CDVicarage starts for the Seventh Year: Will it be the lucky one?

My seventh attempt: I've never had any difficulty in reaching 75, but keeping a thread going is harder. I have a fairly minimalist style as I am not very chatty in print or in real life but I do follow many other threads (even if it's lurking rather than much commenting) and I am always grateful for visitors and their comments (if any!). I am determined to post more than I lurk this year.

We moved to Cheshire, where my husband is Rector of a lovely mediaeval rural church, just over a year ago and are enjoying living in the country, close to my daughter and her new-ish husband. I was made redundant from my job as an AV/IT technician at the local secondary school two and a half years ago and, although I thought I wasn't ready to retire I am enjoying it.

In an attempt to broaden my reading I am taking part in the PopSugar Reading Challenge, and I've already encountered some categories/genres that I just don't do!

I will set out my timetable below and then declare this thread open!

January

1. The Corinthian, read by Georgina Sutton, 1st January
2. Christmas Past, read by Zara Ramm, 4th January
3. Mr. Dickens and his Carol, 5th January
4. Murder in the Snow, 8th January
5. The Semi-Attached Couple, 12th January
6. The Bloody Tower, 15th January
7. The Black Ship, 19th January
8. Excitements at the Chalet School, 20th January
9. Sheer Folly, 23rd January
10. The Semi-Detached House, 24th January
11. Anthem for Doomed Youth, 27th January
12. The Reluctant Widow, read by Cornelius Garrett, 30th January

February

13. Old Friends and New Fancies, 3rd February
14. Anne of Windy Poplars, 5th February
15. They Rang Up the Police, 9th February
16. And the Rest is History, read by Zara Ramm, 10th February
17. According to Jennings, read by Simon Vance, 12th February
18. Death at the Dog, 15th February
19. These Old Shades, read by Cornelius Garrett, 19th February
20. A Peaceful Retirement, read by Siân Phillips, 20th February
21. Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar, 23rd February
22. A Case of Blackmail in Belgravia, 24th February

March

23. Murder Included, 1st March
24. Devil's Cub, read by Michael Drew, 2nd March
25. The Unfinished Clue, 4th March
26. Cherringham 1-3, read by Neil Dudgeon, 8th March
27. A Case of Murder in Mayfair, 11th March
28. Women & Power, 13th March
29. The Coming of Age of the Chalet School, 14th March
30. A Swarming of Bees, 16th March
31. Gone West, 19th March
32. The King of Lavender Square, 19th March
33. Landscape in Sunlight, 20th March
34. Death at the President's Lodging, 25th March
35. Hamlet, Revenge!, 27th March
36. The Moving Toyshop, 28th March
37. Mansfield Park, read by Juliet Stevenson, 29th March
38. A Great Reckoning, 31st March

April

39. Lament for a Maker, 4th April
40. The Book of Psalms: Authorized Version, 5th April
41. Still She Wished For Company, read by Eleanor David, 8th April
42. An Argumentation of Historians, 11th April
43. Just One Damned Thing After Another, 14th April
44. A Symphony of Echoes, 14th April
45. A Second Chance, 15th April
46. A Trail Through Time, 16th April
47. No Time Like The Past, 19th April
48. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?, 20th April
49. The Talisman Ring, read by Phyllida Nash, 21st April
50. Lies, Damned Lies, and History, 22nd April
51. The Battersea Barricades, 23rd April
52. And the Rest is History, 24th April
53. The Long and Short of it, 24th April
54. Stop Press, 25th April
55. The Scribbler no. 7 Autumn 2017, 27th April
56. An Argumentation of Historians, read by Zara Ramm, 29th April
57. The Battersea Barricades, read by Zara Ramm, 29th April
58. The Secret Vanguard, 29th April

May

59. The Riddle of the Sands, read by Anton Lesser, 1st May
60. Queen of a Distant Hive, 2nd May
61. There Came Both Mist and Snow, 4th May
62. The Nonesuch, read by Eve Matheson, 5th May
63. Infidelity, 7th May
64. Slightly Foxed 56: 'Making the best of it' Winter 2017, 7th May
65. Please, Mister Postman, 9th May
66. Last Term at Taverton High, 9th May
67. Spectacles, 12th May
68. The Long and Winding Road, 14th May
69. Swan Song, 16th May
70. Anne of Avonlea, read by Tara Ward, 16th May
71. Love Lies Bleeding, 17th May
72. The Daffodil Affair, 20th May
73. The Weight of the Evidence, 24th May
74. Appleby's End, 25th May
75. A Night of Errors, 27th May
76. Anne of the Island, read by Tara Ward, 28th May
77. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, 31st May
78. Slightly Foxed 57: A Crowning Achievement Spring 2018, 31st May

June

79. The Scribbler No. 8 Spring 2018: A retrospective literary review, 1st June
80. A Leap of Faith, 2nd June
81. The Mingham Air, 5th June
82. The Little Teashop of Lost and Found, 6th June
83. Some Tame Gazelle, read by Patience Tomlinson, 8th June
84. Seaview House, 10th June
85. Linden Rise, 11th June
86. A Classical Education: The Stuff You Wish You'd Been Taught At School, 14th June
87. Spencer's List, 16th June
88. Balancing Act, 18th June
89. Queen Lucia, read by Nadia May, 19th June
90. Escape for the Summer, 21st June
91. Children in the Close, 23rd June
92. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 24th June
93. Bramton Wick, 25th June
94. Old Baggage, 26th June
95. The Cornish Guest House, 29th June
96. Goodnight Sweet Prince, 29th June

July

97. Crooked Heart, 1st July
98. Tremarnock Summer, 3rd July
99. Our History of the 20th Century: As Told in Diaries, Journals and Letters, 6th July
100. Pippa's Cornish Dream, 6th July
101. Three Things About Elsie, 8th July
102. Portrait of a Family, 9th July
103. The Woman on the Orient Express, 9th July
104. One More River, read by David Case, 9th July
105. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 11th July
106. The Steam Pump Jump, 12th July
107. Journey to the Centre of the Earth, read by Tim Curry, 12th July
108. The Steam Pump Jump, read by Zara Ramm, 12th July
109. Circe, 18th July
110. Alcestis, 19th July
111. Jennings, As Usual, read by Simon Vance, 20th July
112. The Bertie Project, 21st July
113. Death in Elysium, 22nd July
114. Wicked Autumn, 25th July
115. Prince Caspian, 26th July
116. The Silver Chair, read by Jeremy Northam, 26th July
117. The Life and Lies of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, 30th July

August

118. Jacob's Room is Full of Books, 1st August
119. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 2nd August
120. Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading, read by the author, 2nd August
121. A Time of Love and Tartan, 3rd August
122. Summer Half, 4th August
123. Stepmother, 5th August
124. Pomfret Towers, 7th August
125. The Brandons, 10th August
126. Langue(dot)doc 1305, 15th August
127. Excellent Women, read by Gerri Halligan, 16th August
128. The Book of Lost And Found, 17th August
129. Star by Star, 19th August
130. We Should All Be Feminists, 19th August
131. Beauvallet, 19th August
132. Peking Picnic, 25th August
133. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 28th August
134. A Very Private Eye: An Autobiography in Diaries and Letters, 30th August

September

135. Why Mummy Swears, 3rd September
136. Village School, 4th September
137. Greenmantle, read by Robert Whitfield, 5th September
138. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 9th September
139. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 13th September
140. The Chalet school and Richenda, 15th September
141. The Oblate's Confession, 16th September
142. Lady of Quality, read by Eve Matheson, 18th September
143. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, 19th September
144. The Lord of the Rings, 21st September
145. Niccolo Rising, 22nd September
146. Love, Lies and Linguine, 26th September
147. The Scribbler No. 9 July 2018: A retrospective literary review, 28th September
148. Rose Cottage, 28th September

October

149. Vanity Fair, 1st October
150. A Distant View of Everything, 2nd October
151. Chedsy Place, 4th October
152. The Loving Spirit, 9th October
153. Perception, read by Lucy Scott, 10th October
154. The Hare with Amber Eyes, 11th October
155. Catherine and Arnaud, 12th October
156. The Villa in Italy, 13th October
157. Finding Philippe, 16th October
158. Fencing with Death, 19th October
159. Reckless Griselda, 21st October
160. A Man of Some Repute , read by Michael Page, 21st October
161. A Youthful Indiscretion, 22nd October
162. The Year of Reading Dangerously, 22nd October
163. The Book of Forgotten Authors, 25th October
164. Company in the Evening, 26th October
165. A Question of Inheritance, read by Michael Page, 26th October
166. The Queen of New Beginnings, 31st October

November

167. A Matter of Loyalty, read by Michael Page, 4th November
168. A Good Heart is Hard to Find, 5th November
169. Summer's Day, 6th November
170. The Child That Books Built, 7th November
171. Promises, Promises, 9th November
172. Glass Houses,11th November
173. Death of an Old Girl, 14th November
174. Case Histories, read by Susan Jameson, 14th November
175. The Particular Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes, 16th November
176. The Secret of Platform 13, 17th November
177. The Provincial Lady in America, read by Georgina Sutton, 23rd November
178. Death and the Jubilee, 27th November
179. Love in a Cold Climate, read by Patricia Hodge, 28th November
180. The Lanimer Bride, 30th November

