Down to Earth With a Bump: Heading North

Monday, 16 April 2012

Heading North

I'm super-excited because this evening Family W are heading north. We're stopping off in Wigan for the night, then hubby and I will be leaving DC for some quality time with Grandma and Grandad while we hot foot it to Edinburgh. Ahh, lovely, lovely Edinburgh. Hubby has to go for a two-day work thing, and I get to tag along and go shopping, sightseeing, shopping, people-watching, coffee drinking, wandering, shopping, reading, sightseeing and did I mention, shopping?

We LURVE Edinburgh. It is high on our list of places we would happily move to (although the weather does put me off a bit), so I am very much looking forward to going back for a few days. My plans revolve around a visit to the Morningside district (and in particular Loopy Lorna's Tea House) and a little bit of a wander round the Old Town and Prince's Street areas. And that's about it. Nice and relaxing. I've packed four books and five magazines. Over optimistic? Moi?

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What Have I Read in 2015?

Fleece Navidad - Maggie Sefton. How can you not love a book with a title like that?? Set in a yarn shop in Colarado, I do enjoy this series
Holiday Grind - Cleo Coyle. I love this series set in and around a coffeeshop in New York (two of my favourite things in one book!); also, I read it while we were in NY, so what could be better??!
Agatha Raisin and the Blood of an Englishman - MC Beaton. Another dreadful installment, but still I can't stop reading them. It's like a car crash.
To Davy Jones Below - Carola Dunn. Another enjoyable installment in this series set in 1930s England (and beyond!)
Pretty Poison - Joyce & Jim Lavene. First in the Gardening Shop mysteries series. Thumbs up as it wasn't too twee.
Bones Under the Beach Hut - Simon Brett. Twelfth in the Fethering Mysteries series. I love this series, not really had a duff one yet.
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate - Alexander McCall Smith. Second in the Isabel Dalhousie series.I didn't particularly enjoy the first in the series, but I really liked this one and look forward to number 3!
Dyer Consequences - Maggie Sefton. Fifth in the Knitting Mysteries series; I enjoyed this one.
The Real Katie Lavender - Erica James. Perfect as a holiday read but not sure it would cut the mustard as an 'at home' read.
The Secrets Between Us - Louise Douglas. Gripping, suspenseful but hit the rocks with about 100 pages to go
Sophie Kinsella - Remember Me? A light and fluffy holiday read, but enjoyable nonetheless
Blackwork - Monica Ferris. From the excellent Needlecraft Mysteries series which I love. Enjoyed this one a lot.
Secrets on Saturday - Anne Purser. Sixth in the Lois Meade series and a pretty poor show, I'm afraid
The Gallery of Vanished Husbands - Natasha Solomons. I sort of liked it, but not much happened
Espresso Shot - Cleo Coyle. Another of my fave cosy series; enjoyed this one
The Mummy Case - Elizabeth Peters. Third in the series set in 1920s/30s Egypt and England. This was much better than the second in the series which almost made me give up
Murder on the Half Shelf - Lorna Barett. Umpteenth in the series which ranks among my favourite cosies
A Killer Plot - Ellery Adams. First in the series; I think I liked it
The Shooting in the Shop - Simon Brett. I love this mystery series, set in the south of England; not 'cosy' as such, but probably not far off
The Christie Curse - Victoria Abbott. I cannot remember a single thing about this book. Eeek, what does that say?!
Agatha Raisin: Something Borrowed, Someone Dead - MC Beaton. As always I ask myself 'why on earth do I keep bothering with this series?', but it's like a dreadful addiction - you know it's bad for you, but still you keep doing it.
Rattle His Bones - Carola Dunn. I enjoyed the previous book in the series so much that I thought I'd crack on with another; sadly, this one wasn't quite up to par
The Shop on Blossom Street - Debbie Macomber. A very easy and light read; looking forward to reading the next in this series
Styx and Stones - Carola Dunn. Cosy crime set in 1920s England; I enjoy this series and this book was a good one

What Did I Read in 2014?

Fear on Friday - Ann Purser. Fifth in the Lois Meade series which I really do enjoy.
Coming Home for Christmas - Julia Williams. Thought this would help me get in the festive mood; but it wasn't even set at Christmas - what a swizz - so don't go making the same mistake as me! Predictable and schmaltzy, I'd probably suggest giving this one a miss.
Thai Die - Monica Ferris. Umpteenth in my favourite cosy series. Enjoyable, as always
The Vintage Tea Cup Club - Vanessa Greene. Chick-lit; very predictable.
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party - Alexander McCall Smith. Ahh, the world of Mma Ramotswe, how I wish I could live there and feel happy and content!
Gunpowder Green - Laura Childs. Second in the cosy crime set in a tea shop; didn't enjoy it as much as the first but I'm still happy to give the next in the series a try
Sentenced to Death - Lorna Barrett. Fifth in the series, and not bad at all. This is one of my favourite cosy series.
The Hundred-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson. Ridiculous and funny, and ridiculously funny. I liked this one a lot.
Mini Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella
The Sisterhood - Emily Barr
Death by Darjeeling - Laura Childs. First in the cosy crime series set in a tea shop; very enjoyable.
A Crafty Killing - Lorraine Bartlett
We Are All Made of Glue - Marina Lewycka. Enjoyed this one very much for the most part.
A Year in the Merde - Stephen Clarke. Not bad for a holiday read.
Three Ways to Capsize a Boat - Chris Stewart
Dead in the Water - Carola Dunn. UK cozy. Not the best in the series.
The Quick and the Thread - Amanda Lee. Cosy crime set in an embroidery shop. Just my cup of tea.
Life After Life - Kate Atkinson. Wow, what a read! I'd thoroughly recommend this book, so much so that I'm almost tempted to read it again already
Hiss and Hers - MC Beaton
Around Ireland With a Fridge - Tony Hawks
French Pressed - Cleo Coyle
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt. Book club book no.2 of the year; liked it even though it took me quite a while to realise it was non-fiction!
Body Surfing - Anita Shreve. I enjoyed this book, it was an easy read and I think could be filed under 'thinking-person's chick lit'
My Animals and Other Family - Clare Balding. Read it in two days; really enjoyable, funny, warm, interesting, an all round good read.

