CDVicarage (Kerry) makes it three in a row. Part 2

This is the first time I've needed to go on to a second thread. Perhaps it means I've got the hang of this internet stuff!

ETA: The recent conversation on Julia's thread about 'worthwhile' books prompted me to think about my opinion, and this is it:

I'm well into my 50s and don't really want to read 'challenging' books any more, but I think books, such as Georgette Heyers, aren't the less worthwhile for being easy to read. I do like the recommendations and conversations about books that I find here on LT because they sometimes push me into reading books that would have passed me by or that I didn't like the look of, that I then appreciate and enjoy, but I'm passed the stage of feeling that I 'ought' to read any book. I have a finite number of reading years left but an infinite number of books so I'm not going to waste my time on books that give me no pleasure.

January

Ten Days of Christmas, 2nd January (ROOT success)
Winter in Thrush Green, audiobook, read by June Barrie, 3rd January
Christmas at High Rising, 4th January
How the Light Gets in, 6th January
Sidney Chambers and the Perils of the Night, 7th January
Bitch In a Bonnet: Reclaiming Jane Austen From the Stiffs, the Snobs, the Simps and the Saps, 11th January
Empire: What Ruling the World Did to the British, 14th January
The Black Moth, read by Julian Rhind-Tutt, 17th January
Mr Forster's Fortune, 21st January
The Goldfinch, 23rd January
Her Brilliant Career: ten extraordinary women of the fifties, 27th January
Miss Mapp, read by Nadia May, 28th January
The Setons, 29th January

Thirteen books finished.

February

News from Thrush Green, read by Gwen Watford, 2nd February
The King's Corrodian, 3rd February
Pride and Prejudice, 3rd February
Turned Out Nice Again: On Living With the Weather, 4th February
Dark Fire, 7th February
The Secret Garden, 9th February
The Thirteenth Tale, 13th February
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, read by Stephen Fry, 15th February
World War One: History in an Hour, 16th February
The Belgian Twins, 20th February (ROOT success)
The Corinthian, 23rd February (ROOT Success)
Diary of a Provincial Lady, 25th February
William, an Englishman, 26th February
Old Filth, 28th February

Fourteen books finished.

March

Richmal Crompton: The Woman Behind William, 1st March (ROOT success)
Trains and Lovers, 2nd March
Longbourn, finished 7th March
Just One Damned Thing After Another, finished 9th March
A Symphony of Echoes, finished 11th March
When a Child is Born, finished 12th March
Faro's Daughter, finished 13th March
The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Primary Phase, finished 14th March
A Second Chance (Chronicles of St Mary's), finished 17th March
The Way Things Are, finished 19th March (ROOT Success)
Itch, finished 21st March
The War-Workers, finished 23rd March (ROOT Success)
Itch Rocks, finished 26th March
The Last Chronicle of Barset, read by Timothy West, finished 27th March
Behold, here's poison, finished 31st March

Fifteen books finished.

April

Sovereign, 5th April
Village School, read by Phyllida Nash, 7th April
Sense and Sensibility, 11th April
Revelation, 11th April
The New Mistress at the Chalet School, 12th April
Flambards, 13th April
Excitements at the Chalet school, 14th April
Patricia Brent, Spinster, 15th April
Battles at Thrush Green, read by Gwen Watford, 15th April
They Found Him Dead, 17th April
A Blunt Instrument, 21st April
No Wind of Blame, 24th April
The Coming of Age of the Chalet school, 26th April
Miss Buncle's Book, 27th April
Those Wild Wyndhams, 28th April
The Pursuit of Love, 29th April
Love in a Cold Climate, finished 30th April

Seventeen books finished.

May

The Blessing, 2nd May
Breaking the Chain, 4th May
Don't tell Alfred, 5th May
The Chalet School and Richenda, 6th May
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, read by Stephen Fry, 7th May
Heartstone, 10th May
Gossip from Thrush Green, read by Gwen Watford, 11th May
The Normans: From Raiders to Kings, 15th May
Three Men in a Boat: to Say Nothing of the Dog!, 16th May (ROOT Success)
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops, 17th May
Sick Heart River, 19th May (ROOT Success)
Envious Casca, 22nd May
Books that Changed the World: The 50 Most Influential Books in Human History, 25th May
Shakespeare on Toast: Getting a Taste for the Bard, 27th May
Linnets and Valerians, 29th May - my 75th
Madam, will you talk?, 31st May

Sixteen books finished.

June

An Impossible Marriage, 1st June
Wildfire at Midnight, 1st June
Greenmantle, read by Robert Whitfield, 2nd June
Thunder on the right, 4th June
Arabella, 6th June
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, read by Stephen Fry, 8th June
Rebecca, 9th June
Footsteps in the Dark, 10th June
The Ivy Tree, 13th June
Scandal, 14th June
Mr. Standfast, 17th June
Trials for the Chalet School, 20th June
The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen, 22nd June (ROOT success)
Sense & Sensibility, 24th June
The Grand Sophy, read by Sarah Woodward, 24th June
Roman Holiday, 25th June
The Bluffer's Guide to Rock Music, 27th June
Notorious Atherton, 28th June
The Moonspinners, 29th June
Mrs. Pringle, read by Gwen Watford, finished 30th June

Twenty books finished.

July

The Luminaries, 9th July
The Italian, 11th July
Theodora and the Chalet School, 12th July
The Creation of Anne Boleyn, 16th July
A Trail Through Time, 27th July
Winter Solstice, 30th July

Six books finished.

August

This Rough Magic, 2nd August
The Island of Adventure, 10th August
Joey and Co in Tirol, 11th August
She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth, 14th August
The Black Riders, 18th August (ROOT success)
Chances, 20th August
Phineas Finn, read by Timothy West, 21st August
The Summer House, read by June Barrie, 21st August
The Emerald Crown, 22nd August (ROOT success)
Sally's Family, 24th August (ROOT success)
An Academic Question, 27th August
Ruey Richardson: Chaletian, 28th August
Murder Must Advertise, 30th August
The Aunt Paradox, 31st August

Fourteen books finished.

September

The Quiet Gentleman, read by Cornelius Garrett, 1st September
Acts and Omissions, 3rd September
Bitch In a Bonnet: 2 Reclaiming Jane Austen from the Stiffs, the Snobs, the Simps and the Saps, 10th September
In the Mountains, 12th September
The Enchanted April, read by Nadia May, 15th September
The Nine Tailors, 16th September
The Jennings Report, read by Simon Vance, 19th September
Celebrations at Thrush Green read by Gwen Watford, 20th September
Carry on, Jeeves, read by Martin Jarvis, 26th September
Gaudy Night, 27th September

Ten books finished.

