November Book Update

So, in 2018, I'm taking a slightly different approach to blogging about my reading - I'm not really worrying about the in/out balance or how many books I read each month versus how many have been removed from the list. My only goal in 2018 is to read at least 100 books (as usual), so I'll be counting towards that, and noting books I read, acquire, get rid of, etc, but only for interest. I'm tired of feeling guilty if I acquire new books!

In January:  books read: 7; books otherwise removed: 3; books in: 7; books on windowsill: 62
In February: books read: 6; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 3;  books on windowsill: 61
In March: books read: 8; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 5;  books on windowsill: 60
In April: books read: 13; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 6; books on windowsill: 61
In May: books read: 10 ; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 2; books on windowsill: 58
In June: books read: 10; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 3; books on windowsill: 58
In July: books read: 8; books otherwise removed: 0; books in: 5; books on windowsill: 62
In August: books read: 6; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 3; books on windowsill: 63
In September: books read: 9; books otherwise removed: 0; books in: 4; books on windowsill: 67
In October: books read: 9; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 3; books on windowsill: 62
In November: books read: 9; books otherwise removed: 0; books in: 2; books on windowsill: 58

And here's the breakdown for this month: 

• I read one book from my waiting shelf (The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden)
• I read one Sherlock Holmes story, which I picked up at the museum (A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle)
• I read one book in a series which I follow (when I remember to check there's a new book) - I was reminded of it by my visit to the Sherlock Holmes Museum (The Murder of Mary Russell, Laurie R King)
• I tried and abandoned one book which had been talked about positively in an online discussion of crime fiction - too formulaic and not very well written (The Ice Princess, Camilla Lackberg)
• And consoled myself with a different crime novel I knew WOULD be well written (The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz)
• Then I read something completely different, from my windowsill (Exit West by Mohsin Hamad)
• Then back to some crime fiction - another Holmes pastiche (The Last of August, Brittany Cavallaro)
• And a children's book from my pile of waiting books to check out for my classroom book corner (Flood Child by Emily Diamand)
• And another one which had been waiting (If We Were Villains by M L Rio)
• Then one more from my windowsill (A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale)
• I received one book as a birthday present (Lethal White by Robert Galbraith) and picked up one in the charity shop (The Mistletoe Bride and other stories by Kate Mosse)

Here's the updated list of Books to Read in 2018. These are the books hanging out on my windowsill upstairs, waiting to be read. Or discarded. But hopefully, read. I started the year with 60 books on this list - you can see how long the books have been knocking around by the dates in brackets.

