I love Jenny Colgan books, I love The Little Beach Street Bakery series. I found this book in the library and it was the perfect time to read a lighthearted book after reading the dystopian novel 84K.

Nina loves books as much as me, she has two copies of the same book, one in hardback and a first edition, she also has a huge to be read pile. When the story begins she’s working in a library, a book lovers dream, but they’re making the libraries smaller and closing to reopen more of a community hub (weird coincidence as they’ve done that to the library I got this book from)so they’re making a lot of people redundant and she may lose her job. She thinks about doing something I’d love to do (but can’t practically): open a book shop.

I could relate to Nina’s love of books obviously and also…

The blurb

Common Murder finds journalist Lindsay Gordon at the peace camp on Brownlow Common, reporting a case of alleged assault by Deborah, a peacewoman, on Rupert Crabtree, Chairman of the local opposition to the camp.

Then the body of Crabtree is found on common ground, victim of a vicious attack, and Deborah is accused of murder. Lindsay is plunged into an investigation with far-reaching political implications, in which no one – be they ratepayer or reporter, policeman or peacewoman – is wholly above suspicion.

The author

Val McDermid is of course a very big name in crime fiction these days; this was only her second novel, and the biography in the front talks more about her career as a journalist and her NUJ activity.

The publisher

The Women’s Press now seems to be defunct, but it used to put out a lot of feminist fiction and non-fiction. Its steam…

The blurb

Clorinda has brought about a happier state of affairs in the Earl of N-‘s family, but fears that this may have earned her the Earl’s enmity. The bad poet Mr W- Y-‘s behaviour is becoming increasingly and worryingly erratic. Bets are being laid on the likelihood of Clorinda’s remarriage, and the identity of the groom. There are still a deal of contrivances upon hand.

The author

L. A. Hall is a historian and retired archivist. Short stories by her have appeared in The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women and The Penguin Book of Erotic Stories by Women. She regrets to say that she does not own a pet wombatt.

The publisher

Sleepy Wombatt Press is the imprint under which the author releases the stories of Clorinda Cathcart and her circle.

The bookshop

Amazon, which as a general principle I try to avoid. But I did…

She placed the dime she’d found in the tray upon the shelf

To join its many fellows – little shining tokens of love and blessings here

Signs sent to remind her, we never walk alone

White feathers on the mantle

Reverence in her heart

she takes one down, her fingers caress it, smoothing out the fibers

Remembering all the times, the locations, and the stories

They each appeared as if by magic to instill confidence and give comfort –

Reminders of divine grace, of power and gentle might

She returns the feather to its place and raises upturned palms

She worships not the plumage, nor bright and silver coin

They are but signs that represent calmness in the storm –

A gentle guidance that has never, ever failed her

And she is attuned once more

connected to the Creator’s love and power

Born again once more in every atom of…

The blurb

We begin with a body. Andrew Crowther, a wealthy retired manufacturer, is found dead in his seat on the 12.30 flight from Croydon to Paris. Rather less orthodox is the ensuing flashback in which we live with the killer at every stage, from the first thoughts of murder to the strains and stresses of living with its execution. Seen from the criminal’s perspective, a mild-mannered Inspector by the name of French is simply another character who needs to be dealt with.

This is an unconventional yet gripping story of intrigue, betrayal, obsession, justification and self-delusion. And will the killer get away with it?

The author

Freeman Wills Crofts (1879-1957) was one of the pre-eminent writers in the golden age of British crime fiction. He was the author of more than thirty detective novels, and was greatly acclaimed by peers such as Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler.

The publisher

I have recently read a book by John C. Maxwell: The 21 indispensable qualities of a leader. Although it is an old book, the principles in it still apply to the current situation and I believe it will still be relevant for the next 50 years.

Those 21 qualities listed in the book are equally important to everyone. You don’t need to be at a certain level to start developing them. Everything can be learnt, don’t ever say ” I was born this way” or ” I have always done things this way”. Everything you know today you have learnt it over the years.

21 qualities to develop

Character (1), Charisma (2) and Commitment (3). Commitment is what separate dreamers from doers. Learn to be committed to what you believe is important to you. Commit to your dreams, your goals, your family, your partner, your children, you name it…

I haven’t read so much this month, I found more books to read and my reading has been slower. I’ve been behind on reviews also. I seem to be reading books  but not getting around to reviewing them, I might catch up one day.

Books I finished

The Little Shop of Happily Ever After by Jenny Colgan (library book review to come)

A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G.Drews (previous review)

Orgo Runners: The First Run by R.J. Furness (Free ebook from Amazon, reviewed on GoodReads)

Heidi by Johanna Spyri (review to come) 

Treading the Uneven Road by L.M.Brown (review copy from author)

Books I’m still reading

Paint Me A Picture by Patsy Collins (library book enjoying it, great character, almost finished and then review to come)

The Ice House by Tim Clare (ARC from Netgalley, wow good fantasy world)

Indieathon is back! This time it’s being organised by Ninja Book Box, who have a Youtube video about it here, and takes place over a week (8th-15th March) rather than a month. (Last time round I only found out about it halfway through March, so this is less of an adjustment than one might think.)

Anyway, I’m planning to join in, in a somewhat desultory way – by which I mean that I’ll be reading a little bit more than usual for a not-writing fortnight, and what I read will come from independent publishers and self-publishers, and will appear in due course as an #indiechallenge review.

The picture might look like one of those carefully curated TBR piles, but it’s really just a collection of books that I’ve been meaning to get around to reading that happened to be in an accessible place on the bookshelves. I…