October

The Toll-gate, read by Daniel Hill, 2nd October
Cloud Atlas, 3rd October
Airs Above the Ground, 4th October
The Man in the Queue, 7th October
The Case of the Murdered Muckraker, 7th October
Ashenden, 11th October
The Cornish Coast Murder, 12th October
The Inimitable Jeeves, read by Martin Jarvis, 12th October
The Garden of Truth, read by Harriet Walter, 15th October
Northanger Abbey, 17th October
Sprig Muslin, 19th October
Mistletoe and Murder, 21st October
The Man in the Wooden hat, 22nd October
April Lady, read by Eve Matheson, 22nd October
House-Bound, 25th October
A World Between Us, 26th October
Just one Damned Thing After Another, read by Zara Ramm, 26th October
A Leader in the Chalet School, 27th October
The Chalet School Wins the Trick, 29th October
Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers, 30th October

Twenty books finished

November

Glittering Images, 2nd November
Glamorous Powers, 4th November
Ultimate Prizes, 6th November
Sylvester, read by Nicholas Rowe, 9th November
Scandalous Risks, 11th November
Mystical Paths, 15th November
Absolute Truths, 20th November
Jamaica Inn, read by Tony Britton, 22nd November
Emma: A Modern Retelling, 27th November
The Hundred and One Dalmatians, read by Martin Jarvis, 28th November
Sidney Chambers and The Problem of Evil, 28th November

Eleven books finished

December

Death of a Kingfisher, 1st December
Death of Yesterday, 3rd December
Venetia, read by Phyllida Nash, 14th December
The Distant Hours, 15th December
A Christmas Carol, read by Anton Lesser, 17th December
Sister of the Angels, 20th December
The Christmas Mouse & No Holly for Miss Quinn, read by Gwen Watford, 22nd December
A Child's Christmas in Wales, read by the author, 23rd December
The Christmas Mystery, 24th December
Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm, 28th December
Champion of the Chalet school, 28th December

Now I've got to copy over the bits I want but I think I can declare this thread open.

Well then, I'll be the first to welcome you to your first second thread! I think ...

On your last thread, I saw that you had read The Grand Sophy. That was my first Georgette Heyer and I really liked it! Now I've read several and I have to say they are all pretty darn good.

Hooray! Congrats on your second thread! You had quite the June there. Lots of good reading. Can't wait to see what you've got planned for July!

"This is the first time I've needed to go on to a second thread."

And it's just the halfway point in the year...... :-)

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread, Kerry! Good timing!

Happy new thread, Kerry!

Happy New Thread, Kerry!

20 books in June: migosh!

>22 tiffin: I was quite impressed, too! Three were quite short, in fact one was a short story, but most of the others were good sized books - and one of them was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which evens out several short ones, I think.

Congrats on the second thread Kerry!

Yes indeed, congrats on achieving a second thread. And I liked your statement about your reading up top. I had a great convo with my sil about this the other day and we agreed that neither of us are as keen on reading books that we 'oughter' any more - especially a particular brand of gloomy contemporary fiction.

I am finding, as I had noticed about other 'older' people, that there is more non-fiction - especially in the memoir/bio area and nature writing when it is a good mix of personal and informational, that I am veering toward and really enjoying.

Re The Moonspinners - there is a rather daft movie with Hayley Mills and a couple of other notables of that era. It's not a great movie, but ola, everyone wears the most marvelous clothing!!!! Totally worth tracking down!

I had a weekend away last week and I still haven't caught up. I was going to write this evening but I've spent it talking to my sister on the phone instead - she's been on holiday and had to tell me about it, and I had to tell her about my weekend and about Clare and Richard's wedding plans so it took a while! I'll catch up tomorrow, really I will.

We'll be here! Getting caught up with family should take precedence, I think. ;-)

I seem to have lost a week or two but fortunately (?) I have only finished four books so far this month:



The Luminaries, finished 9th July. There's quite a lot of book and it did take me a while to read. I also found it quite complicated: lots of characters to get to know at once, a non-chronological approach, which I usually like, but which caused me difficulties this time, and a complicated storyline. I'm still not really sure what happened, but I did enjoy it once I (mostly) got to grips with who was who. I think it's one to re-read but it's so long and I've got so many other books to read that I think it will be a while before I have another go.



The Italian, finished 11th July. For a Gothic novel this was very straightforward. I kept up with Madeline's pace easily and found her questions, and Liz's answers, very useful.



Theodora and the Chalet School, finished 12th July. Book 42 of the series and there's a lot of teenage hormones and hysteria about. Behaviour that a minor character would be expelled for - extreme selfishness, dishonesty and blackmail - is used to demonstrate the reforming qualities of the Chalet School on a major character. Well, who said life was fair?



The Creation of Anne Boleyn, finished 16th July. This was a very interesting treatment of the life of Anne Boleyn: not just a factual biography - as the author points out there aren't as many available facts as many previous biographers have assumed - but an overview of the reputation of Anne Boleyn and how it has changed over the years.

I had a lovely weekend with Clare and Richard, two weeks ago now. It didn't start well as my train was stopped after an 'incident' and I spent a long time wandering from platform to platform at Brimingham New Street trying to find another train to continue my journey. The last local train had gone by the time I reached Crewe but I was supplied with a taxi to my final destination and was allowed to sit in the First Class lounge and drink coffee while I waited. However because of the delay I have been compensated for the price of my return ticket. Since then we have all been avidly watching the Tour de France - Andrew took part in a festival at the Grand Depart and Jon watched the race go by in Saffron Walden on the Monday - but we are following the TV coverage now. I even have it on - in the background only - during the afternoon at work. For the first time this year I shall miss the final weekend's racing as I am going to Bristol on Friday for a Literary Conference and then on to Somerset for a week's holiday with Jon and my mother. We are staying in a cottage in Watchet in Somerset. There is a preserved railway nearby and plenty of scenery and coast to enjoy.

I have three more days of school to get through first, and then a day off to do my packing - should be plenty of time? - and then I get the train to Bristol on Friday for a weekend of talking about books, listening to people telling me about books and plenty of excellent food and drink (if the standard of the previous conference is maintained!)

I have been thinking about my summer holiday reading - I've got six weeks to fill - and I've decided to concentrate on paper books. The literary conference is on Girlsown-type books so I intend to work my way through that TBR pile, and August is Virago month so I shall alternate with selections from my Virago TBR pile. Sorted!

Your upcoming holiday sounds like it will be very enjoyable, Kerry. It sounds like you have a good plan set for your summer holidays. It's funny to me (working at an American university as I do) to think that you are only just starting your summer holidays, as our semester ended in mid-May, and the fall semester will begin in mid-August. That's always one of the tricky bits of sending students abroad for only a semester instead of a full year — sometimes things overlap on one end or the other. That happens much more often in Japan and Latin America, where the academic year follows the calendar year, so that an American student who goes to Japan for the spring semester (which we think of as the second half of the year) is attending the opening semester of the year. Anyway, that's entirely more than you wanted to know!

>28 CDVicarage: Theodora is one of the Chalet School books that I still need to find an unabridged copy of.

>31 SylviaC: It's one of the very commonly available paperback titles so I suspect it may be quite a way down the list for GGBP, although since it is quite heavily cut, they may put it nearer to the top. I'll mention it to Clarissa when I see her next weekend!

