Yesterday was Book Club Friday and it reminded me of how my parents and I would go to our local Library every Saturday afternoon and get our books for the week.  We had books at home which we owned and I always had books for my Birthdays and Christmas but when I was growing up if you wanted to read a lot being a member of the local library was the best way.  (Unfortunately I cannot show you a picture of the Library as all the pictures have copyright on them!!!!).

(Image from : https://marketlavingtonmuseum.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/library-ticket-old-style/)

Above is the old style of reader’s library ticket which you had and when you wanted to check a book out they would take the slip out of the book and put it into your ticket and then stamp the book with the return date. They had really large metal date stamps which made a huge clunk!!!!!!

When you borrowed books from the children’s library you could only check out four books, which by the time I was eight was just not enough!!!!  You had to be ten to borrow books from the main library and I could not wait!  We also had a library at my school and was ten when I read “The Hobbit” by JRR Tolkien which got me into fantasy books!  In fact there was a larger school library at my senior school and spent most lunchtimes in there.

When I did eventually get into the main library I devoured all of the Agatha Christie books but you will not be surprised after yesterday’s post!!  I also read a lot of historical fiction and as I got older the romantic novels.  However over the years I now tend to read more mystery novels, crime thrillers but still love historical fiction.

When I was in Primary School I had a very good friend, Judith, she and I used to swap books.  Our favourites were the Boarding School books:

When I was eight for my Birthday I had the Narnia Set, below,  which at the time was quite expensive, however the books themselves to buy individually were only 20 pence!!!

I still think books are one of the best buys in this day and age and although they now cost for a large paperback between £6.99 and £8.99, it really is only the cost of two large fancy coffees!!!! 

I do have to admit now though that if I want a book I do tend to buy it rather than go to the Library and borrow it.  I am in the fortunate position to be able to do that and also our local libraries have reduced the amount of books they have to borrow and also have reduced the amount of genres! 

This is my local bookstore which is a chain in the UK, Waterstones, which do stock a lot of books.  Of course I use Amazon as well but I do try and support independent book stores when I can.

This is the new Library near to us, which opened in August this year.  I have not had chance to go and have a look yet but am hoping to soon.  I may even join!

Going to the library with my parents was the highlight of my week, especially at this time of year with the weather being often bad we would spend a lot of our leisure time reading. 

Have a wonderful weekend and I hope you get to spend some time with a good book.

Hugs & Love, Susie xx

Here are the December Books for my Book Club and yes we have a few not just one!  Some I have read and some are on my “To Read” Shelf, which has had to move for Christmas!!!!  In fact I am hoping to get quite a bit of reading done over the Christmas holidays.

As you might know, if you follow me, that at this time of year I love to read Christmas books so collect them up and keep them for now!  The book below is what I am currently reading:

I came across Edward Marston earlier in the year and loved the book I read, “Fear on the Phantom Special”.  I did not review it for Book Club but the books are set in the 1860’s and finds Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming from Scotland Yard investigating mysteries involved with the private railways up and down the United Kingdom. 

In A “Christmas Railway Mystery” one of the engineers disappears after a night out at the local pub only for his body to be found the next day in an alley next to the rolling mill minus his head.  The Inspector and Sergeant had to Swindon with only ten days before Christmas Day in the hope they can solve the murder and be back to their homes in time for Christmas.

The following Books are on my “To Read” shelf but I am hoping to get through them this Christmas.

The above book is all about everything Christmas in New York including the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Centre, Christmas lights in Brooklyn and Holiday train all beautifully illustrated with Michael Storrings’ watercolours.

50 Recipes and stories from New York at Christmas is the above book.

When we visited Dicken’s Museum in London in October I bought this lovely little copy of “A Christmas Carol”.  This book, like Jane Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice” I read every year.  I am never certain that Ebenezer will discover his Christmas spirit in time!!!!

Now you all know, again if you follow me, that I love mystery stories especially the old fashioned everyone gathering at a big country house for Christmas, a large family and friends and they all settle in for the long Christmas holiday.  Except by day two someone has murdered one of the guests and then the local Inspector arrives to solve the mystery!

As you can imagine there are an awful lot of these books out there and I just love them.  The British Library (which DH and I also went to whilst we were in London) have re-published some out of print classic books and the above one is one of them. 

The horror on the train, great though it may turn out to be, will not compare with the horror that exists here, in this house.’ On Christmas Eve, heavy snowfall brings a train to a halt near the village of Hemmersby. Several passengers take shelter in a deserted country house, where the fire has been lit and the table laid for tea – but no one is at home. Trapped together for Christmas, the passengers are seeking to unravel the secrets of the empty house when a murderer strikes in their midst.

Georgette Heyer is not as well known as her contemporaries Agatha Cristie and Dorothy L. Sayers but is a great writer in the same format.

The above book finds that It is no ordinary Christmas at Lexham Manor.  Six holiday guests find themselves the suspects in a murder inquiry when the old Scrooge who owns the substantial estate is found stabbed in the back. Whilst the delicate matter of inheritance could be the key to this crime, the real conundrum is how any of the suspects could have entered the locked room where the victim was found, to commit this foul deed. For Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard, the investigation is also complicated by the fact that every guest at Lexham Manor is hiding something – casting suspicion far and wide

This is the first novel of Ada Moncrieff and in the style of the greats. 

Christmas Eve, 1938. The Westbury family and assorted friends have gathered for another legendary celebration at their beautiful country house. The champagne flows, the silverware sparkles and upstairs the rooms are ready for their occupants.  But one bed will lie empty that night. On Christmas morning, David Campbell-Scott is found dead in the snow. There’s a pistol beside him and only one set of footprints.  Yet something doesn’t seem right to amateur sleuth Hugh Gaveston. Campbell-Scott had just returned from overseas with untold wealth – why would he kill himself? Hugh sets out to investigate…

And finally the Queen of Mystery Writers, Mrs Christie, and a compendium of Chritmas stories with your favourite characters, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple and other short stories.

Hopefully you will find something here in the December Book Club to keep you busy and entertained in the dark nights and  Christmas holidays.

Have a Very Merry Bookish Christmas!

Hugs & Love, Susie xx