Best Books of 2013

Another good reading year - I didn't quite make my target of 100 books over on Goodreads - but 91 is a respectable tally I think (My stats on Goodreads tells me this was 32045 pages!) I follow a few book blogs and they seem to be posting their top 10 reads of 2013 which made me look back through the books I have read this year.

Out of these 91 books I gave 5 stars to 24 of them (I love Goodreads for being able to keep track of my books and my thoughts on them.) Looking back on those 5 star reads a few of my favourite authors have popped up more than one. There were 3 by Carole Matthews (With Love at Christmas, Cottage by the Sea and Calling Mrs Christmas), 2 by Lisa Jewell (The House We Grew Up in and Before I Met You) and 2 novels and 2 short stories by Veronica Henry (The Long Weekend, Night on the Orient Express, The Beach Hut, A Sea Change and Christmas at the Crescent. One of the most enjoyable books for me this year and a complete surprise was A Streetcat Named Bob by James Bowen. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did - a fabulous heartwarming tale.

Here is my top ten reads of 2013 - in no particular order:

Calling Mrs Christmas by Carole Matthews

The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell

A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen

A Cottage by the Sea by Carole Matthews

A Night on the Orient Express by Veronica Henry

Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop by Abby Clements

The Hidden Cottage by Erica James

An Enormously English Monsoon Wedding by Christina Jones

The Rose Petal Beach by Dorothy Koomson

Dearest Rose by Rowan Coleman

Home Front by Kristin Hannah

So now I am thinking about my reading challenges for 2014 - found plenty on this site. Even though I didn't manage my 100 books in 2013 I think I will have another bash at it. I spotted this Scottish reading challenge which I will incorporate into my 100 books (especially as I want to read the Peter May Chessmen trilogy.)

And finally over on The Book Journey we have been asked what our first book on 2014 is going to be - I have chosen I Am Malala : The Girl Who Stood Up For Education And Was Shot By The Taliban by Malala Yousafzai. I think this might be a very interesting and thought provoking read.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

My last book of 2013 is an autobiography (I need to read more of these in 2014) Bonkers:My Life In Laughs by Jennifer Saunders. She is one half of the comedy duo French and Saunders and creator of Absolutely Fabulous.

Jennifer Saunders' comic creations have brought joy to millions. From Comic Strip to Comic Relief, from Bolly-swilling Edina in Ab Fab to her takes on Madonna or Mamma Mia, her characters are household names.

But it's Jennifer herself who has a place in all our hearts. This is her funny, moving and frankly bonkers memoir, filled with laughter, friends and occasional heartache - but never misery.

BONKERS is full of riotous adventures: accidentally enrolling on a teacher training course with a young Dawn French, bluffing her way to each BBC series, shooting Lulu, trading wild faxes with Joanna Lumley, touring India with Ruby Wax and Goldie Hawn.

There's cancer, too, when she becomes 'Brave Jen'. But her biggest battle is with the bane of her life: the Laws of Procrastination. As she admits, 'There has never been a Plan. Everything has been fairly random, happened by accident or just fallen into place. I'm off now, to do some sweeping...'

Prepare to chuckle, whoop, and go BONKERS.

Hubby was back to work today but I still have a few more days at home so it was bliss to stay in bed late this morning - just reading.

I have been mulling over the first book I am going to read in 2014 - and I think I have narrowed it down to 2. Either Recipe For Life by Mary Berry or I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai - as I said I want to read more autobiographies.

Pop over to The Book Journey and see what everyone else is reading today.

Skywatch Friday

A Boxing Day walk along our local beach - mainly to walk off the excesses of the past couple of days - I feel like I have eaten my own body weight in Quality Street!

Beautiful blue skies although it was rather chilly. The nearer we got to the lighthouse the fewer people there were until it felt like we almost had the beach to ourselves.

This chap stands at the top of the golf course looking down over the sea - I called him Rudolf.

I have alos been watching the skies (at night) with my boys for the past couple of evenings looking out for the International Space Station - we were all amazed to see it speeding across the skies.

Pop over to the Skywatch blog to see more skies from around the world.

It's MOnday. What Are You Reading?

It has to be a Christmas book this week. Jenny Colgan has been one of my favourite chick lit authors over the last couple of years and she has returned with the latest installment from Lipton with Christmas at Rosie Hopkin's Sweet Shop.

I'm not getting any books from Santa (as he says he doen't know what I have already read!) but I'm hoping for an electric blanket - so I can get into a nice warm bed at night - with a book of course.

Pop over to The Book Journey to see what everyone else is reading this week.

Skywatch Friday

I am hoping the weather will be OK to go for a walk on Christmas morning - something of a tradition in this house (although now the boys are older they don't accompany us!) I can live with not having any snow (unlikely this year I think) just as long as it is dry.

This is my local beach on Christmas Day 2010 - there is something magical about walking along a snow covered beach.

Please pop over to the Skywatch blog to see more skies from around the world.