>30 rosalita: It's odd how much difference the term dates make. I am a keen reader of girls school stories - Girlsown literature - and one of my favourite writers is Clare Mallory, whose books are set in New Zealand. I found it really hard to cope with the Christmas holidays being the long summer holidays. I kept losing track of whereabouts in the school year the story had reached and when the girls would be doing their exams and moving up to the next class. Yet it's such a little detail, really.

>32 CDVicarage: That would be dandy! I can't even find expensive unabridged copies, let alone affordable ones. A reissue of New Mistress would be nice, too!

>34 SylviaC: They have already re-published New Mistress in 2006, although it is out of print now. I suppose the secondhand market for this type of book is quite limited in Canada?

Aarrrgh, now I'm really curious about Clare Mallory - she was born the same year as my grandfather and studied at the same university as both my grandparents - my grandmother was 4 years older. I notice from wikipedia that she also studied at Oxford for a bit and that her books were originally published by OUP. I wonder if my aunt Anna has or has read any of her books (she's more of a school stories/children's books reader/fan/collector than my mum and her younger sister, though I noticed that Brigid also has some quite recent reprints of classic children's books.

>35 CDVicarage: Practically nonexistent, I'd say. Certainly not at any attainable price range. I get almost all of mine from the UK, and a few from Australia. I got most of my Armadas here when they were republished in the 1980s and 90s, but all the Chambers and GGB editions came from overseas.

In general, the Canadian online used book market isn't good, possibly because our postal rates are pretty high. The vast majority of my online used book buying is from US and UK sites.

>37 SylviaC: There will be book sales at the conference next week. If there is anything you would particularly like me to look out for let me know, and your price limit!

What's the name of the conference, and is it a regular event?

>36 elkiedee: All the ones I've read so far I have enjoyed - apart from the calendar problem! - and I have three as yet unread. Most of the ones I have were republished by GGBP but her copyright has now been claimed by Margin Notes.

>38 CDVicarage: I'm tempted! I'll send you a profile message.

Hopping over to say how much I enjoyed your reading manifesto..... now I can't remember whose thread I read it on.

Also I am enjoying your discussion of the girl/school books. The US equivalent, which I was obsessed with, I think was the 'intrepid girl detective' series and I branched out way beyond the Nancy Drew series - there were many others and for years I collected them. Some were very good, better in their own way, to the ND's. I regret that I did not keep more of them.... somehow in various moves I kept shedding and shedding and I have none. My favorite lesser series followed Catherine ...? whose family owned a big department store in ..... Kansas? Missouri? Anyhow there were constant issues to do with people up to no good in the building or somehow associated with the business. I have to run off now to see if I can remember more about the writer and the series!

>29 CDVicarage:: we're big Tour de France fans here too, Kerry. I was so disappointed that Cav and Froome crashed out. Your hols sound fun. I too am enjoying your discussion of the girl-school genre. I was raised on Girls' Annuals, the Swift Annual, and their ilk...still have one or two kicking around here somewhere.

>39 elkiedee: Sorry I missed this comment Luci. The title of the conference is 'Twentieth Century Schoolgirls and their Books'. It's held every other year and this is the fourth one. It's organised by two women, Sally Dore and Betula O'Neill, who both run second hand book businesses, specialising in this type of book, under the umbrella name of Topsy-Turvy.

I got my first pre-ordered book from Amazon today - I've never been that impatient before - it's the fourth episode in the Chronicles of St Mary's. I'm also the first person to enter it onto LibraryThing but I know there'll be lots more. I'm going to read it now - inbetween getting ready for my holiday, which starts tomorrow.

I have that one pre-ordered too!

I adore the name of that Conference! Hope it's fun!

It's fatal to be away from LT for longer than a day at a time - I've just scanned through all the threads I follow, stopping to thoroughly read anything that particularly caught my eye and I've got a horrible feeling that I've missed so many important and fun things.

My weekend in Bristol was marvellous: although all the talks were good and interesting, the best bit was being able to talk about books with like-minded people for two and a half days. Some of the people I haven't seen or had contact with since the last conference, two years ago, but we were able to pick up where we had left off. There was a larger proportion of first time attenders than usual, which bodes well for future conferences, and a number of younger people - previously I was one of the younger ones and I'm in my fifties! The main theme was that of place - both identifying real places that were used in some of the books and detecting how the authors used bits of places, renamed them and moved them to suit their own ends.

Jon and my mother picked me up on Sunday and we went on to our rented holiday flat in Watchet, Somerset for the week. Watchet is a lovely compact little town on the coast. It has a small working harbour, plenty of eating places, enough shops and a working steam railway. Exmoor is close by to the west and the Quantocks to the east. And we had a week of warm sunny weather.

It was not so good coming home as we found out that my brother, Tim, was in hospital and had been for five days but hadn't let us know in case my mother wanted to come home early. My sister was on hand to deal with things and Tim has a very good support network of friends and neighbours. We went over to see him straightaway - he is the hospital where my father died last November. Today he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit for concentrated nursing care, not because he is at death's door, but things are not looking good.

Sorry to hear about your brother. Hope he starts to improve soon.

Really sorry to hear about your brother Kerry. I hope he improves soon.

Sending oms and white beams for your brother, Kerry. It would be distressing to come to that. Despite that news, I am glad that you had a good holiday and the weather cooperated.

Sorry to hear about your brother.

Oh, I'm sorry about your brother - I'll be keeping you and yours in my thoughts.

I'm very sorry to hear about your brother, Kerry. Will keep you and your family in my thoughts.

I'm so sorry to hear your brother is ailing. I'm sending good wishes to all of you over there from over here.

Thank you, all, for your kind thoughts. Tim is improving but I fear it will be a long process.

I have been doing some reading, but not much. It's funny that being on holiday and therefore having more spare time means that somehow I have less reading time! I'll finish my July reading first:



A Trail Through Time, finished 27th July. I had this pre-ordered and started to read it as soon as it arrived on my Kindle. It is as good as the rest and I whizzed through it.



Winter Solstice, finished 30th July. I've now read, and enjoyed, several Rosamunde Pilcher novels, even though I didn't expect to like her books. This was rather unseasonal but still a good read, though perhaps not as good as some others as the plot felt a little too contrived and the resolution too convenient.

Well, after my amazing June - 20 titles finished - July was something of a letdown with only six finished. The Luminaries was a good size but the others were only average so there's no reason there; I think it's just a question of available time. Of the six, five were new to me but hadn't been very long on the TBR pile so no ROOT successes. One was a paper copy and the others were ebooks. My current audiobook is Phineas Finn, which is just under 24 hours long and, although I started it on 1st July I'm only about two-thirds of the way through. Perhaps I'll do better in August: my plan is to read paper books, alternating between Viragos and my Girlsown books.

This Rough Magic, finished 2nd August. My first book for this month, although it is a paper copy, doesn't fit into either of my planned categories! It was a very good read, set on Corfu, which I feel I know well, not from visiting it but from reading My Family and Other Animals so many times. Animals are not such a large part of this story but the dolphin is important. The next Mary Stewart, which is now in my Currently Reading collection, is Airs Above the Ground, which is set in Vienna.

