Just want to say London on your own is totally doable. Lots to do. Many great places are free. Go for it even if you can't find a companion!

:lol: Yes, I enjoyed it. That is actually quite a compliment because the second book had several fae characters and they were a huge part of the storyline. Since I suspect I abandon more books with fae characters than I actually read liking a book with fae is not guaranteed. This was more of a continuation than a stand alone. Since you did read the first you might like it. The third comes out in January.

I finished the second Invisible Library book, The Masked Cityhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25761086-the-masked-city. I am eagerly awaiting third. I gave up finishing my remaining knitting project before Christmas. Somehow that decision led to reading for most of the day. I also finished a Marie Force Fatal book. Great fluff. :)

When it's really bad I drink tea. Something about the warmth helps and I actually calm down enough to go back to sleep for a bit. A heating pad is my other trick. I actually have yours but ended up switching back to the old fashioned small one because I can throw it out of bed if I get too hot. For me I freezing one minute and too warm the next. Also the full body one does tend to get a person crowded out of bed! My small version just gets stolen.....

The huge variety of books that I can have at the press of a finger amazes me. Stacia and Kathy?.....a copy of Gnarr just arrived as a Christmas gift for dc's friend who has a huge fascination with all things Iceland. I started reading it and dh took it away because he has another possibly less perfect copy coming. Used books and availability are pretty amazing these days too, I believe there were 2 used copies for 1p each. We ordered both, the one that just arrived is new. I've bought new books that were less perfect. Go figure......

Amy, I control looking at the main board by keeping the "items I have participated in" selected on the left hand side. That way I can refresh with the view new content if I need to and just look at threads I have already participated in. Each Sunday I try to post early on the new BaW thread using Robin's link to find the new thread. I only look at the main board when I feel like it.

Makes sense to me. I'm willing to try. :) It might fit in well with some of my plans for next year's books. Lots of different ideas on ways to accomplish each month's goals which is ideal for our group! I really want to get back to reading more history which I used to really enjoy. Thinking about either Cornwell's Last Kingdom series and/or Rutherford starting with Sarum. I have never read either author so very preliminary. ;) I also have some interesting looking Greek and Egyptian mysteries on a list somewhere which might fit in with your idea nicely.

Thank you Robin!!!!

I have had this series on my tbr list for years. Definitely part of the 2017 plan! :) I read an interesting cozy today by a new to me author with more than one series. The Question of the Unfamiliar Husband https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25466053-the-question-of-the-unfamiliar-husband is the second book in the series (oops !) but it was fine to start there. The main characters are pretty self explanatory. The sleuth is a man with aspergers who has opened a business which answers questions. His mother an assistant help him. It wasn't the best mystery to be honest but I really enjoyed it. I liked the characters, easy reading that I had problems putting down. I also have the first book (hopefully) checked out in a different series by this author.

She might enjoy one of the variations of the dna extraction experiment. Here is one on youtube https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vPGKv53zSRQ. There are lots of instructions out there. I think we used Kiwi, it was a long time ago but it worked at home well. I am saying that because a friend paid quite a bit for her child to spend a day doing this in a lab environment.

Great links Robin. I am looking forward to looking at them. I am currently listening to City of Mirrors by Cronin. The last of the trilogy and long, 30 hours of listening. I am almost done with The Cat who turned On and Off. It's good!

Stopping by to check in with you guys. I played with Stacia's book shelf too.....Complication was the one that ended up on a hold list. I feel pretty honoured that Stacia decided to keep reading that one. :lol: I await the review. Fun poetry!!!! I have been busy playing with a new to me quilt technique that I incorporated into a small wall hanging for Christmas. Almost finished. While stitching I finally finished listening to The Secret Place https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21859254-the-secret-place by Tana French. I normally love her books but this was my third go at this one after trying to read it twice. I liked the narration so it wasn't that. I think it's the fact that this book was average and I have given most of her books 5 stars. It simply wasn't as good as the others. The Trespasser (book 6) has been released and I am waiting for it. I ended up putting a hold on it for both the audio book and the print form.

:grouphug: I'm sorry for your loss.

This is one of the books I have on hold in my Overdrive. I am 4th in line so am looking forward to hearing what you think. I am still making rice. ;) I haven't had time to experiment and it seems to be easier just to make the quick meals that I know how to make right now. I also have a Emeril instant pot cookbook on hold. Closer to the top with that one. I finished Discount Armageddon https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11402002-discount-armageddon by the same author as the Rosemary and Rue series. It took a while to get into the world that the author created but I am now waiting for the next one to arrive off holds.

