The Black Dudley Mystery is one of the books I gave up on while reading on my Kindle. It had a slow start and the main character (series wise) wasn't appearing. Now I know why! :lol: Overdrive has already returned it but I might try again later, curious to hear about the rest of the series. I have a bit of an "issue" ;) and rarely read a book series out of order. It feels really wrong to me so it is an achievement when I read out of order and actually like the book! Thank you for your review of the Feathering series. It is a really rare that a series can continue into the double digits and not get a bit disappointing. I always keep reading because I want to find out about the continuing characters not because the mystery will be good! Speaking of Mrs. Pargeter, that is another series on my list to try. I haven't found the first one yet ;) so am waiting. I suspect it will appear on my overdrive library eventually. I am currently trying a new series that is considered British cozy and actually is. The Rev. Francis Oughterand series takes place in a small village called Molehill (cute name) in Surrey during the mid 1950's. http://www.detecs.org/oughterard.html. They remind me of Carole Nelson Douglas Midnight Louie books where the narration shifts between animal and human. https://www.goodreads.com/series/41120-midnight-louie (I have read many of these, set in Vegas). When the new single Vicar arrives he finds himself to be very popular with many women. There is another really odd thing about this series which is mentioned in all the book descriptions so not really a spoiler. Stop here if you don't want to know! The main character, the Vicar, is the murderer. I didn't read the blurbs very well so it came as a shock! Odd series but quite entertaining.

I finished The Arc of the Swallows https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22838832-the-arc-of-the-swallowa Danish Crime novel (BINGO). It is the second book in a series that started with The Dinosaur Feather which I know at least one other BaWer read a couple of years ago. I enjoyed much about this book but it centers hugely around vaccines for the third world and the murder of a scientist who was investigating the actual level of success of vaccines. The book is fictional and so is the study but I have a real life friend who would find this book extremely upsetting topic wise so giving a trigger warning. I know several here are reading Scandinavian mystery series right now and this is a good one. It has a certain starkness and practical viewpoint that is different but appealing.... I needed something light to read during the night while trying to go back to sleep and picked Stephanie Evanovich's Big Girl Panties which I thought was a reprint of one of her romance novels from her Loveswept romance days. She actually wrote it in 2014. It was light reading and had a nice underlying message of self acceptance. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18090061-big-girl-panties.

When we were first married I always read a chunky book on the way to England and bought Austen and Bronte to read while here. Carrying books didn't fit the mood. Today I rode along with dh while he did a long list of errands. Read my Kindle while he was occupied and abandoned 3 books. One thought crossed my mind as I started number four......I never ever would have brought 4 books with me, so grateful for my Kindle! And the fourth book was Sputnick Sweetheart and I did find it a relief. I enjoyed the character from page one. It seems to be a keeper but I like Murimami weird scenes and all.

Tommy and Tuppence are some of my favourite Agatha Christie main characters. Dd and I enjoy the Laurie King books also. We have been reading them a bit slowly, partly to savour them and partly so she gets her school work done. ;) I download onto a shared account. These are on cozy lists also although I am not sure they belong. I am making my own!

Martha Grimes made it onto British Cozy lists too. I am in line for her first. I was 99% sure they didn't meet my definition of cozy but since they are overdrive available went ahead and reserved it. I think I will find I have read her books in the past too. The George book was an odd read for me. Because I thought it was a cozy when I started it I read it as one. Totally enjoyed descriptions of scenery and a funny little girl with a fat pet duck. I will be honest and say yesterday I thought it was a great cozy. :lol: I didn't really catch on to where the book was going as it got grimmer. Part of me must have known but I was certainly not prepared for the conclusion.

Pretty much my idea of cozy too. I will admit that I think British ones are sometimes a bit less cozy and slightly more descriptive but generally s*x behind closed doors and no huge descriptions. The motive behind the crime may bit more gritty but no real details...if that makes sense. I think The Body on the Beach probably fits the modern British cozy pretty well but it is hard to compare to something like a Joanne Fluke baking mystery. I hope you read the Body on the Beach because I am curious what you think of it. I heard the whole Austen thing a couple of times back when dd was devouring her books at age 11/12. One of the women who lectured me apparently allowed Twilight. To be fair she probably had no idea what Twilight was and her dd was reading one with a pretty bland cover when I spotted it. But still, it was a movie at that point. I did preread a lot for dd at her request around that age. Some books were set aside until she got a bit older because she wanted them set aside.