I hope your brother continues to improve steadily.

I liked This Rough Magic a lot, too. It was one of the ones that I used to reread regularly. (I haven't reread any Mary Stewart in a long time now, mainly because I have too much else waiting to be read.)

Winter Solstice was the first full length Pilcher book I read, and my favourite so far, although Coming Home is a very close second. Elfrida is one of my favourite characters ever, by any author. I love the way she lives her life to the fullest, whatever gets thrown at her. I do think that her niece's plotline is rather weak, but her great-niece fits well into the story.

We've had some ups and downs in the last week. Tim has spent it in Intensive Care and at several points it seemed likely that he wouldn't make it or if he survived that he wouldn't be able to go home and live alone, as he does at the moment. However he has made some amazing leaps forward and is now about to be discharged in the next day or two and will go home to his usual care set-up. I can't quite believe it.

My mother has been staying with us through this time, but she is going home today as well, and, as you may imagine, I have not done much reading during this time. As a family we have all (well my mother, my sister and me) got into games on our various tblets and smart phones. They have been just what we needed - they keep our minds occupied but are easy and don't really need much concentration. The only books I have finished fall into that category too:



The Island of Adventure, finished 10th August. This was in the Amazon children's summer sale and as it was the first Enid Blyton I can remember reading I thought I'd have a nostalgic re-read. It's pretty awful from an adult perspective, but I can see why it would appeal to a child!



Joey & Co in Tirol, finished 11th August. When I read the Chalet books as a child I didn't really care for the holiday stories - I think there was too much about the adults in them - but now I find them much more enjoyable. I'm as much interested, if not more, in the details of ordinary life as of school life. This one introduces some new characters who feature in the rest of the series.

We're off to stay with a friend for the next few days so I must choose some suitable books for the journey there and back. I don't expect to do much reading while we're there - Libby and I will spend the time talking!

I'm glad to hear that your brother will be going home soon! I also turn to puzzles during hospital vigils. It keeps my hands busy and my mind occupied. I also discovered that cross-stitching works for the same purpose. I've mostly had to give that up since my eyes can't handle close work any more.

I'm glad that your brother is doing so much better! I hope you enjoy your visit.

Good news about your brother, Kerry. I hope he continues to do well at home.

I'm sending good wishes to you and your brother that he continues to improve, Kerry

Just dropping by to see if there is any news and there is, and it's good news too. I hope your brother continues to improve, Kerry. These things can challenge us, can't they?

Indeed yes, I hope your brother keeps mending so well.

Thank you, all, for your messages about Tim - LibraryThing is an astonishingly caring place. He is not yet home but has been moved to a big Lodon hospital - not because he is worse but because he is well enough to stand the journey! He is being subjected to lots of tests, which we hope will inform his further treatment and is expecting to go home on Tuesday or Wednesday.

I have, meanwhile, been making the most of my holiday from work. Last Thursday Jon and I went to Norwich to visit our friend Libby. She and I met on our Librarianship course, thirty years ago now and we have been best friends ever since. She moved to her current house - a little green bungalow - nearly a year ago and this is the first time I have seen it. She lives in:



As well as the pleasure of seeing Libby I very much enjoyed my visit to some second-hand bookshops and bought a few books:



I have also managed to do some reading, although not as much as I had planned:



She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth, finished 14th August. I found this a very readable and enjoyable history of the queens mentioned.



The Black Riders, finished 18th August. This is the first of a series of eight books that I have had on my TBR pile since the first Girlsown conference that I went to in 2010 so it's a ROOT success, too. It's a Ruritanian-set book with the main character a child, with plenty of interesting shades of grey rather than the black and white of some children's stories. (No, not those shades of grey!)



Chances, finished 20th August. I couldn't settle to anything so I decided it was time for some chicklit. Although not particularly wonderful, this fitted the bill, and it's another one ticked off my TBR pile.



Phineas Finn, read by Timothy West, finished 21st August. I loved this and enjoyed the tutored thread but it was mostly the reading that made it so good. I found the politics a bit dry and the ending was a bit abrupt. I'm still looking forward to the next one, though.



The Summer House, read by June Barrie, finished 21st August. Normally my audiobook is for my bedtime reading but I listened to this one through the day. This is the second Marcia Willett that I've listened to and although they are enjoyable and very well read they are very light. If books were categorised like films they would be 'U' with a warning of mild (emotional) peril.



The Emerald Crown, finished 22nd August, another ROOT success. The second in the Stormy Petrel series and as good as the first. I haven't got book three yet so I shall be trawling the online book dealers tomorrow.



Sally's Family, finished 24th August, another ROOT success. This was a real joy to read. A family of six children, ranging from 24 to 10 years old, whose parents are dead, are re-united after the Second World War and have to create a physical home for themselves and put their family back together after six years spent living apart. There's nothing to it plot-wise but the development of the characters and the details of their daily lives is such a pleasure.

Hooray for Tim's continued recovery! Nice bit of tidying up around here -- all getting caught upon reviews, pictures, trips, etc. Look at you!

You've been quite busy reading!

Kerry, I realise that I'm late here but sending my best wishes for your brother's continuing recovery as well.

So glad that Tim is more stable now Kerry. I hope he went home this week as expected.

I think I felt the same as you about Phineas Finn - whether it was the politics or the situation of the characters, I didn't feel I loved this one the way I have the other Barsetshire and Palliser novels.

She-Wolves has gone on my library list.

Where have the days gone? I'm back at school now but that still leaves my evenings. Anyway I shall post my final August books and do the round-up and then I can go on to September.



An Academic Question, finished 27th August. I didn't manage to read this during last year's Barbara Pym centenary celebration and it has turned out to be my only Virago in AA/AV this year. It wasn't one of her better ones but there are, of course, some good phrases here and there.



Ruey Richardson: Chaletian, finished 28th August. After our brief holiday in the Chalet School series we are back to school in this book. Apart from the rather ridiculous space travel story-line it's all the usual stuff.



Murder Must Advertise, finished 30th August. The next in the Lord Peter Wimsey series. Although I recognised Lord Peter quite early on I didn't guess whodunnit until it was revealed anyway. A good mystery and I didn't skim any of it as I had done with Have His Carcase.



The Aunt Paradox, finished 31st August. This was an ER book so I've got to write a proper review! It's P. G. Wodehouse in Steam Punk style. Steam punk is not a genre I've tried before and I struggled with that aspect of the book - I couldn't cope with the logic (or lack of it) of the time travel but I did enjoy the pseudo-P. G. Wodehouse language and characters. However for a non-steam punk enthusiast the joke soon wore thin and I don't think I'll be searching out any more of the series.