December

181. Slightly Foxed 58: A Snatch of Morning, 1st December
182. Lamentation, 3rd December
183. The Scribbler No. 10 November 2018: A retrospective literary review, 4th December
184. The Grand Sophy, read by Sarah Woodward, 6th December
185. The Pursuit of Love, read by Emilia Fox, 7th December
186. Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries, 8th December
187. The Christmas Card Crime: and Other Stories, 10th December
188. The Christmas Mouse, 11th December
189. Winter in Thrush Green, 12th December
190. No Holly For Miss Quinn, 14th December
191. Emma, read by Juliet Stevenson, 16th December
192. The Chalet School Annexe, 17th December
193. Portrait of a Murderer, 18th December
194. The Story of Holly and Ivy, 19th December
195. The Christmas Angel, 20th December
196. A Christmas Carol, read by Anton Lesser, 23rd December
197. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 24th December
198. The Christmas Mystery, 24th December
199. And Now For Something Completely Different, 26th December
200. Christmas Pudding, 27th December
201. Swallows and Amazons, 28th December
202. Ten Days of Christmas, 29th December
203. And Now For Something Completely Different, read by Zara Ramm, 30th December
204. Mary Poppins, 31st December

I herby declare this thread open!

Welcome back, Kerry!

Wishing you lots of great reads in 2018!

*starring for later* I am FAR too chatty, in print especially, so this might be my oasis of calm in 2018! Happy reading...

Hi, Kerry! Dropping a star, as I enjoy your brief comments on your books — and your 2017 thread has led me to Winifred Peck's mysteries.

Happy New Year and good luck in 2018!

I thought I might try this. I don't usually follow challenges but my reading (and re-reading) has been rather aimless of late and this list is vague enough to be made to fit anything! In fact I'm already reading something that will fit no.6.

2018 PopSugar Reading Challenge

' 1. A book made into a movie you've already seen A Christmas Carol
2. True crime
' 3. The next book in a series you started The Bloody tower, 15th January
' 4. A book involving a heist Death in Elysium
5. Nordic noir
' 6. A novel based on a real person Mr. Dickens and his Carol, 5th January
' 7. A book set in a country that fascinates you Journey to the Centre of the Earth
' 8. A book with a time of day in the title A Night of Errors, 27th May
' 9. A book about a villain or antihero Vanity Fair
' 10. A book about death or grief Portrait of a Family
11. A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym
' 12. A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist Spectacles, 12th May
13. A book that is also a stage play or musical
' 14. A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you We Should All Be Feminists
' 15. A book about feminism Old Baggage, 26th June
' 16. A book about mental health Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, 31st May
' 17. A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift Jacob's Room is Full of Books, 1st August
18. A book by two authors Cherringham (1-3)
' 19. A book about or involving a sport The King of Lavender Square
20. A book by a local author -
21. A book with your favourite colour in the title
' 22. A book with alliteration in the title The Christmas Card Crime
✔ 23. A book about time travel And the Rest is History, 10th February
✔ 24. A book with a weather element in the title There Came Both Mist and Snow, 4th May
' 25. A book set at sea Riddle of the Sands
' 26. A book with an animal in the title The Hare with Amber Eyes
' 27. A book set on a different planet And Now For Something Completely Different
✔ 28. A book with song lyrics in the title The Long and Winding Road, 14th May
29. A book about or set on Halloween
' 30. A book with characters who are twins The Chalet School Annexe
' 31. A book mentioned in another book Diary of a Provincial Lady
32. A book from a celebrity book club
' 33. A childhood classic you've never read Swallows and Amazons
✔ 34. A book that's published in 2018 An Argumentation of Historians, 11th April
35. A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner
' 36. A book set in the decade you were born Summer's Day
37. A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to
38. A book with an ugly cover
' 39. A book that involves a bookstore or library A Matter of Loyalty
40. Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges (you can easily Google these)

Hi Kerry! Thanks for stopping by the PopSugar Etc. Challenge thread.

Happy new reading year!

>18 harrygbutler: Thanks, Harry, although I write the comments for myself - in no way are they reviews - it is nice to know that someone else reads them, and finds them useful. The Dean Street Press is an excellent resource.

Happy New Year! I wish you to read many good books in 2018.

Happy reading in 2018, Kerry!

Happy new year,Kerry! I was hopeless last year at keeping up with my own thread but have great intentions this year. Your Popsugar challenge looks fun.

Are you still reading the Chalet School books or have you finished the whole series?

Happy New Year! Here's to a great year of reading!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year
Happy New Group here
This place is full of friends
I hope it never ends
It brew of erudition and good cheer.

This comment originally appeared twice so I deleted it and wrote something else.
>25 cushlareads: Hello Cushla. Well I have read the whole series but in my current re-read I am up to book 38 of 58 Excitements at the Chalet school of the original series, but with all the prequels, fill-ins and sequels written there are about 80 books in the series now.

Hi Kerry!

I'll be interested in seeing how you do in the PopSugar Challenge.

Welcome back Kerry and happy new year!

>30 karenmarie: Having read the whole list more closely I'm beginning to think I've bitten off more than I can chew - I don't do crime or Nordic Noir or sport! But it is time to broaden my reading so perhaps I will dip a tentative toe into the unknown.

Hi, Kerry. Happy bookish 2018!

re: Heyer, I've never been able to get into her books, but I feel I've not given her a fair shake. I have Beauvallet out from the library right now. I thought perhaps the Elizabethan + maritime settings would work better for me. I did enjoy one of her Regencies that featured smuggling.

I also don't read about sport generally but this is very general - Noel Streatfeild? eg White Boots or Tennis Shoes

>34 elkiedee: Thanks, Luci, what a good idea!

>33 libraryperilous: Hello Diana. I went through a period of being rather sneery about Georgette Heyer - mere light romances (although I always knew she was way superior to Barbara Cartland!) - but a few years ago I started re-reading them and some of the regency stories have become my favourites. I like to listen to audio versions (if I like the reader) and they make excellent bedtime reading for me.

>35 CDVicarage: I think my fatal error was listening to the chorus of "She's just like Jane Austen!" comments I saw online. I was expecting more in the vein of tragicomedies* of manners, not straight witty romances. I bet they do work well as bedtime reads.

superior to Barbara Cartland

Ha! Even light reading has better and not-so-good writers.

*I will go to my grave labeling Sense and Sensibility a tragedy. Probably after fighting a duel with someone who calls Edward Ferrars a hero.

>36 libraryperilous: - "*I will go to my grave labeling Sense and Sensibility a tragedy. Probably after fighting a duel with someone who calls Edward Ferrars a hero."

S&S and Emma are my two least favorite Austens. I think the Ang Lee film of S&S is a rare case of a movie being better than a book.

Hi Kerry! Sorry for the thread-jack.

Hi Kerry!

For number 19, the pesky "sport" challenge, I recommend a book about sport (baseball) that is about so much more than baseball, Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella. It was made into the movie Field of Dreams. The movie was good - I saw it first - and then read the book last year. It was one of my top 5.

Hi, Kerry! I read P. G. Wodehouse's Mike at Wrykyn a couple years ago, and cricket has a dominant role in the book — though not in such a way as to prevent me from enjoying it, though my knowledge of the game and interest in accounts of sporting events are slight. That might be another "sport" possibility.

>38 karenmarie: >39 harrygbutler: Thanks Karen and Harry - two good suggestions. Ironically it looks as though I could happily read several books about sport after all!

Happy New Year, Kerri. Have a great year of reading. Good luck with your challenge.

>41 BLBera: Thanks, Beth, and to you!

It's a very casual challenge so if I don't finish it I shan't be too disappointed. I think the most fun thing will be shoe-horning titles I want to read into the categories I don't usually read!

>36 libraryperilous:, >37 katiekrug: Ack, yes. Sorry, Kerry.

>37 katiekrug: >43 libraryperilous: It's lovely to have discussion on my thread! I'm with you on Sense and Sensibility, Katie. My favourites are usually Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice but sometimes Mansfield Park or Emma, and I re-read Northanger Abbey last year after a very long gap and even that was better than I remembered.

Persuasion is my favorite, followed by P&P. Then probably MP, followed by NA, then Emma, and then S&S. Sometimes Emma and S&S swap for last place.

>44 CDVicarage:, >45 katiekrug: Persuasion is my favorite as well. It's sadder overall, but it has a happier ending (except for the whole naval captain during a time of war thing). I do love Sense and Sensibility, but only because I view the ending as a tragedy. Agree about the film, which I think is iconic enough that it seems an entirely separate entity.

I wonder if I'd view Emma more favorably now I'm older.

