Happy Birthday to him!!! I loved WH as a teen and reread it several times in my 20's. I was a bit surprised when I did a reread in my 40's.....that book definitely changed as I aged. I have been happily reading The Magpie Murders and it sent me off on a rabbit trail of Agatha Christie publishing information which I thought others might enjoy. AC's grandson is a character in the book and it is mentioned that she gave him The Mousetrap for his 9th birthday......she did. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20768657. Another interesting article is this one http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/the-big-question-how-big-is-the-agatha-christie-industry-and-what-explains-her-enduring-appeal-1631296.html

Just some quick comments: Many washing machines in the UK are combi's which means they both wash and dry the laundry which takes a long time. I only tried it once in our first flat than just bought clothes racks to dry on! Drove me nuts but my current neighbour loves hers.http://www.lg.com/uk/washer-dryers Many houses where we are have a spot for either a washing machine or a dishwasher. We had to remove a kitchen cabinet so I could have both in my 1970's build. I have found I like it in the kitchen. It's convenient. Wonderful in terms of multi tasking. Easy to switch loads around while accomplishing something else. People don't store their laundry in the kitchen. Most days I do a load of laundry so it doesn't sit around in my house. I do have a dryer but normally don't use it. I love hanging my clothes out to dry. The dryer is in a bathroom which is right outside the kitchen because one cabinet was all I was willing to sacrifice. Going to be honest and say I miss the big utility sink I had in a basement in NA that went with my washing machine. That I would love to have again someplace in my home. ;) But I would very likely actually choose to put a washer and dryer in the kitchen in future homes.

Great blog! I agree! When rereads something that I loved many years ago, especially before age 30 or so I am frequently amazed by how differently I look at it. I also agreed when I read about how she felt like she was scattered all over the world. I really get that! I finished listening to A Brutal Telling by Louise Penny. Wonderful!!! Because W and P isn't available I just rolled into listening to Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny and am so glad I did because it feels like part two of A Brutal Telling. I am mainly reading the Magpie Murders https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32075854-magpie-murders. It's going to be a favourite I suspect. Many here might really like it.

Great news!

Yes, I tend to read my more serious books in the morning. I am reading my scheduled portion of Sarum each morning because it has a waitlist behind me. In 19 days I must be done and it's 21,000+ Kindle units. I have no idea what they are called but I do know its equivalent to 4 relatively long books on my Kindle! I also find I feel the urge to fall asleep when reading in the late afternoon. That's when I do audio always. I still manage my series books at night but have been watching television lately and quilting. I am literally on the last few stitches for the quilt top so the binding is it. I will have my entry and the friend who is organizing the show will be happy and I will be relieved. Seriously next spring my friends here need to make me finish something early! Matryoshka, The Essex Serpent is a book I gave 4 stars to but remember feeling a bit conflicted because I liked the descriptions but thought the story was a bit slow. The church was fascinating. Real life people really liked it that I met while getting the book from an odd branch library etc so I rounded up but could easily have don a three on Goodreads.

We did the old exam so no advice in terms of what I am planning to do and last year was my last AP year. What I would do is look at the College board website very closely. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-computer-science-principles/course?course=ap-computer-science-principles. As you look at it study the course syllabus examples very closely. There could be one that you would feel comfortable adopting and using to make your course official. Since it's the first year being part of the mentoring group for teachers might be particularly helpful. I never taught an official course we just did the exams but many here do have their syllabus approved. My understanding is the sample syllabus will automatically receive approval. From my very brief look there appears to be review material being prepared by College Board. That's what I would concentrate on and compare to anything else you find. A review book at the end of the year might be helpful too.

I have found War and Peace much much better as an audio book because it made me sleepy too! Listening to it is quite entertaining because it is honestly a bit like a long running soap opera. I think you will enjoy it as car entertainment. I ended up going way ahead because I knew I was going to be without the audio version for a few weeks so I haven't been commenting because I really don't know where everyone else is. I found myself reading your review and wondering if my dd (a fellow banana hater) would even be willing to read that book. I honestly doubt it so bonus points from me! ;) Summerhills is the second in a series but I think it could easily be enjoyed on its own. I think there is more carryover in characters than the other ones in a series by DE Stevenson that I have read but it's post war and everyone grew up so very different people. I was able to read Amberwell (the first one) on my Kindle thanks to Prime. I just discovered there is a third in the series .......

Great news!