I finished fourteen books during August, which seems to be about my usual number. Two were audiobooks, seven were paper books - much higher than usual - and five were ebooks. I had three ROOT successes but that only brings my total up to just under 8%. As I was on holiday from work I took the opportunity of reading paper books for preference as I didn't need to be able to carry them around. Unfortunately I haven't made much of a dent in the TBR pile as I've also visited some second-hand bookshops, browsed the Amazon summer sale, and been tempted by the special offers on buying an audio and ebook versions together. According to the graph of my library over time I added 47 books in August. Of course that includes library loans and gifts as well as paid for items, but it's not good for my bank account. I've got another large batch to add for September but they're shared ebooks from my sister so that doesn't really count.

Thank you for all the good wishes about my brother. Tim has been back at home for about ten days now and is getting on very well, something I didn't expect to be able to write!

I'm glad your brother is doing so much better!

I agree about the space travel story-line in Ruey being ridiculous. It simply doesn't fit in with the rest of the series. The other one that I find is out-of-sync with the rest of the series is the crime plot in Redheads.

Murder Must Advertise is one of my favourite Wimseys.

I'm glad your brother is recovering.

I saw a Chalet book somewhere recently in RL, I swear, except where could that have been? Perhaps in a dream?

Hope school is getting off to a good start!

Oh dear, I don't quite know what has happened. There's no obvious (to me) reason why I haven't updated this thread but I must have lost a few days somewhere... Anyway I have done some reading:



The Quiet Gentleman, read by Cornelius Garrett, finished 2nd September. Another good story from Georgette Heyer and quite a good reading.



Acts and Omissions, finished 3rd September. I enjoyed this very much. It's set in a fictional Church of England diocese and takes place over a year. I read an article about the author who said that she wrote this as a monthly blog so that she wasn't sure of the action and the ending as she wrote. As a C of E insider I recognised the setting and found it very funny and very moving. Some of the 'churchiness' might be puzzling to those not familiar with the arcane C of E setup - it can be to insiders as well! - but as a novel about people I think it can be appreciated without getting all the detail.



Bitch In a Bonnet: 2 Reclaiming Jane Austen from the Stiffs, the Snobs, the Simps and the Saps, finished 10th September. The other three Austen novels - Emma, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey - get the Robert Rodi treatment. Again I was in broad agreement with his opinions but I disagreed with his view of Henry Tilney, whom I consider to be one of Austen's better heroes. Well, better than Edmund Bertram and Edward Ferrars.



In the Mountains, finished 12th September. This was part of the Virago group WW1 reading project and deals with after the war. I like Elizabeth von Arnim, and have read several of her books this year, but sometimes find her 'whimsy' a bit much, but this was fine and was a good read.



The Enchanted April, read by Nadia May, finished 15th September. More Elizabeth von Arnim and plenty of 'whimsy' here but the reading was so good that it all fitted together, and who wouldn't like to spend April in a mediaeval castle in Italy?



The Nine Tailors, finished 16th September. Another good Lord Peter Wimsey mystery. I solved some of the mystery before the end but not all.



The Jennings Report, read by Simon Vance, finished 19th September. I love the Jennings books and find them laugh out loud funny. The jokes and plot twists are well-signalled but it's the inevitability of the coming disasters that adds to the humour for me. This is my first reading by Simon Vance, who is a favourite reader for quite a few, and I liked his performance but he won't be replacing any of my favourite readers.



Celebrations at Thrush Green, read by Gwen Watford, finished 20th September. This is not one of the best Miss Read stories - it's towards the end of a long series, and I don't really like Gwen Watford's reading, but it's still a pleasant world to visit.

I started re-reading the Fairacre series earlier this year, but I've only read a couple of them. I want to read through those before returning to Thrush Green.

That's a nice selection. I never heard of the Jennings series before. They must not have made it across the Atlantic. They sound like fun.

Yes they do, I hadn't heard of Jennings either. I enjoyed these thumbnails!

Hello Kerry. I had lost track of your thread but now I've found you again. I'm glad Tim seems to be on the mend. I also love your photo of the books you purchased earlier this month. Fourteen books a month is a pretty good pace.

I ordered the first Jodi Taylor, Just One Damned Thing After Another, from Amazon and they had quite the time finding it for me (or so they said). But it arrived last week and I hope to get to it this fall. You and others have raved so enthusiastically about that series.

>78 SylviaC: >79 sibylline: The Jennings series is very English and, in some ways, very dated. The first book, Jennings goes to school was published in 1956 and when we first meet Jennings he is ten years old and he remains that age for the subsequent 24 books, which were published over about twenty years. They are still in print but the current editions may have been modernised - I try to buy secondhand copies of the original books.

>76 CDVicarage: I loved the Jennings books as a child, and read the first three or four to my son, who enjoyed them as well. We both found them hysterically funny at times: I remember an occasion when a friend phoned in the middle of a particularly funny bit and I was completely incapable of saying anything coherent at all for about five minutes.

Here are my final September reads:



Carry on, Jeeves, read by Martin Jarvis, finished 26th September. Although I love the Blandings stories I have never read any Jeeves and Wooster before. This reading by Martin Jarvis was wonderful and I shall certainly be reading more.



Gaudy Night, finished 27th September. I am loving these stories and they are much more serious than I had expected. I think because Lord Peter had been portrayed by Ian Carmichael, who often plays a 'silly ass', on TV and radio I had expected something more frivolous.

So, time for the September round-up: not so many books this month - only ten. Five of those were audiobooks, which is a much higher percentage than usual, four were ebooks and one was a paperback. Only two were re-reads - both audio versions of books I had previously read in paper format - and the other eight were new to me. No ROOT successes so my percentage has gone down to 9.5%.

My October reading so far:



The Toll-gate, read by Daniel Hill, finished 2nd October. Although this was well read I didn't really like the story. The hero, Jack Staple, and heroine, Nell Stornoway, were both attractive characters and the villains and supporting characters were good too, but the actual plot was a bit disquieting. Some of the action took place in some underground limestone caverns, a situation which I found a bit frightening, and there was a fair amount of violence and killing, which I don't really expect to find in Georgette Heyer's regency stories. I also found the slang of the lower class characters a bit hard to understand, while appreciating the writer's research.



Cloud Atlas, finished 3rd October. I didn't choose to read this, it's a book group selection. Although I can appreciate its cleverness I didn't enjoy it. There were too many different styles/types of book and I didn't like the language changes in the two central sections. The book group discussion starts in November so I should make some notes so I don't forget my impressions before then.



Airs Above the Ground, finished 4th October. This was lovely, it was set in Austria and involved stolen horses, drug smuggling and a circus. I've enjoyed all the Mary Stewarts I've read so far - this was my seventh - and I've started the next, which is set in the Lebanon, and then there's just Northern England and the Hebrides to go.

I love Bertie Wooster and Jeeves.

Gaudy Night is excellent. While the mystery in itself is not spectacular, the character study is truly impressive. This is one of Sayers' books where I can feel her intelligence running rings around mine.

The Toll-Gate is actually one of my favourite Heyers. I love the great big, cheerful character of Jack Staple, and find his interactions with Chirk hilarious.

