A bit of gardening!

I haven't actually got around to doing any scrapping over the last two weeks. This week has been half term for the children, so we have been quite busy. I would like to say that we have been out every day, but with the typical English weather that we get, that has not been the case. It rained continually through Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, which makes it so difficult when you have young children who just want to be outside! Luckily the weather improved and we got to go to a few different places.

We had a chore that really needed doing this week and that was tidying the garden. If you had seen it last weekend, you would have been disgusted. It involved a couple of round trips to the dump and some major plant buying.

Unfortunately I let hubby buy all the plants and he came back with a carful of bedding plants and not one plant that will come out annually. However, the bedding plants he picked were pretty and made a big difference.

This is my flower box at the front of my house, which is blossoming beautifully. I wish I could take credit for this one, but my dad actually planted these.

My girls really enjoyed helping with the planting and seem to have a flair for it. I think it has a lot to do with their lovely teacher this year who is a keen gardener and responsible for the school gardens. You will often find her taking the children out to do a bit of gardening.

It turned into a lovely family activity and really made the garden look a lot more pleasant. The children actually want to play in it now, much to the annoyance of my cranky new neighbours.

I actually don't mind making hanging baskets, I find it very therapeutic and love to watch them bloom over the coming months. Though we had a bit of a disaster after this picture was taken. The girls went to pick up the baskets and dropped the lot and I had to remake them with some rather battered plants.

I am interested as to whether any of the book blogging world are actually secret gardeners!

Thanks for stopping by.

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is hosted by MizB at You Should Be Reading.


This is the first time I have taken part in Friday Finds, but I couldn't resist as I have found some fabulous books on other people's blogs that I really want to rave about them. So below, you will find a list of books I would really like to read.


1) I found Incantation by Alice Hoffman on Naida's blog the Bookworm. Now many of you will know that my first reading experience involving Alice Hoffman wasn't very good, but this one looks fabulous.


2) Mommywood by Tori Spelling. I know this is a really sad choice, but I am a big Tori Spelling fan and I just loved sTori Telling. I am addicted to watching Tori and Dean:Home Sweet Hollywood and find her life fascinating, as it is just so different to mine!


3) Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson . This was a book I found on Vasilly's blog - 1330v. It is the story of two young girls who are moved around quite a bit during their childhood. I get the impression it is the type of book to be savoured and read slowly as Vasilly mentioned how well written it is.

These are three books I really want to read and shall be adding to my list. What books have you found this week that you want to read?

The Shamer's Signet by Lene Kaaberbol

Pages - 282



Published by Hodder Childrens Books



Challenges - Once Upon a Time and 100+



This is the second book in the Shamer's Chronicles and yet again a sequel that is no where near as good as the first. I am beginning to wonder whether I should avoid sequels, after reading this and The Gorgon's Gaze this week and not really enjoying either. I had been really looking forward to reading this book and found it to be really disappointing.

This book finds Dina the Shamer's daughter practising to be a Shamer's apprentice. Just to remind you what a Shamer is, it is someone who can read other people's minds and make them feel guilty and shameful for the sins they have committed. Only a few people can actually look Dina and her mother in the eyes, without feeling bad and now Dina's own brother can no longer look at her.

The family are still on the run from Draken and the surrounding clans are being forced to fight each other, as Draken schemes and sets them off against each other. Draken has put out a reward for the Shamer and her daughter and is killing any Shamer that crosses his path. Dina is in danger and unwittingly falls into a trap whilst helping her brother recover from a vicious dual.

Dina is captured by Valdracu, a relation of Draken and put to work as a Shamer, using her powers for evil. Her brother feeling guilty for Dina's capture, sets out to rescue her. Dina is struggling to cope with how her powers are being used and finds that they desert her when she needs them the most.

This story did not draw me in as well as the first book did. The pages didn't thrill me into wanting to read it quickly, it just felt like a poor followup to the first book. I liked reading about Dina as she is a very strong character in the book, but the story alternates between her and her brother Davin, who I felt to be a poor character who came across as rather shallow.

I would definitely recommend the first book, The Shamer's Daughter and I am positive that it could be read as a stand alone, but I would definitely leave it there as the second book does not reach the same standards.

This is the second book that has failed for me this week and I have found it hard to get into any other book due to such disappointment in the previous two.

Do you ever find that it is difficult to get into another book after reading one that you have found to be a disappointing read?

The Programmes That Influenced My Reading.

I have been reminiscing this week and I though I would share some of my memories with you. Whilst watching Skellig with my family this weekend, I tried to remember what programmes influenced my reading as a child. I came up with the following three and I wondered if anyone else remember them.


The first one I remember showing on ITV when I was a child was The Storyteller. This was a series which was narrated by Tom Hurt and retold classic German, Russian and Celtic folk and faerie tales . These were always stories considered to be obscure in the Western culture. The tales were either shown as mini films featuring young actors such as Sean Bean and Joely Richardson, or they were told using puppets created by Jim Henson.


I think what really sticks in my mind about this programme was it's theme song. The first two lines I can actually remember but I struggle with the rest.


It went like this.

'I'm a story teller and my stories must be told.

I have many stories, tales for both the young and old.'


I remember constantly singing this song as a child and hoping that they would bring all the stories out as a book.

