Hobbies and Crafts

For Kindle owners who are Phillippa Gregory fans her two books 'The Red Queen' and 'The White Queen' are 99p each on Amazon at the moment. :-) Bargain!

Have been busy moving house so have been a bit short of time and only reading in bed late at night and I don't think I've taken in much of what I read.

I picked up "Shadow of Darkness" by Deborah Harkness off the Quick Choice shelf in the library and it turned out to be the second book in a trilogy. It would have been better if I'd read the first one first but it was OK on its own. It's a fantasy about a vampire married to a witch. They travel in time and, although some of the book is in the modern era, much of it takes place around the time of Elizabeth I. There is a lot of mixing of fictional characters with real life people such as Christopher Marlowe, Walter Raleigh etc. It's a long book. I quite enjoyed it as I like a bit of fantasy now and then but I don't think I would read it again.

I'm now reading another book from the Quick Choice shelf - I'm always in a rush. This one is called The Accident by Linwood Barclay. Wife killed in car accident, apparently drunk. Caused accident which killed two others as well. Husband who runs his own construction company left with 8 year old daughter. Gradually learns accident was not all it seemed and a lot of skulduggery and criminal activity is uncovered. Author is Canadian but it is set in America. An easy read.

EDIT: Changed last sentence to show book set in America, not Canada

I shall put it on mine too, thanks Ann..

I am reading and enjoying a strange book (recommended to me by my brother,) called Big Brother by Lionel Shriver. A woman called Pandora, married to a man who makes exquisite but non profit making pieces of furniture, whilst she, almost unwillingly, has become a very successful business woman. She is also mother to his two children and they all rub along quite nicely. Until........

She goes to the airport to meet her brother Eddison, a jazz pianist, whom she hasn't seen for four years...but he has changed. In fact he wobbles....he has become obese.

The book (kindle) tackles many issues, our perception of people with weight problems, our relationship with food, family dynamics, etc. It also has humour (essential!). :-D <3

I have just put that one on my wish list thanks Ann :-)

I have just read The Woman he loved before by Doroty Koomson. Wow!!

I thought it was a great book, couldn't put it down. Romance, a mystery, some graphic scenes that were hard to read but necessary to the story.

The synopsis is

Libby has a good life with a gorgeous husband and a home by the sea. But over time she is becoming more unsure if Jack has ever loved her – and if he is over the death of Eve, his first wife.
When fate intervenes in their relationship, Libby decides to find out all she can about the man she hastily married and the seemingly perfect ~Eve. But in doing so she unearths some devastating secrets. Frightened by what she finds and the damage it could cause, Libby starts to worry that she too will end up like the first woman Jack loved....

I have just downloaded this for my next read it was recommended to me today and certainly looked like my kind of read.......

Man of War - Duff Hart-Davis

The incredible life story of Captain Alan Hillgarth - soldier, spy, gold-hunter and hero.

A gripping moving account of Captain Alan Hillgart, a previous neglected hero...The author uncovers the truth about an era shrouded in mystery and a man who wanted it that way ...He was to play a significant key player on Operation Mincemeat.....

Sounds interesting Mersey, not heard of it.

I received a book of poetry in the post from a lovely friend.....

The Worlds Wife - Carol Ann Duffy

The Worlds wife is a joyous, exuberant book of poems about women usually excluded from myth and history, wives such as Mrs Pilate, Mrs Aesop, Mrs Darwin, Mrs Faust, Frau Freud , Mrs Quasimodo, women usually defined by their men.......

Not my usual read at all, but I actually enjoyed it....... :-D

Many thanks N :-) <3 <3

Has anyone read 'The Pimlico Kid' by Barry Walsh?
... set in 1963.....'One boy.One street. One summer he will never forget.'
I found it a nice story with lots of humour and memories of playing as youngsters.

Mau

Well I've just finished reading 'Someday I'll find you' . At first couldn't get into it but like yourself BC I kept on.