If the Lebanon book by Mary Stewart is The Gabriel Hounds, it's a good one, too. Enjoy!

>87 SylviaC: Yes, Sylvia, it is. Autumn has definitely begun here so I shall enjoy the heat and sunshine of the Lebanon.

Ah yes, Bertie Wooster and Jeeves. Great fun!

RL has been rather busy lately but I have been doing some reading:



The Man in the Queue, finished 7th October. This is the first of Josephine Tey's Alan Grant mysteries, although the second one I have read. I find I really enjoy old-fashioned, i.e. early 20th century-set, detective novels. I thinks it's the organised lifestyle - everyone knowing their place and quite restricted options, a way of life which I would, of course, hate to follow but I like reading about it.



The Case of the Murdered Muckraker, finished 7th October. Another 'cosy' mystery, this time set in the twenties, although written nearly a hundred years later. I'm enjoying this series although this one, and the previous one, have not been up to standard. I think it's because they are set in America and several of the regular characters are left behind in England. The next one is set back in England so I'm hoping for better things.



Ashenden, finished 11th October. I like the idea of this book: it's the story of a large house and its inhabitants from its creation in the mid 18th century to the current time. Each chapter covers a different time and different characters, as the house changes hands several times, and there are time gaps between the chapters, which is a technique I usually like, but somehow none of the characters and situations really grabbed me and I skimmed rather than read the story.



The Cornish Coast Murder, finished 12th October. Another twenties set mystery, although this one was written contemporaneously, set, as you might guess, in Cornwall. It was the lovely cover art that first attracted me, and the fact that it was a bargain. It was full of stereotypes: the gentry and the lower orders each fall into one of two types. The Doctor and the Vicar are well-behaved, caring people who look after their social inferiors, and the local landowner who takes advantage of the lower orders but pays the price. The lower orders are divided into those who know their place and work hard, and those who are feckless, idle and dishonest.



The Inimitable Jeeves, read by Martin Jarvis, finished 12th October. A lovely collection of stories, perfectly read.



The Garden of Truth, read by Harriet Walter, finished 15th October. This was really just a short story about a couple who apparently get to know each other in their dreams as they are prevented from becoming acquainted in real life.



Northanger Abbey, by Val McDermid, finished 17th October. The next in the re-written Jane Austen series and again it was better than I expected. The story updates well from Bath to the Edinburgh Festival and from Gothic novels to Vampires but it will soon date because of the references to modern technology.



Sprig Muslin, finished 19th October. Another lovely regency romance with a convoluted plot, a hero with a sense of humour, two heroines and a wonderful cast of lesser characters, and, of course, the right couples end up together. I got this second hand copy in a swap recently, and it is in the style of those that I read during my teenage years, which somehow added to the pleasure.

I completely understand Real Life getting in the way! Popping back after a brief hiatus myself. I'm loving all the reading you've accomplished -- especially of two of my favorites -- Wodehouse and Sayres!!

Hope all's well.

I'm having a very busy reading month. Here are some more:



Mistletoe and Murder, 21st October. Daisy is back in England and looking forward to a relaxing family Christmas. Some hope! This is the eleventh in the series and it is going through a low patch. I've got paper copies up to number twenty so I've got to go on reading.



The Man in the Wooden Hat, 22nd October. This is Betty's story and I didn't find it as believeable as Edward's. I think if it came to picking sides I'd be on Edward's. I couldn't see why Betty behaved as she did towards Veneering.



April Lady, read by Eve Matheson, 22nd October. Another lovely Georgette Heyer and beautifully read. The last few chapters with some of the characters rather foxed and everyone talking at cross purposes was laugh out loud funny, although I was reading in bed and my husband was asleep, so I had to laugh quite quietly.



House-Bound, 25th October. This was set in Edingburgh during the Second World War and published before the end. It combines an almost light-hearted attitude to the hardships of life in wartime with the real tragedies and some American oddities of outlook.



A World Between Us, 26th October. This is a YA book set during the Spanish Civil War. A young nurse meets a young Jewish artist and follows him to Spain. They both grow up and find that life consists of shades of grey not just black and white.



Just One Damned Thing After Another, read by Zara Ramm, 26th October. I read this in print earlier in the year and loved it. If anything it's even better as an audio book; the reader has a very undramatic tone of voice which somehow suits the story and makes time-travel seem perfectly usual. My only criticism was that her pronunciation of 'wonder' came out as 'wander' and some of the greek and latin names were not pronounced as I would pronounce them (although that doesn't mean that she is wrong). I've got the next one waiting.



A Leader in the Chalet School, 27th October. This is 45 out of 58 and it's not a very good one. Jack Lambert - a tomboy - is introduced and she is not a character that I like. All the usual events, although no dramatic rescues, and the panto is not described in exhaustive detail, so there are good points!

I'm up to eighteen books finished and there are a few days to go yet!

I "wander" if the reader was American in Just One Damned Thing etc. I tried saying it out loud and found myself sounding sort of mid-west U.S.A.

>93 tiffin: Possibly, but if so, she was very good at a British accent. It was certainly not enough to detract from the whole performance.

ETA: I just looked her up and she is English but she offers an impressive list of different British, American and other accents in her CV.

aha, ok.

>94 CDVicarage:: an impressive list of ... accents
Seems to me English actors are far better at American accents than the other way around. Every time I see an English person playing an American on stage or screen, I'm impressed. When I see an American trying to sound English, not so much.

>96 lauralkeet: When I listen to audiobook samples I always think I can detect an American using an English accent but then, presumably, I miss the ones that are perfect!

I agree, Laura. Remembering that cringeworthy Robin Hood with Kevin Costner a few years ago. *shudder*

"...and unlike some Robin Hoods, *I* can speak with an English accent."
---Cary Elwes in Robin Hood: Men In Tights

It's been half-term this week so I've had a week off work and I feel there has been a good balance between making a productive use of my time and having a rest. I made two Christmas cakes - a large one for us and a smaller one for Clare and Richard, who are spending Christmas at their home this year. The weather has been fairly good, and astonishingly mild for the time of year, all week and today the sun shone all day. Jon and I had a day out and went down to Rye. Lamb House is now closed for the winter but it was lovely to wander around the town, visit some of the many bookshops (although everything I bought turned out to be a duplicate!), and have excellent coffee and lunch. Next we drove along to Dungeness and walked around the lighthouses and some of the small houses on the shingle. We were also near the station when the last train of the day arrived.

Final October books:



The Chalet School Wins the Trick, 29th October. Episode 46 and one of the rather run-of-the-mill stories, re-using some earlier plot features and referring to them in the story! I skimmed through this quite quickly. It's another holiday story next.



Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers, 30th October. The latest installment about life in Scotland Street and, while I enjoyed it very much, several plotlines seemd to just fade away.

Well, I had an amazing October for reading: twenty books finished. Five audiobooks, eight paper books and seven ebooks. Three were re-reads so that means seventeen were new to me, which is a much higher proportion than usual. No ROOT successes so that percentage has gone down to 7.5%.