WOYWW #180

I haven't played for so long - mainly because I have no crafting time during the week.

A spot of Christmas crafting. I have looked at crackers for the table on Christmas Day but unless you are prepared to pay over £20 they really are just full of old tat. I'm not sure what made me think of these little sour cream cartons this morning - but it dawned on me that full of sweeties (Lindor nom nom) they would be perfect.

So I have dusted off my crimper and dug out an old Basic Grey 6x6 pad. lets just hope there are enough sweeties left to pop inside each one!!

Pop over and say hi to Julia and see what everyone else has been up to today.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

A new author for me this week - one that was recommended to me by my Dad. Don't read too many cop/thriller type books - in fact I gave up on the last James Patterson I tired to read,

My Dad had read all Linwood Barclays books and I picked up his latest A Tap On The Window from my local library.

When Cal Weaver stops at red light on a rainy night while driving home, he ignores the bedraggled-looking teenaged girl trying to hitch a lift. Even when she starts tapping on his window. But when she says, 'Hey, aren't you Scott's dad?' and he realizes she's one of his son's classmates, he can't really ignore her. OK, so giving a ride to a teenage girl might not be the smartest move, but how much harm could it do?

Over the next 24 hours Cal is about to find out. When the girl, Claire, asks to stop at a restroom on the way home, he's happy to oblige. But the girl who gets back in the car seems strangely nervous, and it's only when they get nearer their destination that Cal realizes she no longer has the nasty cut that he noticed on Claire's hand. After he's finally let her out of the car he remains puzzled and intrigued. But it's only the next morning that he starts to really worry. That's when the police cruiser turns up at his door and asks him if he gave a lift to a girl the previous night. A girl who has now been found brutally murdered.

If Cal is going to clear his name he's going to have to figure out what Claire was really up to and what part he played in her curious deception. But doing so will involve him in some of the small town of Griffon's most carefully kept secrets - and a conspiracy as bizarre as it is deadly.

I'm just over half way through and enjoying it - haven't sussed out the ending which is always a bonus.e

It looks as though I have quite a large back catalogue of books to work my through.

Pop over to The Book Journey to see what everyone else is reading today.

Crop-tastic

The only time I manage to get any crafting done is at my local crop. A couple of the pages still need some journalling and all were made with the gorgeous Quirky Kits.

Hopefully I will get more crafting done in 2014 - but maybe we need more crops Erika??

This is my favourite page that I have made in ages.

Skywatch Friday

With the dark nights and rubbish weather at the weekend we haven't done much walking lately - but I so need to get out - and maybe go to Sunnyside Beach.

Pop over to the Skywatch blog and see more skies from around the world.

30 Days of Thankful #28

Lucky to have Gemma's Lunchbox just down the street from work - perfect for when I don't fancy my own piece! They do the most amazing soups.

30 Days of Thankful #27

Thankful that some days I can be super organised and have tea cooking before I go to work.

30 Days of Thankful #26

Parents evening. Thankfully only good things (although I am aware teachers don't actually tell you anything bad at these things!!) and if I beleive what I was told it should be A grades. Watch this space - fingers crossed!

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

I'm reading My Life by David Jason - one of this countries best loved actors. I grew up watching Open All Hours and of course Only Fools And Horses but you don't realise how much he did before he was famous - in fact 3/4 of the book is about his life before this time.

The long-awaited autobiography of one of Britain's best-loved actors.

Born the son of a Billingsgate market porter at the height of the Second World War, David Jason spent his early life dodging bombs and bullies, both with impish good timing. Giving up on an unloved career as an electrician, he turned his attention to acting and soon, through a natural talent for making people laugh, found himself working with the leading lights of British comedy in the 1960s and '70s: Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Bob Monkhouse and Ronnie Barker. Barker would become a mentor to David, leading to hugely successful stints in Porridge and Open All Hours.

It wasn't until 1981, kitted out with a sheepskin jacket, a flat cap, and a clapped-out Reliant Regal, that David found the part that would capture the nation's hearts: the beloved Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter in Only Fools and Horses. Never a one-trick pony, he had an award-winning spell as TV's favourite detective Jack Frost, took a country jaunt as Pop Larkin in the Darling Buds of May, and even voiced a crime-fighting cartoon rodent in the much-loved children's showDanger Mouse.

But life hasn't all been so easy: from missing out on a key role in Dad's Army to nearly drowning in a freak diving accident, David has had his fair share of ups and downs, and has lost some of his nearest and dearest along the way.

David's is a touching, funny and warm-hearted story, which charts the course of his incredible five decades at the top of the entertainment business. He's been a shopkeeper and a detective inspector, a crime-fighter and a market trader, and he ain't finished yet. As Del Boy would say, it's all cushty.

Pop over to The Book Journey and see what everyone else is reading today.

I am still thinking about what my first book of 2014 is going to be.

30 Days of Thankful #25

Making Christmas Pudding (and mincemeat) on Stir Up Sunday.