>45 katiekrug:. >46 libraryperilous: Persuasion is my favourite and I always think the sadder tone is what makes the ending that bit happier and more satisfying. Much as I love P&P (it's my close second), Persuasion leaves me feeling warmer at the end because Anne got the best possible happy ending and Wentworth is such a steadfast and wonderful hero for her.

Hi Kerry!

The Austen comments have got me thinking I might start a re-read of her works. Well, read for Emma, which I never finished.

>48 karenmarie: I (rather smugly) thought to myself that I often re-read the main six novels but having looked at my records I find it's well over a year since I've read any in print or audio! I shall put that right when I have finished my current reads. i'm sure I can fit them into the PopSugar Challenge somewhere.

Yes, all this talk of Austen has made me feel I should binge all six of them in February. Kerry, I hope you enjoy the reread!

>47 archerygirl: I agree completely about Persuasion's tone and the payoff, and Wentworth is by far my favorite Austen hero. I find it amusing that Darcy's first proposal—the bungled, mansplained one—has given rise to a cottage industry of mugs and T-shirts. It's bizarre to me that people find it swoon-worthy.

>50 libraryperilous: There are people who have strange tastes. I sympathise so much with Elizabeth's rejection of Darcy's first proposal, so I have no idea why it's considered so swoon-worthy. Wentworth's letter to Anne, though, now that's a swoon-worthy proposal!

>51 archerygirl: Yes! I think Wentworth's letter probably is my favorite romantic passage in any novel. This Etsy shop has mostly Darcy's obnoxious proposal, but they do have a Wentworth sweatshirt. It's one of many Etsy shops trafficking in DARCY THE ROMANTIC. Le sigh.

I, too, am thinking of an Austen-a-thon this year. Well, no, because that suggests devouring them all back-to-back, but you know what I mean! I'd like to (re)read them all and watch a bunch of the adaptations though.

For the record: Persuasion is my favourite SO FAR (Northanger and Emma still to read) - Wentworth's letter made me happy-cry in front of a bookshop full of customers. I just bought myself a lovely new edition for Christmas. Mansfield Park was a university read, and to be honest my main memory of it is a very earthy Geordie girl in my seminar group who slammed the book down on the table, looked around at us all in anguish and cried "Ugh! Fanny Price is such a WET LETTUCE!" Still makes me laugh now. I grew up on P&P and S&S so I have a deep fondness for both, but I haven't read either of them in about fifteen years so who knows at this point?! (And yeah, Darcy's first proposal was so horrible. "I hate everything about your existence, but also I love you, let's get married!")

I dunno, I'm just feelin' the Austen right now. I think it's time. Maybe I'll watch The Jane Austen Book Club as well, I used to looooove that movie!

So much for keeping up to date on recording my reading instead of doing it all at the end of the month...



The Corinthian, read by Georgina Sutton, finished 1st January. A good start to the year - a book finished already. This is a (many times) re-read and was just right for the holiday period.



Christmas Past, read by Zara Ramm, finished 4th January. This Christmas short story was published on Christmas day and I read it in print on Boxing day. I saved the audio version for a few more days.



Mr. Dickens and His Carol, finished 5th January. I felt this was suitably seasonal and it qualifies for one of the PopSugarReadingChallenge! I enjoyed it and felt Ms Silva linked it into the real Christmas Carol well.



Murder in the Snow, finished 8th January. Another seasonal story although Christmas was over before the murder was committed. The original title was 'Groaning Spinney' so not necessarily Christmassy at all. This is my first Mrs. Bradley novel and it is 23rd in a series of 66 so I can't see myself reading them all!



The Semi-Attached Couple, finished 12th January. Emily Eden, who only published two novels, is often labelled as a Jane Austen-type writer which does her no favours - who could live up to that? This is the next in the Virago Chronological Reading project and was a pleasant read but if you were expecting Jane Austen you would have been disappointed.



The Bloody Tower, finished 15th January. I started this book - the 16th in the Daisy Dalrymple series - before we moved house fifteen months ago. It's a paper copy and I mislaid it but once I got started again it was a quick read. The whole series has been perfectly pleasant to read but not startling in any way, and I shall read the next few books because I own them.



The Black ship, finished 19th January. This is the 17th and Daisy's ordinary daily life is more interesting (to me) than the detecting.



Excitements at the Chalet School, finished 20th January. This is number 38 in the original series of 58 and is not very well named as nothing very exciting happens.



Sheer Folly, finished 23rd January. Number eighteen in the series. I shall stop with number twenty, as that is the last one that I own, although at the moment the series goes up to twenty three.



The Semi-Detached House, finished 24th January. These two Emily Eden novels are usually published in one volume although they are not connected in any way. This one is a lighter novel and very easy to read. Emily Eden also published some letters to her sister and other travel writing, which I might try.



Anthem for Doomed Youth, finished 27th January. The penultimate story in my possession.

>54 CDVicarage: I may need to try some of the Mrs. Bradley books, but like you, I don't think I want to read 66 of them.

One more book finished this month:



The Reluctant Widow, read by Cornelius Garrett, finished 30th January. I've listened to this book many times and, although the spying plot can be a bit dull, it is one of my favourite Heyers.

That brings it to a total of twelve books finished this month; three were audiobooks, three were paper books and six were ebooks. Six were re-reads (although two were so long ago as to count as new) and six were new to me. I ticked off one category in the PopSugar Reading Challenge.

Congrats on a great reading month, Kerry!

We're off to Ireland tomorrow to stay with friends for a few days so I'm not expecting to have much time for LT and other social media but the journeys will give me the opportunity for plenty of reading. So far this month I've only finished one book:



Old Friends and New Fancies, finished 3rd February. This is regarded as the first fanfiction/sequel to Jane Austen and was written in 1913. I've read plenty of other sequels/parallel versions, some by professional writers, some by amateurs, and this is really the nearest one in writing style to Jane Austen, however Sybil uses a selection of characters from all the books. Most are recognisably Jane's characters but some have undergone rather a change. Emma, now Mrs Knightly is still (unsuccessfully) matchmaking, Kitty Bennett is still as featherheaded and excitable, Lady Catherine de Bourgh is still as obnoxious as ever and Mrs Jennings as vulgar and kind-hearted. But some characters have changed rather unexpectedly. Mary Crawford seems to have learned from her experiences at Mansfield Park and Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley are much pleasanter but with no obvious reason for the change. The plot(s) is convoluted and requires some heavy-handed (compared with Jane's) explanations.

Hope you have a great trip: tenuous link - my twitter feed has been full of pictures from Dublin bookshop and events linked tp their celebration of the right to vote.

Intrigued that "fan fiction" was being published back in 1913, I thought that was a new idea!

>58 CDVicarage: Fan fiction from such an early date? Wow!

Enjoying the Austen talk - ranking her novels and the dangers for other writers of being compared to her. I think I must be due some re-reads - I've read P&P 3 times, I think, S&S and Emma twice, and the rest only once each, thought it feels more often than that because of hearing radio dramatisations of some of them over the years. I really didn't like Emma first time round, I think mainly because I dislike the character Emma and couldn't see past her spoilt, interfering behaviour. On second reading I didn't expect to like her - really didn't expect to like the book at all - but found that this time the latter was not dependent on my liking for the character, and in any case found myself more compassionate towards her faults. I loved Mansfield Park, not least because I really identified with Fanny - at the time, like her I had an aversion to the idea of acting and had never come across anyone else who shared that viewpoint. Maybe that's the one I should re-read this year?

More surprise at the Sybil Brinton fan fiction. Is this the only one she wrote, do you know?

Have a good stay in Ireland!

>61 gennyt: It's the only one she has listed on LT or on Amazon, Genny.

Happy holiday, Kerry!

The Semi-Attached books sound fun.

>53 elliepotten: That's a great story. I am now going to use wet lettuce.

I wonder if I'd be more sympathetic to Fanny now I'm older. Not everyone can be a Lizzy Bennet, you know?

We had a lovely 4/5 days in Ireland and I did manage to keep up with LT, Facebook etc a little. The plane journeys (about an hour each) enabled me to read an audiobook that I wanted to finish but which wasn't a good story for bedtime,which is when I usually listen. I spent one day in while Jon and Andy went on a train trip to Tralee (they're both rail enthusiasts) and Liv was in and out doing chores, so I did some reading then. I was also babysitting their cocker spaniel puppy so not all relaxing!



Anne of Windy Poplars, finished 5th February. I've read the English edition - Anne of Windy Willows - many times and planned to note the differences between the two editions but I think they're fairly minor, mainly the change of trees, so I just read through and enjoyed it just as much as ever.



They Rang Up the Police, finished 9th February. Joanna Cannan is better known to me as a pony books writer but she wrote quite a number of detective novels too which are being re-published in ebook format and, I discovered when I read the foreword, for the American market. This book is the first in a series, but fortunately the second is the last! It was good, with an unexpected and controversial (for the time) murderer but not brilliant.



And the Rest is History, read by Zara Ramm, finished 10th February. I read this in print when it was first published in April last year and it was harrowing so I knew I wouldn't be able to listen to the audio version as my bedtime book. Knowing how it ended made it easier this time but it would have still given me a disturbed night's sleep. I've now got to wait until next April for the next novel and short story in the series.