Strangely at the beginning of the book I couldn't get Richard Madeley's 'voice' out of my head lol... and found the writing a bit twee in places.....and how many times did he write about the ha ha.s?... but I agree it had a good plot.

Mau :-D

Well I plowed on until the end and 'Some Day I'll Find You' by Richard Madeley DID get better as reviews suggest, but think the writing was clumsy although the plot was good. Glad I finished it though as it was annoying me!

:-D

Getting back into the swing of reading again, there is no stopping me :-D

I was recommended Nickum by Doris Davidson, by the lovley Emms (Golden Girl)....

I adored it I have to say :-D :-D, Thanks Emms <3

Willie Fowlie's grandmother calls him a 'nickum' - he is a mischievous Aberdeenshire boy who often acts instinctively, bearing little or no consideration for the consequences of his actions. When he is eleven, his playful antics lead to a full-blown murder enquiry, but it is soon recognised that the hunt is based on nothing more material than Willie's imagination. Four years later, however, Willie witnesses a real murder, but believing that his eye-witness testimony is simply another fabrication, the police wind down the investigation. It is not until five years later, during World War II, that Willie is able to prove the sincerity of his account and the murderer is apprehended. Despite his errant ways, Willie's headmaster recognises his potential and finances his matriculation at University along with his own daughter, Millie, in late September 1939. Free from the constraints of their childhood, the blossoming of their love begins to unfold. However, within weeks of the outbreak of war, Willie's best friend from childhood enlists in the army, but Willie feels duty-bound to his sponsor to obtain his degree. Two years later, however, in 1941, Willie is confronted with the news that his friend has been killed in action. Racked with guilt, blaming himself for not being there to protect him, Willie abandons his education and volunteers for the Gordon Highlanders. The course of his life is now completely changed, the troubled boy that he was now a distant memory, but can the 'nickum' ever atone for the decisions that he has made?

Trouble is Mersey, you have to read them to find out. I don't think I have actually given up on any of them yet but that was because I was reading (skimming) them on holiday.

Decided to read The Wise Woman by P Gregory next.

Emma :-)

I have to agree with you Ann on some of the free reads, not my cup of tea at all, but the odd one can be worth a read.......

I'll tell you something. I read an awful lot of rubbish when on holiday. Some of those free Kindle books are worse than Mills and Boon. :-D

Just finished Doris Davidson's autobiography 'Gift from the Gallowgate'

Loved the book, so easy to read and more so cause Doris was born
in 1922 in Aberdeen.
She took me back to names I had forgotten about of companies long
gone, places I had frequented as a young girl that she had also been
even though she is 20 years older than me, the Palais,Beach Ballroom
loved dancing there and reminded me of cafe's we used to meet up at
which have been replaced by other buildings. A wonderful trip down
memory lane for me. Enjoyed her memories as a teacher here and she
also lived in same estate as us.
Even if you don't live in Scotland and are looking for a stress free read I
would suggest you give it a try.

Emma :-)

Thank you Ann <3 Maybe I will give it another go! Maybe I haven't reached the exciting bit yet! But I really think that some of our scribblers in the Writers Club could do a lot better. BC XX

Review Some day I’ll find you by Richard Madely

“The other day upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there”
Who was the real James Blackwell? that was the question.
I was not that interested in this book to start with, I didn’t like RM’s style of writing. But I persevered as it had good write ups, and I am glad I did. It grew on me, and after about a ¼ of the way through I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. What started as a rather slow romance set just pre war and at the start of WW11, ended up being a tense thriller with murder, kidnap, the Mafia and a deserter ten years later.
A very well written book, James Blackwell was a charmer, wasn’t he? Diana and her family thought so. The characters were beautifully written, I sort of felt sorry for Douglas, but wanted to give him a good shake as well, Typically a dour Scot who did himself and Diana no favours. Yes I really enjoyed it, well done on a good first book.

BC I read it and thought it was quite good I think. There is a review somewhere on Greaders. :-)