Another favourite of mine, was The Book Tower. I absolutely loved this programme as a teenager and I can remember often buying books that I had seen featured on the show.

The Book Tower ran from 1979 until 1989. The first presenter was Dr Who's Tom Baker, however the presenter that sticks in my mind is the actor Stephen Moore. The theme tune was Toccata by Bachs, arranged by Andrew Lloyd Webber and you can listen to it here.

The most popular book orientated programme of my generation would have to be BBC 1's Jackanory. This was one of the BBC's long running children's programmes which first aired in 1965 and ran until 1996. In the last couple of years, the BBC have revamped it and brought it back for my daughters generation.


This programme always had the same format. There would be a famous actor sitting in a chair, reading famous children's novels. A single book would be read over the course of a week in daily fifteen minute episodes.


So these programmes definitely had an influence on the type of books that I read as a child, however they were far from the only ones. I vividly remember lots of books being serialised and I would often buy the book after the series had finished.


Here are a few that I remember.

1. Stig of the Dump by Clive King


2. The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston


3. Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce


4. Moondial by Helen Cresswell


5. Flambards by K.M Peyton

I hope you enjoyed my blasts from the past.

What programmes influenced the books that you bought as a child?

The Gorgon's Gaze by Julia Golding

Pages - 340

Published by Oxford University Press in 2006

Challenge - Once Upon a Time and 100+ challenge.

This book is the second in the Companion Quartet series, where we find Connie the Universal Companion learning how to use her powers as a companion to all mythical creatures. I read and reviewed the first book here.

Connie's parents are concerned about the amount of time she is spending with the Society and calls on the help of her elderly great aunt Godiva to take Connie away from the Society. So Connie is whisked away in the middle of her training to protect her life from Kullervo who tried to kill her in the first book. Connie's aunt keeps her trapped in her house and she is unable to see any of her friends or go to school.

Whilst Connie is trapped, the rest of the society are desperately trying to save the local forest from being cut down in order to build a road. Especially Col's mum, who will stop at nothing to protect her universal companion, the Gorgon, who goes their to nest each year. Col's mother manages to trick Col into helping Connie escape and bringing her directly to Kullervo, who has promised to help her companion if Connie becomes his property.

I have to say, I didn't really enjoy this book as much as the first. The first one I had found to be quite dynamic and a real page turning thriller, where as this one seemed to be much the same and I was finding it quite boring by the end.

I imagine it is quite hard to write sequels to excellent books without repeating yourself, however I was very disappointed that there wasn't anything new in this one. I would have liked to see the story of Connie become deeper with each book, in the same way that other sequels do, where you learn more about how they came to be who they are.

This book is definitely not as good as the first and I don't feel that I want to continue reading this series, which is a shame as I really did enjoy the first book.

Has anyone else started to read a series of books, enjoyed the first one and then been disappointed by the next?

Happy Bank Holiday Weekend.

This weekend is a Bank Holiday over here in England, so I am planning to take a few days out from the blogging world to spend some quality with family and friends. We have such a busy weekend planned, that I know I am not going to get much computer time, so I shall wish you all a fabulous weekend and catch up with you all on Tuesday.

Enjoy the weekend - I hope it is sunny where ever you are!

25th of the month - final part

Here is the final part of my 25th of the month album. I know it is a little late, but I had a few bits to add to them, but now it is finally finished. Hurrah! Yes I will definitely be making another one and will start to take my pictures on the 25th of this month.
The first one is January 25th, which finds us on a real wet and windy day. The weather was just awful, so we had to find things inside to do. I had my parents visiting, so we ended up trailing round the garden centres.
I did buy a lovely bamboo plant, which is definitely one of my favourites. I also have my blog featured in the LO as this was the month when I started writing it.

February 25th was a hard one. My nan had died at the end of January quite suddenly and then a week before these were taken my next door neighbour passed away after heart surgery, so everyone was feeling very miserable.

It was a Wednesday and in our house and Wednesday is hair wash night for the girls. Isn't fun how we have such set routines in our lives. I wonder if my children will remember in years to come that they always had their hair washed on Wednesdays and Sundays!

March 25th and I am still wrapped up for winter. I cheated a bit here as I forgot to take pictures on the 25th and actually took them on the 26th. Oops! I spent the day rushing around trying to get presents for hubby's birthday the next day, which the girls helped me wrap. Look a weight watchers picture right next to a Domino's pizza! I confess that after I am weighed I always have a treat that day, something I have been craving all week. If I didn't I don't think I would have got this far on my diet.

Well that is the final part of my album. I hope you have enjoyed these little peeks into my daily life. I shall keep you updated on my next album as I make it through the year.

Thanks for stopping by.

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

Pages - 324

Published by Windmill Books in 2008

Challenges - 100+, Southern and A to Z Authors.

The book is set in Mississipi Delta in the year of 1946. Henry McAllen decided to uproot his wife and children from the city and move them to a farm which is basically rundown and far from everywhere. There is no running water, no bathroom and no electricity and life is tough. Henry's wife Laura does not feel the love that Henry feels for the country, she has always been used to the finer things, so this was a real hardship for her to stand. Whilst Henry works the land, Laura is left to struggle raising their two young children in their desolate house, with her only company being her horrid father in law who is the worst racist you would ever meet. Laura struggles to cope, but finds life just gets even harder when the rains come, turning the farm into acres of mud and blocking them off from the rest of civilization. They become Mudbound.