>64 CDVicarage: I thought your last one (the Jodi Taylor) looked familiar... then I realised I have a copy, a duplicate from my Dad which he gave me in the new year. He's read the whole series, I hadn't come across it at all. I usually like to read series in order - is this one where it really matters that you do, or would you recommend reading this one to give me an idea of the style and characters before starting from the beginning if I like it?

>65 gennyt: I do think you need to read them in order, although the prequel, The Very First Damned Thing, isn't a good place to start! There are also several short stories which aren't so fixed in the timeline. I've loved them from the very first one and have print and audio copies.

>66 CDVicarage: Ok, thanks, I'll be keeping an eye out for the earlier ones in the series then....

A quick stop-by to wish you well, Kerry.

>68 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul, nice to see you!



According to Jennings, read by Simon Vance, finished 12th February. More humour from Jennings.



Death at the Dog, finished 15th February. The next (and last) in the Guy Northeast series. Although I'm pleased to have finished a series, I'm sorry that it wasn't longer as I found Guy Northeast an interesting character.



These Old Shades, read by Cornelius Garrett, finished 19th February. This was a re-read but I'd forgotten how annoying the narration was, (and, for that matter the heroine), so I switched to the print version after a while.

>69 CDVicarage: I just added the Joanna Cannan series to my wishlist. They might be good Thingaversary purchases. I noticed she has a third book that isn't in the Guy Northeast series. Have you read that one?

>70 thornton37814: Not yet, but I have it on my kindle!

>71 CDVicarage: I hope it's good too. I added it to the wish list too. I've still got a little over a month until my official Thingaversary.

I thought I had plenty of time until the end of the month but February is always shorter than I think:



A Peaceful Retirement, read by Sian Phillips, finished 20th February. Another slightly disappointing listen, the reading was good but the story wasn't. I've read this in print before but had forgotten that I don't find the last books in this series as enjoyable as those set in the school.



Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar, finished 23rd February. I picked up a recommendation for this on Chatterbox/Suz's thread for those who like the St Mary's Chronicles, which I do very much, and I did enjoy it. Although it is the first in a series (I think?) it didn't suffer from the usual 'setting up the scene' but just plunged straight in! I'd still rather read a St Mary's book but I shall be looking out for the next one in this series.



A Case of Blackmail in Belgravia, finished 24th February. Another first in the series but this one deals with characters already introduced in another series - Angela Marchmont Mysteries - so is a better start. Judging from this book the Freddy Pilkington-Soames series will be much better than Angela Marchmont. Probably the author is more confident and practised, she certainly seems to have decided on her style - this is a light Golden Age mystery, whereas Angela's character and actions veered from light to serious with each book. I shall certainly consider the next in the series.

Only ten books finished this month, but it is a short month!

No paper books, six ebooks and four audiobooks; six were new to me and four were re-reads. Only one category ticked off the PopSugar Reading Challenge - Time travel.

>73 CDVicarage: Looking to see if one of my libraries owns a copy of A Case of Blackmail in Belgravia.

>75 thornton37814: I had to buy the second in the series - A Case of Murder in Mayfair - as it wasn't available elsewhere, and at a higher price than I would normally pay for this type of book. I've read all the others for free or on very special offers so I hope the quality remains high and I don't regret it!

Well, most of March flew by without any reading updates so I have to do it all at once:



Murder Included, finished 1st March. Another 'cosy' murder from Joanna Cannan. I thought it was a standalone but apparently it is the first in a series of four books. Although I enjoyed it I shan't be making a big effort to find the others but will read them if I come across them.



Devil's Cub, read by Michael Drew, finished 2nd March. Another bedtime re-read. Enjoyable but not one of my favourite Georgette Heyers.



The Unfinished Clue, finished 4th March.I thought I'd read all the detective novels by Georgette Heyer but found this one lurking unread on my kindle. A pleasant read.



Cherringham 1-3, read by Neil Dudgeon, finished 8th March. This was an easy listen and I may go on to some more episodes but I can't imagine I'll read all the 28 currently available.



A Case of Murder in Mayfair, finished 11th March. Second in the series and I'm sure I'll go on to the next one at some time.



Women & Power: A Manifesto, finished 13th March. An excellent, if short, read. I find Mary Beard very easy to read (and to listen to on TV).



The Coming of Age of the Chalet School, finished 14th March. Book 39 (of 58) in the Chalet School series and they really are formulaic now, which isn't to say there aren't enjoyable parts but I find I can skim through quite quickly sometimes.

Time for a rest! I'll finish in another post.

I've had a cup of tea (raspberry and echinacea) and some of my easter chocolate and I'm ready too go on.



A Swarming of Bees, finished 16th March. This was a very enjoyable book. It is set in Whitby in the time of St Hild and is really a murder mystery. The 'detective' is Fridgyth, the herb wife (or apothecary) for the monastery. I have read a lot of historical novels in my time but very few set as early as this so I felt I learnt some history, too. There is a sequel (and I suspect there will be more) so I look forward to reading more about this era.



Gone West, finished 19th March. Actually I didn't really finish this, I just read the first few and the last chapter. I bought a set of these Daisy Dalrymple novels and this is the last one, although there are several more to the series now. I had already decided that I would stop with this one and it was rather disappointing compared with most others I have read.



The King of Lavender Square, finished 19th March. This was an ER book and was much the best of all those I've had. Set in contemporary Dublin and covers a random group of neighbours who live in the eponymous square. The main character is Patrick the son of an immigrant woman from Congo and when his mother is ill the neighbours rally round to take care of him, and later her. Patrick's dream is to play football for a local team and for Ireland. All the characters have their secrets and some come to trust each other enough to reveal them. Most characters get something of a happy ending without it being a sugary conclusion.



Landscape in Sunlight, finished 20th March. Another lovely story from the Furrowed Middlebrow range. Being a vicar's wife myself, I'm always interested in such characters in novels, although I'm pleased that my role is quite different from what it might have been in those days!



Death at the President's Lodging, finished 25th March. This, the first book in a long series, was not what I was expecting. I had expected a 'cosy' between the wars, Oxbridge set mystery. It was that, but wasn't 'cosy' but quite serious and 'literary'. However it was interesting and a good read so I shall go on to the next one.



Hamlet, Revenge!, finished 27th March. This one moves to a large country house, bringing one of the academics along too, and concerns a murder committed during a performance of Hamlet, with a possibility of spying, too. Lots of red herrings and lots of academic discussion of the play.



The Moving Toyshop, finished 28th March. The third in the Gervase Fen series and this was much lighter than the Inspector Appleby stories.



Mansfield Park, read by Juliet Stevenson, finished 30th March. This was a re-read as my book at bedtime.



A Great Reckoning, finished 31st March. The twelfth in the Three Pines series and one of the better ones, although they've all been good. I find them quite intense and have to have gaps between chapters, except that I start again almost immediately as I need to know what happens. I don't have the next in the series and it's still quite expensive but I'm considering going back to the beginning and re-reading all the others and trying to go more slowly this time.

March was a good reading month for me: sixteen books finished of which eleven were ebooks, two were paper books and three were audiobooks. Thirteen were new to me and only three were re-reads but, as usual there seems to be no reduction in the TBR pile. I hope I will be able to use some of these titles in the PopSugar Reading challenge.

Landscape in Sunlight and Death at the President's Lodging have both been added to the list!

And you've reminded me that I need to get back to the Louise Penny series - I started doing a reread but seem to have got sidetracked.

THe King of Lavender Square and Hamlet Revenge both are calling to me. Great comments, and a lot of good reading in March,

>78 CDVicarage: I know just what you mean about Louise Penny's books. I read #10 recently and while I found the mystery itself rather contrived, I couldn't stop reading and the ending packed such a punch that I wanted to move right on to the next book (but I restrained myself). I'm hoping to read books 11-13 before her new book is released in November.

I’m impatiently waiting for Louise Penny’s new book. Her last one Glass Houses was wonderful.

BB for A Swarming of Bees, what an intriguing setting. Sounds like some great books all round.

Lots of BBs here. Thanks, I think. :)

I read Women and Power: A Manifesto on the beach, and I had to stop myself from standing up and pumping my fist while yelling, "Yes, this!" when I finished it.

Visitors! Thank you for your comments and I don't think I've ever dispatched any BBs before!

I've just had a week away, which meant a long train journey and lots of reading:



Lament for a Maker, finished 4th April. This is the third in the Inspector Appleby series and more of an effort to read. It is written in the same way as The Moonstone and The Woman in White - lots of characters have their say so we get different viewpoints. Inspector Appleby appears late and plays quite a minor part.



The Book of Psalms: Authorized Version, finished 5th April. I've been reading the Psalms gradually over the last eight weeks or so, not for devotional purposes but for the language.



