social group aimed at bringing people together. So far we've read poems and short stories but may start reading a longer book. As I live in an area of north London where most people are from somewhere else the voices and accents are quite diverse though - people from Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Ireland, France, I think maybe Poland, and others. I tend to wait for people to talk about being from elsewhere and where that might be here. I don't want to be that horrible white person who assumes that people of other races are from elsewhere, and in Tottenham, black and brown people are just as likely to be local and may well be more "British" then I feel.

>83 elkiedee: That sounds lovely, Luci. Holmes Chapel is not obviously diverse in any way: mostly white, mostly of local descent (although of course that's not obvious), not wildly affluent (I've recently moved from Alderley Edge where we, on a clergy stipend, were 'the poor') but generally 'comfortable', which makes it a very pleasant place to live but only too easy to become parochial in outlook, which I try not to let happen. Dipping in to the outskirts of Manchester once a week helps to remind me of the rest of the world.

Only two titles finished this week, both non-fiction, but several more titles being read at the same time:



Invisible Women, finished 20th March. This was both depressing and shocking but also not surprising. It is a bit dry - lots of statistics - but very interesting.



Travellers in the Third Reich, finished 25th March. Another depressing book and hard to read without hindsight taking over. I would dispute, slightly, the 'ordinary people' description as most of the quoted letters, articles etc naturally come from upper class or professional people as correspondance between real 'ordinary people' tends not to be preserved. There is another book by this author, A Village in the Third Reich, which I also have on loan but I think I need a rest from this subject at the moment.

Although I still have a number of non-fiction books in my Currently Reading collection I am having a rest with some lighter titles at the moment. I have two bedtime audiobooks on the go, both Georgette Heyers - one Regency and one Whodunnit. I have several issues of Slightly Foxed open - some paper and some digital - and my Chalet School read-through continues and I have some more unread Furrowed Middlebrow to read. I must also remember to start my next RL bookgroup book, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away, ready for the meeting on 12th April.

Hi Kerry! Good to see you. Those Furrowed Middlebrow books look interesting and I'll have to check and see if they are available my library. I own the book The Maid and your comments encourage me to pick it up sooner than later. I tried to get into once, but failed. I'll try again, if is alike to Eleanor Oliphant, which I loved. Lovely that you are going with your mom. I'm 62 and my mom is 81, and as she is very hard of hearing don't think I'll get her to a book club at the library, it's so important to keep our aging parents in mind. I usually stop by my mom's once a week , and try to get her out to dinner and shopping which she enjoys. I'm happy to read that Jon's health is improving.

Those British accents! I love them and wish I had one, but when I watch Britbox TV shows, I keep the closed captioning on so I can understand what people are saying. Sometimes it is no problem, but some accents are hard to catch.

>87 vancouverdeb: Hello Deborah, thank you for dropping in! If I had to choose one, I preferred Eleanor Oliphant, but The Maid has picked up so maybe I'll have changed my mind by the end. These days I am very conscious of the differences (to me) between books set in America and Britain. I often feel I am missing things because I am not familiar with American life, places, society etc and I wonder how Americans cope with what, even I can see, is quirky Britishness. Books set in other countries don't, on the whole, have this problem for me. I suppose it's partly the 'separated by a common language' issue and the fact that we see so much American TV, films etc that I feel as though I should understand America and Americans better than I do.

March is over so here is my final update: Three titles finished this week.



Case in the Clinic, finished 28th March. Another Robert MacDonald story - number twenty out of forty-six. Although I usually prefer to read series in order, this series doesn't really need that so I am happy to read each story as I find it.



Love's Shadow, finished 30th March. I read this for this month's Virago 50th Anniversary Reading Project and I had intended to read all three stories that comprise The Little Ottleys but I found most of the characters so irritating that I stopped after one! I hope April's choice(s) fares better.



Slightly Foxed 76: String is My Foible Winter 2022, finished 31st March. Well, you can't go wrong with a copy of Slightly Foxed and this one didn't disappoint. I have the next issue available in paper format and I still have more than twenty backnumbers to read in digital format. My reading so far this year has been down, partly through lack of time but also lack of inclination, but Slightly Foxed never lets me down - if I can find one!

I finished fourteen titles during March: two paper books, ten ebooks and two audiobooks. Thirteen were new to me and only one was a re-read, although I had read one of the audiobooks in print before. (It was a whodunnit and I hadn't remembered who the murderer was so I think it counts as new!)

There are plenty of books in my Currently Reading collection that have been there for a long time - some non-fiction that I am intentionally taking my time over but also some fiction that really should be abandoned or finished. There is also plenty of new stuff that has gone to the front of the queue. Since there is nothing that has to be returned to the library or other lenders it is too easy to leave them there without making a decision.

There is a new book in the Chronicles of St Mary's series due to be published in June - some reviews from early readers have already appeared - and I like to read through the existing books to remind myself of what has happened so far, so I will probably start those soon, which will bump up the numbers read but not numbers of new books. Decisions like this are so hard...

Great reading for March, Kerry! I think I'll always prefer Eleanor Oliphant to The Maid, but maybe I should read past 10 pages of The Maid first. Your thoughts on America vs Britain are interesting indeed. I live in Canada, which while part of North America is a separate country from the USA, as I would call America . Truthfully, I don't find British TV to be anymore quirky than Canadian TV. In fact I think I prefer British TV to American and most certainly most Canadian TV shows. I don't know if there is a big difference between Britain, Canada and the USA. I've never been to Britain, so it's hard for me to say. I did chuckle many years ago when my husband and I took a holiday in Oregon State in the USA. We were visiting a Cheese factory and it was very fascinating. Later, I asked the cashier where the washroom was - you would say the " loo" I think. In Canada , to ask in public for the " toilet " would be a bit crude, I guess. So in Canada, we say washroom. The cashier looked so puzzled at me, I guess thinking I wanted wash myself in a bathtub, or perhaps wash some clothes? Anyway, I finally whispered to her " the toilet" . I just could not think of the more American word " Restroom" . On the same trip I was in big grocery store and commented to the manager on the large selection on boxed cereal. In Canada, we have a smaller selection of ready to eat cereal's because our population is so much smaller. To my surprise, the manager commented that the USA was a capitalistic country, as though Canada was was not a capitalistic country as well. Of course like Britain, we have many social safety nets, but it seemed this friendly fellow thought perhaps Canada was perhaps communist? I was not sure, and did not ask. The military in the USA is much more prominent that what we have in Canada.

But really, we have so much more in common, and that is so evident on LT.

If you want really quirky TV, just watch some Canadian Content! :-)

Hi Kerry. I just starred your thread ~ you read some interesting books and I've browsed through several of your reviews and comments to great enjoyment. We're both Georgette Heyer fans, 'though I am not at all keen on her whodunits.

>91 vancouverdeb: I had a great laugh with Deb's comments. I am sure that at least anyone of British descent in Canada would identify with aspects of English custom and culture. We don't have a TV (anymore) so I can't speak to Canadian content but I do love the British mysteries which I watch on my computer through "Kanopy", a public library service accessible through our patron cards.

Re Slightly Foxed, I always enjoy Gail Pirkis' and Hazel Wood's editorials. I've never read any of the books as they aren't in our library system. I suspect being literary reviews, they don't qualify for the budget mandate.

I'm intrigued, though, because of this aspect (quoted from the description page):
Unaffected by the winds of fashion and the hype of the big publishers ... and introduces its readers to some of the thousands of good books that long ago disappeared from the review pages and often from the bookshop shelves.

I like me an unfashionable, obscure read!

>91 vancouverdeb:, >92 SandyAMcPherson: Yes, I realised after I'd written >88 CDVicarage: that I really only meant USA, forgetting Canada's past links with Britain. I think I've had a conversation on LT before about American vs British spelling and that Canada often falls between the two! Plus, these days I'm sure a lot of British TV is made and promoted with a view to the American (USA) market anyway.

I like Slightly Foxed because it is not about the latest books. I also subscribe to a periodical entitled The Scribbler, which has 'Reviews of much loved and more obscure fiction for women and children'. The current issue refers to books about the Silver Screen - The Painted Garden, Love in a Mist, The Hollywood Spy, Moving Pictures etc - books about orphans and books about chocolate. There is always a literary trail as well, this time Cambridge (UK). Both these periodicals enlarge my TBR shopping list of course. I also listen to a podcast entitled Backlisted, which you can tell from its name is about old books!