A few weeks ago I started researching Cozy Mysteries based in the UK with the intention of sorting ones based in villages out from the pile as I read the first books in the new to me series.....I have looked at lots of blogs for ideas. A few author's were thrown out immediately (Val McDermid who I love) because I know what they write can't be classed as cozy as they are crime/suspense with seriously long descriptions of violent crimes. Elizabeth George came up on several people's list as cozy. Now that I have read The Great Deliverance https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10482749-a-great-deliveranceI have no idea how. It was a good book but a horrifying crime with pages of description. Maybe not quite as detailed as a Val McDermid but not Christie either. Part of my personal cozy description is a book I could hand dd17 as a youngish teen and know nothing super troubling would be encountered or if the crime was new to her knowledge wise at least the descriptions would not be detailed. No eye burning. That being said I liked Inspector Lynley a lot. He has a bit Wimsey feel to him. I also know that I have read some of this series in the past, it was the cozy classification that confused me. The crime took place in North Yorkshire somewhere around Ripon I think. It was a good book and I will read more of this series, in order ;) , soon.

:grouphug: praying

Just because I suspect you may have missed my review of Dying in the Wool by Frances Brodyhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6940151-dying-in-the-wool?ref=ru_lihp_up_rs_0_mclk-up2820805803so I feel the need to mention it. It was a WWI cozy set in Yorkshire, I really enjoyed it. So far my research ;) has been going well. :lol:

VC, you really need a Kindle! I think you would love it for your travels.

A new thread has started for week 2.http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/582628-book-a-week-2016-w2-sahitya-akademi-indias-national-academy-of-letters/ You can carry discussions over to week two via multiqoute.

I finished another cozy mystery in my quest to find more good authors of the British Village cozy mystery genre. The Body on the Beach by Simon Brett is the first of his Fethering Mysteries, which truly fit the modern day village concept. Many small villages have had an influx of estates (for Americans think really giant subdivisions) being added on over the years. For my village, the 70's had huge growth with hundreds of homes and families being added to the fabric of the village making us technically a town that has kept it's village traditions, including saying we are a village. Fethering is a south coast village that has experienced similar growth although quite sure the village is mythical. This first book in the series did a great job of explaining village life for outsiders (by that anyone not coming from a village background). Villages have their own traditions which are definitely not nation wide. I just came home from the Plough Service at church...one of roughly 200 still being celebrated in this country this time of year. Yes, an old plough went down the center aisle of the church carried by four farmer's. So I know a few of you would enjoy it just for those observations. It is a good competent cozy. One where the characters are developed for the start of a 17 book series. My mystery loving librarian friend loves this series and recommended as a must. Relatively gentle with no really gruesome scenes or extreme violence although there was a dead body on the beach with a couple less than stellar characters.

:grouphug: Melissa, I am so glad you checked in because I had noticed that you hadn't posted. My library Overdrive has quite a few audiobooks so have your dd look there also.

We loved Abeka math especially for the lower grades. My dd loved the colours...it made a difference to her.

In reading Creekland's original post I realized my plans center around books and quilting for any free time in the future year. Sedentary so concerning but not sure how much worse than sitting and playing games. I guess it's fortunate that I am by nature a person who likes organized groups, dh and I belong to all that are of any interest. One idea for those of us that are in the process of becoming empty nesters....My best home ed friend and I have just instituted our coffe/tea morning each week. We are flexible, each morning starting on Monday we meet for an hour or move our date to the next day. This will ensure we continue to see each other regularly into the future plus it's fun.

I am glad it's not just me. I read several Jean Plaidy historical novels when younger and liked them now I hunt for something else when I see she has written one for my desired time period.