Still She Wished For Company, read by Eleanor David, finished 8th April. I had only known Margaret Irwin's historical novels but I've recently read/listened to two more contemporary (at time of writing) stories. In both cases the reading was better than the story but still enjoyable.



An Argumentation of Historians, finished 11th April. The latest in the Chronicles of St Mary's series was published on 10th April and I read it straight away. It's a series I'm still loving and I'm torn between wanting more but not wanting it to go on too long and start being disappointing.



Just One Damned Thing After Another, finished 14th April. Because of the unexpected (to me) twist at the end of the new episode I decided to go back to the beginning and re-read (again) to see if I can pick up the clues that must have been there.



A Symphony of Echoes, finished 14th April. Although I can remember all the incidents I don't necessarily remember in which order, or which book, they occur.

>86 CDVicarage: You have despatched them before, Kerry - plenty of them.

Have a lovely weekend.

A Second Chance, A Trail Through Time, No Time Like The Past, What Could Possibly Go wrong?, Lies, Damned Lies, and History, And the Rest is History and The Long and Short of it were all finished between 15th and 24th April.



The Talisman Ring, read by Phyllida Nash, finished 21st April. One of my favourite Heyers and a lovely reading.



The Battersea Barricades, finished 23rd April. The latest short story in the St Mary's Chronicles series. I was slightly unsure about this one before it was published - Jodi Taylor had made comments about the Civil Uprising, which happened before the start of the series, in the other books, which I had used to fill in the backstory in my head and I was worried that her story wouldn't match my story and that too much detail would make it - I hestitate to say implausible, after all it's about time travel - but would require too much suspension of disbelief. I needn't have worried.



Stop Press, finished 25th April. This is the fourth in the series and I struggled to follow the (very long) story. I have others in the series to read and I think I shall go on as other reviews reflect my opinion about this one but indicate that it is one on its own.

>88 CDVicarage: Wow, you’ve been busy! I tried the first of the Jodi Taylor books a little while ago, but didn’t get on with it. Maybe I should give it another go as everyone else seems to love them.

The Talisman Ring is one of the Heyers that I don’t remember very well for some reason. Perhaps I need to reread that one too.

>89 SandDune: I can't put my finger on what exactly makes the Jodi Taylor books so enjoyable for me but I do like them very much and read and re-read them in print and audio formats.
The Talisman Ring is not strictly a Regency novel as it happens during the French Revolution, which is why the heroine (or one of them) has been brought back to England from France.

The Scribbler No. 7 Autumn 2017: A retrospective literary review, finished 27th April. The themes of this issue were women and motoring, pantomime and advertising.



An Argumentation of Historians, read by Zara Ramm, finished 29th April. A quick re-read of this ninth episode in the Chronicles of St Mary's.



The Battersea Barricades, read by Zara Ramm, finished 29th April. Ditto for this latest short story.



The Secret Vanguard, finished 29th April. This is the fifth in the Inspector Appleby series and was a much easier (and shorter) read than the previous one. It was set immediately before the outbreak of the Second World War and has similarities to The Thirty Nine Steps, which was set before the First World War, but with a female lead.

That's April finished. I got through quite a number of titles this month but mostly re-reads: Twenty titles in all; two paper books, fourteen ebooks and four audiobooks. Eight were new to me and twelve were re-reads. I must check if I can tick any more categories in the PopSugar Reading Challenge.

I'm preparing for my Thingaversary later this month - my eleventh. Fortunately it is also my birthday at nearly the same time so I feel I have enough justification for buying plenty of books. (Although I seem to manage easily enough the rest of the year!)

I've just added six Persephones to my catalogue:

Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day, a grey cover replacement for a classic edition
The Exiles Return
A House in the Country
Tory Heaven
Farewell Leicester Square
Young Anne

The first three were good second-hand copies, which means no bookmarks, and the others were new.

I also received a new GGBP book, Last Term at Taverton High

>93 CDVicarage: Nice additions, Kerry.

Have a lovely Sunday.

We've just had a week's holiday but preparing for it and recovering from it has doubled the time I have spent away from my computer. This means that I have only skimmed threads without commenting and my resolve of updating my reading as I go along has fallen by the wayside. Today is a Bank Holiday in UK and rather than join the traffic jams I hope to catch up on LT.



The Riddle of the Sands, read by Anton Lesser, finished 1st May. This is a favourite re-read. It's an excellent reading and, although it's the kind of story I wouldn't expect to like, I do like it and have read it several times.



Queen of a Distant Hive, finished 2nd May. This is the second in a series set at the monastery under Abbess Hild in Whitby. Many of the author's other books are YA and these two could fit into that category as well although she wrote them for adults. The events of the story are not necessarily historical fact but she has fitted them into what is known of the time. I see no sign of another in the series but I would certainly read more if they appear.



There Came Both Mist and Snow, finished 4th May. The fifth in the Inspector Appleby series and another good one.



The Nonesuch, read by Eve Matheson, finished 5th May. Another comfort re-read for bedtime.



Infidelity, finished 7th May. An ER book, which I would categorize as Chicklit. It was an easy read and well-written but not my cup of tea. I do like some Chicklit but there were too many rich, nasty characters for me, even though most of them were redeemed, very quickly, by some very unlikely twists.



Slightly Foxed 56: 'Making the best of it' Winter 2017, finished 7th May. Some lovely articles in this issue, including one about the Chalet School.



Please, Mister Postman, finished 9th May. The early adulthood - marriage and family life - of Alan Johnson. Unless you are very interested in Union procedures there are probably sections that you will skip - I did - but this volume is still interesting and well written.



Last term at Taverton High, finished 9th May. The latest Chalet School fill-in takes place in England at the same time as The School at the Chalet using some characters that we later meet at the Chalet School. It fits in with the plot-line very well and the writing style matches EBD's well.



Spectacles, finished 12th May. I started this in audio a while ago but it wasn't a good bedtime book so I resumed in print. I like Sue Perkins and I like her writing but I did find I was skimming over some parts.



The Long and Winding Road, finished 14th May. The third (and final, so far) part of Alan Johnson's autobiography covers more of his Union career and his election tp parliament and his work as an MP.



Swan Song, finished 16th May. The fourth in the Gervase Fen series, in which he solves the murders in an opera company.



Anne of Avonlea, read by Tara Ward, finished 16th May. A lovely reading of this lovely story.



Love Lies Bleeding, finished 17th May. Gervase Fen's fifth case takes place in a boy's public school, at which he is to present the prizes at Speech Day. The murder of three teachers makes it rather a hectic occasion.



The Daffodil Affair, The Weight of the Evidence, Appleby's End, The Night of Errors, all finished 20th to 27th May. These are the last that I have of the Inspector Appleby series although there are many more written and I hope to read them in the future.



Anne of the Island, read by Tara Ward, finished 28th May. More about Anne and still well read although there were a few mistakes: the wrong name and the wrong 'voice' sometimes.

I may finish another book before the end of May though eighteen so far is pretty good, I think!

The Anne books in audio might be a fun way to revisit the series sometime. I'll have to keep it in mind.

Congratulations on reaching 75, Kerry!

>97 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita, I hadn't noticed!

Lots of cool books here, and I appreciate that you add photos of the (pretty) covers.

Congrats on 75! I trust Anita's counting skillz.

Final books for May:



Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, finished 31st May. A very good read.



Slightly Foxed 57: A Crowning Achievement Spring 2018, finished 31st May. Another lovely collection of literary articles with some ideas for further reading. I've got the next issue ready to start.

Final results for May: I finished 20 books this month. Three were paper books, thirteen were ebooks and four were audiobooks. Sixteen were new to me and only four (all audiobooks) were re-reads. You'd think there would be a substantial dent in the TBR pile (real and virtual) but no...

Half way through June and I've finished nine books:



The Scribbler No. 8 Spring 2018: A retrospective literary review, finished 1st June. Another excellent collection of articles, including those on women flying, piano lessons and pestilence and fire amongst others.



A Leap of Faith, finished 2nd June. If asked I would probably say I don't like 'Chick Lit' but there are a few authors that I find enjoyable and Trisha Ashley is one.



The Mingham Air, finished 5th June. Another enjoyable 'Furrowed Middlebrow' story by Elizabeth Fair. I suspect these were regarded as the 'Chick Lit' of their day!



The Little Teashop of Lost and Found, finished 6th June. See above for comments!



Some Tame Gazelle, read by Patience Tomlinson, finished 8th June. A re-read of Barbara Pym's first novel, and one of my favourites.



Seaview House, finished 10th June. See above!



Linden Rise, finished 11th June. An adult title by the author of the Just William books and I shall definitely be reading more.



A Classical Education: The Stuff You Wish You'd Been Taught At School, finished 14th June. Well, I did have a fairly classical education so I did know a lot of this already but it was an amusing and easy read.



Spencer's List, finished 16th June. I've very much liked the other Lissa Evans books I've read - this was her first - and I'm eagerly looking forward to her next - Old Baggage - which is due out month.

Ooh, I've not come across Spencer's List - adding it to the wishlist. I really enjoyed Old Baggage so much - do you think there's any chance that it will get picked up for TV? I kept thinking it would make such a great series. And roles for older women!