1. Ford Maddox Ford, Parade's End (Nov 2012 - birthday present - bought after the BBC adaptation - but I knew I wouldn't read it straight away as I wanted to let time pass from the adaptation.  Enough time has probably passed now...)
2. Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South (2014)
3. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (would be a re-read, bought shortly after his death - spring 2014 - as I was reminded how much I enjoyed it and I didn't seem to own a copy - think my old one fell apart, probably...) 
4. Daphne du Maurier, Frenchman's Creek (Waterstones Piccadilly - 2016? bought in principle for the girls, but thought I might read it again as it's been ages)
5. Daphne du Maurier, Jamaica Inn (Waterstones Piccadilly - 2016? bought in principle for the girls, but thought I might read it again as it's been ages)
6. Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram (Abe Books, July 2016)
7. Susan Barker, The Incarnations (charity shop, July 2016)
8. Neil MacGregor, Germany: Memories of  a Nation (birthday present, Nov 2016) (This book isn't technically on my windowsill, it's downstairs because I keep thinking I might have a go at reading it, but haven't really got around to it yet...)
9. Orhan Pamuk. A Strangeness in Mind (Christmas present 2016)
10. Andrew Taylor, The Ashes of London (passed to me by Geoff after he read it, April 2017)
11. Mark Haddon (Introduction), States of Mind: Experiences at the Edge of Consciousness (Waterstones Piccadilly, April 2017)
12. John Irving, Avenue of Mysteries  (Waterstones Piccadilly, April 2017)
13. Mikhail Bulgokov, The Master and Margarita (charity shop, April 2017)
14. Rachel Ward, Numbers 2: The Chaos (Sarah's - added to my shelf after I read the first one, April 2017)
15. Rachel Ward, Numbers 3: Infinity (Sarah's - added to my shelf after I read the first one, April 2017)
16. Jane Smiley, Early Warning (Abe Books, May 2017, after finishing the first in the series)
17. Siri Hustvedt, A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women (Waterstones Wimbledon, July 2017)
18. Ernest van der Kwast, The Ice Cream Makers (Amsterdam, August 2017)
19. Lucy Worsley, A Very British Murder (Waterstones Oxford, August 2017)
20. Lucy Ribchester, The Hourglass Factory (charity shop, Farnham, September 2017)
21. Alexia Casale, The Bone Dragon (Waterstones Piccadilly, October 2017)
22. Sebastian Barry, Days without End (Abe Books, January 2018)
23. Ursula K LeGuin, The Left Hand of Darkness (Watersones Piccadilly, January 2018)
24. Clare Vanderpool, Moon over Manifest (was in the house, moved to my shelf Feb 2018)
25. Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad (Waterstones Wimbledon, Feb 2018)
26. Arundhati Roy, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (passed to me by Geoff, Feb 2018)
27. ed. Tracy Chevalier, Reader I Married Him (Waterstones online, March 2018)
28. Bella Pollen, Hunting Unicorns (Kingston Hospital Charity Bookshelf, March 2018)
29. Diana Rosie, Alberto's Lost Birthday (Kingston Hospital Charity Bookshelf, March 2018)
30. Jojo Moyes, The Last Letter from your Lover (Charity Shops, March 2018)
31. Jojo Moyes, Sheltering Rain (Charity Shops, March 2018)
32. Sebastian Faulkes, A Week in December (Charity Shops, March 2018)
33. Marcus Zusak, I am the Messenger (Charity Shops, March 2018)
34. Jose Saramago, Blindness (Lisbon, April 2018)
35. Margaret Atwodd, Oryx and Crake (passed on by Geoff, April 2018)
36. The Killing Moon, N K Jemisin (Waterstones online, April 2018)
37. If we were Villains, M L Rio (Waterstones Wimbledon, April 2018)
38. Spark, Alice Broadway (Waterstones Wimbledon, April 2018)
39. The Mime Order, Samantha Shannon (Abe Books, May 2018)
40. March, Geraldine Brooks (Abe Books, June 2018)
41. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins (charity shop, June 2018)
42. Anything is Possible, Elizabeth Strout (Waterstones Wimbledon, July 2018)
43. The Disappearances, Emily Bain Murphy (Waterstones Picadilly, July 2018)
44. Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys  (Waterstones Picadilly, July 2018)
45. Cassandra at the Wedding, Dorothy Baker (Waterstones Picadilly, July 2018)
46. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (charity shop, July 2018)
47. The Same Sky, Amanda Eyre Ward (discount shop in US, August 2018)
48. The Murderer's Ape, Jakob Wegelius (Waterstones Wimbledon, August 2018)
49. The Terracotta Dog, Andrea Camelleri (passed to me by Geoff, Sept 2018)
50. The Snack Thief, Andrea Camelleri (passed to me by Geoff, Sept 2018)
51. Even the Dogs, Jon McGregor (Abebooks, Sept 2018)
52. Islands in the Stream, Ernest Hemingway (Abebooks, Sept 2018)
53. Scythe, Neil Schusterman (Waterstones Piccadilly, Sept 2018)
54. Alice, Christina Henry (Waterstone Piccadilly, Sept 2018)
55. Throne of Glass, Sarah J Maas (Waterstones Wimbledon, October 2018)
56. Winter, Ali Smith (Waterstones Wimbledon, October 2018)
57. Lethal White, Robert Galbraith (birthday present, November 2018)
58. The Mistletoe Bride, Kate Mosse (charity shop, November 2018)

Book 95: A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale

It took me a remarkably long time to get through this (for me) - not sure why, as there was nothing about it I didn't like; perhaps I was just too tired to read much.  I've read quite a few Patrick Gale novels before and this is, I think, the only wholly historical one. I enjoyed it.

Dinner, 28/11/18: Spaghetti with ricotta and pine nuts (Gino D'Acampo)

Also herbs and sundried tomatoes. Very tasty.