Ethel, I hope all goes smoothly with your house purchase! Yesterday I couldn't face my quilt so I read! I finished several of my in progress books and feel pretty pleased with things today. I always feel tremendous pressure when I have too many things going at once. I may play hooky from quilting again today and go shopping in York with my family, the only problem is rain (with lighting) is in the forecast so not sure how wet we are willing to be! I finished The Last Templar which I plan to use for my middle ages Bingo square. It wasn't great but it is the first in a really successful series. Eventually I plan to give the next one a try because for lack of a better description the series shows promise....... The Ritual Bath was a reread that I enjoyed enough to carry on with the series for now. I am relieved to say I think my Agatha Christie loving friend will be able to handle the crime descriptions. I am not saying that if you like AC you will find this book comfortable, my friend was looking for books set in Jewish Communities and this was the only series I could think of that she might enjoy. Any other ideas? I also very carefully finished my fragile copy of Springwell which the library carefully pieced back together on several occasions. It was a typical DE Stevenson in terms of stars......I gave it 5! :lol: I always feel happy at the end of her books. Which is actually a wonderful recommendation I think.

I have been looking at the gemstones and I think I am going to spell Peridot but might switch to Spinel. No x for me this month! ;) I don't think either can found in a book title I have access to so tentatively plan to try a book set in Norway because Peridot is mined there apparently.

Praying :grouphug:

I currently have one book set in Scotland in progress, Summerhills by DE Stevenson https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6388333-summerhills. It is great so far but the copy I was fortunate to get via my library is quite fragile so I need to read carefully! I still have many books in progress.....too many. My plan is to finish The Last Templar very soon. It's the first in a series set in the middle ages in Devon (mainly) and it has a nice feel to it. I also need to finish The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman which is a reread from many years ago. I recently recommended it to a friend who I later discovered is a very gentle reader in terms of mystery books and am wondering exactly what I suggested, hence the reread. I think I will skip the Dunnett for this month at least. I had planned to read them but Sarum just came in on my Overdrive. I suspect that and the remainder of War and Peace is all I can handle in terms of chunky.

I'm another Tower vote. I am always glad we went even though it's a bit separate from most of the popular attractions. Hampton Court is wonderful. Slightly outside London but an easy underground ride. Our favourite walk in London is tube to Green Park. Go across the park to Buckingham Palace, down the mall to the horse guards, head by number 10 to Westminster. The river boat tours start there frequently. This can take as long as you want. We frequently do it as part of an afternoon in London and take the tube from Westminster to the Tower or Greenwich. Remember for your Coventry trip that Private Hire cars might be an easy option for transportation to your village from the train station. You negotiate the price up front. That might cut down on the travel time to Oxford also......not the car to Oxford but the car to the best train station for the journey. I haven't looked at any maps so just a basic suggestion. The British Museum is close to the British Library. When my dc's were littles they were amazed that they managed to see a Guttenberg Bible and the Rosetta Stone within a half hour. The Library is worth the stop imo.

I loved Son of Charlemagne. One of the best read alouds we did and its proven useful because we actually refer back to it on occasion still. I think it's because it was a common experience in our family. I finished Julia Quinn audio book and am very grateful I figured out how to increase the speed the book is being read at! Now listening to Louise Penny. I am quilting very productively with 6 more hexagons to finish. I keep thinking of Jenn. I hope she is having a wonderful quilting holiday.....I feel like I'm at work to be honest.

I was thinking the same thing! I hope you have a great vacation! I managed to finish a couple of books in the car today. Dh put lots of effort into planning an interesting walk for the family but tonight's rain started a bit early, 4 hours early. The good news is my foot and ankle seem to have survived walking fast over really uneven ground for 2 miles in a very gusty wet start to a rainy evening. Midnight Curse by Melissa F. Olson https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31352753-midnight-curse was very good. I have been reading these for free thanks to Prime. This is the first book in the second series featuring Scarlett Bernard who is a null......supernatural beings lose their power when she is near. I also read the Withdrawing Room by Charlotte MacLeod https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18912302-the-withdrawing-room. It's part of a great cozy series which is a new find for me although it was originally published in 1980. Hopefully I can finish a few more of my books in progress this weekend. My stack is filled with things I really am looking forward to and I keep reading just a couple of pages which turns into chapters. Eek, at least I seem to be picking different types and settings.

Kareni :grouphug:

Starbucks sells mugs with city or country names on them. My Bf collects them so we buy them whenever we spot a new one.