Although paper copies of the two periodicals are available throughout the world, I expect they are rather expensive outside UK (and not exactly cheap within it, but good quality and worth it, I think) the podcast is free and available world-wide!

Tomorrow, Easter Day, will be busy (although it's Jon's first non-working Easter so it will be different from usual) so I thought I'd write my weekly update today. I'm not about to finish anything so numbers are not affected!



Thrown, finished 2nd April. Well, this was a perfectly well-written, well-plotted book but... There seems - to me - to be so many of this type of book around at the moment, and I have read a lot of them, so I can't really complain.



Behold, Here's Poison, read by Matt Addis, finished 2nd April. This was my bedtime book, I'm gradually read my way through Georgette Heyer's whodunnits on audio. The new versions are very well read by Matt Addis and, although the detective novels do not match up to the Regency ones, they are still a pleasant, easy read - just what I need for a Book at Bedtime!

When Jon was a working clergyman Holy Week and Easter were the busiest (and most important) times of the year. Last year Easter Day was his final working day before retirement and was very hectic. This year we are finding ourselves at something of a loose end! The tradition at our local C of E parish church (a short walk along the road) is not to our taste and we have started attending regularly Christ Church, West Didsbury, which is thirty minutes drive away. We didn't do a trawl of churches but chose this one because it is where Clare and Richard go - Richard is organist and Clare takes part too - so we can be of assistance in looking after Toby during services. However the distance does mean that we are actually less involved than if it was close by. At the moment Jon is happy to be slightly detached.

Our son, Andrew, who lives in Bristol, is coming to stay for the weekend. We are expecting him today but we don't know when. At previous addresses he has needed to be picked up from the station but we live close enough for him to walk now. I'll just wait until I hear the doorbell. We are planning a family lunch out tomorrow, which will start quite late and probably go on through the afternoon, hence today's report.

Have a lovely time celebrating with your family, Kerry!

Happy Easter, Kerry. I can imagine how strange this one feels to you and Jon. I can also relate to the difficulties finding a new church as we've had the same experience following two house moves and have yet to find a church that suits us as well as one we used to be very involved with. Enjoy your family gathering!

I missed my Sunday afternoon update again but here it is now:



The Talisman Ring, read by Phyllida Nash, finished 8th April. A many times re-read of one of my favourite Heyers. Phyllida Nash is such a goo narrator that I'm not in the least tempted to try the recently available new version.



The Last Remains, finished 11th April. My mother was passed on a copy of this and I quickly borrowed it from her. It is the last in the Ruth Galloway series and it ties up any loose ends very nicely, with just enough doubt that it will all come right (to me) until the end.



Tiny Sunbirds Far Away, finished 12th April. I read (skimmed, really) this very quickly for my Book Group and then wasn't able to go to the meeting. It wasn't a book I would have read by choice.



Love in a Mist, finished 13th April. Back to what has become my comfort zone. This is the last of the twelve Susan Scarlett novels recently re-published by Dean Street Press and, although it was easy to read, I think it was the one I liked least.



The Maid, finished 14th April. This was the book we have been reading at my Library run book group. It was on my TBR anyway but, although I quite liked it, I might not have finished it if I didn't 'have' to. I'm not sure this is the group for me: the librarian chooses the books and she emphasised that it is a social group rather than one for discussing what we have read. Our next book is Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which I have already read (and enjoyed) and which has a similar premise to The Maid.

>98 CDVicarage: Hi Kerry, I've been away from the computer for awhile so whirling around to see what people are reading.
You liked The Maid way more than I did, I think, though like me, sounds like you ran out of steam towards the end. I found the story strangely constructed and skimmed more than I usually do when I am not engaged.

Your Library-run book group is unusual ~ social group rather than one for discussing what we have read! What's the point if one reads but doesn't discuss the book at the meeting?

We have an indie bookshop not too far away from our neighbourhood which has a Friday night presentation twice a month by the author of a recently-published book.
Sometimes the author is travelling to promote their newest book. Often there are local authors (to our region, we've a lot of successful novelists in the prairies).
These are great opportunities to find out what the author likes to say about the book. Everyone gets very chatty because the author has only 20 or 30 minutes to present and then opens for questions. I only attend when it's an author I want to hear in person or a book I might like to buy.

>99 SandyAMcPherson: That sounds a great bookshop. I've only once heard an author speak and answer questions - Elly Griffiths - and she was very good. Sometimes I think I might not like to 'know' an author in case I don't like him or her. It shouldn't make a difference, after all the book should speak for itself, but I am influenced sometimes by my view of the author as a person.

Two titles finished this week, it's the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible at the moment so i've been watching quite a lot of TV instead of reading:



Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman, finished 20th April. I watched, and enjoyed, the TV series based on this book (I usually like anything presented by Lucy Worsley) and was pleased to borrow this from the library. It was a good and interesting read.



Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, finished 22nd April. I've read this many, many times and will do so again, I'm sure. I first heard the story when it was read to us at the end of the afternoon at my primary school, nearly sixty years ago now.

>100 CDVicarage: It is a good bookshop and it's fun to hear locals talk about their work. I know what you mean about maybe not liking an author themselves and influencing your view of the book. I've run into that only once: years ago, someone was travelling across Canada to promote their book and it was like we were ignorant readers, not worth the trouble. Appalling people-skills and very foolish (some of the audience got up and walked out!). We have one of the highest library patron rates of library use in the country, so a very high readership.

One of our most amusing authors is Art Slade. He mostly writes for the younger end of YA and he is very droll. He was our "writer-in-residence" at the public library one year.
Another great author is Tom King. Some of his family live here so he visits from time to time and gives great 'no-holds-barred' talks. His most famous book is The Inconvenient Indian.

I think I finally got the touchstone to work.

>101 CDVicarage: Now Miss Happiness and Miss Flower seems to be a book I should have encountered, but I'll settle for a future encounter - instructions for a dollhouse indeed!

I can imagine it must be very different to be attending a church instead of Jon being the clergyman himself. I am glad you were able to see your whole family for Easter. Best wishes getting comfortable in the new church.

Agatha Christie A Very Elusive Woman is a book I'd like to borrow from the library too. I loved her books when I was younger ( still do ) and I was very fortunate that my materal grandparents had a basement full of books, and many of them by Agatha Christe. A great author!

>101 CDVicarage: My apartment in Sheffield is walking distance to The Crucible and this time of year always makes me think of my dear old Gran as we watched slack jawed as the brilliantly unpredictable Alex Higgins won in 1982.

>105 PaulCranswick: My enthusaism for snooker doesn't quite go back that far, but I do recall watching Pot Black on early BBC2 every week. How did they manage to make frame last 20/25 minutes each week?

>104 vancouverdeb: I haven't read many Agatha Christie books, having resisted 'detective' novels until quite late in life, but I am beginning to catch up. I particularly like Miss Marple books.

I didn't make my usual Sunday update yesterday as we had a very busy day. Richard and Clare (s-i-l and daughter) were invited to the inauguration (?) of an organ that Richard's company had fitted in a church in the Birmingham area and as it wasn't really an occasion which Toby (nearly two and a half) would enjoy he came to us for the day. We visited a fairly local preserved steam railway, which, as Toby is interested in 'choos' went down very well. But, oh, it was exhausting!

Anyway, April is now over so here are my final finished titles:



Ask A Historian: 50 Surprising Answers to Things You Always Wanted to Know, finished 23rd April. I've had this on the go for a while as it's just right for reading a chapter or two now and again. It's written in a very colloquial style so easy to read, but it got a bit general and vague towards the end. However some interesting bits.



Phoebe Junior: A Last Chronicle of Carlingford, finished 24th April. From the title you can tell that this is the last of the series and the story ends with the village/small town of Carlingford also going downhill so it ends properly. As ever I was very grateful for Liz's (Lyzard) tutoring as the social subtlties and nuances would have been lost to my 21st century mind.



