I needed distraction today and the dc's had weddings to ring for so I started my first Booker Prize long list book also because a pesky libray patron has put holds on them behind me! ;( This http://www.themanbookerprize.com/books/we-are-all-completely-beside-ourselves one, We Are Completely Beside Ourselves is the one I am tackling and not loving it at all. It is rather odd. Odd structure and just plain different. This book had a twist to it that I never expected and am now bored with. I am beyond the halfway mark so plan to continue. It is interesting so not a hard read at all but the only reason I honestly have for continuing is curosity. I guess that is the reason I read many books, the temptation to read the end and be done is huge but I suspect it won't answer all the questions and I will still be reading. I am having to be really careful here to not spoil this for others who may want to read it.

Duolingo, a free website has both Italian and German. Dd has been using Duolingo combined with the Practice Makes Perfect books to study Frenck and German. Things appear to be going well with both. We recently visited France and she was our official mouthpiece. She did great and received a few compliments regarding how good her French was.

Rosie, Feel better soon! :grouphug: As far as HotAW I still consider myself to be reading it although no progress for the past few weeks. I will return to it because I am farther then I was before and consider myself to past some of the boring bits ;) so no intention of quiting now. I simply need a fluffy book break for awhile because that is what I appear to be capable of concentrating on. Finished The Accidental Vampire last night by Lynsay Sands. Overall enjoyed it. The main character was somehow turned into a vampire during a car accident in Mexico. Her best friend realized what had happened and helped her change. Using the movie Dracula ( the book was checked out of the library ;) ) they organized her life with the help of the rest of her small town.

I used the microwave method for many years but to be really honest I think it is better if you pour the water into a fresh not heated mug and make your tea. That is what my mom does. Something about heated pottery. When we get done with this discussion we can move onto if the milk goes in before or after the tea! ;) In my world you need to ask when you are serving locals and everyone cares. Serving tea is work!

My best friend has been reading and really enjoying this series this week also. Now that you like them also I feel like I should be joining in or I am missing something! ;) The next Julia Quinn arrived at my library yesterday so will start reading it later today. :)

:grouphug: and prayers to both Julia and Onceuponatime and their families. These decisions are such a shock even though logic said it was most likely coming soon, my mom is in her 90's but was still living a really active life. Dh and I went through it with his parents and my dad. Living so very far away makes it so much worse.

Praying :grouphug:

Robin, Another vote for the electric kettle. It took me awhile to clue in to how great they are -- I was given one by the electric company here when we switched our plan and didn't try it for months. I use it several times a day and frequently not for tea but general cooking. Quick access to boiling water speeds meal preparation hugely. :)

Just finished The Collector by Nora Roberts and really liked it. Good pacing and it was good enough that I was reading in in time allotted for paper books. Now reading Lynsay Sands book The Accidental Vampire. Funny!

Did you look at Cambridge Latin? They start it here in year 8 at private schools. Not sure if they finished the red book in a year or not but can easily ask. Anyway not a bad program and cheap used copies if you want to try it.

I thought of one more series that dd and I have been enjoying, Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily series is set in a late Victorian timeframe. Starts with And Only to Deceive.

I am not sure if you are looking for a book set in the same time period as Downton or not. For the Downton Abbey timeframe the Maisie Dobbs series written by Jacqueline Winspear is good. It isn't completely light and fluffy though, I finished the next one in the series for me yesterday and they are always quite serious in regards to the human consequences of WWI. I always feel rather sad when finished with one, such destruction. Dd and I also enjoy Carola Dunn's Daisy Darlrymple series. These are very light, very series mystery. Lots of post WWI slething and house parties. Very much adult Nancy Drews. The Countess of Carnarvon has written two books about the real Donwnton Abbey. I have read and enjoyed both although the first was better imo. One last thought is a BaW favorite the Flavia books by Alan Bradley. Start with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I don't know that these exactly fit what you are hunting for but they are really good, with a very clever young sleth. Some of my favourite books.

I just want to thank everyone here for their positive thoughts and prayers today. My mom is being moved to a rehab facility tomorrow. Hopefully that will help her improve physically. :grouphug: to everyone going through medical issues with their elderly parents right now. I can't believe that so many of us are having serious situations at the same time. I hate the fact that time and expense makes it difficult to just pop in. At this moment the decision is to wait and see how things go from here. Probably more useful to go when she is able to go back to her own home.

I am a bit stressed out because my mom is currently hospitalized. Not sure if I am needed yet or not my brothers are there. It is a very long trip especially since everyone is traveling right now. I didn't sleep well so finished a few books this morning. Second Grave on the Left, the second in the Charley Davison series, by Darynda Jones. The first was better imo. I do plan to continue reading them. In the Woods by Tana French. The reviews were right, great crime novel with a lousy ending. Not sure if it needs to be read first. Things really change at the end so the second may be pretty stand alone. The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White. Another of my fluff series set in Charleston, once again I thought of Stacia. It was enjoyable.