>103 charl08: I agree, Charlotte, given the centenary perhaps it would fit in well in the next year or so.

I had a holiday at the end of June for ten days and it's taken me a while to settle back down to ordinary life but I'm ready to finish my June reading now:



Balancing Act, finished 18th June. This book appeared in my ebook library and I don't know where from but I have liked Joanna Trollope in the past so I was happy to read it. It was an easy read but there didn't seem much to it.



Queen Lucia, read by Nadia May, finished 19th June. A re-read of an old favourite.



Escape for the Summer, finished 21st June. Some easy to read and enjoyable chicklit. I like reading books set in Cornwall.



Children in the Close, finished 23rd June. A biography of childhood in the early twentieth century. I was first interested by the location as I know the Close in Salisbury well and liked reading about it in an earlier time.



Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, finished 24th June. This just seemed to catch my attention on my kindle so I've started another re-read of the series.



Bramton Wick, finished 25th June. The last Elizabeth Fair novel from the Furrowed Middlebrow range. I've enjoyed them all.



Old Baggage, finished 26th June. I read this as soon as it was published and loved it. It's a period (and a problem) that's not often written about: what did the suffragettes do after they had won the (partial) right to vote. The rise of the British Fascist movement features too.



The Cornish Guest House, finished 29th June. More Cornish chicklit. This is second in what is currently a trilogy, although I'm sure there are more to come. A good holiday read.



Goodnight, Sweet Prince, finished 29th June. I had a long train journey and was able to read this in one go. It's the first in a series of fourteen (at the moment) and I shall be happy to go on and read the next if I can get it easily (and cheaply).

So, my June summary:

I finished eighteen books: two paper books, fourteen ebooks and two audio books. Fifteen were new to me and only three were re-reads but, as ever, there is no apparent diminution of my TBR pile (real or virtual). Most were new to my catalogue so obviously what I should do is stop buying/borrowing books until I've read some of the older ones - and pigs might fly...

Since I'm in the mood I shall start on my July reading:



Crooked Heart, finished 1st July. Having read Old Baggage I had to re-read this and enjoyed it just as much the second time.



Tremarnock Summer, finished 3rd July. More Cornish chicklit and I was actually in Cornwall as I read it.



Our History of the 20th Century: As Told in Diaries, Journals and Letters, finished 6th July. I like anthologies like this, and I liked this one but covering a whole century meant it seemed rather bitty. I prefer the one a day ones on a particular topic.



Pippa's Cornish Dream, finished 6th July. More Cornish chicklit and pleasant enough, but the last for this year, I think.



Three Things About Elsie, finished 8th July. I read Joanna Cannon's previous novel about this time last year and I enjoyed this one just as much. It's interesting to read a novel about older people - especially after all the chicklit I've been reading - perhaps it reflects my increasing age!



Portrait of a Family, finished 9th July. Another adult title from Richmal Crompton but I didn't like this one as much. All of the characters were unsympathetic to me and the whole story was rather gloomy, but I shall try more.



The Woman on the Orient Express, finished 9th July. Based (loosely) on Agatha Christie's journey to and stay in Iraq after her divorce, and another train journey gave me the opportunity to read it one go. The author explains which bit are conjecture and which bits entirely made up in an afterword.



One More River, read by David Case, finished 9th July. The last volume in the Forsyte Chronicles and I've now finished my audio re-read of the series. I've like David Case's reading apart from his odd (and variable) pronunciation of 'Fleur' throughout.



Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, finished 11th July. This month's Harry Potter episode.



The Steam Pump Jump, read by Zara Ramm, both finished 12th July. The latest St Mary's short story, told from Markham's point of view. Both print and audio were issued on the same day so I read it twice. I was glad they kept Zara Ramm to read it, the previous story from Markham's point of view was read by a man, and although he read well he didn't keep the accents consistent with the other stories.



Journey to the Centre of the Earth, read by Tim Curry, finished 12th July. A re-read in audio. The film, with James Mason, is so firmly fixed in my mind that I'm surprised when the book doesn't follow the same way. The book starts much more slowly taking sixteen (of forty six) chapters to reach the entrance to the underground route.



Circe, finished 18th July. Another good re-telling of a Greek myth.



Alcestis, finished 19th July. Not such a good re-telling of a Greek myth. The first part about Alcetis's childhood and early adulthood was interesting but when she went into the Underworld it all got a bit 'vague'.

I spent the weekend at a literary conference for people interested in Girlsown books. It's held every two years and I always enjoy it. There are book sales but since I have really completed my Chalet School collection, others series are being added to as GGBP reprint them, and I was travelling by train so couldn't carry much, I didn't intend to buy any books. So I probably did quite well to come home with only ten books.
Under Black Banner
Black Banner Players
No Boats on Bannermere
(I'd bought Black Banner Abroad at a previous sale only to discover it was fourth in the series so I've been waiting to get 1-3)
Blue Remembered Hills - one of the talks was about women and girls' roles in Rosemary Sutcliff's Roman and Dark Ages novels
Willow Green Mystery
Candy Finds the Clue, Candy Does It again, Candy in the Alps - a series I remember fondly from my childhood, but will it live up to my memories?
Star by Star
Career Novels for Girls (no touchstone). This is an overview of career novels published in the 40s, 50's and 60's.

The last two were new books written by people who were present at the conference. Star by Star is particularly apposite as it deals with the 1918 British general election - the first in which (some) women were able to vote.

Looks like you've read several things set in Cornwall. I wish I could find some better Cornish mysteries. The ones I've tried this year all fell flat.

I really love the idea of reading books set in Cornwall, with which I have a bit of a fascination, but all I can seem to find are family sagas or other domestic fiction and older Gothic romances. I've seen a few mysteries with that setting but they seem mostly to be contemporary mysteries not historicals.

I enjoyed the first Bannermere book. I'm told Trease's historical fiction is even better.

I cannot wait to acquire Old Baggage. I need to make a Book Depository order soon.

>108 CDVicarage: 'I didn't intend to buy any books. So I probably did quite well to come home with only ten books.'

That sounds so familiar...!

>110 libraryperilous: Poldark? Daphne du Maurier's Cornish set novels? Rosamunde Pilcher has some set, or partly set, in Cornwall.

Time to finish July's reading:



Jennings, as Usual, read by Simon Vance, finished 20th July. More jolly japes at Linbury Court School.



The Bertie Project, finished 21st July. The eleventh volume in the Scotland Street series and I'm still enjoying them very much.



Death in Elysium, finished 22nd July. The first in a new series from Judith Cutler. The main character is a middle-aged vicar's wife but I can't quite identify with her as she has resigned from a very well-paid IT job, not from a lowly technician's post in a school, and wears designer clothing, but apart from that it was promising and I shall happily read the next in the series.



Wicked Autumn, finished 25th July. Another series first and this time the vicar, who is ex-MI5, is the hero, but the writing wasn't good enough to make me want to go on.



The Silver Chair, read by Jeremy Northam, finished 26th July. Although I have audio versions of all the Narnia books I don't care for some of the readers but Jeremy Northam does this book very well, especially Puddleglum.



Prince Caspian, finished 26th July. I found myself in Clare's house with nothing to do and no working kindle so I had to search her bookshelves for something to read. I started her copy of this (which doesn't have this cover) but finished it later reading my own.



The Life and Lies of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, finished 30th July. An ER book, which was interesting and well-argued and written, but I have difficulty taking such a book seriously, even though I am a fan of the original Harry Potter books.

That brings July's reading to a close; I finished twenty-one books this month, which is a good number. I was helped by having several long train journeys and a holiday so had plenty of time to read. Only one paper book read, fifteen ebooks and five audiobooks. Sixteen were new to me and only five were re-reads but, as usual, no significant decrease in the TBR pile.

>114 CDVicarage: no significant decrease in the TBR pile

It just seems to grow no matter what one does!

>112 CDVicarage: Thanks! I've never tried du Maurier and the others are too close to domestic fiction for me, I suspect. I really like the film version of Jamaica Inn, though, I'll start there.

Wicked Autumn sounds intriguing.

Time to list my August reading:



Jacob's Room is Full of Books: A Year of Reading, finished 1st August. This was a Christmas present and as it is set out with a chapter for each month I intended to read each chapter during its matching month but it was such a good and easy read that I didn't manage that. I love books about books and reading and this one was very good.



Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading, read by the author, finished 2nd August. See above! This was even better as I shared more of Lucy Mangan's reading history. She had a year's worth of columns in the Guardian a few years ago on the subject of building a children's library and I think that was used (and much enlarged) as the basis for this book. As well as comments about each book there was historical background on books for children, individual authors and books, all entwined with a background of Lucy's childhood.



Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, finished 2nd August. I'm re-reading the series and I think this is still my favourite of the seven.



A Time of Love and Tartan, finished 3rd August. Book twelve in the Scotland Street series and I'm still enjoying it very much.



Summer Half, finished 4th August. Fifth in the Barsetshire series and a good one.



