Skywatch Friday

Findhorn Bay - with and without a boat.

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

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

I am taking part in a reading bingo challenge over on Facebook. Like with normal bingo you have to cross off squares on your board and each square is book related.

I am reading a book to tick off my first square which is a book of short stories.

I don't normally read short stories - always feel there isn't enough time for the story to get going before you reach the end. But I do like Patricia Scanlan so thought I would give A Gift For You a go.

Collected to celebrate Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and birthdays, as well as offering wise words on how to deal with difficult days, these stories will entertain and delight readers. Meet Magdalena as she prepares for the birth of her first child, knowing her family are in another country - but will her fiancé surprise her for Christmas? Share memories of treasured tree decorations and the stories they hold. Delight as Irene remembers her husband on Valentine's Day and fate finds a way to remind her of the love they shared. Cheer along with Sophie as she finally finds the courage to deal with a fairweather friend, and laugh as a grandmother receives a visit from her granddaughter - only to turn the tables on her and show her who is boss! 

Please pop over to the Book Date to see what everyone else is reading this week.

What I Did Today.

No running for me today.

Instead I watched over 140 other people run.

I was at my first ever Parkrun today in Inverness

Learning how to become a Parkrun volunteer.

Ready for when Parkrun comes to Elgin.

Excited.

Muchly. 

Skywatch Friday

One of my favourite places to take photographs - Findhorn Beach.

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

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

This week I am returning to an author I have not read for quite some time - and one that I used to love. No Place To Hide is the latest book by Susan Lewis.

It started off quite slowly with you not knowing what the connections were between the characters. You know there is story behind why the main character has left the UK to start a new life in the US - and it leaves the reader guessing until over halfway through the book. I wasn't expecting the reason to be quite so explosive and devastating. Can't wait to continue reading.

Why has Justine Cantrell suddenly changed her name, abandoned the husband and family she loves and a successful business to start a new life in a place many thousands of miles away? 

There isn't a man involved, but there is a terrible secret that she must hide from her new friends and neighbours as securely as she needs to hide herself from those she's left behind. 

What is Justine's Secret?

Please pop over to The Book Date to see what everyone else is reading today.

Skywatch Friday

A Sunday stroll along a local beach - followed by good coffee and meeting neighbours. Happy days.

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

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

Last week was a mixed bag of reading. One book I had been looking forward to and thoroughly enjoyed - Winter Wishes by Ruth Saberton. And another - Wild and Free by Wendy Holden - which was just too silly and I rather wished I hadn't waste my time!

This wee I have gone back to a tried and tested author - Peter James - but his most recent title The House on Cold Hill is a bit of a departure for him. We are more used to reading all about DS Roy Grace and his latest police investigation. But in House on Cold Hill is more of a ghost story.

Moving from the heart of Brighton and Hove to the Sussex countryside is a big undertaking for Ollie and Caro Harcourt and their twelve-year-old daughter Jade. But when they view Cold Hill House - a huge, dilapidated Georgian mansion - Ollie is filled with excitement. Despite the financial strain of the move, he has dreamed of living in the country since he was a child, and he sees Cold Hill House as a paradise for his animal-loving daughter, the perfect base for his web-design business and a terrific long-term investment. Caro is less certain, and Jade is grumpy about being separated from her friends.

Within days of moving in, it becomes apparent that the Harcourt family aren't the only residents of the house. A friend of Jade's is the first to see the spectral woman, standing behind her as the girls talk on FaceTime. Then there are more sightings, as well as increasingly disturbing occurrences in the house. As the haunting becomes more malevolent and the house itself begins to turn on the Harcourts, the terrified family discover Cold Hill House's dark history, and the horrible truth of what it could mean for them . . .

Please pop over to the Book Date to see what everyone else is reading today.

Skywatch Friday

Not the best of looks for my local beach but after several days of stormy weather and high seas ended up with a layer of undulating (and rather revolting looking) sea foam.

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

First Read of 2016

Happy New Year.

Once again I am joining the lovely Sheila and many many others in sharing out first read of the New Year.

My book is one I have been looking forward to reading for quite some time as I loved the first book in the series Me Before You - even if it did make me cry buckets.

I am reading After You by JoJo Moyes:

Lou Clark has lots of questions.
Like how it is she's ended up working in an airport bar, spending every shift watching other people jet off to new places.
Or why the flat she's owned for a year still doesn't feel like home.
Whether her close-knit family can forgive her for what she did eighteen months ago.
And will she ever get over the love of her life.
What Lou does know for certain is that something has to change.
Then, one night, it does.
But does the stranger on her doorstep hold the answers Lou is searching for - or just more questions?
Close the door and life continues: simple, ordered, safe.
Open it and she risks everything.
But Lou once made a promise to live. And if she's going to keep it, she has to invite them in . .

I managed to complete my Goodreads challenge of 100 books in 2015 - actually managed to squeeze in an extra title. Today I have reset my challenge and this year I am going to try and read 101 books.

Wish me luck.