What I Just Finished Reading
Strong Female Character by Fern Brady. This is kind of an autobiography, but through the lens of her getting diagnosed as autistic and then looking back at things she did and how they related to that. It was so interesting I read it in a day and had such a book hangover that I didn't read another book for a day.

The Twins at St Claire's by Enid Blyton, The O'Sullivan Twins by Enid Blyton, Summer Term at St Clare's by Enid Blyton, Second Form at St Clare's by Enid Blyton. After re-reading the Mallory Towers books I wanted to read St Clare's. I don't know if it was the books or my mood, but I struggled with these until partway through the second one. Mallory Towers is better, I think, but they are pretty similar.

What I'm Currently Reading
The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey. I looked through my physical books to read thinking I ought to get through some of those. This one is hard going, partly because Mercedes Lackey books are slow and therefore hard going, but also because it has tiny writing.

Jackpot Summer by Elyssa Friedland. The other book turned out to be so hard to get it to stay open while I ate that I started this one to read during meals. And then I remembered I'd read another book by the same author that I hadn't thought much of. So far I haven't thought much of this one either.

Claudine at St Clare's by Enid Blyton. The fifth book in the series.

What I'm Reading Next
Fifth Formers of St Clare's by Enid Blyton. The last book in the series.

Primula of the Chalet School by Helen Barber. This turned up just before Easter, but I really can't start it until I've finished some others.

And I'm getting to the top of the list on my ebook library holds so I'm expecting those to come in soon. If you say you don't want it and let the next person have it you don't get to be in the queue after them, you go to the back of the queue. One of the books I have on hold has over 100 people in the queue, so I have to get it when it comes to me!

Mirrored from my blog.

What I Just Finished Reading
A load of Elly Griffiths' Dr Ruth Galloway series. I've been putting holds on the early ones, one at a time, and then when I go to the library to pick them up, getting another one. I finally read one where they made Norfolk sound really pretty. It was the first one that wasn't set in the middle of winter or a summer heatwave, so that probably helped.

Upper Fourth at Malory Towers, Into the Fifth at Malory Towers and Last Term at Malory Towers by Enid Blyton. I struggled a bit with the fourth series because a lot of it about the First Formers and there was a lot less of the original characters. Turns out the book is all about the original characters and I enjoyed it more. I am saving series 5 until there's less on TV because it has 20 episodes(!), but I've seen the preview. There was one bit that sounded partially like the fifth book and one bit that sounded partially like the sixth book. It feels like they're gradually getting further and further away from the books, but we'll see.

A Good Enough Mother by Sheila Norton
The Lost Letters of Evelyn Wright by Clare Swatman
Her Guilty Secret by Emily Cavanagh
The World Outside My Window by Clare Swatman
Not Your Child by Sheila Horton
I was ill and wanted some easy reading and these were. But they were all about women whose exes were terrible, but it's ok because they found romance (except one). I just felt like I was reading the same books all the time. I thought I liked contemporary fiction, but it turns out I like some contemporary fiction. That doesn't involve divorce or romance or small children.

What I'm Currently Reading
To The Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei. I needed something different and I really wanted to read something written by a man. This is not fiction, so it's different in that respect. It's also really interesting because there's stuff about the anti-Japanese American prejudice during WWII and the sort of roles that were available to him as an actor.

What I'm Reading Next
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. For the 'Banned Book' square on my bingo card. And also because something from the book came up ages ago and I realised that I read it so long ago that I remembered absolutely nothing about it.

And then books 4 and 15 from Elly Griffiths' Dr Ruth Galloway series, once the library has got both of them in. Then I'll have read the first four and last four in the series and will just have the middle seven to go.

Mirrored from my blog.

I thought I'd failed my 2024 goal by 1 book, but then I checked back and it turns out my goal was not quite what I thought it was and I actually succeeded! Here's the goal:

So my goal for 2024 is once again to read 12 books that I acquired before 2024. And that my to read pile should not have gone up by the end of the year.

I read 13 books that I acquired before 2024. And acquired 13 more than I read. In total I acquired the same number of books as I read and therefore my to read pile did not go up!