The Whicharts, finished 25th April. This was chilling! It is an adult version of Ballet Shoes, which is a much read and loved story for me. The Whicharts was written first and the characters all have their equivalents: Maimie (Pauline) becomes a musical actress and follows the stereotypical path with plenty of gentleman friends, Tanya (Petrova) hates the stage and manages to escape into engineering through her own efforts and meets her mother, Daisy (Posy) is taken back by her grandparents after she achieves early success and fame as a dancer. They all share a father and are brought up by another of his ex-mistresses. Alas, I fear The Whicharts is more likely and realistic than Ballet Shoes, but I doubt I'll be able to bring myself to read it again whereas Ballet Shoes is a many times re-read for me.



They Found Him Dead, read by Matt Addis, finished 25th April. I'm working my way through Georgette Heyer's whodunnits as audiobooks and I am enjoying them but finding them utterly unmemorable. The titles don't help - I think they are all quotes - as they don't always give much of a hint to the plot. I have read them all in print, many years ago, but haven't remembered whodunnit until the last chapter so far!

So, it's the end of April.

Thirteen titles finished this month: three paper books, seven ebooks and three audiobooks. Eleven title were new (or as good as) to me and only two were re-reads. No ROOTS, but I have a plan for changing that.

I was looking at my Amazon library this morning, checking if there were any updates available. I'm not going to say how big it is as I am slightly ashamed of it. My only consolation is that a lot of them were free or very cheap books so I don't feel I have wasted a lot of money. A while ago I started trying to read the oldest unread books I have, but it sort of fizzled out. My current intention is, for every other title I start, to look at and probably start my oldest unread fiction book and then make a decision. I may read it to the end, I may abandon after a few chapters or I may make the decision not to make a decision. Watch this space to see how I get on!

Another Bank Holiday weekend, and only two titles finished this week:



The White Lady, finished 2nd May. I have (mostly) enjoyed the Maisie Dobbs books and so was pleased to see this in my library. It covers the same historical period but from a different (in some ways) angle. It is a standalone but I'm sure a series could be made from it!



A Blunt Instrument, read by Matt Addis, finished 7th May. Another case for Inspectors Hannasyde and Hemingway, again very well read. These are definitely lighthearted murder mysteries (if murder can be lighthearted) with character and dialogue more important than plot. Although I have read this in print, some years ago, I was well over half-way through before I remembered whodunnit.

At last - a weekend without a Bank Holiday - when you're retired a Bank Holiday is a nuisance, although I do remember appreciating them when I was in paid employment! Three titles fiished this week:



The Nightingale, finished 8th May. Although, strictly speaking, I didn't finished it but just stopped reading it. It was my Book Group book and there was some confusion this month. The first agreed choice was Watermelon but before I had even started it (I thought it would be a quick read) several others had declared it to be so awful that they couldn't finish it and so the decision to move to our second choice was made. However I didn't think this was very good either and several others agreed with me so it wasn't a very successful month, although we got a good discussion out of it. The main point was what makes a novel historical and what makes it dated. Watermelon was first published in 1995 and, we felt, it shows its age.



Remainders of the Day: More Diaries from The Bookshop, Wigtown, finished 10th May. More of the same from the Bookshop in Wigtown but it was and amusing an interesting read.



Susan Takes a Hand, finished 13th May. This was an unexpected delight. A very Furrowed Middlebrow type of book - in the words of a big online bookseller "perfect for fans of D. E. Stevenson, Molly Clavering etc." I am, and it was.

I have been trying to weed out my over-large Currently Reading collection (again). Here on LibraryThing it now stands at 32, and on Goodreads it's 20. Several titles are long-term reads - usually non-fiction - but several have just ground to a halt, and I'm not sure why. Small Things Like These, The Spring of the Ram, The Poisoned Crown, The Pillars of the Earth and The Man on a Donkey would, if they were not ebooks, be covered with dust by now. Some of these are re-reads, so I know I like them and others have been read and raved over by those of you who, on the whole, share my tastes and opinions. However I decided, at the last minute, to join in Heavanali's Daphne Du Maurier Reading Week and have chosen to re-read Rebecca - I'm racing through it! It's a book that I've read many times before but I was surprised to see that, according to my LT records the last time was in 2014. Even though I know the ending and the reason for it it still cranks up the suspense, somehow. I think it's one of those books that always make me hope it will end differently this time!

I thought The Nightingale was rather flawed, Kerry, kind of trite and predictable compared to other (better) historical fiction set in that period.

I know what you mean about bank holidays post-retirement. We have worked hard to train ourselves to go shopping and do "fun" things on weekdays, but sometimes we forget and find ourselves out among ... everyone. Noooo !

>113 lauralkeet:, yes, that was the feeling of those of us who disliked it - probably fine if you know nothing about that period of history. I'd been put off by the strapline on the cover of my copy 'In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are.' Something that really means nothing!

>114 CDVicarage: ewww. I agree completely!

It was my birthday (I'm now a pensioner) and my sixteenth Thingaversary this week so I am completely justified in the number of books I have bought, but I'm not going to list them here. Paper books I catalogue straight away but ebooks only when I start reading them as I have a lot of free or very cheap ones that I might never read and I like to keep my LT catalogue as a record of books that I have a real connection with. From time to time I still come across books that I have read in the distant past and I add those in the Read Undated and Read But Unowned collections.

A good reading week although only three titles finished:



Rebecca, finished 16th May. I like to join in Heavenali's Daphne du Maurier reading week, although I'm not a blogger. I have several titles still unread but I decided to re-read this one. I've read it many times before, although I was surprised to see the most recent reading was 2014, but the suspense still works. But, no, it still ended in the same way.



Slightly Foxed: Light Reading: No. 17 , finished 16th May. The next Slightly Foxed, read using my tablet, making use of my subscriber's access to the online backcopies. Just as good as ever.



Little Plum, finished 21st May. Having re-read Miss Happiness and Miss Flower recently I decided to finish the little series by reading Little Plum. Despite being not quite as good as the first it still gets five stars. I have old hardback copies of both these books but this time I read my ebook copies, which have different illustrations and, although I liked them, it was a bit disconcerting until I got used to them. I first read (or rather had read to me) Miss Happiness and Miss Flower fifty eight years ago at my primary school.

>116 CDVicarage: Belated happy birthday AND happy sixteenth Thingaversary, Kerry!
That calls for celebration and some books :-)
Okay, no list of the books, just curious... how many came in??

>117 FAMeulstee: Well only eight - so far!

I've recently signed up to a fund raising site so that my online shoppping (for selected sites) raises a small donation to my chosen cause (Christ Church, West Didsbury) so I feel almost obliged to buy plenty of books...

>116 CDVicarage: Well, I now have a hold on Little Plum.

I'm glad you enjoyed the Noel Bostock series, Kerry. I'm really enjoying V for Victory and I'll have to look into her other titles. This is my last book in her Noel Bostock series. Happy 16 th Thingaversary ! I'm glad you enjoyed The White Lady and I hope perhaps Jacqueline Winspear will turn into a series. I've got about three years until I am officially a pensioner , so congratulations on that. Dave is already 66, so could be a pensioner, but he is planning to retire in 2024, when he will be 67. It will be a change for us, but I think a good one.

Happy belated birthday, Kerry!

>116 CDVicarage: Hi Kerry,
It was informative to read about these doll stories. There was something of a familiar theme for me but I couldn't think why.
Then, I looked at my pre-LT reading catalogue and see that amongst the children's stories I listed The story of Holly & Ivy ~ same author!
I wonder if anyone reads these charming narratives to their grandchildren now or if they're too dated? I think I will check out the library copies just for nostalgia.

>122 SandyAMcPherson: The Story of Holly and Ivy is a regular Christmas re-read for me! A Kindle of Kittens is another lovely children's book. It is based in Rye, where she lived for many years, and the illustrations are recognisable if you know the town. I also have read (and re-read) most of Rumer Godden's novels for adults. My favourites are China Court and In This House of Brede.

>123 CDVicarage: Ah, before Miss Happiness and Miss Flower it was In This House of Brede that I knew Rumer Godden's name from. Very different sorts of books.

Although I am retired from paid employment and have never spent a lot of time on housework, my life now seems busier than ever before. I realised I wasn't commenting on LT, Facebook etc because I was too busy. But LT, particularly, is a community I want to be part of so I think I must change my ways.