Most recently published.....Down Among the Sticks and Bones has a published date of June 13, 2017. I am embarrassed to say 25 books on my read shelf have been published in 2017. Mainly books by authors I enjoy and follow.

I have far too many books in progress to actually finish anything! ;) A couple are moving into must finish due to due dates.....The Last Templar and Midnight Curse(Scarlett Bernard new to me series). My War and Peace audiobook was taken away by Overdrive yesterday. I am actually looking forward to a break as I was getting a bit irritated with many of the characters due to far too much time in their company I believe. I did manage to get through VC's beehive .....truly wonderful. I was becoming afraid I had missed it. I have a Flufferton Abbey by Julia Quinn to entertain me for a few days on audio. So will return to quilting hopefully with a new attitude. I am in panic mode projectwise. I was looking through upcoming releases on Overdrive and ran into this https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34020019-the-salt-line?ac=1&from_search=true. Dystopian but with ticks. I actually think it looks interesting but am afraid I could never leave my home if I read it. Creepy Crawling Creatures, nightmares. Anybody want to go first!?????? Amy, Hope you have a great holiday! :)

In your situation I would look at the size of the rooms you actually care about, use the rooms as your criteria. Years ago I remember the garage being figured into a house in the US that we looked at because it was "finished":lol: We are currently looking for a new house rather casually in the UK.....as in during the next 3 years or so. We have found that online the size of the bedrooms is what we really care about. We want 3 generous bedrooms. Multiple sitting rooms are commonly listed here so we are looking at the bedroom / sitting room combo as we (I) want a quilting room for myself as part of this move. We also want at least 2 toilets which I need to specify that way. That criteria seems to be working well with real estate offices because we have only been shown one house that was truly unsuitable for my wishes but I get why we were shown it. One house would give dd a really long skinny bedroom but that house is actually our favourite thus far so you never know. ;)

I have read this series on and off for years, probably skipping half the books. I think she got married in the last one I read so you accidentally found my spot in the series. :lol: I like to bake too and have tried a couple of her recipes without great success. No keepers. No Cool Whip here so I definitely did not try any with that!

Well your list of new finds certainly doesn't disappoint! I was able to find Defy the Stars as an audio book on overdrive so will eventually try it in that format. I loved the first two books in Christopher Paolini's series and never managed to finish it. I bought the books but there was such a scramble for them with the dc's I sort of gave up and never read them. They are sitting on dd's bookshelves with The Belgariad series which was also on this year's list. ;) I did LotR as a read aloud. The dc's took turns singing the songs which made them fun. I skip them when reading to myself. I have been on a waitlist for Sanderson since the beginning of the year. I think I am down to 10......waiting for the audio version I think. I remember being very disappointed with Before They Fall, too much of a formula. I really can't seem to remember much of it and your post made me realize I don't know how it ended. :lol: Irritating, but I think my sappy ending conclusion is probably right?

So Sci Fi, not a huge favourite so I haven't read much. I really enjoyed A Close and Common Orbit recently but didn't care overly for the sequel. I also really enjoyed Station Eleven and Cronin's Passage Trilogy. I loved Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and HP. Jane, What fun. I'm feeling a bit jealous too.

I have read two books by Pratchett and found both simply OK. Honestly probably would have quit both if they hadn't been connected to a BaW challenge. Dd, who adores Pratchett, assures me I just made poor choices. I have had American Gods in the stack but never actually made it beyond a few pages. I actually liked the few minutes of the tv series I watched....dh hated it. :lol: I may try again because of the tv show. I certainly don't say that often! :) ;) Can't remember if I already posted about how much I am looking forward to The Rise and Fall of DODO by Stephenson https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/15/the-rise-and-fall-of-dodo-review. I have never managed to read one of his either. I hope I'm not disappointed. I'm waiting for my laundry to finish so I can hang it up and have been catching up on my blogs while I wait. Thought someone here might find this as sweet as I do. This woman crochets little hearts and leaves them for strangers to find to brighten people's day, rather like some of us and reading material! Click the link within this link to see her bathtub of hearts project https://itsallinanutshell.com/2017/07/16/sharing-hearts/.

I am now looking forward to hearing about the books you come home with..... I finished The Family Vault https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/512989.The_Family_Vault and loved it. I have actually started the next in this series. As a bonus rubies played an important role in this book which means I get to count it as my birthstone book for July. :) I am almost done spelling Ruby but was having a hard time finding a book I wanted to read with ruby in the title that I wanted to read.