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Showing posts from August, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays

Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! This teaser isn't my current read as I have just finished it. A review will follow in a couple of days. 'Somehow, over the ten years of my marriage with Thomas Stanley, my son's cause has become a forlorn hope even to me. But Jasper, far away in Brittany, keeps the faith; there is nothing else he can do. And I keep the faith, for it burns inside me that it should be a Lancaster on the throne of England, and my son is the only Lancaster heir, but for my nephew the Duke of Buckingham, left to us.' page 231' The Red Queen' by Philippa Gregory. More teasers here.

Rumpole and the Reign of Terror.

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Rumpole and the Reign of Terror by John Mortimer. Rumpole's latest case involves his 'old' clients/defendants the Timpsons. Here is a family who appear to enjoy their time in the 'dock', at least that is Rumpole's opinion. The number of times he has represented them is numerous and consequently they are quite'dear' to him as they have 'paid' his bills for a number of years. Quite a 'mottley' crew normally so when a glamorous Timpson , who has escaped the usual squalor of the family's life requests Rumpole's help ,he is intrigued to say the least. Terrorists and criminals are on the same wave length in Rumpole's book . A terrorist is what concerns the glamorous Timpson. Not only is this case intriguing but why is 'She who must be obeyed'/his wife Hilda hiding in the box room of their flat for hours on end? A quick , light read. I have seen most of the series on T.V. and the characters come to life in the books. However

Tan Hill and the Eden Valley.

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It's a Bank Holiday weekend here in the U.K.I normaly never stray far from my front door on these weekends as the traffic is usually appalling and sitting in traffic jams is not my idea of fun. After saying that hubby and I did venture off the farm last night . A trip around the Eden Valley and a spell in the Tan Hill Inn. The roads along this route were fairly quiet , so we must have picked a good time to drive. This is the highest Inn in Great Britain. Being 1732 feet above sea level, it was quite a climb to get there. The wonderful scenery over the Eden Valley made it worth the while. Once there I was surpised at the number of people 'downing' their pints. A cosy place but noisey , as I'm not a lover of pop music played loudly in every room I don't count it as one of my favourite places. However the scenery was wonderful . Travelling form Bowes along the A66 towards Kirby Stephen you really see the countryside at its best! Hope you are all enjoying a relaxing we

Wordless Wednesday

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A Summer morning in Teesdale. More pics can be found here.

Teaser Tuesday

My book this week is the much awaited 'The Red Queen' by Phillippa Gregory.I've just started it but it's proving very addictive already So here we go--- Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Here is my teaser---- 'I spent that night , all the night, on my knees praying for the victory of my House of Lancaster. The servant said that they were gathering outside London and would march to meet our forces that are mustering in thousands, somewhere near Oxford.' page 189, 'The Red Queen' by Phillippa Gregory. More teasers can be found here.

Sacred Treason

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Sacred Treason by James Forrester. In 1563 the English people are unhappy, even worried. Queen Elizabeth is on the throne and people with religious faith are concerned not only for their own lives but for their families and friends. When the herald William Harley receives a visitor one dark night he is concerned . The visitor is fellow Catholic Henry Machyn and Henry is not their to pay his respects. Believing that the Queens men will persue him he begs William to look after a manuscript. This contains information that doubts the Queen's claim to the throne. As the novel progresses William is caught up in the contents of the manuscript and needs to discuss it's relevance with the people involved . All of these being Catholic his dangerous task is throught with danger for not only is he trying to discover the meaning of the document he must guard Henry's wife and his own family from the 'State'.Can they all survive without betraying their faith... This is the first

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! My Teasers:are----- 'Greetings , murderer,' hissed Spaldyne, as he passed.'Killed any patients recently?other than Father Thomas and Margery Sewale, that is'. page 34, 'The Devil's Disciples' by Susanna Gregory. More teasers can be found here.

The Redemption of Sarah Cain

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' The Redemption of Sarah Cain' by Beverly Lewis. Sarah Cain is a successful , career woman. Working for an estate agent she is keen to close every deal and therefore further her career. Her sister is somewhat different --- giving up the modern way of life , Ivy and her husband have joined an Amish community and along with their five children enjoy a simple life away from the trappings of the modern society. But their happiness is shattered when firstly Ivy's husband dies and then Ivy herself. What will become of her children. Knowing of her fatal illness she has emphatically requested that Sarah(her only living relative) cares for the family. This is certainly going to disrupt any career path Sarah planned , how can she persuade other Amish members that she is not the right person to 'foster mother' children. A current t.v. programme about the Amish way of life sparked my interest in this book. It was a very easy read and had a good if fairly predictable storyli

Wordless Wednesday

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More photos can be found here.

Teaser Tuesdays

It's Tuesday so there must be a teaser here somewhere... Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Here is mine ... ''Still, she found it difficult to believe that Ivy and her husband had gotten the notion to join the Amish from him. But it was her sister's prayer that her children would' live their lives to the fullest measure, even if I should die prematurely' that struck Sarah as most significant.'' page 223-224 'The Redemption of Sarah Cain' by Beverly Lewis. More teasers can be found here.

Pride and Prejudice.

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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. As such a 'high profile' book I know that most readers if not all will be certain of the storyline. Suffice to say it was a re-read but one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Jane Austen combines wit and seriousness to her writing that I never grow too tired to read. This book was part of the 'You've got Mail' challenge. Check out this blog for more details.

Wordless Wednesday

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The River Cam at Cambridge. More pics can be found here.

Musing Mondays

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This week's topic ---- What book tops your TBR (to be read) pile right now? Is it something you own, or something you have to borrow, or something you’ll be purchasing? Why do you want to read it so badly? Well as you can see from the photos there are two books at the top of my 'pile' . Now I don't own these books yet but they are on order. The 'Red Queen' is the new Phillippa Gregory book due out on August 19th and the 'Sacred Treason' by James Forrester has just been released , so hopefully that will grace my pile very soon. The Red Queen is the story of Margaret Beaufort, a character I know little about , other than she married Edmond Tudor. The Sacred Treason book is set in 1563 , and it's principal character is William Harvey, Clarenceux King of Arms. I'm very keen to read these as I do love a good historical novel and after reading summaries and reviews I'm sure these books are not going to disappoint. More books can be found here.

A Change in Altitude.

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'A Change in Altitude 'by Anita Shreve. A novel set in Kenya. Margaret, a journalist and he doctor husband Patrick have moved to Kenya from the United States, purely for Patrick's work. He practises equatorial medicine . Their new home offers a diverse way of life which neither seemed prepared. The heat , the poverty , the crime and the sheer extent of the vastness of the squalid shanty towns all wear them down . Consequently when an offer comes for some excitement in the way of climbing to the summit of Mount Kenya they are very enthusiastic. They will climb in a group which includes their best friends, who are also ex-pats. However not all their plans are fulfilled and as a terrible accident occurs Margaret is struck by persistant feelings of guilt which torment both their lives well after the climb is completed. Reading this book, although I have never been to Africa, I felt it ran true to such an extent I was there -- the scenery and the culture were all described in a