First: what am I busy at? I spend two days a week - Tuesday and Wednesday - working with my son-in-law in his printing business. This is based at his home and is quite small scale but time specific as his main work is for Orders of Service for funerals, so you can't be late with them! I don't do an eight hour day but it seems to take the whole day. On Tuesday and Thursday we care for our grandson - two and a half year-old, Toby. This is a delight but quite tiring. At the moment he is obsessed with 'choos' i.e. trains and railways. We have a Duplo railway set, access to Youtube rail videos, Thomas the Tank Engine animations, Ivor the Engine etc etc. For the last few weeks he has been carrying around the guide book to a local steam railway and the latest copy of Railway magazine, both gradually getting tattier!
My mother, who is in her early eighties, lives close by, and, although she is still independent, she needs help with heavy shopping and general ferrying around from time to time. She has settled into the village very well but still likes company when she goes to meetings etc, at least to start with. On Friday afternoons we both go the Book Group run at the local library.
I am also becoming a keener gardener than I was. Our house is a new build so the garden had to be made from scratch, which has turned out to be easier than adapting an established one. It is also much smaller than any one we have had before and therefore more manageable.
Of course I also have a certain amount of shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry etc to do, but so do all of you so that hardly counts.

Let's see how long I can keep this up - if I can make it a habit that should help!

It sounds like you have quite a lot going on, with a comfortable rhythm to your days, Kerry.

Does the library book group discuss a different book every week (which sounds like a lot!)? Or do participants share what they are currently reading?

There are two different groups - my mother goes to both - the other one is really for chatting - everyone talks about the book they are currently reading. The Friday one is a reading group - we all read the same book - taking it in turns to read out loud at the meeting. I was rather taken aback when I discovered this but I do like reading out loud. My main gripe is that it's not for discussion, although, of course, we do comment on what's happening as we go along. The librarian chooses the book - it needs to be one that the library system has enough copies of - and I'll have to see how that goes. If it's a good book I shall want to go on ahead of the group and if I don't like it the thought of spending several weeks reading is rather depressing. At the moment we're reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which I thought I had read quite recently but, according to my LT records, it was five years ago! Several of the other members have also read it before but we all say that we have forgotten a lot of the details...

>125 CDVicarage: I have fond memories of those Thomas the Tank Engine videos from Becky's childhood - her first Halloween costume was a weirdly wonderful Thomas.

>128 quondame: Yes, I lived through them with Clare and Andrew and mostly enjoyed them but that theme tune got very irritating! It's easier to skip bits now, with videotape it wasn't.

Friday wasn't exactly busy, just unexpected. We were asked to mind Toby for two hours in the afternoon - not our usual time - and I had cleared away the Duplo layout from Thursday, not expecting it to be needed until Tuesday.

I finished two titles - my bedtime audiobook and a Regency romance, which was part of a free trial so I needed to finish it or pay for it!

Saturday was a very quiet day, mooching around house and garden in the lovely sunshine. All my recently planted bedding plants are ready to burst into flower and I'm inspecting them closely several times a day - I know, 'A Watched Pot...' but they will bloom soon.

I watched the first episode of the new British Sewing Bee series, which started on Wednesday. I always find it difficult at the beginning of these series to remember the individuals and it usually takes a few weeks for their names and personalities to come through, by which time several people have left.

It's Pentecost today and the entire congregation had candles to represent the tongues of fire, which were lighted towards the end of the service. I suppose the rushing wind was when we all blew them out!

I completely understand the repeated inspection of plants, Kerry. I do the same!

You mentioned before that you're attending a different church since Jon's retirement and your move. Is that due solely to distance, or a CofE rule? In the Presbyterian Church USA (the denomination we belong to, at least on paper), ministers are not allowed to have contact with their previous congregation for some period of time after their departure. But then the Presbyterians also have a long, protracted process for calling a new pastor including a period of "discernment" which could be disrupted by a previous pastor mucking around in things.

My week's reading: five titles finished this week.



Wooing Mr Wickham, finished 22nd May. A ROOT success - this entered my library in 2012. It is a collection of short stories, 'Inspired by Jane Austen's Heroes and Villains'. I'm not a fan of short stories anyway - why did I buy it? - but some were good and some weren't - just like any collection, really. Anyway it is crossed off my TBR list!



When Falcons Fall, finished 25th May. Back to Sebastian St Cyr - this is the eleventh book in the series and I have been taking a break from it as the last few stories were starting to seem formulaic. I read book ten in February 2022 but it all came back to me so I found the plot easy to follow and it was easy to read. I've got book twelve lined up but I am beginning to wonder how the author will keep the central mystery going for the next seven (so far) books.



The Marriage Season, finished 26th May. I took out a free trial of Kobo's subscription library and this was my first read. It was good but I am spoiled for any Regency stories by having read Georgette Heyer's. No-one else is up to her standard.



No Wind of Blame, read by Matt Addis, finished 26th May. This bedtime book has taken me quite a long time to read (listen to) not entirely because it had some rather tedious sections but quite likely because I often fall asleep! The story is not one of her best but the reading is very good so I wasn't tempted to give up.



Slightly Foxed: The Sensation of Crossing the Street: No. 18, finished 27th May. Another backnumber in the Slightly Foxed series. This dates from Summer 2008 and was the usual delightful read, although nothing sticks out in my memory now!

I've just written a fairly long piece about the price of books and what I'm prepared to pay and why and I then, accidentally, clicked on the cross of the tab and lost it all, so you will have to wait for another time. My thoughts might be better organised then, but don't hold your breath!

>132 lauralkeet: There are no hard and fast rules in the CofE but you are not encouraged to stay around - it's considered unwise to retire in your parish - and it is difficult for a new incumbent to have the old one around - it can cause unpleasant splits in the congregation. But it can be difficult if you have friends there and don't want to lose touch. In Jon's case he couldn't wait to leave one of his churches, although we did consider going back to the other one after a while.
We go to Christ Church, despite the distance, because we like it, because Clare and Richard go there and are very involved so Toby-minding is quite useful some weeks and because we have been made very welcome. The current Rector has announced her retirement so there will be an interregnum starting in August. These are usually quite long in the CofE as well. A cynic might say that it saves on wages, but it is a decision that shouldn't be made in a hurry on either side, as it's not the kind of job that can be changed easily, and it's not just a job but a house too, and a parish needs a very serious reason to make their incumbent leave, not just because they realise that they just don't suit.

Hi Kerry. I'm enjoying your saga of moving and C of E mandated (?) procedures in retired clergy. Kind of tough to entirely withdraw from the community where so many established friendships were held.
I do see the point, however.
I'm "lapsed Anglican" and in Canada, the retired clergy seem not to be required to move. I do remember our beloved Reverend switched to attending services in a different Anglican church, in the city core.

Our family also switched to the same place, as it coincidentally turned out. My mother disliked the new reverend who replaced the retiring one (my Dad was indifferent, being raised in a strict Presbyterian family, so Anglican must have felt 'friendlier').
The new incumbent, in fact, didn't last long and when he was replaced with a better candidate 2 or so years later, we went back to the original place. I never thought before this conversation here about how finding good replacement clergy is fraught with perhaps personalities and so forth. Interesting.

As for the Anglican church here in my area, I have a friend, a woman who is a retired Reverend of C of E. I know when she retired from pastoring her own church, she continued to live in the same place, but she changed to a different Anglican church. I'm not sure if she just felt more comfortable in a different church, or if it was mandated. She still preaches occasionally in her new church ( I'm of the Baptist faith, so excuse me if I am using the wrong terminology). She seems to really love her new church, where they have blessing for pets once a year and she takes her faithful golden retriever in to be blessed.

You are really tempting with the Furrowed Middlebrow Series. I checked amazon and they have them, but I need to decide on a good title. Plus I would rather get one from my library. Thanks for the idea.

>135 CDVicarage: Kerry, thanks for such a thorough answer to my question. You make a good point about pastor decisions not being made lightly as well.

>136 SandyAMcPherson: Before we moved I would have said that everyone should go to their local parish church - that's how the CofE is organised - but personalities do matter and since the CofE is not as 'strictly' organised as, say the Roman Catholic church, each parish can be completely different from its neighbour in the way it does services, which services are offered, etc so what suits one person - in belief or in behaviour - can drive away the next. It shouldn't matter that you don't, personally, like your priest, but it does, but also trivialities affect people's decisions - you may not like the hymn book used, how the communion is distributed, whether you kneel or sit during prayers and even down to the type of tea/coffee and biscuits provided after the service! In Jon's last post his two churches were completely different, even though they used the same service book and I much preferred one over the other.

