Top reads - 2011

This year I have read in excess of 60 books.  That is a record for me.
Blogging has enriched my reading.


Compiling a list of Top Reads for 2011 was difficult.  I decided to choose my favourites from my 5 star reads.  I have added a quote from my reviews for each of these. Full reviews can be found in on the review page.


There will be a mention for my 4/5 star reads that did not make the top list at the end of the post.

 Star Gazing by Linda Gillard


A very emotional and thought provoking story sharing happiness, sadness,  fear, romance and humour that really tugged at the heart strings.   It visits the emotional issues of loss and loneliness that we face in life with tenderness and understanding that left me feeling comforted.

Also from Linda Gillard, Emotional Geology 


This is the second novel I have read by Linda  Gillard and, although very different to Star Gazing, the author's amazing story telling woven through the Scottish landscape delivered a page turner I could not put down. 

From Notting Hill with Love....Actually - Ali McNamara


This story has all the elements of a great romantic comedy just like the films Notting Hill, Bridget Jones, Pretty Woman, Sleepless in Seattle and more. It is all there and you won't be disappointed.

Also by Ali McNamara , Breakfast at Darcy's

With some surprises and a shocking twist, I needed the tissues by the end of the novel which was all too soon. 

 India Black by Carol K Carr


This historical mystery, narrated by India, has plenty of action and drama. Wonderful scene setting of Victorian London at night.    She will have you laughing out loud and entertained with her quick wit.

Also from Carol K Carr, India Black and The Widow of Windsor

I have to admit I preferred this second adventure.  I got to find out a little more about India.  There is still more to her than she is letting on. 

The Empty Nesters by Nina Bell

Secrets were being kept, trust was being tested, and many things were not being said between friends and husbands. It is not always what you do say but what you don't say that matters in a friendship or relationship.

The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell

The author captures the closeness of Nell and King Charles II and their love story, which resulted in the birth of 2 sons, and Nell's lifetime devotion to Charles, with such passion.

The Summer Season by Julia Williams

What a lovely surprise this novel was.  From the blurb and cover it looked like a chick-lit/romance novel.  Once I started reading it, I realised that it combines two of my favourite genres chick-lit and historical fiction.  Edward and Lily's story in the 1800's is an important part of the modern day story.

Love and Freedom by Sue Moorcroft

The chemistry between Martyn and Honor is white hot! 

I loved the way the author revealed secrets about the characters at a teasing pace.  

The Tapestry of Love - Rosy Thornton

This is a novel not to be hurried.  There is so much detail to be absorbed about the landscape of the mountains, the forces of the weather, the beauty of the nature, the tastes and traditions of France.  These are all here and captured beautifully.

Letters from Home by Kristina McMorris

This novel is full of romance, passion and is emotionally charged.  I had trouble reading the last chapters through the tears.

and the rest of the best from 2011 (5 star reads)

At Sea - Laurie Graham

Highland Storms - Christina Courtenay

The Magic of Christmas - Trisha Ashley

Wrapped Up in You - Carole Matthews

The Lady's Slipper - Deborah Swift

Friday Night with the Girls - Shari Low

Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines - Carol Wyer

The Tudor Secret - CW Gortner

Please don't stop the music - Jane Lovering

The Surprise Party - Sue Welfare

DizzyC

My snapshot year - 2011

Saturday Snapshot is a weekly meme hosted by Alyce at At home with books

I thought this week I would rewind the year of Saturday Snapshots.

AJ checking he hasn't misssed anything

First blooms

Sunday stroll 1970 with my dad

My nana - my best friend

A day at the seaside 1971

AJ's bookends

My Prom Queen

Summer flowers

Bedtime reading

The Maize maze

I am getting better at close-ups!

Love the colours in this fuschia

Perfectly framed sea view

Muffin was a daschund/Jack Russell cross

Wishing you all a health and happiness in 2012!


DizzyC

Rewind and remember 2011

I was looking through the blog for 5 star reads to include in my Book Yearbook for 2011.

Along the way I found some non-book related posts that I thought I would share with you all.

January


As we see 2011 out, I am finding family life a little easier. My toddler is no longer a toddler but a big 4 and the older children are being kept busy with school/college/part-time work.
You know you have a toddler

My kitchen capers
Jack of all trades, master of none

February


I was feeling my age
Oldest mummy

The next drama was entitled
Paramedics and Prom Dresses

We had a non-romantic Valentine's Day
Feb 14th - not attending

March

I took a trip down memory lane with
What is that smell?
and My day at the office

Had another proud mummy moment
Proud mummy

I resigned at the end of March!
resignation

April


I decided folks might need some translation
local dialect

We took our annual family holiday in The Highlands of Scotland
The Highlands

May


AJ made his own bookends
Gotta love his style!