Dinner, 25/11/18: Roast chicken, etc

Decided to make this roast dinner a little more Thanksgiving-y, in keeping with the time of year. Which means I cooked  a few sweet potatoes (which mainly only I like) and some stuffing (which everyone likes) in addition to the usual. 

Dinner, 24/11/18: Sticky citrus chicken with carrots (Alex cooking)

Sarah and I were out for this one, as we went up to Camden market - it was just the guys eating.  They chose this despite the fact that we're having roast chicken tomorrow. Looks tasty - we've had it before, so I'm pretty sure it was.

Book in

Picked up in the charity shop while browsing around - looked like a nice collection for winter...

Dinner, 23/11/18: Pizza night

Sarah is home for the weekend, and we haven't had pizzas in a while, so it was about time for them again. Yum.

Dinner, 20/11/18: Thai green chicken curry

This was ok, but not nearly spicy enough for us - we do like a curry with a bit of zing to it. It's a different recipe to what I normally use, and just a bit bland.

Dinner, 19/11/18: Tomato, Chickpea & Cumin Soup

This was really tasty - don't think it's one we've had before. It was really thick and very warming. And yummy.

Book in

A birthday present - the fourth in the series, which both Geoff and I read. Originally, we weren't going to buy it in hardback, but as Waterstones was obligingly offering it for half price...

Book 94: If We Were Villains, M L Rio

I picked this up in Waterstones a while back when it was one of the recommended books of the month, and then picked it up yesterday to start reading. Spent most of today just sitting reading it - great book, really enjoyed it. There will be inevitable comparisons to Donna Tartt's The Secret History (though more in setting than anything else, and the fact that it's got a lot of literary references, though in this case, pretty much all Shakespeare).  Just a really excellent story with great characters and an ending that works, whether or not you are surprised by it. Really can't say much without giving it away, though there are a few Shakespeare plays (like Pericles) that I wish I knew better while reading this. 

Dinner, 18/11/18: Chili (Geoff cooking)

Because tomorrow is my birthday, I decided it was someone else's turn to cook today (and because I cooked a lot yesterday for my party) - Geoff makes a mean chili and this one was very good, though it probably would have been a bit spicy for Sarah, if she'd been here. And of course, if Liv was here, it wouldn't work either, as it has meat in it and she's now officially a vegetarian...

Dinner, 17/11/18: Annual Birthday Feast

Bad photo as I snapped it quickly on my phone before we ate, but we had Griddled Celeriac with Salsa Verde; Aubergine, Chickpea & Fennel Bake; Vegetable Biryani; Cucumber Salad; Peri Peri Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes; Butterbean Jalfrezi.  Chocolate Sorbet with forest fruit coulis and fresh fruit for dessert - no photo of that! Everything vegan and gluten free (I have friends with various restrictions...)

Book 93: Flood Child, Emily Diamand

A children's book this time, a post-apocalyptic novel in which much of England is under water, people are afraid of technology (though not in Greater Scotland) and nasty pirates abound. I enjoyed this, though perhaps more could be made of the technology issue than is really done in the book. Regardless, it was a gripping tale of kidnapping and escape and I think my class will enjoy it. 

Dinner, 16/11/18: Ham & Leek Canneloni

Easy to make, using fresh lasagne sheets for the canneloni, rather than tubes. Yum. 

Book 92: The Last of August, Brittany Cavallaro

A Sherlock Holmes pastiche (sort of) - the story is based on characters who are supposedly the descendants of both Holmes and Watson - teenagers. This is the second book in the series and they are good fun. Highly improbable and full of angst; quite satisfying, really. Aimed at a young adult audience, but when has that ever mattered?

Dinner, 14/11/18: Linguine with creamy tomato, rosemary & caper sauce

Dinner, 13/11/18: Chickpea and Spinach Curry

We have this pretty regularly, in as much as we have anything regularly in our house. We all love it and it's easy, so it ticks all the boxes.

Book 91: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

This was a great read. Short but very lyrical and extremely topical (about immigrants), though I can't quite imagine how our current world leadership would cope with the basic premise - "doors" opening up from poor & war-torn areas randomly into other parts of the world. But it's not all political - it's also about love and finding yourself and being kind and being human. The best kind of book. 