Stepmother, finished 5th August. A purchase from the Girlsown conference I attended last month. Gwendoline Courtney's book are good comfort reads as they are mostly concerned with general family life in 1950s England.



Pomfret Towers and The Brandons, finished 7th and 10th August. Books six and seven in the Barsetshire series and both good but I decided three in a row was enough for now.



Langue(dot)doc 1305, finished 17th August. This is an ER book, which I liked very much while I was reading it (once I'd got the characters straight) but since I've finished I've thought about more things that weren't right. I shall have to write a proper review - I've got a backlog of several to do.



Excellent Women, read by Gerri Halligan, finished 16th August. A re-read for my bedtime book, and I enjoyed it again.



The Book of Lost and Found, finished 17th August. While I enjoyed this book I found I was able to put it down and leave it at various points. I think it was longer than it needed to be as it was fairly obvious to me from quite early on what happened.



Star by Star, finished 19th August. Another purchase from the Girlsown conference and the author was there and gave one of the talks. It is aimed at Young Adults but is a good read for an adult, too. Our heroine, Stella, aged fifteen, is orphaned towards the end of the Great War when her mother dies from the flu, and she goes back to Northern Ireland to live with her aunt. She is a keen suffragette and now the vote has been won for some women she wants to go on and change the world.



We Should All Be Feminists, finished 19th August. While I agree with every word when I started I thought this was a bit too simplified, but by the time I finished I thought it was an excellent explanation and everyone should read it!



Beauvallet, finished 19th August, I started this as an audiobook but the Elizabethan dialogue irritated me too much so I finished it in print. I definitely prefer the Regency books.



Peking Picnic, finished 25th August. Another one for AV/AA. This is a beautifully written novel but without much plot. I was also hampered by the extremely unflattering (but very funny) portrait of the author that had been part of Pomfret Towers.

I won't do the final round-up yet as I expect to finish more books by the end of the month.

I think the stripped down arguments of We Should All Be Feminists work in its favor, because I think Adichie wrote it for people who already have many of the same ideas but might hesitate to label themselves feminists. I especially liked that she tackled the misogynistic roots of chivalry.

Star by Star sounds fun.

I finished two more books:



Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, finished 28th August. I think this might be my favourite of the seven, now.



A Very Private Eye: An Autobiography in Diaries and Letters , finished 30th August. I've been reading this, on and off, for quite a while. I love Barbara Pym's novels but, to start with, I was a bit disappointed in her. I suppose most people are a bit foolish and immature when teenaged and in their early twenties, but I warmed to her as she grew older.

So, in August I finished seventeen book: five paper books, ten ebooks and two audiobooks. Fourteen were new to me and only three were re-reads but, as usual, no noticeable dent in the TBR pile.

I did quite well in the AV/AA stakes - five read and only one a re-read, although I still have 144 unread books in my VMC collection and 38 in the Persephone collection.

>119 CDVicarage: A Very Private Eye has been languishing on my shelves. I think I bought it back when the Virago group was celebrating her centenary (so what, like 5 years ago? oh dear ...) Well, I'll read it someday.

I visited Lyme Park, a local National Trust property, this afternoon and picked up three Viragos in the second hand bookshop there:

Barren Ground
The Way of an Eagle
A Death in the Life

The Ellen Glasgow was an original green and the other two were second series green and they were only £1 each.

I also saw the very lake that Mr Darcy swam across. That TV adaptation was first shown in September 1995, which makes me feel rather old... but I think I might get my DVD out and re-watch it.

I thought I'd update my reading list, September seems quite a slow month so far:



Why Mummy Swears, finished 3rd September. A follow-up to Why Mummy Drinks and is more of the same. It's funny but serious too and as with the first just as I felt the joke had gone as far as it could Gill Simms managed to introduce a believably serious note (but still stay funny).



Village School, finished 4th September. A many times re-read but it was just the right time of year.



Greenmantle, read by Robert Whitfield, finished 5th September. This was a re-read; I like the Richard Hannay books but this time I noticed the pro-war attitude of our hero much more than last time.



Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, finished 9th September. Another re-read and I like this one more than I used to but I still skip through the fighting in the Department of Mysteries.



Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, finished 13th September. This one I like less than I used to: the interactions between Draco and Harry annoy me.



The Chalet School and Richenda, finished 15th September. A moderately good episode, although it finishes with a pantomime.



The Oblate's Confession, finished 16th September. Not really finished as I skipped my way through the last third. It was an ER book so I had to read it but I was disappointed as I had expected to enjoy it.



Lady of Quality, read by Eve Matheson, finished 18th September. A re-read, which I enjoyed, although it is the last regency novel from Georgette Heyer and is a bit short on plot.



Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, finished 19th September. A good end to the series.

>122 CDVicarage: I love the Miss Read books.

Time to finish listing September's reading:



The Lord of the Rings: The Collector's Edition, finished 21st September. I listened to this when it was first broadcast on Radio 4 in the early 1980s and have owned (home recorded and commercial) tape cassettes, CDs and now Mp3.



Niccolo Rising, finished 22nd September. A group read of this series has started on Goodreads and I thought I'd join in. I've read the whole series several times and it's interesting to read the views and conjectures of those new to the books. I've got further ahead than most others so now I have a gap until the next volume.



Love, Lies and Linguine, finished 26th September. I enjoyed the first book in this series and this is as good, although I don't think it was intended as a series.



The Scribbler No. 9 July 2018: A retrospective literary review, finished 28th September. Main themes: Housekeepers, Women in Occupied France and a literary trail in Derbyshire.



Rose Cottage, finished 28th September. I think this is the last of Mary Stewart's novels, apart from the Arthurian books, that I had left to read and I'd been saving it. Fortunately it was a good one so I wasn't disappointed and I will happily re-read most of them.

September round-up:

I finished fourteen books in September: three paper books, eight ebooks and three audiobooks. Five titles were new to me and nine were re-reads, so no effect on the TBR pile.

Congratulations on reaching 2 x 75, Kerry!

>126 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita!

Here we are in the middle of the month, and here are the books I've finished so far:



Vanity Fair, finished 1st October. I have been reading, and listening to, this for quite a while, on and off, but I decided to finish it so that I could keep ahead of the new TV adaptation. It was enjoyable, although obviously not gripping, and the reading, by Georgina Sutton, was very funny, but it's a very long book and unfortunately seemed - to me - to fizzle out rather than end. The TV adaptation was very good and the story was abridged and altered very well.



A Distant View of Everything, finished 2nd October. I've been waiting to buy this in the hope of a good price reduction, but I couldn't wait any longer and paid the full price. It was worth it. (I thought I was now up to date in this series but I see there is a new one available).



Chedsy Place, finished 4th October. This is the third of Richmal Crompton's adult titles that I've read and while I've enjoyed them all they are all a bit gloomy and short on happy endings for the characters, which seems such a contrast to the 'William' books!



The Loving Spirit, finished 9th October. This was Daphne Du Maurier's first novel and she definitely improved. The writing is good but the plotting seems a bit simplistic and creepy. I felt no sympathy for most of the characters, although I feel bad about that as they were based on real people and events (though surely dramatised?).



Perception, read by Lucy Scott, finished 10th October. I've read a lot of sequels/prequels to Jane Austen's novels, written by professional and amateur writers, and very few of them have been worth the effort. I've always wondered about Mary Bennett's later life and felt she was hard done-by, so a novel written with her as the main character is appealing. This audiobook was very well read, although with some odd phrasing in places. The story itself wasn't right - too many twenty-first century attitudes and behaviour. The plot was interesting but very convoluted with some heavy-handed explanations. My first feeling was that Jane Austen can convey in two sentences what other writers take two pages to do and this book was much too long until I noticed that it was considerably shorter than all but Northanger Abbey and Persuasion!



The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance, finished 11th October. I've had this on my kindle for quite a while but only got round to reading it on the recommendation of my m-i-l. It started quite slowly but soon drew me in and I loved it. The author's discursive, conversational style really suited me and his subject. I wonder if there are illustrations of the netsuke in paper editions as I would have loved to see them even if I couldn't hold them.



Catherine and Arnaud, finished 12th October. (This has been republished as Catherine: Her Great Journey, which is a better title). I first read this series when I was a teenager, many years ago, and it was very racy then! Now it seems rather over-dramatic and Catherine's adventures would surely had led to an early grave rather than leaving her as beautiful and youthful as she was at the beginning of the series! But it's part of my past and I shall probably continue with the series at some time.



The Villa in Italy, finished 13th October. I've read and enjoyed many novels by Elizabeth Edmondson, under her various pseudonyms, but I still have a few left. This one was set in the fifties and gathers together four apparently unconnected characters and manages to link them, solve their various problems and give them happy endings in an almost believable plot, all taking place in an idyllic Italian villa - a delightful read!

Here's the rest of my October reading:



Finding Philippe, finished 16th October. Another one in the same style and as enjoyable although the ending was a bit hurried.