>137 vancouverdeb: One of our last churches had an annual pet service: it was a very rural parish and the pets included horses, ponies, goats as well as the more usual cats, dogs, guinea pigs etc. There was a size condition and animals too big to come inside were tethered outside in the church yard and we all joined them for the final part of the serice. At the annual Plough service in January an old fashioned horse-drawn plough (but no horse!) and the newest lamb were brought into church to be blessed.

It was another Bank Holiday weekend but we stayed at home and enjoyed the lovely weather in our garden, and it's now half-term so traffic and shops here are quieter than usual. I expect many people have gone away and they are certainly getting good weather here in Britain. Toby loves to be outside and our garden is well-contained and safe for him. He has a one-track mind at the moment and doesn't go anywhere without a model train or a book of train pictures. Fortunately the Duplo train set can go into the garden with him.

The end of another week and another month - four titles finished:



Where the Dead Lie, finished 29th May. I went straight on to the next in the Sebastian St Cyr series. This was number twelve and we are back in London, with Sebastian investigating some very horrible murders, with, it seems, more to come in volume thirteen. The previous episode, set in the country had been almost pleasant by comparison with this one.



Murder in the Parish, finished 30th May. This is the twentieth in the Hillary Greene series and I'm still enjoying them and hoping for more. Hillary is solving cold cases now which sometimes takes out some of the possible suspense, but that suits me!



The Princess of the Chalet School, finished 31st May. The next in my current Chalet School chronological read through. This is the third story in EBD's original series but the ninth including the new fill-ins. A Ruritanian princess comes to the Chalet School and loves her experience of 'normal' life but there's a wicked uncle...



Puck of Pook's Hill, finished 3rd June. ROOT success. In a way I have been waiting fity-five years to read this. In my first year at my secondary school the two English groups read and studied two different books and the other group read this one. (My group read Treasure Island or The Secret Garden - I can't remember which!) Reading it as an adult I was mildly interested, as a child I don't think I would have liked it at all - there's too much background that I wouldn't have known at the time.

As far as numbers go, May was a good reading month with sixteen titles finished: one paper book, thirteen ebooks, with one ROOT success, and two audiobooks. Eleven titles were new to me, and five were re-reads.

The new Chronicles of St Mary's book is published later this month so it's a good time for a swift re-read of the series - that will certainly boost my numbers, but I do skip over some parts as I've read the early books very many times now so I'm very familiar with the stories and there are also some bits that I don't really like or find too sad or too frightening. I'll probably keep to the main novels and skip over the short stories, even though some of them are important to the over-reaching narrative arc. But I have a few Currently Reading titles to finish first.

>141 CDVicarage: Puck of Pook's Hill was one of very few books that my father read from when I was small. I've read it on my own, both shortly (though it did not seem so then) after he introduced it to me and a couple more times. It is a favorite.

>142 CDVicarage: I have got to figure out how to request books from my libraries via Libby. I have dug down 3 levels without success so it must be 4 or more down or over in a different part of the field. I need A Catalogue of Catastrophe.

>143 quondame: I haven't really worked out how to do requests via Libby (as opposed to the older system Overdrive). I have Overdrive on my laptop and Libby on my phone, for the same books. But I understand libraries can decide whether to allow requests on both apps.

Nice reading in June, Kerry. I might have a book bullet for you, The Murder of Mr Wickham. I wrote a bit about it on my thread, but it's a cozy mystery murder novel based on Jane Austen's characters and the Regency period. It was a fun read.

>145 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deborah, I did notice it and wondered. I was put off Austen spin-offs by Death comes to Pemberley, which I found a real disappointment. Although, having said that, I have read and enjoyed others, so it's on my wishlist 'if it turns up'.

>146 CDVicarage: I totally agree about Death Comes to Pemberley which I only read because I've appreciated some of P.D. James' books. I took a dislike to a Stephanie Barron book and have mostly avoided Regency set Jane Austen do-overs etc, but am more susceptible to modern re-tellings.

Two titles finished this week:



Magpie Murders, finished 5th June and Moonflower Murders, finished 9th June. You can probably tell from the covers that these are part of a series. Well, I say 'part' - they are the only books in the Susan Ryeland series, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are more to come. I watched the TV adaptation of Magpie Murders recently and then wanted to read the book. Both stories are a 'book within a book' so I've really finished four books this week! The TV version kept swapping from book to book but the print version has one book in the middle of another. The premise is that the clues to the murderer in each case are hidden within a whodunnit, edited by the main character. The series within the series comprises nine titles but I think it would be stretching the idea to make nine books for this series, but who knows? For Magpie Murders I was interested in the differences between the TV and print versions, and there were changes to the number of characters. and the character of the characters but the the main incidents and the murderer remained the same. In both cases the characters in the 'containing' book are re-used in the original whodunnit and this was obvious in the TV version as they were played by the same actors but in Moonflower Murders I had to work out the links myself. Anthony Horowitz has another series - Hawthorne & Horowitz in which he apparently appears as himself. He also writes several TV series that I have enjoyed so I think I will continue with his books.

A big jump in numbers this week - eight titles finished. It's not as impressive as it sounds as I've started on a (partial) re-read of The Chronicles of St Mary's in preparation for the new book, which will be published next week, and I know them so well I can read them very quickly (or skim bits).



The Princess Priscilla's Fortnight, finished 11th June. I've read quite a few books by Elizabeth von Arnim already and this is the first one I haven't really liked. It is, I suppose, a satire, but it is also rather silly.



The Beach Hut, finished 12th June. This self-published ebook was free (at least I hope I didn't pay for it) and it shows. It had some good ideas but there were too many convenient character deaths and unlikely happenings.



Envious Casca, read by Matt Addis, finished 13th June. I remember liking this story when I read it in print and I could remember whodunnit so it must have stayed in my memory. However, either because it was an audiobook (so slower to finish) or because it was the second reading I found it longer than it needed to be with some boring passages. Heyer's usual witty dialogue was in evidence throughout but it wasn't enough. I've just checked and it is, by far, the longest of her detective stories.



A Trail Through Time, No Time Like the Past, What Could Possibly Go Wrong? and Lies, Damned Lies and History, finished 14th to 18th June. I decided to start with book four and leave out the short stories. I'm loving them all over again, even if I do skim some bits, and I'm now about to read - possibly - the best two in the series - And the Rest is History and An Argumentation of Historians. I'm going to have to be very quick to be ready by Thursday for book 15.



Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, finished 16th June. This was my Library Book Group book and was a re-read for everyone in the group. We all thought we could remember it well but we were all wrong! Reading it out loud really brought the humour out and Eleanor's language was very impressive and enjoyable.

I've passed 75 for this year and noticed my numbers in time to make sure book 75 wasn't a throwaway. I decided to start The Chronicles of St Mary's to mark the occasion!

Congrats on zipping past the goal!

>150 CDVicarage: Congratulations on exceeding 75 reads, Kerry!

Congrats on surpassing the magic number!

Congratulations on reaching 75, Kerry!

>150 CDVicarage: Congratulations on reaching 75, Kerry!

I had to stop by and tell you I purchased a " Furrowed Middle Brow ' book. I could not resist the many you have read and enjoyed, My library does not have any of them, so I ordered The House Opposite from amazon ca. I've not started it yet, but am looking forward to it.

>156 vancouverdeb: You've made a good choice there! I think that's one of the best war time books I've read.

Dropping by to say hello. I skimmed your thread. It looks like you found some good ones.

Congratulations on reaching 75, Kerry. I've enjoyed Jodi Taylor in the past, but it's been a while since I've read the books. I should probably go back to the beginning to catch the thread again...

Have a lovely weekend, Kerry.

>158 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori, yes I've been enjoying my reading lately

>159 BLBera: I always re-read the series when a new story is published, although this time I started with book 4 and left out the short stories.

>160 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul, it started well with a visit from a friend who stayed overnight on her way to the Lakes and on Sunday we are planning to go to the local Steam Fair near Warrington.