The story really takes off with the arrival of two young men returning from fighting in World War 2. Firstly there is Jamie McAllen, Henry's younger and more attractive brother has no where else to go and returns to help his brother run the farm. He is haunted by the atrocities of war and turns to alcohol and Laura to help him fight it. Secondly there is Ronsel Jackson, the eldest son of the black sharecroppers living on the McAllen farm. He has left the war a decorated hero, only to come home to severe racial abuse from the white people of the town. Ronsel and Jamie make an unlikely and unwanted friendship which will alter both their lives for ever.

This is a powerful book which slams racism right in your face and really makes you think about how black people were treated in the early 1900's. It had a similar affect on me as Beloved did and made me grateful for the life of freedom and choice I have. The bigotry of the people in that town was unbelievable cruel.

Mudbound is told through the voices of the various characters in the book and they are all very strong characters who deal with unbelievable hardship. Laura, Henry's wife, learns to survive through hardship to become a strong women in the end. Florence, Ronsel's mum is an amazing character and would not be beat down by the white people of the town. These characters all show their weaknesses which make them the people that they are. They are well written and each have great depth.

My favourite character in the book was definitely Ronsel. He tries so hard to fight the bigotry of the town. He has been through so much during the war, fighting for his country that he struggles to come back and be treated like a savage. It really is heartbreaking.

One of the most memorable passages in the book is by Ronsel, when he talks about what he saw on arrival at the concentration camp.

'There was a big iron gate set in the wall with German writing on the top. Then we seen the people lined up in front of the gate, naked people with sticks for arms and legs. SS soldiers were walking up and down the lines, shooting them machine guns. They were falling in waves, falling down dead right in front of us. Sam took the soldiers while Captain Scott's tank busted down the gate.

Hundreds of people - if you can call skin scraped over a pile of bones a person - came staggering out of there. There heads were shaved and they were filthy and covered with sores. Some of them ran off down the road but most of them were just walking around in a daze. Then they caught sight of this dead horse that'd been hit by a shell. It was like watching ants on a watermelon rind. They swarmed the carcass, ripping off pieces of it and eating them. It was horrible to see, horrible. I heard one of the guys retching behind me.'

This type of passage is one that will stay in my mind for a long time. The book deals with two type of racism - the racism against black people as well as the racism by the Nazi's against the Jewish people. The similarities in the way they were treated like savages is clear from the start.

I found this book a compelling read, one where once I had started, I struggled to put it down. Their are twists and turns all the way through the book and it ends with a very dramatic finish.

It is the type of book that you can imagine being made into a film, because it has everything from romance to guilt, from friendship to war and the story just explodes out of the pages.

This is definitely one of those books you just have to read.

This is Hilary Jordan debut novel, which she won the Bellweather Prize For Fiction with. If this is her first, I can't wait to read her second, because it is bound to be as powerful as the first.

If anyone else has reviewd it, let me know and I will add a link into mine, to give a more balanced view.

Thanks for stopping by.

The Penguin Magnum Collection

I received an email last week from Penguin books telling me about an old selection of non fiction books that have been revamped and have rare and unseen photographs from their archives. I thought they might interest anyone who is part of the Non Fiction Five Challenge, as the books are quite varied and cover some really interesting topics.

The Fight by Norman Mailer
Synopsis from the Penguin site.
In 1975, at the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship in Kinshasa, Zaire, Muhammad Ali met George Foreman in the ring. Foreman's genius employed silence, serenity and cunning. He had never been defeated. His hands were his instrument, and 'he kept them in his pockets the way a hunter lays his rifle back into its velvet case'. Together the two men made boxing history in an explosive meeting of two great minds, two iron wills and two monumental egos.


In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
A True Account of a Multiple Murder And Its Consequences
Synopsis from the Penguin site.
Controversial and compelling, In Cold Blood reconstructs the murder in 1959 of a Kansas farmer, his wife and children. Truman Capote's comprehensive study of the killings and subsequent investigation explores the circumstances surrounding this terrible crime and the effect it had on those involved. At the centre of his study are the amoral young killers Perry Smith and Dick Hickcock, who, vividly drawn by Capote, are shown to be reprehensible, yet entirely and frighteningly human. The book that made Capote's name, In Cold Blood is a seminal work of modern prose, a remarkable synthesis of journalistic skill and powerfully evocative narrative.

Hiroshima by John Hersey
Synopsis from Penguin site
When the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945, killing 100,000 men, women and children, it was the beginning of a terrifying new episode in human history. Written only a year after the disaster, John Hersey brought the event vividly alive with this heart-rending account of six men and women who survived despite all the odds. He added a further chapter when, forty years later, he returned to Hiroshima to discover how the same six people had struggled to cope with catastrophe and with often crippling disease. The result is a devastating picture of the long-term effects of one very small bomb.

A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chalkin
The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts

Synopsis from Penguin site

The race to the moon was won spectacularly by Apollo 11 on 20 July 1969. When astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their 'giant step' across a ghostly lunar landscape, they were watched by some 600 million people on Earth 250,000 miles away.
'A Man on the Moon' is the definitive account of the heroic Apollo programme: from the tragedy of the fire in Apollo 1 during a simulated launch, through the euphoria of the first moonwalk, to the discoveries made by the first scientist in space aboard Apollo 17. Drawing on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with the astronauts and team, this is the story of the twentieth century's greatest human achievement, minute-by-minute, in the words of those who were there.