This year's goal is simpler. I currently have 38 books to read. By the end of the year that number should be lower. It ought to be easy as two of them are library books. And some of the physical books are reference books, so I just need to read enough of those to decide if I'm keeping them or not.

Mirrored from my blog.

What I Just Finished Reading
The Belgrave Square Murder by Emily Organ. This has 73 pages. The story starts on page 5. I made it to page 12. Which was the start of chapter 3. It's just really badly written and I had no idea what was going on. I am not generally a fan of description, but this book really needs some. The first two chapters were the main character interrogating a witness, but pretty much all we got were their words. It felt like it went by so fast I couldn't take it in. And it's impossible to tell if the witness is telling the truth without body language or some way of telling how they say the words.

Secrets at Sutherland Hall by Jenna Bennett. A historical murder book that I actually enjoyed! Well, sort of. I felt the murder mystery went from 'no one could possibly have done it' to 'this person did it' without anyone making any progress. So it came out of the blue, wasn't really supported by anything that happened earlier in the book and I wasn't convinced they'd done it. However, I did really like the characters. I'd read more of the series with these characters in if they were available at the library or a whole lot cheaper than £7.

The People on Platform 5 by Clare Pooley. This was a perfect read for when I was getting over norovirus and didn't have the energy to do anything. It's about some people on a train carriage who end up speaking to each other and then improve each other's lives. It's a lovely happy story.

The Examiner by Janice Hallett. This was the one book I bought in Kobo's Black Friday sale. I was waiting for the library to get the ebook and then decided it was worth paying £1.99 not to wait. And it was good. As with her first book, I guessed one of the things, but not all of what was going on. But then it felt way too insane to be guessable.

What I'm Currently Reading
The Lost Exam by DS Lang. This is entirely because it's short. Including this book I have 17 books I've acquired this year that I haven't read and I need to get that down to 12 by the end of the year. I only just started it today, so I can't say whether it's any good or not yet. Although interestingly it's by the same person as one of the books I gave up on for really not being my thing. It seems like this is more my thing, at least based on the 20 pages I've read so far.

What I'm Reading Next
I think I've read all the short historical murder mysteries now, so I need to pick one I think I might give up on. Of the free historical murder books I acquired I've read 9, given up on 2 and still have 12 to go!

Mirrored from my blog.

What I Just Finished Reading
A Fatal Flaw by Faith Martin, A Fatal Secret by Faith Martin, A Fatal Truth by Faith Martin, A Fatal Affair by Faith Martin, A Fatal Night by Faith Martin, A Fatal End by Faith Martin. In other words, I finished the series. I solved the problem of too many other people also reading these books and borrowed a few at once - I was getting through each of them in two or three days.

And I am really missing the series now it's gone. I don't know if I'll read any of her others yet, as it's the characters and the setting that I enjoyed and the others have different characters and different settings. But I also felt that there were a lot of things that get followed up in the next book and then don't get resolved. And although it was clear how it was going to end it still managed to be unsatisfactory. Not enough that it spoiled my enjoyment of the series as a whole, but enough to make it annoyed when I finished the last one.

What I'm Currently Reading
Make It So by Patrick Stewart. It is good, I'm just still dealing with the book hangover from the Faith Martin series and so I'm struggling to get excited about it.

What I'm Reading Next
I can't contemplate that yet. Although I did put a hold on an interesting library book. There are only 36 people waiting per copy! So it's definitely not going to be the book I'm reading next.

Mirrored from my blog.

What I Just Finished Reading
The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella. This started off interesting, with the main character being burnt out due to the ridiculous amount of work she had to do. And then turns into a story about things that are and have happened in the place she used to go on holiday as a child. All of which were fine. But then there was a romance in it, which I knew would happen as it does in all her books. It's just a shame because the characters and stories are so interesting and the inevitable spoils it a bit.

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett. This is a sequel to her first book, which I enjoyed. This one I didn't as much because the people annoyed me. I'm not surprised they were struggling for members if their emails and texts are anything to go by. I do like the epistolary storytelling though.