No one should ever feel intimidated on BaW. We talk about everything here....last spring we discussed rhubarb once, intensely. :lol: We definitely are a group with really varied interests and the threads are a fun read. The more the merrier!!!! I just looked up 2015's New Year's thread http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/537918-book-a-week-in-2015-happy-new-year/page-18 It is 18 pages long. We were still at 7 or 8 in February I believe. So this one is short. For the new people we normally settle down to about 3 pages a week. I generally check in over a cup of tea each morning because I like to see what everyone was up to while I was asleep. That is a great article! Eliana seems to be able to read quickly with amazing retention through most things. Personally I read some types of literature far quicker than others. I noticed one suggestion for faster reading was an e reader. When I get completely bogged down in a paper book I switch to a kindle version if I still want to read the book.

We are not doing the regular SAT but both dc have done the ACT and SAT Subjects for Math with really good results. We did prep and used primarily Barron's. It really helped identify what areas needed a bit of polish to get a great result. They found the exams harder than actual, which meant that after they developed their ability to finish at home it was easy to finish the actual exam in time. They haven't taken an exam without prep but the difference between the pre and post tests for D's is generally huge. Dd doesn't need as much prep. The result is normally close to or better than practice exams.

Rosie, Happy Birthday!!!!!

Late last night I finished reading Dying In the Wool by Frances Brody (Kate Shackleton #1). https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6940151-dying-in-the-woolIt was a great post WWI cozy mystery. Good (and pretty accurate) setting and a fairly pretty good whodunit. The murderer was certainly on my radar but I was positive until the end. Better yet the wrap up all made sense with plenty of clues along the way. I hate cozies where 3 pages from the end the reader learns that Mr. X mentioned once on page 79 did it. Because it is a post WWI setting it was melancholy but it has to be. As dd puts it ... being a young woman in England was sad at that time, your boyfriend/husband dead, your brothers dead, your male friends and relatives dead. No real hope of a normal future. Our village war memorial is horrifying to look at for the size of the village at that time, truly a generation gone. The main character's husband, a surgeon, was declared missing four years before and her family desperately want her to move on with her life. Because she has had some success solving war related missing persons cases a friend from her nursing days approaches her to find her father who has been missing for several years, who she believes is alive. The friend is marrying a much younger man in a few weeks and dreams of her dad walking her down the aisle. This sets the stage for a mystery set in a Yorkshire mill town. I will definitely be reading more of this series. I am giving 5 stars on Goodreads partly because it is the best of this particular genre I have read and partly so I remember to request the rest in a few months.

Actually that is just the assembled top. I still need to quilt it. My aim is to be done in August and ready for a local quilt show. Dh posted it and when I tried to edit to fix the explanation the picture wasn't there so I left it alone. No coding for picture just the one sentence is all that showed in the exit area. I was afraid I would lose the picture and figured a short explanation would do. Have you watched any of the Man in High Castle TV series? Dh watched it and I have seen parts so am wondering how closely it follows the book. Drugs explains some of it...... I hope Jenn and Robin are safe in their unexpected torrential rain.

Sending prayers....

Here is my quilt!!

The HSDLA describes home ed precarious when removing a child from school in Spain. I suspect that as an expat intending on University in the US you would be in a better situation than many. http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Spain/default.asp Several years ago I met someone (British) moving to Spain and planning on home ed. She never mentioned any potential legal issues with home ed in Spain and seemed to be relatively well researched. I know something didn't go as expected but I think the problems were more the parents part (maybe a divorce?). I have heard they are back in UK with the kids in school.

I remember teachers offering to waive the final exam if we signed up for the AP exam. It didn't matter how well we did- the AP exam experience was our final. I have been wondering if that situation is generating the large number of 1's in the examinations. Kid's paying to take the exam and get out of school a day earlier senior year. Fwiw both of mine will end up doing both parts. Dd because they were not offering the BC last year, she was ready. We have a request in for her to take the BC portion this year. For DS the experience with the easier exam is needed, he is a more nervous test taker. He could probably be ready for the harder exam but we do have the extra year available so will use it.