Hellfire
The Jerry Lee Lewis Story by Nick Toches

Synopsis from Penguin Site

The dramatic and tormented life of Jerry Lee Lewis is the most fabled in rock 'n' roll history. Hellfire is a wild, riveting, and beautifully written biography that received universal acclaim on its original publication and is now an American classic. Born in Louisiana to a family legacy of great courage and greater madness, Jerry Lee was torn throughout his life between a harsh Pentecostal God and the Devil of alcohol, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. At twenty-one he recorded 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On', which propelled him to stardom. Almost immediately, news of his marriage to his thirteen-year-old cousin all but destroyed his career. Over the next twenty years, Jerry Lee, ever indomitable and ever wild, would rise again as a country star, and then lose it all again to his own inner demons. Hellfire is a brilliant, audacious journey into the soul of a rock 'n' roll legend, and into the soul of rock 'n' roll itself.


Hells Angels by Hunter S. Thompson

Synopsis from Penguin site.

With 'long hair in the wind, beards and bandanas flapping, earrings, chain whips . . . and Harleys flashing chrome', the Hell's Angels erupted into 1960s America paralysing whole towns with fear. Determined to discover the truths behind the terrifying reputation of those marauding biker gangs, Hunter S. Thompson spent a year on the road with the Angels, documenting his hair-raising experiences with Charger Charley, Big Frank, Little Jesus and the Gimp. Hell's Angels was the result: a masterpiece of underground reportage whose free-wheeling, impressionistic style created the legend of Gonzo journalism, and made Thompson's name as the wild man of American writing.

I really do like the look of these books and hope to read a few of them. I definitely want to read The Man On the Moon, Hells Angels and Hiroshima.

Do you like the look of any of these books and if so which ones would you like to read?

Monday Mailbox

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page

Sixteen books have come my way this week and that is so bad!

With the help of my best buddy's mum Joan I know now where The Paperback Exchange in Bognor Regis is This is a lovely old shop where you can exchange books. This shop is definitely a book lovers paradise as I don't think I have ever seen such a huge amount of old books in one place.

I picked up three really old books in there.

1) The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley - I have a fascination with Charles Kingsley after visiting Clovelly in Devon, where he used to live. We are going back to Devon this year, to a place called Westward Ho! which was named after one of his books. I am on the look out for that book now too.

2) White Fang by Jack London - always wanted to read this.

3) Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson, another book connected to Devon, where you can actually go on the Tarka Trail.

I also got the following books on my travels this week.

1) The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. Bargain - only 50p.

2) Pop Co by Scarlett Thomas. I already had The End of Mr Y, so I thought I would get this one too.

3) The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga - won best book of the year at the Galaxy Book Awards

4) The Pere - Lachaise Mystery by Claude Izner

5) March by Geraldine Brooks which follows the story of Mr March from Little Women on his wartime experiences.

6) Dragon Reader by Cornelia Funke - loved Inkheart and found this beautiful hardback book to read.

7) The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. Got for the 1% Well Read Challenge

8)Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian

9) Visits from the Afterlife by Sylvia Browne - non fiction.

10) The Olive Readers by Christine Aziz - winner of Richard and Judy - how to get published competition.

11) The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl

12) The Swallow of Kabul by Yasmin Khadra

13) Tennis Shoes by Noel Streatfield. I love Ballets Shoes but I have never read any of the other Noel Streatfield books, so I am hoping to collect them all.

That is a serious book haul this week and I know I should feel bad, but the most I paid for a book is a £1, so I won't feel bad.

Sunday Salon - help me I am an addict!

Help, it is official. I am a book buying addict and seriously need some help. Yesterday I bought seven books and the day before I bought six! OK, they were all from charity shops, so I didn't pay a lot for them and some of them were on my TBR list, but still it is not good is it.

I definitely buy books as a comfort thing. At Christmas, I made a big decision to lose weight and the biggest thing I needed to overcome was my comfort eating. I would always eat if I was distressed or unhappy. I am quite a highly strung person, so as you could imagine I would eat a lot. So when I started to lose weight, I had to find another comfort blanket and I found that in books. If I am upset I buy a book (normally secondhand). I figured that I don't smoke and definitely don't drink so where is the harm. Two full bookcases later and I am starting to worry. Luckily I have a very understanding and practical husband, whose answer is just to buy more book shelves. He is having visions of a library in our next house! So the buying will continue, as the weight loss continues. When I reach my goal weight I may just have a quick clothes buying obsession, but then it will be back to books!

Anyway, enough of my waffling, this week I have finished reading two books and read another one. They are as follows:

1) The Spook's Secret by Joseph Delaney

2) Beloved by Toni Morrison

3) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

This week I have started reading the following three books.

1) Mudbound by Hilary Jordan. A book for the Southern Reading Challenge.

2) The Shamers Signet by Lene Kaaberbol, the second book in the Shamers Chronicles.

3) The Gorgons Gaze by Julia Golding, the second book in the Companions Quartet.

I am also reading a couple of books for You Gotta Read Reviews which you will find here.