This is the first Sunday for three weeks that I have been at home to make a weekly round-up. I think I shall finish off June and then do July so far:



And the Rest is History, An Argumentation of Historians, Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst, Anothe Time, Another Place and A Catalogue of Catastrophe, finished 18th to 25th June. My re-read ready for the new story, whizzed along, with some chapters skipped over and the short stories omitted. And the Rest is History is still hard to read however many times I do and An Argumentation of Historians is still at the top of my favourites list. Not having read the last two very often, yet, I still find the Insight storyline a bit complicated.



The Good, the Bad and the History, finished 26th June. Although I'd been waiting anxiously for the publication of this I did actually put off reading it for a few days so that I had perfect conditions for it. It was worth waiting for: plenty of loose ends explained and tied up and the traitor unmasked - fortunately although it was totally unexpected (by me) it was someone I could cope with. Now another year to wait for the next book - a Time Police one this time, although there will surely be a Christmas short story?



Slightly Foxed: No. 19: A Lonely Furrow Autumn 2008, finished 26th June. I couldn't settle to a complete new book straightaway after finishing The Good, the Bad and the History, so I finished off another Slightly Foxed backnumber.



Duplicate Death, read by Matt Addis, finished 26th June. A re-read and another one for which I'd forgotten whodunnit. The stories are a bit unremarkable but the reading is excellent.



The Glass House, finished 29th June. Still not ready to settle to a 'good' book yet so I picked this out from somewhere on my kindle. It was good enough to be worth reading but nothing special.

As far as numbers went June was a very good month - I finished 21 titles. Nineteen were ebooks and two were audiobooks; seven were new to me and fourteen were re-reads (mostly Chronicles of St Mary's). I also passed the seventy five mark this month.

In July, so far I've finished seven titles:



Cook For Me, finished 1st July. This is the first book in a new series and was surprisingly short, but of course Alexander McCall Smith is always enjoyable.



Slightly Foxed: No. 20: Shrieks and Floods and Slightly Foxed: No. 21: All Washed Up, finished 2nd July. I had some long car journeys and these were ideal.



The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, finished 2nd July. ROOT success. My Library Book group is about to start the third of this trilogy so I thought I'd better read the first book, which I've had on my kindle for quite a while. I found it too long, too unlikely and saccharine.



House Arrest: Pandemic Diaries, finished 2nd July. This was an acerbic palate cleanser (and quite short).



One of Our Ministers is Missing, finished 3rd July. I have read, and been impressed by, Alan Johnson's autobiographies and this was a little disappointing. It's the second in a series and I haven't read the first but it stands alone perfectly well. The plot and characters were good but there seemed (to me) to be an awkwardness about the writing.



One Moonlit Night, finished 7th July. Another perfectly pleasant, but unremarkable, book. It filled in reading time until I decided what I really want to read next.

Four titles finished this week:



The Shell House Detectives, finished 10th July. I started this a while ago but put it aside as I thought it was fairly light 'chick lit' and I wanted something else to be my seventy fifth book, but when I went back to it I found it was better than I expected and if it is the start of a series (which I think is the intention) I shall be glad to continue it.



Detection Unlimited, read by Matt Addis, finished 13th July. This is the last in the Inspectors Hannasyde and Hemingway series - the other Georgette Heyer detective novels are standalones - and was another excellent reading by Matt Addis.



Who Was Sylvia?, finished 14th July. This was unexpected: I can't remember where I got it or who (if anyone) recommended it, or even why I chose to read it now. However it was much better than I'd anticipated - until the very end, when it just stopped rather abruptly and with no real explanation. I don't think there is a sequel so I will just have to wonder...



The Magician's Nephew, finished 15th July. I was checking through the new cover images for my books and this title came up; I decided to read it, an according to my records it was eight years ago when I last read it, which surprised me as I thought I re-read the Chronicles of Narnia regularly.

Only one title finished this week:



Business as Usual, 22nd July. This was a re-read. I thought I had first read it fairly recently but it was two and a half years ago. I have made it my choice for my RL Bookgroup, which meets on Wednesday, so I thought I'd better re-read it to make sure I've remembered it right! I did wonder if I would like it as much this time but, if anything, I liked it more. It is a story told in letters and other written communications (memos, telegrams, work reports etc) which is a style I don't usually care for as being 'awkward', but this was set in 1930s when letter writing was more common and was, for many people, the only way to exchange information and news and all the correspondents are literate and witty (even if unintentionally, sometimes!) Our heroine, living in Edinburgh, is engaged to a surgeon but will not be married for a year and so decides to go to London, get a job and support herself until then. Although she has a degree from Oxford, experience as a teacher and a librarian, she only manages to get a lowly clerk's job in a large department store (Selfridges). However her abilities are recognised by some of the management staff and she soon moves up the employment scale. I'm pleased to say she also realises that the fiancé is unsuitable and ditches him.

And the one I forgot:



Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North, finished 21st July. This was the library book group book, which we actually finished last Friday but I'd forgotten to put it into my records! I didn't much care for it.

I'm a little disappointed with my finished numbers but I am part way through several other books - The Claverings, Femina, Juniors of the Chalet School, Viking's Dawn, The Swallows Flight, Slightly Foxed, amongst others, so I should have more to report next week.

>167 CDVicarage: I feel a bit disgruntled that I have read 'only' 66 books so far. I have to keep reminding myself that it's not homework and that the reading should be purely for enjoyment.
Isn't this a strange state of mind? The effect of a sometimes punitive education system has hung on too long into my later life.

>168 SandyAMcPherson: Yes, I wouldn't call myself competitive really, but in this I do compare myself with friends and family and myself in previous years!

Three title finished this week:



The Claverings, finished 23rd July. The next title in Liz's Trollope tutored read-through, and a good enough story, especially with Liz's explanations of the nuances of societal behaviour and the changes taking place at the time. For me, there is a tendency to think Victorian women are a bit feeble and don't stand up for themselves as much as we would expect in these times but Liz points out the restrictions placed on them by society, their families, financial position etc.



Viking's Dawn, finished 24th July. This is the first of a trilogy set in 8th century and, for a book aimed at children, was very violent and bloodthirsty. I didn't read it as a child and I don't think I would have liked it if I had. I'm not sure if I will go on to the rest of the trilogy.



Footsteps in the Dark, read by Matt Addis, finished 28th July. Another Georgette Heyer mystery, although this one is a standalone. It was another excellent reading but the story was only medium-good, but with the usual Heyer spark and wit. I did miss Inspector Hemingway, though!

Four titles finished this week:



The Vintage Shop of Second Chances, finished 30th July. A perfectly pleasant, easy read but rather simple with all issues easily and quickly resolved but 'heartwarming'!



One Year's Time, finished 31st July. Another from the excellent British Library Women Writers list. At first I put Liza's attitude and behaviour down to the time - pre WW2 - but, alas, some aspects still persist today. She wanted more commitment and Walter was selfish and careless of her feelings, not through malice but it was just the way things were. 'Walter' was an unfortunate name for me as it seemed old-fashioned and feeble. I must be thinking of Soppy Walter, always being bullied by Dennis the Menace!



The Road to Miklagard and Viking's Sunset, finished 1st and 5th August. Having said, last week, that I wouldn't bother with the rest of the trilogy, I then read them both this week. More bloodthirsty violence but the stories were interesting, if unlikely, and quick to read.

July was a good reading month - I finished eighteen titles: five paper books, eleven ebooks, and two audiobooks. Sixteen titles were new to me, with one ROOT success, and two were re-reads.

I've no real reading plans for August; I started Instructions for a Heatwave but couldn't take the misery at the start so I've abandoned that for the moment. I've found another book in the Robert Macdonald series by E. C. R. Lorac, Death at Dykes Corner and the next in the Isabel Dalhousie series, The Geometry of Holding Hands so they will probably be my next two. I may read some Virago titles for All Virago/All August - I've got plenty unread!

>171 CDVicarage: The Vintage Shop of Second Chances sounds right up my current 'alley' for the headspace I'm in. I could use 'heartwarming' about now. I'm totally sticking to YA and comfort novels these days.
I seem to flake out when I try to read the unread 'literary' novels of Penelope Lively and nonfiction books I've got to finish on my own bookshelves.

