It's Monday. What Are you Reading?

This week it is a brand new author to me - one that came highly recommended by my Dad.

I'm not sure if you have to read this series in order by Stone Cold by CJ Box is the 14 book in the Joe Pickett series. I have just downleaded the very first book called Open Season onto my Kindle as it si free at the moment.

About quarter of the way through and quite enjoying it - a different read from my usual genre.

Everything about the ranch is a mystery. Rumours abound about the reclusive millionaire who owns it, the women who live with him, the private airstrip, the sudden disappearances. And, most persistent of all, that it is all funded by murder.

Joe Pickett is tasked by the governor to find out the truth. But he soon discovers a lot more than he'd bargained for.

There are two other men living up at the ranch. One is a stone-cold killer who takes an instant dislike to Joe. The other, Joe knows all too well. The first man doesn't frighten him. But the second is another story entirely.

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

Skywatch Friday

A day late.

We had a short but sunny walk from just outside Urquhart to Garmouth and back - stopping at The Garmouth Arms for lunch and refreshments - and back. Along the way we walked through the military firing range just outside Garmouth - love the numbers!

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

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

Something completely different for me this week.

Huuby is a motorbike nut. I have spent years with various 2 wheeled machine sparked up in the garage. When he got too old for moto cross riding he sold the bike and went back to a boring old mans Car (a black Saab estate which resembles a herse!) But last year he bought himself a shiny new R6 - and it is his pride and joy.

We have to watch Moto GP and Superbikes on Sky Sports - and we are even planning out holiday around being in Portugal for the world Superbike race out there in the Summer! But on both of our bucket lists is to go to the Isle of Man to watch the TT - and to watch Guy Martin. I have watched him race and watched his restoration programmes on the TV so am hoping this book Guy Martin - My Autobiography will be an insight into what makes Mr Martin tick - besides a brew of course.

'It was the start of the third lap of the 2010 Senior TT, the last race of the fortnight. The last chance to get a TT win for another year, and I was pushing hard.
Ballagarey. The kind of corner that makes me continue road racing. A proper man's corner. You go through the right-hander at something like 170mph, leant right over, eyes fixed as far down the road as I can see.
But this time something happened. This time the front end tucked .'
Guy Martin, international road-racing legend, maverick star of the Isle of Man TT, truck mechanic and TV presenter, lives on the edge, addicted to speed, thoroughly exhilarated by danger.
In this book we'll get inside his head as he stares death in the face, and risks his life in search of the next high.
We'll discover what it feels like to survive a 170mph fireball at the TT in 2010, and come back to do it all again. He'll sweep us up in a gritty sort of glory as he slogs it out for a place on the podium, but we'll also see him struggle with the flipside of fame.
We'll meet his friends and foes, his family, his teammates and bosses and we'll discover what motivates him, and where his strengths and weaknesses lie.
For the first time, here is the full story in Guy's own words. From the boy who learned to prep bikes with his dad, to the spirited team mechanic, paying his way by collecting beer glasses in pubs, to the young racer at the start of his first race and the buzz he's been chasing ever since.
This thrilling autobiography is an intense and dramatic ride.

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

It's Monday. What Are You Reading.

An overdue book from the library. Which in hindsight probably should have been returned back to the library on time - unread.  I am reading Gifted and Talented by Wendy Holden and I'm afraid I am struggling with it - Diana is the only character who is likeable and who is the only reason I am plodding on with the book - will she find love second time around? As for the university brigade - I am afraid you can keep them all - including Coco the irritating dog.

It's the new university term among the dreaming spires. The start of a whole new life.
Meet Isabel, beautiful, clever, shy - and leaving home for the first time.
Meet Olly, recently graduated, idealistic and a little hopeless, a man whose heart leads his brain and for whom opportunity just hasn't come knocking - yet.
Meet Amber, the It girl who is soon partying with the fast set - and no-one is faster than Jasper de Borchy, glamorous leader of the notorious Bullinger club.
Meet the grown-ups: Diana, recently divorced mother-of-one, newly arrived in town to take up a post as college gardener - and Richard, the new college head, a widower, a scientist, and as lonely as some of the specimens he captures in his science lab.
The rich, the poor, the shy, the extrovert, the givers, the takers. Meet the Gifted and Talented.

Alongside ths book I am reading Say You Will by Kate Perry for a Kindle challenge over on Facebook. A group of us have decided to pick one Kindle book a month (it has to be free so we can all join in) Someone every month picks a selection and we have to vote on which one the group will read. I am afraid this one isn't going down well - but I'm 50% through and it is quick reading so I will finish it.

Rosalind Summerhill is on the verge of becoming the next Vera Wang, as far away from her family and their drama as she can get. The last thing she wants is to leave San Francisco for London, especially not to deal with her father's latest scandal—dying in his mistress's arms. At least she can find comfort in knowing she can leave after the memorial.

Little did she know.