This week I am hoping for some down time as my house has just been so hectic this week. What kind of week are you hoping for?

Saturday Scrapbooking

Saturday once again and I have to confess I haven't even looked at a scrap page, let alone made one. I have just been so busy this week, with family staying and hubby away fishing in France all week. He came home yesterday with bag loads of smelly washing. Ugg!

So here are a couple I prepared at the beginning of April, which I never got around to showing.

The first one was for a challenge about dreams and ambitions. My dream has always been to write my own novel, but I think I am too lazy to ever get around to finishing it. I actually posed for this picture on purpose, is that sad?
The letters were my bargain thicker letters from a local garden centre, which I decorated with a bit of bling.

The following layout was designed to celebrate Red Nose Day, where the whole of England spends the day doing crazy things to raise money for charity. For this I used my Tim Holtz masks for the lettering.

That is it for this week. I have nearly finished the last details of my final installment of the 25th, so hopefully I will be able to show those to you this week. Have you scrapped at all this week?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

Pages - 240

Published by Bloomsbury in 2008

Challenges - 100+ books,

The year is 1946, and a wartime writer Juliet Ashton, sits at her desk trying to figure out what she write next in order to produce a wonderful new book. Out of the blue, she receives a letter from a Darcy Adams who lives in Guernsey, who is now in possession of a book that used to belong to her written by Charles Lamb. Spurred on by their mutual interest in this writer, they began to write to each other over a period of months. In his letters, Darcy tells Juliet all about his involvement in the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and her interest grows. Soon she is receiving many letters from different members of the society telling her all about how the society began and about daily life in Guernsey. She also learns about how Guernsey survived during the German Occupation of their land. Juliet finds she cannot hold off any longer and travels to Guernsey to meet the unusual characters of the Society and finds her whole life changing for ever.

I have heard so many rave reviews about this book I just had to read it. I read the first few pages and at first I could not see what the fuss was about. I really couldn't see where it was going until the mention of the German Occupation came up and then I could not put the book down. The book reads on two levels. On one level, you have Juliet's life, with her listing all her whimsical activities and on and off romances. Then you have a deeper level, which deals with all the emotional and physical deprivation caused by the German Occupation of Guernsey. I have to put my hands up now as a British Citizen, I did not know that Guernsey was occupied by the Germans, who waited patiently to set foot in England. Since reading it, I have had to keep asking questions of everyone I know who was around during the war.

I found a parallel between two characters in the book. You have Juliet, the writer who is eager to learn about the island and help them in any way and you also have Elizabeth, an absent character whose memory is still so strong within the island, that they talk about her as though she was still there. I almost found them morphing into the same person with Juliet taking over from where Elizabeth left off.

I really enjoyed this book once I got into it and I believe I enjoyed it for two reasons. Firstly, I learnt so much about how life was for not only the islanders, but also for the German soldiers as well as the prisoners of war stationed on the island. Secondly, I enjoyed the way the book is set out as a serious of letters and telegrams ( remember those!). Now I know there is a correct word for this type of book, but I can't for the life of me, remember what it was, so if someone could leave me a comment, letting me know I shall write it down for future reference! I have always loved books that are set out in letter format. My first most enjoyable one, being Dear Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster; if you haven't read this, you really should.

I want to share a passage with you from the book that talks about how the prisoners of war were treated on the Island. I found it very moving to read.

"Most of the slave workers came to the Islands in 1942. They were kept in open sheds, dug-out tunnels, some of them in houses. They were marched all over the island to their work sites; thin to the bone, dressed in ragged trousers with bare skin showing through, often no coats to protect them from the cold. No shoes or boots, their feet tied up in bloody rags. Young lads, fifteen and sixteen, were so weary and starved they could hardly put one foot in front of another. Guernsey Islanders would stand by their gates to offer them what little food or warm clothing they could spare. Sometimes the Germans guarding the Todt work columns would let the men break ranks to accept these gifts - other times they would beat them to the ground with rifle butts."

Those poor men, treated so badly and struggling to survive each day. This is another one of those books, similar to Beloved, which I reviewed on Tuesday, where you realise how lucky you are!

This book is really a book lovers paradise as there are lots of references to books from the beginning of the century. They discuss their discovery of Jane Austin, as well the Bronte sisters. Within the book, you watch the characters gradually fall in love with books and become so passionate about them.

The book was written by Mary Ann Shaffer who was born in 1934 and raised in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Here is some information from the back of the book, which tells you how she came up with the idea.

She became interested in Guernsey while visiting London in 1976. On a whim, she decided to fly to Guernsey but became stranded there as a heavy fog descended and no boats or planes were permitted to leave the island. As she waited for the fog to clear, she came across a book called Jersey Under the Jack-Boot and so her fascination with the Channel Islands began.

Many years later, when urged by her own literary club to write a book, Mary Ann naturally thought of Guernsey. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, her only novel, would go on to be published in thirteen countries.

Unfortunately Mary Ann passed away in February 2008. Her health deteriorated as she got to final stages of writing the book and she asked her niece to help her finish it. When she died, she knew that her book would be published in England. It seems such a shame that she waited all that time to write it and never got to see how well loved it would become worldwide.

I would definitely recommend this book as one to read.

If anyone else has reviewed this, let me know in the comments and I will add it into this review for others to see.