Fencing with Death, finished 19th October. Three in a row might have been a mistake as this one didn't seem as good but it may just be a surfeit.



A Man of Some Repute, read by Michael Page, finished 21st October. This is a re-read and I shall go through the whole series - only three and a bit books.



Reckless Griselda, finished 21st October. A Regency set novel but with modern language and attitudes, but enjoyable and I shall look for some more by this author.



A Youthful Indiscretion, finished 22nd October. This is the 'bit' in the series - a short story linking books one and two and in print only not audio.



The Year of Reading Dangerously, finished 22nd October. On the whole I like books about books and reading and, although there were some patches I was tempted to skim, I liked this one.



The Book of Forgotten Authors, finished 25th October. Some of the 'forgotten' authors feature quite heavily in my library already but I also picked up some ideas for new reading (and ones to avoid).



Company in the Evening, finished 26th October. Another book from the Furrowed Middlebrow range, and the standard is still high as I've never been disappointed yet.



A Question of Inheritance, read by Michael Page, finished 26th October. Book two in the A Very English Mystery series and back to audio. The stories are quite complicated but not too much for me and, although there are murders, not too gory. I'm enjoying reading about the era - the 50s.

I don't expect to finish any more by the end of the month but I can't be sure so I shall leave out the month's statistics for now.

I did finish one more:



The Queen of New Beginnings, finished 31st October. An easy read.

So that's eighteen books finished this month: no paper books, fifteen ebooks and three audiobooks. Fourteen were new to me and four were re-reads. More than half of the new reads had been on my (virtual) shelves for quite a while but several were new purchases, so not much effect on the TBR pile.

You did very well in October!

>131 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori. It was quite a surprise to me as the month started quite slowly but I picked up speed about half way through!

I've made quite a good start to November so shall post the books finished so far:



A Matter of Loyalty, read by Michael Page, finished 4th November. The third and final part of the series. I'm sure more were intended but Elizabeth Edmondson died, and this one was finished by her son.



A Good Heart is Hard to Find, finished 5th November. I've enjoyed all of the books by Trisha Ashley that I've read, including this one but it's not top of the list.



Summer's Day, finished 6th November. I was inspired to read this by @Heaven-Ali's recent review and I'm glad I did. It covers the summer term in a girl's boarding school during the 50s.



The Child That Books Built, finished 7th November. I usually enjoy books about books and reading and, although I liked this one, it wasn't what I was expecting - more about life and psychology than about the books.



Promises, Promises, finished 9th November. I wanted an easier read and this fitted the bill well.



Glass Houses, finished 11th November. I finished this, the thirteenth in the series, about an hour ago and I haven't recovered yet. These books are so intense that I have to keep having a rest between chapters but then can't resist starting again. I'm up to date with the series at the moment so I might start again and try to read them more slowly this time.

This week's reading:



Death of an Old Girl, finished 14th November. A police procedural written and set in the 60s, and the first of a series. It was an easy and enjoyable read and if the rest of the series, which is being re-published, is easily and cheaply available I shall happily read them.



Case Histories, read by Susan Jameson, finished 14th November. I read this in print fairly recently, I thought, but it was ten years ago, which probably explains why I could remember so little of the plot. This was an excellent reading and I intend to go on with the rest of the series, although they have a different reader.



The Particular Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes, finished 16th November. This was a lovely book and if the ending was quite a big coincidence it was well-explained.



The Secret of Platform 13, finished 17th November. This was aimed at a younger age group than I expected but I still enjoyed it.

I took a book bullet on the Edmondson series. I put the first one on my Christmas 2018 wishlist. Maybe my Santa will choose it. If not, it may be a birthday book or a Thingaversary one.

I took one on the LeMarchand book which was fortunately only 99 cents for Kindle so I splurged! Of course, I need no additional books because I have 10 ARCs to read at the moment.

Time to finish November's reading:



The Provincial Lady in America, read by Georgina Sutton, finished 23rd November. Another excellent reading of one of my favourite books.



Death and the Jubilee, finished 27th November. The second in this series and less enjoyable than the first, mainly because it went on too long for me.



Love in a Cold Climate, read by Patricia Hodge, finished 28th November. A re-read of another favourite. I love the cut-glass accent.



The Lanimer Bride, finished 30th November. This is the eleventh in the series and because it was so long ago that I read the other ten I'd forgotten a lot of the characters and their relationships to each other so I found it quite hard reading. Although by the end I'd grasped what was going on, I think.

I finished fourteen books this month, although it felt fewer at the time. Only one paper book, nine ebooks and four audiobooks. Ten were new to me (but mostly new to my library as well) and four (all audiobooks) were re-reads. I only added five books to my TBR collection so at least, if that hasn't shrunk it has hardly grown either!

Happy holidays, Kerry

Or in other words, Happy Christmas!

>138 PaulCranswick: >139 SandDune: Thank you Paul and Rhian and Happy Christmas to you!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Kerry!

>141 harrygbutler: Thanks, Harry. What a lovely picture! Hope your Christmas celebrations are going well.

I had a good December - twenty two tiles finished so far (it's 30th) - lots of Christmas re-reading but a fair bit of new stuff too:



Slightly Foxed 58: A Snatch of Morning Summer 2018, finished 1st December. Another good selection of articles.



Lamentation, finished 3rd December. This is the sixth in the Shardlake series and for some reason it didn't 'grab' my attention. I put it down in the summer about half-way through and had to make a definite effort to finish it before the year's end. Once I re-started it it was a good read and I shall definitely read the next one.



The Scribbler No. 10 November 2018: A retrospective literary review, finished 4th December. Main themes were Growing Up, First Novels, Ghost Stories and a literary trail along Hadrian's Wall.



The Grand Sophy, read by Sarah Woodward, finished 6th December. A favourite Heyer and a many times re-read.



The Pursuit of Love, read by Emilia Fox, finished 7th December. Although I like this book very much I don't care for this reading, but it's the only one I've got.



Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries and The Christmas Card Crime, finished 8th and 10th December. Two collections of seasonal short stories - mostly good.



The Christmas Mouse, finished 11th December. A Christmas re-read. It's a lovely story but there are bits - flashbacks - that I usually skip.



The Reluctant Widow, read by Cornelius Garrett, finished 12th December. Another re-read for this favourite, and it's the second time this year so not really part of the twenty two this month.



Winter in Thrush Green and No Holly for Miss Quinn, finished 12th and 14th December. Two more Christmassy re-reads from Miss Read.



Emma, read by Juliet Stevenson, finished 16th December. I chose this because of the Christmas chapters but I read the whole book.



The Chalet School Annexe, finished 17th December. A newly published Chalet School fill-in, which I read as soon as it arrived. It's another good one that will fit in to any future re-reads of the series. It fitted the season too as it was the autumn term, finishing with a nativity play.



Portrait of a Murderer, finished 18th December. A good-enough Christmas murder.



The Story of Holly and Ivy, finished 19th December. A lovely children's Christmas story, which I first had read to me when I was at primary school.



The Christmas Angel, finished 20th December. I've read this before in audio. Strictly speaking it's not a Christmas story as it starts at Epiphany and ends just before Christmas but it's a lovely cosy story.



A Christmas Carol, read by Anton Lesser, finished 23rd December. Couldn't let Christmas come without reading this.



The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and The Christmas Mystery, finished 24th December. Two more Christmas favourites.The Christmas Mystery is an advent calendar with a chapter to read each day.



And Now For Something Completely Different, finished 26th December. The Chronicles of St Mary's Christmas short story. I've now got to wait until April for the next book.



Christmas Pudding, finished 27th December. This was a Christmas present and I decided to read it while it was still seasonal, although I have read it before many years ago. It's not as good as her later novels but still entertaining.



Swallows and Amazons, finished 28th December. This was chosen to fulfil a category in the PopSugar challenge - a childhood classic you've never read. I wouldn't have enjoyed it as a child since I didn't go in for outdoor activities if I could help it, but it was worth reading now and I shall probably go on with the rest of the series.



Ten Days of Christmas, finished 29th December. This is part of the Virago Read the 1940s annual topic so I'm a bit too soon with it really. I have read it before but liked it more this time, partly because I could get the characters straight sooner.

I've started a thread for 2019 here and I hope you will drop in sometimes, although there's not much there yet.

I'm way behind on the Shardlake series although I really enjoy them. I see you've read several British Library mysteries, Miss Read books, and several classics! I'm investigating a couple of those shorter titles to see if they might be something I want to read next Christmas.

I finished two more just at the last moment:



And Now For Something Completely Different, read by Zara Ramm, finished 30th December. A quick re-read of this title in audio.



Mary Poppins, finished 31st December. Having seen the film I decided to re-read the books.

So, in December I finished twenty four titles. There was a lot of Christmas reading, and re-reading but some new stuff too. I also read more audiobooks than usual as I was knitting, wrapping parcels etc.

There were four paper books, fifteen ebooks and five audiobooks. Nine titles were new to me and fifteen were re-reads - some many times re-read.

Overall of 204 books finished this year 132 were new to me, which is quite good, I think.