>100 CDVicarage: I wondered how big the trains were when we down in Dungeness two weeks ago and now I can see that they are tiny!

>103 SandDune: I'd forgotten quite how small they are. I was about eleven when I first went on the train so they probably seemed quite large then!

>92 CDVicarage: Interested to see your take on the audio version of Just One Damned Thing. A good narrator can truly make a difference, no?

>105 michigantrumpet: It certainly does. I love Georgette Heyer's book in audio but there are a few I'll never listen to (unless they are re-recorded) because I don't like the reader's voice.

November has got off to quite a good start as far as reading goes:



Glittering Images, finished 2nd November. I first read this series about thirty years ago and when they were offered at a bargain price for kindle I thought I'd read them again. At the start I was disappointed; they are all written in the first person (a different narrator for each book) and there is too much detail and all conversation is unrealistic and I thought I'd abandon, but, goodness me, they are real page turners and I'd finished and gone on to the next one before I knew where I was!



Glamorous Powers, finished 4th November. Same again: Oh, this is awful, I thought, as I started but before I knew it I'd finished.



Ultimate Prizes, finished 6th November. And on I go...



Sylvester, read by Nicholas Rowe, finished 9th November. (My 150th) I read this in print fairly recently (I've just looked it up - it was five years ago!) and enjoyed it very much but this time I was a bit disappointed. It wasn't the reading, that was very good, but I found the dénouement unsatisfactory. The first part of the book, where our heroine, our hero and a selection of other characters are confined in a rustic inn by snowy weather, was vintage Heyer, and the second section where our heroine adjusts to London fashionable life was also enjoyable. The third part when our heroine attempts to thwart a kidnap plot only to be kidnapped herself was very funny - she soon takes charge - but the ending when, as you know they will, our hero and our heroine discover their feelings for each other didn't work for me.

I'm in a bit of a slump now: the fourth book in the Starbridge series really isn't very good, or readable, and my reading of The Mighty Dead: Why Homer Matters has slowed to a standstill as well. I'm about to start a new audiobook - Jamaica Inn read by Tony Britton, an excellent reader, so I think an early night is in order so I can get well into the story. At least I'll be able to hear it better than the recent TV adaptation!

Sounds like you've had a string of some that are just not working well for you. I remember reading some of the Howatch books back in the 1970s. She wasn't my favorite author back then. She tended to get a little too much into the Occult for me.

I haven't read those Howatch books but I did buy them when they were on offer for Kindle too. I really enjoyed Penmarric and her other family sagas.

There is a short article, with illustrations, about the different styles of covers used for Jane Austen's novels over the years: here is the link

I would have to agree that the British to American accent seems to be easier for actors - but I wonder if that is in part because it is acceptable to have a rather bland non-regional American accent whereas British accents seem to be both geographically regional and socio-economic in complex ways that Brits seem to get instantly. I can hear differences but I imagine it would be a struggle to really nail one. I'm racking my brains because someone not that long ago, an American woman actor did an amazing job, I thought, but ultimately I wouldn't know, I expect!

>111 sibylline: if that is in part because it is acceptable to have a rather bland non-regional American accent

I've always assumed it's because British actors will hear many more different American accents on TV and film from an early age, whereas the reverse isn't necessarily true. Of course, I can't tell if a British actor has a good American accent or not, but there do seem to be a lot playing key American roles. Idris Elba, Dominic West, Hugh Laurie and Damian Lewis come to mind.

I was about to praise Gillian Anderson's British accent, but then I read that she lived in the UK until she was eleven so I don't think she counts.

Of course it's a fact that the rest of the world is awash in American accents in popular culture, but in addition, in both the UK and Australia, aspiring actors accept that sooner or later they're probably going to need to be able to do a convincing American accent and start training early; I don't know about the UK, but accent work is a standard part of drama training here.

I've had a really awful week so I've been quite glad to have a few more of the Starbridge books to read:



Scandalous Risks, finished 11th November. This really wasn't as good as the previous three the hero (or anti-hero) was quite plainly in the wrong whereas previous heroes, although flawed, were trying to do the right thing, even though they misjudged what was right. However I still got through it quite quickly and easily.



Mystical Paths, finished 15th November. Too much paranormal in this one for me and it degenerated into a rather farcical murder mystery. Many of the characters were being destroyed by genuine or unecessary guilt but then two of the main characters and a third more minor one kill the newly discovered villain, admittedly in self-defence, and they are able to cover up their part in the death with no apparent psychological harm.

Quite an interesting discussion about British/American accents. I know there are regional American accents -- southern, Boston, Long Island, etc. I've heard newscasters, etc learn to speak with a bland, Midwesternish cent to be readily understood across the board.

Is there a similar accent in Great Britain that is adopted?

>114 CDVicarage: Sorry to hear about your bad week :-(

I'm going to finish November:



Absolute Truths, finished 20th November. The final book in the Starbridge series and we're back with the first main character, although most of the action occurs before that of the previous story. It was interesting to find out what happened to all the characters we had met previously but I'm not sorry the series is over!



Jamaica Inn, read by Tony Britton, finished 22nd November. This was marvellous. It's a fairly thrilling story and the reading was very good: every character's voice was distinct and he even did the women's voices well. It was much, much better than the recent mumbled TV version.



Emma: a modern retelling, finished 27th November. This was very disappointing. I've read the first two in this retelling project - Sense & Sensibility and Northanger Abbey - and enjoyed them much more than I expected to. I had higher expectations for this one as I like the original more and I like Alexander McCall Smith's writing but it just didn't work. We were a third of the way through the book before we got to the point where Jane Austen starts and, while the back stories were interesting and plausible, Jane Austen managed to give us enough of this information in a few paragraphs sprinkled through the main text. All writers of these updates have the problem that those who have read the original books are already familiar with the characters and will notice any deviations and AMS did not manage to keep the essence of all of the original characters very well. Mr Woodhouse and Harriet update well but Emma herself, Miss Taylor and Mr Knightly do not. Mr Knightly seemed almost to be an afterthought: the story was getting on very well without him and suddenly AMS seemed to remember that he is the heroine's match and drags him hurriedly to the front. Not recommended but I bet I shall try the others still to come!



The Hundred and One Dalmatians, read by Martin Jarvis, finished 28th November. This was a back to childhood read for me. I have a very battered, well-read Puffin copy of the paper book and I came across this audio version in my online public library. Martin Jarvis is an excellent reader, although this was read in his once-upon-a-time reading to children manner. I had forgotten how sexist and classist the story is - I probably didn't notice when I was a child, and the world was different then - but the story is still enjoyable.



Sidney Chambers and The Problem of Evil, finished 28th November. This is the third in the series and the quality of writing and plot is holding up well so I'm looking forward to the next one.

The round-up:

Eleven books finished, so a fairly average month after last month's marathon. Eight were ebooks and three were audiobooks. Eight were re-reads and three were new to me, although not the same eight and three!

I often read Christmassy themed books during December so I think there will be a lot of re-reading this month.

