Catching Up!

I haven't updated this for far too long, so here's a very rapid update of what I've been reading and a few other bits and bobs. Since the end of the summer I've read and enjoyed the Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom. Apparently there's going to be a TV adaptation starring Kenneth Branagh.

Kids' book I've read include The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. I'd read it a long time ago and enjoyed it, but wanted to read the two sequels. I'm not enjoying them quite as much but if you like fairy-tale style fantasy stories they're certainly worth a read.

Chicken Dance was a good read, though I'd never come across the author Jacques Couvillon before. It's funny story, but quite sad at the same time, as the reader knows from the start that there's something strange about Don's family. It's set in 1960s America so some of the turns of phrase that are used are a bit unusual to a UK reader.

I'm currently reading Gervase Phinn's books about his life as a school inspector in Yokshire, having picked up the first three as a boxed set in Oxfam the other day. I love charity shop books. I get my book fix and do a bit of good into the bargain.

The only one I've read and not really enjoyed was The Luxe by Anna Godberson. It's a historical book set at the end of the 1800s in upper-class New York. It could have been a really fun book with romance and intrigue, and that was the intention I'm sure, but I thought all the characters were rather one-dimensional and generally not nice people, so I didn't really care whether any of them lived happily ever after or not. The Book Book Bloggers agree with me.