Also can anyone recommend any other books written in letter format, as I am sure I would really love to read them.

A bit of this and that.

I thought I would let you know that I have started reviewing some books for an American group. The blog is called You Gotta Read It and is situated here.

Each week, you get a choice of books that you can choose to review. It is kind of a grab and go kind of situation, but you can share good books too with other reviewers. I am pretty sure they are still looking for other reviewers, so if you are interested I would suggest leaving a note in the comments.

The books are quite varied and a few have a high sexual content, which does not really appeal to me, but I just can't resist a new book!

They are mainly in PDF format, so you just download them on the PC and read them from there. If I get to really enjoy it, I may need to invest in an IReader, though I have no idea which one I would buy, so any ideas from anyone using them, do let me know.

This won't affect the other books I read, so I will still be working through my challenges and reading similar books to everyone else. It will not affect my blog, as I love that too much too.

I am presently reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, which I am just loving to bits. I have also ordered from the library The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and The Post Office Girl by Stefan Zweig, which after reading such rave reviews I am eager to read.

I am having a funny old week as I really haven't had a lot of time to be on the computer. I have some of my family staying and we have been out everyday, going for long walks and shopping trips, so I have been really busy. At least it will help the weight loss, which is 1lb off of 1 and 1/2 stone - so keep your fingers crossed for me today that it comes off.

The kids and I have all had flu like symptoms this week, which has really dragged, but are now feeling much better. I have to say I have been afraid to tell people that I have been sick as they draw away from so quickly, concerned that really I might just have swine flu and I am keeping it from them in order to silently spread it. Paranoia or what!

I am participating in Alaines 15 Minute Challenge which can be found here. I am not doing very well this week, as all I managed to do was clean my conservatory windows on Monday. I really should have waited to start this challenge on Monday when my house goes back to normal. I promise Alaine to start properly on Monday. Check out the giveaway Alaine has on her blog too.

Talking of blog giveaways, Naida is celebrating her 2nd blogaversary and is giving away three lovely books worldwide. If you want to wish her a happy blogaversary and enter her competition then you will find it here.

Thanks for listening to me natter on - off to prepare dinner! Chicken korma here I come!

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Pages - 323

Published by Vintage, Random House in 2005, first published in Britain in 1987.

Challenges - 100+ books, A to Z Author and 1% Well Read.

This is a story set in the mid 1800's when slavery was on the verge of abolition. The story deals with the inhabitants of Sweet Home Farm in Kentucky, where up until the death of the owner, the slaves have been treated reasonably well. After the owner's death, the brother in law arrives and the slaves are subjected to cruel and despicable acts. They all decide to escape where they can be free. Sethe, a young slave girl married to Halle, sends her children ahead of her to live with Halle's mother whose freedom he bought by working extra hours. Soon after, fearing for the life of Halle, Sethe follows her children with dramatic events occurring on her journey. She nearly dies on her way there, her wounds constantly bleeding where she has been beaten so hard and heavily pregnant she gives birth on her journey. Her arrival at Baby Suggs house, allows her for a certain period to believe that she is free and that her children will never suffer what other slaves have suffered before them. Until the brother in law finds them and rather than let him take her children, she kills one of them, her oldest daughter barely a toddler. She murders her with her own hands and saves the rest of the children from being taken. Sethe saves them, but never saves herself, because Beloved comes back to haunt her. Firstly just as a ghost, but when Paul D chases the spirit out of the house, only to have her return in flesh and blood for retribution.

Wow what a powerful book! Do you ever read a book, sitting comfortably in your own house, with the freedom to eat what you want, read what you want and basically do as you please and feel very guilty about the life you have when in the not too distant past and definitely still in parts of the world other just don't have the privileges you take for granted. Well this is one of those books that takes you to that place, where you come away from it feeling humbled by all that you really have. That really all your minor worries and troubles are actually nothing in comparison to the suffering of others.

I now can clearly see why this book is listed as one of the 1000 books you should read before you die and I highly recommend that you do.

I can't say it was an easy read, especially at the beginning where I found myself constantly rereading sections where I found confusion reigned. At one point, I nearly stopped reading it as I kept getting confused as to where in the story they were writing about as the story flicked backwards and forwards between the past and the present without clear indication of it doing so. But I did not give in, and by the arrival of the mysterious Beloved I knew where I was with the story.

There are parts that are harsh and clearly written to shock, which is something I always find difficult to read, but I didn't give up.

The following passages from a speech by Baby Suggs really hit home with me. Her words are just so powerful.

'In this here place, we flesh; flesh that weeps, laughs; flesh that dances on bare feet in grass. Love it. Love it hard. Yonder they do not love your flesh. They despise it. They don't love your eyes; they'd just as soon pick em out. No more do they love the skin on your back. Yonder they flay it. And O my people they do not love your hands. Those they only use, tie, bind, chop off and leave empty. Love your hands! Love them. Raise them up and kiss them. Touch others with them, pat them together, stroke them on your face 'cause they don't love that either.'

'O my people, out yonder, hear me, they do not love your neck unnoosed and straight. So love your neck; put a hand on it, grace it, stroke it and hold it up. And all your inside parts that they'd just as soon slop for hogs, you got to love them.'

A very powerful read, with very strong characters appearing throughout the book. I really enjoyed it and will definitely read some of Toni Morrison's other books.