>116 souloftherose: Thanks, Heather, for your sympathy but the week went rapidly downhill which is why I've not been very active here on LT. Tim went back into hospital on 10th November and Mum and I spent that day in A&E with him. He seemed to be going on quite well but then was taken in to Intensive Care again on 17th and went quite suddenly downhill and died on 21st. There was a dramatic race into the hospital in the early hours but he had died before we got there.

Meanwhile I had been called for a follow-up appointment, after a routine mamogram, on 20th November, and was provisionally diagnosed with breast cancer. I have another appointment today to get the result of the biopsy. It is in the very early stages - the screening system works! - so treatment should be straightforward and not too intrusive. However nothing involving surgery is pleasant so I'm not exactly looking forward to it.

I have finally had my working hours cut as I am not issuing laptops anymore and I now do a four day week and take Monday as my non-working day. My first Monday is being taken up with my hospital appointment and my second one with Tim's funeral but after that I hope I will be able to enjoy my long weekends.

>119 CDVicarage: So sorry to hear the sad news about your brother and your breast cancer diagnosis. I'm glad they think the bc been caught early but it must still be a shock, especially in addition to your brother. Thinking of you and your family.

>119 CDVicarage: Kerry, I am so sorry to learn of your brother's passing, and as Heather noted your diagnosis is coming at a bad time (although there's never a good time). I'm very glad it was caught so early and will keep you and your family in my thoughts.

What a week. I am so very sorry to hear about your brother's death. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

I am very glad that the breast cancer was caught early, but a cancer diagnosis is a very scary thing. And no surgery is truly minor, despite what the doctors call it.

Be very, very gentle with yourself.

{{{{CDVicarage}}}

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your brother, and about your diagnosis. I hope your treatment is quick and uncomplicated. I'm sending good thoughts your way.

So sorry to hear about your brother's death and your own health problem. Hope the treatment goes well and is very successful.

I'm sorry to hear of your brother's death and your recent diagnosis. I'm glad they caught it early and I hope your treatment goes well with as few side effects as possible. Sending thoughts and prayers your way.

Kerry, I'm here also to offer my sympathy at your brother's death. He sounds like a valiant man.
How wonderful that you found your cancer early. I know it's scary however minimally invasive they say the treatment will be, but I'm also adding my prayers for your well-being and comfort for your family.

I am so sorry to hear about your brother and then this! But this is why it is good to go in for those mammograms, better to find it quick and deal. I hope things go well.

101 Dalmations is simply one of the best comfort books ever!

{{{CDVicarage}}}

Sorry about your brother's death and your diagnosis. Praying for you.

Kerry, I am so very sorry to hear about Tim's death. He had seemed to rally giving all of you hope for a bit, so this must be hard. I am also sorry to hear that you now have to go head to head with The Beast but am heartened to read that it has been detected early. They have made such excellent strides in this particular cancer battle in the last few years. Whatever form of treatment you opt for, it's my hope for you that you tolerate it well and it does the job most thoroughly. I'll spin the prayer wheel for you and send out the oms.

I'm very sorry to hear about your brother, and about your own diagnosis. But it does sound like they have got to it early so hopefully the treatment will not be too bad, and they will get on top of it quickly. So difficult to be dealing with those two things at the same time!

CDVicarage - you are in my thoughts and prayers. Hugs.

Holding you close in thought, Kerry.

Please accept my condolences for your loss. A brother is an important person in one's life; I know there will be a vacant spot remaining unfilled. My heart goes out to you.

On the b.c., again I'm sorry, but the early diagnosis is at least something positive to hold on to. Know that you're being encouraged by many, even those who hesitate to speak up.

Thoughts and prayers with you, Kerry.

Thinking of you this holiday season. Hugs.

Hi Kerry, thinking of you at Christmas.

Dropping by to wish you a happy Christmas, Kerry, and to wish you good health for 2015.

Thinking of you and wishing you a Happy Holidays, Kerry.

Kerry - thinking of you at Christmas and wishing you a better 2015.

Dear Kerry, I hope you find some Christmas joy and echo Rhian and Tui in wishing you a much better 2015!

Kerry, thinking of you all over the Christmas and New Year season.

Have a safe and Happy New Year!

As you can probably tell from my absence things got a bit too much to cope with during the last part of the year. I have been reading - books and threads - but not writing, but I am now ready to finish this year's thread and start one for next year.

Thank you, all, for the kind wishes and sympathy; it was lovely and encouraging to find new comments here and, although I'm sorry not to have responded sooner and individually, I think you will understand my difficulty. Of course, the longer it goes on the harder it is to write again, but the end of the year is a good re-starting point.

My December reading:



Death of a Kingfisher, 1st December. I've read and enjoyed most of the Hamish Macbeth books and this one was more of the same.



Death of Yesterday, 3rd December. Same again.



Venetia, read by Phyllida Nash, 14th December. This was wonderful and Venetia is now one of my favourite Heyer heroines.



The Distant Hours, 15th December. This is the third Kate Morton novel that I've read and, although I enjoyed it, it wasn't as good as the first two. It may be that it was an inferior plot or it may be that I'm used to her technique.



A Christmas Carol, read by Anton Lesser, 17th December. My annual Christmas treat and it didn't disappoint, in fact I read some parts more than once.



Sister of the Angels, 20th December, This was new for Christmas this year, although I may have read it as a child. I like Elizabeth Goudge even though she teeters on the edge of mawkish sentimentality sometimes, and she always inserts a bit of unexpected tartness at just the right time.



The Christmas Mouse & No Holly for Miss Quinn, read by Gwen Watford, 22nd December. Another soothing Christmas read.



A Child's Christmas in Wales, read by the author, 23rd December. I can almost read along with this one from memory.



The Christmas Mystery, 24th December. This is an Advent calendar book and I read a chapter a day and have done for many years now but still notice something new each time. Or maybe I'm starting to forget things...



Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm, 28th December. Only the title story and one other were really Christmassy but they were all worth reading once.



Champion of the Chalet school, 28th December. A new fill-in story for the long Chalet School series and one of the best, I think. It will certainly be included in my Chalet School re-reads in the future.

So, for my last month I read eleven titles. Seven were new to me and only four were re-reads, which is quite unexpected for Christmas, I think. Four were audiobooks, four were ebooks and three were paper copies. No ROOT successes so my final percentage is just over 7% (Twelve out of a total of 168 books finished).

That's 2014 reported on and I have begun a new thread for 2015 here. I hope you will join me there and that I can keep going for a full year once I have got over the beginning of January.

I love, love, love A Child's Christmas in Wales and try to listen to Thomas reading it every Christmas season. Have you read The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton? I have it gathering dust on the tbr shelf here. Is that a new Hamish Macbeth--don't think I have read that one. That was a pretty good bunch of reads for December.

>147 tiffin: I have The Secret Keeper waiting and I think I'm up to date on the Hamish Macbeths at the moment. How does M. C. Beaton keep churning them out? as well as Agatha Raisin, and her Regency, Victorian and Edwardian series too.