>171 CDVicarage: I was a teenage Henry Treece fan, and thought I'd read a book of his more recently, but have no record of it. Nor do any of his titles look familiar. Did he do any Arthurian stories?

Four titles finished this week:



Death at Dyke's Corner, finished 9th August. An early-ish entry in the Robert Macdonald series - nineteenth of forty-six - but it's a series that doesn't need to be read in order and, of the nineteen I've read so far, they've all been good, although some have been less memorable than others!



Why Shoot a Butler?, read by Matt Addis, finished 9th August. This is the last of the Georgette Heyer detective novels that I shall read as audio editions - I've read them all in print - as Penhallow was 'nasty' and The Unfinished Clue has a reader that I don't like. I didn't realise, until I'd finished, that this and Footsteps in the Dark were her earliest detective novels and I don't think they are as good as those in the Inspectors Hannasyde and Hemingway series. The hero in this book was objectionable but the dialogue and some minor characters were as good as ever.



The Geometry of Holding Hands, finished 11th August. This is the thirteenth in the Isabel Dalhousie series and I'm still enjoying them. I particularly like Isabel's habit of going off at a tangent in her thoughts. There is a hint of formulaic-ness in the stories but the characters all develop and move forward in each book.



A Death at Seascape House, finished 13th August. This was a light but pleasant read, set in the Isles of Scilly. It was a fairly standard plot: main character returns to the place in which she grew up but left after a traumatic event. The characters, who haven't been in contact for twenty years resolve their differences and misunderstandings when thrown together by another traumatic event (murder). It was well-written and in a lovely setting but, as a Brit, I could tell it was written by an American (and not just because it was labelled as a cozy mystery). However the non-British aspects were minor and didn't disrupt my reading - I'm not sure I could even put my finger on what they were. It is the first of a series and if more come my way I would probably read them, but i shan't be seeking them out.

>174 quondame: There is at least one Arthurian story - The Great Captains - but no other titles sound likely.

Four titles finished this week:



Mystery on Hidden Lane, finished 17th August. This is the first in a series of 'cozy' mysteries set in East Anglia, near Southwold, so a lovely setting. Our heroine is has spent half her life living in America but is settled in England now. Apart from a murder all is apparently idyllic, but there are plenty of possible suspects... It was a pleasant and effortless read and should further books in the series fall into my kindle I would happily read them but I shan't be searching them out.



The Swallows' Flight, finished 19th August. This is a follow-on story from The Skylarks' War and follows the Second World War from the children/Young Adults' point of view in England and Germany.



The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, finished 19th August. This is the third in the George Smiley series, although he barely appears in it. I wold say that I don't care for spy novels but John le Carré writes so well that the subject doesn't really matter. However the setting is very bleak - the Cold War in earlly 1960s.



Flame-Coloured Taffeta, finished 20th August. This was a much more cheerful story, and much the shortest I've finished this week, combining smugglers and Jacobite spies, set in Sussex.

Three titles finished this week:



The Cornish House, finished 21st August. My sister and went halves on a set of three Cornish-set novels by Liz Fenwick when we were in Cornwall earlier this year. I think I regret it now as I wasn't impressed by this one. It was over dramatic and angst-ridden instead of being the cosy, 'heart-warming' story I was expecting!



The Trust, finished 25th August. This was fun! As a character remarks 'just like the Mafia, but with scones'. It is surely based on The National Trust or a similar organisation. There is another book in the series which I would happily read as there is plenty to develop as the author didn't tie up all the possible character interactions in this book.



The Capricorn Bracelet, finished 26th August. This is a collection of linked short stories, which is almost a miniature version of the Dolphin Ring Cycle, but very enjoyable.

August has been a good reading month - and it's not finished yet - I've finished thirteen titles so far and there are five days left!

It's a Bank Holiday weekend here in Britain and - typically, it seems - the weather is poor. This brought to mind that it is our wedding anniversary today - forty-six years completed - as it was a Bank Holiday weekend then and poured with rain for the week before and on the day. One of the wedding photos shows Jon and me running from the church to the car holding an umbrella. By the time the reception was over and we were ready to leave for our honeymoon, in Paris, the sun had come out. Bad timing, as far as the weather went, but memorable!

>179 CDVicarage: Happy anniversary, Kerry!

That's a great wedding day story, Kerry. Congratulations on 46 years of rainy bank holidays together!

Happy 46th Anniversary Kerry my dear, sending love and hugs dear friend.

Belated happy anniversary, Kerry.

I feel you on the bad wedding day weather. We had snow on ours (which is not impossible but pretty unusual for mid-September in our parts).

>180 FAMeulstee:, >181 lauralkeet:, >182 johnsimpson:, >183 MickyFine: Thank you Anita, Laura, John and Micky for your kind wishes. We don't take much notice after so many years, but the weather reminded me! Perhaps when we get to fifty we'll do something special.

Only three titles finished this week but I'm close to finishing several others:



Letters to Michael, finished 27th August. This was delightful - a facsimile printing of a collection of letters written to a small boy by his father. They start in capital letters with just a single sentence and a picture and develop in length and complexity as Michael grows. Each one had a hand-made envelope and hand-drawn stamp, usually inspired by the subject of the letter. My copy is a Slightly Foxed edition so it is a beautiful object as well.



Black Sheep, read by Barbara Leigh-Hunt, finished 2nd September. A bedtime re-read. An excellent reading but the story is not one of my favourites, although I don't think there is a bad Georgette Heyer.



Juniors of the Chalet School, finished 2nd September. The next in my read through of the Chalet School series. This is a fill-in which takes place in the same time as Princess of the Chalet School. It fits in very well, which surprises me but Katherine Bruce is definitely one of the better writers. On to Visitors for the Chalet School, which was (I think) the first published fill-in, dating from 1995.

Now LibraryThing is back up and running normally I can post my August round-up.

Fourteen titles finished this month: two paper books, eleven ebooks and one audiobook. All except the audiobook (and I'd read that in print before) were new to me. One, Letters to Michael, was a five star read, but most were four stars, with a few, perfectly acceptable, three stars.

I was doing my usual weekly report when LT began to run very slow and then stopped altogether. I saw Tim's reports on Facebook so I knew what was happening but I was quite at a loss for the time it was down.

Four titles finished this week:



The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies, finished 3rd September. This wasn't what the blurb led me to expect - it was considerably less 'cosy' and was rather serious and therefore (to me) unrealistic. Which is an odd complaint as I don't really think Georgette Heyer, for example, is realistic. It is the beginning of a series but I shan't be reading on (unless the next falls onto my kindle).



A Death in the Parish, finished 5th September. I'd liked the first in this series and was pleased to get this one quite soon. I've been a vicar's wife for about thirty-five years so I'm fairly familiar with the set-up and workings of the Church of England and so is the author as he is a CofE clergyman. The story is set in the 1980s which removes the problems (for a novelist) of mobile phones and the internet, and both simplifies and complicates aspects of the plot. I found I didn't know how much of the main character should be regarded as based on the author, which is not a problem I usually have since most authors are 'anonymous' to me but Richard Coles is more of a well-known figure.



A Man of Some Repute, read by Michael Page, finished 9th September. Back to an enjoyable re-read for my bedtime book. This is a murder mystery set in England in the 1950s, involving the Secret Service and other behind the scenes organisations. There are three books and a short story in the series but the author died before she could write more. The reader for these books is excellent except for a few odd pronunciations - 'plates' instead of 'plats' for plaits, particularly.



A Youthful Indiscretion, finished 10th September. This is the short story, read in print as there is no audio version. It fills in the reason for the amazing twist that is coming in book 2 of the series, which I shall be starting in audio this evening.

>186 CDVicarage: A few days last week were a trial, Kerry, weren't they? I had almost failed to realize how dependent I have become on this group!

>177 CDVicarage: Flame-Colored Taffeta sounds fun. I added it to my WL at the library.

Hope your access issues have been resolved, Kerry! Missing you around here.

>190 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul! However the access issues were quite other - I have been on holiday, and, although the wi-fi was perfectly good, I only had a tablet with me, which I find too cumbersome to type on for pleasure. I tried to keep up with the threads but fell behind - I've just read (or skimmed) over 100 posts on your thread, for example.