June


I am awful at keeping secrets
Secret is out

Computer issues meant I was AWOL from my blog but had something lovely to share
I am AWOL from my blog

July


My blog turned 1!
One today!

I had a last minute wardrobe emergency
Emergency shopping and photo

August


C's exam results were in and I was a proud mum
Brag corner

September


Our UK weather was giving us a surprise
Mother Nature is confused

October and November


Personal posts have been fewer in the last few months of the year
I had an announcement
New additional role

December
My seasons greetings with the family
Seasons Greetings

DizzyC

Blog Tour Review: My Own Worst Frenemy, by Kimberly Reid

Straight outta the Mile High City, Chanti Evans is an undercover cop's daughter and an exclusive private school's newest student. But Chanti is learning fast that when it comes to con games, the streets have nothing on Langdon Prep.

With barely a foot in the door, fifteen-year-old Chanti gets on the bad side of school queen bee Lissa and snobbish Headmistress Smythe. They've made it their mission to take Chanti down and she needs to find out why, especially when stuff begins disappearing around campus, making her the most wanted girl in school, and not in a good way. But the last straw comes when she and her Langdon crush, the seriously hot Marco Ruiz, are set up to take the heat for a series of home burglaries--and worse. . . .

Mysteries are typically hit or miss with me -- usually because, nine times out of ten, I guess everything before I'm remotely close to the end. I blame years of reading Nancy Drew and watching Scooby Doo for this. Who knew it would lead to years of bitter reading because I think I have everything figured out? Thankfully, I can't say that I was bitter at all reading My Own Worst Frenemy. I may have guessed a bit before the end, but the journey there was no less enjoyable.

Chanti is a character that you just can't help but like from the very first page. It takes a while to know her whole story but once you get there, your view of her really doesn't change. She's still the likable girl that you related to from the very first page.. just with a little more depth. Marco is a good interest for Chanti, but I wish we got to know more about him. A lot of the supporting characters fell a little flat for me because they weren't as well developed as Chanti. If any of them popped out though, it was definitely Bethanie - but, again, you want to know more about her.

The plot is good, if not a little simple. I liked the mystery, it definitely had some aspects to it that did keep me second-guessing myself through a good portion of the book. The cat fights were.. entertaining. The description of those as well as the surroundings kept you believing you were right there in the story with the characters. Overall, I think Kimberly did an incredible job with this book and I will be sticking around to read more from her.

Belated It's Monday...

A belated It's Monday what are you reading, folks as here in the UK we had Boxing Day (St Stephen's Day) on Monday  

Last week

Ronni Cooper,  author of Manhatten was guest here

Susan Fraser King, author of Queen Hereafter was guest author here

In my stocking

Nothing in the postbox this week, but of course, Santa has been...........

I have now caught up with technology and my dear partner bought me a Kindle.  My dear daughter, C, bought me a lovely lilac case for it. :)

This time last year I turned down a Kindle from my partner, saying I loved books too much and didn't think I would be interested in a Kindle.  One year on and I have room for a Kindle as well as my books.

My first impressions........

• It is very light-weight.  
• I love being able to read hands-free or with just one hand. 
• The pages turn quite quickly and I am sure this is saving me time, as I no longer have to reposition my hands after turning a page. 
• It was fairly easy to set up, after a false start.  I had kindle for pc and my books were in that account.  I had to remove the books from that acc and move them to the actual kindle.
• still cannot believe that kindles are not back-lit.
• Kindle will be my preferred reading material when travelling.
• I will still want books in paperback, too

Are you new to Kindle? What are your first impressions?

My Kindle downloads

House of Silence - Linda Gillard  

Songbird under a German Moon -Trica Goyer 

Are we nearly there yet?  - Ben Hatch 

French lessons - Ellen Sussman

Satchfield Hall - Pauline Barclay

Sophie's Turn - Nicky Wells

Build a Man - Talli Rolland  (review copy)

Reaching for the Stars - Janice Horton (review copy)

What does your reading week look like?

DizzyC

Seasons Greetings

I rarely show photos of the family here on the blog.  


Just wanted to show you how the children are growing and what keeps me away from my reading :)  I am very proud of them.

Me and the kids!

Wishing you all 

 Merry Christmas!

Feliz Navidad!

Joyeaux Noel!

Happy Holidays!

and A Happy 2012!

Carol 

DizzyC

Winners!

Thank you to Sphere for this giveaway

Congratulations to 

1. ALISON
2. NATHALIE GREEN
3. KJ
4. DEBORAH COLEMAN
5. LINDSAY HEALY

Winners will be notified by email.

DizzyC

Queen Hereafter Winners!

Congratulations to.......

