I admit that I'm a day late in actually finishing Ali Shaw's The Girl with Glass Feet but after an action packed couple of days away I couldn't face rushing the last 50 or so pages; I just wanted them to last forever. Ida MacLaird is turning into glass. She doesn't understand why and is understandably somewhat scared. Desperate for an answer she heads to the island where she thinks her transformation began, to search for a man that she met just once, but in whom she is placing all her hopes of a cure. She makes it to the island, but instead of finding her saviour she instead ... read more

  I am delighted that my reading project for 2010 seems to be on track. I have just finished reading Ian McEwan's Atonement which was one of the books on the Waterstones' Top 50 books of the Decade list and had actually been sitting on my bookcase for a while. I'd heard a fair bit of hype around the film adaptation of this, but somehow everything about the book seems to have passed me by a fair bit. A shame really as I thought it was an excellent read. I loved the innocence brought out in the thirteen year old Briony and in particular that ... read more

Today marks my first venture into book group reading with Phillippe Claudel's Brodeck's Report which I have read as part of the Not The TV Book Group over on dovergreyreader's blog. I wrote last week about feeling like I needed to structure my reading a bit better and I'm delighted to say that I managed to finish this book today in good time to join in the discussion over on dgr's blog.Brodeck's Report is, to be honest, one of those books that I doubt I would have chosen to read if it were not part of the book group's reading list. Set ... read more

I used to think that I read quite a lot. I always have a book on the go and rare is the day when I don't read at least a couple of pages. One thing that I have realised though over the last month or so is that although the quantity I read may be quite high, I do just rad quite a random assortment of what ever is available in the charity shop in the order I pick them up in.  Last week I picked up a leaflet in Waterstones advertising a three for two offer on their top 50 books of the decade (2000 - 2009). Now, although a three for two offer is quite good value I know that ... read more

  It's strange how you can first hear about books. About 18 months ago whilst Mr C and I were still house hunting we went to view on particular house where the owners had a very minimalist approach. Downstairs everything was white, off white or clear (glass or plastic). Upstairs it was very similar. The one thing that both of us remember though is that in the bedroom there was a white wooden framed bed, with white cotton bed lined, a white bedside cabinet and on it was a copy of The White Tiger (with a previous cover that was, you guessed it, mainly white!) Things like ... read more

  Suite Francaise is one of those books that I've been aware of for ages, and has even sat on the book case for a while, but for some strange reason it's taken me a while to actually pick it up and read it. I'm so glad I did though! Suite Francaise covers the lives of ordinary citizen in France as it comes under German occupation during the Second World War. The book itself is split into two parts. The first follows a group of Parisians as they try to flee the invasion that is taking place around them. Different people, with very difference circumstances are all thrown ... read more

  I've been an Ian Rankin fan for a few years now and was therefore thrilled when I saw Doors Open in a pile of books that my mum passed on to me. The question was though - was I really a Rankin fan, or was it actually Rebus that I was a fan of?After Rankin retired off Rebus there was always the big question as to what, or who, he was going to write about next. We always knew it was going to be a crime book, and there were no surprises when it was set in Edinburgh. The only thing that I was a little amazed to find was that there wasn't a very strong ... read more

 I have simply loved all of Gervase Phinn's other books and Up and Down in the Dales is no different.Gervase is back as the school inspector working in God's own county and encountering the "delightful" children that the region's schools are trying to educate. This time round though he is acutely aware of the impact of a child's home-life on how they perform at school. Gervase's wife Christine is expecting their first child and he is determined to make sure that this child has every possible head start when he or she enters the ... read more