Dinner, 11/11/18: Meat & potato pie, mashed root vegetables

This is from the Hairy Bikers' pie book and tastes excellent, though the filling could have been cooked a bit longer to make the potatoes a little softer.  On the side, all the various bits of root veg I had in the house from using a bit of one thing or the other to cook with (e.g. three small parsnips, half a swede, part a couple of sweet potatoes, and so forth) - really nice mash on the side. 

Book 90: Magpie Murders, Anthony Horowitz

 I tried, for a couple of days, to read a book which was recommended during a Facebook discussion about crime fiction (Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg) but found it really badly written (clunky) and formulaic - can't be 100 per cent sure the writing part is the fault of the author, as it was in translation, but as I've read lots of books in translation which read beautifully...  Anyway, gave up in frustration and turned to something I knew would hold up; Anthony Horowitz can always be relied on to write well, and this double murder mystery (there's a book within the book) was no exception. Good fun.

Dinner, 10/11/18: Butternut squash, cauliflower & lentil korma

This one is from my traybake book and it's done in the oven, which makes it pretty easy. I chopped up the stalks and leaves from the cauliflower and crisped them up in the oven, then threw them in on top as well.  It was tasty and easy.

Dinner, 6/11/18: Piri Piri Prawns

I served these with rice and some courgettes on the side, but this is a photo of the prawns still in the dish. This was extremely yummy - nice and spicy without being just about the heat.

Dinner, 5/11/18: Artichoke and lemon pasta with rocket and olives

A quick weeknight pasta dish, which we've had lots of times before.

Book 89: The Murder of Mary Russell, Laurie R King

The latest in a series I really like - a Sherlock Holmes pastiche. This one focuses on Holmes' longtime housekeeper, Mrs Hudson, bestowing upon her a very intriguing past, which I enjoyed exploring. 

Dinner, 4/11/18: Tomato and Dolcelatte Calzone

These were extremely tasty, even without the watercress, which Waitrose was out of. I used some lamb's lettuce instead, but I think watercress would have been extra zingy.

Book 88: A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle

Finished my book on the train, so I had to pick up something else to read. And as I was at the Sherlock Holmes Museum, what better.  This is really a novella, or perhaps even a long short story rather than a novel, even though it's sometimes called a novel. But I hadn't read it before (though I've seen adaptations).

Book 87: The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden

This is a fairytale, told in a literary way: highly readable and very compelling. I really enjoyed it, and will look for others from this author.

Dinner, 2/11/18: Pork Mince & Tofu Stir Fry (Geoff cooking)

A quick, early dinner before heading to Leatherhead to see Alex perform in the Shakespeare Schools Festival... Yum.

October Round Up

WHAT WAS FOR DINNER, OCTOBER 2018

• 31st: Salmon, chorizo & almond traybake
• 30th: Harissa chicken & chickpea bake
• 29th: Pean & Mint Gnocchi
• 28th: Chicken & Vegetable Soup
• 27th: K & A in Brighton
• 26th: Fend for yourself Friday (K&A)
• 25th: Dinner out at Thai Tho with Kirsten
• 24th: Late Lunch/Early Dinner at Pizza Express (Liv's birthday, mark 2)
• 23rd: Out to dinner, Wagamama (Liv's birthday)
• 22nd: Curried Parsnip Soup
• 21st: Cauliflower & Broccoli Cheese
• 20th: Leek & Cheese Pithivier
• 19th: Out to Dinner at Pho (Geoff's birthday)
• 18th: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 17th: Pea & Bacon Tagliatelli
• 16th: Butter Bean Jalfrezi
• 15th: Roast cod with lentils
• 14th: Roast pork, roast potatoes, spring greens
• 13th: Massaman Vegetable Curry
• 12th: Sausage, Celery and Tomato traybake
• 11th: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 10th: Cheese & Lemon Pasta with Tapenade
• 9th: Bombay Potato Frittata
• 8th: Miso Noodle Soup with Edamame
• 7th: Beef Burgundy
• 6th: Tomato, Chicken & Olive Traybake
• 5th: Spinach and Ricotta Pizza Bianco
• 4th: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 3rd: Meatball & Mozzarella Bake
• 2nd: Mushroom & Pancetta Risotto
• 1st: Baked Salmon with potatoes and fennel