Year End Round Up: Part 1

Oh hi. You may remember me. I used to read books and share my half baked ideas with the world. After my rather fabulous trip to Europe (which I only got round to sharing half of - think there’s a pattern emerging) I got super busy with work and writing. And the house. We’re at …

Notes on the road Day 7

If this were a movie I’d be the character on the brink of collapse, throwing in the towel and offering up my morsels of food to those younger and more deserving (a bit like Partridge). But, people, we’re only driving through France! All is not lost. We had to navigate around Lyon. Not for the …

Notes on the Road Day 6

Cologne to Dijon via Luxembourg today. Perhaps Luxembourg is most well known for something to do with the Eurovision Song Contest but as I have never quite caught on to the whole irony of watching this I can’t for the life of me remember what it is. However, along with everyone else who was on …

The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope (1894)

Another Audible here and the third of my swashbuckling adventure stories. I must add that the recent run of books have all been chosen at random. I have to say this book really confounded my expectations. I had imagined it to be more...well, more high brow. I think I might have based this assumption on …

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy (1905)

Well! What a fun old time was had here. Let me take you back to the French Revolution in 1792. The women were beautiful, the men handsome and fearless, the French were scoundrels. These are the perilous tales of one secret agent and his brave band of loyal followers rescuing the French aristocracy who are …

The Mysterious Affair At Styles, by Agatha Christie (1920)

You know where you are with Ms Christie, let's call her 'Safe Hands'. Although I must confess I'm not sure I've read a tremendous amount of her books - an oversight I must correct of course. So, beginning with the first Poirot made eminent sense! Listening to these novels is an excellent way of ramping …

Wideacre by Philippa Gregory (1987)

Social media is a funny old thing. I sort of dabble but without any real kind of commitment and then sometimes it only serves to highlight how little I seem to be achieving. By adopting 'head in sand' position and ignoring all the platforms it rather makes everything go away, albeit temporarily. However, since the …

Sylvester, by Georgette Heyer (1957)

So, my first Audible and I chose a weighty one (no point going for anything short I reckon). Georgette Heyer has been on my radar for a while so I picked one of hers at random. Perhaps there are other more well regarded novels by her out there, but this one suited well enough. Sylvester …