What Did I Read in 2013?

As The Pig Turns - MC Beaton. 22nd in the Agatha Raisin series; badly written, but still I keep reading them!
A Highland Christmas - MC Beaton; from the Hamish Macbeth series
Damsel in Distress - Carola Dunn. Fifth in the Daisy Dalrymple series which I am growing fonder of with every book I read.
Sins and Needles - Monica Ferris. This was a much darker and more detailed book than is usual in this series, but I enjoyed it all the more as a result.
Embroidered Truths - Monica Ferris. Probably my favourite US cozy series. Enjoyable, but not one of her best
A Killer Stitch - Maggie Sefton. Cozy crime with a knitted twist. Not that great, but I still keep reading this series!
The Garden of Evening Mists - Tan Twan Eng. Lovely, lovely book
Death of a Gossip - M.C. Beaton. First in the Hamish Macbeth murder mystery series. Very easy to read, not taxing and a not that well written in parts, but enjoyable nonetheless
Theft on Thursday - Ann Purser. fourth in the Lois Meade series; a slightly darker take on the cozy genre and, as a whole, I've found this series very enjoyable
All That I Am - Anna Funder. First Book Club book of the 2013-14 season; a little slow to get going, but gripping and thought-provoking after that.
The Beach Hut - Veronica Henry; chick-lit/holiday reading combined; if you're looking for something in those genres, you could do much worse.
Deadly Yarn - Maggie Sefton. More cosy to be enjoyed by my cotton-wool brain.
Murder on the Flying Scotsman - Carola Dunn. Fourth in the Daisy Dalrymple series; a gentle 'whodunit' and very enjoyable.
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn. Wow, I LOVED this book. A great thriller with twist upon turn upon twist. If thrillers are your thing, then I wold highly recommend this book.
Requiem for a Mezzo - Carola Dunn. 3rd in the Daisy Dalrymple series. Easy reading cosy crime; I like this series (so far)
The Red House - Mark Haddon. I was really looking forward to this book, but I ended up being so disappointed. I didn't enjoy the 'stream of consciousness' writing style.
Join Me - Danny Wallace. I probably would have liked this book when I was 25. But that was 16 years ago. Instead I found it annoying and immature.
The Great Indoors - Sabine Durrant. Enjoyed a lot more than I expected to, which is always a bonus.
The Double Comfort Safari Club - Alexander McCall Smith. Just as enjoyable as ever. Love this gentle series.
The Alchemist - Paolo Coehlo. Book Club book. I've always steered clear of books by this author, expecting them to be a bit 'knit your own yak-wool teabag'; so, was I pleasantly surprised? Well, at least it was only 170pages long, so I whipped through it in a couple of days. Yes, there were a few sentences that made me stop and think, but mostly it is a bit too much of a hippy-trippy self-help book for cynical old me to really like. But I'm glad I've read it at long last.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce. Book Club choice. I really wanted to enjoy this book, and I thought I was going to at first. But then the story, like Harold himself, started plodding along and became less and less enjoyable and rather annoying/boring to tell the truth. So, all in all I was disappointed.
When God Was a Rabbit - Sarah Winman. I just can't decide about this one. At first I didn't enjoy it, then I did, then I was indifferent. But I still keep thinking about it, so does that mean I liked it?!
If Books Could Kill - Kate Carlisle. Second in this cozy mystery series; I was unsure of the first in the series so thought I'd give it a chance by reading the second; I shouldn't have bothered; this one was even worse than the first. Very disappointing indeed.
Decaffeinated Corpse - Cleo Coyle. Can you guess from the title that this is a cozy?! Always enjoy this series as it features my twin loves of cozy crime and coffee. What's not to like?
The Thread - Victoria Hislop. Book Club choice; I wasn't sure that I would like it, but I really enjoyed it. Very easy to read, despite being quite a harsh subject. I'd recommend this one.
The Winter Garden Mystery -Carola Dunn. No 2 in the Daisy Dalrymple series; cosy crime, gentle and easy to read.
Call the Midwife - Jennifer Worth. The book of the tv series; very enjoyable
The Curse of the Pharoahs - Elizabeth Peters. Second in the Amelia Peabody Murser Mystery series, set in 19thC England and Egypt. Egyptology cosy; really enjoyed this one and was itching to get straight onto the next, but had to change course with a Book Club book instead.
The Poisoning in the Pub- Simon Brett. Part of the Fethering Mysteries series; not quite a cosy, but not a brooding Scandinavian thriller either. Enjoyed it very much.

Down to Earth With a Bump

Monday, 16 April 2012

Heading North

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