Jacquelyn Lane

Lucinda Fountain

DizzyC

Manhattan by Ronni Cooper (UK giveaway)

The kind folks at Sphere are celebrating the launch of 
Manhattan by Ronni Cooper,  today and I have 5 copies of this novel for UK addresses only

The blurb


Raine: Born in Brooklyn, the undisputed queen of the City, Raine owns the sexiest, starriest nightclub in New York - and no one is ever going to take her crown. Mei-Lin: The beautiful, enigmatic madam moves in all the right circles - but it wasn't always that way. Now her American dream has become a nightmare and she may have to pay the ultimate price for freedom. Stevie: Once the lead singer of the biggest female rock band in the world, Stevie is now flying solo – but she has a secret that could destroy her. Now all three women are about to discover that payback is the biggest bitch of all…




If you would like the chance to win a copy of this novel, please complete the form below and leave a comment. 


UK addresses only
Ends 5th Jan 2012


Please see giveaway policy

Guest Author - Ronni Cooper

Ronni Cooper's novel Manhattan hits the UK shops today.  

• Publisher: Sphere (22 Dec 2011)
• ISBN-13: 978-0751542769

Ronni  has joined me today as guest author.  Thank you Ronni and Happy Publication Day!

Road Trip by Ronni Cooper

I doubt that there’s a female alive who has watched a certain movie and not dreamed about “doing a Thelma and Louise”.

Gina Davis and Susan Sarandon’s car had just shot off a cliff in the final scene when I found myself calling my best friend. We were due a catch up. She was in Glasgow, while I’d been working in Asia for two years and was planning to head back to the UK a couple of weeks later.

“Let’s do a Thelma and Louise,” I implored, fuelled up with irrepressible enthusiasm of youth. And wine. There had definitely been some wine. “Meet me in New York and we’ll hit the road.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” she countered, clearly lacking in the wine stakes. “We can’t do that.”

 “Why?”

“Because…. because… they die at the end.”

She had a point.

“Okay, let’s do it but without the whole dying bit.”

There was a pause. “I’ll need to think about it,” she said hesitantly. Immediately followed by, “Right, I’ve thought about it. When are we going?”

Two weeks later, we set off from opposite sides of the globe for a rendezvous at JFK airport. There we met a chatty cab driver who took us to our hotel. Judging by the fare, we went via several American states.

Next morning, we hired a car and set off. I was Thelma, she was Louise – but without the A-list paychecks or Gina Davis’s teeth.

New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, then back to New York. For two weeks, we drove, stopping off when the mood took us, singing along to local radio stations, sleeping in tatty motels and plush hotels and chatting. Yep, we gabbed our way through approximately 2600 miles.

Of course, it wasn’t as dramatic as the movie, but it came close. Along the way we stumbled into a Taiwanese drinking den in New York and spent the night playing mah-jong with men who looked like they could kill us with their thumbs. We got lost. A million times. We stopped for gas in the middle of the night somewhere in the deep south and were served by a man holding a gun. We got pulled over for speeding. Twice. We hung out with racing drivers in Daytona Beach. And we were involved in a major police incident when a crazy woman tried to break down our motel door with an axe because she thought her husband was inside with his mistress. He wasn’t. He was next door, no doubt calling a divorce lawyer as she was led away in cuffs.

Two decades later, we still look back on it as being a true highlight of our lives.

So if your best friend ever calls you up with a crazy plan, go for it. Just remember to decide which one is Thelma, and which one is Louise – and try to avoid the whole dying bit at the end.

Manhattan will be published by Sphere on 22^nd Dec 2011

Ronni Cooper is on facebook, twitter and at www.ronnicooper.com

AJ's Pre-school choices

AJ had some lovely books arrive from TopThat! Publishers.
These would be lovely stocking fillers or books to get with those book vouchers.


This first book, Little Penguin Learns to Swim  is the story of the day on CBeebies at 1pm, Christmas Day.

• Publisher: Top That! Publishing (1 Sep 2011)
• ISBN-13: 978-1849564403

It was an important day for Little Penguin. He was going swimming for the very first time.

New and emerging readers will love to join Little Penguin as he prepares for his first swim. As he meets friends along the way, Little Penguin tries to overcome his fear.  Will Little Penguin be brave enough to jump in and swim?

Young children will be able to identify with Little Penguin as he embarks on a new challenge that seems impossible and quite scary.  Along the way he meets other Antarctic creatures who give him the confidence to take the plunge.

We loved sharing this story which was just the right length for bedtime.  The  soft pastel sketches are beautiful and make Little Penguin and his friends adorable.

5 out of 5!

Thank you to TopThat! Publishing for a review copy.

************************

• Publisher: Top That! Publishing PLC (1 Oct 2011)
• ISBN-13: 978-1849564502

Farmer McDoogle has a very unusual farm.  On his farm he doesn't keep chickens, cows or pigs.  On his farm he keeps monsters!