Not only is her father's will missing but, according to his lawyer, her mother will lose everything if it's discovered. Reluctantly joining forces with her sisters to seek and destroy the will is the only way of ensuring her father doesn't win in the end.

Enter Nick Long, the one bright spot about being in London. Nick's everything she's ever dreamed of in a man—supportive, eager to help, and bone-meltingly hot. But Nick's motives aren't as pure as they seem, and the secret he's keeping may tear Rosalind's family and fortune apart.

All doom and gloom this week - hopefully my reading can only get better. Which it will as on Friday I have to go back to the optitcians and choose the frames for my new varifocals. My distance vision has remained the same but I need a new prescription for my reading glasses - which explains why I am struggling to read in bed of an evening - even with the big light on!!

Please popver to The Book Journey to see what everyone else is reading this week.

Skywatch Friday

A day late I know.

The view across Loch Creran when we visited the Scottish Sealife Sanctuary last month.

They have a couple of seals at the sanctuary that can never be released back into the wild and they put on shows.

There was only one orphan seal at the sanctuary being rehabilitated so he can be released - which although not great for visitors - is great for the seals.

Pop over to the Skywatch blog to see more skies (and possibly seals) from around the world.

Shiny

We all tell ourselves that we only do Slimming World for the shiny stickers!

My collection is steadily drowing with the addition of my 3 1/2 stone shiny.

I can't tell you how chuffed I am.

I can't tell you how much better I feel.

But I can tell you I was out running at 6.20am this morning.

Nutter.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading.

Today it is one of my favourite authors - The Unpredictable Consequences of Love by Jill Mansell.

I am loving all the differnent characters and it is set in Cornwall - what more could you want.

In the idyllic seaside town of St Carys, Sophie is putting the past firmly behind her.

When Josh arrives in St Carys to run the family hotel, he can't understand why Sophie has zero interest in letting any man into her life. He also can't understand how he's been duped into employing Sophie's impulsive friend Tula, whose crush on him is decidedly unrequited.

St Carys has more than its fair share of characters, including the charming but utterly feckless surfer Riley Bryant, who has a massive crush on Tula. Riley's aunt is superstar author Marguerite Marshall. And Marguerite has designs on Josh's grandfather...who in turn still adores his glamorous ex-wife, Dot...

Just how many secrets can one seaside town keep?

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

Glamping

Just before the end of the school Summer holidays we headed over to the West coast to go glamong for a couple of nights. The eldest decised it wasn't his cup of tea so he remained at home on kitten duties - although he was working as well.

 

The weather wasn't great - rain showers kept blowing in (although the weather was far better than at home where they had a months worth of rain in one day and parts of Moray flooded!) On the Monday we took the (very small) ferry over to the island of Kerrera and headed off around the coastal path on our bikes. It was a bit muddy - as I found out when I was pitched over the handlebars into a muddy puddle. Luckily Kerrara isn't a Hunter wellies and Barbour jacket sort of place so I wasn't unduly worried about what I looked like. Even on a dreich day the views were stunning.

We cycled to Gylen Castle - it was very small in castle terms and very isolated

Then we headed to the Kerrara Bunkhouse andTea Rooms. What a hidden gem. It is run by a chap who originally came from Glasgow ans staffed by students (of varying nationalities) who all stay in yurts round the back of the cottage. All the food is homemade using local produce - I had to wait for my roasted red pepper and lentil soup to finish cooking. I did so want a slice of rhubarb and custard cake - but I was full. We sat out in the garden and the local Chaffinches were very friendly. Don't you love all this mismatched china?

 
These were the facilites - basic - but very eco friendly. And a lovely view too!!

 

Our muddy bikes

Waiting for the ferry back to the mainland

Skywatch Friday

On Sunday we revisited an old walk we hadn't done for a long time - we walked the 9 miles from Craigellachie to Aberlour and back.

You follow the old railway line

And cross over the River Spey

Until you reach the Keith to Dufftown old railway station. The trains only run between Dufftown and Keith, stopping at Drummuir for the tourists. But you can have a cup of tea and a fancy piece in one of the old carriages which has been coverted into a tea rooms.

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

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

A new week and a new book. I have just finished The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell and I have to say it was one of my favourite books of the year so far.

The only problem about reading (and finishing) a really good book is whether or not the next book will be as good. The Way Back Home is the new title from Freya North. I'm only a couple of chapters in and I am hoping it is a slow burner and it will pick up soon.

The unforgettable, poignant new novel from Sunday Times bestseller Freya North.

Born and brought up in an artists’ commune in Derbyshire, Oriana Taylor had freedom at her fingertips in a home full of extraordinary people. The Bedwell brothers, Malachy and Jed, shared their childhood and adolescence with Oriana. In the rambling old house and tangled grounds, their dreams and desires could take wing unchecked.

But too much freedom comes at a price. Something happened the summer they were fifteen. And now, having been gone eighteen years, Oriana is back.

This is their story.