Have you read this? Have you read any of Toni Morrison's other books?

The Spook's Secret by Joseph Delaney

Pages - 453

Published by Random House Childrens Books in 2006

Challenges - 100+ books and Once Upon A Time.

This is the third installment of the Wardstone Chronicles which I have read. You can find the reviews for the first two here and here.

With each Spook's book I read, the story gets darker and darker and I am left craving more and this one was no exception.

This book finds Tom, Alice and the Spook preparing to spend winter in the Spook's winter home in Anglezarke. Before they leave, the Spook gets an unwanted visitor in the shape of his old apprentice, Morgan, who is now threatening him for something which he believes belongs to him. This really disturbs the Spook and they set off quicker than anticipated to the winter house.

The Spook's winter home is a bleak and forbidding place, with a cellar full of evil witches and nasty boggarts. Tom becomes concerned about the lamia witch Meg, who has stolen the Spook's heart and now cooks for them and keep the winter house clean, whilst under the influence of a powerful herbal drug, which makes her forget who she really is.

Whilst at the house the Spook and Tom are called to dispose of a rather nasty boggart which nearly kills the Spook. For weeks, his life balances between life and death and Tom does all he can with the help of Alice to save him. During this time, he receives a letter from home, discovering that his father has died. He has to leave the Spook to make the journey home in order to mourn with the rest of his family. On his journey, he encounters the Spook's ex apprentice Morgan who has really turned to the dark side and now conjures up ghosts to talk to the living. He blackmails Tom into helping him steal the grimoire ( a rather nasty book of spells) from the Spook in order to raise Golgoth the God of Winter. Tom has no choice but to help as Morgan has his father's spirit under a frightening spell.

This book is definitely a lot more darker than the first two, in the same way that the Harry Potter books get darker with each sequel. With this book, Tom, who has only been an apprentice for a year, but he has become so much stronger and has learnt so much about himself, he really is the hero of the book. His relationship with Alice has really blossomed and Tom is fully aware that she will play a big part in his future and by the end of the book, you get the impression that the Spook may have finally excepted this relationship too. Alice is a fabulous character who struggles to stay on the right side of goodness, constantly being pulled back to her witching ways. She is feisty and fearless and doesn't take any nonsense from anyone.

The book is fast paced from the second page on and you are thrown into the world of a Spook. It was over 450 pages, but I could not put it down and read it in two evenings.

The descriptions within the book are so vivid, you actuall feel like you are in Anglezarke on the freezing cold mountain, desperate to stop Morgan from raising the winter god.

As you can see I have become a big fan of the Spook's books and will definitely be heading to the library for the fourth installment.

An interesting couple of snippets of information about this book are as follows:

1)On Joseph's first talk as a published writer in a school in Adlington, he promised the school children he would feature Adlington as a location in a future book. This he did within book 3, and Babylon Lane right next to the school, is where the Spook's fictional brother Andrew has a locksmith shop in the book.

2) The Round Loaf featured in this book as where Morgan aims to raise Golgoth is a actually a famous Lancashire landmark and may be visited by anyone of reasonable fitness. The author once spent a cold and windy night there at a summer solstice waiting for the sun to come up.

After reading this book I was rooting around the Internet and I found that the series goes under another name in America. I believe they are called the The Last Apprentice books.

I really did enjoy this book and would definitely recommend this series again to any Harry Potter fans. They are just such fast paced page turning books that keep you up to the wee hours in the morning, when the shadows in your room start to flicker in your imagination! Be warned -read with the light on!

Thanks for stopping by.

Mailbox Monday

Monday Mailbox is here again and I am waiting on two lovely books that I won from two other sites. If you want to join in with Monday Mailbox, you will find it here at the Printed Page. Hopefully I will be able to show those to you next week. So no books actually came through the post, but I did manage to buy some fabulous books from the charity shop this week.

I am really pleased with this set as I have been after these for a while. They are the full set of YA Wicca books by Cate Tiernan. They retail at £4.99 each and I paid £4.50 for the lot. I was really pleased that the set was complete too.
I also picked up the above three books. I have been after Revolutionary Road for awhile, so I was pleased to get this one. The Year of Wonders is set during the years of the plague where a village quarantined itself for a year to avoid the plague affecting their town.

Footsteps in the Sand by Sarah Challis really caught my eye - here is the blurb on the back.

When Emily Kingsley arrives at the church, late and sad, for her Great Aunt Mary's funeral, she has no idea that her life is about to change completely. Still grieving for her broken relationship with the vain, mean and unfaithful Ted, and trying to come to terms with the cracks which seem to be appearing in her parents' marriage, she sobs her heart out in the church. At the wake afterwards, however, she and her cousin Clemmie are told that Mary has appointed them executors of part of her Will. They are to transport her ashes to Mali, in western Africa and her final resting place is to be Timadjlalen, in the Saharan desert. And so begins Emily and Clemmie's adventure - a journey that will be the most important of their lives.

I really do like books where the main characters have to go on a journey.

So what books did you get this week?

sunday Salon - feeling under the weather.

Hi Sunday Saloners, I hope you are feeling better than me today. I have flu like symptoms and feel really rough. Everything seems to be a real effort and I am feeling overwhelmed by all my commitments. Isn't it funny - how when you feel ill, everything just feels a bit too much.