You may be able to get travel insurance for 360 days, it does exist. But it will depend greatly on you son's nationality and where he is traveling to

Kathy and Mom ninja.......All I can think of when I read these white glove posts is .... Do you know how hard it is to buy a good pair of white gloves these days? They are nearly impossible unless you have a covenant size. Theis is being said because hand bells requires white gloves. Amazon saved us but they aren't really right. Be glad they are gone. They seem to arrive home dirty and seem to take mor than being tossed in the laundry to come clean. An odd note my mom had a huge drawer of gloves. Lovely things but tiny. Dd is her size clothing and shoe wise....has a couple of antique dresses out of grandma's closet but dd's hands are so much bigger. I have always been too tall!

I suspect you knew the result when you posted this.... More books on my to be read list! ;) No room on hold lists. Some good Steampunk ideas for those who are curious.

Ros, Happy Birthday!!!!!!

I know Kafka on the Shore is a Blech book in one scene which really upset some when we did it as a group read but I don't know about Norwegian Wood. Anyone read it already? Fastweedpuller, I know several here have already read Wind Up Bird because it was our January Murakami read a couple of years ago. Last year a small group of us read Sputnik Sweetheart https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5766426-sputnik-sweetheart together while others read ones that they had missed. It worked fine. Truly everyone should pick what they want to read. I'll be honest here and say I am just really happy so many of you are willing to read a Murakami in January. It's become a bit of a BaW tradition.

Norwegian Wood is the Murakami I was thinking of as I typed my post. ;) Obviously I 'm happy with that one but my overdrive now has a pretty good collection so willing and hopefully easily able to read whatever you folks pick. If people want to read different books by Murakami thats fine too.

The first grocery store visit in a new country was a huge shock. Especially since I needed to get food to feed my family. For me it was not just brands but organized oddly. For instance all sugar is in an aisle near the tea never by flour etc. Eggs can be anywhere. Meat cuts have different names. I've gotten so totally used to it that I wander quite hopelessly when I go home now. The brands/packaging have changed over the years and I missed the adjustment period! ;( Now I want to go to a grocery store in Belgium. I have been in France many times but don't think I have been beyond an Aldi or a small Carrefour in either Belgium or Holland.

In terms of cookbooks, we own a stack but they are mainly boxed and stored. For immediate needs I google and print after if it was good. I also have a messy stack of all my favorites that I copied to move to the UK. I also spent ages going through my collection of cooking magazines and clipping my favorites, taping them by category to paper, and copying my pages before the move. My copies, my mom's Friendship Club Cookbook, and Little Rock Cook's are all I keep accessible. https://www.jllr.org/junior-league-of-little-rock-cookbooks/little-rock-cooks/ I love looking at cookbooks but I tend to do that via Overdrive now.

That would be lovely! I wish it could happen... I finished Holy Terror in the Hebrides by Jeanne Dams. This cozy series is a good one! :) Amy, you may want to read this one as research....

Snort! I hate to even consider what they are thinking. Things at the village church have turned unfortunate. Our young vicar has resigned. The committee governing it have turned into a scene from a bad British mystery.....fyi, dh resigned last year so our rights are non-existent. The bell tower is probably closing. Moving to a new one which is fine...I had lunch with a large group of church ladies last week, I smiled and nattered like a pro......lunch was because of another group we all belong to and we got seated together. Obviously the gossip isn't quite out yet....we didn't go today. The thought was overwhelming and there was a Christmas Market in York.

I have also finished the Bingo card...... B Female author...Gail Carriger, Manners and Mutiny Historical.....Judith Cutler, The Keeper of Secrets (109th Cent. England) Pick by cover....Katie MacAlister, Steamed Translated......Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart Epic.....Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett I Published 2016....CS Harris, When Falcons Fall Revisit an old friend.....Linda Lael Miller, Forever and the Night Over 500 pages.....Justin Cronin, The Passage Banned.....John Green, Looking for Alaska Nautical....Patrick O'Brian, Master and Commander N Number....Katherine Neville, The Eight Fairy Tale adaptation...Kristine Grayson, Utterly Charming Free Space....Elizabeth Duncan, The Cold Morning Light Mystery....Robert Barnard, The Mistress of Alderly 18th Century....Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto G Dusty.....90 minutes in Heaven, Dan Piper Birth year......The Clocks, Agatha Christie Classic.....The Children of Green Knowe, L.M. Boston Color.....Silver Borne, Patricia Briggs Arthurian....Sword of the Rightful King, Jane Yolan O Picked by Friend....A Load of Old Bones, Suzette Hill Play....Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Rowling Non Fiction....The Patchwork of Lucy Boston Nobel Prize-winning author..... Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse Set in another country....The Arcof the Swallow, Gazen (Denmark) Before I forget, I plan to rean a Murakami in January because of tradition. No preference. Anyone want to join me?