A Load of Old Balls by James Harkin and Anna Ptaszynski. I bought this because it was on offer during the Olympics. And then I was too busy during the Olympics to read because there was sport on all the time. I finally got round to reading it and I really enjoyed it. It was interesting talking about various things that have gone on with sport. I have since forgotten everything in it, though.

What I'm Currently Reading
A Fatal Obsession by Faith Martin. This was a random pick from books I've had around for ages and can't remember why I bought them, but it had something to do with it being 99p. I had been putting this one off since it was the first in a series and that is a slippery slope. I've only just started it, but it's interesting since it's a police murder mystery set in Oxford in the 1960s.

What I'm Reading Next
Whatever I feel like from my unread books on my eBook reader. I can't currently read any of the physical books I need to read as they're currently in the hamster cage propping up platforms while I decide where things should go.

Mirrored from my blog.

What I Just Finished Reading
A Girl Called Justice by Elly Griffiths. This is the first book in a series about a girl at boarding school in the 1930s who solves murder mysteries. It was alright, but the school was so awful that I have no desire to read any more books about that school.

Calling the Shots by Sue Barker. This was really interesting because I knew nothing about her beyond winning Roland Garros once. She talks about all the sports she was presenting for at one point and it explained why I thought she presented everything when I was a child: those were all the sports I watched!

A 1930s Childhood by Colin G Maggs. This was a short book. It was interesting, but quite a bit of it was repeated, which made sense because some of it came under multiple chapters. But I don't know that it needed to be repeated.

What I'm Currently Reading
Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman. I went to my collection of books to read, pulled this one out and then discovered it had a bookmark in it. It's a collection of short stories, so it doesn't matter where I got to. But it would be good to finish it.

What I'm Reading Next
A Stroke of the Pen by Terry Pratchett. Because I checked my Kobo wishlist and found this one was £1.99. Much as I'm excited to read it, I had just started the book above and really ought to finish it first.

Mirrored from my blog.

What I Just Finished Reading
Murder at Bletchley Park by Christina Koning. I saw this title on the library ebook site and thought ooh, I went to Bletchley Park last year and I like murder mysteries. And then it was hardly set at Bletchley Park and a lot more about the Blitz instead. There was a lot of stuff going on about the detective's life and sometimes some bits of the mystery would come up. It turns out this was the 8th in the series, so maybe if I'd read more I'd be more interested in his life. But I wasn't. And when he announced the murderer was obvious I couldn't remember who the person was. So I think I'll give the rest in the series a miss.

What I'm Currently Reading
We Play Ourselves by Jen Silverman. I did a bit of putting (ebook) library holds on anything that sounded interesting and then had to wait a few weeks for them. And consequently have no idea what they're about or why I put a hold on them. I'm halfway through this, have no idea why I put a hold on it, but I am enjoying it. It's about a woman from New York who is a playwright, gets her big break and then it all goes wrong and she runs away to LA.

What I'm Reading Next
Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun. No idea what this is about or why I put a hold on it, but it looks like it's coming up soon, so it'll probably be the book I'm reading next.

So far I've read three books that I acquired last year and have acquired nine books this year that I haven't yet read. But in my defence, I did go to a second-hand bookshop, and looked at Kobo's 99p/£1.99 books on sale. I know I could theoretically do neither of those things, but I just don't think it's possible to go a whole year without buying books, even though I have enough to read between books I already have but haven't read, and the library.

Mirrored from my blog.

I've had a cold, so I got a lot of books read.

What I Just Finished Reading
Rosamund Heads the Chalet School by Lisa Townsend. This is a Chalet School book written by someone else. It follows the same term as Redheads, but is about the head girl, who barely appears in Redheads. I enjoyed it - it was a pretty standard Chalet School story. Although I couldn't remember Redheads and at one point something happens, but Rosamund doesn't know what and it's never explained. So I then went on to read Redheads, which I'd recently acquired from GGBP, since it's one of the few I don't own at all.

Redheads at the Chalet School by Elinor M Brent-Dyer. I enjoyed this, especially seeing the other side of events that happened in Rosamund. The only trouble is that Lisa Townsend pointed out the inconsistencies and then I could really see them. Without having them pointed out I would never have noticed. In retrospect, I should have read this one first.