So I will be quick to day, before I head back to bed with my honey and lemon, Lockets and a box of mansize tissues.

I completed my library challenge and read the following 12 books.

1) The Baileys Game by Celia Rees
2) The Shamers Daughter by Lena Kaaberbol
3) The Island of Blue Dolphins by Scott O Dell
4) Tithe by Holly Black
5) Palace Pier by Keith Waterhouse
6) Knife by RJ Anderson
7) The Tales of Beedle The Bard by JK Rowling
8) Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
9) Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K.Hamilton
10) Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
11) The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
12) Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman

So yay me on finishing another challenge.

This week I finished reading Like Water For Chocolate and I have nearly finished The Spooks Secret and Beloved.

Here are the books below that I hope to start reading this week.

What do you plan to read this week?

Saturday Scrapbooking

It is Saturday again and my doesn't the weekend roll around fast. I have not really made any scrap pages this week, but I did go to my scrap club on Saturday and made four pages, so I thought I would show them.
This is the first double LO I have made in ages, as I tend to like to just make single LOs these days, but I was determined to change that this weekend. The pictures are from my aunties 80th birthday earlier this year, when the whole family trundled over to Cambridge to celebrate with her. My family on my dad's side is quite big, as dad comes from a family of six, so there are lots of cousins and even more second cousins. It was a beautiful warm day and everyone had a great time catching up.

I absolutely love these 3D butterflies from K&Co and nearly used them all up.

This LO is not really finished as I haven't put any journalling in yet, but until I speak to my mum I really don't know what to put. It is another page for my aunt's album and I know that she loved to dance and went regularly to a weekly dance, but that's all I know, so I need more details.

This last LO is also for my aunt's album. It is a picture of my uncle when he was a little boy.

Don't you just love these old traditional photos which were always so posed. My uncle's father was a coal miner, just as my uncle was. Following in a family tradition on the Welsh side of my family. My late grandfather was also a coal miner too, but suffered badly with his lungs when he moved to London when my mother was young. When I look at pictures like this, it makes me want to start delving into my family history and perhaps make an album about my ancestors.

Has anyone made an album like that?

That's my creative side shown for the week? What creative things have you done this week?

The 15 Minutes Challenge

Is your home full of things that you just never get around to doing? Do you feel overwhelmed by an endless stream of little jobs, that you just don't have time to do?

Well this might be the challenge for you.


Alaine has set this challenge up on her blogspot here.

In Alaine's own words, this is what you need to do.

On my reading blog I have had great success in accomplishing my goals by participating in reading challenges. So, inspired by Shannon Lush and her book Speed Cleaning, I'm going to publicly challenge myself to declutter my home in 15 minute sessions per day over the next 3 months and you can join me!The idea is quite simple. What one thing could you do for 15 minutes each day that would have the biggest impact on how you feel about yourself and your life? I will use this challenge to motivate myself to declutter however as an example, you could exercise, catch up on ironing, work on a life goal (such as writing or researching a topic), have dinner together with your family, read to your child, read the bible, pray, practise visualisations or meditate. It really can be anything. You just need to find something that you are currently not doing that bothers you.

Isn't that just a brilliant idea? We can all spare 15 minutes a day to do something that really needs doing. I intend to start by cleaning cupboards and drawers which I don't think I have really touched since I moved in five years ago! I may even clean up my scrap area!


If you want to join in then head over to Alaine blog here and post your name on Mr Linky. Also to any of my scrapping pals, Alaine is a bit of a scrapper too!


I shall start this challenge on Monday and hope to get all those little jobs that have been piling up done. I will let you know how I get on.

Godshill, Isle of Wight

I have discovered this week, that a lot the American and Canadian book bloggers seem to have a fascination with little old Blighty, so I thought I would start to share more photos of some of the wonderful places in our country that I have visited. So today, I am going to start with a lovely, picturesque village situated on the Isle of Wight, called Godshill. This has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. The streets are full of quaint little thatched cottages like the one below. I stood outside these two houses for ages, wishing I was lucky enough to live there. This little back street to the village, was completely off the tourist map and when hubby wondered off for a cigarette, he found it by chance. I don't condone his smoking, but he was on to a winner this time. I don't think the picture does it justice. I felt like I had stepped back in time, just by turning a corner.

I just love this road sign!

The temptation to knock and ask for a viewing was overwhelming!

The village is situated on the island between Newport and Ventnor and has a lovely model village that you can visit. It also has a Cider Barn, where you can taste every different type of cider possible. Is it real or is it a model?

In village, there are lots of interesting shops, such as the Chocolate Shop, where you can see them making all the chocolate and this little shop called The Christmas Shop run by an artist called Nicola Gibbs. She has her own website here where she rents out the cottage through the year.
Chocolate heaven!

Here is a little bit of history about the reason the village is called Godshill.

Tradition tells us that the original site for the church was towards the south west but each night the stones of th

e church were moved by an unkown agency onto the hill where the church now stands. The builders of the church wanted to discover who was moving the stones and placed two guards at the site. While keeping watch they were astonished to see the stones move up the hill of their own volition. This was taken as a sign from God that the church should be built on the hill and the site was called Godshill afterwards. In some traditions it was the fairies who moved the stones.

Isn't that fabulous!