Eta: I posted by accident. Sorry! Can't resist mentioning both dc's are bell ringer's for the village church. Ds is ringing two weddings for a nearby village this weekend. He makes a good income for a 13 yr old thanks to weddings. Dd does handbells also. Several xmas performances with her group.

Faith -- I couldn't like your post after reading the part about your dd. :grouphug: I will include her in my prayers during the coming weeks. As someone originally from Michigan I understand and agree with much of what you are saying.

Violet Crown -- I was so happy to see you posting again but very sad to read why you have been missing. I hope all stays peaceful. I finished "The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man" this morning. Very enjoyable. :) The next one arrived at my library this morning but plan to read several quick reads first.

Quick comment before I go to bed. A small diesel with a manual transmission should get between 40 and 50, at least. A pp said she is getting 47 for a diesel with automatic. Something to consider.

You found it :) Great car and not horrible to be a passenger in. We take some pretty long car trips with no complants. We occasionally get the average to go up when just dh drives it for a few hundred miles but realistically it is 60 for our family.

I just read the first in a new mystery series to me and loved it. "The Religious Body" by Catherine Aird. Inspecter Sloan was lovely and the mystery very well plotted. I suspect many of you have already read these because compared to Josephine Tey in a review. Also finished "Shut Your Eyes Tight" by John Verdon. Not quite as clever as his "Think of a Number" and the topics were darker but a first rate thriller overall.

Eta: Something is going very wrong with this post. The following is my comment: My car is rated as "eco friendly" in the UK and we paid about $16000 for it three years ago, new. Ford. Cheaper then many other comparable cars here. With my accountant hat on the difference in fuel cost equaled the premium for eco compared to non eco at that time. Bought partly in case fuel prices increased. Car is rated at 80 mpg but we average 60 with 4 adult size passengers.

I don't want the US prices to equal Europe because of our vacations but I do feel the need to share with you a calculation dh and I made regarding our European habits compared to American. We kept the milage identical -- oddly enough it is irl. In the US we drive a basic mini van which gets 20 miles to the gallon. Our insurance is on the inexpensive side for typical US. Milage identical. In UK we bought an economy model that gets 60 miles to the gallon typically (for this calculation we used 50). Our far better insurance liability wise costs way less and includes goodies like roadside coverage, airfare home from the continent in case of breakdown. Lots of coverage. When we compare the actual cost for our family to own a vehicle last year it was $2500 a year less to drive in Europe. Budget wise in Europe we spend $4000 compared to US which would be $6500. Yes we drive a small car but most do. We seat 5 not 7. The car is diesel and manual. The price of petrol changes habits and that isn't totally bad.

I read her mysteries. That one is a JP Beaumont one that I must have read when it came out but can't remember it. :lol: It is one of the series that I have been rereading via the library kindle books so I like them. ;) Lots of history for that character so I am not sure about starting that far through the series but I think she does a better job then many doing a quick history retelling when needed. I hope you like them!

I was just looking at the winner's over at Goodreads. I discovered that if I clicked on the category winner I was able to see the voting of each nominee. Requested a couple more based on that.

Eragon series???

Eliana -- Your comment about "Among Others" was very interesting. It is the only Jo Walton that I have tried to read and I just could not slog through it. I have wondered what I was missing about it since she is a favourite of many. Will try the farthing series in the new year. I go to the library and ask where I am on the reserve lists. I must drive them nuts! ;) Although I think they are currently wondering why we have very little on reserve. :lol: My little library recently published it's statistics and I added up what I know we checked out etc. and our visits and volume are measurable. I found that amazing. The council is closing branches and our library has only remained open due to the fact that the building was donated over a hundred years ago for one purpose -- library.

Jane, Your Thanksgiving pictures are lovely! I grew up in Northern Michigan so it looks like home. I am glad you had a great time visiting ds. I did just look at your author response link. Let me just say I am a bit embarrassed about him reading my green rose lacking romance comment, I wish I had skipped it. I hope he read the rest of the thread to see how it all started. By the way my viridian color challenge book still has a place of honor in my stack. I am hoping to get many of them read and start the New Year fresh.

I am currently reading "The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man" by Mark Hodder. Back to my sreampunk phase! ;) Finished "Dark Witch" by Nora Roberts. I normally love her magical trilogy. This one was OK but really hard for me to get through. It should have been an afternoon not a carry around for days book. The story wasn't bad just not great. Also read "Starting Now" by Debbie Macomber. This was another Blossom Street novel with the knitting shop. It was good. A high quality sequel where I started and never put it down.

Earlier this week I found myself on a "what is new and exciting" in Australian Literature type website/blog which I can't find now. :lol: One of the books being highlighted was "The Rosie Project" which I read and enjoyed a couple of weeks ago. It is a fun read by an Australian author. Takes place partially in Australia.

Agree with Laura on Telegraph. Also think basic facts right but the spin is missing some facts. Suspect something must make the baby British and being born here does not.

I will make a quick comment about Leeds in general and then wait for Laura. We shop in Leeds occasionally and park near the University. No problems with the area that I have noticed. Definately a town on the rise. Lots of new construction. Good theatre etc. It has also ended up being the second choice for many friend's children. They were all fortunate and able to go to their first choice school but they seemed to really love their interviews and tours at Leeds. Their time there always moved it to the second slot from much lower. I don't remember their being enthusiastic before the visit. None of them would have been disappointed to have gone there. No international relations majors among them.

I have not read them but dd is in the process of reading the series. They are the top of her to be read pile but she has been sidelined by Coursera lit. She has read the first two and liked them. She likes books about Arthur and Merlin but has not read either of the ones you mentioned.

http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/10/think-of-a-number-dave-gurney-1-by-john-verdon.html I also finished "Think of a Number" by John Verdon. It was a five star suspense novel. Loved it. Very clever. One of the best page turners I have read in a very long time. I stayed up really late to finish this one! ;)

I finished it finally and it was so good. :) Yes, I am talking about "A Tale for the Time Being" by Ruth Ozeki. I loved how it slowly unfolded between events in the reader and writer's lives. Major historical events were noted as well as personal. The Japanese culture included was fascinating. I loved the ending and will be digesting it for awhile. Just as a side note I have added it to dds list. It was that good. Possibly better then 1Q84. I wish I could change my goodreads vote but I think voting is closedbut am checking now.

Eliana and Ladydusk -- I heeded your advice and switched to Cotillion and Talisman Ring! Thank you :)

My daughter loves this program! We have been using it for a year and her improvement is amazing. There are some samples online at their website.

We did it for six months when we first moved to England and had intended to do it for another year by choice. We couldn't find another place I liked well enough to bother to move because the 4 of us were fine and happy there. A friends house sale fell apart and we moved on as a favor. We didn't have a lot of stuff. Used the library extensively. FYI the dc's were 7 and 9 at that time.

Yes

:grouphug: praying