Spectacles by Sue Perkins. I love an autobiography and this one was interesting with her being on Taskmaster at the moment. It was just interesting to see her life and how she got into comedy.

The Female of the Species by Lionel Shriver. I was reminded of the existence of Lionel Shriver recently when I went to a second hand book shop and some of her books were there. I have a weird relationship with her books because I don't know if I like them or not. I owned a copy of Double Fault for a while, and then struggled to get rid of it because I wanted to re-read it but couldn't. But I thought I'd try some more because they are interesting. This one was her first book and it was a bit of a struggle. I found the characters a bit odd and weirdly named. There were very long flashbacks, which didn't feel relevant at the time (but were later). I don't know if I liked it or not.

Should We Stay or Should We Go by Lionel Shriver. This is about a married couple deciding to commit suicide together when they're 80 (which happens to be March 2020). And then each chapter is a different idea of what happens with them going through with it or not. Some of them massively go off into flights of fancy. It was all right, but I have two problems with this book. One is the number of pages that went on about Brexit. Maybe that'll be interesting in 50 years time, but not yet. And also the author is American but set it in Britain. So there are a few weird things in there, like one character getting ALS and a mention of England having been a member of he EU.

The Girl on the 88 Bus by Freya Sampson. I read her first book, The Last Library, when I was on holiday and immediately put this ebook on hold from the library. Then it took ages to get to me. It's about a man looking for a girl he met once on the bus. And it's also about various characters in it following their own path, rather than the ones their parents have set out for them. Partway through this I worried that there was going to be an unlikely romance in it (like her last book, although that only happened right at the end). But then the plot took a turn, the romance took a back seat and then I really enjoyed it.

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella. I got into Sophie Kinsella when I picked one of her books for a reading challenge, knowing nothing about it. They're easy to read and have interesting characters (with some really interesting jobs). But I can't read too many at one time because quite a few are about romance (even though they don't sound like are they). This one isn't, strictly speaking, since the main character is married. I really enjoyed it - there was a mystery brewing which doesn't get solved until the end and I was into that.

What I'm Currently Reading
The Week (magazine). It was posted on Thursday and arrived today. So now I've finished my book, I will catch up on week-old news.

What I'm Reading Next
I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella. The last of her books I have to read, aside from the Shopaholic series, which I've tried and I'm not into. I don't know anything about it, I didn't even bother to read the blurb. Annoyingly though, the library doesn't have it in ebook form, only in hardback. Which are needlessly big and heavy.

Mirrored from my blog.

What I Just Finished Reading
Killing Eve: No Tomorrow by Luke Jennings. Interestingly, this book and the TV series completely diverged. I preferred the series, I think, since it was a lot of Eve and Villanelle being like a couple and Eve assuming that Villanelle has emotions that she doesn't have because she's a psychopath.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The High Country by John Jackson Miller. This was my pre-holiday present to myself in case the pool at the hotel was closed and I had a whole evening with not much to do. It took me a while to get into it and it was alright, but not that great in general.

Tales from the Chalet School by Helen Barber & Katherine Bruce. This is a book of Chalet School short stories set across the era. They felt very Chalet School like.

The Appeal by Janice Hallett. This is a murder mystery told in messages and emails. Although no one gets murdered until near the end of the book. I was proud of myself for guessing one secret, if not anything else!

What I'm Currently Reading
Cradle by Arthur C Clarke and Gentry Lee. Although I don't know if I'll finish it because I'm nearly halfway through the book and all that's really happened is a history of two of the male character's sex lives which have no relevance to the story, as far as I can tell. Although so far the story is 'some whales are behaving oddly' so nothing has any relevance. Although amusingly this is set in the future of 1993 where video calling is common.

Quantum Leap: Double or Nothing by J Henderson. I say currently reading, I've got as far as putting a bookmark in it. The Quantum Leap podcast have done this book and I don't remember anything about it, hence the need to re-read it.

What I'm Reading Next
The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett and The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett. I liked the first book of hers I read and the library has ebooks of the other two, so they are on hold and I just want to read them now.

Mirrored from my blog.