>189 SandyAMcPherson: I am a real fan of Rosemary Sutcliff and intend to read through her entire output. Of the twenty three titles I already own I have five still unread, and then I can get some more...

I've just come back from a week's holiday, spent in a delightful cottage with a view of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). At least we were assured the mountain was visible from our cottage but it was behind a cloud for the whole week...

Anyway, I now have two weeks' worth of reading to report, although I am a little disappointed to discover that is only four titles:



Wrong Place, Wrong Time, finished 12th September. This was my RL book group book and I left it rather too late and hadn't quite finished it by the time of the meeting. It was an interesting idea but it didn't quite work for me. I realised recently that for certain genres I have one author and the rest are nowhere: I can't cope with any Regency set books unless they are written by Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer and I think Time Travel has been cornered by Jodi Taylor. That's a sweeping generalisation, of course, as I have read books by other authors but always with the feeling that they are wanting somehow. However, that's my problem, and the discussion at the group meeting made me realise that I had missed things - possibly because I had to read it so fast - and I did like it better than when I finished it.



Visitors for the Chalet School, finished 14th September. This was the first published fill-in for the Chalet School series, dating from 1995, and fits in the long gap between Princess of the Chalet School and Head Girl of the Chalet School. At the beginning of Head Girl there is a long report of the previous term so the basic plot was there and Helen McLelland fills it out well. There were 58 books in the original series and there are now 89 including most of the fill-ins - there is a certain debate about what are 'official' fill-ins and what are fanfiction. Princess and Head Girl were books three and four in the original series, Head Girl is now book twelve!



A Question of Inheritance, read by Michael Page, finished 17th September. This is the second of three full-length novels in this series and introduces the unexpected heir to the Earldom of Selchester, much to the chagrin of Lady Sonia, who had expected to inherit all the estate if not the title. The reader of the series is excellent and I am tempted by some other titles that he has narrated, although not the non-fiction, as I always prefer that in print. There is only one more title in this series as the author died before she could write more, so I shall never know if the two main characters would have got together, or if the teenage sister would have left her mark on the world...



Simon, finished 20th September. Although I think I prefer Rosemary Sutcliff's Roman and Dark Ages Britain set stories, I still like all the others (so far). This was set during the English Civil War and is fairly unusual in that it follows the history from the Parliamentary view-point. I haven't made an exhaustive study but I think the 'Right but Repulsive' books are far outnumbered by the 'Wrong but Wromantic' ones (© W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman). This story is further complicated by the fact that the two schoolboy heroes are best friends but are on different sides. They are reconciled by the end.

Welcome back, Kerry. My daughter recently recommended Wrong Place Wrong Time to me, and I just read it this past week. I enjoyed the way something new was revealed each time the main character went further back in time, and that some of her initial theories were proven wrong. But I thought the ending was a bit too tidy and the epilogue (the bit with her friend Pauline having a similar experience) was just odd.

I can definitely see how you'd miss things though -- I'm sure I did.

>193 CDVicarage: I also find it rare that any Regency book can look good in a field populated by Austen and Heyer. I'm a bit more open about time travel since it's not about accuracy - except that the historic parts have a real feel - but entertainment. Connie Willis is good and I've enjoyed others beyond - mostly before - Jodi Taylor. I'm not a fan of using historical personages as agenda puppets though the stories can be satisfying.

>193 CDVicarage: Your latest Rosemary Sutcliff read looks a real winner, Kerry. I am sure that I would have been a Roundhead myself!

Oh dear! What a long gap again. There are reasons: lots of things happened (jobwise) that, it seems, only I could deal with. I was horrified to find so many emails waiting for me but positively glad that so many were spam - something that I've never been glad about before! Last weekend was busy too, as my best friend came to stay. It's over a year since we last met, although we chat on the phone fairly often, so it was a busy time. We had a trip to Lyme, a National Trust property in Cheshire. It features in the Pride and Prejudice TV adaptation - it has the lake that Mr Darcy swam across. Both the house and grounds are extensive with some steep paths and the exercise was obviously too much for me as I strained some muscles in one leg and have been limping around all week, although today all seems fine. I also had my latest covid vaccination on Thursday and spent most of Friday in bed as a result. I didn't feel too bad so was able to catch up on some audio reading.

Anyway, back to the books: seven titles finished in the last fortnight, which is a better rate than previously.



Prince Caspian, finished 25th September. I check the new available covers most days, although I'm happy with most of the covers I have, and am often prompted to read a book by what I see, which was the case with this one. I think this may be my favourite of the whole series, possibly because it was the first one I read. This cover is that of my original Puffin edition, published 1964, which was a Sunday School prize, although I actually read my ebook copy. The paper copy is probably a bit too fragile for reading now. It's very well read and, after all, is nearly sixty years old but it's one of the books that I would never replace.



Marple: twelve new mysteries, finished 26th September. Twelve stories not by Agatha Christie. I was never tempted to read anything by Agatha Christie when my friends were devouring them - there were some scary covers, which put me off - but in later life I have. Miss Marple was my preferred sleuth and these stories were enjoyable, even though I don't, as a rule care for short stories. Some were better than others, in my opinion, but all were easy to read.



A World of Curiosities, finished 28th September. Book 18 in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series and it's still as good as ever.



A Matter of Loyalty, read by Michael Page, finished 28th September. The third, and final, book in this series. This book was written by her son from Elizabeth Edmondson's notes after she died. It's so tantalising as I can see where things were headed but Anselm Audley feels unable to continue.

That's the end of September's reading: fourteen tiles finished - two paper books, eight ebooks and four audiobooks. Six titles were new to me and the other eight were re-reads, some many times over.

October's reading so far:



Wicked Whispers at St Bride's, finished 3rd October. The fourth book in this series was available for 99p so I bought it only to discover that I already had the third (this one) unread. So I read it. I've enjoyed this series: they fall into the 'Girlsown' category except that they are written from the adult staff point of view. Despite being mysteries they are also simple and uncomplicated.



Jane Eyre, read by Juliet Stevenson, finished 6th October. I've been listening to this on and off for two months - the audio version is over nineteen hours long and I've had some breaks - and I'm relieved to have finished it. I have read it before, several times, I think, and have seen film and TV adaptations, but I didn't know the story as well as I thought. Juliet Stevenson is an excellent reader and I appreciated her performance, but I think this is a book to be read in print. I had forgotten how 'wordy' it is and I bet I would have skipped or skimmed bits in a print copy but you can't do that in audio. For me it is a book to appreciate rather than enjoy.



Artful Antics at St Bride's, finished 7th October. Book four in the series and Miss Lamb hasn't even been a year at St Bride's yet! I expect there will be more.

On looking at my records I discovered to my horror that I only finished two books this week and that was on last Sunday evening. I have actually been reading quite a lot this week but spreading myself over several books - nine different titles this week - so I will finish a few over the next week, I hope.



The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, finished 8th October. Another from the Narnia series. Again this is a picture of my paper edition but I read the ebook copy as the paper one is quite frail now - I've been reading it since 1966.



Santa Grint, read by Zara Ramm, finished 8th October. This was the Christmas short story last year, which I read in print straight away but I forgot about the audio version. The story itself only briefly references Christmas so it didn't feel unseasonal to read it now. It will soon be time for the next one.

I've been busy on LibraryThing this week as I decided to add all the ebook titles I own, or have access to, that I haven't read yet. My ebook numbers built up so quickly that I decided not to enter them into LT until I was actually reading them as I pretty sure some will never be read. I have a list on Calibre but I've nearly bought or borrowed a title I already have several times so I changed my mind and am entering them into a 'possible' collection on LT. I'm just adding the basic details and not bothering about covers as I shall re-edit the details when I read them. Some will be deleted if I abandon them or decide definitely not to read them. This has dramatically increased the number of series in my catalogue - I'm up to 861 series in a library of nearly 7,000 titles.

Although I do like to read (and collect) ebooks, they are more difficult to keep track of and browse than paper books. I even considered printing out a collection of covers as a way of browsing ebooks more effectively but that seems environmentally rather wasteful so I shall leave them on my computer screen only!

>200 CDVicarage: That is a lot to you have added, Kerry.
Same here, I still only put all free gifts and free downloads on LT when I read them. A few exeptions for e-books replacing physical books, and new e-books that I bought and really want to read.