Diggle must use all of his expert knowledge, and a bag of smelly old socks, to find a missing Gogglynipper.

Will he find the Gogglynipper before Farmer McDoogle finds out?

Diggle is out on the farm rounding up Gogglynippers.  Yes, this is no ordinary farm. There is not a cow, pig or sheep to be seen.  This is a farm of , not too scary, monsters.  One of the Gogglynippers is missing and Diggle must find him before the farmer finds out.   

I believe this one will appeal particularly to little boys with funny looking monsters.

Although you may think monsters for bedtime reading is not a good idea, the Gogglynipper has a secret that may help your little one when it comes to bedtime.

Be prepared to concentrate on the tongue-twisting tale. :)

4 out of 5!

Thank you to TopThat! Publishers for a review copy

Guest Author - Susan Fraser King

My guest author today is historical fiction writer Susan Fraser King

• Publisher: Broadway Books (A Division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc); Reprint edition (6 Dec 2011)
• ISBN-13: 978-0307452801

I asked Susan why she decided to write about Margaret of Scotland

Why did I decide to write a novel about Margaret of Scotland, a medieval queen whose name is not all that familiar to readers? (She’s better known once you add “Saint” to her name – about 200 years after her death, she was canonized as Scotland’s first royal saint, though she was not Scottish, but Saxon and Hungarian.)  Quite simply, I wrote about Margaret because she’s fascinating, and her true story has a great natural plot – a vulnerable, beautiful young princess, stranded in a strange land, meets a warrior king in need of a bride; she is intelligent, determined and sophisticated; he is a clever, brute warrior in a provincial country; he adores her delicate determination; she reforms him and his country … and their match of genuine opposites becomes one of the most enduring true love stories of the medieval era.

Margaret is one of the most interesting of medieval queens in part because we simply know so much about her personally and historically. A Saxon princess raised in Hungary and then England, she was shipwrecked in Scotland while fleeing from the Normans. She married King Malcolm of Scotland, who according to their contemporary sources, evidently fell in love with the Saxon princess on sight. Political advantage weighed heavily too, though at first she is said to have resisted the marriage and wanted out of Scotland, which would have seemed to her a very backward, foreign and pagan place. Yet later Margaret and Malcolm were admired for their strong relationship of love and respect.

Her personal confessor, Bishop Turgot, wrote her biography, so what we know about her comes from a friend. Turgot (an Anglo-Dane who escaped from the Normans) depicted her in glowing archaic terms, but he gave exciting hints of the real Margaret -- her hot temper, her drive to be perfect, her bold opinions, her humble kindnesses and tender heart. She was a determined young woman who was aware of her responsibilities and critical of her own shortcomings.

Margaret’s biography is a gold mine for historians as well as for a novelist, and in some ways I had almost too much information about Margaret, with much to pick and choose for the novel! Previously, I had written Lady Macbeth, which was a challenge to write in terms of its scope and the depth of research required, as well as a complex chronology of historical events and people to coordinate in the plot. And Lady M had no biographer – she was barely a footnote in history, in fact, before Shakespeare got hold of her. Only one document exists that directly mentions her, and that gives us her name (well, a phonetic equivalent, “Gruoch,” which I interpreted as most likely “Gruadh”). 

For Queen Hereafter, the good Bishop Turgot had provided a good deal of the groundwork in terms of Margaret’s life, personality, triumphs and challenges. And I was able to include some continuing characters, making Queen Hereafter a sequel -- Lady Macbeth returns, and Malcolm Canmore, who was a shadowy villainous guy and the man who defeated the king in Lady Macbeth, was fleshed out as a protagonist.

Margaret of Scotland was a devout and proper young woman devoted to her causes, a woman who felt deeply and did her utmost to help others from her position of privilege. She also diminished herself through humility and excessive fasting, and felt that her charitable deeds, her marriage and her children were her most important contributions. The novel covers the early years of her courtship and marriage – I wanted to focus on the young Margaret, and show the potential in her to become the gentle, troubled mature queen who would later starve herself to the point of ruining her health, the woman who died of heartbreak days after her husband’s death, and whose later canonization was urged by her children and others who loved her and knew her genuine quality of character.

Writing about a pious medieval woman was not easy, nor the most interesting part of her story, so I wanted to bring out her temperamental and mischievous side too. Anyone who had eight healthy babies and cuddled orphans in her lap, and who stole gold from her husband's treasury and released his ransomed prisoners on her own was not only about saintliness, as the historical record would have us believe. Another, more realistic Margaret existed, and that was the young queen I wanted to bring to life in Queen Hereafter.  


I would like to thank Susan for being guest author today.


Susan's website can be found here
and here at Word Wenches

YouTube trailer for Queen Hereafter