I feel very boring next to all of you with my tea drinking choices. For flavoured teas I drink Twinnings, lemon, peppermint, and mango raspberry are my favorites. My favourite brand of caffeinated tea is Tetly but Yorkshire is good too. Still enjoying In the Woods. I went ahead and requested the second in the series. From that description and a few other things I accidentally read I don't think I am going to like the ending of this book. I guess there is only one way to find out without peeking so continuing to read.

Hope you have a great time Robin and James. Drinking hot tea in hot weather seems to be a very British thing, Shukriyya. We are having a heat wave and I keep be offered a cup of tea! I keep drinking it too, which makes things even worse. :lol: I have been busy rejecting more of my stack. I think I have finally settled on one that has been on my list for ages. In the Woods by Tana French. http://www.eurocrime.co.uk/reviews/In_the_Woods.html I think many here have read it.

Glad to have you back. Your ds is so cute and the kitty appears to be reading very seriously also! :) I read Mr. Penumbra recently and really enjoyed it. My ds is currently reading it and likes it. Both of us enjoying the same book is a bit amazing these days. He says he thinks the computer/google stuff is pretty accurate--he says he doesn't work for google. :lol: I asked him to read it so I would know if that part of the story line could actually happen.

The Blazing World looks interesting. I ended up requesting the first three on the liist because they were availiable and sounded like I might like them. I will have to work my way through the list. Someone on the website I ended up on after your link said they were impressed because they all looked good. That person was hoping to read all of them. Suspect my library will have them all because of a new book stocking service which seems to be to my liking. From what little I know of it something like Booker Prize long list should be automatic. Last year they were missing two, I think. FYI, I ended up with: To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

I had Frog Music in my stack a few weeks ago but had to return it. It looked interesting. Curious to hear how you like it.

I completed my reread challenge from a few weeks ago. I picked Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier partly because it fit in with my 5/5 and partly because I wanted to read it with dd. I have read it two other times. Once young, six years ago, and now. It is funny how different it seemed this time. The first two times it was an atmospheric gothic novel for me, more of a "Will the wife survive?" thriller to be honest. This time I found myself enjoying the other things the narrator was saying, much is said in the first few pages about their life after that I have never read seriously because of my race to get to the exciting parts. After reading that part thoughtfully many sentences that probably seemed a bit pointless before had meaning. I also finished The Late Scholar by Jill Paton Walsh. It is a Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane sequel. It was OK. It didn't have the feel of Sayers books, simple language.....I have read two of her other Wimsey/Vane sequels and liked them far better. The story isn't bad, characters beloved, it just wasn't what I wanted it to be.

I need to find out if we have saved searches. I have no idea what the holds limit is. I have two pages full on one card--I think that is roughly 40. Another question to ask. The last volunteer training session is today. We won't be starting for several weeks so hopefully we won't forget everything. I have to say I have learned quite a bit. My husband totally agrees, let it be the library cards I max out! I put a request in for this one. Tapestry is a weakness of mine. My family knows where to look in historic houses if I go missing! Happy Anniversary! Obviously I need to investigate these. ;) Once again haven't read a single one!

No progress on HotAW. Hopefully this week. Finished Evanovich's Takedown Twenty-one. I still enjoy the series. Total fluff but I find it funny. Currently reading Dissolution by CJ Sansom. It kept appearing on all sorts of lists so I decided I was meant to read it. Good mystery set in a monastery during Henry VIII reign, right after Jane Seymour died. It is good-- deserves the great ratings I have seen for it. I gave up on my dystopian read, Never Let Me Go. Just not liking it enough to continue.

I added that one to the request list. I also have put in requests for the rest Bevelstoke series. Many of the branches are converting to volunteer in the next month so curious to see how the requests I have in proceed. It is not as easy as a frequent library user would think to find something that is shelved slightly wrong. I know from sad experience ........ Thanks for the Lynsay Sands reminder. I just checked my next Argeneau novel out thanks to overdrive. Looking forward to it because they are always humorous.

I am just going to go ahead and post because I managed to finish a couple of previously started books thanks to a rainy day. The first was Brat Farrar which was a Jane and Onceuponatime recommendation from quite a few weeks ago I think. Really what can I say both dd and I enjoyed it. Well written, clever (although we both knew far in advance), basically a good mystery. We will read some more Tey mysteries as soon as the library pile reduces itself. Working hard on that. I also finished The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever, which is the first in Julie Quinn's Bevelstoke series. To be honest it probably deserves a lint rating but I loved it -- seriously made me laugh a couple of times and I teared up at the end. One of the goodreads reviews classed it as erotic but honestly it was a somewhat descriptive series romance. I was going to link but seem to have lost the link so in quick summary a young girl falls in love with her best friend's much older very charming Viscount of a brother. Fast forward 10 years and the girl is preparing reluctantly for her season and the Viscount becomes a widower who mistrusts women. It carries on from there......

My son is pretty happy right now! Loves Fred.....